EVKnowsitall

Oh wow! This resort is gorgeous just saw some pictures. Even the one in DR is pretty amazing. Looks similar in style and class to The Paradisus Palma Real which is the resort we selected for our wedding. I didn't even know about The Royalton but it looks great!

My peacock wedding- Invites

These are gorgeous! AHHHH your wedding is so soon! I will actually be in DR for my moms 50th in Puerto Plata on the 11th haha. Good luck with your peacock wedding. All my favorite colors. Can't wait to see pics.

Hey Ladies,

So I am a big Beachbody Workout fan (the company that produces T25, P90x, Insanity etc). I did Insanity to lose weight prior to my engagement and after doing the program twice through (120 days, full program is 60 days)- I lost 50 pounds. Then I decided to do Asylum and lost an additional 10 (Asylum is only 30 days because it is freaking hard as hell).

I recently bought T25 and am on day three of Alpha. A week before that, I started weight training. My husband is studying to become a personal trainer/ dietician and I decided to be his guinea pig haha. We wake up at 4 am and workout at 5- an hour or hour and a half of weight training and then after work I get home and do T25 as my cardio. I love my sleep. I fought him tooth and nail about getting up to workout in the morning. I have been doing it for 10 days now and I have to say- it feels incredible. The best time to workout is in the morning because it gets the endorphins pumping and you feel energized. It also helps because during the course of the day all sorts of things arise that deflect you from working out when you get home, so if you bang it out early, you can go ahead and plan your weddings, hang with friends, work late etc after work. Any workout is better than none so if you cant accommodate a morning workout- whenever you can will do. I just recommend it because I did the evening thing and now tried the morning and in my opinion, the morning is better.

After our wedding, I gained 10 pounds. That's what inspired me to return to my healthy lifestyle. Yes- Happy weight happens lol.

Anyway- I do take Shakeology, I have been for three years. I am on the automatic home delivery. It is VERY different from a standard Protein shake. A protein shake is not considered a meal replacement. It is in addition to whatever you would eat and meant to restore/provide necessary vitamins and energy to sustain you through a workout or help you recover from one. Shakeology is a meal replacement. It supplies over 75 necessary nutrients to your body, helps regulate you, and is quite filling. It is however, expensive. The rationale behind that is if you were to buy the ingredients separately, it would cost a whole lot more. The way I rationalize cost is to consider that I used to buy a coffee, a bagel, and a fruit or yogurt everyday for breakfast. I was spending about $5 a day. Divided amongst the days of the week- Shakeology is less- although during the wedding planning when we were pinching pennies, I considered getting rid of it to save money but alas, I could not part with it. Cost aside, it is a convenient way to knock out a meal. Supposedly you lose up to 10 pounds by replacing breakfast with Shakeology but I really wouldn't know because I used it while working out.

My recommendation to all of you is to download and use the app myfitnesspal. It is a food tracker. You keep a food diary and set your weight loss goal, the amount of exercise you plan to do and it tells you how many calories you should eat for the day. Then you can barcode scan anything you consume or manually enter it and it keeps track. You would be surprised how much people overeat. I used to use a ton of salad dressing until I tracked and saw the serving was 2 tablespoons- used 1 and realized it was more than enough. Its all about the calories in, calories out. It's also cool to have friends follow you and see what they eat to get new ideas or to hold each other accountable. 

I take pics of all the healthy recipes my hubby and I cook at home. It has become an obsession of sorts- to revamp my favorite comfort foods and give them a healthy makeover. Originally I was eating around 1300 calories a day but increased to 1600 because of my workouts. If you want to request me on Instagram my used name is EVknowsitall. I have ideas for healthy meals on there and workout details. Many of my friends have asked me to write a blog for my recipes but its too time consuming lol. But I will chat with you via Instagram if you have any meal questions. I love talking about food. I'm a major foodie. HAHA. You can also request me if you use myfitnesspal. My user name is evelynvazquez52643. 

Good luck on your weight loss journies! The program definitely works if you stick to it. All of the beachbody programs work. Between my husband, friends and me- we have tried several and all have yielded the desired results. Stick through it, modify your diets, and you will be sure to get the results you want.

