RedDiamond

I wanted really vibrant colors too, but FI wasn't going for it. He would have everything pure white if given the option! Anyhow, I made a whole bunch of color samples in Photoshop and and had him pick the ones he like the best from each hue. We ended up with an entire color pallet of pastels, but I'm good with that.

Congratulations on your engagement, and welcome to BDW!

That's awesome! I actually spent a week last year at my Father & Step-Mother's place scanning photos and... receipes! My mom doesn't right anything down but my Step-Mother has a ton of awesome family recipes, which some of my other family members wanted copies of. I scanned them all in and sent them out on CDs. If I needed to do that again - I'll be taking this option instead!

The sun acts like a natural bleach. When we have to take our camera bags or anything where there is a lot of smoke we will put them outside in the sun the next day. It does wonders for getting rid or the smell.

I love that lace!

Whoops! I was looking at that Father/Daughter dance thread at the same time and just realized I posted in the wrong spot. We're using "Kiss the Girl" from the Little Mermaid. FI and I both love Disney and thought the beat sort of matches the feel of the Bahamas.

Welcome back Mrs! We're all excited to see the photos!

Well, now we don't know that we are going to be doing a reception. Originally I wanted to use "Ballerina Girl" by Lionel Richie. The song has a lot of really strong memories for me with my real dad. Over the time FI & I have been engaged though he's come up with every reason possible to not want to come to the wedding or reception. Scared to fly, scared to take a boat, scared to leave his shop. I won't even go there... I'm not impressed with him though since if it were someone else in my family he would. Soooo, I'll probably be doing the father daughter dance with my step-father. I really wasn't sure what to use because we weren't very close when I was growing up, even though my mom has been with him since I was 6. He never really considered me his daughter when I was younger, and he has three daughters of his own. Over the past few years though he's become estranged from his middle and youngest daughter after they stole some large amounts of money from him and used his SSN for some things. Since then for some reason he and I have become a lot closer. I do have one memory of him trying to teach me to waltz when I was about seven. Well we photographed a wedding two weeks ago and the bride used this song called "Cinderella" by Steven Curtis Chapman. I LOVED it. So I think that is the song we'll be using. Listen to the song: YouTube - Steven Curtis Chapman-Cinderella *Includes Lyrics* She spins and she sways To whatever song plays Without a care in the world And I'm sitting here wearing The weight of the world on my shoulders It's been a long day And there's still work to do She's pulling at me Saying "Dad, I need you There's a ball at the castle And I've been invited And I need to practice my dancing Oh, please, Daddy, please?" So I will dance with Cinderella While she is here in my arms 'Cause I know something the prince never knew Oooooh, I will dance with Cinderella I don't wanna miss even one song 'Cause all too soon the clock will strike midnight And she'll be gone... She says he's a nice guy and I'd be impressed She wants to know if I approve of her dress She says, "Dad, the prom is just one week away And I need to practice my dancing Oh, please, Daddy, please?" So I will dance with Cinderella While she is here in my arms 'Cause I know something the prince never knew Ooh-oh ooh-oh I will dance with Cinderella Find More lyrics at SWEETS LYRICS I don't want to miss even one song 'Cause all too soon the clock will strike midnight And she'll be gone She will be gone Well, she came home today with a ring on her hand Just glowing and telling us all they had planned She says, "Dad, the wedding's still six months away But I need to practice my dancing Oh, please, Daddy, please?" So I will dance with Cinderella While she is here in my arms 'Cause I know something the prince never knew Ooh-oh ooh-oh I will dance with Cinderella I don't want to miss even one song 'Cause all too soon the clock will strike midnight And she'll be gone

Sounds like you had fun! I take it there were no wardrobe malfunctions? ;-)

My best friend moved to Russia last year (and now the Ukraine) to teach English. She took her cat with her, and put the crate in the cabin with her. She didn't have any problems at all. I'm sure some cats would get nervous and cry. Have you had your cats in the car much? That might give you an idea of how they would do in a plane.

Thank goodness he's alright! Best wishes to all of you!

That's cute. :-)

We are doing all of our own planning. However, Natalie from Wildflowers Creative has been SUPER helpful.

We just heard back from the lawyer. She told us to contact a lawyer locally, and the only reason she did it for him (pro-bono) is that it was such an easy win since he would easily be seen as a "public hero". She also said that since our name wasn't actually mentioned in the articles that we don't have much recourse from the press received. :-( FI & I will be discussing today whether or not to talk to a local lawyer. We need to re-look over our contract. It's funny that we saved the company last year and a new location and this is the thanks we got! I just sent a response to the local AP Press. We'll see if they cover the rest of the story, that could help us out a lot!

We initially met online, through Myspace. I can't remember the exact situation. I think I was browsing a friend's profile and came across FI's. I complimented him on his photography, since we both photographed weddings. I thought he was really awesome, but wasn't really looking for anyone. For three months straight I was trying to hook him up with the owner of the dance studio I taught at... and she wasn't interested. Then there was a large convention in town that I was speaking and performing at, and he was shooting. We met in person at the pre-party for the first time, hung out the entire weekend, and the rest is history!

Welcome to BDW! It's good to see another Bahama bride on here.

Quote: Originally Posted by becks Wait - is this the Santa at Tyson's Corner? Yes!!! Eeek! I am so excited! I left a comment on one of the press pages and sent a report the "rest of the story". The whole thing was really scummy and underhanded. We are so happy he has his contract back for this year, but what about next year? What about the rest of our staff? They didn't offer to help us out and they told us far too late.

Oh - I'm so sorry! I'll certainly pray for all of you! I keep waiting for this type of thing to happen because my parents had me so late. I know it's coming soon and I can't stand to think about it.

Welcome to the board Amanda! What about Europe?

Some of you probably know about the fact that FI & I lost our huge contract in August. It was really shady and under the table the way it happened. We tried to get the contract replaced with one from a different company and couldn't. It was 80% of our income just GONE. I was devastated. FI's mom said we should file a class action lawsuit with all the other photographers & talent effected by it. Basically they told us last minute that they were replacing all the freelancers with a franchise that's $60K to buy into and totally not worth the money. Well, we didn't think we had much of a case at that point... because of the written contract. Well, the talent that we were working with hired a public relations firm and a lawyer, and the public threw a fit that he'd been let go! Needless to say that less than 48 hours from this being published in the Washington Post, front page on Yahoo, AOL and other publications, he has his contract back! I'm thrilled, and praying that we are next! We really had to cut back on our wedding plans because of all of this... and that's really put a damper on things. We have a call into the lawyer and public relations firm. Keep your fingers crossed that they can get our contract back for us too!

We are using the photographer we are bringing with us. I have a file of photo ideas on my computer that I love, and he's looking for ideas too. A few days before we fly out will go through all the photos to see which are the most inspirational. Have you already checked with your regular wedding photographer?

Do you already have your date set? If not, a longer engagement can do wonders for helping you to get organized. I went through EXACTLY what you are talking about, to the point of breaking out in hives for a month straight from stress. We hadn't announced our date yet, and the minute we changed and decided on a longer engagement it was SUCH a relief. I had a hard time getting in touch with people, but with more time I was able to find a better group of people to work with who are responsive. A coordinator can help a lot if you are able to hand off projects and don't like working on all of the little details. We decided not to use one to save money and because we wanted to have the say in who all of our vendors would be.

I love that city! I looks like they had a great time. :-)

Just another tidbit that if you want to save money, design your own and send them to the printer. It can save you time and frustration, but you'll still save money.

Welcome to the board! There are lots of gorgeous places in Mexico... I'm sure you'll find something you will like.