Alyssa

I am all about the reality TV challenge shows: Survivor Amazing Race Top Design Biggest Loser Families and then Lipstick Jungle

Quote: Originally Posted by gwynemark Alyssa, did you ever get all the sand out of dress? Kona sand was thick and relentless to say the least. You know what - I haven't gotten my dress back from my parents yet - we sent them home with the dress and K's suit - we are seeing them this weekend so i will let you know but i doubt it - that sand was pretty crazy and hard to walk in lol

it's really pretty Tara!!!!

Quote: Originally Posted by KEE LAC You looked beautiful. I am glad you had a wonderful wedding. No trash dress huh! You just got in the water with your regular dress? Hey! I went back and forth about this and decided that TTD is really about 'the dress' (at least for me) - i would feel weird if i had wedding pics with a different dress on. i mean what else i am really going to do with it KWIM?

Quote: Originally Posted by kate.com thanks for sharing Alyssa! You are a beautiful bride!! And I love youtr "B" parasol! Where did you find it? Let me know if you would ever part with it! Congrats and enjoy being a newlywed! Thanks Kate! The parasol is from I Do Originals - i don't know if it made it back in good condition b/c i haven't unpacked that suitcase yet but i plan on selling some stuff in a couple weeks Quote: Originally Posted by niels408 Your pics are beautiful! Did you use the "7 dress in One" for you bridesmaid dresses?? If so, what did you think of it? Can't wait for the review & more pics! Congrats! Yes, that is the VS 7in1 dress - my bridal party LOVED it, they were so comfortable and all got to wear it how they felt most comfortable plus they all will wear them again and again. all good - highly recommend them! Quote: Originally Posted by PhillyBride09 You looked GORGEOUS!! And that place is so beautiful! everything looked perfect! Did you carry the Parasol & Flowers?? Either way...Wow..Even though there are only a few pics they are amazing! Congratulations!! No, i only carried the flowers - the girls carried the plain parasols instead of flowers and i used the B one only for pictures. Quote: Originally Posted by JennyK gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous!! How'd your girls like your fabulous gifts? hehe They LOVED them and all seemed really happy Quote: Originally Posted by ColleenMarie Alyssa, where did you get the bridesmaid dresses? I love them and all the different options in wearing them. They are perfect for a beach wedding! Victorias Secret 7 in 1 Dress Quote: Originally Posted by gwynemark Going to Hawaii for 2 weeks takes a toll on the EMAIL inbox as well as the VOICEmail box. Geesh, been working non-stop just to get back to people. Our dang AUTOREPLY on our email didnt work so nobody understood why we didnt write them back for 2 weeks. HA! None the less we are catching up and will be working HARD on Alyssa's photos this week and next. I may send her a few more teasers over the weekend. HA! isnt that a tease in itself. GOD I LOVE MY JOB! Anyway, let me tell you something that Alyssa's review doesnt say. Alyssa and Karrem are just flat out amazing people. Heck, everyone in the wedding party was a lot of fun and great people. Treated us like family. thanks for a great time guys! Awwww - thanks to you guys! and more teasers sounds exciting!

Kathi - awesome - how exciting to get so many so soon!!! you look beautiful!

Amy, you are so gorgeous! i love seeing the details unfold and the emotion build - i can't wait to see a slideshow!

thanks girls - i have to admit i really felt a bit crazy the morning of the wedding - i totally stopped dieting about 1.5 weeks before and was eating a lot of junk out of stress and nerves. also i started spotting and wound up having monstery PMS (and getting AF a couple days later - early too WTF!) anyway - my seamstress screwed up the zipper on my dress and it was completely STUCK - my girls had to make me lie on the bed and slowly fix it - it was stressful b/c everyone thought it was broken and i was thinking it didn't fit anymore. so i felt a bit chunky LOL - the zipper turned out to just be stuck that one time (relief) and went up and down easily the rest of the night and the next day for TTD!

