Alyssa

which part of it are you looking for Erica? the ring dish? i saw that on Etsy!

jenny - that is gorgeous!!!!!!!!! the only thing i might change is the ribbon - the white - it may be too harsh b/c the base is so thick - i would be interested to see something that blends in a bit more. nice job!

Karma!!! girl you look beautiful! great review and i love the pics - your dresses were absolutely perfect

i have a size 7 if you want Leia i have to find them

Quote: Originally Posted by LC_Rachel Gorgeous! I absolutely love that resort. Do you know what the average cost was for your guest to stay there? Just trying to figure out if that's even something Steve and I could consider for a little trip. Quote: Originally Posted by Jenn Great review Alyssa! I'm glad to hear that the glitches were minor and that noone noticed. Its definitely the nature of DW, but when you're somewhere THAT gorgeous, who cares? I'm with Rachel... how much was your average guest's cost and how long were they there? I'd love to check it out! Congrats again! Rachel and Jenn, They have a special Bed & Breakfast rate that you can usually get for around $350 night - there are a couple other fees and charges so i would say about $400 per night on average - this is for the lowest room category but they are really cool about upgrading upon availability and honestly the 'low category' rooms were GORGEOUS so it woudn't be a big deal to stay on the lagoon on lava IMO. The full meal plan (3 meals a day) starts at about $600 night. If you go here, make sure to rent a car for the whole time - their breakfast is DELICIOUS but eating lunch and dinner there will kill you. Also - there is a Costco about 15 min away and they have great CA wines super cheap (like cheaper than here in PA and NJ) - we stocked up and got some 'to go coffee cups' - i must have saved $500 i swear! Alyssa

you're welcome girls - we hate sneaky vendors! just be honest and follow the vendor rules and you will get plenty of business KWIM?!?

i love it!!!! hahah sending to DH now ;0

this is one of my favorite threads - i can't believe i can finally post to it! What I would do again: · Marry my DH – he is an amazing man and an even better husband! · Have a DW wedding! · Get married in Hawaii – even with the distance – it is one of the most beautiful settings and for a lot of our guests – a once in a lifetime trip · Kona Village – all day – that place is insane! · Have a large bridal party – my friends and I have been together through so many good and bad times – it really wouldn’t have been the same without them! · Bring our own stuff to decorate the reception tables · Spend time/$ on nice paper products · OOT Bags – our guests loved them and used a lot of the stuff while we were there! · Paid per drink and not open bar – we saved SO MUCH $$$ and even went under budget on this item! · Ask our guests to all wear shades of tan/white/beige – it was very cool and I can’t wait to see the group pics from Mark/Gwyne · Ask one of our good friends to videotape – we are so grateful to have our ceremony on tape and can’t wait to see the DVD! · Have a WC – especially for the day-of – LIFESAVER! · Make sure we had a super gourmet, high-end menu – our guests (and us) LOVED it and are still talking about it! · Ship stuff out to HI before hand (since it is USPS it was not that expensive and saved us a lot of extra carrying of stuff and bags) · Check our luggage all the way through and not really have any carry-ons · Boudoir photos – my DH loves his book and now I get the young, sexy pics for when I am pregnant / old. · Spent the night with FI before the wedding – it was such a special time and energy in the air – I wouldn’t have wanted to wake up without him there. · Get there a couple days early to get settled in · Have our own, private honeymoon on a different Island for a week What I would have done differently: · Have my hair done at the salon (only b/c where we got ready was not air conditioned) · Left enough time to do a walk through of the ceremony and reception sites before getting dressed · Left more time for pictures (although Mark & Gwyne said they got 1500 pics over the 4 days so who knows) but I know we missed a couple family pics I wanted to get – I don’t think DH and I left enough time. · Pre-assembled the OOT bags into Ziploc bags I could have just emptied into the canvas bags – we wasted a lot of time assembling them when we got there. · I would have liked to have a prepared speech for our reception to thank everyone and all that – I was too excited and nervous and mumbled something stupid and then said ‘go eat’ or something lol What I wouldn’t do again: · Stress out so much the first 2 days – I was so worried about assembling the OOT bags and all that stuff I didn’t even stop to enjoy being in Hawaii for at least 36 hours – that was stupid! · Invite all my bridesmaids, moms and other friends to get ready together (12 in total) – it was way to chaotic and actually stressed me out – my fault · Pack so much extra stuff that we really didn’t need

Erica!! i can't wait to see your planning thread and how everything is going to come together - this is such an exciting time - savor it!!!

Yari!!!!! everything looks AMAZING!!! it is all coming together so wonderfully - I am so excited for you and Brian you are going to look gorgeous! xoxo alyssa

so great Danielle!!!! everything looks really nice PS - i am going through my 'wedding suitcase' today and plan on sending you the starfish tomorrow

you guys are very cute!!! and i love Bella's little teeth poking out - she is adorable!

Best wishes and i will be thinking about you!!!!!!!!

hey Lori - why can't you go to Boston to live together? 2 years is such a long time!!!

