Emily&Matt

Quote: Originally Posted by Marie You could mention price--we're having a private reception where I have topay 55 bucks a person--that gets costly.....drop hints around them, or to the people that invited them, making yourself clear that these others are NOT invited to your wedding--you cant control who goes to the resort, but you can your wedding......... I would do way more than drop hints. I would tell them straight out that I cannot accommodate any extra guests due to the costs involved, so please let the extra invitees that unfortunately, the guest list is very restricted and they cannot come. It blows me away to see how ridiculously rude some people can be. I won't answer them back rudely, but in plain english - it ain't happenin!

Forgot to mention this - I did crate train the beagle as a puppy so I could leave her in a controlled, safe place for part of the day. Walked her in the morning, left her out, crated her for the afternoon, walked her again when I came home at 5:00, left her out for the night. She learned to be good! She never goes in the crate now.

I have a 2 yr old beagle I picked up as a stray 4 mo old puppy. I have a 10 yr old lab mix too and have to leave them both a lot. I think having a 2nd dog is a huge help for the beagle. Maybe you could get a very tame older dog from the pound or a rescue. Also, it is a HUGE help to walk the dogs, ESPECIALLY a hound dog like a beagle, in the morning so they can run out some of that energy for the day. There is a field (about 6 acres) I drive to at 6:45 am almost every morning. I put the beagle on a 50 foot rope and let her take off. Of course, that means I am running/walking/dragged behind her but that's great exercise for me! She flat out runs and sniffs for about 20 minutes. Beagles HAVE to smell things and take off yapping after the scent. Most days, she then sleeps and is quiet until I get home to let her out at noon and again at 5 when I get off work. Sometimes we'll run again in the evening or at least walk around the neighborhood, just to keep her happy and content smelling stuff. She's so friendly and loving and I am happy to take the time to run her. It's been good for me too. I can tell I've toned up from the running.

It was more than unkind, it was downright cruel of her to exploit those women and the emotional anguish they are going through. It was all done for money. We should boycott not only Tyra Banks but all of those types of "talk-show" programs that merchandise people and their private problems. I think it's a sick form of voyeurism.

If you had to tell her #1 and #2, then it's obvious she thinks she looks pretty good showing it all in a bikini and can't see what others see about her. Telling her the truth probably offended her big time!

You have done an awesome job of planning! I just love the green & peacock blue - its stunning!

I would definitely have FI there and I would apologize to MIL for yelling at her. Don't make excuses WHY you are apologizing (you were rude, you hurt my feelings), just tell her you are sorry you lost it and yelled at her. It would have been better to just leave and then meet with her later in private. This might give her the idea to apologize to you...THEN you could tell her how hurt you were. When people apologize, it can bring them closer than they were to begin with, and definately more sensitive to each other. In the end, this lady is going to be around a long time in FI's life and it would be emotionally more mature to try to mend fences than to remember this scene for years to come.

I would definitely have FI there and I would apologize to MIL for yelling at her. Don't make excuses WHY you are apologizing (you were rude, you hurt my feelings), just tell her you are sorry you lost it and yelled at her. It would have been better to just leave and then meet with her later in private. This might give her the idea to apologize to you...THEN you could tell her how hurt you were. When people apologize, it can bring them closer than they were to begin with, and definately more sensitive to each other. In the end, this lady is going to be around a long time in FI's life and it would be emotionally more mature to try to mend fences than to remember this scene for years to come.

Quote: Originally Posted by JUSTUSTWO The only thing that I second guess is the use of the monogrammed canvas tote as the OOT bag itself... Maybe I should have gone with the personalized paper gift bag or god forbid, skipped putting my monogram on it & just gone with a generic Jamaica design. Just food for thought for you brides to be! I wondered about that. If it was more generic the guests might use it after the wedding for something.

Wow, what beautiful pictures! I LOVE the turquoise shirts and dark blue BM dresses color scheme.

I came across this blog today. It's a long way from the destination wedding idea, but an alternative for some people. Sarah & Matt were married in July 2008. They wanted to keep the wedding focused on their goal to save money for a down payment on a house. "Our quest to wrest our wedding from the hands of the Wedding Industrial Complex and make it our own (in a budget-minded, hand-crafted, eco-friendly way)" 2000 Dollar Budget Wedding

I really liked the flower punch outs on the invitation. The Michael's near me is one of the small ones, so I've never seen that before. Honestly, it looks so pretty, I am starting to feel like doing something like that and not fussing with a big deal.

I like them all, but especially #1 because of the font. It makes it just that much more interesting & special.

