AllieH

Hi ladies - I don't think there's a 2013 starfish yet. The blue one that we are replacing for JayKay will go back to her after the December 2012 wedding.

I still LOVE these lanterns Jill!!!! I had popped into our pier 1 to see if they had any, but ours didn't. It's ok - we'd need 8 (as of now) and that's a lot to haul down there lol Good luck talking to your MOH. Noone deserves that kind of drama.

ok, we've got another one coming to replace the MIA blue starfish for JayKay. unfortunately, I don't think there's any way for us to get it to Jwed prior to her departure, so I'm having it sent on to our next bride on the list (palacebridex2): Who? When? Where? From? Jaykay January 9-16, 2012 Runaway Bay, Jamaica Alberta, Canada Laurelyn March 10-18, 2012 Veradero, Cuba BC, Canada canadiangirl April 11-18, 2012 Montego Bay, Jamaica Ontario, Canada Jwed12 June 20-28, 2012 Montego Bay, Jamaica Towson, MD palacebridex2 July 11-18, 2012 Riviera Maya Rochester, NY deesanders33 August 8-18, 2012 Punta Cana, DR Houston, TX AllieH November 2-10, 2012 Riviera Maya Fort Worth, TX asiamarie1 December 10-23, 2012 Vegas/Cabo, Mexico Glens Falls, NY After asiamarie1, it will end its abbreviated journey back with JayKay. no worries ladies!

Did you give them a deadline to book? If not, that's probably why no one has booked yet. Or if it's still a couple of months out, they will wait until the last couple of days. I agree with talking to people and finding out what they are thinking - if they are just waiting to book, or if they won't be able to go due to the cost before you change all of your plans.

you bet!!! take it if you want it girl. if you like this style of music, you should hunt for them on youtube. they've covered a huge variety of artists and songs - from bon jovi to train and everything else. so even if this isn't the right song, they may have something you like even more. I snagged this particular song from amazon as a download for a whopping $0.99 and it'll probably be one of my favorite finds lol

I'm certainly game to chip in. Unfortunately not sure if we can do it fast enough for jwed's departure, but perhaps the next bride? If I can get her street address, I'm happy order it this weekend, and have it sent directly to her (palace bridex2). just let me know!

Hi there!! welcome to the group. I'm in Fort Worth Our wedding will be about the same size as yours, and in the same locations. Natalia is my coordinator with Lomas. I hope you enjoy working with Claudia!! We are planning to stay at EDR for our "honeymoon". We will be there a total of 10 nights. We figured we'll be in the casitas, and most of our guests are leaving the day after our wedding anyway. We are planning another trip for our first anniversary in 2013, so that will probably be more of a honeymoon. Good luck and have fun with the planning! Quote: Originally Posted by BennettMcneil13 Hi ladies ! Im a new EDR bride from Dallas TX!! Our wedding isnt until 6/21/13 so we have a ways. I am so eager to start everything. We have chosen area 55 for the ceremony and reception to follow at Tucanes. I am so excited I cannot wait! We also have a small budget $6,000 soooo I am really hoping to find some helpful information here. We are having around 40 people total. We have Claudia as our coordinator have any of yall worked with her? looking forward to seeing what everyone talks about on here :) also was wondering how everyone is going to do there honey moon or if they will stay at the same place??

these are so creative!! I can't wait to see yours.

I found it, I found it!!! Just the Way You Are - Silverlake (or Vitamin) String Quartet's cover of Bruno Mars I've loved this song since I heard it, but though it'd be a little cheesy to walk to. When I heard the string version, it's peppy and happy and I just love it for the walk. I'm obviously not into tradition...

that's a great way to explain it!!! I wish I had your tact lol well, my head has leveled and I've tucked Bridezilla away for a while. Making some decisions on what we want for our wedding and working to get our spreadsheet correct. Still a frustrating process but they've made it clear that this all happens on their terms, and we are stuck with it. We are also cutting out a few things from a budget perspective (who needs $75 floating lanterns..). it's all good, and I'm just ready to be on the beach in Mexico!!

We (uhm, I) have 4 songs in the running: I Won't Give up on Us - Jason Mraz Could not ask for more - I prefer Sarah Evans' version, but we would do Edwin Mccain's, as FI hates country music At Last - Etta James, classic, and since we aren't 20-somethings, appropriate It Had to Be You - Harry Connick Jr My FI suggested "Our Day will come" by Amy Winehouse - soooo not happening! it IS our day dear, and I am not an AW fan at all (grooms..cute and clueless sometimes..)

looking great!!!! I love the silver overlays - so pretty.

gorgeous!!!!! thanks for sharing.

PM sent! ty!

