EVKnowsitall

You'll have to post a review with pics! My fiance and I originally were ready to go with Hard Rock but we went with Paradisus instead. I love the Colin Cowie packages- they are gorgeous! Which one did you go with? I kind of kicked myself for not doing Hard Rock because there is a special running for air and stay there right now, I got it in an email. Anyway have a blast! The resort looks like lots of fun and my TA highly recommended it to us when we first started our search.

Your dress is gorgeous. This pic looks like a professional one haha with the perfect bridal salon. I love how you went with a full dress even though you are having a destination wedding. Part of me regrets that I didn't and I listened to everyone saying I needed a lighter dress- although I have a lot of beadwork on mine and it actually weighs a lot LOL. I think big dresses look amazing on the beach. Your dress is a happy marriage of a mermaid style and a fuller dress- since the bottom comes out so nicely. It will look awesome in your pics.

How did you like Skyfall? Anywho- I am creative but coming up with a wedding theme stumped me tremendously. I see all these great ideas and wish I was as creative as some brides. All I knew going into it was that my favorite color was blue- yay! Haha but I thik you already have your theme "eco-friendly chic" and the Chill out Chic package is perfect for you. I like your color combo- there are so many great flowers you can use- Cymbidium orchids, hydrangeas. I love purple, it was my first choice for my wedding until a few of my friends used it in theirs. I was really surprised no one used blue. The other thing that made me lean towards it is I have always wanted a peacock tattoo- in fact I was debating whether to get it pre or post wedding. I am attracted to the colors in the feather and wanted to use the feathers and colors in my wedding. I went on peacock overload and it started looking tacky so I scaled it back. When I found out the church was all white and we wanted the Aqua package it all started coming together. The clean white backdrop made me envision a marine/ nautical style wedding. Then the hubby to be choose a navy blue suit. Against the gem-hued "peacock" color of the bridesmaids dresses it looks dramatic. We only added the Aqua because of the Aqua package- but we ended up finding many elements with the navy/ aqua combo. If I think of anything else for yours I will share! But I love the Chill out chic decor. I really wanted that package but I'm not getting married on the beach so it didn't make sense for us because we wont have the arch and the orchids and the brown didn't fit in with our theme. My invitation lady is slacking. I was supposed to see a proof by now and have the invites before Thanksgiving but she has not even sent the proof. When she does, I'd like to start my planning thread on BDW and share some of what I have with other brides. I am trying to make many elements and have taken them from places I have seen. No reinventing the wheel here. I saw an idea that would be perfect for you on Four Weddings. It's my favorite wedding show, since many of the brides opt for DIY touches and I think they are the best! The bride was a teacher and she made paper fans out of construction paper. To weigh down each fan, she found rocks around a local lake and used a white out pen to write quotes about love on each rock. If I were marrying on the beach I would so jack this idea. Michaels sells bamboo wooden fans- a box of 10 or 20- I'm not sure for $19.99 they might be a interesting option. I also scored silver plastic trays with rhinestones. They are meant for Christmas- the long rectangular trays you put candles atop. I got them for $2.99 because the Christmas stuff is on sale and I figured the plastic would travel well. I also bought silver frosted tumblers for $4.00 each and plan on putting blue lcd lights inside of them. They will sit atop the trays. Michaels also carries these adorable silver luggage tags that we will use for our place cards. They were $19.99 for a box of 10 ($2 each) and if you can find a coupon you can get them cheaper. Their celebrate it line has all the DIY crafts for weddings. My ideas are all over the place and I'm just beginning to bring them all together. I'm ecstatic and finally feel like I'm planning a wedding- but like I said- the creativity does not belong to me. It's really just taking ideas I find from others and making them work for me. Do you have a pinterest? If not- its a great place to find ideas on other peoples wedding boards and to create your own board so you can store websites and pics of things you like. I also suggest Etsy- there are so many great vendors who have inexpensive Nicknacks. There's a few websites where I find things for weddings at low cost. I will look them up and share when I can post the links. Enjoy the weekend!

