Pucca

Same here!! 84 now! Time sure is flying indeed!! My dress has been in for a while now -- since May 1st -- but it's been at the bridal salon (good thing since I won't be tempted to take it out often and try it on). But I'll be going to pick it up next week to take it to my mom for alterations. Not looking forward to flying back and forth with the dress before the trip to the wedding, but oh well. Don't have all the music squared away except for ceremony music. As for dancing, we're planning to collect songs from our guests next month or so because I figured if they had some input they'd enjoy dancing to at least some of the songs! I'll probably add some extra so that we have more than enough fun songs to dance to. Now I'm just waiting to finish place cards, which won't be done until I have all the RSVPs. That and the guest book as well as figuring out hair accessories. I guess that's all that's left I can think of prior to actually being in Mexico.

Sorry ladies! I've not been able to check the forum lately - I'm working on my dissertation and I also was out of town for a wedding. It's been crazy. Yikes!! And now time is flying till wedding time! Okay, so Tracey, no you are not retarded! Try it on the ipod. I don't know how it works on the laptop since I don't own a Mac laptop, sadly. First of all, make sure you have all the music you want in your music library and order into playlists for things like dinner music, cocktail hour, etc. And then, open the app. When you open the app, it should show you a blank screen entitled "Music Plan". There's a little + sign on the bottom. Click on it and it should take you to a new screen that gives you all these options of ceremony music/reception music. You can choose your order and use their pre-set names (i.e. Groom's Procession, Group Procession) or you can make a custom one. So for example, you select "Pre-Ceremony" and it usually takes a playlist so it'll show you all the playlists on your iPod library. Select one, and then it's ready to go. So play around with it and add a few things to the Music Plan. After you've selected a few things, you can test out by selecting "Player" and it will take you to the player that plays all the music. Hope this makes sense and let me know if it helps. PM me if you need more help!

Thanks!! I think they will enjoy it too, so I've talked with my fiance. We're going with the Wedding DJ app and have requested a sound system. We might see if we can hire a local mariachi when we get down there just for an hour or so between ceremony and dinner. But overall, music is set!

Congratulations on deciding on a place! Don't worry. Time flies so it won't be so hard to wait! You'll have lots of things to occupy your time till next June! I started planning last November, and now I'm looking at almost 3 months left!

My two cents: I don't think you're over-reacting at all. I think it's tough to change your last name because it's something you've grown up with your entire life. It's like trying to wipe away that part of you that actually makes you who you are. Just like atalanta said, it's a part of your identity and history. Personally I don't think any other last name really goes with my first name other than my own. I've never considered changing my name before and I certainly don't want to do so now. I've had this conversation with my fiance. He doesn't care because in his culture women don't change their names just because they are married, and the children actually take on both last names (which I actually like!). In my culture women don't change their last names either. But since we live in the States and not in the countries of our cultures, this topic comes up a lot and people have asked me. So I've talked about it with my fiance and he's okay with me not changing my name. Besides, I feel like for centuries women in most cultures have been obliged to change their last names and men have been socialized into thinking that's the norm. But it should be a choice. There's no problem if the woman wants to change her last name - and there should be no problem if they don't want to. Why don't they ever ask the groom to take the bride's last name? It's indicative of socialization and power relations. But marriage should be a partnership which means the woman should have a choice in the matter. And if she chooses not to, for whatever reason, that should be acceptable.

Awesome!! You're welcome! Funny thing just happened though. Recently my fiance suggested we NOT use the wedding DJ app because we will have to use my iPhone. He says that he's worried someone might take off with my iPhone and also, he didn't want one of our guests having to be responsible for the music instead of having a good time. Sheesh.... This is after he watched me download the app, play with it, and then agreed it was pretty nifty! Argh. Now I have to sweet-talk him into using it again.....and will probably assign my nephews to take turns manning the iPhone....

I think I'm in the same boat as everyone. I've done as much as I can but now it's just waiting on the RSVPs to come in. I made my RSVP deadline September 1 but I'm hoping to get an idea earlier than that. I figured 2 months would be enough time for the few things I'll have left to do. @Joanne: Sorry you've been having a crappy few weeks.... When I ordered my dress I ordered it a smaller size and got sick thinking I may not fit it in it when the dress comes in, so I know how you feel. But really, it's not helpful stressing because if you're like me, I eat more junk food when I'm stressed and that actually made me sicker. My fiance had to remind me not to worry. Alterations are supposed to be good at doing all sorts of alterations, especially taking things in (which my mom tells me is easier than letting it out). Funny enough the lady at my bridal salon would have preferred that I get the larger size because taking it in wouldn't be much of a problem as opposed to letting it out, but they reluctantly let me get the smaller size because there was room in the dress to let out in case it was necessary. Thankfully it fit when it came in! I got my dress in May but it's hanging in the storeroom at the bridal salon. I'm supposed to go back in September for alterations. And I realized all the worrying wasn't necessary, so I would say don't worry. Also, if you loved your dress when you ordered it, you'll love it when it comes in. If you need a reminder, go back in to the bridal salon and try it on again. I did that because I panicked for a moment thinking I had bought the wrong dress as I saw another one I would have absolutely worn as well. I took a friend with me who saw both and she said she loved the one I ordered, no question. There's nothing wrong with a little reminder and affirmation. Have a great weekend.

Congratulations! I love the color!

Congratulations! There's so much information on this forum about places to get married in Cabo if you take a look at the threads for destination weddings in Cabo. There are a lot of brides who have given reviews of their wedding locations/resorts and have put up pictures; others are doing non-resort weddings. I think combing through the posts related to weddings in Cabo would be helpful to get you started as well as formulating an idea of what it is you want for your wedding. Good luck and happy planning!

