mishi071411

I got married in July and wasn't sure about make-up. I decided to go ahead and get both hair and makeup done at their salon. I am SOOOOO glad I did this and wish my wedding party would've also. The favorite thing about my pictures is that I didn't look the same as I look every other day and they made my makeup look so glamerous! I really thought they took my hair and makeup and made me look like a bride. It was a great decision.

I just wanted to quickly leave a note. Paul and I just got back 3 days ago from the Grand Palladium Royal Suites Turquesa. This was such a fabulous trip, wedding, honeymoon and everything. The resort is top notch, if you are staying in the Royal, you are treated as so. Hair and makeup for the ceremony was beautiful, however I wouldn't recommend the spa for massages, if so, not the couples massage. The food was for the most part very good as long as you keep in mind that it isn't going to taste like food from home. Many of my guests are still having stomach issues though and that wasn't expected. Carolina did an excellent job, and the ceremony was beautiful. We had Caribbean Emotions as photographer and love their work. I will post some pics also. I haven't written a full review yet, but wanted to just throw some info out there.

I ordered the henkaa dresses for my two bridesmaids. Both of my sisters are very different in shapes, but I find that the dresses look great on them.

I think FI and GM will be in light khakis... then FI will wear a white shirt and GM will wear hot pink shirts (wedding color). I wish I could see it all put together before I decide.

I've ordered mine from www.bloombridal.com They were wonderful to work with! I'm getting stargazer lillies, orchids, and calla lillies. I've ordered a bridal bouquet, 2 bridesmaid bouquets, 4 boutineer, 2 corsages, and 3 hair pins for less than $300.00. I think that's an excellend deal and cannot wait until they get here!

We had the same issue. My TA gave us a price in July for a year out promising that it will go down. Well it never went down, and instead it went up. My guests were not happy, plus many aren't going to be joining us due to her misinformation. My TA is horrible and if I would've known, I would NEVER have gone through her. I'm encouraging potential guests to not use her.

I'm hoping that when I get home from my extended weekend today, my pashminas and sunglasses will be waiting at my doorstep! I've ordered free business cards from vistaprint that just say "thank you for joining us" I've backed them and laminated them. I'll post pictures later. I'm so excited!

I'm waiting on an email from pioneer group, then I'm ordering. 2 dz pashminas and 1 dz sunglasses (for the guys). I'm so excited to get this done and over with. When they email you, and you ask for a price list, they send one that is so hard to figure out! The pashmina one was okay/understandable... the sunglass one... impossible.

My fiance and I went ring shopping together. We shopped for about 3-4 months before we found the one. It wasn't really a matter of "oh that is nice, and this is nice". When I saw what ended up being my ring, we were just about to leave. The jeweler says, "have you taken a look at separate pieces?" So she puts a .75 caret setting with 11 small princess diamonds in a channel setting on either side of the center, takes a .75 marquise, places it in the middle and..... I start bawling! It was so beautiful I cried like a baby. My fiance knew we were done looking. I was looking for all 4 c's, who isn't? But I didn't want to make him broke over this, so I compromised with color, and don't regret it. Unless I show someone the card, or a jeweler has my ring to inspect, no one can tell. I get the most amazing compliments on my ring and I am so in love with it!!!!

Wow! They look great! I'd love all of your details. I'll be starting my boarding passes soon for the AHR!

SeeFlowers, That is one of the most frusterating parts of the destination wedding. When people can't make it, who you really want there. We are in a similar boat, and it makes me feel insignificant to the family! Keep smiling, it is all about you and your FI... no one else! One of my students was doing a count down today to my wedding and he says "Are you having a great big party, or just a couple people?" so I tell him a small number and he replies with "you should just have it be you and your fiance"... HAHAHA... out of the mouth of a 12 year old... he's right sometimes!

I think I may check out www.bloombridal.com they seem to have all of the colors and flowers that I'm looking for. It says to order custom orders 3 months in advance.... will they send out individual flowers quicker and then I can make the bouquets myself??

Wow, this is exactly what I want to do! How did you know how many flowers to order per bouquet? How much did the flowers cost you through www.afloral.com? Are they ALL real touch, or a mixture?

oh my goodness! those dresses are so great. I went round and round trying to find them for less money and finally I knew that if I wanted them a certain way, I'd just have to pay for the quality. I can't wait until they come in! I think when the wedding comes, I'll be so proud of the abilities and creativity I've come up with by doing this alone. So what if I'm not going to be the bride who has wine and wedding craft parties... I guess that isn't how it is for everyone!

