countrybride

we had a layer of white cake with white icing and a layer of chocolate with white icing and it was absolultely fantastic cake sooo good!
 

Originally Posted by JBandDJ 

What menu options were the best/worst?  We are thinking of doing the surf and turf option. How about the cake.....do they do chocolate with white icing....or other combinations?

what time of year is your wedding though? cause that would change thing too

 

Originally Posted by countrybride 

My ceremony was at 4 pm and I almost wished I had done it at 330 as a fter the ceremony was done we were in crunch time for pictures to get them done while the light was still good enough i felt like adrill sergent directly the family to do it quick ahah

 

 

My ceremony was at 4 pm and I almost wished I had done it at 330 as a fter the ceremony was done we were in crunch time for pictures to get them done while the light was still good enough i felt like adrill sergent directly the family to do it quick ahah

 

Originally Posted by JBandDJ 

What time of day of your ceremony?  Ours is booked for 5pm, but I'm worried it will be dark right away....should we switch to 4pm??

We were on the lobby terrace for the reception and it was windy that day but we didnt notice any wind up there. We actually spent a few nights up there with the group having drinks in the evening and I dont remember noticing any wind problems. On the lobby terrace there are these wonderful couch like cabanas which are fun too for everyone to sit and lounge if they want during the reception.
 

Originally Posted by leahbecker 

-Countrybride:  Thank you so much for the help and the info about the extra wedding costs; I feel much better  And,  Congratulations! It sounds like an amazing wedding day!

We were thinking of using the lobby terrace for our reception space, but hear that it is incredibly windy.  Do you think the wind was much of an issue?

I just got back from my wedding and we decided not to go with the centerpieces and did not regret it for a second. They put nice table clothes on everything and bring the bows from your ceremony chairs to the dinner chairs. They also bring the flowers you have from the ceremony over as well. its definitly personal perference but we found with such a beautiful view and astmosphere all around us we did not miss centerpieces at all!
 

Originally Posted by JBandDJ 

Hey ladies!  I'm trying to decide whether to bring/ship center pieces. I would rather not but I don't really know what the table set up looks like?  We are doing the reception on the lobby terrace.  What do you think-are centerpieces necessary?  I don't know if there is anything else I should be doing.....keep wondering if I've forgotten something...... 

 

Any tips would be greatly appreciated!

for our wedding we did the sunset package and had to pay for extra guests And the cost we were given was the cost for everything ceremony, dinner drinks,. There was no hidden costs for our wedding. I know it seems long for ana to answer questions but she really is fabolous and everything came together smoothly for our wedding. I found as our wedding got closer she responded quicker. We had a meeting with her our first day at the resort, when we checked in we were given a time in an envelope to meet with her and sort out the final details. this was perfect and she had everything we talked about in emails in order perfectly. We found t hat for the small changes we wanted to make i.e. we added extra time to our dance reception we just did that day with her and we had no problems.
 

Originally Posted by leahbecker 

I am booking the Paradise package for 65 guests for my wedding January 2013.  Ana's been kind, but only responds to my emails every 1-2 weeks.  I was wondering if anyone might be able to help me out... Since the package is for max. 40 guests, there is a fee of $45 per additional guest. Does this $45 include ceremony seating, as well as reception dinner/drinks for the extra guests? Is there any other hidden costs for the additional guests?  Thanks for the help!

Hey Guys!

Just got back from my wedding at the Ocean Coral and Turquesa! It was absolutely phenomal, everything ran so smoothley and there was absolutely no worries about anything for my wedding. I had the beach wedding and the spot it wonderful as it is on the far side of the priviledge beach and that area is pretty dead. so there was no one around and we recieved a free upgrade for our room so we had an ocean front suite right beside the weding site! we opted for the dinner at the villia marina which has an outside eating option and the space was big enoughr for one huge table which was perfect for the thirty two of us. afterward we did the a dance on the lobby terace whic hwas wonderul as your have a whole side of the terrace and we played music and danced all night. There was a beach party that night so it was perfect as we all moved down there after.

