jandl2013

They are cute...lol at catching errors after the fact.

Quote: Originally Posted by sharmer pretty!! thanks for sharing Thanks sharmer!!

Here is the stamp that I ordered from Zazzle.com for my invitations. I think they cute and go with my purple and red theme.

you can take the invite or save the date to the post office to see your options. That's what i did to determine the postage. I didn't like what they had to offer so I ordered my stamps from zazzle.com. I'll post my stamps for the invites shortly.

Thanks!!!

Yes, resort information, dress code forthewedding and resort restaurants, weather in punta cana, passport requirement, rsvp date, room block and travel agent information.

Well i briefly thought about doing them myself but that project was out of my league lol. I found AllurementsbyRebecca on this site because a number of people used her, but she is on Etsy also. I really liked her work so i knew i would pay a bit more for those invites but it was worth it to me because she captured exactly what i wanted on my boarding passes. I didn't see anything in my color range or ideas but she figured it out very quickly based on the info i gave her so I love them.

I was very overwhelmed also. I originally wanted boarding passes as the save the date and a nice formal invitation, but i couldn't afford to do both so i chose a cheaper save the date then choose the boarding pass invite. I could not justify spending that much on just invites. It worked out though because everyone loves the magnets and it's a great reminder to rsvp and a great keepsake even for those unable to attend. I love my invites so i can't wait for my guests to receive them. My groomzilla did give his approval though...lol.

When i was there last month, it wasn't ready yet. I think they mentioned that it would be completed in a few months.

Very nice!! That's where i ordered my save the dates from too. Magnet street had a lot of nice options.

Your fiancé sounds like mine...i just originally wanted to go to the justice of the peace. He refused.

I agree Csho!

It was great to see it in person...i can't wait to see it once the decorations are in place for my wedding.

We decided on Iberostar Bavaro and Iberostar Grand (adults only). It is a large resort, but we have a group that includes a few kids, couples with grown kids, elderly, and single people. I wanted something for everyone that was nice, where people could have fun and have good food so I think Iberostar met that requirement for us. We went on a site visit to confirm in September and it was great. It might be too big depending on your group and what is important to you and your guests. It's a tough decision to make for certain...it just depends on what you're looking for. I've heard Gran Bahia Punta Cana, Melia Caribe and Dreams are pretty decent. I think quite a few people also go to Paradisus Palma Real and Majestic also, but I think I heard that Paradisus can be a bit pricey. Research them all and go on trip advisor to assist. Maybe get a TA and that may help also.

So I guess i'll mention my biggest stress factors now. Where do I even begin...I've had so many prior to now. 1) Planning a wedding someplace (St. Lucia) where our family and some friends seemed in complete opposition to going. Eventually, even though he said he was good with our plans, I realized my fiancé was opposed to which lead to major frustration. Due to us changing our date after my out of control house renovation, the flights and plans etc just didn't seem feasible so I changed everything to Punta Cana which I feel was more economical and also easier to get to since we have family coming from NY, MD, FL, NJ, England, Canada, and Jamaica. The flights to St. Lucia were not only expensive, but LONG meaning long lay overs and many connections and I couldn't do this to my older guests so that was that. People seem a lot more on board now that we have chosen a location that's a bit more affordable and easier to get to 2) Dealing with some his family that tried to get us to get married in NY even though a) we don't live there and my family is 20x larger than my fiancé's family so it would have been a madhouse! My family will travel, but to avoid all my family trying to come, places like MD, NY and Jamaica are off limits. I'm not trying to have a family reunion; it's our wedding so I had to eliminate the stress that my family would cause. He finally understood when he went to one of my family functions that only included some people in the US...he was SHOCKED. Suffice to say, he shut up and was on my side after that. Their opinions no longer matter to us because we are already being somewhat accommodating. 3) In my fiancé's excitement, he chose grooms and I was really not trying to pick anyone to be bridesmaids to avoid drama and cause anyone unnecessary financial stress. I chose BM's, but i'm realizing that when you have a group of good friends who have never been married and really haven't been bridesmaids, they may be disappointing in their enthusiasm and/or assistance. I understand that people have work, and school but I don't get it if you show virtually little interest. I decided after months of wedding planning stress, I decided to get a better attitude about it. I will revisit the Bridesmaid thing once everyone has actually booked their trip. No point in getting upset when no one has booked yet. That will save me time and energy and possibly friendships. 4)I just sent out my save the dates a week ago, so a majority of my guests have not booked yet, but I refuse to stress because I have learned from this site and what I've seen that people will drive you crazy if you let them. I have made it clear that i'm sending the invites and whoever comes will be there and whoever won't be there won't. That goes for all the family and all the friends. 5) My future sister-in-law has been a pain in our !ss so much so that my fiancé almost cursed her out and I had to stop him from going to her house to do so...she actually did deserve it because if my siblings did some of what she has been doing for months, it would be a really big problem and i'm the oldest so i'm not dealing with the craziness. She treats my fiancé like he is her spouse/banker/child all at the same time so he is beyond frustrated so i'm going to stay as far away as possible. I'm hoping she stays home if she can't get her act together because there is no need for unnecessary drama. 6) Finding time, patience, and creativity for DIY projects. I'm not very creative and until August when I got laid off job, I did not have a lot of time or patience to deal with this so I ended up paying for save the dates and invitations. There was just too much information and I lacked half the tools for some of the projects. Timing, but hey it's done at least! 7) Getting laid off initially stressed me out but luckily my fiancé and I had already started our budget AND he moved into my house literally a week before I got laid off so the timing worked out. We already had paid for our site visit, so we were able to determine that we could still have the wedding and stay on budget so that was the blessing in all of this. I initially didn't like the wedding planning because trying to gather all the information for the resorts, making deposits, and just combing through piles and piles of information while dealing with outside stress factors like our families and friends. Now that we have the room blocks, the wedding/reception site, menu, plans, videographer (still working on a photographer), sent out the save the date and our wedding website, I finally feel like I have time to enjoy the wedding plans. My fiancé is way more supportive and active especially after we went on our site visit last month. And i'm doing thing all while in classes for the semester until I find another job. I had to cut a few things, but luckily not too much. We just need to stay on budget and not get out of control. Now I just need to go try on some dresses!! My current mantra: relax, breathe, and everything will work itself out if you have a plan! The point of this wedding was to have a lovely wedding that we would be able to remember forever. The day is about US, and though we do want our guests happy, our happiness is important! Good luck fellow brides, and may your wedding be all you dream and more!

