samsbride

Wow, its amazing how sometimes people's own agenda gets in the way of what's really important. Its not so much when she is planning her wedding, it's the fact that she seems completely oblivious to what she is doing to you and how it is making you feel. Don't waste your time trying to convince her that what she is doing is wrong. I don't know her, she may be an otherwise great person caught up in the hoopla of her marriage. Planning a wedding is sooo stressful even if you have a planner and a destination wedding even more so because the bride is in another country so you definately cannot worry about her or what she is doing. If you guys have been friends for a long time it would be a shame to see it end, so my suggestion is to focus on YOUR day. If she calls asking for help tell her you will help IF you can and gently remind her that you have your own things that need to be taken care of first. I think that maybe you can expect her to pretty much check out from here on end.

It is NOT wrong to feel the way you do. I would talk to her first before jummping to any conclusions. Is she having a destination as well? That would be REALLY inconsiderate, especially if you guys have mutual friends. Definately give her a chance first to be there for you because she might surprise you. Just be ready to cut ties with her if she does seem like she is not doing her job as YOUR bridesmaid. It is your wedding don't let anyone take your shine away. Instead of "Say yes to the Dress" it might turn into a "Bridezilla" episode! lol

Hi girls! As 2012 is coming to a close I have to say that it was the BEST YEAR EVER (for me anyway) ! Thanks to BBPD and Susanna I got a fabulous wedding and vacation this year. This will be a year I will never forget and I think I can speak for all the 2012 brides that this was a good year for us. I want to send all my love and good luck wishes to the new year's brides. 2013 will be just as great and I sincerely wish you all a wonderful wedding and a happy marriage.

OMG the pics came out so beautiful!! You are a gorgeous bride! Aww I miss BBPD. Club premium was awesome. We had breakfast there every morning because the buffets were a zoo lol. I get what you mean about better treatment. I had everyone convene in our room and ordered room service b/c it was free for us as a way to get back at the hotel lol. I had Susan as well and she was so awesome. I wish I could do it again! Had I know it was going to turn out so great I wouldn't have spent the time worrying and enjoyed myself more! We are definately going back there for vaca! Enjoy your marriage and congrats!!

Hi all, Sorry I haven't gotten on in a while. Well first off, it wasn't that much of a nightmare. I did have to put it in the overhead bin. I'm glad that it wasn't a huge dress to begin with. The folks on Jet Blue are really really nice so I definately recommend flying with them. Travel in general is a nightmare lol Hope everyone the best of luck!!! Laura

Oh man! We were confronted with that same issue. My husband actually had his original that his parents had. The consulate did attach an apostille on it but he didn't mind. He did, however, raise a ruckus when Susana told him that they were going to keep it. He had the exact same issue with identity theft and that sort it beign an american birth certificate. (I had a dominican birth certificate that I can go get reprinted again if I needed so I didn't care if they kept mine) He held his ground and on our wedding day she handed it back to us (right after the ceremony lol). She told me that the judge was completely cool with it but had to just see it (the original). She said that all he did was cut the string and kept the apostille. She even seemed surprised at how easy it was. I think that since he was so adamant about the whole issue that she made sure she relayed that to the judge. He was not getting on the plane back home unless he had that in his hands lol. The WC's might just be misinformed about this because when we first met with her it seemed like it was going to be a hopeless battle for us to keep the original. It just didn't make sense since they already had a copy of it and the apostille. My advice is to just tell them that they absolutely cannot keep the original and make sure to follow up with the WC on the wedding day to get it back. Sunny, I wouldn't even begin to know how to contact DR to get them back but it's worth a shot how to investigate it.

