aholen

I purchased my sand from from theforeverframe.com. I was very happy with their product. They just sent a coupon, if anyone is interested: "We're offering 1/2 off engraving service plus a free graphic ($23 value) on your order when you use the Promo Code: Holidays2011 Choose from a Christmas Tree, Snow Flake, Cross, Holly, Heart or any one of the over 20 graphics we offer. Contact us for a full list. Use our frame for your own wedding or as a gift for a future bride, anniversary, birthday, baby shower or graduate.""

Another great site for saving pictures is vi.sualize.us. You can tag photos to find them easier and also revisit the websites they came from.

I finally posted my Moon Palace review! If you haven't seen it yet, check it out!

I finally posted my Moon Palace review! If you haven't seen it yet, check it out!

We worked with a travel agent who worked through Apple Vacations. We had to pay a hefty deposit for our room block, but she got our money refunded plus the 7 nights stay right around the time we left for Cancun. So we were out many extra thousand $$ for a while, but again, got it back before the wedding...

It's interesting that so many of you have had issues with the Miami office, but loved your WC on site. We had completely the opposite experience!!! Hang in there! I know how frustrating it is!!

Thanks girls! Glad you like it!

Huh, interesting. We just got married there on the 12th, and the dance floor was provided by the resort for us....

That I don't know...sorry!

MP provides a plain, brown dance floor for you. As you can see, it works great! lol

More fun clothing purchases: This dress is from Victoria’s Secret. I love it, though it’s not very forgiving! Think Spanx! I also used double sided tape on the front, and thank goodness I did! It was super windy the day I wore it and you can’t wear a bra with this dress…You get the idea… Websites I couldn’t live without during this process: Seating Charts www.weddingwire.com has a really easy to use seating chart maker that lets you make your table sizes, arrange guests, etc. Keeping track of photos I liked for inspiration vi.sualize.us The absolute best way to keep track of inspiration pics! Keeping track of websites www.delicious .com I love this bookmarking tool! You create an account and save websites that you can then access from any computer. Ideas www.etsy.com, www. Brides.com, http://www.marthastewartweddings.com/, and of course, this one!! Wedding Website www.weddingwindow.com Lots of great features and templates!! Weightloss www.weightwatchers.com. Worth every penny!!! So easy to lose weight with this if you stick to it! I lost over 25 lbs! Photo Sharing www.yogile.com For $25 a year, you can purchase an account with unlimited storage for a year. Guests can easily upload and download FULL RESOLUTION photos WITHOUT CREATING AN ACCOUNT! Super cool for photo sharing! Travel Journal I wanted to keep track of our travels and found a great website to do so: www.offexploring.com You can blog what you do, upload photos and videos, pinpoint where you are on a map, etc. You can then create a book with all that info after you get home! Wedding Album I refuse to pay $400+ for a wedding album I can make myself with minimal effort for about $40. Check out Mixbook.com. It’s my favorite site for this! Lots of great templates as well as control over the layout. Books come out great! We made an engagement book with this. You can also make guest books with it. Super cool! Alright ladies! That's everything!!

