mich999

Wow - you are not overreacting. Someone should tell him that a photographer that can make an average looking woman (ie. 99% of us) look like a superstar on her wedding day is what separates the professionals from the imposters and that's what he should have in his portfolio. Of course, I'm betting he doesn't have the talent to do that. I can't believe he thought it was ok that ask that!!

Congrats - I'm glad you found the forum, it's the best!

We had our AHR last Saturday, 6 weeks after our Cabo wedding. Now that it is over, I thought I'd share my thoughts in case it helps anyone else on deciding whether to have an AHR. When we decided on a DW, I wanted to invite almost everyone we would invite to a local wedding, but felt weird knowing that most would not go, so the compromise was to also have an AHR in my friend's backyard (huge yard, fancy house). It was planned as an elegant cocktail party (we called it a soiree) with a beachy theme - frozen drinks, passed apps, cupcake tower. I was extremely excited about having both events and my extended family was excited there would be a party at home. Fast forward to the time between the wedding and AHR. Our wedding was more than I could have hoped for, was so special and I surprisingly found myself wishing we hadn't planned an AHR. I wasn't even super excited about wearing my dress again! I was shocked! The AHR went great, but I definitely kept saying to myself, this is why we didn't have a local wedding - I saw DH just in passing the whole night, except for the 5 minutes redoing our first dance. I'm glad we did the AHR - seeing all of our family and friends and how grateful they were to be able to share in the celebration, even if it wasn't the actual wedding was great. Luckily Juan Carlos Tapia rushed 25 of our professional pictures for us for the party, so everyone could see the pro pics mixed with some other photos I had and that made the party for me. But the night was the epitomy of why we had a DW - the DW was for us, the AHR was for everyone else. When I initially planned everything, I thought both were for us, so we could celebrate with everyone and feel complete. I found that I didn't need the second party for myself and would have been fine with just having the DW (and so would DH). But if it's important to you to include extended family and friends, it is definitely worth it for them and I don't regret that we had one at all, in fact I would do it again - I was just surprised at how I felt about it after the DW. Oh - and I did love wearing my dress again and so did my guests - it made it feel more like a wedding for them and I got to hear everyone ooh and aah over my dress again, so that was definitely worth it! : )

I found brushed silver frames in sets of 10 (with 3 different sizes) at target online. Here's the link: 10 pc Silvertone Frame Box Set : Target I use two per table as a centerpiece and incorporated our leftover fans and programs with them as well as candles - I was really happy with them. The quality of the frame is not the best, but for basically $3 a frame after shipping and tax, price could not be beat and they worked out great.

I would have cried too. I think you should redo them though, because if you scrap them that will make FI feel even worse. Just do them together, don't let him do them alone or make him feel bad - just tell him things happen and you understand he didn't know what would happen with Elmers (most guys don't know about that stuff). You'll be glad you redid them when they are all done. Good luck!

Congrats to all on being nominated! Good luck!

It's really up to you. If you invite everyone, just be prepared for some guests that you didn't think would come, to come, and vice versa. You really need to look at your guest list and decide who are maybes and include them in your final numbers to see if that blows your budget, and if it does, that may influence how many people you invite. We ended up sending invites to about 150 hoping for no more than 50-60 (because of cost) and had 44 people attend, which was perfect, but I think we would have had more people in the economy hadn't tanked. We also included our AHR invite with our wedding invite.

Congrats - that's awesome!! Don't forget to change your wedding date in your profile to the official date now!! : )

My FI chose "I Can See Clearly Now" by Johnny Nash - his mom loved it. We had a hard time finding a song that wasn't mushy or over the top for his taste and this one fit them perfectly.

Good luck - I hope you get it!!

I just put our addess with no names as the return.

Quote: Originally Posted by sunsetbride1 Well, those may be the new 'it' colors according to Martha - but I don't know if she is referring to DW's. IMO, I think that it's a super chic color combination and if you are truly in love with it; you can make it work for a DW, I would just make it a more elegant DW. Maybe sunny yellow dresses with white flowers and black accents... Personally, I am not a bright color gal... we are doing light blue, chocolate brown and touches of gold. I like the more natural palette as it lets the beauty of the setting be showcased without distraction. Thanks Sunset - I was beginning to think I was the only one that doesn't care for bright colors - I went with more muted tones, french blue dresses, blue hydrandreas centerpieces with touches of silver on table, pink and ivory for bouquets. Just proves you should ignore the trends and do whatever you like, but the trends are always fun to look at for inspiration!

How fun!! Welcome!

Oops - repeat post

Welcome and good luck! I've seen lots of reviews on the RIUs in Jamaica, especially the Ocho Rios one, you should be able to find what you need! Enjoy!

Jamaica and MExico are both so different - another thing to consider is weather in November. A bonus of choosing Cabo San Lucas was no real rain or threat of hurricanes.

Estella - it is a huge deal when that many people don't rsvp - you have every right to be pulling your hair out. I hope things are going better since your last post.

Welcome to the forum - I got married at the Hilton and it was perfect! Let me know if you have any questions.

Macy's, Crate and Barrel and Pottery Barn

That's a good price - especially at J crew.

Congrats - that's so exciting!

I agree with Megan. I'm viewing my AHR as a distinct event not meant to recreate the wedding, though I am still incorporated some of my colors and beachy themes into it. Go for the best of both worlds, or pick one of the two colors to use sparingly if you feel the need to have some sort of tie-in if you feel using both wouldn't loook right.

I think that would be a lot of fun!

I think that sounds like a great idea, just be patient with your hubby. At some point it does seem like the never-ending wedding, but I think when you actually get to the event, you're glad you did it - at least that's what I'm hoping : )

nice job - love the stamp as an additional touch!