Two years of planning our dream wedding in the sun

mae1564 · November 19, 2012

Hello all, and welcome to my planning thread! This website has been such an amazing tool and I can't wait to share it with you! Over time I will add to it, because there is too much to talk about all in one night.

mae1564 · November 19, 2012

Ok, so for my first post I think I will start with our story <3

We met back in early 2009 through match.com Yup, we are a success story as I like to call it. On the website there is a tool where you can see who is looking at your profile. I noticed that he had looked at me one day, and then again the next day, so I took the first step and emailed him. We lived a couple hours away from eachother so emailed and talked on the phone every day for about a month before he drove to my town to take me out on our first date.

Fast forward to December 2010, he proposed to me on December 13, 2010. It was supposed to be on my birthday December 15, but he found out on the 13th he was going to get stuck working a double shift. My parents had just left after spending the weekend with us and he asked if I wanted to open my birthday present. I said sure, and that was the end of that conversation. A couple hours later he asked me again if I wanted to open my birthday present, I gave him that look like, didn't you already ask me this question? So he went to a different room and came back with a large pink box. It was a present, wrapped in a present, wrapped in a present, and I don't know how many boxes there were. By the time I came to the smallest box, he was on one knee, and I was shaking so bad I couldn't open the box. Of course I said yes! Well, actually more a crying, shaking, nodded my head in agreement because I had no words.

It was in January that we decided we were going to do a destination wedding. Our home towns are so far apart from eachother, and someone was going to have to travel somewhere so why not have everyone travel to a vacation? A REAL vacation? That was the plan. And so I began my planning.

We were married on October 19, 2012 at THE Royal Playa del Carmen, Mexico

I will try to post at least a couple times a week until I finish with all of my details. There were a lot a details

mae1564 · November 19, 2012

One of my first purchases for the destination wedding... our monogram!

From that point on, it was a challenge to see what I could put this thing on. Let's put it on everything! No not really, but enough to make me feel better about that odd need I had to buy one Acutally, no, let me be honest I was super lucky with my mongram. I just happened to find an etsy seller who was trying to get her name out there and was selling monograms for $1. So really, it was the most expensive wedding item out there

Here, let's put it all over this website too. Just because my wedding is over doesn't mean I'm done getting my money's worth out of it.

Whoa, that uploaded a little larger than I had expected it to. Well, the easier to see I guess!

mae1564 · November 20, 2012

Let's talk OOT Bags, ahhhh painstaking OOT Bags

First off let me say that I had quite the love hate relationship with my OOT Bags. I loved them, was excited for them, and a little obsessive over them. But I also had a little bit of resentment towards them. Why did I focus so much on them? I don't know, I guess I just wanted so bad to show all of our guests as much appreciation as possible. Believe it or not, I feel like I actually accomplished that in the end. It was completely done with OOT Bags, but it set the tone.

Here is what I put in mine:

Canvas Beach Bag
Double Wall Tumbler w/ Straw
Crystal Light drink mix packets
Advil
Tums
Bath and Body Works Hand Sanitizer
Do Not Disturb Signs
Luggage Tags
Key Holder Wristlets
Kleenex
Welcome Brochure
Koozies

Okay, I think that is all of it.

So my absolute must haves were the Beach Bag, Advil, Tums, key holder wristlets, and Welcome Brochure.

My big disappointment were the cups. I really really thought they would get a lot more use (and they were the most expensive items) but I think I saw one person use them once. Maybe because we didn't really have any serious drinkers in our group is why. We had drinkers but I don't think anyone ever got drunk. Oh well, live and learn.

The Welcome Brochures were a labor of love, but I think people found them to be very useful. In them I had a welcome note, an outline of where we would be and when, a photo scavenger hunt (people loved!), and some info about the area. Some of our guests didn't go anywhere without them!

Theres that monogram again...

My absolute love, would totally do it again, were the beach bags. People took them EVERYWHERE! It kind of warms the heart to see people appreciate what you've done.

Here's one of the bags being put to good use!

In the end, our guests loved them and like I said earlier it made me happy to show a little appreciation to each person for being there with us.

DestinationGirl · November 21, 2012

hey! just wondering where your OOT bags are from?

mae1564 · November 21, 2012

hey! just wondering where your OOT bags are from?

Hi! I bought them at the dollar store. I bought them like two years ago though, so I don't know if they still carry them. Although they might in the summer time. I have some leftovers for sale if you want, I have seven green and one blue one left. Here is the link http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/t/83029/ttd-reception-dress-sz-10-oot-bags-much-more

DestinationGirl · December 8, 2012

Thanks! I will check the dollar store closer to spring

ashk · December 8, 2012

Hello fellow Ashley

Your monogram is so cute, why wouldn't you use it everywhere I'm working on ours right now.

I absolutely LOVE your idea of photo scavenger hunt! Would you be willing to share details about that?

and I completely understand the OOT bag obsession - I'm glad your guests enjoyed them so much.

mae1564 · January 12, 2013

Hello ladies!!!

Okay, so I have neglected my thread through the holidays but I'm back!

Let's talk about wedding dresses today..... Oh, the headaches I had over wedding dresses

My budget for a wedding dress was non-existent, and so I was on a "how little money can I spend?" budget. I looked everywhere! We went to Dress Dashes (if you don't know what that is, let me know and I will explain) I looked on used wedding dress sites, I looked at sales, and then I looked on eBay. I made mistakes along the way, so let me share my hard lessons learned.

Lesson #1 Don't get pressured into a dress! I did at the dress dash. I found a dress that didn't fit, I didn't really like, but was in my budget. My friend that went with me, bless her heart, was SO determined to find a dress. She wanted it so bad for me, that she made me want it too! I knew the dress didn't fit, it wasn't what I wanted, but again it was in my budget. It was only $120 but regardless, it was $120 I spent for a dress that has never left my closet. Take a deep breath and think logically if this happens to you, trust your gut.

Lesson #2 Trust your gut!!! A lot of people are surprised to find out that I bought my dress from a dressmaker in China. Yup, I took a leap of faith and did it. I had recommendations from other brides here on BDW who turned me onto a site dressilyme.com I researched and read reviews, and looked at the site, and read their policies. Their prices were so enticing, and I could send them my measurements and have a dress made for me! It was probably one of the scariest things I did, but it turned out so amazing in the end.

If I could make any recommendations on buying a dress from a website such as dressilyme, it would be to go to dress shops and try on dresses first. Find the style and fit that you like. Find the one that fits YOU! Unfortunately, I live in the mountains hours away from anything like a dress shop, so I took another leap of faith and got lucky. I don't suggest trying that tactic, because again, I got lucky.

So here is the picture of the dress from the website :

And here is the dress I received:

Okay, so I don't exactly have the models body in the first picture, but you get the idea

On to the big question, how much did I pay?

I paid $180 which included, the dress, custom sizing, and shipping. It took about 30 days from the time I ordered it to the time it arrived at my house.

I paid another $65 in alterations once I got it because unfortunately I think people assume that with my measurements I have big boobs. Well, I don't so I needed the top taken in just a little bit. The dress does however have cups sewn in which is really nice.

What sealed the deal for me on this on is when I was having it taken in, I told the seamstress where I got it. She was shocked! She told me that the construction of the dress, the stitching, and material used is much better quality then some of the dresses she sees come out of wedding shops! I was all grins, and patting myself on the back for that one.