islandbrideshop

Hey everyone! Â Would you Minnesota gals want to get together and chat about weddings? Past, present, and future destination brides? Appetizers and champagne?? Â Would October 16th (Saturday) evening work? PM me if you are in!

Hey fellow Minnesota gals!! Â One pice of advice about traveling with your dress - my recomendation as a bridal shop owner is to roll it in white bedsheets (loosely) and put it in its own carryon piece of luggage. You could also put your veil in with it, but thats about it. Airlines are wierd about letting you hang it and to be honest, it will travel better in luggage that it will hanging. I promise. One of my manufacturers recommends flipping the dress inside out, but I don't think this works all that well because you have a higher chance of the beads snagging on other beadwork. Once you get to wherever you are going, hang that baby up (in a friends room if fiance can't see it) and let it air out. The humidity will help with residual wrinkles. If you still have wrinkles after a few days, try and hang it in the bathroom while you run a steamy shower. That should do the trick - and then you don't have to worry about the on-site people havign to press it. Â I don't recommend keeping it in the plastic bag - it can cause mold and smells. Â Â BUT what I really wanted to post about was a get together! Would you ladies be interested in getting together and chatting about your wedding plans, ideas, girl talk, etc... I miss planning my wedding now that its over and I think it would be really fun! Past, present and future brides would be welcome! Â If enough people seem interested, I can arrange something at my store in Uptown. I have a travel agent friend who I could persuade to come out too if you girls want. We could do appetizers, champagne, and wedding chat!! I think it sounds so fun! And if you want, of course you can try on some dresses . No pressure though, I want it to be a fun night. Bring your friends and bridesmaids too. Â I will provide the food, champagne, location, and dresses - we can work on a date that works for everyone. Tentatively, we could say Saturday evening on October 16th? What do you think? RSVP with how many ppl you will bring and if we can get 10 people, then I will book it! Â Â www.islandbrideshop.com

Welcome fellow Minnesotan! Congrats on your engagement! Come see me if you want to chat! I'm in Uptown. Â Â Â www.islandbrideshop.com

We had orange chair sashes that were provided by the resort. They looked awesome against the blue ocean and sky. I also did orane bird of paradise flowers and pink Acapulco lilies, hubby did orange and pink tie, and the bridesmaids did a hot pink dress that was so cute. I got their dresses at Island Bride in Minnesota (www.islandbrideshop.com) but I know you can order dresses from them online or over the phone if you want to. They do a 20% discount if you have 5+ bridesmaids.

That is AWESOME! I'm so happy for people when they take a chance on a dress that they absolutely love - in my experience as a bridal shop owner, if a girl knows the dress she wants but isn't able to see it, tries on a bunch of other dresses and doesn't like them, and decides to go ahead and order hers sight unseen, it works out 100% of the time. I have literally never had a girl do this who didn't absolutely love the dress once it came in.

Great tips and I totally agree - being able to shop out of season is the best tip!  Another thing to consider is traveling out of season - for example, we got married in January. If you compare the prices to Mexico for December (Christmastime = $$$) and the end of February - April (Spring break = $$$) - January was much cheaper. Plus we still had a chance to escape the winter doldrums.  Also, when looking for a wedding dress, if you find something that has great lines and shape but is maybe too plain, add some embellishments! Grab some rhinestones, pearls, Swarovski crystals, lace, etc.. whatever you think is missing, and have it professionally added. It is inexpensive and can make for a one of a kind, perfect dress. It can be made even more special if you take elements from your mother's bridal dress and have them added to yours. Also, take a peek at the bridesmaid dresses! A lot of companies allow BM dresses to be ordered in ivory or white and they make fabulous, inexpensive bridal gowns! some great BM dresses that can be ordered in ivory, white, or two tone with fun color accents are: http://islandbrideshop.com/bridesmaid.html  Another tip is to look in odd sections - for example, look in the kid's section for hair accessories. You'd be suprised! Also look in the christmas section for white sparkly decorations, look in the floral section for seashells, in the sand-art section for cheaper vases... a lot of times a store will have the exact same things for vastly different prices in different sections. If its in the "bridal" section, you can bet it will be more expensive.

Oh also as far as safety concerns - its understandle but totally sensationalized by the media. THe issues are at the border and there has been some crime reported among the locals (NOT the tourist area) in Cancun. Think of it like this: there is crime in every country. But if you are 200 miles from it, then how different is it than where you live? Â As far as MX, you will be totally fine in the touristy areas on either coast.

I second the Riviera Maya area! Its truly beautiful - we got married at the Barcelo complex which is about an hour south of Cancun. Its great becuase they have 3 different sections - they are all VERY kid-friendly as well. The Palace is the newest and most modern and also the higher end portion, but there is also the Tropical/Colonial sectiona dn the Beach/Caribe section at lower price points. We had a great experience there. If you need any help whatsoever on the Riviera side of Mexico, PM me! I go there every year and have been to many of the resorts. I love love love it. Â COngrats! Â Here is a link to more info on the Barcelo complex: http://islandbrideshop.com/destination.html

I love orange and pink together - its so cheery! I did orange organza chair sashes, hot pink bridesmaids, and orange and pink flowers. The hubbys tie was also orange and pink. Â Flowers were bird or paradise and pink Acapulco lilies. I think the tie was from JC Penny's. Chair sashes were provided by the resort. BM dresses were from Island Bride in MN but you can order online. (www.islandbrideshop.com) Â

       Lots of cute stuff on http://www.islandbrideshop.com under the "accessories".

Congrats on the engagement! I got married at the Barcelo resort in Riviera Maya, Mexico and would love to help you if you'd like! We used the Claudie Rodriguez company for our photos and they turned out great. I have also heard great things about Elizabeth Medina photography.  I am also from Minnesota! Yea Minnesota girls! Hehe - it gets so cold its no wonder we want to do destination weddings!  Also I opened a store that specializes in destination wedding gowns, destination bridesmaid gowns, and destination gifts and things. I had a hard time finding a dress that was light enough but still bride-y enough when I was getting married and that inspired me to open a destination bridal store! Stop by - I'd love to chat!! Also we are having a sample sale right now and a lot of dresses are only $500!  Alex  www.islandbrideshop.com