tracy0716

That's exactly what my mom said Becks- the lace is very romantic!

There is no way I'm tipping my WC $100...communication has been pretty spotty this past week and we're down to days before my wedding. She has now passed me on to her assistant for communication and has already told me someone else will be handling our wedding when we get to the Dominican. I was thinking $50 max, esp. if I have to tip the WC and 2 assistants.

I'm wearing a lace dress! The dress you posted is beautiful!! I just posted a pic of my dress in my planning thread if you're interested in checking it out.

http://bestdestinationwedding.com/fo...journal-60934/

 

Also try looking through the wedding dress thread:

http://bestdestinationwedding.com/fo...ding-dress-85/

 

We're getting married in a gazebo too. I know my dress isn't a "beachy" dress but it's the dress I wanted. Plus it's really not too heavy once it's on...go with the dress you want!!

Thanks- Paradisus Palma Real in Punta Cana. Your year of planning will go by quickly, mine did!

Hi Season! Welcome and congrats on your engagement. You've found the perfect place for help planning your destination wedding. It's pretty overwhelming and addicting at first...take your time and you'll get through all 500 pages of posts. Good luck and enjoy your planning!

Welcome and congrats! Try using the search function to find posts by other members about your resort. You can also send members personal messages if you have a question for them. Good luck and enjoy your planning!

Welcome to the forum and congrats on your engagement. You're story is so sweet! I'm really happy you both were able to find each other after 16 years. Make sure you check out the Dominican Republic section so you can connect with the other Punta Cana brides at your resort. Good luck and enjoy your planning!

I'm also really sorry about your dog Joey. I love my dogs too and losing them is always so difficult. Also, love that you guys adopt rescues!!

Such a great story and your ring is gorgeous!!

New Jersey- we saw them around Jan/Feb and scooped them up. Keep your eyes peeled, they might come around soon. Other girls have found them on amazon. Good luck!

Thanks!! I can't wait to meet up with everyone again, esp. after our weddings! Hopefully I won't be sick again. I really wasn't 100% myself at our lunch since I felt so crappy. I hope everything is going well with you Jenise and your planning!

Congrats on your engagement and welcome to the forum. Once I put my deposit down I took a small "break" from wedding planning. It was nice to enjoy being engaged and just celebrate that. This forum has been so helpful with planning and relieving stress. Good luck and enjoy your planning!!

Welcome to the forum and congrats on your engagement. This site is highly addictive and awesome for planning a destination wedding!! We chose the Dominican Republic because we specifically wanted our resort. I know other people choose their resorts/locations due to weather, affordability, and if they've been there before. Take some time to search the resorts you're interested in and read the reviews. It will all come together very soon. Good luck and enjoy your planning!

Very funny! Do you both get mail addressed to Kelly?? That can be headache...

Aww thanks so much for all the compliments!! I figured out how to post my welcome letter so here it is:

Last but not least, here are some of the décor inspirations/wishes for our wedding:

My bouquet:

Linens and dinner set up:

 

We’re going with metallic lanterns and candles as centerpieces rather than flowers, as well as, Chinese lanterns for decoration but I can’t find pics to post of either of these!

 

This is much longer than I anticipated but I hope it’s helpful. Thanks again to BDW- it’s awesome! Our wedding is in 16 days and we leave in 12 days, time has gone by so fast!!

My FI has 2 young nieces attending our wedding (4 and 2 years old). They are the only kids coming and it was a big deal for his brother to be able to attend our wedding so I splurged on their OOT bags. I bought them from The Company Store for $24.99 ea. and had them monogrammed. I had a coupon but with shipping and tax the bags came to just about $30 ea. They love horses and can use the bags after vacation, so to me it was worth it.

Then I filled them with a puzzle, coloring book, crayons, story book, small sunscreen for kids, band aids, stickers, and sand toys.

 

I’ve already posted a pic of my dress on the forum but here are some pics of me actually in it at a fitting. It’s by LaSposa and everything I thought I didn’t want in a dress! Please excuse my faces, I was definitely getting annoyed that my mom didn’t know how to take a decent picture…

Here’s the back:

And here it is bustled (I wish I zipped it!)

 

I also posted a pic of my shoes previously on the forum but here they are again. They’re by Nina and were a huge PITA to find!! Like many others on the forum, the shoes were more difficult than the dress.

