Any 2013 Brides Out There?!!!!

[bride2b2013]

Hi ribbit101, Ive heard you can ship to the resort ( not sure if it is the same for all resorts as i read it from another bride somewhere in a forum here) but only one week in advance and there is a fee for the resort accepting the package..  also additional charges may occur if customs needs to open the packaging which apparently happens alot?

 

My thought would be to check an additional suitcase - may be the cheaper route?

The wedding planner should be able to give you specific pricing so you know for sure

 

Kimi - That is soo great that your fiance is onboard with all your craftyness!!  I wish Mine was the same LOL  Ive desided I will wait until January and just show him my finished mockups and see if there are any changes or ideas he has come that time and let him settle more until we have a specific date.

FUNNY!  I am actually also growing greatly font of my "fake date" as well LOL  I made a facebook event basically informing all our friends and family that there will be a wedding "tentitivally" on that date and we are informing so anyone who wants to join us has ample time to save..  I ended us with responses that made me laugh..  the date we chose was January 23, 2013..  which ended up being twwo different peoples birthdays ( actually one cousin from both sides of the family LOL )  And one of my friends wedding anniversary that I had completely forgot the date!  So everyone is excited to plan a vacation knowing there will be 40-50 other close frioends/family to party with making for a greater vacation.  The funniest was that my dad is the one who picked out that our "fake date" is 1-23-13  and I hadnt realized that ( it would make it quite easy for my fiance not to forgot our anniversary with it being  1 2 3 LOL  So  now I assume we may do the same and keep it as well

 

I cant believe how much you have accomplished!!  Ive only finished my bording passes and a layout for my save the date magnets.  Im going to be making "wedding survival kits" closer to the date in ziplock bags instead of hard cases to save space ( alreadt have a template) and will be handing out as many as possible before we go so I dont have to carry as many of them in a suitcase.  I like the idea and hadnt put alot of thought into the pre departure books.. and the ceremony fans are also a great idea!  Id love to see pictures of your finished products!  Im going to take some of my boarding passes soon too  

 

I agree and am glad more and more of us are poping up and cant wait to see everyones ideas and have people to plan and discuss options with!    Cheers everyone! 

[Emily11386]

Is anyone else thinking of renting out a catamaran for a group excursion?  I've read that other brides have done this and we were thinking it might be a nice way to thank our guests.

[bride2b2013]

I thought The Same Thing Actually!  I read about a former bride doing the same thing for her guests..  Just waiting on group numbers first to see if its plosable first   I bet that it would be something everyone wouild love

[kkimi88]

I've looked into checking extra luggage at the airport and it seems to only be about £30 extra for a bag weighing the same as your regular luggage is entitled. This seems really reasonable to me, and given how much closer a lot of you US ladies are, it should be even cheaper! I did stumble across this website, which may or may not be useful to you guys? http://www.airfarewatchdog.com/blog/3801089/airline-baggage-fees-chart-updated/ It's a list of different US flight companies and their charges for extra bags. Hope it helps someone (being in the UK I haven't checked how accurate it is, so don't quote me on it! Just thought it may come in handy )

Haha, bride2be, 'on board' might be a slight exaggeration, but he is very good at humouring me, and even suggested we go and look for his wedding band today . I love that your date is 1-23, that's perfect! I can see why you're getting attached! Not sure why I like mine but it would be nice now if we could get it... it all depends on when we can get a cheap deal on flights and accommodation really. It will be so nice if you do get your preliminary date, given you'd have so many great things to celebrate! Fab. 

 

I have got a lot done, but you have to remember that I'm not currently working (I'm a teacher on summer holiday!), so I really have been able to throw myself into it 100%, ideally I'd like to have pretty much everything finished by the end of next summer so I don't have to worry about anything on the run up. I have a blog here: http://prematureplanner.blogspot.com/ detailing my different projects/what we want for the ceremony/ reception and the proposal. Thought it would be nice to have a record kept of my planning, but feel free to have a look . You should definitely post your passes- I'd love to see them!

Re: the catamaran trip- depending on how the budget looks/interest we're either going to either do this or just organise a day trip with Seavis and let everyone else know when we're going so that they can book too if they want to. 

