EVKnowsitall

OMG I love the cutouts! We are obsessed with our dog!!!!! We added her to our cake topper much to the chagrin of my mother- that is until she actually saw the cake topper and went ballistic over how adorable it turned out. We also plan to include her in our engagement shoot which means she will be in our guest book- but my fiance and I cannot stop giggling over the cut outs. Aside from our hotel not being a pet friendly one- the risk of traveling with the dog and having her potentially quarantined was not one we wanted to deal with. We love her too much to put her through trauma so I think these ideas are awesome. Great thread! Heres our topper:

I suggested to my girls that we should host the bachelorette party upon arrival at the resort- it would def save people money, unfortunately, not everyone is flying in on the same days and I don't want to do it the day before my actual wedding. I'm getting married in DR- but I went to Mexico last year and we absolutely loved the XPLOR park- we want during the day and went ziplining, ATV-ing, swimming in a cenote, and rafting. They also include a buffet lunch. Another activity my fiancé and I enjoyed was a jetskiing ATV package. At the end of the jetskiing we ended up at a bar on the beach with swings as chairs. Both excursions were arranged through a tour company. I want to say Olympus but I'm not certain. We just went to the table they had in the Lobby and signed up the day before. Finally- the best excursion for a bachelorette party that we did was the Party Bus. For $75 a person, a van picks you up at your hotel (there are other stops at other places too) and they take you to three hot night spots. The first was señor Frogs, the second a lounge called The Pink Elephant and the night ends at CocoBongos which includes a live show of trapeze artists, celebrity impersonators, lazer light shows- and it's interactive. All drinks are included at all three bars, and the tour guides act like babysitters- they bring the drinks to you- my hand was never empty, and they make sure you get back on the van when it's time to go to the next spot. For the price and service it cannot be beat. We D's the jetskiing an ATV package which was $95 and also worth it- jetskiing alone costs that at some places- during the day- came back to the hotel for dinner and to shower and change and then we were off on the party bus. It was a fun filled day. I Totally recommend the party bus but id make a whole day of it. For my bachelorette were doing a road trip. We live in NY and since DR is costing our party money, we wanted to do something cheaper for bachelorette. We are driving to P-Town MA or Oceand City MD- both are 5 hours away, crashing all of us in one room (can anyone say sleeping bags) and beaching it during the day, seafood dinners, bars and lounges at night. Low key and cheap. My fiancé is also doing a road trip to Montreal- also about a 5 hour drive- and going fishing with his buds and then lounges at night. They already booked their trip.

Sorry my fellow brides! I posted because I needed to vent and although I am not happy you are experiencing emotional upsets, I'm glad I've been able to talk and relate to a few of you. I really swore up and down this only happened to me because so many brides on this forum report such excitement about their weddings or large numbers of folks and I thought "it's just my circle giving me the drama" Suzhen I'm sorry about that. That's similar with my sisters. One of them really cannot afford it but I am giving her my free room credit- she just needs flights for her and her son and she says she will use her tax return $. My other sister- no excuse. And like I told my mother- if people don't have the money I understand, decline the invite- but don't encumber me with your 100 reasons why and guilt me. My aunt, her stepson is getting married this year too, so she told me "I simply cannot attend I am so sorry but I will be at your shower and AHR" and I didn't begrudge her. What my sister said was "for that price I can get married myself or I can remodel my kitchen. I'm not spending that much money on just some wedding. And I have a child to worry about. Should she starve so I can go to some party?" That's what bothered me. Or people calling me constantly to ask me if I realize how expensive flights are. It's like they feel bad they can't attend so they put it on me. No more! Ev you are right. I have to just let it go or I will be a very unhappy bride. My fiancé and I chose this knowing full well it wouldn't sit right with a good number of people. We knew the risk but it's what we envisioned, what we wanted- and gosh darn it after all we have done for friends and family- its what we deserve! I keep telling myself- and some of my guests- On July 5th- Elvin and I will be getting married. If you want to come- fantastic we'd love to have you. If you can't come- that's a shame we will miss you- but regardless we will be there. And we will be getting married. FIN! Keep your heads up fellow brides! When I get down about something or another- I busy myself with a wedding related task haha like glueing rhinestones to my invitations, or jazzing up my unity sand set. Or looking through Pinterest and Etsy and then I get excited again. I'm sure on all of our big days none of this trivial mess will matter. We will be married and happy and nothing and no one can take that from us.

