Adamsgrrl

Quote: Originally Posted by mitchell.johanna Thanks for directing me to this thread, Maura. I'm definitely interested in meeting all the Chicago brides. Count me in for the get-together on March 8th. Looks like you gals have been trying to set this up for awhile... Great! Looking forward to it. So this is going to be a final date (hopefully)!

Quote: Originally Posted by jean-marcus hahah that joke is sooo something my dad would tell. your dad and my dad should hang out. heres my fave joke "whats got 9 arms and kicks ass?" Def Leppard (only the really cool kids will get that joke) yeaaaaaa... I've never been the "cool kid."

When hubby comes home and asks you what you accomplished all day... with that look, and you just smile.

So cute! Thanks Ann! I'm going to send these out in an email.

I sent our hotel a wire transfer to their bank in Miami... it made me feel better knowing it was in Miami. I just got all the necessary docuementation and I will say the one thing I insisted is in the "notes" section of the wire transfer I had Our names obviously, our event, the date, and the contact person responsible for our booking. I also sent our group rep a copy of the confirmation.. but, blacked out the routing and bank acct number. Just get all the necessary info.. and it should be okay.

CONGRATS!!! I know that feeling... like a weight lifted off your sholders. Oh and love that AMEX! If anything (God Forbide) should happen with your booking, any refund etc.. you will be soooo protected!

We got married at the main Church in Playa. BUT from what we understood it wasn't legal.. so this is the first time I'm hearing this. Our legal marriage took place in Vegas. Please keep us posted I would be curious to see if this is really true.

HAHA. I love them. I have to share these with DH! Thank you!

Quote: Originally Posted by mauraw no problem lori. i can do 2nd week of march. and monika, i would much rather let you rest than have you show up feeling crummy! let's say march 8th at 7 pm. anyone else wanna join us? That sounds good! Thank you for thinking of me.

May everyones Valentines Day be filled with Love.. and great you know what

Stephanie, WOW! Very very pretty! You've inspired me to go for it! Maybe as an aniversary gift.

Quote: Originally Posted by mauraw haha does everybody just wanna reschedule for early March? like maybe the second weekend? it will be more fun if more people can go........ Yea.. it would be nice if more people could join us. Like I said I'll make it on Fri if you girls still want. I may be late. But, if we can get more people to committ for March then maybe we should swicth it. How may people would like/can make it the Second Week of March?? (i can)

Quote: Originally Posted by mauraw does friday night work better for anyone else? i can do either friday or saturday, no big deal to me. monika what about you? Sorry I didn't see this sooner. I'm having a small procedure done Friday at 4pm. I don't know how its going to effect me.. doc said I should be fine with some aspirin. Soooo I really don't know how I'm going to feel. I just found out about it and Fri is the only day she could see me. She's pretty booked up. I really hate to say "Yes" and then cancel last minute because of it... but then again if I feel bad then I'm going to feel bad the next day. I'll try to make it on Friday. I may be alittle late depending upon the timeframe. So sure Friday is okay.

Some of my guests went to Marketplace 5. I actually sent them there upon hearing it from one of the guests at our hotel who goes to Cancun for shopping often... she said its one of the best places for bargins. My MIL actually went and bought jewerly there but you need to bargin or bring someone with you who is a great barginer. Apparently there's a lot of stuff you can buy from clothes, jewerly, nick nacks etc.

Quote: Originally Posted by tvt so for all you girls that had custom rings made how did you find a place? (i knew a place in MN.... but in AZ i know nothing ) well i guess i know how to find a place, but how do you decide which place to use? I would assume it would be hard to compare prices and quality... In Chicago there is a street that is all wholesale jewelers... ironically it was located right by my school so either before class or after or on the weekends I would just go through each building and talk to the sales ppl or owners and get quotes... some were quite shady like I said and required that they keep my e-ring so they could measure it. I just basically did my own research on how much the diamonds would be (through B-Nile) and how much they we're offering me. The quotes ranged SIGNIFICANTLY to the point that I was so frustrated because I didn't know what was reasonable. Anyway, I just happened to stumble upon my current jeweler and he was extremely nice, and fair and his quotes were the lowest of the low while the quality was very nice. I would search online, maybe use google business search for your area. There must be a wholesale place you can go to... I know DH aunt has a winter home in AZ (fountian Hills) and she always buys jewelery. But sorry they are in Hawaii for 2 weeks so I can't ask. She came home once with what must be a 3 carat diamond (kinda bad quality and cloudy..ouch sorry but true). I don't know if Fountain Hills is too far away from you but when she get's back I will be happy to ask her.

No unfortunately it's local. Its WindyCityDiamonds.com... a wholesaler on Wabash St. in Downtown Chicago.. If anyone is really interested, I have a guy who is fantastic I can give you his info. DH got his ring custom made through them.. I got a diamond bracelet as a wedding present that was sized to fit me. We got our bridal party pearl earrings and necklaces.. and for the fam we got pearl jewerly all custom made. I just brought in pictures, or described what I wanted to him... he can copy anything that's out there in the retail stores.. picked out my own pearls.. it was fantastic!! And super affordable IMHO. Plus you can bargin with the wholesaler... for example fresh water pearl necklaces (w/ 2 pearls each) and earrings in sterling silver for each of the girls was $25! I think that was super affordable and they looked really expensive.. BONUS!

