rach220

I think it will depend on how picky you are about what you want, or how much info your WC is able to give you through email. Maui is far! I think if you ask a lot of questions and really know what you want and let your WC know, you should be okay.

Good Luck!

You guys are AMAZING! Thanks for all the great ideas! I am making a list of all the things to bring from home, and some things to try to buy.

I really like the idea of hair and makeup, but again, can't afford it right now. The MAC counter idea was great, but I won't have time since my shoot is at 11 AM and I live in the middle of nowhere. I think I will be just as happy going casual...that's more me anyway!

I'm hitting up the mall and some other stores tomorrow night but even if I don't find anything you guys have made me really excited about using things I or FI already have. I LOVE LOVE LOVE the sheet idea...and the bathtub! I'm getting more and more excited as it gets closer! I also can't forget to grab a bottle of wine on the way..I'm definitely going to need it and maybe I'll even use it in one of the shots! Haha...

Thanks for all the help ladies! As always, you're the best!

Ahhh...thanks ladies...I'm in the same cottage and my number has gone from 3 to 6 since this morning. We can't send the kids home because they are from so far away and would have to take some sort of public transportation (they usually fly home). All the kids that have been sent home lived within a few hours and their parents picked them up. We did have a confirmed viral infection so I'm hoping maybe that's what it is too. Who knows...I work at a public high school too, and I told them today I'm not coming back for the rest of the year (it's only this week and next week and I'm unpaid so it wasn't really a big deal). It also gives me the time to pick up more OT here and save up for the wedding!

I really wouldn't freak out if I got the SF. I would much rather get it now than when I'm in Mexico! But I have a birthday party this weekend (for my flower girl-she just turned 3!) and I really want to goooo...I don't think I'm going to be able to. Even though I'm not sick, I would feel so awful if I were to pass along to someone else. I guess I just have to continue to lay low...and work a LOT.

Thanks for all your concern/well wishes!

Everything looks great...I love your colors...and I LOVE YOUR SHOES!

Congrats and have fun!

Just to be clear, I do NOT have the SF...yet.

But I could be getting it any day now...

I work in direct care at a boarding school with kids from all over the country, and we are having a SF scare right now. Last Sunday (May 31) all the kids returned from a one-week vacation period at home with their families. Monday night, one kid became very ill, showing all the symptoms of the swine flu (or regular flu). On Tuesday, he told a staff member that his brother (back in Mass.) was just diagnosed with the swine flu and maybe that's what he has. WTF?! If the parent knew that one of her sons had the SF, why would she send this kid back to a boarding school with other kids?

They initially sent any staff members home who were pregnant, very old, or immuno-compromised and immediately sent that student home. He left on Tuesday night and they thought everything was under control. Well, before he left, he managed to infect some of the other kids he lives with (the kids live in cottages with 10-12 other kids) and now we have sent new sick kids home each day with "flu-like symptoms." About 20 kids have gone home sick in the past week! And they are continuing to quarantine cottages and keep the kids out of school and other common areas.

I was with the initial sick kid so they have continued to put me with sick kids. They don't want to put me with healthy kids and they don't want staff that haven't been exposed to be with sick kids...

I don't really know how I feel about it. I keep telling myself that I could get this any day now. With staff calling out left and right (either falling ill or faking it because they don't want to catch it) there has been a ton of overtime and a ton of extra money for me. I have been with sick kids every day since May 31st and haven't gotten anything. I don't know if my immune system is just that good or what?!

The one thing that sucks is I had to cancel my bachelorette party this past weekend. After I heard on Tuesday, I didn't want to take any chances, since I was CONVINCED I would have it by the weekend. I didn't want to be out spreading it around the bar, or drinking so much that my immune system probably wouldn't be able to fight off whatever it is. And I have a friend with a heart condition and another friend who just had a baby...looking back, I should have just done it since I'm not sick, but I'm glad I was careful. I just hope we can reschedule now ::

The kicker is we still don't know that it's the SF. We did have a confirmed case of the regular flu, but that very first kid's case has not been confirmed. Who knows...he could have been lying about his brother in the first place?

I just think it's so ironic that with all the craziness about going to Mexico, I'm more likely to get it here. When I told my mom last week she was laughing so hard she couldn't even speak. She thought it was funny that 6 weeks before I fly to Mexico to get married, I could get the swine flu at home! I'm not sure I think it's funny...but I guess it's ironic.

Keep your fingers crossed for me. Today I have been told I have to wear a mask and gloves all day. Not sure if that means it's getting worse? I only have 3 kids to look after...they have now separated the kids by "sick," "exposed to sickness," and "healthy." The healthy kids get to go to school, the exposed kids have to stay with the other exposed kids out of school, and the sick kids have to stay in bed. I'm with the 3 sick kids who will probably be sent home later today as soon as their parents can be contacted. But one lives in Florida and I'm not sure it would be so smart to put him on a plane home...

