KatyKo

My trick is to:

Breath in deeply, swallow, breath in deeply again (no exhaling in between), swallow, breath in deeply one last time, swallow...then exhale. Works every time. Good luck!

We did meet at Boardwalk Billy's Love that place!

Thanks everyone for your kind words. I will try to post my templates when I get my review up...I was in such a rush to get my planning thread up before we left, I didn't have a chance.

 

There are so many more that I just love. I can't stop looking at them...but these are my favorites for today (that seems to change everyday ).

 

Hope you like them!!

 

more...

we got this one on a canvas painted

 

still more

this is a fave because almost every time Will holds my hand while walking...he spins me...whether we are at home or at the grocery store

 

more to come...

Hi Ladies! Wow. I opened this forum for the first time today since the wedding and have almost 15,000 unread posts...whew!!

 

My wedding was absolutely perfect and I'm going to get my review done ASAP. Probably not until after my AHR on July 11th. But I promise...it will be done.

 

But for now...I'm sure these pictures will tide you over. Severine at PhotoSouvenir was nothing short of amazing. She was great to work with and exceeded all expectations (which were pretty high). I would recommend her and her team to ANYONE!

 

So here are my favorites from the wedding day and the TTD session. Enjoy!

talking to me

 

stay tuned for more...

Food/Beverages

We will have BBQ catered (cooked on-site) with Mac N Cheese, Baked Potatoes, Baked Beans, Bread, Lemonade & Sweet Tea. We will have Sweet Tea Vodka and Fresh Lemons, along with Wine (with personalized labels) and a couple of beer kegs. Will's Mom and I are making the cake.

 

Photographs

We cannot afford to hire a photographer so I made PhotoShare cards with business cards from VistaPrint. These will be placed on the tables for people to pick-up (and we may include them in thank you cards as well).

 

DJ

We hired Alan Norwood of Icon Entertainment as our DJ. He has been great so far, if anyone needs to hire a DJ in NC.

 

Favors

Will and I met at a restaurant that has great peanuts (the kind of place where you throw the shells on the floor) - it is still a place we love to go...so I got little burlap bags made by Etsy Seller: penspics on Etsy - PENS PICS and stamped "R" on them with a stamp made by Etsy Seller: Corrabelle on Etsy - The Mayberry Sparrow-Curiosities& Blatant Tomfoolery and filled them with in-the-shell roasted peanuts.

 

Not a lot of pics for the AHR stuff...but I will share when I have them.

 

Well...I think that is all We managed to fit all of our wedding stuff and clothes and everything we need for 10 nights into two suitcases and two carry-ons. I can't wait to see everything come together.

 

Thank you ladies (and gents) again...I couldn't have done any of this without you.

 

 

See you again as Mrs. Rust :)

AHR

Will and I are having a reception in Charlotte for all the family/friends who couldn't attend the DW. The reception will be set-up like we just walked out of our ceremony. Hopefully we will have our wedding video and pro photos by then to display for everyone to enjoy.

 

Location

We are having our AHR at the Rockin' K Ranch in Charlotte (a rustic building where rodeos used to be held).

 

DIY Invitation and RSVP Cards

I just bought some creased cards from Office Depot and bought a blue mason jar and daisy stamp (designed for me) from Etsy Seller: sugarskull7 on Etsy - hand carved rubber stamps, original and custom work. I printed the details on the inside and designed the RSVP card and printed it through VistaPrint (standard postcards). (Sorry no pic on hand of these...will share later!)

 

Reception Sign

I used one of VistaPrint's templates and made this sign to put out by the road of the reception location. It is very nice quality and we might have it framed after the reception as a keepsake.

 

Decorations

Explanation of photos: We are having a rustic theme, so I will use some old mason/ball jars and fill them with wildflowers surrounded by clear candle holders. Our table cloths are lacey-looking from OT Clearance and we will have different colors underneath. We will have pictures of the two of us in sepia-tone hanging along the porch of the building.

 

...more to come...

Cake Inspiration

Angel's Accents made me a beautiful cake topper, and I will choose my style of cake once we get there, but these are my inspirations.

 

Photographer

We Chose to use the resort photographer as well as Photo Souvenir. I love their work and I'm giving them complete artistic freedom with our photos and videos. I can't wait to see how they turn out!

Photosouvenir Punta Cana, Wedding Photographer Dominican Republic

 

Will's Gift - BD Book

In Nov. '08 I met up with Amy Wood (who is now a part of The Click Chicks | South Carolina Wedding, Child, and Boudoir Photographers - bam). If you click through the site, you will probably find me and I was actually in a news story that ran about her in SC (I told her she could only use certain photos ).

 

...more to come...

Travel Mugs

From ebay seller eBay Store - Factory 21 Promotional Items: Shot Glasses, Steins, Trays. Kaylan was great to work with - and worked with Julie (drbrainfreeze) and I to split an order and shipping.

 

Underwater Cameras and Goggles

Found on Wholesale Disposable Digital & Custom Wedding Cameras, Kid Tough Polaroid Camera & Film, Cheap MP3 Players for a great price. We ordered one of each to test out and the goggles are great, the camera works great too. They have a lot of bad reviews, but I had no trouble with them.

 

DIY Key Card and Cash Holder

Used template from a BDW bride - inserted my own logo (designed by Sarah) and used re-sealable badge holders with key ring expando bracelet whistles.

 

Extras and DIY Survival Kits

We included these flip-flop shaped playing cards (from OTC), pens (clearance @ OTC), and Sticky Pads (clearance @ Michaels)

 

Survival Kits include headache meds, tummy meds, motion sickness meds (all from First Aid Tablets & First Aid Medications...Wholesale to the Public Online!, hand sanitizer (clearance section of CVS) and band aids (Dollar Tree).

 

Spanish Language Guide

Printed at home from Print a Free Pocket-Sized Phrase Booklet | Spanish - Espaol

 

...more to come...

Pre-Travel Mailing

DIY Brochure

Designed by me, with info pulled from the net - printed by VistaPrint

 

DIY Luggage Tags

Printed business cards with VistaPrint and glued on either side of some decorative paper, placed into plastic badge holders and tied with ribbon

 

 

Welcome Bags

We decided to put together a welcome bag to be placed in our guests' rooms before they arrive. We included sunblock, temporary tattoos, wedding day timeline and the following...

 

DIY Welcome Book

These DIY booklets titled: "Your Guide to the Dominican" include a welcome letter from the bride & groom, info. on the guests' room #s/arrival & departure times, restaurant offerings/hours, photo share instructions, and a couple of fun puzzles (supplies from Hobby Lobby)

 

...more to come...

Ceremony

Setup

Our ceremony will be setup on the beach and will look similar to this:

I would like a few splashes of color, but want it to stay very simple - the beach is such a beautiful backdrop...I don't want to take away from it.

 

Chairs

Angel's Accents gave me some extra cake flowers, so I hope to use them as chair decorations. This pic is my inspiration. I hope the organza is a green color (will choose that at the resort).

 

Flowers

From ANGEL'S ACCENTS - Divine Custom Wedding Flower Creations!...those girls did such an amazing job and went above and beyond to make sure my wedding will be beautiful. I couldn't have asked for anything better!

 

Ceremony Stuff

Fans, Bubbles and Tears of Joy Packs

Fans were purchased from OT and tied the ribbons on myself (from Michaels); the bubbles were given to me and designed to say "My Bubbles" from Finding Nemo; Tears of Joy were packs of kleenex from Michaels' clearance split and wrapped with paper.

 

...more to come...

The Groom

Will's attire(He wouldn't let me take a pic of him!)

Linen vest & pants are Perry Ellis from Dillards; shirt from; tie from; belt from; shoes from;

 

Groom's Bout:

From Angel's Accents - GMs are just green, Fathers/Grandfathers are just white.

 

The Groomsmen

GM's attire:

Linen shirt and pants from Old Navy.

 

GM's gifts:

Will purchased his GM's clothes, but he also bought his guys zippo lighters engraved and flasks with their initials...sorry, no pics!

 

...more to come...

The Bridesmaids

BM Dresses

I found these dresses for my girls for $16.50 each at http://www.forever21.com/Default.asp?cookie%5Ftest=1

 

 

BM Earrings

Also from Forever 21 for $3.50 each

 

 

DIY BM Hair Flowers

Thank you to Kev'sGirl for the inspiration & directions

 

BM Gifts

I purchased the the girls' dresses, accessories, and I also put together these bags for them:

Passport holders from starlitnest on Etsy - Get a FREE Fat Quarter with your $50 Order!; Bags, Body Butter, & cards from $1 Section @ Target, Tissues from $1 Section @ Michaels; Tank Tops (not shown) from BridalPartyTees- Bridal, Wedding, Shower, Party: T-shirts (with a coupon, of course)

 

...more to come...

