LAtravelgirl

What do the clips look like? I would like to do flowers in my hair, too, but don't know what kind of clip to buy.

I don't know about MAC and Sephora specifically, but must cosmetic counters will do makeovers either for free or with a minimum purchase, I think 2 products is standard. I've heard MAC is popular in tv and commercials as it looks great on film.

Really cute suits, everyone!

I am not familiar with this company, but the dress looks great for a beach wedding! If you are not happy, can you return the dresses?

I was thinking of incorporating real flowers in my hair. Does anyone know what I need to attach them? What should I bring with me? I am kind of think I should bring an artificial one or two as backup, but the same question remains, how do you attach it?

Oh, I forgot to say how muchI love your dress, MeghanAnn! It is gorgeous.

I think it is important that not only does the groom's attire go with the tone of the wedding, but is of his style. My FI dislikes wearing suits and ties, so I would never ask him to wear one for the wedding.

I have not been to the Garden of the Groves. On our last visit we went to Rand Nature Center and Lucayan National Park. Of these 2, I enjoyed Lucayan more. Beautiful caves, marshland, racoons, boardwalk, and beautiful beach. Rand is nice, it is fairly small but has a small pond with turtles and some birds of prey in cages. I am trying to decide if we want to do a sunset cruise for our group. Did you pick the time schedule? I have tried to get them to tell me more about the ceremony itself and I have received 2 answers, one being 20 minutes, one 30 minutes. Without having a bridal party I would think ours would be shorter. Are you having music at the ceremony? I tried to ask if it was an option, even if it means an ipod, but they have ignored the question. When I booked the resort, a local guitarist, Nat, was to play the reception, but I have now been told it will be keyboard music, which I am not as excited about. Are you going to the disco in your wedding dress? We did not go into the disco last time, we are not really dance people and were there with my parents, so it was nice to spend time catching up with them in the evenings as we spent our days scuba diving. We arrive on Sunday Nov 18 and depart on Nov 25

Wow! Your welcome booklet looks great! What price did they give you for hair/makeup? They didn't give me a price, just that they would need more info? I don't even now what that means, as hair and makeup seems self-describing to me! I mean, do they think I just want someone to comb my hair? Very frustrating! Your plumeria flowers are nice. Are you flying in from Australia? Definitely try the trapeze, it is so much fun. Very limed hours though, only a few in the afternoon for adults, which is probably long enough if you don't go scuba diving, otherwise it is difficult to get cleaned up from the afternoon dive in time to try the trapeze. I did received the arbor flower options the other day. There is an orange/yellow/red tropical one, blue, and one with pastels. I am bringing chair sashes and table runners with me just to bring in my own colors. I have not seen the options for the bouquet, yet.

I just got an email from linentablecloth.com saying they are having 10% off sitewide and FREE shipping, no minimum order required Nov. 1-4.

Thanks Gipsymoth for the tips. I am getting married and will be flying Thanksgiving week, so the odds of any "extra" bins being available are slight, especially these days when everyone tries to get by with only a carry-on to avoid checked bag fees. Heck, I flew 2 weeks ago and every bin was full and they were taking people's "carry-ons" and checking them from the plane.

I just posted in another forum about the cups themselves, so I copied and pasted my response again here: On the recommendation of the alterations place, I went to Jo-Ann Fabrics and bought "gel-filled bra cups." I couldn't find them on Jo-Ann's website, but took the UPC code from my receipt and found them on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Dritz-Gel-Bra-Cups-Nude/dp/B007KFG3NG/ref=sr_1_1?s=arts-crafts&ie=UTF8&qid=1351739462&sr=1-1&keywords=Dritz+Gel+Bra+Cups+-+C%2FD+Cup Regular price is $15.99 at Jo-Ann Fabrics, but I used a 60% off coupon so I paid only $6.40! They come in B/C and C/D size. I cannot remember if there was a smaller size. After seeing my dress, she didn't think it was necessary to use them, but I am a 34D and felt a bit more secure with some support. I tried different strapless and shapewear of all sorts and thought I would be happiest not having to worry about something showing or slipping, not to mention yet another layer of clothes in a tropical climate!

I ordered mine from a department store with a good return policy. I actually bought a 6 and an 8. When they arrived I almost brought the 6 back to the store to return it. I am so glad I didn't. Not only will I be wearing the 6, but having the sides taken in, too! I thought I would need the 8 to zip up over my breasts, then I found a minimizing bra, and then thanks to pilates, I can wear the dress without the minimizer and can even have cups sewn in! Of course that means the alterations are trickier as she can only take in the sides at the waist and needs to leave the bust area, which means the alterations will cost more, but I'm ok with it to show off the waist I have worked so hard to get back. PS I ordered the dress in August and have been watching what I eat and doing pilates and going for walks as much as I can. I took my dress in for alterations last week, although since I had not committed to shoes, she is going to wait to start until I come back with shoes.