The hotel was perfect for a wide age group of people, it was spotless, lots to do and the food was wonderful. We stayed for two weeks and it was nice to have the second week to our selves afterwards as it was busy first week there. There was at least six other weddings there in my two weeks so i seen lots of different ways people did things. If you have any specific questions ask away!

Yes I feel like its flying by and I love it! only 37 days till we fly out!

Tropic Lover

I have never steamed anything either haha, im thinking im just going to send it next door to do, Ill let you know how that works out! thankfully my dress isn't a style that gets really wrinkled looking. 37 days cant wait! Ill be sure to let everyone know how it went when I come back!

Awaywego

Im making sure i get a solid base tan before going to cut down on the tan lines! and Im going to sunscreen like crazy until after the wedding!

My wedding date if fast approaching Nov 30 2011! Cant wait! just wondering what everyone else is donig for dress steaming? The resort does not offer steaming on site. The hotel next door will do it for 50$ or are people bringing their own steamers?

I am going veil less. But I cannot decide hair down and flowy or up. Up seems like the cooler option but with long hair it can get pretty hot too!

2 months congrats! I have three months to go and am getting excited. The thing that really made me decide to whip my but into shape was reading a post from a nother bride on this site that said after her wedding how she never got in shape like she planned and the only thing she could attribute it too is pure lazyiness! Haha I felt the same way so thought I better start. Day one is over, well Im cuurently working night shift so not technically over... I did pack healthy snacks to help keep me alert! I did 10 kms on the elipitcal and it felt great!

As for insanity! haha we know how what goes!

Good for you on the hot yoga unfortuantly thats not available where I live

 

Originally Posted by Mwise17 

I agree....7 pounds/6 months....no worries!!!!!

 

I have two months as of tomorrow, and really wanted to be down more than I am, but have been putting in the time for planning good meals and getting my exercise in (sometimes twice a day....running/weights and then hot yoga pm)

The weight is not melting off by any means, but I feel 100% better than I did a few months ago.  

 

How have you been doing on insanity???  results up to this point?  

GO LADIES GO......we got this.....  

 

Hi Ladies!

Congratulations to all of your weight losses! Very impressive.

First visit to this forum and its just what I needed. My wedding is 3 months away and I need to loose 7 lbs by then. After a weekend visiting my sister and eating awfully, Today is day number one of healthy eating and regular exercise for me. I weigh 146 right now and would like to see that number get down to at LEAST 139 before I get married. My dress fits well but there is definintly room for improvement.

I am an RN but I work casual 12 hour shifts days and nights. this makes it difficult as trying to plan out what to eat during the night and day to eat a balanced meal plan is difficult. And being casual I will get called in at 7 am and supposed to be there ASAP therefore it makes it hard  to pack a well planned lunch.

My FI is getting on board with this as well so hopefully with us both motivated to get in shape over the next three months we will have each other for support.

I am wearing them as my Mother in law offered me the ones she recieved from her grandmother and wore on her wedding day. So she offered them so I could carry on the tradition

Exactly! And the villa marina (the caribean a la carte) has an outside eating option and part of  the restuarant is open to outside so you could still get the feeling of the outdoor dinner without have to pay for that many people at a private reception dinner. We thought this was a great idea for us. You can also rent their stereo/speakers but I think I may just bring my ipod/dock/
 

Originally Posted by TropicLover 

 

@Countrybride, that is a good option!  Then you can have a great 3 hours of dancing the night away without spending them on dinner!

 

 

One option that I didnt realize was avaible was the option to do the dinner at the a la carte and then a private reception after the dinner. This definitly was a bit more cost effiecient. I am going with the sunset package, but I only have 26 guests so far, cause that package only includes 20 guests then its 25$ per person more.
 