Most definitely...I think it's a great way to capture the bridal shower, part of the wedding reception, by dad and MIL 60th bday/thank you dinner, and excursions. This is awesome so i'm going to put my deposit down and put the app on my wedding site. Yaye!

I meant in addition to the wedding ceremony and reception events.

Quote: Originally Posted by NJBride2014 Quote: Originally Posted by Jenn963 Getting people to book was stressful...and it's lagged on as well. We have most of our guests booked thankfully but there are still about 8-9 guests who have said "i'm 100% coming....we just haven't booked yet...we will soon".......Something inside me just doesn't believe it lol......One of them actually is one of the groomsmen...who at this point, I could care less if he's there or not!!! We have 3 weeks till the wedding....I figure, if they have not booked by NOW, then they are not coming at all. I am going to do one final run down 1.5 weeks ahead and hopefully I get more real answers. My problem is that I don't want to take more OOT bags than I have to..... *sigh*..... Also, videography prices.....can't believe how much they charge at the resorts ...for cookie cutter type videos!!! and that damn vendor fee....I had to protest about that to my coordinator a couple times lol I bet she cannot wait to meet meeee!! Check out weddingmix for your video its cool you can have different people video the whole week/weekend and its pretty cheap. Its not going to be your professional type wedding video but you will have something fun you can always look back on and the prices are reasonable. Plus instead of just having a video of the wedding day you can do the whole vacation. Check out their website http://www.storymixmedia.com/weddings/how-it-works-weddingmix-wedding-video.html. That's an awesome idea NJBride. I just checked it out and that does look awesome. We are doing a video, but this would be a great way to get all of the events in addition to the events. Cool!

I don't think Jamaica is expensive, I think it may depend on which resort and package you chose. I personally did not choose Jamaica because my guest list would have been nuts, plus i'm in Jamaica almost every year because my family is from there...I wanted something different. Those are the only reasons I didn't choose it. One of my coworkers got married there and she had a great time and it was comparable to my package. My ceremony and reception are not being held at the resort where we'll be staying, but yes I plan on having decoration such as chairs with sashes, flowers, hanging decorations, table settings, etc. Most resorts that handle weddings pretty much do the same thing, but you need to research the wedding groups and actual weddings that have occurred in addition to what they offer.

Quote: Originally Posted by Wedding2014 Love the colors too! Quote: Originally Posted by Wedding2014 Wow these invitations are beautiful! Thanks so much Wedding2014!!

Quote: Originally Posted by shugapop1 If you go to etsy and seach for seremdity beyond design or when u go to etsy type passport invitations. Both sellers will come up.hard foe me to post to here from my phone But u can email me at [email protected] I can send few pics of mine. I'd love to see them too shugapop1. I'll email you.

Ah, I see! LOL I would never pay any vendor all their money up front ever again! I would be careful of who I choose for my bridal party and toasts. I also said I would never again get married in the US. My family is from Jamaica and I have a huge family...I mean huge! And I also have living grandparents, and a great grandmother so their siblings are mostly all still alive too. My dad's side is huge and my mom's side is huge so its difficult to entertain such a large opinionated group. This is why i'm doing it in Punta Cana. Jamaica would have been even crazier because my wedding would be a family reunion for two families, and i'm not paying for that...LOL!!! Those that really want to come will pay and come and have a good time. LOL. A girl's gotta do what a girls gotta do!

Quote: Originally Posted by laraandshane We got married on Sunday, September 1, 2013. We used HDC Photo and got their least expensive package ($650). We used the photographer for the ceremony, beach session at Jellyfish and reception shots. The next day we had our photos from them in our hotel lobby. We went on our honeymoon right after thats why. We wanted Katya but she was out of town at the time. In addition, we went low/saved on the photography but went all out on the video with Cores Films. WHICH I AM SO HAPPY ABOUT! Oh my goodness...I was still debating about that but I have also booked Cores films. Please do PM me if you don't mind sharing your video that you took with them. I'd love to see it! I like Diego's work so far. I'm not sure if i'm using HDC or photo Phil for my pics yet. I'm trying to decide soon. I also wanted Katya, but she was not available unfortunately.