EVKnowsitall

I'm a Paradisus Palma Real Bride too!

I love Charming Charlie- I can spend hours there. It would have been cheaper to buy the brooches separately online but I couldn't contain my excitement- I wanted my mom to start right away so I wanted to buy them all in one place. Although it was slightly more money, it wasn't too bad and many of the brooches were shaped like flowers. I bought them all in the same silver color because my base flowers are blue and green and I didn't want a crazy amount of colors but the cool thing about Charming Charlie is that everything is in sections by colors. I want to go back just to shop for jewelry. I might buy my wedding jewelry there as well. Originally I thought Swarovski- because it's costume jewelry but done tastefully- but I didn't want to spend the money. Im trying to cut corners wherever I can because my costs are mounting- Charming Charlie has a lot of nice pieces- plus my dress has a lot going on so for simple pieces- why spend an arm and a leg? BTW Any ladies making their bouquets- Michael's has the artificial flowers for 50% off and a coupon for 40% off any one regular priced item (the discount comes off the highest priced item) I suggest you use the digital smartphone coupon in a transaction and also print one out and just make two separate purchases so you can use the coupon twice. Yay for coupons lol Etsy also has some inexpensive brooches but when you factor in the shipping- sometimes it's just cheaper to buy them in a store. I saw a few in New York and Company as well and they have incredible coupons. The jewelry is buy one get one free or 50% off a lot of the time- they just don't have as much variety but if you are looking to fill the bouquet for cheap- it can be an option.

I knew right away a brooch bouquet was what I wanted.v I'm not a fan of artificial flowers so its a way to avoid using fresh flowers without it necessarily being "tacky" because you are making a stunning keepsake. I purchased my brooches already but spent way too much for them. I spent about $160- purchased them from a store called Charming Charlie an got a sale- spend $100 save $20- so I bought $200 worth for a total of $160. The rest of the supplies will bring the project to $200. I purchased blue and green hydrangeas from Michaels to fill in the gaps- but during the Christmas season, my mom found these really great wire garlands with crystals and they are so pretty- she really can just make the bouquet from that! I tried to convince her to let me return the brooches and just use the crystal wire but she wants to try and make the brooch bouquet. I am also attaching a wedding photo of my grandparents who passed away. I am so excited to see the final product. I will be showing my mother the tutorial so she can make my bouquet!

I love the photo challenge idea. I have guests how would be so into it!

That's the issue I had. Right away the TA needed info and I didn't have a read on who was coming. Even still my RSVP date was February 16th and I've only received a handful Of response cards back- and they are stamped- all they have to do is write a check mark and slip it in the mailbox for crying out loud. Lol. I would just go with the electronic save the dates and just send invites to the handful of people. You can get a kit and make them at michaels if its just a few. I don't regret our invites completely- but we definitely could have saved on them- we did passports and everyone raved about them. What I think we should have done was skip the stds and send the invites sooner. We just werent prepared for that kind of timeline. With our stds we sent the TA's business card with a link to our website on one side. We made them using business card template we bought at staples. I used to think electronic stds were tacky but in a DW- the rules of typical wedding etiquette just don't apply. And no one will call you tacky. Everyone will forget everything else once they are on vacation haha. We spent too much on our invites- I could have saved that money if I had just made them myself. That would be my suggestion.

You really can't beat that and for the way I'm busting my ass- I wish it was the path I chose. I am two steps away from misery working three jobs. I never even see my fiance ; ( or sleep for that matter.

What is MIB?

I have seen some brides come back to this thread after their initial budget and have to increase it and the same has happened with us and the thought is absolutely terrifying especially because there's no room. I am going to have to cut out a lot of things I was hoping to add. I don't even know where I would come up with the money and the thought is scary! I took a second job to be able to afford our wedding and am putting in overtime at my first job. I am a teacher and I am teaching Saturday classes and tutoring after school on some days and bartending at night, and it still seems like we will come up short and the wedding is 4 months away. I am super sweating bullets- like even considered taking out a personal loan because I just don't see how we would be able to do it. Flights- round trip- $500 each Hotel Stay- all inclusive- $2,600 ($1,300 each) Wedding Package @ 24 people- $5,000 Photographer- $2,800 plus room to avoid the outside vendor fee (room is $606) DJ- $590 plus $500 outside vendor fee AHR- $4,000 AHR DJ- $2,400 Veil & headpiece balance- $700 All I see are dollar signs and negative signs lol

Hey Kel- We sent our Save the Dates 11 months before and our invites 6 months before. The invites were almost useless though. They gave off the wow factor and got everyone excited but by that point, most people had already booked and they were more of just a decoration. In hindsight, I would recommend setting up a website or electronic Save The Dates- saving the money and sending invites 8 months before or something like that. We sent our save the dates and people wanted too book immediately so they wanted more details- at that point I realized it would have been best just to quickly send out the invites with the more detailed information.

I did- look back at my posts. I am keeping Mannia.

Don't feel bad- this whole process is a roller coaster and we have to deal with different emotions and ups and downs. Everything will be great!

Agreed! I almost didn't chose my dress because something was missing and then the consultant put on the veil! Something about a veil just makes it feel bridal. I guess because there's only one time in life you wear one.

