Midwest Brides Unite!

[farlem311]

Hey ladies!!!  I am from Chicago and getting married at Dreams Punta Cana in Dominican Republic.  Wedding is in June 4th 2011.

[remdog]

Welcome farlem311. Dreams pc was on my list of places I considered getting married. That was until the FI said what about Costa Rica. Since he hasnt spoken up about much I figured when he did give his input I should follow it. I wish dreams had a resort in Costa Rica.

[farlem311]

Costa Rica sounds great.  I have been looking at the forums and seen some really great places in Mexico and Jamaica. I wish I had seen the forum before.  Oh well, now I am frantically trying to plan for our OOT bags and today I will look for dresses.  I am determined to find my dress TODAY!!!

[BeachBridein11]

merrylee- I would say our specialist, Camille H., earned our trust.  We double checked every price she gave us and she was giving us the best deal.  We also pushed her to get lower pricing with the resort and was able to do it.  With a little pushing and with dealing with her, I completely trust her and believe she is working for us.  If you don't like your specialist, perhaps request a new one.

[merrylee]

So at what point in planning are you all at? I'm literally still at the beginning having only been engaged for a month today.

We want to get married in Mexico at the Moon Palace and are hoping for April 2012.  We hope to bring down with us our photographer and be able to share that experience with someone that knows us as a couple and will be able to translate that into our pictures.

 

My FI's sister just got married at the Beach Palace in October, and that convinced us this was definitely the way to go for us because of the quality time we were able to spend with our family and friends while down there.  I don't have the ability to post pictures yet, but maybe this link will work http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/gallery/album/view/id/0/user_id/34739

 

It was amazing, and I can't wait to be able to officially start the planning and not just dreaming about it.  I so look forward to sharing this amazing experience with all of you.

[schmizer]

All of my progress was basically in depth research until this last week!  I feel so accomplished!

 

We...

Put deposits on our wedding bands (both custom).

Booked my hair stylist.

Booked my makeup artist.

Got a really complete estimate from the resort (where the ceremony is) for all expenses of the ceremony.  This meant I made a ton of decisions regarding flowers.

Asked my girls to be in my wedding party.

Booked the photographer and decided on package.

Booked the officiant.  

Tried suits on FI and found the PERFECT one!

Decided on style of attire for groomsmen.

 

Our next big steps are the wedding website, save the dates and dress shopping.

 

I have a question for all of you Chicago brides...  Does Chicago have any great flea markets?  I am looking for old glass bottles and have had no luck around Milwaukee.

[schmizer]

Welcome Farlem311!  How's your planning coming?

[merrylee]

Congrats on getting all that done, was that just in 1 week?  Crazy, but I think once it starts it will be hard to stop the train.

 

When and where are you getting married again?

[acireta]

Honestly, the one huge swap meet/flea market I know of is in Alsip (south-side) and it's really hit or miss. I've gone there on a Saturday at 7 am and found amazing paintings for my house, and then a few weeks later, it'll be all crap.

 

Have you checked ebay, craigslist, freecycle?
 

Originally Posted by schmizer 

 

I have a question for all of you Chicago brides...  Does Chicago have any great flea markets?  I am looking for old glass bottles and have had no luck around Milwaukee.

[schmizer]

I have checked all three, to no avail so far...

 

The problem is that I am not looking for collectibles, which everyone has.  I just want old blue glass bottles.  I am hoping to stumble on a lot somewhere unexpected, so I am checking everyday!

 

Thanks for the advice.  We are in Chicago ALOT, so I will check out Alsip. I still have alot of time to figure it all out:)