On the recommendation of the alterations place, I went to Jo-Ann Fabrics and bought "gel-filled bra cups." I couldn't find them on Jo-Ann's website, but search the UPC code from my receipt and found them on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Dritz-Gel-Bra-Cups-Nude/dp/B007KFG3NG/ref=sr_1_1?s=arts-crafts&ie=UTF8&qid=1351739462&sr=1-1&keywords=Dritz+Gel+Bra+Cups+-+C%2FD+Cup Regular price is $15.99 at Jo-Ann Fabrics, but I used a 60% off coupon so I paid only $6.40! They come in B/C and C/D size. I cannot remember if there was a smaller size. After seeing my dress, she didn't think it was necessary to use them, but I am a 34D and felt a bit more secure with some support.

Akumal Bride- I would love to do a private, but cannot seem to find a boat on Grand Bahama that can hold 12, but not much more to keep the price in check. So the sunset cruise we found will be one with many other people on it, unfortunately. I will look into it a bit more. Glad to hear your guets enjoyed it. From our resort you cannot see the sunset, so I thought it might be a nice trip.

What is the proper amount of time?

I think the coming out cleaner depends on the material. I am having my alterations done at a local dry cleaners and they showed me a dress that was completely yellowed in the bottom 18 inches, even after attempting to clean it twice. They said it's not just the water, but the gunk in the sand that can stain the material. I didn't ask, but maybe it was LA beaches that damaged the dress. This was someone's reception dress, very silky and slinky. My dress actually says NOT to dry clean it, only spot clean with water and detergent. The cleaners said it has to do with the appliques, not the dress itself. So I guess my crystals might come off during the TTD.

I think OOT bags are a thank you to the guests for traveling to the wedding and for some at great expense. It is like saying wedding favors are not a requirement, but most wedding have them. I can't remember if it was The Knot's book on Destination Weddings or Emily Post's wedding etiquette book I read, but if you do the OOT bags, a wedding favor is not also required. We are doing both. Our favors are less "favors" and more "gifts" as there is nothing wedding-like about them. Our OOT bags will have a personalized tumbler with a lid and straw as we know this is a great thing to have at an all-inclusive. I have towel clips as I know how windy the beach is in The Bahamas. Playing cards as not everyone does beach activities. The first aid kits I think people give not only as some of the items might be overlooked when packing, but so it completes the vows "in sickness and in health" if the OOT bags are going with a vows theme.

I thought it might be nice to book a sunset cruise for our guests. There are only 10 coming to the Bahamas with us. Has anyone done one of these? The best price I could get was $40pp, so not a cheap wedding expense plus I would need to make transportation arrangements for the 12 of us. Initially I had wanted to do it on the day of the wedding, but apparently the cruise is 3 hours, so the timing wouldn't work well with getting back to the resort for dinner and such. I have been stumped for group activities on Grand Bahama Island. Open to any other suggestions!

My wedding resort is only offering a 2 hour reception. And they recently informed me other resort guests would be in the restaurant at the same time. I put a stop to that as I was never told that there was a minimum guests required for a private reception. Which is strange as all of there pricing is based on 12 guests, but they claim you need a minimum of 35 for a private reception. Why would anyone want strangers at their reception? They have agreed to make the restaurant private for us for 2 hours. There is never any dance breaks allowed, which is fine with us, but I can see why that would be a turnoff to so many brides wanting the full reception experience. I agree with the others, if you have a cocktail hour before hand, 4 hours seems like plenty.

I agree with shes2013. Have the deadline before you leave. Maybe even a couple of days before you leave so you can send out reminder notes or call. Or better yet, have someone else take care of the reminder calls when you are still away.

How did your brunch turn out?

I like the look of the raffia one, too, but I am trying to be practical, too. I am trying to remember if the straw market on Grand Bahama Island had any of these fans. I think it would be nice to pick up something local for the guests.

This is a simple camera phone photo. I shot it outside, but under a patio cover on a piece of white paper. It is the pumpkin organza chair sash. It has a gold shimmer to it. The resort I am getting married at doesn't offer any ceremony decorations besides the arbor draped with white material and flowers, so I thought these might dress up the white plastic chairs. The chairs have slits in the back rest that I plan on stringing the ribbon thru to tie it. I thought the organza would be less slippery and easier to keep tied in the windy Bahamas without having to pin each one. I don't know how much the resort will do for setup and how much I will need to take care of.