I finally received my invitations! I posted pics in this forum: Post pictures of your Invitations Everything is coming together but our guests and bridal party are causing us a lot of strife. I need a venting forum thread. I wish people weren't so selfish. Everyone is mad at someone or us. My mother in law is upset with us- but mostly me, because her friend didn't get a seat on our group air because my TA could only secure 15 seats and we used them for family and bridal party. So now her friend is saying she doesn't want to come. Then there are my two sisters who knew about my wedding for over a year and encouraged me to have a DW and now are crying poverty because we are 6 months away and now they are deciding to think about costs. One of my bridesmaids dropped because she broke up with the Best man. Last weekend at the Best Man's bday party- he bumped in my MOH and her phone broke and she insisted he pay for it and he told her no, so now she is at war with him. My father who was coming can't get a passport so he probably can't come (we do not have a close relationship, I grew up without him but I did think he would be there for my wedding) Can we say DRAMA? Our friends and family are sucking the joy out of this wedding. Every time I get excited about getting my invites, or booking our AHR, or finally finding bridesmaids dresses, something also goes awry. Oy. I thought DW's were easy...we should have eloped. All contracts are secured- We are just waiting to have our planning call...

I FINALLY got my invitations! I am satisfied with the way they turned out. Yes- everyone does the Passport thing or the boarding pass thing so they aren't unique, but they are unique in terms of any wedding amongst our group of friends and family. We are the first to host a destination wedding, so we thought they'd be fun. My fiance loves them and he works in the art industry so he is picky. I feel like they are missing something but then again, I am over the top. I was thinking of adding a rhinestone to the front cover on one of the feathers, or adding metallic chords to the binding. What do you ladies think? Leave well enough alone, or add my little touch? Mom bought a Swarovski hot gun that affixes crystals to anything so it would be subtle and easy to do but I am worried about messing them up.

You are a stunner. My goodness. I love the way this dress hugs your curves. It is so whimsical. Congrats on your wedding it looked gorgeous and makes me excited about mine! My dress has little roses on the bottom so I'm definitely a fan of some sort of whimsical touch added to the dress. Butterflies!

So adorable! I love it. Your invitations are cute. I just got an email from shutterfly and plan on ordering my pohotobook but I have not taken professional engagement photos and I want to. I have lots of cute photos with my fiance from over the years, but I'd like something more professional of us.

I know! It's scary because 6 months will fly. Everything did not start falling into place until now, so its a little hectic but also exciting. We have our group air booked, our room blocks booked, invitations- we hit a bump in the road with the manufacturer but they will be delivered shortly, we just booked our AHR, DJ is booked, photographer is booked, my bridal party is working on my shower (although I fought them not to do one, my mother and MOH, as annoying as she has been this entire time, insist I deserve one), next up is planning the bachelorette, the fiances bachelor party is booked (and paid for because the guys booked it as soon as they found out haha), My dress, headpiece and veil have been purchased and made and are in the vault at the store, I just went bridesmaid shopping this weekend and we narrowed it down to 2 dresses, the groomsmen and grooms suits have been ordered, my church is working on gathering the paperwork we need to marry in the church in DR. Next I have to figure out souvenirs, and my welcome bags. Everything is coming together nicely and my only concern is ensuring we have the money to pay for everything! Which is a biggie. We have a tight budget and we are in the red (because of my insistence at having an AHR). I started bartending for extra money but have not been able to find steady employment- just a few private parties here and there, but I have a bunch of upcoming interviews lined up- So lol it should all work out.

