maridr2012

Gorgeous dress Pacificgirl! I absolutely love the sweetheart strapless necklines with a bit of bling. I cant wait to post a pic of my dress. 4 months to go and I'll be able to post it ; )

I just ordered these shoes from Piperlime - Badgley Mischka Zabrina in white. They're supposed to deliver in a few days, I can't wait to see them and try them on in person! But I think I'm most excited about the price, Piperlime has them for $139 but everyone else has them for $235. SCORE!

This is a beautiful dress and looks like it fits you perfectly! White - especially those stark whites, is a very hard color for anyone to pull off. And you're right, ivory colors often look yellowish - but that's usually because you're looking at it in the bridal store and the lighting is kinda funny. Ivory will usually just look off-white when you're in natural light and it photographs beautifully on just about everyone. My dress is a "diamond white", which is basically an off-white. I also felt the same way you do about the stark white versus ivory so that was the middle ground and I went with it.

I wont start asking them until a few days after my RSVP..but I can't really sit around and wait either. See, the thing is, that a good portion of these people all said they would absolutely 100% go...which I know is very common and then folks flake out for one reason or another. But..we have 125 guests invited. Our reception space only holds up to 70 people, anything more than that, then we have no choice but to move it to another space - the ballroom which I didnt like at all when I had my site visit. Of the 125 people, we think about 55-65 will more than likely go and they just haven't gotten around to sending us the RSVP and booking their stuff. But...if another 5-10 people decide last minute to go, we're SCREWED. That completely changes everything. Not to mention, we have a group contract for the resort rooms, our payments to the resort start in August, etc. If it were just as easy as saying, Oh well, if you can go great if you cant let us know than that's fine too whatever....then I wouldn't be sweating all of this. But, given all these little constraints (and all the other crap, like buying enough OOT bags & item to fill them with, favors, etc. which I dont want to waste extra $ on and then have to bother with trying to sell extras)...as you can imagine its VERY FRUSTRATING. Honestly, I wish I could just call these people up and scream, "STOP BEING SUCH A F*ckin Flaker and just tell us yes or no!!!". On another note, that really blows about your husban'ds family not even acknowledging or congratulating you guys on the wedding & marriage. That's extremely rude. And I would do the same thing when their special events and holidays roll around..give them the same treatment. I know people always want to say, "Oh don't stoop to their level and take the high road"...but you know what? Things like that are extremely hurtful, and I don't think people get it until they are treated the same way they treat others.

Well ladies. My RSVP date is next week...and out of almost 70 invitations that I sent out, I've only received 21 back. I think this is what is causing me the most anxiety of all, not knowing how many people are actually going! We have so many people ignoring us, including my own siblings! I sent a sorta nastygram text to one of my brothers today - he doesn't seem to want to talk to me at all (long drama over something that is TOTALLY all his doing), but I decided I don't really care since I figured he wouldn't be going but I need to know for sure 1 way or another. I also sent a text to my other brother, who has been hemming & hawing over coming. I think I'm more pissed about him because he's supposed to be one of the groomsmen. But, I really feel bad for my FI because one of his best friends, who is ALSO supposed to be a groomsman, has been ignoring us completely - even when my FI calls, texts, leaves messages etc about when will he be able to go for fittings for suits/attire for the wedding. My FI is so disappointed, and I know he just wants his friend to tell him either yes I'm going or no, I can't. Just tell us 1 way or another! I finally just told him yesterday to send him 1 last text or leave a voicemail explaining if we don't hear back from him by end of next week than we have no choice but to assume he's NOT going, and will exclude him out of all our planning activities. All of this ignoring us and us not being sure if people are going is causing me serious anxiety..I haven't been able to sleep well, I have stomach pains, I'm even having bad dreams. I truly HATE this part of the wedding planning process. I sent an email out to all our guests that haven't yet booked a room, letting them know the prices have been reduced and they should take advantage of the lower prices while they're still available and also a reminder that we need RSVPs back by next Friday. We'll see how that goes. I'm almost 100% sure I'll still need to harass people for an answer. But my strategy is to give them only a few more days and if they're still ignoring us than I'll let them know we interpret their lack of response to meaning they are unable to go, and that's that.