My biggest sacrifice is abstaining from alcohol. I enjoy wine when I am stressed, and when I am not LOL. I am dying for a glass and our bdays, christmas, and new years are all on their way. I use my wine for my cheat days lol.

Also- if I have a chance, I will take pics of the T25 recipe book and load them here. I have the food guide.

Quote:

Originally Posted by meganjune 
 

Hey all,

 

We got married just over a month ago at Now and it was absolutely amazing. Please feel free to ask if you have any questions, I've put the link to our photographers blog with her first round of our pictures.

 

Congratulations and best of luck to all of you!

 

http://www.kellyginnphotography.com/megancody-a-punta-cana-dominican-republic-wedding/

Megan- So much to love about your wedding. You guys are a handsome couple. I love:

1) Your pop of something blue hydrangea bouquet and your bridesmaids calla lillies- my two favorite flowers.

2) You playing volleyball in your dress- adorable

3.) your flower girl dress soooo cute.

4.) Your groomsmen gifts- awesome little box there

5.) Your simple but casual laid back elegance style

That is all haha congrats your wedding looked like such a great time.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Krisod 
 

Hey Girls,

i've been trying to jump on the forum but i guess my last post never got put up. i am new to the planning process. i just put my deposit down for our wedding in august 2014 paradisus palma real. i have a few questions and im sure i will have a ton more as the planning process begins. does anyone know where they move your wedding to if it rains? we are having the beach ceremony and was planning the terrace for our reception. i dont know if this is going to be really cheesy and cheap looking. we hare having lots of guest come from all over and i just can't see having a wedding and then it rains right in the middle of things. What would you do if you were having dinner and it started to pour? has anyone had their reception at Gabi Beach Club? im thinking to pay this extra upgrade fee. also, does anyone know if there is an additional charge for the wedding coordinator that is on site?

thank you, cant wait to hear more feed back

There is no charge for the on-site coordinator. It is included in your package. However, they are limited in what they can do. For example- setting extra decor up comes with an additional charge. They will coordinate everything and direct people and vendors and stay with you the entire wedding to ensure everything goes according to plan.

I would email Miami and tell them in writing that you want a contingency plan in case of rain. Because of the extra room charges- I told them I wanted the Apollo Terrace- which is right outside the Apollo ballroom- in case of rain. Tell them in advance so in case there is another wedding the same day as yours, you have first dibbs. 

I wanted Olympus Terrace- it seems to be the ideal location for brides wanting an outdoor reception. You don't need to pay for a dance floor and it photographs nicely. I was initially disappointed the terrace was booked on our wedding day by another wedding party but to be honest, I could not have been more pleased with the set up on the beach. Since we married in the Catholic church, my guests were more than happy to kick off their shoes for a barefoot reception. We had more space on the beach too. I walked through the terrace after our wedding and found the space to be restrictive. Depending on your party size, while it can very well hold a big amount, the layout due to shape might not necessarily be the right fit. Most brides don't go for the beach but I am soooooo happy we did. It is really breezy at night, and you feel like you're in your own world. You can be rowdy and crazy and not worry about gawkers (though the couple who crashed our wedding, I didn't mind- they were getting married the next day and just wanted to see our setup haha)

Gabi Terrace is gorgeous. I considered it but could not rationalize the fee. It is the most exclusive and private section for a wedding, other than the ballrooms, looks elegant, and is right next to a private section of beach. Honestly- I think you can spend the privatization fee on better things- if you're willing to spend that kind of money, why not entertain guests with la hora loca or the fire dancers. Let people enjoy the experience rather than the location. There are so many less expensive options, I feel like Gabi is a waste. We did not have Gabi money- but if I had spare change, it would not be spent on that location, I'd spend it on enhancements to the wedding.

As far as using a ballroom...my whole thinking is if I wanted a ballroom reception, why go to DR. I could have gotten married in a ballroom in NY. The point of a DW is to bask in all the glory and beauty of nature. Even when it rains- it doesn't for long. My biggest fear was actually having to be stuck inside rather than having a gorgeous outdoor wedding.