Sorry I wasn't finished! but I hit submit in my excitement...it was also midnight. Woohoo AHR is officially booked. We went with a small venue in our neighborhood. It's not the least expensive option but for what is included its worth it, plus our parents are chipping in. My mom paid the $1,000 deposit and my fiances mother offered to pitch in whatever my mom puts in. The place is giving us colored linens, centerpieces (our choice of glass vases with white birch branches we can decorate or candelabras), colored moodlighting (which was an $800 expense through the DJ), standard open bar, 8 passed hot hors d'oeuvres ( took me forever to spell that correctly I hate that word), a crudite table, antipasto, salad, a carving station, a pasta station, and a dessert table with italian cookies, cheesecake and cannolis (so I might forego a cake altogether)- all for $55 per person. I also tried to dissuade my friends and family from throwing me a bridal shower because my fiance and I already live together. My maid of honor told me I was being ungracious and she has been fighting me tooth and nail so I said- do whatever you want. I was just trying to be considerate and save my bridal party and mother some money. We were able to secure a location with a brunch option- bagels, croissants, muffins, scrambled eggs, sausage, pancakes, homefries, one vegetable selection, one chicken, one pasta, coffee & tea, juice, white wine, screwdrivers, mimosas, bloody Mary's and cake- $25 per person. We thought to use this location for the AHR because it would have cut the bill in half but a DJ with a percussionist just did not mix with breakfast. Anyone in the 5 boroughs of NYC looking for inexpensive AHR options and willing to have them in the Bronx- I now have established a bunch of connects (I also do prom for my high school so they know me in that regard) and I can help with suggestions & prices...oh yea- I'm an expert now lol

Woohoo AHR is officially booked. We went with a small venue in our neighborhood. It's not the least expensive option but for what is included its worth it plus our parents are chipping in. My mom paid the $1,000 deposit and my fiances mother offered to pitch in whatever my mom puts in. The place is giving us colored linens, centerpieces (our choice of glass vases with white birch branches we can decorate or candelabras), colored moodlighting (which was an $800 expense through the DJ), standard open bar, 8 passed hot hors

Your cake is perfect! I looove tres leches, I didn't think they could do a tres leches cake. But it looks so yummy. It's simple and elegant and photographed really nicely. Most of the pictures I have seen of caked don't impress me much. It's not exactly the resorts specialty haha. but I do love that you can buy edible decorations on Etsy and spruce it up. Our colors are blue and we have peacock elements here and there. Etsy sells edible peacock feathers for a cake so I was thinking of buying them and adding them to the cake. My sister is a professional baker- I wish they would allow her to bake my cake in the resort kitchen haha but she did say she would help decorate it and they said that would be permissible. For our AHR- I want a cake with our photos on one tier and another tier with words the define our relationship- places we have traveled, hobbies, etc. My sister made me a photocake for our bdays (my fiance and I have our bdays 3 days apart) and thats where I got the idea from. The photocake doesnt work in hot climates because its made with rice paper which does not respond well to heat (it starts to sweat and the colors run- that actually happened because she made the photocake on an icecream cake so it had moisture.) I found this picture of a simple cake that matched our colors. She said it is all stencil work which is easy- just need the airbrush machine or the edible markers or paint- but we need a fondant base and thats an upgrade so we might forego it in favor of something more resort feasible.

I I'm hitting mine this Saturday! Wooooohooo Congrats! Halfway there!

Is this from the Vera Wang Collection? I LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE- I so would have chosen this for my ring had it been around when I got engaged. I love the little hint of blue and love the intricate detailing. It looks great from whatever angle. I would be staring at it all day as I'm sure you are. It is probably my favorite ring on this thread even more so than mine! LOL Whenever we go back into Zales to have my ring cleaned I always look around and find all these rings I love that weren't around when I got engaged. My fiance is always pulling me away from the cases hahaha.

This is so nice. It's unique and I agree- its a great way to keep the traditional vows. Nice choice!