OMG get a good wedding planner - i would just hire someone different. i just got back - i had 40 people and really would have lost it if i didn't have a day-of coordinator.

the beach right outside of our Hale... View from Breakfast... our Rehearsal... one of the pools... wedding cake... view from our reception... typical sunset... bridal party gifts... sea turtles on the beach (all the time!)...

some different HALE's... Grounds... Lagoon Side of the Resort (where the Luau is held...

that is so funny!!!!!!!!

Wedding Date: Friday, September 5th, 2008 Wedding Location: Kona Village Resort, Kailua-Kona, Hawaii (Big Island) Wedding Guests: Approximately 40 VENDOR LIST: Travel Agent: Dina Krulikowski, SunKissed Vacations or TA Dina on BDW Airlines: Delta and Mesa / IFlyGo Wedding Coordinator: Vidal Demonti, Kona Village Groups Coordinator: Tracie Brewer, Kona Village Ground Transfers: Speedy Shuttle Photographers: Mark & Gwyne Owens Officiate: Elizabeth Theriault Relationship Story: Ellen Braunstein of Courtship Stories (for OOT Bags) MiniBook Design / Thank You Cards / Announcements: Sproullie Designs or Sarah on BDW Passport Invites: Prim & Pixie Update Newsletter / Ceremony Fan Design / Candle Favor Design: Sandra Evans or SandraE. on BDW Bridesmaids Gifts (embroidered robes / cosmetic cases): Smarty Pants Groomsmen Gifts (Cross pens & leather journals): Holt’s Wedding gift for DH: Boudoir Photography by Jen Capone. Book by, My Publisher Wedding Dress & Veil: Priscilla of Boston Bridesmaid’s Dresses: Victoria’s Secret, 7 in 1 Dress (Teal) Parasols (including “B†parasol): I Do Originals Custom Wedding Certificate (Ketuba): Documents and Designs *click here for MY PLANNING THREAD* We originally had booked our wedding for the Island of Molokai at The Lodge at Molokai Ranch – they closed down in March 2008 and we quick scrambled to re-book not only our entire wedding but all of our guests who had non-refundable airfare to Hawaii – we had to keep the same dates and budget – not an easy task for anywhere, but especially in Hawaii. We were in the process of finalizing our Honeymoon (which was partially booked at Kona Village) and after making a bunch of inquiries – Kona Village was the best match for us to relocate the wedding events and the guests. From that point on – we were in touch with 2 main contacts at Kona Village – Vidal Demonti (in house Wedding and Events Coordinator) and Tracie Brewer (Sales and Groups Coordinator). These two have been nothing but accommodating, kind and generous throughout the ENTIRE process – Kona Village is lucky to have them. With all that being said there were a few little things that didn’t go exactly as planned but honestly my DH and I expected that there would be a couple little things (b/c that is always the case with a DW) and were just hoping that A. whatever went wrong wouldn’t be too big of a deal and B. none of our guests would notice. The little things that did go wrong were nothing that anyone else noticed, cared about and didn’t really impact DH and I in a big way so, in this regard, we were extremely LUCKY!!!!!! The things that were not according to plan were: FLOWERS: initially I had specified Fuchsia. About 2 weeks before the wedding, I spoke multiple times with Vidal (WC) about changing the color to a burgundy – it was confirmed and I moved forward with my burgundy shoes and handbag. Well, the day of the wedding, my bouquet came and it was fuchsia, at that point it was too late to do anything, the boutonnière was done, and some décor at the ceremony site so my initial reaction was definitely disappointment but I got over it in about 10 minutes and just moved on. The bouquet was quite beautiful anyway so it wasn’t that hard to get over. AISLE FLOWERS: our contract specified an aisle of 2000 white orchids so that they would be very dense. The orchids were beautiful and definitely white but there is no way in hell there were 2000 of them – it was more ‘scattered’ looking than dense but again not the end of the world. CAKE: DH and I were very specific about our cake - we used a picture from Martha Stewart Weddings of a simple 3 tier cake with toasted coconut on the tops of the layers. We asked for exactly that but with chocolate icing, we specified no flowers or décor and that would we would be bringing our own cake topper. Well, when we got to the reception, we noticed that our cake was the cake we wanted from the picture but with 2 pretty distinctive differences – it was ‘milk chocolate’ color instead of ‘dark chocolate’ and it was decorated with real flowers. It was not exactly what we wanted but still looked nice and really was one of the best tasting wedding cakes (according to almost all of our guests and us) so we wound up not caring all that much. RECEPTION CHAIRS: I confirmed a couple of times with our WC that we would have brown wood chairs for the reception but when we got there WE (DH and I) have really beautiful brown, high back wood chairs but our guests had green lawn chairs, now they were not the super cheap Wal-Mart kind but in my opinion they took away from the overall look and décor we wanted. The irony is that a bunch of guests came up to us during the reception and randomly commented on how roomy and comfortable the chairs were – figures! So, in the end, our guests were really comfortable and that is what matters most. Things that were GREAT and beyond our expectations: Since there are no telephones in the rooms, the staff had custom maps with everyone in our party’s Hale noted at check in – for ALL of our guests! This was great and made it easy for all us to stay in contact. They gave us