I iust got my certifacte last week and have really been dragging my feet avout going to the consulate. I have no excuse because it's two blocks from my job! Glad to see to see I'm not the only one

Yea definately double check, because I got my information from the consulate and sometimes judges give people a hard time for the smallest details. I didn't use a TA for my wedding or vacation so I had to do all the research myself. Saturdays are considered business days in DR so it doesn't make sense about when the WC have weddings. To my knowledge they have weddings all week. My wedding was on a Thursday and I arrived the Saturday. There are websites that definitively tell you residency requirements for each country. i.e Italy's is a MONTH lol. One of the ones I checked out was Islandbrides.com. Take all the info, do your research and good luck on your big day!

Plus, I'm not sure, but I THINK the WC's do the symbolic ceremonies.

I did a civil ceremony as well and I didn't end up finding out the time until I met with the wedding coordinator, TWO DAYS BEFORE THE WEDDING. It wasn't a big deal for me because what mattered was the day was scheduled. It ended up being at 3:30pm. Also keep in mind the residency requirement of three full business days before the wedding. My WC said that nothing is booked after 5 though. Day or arrival and wedding day do not count, neither do Sundays or Dominican holidays. good luck!

Hi Shan, It actually hooks together (like a bra) which I thought was the best part because it added to the classic look of the dress. I got it at the store but I don't see it online

Your so welcome! Just an FYI, I don't know if you're getting legally married there or it's symbolic but i know that there is a residency requirement. You have to be at the hote 3 business days before the wedding. Arrival day, Sundays, wedding day and any dominican holidays don't count. We arrived on a Saturday and were married on a Thursday. Mon, Tue and Wed were our "residency days". I'm not sure but I THINK the same goes for symbolic weddings as well so check with Susana and make sure to schedule your appointment before you head down there. I emailed her a couple of weeks before to set it up. Again, I hope all this info puts you at ease. Good luck with everything I will be sending my warmest well wishes.

Hi Shanm no the belt was separate. I also got it at Alfred Angelo. I felt that the dress needed a little bling so I know exactly what you mean. good luck!

Omg! thank you! It was the very last dress I tried on and the price was right. It made me feel pretty and I think every dress should do that on your special day. Good luck!

Hi Trivera5521, Yea I used Tropical pictures. I just posted when I saw your message lol. My pics came out awesome. We had Marlen, I definately recommend her. She was super professional and so sweet. Unfortunately, we didn't have a reception because it was a small wedding. I used the Trio and they played all my request. We're latinos so our songs were in spanish lol. I've included some pics with our wedding colors. They matched them perfectly to my girl's dresses. The appetizers after the ceremony were AWESOME they gave us a ton of food and it was way better than what we had at dinner. H opefully the same people that made those make the food for the private receptions.The cake was the best anyone had every had. We had dinner at Coral restaurant, the seafood place. It was okay, nothing to write home about. The pics I've inluded show some of Marlen's work and my wedding colors.

Thanks MissJali. Yea it's your day and you will get whatever you want. We had some pics taken on the beach and those came out gorgeous. I feel like I got the best of both worlds. I definately recommend Marlen, one of the on site photographers. She was absolutely the best and she's the sweetest person you'll ever meet. Her pics came out awesome. I didn't have a reception because we had a small wedding with just our families. We had dinner afterwards at the seafood restaurant. Girls that have Susana, I know it's stressful because she almost never gets back to anyone but she did a really good job on my wedding. Yes, she was running late and that part sucke but there are only about 4 girls in the whole wedding department working on hundreds of weddings. They each have a couple of weddings a day sometimes to coordinate. When I needed immediate assistance or a quick answer I just called them directly. If you notice at the bottom of the emails they include the number to the hotel. Just ask for the wedding department, it's open until about 6 pm EST. They all speak English at the front desk so it won't be an issue getting patched through. Also, once the date is booked, most of the actual preparation and planning isn't done until you meet with the WC when you arrive so I think that's why alot of them take a lacksidasical approach to responding to emails. Hope some of this helps, good luck to you all, I'm sure you will be absolutely beautiful on your special day.

We just got back a couple of weeks ago. I got my dress at Alfred Angelo, I was going to sell it (when will I wear it again??) but it's too sentimental now.