If it's upper respiratory, they might just need amoxicillin. If your cats tend to have hairballs, you can put some hairball remedy paste on the foot and they lick it off. You can buy that over the counter. It might be worth it to you to feed them a type of dry food for hairball sufferers.

If you want to see the envelopes in person go to a copy center, Kinko's, Office Depot, etc. They have envelopes to match paper.

Awwww...that was so sweet!

It's a beautiful dress, but I feel pretty sure they won't be able to hem it much at all because of the detail at the hem and because it really has no waist. I hope someone can help you though - it's so lovely!

I think both dresses are beautiful and you look fabulous in both....but I like the dress with the shells the best. I think the shells would be beautiful for a beach wedding and it really is one of the most unique dresses I have ever seen. I really love it and I can see why you picked it out first.

If the guys already have the white pants, what about brown shirts for them. Then you don't have to worry about them having turq shirts that go with and not clash with the rest of the turq. I think the idea of yellow in the flowers is good too.

Quote: Originally Posted by Sparkles8300 I would not be suprised if she ends up changing her mind about the groom and calling the whole wedding off!!! I betcha anything that's what will happen! Hopefully before anyone puts out money to buy the bridesmaid outfit!

I think you have been very reasonable and accommodating and now you should thank God that you have been set free from that obligation. You have enough going on. I bet she'll call again and re-invite you when she is rejected by someone else, but just keep it short and sweet and tell her thanks but it's not going to work out. Stick to your guns and don't feel sorry for her. I don't think there's anything you can do to make her happy anyway. She is all about herself and people like that think the world and everyone else's lives should revolve around them.

Quote: Originally Posted by AlmostaSeif My FI's dad called last night and told him (I over heard their conversation while they were on the phone) that I caused problems between him and his wife. We are paying for specific people and because I didn't include her son on the "to be paid" budget I apparently caused a huge fight. AHHHH! I can't make anyone happy. YOU are not responsible for a problem between FI's dad & wife. If they fight over YOUR budget, that's their problem. YOUR budget determines YOUR decisions. How they deal with it is up to them, but you can't invite someone just so some other married couple won't fight. Good grief.

He's a man. He has no idea how inappropriate it would be. Don't be too hard on him, he is actually trying to plan something nice for his wife and he deserves credit for that! Just be nice and kindly explain to him that it would hurt your feelings because you want that day to be YOUR day and you don't want to share it. BUT....you wouldn't care if he did that the next day or so after YOUR day.

I think the idea about sending the email is great. What color are your bridesmaid dresses? Pick your wedding colors along with beige neutrals. For example, if your colors are red & yellow, you could say: "We are asking that everyone NOT wear white or blue to our wedding. For the sake of uniformity in our professional photographs, please wear any combination of the following: any shades of beige, tan, sand, khaki, chocolate and/or red or yellow." Then if she shows up in a blue & white wedding dress, she will only confirm to the rest of your friends & family what kind of person she is. (Hopefully your colors aren't blue, but even if it is, then be specific: aqua or royal blue, something like that. The best way to show people your class act is to ignore other people's bad behavior. Don't stoop to her level by trying to retaliate in some way. She is the kind of person if you address her personally, she will get back at you in an even bigger way.

I think you have to realize that lots of people think of a wedding as a family reunion where they'll see other family members they wouldn't get together with any other way. So they feel "entitled" to come to the "family reunion" at what they consider a reasonable cost; meaning maybe they'll miss a day or two for traveling and not have to spend much for a gift. Like everyone here will say, it's YOUR wedding so you choose what's going to happen and where it will be held. But....it's THEIR choice to spend THEIR money to come or not. It is just REALLY eye-opening the responses you will get. You have to not get your heart set on certain people because they are likely to really disappoint you. And on the money issue, people have their own idea of the value of the stuff they want to spend their money on and for most people it's on THEMSELVES. Just a fact of life. You see this now that you are trying to tell people to spend their money on a day to make YOU happy. Yeah, maybe they should WANT to be there, and be happy to spend their money, but like I said, it's very eye-opening. I can see that there's hardly any chance of going through with planning a wedding, much less a destination wedding, without being hurt or disappointed by someone. You have to just do what you have in your heart to do and try to have the best day possible, regardless of who is there. I think it helps to focus on who IS coming instead of who is NOT coming. Those who can afford to take off work and pay for the trip are more worth your emotional energy than those who can't come for whatever reason. I'm having this problem too. I don't want to look back on my wedding day and remember that there were hurt feelings and arguing over money that took away the joy of the fact that we were married. So, really think about not having your father walk you down the aisle. You might regret it later. I think I would forgive him for not acting the way you thought he should and let him do the fatherly thing for the sake of your relationship.