MDLady

That's a great idea! Very nice, especially if you have many single ladies as guests. I only have a couple that are single and they are very worried that they will feel uncomfortable since everyone else is couples. I'm sure they will appreciate you paying special attention to them

I love the Snapfish photobooks. I made one for my sister and brother-in-law for my niece's 2nd birthday. She is too young to appreciate it but will as she gets older. It was super fun to put it together as well

Quote: Originally Posted by FutureMrsTO just to add to your great find, my friend found these great super cheap oot bags as well. only problem is large qty. either way thought i'd let you all know about them Bi-colored Reusable Bags Awesome find! Quantities are either multiples or 25 or 100. We are having 50 guests so it works out for us. And so many great colors and sizes. Thanks for a great suggestion!!!

My fiance's Dad is huge into photography so he wanted to create a photo-album style guest book. He wanted us to send him pictures of all of our friends (even those who are not coming) so each of them can sign under their pictures. Of course being swamped like crazy didn't allow us to do it and now there isn't much time. So maybe we can get something together in the next couple of weeks but it will be tight....

Mine will be $125 (Sample Bouquet 2 in the attachment) My MOH and bridesmaids was quoted at $85 (Sample Bouquet 1 in the attachment). This is in Aruba though so Mexico should be a little less I would imagine. Sample Bouquet 2.pdf Sample Bouquet 1.pdf

Here is mine, it's very simple. Hope it helps. Guest Arrivals and Departures.xls

Oh goodness, you sound as I did when I first started talking about a DW and sometimes I go back to that thinking when things aren't going smoothly. Luckily, my FI and friends are extremely supportive and super excited for the whole thing. Our dilemma was that my fiance's family is all in Argentina! So they would all have to come to the US on a 12 hr flight which is expensive and difficult with visas and paperwork. If we had the wedding in Argentina, then my whole family and friends would have to travel 12 hr. We were NOT going to do 2 weddings, no way could we afford it. So my argument was hey, perfect, I've always wanted a beach wedding and I love love love the Caribbean so we will have it on one of the islands and let everyone come and meet 1/2 way. I thought it was a perfect solution. Then, totally unexpected to me, my family started a backlash on the DW idea. Mind you, only one person doesn't like sun/beach due to her weight problem. My parents and other family go to the Caribbean every year on vacation! I thought they would be excited. Nope, my selfishness was mentioned several times and it was made very clear that I was doing this for me rather than the guests. That stung a lot since I am very close to my family. My extended family told me that nobody will come and that it was a crazy idea. While they are still not helping much with the wedding, mostly because I do not ask since my feelings are still kind of hurt, we have over 45 guests coming already. My friends are PSYCHED as is my sister and her husband. My extended family is coming (I don't have a huge family) and they are excited. My FI's family is coming as well and are all extremely excited and have never once thought that it was a bad idea. We invited everyone that we wanted to be at our wedding, which was probably 110 people or so. So 45 is not bad at all if you ask me. My Mom thought it would be rude to invite people knowing that they could not come, but I would rather invite them than not!! The best part is that both my FI and I have 6 nieces/nephews who will be our flower girls/ring bearers and the kids are over the moon that they will be part of our wedding on an island. They talk about it every day! That alone makes it all ok for me. My FI always told me to make the decision and stick with it whenever I started to doubt myself and wonder if we are doing the right thing. I honestly don't understand why people can say things like that to a bride. I'm not saying that the bride can be inconsiderate but there are reasons for why she is doing a DW. Sorry for the very long post but as you can see, this choice was very difficult for us. It actually is not turning out to be cheaper at all but that's because we picked one of the best resorts. But honestly, both I and my FI cannot wait to have all of our family and friends on the island for a week with us together. My family only met his parents so it will be nice for everyone to get to know each other, even with a language barrier. If this is something that you really want, then you just gotta do what you feel will make you the happiest. You don't want to look back and wish you did it differently or stand in a church wishing you were on the beach. I can't stand it when people tell you what they think you need to do when it's something as personal as your wedding. I hope your family comes around to support you and if they don't, I hope you are able to enjoy a wonderful wedding where YOU and your FI want it!

hat0112 - where in Aruba are you getting married? Congrats!!!

I know that my FI would say that we are skipping gifts since we are mostly paying for the whole wedding ourselves. We are also in the process of buying a house and it is so not cheap in the DC area. But now that I think of it, maybe I should get him a nice set of cufflinks. I am not doing pictures, I'm not shy and am in good shape but having strangers taking pictures of me in provocative poses is just not something I want to do. My FI can take all the pictures that he wants though

I absolutely LOVE those crocheted baskets, they are absolutely gorgeous!!!! I think they would be perfect!

So happy to hear that you are getting your dress, one way or another. You should not have to pay twice for a dress but as long as you have it by your big day, that's a huge relief. I think every bride on this website was horrified for you and now we are all relieved. Great news piece!!! You are famous

I'm getting married at the Hyatt Regency on May 30, 2010. So very soon! I am starting to get very nervous about all the details but I'm sure it's normal.

My ceremony is definitely on the beach. I know they will have a runner going up to the chuppah but not where the guests are. Ok, I will not worry. You are all right!!! I did my dress with no shoes on at all so it will actually be nice to have it a few inches off the ground for when I wear heels for our first dance which is gonna be a surprise tango. Thanks ladies. I am paranoid about being inconsiderate towards guests (which I was already accused of for having a DW in the first place) so I'm extra conscious of the little details regarding my guests.

Hi all, We are having 4 flowergirls and 2 ring bearers (all of our nieces and nephews) in our ceremony. I do not want to transport 4 baskets for the girls and 2 pillows for the boys. What are some creative ideas as a replacement that are easy to transport and are not too expensive? I have thought of using just lace bags with flower petals but cannot find any that I actually like. For the boys I have seen little white boxes so maybe that. Any ideas

Wow, those look great! I don't have time for customized bags and frankly the wedding expenses are getting way out of control anyway, so I will just use regular bags. But love love love your gift bags!!!!

Maybe a bucket of water and some towels by the reception deck to get the sand off of people's feet hahahahahah. I have a very funny mental picture of that.

Then good luck, Holly. We are all hoping it goes well.

Totally. I hate hate hate having uncashed checks, messes up my checkbook!!! I got our first check so I will send a thank you card for the thought

Ok, now it makes better sense. I thought that she was just jealous or something but a drinking problem explains the erratic and insensitive behavior. Doesn't excuse it, but at least we know what the problem is. If she is an alcoholic, a violent/loud/rude one at that, I would NOT have her at your wedding at all. There will be booze everywhere! I know that this is really tough but you can't be at your wedding worrying every single minute if she is drinking or not and if she will cause a scene. It's really hard with alcoholics or drug abusers or anything like that.. But you cannot continue to overlook such behavior at your own expense. She needs to learn that there are consequences to her actions. Very sad situation. I just don't want you to have a time bomb on your hands when you are exchanging vows.

We are having six of our nieces/nephews at the ceremony and staying on the island for a week. I would love to get something for them but pool toys or any kind of toys are just so big to carry. Any ideas for something smaller that is easier to travel with? I am afraid that stores on the islands will charge an arm and a leg for some silly small game.

Did you guys buy all this stuff on mainland or on the island? My concern is having huge suitcases full of stuff to take with us. I love the list though. Will definitely use this for my wedding. Thanks!!!

I agree with the other ladies. If she is a VERY important part of your life and your wedding simply wouldn't be the same without her, then I say pay maybe part of her expenses. I would suggest loaning her the money but that just spells disaster later down the road. I understand your dilemma, but as others said, it depends on how much this person means to you. If it were my family or anyone in my bridal party, then yes, I would help them. Otherwise, probably not. Not because I don't love them, it's just that I expected this to happen with a DW. Such is life.

Oh goodness. The last thing you need now is drama, especially from your own sister. I wouldn't "retaliate" by not getting her a gift though. That just reflects poorly on you. If that is just how she is, I doubt that anything or anyone will change that. You chose her as the MOH so short of firing her or having a huge family intervention, I doubt that you can do anything really. I would just not expect much from her and allow your bridesmaids, family, and other friends to help you as much as you need. I do hope that she doesn't pull this kind of stuff at the wedding. If you suspect that she might, I seriously would consider not involving her in the wedding at all. It sounds cruel but if you know that she will be a problem, then you probably should not have her there.

Quote: Originally Posted by DallasAshli Well, FI just got home and he likes the ribbon. Our colors are shades of lime - from light (meat of the lime) to dark (like the peal). A green placemat was too much, so we went with the light blue (kinda like the water). I kinda like the ribbon now too. What does everything else think? LOVE LOVE LOVE this centerpiece. My color is red though so I will have to get creative but this is perfect for what I am looking for!!!! Thanks!

Quote: Originally Posted by Janet Loving this. It is so elegant and beautiful! I might steal this idea!!!!