Oh crap. That's quite a pickle. Do you have the right, yeah, absolutely. It's your wedding, your vacation. That said... If she already knows how you feel about him, and still wants him to go to Mexico with her, then you will be risking the friendship if you tell her she can't bring him. I don't know her, but her reaction might be to tell you she isn't going if he can't go too. Another option may be to tell her that while she is a cherished friend, and her being MOH means the world to you, you're concerned about his ability to behave himself given his past behavior, and thus he's not welcome at the wedding events. I still think that would go over pretty poorly, but if you really want to address it with her, that's how I would position it. The other alternative is to leave it alone to preserve the friendship. Have a close guy friend or two - preferrably big, husky fellows - act as security and keep an eye on him. If he can't behave himself, get the onsite WC to call hotel security and have him escorted away from your event. You could even discuss it with your onsite WC when you meet with her before the festivities begin. My future FIL is the expected troublemaker for our wedding; I didn't want to invite him, but my FI insisted even though they are not close, and my FI always tells me how much he can't stand the man. So fine, he'll be there, but if he starts acting like an ass, we will have him thrown out! (this is the man who asked my FI last month if we wanted to wait another 3 years to get married...uhm, no. No we do not want to wait until 2015 to get married). Quote: Originally Posted by Jillsepher Alright ladies I have quite the dilemma that I need your advice with. My MOH has invited her boyfriend of three months to be her plus one. I'm completely against him coming. Let's put it this way... They just went on a vacation together and he got ejected from three bars (in a 3 day time frame) for starting fights and eventually ended up in jail the last time for assault and disorderly conduct. He just got out of jail today. Why she is still with this loser is beyond me but he is not welcome at my wedding. I told her that when they first started dating because he does drugs as well (I know real winner!). My FI has told me he will flip out if this guy shows up at our wedding too. So my questions are: 1. Do I have the right to tell her he can't come since she's the one paying for her stay at EDR? 2. How do I even go about this without ruining our friendship or pissing her off so that she doesn't come? PLEASE HELP!!!

very cool wedding and planning!!!!!! And I'm with ya on the typical "DW" dress - it was a no-go for me as well. congrats!

Don't be nervous about it! You can find an amazing dress in your price range. Just be open to other options - like samples, close outs, sales, trunk shows, etc. The bridal shop that is doing my alterations does a twice yearly sale where they knock dresses down as low as $99. She carries a wide variety of lines from Maggie Sottero to private labels. Do some research in your area with the shops and find out when they hold their sales. Follow the shops on Twitter and FB if possible and get on their email lists - that's how I have found out about sales and trunk shows. And since you have a year before your wedding, you have time to shop around and look for the sales. I want to go dress shopping again and again just for the fun of it - and I have my dress (and absolutely LOVE it) lol Enjoy the process, don't let it stress you out (easier said than done?). Good luck!!!

That's GREAT news. But I agree with Melissa below. Funny how it "magically" arrived..? crossing fingers that you get it this week!

if they aren't full, then they will offer the last minute deals. Not everyone can take off for a week with just a couple of weeks' notice. and remember that it's pretty hot in July in most of the caribbean. Still a good time to go - not very likely there will be hurricanes or tropical storms.

Anything offered should be accepted with grace and gratitude. If you've stated up front that you don't expect gifts (from anyone, much less those who travel with you), and they still offer a gift, then that is their decision, and I wouldn't make a scene or awkward moment by refusing it.

mid-July is not necessarily peak season which secrets resort?? have you checked out the reviews on trip advisor?

Welcome to the group!!! We are looking at around $10k for the whole shebang. That was my top line budget, and I think we'll be just under that when everything is said and done. We have about 46 people planning to go with us, and we're hosting a private dinner/reception. We're sending out 50 invites. I'm planning on 35 OOT bags. the two biggest ticket items are my dress and the resort itself. and petsitting - like Jill, we'll have to board our gang while we're gone. as for add ons, I don't think we're going to do too much - white sheers on the gazebo, renting the amplifier/sound system for the reception (iPod), and more than likely the wooden aisle runner. and of course whatever they decide to charge for set up. Quote: Originally Posted by jnitschke Welcome!.. it's nice to hear from someone as far out as I am... we're in pretty much the same place. I'm booked, and my save the dates and wedding website are up.... but that's about it. The nice thing about planning this far out was that we were able to use our money from this past years tax return to pay our deposit, and put some money back for decor and clothes... then next year's tax return will pay for the final bill... the following year it'll pay for our 1st anniversary/honeymoon trip. I'm interested to learn what other people are paying for their packages too. Anyone mind sharing their price sheet, plus whatever they spent on extras? Jill - no, I didn't tell Natalia yet that we have our own menu cards. My friend that designed our invites designed the menu cards for me. I probably wouldn't have done them if I'd be paying attention to the fact that EDR will do them for us! duh moment for sure...

We aren't including registry info in our invites at all - I've been told by wedding gurus that it's a big no-no. I included it on our website (and our invites do have an insert with our website on it), but also said that for those going with us to Mexico, their presence is all we need. that's a great list!!! do you have a simple human trash can? I love those darn things....lol

I love St. Maarten!!! just be careful and do your research as many of the resorts (and beaches) there are clothing optional. the clothing optional beaches aren't a big deal (most of them are topless anyway - europeans!). Aruba is amazing too - the beaches there are unbelievable!! it's more of a laid back sit and enjoy the beach sort of place. I can't wait to go back. and I just love Puerto Rico - it's a larger island, so there are a lot of things to see and do there. rainforest, bioluminescent caves/snorkeling, the old forts, Old San Juan and amazing beaches too!

Think of household items that you could upgrade. A high powered blender, a big stand mixer, nice china, new flatware, new drink ware, new vacuum cleaner - stuff like that is great. You could also register at Target - they have a huge variety of items that aren't necessarily kitchen & bath related. One thing to keep in mind is that most stores will give you a "completer discount" on things that you register for but aren't purchased. So while yes, I registered for that monster $300 mixer, I don't expect anyone else to buy it for me. But with the gift cards/cash I get, I can snatch it up with my completer discount after the wedding. You can also register for people to pay for excursions for you guys on your honeymoon. It's not exactly like asking for cash - it's asking for experiences. That is, if you want to do excursions on your honeymoon! Another option is to ask for donations to your favorite charities in lieu of gifts.