Wow...you're alot better than I am. My brother and his wife can't save $ and although I'd really like for them to go, we are definitely not paying for them. LOL...but that's a whole different forum, right? You know, we've bought each other such nice gifts over the years that I don't think an expensive gift is really necessary. Although, I'm kinda digging the whole boudoir photo album thing. It's kinda one of those "this is for you..but really for me" type of gifts. I want to look back 10-20 yrs from now and have a visual of how hot I was (and hopefully will still be even at an older age, ha!). But...yeah I have to ramp up my fitness routine. I started doing double work-outs this week. Verrrrryyyy sore. Going to the gym twice in the day -including a class, is hard work. But, its all worth it.

That does sound weird. I wanted to book him as well but he is unavailable for my date so I never got around to asking him what his fee is. However, I have seen several posts on here stating his fee is $350. When I asked Paradisus how much it would be to have a Pastor do the "symbolic religious" ceremony, they told me $450. They're now trying to find me another Pastor to do the service since he can't do it.

I've seen this trend too! My FI's sis was married last year and at the rehearsal dinner she gifted her husband with a beautiful watch and he gifted her a beautiful diamond tennis bracelet. Both of those gifts were very expensive and I immediately thought to myself, "Oh crap...am I supposed to do the same thing?", lol. But...they were getting a bit of financial help for the wedding from her parents, and they had been saving for the wedding since they got engaged about 4 years prior. I asked 2 of my best friends what they did and one said she thought it was just custom that the groom sends the bride a bouquet of roses, thats what her guy did. The other girl said they didn't exchange gifts, just sent each other very sweet cards. I don't plan on buying my guy a groom's gift, and I don't think he plans on buying me a gift either. We are already paying for everything ourselves. Even with a DW, the costs add up quickly and we're already a bit over budget even with me watching every penny and us both being very frugal with $ we spend. So..our gift to each other will be paying for our wedding, lol.

No I didn't, I was only there for 5 days so I had to narrow down my choices to visit before I got there. I visited Melia Caribe/Tropical, Paradisus Punta Cana,Now Larimar, Ocean Blue & Sands.

I've gotten a few people who've ignored us. But I think the real ignoring will start when the RSVP date comes up and I have to start calling them for a response. I've got a whole strategy laid out though. I've waiting a day or two after the RSVP date, and if I get a voicemail I'll leave a message along with sending an email, just letting them know we'd really love if they can join us, but we need to hear back no later than x date (1 wk later) if they will be going and need to be booked. Otherwise we will have no choice but to assume they are sadly unable to go, and we will be extending invitations to other friends who we really wanted to invite as well. ....The truth is, that's exactly what is going to happen as we have another list of people we wanted to invite - a "B" list but had to invite family members and very close friends first. Hopefully that won't ruffle any feathers or offend anyone.