Well, I'm back and I'm married - it is very exciting and we really could not be happier right now! I am in the process of writing a comprehensive review and hope to have that done in the next week or so. Here are some quick highlights... our WC was amazing the entire time - on top of EVERYTHING up until the last minute - he was a GEM and a complete lifesaver. Kona Village is not only an amazing and beautiful resort but the staff are wonderful, class acts and don't let any little things get over-looked. our group was thrilled with everything and had a BLAST! Mark & Gwyne Owens are wonderful people and even better photographers - not only are they artistic and creative but they are so easy to work with cool to hang with. there were a couple things that didn't go exactly as we planned for but they really didn't matter or become too big of a deal things like - i changed the color of my orchids 2 weeks before the wedding from fuschia to burgundy but it was never done so everything was fuschia - it looked gorgeous and i got over it in like 5 min things like at our reception the chairs for the guests were supposed to be wood and they were green plastic (not super cheap but still not what i had in mind) nobody seemed to notice and a few guests even (figures) came up to us and said how wide and comfy the chairs were so really didn't matter things like our cake, which was SO FREAKING GOOD us and most of our guests agreed it was the best wedding cake we ever tasted and we all ate way too much of it lol had orchids on it even though i specified no flowers for decoration. also the chocolate was supposed to be dark but it looked milk choc colored - again not the end of the world but just different than what we thought. it was so good honestly i don't think i would have cared if it was green the food at our reception was beyond delicious - people are still talking about it - OMG it was so good! the day of our wedding was a bit humid and my hair was not cooperating AT ALL - i wasn't thrilled with the end result but it was nobody's fault (yes we even did a hair trial in advance) but we couldn't work with the humidity so it was what it was. i will go over all the details in the review but here are some Pro Pic Teasers from Mark & Gwyne... they are still pouring in but here are some pictures from our guests... Ok - that is all for now!

Erica - everything is coming together so beautifully!

If you are staying up in the Hanalei Bay / Princeville / Haena / North Shore area here are some food tips...even thought the place we stayed at had a full kitchen, we didn't want to be bothered with cooking meals so we ate out for every meal - here are the places we went too... REALLY GOOD: Niedes Salsa Y Samba - OMG you HAVE to go here - it is behind BarAcuda - get #16 - it is so good, my DH got one to go to have for breakfast the next day lol. also, try the fish tacos of the day - i had Ono and they were AMAZING! good margaritas and outdoor seating and pretty casual. BarAcuda - very chic - feels like NYC or Miami with food to match - great ambiance, music and mood. we celebrated our 1 week married here - it was yummy and a little $$$ but honestly everything in Kauai is like that lol. Postcard's Cafe - the quintessential (sp?) Hanalei restaurant - always busy so call ahead - fresh, really good food, mostly fish and local ingredients. interesting menu and quaint place. definitely go here. SKIP: Red Hot Mama's - we can not believe this place is famous -it is not that great and really expensive for tacos and burritos. if you do go, ask them to put their creamy, spicy sauce on the side only - it really overpowers everything. and also plan for at least a half hour of waiting - they are so slow it is insane. Tropical Taco's - another super expensive taco place - just not that great and like $10 for 1 big taco WTF? FOOD STORES: Papaya's - the only organic/natural food store around - great selection and reasonable prices considering the other options. we bought a bunch of snacks here and some half & half to have at the cottage. Big Save - these are all over the Island and the quality of the store strictly depends on the neighborhood. this Hanalei one is one of the nicer ones we went into but still a dumpy, dirty kind of place and IMO pretty expensive. I would rather spend $0.50 more for each item across the street at Papaya's and get higher quality stuff. ROADSIDE FRUIT TRUCKS/SMOOTHIES: Banana Joe's Fruit Stand - good if you are in Princeville but not that many smoothie options for fruit (2 or 3 choices tops). you can buy fresh fruit, cookies and some other products here that are very good. Fruit Stand in Front of Big Save (Hanalei) - we prefered this fruit truck for variety of drinks (8 or 10 choices), speed and convenience. you can also buy fresh fruit from them cheaper than either Papaya's or Big Save. I hope this info is helpful to you future Kauai brides / honeymooners - just let me know if you have anymore questions! Alyssa