Now that I've written a book, I'm going to put my mask back on and go take their temps again.

Has anyone else been "exposed" or have this kid of thing going on near them?

I really wanted to do a BD but decided I couldn't afford it. Everytime one of the group BD shoots came around, I tried to come up with the time/money to do it, but no luck!

Well, a friends of mine works with a woman who is trying to expand her portfolio. Her photos of scenery/objects are fabulous, but she's just starting to photograph people. Anyway, she is offering me a free shoot in exchange for the use of my photos (I get to choose which ones...and will hopefully crop my face out of them). I'm sooo excited! She is going to make me a book too (that I have to pay for of course) but it will still be a great deal in the end. My shoot is this coming Sunday morning, and I'm meeting her at my friend's apartment. I'm sooo nervous and I have nothing to wear. I'm going shopping this week, but have a really small budget.

Any ideas of where to find nice lingerie for cheap? VS is going to be out of my price range, although I will check their clearance rack!

Coincidentally, FI and I were talking about wedding gifts the other day and he was saying we should save our money (we just bought a house) and "make" each other gifts instead. Well, I jumped all over it was like OK!

Then of course he says, I know what you're going to make me...something to do with pictures (he knows I'm picture obsessed)...haha

He thinks he's so smart. I hope he's still surprised!

I just saw hot pink lanterns at my local dollar store...but they were the smaller sized ones...you might want to check out a local store...

Ok...this is hard! But I've never been good at searching...maybe you could make one up; I'm sure there's someone talented on here to help....

I'm definitely not good at this, but maybe something about the ingredients of love or marriage and mixing them up?

Love is _______________ all mixed up?

or something as simple as "Happy Trails! Love, Sandra & Mario"

I know it's not a quote, but this is my fave!

This one's not really lovey-dovey, but...?

"Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail" Ralph Waldo Emerson

Still looking....

Hmmm...the only thing I can think of is something like "Sandra & Mario, the perfect mix"

But I think you want more of a quote...I'll look around...I'm obsessed with quotes too

AMAZING! Great shots...I love the one with you in the mirror

Congrats!

i saw this the other day and have been waiting for the wedding one! where is it?!

what a tease.

Are you talking about the pocket-sized Target ones?

If so, I have some extra...

This is so frustrating to me! Why can't people just RSVP?? I would assume they're not going, so maybe they feel bad telling us they're not coming? Or maybe they are just RUDE!

We sent out 30 invites, and only got about 10 RSVPs...so I guess 1/3 is average? I never called people, I just assumed...but I really want them to send them back (we did RSVP madlibs postcards...maybe that's the issue?)

I would say send out a reminder email or call them if you're really not sure. Good luck!

Congratulations! Everything looks great...my favorite part is the person hiding in the mirror in your dress pic! Haha!

My real favorite part is probably your RB...super cute!

Has anyone run into any problems booking the Spa side vs. the Cove side?

My mom's TA is telling her that it's more expensive to stay on the Cove side, but on the Palace website it seems to be exactly the same. I think her TA is screwing her but I want to be sure before I have her confront him...

I went to this sale when they had it around New Year's (they have it all the time BTW...I think I get an email about like every 6 weeks) and there were only like 10 dresses to choose from. I was really disappointed and didn't want my time to be wasted, so I dug through the regular racks and fell in love with a regular priced gown (ugh!). But I ended up buying it anyway (it was $450 down from $499 due to the sale). If I had more time I probably would have continued looking for a cheaper dress, but I fell in love with this one.

I don't know if it was the time I went or where I went or if it's always like that, but the selection was not impressive. I figured a lot of brides got engaged over the holidays and maybe it had been cleaned out. I'm curious to see if anyone has better news for you!

Good Luck!

Ahh...they are so pretty! Simple, yet elegant. I LOVE CALLAS! If I hadn't already purchased my bouquets I would be all over these, although I would only need 2 and that would mess everything up. You will sell these no problem! Great price too, for all those flowers!

Congrats on your wedding too!

I think those prices are very reasonable. At Aventura Spa Palace in the Riviera Maya I had asked about roses with a few orchids, and adding the orchids made the price shoot way up...my WC told me it would be $250!

I ended up buying a fake bouquet for much cheaper and I'm very happy with it!

Thanks Maureen and Jacilynda...

He ended up booking a whole new flight (my cousins flight) for $400. It actually would have been cheaper to pay the $130 change fee, but this way he can maybe still use that ticket with his gf in the next year. Actually they booked the flight in January, so they wouldn't be able to make it spring break (March). There's a pretty good chance they won't use the tickets at all ($600 down the drain) but at least they have the option.