Whatever you decide, you can't go wrong. I visited three other hotels and non compared to Paradisus. It looks more gorgeous in person than it does in pictures. It truly is the best resort to get married in. Sure there are sucky things like outside vendor fees, but I'd do it at Paradisus again in a heartbeat because the pros outweigh the cons.

Happy planning WOOO HOOOO DW's are the best!

Quote:

Originally Posted by IslandGirl808 
 

 

Yup, still hanging around Your wedding is less than 5 months away, my wedding is 6 months away... time is counting down!! Hope all is going well. Things are going smoothly for me so far.. only thing is that this vendor fee we're going to end up paying for outside photographers/videographers is so annoying. Sucks that these resorts try to force you to use their vendors by implementing astronomical vendor fees - especially for photos/videos, which are so important. Anywhow, right now we are deciding on the fire show and looking into other entertainment options. All else is so far so good! (knock on wood)

I agree. But I paid the vendor fee for my photographer...well technically I just booked him as a guest for three days because its cheaper and if they are a guest for a minimum of 3 days, you do not have to pay the fee. It was $606 to book him a room and $1,000 for the fee so I saved nearly $400. For certain vendors- the fee is worth it.

Although I like my video- done by Arrecife, I wish I had paid the outside fee for videography as well. My photographer, since he was an off-site vendor, did not work in synch with the videographer. In the video, the photographer stepped into some shots. A videographer and photographer who work well with one another can avoid this. My photographer had a videographer he worked well with, but I couldn't pay the fee for two vendors. All in all, I am happy with our choice, as our video is beautiful- but I wish they had worked better together.

My recommendations for video would be to be clear about what you want. Only after our wedding did I find out Arrecife does "music videos". I would have loved this option, but I didn't know it existed. I would have paid extra to have it as a second video. Also- because my photographer was not the "on-site" one- he booked our first look really early in the day and the videographer was not "contracted" for that time, so he wasn't there. I wish he had been. He also didn't get video of me getting ready because he came 30 minutes before my ceremony and I got married off-site at the church and needed that 30 minutes to get there on time.

Have a clear sense of what you want. I recommend watching trailers from other weddings and explaining to your photographer/videographer what you want. Make a list of your must have pictures. I wish I had more pics of my veil blowing in the wind. I only have two and my veil was tangled. Making a list of your "money shots" will help guide your photographer.

GOOD LUCK!!!!!!!!

Quote:

Originally Posted by flo628 
 

Here's mine

 

HOLY ICESKATING RINK!!!!!!! 

Quote:

Originally Posted by DannysAp 
 

Congratulations!!!! We did go with the symbolic but tried to make it as unique as possible. (We had a civil ceremony several weeks before, but told absolutely no one. When family and friends asked when or if we were already married, we told them that we weren't telling so that the focus would stay on our PPR wedding.)

 

We used our own script for the symbolic ceremony including the minister's part. (After all, since it's symbolic- you can say whatever you want.) And if you have a family member or friend that you would like to perform the ceremony, it's always an option. Our programs were fans with the ceremony on one side and trivia about the bride and groom on the other. (Etsy.com is great for ideas, but the many of the products you can make yourself for less.)

 

We had a love poem read to the guests by one of my gfs before the ceremony started (even before the groom entered). During the ceremony, our parents read 1st Corinthians 13:4-13 together. We read our own vows and had a sand ceremony. Because I have a son, we chose words that incorporated him into the ceremony as well.  

 

****Almost forgot- Confirm that there is a steamer available for your dress!!!! (When we had our meeting upon arrival at the resort, I was informed that there was no steamer on the property. WTH??? My sister was calling frantically to get one of our other guests to bring one with them, but fortunately Mariela found one from somewhere. (I did not ask and did not care as long as they found one.)

Haha I had to chase them down for the steamer too. It exists, although my dress didn't need it, but my husbands suit did. I think the dresses hold up far better than the suits surprisingly. The steamer was in the romance department office, so I'm surprised they told you there wasn't one.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mckievme 
 

 

Yes! FI and I are in the early stages of planning a DW. We have only mentioned it to a few people actually - immediate family and a few close friends. 