I went to Punta Cana in December to check out several options for resorts - here are my takes on each one I visited: The Hard Rock Hotel is gorgeous, and the nightlife there is so much fun - we went there 1 night and I did alot of research on this property. I didn't book my wedding there because although we would've been able to afford it, several of our guests definitely wouldn't be able to, and that was something we had to keep in mind. Melia Caribe/Tropical - We stayed here during our 1st night in Punta Cana. Huge beautiful property, beautiful rooms, nice pools & beach, great customer service, wasnt crazy about the food, nightlife was ok. They share the property with Paradisus Palma Real. Melia owns these resorts. Paradisus Palma Real: same as above - gorgeous huge property, same as above for everything else. I wasnt there in the evening, only in daytime so I cant speak of nightlife. However, what I do know is they're very pricey, and the feel of the atomosphere was a bit more formal. I was looking for something with a more casual vibe. Paradisus Punta Cana resort. This is where our wedding will be in November. We stayed here for 3 nights. It's an AI, and the guest rates I secured were $219 (incl. tax & transfers) based on double occupancy in a Deluxe Jr Ste. I am having about 65 guests, and although I've tried to be budget savvy and cut corners wherever possible but still make the event very classy, elegant, and beautiful, I am looking at about $13,000. This includes most of the decoration, a beach gazebo ceremony with cocktail hour and top shelf liquor and passed hors doeuvres, floral centerpieces, minister fee, my hair & makeup @ spa, DJ for 4 hour reception in a private space in the resort, customized cake, and several other things (that added up quickly if I had done a-la-carte). Also, I was able to negotiate amenities, so I'm having a 90 min private "welcome party" cocktail party for my guests a few nites before the wedding, and I'm getting 3 comp'd rooms for 3 nights. Here is a link to all the albums they have on weddings - all the decor, ceremony, cocktail hour, reception area options, decorations, etc. It doesnt have prices, you would only be able to get that directly thru their "Romance Office" which books the weddings, but at least you can get an idea of what everything looks like: http://picasaweb.google.com/romancebyparadisuspuntacana Also, you should know PPC is a huge resort and its gorgeous. LOTS of restaurants, beautiful beach, good food and strong drinks, nice rooms. Customer service actually could use some improvement here - nobody was rude or anything but we had to keep asking and reminding them about certain things during our stay. I was especially annoyed because we were there on an official wedding site visit, and nobody at the front desk seemed to have a clue of what I was there for! It all got cleared up though when I demanded to speak to the general manager on our 2nd evening there and did not budge from the lobby waiting for him in the lobby for an hour. I was fuming. Ocean Blue Sands: I really wasn't a fan of this property at all. The customer service was good, and the rooms are clean and well-maintained. However, it was too small for my taste. There weren't many restaurant options, I think only like 4. The sites for ceremony did not impress me one bit - there were not private at all, not even semi-private. One was just outside the main lobby where EVERYONE walks by, another was at a garden located along one of the main walkways and was too small, another location was on the beach (I'm just not a fan of getting married right on the beach, that's just me), then there was the pool location. After I saw the pool location I pretty much mentally checked out. There were 2 big pools, all surrounded my plain cement floor. The space where they setup the ceremony at pool was sorta in the middle space between both pools, they would set up some sort of stand with shading, etc. I'm sure it looks pretty in photos,but I couldnt imagine there is any sort of privacy or sense of intimacy there. This was all surrounded by the buildings where guests stay at. So, basically you could have guests seeing your wedding while sitting on the balcony of their room while lounging in their bikinis. LOL. They did say they close the pool off so nobody would be using it but...I just shook my head. NOW Larimar: I actually stayed here on my last night in Punta Cana. I liked this resort for maybe a quick weekend getaway, but not for a wedding. The food was decent, the spaces for ceremony and reception were nice too. The customer service here was wonderful! They didnt roll out the red carpet and give us a private butler like Melia did, but I didn't mind at all, I didnt need it. I was so impressed with how they treated us even before we told them we were there to consider it for our wedding. The drawback was we were already so in love with Paradisus Punta Cana that it couldnt be matched at that point, and NOW Larimar was definitely for someone with a smaller budget. Which is totally FINE, we just wanted to make a great impression on our guests. The other drawback here was the beach... They literally had guards at the beach to shoo away the vendors because they really do harass you. I'm not sure if this is something that happens on this side of Punta Cana or what because I didnt see any of that in the other resorts we visited, but I wasnt crazy about seeing that. Hope this helps, good luck!

We just bought our flights, roundtrip non-stop it was a total of $1080 ($540 each). Our AI resort stay is going to end up costing us $600 for 5 nights (it's this cheap because of amenities that were worked into our group rate contract..I had to negotiate that part in). So, our total cost of flights plus resort stay will be $1,680 for 5 nights. A couple of nights after the wedding, he and I are checking out and going to another resort for our honeymoon which are separate costs.