Originally Posted by AwayWeGo 

Hey Ladies! I'm wondering if anyone has decided on which package you are going with at the resort. We have 54 ppl booked so far, and I think we'll have about 60 coming by the wedding next March. We definitely want a private reception, but am finding it hard to decide on a package and what would be the most cost efficient?? Any input you may have would be appreciated!

oops spelling error supposed to be  fantasia.ca

Originally Posted by countrybride 

You can also get it on fanstasia.ca for the canadian brides. I believe they only ship to Canada but its 36 plus 7.00 shipping. You can even get exotic fruit flavour... perfect for mexico!
 

 

You can also get it on fanstasia.ca for the canadian brides. I believe they only ship to Canada but its 36 plus 7.00 shipping. You can even get exotic fruit flavour... perfect for mexico!
 

Originally Posted by Janet1480 

where do you ladies buy this stuff? Sounds like i need to fill the tub and roll around in it before i get in my dress LOL

 

 

Love the dress!! Mine is a very similiar siloette with different skirt and material. My dress was ment to be it fit perfect right length right size. The only thing I need to do is take the small spagetti straps off dont want those mine has a beautiful sweatheart bust. I also need to do a bussel
 

Originally Posted by clgriffi7 

80 days to go for me!!

 

I actually purchased my dress in July of 2010 and it was in by the end of August 2010!  I had planned to "just look" but I found a dress I loved and it was on sale...  My dress has been hanging at my parents' house for the past year and about once and month I visit the dress and try it on.  I know - that is bad, right?  What is really cute is that the dress is in an upstairs closet and every time there is a storm my mother carries it downstairs to her closet to help keep it safe.  Isn't that sweet of her?  (the history behind that is in 1994 we had a hurricane come through my city and knocked trees over onto the house and one broke through the roof and into that closet)

 

I have contacted a local alterations lady and have an appointment to take my dress in on September 12th.  Starting the dress alterations will be another big milestone and make things feel even more "real".

 

Joanne - Do you have pictures of your dress?
 

Here is a picture of me in the sample (I had to order a size up because I barely squeezed into the sample, as evidenced by the back-cleavage, but of course now I need to have mine altered down in size):

 

 

I am glad to here I am not the only one! When we were engaged may 2010 and asked our immediate families if they would come if we did a destination wedding they were all so excited. So we figured if the immediate family could come then it would be fine. All summer everyone had pressured us to get organized early so they could save and book holidays. When we sent out our STD's in February we sent out 132. We knew there were lots of people on that list that would not come. But we sent invites out of consideration for people such as my great grandmother and the older generation of both families knowing full well they would not come but we wanted them to feel included. Out of 132 invitations only 62 people sent back an RSVP sooo that leaves 70 people who didnt even bother. There was even a couple who booked that didnt even tell us. Thats all great but I was just surprised that people felt they didnt need to respond. We had an RSVP that said we will be there but theres not way were going to book yet well book in october. So its hard to decide on final number. Right now we have 26 people booked. Its just frusterating. If you know your not coming people sent an RSVP back. I even put my email down for the lazier members of our family haha so they didnt have to go to the mail box. My mother and stepdad bailed as well. I wasn't really offended that people didnt come. More the disrespectfulness of not sending an Answer!

But know that we are  three months away I have just decided to let it go. 26 of us will be amazing. and as long at its me and my FI and the dress of course. We will have an amazing time and the people who want to come will be there to help us start our marriage.

You know you should go for it! It will definitly leave a lasting memory!
 

Originally Posted by jmastr05 

"Stolen" by Dashboard Confessional. (I posted it earlier in the thread, but this topic is so popular that it's hard to follow each girl's responses.) We went through a punk/emo phase a while ago and went to a couple Dashboard Confessional concerts. "Stolen" is toned down enough to be a little more mainstream (not as whiny as typical emo), and we like the lyrics.

 

I WOULD have liked to see my family's reactions to "Sexy [Chick]" vows though! I think my MIL would have fainted. She's very home-maker-ish. (I'm snickering again - it never fails!)

GOOD FOR YOU! I am so happy you told her! Good way to start your marriage off on a clean slate and getting out all those feelings. Less stress between you and your FI too! Good job
 

Originally Posted by stluciabound 

I DID IT I DID IT I DID IT!!!! Last night I finally told my FI that I had enough and we went over to confront his family once and for all!!! His dad ended up not being home so we had a sit down with his mother. At first he wanted to go alone, but I went with my gut and insisted on being there so they couldn't manipulate him anymore. Thank goodness I did. For the first time ever she actually displayed her aggressiveness in front of me so I could address it, rather than playing nice to my face and then guilt tripping him behind my back. I can't possibly replay a 3 hour conversation (yes it was that long ugh!), but I will try and hit the hight points. She basiclaly said that they (his side of the family) has been "left out" and that it's my fault for shutting them out and not coming around. I told her not to be confused why I don't want to be around them after everything they have done it should be no surprise. She went on and on about how weddings should be a "family affair" and how could we do this knowing they couldn't make it. I didn't let her get away with any of it. She just started to cry,which obviously is her weapon of choice with her kids when she doesn't have a valid point, fortunately after all the pain they have caused us her tears didn't mean a thing to me. That might sound harsh, but I just saw it as attempted further manipualtion. She then told me that she was glad that the rest of the family wasn't there because they would be so upset that I was "doing this to her". I shut that down too. I said, "nobody is doing anything to you,you are being selfish and dramatic". I then told her that as much as I never wanted to be a "Bridezilla" she has forced me to be blunt... I AM THE BRIDE,  IT IS MY DAY, AND NOOOO YOUR OPINION ULTIMATELY DOES NOT MATTER!!! She just started to cry again. I told her that I love her son, he loves me, and our day is no longer up for discussion. They can either get on board or get out of the way. She just cried and said that this is her son and she wants it to be a certain way. My favorite line of the night came next...I said  "look at your son's face... look at what you are doing to him... he is MY HUSBAND... I know you wouldn't let anyone come into YOUR home and mess with YOUR family, so hear me now... Don't MESS with MY HUSBAND,don't MESS with MY MARRIAGE, quit messing with my family, and quit messing with me. I then told her that "I run this hen house now so BACK OFF!!!" I honestly don't even know where that came from,but damn it felt good. She just froze. She had nothing. She just said, well I guess that will be true when you get married... and I said, NO that was true the day he put a ring on my finger, the rest is just a technicality. Your reign is over. Sorry. Oh my Jesus could you hear the crickets. In any event, after not letting her get away with any of her antics she once again started to cry, pulled me to the side and said that she loves me, I will always be part of the family, and that she is sorry. She admitted to guilting the rest of the family to the point that they were terrified to attend our wedding and that everything was her fault. With that his father came home. Oh God. He gets psychotic when he is stood up to so I thought... ok here comes the rest of the disaster. To my unbelieveable pleasant surprise, his mother opened with... "We need to start being more enthusiastic about their wedding and I now believe that the animosity in the family is because of me and my own guilt". Holy S***t!!! Did I just hear that right??? After 9 months of torture did I seriously just hear that??? She then asked me to email her additional trip info so that they may try again to come. Don't get me wrong, quite frankly after all they have put us through I was getting quite fond of the idea of them staying the hell home, but I am happy for him. I could tell for the first time he felt accepted by them. Pretty sad that that is what it took, but still I was happy for his sake. When we left he said, "thank you for doing that, I finally feel like I am able to get excited". A bittersweet triumph, but it felt so good. I DID IT!!!
 

I know I Love that song. its perfect. and its country so you cant go wrong haha.
 

Originally Posted by torilynnsmith 

I love "I love you this big" as our potential first dance song... we had decided on our song but then heard this a month or so back and fell in love!!!

 

Were going to walk down to I love you this Big - Scott Mcreery

and I think our first dance will be when you say nothing at all - allison krauss

Also a friend of mine was married in mexico in february and she bough a product from a fantasia party edible snow powder and when you put it on your body it stops you from sweating. She rubbed it all over prior to putting on her wedding dress and said she did not sweat one bit. I have ordered mine from Fantasia.ca. I believe my groom might need a little of this as well

Originally Posted by Sllefebvr 

What are you guys talking about?!?