EVKnowsitall

I hear the cake is amazing so don't be too bummed. Dominican cakes are delicious! I want to upgrade my cake. We are most likely adding a second tier. My sister is a professional baker and she is going to spruce it up for us so we are just requesting a regular round, two tier with buttercream. I originally wanted fondant but its more money and won't hold the decorations my sister wants to add although she is going to have to be very careful once you mess up buttercream there is no going back lol. Those garden pictures look beautiful. We opted for a traditional Catholic wedding so we are getting married at the local church with our reception on the beach- I wanted Olympus Terrace for the reception but there is another wedding the same day and they requested it first. I am having my TTD at Majestic- the original hotel we wanted to wed in. Part of me feels a tinge of regret I didn't choose that hotel- they have an onsite chapel for Catholic weddings, the room rates cost less, and the outside vendor fees are cheaper. My photographer- Phil Steingard, also from Canada, has connections there and is well received, so he prefers to do my TTD there to get a variety of pics and also because he knows where to get the best shots. We will just take a cab I suppose- hear it isn't too far. I love Katya Nova btw! We wanted to go with her but she will not be in DR for our wedding date. We were so disappointed because I think she takes brides to Sanctuary Cap Cana- another resort we looked into. We didn't choose Sanctuary because they didn't have a an all inclusive package and although it is gorgeous to look at they are just developing their wedding packages. I think its great to go offsite to take pics, you get a nice variety of shots.

Play a game of poker! We aren't having a Jack and Jill although man do they sound fun!!!!! But at our housewarming a few years ago, we had a casino themed party. We bought all the stuff from Party City- the felt tablecloth that is actually a poker table, chips, and cards, people bet actual money and I served them drinks and my friend played the "house" or dealer. He won us $300 and that was at a small house party with 20 guests! So maybe at a bigger party you can win some moolah!

My dress is just a tinge Ivory. I did not like the bright diamond white when I tried dresses on- but after not seeing my dress for almost a year when I did the inspection I almost cried when I saw the color lol. I felt better once it was on. I feel like the ivory is great especially for evening weddings and I agree that it will contrast nicely with your fiances khaki suit. My fiance is wearing a navy blue suit so the diamond white was to much of a contrast- although I bought my dress way before he decided on a suit. I also like the ivory because let's face it- I live with my fiance and I am not as pure as the snow. Also- not that I am old- but I think the ivory has an air of sophistication. In the end- none of what anyone says will matter. It's all about how you feel in the dress and sometimes the dress we least expect turns out to be the one. Have fun!

I am so sorry you are fighting and having to cry. My fiance actually pushed the most for the DW so him and I do not fight other than when I feel awful when people give me their sob stories about why they can't attend which makes me feel bad. I have a few tried and true attendees who cheer me up though- like my cousin who puts a picture of a beach or other tropical theme every month on instagram with a countdown and tags me saying "can't wait...4 more months until Punta Cana" and little things like that remind me why I wanted to have a DW in the first place. Or my Matron of honor sending me pics of shoes and bathing suits. HAHA. My MOH stepped down but I had a Matron of Honor as well so she has assumed all the responsibilities and thats ok with me. She is a better friend anyway. She told me "I am on call anything you need you ask for and I will make it happen". She visits me at my second job (bartender at night) and just sits at the bar to keep me company and talk. She has offered to lend me money if I fall short and I can pay her back (although I hope it oesnt come to this, its good to have the life line) and she is insisting on hosting a bridal shower for me even though she will have to pay for it. She also planned my bachelorette party. So she is on the ball and I'm lucky to have her help and friendship. The MOH who dropped says she is still coming but only wants to be a bridesmaid. We thought about paying the extra hour- but we have decided to do exactly as you have suggested- after party in the club. We are having an AHR here and I just cannot spend the extra money on things when I can find a way around them for free. I also thought about renting the bridal suite but have decided against it- $300 that can be spent elsewhere. The block of rooms you can do through Miami- but I prefer to let them handle as little as possible because they cannot keep their communication straight. For example- my planning call was all set and then I get an email asking me to schedule one for a time I couldn't do and asking questions I already sent emails about like who my photographer is and who my DJ is etc. I used my own travel agent and although some of my guests complain she isn't always reachable- I think she is phenomenal. . She did the block of rooms for me. We paid $1500 to reserve 15 rooms. It's $50 a person with the assumption there are two in a room. As soon as all my guests paid their deposit, they rolled the money over to my room. I just put the $1500 as a hold to lock in the rooms and rates. The sucky thing is we did a group air with American and got RT tickets for $500 a pop taxes included. I also paid a $1500 deposit for 15 seats but American will not give it back to me until 3 weeks from the date of departure-so that was $1500 we lost that I needed to put towards other things. Ultimately we get it back...but I kind of need it now lol. We did it because independently flights were coming up as $800 or more.

