agm04

We're not at an all inclusive, but we're doing the traditional cocktail hour while we're off taking pictures, then a seated dinner. We'll have the DJ start at the end of the seated dinner and continue with dancing.

Our wedding is June 22, 2013. We sent save the dates in late August 2012, and our formal invitations went out on January 11, 2013. Our RSVP date is March 1st, and we're telling people room block is held until March 15 (it's actually the 22nd but you know how people are). We aren't at an all inclusive so there's no final payment to talk about - mostly people are booking on their own. Hope that helps!

It really is frustrating! I eventually had to accept that one downside of destination is having to rely on other people/vendors for certain things. Sad. I could do my own centerpieces for SOOO much less than I'm getting charged, but by the time I get them to GC and buy all the stuff the savings are pretty much gone. I looked at renting the vases but bringing my own (real touch) flowers, but that was only going to save me like $10 per centerpiece - hardly worth the hassle! I have to say one of the few times I'm glad we didn't go all inclusive is with my planner. She is SO responsive and from what I've read on this forum it seems like most AI planners don't get back to you in a timely manner...which I get but would make me CRAZY. I know you're probably tired of hearing this but I've been trying really hard to just remember that we're going to end up married no matter who shows up, who complains about what, who doesn't like what we pick. Whatever! We just can't worry about it all.

She is. We have this really weird (ok, ridiculous) dynamic going on - I'm from the south and my parents are very traditional about this and think the parents of the bride pay for everything. Except that I don't want them spending that much money on my wedding. So I'm picking up whatever I can without them really knowing what I'm spending...even though it's turning out to be like 50% them and 50% me (they would flip if they though FI was contributing, so I can't even let him chip in - how weird is this?) they still have to feel like they're paying for everything. So she's paying for the flowers. But all that really means is that I'm paying for more of something else so it's kind of frustrating. From the get go flowers were something I said I didn't care enough about to spend a lot of money on, but oh well. I just don't want to hurt their feelings OR spend too much of their money.

Thanks guys! In addition to not wanting to transport (I have 56 OOT bags and their contents to get to Grand Cayman and a FI who is not thrilled about extra luggage), my mom isn't into the real touch idea...which I don't get AT ALL bc I think they are beautiful. But it's just not worth the effort and also the argument with her. But I still admire all the reach touch bouquets on here! Such a great way to save a chunk.

Haha no problem, glad I could help! Let me know if you have any questions. And thank you for the compliment!

Oh and I forgot to say that the pet screen comes in a ton of different colors!

Thank you so much! I don't mind at all...I am crazy and already have the info in a spreadsheet. If this is confusing let me know and I'll try to explain better. Here is the breakdown: Item Vendor/website/product link Cost (Includes shipping) # bags made Per bag cost Dark blue pet screen 1 https://www.metroscreenworks.com/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=2_74&products_id=498 86.25 36 2.40 Dark blue pet screen 2 https://www.metroscreenworks.com/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=2_74&products_id=499 68.91 20 3.45 1/4 in cotton rope 1 http://knotandrope.com/store/pc/1-4-Inch-Diameter-Cotton-6p127.htm'>http://knotandrope.com/store/pc/1-4-Inch-Diameter-Cotton-6p127.htm 24.00 36 0.67 1/4 in cotton rope 2 http://knotandrope.com/store/pc/1-4-Inch-Diameter-Cotton-6p127.htm 15.50 20 0.78 grommet 1 ebay - seller pds_toolstore 8.50 25 0.34 grommet 2 ebay - seller diversifieddistributing 7.49 12.5 0.60 grommet 3 ebay - seller diversifieddistributing 5.25 12.5 0.42 ribbon 1 ebay - seller lotofnothing 29.57 20 1.48 ribbon 2 ebay - seller lotofnothing 21.90 16 1.37 ribbon 3 ebay - seller deannec 9.90 9 1.10 thread 1 amazon 9.82 30 0.33 thread 2 amazon 5.49 10 0.55 thread 3 amazon 5.30 10 0.53 thread 4 amazon 4.00 6 0.67 webbing ebay - seller kline423 (I actually have a lot of this left that I'd gladly sell - it's the stuff in the man bag pictures) 33.95 11 3.09 super glue drug store 5.00 56 0.09 punching tool paper presentation - I bought and returned 3 before I found one that works. Brand We R Memory Keepeers. 13.00 56 0.23 total 353.83 56 6.32 So the bags with roped handles ended up being about 6.25 each, and the "man bags" (haha, the ones with the webbing up the sides and into the handles) were 6.62 each. They would have been a LOT cheaper if I had known I'd need 56 bags and been able to order all my supplies in one shot. Also, because I had to buy extra of things (like the webbing for the man bags, I have probably half of it left over), if I end up selling any of my leftovers, the overall cost will go down. Not gonna lie, this project was a beast, but I'm really happy with how they came out. We ended up with 3 different designs and a couple of different sizes (only one size pictured here) because of the way the pet screen comes. The first time I bought one big roll, but the 2nd order ended up better to get 2 small rolls, and it worked out that we could cut those bigger. The man bag (above) looks a little funny because this was our first one. We modified the design to have shorter handles but of course I didn't get a picture of a good one, and now they're all at my parents' house in TX. Anyway, I like them. I think it's a nice little personal touch, and I love that the mesh bags filter the sand out. Hope this helps!

