skp1

Same boat here - I put off shopping hoping to lose a few pounds (not so much worried about alterations, but I just didn't feel good with these extra "holiday" pounds sticking around). Now I found out I'm on the verge of having to do a Rush order because I waited so long. UGH!

Went dress shopping in person for the first time this weekend and I'm not sure what to do. Here is the one I tried on and really like - the model looks kinda trashy so its hard to get a good concept, but it looks great on (and not as short as it is in the pic). The back is traditional with a corset lace up so it does seem "bride-like" and oh so flattering.

I just started shopping and am dealing with this too. My FI wants to come (I can't imagine it being fun for him, but he loves seeing me dress up). I don't think he should be there but I do value his opinion. Unfortunately due to location, my closest friends and family are not here to go with me. My sister was going to fly in and go shopping with me but her husband just broke his ankle so she can't leave him I showed him pictures on the internet but it looks so different on.

Sounds good - I keep getting the same questions and am trying to find a way to say it short and sweet. I'm curious to see the responses.

I plan on loading up the OOT bags with gifts and skipping favors at the reception (maybe do some candy). In addition to the typical OOT items (first aid kit, sunscreen, snacks and water, welcome brochure, etc), our "gift" will be iPOD travel speakers and baseball hats. Also we plan on doing higher end bags so that will be part of the gift too.

That's great! Did you order the Hershey kiss labels or do those yourself? I've been debating on those.

Sounds like we all borrowed from the same thread! I printed mine on index cards so I was able to put all the info on the front. I did it in Microsoft Publisher using one of their standard designs so it matches all my other stuff - welcome brochure, luggage tags, etc. I plan on putting these on each table at the reception and including them in the thank yous. I also out the info in our welcome brochure, but I'm sure people will forget to save those. This image is fuzzy btu the real thing printed clear.

I have never heard of this concept and it seems pretty rude. Sure, it can get tiresome watching someone open gifts but that's part of the social aspect of the shower. It spurs conversation and games can be mixed in. I was the MOH about 2 years ago for my friend who wanted a not-typical shower (IE not all about opening gifts). We had the party in a private room at Dave & Busters and one of the favors was a $5 game card. I have to say, most people just stayed in the room and chatted - we had a lot of cards left over at the end. So I wouldn't waste too much time trying to think of ways to entertain everyone - people know what to expect at a shower and most are happy to just catch up. And there wasn't alcohol at the shower, but if anyone wanted something they were free to order it at the bar outside. Seemed to work out OK. A few people ended up staying afterwards to play. And a few husbands came and hung out at the bar/pool table area.

Thanks all - looks like the consensus is to send to everyone.

I'm in the process of putting together my invites and am not sure who to mail them to. I have some people who are definite yeses, some people who didn't respond to the STD (not that they were required to) and a few who said they most likely can't come. I'm not sure what the etiquette is about sending an invite. Do I sent and invite to everyone I sent a STD to? Or do I skip those who probably won't come? I don't want anyone to feel insulted just in case their plans change, but I also dint want it to seem like I'm just inviting them for a present. What has everyone else done?

That was going to be my next attempt! it'll take longer but hey, if it looks right, then its worth it. I

They look fantastic! Everyone on BDW is so talented.

Oooh, I have to check that out! I was just at Target last week and didn't see any but maybe I'll try another location. Bed Bath & Beyond has some but even the trial size seems kinda large so I've been looking for another source.

Yup, my resort charges $2 to deliver the bags to the rooms. And since the resort is HUGE with multiple check-in areas, its not like we can just leave them at the front desk. Our plan is to hand out as many as we can to the people attending our welcome party the first night (and this way we get to see the guest's reactions). The rest we'll have delivered but at least that will only be about half of them.

Thanks, I have an ink jet at home that I'll have to try. But I only have about 10 extra sheets of paper so I have to be careful! The next challenge is the colored paper - I bought navy metallic for the covers and nothing shows up on that. I think I may take those to Office Depot or something to print because I'll never get that to work. But it shouldn't be too expensive considering its only the covers and there are 2 per page.

I just started doing my passport invites and am running into printing issues also. I have a great laser color printer at work and am using champagne metallic paper from paperandmore. The first page came out perfect, the second page looked like the ink cartridge was running out. I need to play around some more.

I thought about putting cameras in the OOT bags but then figured people may forget to turn them in. plus, as jeanny points out, I don't want people to "work." But a short list at the table seems like fun. Maybe I'll write on the top of the list to use the disposable camera or you own and let people decide for themselves.

I'm trying to determine if I should get these or not. My first instinct was no - everyone has a digital camera and we set up a photo share site. But, we really liked the idea of having a "scavenger hunt" list of photos for each table (IE, B&G kissing, cutest kid, group shot, etc). Cost isn't an issue because we'll only have about 5 tables. Should we just tell people to take the photos on list and upload them to the photo share site? Or have the disposable cameras on the table too? I prefer digital due to the quality, but think a lot of people may forget to upload them.

Here's the finished product.... I printed the sign at work and brought it to Office Depot to be laminated ($2). I taped it to a paint stick to prop it up in the basket. The flip flops are from Old Navy - got the majority when I had a 30% off coupon so they averaged about $2 each. I tied all the size tags (printed on card stock) to the flip flops with some natural looking twine from Michael's. I found some fold-able boxes at IKEA in navy linen-ish material (perfect since the wedding colors are navy and turquoise). They were a little more than I planned on spending ($10) but are nice enough to use at home and just matched so perfectly.

ooohh, I'm looking into honeymooning in Hawaii too. We are unsure if we will go to Maui or Kauai. The feedback I've gotten so far has been split. My coworker stayed at Fours Season Wailea and raved about it, but I'm thinking I need to step down a notch from the Four Seasons.

My original plan was to honeymoon on the Amalfi Coast and Rome. I spent HOURS searching Internet sites and books and agree it is overwhelming. There are so many small boutique hotels or inns. And since some are geared toward European guests, they have minimum stay requirements which don't jive with the typical American multi city tour. Now I think we are scrapping the idea - not because of the coordination issues, but because flight prices are ridiculous! I think we will honeymoon someplace else and maybe retry this again in 2012 during the off season. I haven't used a travel agent in years and was going to use one my friend used but she didn't have a good experience. Once the trip was booked, she could never get her to respond, she had to hound the woman for the travel documents the week before the trip AND found out one of her connecting flights was before the other one landed and another flight was canceled - if she hadn't of checked everything on her own she would have been screwed. The trip worked out OK and she was happy, but it caused a lot of undue stress beforehand. Good luck with your search and please let us know what you end up doing - I will need your feedback for my trip!

They look wonderful! Did you use the white metallic paper? I just ordered from paperandmore and did the champagne since I thought the white might be too blah. But now I like your color better. I think I'm going to steal that starfish stamp idea - such a cute touch.

I love it! What an original idea.

Wow - super impressive! The invites are great and your instructions are great! What a cool idea to use real fabric.

Last night I tied the size tags on all the flip flops. Now I just have to get a "basket" to put them in that will fold up to put in the suitcase. I think I'll head to IKEA this weekend.