I guess I shouldn't complain. If $600 is all we lost in this swine flu craziness, I'm pretty lucky. I can't imagine being some of the brides that have had to cancel all together and lost wayyy more

I think all we will have in terms of decorations is paper lanterns for our cocktail hour. But we may not even have those since I haven't purchased them yet and I'm not sure if I really need them. Originally our cocktail hour was going to be our "reception"...we were doing it after dinner for 2 hours. BUT we just cut it back to an hour due to finances.

There's only 17 guests coming with us, so we don't need a private reception or anything like that. I don't even think I'm going to have enough room for everything I have to bring down as it is...

I'm bringing:

10 welcome bags and all the items (at least a full large suitcase itself)

bouquets and bouts

flower girl bucket

programs

My 2 dresses, FI's 2 suits (we're doing our TTD before the wedding so had to get 2 outfits!)

I guess it could be worse...but it's a lot for me!

Ughh...thanks hun.

I know he will be fine. I was actually thinking more of ease more than anything. If he flies alone, he has to park, which is almost as much as the flight sometimes!

Also, my cousin has a 3 year old with her, and it would actually be better for her if my bro was on her flight just to help her out. I think she's thinking about bringing a stroller (which I think is crazy) but whatever. It would be nice if there was someone to help her with luggage and all that. It can be a pain when you're traveling with a toddler.

I think I'm going to end up going with purchasing the new $400 flight and hopefully my brother and his gf can use their other ones at some other point.

Good to know! My ceremony is at 5:00 PM on July 16th in Riviera Maya, Mexico. There isn't much of a beach there, and the ceremony is in a gazebo so I think we will be ok...what do ya think?

I'm really frustrated with the "travel rules" and wondering if there's any way around it...maybe there's a TA on here that can offer some advice?

So my brother's girlfriend cancelled for our wedding because of the swine flu. I was mad, but I've come to terms with it. She is 18 and her Mom made the decision so I understand. But of course there are repercussions...

So now my brother doesn't want to go for a full week, and I don't blame him because you pay double occupancy at our resort even if it's just one person in the room. He was orginally booked to go from Sunday to Sunday.

Instead he's going to share my cousin's room for the 4 days that she is going, which is Wednesday to Sunday. SO that part of it is all figured out. (And they are both saving money rather than booking 2 rooms as singles)!

BUT we're trying to figure out the airfare and it's a PITA!

My brother paid $600 for his and his girlfriend's direct flights from NYC (JFK) to Cancun and back at Orbitz.com. He's already losing $300 since his girlfriend's not going, and is trying to salvage whatever he can to not throw all his money out the window. There is a $130 "change" fee, but he would have to book on the same airline (Mexicana). We were hoping to get him on the same flight as my cousin, since he would be staying with her anyway, and he's only been on a plane once before (when he was very young) and I'm sure he would be fine, but it would just be easier if he wasn't by himself. AND he could catch a ride with her (and her husband who is dropping her off) so he wouldn't have to pay parking fees. He is also a new driver and has never driven outside of CT.

HOWEVER, my cousin is flying out of CT (Bradley airport) and Mexicana doesn't fly out of there!

So I came up with the (what I thought was fabulous) idea to just buy a one way ticket out of CT on my cousin's flight ($148!) and then still use the return flight he already has back to JFK (which is the same as my parents').

Well my Mom called her TA to find out if that was possible and they said it was illegal. WTF?

Why do they care? They said the only way we could do that is if he "missed" his flight and THEN booked the new outgoing flight. But that means we would have to wait until after his flight leaves to book and it probably wouldn't be available at that point.

I just don't understand why they can't just let him book a one-way ticket.

Does anyone know any other way around this? Or have any other idea of what we would do? If my brother keeps his current flight and flies down on Sunday, he is going to pay almost $1200 for the 3 nights he will be by himself until my cousin gets there. AND he doesn't even want to be there at all so he will be miserable on top of it. So it makes the most since for his to come down later.

The other option is to book a whole new flight for him (on my cousin's flight) which is $405 roundtrip. And then MAYBE he and his gf can use their wasted flights sometime in the next year, but they would still pay $130 each to change them PLUS the difference for the new flights if they are more than $300 each (which they probably will be) AND it would have to be on Mexicana, which means their only choice is Mexico...If his gf's Mom wouldn't let her go to a wedding with the supervision of my parents, I doubt she's going to let her daughter go there alone for spring break or whatever it would be that they would use the tickets for! So that's pretty much out the window anyway...

It would just be easier (and cheaper) if he could buy a one-way ticket for $148 (vs $405 roundtrip) and use the second half of the one he already has.

I don't understand why it's "illegal." The airlines are still making money. If we told them we weren't using the first half of the trip they could fill the seat ahead of time and make more than the $130 change fee they would get from us. Why is it such a big deal? Is there any way to get around this?

ANY help anyone might be able to offer is appreciated. Has anyone else run into anything similar?

I asked my WC and she said they were fine...but I assume we can't bring them on the plane. I was hoping to find them when we got down there....