Gift Bags for Guests We put together gift bags for our guests with personalized and other items we thought they might find handy. We purchased drawstring backpacks and Stainless Steel water bottles from 4allpromos.com for each of our guests with our wedding logo and the words “Cancun, Mexico 6.12.11†printed on each bag. We decided not to put our names on these so that guests would be more likely to use them in the future. These were a HUGE hit, and even better, the bags were cheaper than if I had bought paper gift bags for each guest! One thing I learned was to check out prices for the number I wanted, and for the next minimum above that, as prices often drop significantly. In some cases, we ordered 20 or more extra for less money as a result! We also purchased shot classes (one per family) from Discount Mugs. I collect shot glasses from every place I travel, so this seemed fitting. We did put out names on these. Other things we included: SPF chapstick (From Target $1/ea.) Game books for rainy days from the dollar store Kid level game books for families with kids as well as a few crayons. A deck of cards from Oriental Trading Hand sanitizer (Forgot to photograph that!) A postcard with photo sharing info made on Vistaprint. I also created a resort scavenger hunt for guests in the hopes of helping them become familiar with the huge resort, which was included in the bag. Only about 3 families participated, but at least it gave people an idea of WHAT was there, even if they didn’t play to find it all! Wedding guest Bingo: During our welcome dinner, we had our guests play wedding guest bingo to help them mingle and get to know each other. As with most get-to-know you games, people thought it was lame for the first 30 seconds, then really got into it and saw the value. We even had one guest keep playing even after the winners were announced, she was so into it! All the items are based on things about us, which also made it fun for guests. Flower Girl Basket: We didn’t want to haul a basket to Cancun, so I figured I would pick one up with the other odds and ends when we got there. I decided to get this Sombrero instead (about $12). It worked out great. The color matched our wedding colors, and accidentally, the flower girls dress, which she chose on her own! Guestbook We also decided we wanted guest to write out wishes for us, but didn’t want a regular guestbook. So we decided to have guests write on postcards for us, which we will put into an album. This is super handy too for when we do an AHR. We had guests in Cancun sign Cancun postcards, and AHR guest will do CO postcards. I had a few girls fly in for my bachelorette party as well, so they did Denver postcards & others did Vegas ones. Cake Topper I had a hard time finding a cake topper I liked. I wanted one that was quirky and reflected how we met. I decided to have my other cousin, who makes wedding cakes for a living, make it for us. She’s amazing by the way, so if you live in Michigan, look her up! http://a2cakes.tumblr.com/ Inspiration pic (I did not like the one of the bride dragging the groom though!): The topper she made: Hair My inspiration pics: And final product (Sorry, I don't have better pics yet!): Suit We got Erich’s Suit at JosBanks http://www.josbank.com/menswear/shop/Product_11001_10050_102403 They were having a buy one, get one free sale, so we got his Best Man’s suit as well, which doubled as his gift as well. Ties I wanted ties for the boys that coordinated, but I wanted my fiance’s to be a different color. I found the perfect solution at Dillard’s: Sand Ceremony Frame We purchased this from ForeverFrame (www.theforeverframe.com). Absolutely love the final product! If you buy one from them though, keep in mind that the sand vessels they sell don’t hold all the sand you buy from them. We filled up the vessels for the ceremony and did our thing, then put in the stopper that is supposed to keep the sand from shifting…and the sand didn’t reach the top. It shifted lots. We will have to buy more sand and redo it. Ah well! Totally worth it still! We had our wedding symbol engraved on the wood along with some text. Didn’t get a good photo of it yet though! Here’s a sample from their website: Maracas I bought Maracas in Cancun to use with the table “numbers†and of course we did that whole “Shake for the kiss†thing. We went to Market 28 to buy the Maracas. The male vendors were awful. Lewd, crude, and rude! The first guy we talked to was not exactly a wiz with a calculator either! After much button pushing, he wanted $1200 for 56 maracas. Lol. We searched on and finally found a girl with lots to sell who gave them to us for 700 pesos, or about $70. Photo Booth Props I loved the idea of doing a photo booth, but didn’t want to pay the big bucks to rend one. So we took down our tripod and good camera, and set it up on a timer. Our Canon can actually do several pics in a row with a second delay between using the timer, so that makes for some great shots! I used pictures off the Internet and Etsy to inspire me and created most of the props, then hit the dollar store for the rest. We made them with cardstock backing and colored foam from a craft store and thin dowels wrapped in ribbon. They were really fun to make! Odds and Ends I bought lots of new clothes and swimsuits for the wedding since I lost about 28 lbs. over the last year and nothing fit me anymore. Some fun highlights: I love the bikini below. Alas, we learned a valuable lesson. COPPERTONE SPORT SPF 50 STAINS anything white yellow!! (Including white soap, ha!) Almost done! scavenger hunt.pub Wedding Guest bingo.pub Maracas Post.pub

Shoes: From Dillards, only $40 by Michele D. I needed something with a 2†or lower heel, partly because I’m already 5’10â€, partly because my feet hurt in anything more. These were so comfy I also bought them in black! Jewelry: I wanted to wear Amber jewelry to reflect my Polish heritage. I found the perfect set online at The Russian Store, and it even took care of my something blue! Unfortunately, I forgot the earrings at home! Luckily, I had little amber studs with me though, so it was fine. The Rings: When Erich proposed, he gave me a solitaire ring so I could pick my setting. I chose: I thought this would be easy to find a band for. Not so! We finally had one custom made based on a ring I had seen in Boulder: We had it made at Kay’s for half the price of all the other jewelry stores in the area. Even better, Kay’s required a $500 deposit, but you could hae it back if you didn’t like their design in wax. Every other jewelry store we talked to keeps that deposit if they can’t make you happy. Kays did a great job! We found Erich’s ring a t a jewelry boutique in Boulder. The center color is actualy meteor rock! Super cool! The ring is by Chris Ploof. I found lots of amazing stuff on Etsy for the wedding! From AmoreBride - My bouquets & bouts. Inspiration pic: And final products: Bouquet Charm from YourCharmedWedding (crystal and ribbon color are customizable): Bouquet Charm from YourCharmedWedding (crystal and ribbon color are customizable): Passport Invites from SproullieDesigns: Ring Dish Inspriation by LoveStoryCreations (I actually made the one pictured below): Self-inking address stamp from Foryoo. Not pictured since when I blur out the last name and address, there isn't much left to admire! But trust me, it's awesome! Wedding programs I created based on all the fabulous ideas on this site. If you or someone you know is big into Scrapbooking, this can be done pretty easily, it just takes time. Luckily, my neighbor is a huge scapbooker, which saved me literally $100s on tools!: Here's the template I created/borrowed for these: The Wedding Brochure was also created from the inspirational ideas on this site: And the template: Wooh! Getting late! More tomorrow! Fan for posting.pub Welcome Brochure Otto post.pub