 

I'm a quality, not quantity type of girl. I think its more important to spend a few days of quality time with close friends and family members that we don't get to see as often as we would like, than to spend 1 day with over 100 people where there will be many people we barely know. FI and I are paying for the wedding ourselves and it just made more sense to spend the money going snorkeling, sipping drinks on the beach, and having a good time with the 25 or so people we are closest to in our lives instead of spending it feeding people we barely talk to these days.

This is definitely how we felt- especially my husband. I came from a big family that dwindled over time after my grandmother's passing. There were a lot of angry feelings after her death and sides were taken- lets just say my mom was the enemy so NONE of my aunts, uncles, or cousins joined us for our wedding. Who was there? Our FRIENDS, my Godparents, my coworkers and my only blood to show up was my mother, 2 sisters (who gave me a difficult time to show up) and my niece and nephew. 

I guess it's different for everyone, but blood isn't always thicker than water. My friends said things like "wow...DR...ok I'll have to pinch some pennies but I'm gonna be there" and my family said things like "DR? You know how expensive that is. Don't you think that's selfish? You're placing a burden on everyone. We're not sure we can go, that's asking a lot" LOL I don't think asking people to take a vacation is asking a lot lol no one was twisting arms.

I'm not going to lie. The Destination wedding was not my first choice. It was my husbands. We had already booked all of our vendors for Long Island wedding (we're from the BX). Every time something went wrong with the wedding planning he would say "should have had a destination wedding" so I finally threw caution to the wind and cancelled all our contracts and booked a destination wedding lololol then came the drama. 

In the end- EVERYONE who came had an awesome time. We got married in July and they still talk about our wedding. We have the most phenomenal wedding pics from all my friends and family that I have seen, we partied for a week with 40 people who genuinely supported and cared about us- we didn't even eat and drink at our reception because we could not be peeled away from the dance floor. And everyone else who saw the pics and didn't go- expressed regret over it. WE WIN. THE END! LOL

Every wedding has drama anyway- at least yours will be worth it once you are spending a week in paradise!

Quote:

Originally Posted by amarie4713 
 

 

Yay! I love purple, and I do want more of a formal feel even though were doing it at the beach.  A destination wedding was not my first choice, but that is all my groom has ever wanted, so it's little bit of compromise on my end and I still want it to look and feel like a fancy wedding.  And since we're having a smaller wedding, only about 20 people, we're not having bridal party because everyone who would be bridal party are the only people invited! So I can spend a lot more of our budget on decor and details and really make it what i would want, even if i was having the wedding in our hometown. 

 Some Color inspiration for you...

Quote:

Originally Posted by J0hanna 
 

I just wanted to share mine. I am going with the Nautical theme. Here is a link of another wedding that had the navy/royal blue and yellow and lime green on the flowers. these are the exact colors I want Hope you like!

 

Love this! I wanted navy blue for my girls but they thought it was too dark. I gave them a lot of say lol but I think this is super cute and not common so it will be a little unique

Quote:

Originally Posted by amarie4713 
 

I originally wanted pink and orange and possibly a corally color to make it more ombre themed. But the more I think about it, its tropical and everything is going to be so bright and, well, tropical, I have been considering a more, serious color. LIke a deep purple, with possibly my orange, and a little gold?

 

What do you guys think?

I like the purple idea better. I think DW brides tend to think they need to go with tropical colors because they are in the caribbean and I disagree. I like the contrast of a darker color with the brightness you will find in the natural setting. I have seen the gamut in wedding colors and I am naturally a fan of gem tones anyway. I thought of every color scheme when I first started planning. Everyone told me to do coral- so for a second we considered coral, orange and brown- to sort of mimic a sunset and have each bridesmaid in a different shade of the orange- but orange isn't even one of my favorite colors so we nixed it. My favorite color is a peacock blue- one of my friends asked if she could buy a burgundy dress or if was too dark and another friend wanted to wear plum. I thought "maybe we can just do jewel tones as a theme" but it didn't give me enough of an actual sense of decor.

My blue palette ended up being cool and "breezy" feeling and my wedding took on a "laid-back chic" kind of vibe. If I had to do it again- I really dig the navy blue and pink color scheme I have seen.