the “run of the house rate†which meant that they would upgrade our group upon check in based on availability – almost everyone got upgraded (whether they knew it or not) and had amazing Hale’s that costs at least double what they were paying per night! WC had his staff decorate the Wedding Hale at no charge. WC Had cold, bottled water at the Ceremony for all of our guests at no charge. WC brought potted plants to both Ceremony and Reception site to add to the ambiance. WC used beautiful Lava Rocks to help decorate the reception tables – it was gorgeous!! WC and Tracie upgraded us to a very large, Ocean Front hale situated right outside of our wedding ceremony site. They also sent us a welcome gift and 2 wedding gifts (one of them is a graphic reproduction of the hale we stayed in!) The location is insane – it is so beautiful – definitely one of the best places we have EVER stayed at. The staff is great – very attentive but not obtrusive! The food at Kona Village is very, very good!!! Our reception food was out of this world – everyone is still raving about the food and cake! The weather – AMAZING and perfect on our wedding day as well as the Sunset – it was the best sunset we had all week on our wedding day – that was really cool! Some other things…. Kona Village does not have air-conditioning anywhere except for in the Spa – this is not a big deal b/c of the trade winds – you really don’t need it – EXCEPT sometimes in the middle of the day it got a bit hot in the Hale’s and it just so happened to be an absolutely beautiful but HOT day the day of our wedding - so this made it a bit uncomfortable for me while getting ready for the ceremony. I was very hot and sweaty and my hair was not cooperating – I really wish there would have been an air-conditioned place for the bridal party to get ready in. Kona Village is mostly an all-inclusive, well at least with the food plan so while their restaurants are amazing – if you are not on the food plan (which our entire group was not – we were on a Bed & Breakfast rate) – then Dinner is offensively expensive – there are only 2 dining options and BOTH are price fixes - $75 and $85 PER PERSON, not including gratuity and drinks (an average drink is about $12). We did not know this beforehand and weren’t prepared for it – the big joke in our group was that we had to go next door to The Four Seasons a la carte Beach Grill for $19 individual pizza’s to save a couple bucks. Luckily, all of our guests were good sports about it and nobody freaked out (at least not to us LOL). MARK & GWYNE OWENS – PHOTOGRAPHERS – Mark & Gwyne were great – they are married and very much in love – they have a great energy in their relationship and the way they work together that translates to their photography and creativity. We won their BDW contest so we paid for their airfare and hotel accommodations and a food allowance so were EXTREMELY lucky in that regard and we feel that it was fate b/c they fit in perfectly with our group and our personalities. At this point, we have only seen a handful of photos (which have all been AMAZING) so we can’t do a full review but we are very happy with the Owens’ and would HIGHLY RECOMMEND them!!!! Overall, we LOVED Kona Village so much, that we plan on going back – we never usually go to the same place twice (b/c there are so many great places to see in this world!). In the gym, there is a wall with the names of repeat guests, there were many names that we recognize (celebrities and politicians) – after spending a week there and hosting our wedding, DH and I completely understand why these people who can afford to go anywhere choose to keep going back to Kona Village. I know that there are not as many Big Island brides as some of the other areas (Mexico, D.R., JA, etc.) so if there is anyone considering Big Island or Kona Village, please post any questions you have and I will do a full review for the other elements of our wedding that apply. Side note – as for funny celeb stories – Richie Sambora was there while we were there – I only saw him once when we were checking in but I saw the girl he was with like 4 different times. And Steve Jobs of Apple was on the wall for over 30 repeat visits – my DH loved that! J

Hi Rosemary - Welcome to the forum and congrats! If you go to the Cabo Forum Cabo Forum and go to "search this forum" right under where is says all the pages that are in that forum (right side about 1/4 way down the page) and type in Palmilla you will a lot of threads with info. Great choice - i have been there (not for a wedding though) - it is one of the nicest placest ever - are you thinking the chapel? i also LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the Moroccan bar by the ocean - that would be an amazing place for a welcome party!!! Alyssa

what a great slideshow becks - NT is awesome!!!! you and chris looks so happy - i love it!!!!!!!!!

i totally want one of these!!!! i am looking at the Mino - i may tell my DH that is what i want for xmas!! and an iphone lOL

I also used SmartyPants for some of my BM gifts and my girls loved them - they came out GREAT!

GORGEOUS!!!!! i have to confess that as much as i love all wedding photos my absolute favorite are slideshows! JC is awesome and you guys look amazing!!!!!

Quote: Originally Posted by Samantha S Alyssa, I love this look for your OOT bag! Did you do the writing with a white font? For some reason I thought I read somewhere that you couldn't use white in it.... Would you mind sharing your file?? :-) Samantha - the writing on the tags is Black Ink and the writing on the iron on transfers is Teal - where are you talking about?