Hi Girls! We just returned from our fabulous trip to Cancun where we were married June 12 at the Moon Palace Resort. I didn’t have time to put this together before the wedding, but here it is now! Before I begin, I’d like to say how much I appreciate all of you ladies for posting all your fantastic ideas, templates, and pics. Most of what we used for the wedding came from all of you, so THANK YOU! So without further ado, here you go! How We Met: We were matched on eHarmony on April 1, 2008. You could say, we "clicked" right away. After moving through the introductory steps online, we met in person for the first time on May 3 at the Med in Boulder. There was a wait to get a table, so we took a stroll along Pearl street, where a woman begging for change turned out to be a prophet. She told us within the first five minutes of our meeting that we were a cute "couple." All throughout dinner, I wasn't sure if Erich was having a good time, as he was extremely quiet. Those in the know realize this is normal. It wasn't until Erich reached for the check at the end of the meal and suggested that they get drinks at the Rio that I realized he might be interested after all. Drinks at the Rio moved to air hockey at the Catacombs, to drinks again at Trilogy. The date only ended when everything in Boulder was closed. Our first date lasted over 7 hours, and the rest, is history! Our Engagement: As a dating anniversary gift to me, Erich scheduled a wine train trip to Grand Junction over the last weekend in July. We took the train from Denver to Grand Junction on Friday and spent the day Saturday wine tasting. Unbeknownst to me, Erich had made reservations before we left at a very nice restaurant (called The Winery) in downtown Grand Junction for Saturday night (highly suspect) and brought along his big, nice camera (also unusual). We had a wonderful dinner, during which he looked rather nervous, and although I had my toes secretly crossed all through dinner and dessert, nothing happened. He then suggested we go for a walk after dinner, but alas, it was pouring rain, so we ran to the car. When we got back to the hotel, after I had decided that I was misreading him, he proposed! How’s that for an anniversary gift? Save the Dates Our Save the Dates were sent out pretty quickly. We actually decided to go digital with these, as invitations were coming soon after. I made a photo slide show using Animoto.com. It came out awesome! Check it out here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zg0WWGEwsIk The Resort: We chose the Moon Palace Resort in Cancun for our wedding for several reasons: It is highly rated It is large and has lots of activities so guests never need to leave the resort if they don’t want to. They were running a promotion that gave guests “Palace Dollars†to spend in the salon, on excursions, etc. (Not as easy to spend as I had hoped…see my review for more details on that!) They have great wedding packages. They have large gazebos that would allow all of our guests to be in the shade for the ceremony. The resort was wonderful, though the wedding department did leave something to be desired. Poor communication and other snafu’s (such as they lost my wedding dress for 2 days and didn’t find it until the morning of the wedding!) caused us much stress. The ceremony, however, and all private events were fabulous in the end. One of their many errors was in our room assignment. We had wanted a Concierge level room with the extra amenities such as a private section of the beach, etc. Alas, this level of room is only in one of their sections, and we had wanted all of our guests to be together. Originally they said no problem, later they had us totally separated from everyone else. Anyway, long story short, they made it up to us by allowing us to change room categories and guaranteeing the room upgrade that was part of our wedding promotional package (normally this is based on availability). So we got a 1 bedroom presidential suite for the price of an ocean front room—cheaper than concierge and WAY better! The Dress: It took me forever to decide on a dress. Ladies, I highly recommend you start any weight loss you plan to do long before you go dress shopping!!! In the end though, I LOVED my dress. Angelina Bridal 904 from Felice in Denver: Matron of Honor Dress: Welcome Dinner Dress: More to follow...