I got mine custom made from a wholesaler and I could not be happier! They take a look at your e-ring, do some measurements, and make a mold of your wedding ring (my mold plus labor was $50). Then you can make changes and changes until you are happy. The best is that you can pick out the quality of your diamonds to the T. For example, I have 5 little aschers that run on the top of my ring... I went through many loose stones to get the most uniform diamonds I could get... make sure you get them from the same parcel to ensure they will be a close macth. After the ring is made they can always rework the ring to ensure it fits perfectly. And really if you get it from a wholesaler you will save $$. Mine was 1/2 the cost than if I bought it on blue nile. It really just depends too on what you want to make. I will say though that you need to shop around for your jeweler or try to get some referals... there we're some that I met with and they we're like yea we have to keep your ring for a day to get the measurements... when sitting flush with my e-ring wasn't an issue.. RED FLAG! No way did I let them take my ring. The jeweler that I ended up using just measured my ering quickly in front of me, wrote stuff down. Just be wary. Good Luck Tara and let us know how it goes! Monika : )

I got a Game Over sweatshirt for DH on Ebay. This is just ONE that I found. There are many if you search Game Over on ebay.

WOW!! So beautiful! Katie you looked stunning!

Beautiful pictures!! And what a Beautiful Bride!! I love the pictures of you in your room right before the ceremony!!!!! So Pretty! Vincent did an amazing job.. as usual. Congrats!!

Ohhh I feel your pain! I just finished my MBA in November and I swear it was sooooo stressful (especially w/ wedding planning). Just breath and try to take one task at a time... and my secert is CRAMMING. For me it really works... I write down my notes on blank computer paper maybe 1 or 2 days before the test.. writing it and reading and rereading right before really helps me. I even bring it to class and reread right before. Your short term memory will do the rest hopefully! Good Luck, in the end it is all worth it and you will feel soooo proud of yourself! Monika : )

Quote: Originally Posted by jean-marcus there are several reasons for under eye dark circles . most people think its from lack of sleep but thats usually not the case. you could have excessive iron in your blood, congestion in your nose preventing proper blood flow down from your eyes causing stagnant blood to oxidize. this website shows some reasons for the problem Cause Dark Eye Circle and here are some tips to how to get rid of them Combating dark eye circles BUT if its improper blood flow or excessive iron then you should consult a physician. i have dark circles myself i believe caused from my deviated septum which is always making my nose congested. Thanks for the info!! Really interesting and helpful. Unfortunately, I've gotten all my hormone, blood tests, etc done throughout the years and it Hereditary. Poo. No solution for me. I've had it since I was young. Quote: Originally Posted by meandpaul I had a chemical peel done in December so for a while (and still) I am red. Not sure if this would help (different skin color problem) but there is a Physicians brand (sold in drug stores) that has Conceal RX to help cover it. It is better than regular concealer. It is green. Not sure if it will conceal dark circles but it helps with any redness. BTW, Monika, I love your pic Thank you very much!! I've also had chemical peels done but my Surgeon said he couldn't do it under the eyes... hmmm.. did you get it under your eyes?? Quote: Originally Posted by amandalovesryan i not only have dark circles, I also have a lovely blue vein on my left cheek. Love it! I want to get it zapped but my mom gets mad when I bring it up! I just usually use bronzer and it helps me a lot! Go for it! I have/had a port wine stain.. its like a perminant red spot on the side of my forehead (also hereditary.. thanks dad!) and got it zapped.. it takes a couple of times depending upon the color. It is sooooo noticably better, no more extra coverup in that area for me! now if they could zapp my undereye circles I would be in heaven!

Quote: Originally Posted by mauraw which one do you use? Keromask Masking Cream. I have the Mac one that you use but I just haven't used it.. I don't know why maybe I'm still emotionally attached to my old conceler.

Quote: Originally Posted by mauraw i have THE most horrible dark circles, that if i dont wear makeup, people ask me if i'm tired or sick. my mom used to call me uncle fester, they were that bad. i tried using the benefit realness of concealness that julie suggested but i had some kind of allergic reaction to it. what i will say has done wonders for me though is the MAC maximum coverage concealer. I also use a MAC eye creme that comes in a tube its like $28 i think. and then walgreens sells a cheaper version of strivectin D that i use when my allergies are really bad, i think it costs about $24. i shelled out the $98 for a tube of strivectin D a few years ago, and i would tell anyone who is temped to use it that if your circles are really light it will probably work great, but if you have really dark ones like me, dont waste your money, youre better off investing in eye moisturizer and concealer. Yea.. it sucks. Nothing really seems to help me so I kind of have givin up. Concelear all the way for me!

My prayers are with you and your family. May you have a safe trip.