They should be able to accommodate your welcome party although I have to be honest- that is a large number of people. The issue is probably that they would have to close the restaurant to the public during that time period. When you spoke with them did you tell them how large your group was? I agree, I would not pay for a welcome dinner. At first we thought about doing the Tailor made package but we thought some of the components were a waste. My thoughts were to use Bana for a rehearsal dinner since it has the hibachi tables and you can fit the most people. For your group they should be able to accommodate in Bana- thats what I have heard other brides say. We aren't doing a welcome dinner. We will have a "thank you brunch" the day after the wedding in the buffet and you cant stop a group from going to the buffet lol. Email the Romance team and ask to speak directly to a manager. That's what I did to resolve my dilemma. Sometimes it takes a bit of a fight but they need to find a way to accommodate you if they said they could. Also- email them do not hold them to their word by something they said. You need written proof. Keep copies of every email- that's my advice going forward but I know it doesn't solve your current dilemma. Which reviews are you reading? I have yet to see a bad review of the resort itself. The only negative reviews, and I think we can all attest to this, are from working with the Romance department itself. I sometimes question my decision but we are so far along we have no choice. I am just hoping it will all work out. Enough brides have gone and said many good things so I'm sure this is just routine hiccups that happen no matter what resort you plan your wedding in.

This dress looks familiar. Did you post this before? I love the softness of it and the organza overlay...is that what it is? I used to have a dress with a similar fabric. I love the flower design. Congrats on your dress!

Precisely! I don't think it's always a factor. I guess it depends on what your non-negotiables are. I know I'll sweat my ass off, but I hope this is my first and last wedding- I don't want it to be confined to a certain look. There isn't much beachiness to our wedding at all other than the fact that its on the beach. My friend said "so you are basically transplanting a wedding here to DR" and basically the answer is um yea. Our wedding is at 5 in a church with the reception at 8 on the beach so by then I'm hoping there will be a decent breeze. Pick the dress your heart loves- worry about logistics later lol. I clearly did not worry about them at all hahaha Thank you so much! Insanity! I recommend it to anyone trying to lose weight. 60 days I lost 20 pounds, I did it twice and then I did the next volume called Asylum. I've just been maintaining now which has been the real challenge. I can't wear a bra because of the back of my dress, thats why I will have them add the cups. Then they told me I can wear cutlets lol...fillers! Fillers! lol Thank you! I know, boobs make many dresses look amazing but some girls with big boobs complain they can't look demure because even when they aren't trying to be sexy, their cups runneth over. I had that problem when I was a DD. I wasn't trying to show cleavage half the time but it was always creeping out. I guess everyone has their problems. At least with A's you don't have saggy boobies.

Well- Don't mean to be the negative nancy on the thread so today I come bearing good news! Proof that persistence wins if you are willing to battle a bit. Paradisus came down to $500 for the outside vendor fee which I still argued about. I contacted Mannia about the whole fiasco and they agreed to discount their services so that I could pay Paradisus the fee. The total price of their services was $1000 and we paid a $495 deposit. They are only asking us to pay an additional $95 for a total of $590. They have been so nice during this whole difficult time. So I win! I get to keep my DJ- it is only costing me slightly higher than I would have paid ($90 more) and everybody is happy...well probably not Paradisus but oh well They don't get to charge me an outside vendor fee for more than my photographer and I am booking him a room to avoid that one as well. It ends up costing less to just book the vendor a room so you don't pay the day pass fee and booking a room costs less than the $1,000 fee to begin with. I SHALL HAVE THE WEDDING I WANT ON MY TERMS- Say it with me ladies! Do not let anyone steal your thunder! LOL

Paperless Post...google them I don't know their website per se but they make fancy email invitations. My friend suggested them to me...I don't know if the service is free. I think they have a few free ones but then they have some really fancy designs that will run you some money. Congrats!

So DJ update- I have been going back and forth over who is responsible and from what I can determine- the resort admits I followed protocol but that the DJ should have never accepted my deposit- which means the DJ is also at fault- but they are insisting we pay. We basically got caught in some bitter battle between DJ Mannia and Paradisus and now we are forced to cough up the outside vendor fee. After fighting tooth and nail back and forth for over a week the "deal" they presented us with is that Paradisus would be responsible for 50% of the outside vendor fee and the day passes- $120 each, $240 total, and we would pay the remaining $500- because you know, it such a wonderful deal. I shot back an email saying that was not a consolation because this whole thing was not our fault and was told "I am trying to be nice, some brides get nothing." I think they are just not used to push back from a bride who knows her rights and does not like being taken advantage of- so time to work a new angle. I wrote to Mannia asking if they could sweeten the pot by offering us a discount on one of their additional services we intended to add- like the LED dance floor, since we would have used the $500 we will now be stuck paying on the LED dance floor and other amenities. It was worth a shot. I'm torn because I know I shouldn't pay the $500 at all- but I really want DJ Mannia. We compared Abentos their new DJ's to Mannia and we favored Mannia. I don't want anyone who has Abentos booked to be concerned- but they seem like a newer company where DJ Mannia has DJ-ed many weddings in the past. If I were just looking for simple music and MC- no problem, I'd go with Abentos- but we wanted the sea lighting and a couple of other things that Mannia offered that we did not see on Abentos' website- but I'm not sure the $500 is worth it. Many people originally going to our wedding now backed out (my dad and one of my sisters...oh and my MOH aren't I a lucky girl...) so we have less people to pay for, which frees up some money but with less people do we really need the whole kit and caboodle? What to do? What to do?

Hey Emily- I do indeed- I had to dig through a little bit because I posted it so long ago. Excuse the middle pic with the saggy boobs...my girls need help- they need to add cups to my dress. I lost weight so...sadly...my girls deflated from a DD to a B : ( I wish when you lost weight your boobs and rear weren't the first things to go and the stomach wasn't the last lol but the pic shows the detail on the bottom of my dress which surprisingly- turned out to be one of my favorite parts. I didn't think I would like the frilly frou frou and was all about the bling. But I like the "spanish" feel of the bottom.

You can never be too fancy- beach or not- it is your day. I thought my dress was too much but that's my personality, and then I saw other brides on this forum with their fancy dresses and I felt- yup I can rock mine.