I got lots of great stuff on Etsy: From AmoreBride - My bouquets & bouts. Bouquet Charm from YourCharmedWedding (crystal and ribbon color are customizable): Hair Flowers from Whenlovehappens: Passport Invites from SproullieDesigns: Ring Dish Inspriation by LoveStoryCreations (I actually made the one pictured below): Self-inking address stamp from Foryoo. Not pictured since when I blur out the last name and address, there isn't much left to admire! But trust me, it's awesome!

Hey girls, Just wanted to give you a quick update. We were able to find my dress, thank goodness! Around 8AM the day of the wedding, I called my mom nearly hysterical, and we went together to the lobby to inquire. Kalena had indeed let people know that it needed to be found, so after talking to several people, we learned that it had been located. They said it would be delivered to my room, but I wanted to confirm that it was the right one. The guest services guy called the guy who had it, and of course their description was oh-so-helpful: "It's long and white." Ha! Anyway, it was the right dress. Turns out that they had delivered it somewhere in Nizuc. Who knows where or why. Ugh! Thankfully, the rest of the day was wonderful. I will be posting details, pics, a planning thread, and review when we return next week. One lesson we've learned is that you can not depend on any information that you're given here. One person will say something, another will say the opposite. Very frustrating. The resort, however, is still amazing. I would just recommend that you either come in super organized, or with a "whatever will be, will be" attitude. Anything in between will = stress for you! And I would never have my dress pressed here again unless it was really bad. Definitely do it right away if you do want it pressed to make sure there's time to get it back (or find it!) before the big day. Absolutely ludicrous!

We are at Moon Palace, getting married tomorrow. The resort is gorgeous. Would be nice if the wedding department hadn't lost my wedding dress. One last chance to find it tomorrow. Expect not so great reviews from me on the resort's wedding department. Wish me luck! (If I wasn't bloated from the heat and drinks, maybe I could get married in my white bikini? Maybe not...)

We are at Moon Palace, getting married tomorrow. The resort is gorgeous. Would be nice if the wedding department hadn't lost my wedding dress. One last chance to find it tomorrow. Expect not so great reviews from me on the resort's wedding department. Wish me luck! (If I wasn't bloated from the heat and drinks, maybe I could get married in my white bikini? Maybe not...)

We will be planning one too, and our first pass at it has not been easy! We're thinking of a local Mexican restaurant, or else one with a roof top terrace...

I just got off the phone with our wedding coordinator, and it turns out that if your cocktail hour is in a different location than your reception you'll have to pay 2x for sound equipment (or bring your own little speaker for the cocktail hour-which I can't imagine will work well if it's outdoors...) Assuming of course that you want music at both! Something to think about!!

I just got off the phone with our wedding coordinator, and it turns out that if your cocktail hour is in a different location than your reception you'll have to pay 2x for sound equipment (or bring your own little speaker for the cocktail hour-which I can't imagine will work well if it's outdoors...) Assuming of course that you want music at both! Something to think about!!

Oh no! I just looked at the 10 day forecast for Cancun (we fly out Wednesday), and it's t-storms and showers all the way through! Darnit!!

Finally got a decent shot of me in my dress at the final fitting! Here's my wedding dress & the model: And the welcome dinner dress I'll be wearing:

We finally have our script done! (Good thing too, as we fly out on Wednesday!) A good friend of mine (who I set up on a blind date with his now wife!) will be our officiant. He has written a few things to say that he wants to be a surprise for us, but here's the rest of the script: Welcome – Written by Officiant (Jim) Reading 1 - Corinthians chapter 13 verse 4-8 – Maria Love is patient, love is kind It does not envy, it does not boast it is not proud, it is not rude it is not self-seeking it is not easily angered it keeps no record of wrongs Love does not delight in evil but rejoices in the truth it always protects, always trusts always hopes, always perserveres Love never fails Sand Ceremony "Anna and Erich, today you join your separate lives together. To symbolize this union and the importance of the individuals within the marriage, two separate colors of sand will be combined. Each one holds its own unique beauty, strength, and character. They can stand on their own and be whole, without need of anything else. However when these two are blended together they create an entirely new and extraordinarily more intricate entity. Each grain of sand brings to the mixture a lasting beauty that forever enriches the combination. Please pour the sand into this common container to symbolize the union of your two lives. Before you met, your lives were on different paths with different destinations. Love has brought you together and joined these separate paths into one. The sand in each individual jar represents your separate lives, separate families, separate sets of friends, and the different life journeys you once traveled. By mixing these grains of sand, you are symbolically joining your once separate lives. As your two lives are combined, so are your friends and family joined, through you into one. And your once solitary life’s paths are also now one. All that was once separate will now be shared and in this sharing you both will find great comfort. Reading 2 - Excerpt from Dr. Seuss – Oh the Places You’ll Go – Daisy Congratulations! Today is your day. You’re off to Great Places! You’re off and away! You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You’re on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the couple who’ll decide where to go. OH! THE PLACES YOU’LL GO! You’ll be on your way up! You’ll be seeing great sights! You’ll join the high fliers who soar to great heights! You won’t lag behind, because you’ll have all the speed. You’ll pass the whole gang, and you’ll soon take the lead. Wherever you fly you’ll be best of the best. Wherever you go, you will top all the rest. Except when you don’t. Because sometimes, you won’t. You’ll get mixed up of course, as you already know. You’ll get mixed up with so many strange birds as you go. So be sure when you step. Step with great care and great tact and remember that Life’s a Great Balancing Act. Just never forget to be dexterous and deft. And never mix up your right foot with your left. And will you succeed? Yes! You will indeed! Officiant’s thoughts - Jim’s Words of Wisdom Reading 3 – The Art of Marriage – Richard "The Art Of Marriage" by Wilferd A. Peterson (longer version) Happiness in marriage is not something that just happens. A good marriage must be created. In the art of marriage the little things are the big things... It is never being too old to hold hands. It is remembering to say "I love you" at least once a day. It is never going to sleep angry. It is at no time taking the other for granted; the courtship should not end with the honeymoon, it should continue through all the years. It is having a mutual sense of values and common objectives. It is standing together facing the world. It is forming a circle of love that gathers in the whole family. It is doing things for each other, not in the attitude of duty or sacrifice, but in the spirit of joy. It is speaking words of appreciation and demonstrating gratitude in thoughtful ways. It is not looking for perfection in each other. It is cultivating flexibility, patience, understanding and a sense of humor. It is having the capacity to forgive and forget. It is giving each other an atmosphere in which each can grow. It is finding room for the things of the spirit. It is a common search for the good and the beautiful. It is establishing a relationship in which the independence is equal, dependence is mutual and the obligation is reciprocal. It is not only marrying the right partner, it is being the right partner. It is discovering what marriage can be, at its best. VOWS I, Erich, choose you, Ania, to be my wife. I will cherish our friendship and love you today, tomorrow, and forever. I will be true and faithful to you in all of life’s circumstances as we face them together. I will trust you, respect you, encourage you, and inspire you. I promise to love you in good times and in bad, when life seems easy and when it seems hard, when our love is simple, and when it is an effort. I will laugh with you in times of joy and comfort you in times of sorrow, And always be by your side through our life’s journey Before us lies an open road filled with adventure and love and I choose to spend today and all of my tomorrows together with you. I, Ania, choose you, Erich, to be my husband. I will cherish our friendship and love you today, tomorrow, and forever. I will be true and faithful to you in all of life’s circumstances as we face them together. I will trust you, respect you, encourage you, and inspire you. I promise to love you in good times and in bad, when life seems easy and when it seems hard, when our love is simple, and when it is an effort. I will laugh with you in times of joy and comfort you in times of sorrow, And always be by your side through our life’s journey Before us lies an open road filled with adventure and love and I choose to spend today and all of my tomorrows together with you. RINGS <Jim asks Matt for the rings> Officiant (Jim): I will ask you now to seal the vows which you have just made, by the giving and receiving of rings. Let us remember that the circle is the emblem of eternity and may your love and happiness be as unending as the rings which you exchange. Officiant (Jim): Erich, please repeat after me- This ring I give to you as a symbol of my love and devotion to you. I pledge to you all that I am and all that I will ever be. With this ring, I gladly marry you and join my life to yours. Anna, if you accept, please say “I do†Officiant (Jim): Anna, please repeat after me- This ring I give to you as a symbol of my love and devotion to you. I pledge to you all that I am and all that I will ever be. With this ring, I gladly marry you and join my life to yours. Erich, if you accept, please say “I do†And now we will bless this marriage with an Apache blessing: Apache Blessing (Jim): Now you will feel no rain, for each of you will be shelter for the other. Now you will feel no cold, for each of you will be warmth to the other. Now there will be no loneliness, for each of you will be companion to the other. Now you are two persons, but there is only one life before you. May beauty surround you both in the journey ahead and through all the years. May happiness be your companion and your days together be good and long upon the earth. Erich & Anna, do you promise to love each other and honor the vows you have made? Erich and Anna in unison: We do. Then based on your vows of love and commitment, I pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the groom! I’m pleased to present to you for the first time, Mr. and Mrs. Otto.

It's amazing how quick the day is approaching! We fly out on Wednesday!!