Allison's Wedding Planning Bio - Tequilla Here I come!

So here goes... I thought I would start this little bio in the hopes of being of assistance to other brides, mainly through my rather out of control internet usuage and the ability to price check and hunt down about anything my mind that come up with.  So enough of that, I guess I'll start at the beginning and let you know how the planning has gone so far.

This is not my first rodeo, and when I say that, I am sure that you all know what I mean... yes, you are correct, this is my second marriage.  And this time around, not only did I find the right guy, but I am going to have a wedding my way.  No more FIL's attacking my choice of music, favors, colors, or wedding festivities.  In fact, my actual family members may be in for a few surprises the day of my wedding!  I could not be more excited for everything to be what I envisioned my perfect day to be- from the dress, to the flowers, to every little detail.  This time, I am calling the shots (of course with the help of my fiance ) and I could not be more thrilled. 

The Happy Couple

To start, I might as well add a picture of the two of us.  I know that sometimes it is nice to put a face to a name.  This was taken from a ranch in Montana.  Although I had never been to Montana, I was blown away by this state's beauty.   

Location

My fiance and I became engaged just about two months ago and due to many reasons (the biggest being who wouldn't love a vacation at a tropical location while we tie the knot ) we decided to get married in Puerto Morelos at the Now Jade.  The wedding will be held on 4/12/13.  This decision was relatively easy being that pretty much as soon as we got engaged there was a webinar held by Tammy which provided information on the Now Resorts, the packages, the details, etc.  After I attended, I realized that this is the hotel that I had wanted to stay at during my last visit to Mexico (we elected to stay in Cancun instead) and felt that based on the wonderful reviews and awesome property we couldn't go wrong.  Hotel booked. 

Colors

I have always had a passion for bright colors... to me they represent happiness and life.  I have always loved the color orange, so why not incorporate it into my wedding.  For a while I was torn between accenting with blue or fuschia, but ultimately decided on fuschia as it is feminine and bright as well. 

Engagement Photos and Attire

For whatever reason, we have not been really great about taking photos together.  Or seperate for that matter!  You never realize how important taking photos really is until you are trying to find ones for a wedding website, slideshow, etc. and umm, well.. realize that there is no time like the present to get started!   I have booked our engagment session for Downtown Denver.  There are a mix of old buildings, historical landmarks, and beautiful areas that will not only symbolize our passion for enjoying life, but also the face that we were both born and raised in Denver.  Here is the dress I have selected to wear for the session. And the shoes... and in case you were wondering, yes they are jellies.  So versatile, comfortable, and will virtually match anything this Summer.  (I really never thought that jellies would make a re-appearance, but surprises do happen everyday!) I think my fiance is going to wear a simple white button down and jeans to cordinate. 

Next up... the photographer has been booked!!!!

I am sure that many of you had the same debate that I had... which photographer to choose.  Not an easy feat by any means.  You go back and forth trying to debate about cost, style of photography, types of packages.  Then just when you think that you have it all figured out, you realize that there are other factors to take into consideration as well.  Bridal party, do you have one?  What do you want the style of "posed" pictures to be?  How familiar are the photographers with the resort?  The list goes on and on. 

The website has a wealth of information on photographers, different things to look for- what makes it hard is that everyone seems to have a glowing recomendation of the photographer they used.  This made it difficult.  But ultimately I ended up choosing Del Sol (they recently merged with their sister company LaLuna) and could not be more excited.  I chose them for several reasons.

1) I could not find a picture of theirs that did not take my breath away.  Many literally brought tears to my eyes.

2) I loved their presence on this site and the fact that they routinely offered advice to other brides about timing of ceremonies, etc. for lighting to ensure that their pictures could be as great as possible.

3) The communication with them was great.  I always received a quick response back to my questions.

4) They know the entire area well and our knowledgable with my hotel and from what I have seen, pretty much all of Cancun and Riviera Maya

5) I love the fact that there are always 2 photographers and when you look at their website and blogs, it appears that they truly do not miss a moment.

I am super excited. I elected to use Melissa who used to be part of La Luna.  I want to get married NOW to already have the pictures!

www.delsolphotography.com

Rehearsal Dinner Outfits

So did I mention I am a bit of a pre-planner?  So yes, I know that I am not getting married for a year, but I also feel that when you find something that you love that you need to go for it.  With that being said... I came across a dress that I fell in love with and thought that it would be perfect for the rehearsal dinner evening.  It is from Nordstroms, and it Trina Turk called Fallyn.

Being that the dress is such a bright color (I wanted something fun and that would fit into the Mexican atmosphere) I also knew that I needed to find something that would complement/match my dress for my fiance, and I managed to find the perfect shirt for him from Robert Graham (the name is Gama).  I know that it is a little bright as well, but what a perfect time to get away with such a fun shirt. You can't really tell from this picture, but the "red" in the shirt is the same color as the red that is in my dress. I am thinking that he will wear it with a pair of khaki or linen pants, but I guess I have some time to work out those details

And what are we doing fo the rehearsal dinner?  That I do not know.  I would like to go off property.  Originally I thought it would be fun to do some sort of dinner cruise, but based on my preliminary research it appears that it may be cost prohibitive.  With that in mind, there appear to be some great restaurants in both Cancun and Playa so I am leaning towards some sort of a fun dinner, but it is so hard to figure out what retaurant would be good, actually has good food, a good location, atmosphere... this actually seems to be my biggest anxiety point right now.  Can't someone just make the decision for me... PLEASE????!!!!!!  So with that being said, I am going to push it to the back on my mind and not think about it for a while.

The Dress

So I guess I will start this as sort of a teaser as I have already purchased my dress, and wouldn't you know it, during my initial internet research I found the "one"- although I will say from some pretty extensive experience that just because a dress looks great in the picture or seem like it would be perfect, when you see it in real life it may be a totally different story.  For those of you that have purchased a home it is the same concept... somehow, the pictures seem to make the house look amazing, every room twice the size that it actually is and wedding dresses are really no different!  Here is what I did know... I wanted ruffles.  I love ruffles, and when I say that I love them, I mean I really love them.  To the point that almost everything I own has ruffles of some sort on it- so how fitting would it be to have a dress with ruffles.  I picture myself walking down the aisle and everyine thinking to themselves, "Oh my gosh, that dress is so Allison!"  So here is where I started... with a slew of Maggie Sottero's and Sottero and MIdgely's.  There were my favorites...  In order, Nova, Miri, Sloan, and Cindi.

The Dress

So I guess I will start this as sort of a teaser as I have already purchased my dress, and wouldn't you know it, during my initial internet research I found the "one"- although I will say from some pretty extensive experience that just because a dress looks great in the picture or seem like it would be perfect, when you see it in real life it may be a totally different story.  For those of you that have purchased a home it is the same concept... somehow, the pictures seem to make the house look amazing, every room twice the size that it actually is and wedding dresses are really no different!  Here is what I did know... I wanted ruffles.  I love ruffles, and when I say that I love them, I mean I really love them.  To the point that almost everything I own has ruffles of some sort on it- so how fitting would it be to have a dress with ruffles.  I picture myself walking down the aisle and everyine thinking to themselves, "Oh my gosh, that dress is so Allison!"  So here is where I started... with a slew of Maggie Sottero's and Sottero and MIdgely's.  There were my favorites...  In order, Nova, Miri, Sloan, and Cindi.

Oooh help!  Clearly I am rather new at this!  Does anyone know how I delete a double post? 

You can't delete...just keep going...you're doing great!

So... to continue the saga, I tried on a few more dresses... but in the back of my mind knew that I had already fallen in love (not just with my wonderful groom). Kitty Chen Londn had me wondering-  Yet it lacked the sweetheart neckline I wanted.  But I knew deep down that Mikaella had my heart.  Where my disconnect was- deciding between what I thought I wanted (which obviously was ruffles) and what made me feel amazing.  And by amazing I mean "holy crap, it does the body good.  I mean great."

I was going to ditch the flower on the bottom portion of the dress as let's be honest- who honestly needs a flower that big?  I'm pretty sure I know that someone was not in a clear state of mind when they thought that was an approppriate size adornment. This picture does not even do justice to its actual size.  I would say at least a good eight inches.  Hmmmm.

Ultimately I decided on what was me, what I fell in love with on the internet the moment I saw it.  And sure, it will never give me the same sexy feel as "Big Flower," but I feel like this is the dress that I want to walk down the aisle in, the dress that will take away my future DH's breath away, the one that I feel gorgeous wearing.  It is feminine and sexy and fun all at once. Bottom line, it looks like something I would wear.  It is me.  And that is what I was going for.  To look like myself on my wedding day, but in a wonderful dress.  Although I may still need to trade out the flower on this dress as well and I don't know what to do with a head piece...

So there you go... dress picked.  And I could not be happier.  Stay tuned- this week is crazy for me including a wedding in Vegas, but I can't wait to keep posting the already picked details and mull through future decisions.  It is such a fun experience to put everything together in one location! 

To add another side note- when I was at the bridal salon, there was a woman there with her friend who was having a dress fitting.  As my mother and I went back and forth for an hour and a half, she finally spoke up and asked if she could comment.  Me being the honest person that I am said of course.  Her words of advice, "I've watched you in both dresses.  I see you in the ruffle dress and your face lights up.  You have been swirling about the room.  You are dancing. I can tell it fits your personality. The other one is gorgeous as well, but the ruffled one brings out the real you"  And for an outsider to say that to me, it solidified my decision.