EVKnowsitall

2 weeks until we leave and 17 days until the wedding...OMG. I'm so excited, stressed, and nervous. I've spent the last 2 days crying. I'm having difficulty at work, possibly being demoted and my fiance was laid off a few weeks ago (Luckily he found a job within a week) but that in conjunction with the wedding and coordinating my school's prom/graduation/yearbook and bridal shower/bachelorette has made for a really stressful month of June. My mom called me asking about tablecloth colors for my bridal shower and I was like "who gives a *&%$". I didn't mean to be nasty lol but I really could care less about the tablecloth colors and the cupcake stands she is pissed off at my MOH for not finding. I was yelling "$%^& the cupcakes!!!!!!!!" over and over on the phone until I realized how stupid I sounded. I'm having a good laugh as I type this. Sheesh- I always make fun of bridezillas and am like "why is she crying over stupid things" and now I know- it's not necessarily the little thing that makes you cry, its just the straw the breaks the camels back after you've had loads of other stressful things- like managing your budget. This marriage better work because I never want to plan another wedding again. They are gorgeous to look at but behind all that pretty there is a whole lot of ugly...lol

Gorgeous!

You only have 21 posts so I think you can't post because of that. Try the little picture icon and add it that way or see if you can copy and paste it.

Love these! I just PMed you.

Venting is what we're here for. We are each others support lol because sometimes even our family/ bridal party can be the root of issues lol. I know what you mean about weather, I had a nightmare it poured on our wedding. I would cry- like a baby. I would recommend solidifying a backup location in the event of inclement weather. There is another wedding the same day as mine and we already had one issue with locations so when I had to go with the beach for the reception I made sure to indicate that I wanted a backup location in the event of rain. I requested it in writing so if the weather is awful- I get first dibbs on my choice of indoor location. You're taking pictures at altos de Chavon?!?! Good gracious that place is gorgeous!!!!! I wanted to get married there but it was too complicated to arrange. We considered staying in Casa De Campo resort but it was expensive- even more so than Paradisus Palma Real so we decided against it. Those are going to be some amazing pictures- absolutely gorgeous. Feel better and hope your fiance feels better as well.

You poor thing. I'm so sorry you got sick. We ordered Bill Levkoff Bridesmaid dresses too! So beautiful. Our color is similar to yours. I love the brooch you got on etsy for your Maid of honor. Your bridesmaids gifts were plentiful! I hope I have enough in the budget to buy a nice package like that for my girls but I have 5. It's getting out of hand! Plus our two mothers and the groomsmen. I love your chapel. I always admire it in pics and wish my chapel was as breathtaking. I think your aisle turned out nicely and I am digging the grooms tie. Congrats on a beautiful wedding despite the hiccups.

Finalized my wedding extras and menus today. I have a jampacked lead up to our wedding. We just had our civil ceremony/ engagement shoot on Wednesday. Photos wont be reasy for two more weeks- but im replacing my avatar with the cell pics we took. I cant show anyone else because we agreed to keep it under wraps. This weekend is my schools prom which I coordinate and host, next weekend is my bridal shower, the following weekend in my bachelorette, and two days after I return from my bachelorette we leave for DR followed by an AHR two weeks later. Somewhere in between there I have to squeeze in two more dress fittings and work lol. My head is spinning. It's comforting to hear all the positive experiences being had by the brides in this forum. Thanks everyone for your help and support. Good luck to the upcoming brides! That's you Rotha!!!!

But this a thread about veils! LOL I have a cathedral length one! I absolutely love it. It has rhinestones along the edge and it frames my body and then it has rhinestones scattered throughout. I think it looks gorgeous in pictures. I also have a rhinestone headband so at the reception I will just lose the veil as others have suggested. I wanted a birdcage as well so when I had my courthouse legal wedding, I planned on wearing one but it looked a little funny on me so I got rid of it and just worse a simple white flower. But I found an awesome fascinator head band with a birdcage attachment and I'm wearing it to my bridal shower because we are having a grown up tea party- so I got to win all around lol. I say go with the veil at least for pictures. If you don't really care about the veil pick up a cheap one on Etsy, amazon, or Camille La Vie or any other dress shop. I think the combs in the hair are gorgeous as well. You cant go wrong- you are a bride and you will look beautiful no matter what. I have never seen an ugly bride... ok maybe once... but its rare.

