Peach

Oh. My. Goodness. This is SO awesome. I am a teacher too, and think the idea is so perfect. Good for you for coming up with such a great concept! Make sure to post pics once you get it in.

is anyone using the same guestbook for the AHR? I think that is what we are doing. We have a lovely huge photobook of us we are going to get people to sign yearbook style, but I think we will use the same for both.

Lots of people do that. We got engaged while he was still in school, but didn't set the date until after he would be done... hence a 2 year engagement.

Oh, I LOVE the Grand Sirenis! That was the first trip FI and I took together (with his parents!)... we thought about going back there for our wedding, but opted for somewhere new. Please be sure to post pictures and cannot wait to see the rest of your planning!

And here are the children's activity books for our at-home reception. (No kids coming to our DW) There are quite a few pages... some general games (dots and squares, sudoku, tic tac toe) and beach themed word searches, find-a-picture, matching, follow-the-dots, and so on. Some wedding themed ones too - cartoon couple match-up, colouring pages, and so on. Fun for the little ones! I am a teacher, so something like this was a must... and not too hard either! The kids coming are going to be ranging in ages. There won't be very many, but I thought that was all the more reason to have something to occupy them while adults and talking or whatever. Each child will also get a mini pack of crayons. You could easily use something like this for the wedding itself too. I am thinking it would be great for plane rides!

Go for it! And thanks! Here are the bookmarks I made this weekend. They say "Dominican Republic 2013" on the front, and are stamped with our names and wedding date on the back. I "laminated" them with clear packing tape.

Thanks so much! I had a great DIY weekend last weekend... finished some invitations, DIY "laminated" bookmarks, kids' activity booklets, ceremony reserved seating signs, and distressed "Mr." and "Mrs." signs for the reception for FI and I. Very pleased with them!

Hahaha... so we were thinking, like, "We Go Together" from Grease (one of my alltime fave movies, and actually FI's suggestion...) but now he wants to use the Darth Vader entrance song somewhere... I do not want to nix the Grease song for that, but am having trouble with ideas.... any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

Alright ladies, a couple months ago I posted a couple pictures asking for advice (rather, confirmation) about which dress to buy... I got to pick it up Thursday! (Yes, the one everyone, and me, said was best!) I found a picture of it on the model. So now I am wondering about my hair. I have short hair I am planning on curling... My hair is very thin, but I like it curled. I was planning on a hair flower I have made... and I am wondering about a birdcage veil too, just for the ceremony and some pictures. Do you think just a flower, or a flower with a birdcage? A friend said she thought the birdcage might be more vintage-y, not flowy and beachy like the dress. Thoughts?

I would send them out anyway. That is what I am doing. Our save the dates went out in April or May, right after we finalized our date and resort. A couple of our invites have gone out, some more will at Christmas, and the rest in January (as we have seen people we have given them theirs; message in a bottle invites so we are trying to ship as few as possible). We pretty much know who is and is not going, and yes, some who said they would at first are not now that it is getting closer to deposit deadline time! But I love the invitations and would not dream of NOT doing them... and showing them off! Maybe treat it just as a reminder, or just the meal choice? Up to you, but I would send them out anyway.

Our photographer and videographer are coming to Samana from Punta Cana. I am not sure how long the trip is, but they will have to stay at the resort the night before the wedding and the night after. So they are there for getting ready, ceremony, group pictures, and we added on the reception too, plus TTD the next day! Yes, a lot... it was also our priority though. So I am happy with the decision.

They are going to be hard to find this time of year. Check online. Maybe Sears Outlet online, or another store like that that will keep its inventory posted. They may not have a lot of sizes, but you may be able to find something. Does Le Chateau keep their stuff available online? Good luck!

Nope and nope. Grrr. Thanks for the suggestions, ladies. I got ahold of one of the women, and she would do it, but was completely inflexible, and made up a price off the top of her head. No pricing or options lists or anything. No happy. However, that may be my only option. I still cannot get ahold of the other lady, though I have heard she has a pricing list and is more flexible... I just wish she were more reachable! I have been told I will have no help making, serving or cleaning up. Or bringing in from a nearby town. The closest one with options is about 35-40 minutes away. That is quite a few trips in my little car, and I have been unable to find reasonable pricing for delivery. So. very. frustrating.

Agreed with searching the forum; at least to get an idea of the style you want. Then if you want to contact people for templates, at least you will know more of what you are looking for.

No we certainly did not know. We booked over a year in advance... back last May. It was just announced this fall that the change would be taking place July 1. Well, I was pretty stressed, but after my BM announced she was pregnant I was unsure as to whether she would be wanting to come anyway, and I know she would have, but I think she might have even been secretly pleased to being given an "out" like this. So I was disappointed, but she and I handled it very civilly, and it is better for her to focus on her impending new status as mother anyway. She is still helping out with pre-wedding activities, like the stagette and shower, and the AHR afterwards. And she is also thinking that, come July, she may want a vacation and to leave her little one with Grandma and Grandpa. I doubt that will happen, but it is a possibility. So all in all, it is working out okay.

Sure they can. They announced it over a month ago though, so they did give us notice.

Most of us are arriving on the same plane (with the exception of FI's parents, who are going a week earlier). And we are having an overnight stop over during the trip there, so we might do something together then. Instead of a welcome dinner, I think we will all meet at the lobby bar for welcome drinks after getting settled that night. At least, we can invite people and if they want to show up, they can! Very laid back that way.

Wow, that would be so extremely stressful with the venue! What a great, "everything will work out" attitude! It will, and I am glad you are able to get "back on track", I, too, will likely not have a bridesmaid be able to come. Our venue is switching to adults-only 2 weeks before we get there. My MOH is 17 and my BM is an adult.... but will have a 6 month old. We have permission to have my sister there, but the baby will not be able to come. So it looks like neither will my BM. I cannot imagine the stress that you must be going through trying to find a new location. I am sure you will be able to (and congrats on great photographers!). The resort sounds really unreasonable for weddings. Hope you have better luck staying there! Good luck!

Yes I sure have. We are including some information pages, a meet the guests section, and the rest are activity pages I think.

Yeah, they were on a clearance sale. Just small ones, but we thought they would be good for travelling. We had a long engagement....2 full years.... and we just picked things up here and there along the way. It seemed to work out well so far!