Here's the link to What's Your First Dance Song? Hope that helps. http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/thread/11875/what-s-your-first-dance-song

My dress budget was $1000 max, although I was hoping to spend much less. I tried to find some dresses for under $800 to leave room for alterations, but the one I fell in love with came out to be $985. And thankfully alterations will be free so I guess I did good on my budget.

In my culture, money is always the gift so I'm guessing that's what half my guests who are my relatives will give. The rest of my guests have asked me if I'm registered anywhere and I have said no. They've been a bit shocked so I explained on our wedding blog why we're not registered anywhere. I know that some of my friends really want to get us a gift despite the fact that they're coming even if I've insisted that they don't; so on the blog I also stated that if they really want to give us a gift we'd happily take gift cards to our favorite stores as well as any contributions to the fun part of our weddingmoon. I admit that it was a bit awkward for me to put that but considering all my guests are good friends, and after running it by one of my close friends, I decided that they're not the type to get offended or consider it tacky. This saves me the trouble of getting gifts I don't really need or want, and it saves them the trouble of figuring out what to get.

Beautiful! The personal vows made me tear up. Congratulations!!

I love trying different wines!! I tend to gravitate towards carmeneres from Chile for reds. I also prefer sweeter dessert wines & rose wines. Living on Long Island, I'm about 40 mins away from a variety of vineyards and one of my favorites from LI wineries is the Winter White from Pindar Vineyards - a white blend & very good!! I also like the moscatos & the moscato di Asti as well as Riesling. For our wedding we might use Riesling for the toast or Moscato di Asti since I get allergic reactions to a lot of champagnes, which is quite strange.

That's very cute!! What a great e-STD!! Wow, that is an early heads up, but hey, they can't say you didn't let them know! Thanks for sharing!! STDcopy.ppt

I'd totally do that if I were having bridesmaids! Love it!

I like the style of the 2nd one better but I like both colors. Are those the colors you are considering? Or just the style but in different colors?

I like the first one better.

Beautiful dress! Congrats!

Ouch. Courtney, I feel your pain and I totally understand your frustration.. I know you had the best of intentions but the reaction you got was quite unexpected. However, I think this is quite typical when it comes to a blending of cultures, particularly those that are quite different like Asian versus Western. Still I know it's hard to keep all of these traditions in mind, especially when both you and your fiance are unaware of them. But I don't think this experience should have you shy away from incorporating some of his culture in the wedding, if that's what you want. Maybe you just need to sit down and have a discussion about what sorts of things are appropriate or not in the Chinese culture, either with your fiance or your FMIL pertaining to those things you want to incorporate like JoanneIreland said. As much as this wedding is your wedding, if you really want to incorporate things from your fiance's family's culture, I think it is appropriate to respect that culture since it is not really yours, rather than trying to change it to fit the Western wedding at the risk of more fits from your FMIL. If you don't, then of course she is just as responsible to accept and respect your culture and your opinions. I guess what I'm saying is that if you want to use this opportunity to establish boundaries and such for the future, I think mutual respect is an essential ingredient. I think for Chinese cultural issues, there is a responsibility to defer to the person who has been raised in it more and vice versa for Western wedding traditions. I understand to you that it's trivial and a waste of money but to your FMIL this "superstition" is part of her way of life. As much as you had good intentions I'm sure hers are too. You say your FMIL is a nice lady; I think she's just genuinely wanting every single blessing for the two of you, from her culture to yours. As far as your dress, programs, and other such stuff, if it doesn't involve Chinese culture then I'd say by all means keep it to yourself. But I think it would be a learning experience for her to see things and understand the differences in culture. And don't be afraid of criticism. I think as cultures blend, things can clash, so it's better to talk it all out; and that way they can also try to understand and see where you are coming from. And honestly, I don't think that Asian mothers have another way of bringing up differences in opinions and such except initially through criticism--personal experience here. I think they forget that we're not living in the same world they are. So just try not to take it personally. I know that we all think of the wedding being our day; of course it is, and we can't please everyone. But from an Asian perspective, a wedding is the coming together of two families (and communities); it has always been a communal event and I think the older generations still hang on to that. So maybe that'll help you in understanding at least where she's coming from, even if it does tick you off. The internet is wonderful for many things so if no one is willing to give you the skinny on Chinese traditions, here's a link to a few notes on some of those Chinese traditional beliefs: http://www.chinatownconnection.com/chinese-superstitions.htm And here's another interesting link: http://factsanddetails.com/china.php?itemid=99&catid=3&subcatid=14 Hang in there. I definitely understand your position and I'm sure everything will work out fine. Who knows; maybe after your fiance told her that you were upset about it, she'll make a decision to defer to you and let everything go. Good luck!!

Hi mastar. You can do a general search for average weather in Cabo online and it'll give you the average temps for all the months of the year. Generally June/July through October are pretty hot (think 90s). November is in the 80s and then the rest of the months are quite pleasant I think. I don't think that Cabo has any hurricane-type weather because there's not a lot of rainfall throughout the year. Here's a link to Cabo weather: http://www.caboweather.com/ Good luck and happy planning!

Maybe you can take a picture of the screen showing your e-STD and then post that?

Lovely!

I can't believe how time is flying either! I was hoping to get my invites out last month but didn't manage it. I'm planning to send out my invitations by next week at the latest so that I can get responses back for the reception caterer; I sent out STDs in December/January.

At-Home Reception Here's a link to all the abbreviations/acronyms people use on here: http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/thread/2690/abbreviations-acronyms