Our colors are a palette of blues, but we are using peacocks. We have them on our invitations to both our wedding and AHR and we are using them in the bridesmaids hair and in our centerpieces.

So true! People think you only pay for your room and that the wedding itself is free because it's an all inclusive. I'm like if that's the case everyone would do a DW. One of my guests flipped out bc we told Her we would not pay her day pass. He invited ER brother and mother- who I did not invite and they are over the guests included. I have to pay $200 for them as is and then she expects me to pay their wedding passes. We specifically told people we would not pay fr wedding passes. It's unfair that they get to save by staying somewhere cheaper and then we end up having to shell out so they can save. She told me she wasn't coming so Im ok with that because it saves me $200. Lol My mom paid for my dress but my fiancé and u ate paying for everything else- including our at home reception. I paid for my nieces flower girl dress, my nephews tux, my sisters room. Were already $20,000 in if I add up everything.

Agreed- I totally didn't realize you were already married. We've talked a few times so I wanted to see your pics! Post!!!

Your wedding looks amazing! I had a couple of comments questions based on the pictures I have kept in the reply. Calla lillies- my favorite flower! They offered me white roses in the Aqua package- did you upgrade your flowers? What was the cost? I have a jewlery bouquet but would like calla lillies for my bridesmaids. Your cake is absolutely gorgeous! I love it! You paid for an additional tier right? Do you think its worth it? We have only a two tiered cake. How was the Dominican trio? We were thinking of having them for cocktail hour. Did your guests enjoy them? Thanks for posting the Aqua package pics, its the same package I have. My bridesmaids also have blue dresses like your ladies but in two different colors (this was an unfortunate accident I am trying to be optimistic about). Seeing your pics on Olympus terrace saddens me a tad because we are having a beach reception since the terrace was already booked. It looks like you have the LED dance floor on the terrace. Did you think it was worth it? We have to get it because were on the beach, but I was wondering how you thought it made a difference in ambiance. Lastly- did you do the videography package? Your wedding looked amazing, best wishes and thanks for all your helpful information.

So I went to David's Bridal in Yonkers for a second dress because my mother refused to let me "trash the dress". She paid for my dress and I am wearing it again at my AHR so she's afraid I'll destroy it. The dresses at DB were on sale so we figured we'd find something similar for a reasonable price. I tried on a dress that everyone loved and it was on sale. I almost took the dress, but there was a bride to be with an entourage of 10 and when they saw me in the dress they kept telling the bride to be "you need to try that one" I was in my dressing room taking it off when her consultant came and literally peeled it off of me and said "I'm going to just steal this for a moment". I wasn't even out of it yet! Wtf! I was so pissed off that untold my consultant how rude the other consultant was and my mother was so upset that she said "forget it, don't bother getting a second dress just use yours" LOL. I ended up winning because I really want to wear my dress for my TTD and I'm certain based on other brides and the photographer that the dress will be ok, but I still think that was terrible treatment. The other bride btw gloated and her entourage said "it looks better on you. That's your dress". Classy. I'm glad I bought my dress elsewhere. They definitely did not treat me like that.

Paradisus Palma Real has a ridiculous outside vendors fee of $1,000 per outside vendor plus the cost of a day pass. It forces you to use their in-house vendors. We bit the bullet for photography because we simply did not want to use their photographer. It's still a ridiculously exorbitant fee. The only way around it is to book room for your vendor at the three date rate which fluctuates- for us- that was $570. Cheaper than the $1,000 rate but still excessive. Also- I was trying to skirt using centerpieces and go for small glass votives with a single rose for each plate. I have seen these votives 2/$1 in the 99 cents store, so I thought it would be a nice touch and cheap enough to make...the florist asked for $25 per votive! For 40 guests that's $1,000!!!!!!!!!!! I definitely had a good chuckle with that. I am making my own centerpieces now. I refuse. The point of DW is to save.

