kellisbaby

I DIY'd petal fan programs. They were a lot of work, but they basically cost me nothing. I love seeing the programs in pictures, but not sure how useful everyone thought they were. Nobody was like: "wow, your programs were so helpful". On a personal level, I always like knowing where we are in a ceremony, so I appreciate them. The link for DIY template is here: http://www.ayleebits.com/2006/06/10/diy-fan-programs/

@@JennelleRM I don't think so. What is it? Mine is [email protected]

@@JennelleRM Did you leave Facebook??? I've totally been looking for you!!

Hey guys, I just got back from my EPC wedding and wanted to update the thread. (I also posted this in the FB group) We were at the EPC Jan 8 - 21, and the wedding was Jan 12th. We booked the Gold Wedding Package. The whole experience was AWESOME! It was the best day of my life. Seriously, the resort is beautiful and Livia Dickson, plus the staff, did a phenomenal job. We met with Livia on our first full day at the resort (upon check in, they gave me a letter from her telling us where and when to meet.). The meeting was quick and we reviewed the questionnaire. Based of her guidance, I made a few changes to the menus and flowers. We also walked around to all the event sites and picked where we wanted everything. This was my biggest stressor prior to the wedding. I didn't know where anything was going to be, and had no way to communicate a schedule to my guests. The week before the wedding Livia was not responding to any of my emails. But, if you can, don't stress out about it. It ended up fine. (FYI: if you're planning a schedule, Livia would have everyone meet at the Martini Bar 30 minutes before the event started, and she would escort the group over all at once. This was actually genius because it kept everyone together, nobody could get lost, and everyone always knew where they were meeting because it was familiar.) I brought in an outside photographer (this is expensive! I paid, $600, but I think/hope it's worth it!) but we did end up buying all of the ceremony photos from Beach Weddings Studio because we got a good deal. I'm glad we had PhotoPhil though. The pictures from BWS are nice but not stellar. I think they take pictures of "things" better than people. I love their photos of the ceremony space and details, so much more than I do of the pictures of us. (unflattering angles, eyes that are closed, etc). I LOVE the DVD of the ceremony. This alone makes the extra cost of the package worth it. Buy a DVD, ladies! The day was such a blur and I'm thrilled to have the DVD. I got my hair and make up done by Isabel at the Mile spa and was 90% happy! My makeup was gorgeous - loved it. My hair was good, but there was one tendril in the back that never got placed right. Its hanging awkwardly in the back, and It still bugs me in the pictures. Luckily, my hairspray held up really well... it felt like I was wearing a helmet. Good thing too because it was really windy! The horse drawn carriage is just perfect! Cinderella feeling, for sure. For the ceremony, we paid extra for the chair bows and two half heart flower arrangements. They were pricey, but I seriously loved the ceremony set up (and bonus, I think everything got moved to the reception site afterward - double duty!). I look at the pictures from the ceremony and cannot believe that was my wedding. The set up is simply stunning, the extras were worth every penny. We used a bose speaker rather than renting a sound system from them, and it worked out well. I loaded playlists onto an old iphone and Livia took care of the music. We had our 3 pm ceremony on the beach, cocktail hours (we paid for an extra hour) was 4 - 6 pm at the Club House and reception was 7 - 10 pm at Las Olas. These were GREAT DECISIONS! I loved all of the venues, and it was awesome to be on the beach. Pastor Rick York did our ceremony and it was beautiful. We extended cocktail hour, and actually got to spend a little time there before taking pictures. This was awesome because the food and drinks were delicious! We had the music trio play for the first hour during the cocktail hour, and it was awesome. They gave us (wedding party) some instruments an we "jammed" with them. They also sand my husband and I a special love song that we danced to. I can't wait to see these photos. I had brought a lot of stuff for the wedding: napkins, straws, cake topper, cake table decorations, mad libs guestbook with glue and pens, toasting flutes, escort cards, favors (that needed assembly), chair signs, candles, and everything was set up perfectly. This made me so happy! At the reception the staff was great, and drinks were never empty. My only teeny tiny complaint was that of all the food we ate for our entire two week stay, the wedding meal was my least favorite of everything. The salad was okay, but the potato leek soup was too salty, and my beef and lobster were totally overcooked. BUT, the cake... the cake was delicious (chocolate cake with strawberry filling). The cake seriously made up for the entire meal. I was so sad that my unfinished slice got taken away. (But no worries because we took the leftover cake back to our room and the whole wedding group enjoyed it again poolside the following day!) Other wedding related events that we hosted: Welcome Reception: I used the concession from the room block for our welcome reception. We held this two days before the wedding at the Cascade pool and it was beautiful. The food was delicious, and the drinks flowing. The staff was awesome and let us stay an hour later than we were supposed to. Day After Brunch: This was just so-so. We held the brunch at Spice, and the staff was totally late setting up. After 15 minutes of waiting, we just walked to the restaurant and luckily they let us sit down. But we had to wait to get our food, and drinks were kind of slow to arrive. My uncle went out to the bar to get me a drink it was taking so long. I asked a waitress for a cup of coffee and it took like 20 minutes and the cup was less than 1/2 full (as someone who likes a caffeine IV, I was so sad!) A few other minor issues: after the wedding, I lost my "Mrs. Jordan" hanger for my dress. I looked for it for two weeks, checked with lost and found, the concierge, the spa, etc, and it's just gone. I also had a hankie from my grandmother that disappeared, never to be found again. And, despite asking twice, we never got our storage tub (which had been full of wedding stuff) back from Livia. This is all pretty small potatoes though. We did our couples massage the Friday after the wedding and it was nice. Although, I booked two other spa treatments and both of them were better than the wedding package massage. Ladies, I know it's really stressful planning a wedding from far away, and not really having great communication with the wedding coordinator, but don't worry. These people know their stuff, and your big day is going to be amazing. I'm happy to answer any questions or share my experience. It was so hard not knowing what to expect. But seriously, you're in good hands here. The Excellence was amazing.