The Bride

The Dress

After shopping at only two stores, I found "the one" at the local dress shop in the town I grew up in. Poffie Girls - Designer Wedding Dresses, Bridal Gowns, Prom Dresses for Traditional or Casual Weddings. I knew it was the one when my Mom broke down as soon as I came out of the dressing room.

 

My dress is from the Wtoo collection, called Adriana. I actually googled my vision for my wedding dress and not only found it, but also stumbled upon BDW because Becks wore this dress as well.

 

Hair & Makeup Inspiration

I want a loose, sexy bun for the ceremony (because of the wind) that can be taken down to reveal long wavy curls for after the wedding.

 

Jewelry

I got my jewelery for free through Premiere Designs. One of my college roommates sells the jewelery and through a party I got these two pieces for free.

 

Shoes

I'm going barefoot for the ceremony, but will wear these shoes for after. Ordered from ebay seller eBay Store - BridalShoeOutlet:. I sent her a swatch of fabric and she dyed them perfectly.

 

...more to come...

Legal Marriage

Ceremony

Our legal ceremony took place in the backyard of our new house - so our grandparents could participate in part of our wedding festivities.

 

DIY Save the Dates

We sent these with our STDs for the DW to our grandparents and parents. We didn't want to pressure our grandparents to go to the DW and wanted them to know they had their own special ceremony.

 

Invitations

Designed by me, using one of VistaPrint's backgrounds - just paid shipping.

 

...more to come...

Location

Will and I decided to get married legally in Charlotte before we have a symbolic ceremony at the Occidental Grand in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.

Occidental Grand Punta Cana, All Inclusive Dominican Republic, All inclusive Punta Cana Vacations

 

DIY Save The Dates

DIY Passport Save the Dates (thank you to Minde for the template)(Address labels from VistaPrint)

 

DIY Reminder

We sent out a post-card to remind friends & family to book travel by May 1st and to make sure they have their passports. I used a strip of photos we got made in a photo-booth at a friend's wedding and printed these through VistaPrint.

 

...more to come...

Wow! Our flight leaves in about 12 hours...holy cow! I can't believe it is here...I really don't think it has hit me yet. Ok here goes...

 

I would have been lost in my planning without this site and all of you wonderful girls (and guys). So thank you Tammy for creating this amazing site and thanks to everyone who offered condolences, inspiration and advice to me and every other bride to be! Here goes!!

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Will and I met in March of 2005 and began dating on May 1st of that year. Three years from that date, he asked me to be his wife.

 

Our Engagement

http://bestdestinationwedding.com/fo...326#post405251

 

Engagement Ring

From Charlotte's Premier Designer Jeweler | Diamonds Direct South Park | Charlotte North Carolina.

Will did such a great job picking it out I can't believe how beautiful it is!

 

Engagement Pictures

Our engagement pictures by Heather at Welcome to the Home of BellaPhotoOnline.com

 

Wedding Bands

We purchased our wedding bands from Diamonds Direct South Park as well.

 

...more to come...

Hi "Date Twin!!" Have so much fun!! I don't leave until Wednesday...but I feel the same way as you...SOOOO much to do!!!

I couldn't use the 30% off code for some reason, but I was able to use one for free shipping VSFRSHIP. Not sure what you have to spend for it, but mine was over $100 I have been wanting to order them for a while and figured I should go ahead and do it since I leave on the 17th!

 

I got enough mix n match pieces that I will have 9 different combos to wear Not bad for just over $100!!

THAT WAS IT!!! Thank you SOOOO much I knew someone had posted the pictures Thank you...all of you!!

I found this pic (which isn't the one in my head, but close enough) after searching through Google forever

 

 

I think this will be a good enough explanation of what I want. I may just put all the pictures you ladies provided into the document because they are all very pretty.

I love your hair! That is how I want mine Your pictures are GREAT!!!

I can't remember I just know it was just the chairs along the aisle and the sashes were tied on the sides of the chairs with flowers at the tie. I keep thinking they had blue in them, but I can't picture the color right now.

 

Thanks for your help ladies Inspiration pics always help