AllieH

We chose to host a private dinner/reception for our guests. We are having a symbolic ceremony - I'm not up to getting blood tests in Mexico!! here's our wedding timeline which we will put in each of the welcome bags (more on those later), and then have plenty at the ceremony itself: I'm bringing a number of decor items with me: paper lanterns, shells, and votives (no pics yet, but I will get them as we get more organized!). Between decor and the welcome bags, I have quite the wedding pile. Something to be proud of, or embarrassed by, I'm not sure!! I'm planning to do something like this for the aisle, with a blue ribbon and orange small lantern I'm not doing sheers for the gazebo, I can't see paying $200 -$300 for them (yes, I'm outraged at the prices the resorts charge for add ons!!). We're going to hang a few more of the paper lanterns (I think) instead, and I have 2 orange parasols to put at the base of the gazebo, like this: I found 100 orange organiza sashes from another BDW bride that we will use for the chairs at the ceremony & reception (YAY! recycling!) This is the gazebo where we're having our ceremony: I still have to write the ceremony...and will share that whenever I finish. For the reception "centerpieces", we are doing two tall glass vases with sand & shells, and a votive, similar to this: White table cloths, settings, etc. with the orange chair sashes. I scored these wooden shells at Michael's over the summer, and glittered the c-r-a-p out of them. they are super sparkly, even if the picture doesn't show it! we'll be putting these on the tables as well We are doing a "mad lib" as our guest book. I got this basket from another BDW bride, and DIY's the banner: I also DIY's this monogram which I think I'm going to stick in the basket for more bling: We're doing cupcakes, and I'm working with Amanda to design the toppers. I also ordered a topper from MudCards on etsy, just couldn't resist. Our cupcakes will sit in these wire stands, and the topper will sit on the table (hey, I'm an non-traditional bride!). We're not doing a DJ, just going with an iPod/iPad for tunes. My FI is in charge of the music for the reception/dinner. We just got our thank you/menu cards for the reception tables, Amanda designed these as well: We'll have those on the tables with the napkins, and I'll probably tie twine around it too (I have a crap-ton of twine!! gotta use it...).

I'm at the 2 month mark, and I thought I should start sharing my planning with everyone. Like the other brides, I've learned so much and been inspired by brides who have gotten married before me. Thank you to all of you for sharing!!! Background: My fiancé and I met online, and became friends in early 2006. I lived in Fort Worth, TX, and he was in NYC. We were both interested in each other, but clearly geographically undesirable. So we became internet friends. We finally met in person in NYC in September 2006, when I was there on business. Our first "date" was to Yankee Stadium (the old one) to see a game. We stayed friends for a few more years, and he finally decided to move to TX in 2009. So we went from friends to a committed relationship pretty quickly. We got engaged in July 2011, and I knew I wanted a destination wedding. Fortunately he was on board with that plan, and just had 2 requests: infinity pool, and good food. We are hoping for an upgrade to an infinity swim up sweet, but EDR is supposed to have amazing food. To narrow down our resort choices, I created a spreadsheet of the things that were important to us, plus some facts about the resorts. I've shared this with several BDW brides who have asked, and hope it helps you guys out too! If anyone can't download the file, feel free to email me: allisonlharper AT gmail DOT com We went through the typical drama that a lot of DW couples do of family members not wanting to go. My parents put up a fight, but eventually caved. Some of my best friends, and my only sister are not going to be there. While I'm sad they won't be there, I think I've made my peace with it. This is for us, and we will not be the ones missing out on this special event. So blah, blah, blah, blah. We settled on Nov 5th as our date. After hurricane season, after the busiest time for my job, and a Monday so less competition from other brides/groups on that day. Our colors are light blue and orange (though we went back and forth with a teal/aqua and the light blue as you'll see from the STD to the invite differences...) Our STD's went out electronically thanks to a bit of a snafu. We had a short time to get everyone's deposits put down and secure a pretty smoking hot deal. It worked though: I should also add that Amanda of Little Bean Shop on etsy designed all of my paper/invite products. She's a good friend of mine, and did amazing work! I did semi-DIY invites, which I've posted details here. Amanda designed the invite itself, I added the japanese handmade aper, twine, made my own envelope liner, and made the "seal" with the sand dollar. this is the final package that went out: We included an RSVP with an entree choice on the back, an invite to the welcome dinner w/ a tear-off RSVP for that, and a little card with our wedding website on it. We sent them out in late July, with a September 1 RSVP date. Our final payment date was August 17th, so this worked well with our timeline. it was also a good reminder about booking airfare for those who hadn't yet (and most of our guests had not!). We also have a Facebook group with our friends - those who are going, and those who aren't. I'm doing a bunch of getting to know you (GTKY) questions so our friends can start interacting, and that is going pretty well! Next post: ceremony & reception plans Resort Chart.xlsx

I'm completely ambivalent about it. A friend of mine wants to throw a small one for some friends here in town - none of them are going with us to Mexico. So I'll let her do that. I'm not having her invite everyone I know though, just keep it small and fairly inexpensive.

those are so cute!! and the calligraphy looks amazing. great job!!

I sold my sash on this site: http://ruffledblog.com/recycle-your-wedding/browse-listings/ I had it posted here, with little interest, but ruffled generated quite a few inquiries. I did sell a pair of heels on here though. And I've bought several small items from other brides here (BDW). I plan to offload my wedding deco items after ours is done, though I'm not yet sure if I'll sell my dress. I love recycling wedding stuff!

congrats and welcome to the roll call!!! my planning is pretty much on track - just some minor things left to take care of, and I'm right at 2 months to go.

these are awesome!!!! and your little guy is adorable - so sweet to be able to include him.

Ah Nikki, totally understandable to have mixed emotions. I would too I think. But that is a nice chunk of $$ to have back.

To be honest, I don't know which one. If we get bored this weekend, and I feel like listening to him go on and on for another 30 minutes about the music, I'll ask him if he's decided on anything but I make no promises...