Hale Makai is AWESOME!! My DH and I went here for half of our honeymoon. It is on the North Shore on Hanalei Bay, basically next to the Hanalei Colony Resort - so almost at the end of the road before the NaPali coast. We went back and forth between the Princeville Hotel or Hale Makai and couldn't be happier with our decision. We stayed in Cottage 4 "The Ginger" and it is perfect for honeymooners - so private and luxurious with great amenities. you hear the ocean crashing and the beach is beautiful - it is also a very good snorkeling beach - mostly locals. the ONLY negative thing i can say is that there are some fierce mosquitos here - we have gone to rainforests and jungles but for some reason, these mosquito's were unbearable - which did put a damper on eating outside or sitting outside too long to watch sunsets it did rain a lot at night during the time we were there so that may be a factor - it's still worth going. here are some pictures!

Ok, so here is our honest take on the Waimea Plantation Cottages ... my DH and I were not happy with it (at first)... TA Dina tried to warn me that it might not be for us but we didn't listen and wanted to book it anyway. Their website is so beautiful and alluring - it all sounds so quaint and great. In reality, it is on the South Shore of Kauai, which is really run down. You can stay 20 minutes away in Poi'pu and have amazing beaches and be close to the South Shore attractions (Waimea Canyon, Na Pali Coast Boat Tours and a couple small towns). We were trying to avoid the really big hotels (high rises, etc.) and liked everything about this place except when they say quaint the mean it, it is not very luxurious and you can't go on the beach b/c the Waimea River runs into the Pacific Ocean here so the water is muddy and gross as hell. This would be be fine if they took great care of their pool but they don't and the pool is pretty gross and looks like a bad rental apt complex pool. We wish someone would have told us about the River run off here - that would have made a big difference. Ok, the grounds are BEAUTIFUL, breath-taking really but that's about it - there is a restaurant "Waimea Brewing Company" - nothing special about it and that is kind of run down too. There are wild cats everywhere begging for food (kind of cute and funny too) but again not exactly what we had in mind for part of our HM. The first night we were there after we checked into our cottage, we were like 'hell no!, we need to get out of here and check in somewhere else' but that was a bit of a problem b/c we booked through TA Dina and she uses Classic Vacations - we did not opt for the travel ins. (our fault) but when we called the 1800# for Classic Vacations help line they wanted to charge us $100 per person change / cancel fee in addition to the hotel charging us for 2 nights - we were only booked there for 3 nights so we would have to basically forfeit all the $ and re-book somewhere else which didn't sound like a good solution. We didn't call TA Dina directly b/c of the 6 hour time difference - it would have been the middle of the night on the East Coast. uggghhh - so we went to the front desk and the person on duty got in touch with the Manager. She offered to upgrade us to a private, oceanfront 2 bed / 2 bath home that they had just finished completely upgrading (part of the issue - everything in the other rooms we saw was OLD, not quaint, OLD & DIRTY). They took us over to see it and it was very nice so we took it. We spent our 3 days / 4 nights there in that Home/Cottage (No. and while it was VERY nice for this property, it still wasn't quite what we had wanted for our honeymoon - again, completely our fault but none-the-less a bit dissapointing. Anyway, we made the best of it and did a lot of fun South Shore stuff that we planned and didn't spend much time in the home. I should also note that the Property Manager was so kind and even sent us a Honeymooner's welcome basket with wine and some special local Hawaiian treats - it was so thoughtful and generous - we were really touched by that. Overall, I highly recommend this place if you: are not high maintenance are not into high end luxury want a lot of privacy don't care of going to beach / pool for a couple days want to cook / BBQ / have a kitchen want to be close to Waimea Canyon for amazing hiking want to be close to Na Pali Coast for boat tours / snorkeling Here are some photos of the beautiful grounds... ...and here are some of Cottage (Home) B...