So exciting. Are these the "upgraded" bracelets you can order? I was considering it but don't know if we can budget for them. They look nicer than the paper bracelets. I am hoping our room is upgraded too but Im there during fourth of July and upgrades are only if they are available. Is this an instagram pic? haha. We are having a return reception so we will only pt teasers like this up- pics of food and drinks and the bouquet, until after our return reception. I'm wearing my dress again and I don't want others to see me in it until I show the slideshow at our AHR. Have fun! Can't wait to see the rest of your wedding!

Thanks for the pictures! I showed them to my mom so she could see we did not need to rent the bridal suite since the backdrop in the room is nice enough. I love your cap sleeves on your dress. So elegant! Your pictures were beautiful. Congrats on your new marriage.

I have seen some really beautiful tea length dresses- which might be the route you are looking for. They reach to slightly above the ankle and are really a great way to show off some sexy shoes. Like CSHO said- it's all about what makes you feel like a bride and not what others think. I learned that sometimes you cannot even share details about your day with others, you just have to do what you want and they will see the finished product. If you share too much info, everyone will offer their opinions whether you want them or not and then if you please them and ignore your heart, you end up regretting it. My advice is that when you truly dresses on- try different styles. Try a few tea length, try longer ones. You might surprise yourself. I thought I wanted the poofy bridal gown and I went against my own taste!

Angeljewels... PS- my fiance was soooooo anti-AHR. I went ahead and planned it without him. His exact words were "if you can find a way to pay for it I wouldn't be opposed. So I started bartending and so far I have saved up $6,000. Some of it is going to our wedding in DR which is why we could use last minute help from the parentals. I'm still bartending but with all the weekends I need off for wedding things I don't know if we will fall short. We are cutting it dangerously close. Anywho- he fought me tooth and nail but I put my foot down. Initially, I was not sold on the DW idea and I compromised for him. Now he has to compromise for me. LOL

Angeljewels- Define cheap. LOL I am having a NYC AHR and its not "cheap" by others standards and its borderline in my opinion, of costing too much. But I know plenty of places- Where in NY are you looking? I live and work in the BX and my bridal shower is at Frankie and Johnnies Pine Restraurant on Bronxdale Avenue. For my shower we are having a brunch and its $25 per person for breakfast/lunch foods- eggs, bacon, waffles, chicken, vegetables, potatoes, assortment of breads, juices, white wine, bloody Mary's, Mimosas, and screw drivers. With taxes it comes out to $32 a person and there are 4 private rooms in the restaurant- 2 with outdoor access/ patios. The latest start time for a brunch option is 1:00 PM so you can have a midday AHR and that restaurant has a great bar area so if people want to go into happy hour and pay cash and continue the party, they can lol. I think its a great bargain- we almost considered using it for our AHR. They also have other options like just a 4 hour open bar with butler passed hors d' oeuvres for $35 a person etc etc. Our AHR is $55.95 a person at Tosca Marquee Catering Hall on East Tremont. For that price we have the room for four hours, cocktail hour on the roof with 8 butler passed hors d'oeuvres, continued butler service and hors d'oeuvres for the remainder of the night, a salad and crudite display, a pasta station, a carving station, cookies and cannolis, coffee and tea and open bar, colored linens, use of the sound system (although we have a DJ because we were originally getting married in NY and couldnt get a refund lol long story), and use of the in-house centerpieces and bridal suite. So for what you get- I think it's cheap, but for a budget friendly AHR- not really. It's costing us the same as our package at the resort hahahaha. More- because our parents went crazy inviting people and we are at 100 guests and ready to tip over that. They have offered to give us some money. My mom paid the deposit of $1500 for us, my estranged father "claims" to be giving me $2600 since he can't come to my wedding, and my MIL says she will give us anything we fall short of in the end. We shall see. I'm not counting on it. A smaller venue in Pelham/ New Rocehlle is the Bartow Pell-Mansion. You can rent it for $500 but you have to bring your own food, drinks and tables and chairs and I believe it only holds 30-40 people. There is also Juliano's Catering Hall in New Rochelle- a tad outdated but inexpensive and has several rooms and Maestro's Catering Hall. Your best bet is to go with a restaurant that will give you a limited alcohol and menu option for a fraction of their regular costs. You can also rent community centers- but to be honest those costs can start to get out of control unless you have a potluck style. Originally my shower was going to be in my friends yard but she was buying a tent, tables and chairs, cake, food, alcohol- the cost was going to be $1200. I told my MOH and mom about the Pine and there we got a more formal backdrop and the total was $1800. Slightly more- but no clean up, no running out of food, etc. PM me if you ever need more info.

I meant uncotrolled kids btw

Thanks for this! I mistakenly booked the Reserve confusing it with Royal Sevice and ranted and raved about it to my friends. Then I realized it was the family friendly side which is cool- we have 5 kids as guests- but my fiancé gets easily annoyed by kids- or should I say easily annoyed by in controlled kids- which is what I assume would be the case on vacation. Lol your post saying you would gladly stay at either room puts me at ease. We have Mannia as our DJ- how did you like them. I find their correspondence friendly and fast. We had to Fight to keep them so I hope they are good. We also have an outside photog but ate using Arrecife for Videography- did you use them? When you have time post a review with pics- so few PPR brides do reviews! I'd love to see your wedding. I'm just wedding curious I guess. Lol congrats and thanks for all the info- it has been very helpful.

That's correct- they only need a passport- no visa required.

YES! Definitely. I harassed my mom to get it sooner and she kept insisting she had time and now she's scrambling and might have to rob a bank. One person she spoke to said to send a letter detailing why she needs the passport urgently and to send our flight itinerary. We overnighted those papers along with my birth certificate and both of my sister's birth certificates, her marriage license, her social security card, and her non-driving license ID even though that one is expired. This was the point of passport invitations lol- as a friendly little reminder to get your passports updated. Even if people are just renewing- some countries will not let you enter/ exit unless you have at least 6 months before the expiration. I'm not sure if that applies to DR. But I know some places won't even take your passport if you have only a few months until the expiration. Tell them the horror stories and hopefully they will make it one of their first priorities!

Yea legal is too much of a hassle and we decided against Mexico because we read that you had to have bloodwork done and the same rule about being in the country three days before. We are doing the Church wedding which is enough of a hassle on its own. I had to scan and make copies of a ton of paperwork to email it only to get an email from the priest saying "we now require couples to fed ex their documents. It's too much work for us" and I had to pay $50 to Fed Ex it. LOVELY. There are so many little details that are a pain to deal with. I don't know how a Destination Wedding is any less stressful than a hometown wedding. If anything- there are more issues in terms of travel, carting everything over, etc. Right now my mother's passport is being held up because some ASS at the passport processing center said she didn't show sufficient proof of citizenship. She sent" her NYS ID, birth certificate, SS card, my birth certificate, my sisters birth certificates, a sworn affidavit from her fiance attesting to her identity. They asked for: a newspaper clipping with her photo and name (That's really funny- I told her to rob a bank so she can be in tomorrows paper), student ID (also funny), Military ID (she's non-military) or a U.S. Passport (ironic). We leave in 47 days!!!!!!!! I've concluded that any wedding- regardless of size, locations, traditional or non- is stressful. The only answer is elopement- but then again- that's stressful bc in my family, I'd have some explaining to do lol

I believe that only applies if you are having a legally binding ceremony in DR and not getting married in your hometown first.