I'm just getting flowers there. $400 is insane for one bouquet! I was quoted something like $450 for the one I originally wanted, said NO WAY, so modified to this one which I think is going to be about $200. Still crazy if you ask me but it just doesn't make sense for me to try to spend the time and transport them - I only have one BM, otherwise I might reconsider.

this is so hard. are you already giving flip flops? they'll probably already have those too. hmmm. extra snacks?

Peach those are awesome!

Thank you! I really wish I had gotten a darker color than ivory - they look too white. my colors are navy and champagne, and i'm afraid this will be too white. but the canopy will be draped in white at the ceremony so it's probably fine.

I found it varies quite a bit (from shopping around before I hired someone). My coordinator's fee was US $1,250 and that's with me booking most vendors myself. Honestly I was hesitant to spend even that, but it's been the best money I've spent during this process - she's earned every penny and the wedding is still 5 months away. I'd have paid more if I'd known how helpful she would be. There's also a delivery and setup fee for my chairs, canopy, cocktail tables, etc, of which I am sure she gets a good portion. The other coordinator I was considering was between $2000 and $2500 - can't remember exactly - but she did a lot less on the front end and a lot more when the wedding gets closer (like communicating with vendors, etc, which I didn't really need). Then I think Celebrations had a package that was like $5000 and that was way more than I could have spent. Hope that helps.

Ours is REALLY adding up. Like, painfully so. If we include everything - rehearsal dinner (which we've invited all guests to), welcome happy hour, champagne brunch the next day...I can't even think about it. If you include the honeymoon, we're easily over $60k, and that's before my ring, which was expensive. I think the photography number is typical, airfare/accommodation is very reasonable, ceremony very reasonable. It's just expensive. We're expecting 100 guests and aren't at an all inclusive resort, so our accommodations alone are in the 10k range. Eek.

FI and I bought our wedding bands last fall - he got my ring at Cartier, which means the bands needed to come from Cartier, and we were trying to beat their price raise (which they apparently do twice a year). Mostly I just wanted to get the expense off my plate. I think if not for that we might have waited until 3 months before the wedding or so? But I'm really not sure what is typical.

Interesting idea. I definitely don't have any experience with it but it seems like a good idea. Maybe just post it and have FI send an email letting people know it's up? Or maybe even an email list?

No problem, glad I could help. You will love her. Tell her Amanda sent you!

I would recommend them. I went to Lee's Art Store (on 57th between Broadway and 7th) and worked with Diana. All the people in the printing department seem really nice and competent though. The pricing was MUCH more reasonable than other places I checked, like Paper Source - they wanted TWICE what Lee's charged me. I would just say to be patient; we had to go back and forth quite a few times to get it just right. Also, make sure you are aware that they can start charging you a higher setup fee after a certain number of email communications. They didn't do that to me, but I heard them talking about another job where the client (who was apparently a pretty big pain) ended up with something like $200 in setup fees! Mine were just the standard fees - I think maybe $35 total.

I would rather not receive it at the airport, because most people already have a carry on and a personal item figured out before arriving at the airport. If you give people a heads up so they don't have too much stuff though, it could work. I know a lot of people do it that way.

Juliette has her own company now, called Five Star Events. You can contact her at [email protected] - I have really enjoyed working with her. I haven't worked with anyone at Save the Date so I can't help there! Good luck and welcome to the forum!

I already posted these in their own post but they fit here too. The lighting isn't great, so it's hard to see the embossed swirls, but I love them.