I bought a DB dress, but am using an outside seamstress for alterations. She had me come in like five months early for an estimate. I had my first fitting four months in advance. 2nd fitting is 2 months in advance, and then final fitting is the week before I leave.

I did "to have and to hold, to keep your drink cold" but I also really like "feet in the sand, drink in the hand".

I did horizontal.

I think favors are optional with a DW, especially if you're doing OOT bags. I put together a pretty nice OOT bag (approx $26 per party) so I am going cheap on the favors. I got clear plastic boxes and jordan almonds and DIY'ed a tag. FI last name is Jordan so I'm doing a "love the Jordans" type of thing.

Oh my gosh, everything is so beautiful!! Awesome planning thread, too! Thank you!

@shellyn Thank you so much for all this info. Your pictures are STUNNING!! I'm pretty sure that's the gazebo I'm going with. Such a beautiful spot.

I got mine on amazon. They were a little more (like $1.25) but free shipping! I was just so happy to cross them off my list! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks Jennelle!! Any other useful information you've learned from Emy Rose? My wedding isn't until Jan, so I feel like it's too early to start pestering her. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

@@shellyn Thanks so much for coming back to tell us about your wedding. Pictures please!! 2 questions... do you know how much it costs to host a private reception? I know the packages include a reception at one of the open restaurants, I'd rather do a private one. and, how was getting ready in the spa? Was it hot? Was it expensive? I'd love to do this, but don't want to spend a ton of money, or be super sweaty. You've convinced me to do a make up trial at Mac and bring the essentials with me. I know nothing about countouring!! hehe. Is there any advice you wish you'd known in advance? Do's / Don't's? Thanks again and congratulations on your wedding!!

We're not doing a 1st look, so I went with 3 pm. That will give us time to get all of our pictures in before we lose the light! I've got a January wedding, so I think sunset is around 6 p.

I started the process 14 months in advance and was fully confirmed 12 months early. It can take a lot of time to confirm the resort, especially if you have a room block. Are you using a travel agent? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I wish they'd give a coupon code for the mugs. The tumblers are SO expensive, even with the coupon! I just don't have the $$. Whaaaaaaa.

@pddcmc I'm so sorry you had a bad DB experience. Mine wasn't stellar, but it was okay. And I was visiting my mom and kind of had to pick a dress that day. Plus, I kind of just wanted to be DONE. Trying on dresses was fun but so over whelming. I am not the type to want to draw out the process. I can't wait to see what you end up deciding on!

@pddcmc How was your shopping day??? Any luck?

Love them!! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I am working with a TA. Although I have very mixed feelings about working with her! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Nice!! I bet they'll be excited about their gifts. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

My girls are already talking about my bridal shower/bachelorette party. And, I have a registry. (Tho. I created the registry at someone's request, in advance of an engagement party). I have looked at a lot if DW website, and quite a lot have registry information. At the top of our registry page, we just say the usual: "your presence is present enough, but if you want to do something, blah blah..." Tho we haven't gotten any gifts. ) (Which is totally fine!!) Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Ugh, the Excellence was expensive!! I had to put down $5k to hold 20 rooms. The amount will get credited to my account, and we have until 3 months prior to the wedding to release rooms, but I thought that was super high. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I didn't send paper invites. I send a postcard STD and an email invite with attachment for booking rooms. Several reminder emails were sent to get people to book their rooms. I felt a little cheap for not sending paper invites, but they were really pointless and I decided to save the $$ and get something else I really wanted. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I had an appt at DB, so it was fine. I had 100% undivided attention of the consultant. But, it was weird that I came in with a website profile and dresses in my "favorites" but they still had me browse the racks (which I found very overwhelming). I'd suggest browsing online and having a list if dresses you want to try on. Stick with your list,but be a little flexible. They did not have the Melissa Sweet dress I loved. But I ended up buying something very similar. Happy shopping!! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk