April 2010 Brides

[taratoons]

I definitely agree, I think registering is the way to go. It helps out guests too, since goign to a bridal or couples shower, no one really wants to give money, they want to give someTHING, and instead of ending up with a bunch of stuff that suits THEIR tastes, and having them hope it works for you too, at least you can get some stuff you want! We just moved into our house in October, so there is TONS of stuff we still need. We registered at Sears and Home Outfitters. You could always register for a bunch of stuff that you don't necessarily need, but would LIKE, and would never spend the money on yourself. Guests will be happy to have something to guide their gift-buying decisions!

 

Speaking of showers, my bridal shower is this weekend and I'm SO NERVOUS!!!!! I hate being the center of attention, and the thought of having all eyes on me as I open gifts is stressing me out! I know it's supposed to be fun, and it'll be great to see everyone, but seriously, I'm so scared!!! :0S

[taratoons]

PLUS, when you register at most places, you have up to a year after your wedding date to purchase anything left on your registry at a 10% discount! ROCK ON!

[ebredhawk]

that's exactly what we did with our registries.. just registered for stuff we'd love to have but wouldn't ever get for ourselves. fun kitchen tools, wall decor, cook books, things like that. if i wasn't having a bridal shower i don't know that we would have registered for as much, but i think everyone is right that people don't really give money at showers since the gift opening part is such a big deal.

[hoyt75]

Agreed, people like to give gifts not cash or even gift cards at showers. I had mine 2 weeks ago and was shocked that we got some really nice, and expensive, things that we didn't expect anybody else to buy but our parents. I didn't want to register either, but I didn't want to get a bunch of stuff that we didn't want and couldn't return. If anything I think it's more a gift-giving-guide.

 

Lingerie parties are always fun too. I'm having my lingerie & bachelorette party next weekend. Should be fun!

[taylorwd]

We weren't going to register but ended up doing so b/c people started hounding us about it. When we finally did it was a major pain in the a** and not something I ever want to do again! Items we had registered for in the store that very day were 'no longer available' by the time we got home and checked the registry later that night. And at macy's the prices fluctuate on a day to day basis, so it really depends on the day your guests choose to look at it. Things could look really expensive or very reasonable! And Target, well don't even get me started on registering with them. We ended up canceling that one.

 

I never thought I'd be someone who cared if people bought me something 'off registry' but now that we have our blood, sweat and tears put into it, I really hope people use the registry! Especially the ones who asked us to register, lol.

[katie424]

This is the chattiest group out there indeed! :-)

 

amcarter, your FI is right - these people are adults, and if they are on the fence or haven't booked, you can't feel bad when you provided them plenty of information as well as deadlines. If they end up booking, politely let them know you are happy they'll be joining you. At the end of the day, if their gift bags are slightly different, or their accommodations are slightly less convenient, it is not your fault. You have done all the right things up til now!

 

Somehow when it became March I realized the phrases "oh, the wedding is in a few months" is oh-so irrelevant now that it is NEXT MONTH!!! I am super excited and a little nervous all at the same time!

Here is my progress so far:

• Dress Ordered (fittings begin next week only one issue - see my rant / vent below)
• Several shoe options picked - heel height TBD with dress hem
• No veil - need to find hair flower
• Picking out FI's suit this weekend then will coordinate the groom's men's suits
• 95% of invites are sent, had to get some updated addresses for the rest
• Meet with AHR venue in 2 weeks to finalize details (mid-afternoon affair, so we are keeping it simple)
• Researched OOT bags and items, need to start ordering all items
• Bridal shower and Bachelorette party was last weekend (so much fun!) PS I highly recommend registering. I felt guilty since we are doing the wedding away, but people were really happy to have a reason to celebrate us!
• Need to make and design the programs (i have all the tools to do that) and then have then get the raffia fans
• Need to finalize which decor we are bringing to accentuate the Beautiful Beginnings pkg. We have to add 4 tables so we are trying to keep it simple already but still have some personal touches.
• Need to finalize wedding party gifts and family gifts
• Need to finalize special readings during the ceremony (my matron of honor gave me a great book called "Words for the Wedding" it is mostly quotes, but it gives a good idea about readings and styles / topics)

Okay, here is my vent/rant - I ordered my dress in August, its been here since January, but I was really distracted at my viewing b/c my grandma was coming and was running late. I totally forgot to bring shoes to test hem heights AND totally didn't pay attention to the fact that my corset dress cannot be cinched any tighter. I am generally the same weight pretty consistently, when I lose weight I lose it consistently. I maybe have lost 5 lbs. Now I am afraid I am going to be hit with a huge alterations fee because they will probably need to bring the dress in about 4 inches! I feel like this is their fault - I told them I would be a few lbs smaller when I ordered and I liked the corset b/c it is adjustable. Plus the detailing on the top of the dress is pretty complicated and I am afraid they will charge more because it is not a simple fabric.

Sigh ---- I don't want to be "that bride" who complains, but I am a little pissed. I don't want to spend another several hundred dollars on this!!! Anybody else dealing with this too?

 

Sorry this is a long post, but it is good to double check the lists!

Onward and upward I suppose ;-)

[Melidell]

Uggh... I feel you about the dress and dress shops. Sometimes I think they do that deliberately to make sure that you have to pay to have it altered. When I ordered my dress they tried to talk me into getting it a size larger "just in case" but I've been the same weight give or take 5 lbs for ten years now. Plus when I'm stressed I lose, not gain, so I didn't think I'd need a larger size. Once they found out I'd be going somewhere else for alterations (because I didn't live in the area) they backed right off and just took my measurements and sure enough my dress came in the right size- it fits almost perfectly now without any adjustments.

[ewok]

Well, I'll join in this thread a bit late

 

April 2010 Brides

April 3 - (hoyt75) Jenna from Fort Worth - Valentin Imperial Maya

April 7 - (ewok) Julie from Montreal - Couples Swept Away

April 9 - (kimmyg) Kimmy from Cincinnati - RPRM

April 9 - (Chicken764) Martine from Casselman - Grand Palladium-Punta Cana

April 10 - (jerseykitten) Michele from Jersey (Central Jersey by Six Flags) – Jamaica

April 10 - (taratoons) Tara from Ottawa ONT - Dreams Punta Cana

April 12 - (bridej9) - ______ from MI - Dreams Puerto Aventuras

April 13 - (CaribbeanLover) From Montreal, Grand Palladium in Punta Cana

April 16 - (echo2_62) Meghan from Calgary - Dreams Puerto Aventuras, Mexico

April 17 - (taylorwd) Wendy from Austin - Azul Beach, Mexico

April 17 - (amcarter) Alex from Houston - Reserva Conchal - Costa Rica

April 17 - (NegrilLB) Lisa from Atlanta - Iberostar Rose Hall Suites - Jamaica

April 19 - (Sasse75) Jill from Hamilton, ONT - Grand Sunset Princess

April 22 - (taraappl) Tara from Coon Rapids MN - Isla Mujeres, MX

April 24 - (jess3414) Jessica from Phoenix, AZ - Dreams Cabo San Lucas

April 24 - (katie424) Katie?! from Denver, CO - Beaches Negril

April 24 - (vgirl17) Veronica from Vacaville, CA - Moon Palace Resort - Cancun, MX

April 25 - (shortnsweet7675) Natasha from Atlanta, GA - Miami, FL (Carnival Glory Eastern Caribbean cruise)

April 26 - (HereFishie) Cheryl from Edmonton Canada - GBP Coba, Mayan Riviera

April 28 - (ebredhawk) Erin from Cincinnati - Dreams Punta Cana

April 28 - (Melidell) Mel from NWT - Melia Las Dunas, Cuba

April 29 - (SuzyQ76) Suzanne from Calgary, Grand Riviera Princess, Mexico

 

We are secretly loping and getting married on the beach by ourselves. At first I didn't want to do a lot of "wedding" stuff, but after I joined here I got suckered into the wedding feel. We're on the last leg, and made huge progress last week-end on a shopping trip in the US.

 

DONE:

- bought DBF light beige pants on clearance at Kohl's 13$

- bought his shirt, nice quality white cotton, closely fitting (hard since he has large shoulders and a tiny waist)

- bought some dress sandals for dinner on clearance from last year: silver Steve Madden with a small 2 inch heel so I don't have a big height difference (15$ bucks)

- went to have my dress fitted, and have bra cup installed. BTW, the seamstress is providing the cups, the shaping insert to boost, everything. Don't know it it would be the same everywhere though.

- ordered a nice sparkly Crystal necklace from Etsy to fit the earrings I got 2 weeks ago.

- decided against spending money on barefoot sandals, seeing that I'm not sure they would be very comfy, and I wouldn't reuse them. I will paint my toenails bright blue or pink instead.

 

BIG HITCH:

I sent my papers to the US wedding coordinator almost 3 weeks ago, my tracking stopped in New York when entering US (registered mail). So either my papers are lost (not nice, but I think more likely), or the tracking is bad. I also couldn't get an answer from the wedding coordinator last Thursday or Friday. If I have to resend it will cost much more money (a bit over 300$), which is not budgeted, and such a waste!

 

ON TARGET:

Our customs rings/bands. I'm having a diamond engagement type ring made for me, since DBF wanted me to have a diamonds, he like them, and I didn't want 2 rings. One will be more than enough. The same guy is making him a pretty simple band, but it is a bit unique. Now we got our "samples" in silver to wear for 2 weeks, to check if we like the width, if the size is good, ... He even made 2 ideas for DBF, and both are so nice it will be hard to chose.

 

I hope that for my first post on this thread I haven't bored your too much!

[Melidell]

Welcome to the thread Julie! Eloping sounds so romantic- we considered it ourselves but were too chicken. Sorry to hear about your papers at the border- that truly sucks.

I like your idea of having just one ring- I like my wedding band just fine and love my engagement ring but I like them both separately more than I like them together if you know what I mean. I'm hoping I'll get used to two bands down the road but it still seems strange to me whenever I try them on.

[caribbeanLover]

I've missed so much!!

My page takes 20 mins to upload, anyone else having problems?

 

Welcome to all the new commers,

That sound so perfect,doing all by yourselves. I sometimes wish we just would have done that, but I'm an older child, it would have killed my parents.

 

So I had my bachelorette party, just starting to feel like a human being again LOL. Was a lot of fun, but I would suggest not drinking as much as I did lol

so a lot of us are a month away from getting married.

Let's see everyones list of their progress.

 

We are chatty,I love it lol!!

 

THINGS STILL TO DO

something old, and borrowed

- download prelude music

-BM flip flops (matching)

-wash pashima’s and label

-GM Gift (clothes)

- OOT Bag: type up welcome letter/things to do (vista print)

 

Deck of cards

 

- find Cat sitter

- Good strapless bra

- White chalk (covers wedding dress stains)

-Teeth whitener

-Finish centerpieces (1 piece per 6 people)

-bride jewellery for wedding day (necklace, ,earrings)

-assign responsibility to wedding guest(sand ceremony videographer ? )

-Have medi/pedi eye brow waxing/threading (Make appt)

-find/order romper

-figure something to put on party dress (way to boring,plain)

-print scavenger hunt list for pictures (8 shots p/p)

-burn cd’s for ceremony

- get Groom’s gift

-wedding games for cocktail hour(2 games)

-Print girls/fellow brides names

-Print e-mails from Carolina.

-Print guest list with arrival time

 

Most of those things I can do right on my pc.