You know, I think if I had friends in my bridal party, instead of sisters... this wouldn't be like this. I think when sisters are used to treating each other a certain way for 27 years, it is just the way it is. Thanks for listening to my rant... I feel better today about it!

I've read a lot about other brides who are having problems with their guests and wedding party, whether it is due to finances, or control. I've having issues with all of the above, but my FI and I have decided that we aren't going to let our non-guests' excuses bother us, because there is nothing we can do about their decision to not join us... HOWEVER, when it is family... it's hard not to be hurt or dissapointed. I want to add some venting, mostly about my big sister, my MOH. It is long... but I'm just trying to get it all out. Here we go... When I first started planning, it seemed like she was on board with helping me. She helped me with the idea for my save-the-dates, and helped me with my engagement party. But then things changed... When I was stuffing envelopes and stamping for the 120 save-the-dates she sat in the other room. I asked her 2 times to give me a hand, and she flat out said no. After dinner she did help, but bc our mom told her to. Then, when I first took my sisters dress shopping, they spent most of the time trying to talk me OUT of my wedding color, because they "aren't pink people". I was shocked, they even had our mom in on it. After I stated I wouldn't budge on that, everytime I tried to incorporate them in on their dress shopping my MOH would say "I don't care, I'll never wear it again anyway" in a not-so-nice tone. To relieve some stresses for my 2 sisters (MOH and BM) I offered to take care of their dresses for them. When I told my MOH this, she responded with "I can't afford to buy a dress, I'm spending a ton of money on this wedding for YOU." As if I owe her this, and it isn't a generous gesture, but instead one of my bridal responsibilities. Finally, I just ordered their dresses the other day. They totalled just over $400 with shipping. I purchased the most beautiful convertible dresses from www.henkaa.com in honeysuckle pink, with the matching tube top. I didn't bother calling my sisters to tell them, but I posted it as my Facebook status... which I know they saw, along with my mom. Nobody has said anything yet. As for the many many hours spent creating my passport invites, I never asked her for help. I didn't want to be disappointed in her reponse. And I think I've learned my lesson, I'm not asking her for any additional planning assistance. My FI told me he will help me make this wedding happen, he's my wonderful FI/MOH rolled into one hunky man! Thank you for listening to my bitching, I just wish my sister had a clue about what her MOH responsibilities were... like to not make this MORE difficult for the bride. Does anyone have similar rants? Advise?

I never thought about having my wedding party pay for their own attire because it's my wedding, and they are there for me. Also, with asking people to travel all the way to DR for me, it is the least I can do. On the other hand, I think my sisters (my MOH and BM) see this as one of my bridal responsibilities instead of a generous gesture. I'm afraid to give them their dresses when they come in, because I'm afraid of their ungrateful and hurtful responses. Sisters can be some of the most important and most aggravating people in one's life. This post has talked me into writing a full MOH vent in another thread... it feels good to get it off my chest. thanks for listening.

I oredered my raffia fans from http://www.koyalwholesale.com/ I bought 2 dozen and it came out to $30.00 (that includes shipping). I'm very happy with them. People say they come in different sizes.... but they look great to me. My girls and I have decided on the style dress... color swatch is on it's way ... hopefully the bridesmaid dresses will be ordered within the week! yahoo. As for AHR- my boss offered me his land to use... I'll check on that this week as well. It is all falling into place.

Have any of you brides ordered pashminas? I emailed pioneergroup and received an almost immediate response (yae). However, he sent me the price list, and it doesn't make any sense to me! hmmm... On another note, my wedding planning bug is back! I'm excited to say I'm bridesmaid dress shopping again tomorrow, hopefully locking in a AHR location within 2 weeks, and should have my raffia fans on my doorstep tomorrow! Also, spent hours yesterday designing AHR invites... and I'm soooo excited! oh... and someone had asked me earlier... I'll have 2 girls standing up and my FI will have 2 guys.

I would strongly recommend going to a print shop. My mom has a great photo printer. We began using it for our 120 invites... we went through 6 ink cartridges! My fiance went to a print shop for the covers (passport)... and they looked so nice and it was only $6.00 - If I could do it again, I would do the entire thing through a print shop.

I just now found this thread, so I must introduce myself. My name is Michelle and my FI is Paul. We live just 1/2 hour south of Milwaukee, WI in a small town and are both teachers. Our wedding is in Punta Cana, DR on July 14, 2011. I started out as a pretty strong planner, and as the cabin fever days of winter are dragging by I've lost the motivation to get stuff done. My next step is BM dresses.... which I know will be a HUGE headache.