Pucca's Post-wedding Planning Thread with Pics

[Pucca]

Sorry that this is post-wedding. I had every intention of posting this the week before I left but I had no energy left (as well as no internet) after having moved the week right before leaving for Mexico. I did keep a MS Word file going so most of it was done, and since a lot of this was written before I got married, you might find some future verb tenses rather than past. Please excuse those. I also tried to size down the pictures but to no avail! 

 

 

Unbelievable but it’s time for my planning journal! I’ve learned a lot from this forum! So here’s my chance to share with everyone. Thanks everyone for your sharing and for posting all of your ideas too! I have thoroughly enjoyed being a part of BDW!

 

The Engagement:

 

So it all started in Hawaii, on a trip with my then boyfriend to attend a close friend’s wedding. My proposal story can be found here:

http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/thread/66896/engaged-in-paradise

 

This was the backdrop of my engagement. My honey is amazingly romantic.

 

 

 

 

And he did an awesome job picking out a conflict-free engagement ring that I love:

 

 

 

The Location:

 

 

I had always wanted a destination wedding, and so talking to my fiancé on the flight back to the mainland, he agreed with a beach destination wedding. Fortuitously I had bought a wedding magazine at the airport to flip through on the flight and I came across an article recommending November for Los Cabos. I had been there years before with a good friend of mine and I absolutely fell in love with the place. My fiancé has never been there but he was thrilled with the idea. So for various reasons and budget constraints we decided to see how we could plan a wonderful DW in Mexico. 

 

 

Fortunately things just came together and I’m having my wedding on the beach in front of the WorldMark Coral Baja with the reception dinner being catered by Mama Mia - a restaurant on the property. The food was good! J

 

The Dress:

 

So the first thing I did, besides contact the property was to go dress-shopping. I thought it was going to be tough to find a reasonable dress that I loved and would be comfortable in for the whole affair. After a day of trying on dresses I felt kinda bummed because it was so overwhelming and the dresses I thought I really liked in photographs did not look good on me. I also didn’t have my close friends with me to try on dresses and wondered if maybe that was the problem. But, a week later, on a whim, I dropped by Macy’s Bridal Salon on my own and ended up finding my dress there! Who’d have thought?!? It’s from Demetrios Illusions. Here’s the picture on the model (I’m glad I saw this AFTER I bought my dress because I would have never thought it would be one to try on from the picture):

 

 

 

Here's the actual dress during my first fitting:

 

 

And the back which I loved:

 

 

 

It fit me so much better after the alterations and a bit of weight loss. My mom added flowers on the straps (front and back). 

 

 

 

My jewelry:

Earrings (thanks to a BDW member who posted a friends and family discount):

 

 

Necklace was a gift from fiancé a while ago before we were engaged. I don’t have a close-up photo of it but you can see it in my other pics. It’s a dragonfly. J

 

Bracelets:

 

I wanted some color so I bought this:

 

 

 

 

Wore it together with this, a gift from my friend in lieu of bridal shower (she’s so awesome!):

 

 

 

 

 

Both of us were going to go barefoot but then fiance decided he wanted to wear flip flops. No problem. I went out and found these flip flops:

 

 

 

I had originally bought these for pre-ceremony photos but decided to wear them to the legal ceremony instead:

 

 

 

 

Hair and Make-up:

 

I got a hair stylist to come to the hotel and he did a great job. My hair inspiration: 

 

 

 

Make-up:

 

 

I ended up doing my own make-up with some help from friends (who put on the lashes for me). I did some trials with make-up artists at bridal shows here in NY but wasn’t really happy with them. So I decided to stick with myself and some help from friends. J  Here’s my make-up and another hair inspiration combined:

 

 

 

 

 

The Groom’s attire:

 

Suit was a gift from my mom. He wore a teal shirt; still was undecided whether or not he would wear a tie so I gave him the option of surprising me at the wedding. He decided to wear it. This is what he looked like: 

 

 

 

His shoes for the wedding, except his are black:

 

 

Wedding Rings:

 

 

I wanted something just to wear on its own since I think my e-ring is just perfect on its own. So my fiancé got me this which I thought was just perfect:

 

 

This is his wedding band that I got for him; he picked it out and loves it because it’s lightweight and comfy (he hates wearing jewelry):

 

 

 

 

Save the Dates:

I made these myself; thought the festive colors would set the tone for a fun celebration and it’s reminiscent of a Mexican fiesta:

 

 

 

 

Wedding Invitations:

DIY wedding invitations I made with a little help from Vista Print. The center cards, response cards, and address labels were all the same design. I had so much fun doing this and on the back it says “Handmade with loveâ€:

 

 

 

Thank you cards:

Made from matching cards used for the STDs; will probably enclose a picture or two from the wedding:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Pucca]

Sorry....my pages froze. Part 2 will be posted in a few minutes.

[Pucca]

 

The Ceremony

So our colors ended up being primarily turquoise and some yellow, with a dash of silver and a splash of vibrant color, like Mexican fiesta.

 

Our ceremony set-up captured by our photographer:

 

 

 

We found some beautiful lanterns at Marshall’s so these were set up hanging from shepherd hooks right by the huppah – one on each side. They are actually more blue but it all depends on what lighting is like. And then we moved them to the sweetheart table and put some candles inside (they have little tealight holders) for the reception. 

 

 

 

 

Here’s a picture of the lanterns in the set-up:

 

 

 

My bouquet (I love sunflowers):

 

 

 

 

Groom’s boutonniere:

 

 

 

Fathers, ushers, and ring-bearer had similar boutonnieres (minus the blue ribbon) and mothers had wrist corsages made from similar yellow flowers.