I loooove these! Sometimes I find the clear shoes to be tacky because they are overdone but these are gorgeous. I love that the heel is also studded. Get them!!! lol

I looooove your OOT bags! You are nice to purchase their dresses- I couldn't they chose expensive dresses and it wasn't in our budget- but its definitely a winning gesture. I adore the tank tops. Where did you get them- I'd like them for my bachelorette party. They are adorable. You spoiled your girls!

FINALLYYYYYYY I have my wedding shoes. After much debate I settled on a pair. I wanted Badgley Mischka's but could not bring myself to spend the $225 and up they would have cost, with all of our rising and mounting wedding costs. I ended up purchasing a pair of Nina's and I love them as much as I loved the Badgley's I wanted. They were budget friendly without compromising the beauty at $98. I also purchased a pair of flip flops for the beach reception from the same designer Nina- I would highly recommend looking into Nina if you want a gorgeous shoe for a friendly price. She has a lot of options! I bought the sandals at Lord and Taylor yesterday- they were on sale so I paid $32 for them. The flower detail matches my dress. I also bought the heels- but I purchased them from Nordstroms website because it is free shipping both ways and the store didn't carry them. Here they are!

Super cute!

Hydrangeas! I love them, we are using them as well. You look beautiful, love the pics and congrats!

My friend offered to lend me her pair of Guess glitter pumps- same ones but in silver. I mentioned I was shoe shopping and she offered. I thought it was super sweet because I'm not a shoe fanatic- I'm more comfort over beauty bc in both of my jobs I stand alllllllll day. I thought the sentiment was sweet bc they were her wedding pumps and only worn once and can be my something borrowed but I wasn sure how comfortable they'd be. I loooooove this color!

/gorgeous- I have a similar silhouette on my dress so I love to see other brides rocking it and looking fantastic. Your pics are beautiful, congrats. Is your veil cathedral?

Girl- we are all on the same boat. If you read this thread a few pages back I complained about this exact thing not too long ago and the girls here allayed all my conflicting feelings. I am a teacher by day and a bartender at 2 different bars at night. I also teach Saturday school- so the busy thing- I TOTALLY feel you on. I literally leave my teaching job and go straight to the bar. My family and friends have complained they haven't seen me and I quite honestly do not have the time. But we NEED the extra money. No question about that and since I don't see anyone reaching into their pockets to help me- they will need to be a bit more understanding. As far as your wedding- DO WHAT YOU WANT! We wanted Mexico- people complained, we switched to DR- they still complained- we got great rates for hotel and air- they complained, I let the bridesmaids pick their dress- they all agreed on one and then complained about the cost. I learned...drum roll please...that no matter what you do people complain. And who is happy in the end? Not you because you appeased them and not them because they will find something to moan about. My mother brings up the cost thing allllll the time. She is like "remember this is a burden to everyone involved" like gee thanks- didn't think my wedding was a burden- especially since its optional lol but ok. My grandmother who was paralyzed- was not going to be able to come so we planned an AHR for her. She has since passed away and people threw in our faces for a while- how dare we attempt a destination wedding knowing she was ill. We switched from Mexico to DR because my fiances grandmother and fam all live in DR and we switched to appease his family and she recently passed away. Not to be rude- but my point is, you do all this accommodating for everyone else and in the end- you come up losing- so I would not worry about accommodating anyone. I'm sorry your bridesmaids have not responded. That's kind of rude. I haven't gotten my RSVP cards back and the deadline was Feb 15... I think people are afraid to say they cant make it but really? We are adults...I would think my friends and family could just politely decline. If they can't be your bridesmaid- they should just tell you. My MOH just told me a week ago she didn't want to be my MOH- after I purchased her dress for her and its 4 months until my wedding. People don't realize that it only makes it worse when they do that. Just tell people soon enough so they can find a replacement or plan! SHEESH. Courtesy is hard to come by. I am sorry for your difficulties but just know you are not alone. I definitely felt like I was at first until all the ladies on BDW commented and said they had similar issues!