 

Jewelry too was a problem. I didn’t want to bring any of my real jewelry (besides e-ring and wedding bands that are insured) because I’m paranoid about losing them or them getting stolen. So I had to find good fakes! I got these earrings at a dress store by my house. I’m bringing them to my final fitting next week and I hope they work. I’m not wearing a necklace.

 

My FI has been very picky about what he wants to wear to our wedding. He hates suits and ties and refused since the moment we picked the DR for our wedding. We went with a guayaberra shirt instead and a pair of linen pants from Perry Ellis. I found the pants on sale in Lord and Taylors for $49.99 and got them for cheaper with a coupon. I order his shirt and his two brothers’ shirts from Beach Wedding Attire - Beach Wedding Dresses - Beach Bridesmaids Dresses (another recommendation from BDW). The shirts just came this week. I’m not thrilled with the ivory color (it looks a tad too yellow) but they look nice. None of the guys have tried them on yet so I’m holding my breath that everything will be okay!

FI’s shirt:

GM’s shirt

Pants

I wasn’t really sure if I was going to write a planning thread but I figured if it helps just one person then I should do it…this forum has saved my sanity while planning a destination wedding! Thanks so much to Tammy for creating the site, to all the mods for keeping things in check, and to the fabulous members for sharing their experiences and ideas. Everyone on here is so nice and helpful. Anytime I had a question all I had to do was search and the answer was here. The forum has also been a fun addiction and great distraction from wedding planning stress! I recommend it to anyone and everyone I meet who is planning a DW. So here it is:

 

My fiancé George and I met the old fashioned way- we were introduced by friends at a party. We started dating about 3 years ago. He proposed last summer while we were camping with his family. He got down on both knees (since we were in a tent) and gave me my gorgeous ring!

 

Here is his ring:

 

We decided to have our wedding at the Paradisus Palma Real in Punta Cana. We chose this resort since I went there 4 years ago for a big family trip. Eleven of us went including my aunts and cousins. We have not been to a better resort since and so many of my family members are looking forward to return. I really hope it lives up to our expectations!

 

We decided not to make our OOT bags in NJ but to bring the “ingredients†down to the Dominican Republic and make them there. My FMIL volunteered her services to assemble the bags and I’m definitely taking her up on them. I ordered them from Wedding Favors and Gifts They are sold in increments of 25 and the site sells the tissue paper and ribbon too. This is what the bags should look like when they’re completed:

This is our bag:

We went with a monogram instead of skyline design.

 

We’re going to include a Spanish for Dummies book (Target $1 ea.), travel sized pepto-bismal chewables, Advil, Excedrin, Immodium, Aloe, and bug wipes. All of these items were purchased from minimusbiz.com except for the bug wipes which my FI got from work.

Everything organized in a satchel.

We bought snacks and gum to put in the bags too.

 

I also wrote personal notes for our guests to include in their bags and a typed an itinerary for the night before the wedding and the day of the wedding. I found a template on the forum months ago when I first joined (thank you NaM!) and I based mine off it. I'm having trouble uploading a link to my letter so I'll try again later!

Wow I feel really naive thinking it was an inner envelope...I understanding preferring money but I would never include the request in my invitation!

Congrats and welcome to the forum. It's definitely still a DW for your guests. You're lucky to be close to your wedding venue! Good luck and enjoy your planning!

Congrats on your engagement and welcome to the forum. You're so lucky to have found this site early in your wedding planning, it's awesome! Good luck and enjoy your planning!

Was the invitation itself inside the envelope with your name on it? If so, the envelope with your name on it is the inner envelope. I think the idea of them is to keep the invitation in an envelope that's not all marked up for the postal service. If the invitation wasn't in this envelope I have no idea what it is...sorry!

Very cute invites! We're using similar invites for our bbq AHR. I'm sure everyone will have a great time at your party!

Welcome to the forum and congrats on your engagement! Definitely search OOT bags- there's lots of pics, links, and lists to help you with your search. Good luck and enjoy your planning!

Welcome to the forum and congrats on your engagement Jess. I hope there's lots of info about your resort on this site. Try using the search function- it's awesome. Good luck and enjoy your planning!!

I just finished organizing all of the items for our OOT bags. We're not putting the bags together completely until we're down in the DR. And when I say "we" I mean my FMIL (she offered!)...the resort has finally gotten back to me and we're about 1 or 2 emails away from finalizing the details and our bill. My FI's wedding shirt came today along with the GMs' shirts. I picked the father-daughter and mother-son dances last night. Still feel like there's a ton to do...