 

Ring holders (my something borrowed) that was passed on to me by my good friends who got married last November and in August:

 

 

 

 

Flowergirl baskets – a very easy and budget-friendly DIY project. I just had to add the veil and the bow:

 

 

 

I found these bubbles and absolutely adored them! I was torn between eco-friendly confetti and bubbles but when I saw these I knew I had to get them; there will be one on every seat:

 

 

 

 

 

Programs:

 

We didn’t make official programs because I didn't want to create more opportunities to leave trash on the beach. I did plan to print out a small booklet but having moved and with my printer ink running out, I just didn’t have any energy to print them out before leaving for Mexico.

 

The Party

 

Napkins for cocktail hour:

 

 

 

We bought some water and some soda (the half cans) along with some chips and salsa. The caterer ended up displaying everything nicely on a table at the reception site.

 

 

Place cards using these fabulous wooden chipboards I found at Michael’s - table markers were made corresponding to each group (you can see one in the table set-up photo):

 

 

 

 

A “Welcome Guests†sign that I made to put on the escort card/guestbook table (please ignore the blue handle as I had put it on my lapdesk to take a picture and forgot to omit the lapdesk handle):

 

 

 

 

 

Table set-up with candle centerpieces:

 

 

 

We also brought down some more small votive candles that we bought on clearance at Marshall’s (love that store!) as I was quite concerned about having enough lighting for the dinner portion of the festivities. . But we found out that the little votives did not last long in the wind, which really ended up fine after all because the centerpieces and other lighting were sufficient. I also bought some additional light strings just in case. In Mexico the wedding coordinator asked me to buy some more lights so we must have had a total of 5 sets of string lights to use. I also brought a package of shells with me, left over from DIY stuff. The wedding coordinator scattered them about the tables. 

 

 

I also brought this along to put on our sweetheart table as our kitty couldn’t be there with us:

 

 

 

Cake cutter & server set:

 

 

 

Music was courtesy of iPad and WeddingDJ app. I asked guests for some songs they’d like to hear and/or dance to, and added those to the library in addition to a plethora of songs I had, fiancé had, and that we searched for. We had a sound system and plugged the iPad in for the entire wedding ceremony and part of the reception (there was a conflict in schedule with the restaurant where they had scheduled a live performer during the latter half of our reception; so we had to move the dance party indoors to an enclosed sports bar – it actually turned out well because we had our own personal dance space and the bartenders were happy to play DJ). 

 

Cake inspiration:

 

 

Originally I wanted this funky cake because it’s different and it’s fun. It says Mexican fiesta to me. J But all vendors said no as it is a “work of artâ€. Boo hoo. 

 

 

This ended up being our cake inspiration. We asked for it in light blue though and were asked to bring the shells: 

 

 

The florist gave us flowers for our cake and we brought down some beige and white colored shells. And this is what we ended up with: 

 

 

 

We loved the cake (tres leches) both visually and taste-wise! While some of my family didn’t like the “sogginess†of the cake, a lot of my guests had seconds (and there was enough since we had a lot of cake).

 

 

Favors: We bought these in Mexico as I wanted something that could double as a souvenir for guests so they didn’t have to feel like they needed to go souvenir shopping if they didn’t want to. They are little containers with lids and they were a hit with the guests. On the bottom it has a sticker with our names and our wedding date; my husband did it at Office Max in Los Cabos and surprised me with them the day before the wedding when he brought these over to the wedding venue. 

 

 

 

Guest book – we decided not to have a guest book but rather had everyone sign a photo matte. I also brought some blank postcards I had and asked guests to sign it with some advice, well wishes, or funny commentary and put it in our card-box.

 

 

Gifts

Gifts for my nontraditional flower girls J (instead of having bridesmaids, I just had 5 flowergirls): 

 

 

 

 

I bought a gift for my niece (one of the flowergirls) but I didn’t take a picture of it. It was a Tokidoki compact mirror if that means anything.

 

I also bought a game for my ringbearer (my 12 year-old nephew); it was called the “Anti-boredom Boxâ€.

 

 

Gift for my mother - she only wears rings, not much else:

 

 

 

Gift for my mother-in-law:

 

 

Not sure what to get the fathers so we may just stick with photo albums later. In true Korean tradition, my family bought my father-in-law a suit and my mother-in-law a dress. So I guess we’re just leaving it at that for now.

 

 

I think that’s about it! I can’t believe the wedding has come and gone! Thanks for reading this! Here's a final picture of how everything came together : 

 

 

[leigh2011]

Everything looks wonderful!  Congratulations on being a Mrs!  And I love that last picture....you two look soooo happy.

 

Your dress looks great on you - much better than on the model.

[Pucca]

Thank you for those kind words!! Hope your AHR went well and now you're getting a chance to relax!! 
 

Originally Posted by leigh2011 

Everything looks wonderful!  Congratulations on being a Mrs!  And I love that last picture....you two look soooo happy.

 

Your dress looks great on you - much better than on the model.

 

[Brenners]

Congratulations Pucca!  I am so glad that you had a wonderful wedding.  You and your husband look very happy.  Thanks for all of your help on this forum - you have been great!

[Jber713]

What brand are your flip flops? Where did you get them? I love them! Were they comfortable?

[MichCraw]

Great planning thread! The sunflower bouquet is beautiful, I love those too.. what a great idea and the boutonniere is really adorable too... makes me think of sunshine! Love your DIY flowr girl bouquet, ultra cute and original! Even your bubbles and place card .. everything is so original! Congrats.. it looks and must of felt very festive and tropical! Your cake looks amazing as well . I wish our resort had nice cakes like that .. wow! Also love your Mexican gifts for the guest, great touch... your wedding was fabulous loved it!

[JayKay]

Thanks for sharing!! Your wedding looked fabulous, I love the color combination you used!!

[ShellyCarter]

you look fabb