tguerre

adurrell - I just heard about them a month ago on here too. I googled "Boudoir Photographer" and my city. Lots of photographers popped up. I looked at their work, price, and made sure it was a female. I called her and felt at ease right away. From there we set a date, I booked a hotel room, and she helped me find the stylists. Then came the shopping. I highly recommend it. It is so empowering. I got about 250 photos and used 80 for the book. I wish I could do it again. I say...Go for it!!

Okay girls. Thanks for your patience. Here are few pics. The last one is of me in my swimsuit. I left out the lingerie photos. They are for the hubby. ;>

I feel so bad for all the brides who have cancelled their wedding or had to move it at the last minute. I know all the time and work that goes into planning a destionation wedding. I couldn't even imagine. It seems like I am having a meltdown almost every day over something right now. We leave Saturday. My wedding is in Panama City Beach, FL next Friday. I haven't had any freaked guests contact us yet about getting on a plane and hopefully nobody will. Right now the weather is depressing me. We have a bbq and beach bonfire planned for our rehearsal party Thursday night. It is showing scattered thunderstorms Thursday and Friday (40% precip). grrrr.....

The book is even better than I could have imagined. I had done my guestbook on blurb but didn't do the premium paper and did the image wrap. The image wrap looked really dull and the paper was just okay. So I did a hard cover with premium paper for my BD book and it is such better quality. Definitely worth the extra $5. Yes, the photographer sent me a letter for the rights to the pictures. We did recreate many of the photos I had sent her. You will have a blast doing it.

I check the weather almost hourly. I also signed up for the daily text messages and emails. It has now gone from 1 day of isolated thunderstorms to 3 days of isolated thunderstorms, back to 1 day, and now 3 days including our rehearsal party day and wedding day. ughhh.... My fiance refuses to jump on this rollercoaster with me. He says it will be a beautiful day. He has much more constraint than me.

Here is my welcome letter. I borrowed the template from another forum on here.

We are doing fuschia, dark chocolate brown, and lime green. Lots of color combo options out there. Here are some of our wedding items that I have either made or will have done by our vendor. The ceremony aisle rods will be hot pink orchids instead of the white ones. Also, my bridesmaid is wearing a dark chocolate dress with a fuschia sash. My table clothes will be dark chocolate with a lime runner and floating hot pink orchids with the sanddollar votives and white starfish around them.

I agree with everyone's response. I know my brother bought us a mini fridge for our garage so he is bringing a card with a picture of it to the DW. Otherwise, I have always had my gifts sent to the bride's house. We put their presence was present enough on our website, but we also paid for their accomodations, food, and alcohol for the week. Everyone just had to buy a ticket for $200-250. So we will see.

Do the pink shoes! You will be happy that you decided to have a bit of color. I'm doing silver shoes with rhinestones all over them. Nobody will probably see them, but I plan on getting a few pics of just our shoes. I'll probably end up in my ivory wediding slippers after a few hours of dancing. :>

I have been looking at stuff at Ikea or using just a regular gift box. I was going to wrap it but then I thought security might open it. It seems like my luggage is always rifled through when I fly. IKEA | Organizers | Desk accessories | KNÖS | Magazine box

1. Lots of different jewelry including the long strand of pearls. It was nice to see different earrings, bracelets, and rings in some of the pics 2. Veil, wedding jewelry, and shoes 3. Food props - suckers, cherries, etc.. 4. Strapless bra for tank top. I forgot it and wish I had it to support the girls. :> 5. Makeup for touchups 6. Hair products, accessories, flat iron, brushes etc.. for touchups or change of hairstyle

Love everything especially the dog card for the wedding day. I might just have to steal that one. :>

I refused to give my personal information when I went to Davids Bridal to shop just for this very reason. The woman became snippy with me, but they still helped me. I didn't end buying a dress from there because their service was poor and I didn't feel like a princess.

I'm glad to hear that his is willing to work on it with you. No bride needs the added stress of making your furry babies and hubby to be happy. Tough spot to be in the middle.