I concur. Save the money and skip the STD's. STD's generally go out like an announcement. We sent ours 10 months in advance and invitations are going out 8-7 months before. Since that's the timeframe you're in- save the money and send the invites. You can create an electronic STD- like an evite and write- "formal invitations to follow"

I wasn't entirely sure how it worked. I might try it if air fare is low enough but usually its quite high. The week of our wedding there was a flight as low as $420 per person and we very stupidly failed to book and the same flight is now costing $800 pp! We are waiting for Jetblue to release their flights and are booking a group air for our guests. Initially I was reluctant to book with Jetblue because they have no closet to store my dress (no first class cabin). I would have to put it in the overhead or hold it- but with flight prices so high, I'm willing to compromise. I will hold my dress in my lap for 4 hours haha. I do not care. And therein lies the benefit of a more form fitting style as opposed to a bigger ball gown. My dress choice now makes sense to me. What's everyone going with in terms of color schemes and themes (if you have one)? My fiance sort of usurped my wedding theme lol but he was so excited he lit up like a Christmas tree and I didn't want to steal his sunshine so I let him run with it. He is getting the suit James Bond wears in his latest flick- blue with a silk black collar (lapel?). My friend who is making his suit initially presented this look to him and begged him to choose it because she said she loves making that particular suit because its so unique, but he chose something else. Then he saw the James Bond Trailer and said he wanted the suit. Then he asked if we could have a James Bond theme to our wedding lol He wants a signature martini and everything. Initially I had selected a peacock theme- but I can weave some peacock elements in there. Our color scheme is a palette of blues so I guess James Bond it is. He wants us to have a whole action sequence entrance- why not when we were having the fire dancers anyway. I roll with the punches. I want our wedding to be a fun experience. We are getting married in the church which will be the more serious side- why not get goofy at the reception. I'll see what other elements I like from the film- we are going to see Skyfall tonight.

Yes! Even my mother was confused by this. I had a lot of guests ask why they were paying per person and not per room. They also assumed that the couple incurred no costs. "Dinner is included because we are staying at an all-inclusive" was the misnomer. It's also the reason they believe any guest staying at the resort can just attend the wedding. I explain it like this- if the resort did that they would lose business because EVERYONE would have a destination wedding every time they went on vacation lol I know I would! It's certainly one of the drawbacks because some people can become embittered- "I'm paying all this money to go to your wedding and I can't bring whoever I want?" It's just one of those things that if guests do not understand now, they certainly will when they see the effort you have poured into the wedding in terms of small touches, decorations, entertainment etc.

Hey Mady, I did email them directly, only to receive a "package" about the paperwork from the resort saying all contact must be through your wedding coordinator. They never responded to the email anyway. I imagine aside from running their own ministry they are inundated with DW requests so absolutely let your coordinator handle everything. It took about a week and a half because they are a little slow in responding. You have to send the copies of all necessary documents 2 months prior to your wedding, but also bring the originals with you to verify the authenticity on the day of your wedding. They keep the copies, compare them to the originals and will hand you back the originals the day of your wedding, so you leave the church with them. They will also give you the certificate of marriage the day of. I do not believe I can send anything in by email, I think it needs to be a hardcopy or a fax.

You'd be surprised! At first we only invited immediate family but a lot of people expressed feeling "left out" and we explained that we thought they wouldn't go because of the expense and they expressed interest. In fact, we have more friends coming now than family because people saw it as a vacation opportunity with a group of people with the wedding as a plus- of course- the wedding should be the main reason. Some of our family who never travel are coming though, and that means the world to us. I was totally surprised with one of my coworkers who is coming. Another one of my coworkers is a family member of my fiance and she was talking about the wedding in front of my other coworker and she said "Oh I can't wait to go, when are you sending out the invites?" I sent the Save the dates, but didn't give her one, so I just gave her the travel agents information and the next day my TA told me she paid her deposit. I was stunned. So sometimes if you just put it out there- people will go. It is your choice however- to only have an intimate group and just your closest family and friends with you.

Elissae! Its OK! All set to go to a veil and jewelry trunk show/ first fitting in December- although after the Thanksgiving holidays...I'm going to have to watch my intake haha. And being holed up for a week off of work did not help either. But that's ok- I lost 60 pounds prior to becoming engaged, I'm sure a measly few pounds can be lost before the wedding should they attempt to pack themselves on.

Those are the only two I have, I used them for my website. If you Google search images or the web you can get photographers who have photographed weddings there and you can see actual ceremonies. I love it- just has a clean look to it. I'm not really going to decorate much. I think its a waste- I'm saving my decorations for the reception.

Hey ladies! We've been awfully quiet! What's going on? How did my fellow East Coasters fare in the wake of Hurricane Sandy? I live in the BX and it's eerie because the Bronx was unscathed but everywhere else is a mess. My family and friends in Staten Island, Westchester, and Long Island suffered flooding, power outages, downed trees etc. Thankfully everyone is alive and accounted for but the damage is insane. Also there is a huge gas crisis. My fiance and I filled our tank halfway before the hurricane hit and we haven't driven anywhere so we have gas but the mass majority of gas stations have no gas or the wait is 2 or more hours. My dress was also in a store in LI in one of the hart hit areas and I worried it was damaged because there was flooding in the area where the salon is located. I felt sheepish calling the salon but I was worried so I called the girl, first asked how the workers were doing, then asked if the store sustained any damage, then asked about my dress, and then apologized for my selfishness. Dress is ok. Anyway- in the wake of all this craziness I can't wait for my wedding. I have all these ideas and details but I haven't bought anything but my dress! I have a Pinterest and I love lots of things on Etsy but I'm afraid to buy things and have just a cluster of things just laying around.

Depends which resort you are referring to. I am getting married at the Jesus Maestro Parish and my resort is the Paradisus Palma Real. I am told it is a 10 minute drive.

Court- They look amazing! So intricate and detailed! I'm worried about ours bc of the hurricane. We are from NY and I was in touch before the hurricane with the designer and now she hasn't responded. My dress is also in Massapequa L.I. which was affected by the storm. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that everyone is safe and dry and so are my wedding items I love these. They look fantastic.

This dress is awesome! It's the first convertible dress I have seen that I would actually wear. Many of them lack that bridal feel but this is just too cute without the bottom and elegant with it. I agree- it is destination perfect. I am waiting to hear back from my salon. I am a New Yorker and my dress was purchased in a store in Massapequa in an area that was devastated by Hurricane Sandy. I am keeping my fingers crossed that my dress hasn't suffered any damage. With all the loss and devastation I know its a miniscule worry that pales in comparison, but I'd be lying if I said it didn't cross my mind.

what a pretty ring. It definitely sparkles nicely.

Congrats on your wedding! I love the antique look.

That's a great price! I wish we had something like that in NY but the cheapest I've been able to find is like $35 per person for open bar and hors d'oeuvres or $45 pp for a full plated dinner but with wine and beer only. It was the reason we decided on a destination wedding in the first place. NY is just beyond expensive when it comes to receptions. And those are the cheap spots! When we were having a stateside wedding we were going to shell out $95 pp (and only bc we got a great deal because our friend knew the catering manager of the place we chose) I found a few places that let you rent the facility and then you can cater and bring your own drinks but they are quite a distance for most of our guests and not necessarily a cheaper alternative. We don't want to spend more than $3,000 on an AHR and even that is pushing it. That's why I thought about canceling it altogether. We will see. Ultimately it will depend on how much we can save. My MOH and mother wanted to throw me a bridal shower and I asked them to pitch in for an AHR instead. If we had help paying for it then it would be possible. I like what I'm hearing though. Sounds like there are no rules when it comes to an AHR. My biggest concern was our family and friends thinking it was "cheap" since we would not be investing the money into it the way we would if it were a full reception. I agree WHO DOESN'T LOVE WINE???? (We need a wine emoticon). I keep telling my fiance that we can compromise on the open bar. Especially if we go with a brunch option or a Sunday AHR- just doesn't seem like there's a need for that much alcohol. I'll keep looking. I'm not all that motivated to though haha it's more work than I think I feel like committing to.

Same here! Especially since my dress is a mermaid. I did not think I would choose such a form fitting gown and before I did- I expressed reluctance and the consultant put a veil on me right away. The veil completed the look for me. I will be wearing a cathedral length veil. Not common for destination weddings lol I know! But we are getting married in a church so I think it will work fine. I will take it off for the reception. After a few pics of course! haha. I looooove veils. I always have.

Congrats on the weight loss! I love that the dress has two different looks. Looks like a two piece. I love the detail on the skirt and bust and the bow is such a nice element to tie it all in.

Ha. I have the opposite issue. My fiance and I are very close in height and I can't have bigger than a 2-3" heel because of my dress. Anything taller and I will tower over him. But I agree wedges are the most comfortable if you want height.

Sounds awesome! Wish we had a yard to host. I went to a friends wedding in a backyard. She wanted to do a destination wedding but everyone told her she was being selfish. She ended up just going to Jamaica for her honeymoon and having the wedding in a family friend's yard. Her sister in laws mother owns a Colombian restaurant so she had the food catered from there and her husband is Jamaican so it was a wonderful mix of latin food and Jamaican. She bought alcohol, they played music from an ipod, rented tables, chairs and linens and a friend made a cupcake tower. I loved it. Intimate, fun, delicious food. They are so much fun! Enjoy yours!

Sweet. Same for me- somewhat. I wanted to be married first. Got a lot of flak for that oddly enough. It's =just a thing I have. I know nowadays marriage doesn't equal security but it's important for me. Good for you for waiting!