We just got back from HI and we spent a week of our Honeymoon on Kauai - we had decided against staying at Princeville but went over there to check it out and have lunch, mostly b/c we heard it was so great and wanted to see if we made the right decision! my new hubby and i were SO GLAD we did not pay the $600 or whatever a night to stay there - it is so run down looking - i totally understand why they are closing in a few months and renovating the entire place. the pool is nice as far as the view and layout but looks very old and kind of dirty with some rusty metal drains. and it is very crowded at the pool and beach (see below) which is so different from the rest of the the North Shore and Hanalei Bay - it is all about privacy, quiet and a chill vibe - we really felt like the Princeville kind of ruined that. and the beach SUCKS - omg - you can drive down the road 5 min and park your car to spectacular beaches everywhere. their beach looks man made and 'manicured' - also, their psycho about their beach chairs - they have them all lined up military style and really crowded. anyway, just wanted to share this info (just our opinions) in case it helps anyone!

Where on the North Shore / What exact beach are you planning on using? We just got back from a week on Kauai - i might be able to give you more info.

Thank you all for the well wishes - you guys are really the BEST!!!!!! I just got back tonight and am weeding through some photos from our guests and a couple teaser pics from the photogs - i PROMISE i will post a bunch tomorrow morning!!! everything was so beautiful and even though some things didn't go exactly as we planned, it was perfect!

have a GREAT time - FI and I were so excited about going to Molokai and sad when our plans changed - i will looking forward to hearing all about it from you!

Thanks EVERYONE!!! We just finished the very last packing and re-packing LOL - leaving in a bit All of your messages are so sweet - I will thinking of you girls xoxo

awesome - welcome to the 1st name club!!!!

there is no picture?

Bye for now ladies - thank you all for helping me along the way with your ideas, inspiration, advice and mostly support and friendship. We are finishing packing and heading out later tonight - I will try to check in one more time before I leave but don't let too many exciting things happen while I am gone lol. talk to you all when I am a Mrs.! Alyssa xoxo

Quote: Originally Posted by kleslie5 It is neat that you brought this up, Yari - this is a really huge issue right now in Ontario. The CPSO, our provincial regulatory body for physicians, has drafted a policy making exercising religious/moral beliefs while working grounds for misconduct. The policy was drafted because of new changes to our human rights code that will make physicians subject to complaints on the basis of discrimination if they did something like, say, refuse to prescribe BC pills. Just like on here, it is really controversial! But show me something about religion that isn't I hope that with our next president we will have the same type of policy!!! GO CANADA! Quote: Originally Posted by karahmia Emily, I think you may have misread my response. I want to be clear that in no way do I feel as if he doesn't have the right to practice medicine in the way he sees fit but I do think he shows a certain disregard for his patients time and money not making them privy to his policies prior to them arriving for a visit. I addressed the first amendment in my reply only as a reference to the fact that he did not exercise freedom on speech as you mentioned. If anything, he exercised his personal choice and as such it is not related to the freedom of speech. Additionally, personal choice and freedom of speech still make him accountable regardless of your intent, religious or political. I hope the responses don't set you aback. This issue has obviously touched a nerve on the forum. Very well said. you don't get to excuse accountability b/c you are a fundamentalist about something.

thanks girls!!

Quote: Originally Posted by catandcleo Sorry if this is one of those kind of questions, but I searched and did not find, so i'm hoping a mod can answer this one for me: IS there some sort of established etiquette for editing your posts? I have started a thread with a list of songs and i want to compile them all. Is it okay for me to go in and edit the original post multiple times, adding songs as i go, or is this frowned upon? Is it better to just post again multiple times instead of editing? Thanks!!! Hey - definitely go in and edit the original post. this will help keep it all clean and organized. if there are any posts that need to be deleted on that thread just PM me with a link to the thread and the post #'s. thanks for asking! alyssa

Bisha, what part of PA do you live in? i live in CC. i hate to hear that