 

Happy Planning ladies! 

 

x

[bride2b2013]

ohh wow Kimi!  awesome blog I must ask before I forget - Where did u buy your parasails?!?  And how did you write on them?  I love and want to use that idea!  Beats boquets forsure!!     Also You have inspired me to start a blog!  LOL

[kkimi88]

I got them from http://www.brolliesgalore.co.uk/ because it was one of the best UK sites that I found, though if you search 'parasols' on here there are some much cheaper american sites that unfortunately wouldn't ship to me. To write on it I printed off the letters and taped them to the under side of the parasol, then I traced them using a fabric pen. It was actually really easy, though a bit nerve-wracking! lol. I do find it really good to have a record of all the things I've done, definitely link me if you do get one! 

[Emily11386]

I wish I was good at DIY projects.  So far I have bought a dress for my TTD session.  When we went for our site visit we chose our menu.  I think our colors are going to be turquoise and pink.  We are currently looking at save the dates but aren't sure how early to send them out.  I'm also debating between doing real flowers or ordering real touch flowers. 

[bride2b2013]

Kimi - I love the record idea!  I started mine today!  I wrote random stuff about my engagement and wedding party to start it off.  I added my bording passes aswell!!  ( I know your a teacher so I will say sorry in advance to you for having to read my poor grammer and spelling (LOL)  I cant believe what a great job you have done!  You have completely inspired me to start my own!  What a great thing to have to look back on later at all planning thoughts and ideas all in one place aswell and easy to access.  Im glad you shared with me!  Thank You!  I love the parasail ideas too!  Im not in the UK though so think I will have to find some somewhere else.  Im In Ontario Canada.  I'll see what I can find! 

Heres a link to my boarding pass invitations   http://bride2b2013.blogspot.com/2011/08/my-first-diy-project.html

 

Emily - Im HORRIBLE at crafty stuff and actually think i did a half decient job on my Bording pass invites..  Theres Hope!  If I can - Anyone Can LOL  You may surprise yourself!!  

Im sending my save the dates out in January..  I figure with it being a destination wedding Im not using the regular wedding guidelines -  I want everyone to have the whole year notice so they have enough time to save if they really want to join us.  I figure the more notice the better   Especially with save the dates for a Destination wedding.  The whole idea of them is to save the date ( and Money) to come  

 

Has anyone found pricing on the cateraman trips?  I found somewhere 120 per person..  but remember reading somewhere a bride rented for her group and for under 40 people I though i read $1200 and then extra per person on top of 40..  I could be completely wrong though - my memory sucks sometimes LOL....

 

Has anyone found group rates and how long the excursions are - or any general info on the excursion?

 

 

[Eva1love]

Hey Bride2be13,

 

It's great to see how much you've accomplished I am also a 2013 bride and I think exactly the way you do... the more notice I can give my guests the better it will be for us all I'm still debating on which resort... but hopefully we'll know in the next month or so. 

 

I wanted to tell you that I LOVE the whole map thing you have on the boarding pass envelope... I would LOVE to do the same... how did you get the art? Would you be able to send me the file? I'll alter it to mark w/e resort we end up choosing...

 

I'm debating with my whole invites/std's I don't know with which to go... I've decided on the colors... so that's going to help us narrow things down but I wanted a theme as well... not sea shells as my sister used that theme last year for her wedding. She got married at the RIU Palace, Punta Cana.

 

Also about arranging a trip for your guests I think it's something all brides should do for their guests as a token of their appreciation for making it all the way out there. My sister rented 2 yatchs and had her group (ttl 104ppl) go on sort of liek a party boat where we snorkled had snacks and drinks for about 4 hrs... it was AWESOME!! And she only paid $20 p/p. But she worked all this out the first day she got to the resort... she went to the beach and asked around for pricing... the resorts prices were more than doubled!!!! I'm sure you'll find a great deal! I plan to do the same

 

Cheers!

 

[bride2b2013]

Hi Eva, Yah no problem!  Send me your email address and I can email you the template.  It actually is SUPER easy!  Ill send you directions along with the template

for the map it isnt clipart I just googled maps of dominican republic and saved the image of the one i liked the most