Hi guys! I finished my BD book Monday night. I'll post a few of the pics either tonight or tomorrow night. I leave in 10 days for Florida and still have my vows, music, and packing to get done. Not to mention attending 2 weddings. Yikes!! blushingbride - I can understand the cost concern. Here is what I spent. I could have saved more if I did my own hair, didn't buy any new lingerie and skipped the hotel. But, it was completely worth it. My fiance and I also had the best night at the hotel later on. $175 - photographer laura ivanova | MINNEAPOLIS WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER + MINNESOTA DESTINATION WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER $150 - W hotel room (could have gotten smaller room for $103) $55 - hair @ Brian Graham Salon $0 - makeup @ mac counter $40 - pedicure and manicure $50 - bra and panty set $30 - 3 pairs of new VS underwear $0 - heels, props, some clothes $50 - BD book on Blurb with 68 pages and premium paper (includes 2 day shipping) TOTAL - $550

I can completely relate. My fiance is not a dog person. He and my dog along great when ever we were at his or my house. Once we combined households my dog started following me everywhere. She was no longer allowed to sleep in my bed and eventually would put her tail down and hide from my fiance. My fiance wanted my dog to love him and listen to him like she does me. He read a few books on dogs and has a better understanding that dogs only have 1 master, her breed doesn't like male voices, and he needs to earn her respect. Things have gotten better, but we still have our days. I do try to encourage their relationship by having him do most of the positive things like feed her and give her treats while I am the discliplinarian. Very similar to having a stepchild. Which I have a 9 year old step daughter to be too. Thank goodness she adores me and is my velcro child. I wish you the best of luck. It is very hard when you want everyone to get along and you are in the middle.

My BD photographer was super laid back and really complimentary. She offered to meet me for coffee beforehand since typically she does BD shoots for brides that she has already done the engagement session so there is certain level of comfort already there. I skipped the coffee because I felt good from our conversations and emails. Plus, I figure I change in front of women at the gym all the time.

I will admit that I couldn't keep it a secret. I was good until I got the cd. When I got it I so badly wanted to show him so I showed him just 1 pic and told him he had to wait for the rest. His first question after he finally figured out it was me and not a Victoria Secret website I was showing him went something like this... 1. When did you do this? Do you have a double life? lol 2. Was it female photographer? 3. Did you make sure she can't post it on her website or show anyone? 4. When do I get to see the rest of them? Begging has continued everyday since I showed him. I did my first draft of my book on blurb last night. Can't wait to finish it tonight and order it. Here's the posting I did on my experience. I included a word document on BD shots that I wanted to try to recreate. Hope it helps. http://bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/t40805

I use Craigslist all the time. I got our videographer on there, house painter, wood floor finisher, etc.... I just make sure I am never alone in the dealings and get references. You are going to have a blast! I did my BD shoot 2 weeks ago and got my cd over the weekend. It is still hard to believe it is me. Getting my hair done at the salon for $50, makeup free at MAC counter, and nails done really gave me the extra confidence. My fiance would freak if it had been a male photographer. He's not the jealous type, but I also know he wouldn't want any other man seeing me in lingerie doing various seductive poses or if they were posted anywhere (website, portfolio, etc..). I personally would have been fine with it because I never showed anything and have always been comfortable with my body, but his family would not have been okay with it.

Yes, I got all the pics that I included on Oriental Trading. Just enter "beach safe" in the search. They have various colors available. Otherwise, here is the direct link. Personalized Beach Safe Containers - Blue

Thanks! I'm starting to feel better about it. The ceremony will be short. Maybe 20-30 min at most. I am going to book a videographer that will give us an unedited copy of the ceremony for $300. At least they will capture our vows on a wireless mic.

I did beer bottle coozie, flip flop playing cards, beach mat, travel candle, journal, beach ball, and personalized beach safe along with the welcome letter. I got everything on Oriental Trading except the candle and journal. Here are some pics. $2.99 each $17.99/dozen $7.99/Dozen $7.99/Dozen

6 months before we booked our beach house. 9 months till we got officially engaged and combined households. 15 months at the wedding day.

I did 2 inch heels so it drags a bit on the beach, but I am just going to walk on the balls of my feet. Same for pictures. I am too worried about tripping in wedge flip flops.

That is so cool. I just love Etsy. I got my ring bearer plate and flower girl necklace from there. I wish I had ordered one of those. Even if we just put it on the cake table.