I know I probably will sound really mean for saying this, but...I think nothing irks me more than girls that call their boyfriends "hubby", when they're not married at all. I've seen a grown trend in this, especially on social networking sites where they'll refer to him as their "hubby"...like not even HUSBAND, but "hubby". Everytime I see it I want to reply back to their post and call them out on it and be like, "You aren't married, you're not even engaged, and you don't live together so he's not even your common law husband, he's your BOYFRIEND". lol..Of course I've never done it or ever would actually say that to them. And I probably sound like I'm being a snob now because I'm engaged and will actually have a husband soon, but I've always hated that, long before I was engaged. Does anybody else feel that way? Oh wait it gets worse. I actually don't even like the term hubby, even if you are married. I mean, to each his own. I totally get that its a cute term of endearment and is used when you're actually married. But I don't think I could ever refer to my husband as "hubby". haha I feel silly even saying it. I've also noticed some of my friends, close friends mind you, will refer to their husband in conversation with me as "husband". Like, as if I don't know who their husband is, I've only been calling him by his name for 10 years! And you've always referred to him by his name, now you're always referring to him as "husband"? Example, "Well, my husband (pronounced with an emphasis) and I went out to dinner last night, blah blah blah". Everytime it happens I laugh and call them out on it. What the heck is this? Do chicks feel like they need to remind everyone they're married now? Yes....I know, he's your husband. I was at your wedding. I didn't suddenly forget what your relationship status is. haha it cracks me up each time! I totally get referring to him as your husband if its someone who you dont know, or are introducing him to someone, etc. But really? C'mon! Stop the madness. lol!

Hmmm I guess I'm going the very traditional route. I'll have a bouquet and my FI will have a boutonniere -our package includes this. My 4 bridesmaids will each have a smaller bouquet of roses - I chose the least expensive bouquet option but they still look great and compliment my bouquet. His 7 groomsmen (yes...7..I'm still not thrilled about that lol, but it's his guys and he wanted them), both our dads, and the ringbearer will all be wearing boutonnieres. And, both our moms will be wearing corsages. We're not having anyone do readings or anything like that, so that will be it as far as flowers go. If we were having a traditional wedding at home, it'd probably be alot different - more bridesmaids, flowergirl, relative doing readings, etc. and the costs would very quickly add up!

We are also having a very hush legal ceremony before we leave for our DW in DR. All the requirements to do it over there were just too confusing, costly, etc. I think we'll get married where my parents live in CT a week or 2 before our trip. Go down to City Hall, wearing jeans nothing fancy at all just the 2 of us, no rings etc. just the paperwork and to make it official. If we get married in NY where he's from I think his family will want to make a mini-production because several aren't able to make it to the DW. we aren't even telling our parents about our legal ceremony here. Then when we have our ceremony in DR it'll be officiated by a minister, it'll be "symbolic" but who can tell the difference? ; )

My opinion is even if she didn't have an onset of Alzheimer's you STILL shouldn't ask her opinion. I wouldn't even ask ur fiancées opinion, it's his mom! Imagine how hurtful that would for either of them to hear ur considering not putting her name on it because she may or not be gone by the time the wedding comes around. I say screw the whole etiquette thing. If u know prior to her becoming ill and while she still had a sane mind she loved you and welcomed you into her family, then she absolutely deserves for her name to be on that invitation. If she is gone when ur big day comes around, you'll know she is with you both in spirit and is celebrating along with everyone else. And, you can incorporate her memory into ur ceremony or reception. Good luck!

I haven't been there in June. My visit was in December but the beach is beautiful. There isn't anyone harassing you to sell u stuff. The sand is very fine and powdery. Most of the fun was happening at the beach instead of the pool. The water was beautiful, a bit of seaweed but nothing you couldn't look past-I mean, it's a beach and it's the ocean, right? There is a restaurant just steps away as well as bars. Also, if ur in a room that's far from the beach u can take the trolley right at the restaurant I mentioned. It's a great resort with a great beach!

Sooooo glad I read this forum! I'm Dominican, my DW is in DR, and I've been looking for some typical Dominicam music to play at the reception that won't scare off the gringos (including my FI) who mostly make up our guest list. Prince Royce's version of Stand By Me is in bachata a very popular style of dance that originated in DR, and the bonus is the song is very recognizable to Americans. I just might've found the perfect father daughter dance! (I think it'd be VERY awkward to dance a regular slow song with my dad who doesn't even speak English lol). Woo-Hoo!!

