mrsnova

love it, especially the color!

One of the prettiest lace dresses I have seen! Fits you perfect too

I decided to go with these Steve Madden Shiekk sandals instead . A little lighter and goes better with my dress/accessories..

That is a really good and clever question! It costs $550 for a one hour video..so it would only be $50 more to have the video (than the fee). But I wouldn't be surprised if they still made you pay it because you are not using their photography :/.

I am doing a casual "celebration" in my parents backyard/house. We wanted it to be more of a party than a reception because there will not be dancing, I will not wear my wedding dress, and none of the standard reception type things will go on. Already will have done that once and don't want to repeat it . It was hard to decide when to have the party because I wanted it at least semi outdoors and March-April in Portland, OR is not very nice! However I didn't want to wait longer than a month after the wedding...I wanted it to feel "fresh" and like we were actually celebrating our new marriage! We will have a Mexican food buffet, margaritas, beer, and cupcakes that go a long with the Mexican theme (thinking lime or something). I am also going to havw a slideshow and/or video of the wedding running inside. Still deciding but thinking about doing a homemade photo booth with sombreros and mustaches for props! I think how formal, big, and location of the AHR all depends on how many people/who are able to make it to your destination wedding. If you are able to celebrate there with most of the people you care about then it may not be necessary to do something extravagant (such as in my case).

Oops I meant going barefoot for the ceremony and sandals for the reception

Those are perfect! I am also going barefoot and wearing sandals for the ceremony. I am not a heels kind of girl so I was very excited to get away with wearing flats!

We are planning to do the same thing. I have heard others do that instead of the cocktail hour and seemed to work out great. Good way for your guests to pass time/be entertained while you take pictures and its free! Thank you Brenners and Avens for the help! Good to have an estimate to know how the day will go and to time my playlist out.

That is funny that they have the same one . I know I was glad we went looking when we did because we went back to Macys yesterday looking for pants for my dad and there wasn't much left for linen! And like you said perfect timing for the sales!

Thank you for sharing! Would you say the dinner was about an hour if you didn't have too many speeches?

I did send save the dates as soon as we got the date figured out, pictures done, and had them made (about a month or so ago). I have had many people tell us they want/probably will come, several we know we can count on, and a few that have flat out said we won't be able to make it. I think it will really come down to the last few months before we will know who is seriously coming (when they put their money down!). This makes it hard to determine your budget without knowing how many guests you will have : /. Hopefully we will get a better idea once we send the invitations out with an RSVP date (which will not be sent out until next month and RSVP January). I guess we have to be flexible!

I faced the same dilemma! Ended up going with the Mint Breeze package though because we will have about 50 people and can't afford it. The chairs do come with sashes/bows (certain colors). Quoting from my WC "wedding package includes: chairs, white cover chairs, bows (white, cream, green, yellow, orange, blue, dark blue, hot pink, red and gold) tables and long table cloths". There is one centerpiece included in the package that is used at the ceremony and reception. The arch with flowers or huppa are extra (around $280 for arch, around $400 for huppa). I thought these prices were outrageous and have seen pictures of the ceremony without and it was still beautiful! And remember your backdrop is always the ocean if you are having a beach wedding . I am not going with a DJ and based on reading through this forum all of the brides that also went without didn't regret it and liked being able to choose their own music. They include the sound system with IPod hookup and mic. I have started making a playlist and found an app called wedding DJ that is awesome! It organizes all your songs by section, like "recessional, first dance, etc" and fades the music in and out. Go here to see all what is included in the packages http://www.barceloweddings.com/mexico/maya-beach-resort/coconut-paradise-wedding-package.html. Good luck with getting started on your planning!

Not sure if you were talking about my dress..but just in case Yes they come in several different colors. The peach is really pretty too! Here is the link: http://shop.nordstrom.com/S/donna-morgan-strapless-silk-chiffon-dress/3026968?origin=category&fashionColor=HINT+OF+MINT&resultback=502

Correction: dusty shale haha

My bridesmaids are wearing these mint green dresses from Nordstrom (Donna Morgan Chiffon). I originally wanted this 'rusty shale' dress from JCrew but didn't want my BMs to pay $250 after they are paying so much to come to my wedding! It was really hard to find a similar color but once I saw this one I liked it even more for the beach wedding. I was going for the ocean and sand look (groomsmen are wearing khaki color and white). The best thing about Nordstrom is free shipping and returns! My bridesmaids were able to try them on different sizes, and one even returned later when she lost weight, with no problems! I had them chose from 2 different styles but they all wanted this one .

I am going barefoot for the ceremony and wearing these sandals for the reception (so far at least, can't decide if I think they are too dark) Steve Madden Glaare Sandal