This is exactly what I want but for our theme. I just want the resort to make a plain white cake and we will decorate the rest. Keepin it simple- this is nice and sleek

Yes! It is! Dont attempt it before the wedding. I promised my fiancé I would not get drunk because we paid to go zip lining the next day at XPLOR but the escorts didn't even ask if I wanted a refill. As soon as my cup was empty there was another one in my hand and it's hard to say no to alcohol that's literally handed to you- especially if any of your guests think like me an want to drink their money's worth. Oh man! Lol what about the day after te wedding?

Yes! It is! Dont attempt it before the wedding. I promised my fiancé I would not get drunk because we paid to go zip lining the next day at XPLOR but the escorts didn't even ask if I wanted a refill. As soon as my cup was empty there was another one in my hand and it's hard to say no to alcohol that's literally handed to you- especially if any of your guests think like me an want to drink their money's worth. Oh man! Lol what about the day after te wedding?

I saw silver chargers in Michaels- they were $2 with all the other Easter goods.

OMG I know! I'm getting timeframe nervous because there is so much left to be done. I have most vendors booked and contracted with deposits- but am fretting about having all the money to pay in full. I already cancelled my bridal shower because my MOH and mother were going to pay for it and I told my mother I preferred she channel her funds into helping me pay for the wedding instead-we are having an AHR so its virtually the same- no need to have an excess of parties that hurts everyone's wallets.

Check Etsy- thats where we got ours.

We have a separate savings account linked to our joint checking account and when we get paid I transfer a set amount of money into it. Then right before we are paid the next time, whatever is left over gets transferred. Aside from our joint account that pays our mutual bills- rent, cell, car, insurance, credit cards, cable, groceries etc. we both have an allowance account- a separate savings that $200 from each paycheck goes into, so $400 a month- that's the money each of us uses to buy clothes, go out with friends, etc. I usually transfer leftovers from that account into my wedding savings as well. I've been extremely strict with our budget so believe it or not my allowance account gets high sometimes. I don't touch the wedding savings because I pretend it does not exist. The only time I use it is when I have to pay a vendor. But I like watching it grow- its a reality check when I compare costs of things that tells me whether I can afford a certain element or not.

These are just in their preliminary stages. I just started messing around with them. We are having 5 tables plus our sweetheart table. Acrylic silver trays- Michael's during Xmas sale- $3 each Blue & Green peacock votives- Michael's- on sale- $2 each Silver large votive holder (center) Michael's Xmas sale- $2 each Peacocks- were a gift from a friend for Christmas for our tree- but I found more on Amazon LED Lights- $18 for 15 Total per centerpiece- $12- $15 And we are recycling them for our AHR. We are changing the yellow LED to either white lights or blue lights and since we are 4 months out- I will probably change them. We will also add natural beach sand and have the blue seaglass pieces. I only opened one bag, we intend to fill the trays more but I didn't want to open everything.