I have to say I kinda agree with the other comments about risking having to regret that bridesmaids who you weren't close with just for the sake of having bridesmaids. I personally only have 4 maids: my 2 best friends and his 2 sisters. He has 8 groomsmen and some are flaking out, I have to bite my tongue to not say "I told u so". lol. How about having your mom be your maid of honor as well as the person who walks you down the aisle? I've see so many grooms have their dads as best an so the same could apply to the bride,right? Besides, your mom I'm sure is pretty much acting as MOH, except for bachelorette party

TKuzma: I also was dead set on Canon D. But, I have a bit more modern beachy songs throughout the ceremony and Canon D seemed a bit too old and stuffy for my ceremony in comparison to the other songs. I kept seeing comments on Vitamin String Quartet's version of Yellow (original by Coldplay) and decided to finally listen to it, and instantly loved it. It's now my definite song to walk down the aisle to. It's an instrumental, but you can easily recognize the song. And it has the perfect buildup. It has the same type of feeling as Canon D. I'm starting my walk down the aisle at about 30 seconds in (letting the 1st 30 seconds play to buildup to my entrance). Check it out. Good luck!

We are getting married at the Paradisus Punta Cana, an all inclusive gorgeous resort. Our guests are paying $219 per night based on double occupancy in a standard Deluxe Jr Suite. Most guests are going 3-4 nights. I haven't heard too many complaints regarding the rates for the resort, it's the flights that are pricey since I'm getting married on a Friday and that means they will need to fly out mid-week which is more expensive than weekend flights as there are fewer options.

I didn't really want kids at the wedding, he loves the idea of kids at a wedding lol. I have 10 nieces and nephews, plus most of my friends have little tots themselves now. He only has 1 nephew and several younger cousins between ages 8-17. So we compromised on choosing a family friendly resort so only our immediate relatives could bring their kids. At the end of the day it's worked out well so far. None of my nieces & nephews are going. Only his nephew will be going as he is the ring bearer, and the younger cousins won't be going as their parents want an adult only vacation. We did have a guest tell us she wants to go but will only go if she can bring her 4 kids along. My response was of course she could bring them but our ceremony, cocktail hour and reception are adults only save for the ring bearer. She & her hubby can hire a babysitter thru the resort or bring along a nanny. She said she'd think it ver, I thought I was fair in my response to her.

My future in laws have very generously offered to pay for us to stay at one of their timeshares at a luxury resort about 2 hrs away from our wedding resort. This worked out perfectly as we really wanted some alone time after the big day and wanted to see that part of the island. We arrive to the wedding resort on Tuesday, the wedding is on Friday, and we leave to our honeymoon resort on Sunday. Many of our guests are staying at the wedding resort for afew days after us so at least we'll be able to spend time with them all.

Lol it sure does feel good to vent. I thought by having a DW it would be less stressful. Well that's abig fat LIE. Any DW bride that has had a smooth process when it comes to making the booking process simple for guests and never had to deal with all the dumb ass questions & comments from guests are the minority. We told everyone we'd be having a DW as soon as we got engaged well over a year ago and told everyone if you want to go start saving now then we sent out save the dates in Feb for our Nov wedding, our website has ALL the info on it including travel agent info. I still got emails & calls from guests seemingly confused, but saying they want to book ASAP. Only 10 people booked. Then...I sent out formal invitations a month ago and included a separate insert on booking info with my website address and booking info. I STILL got a bunch of calls, emails, texts asking me questions. And by the way, our RSVP date is in 3 weeks, nobody has booked yet (other than the original 10). So..although I'm extremely frustrated, now when people ask me dumb ass questions I tell them they need to call the travel agent, I don't handle the particulars of travel and don't have prices for their particular needs-date, time, #of people traveling etc. that's what the dedicated travel agent is for. And then I change the topic. Lol!

My dress has a similar shape to yours with asymmetrical ruffles and a sweep length train but is a mermaid fit. I thought I didn't want a veil but tried it one with a fingertip length and loved it. I thought that's the longest length I could do since I'm not getting married in a church and I'm not that young either (I'm 33). But more recently I've decided you know what? I plan on only getting married once, I've waited this long so eff it...I'm doing it big and am getting a chapel length veil! Just 1 layer, no beading. I have longer hair so I'm wearing my hair in a side ponytail with a flower tucked in as well. After ceremony and pics I'll remove the veil and just keep the flower in. Good luck!