I think your instinct is right- you are already in the tropics and there will be brightness everywhere- in the sunset, in the water, in the sky- a darker color to contrast looks gorgeous in my opinion. Everyone fought me but I threw in Navy blue in with my aqua and peacock to give it a richer feel. I wanted navy blue for my girls once we couldn't find the peacock color, but no one liked it because they said it was too severe.

I think as long as you accent your dark color with a lighter one- it is a way to make the wedding look more formal if that's what you want. That is something we wanted. We wanted it to feel displaced lol like glamour on the beach. I think we got that.

I vote the purple! 

Haha I noticed you bought the frames in Paramount for your table numbers. So clever. I live right by a paramount and it never occurred to me to use anything in there for the wedding! I love how you spray painted them! They came out gorgeous.  Table numbers were something I overlooked and quite frankly forgot about haha. I wish you had this thread way before I got married and did a peacock theme. I could have used some guidance! My wedding was after yours. I love your mothers dress btw! So perfect for a peacock theme.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wedding2014 


omg ev sounds like she wants him to be mamas boy forever! That may never change, something you will just to ignore forever!! You are soo good to not let it bother you during your day! I don't know if I could handle her lol

LOL Thanks. Honestly we only see her from time to time so I'm ok. He has to deal with my mom more frequently and while I love her to bits because I get her and she's my mother- I know he can't tolerate my mom too much either so I'd say we are even hahaha.

Honestly- so many "little" things went wrong- our cake wasn't made the way it was supposed to be, our return flights were cancelled bc of a hurricane (that never came btw), all these things piled up that I had to resign myself to just enjoying the moment. Leading up to the wedding there was so much drama that when the day finally came- I said "I'm going to soak this in and enjoy it" and I didn't let a damn thing bother me. We were in our little bubble. And that's how it should be. Mother in laws can be monster in laws. I know she will be my best friend as soon as I give her her highly desired grandchild. Although...I plan on switching careers and going back to school full time so baby is on the back burner. Of course- something else for her to be pissed at me about lololol

Quote:

Originally Posted by krisdaversa 
 

my groomzilla has picked purple and lime green, I am fairly easy going and said sure why not!....the more I think about it the more I like it but still hard to wrap my head around lime green.

It can be subtle hints. It doesn't have to overtake the colors. I have seen some nice hydrangeas in that color. Picture those with other purple flowers. You can also have the guys be the ones to wear the lime green ties while the girls wear the purple. Think of the lime as the accent and it will be used sparingly and I think it will work.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrsRoberts 
 

such a beautiful dress on you!!!!!   I'm curious...where did you find this dress?

Looks like from David's Bridal. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jennkn87 
 

I am going to have to check that thread out! I'm currently having ALL kinds of issues with the MIL and SIL. They are trying their hardest to change my mind on having a destination wedding I think. I'm over it already She is very, very pushy and manipulative. I'm standing my ground. Now they are saying they aren't even coming to the wedding, which I think is horrible they wouldn't be there for him...but at the same time I'm getting ready to say SO BE IT!!! We are also thinking of doing the legal part here to save some money and not have to worry about any issues with paperwork and all that jazz. I'm not EVEN going to mention that part to them!! That will just be ONE more thing they will cause drama about!

Oh lord have mercy lol. We dealt with our share of issues. At our wedding my MIL talked so much trash about me to our guests, eventually at our AHR her own family came to my mother and I and told her the same thing my guests were saying. She literally "mourned" our wedding lol. She wore all black, I got my hair done first but couldn't stick around to monitor while the girls got ready...she copied my hairstyle, she would not dance AT ALL, she barely took photos with us. But I don't really care. She has issues because my husband is her only son and she doesn't want to accept that I'm his wife. When I smashed cake in his face during our cake cutting she ran to grab a napkin and was saying "oh my poor son, I can't believe she did that come here let me clean your face" and one of my guests said "that's not your job anymore, that's his wife's job" LOL She mentions that comment till this day. And she calls me "princess" and no its not a compliment. LOL

Quote:

Originally Posted by NJBride2014 
 

Thanks for being honest, its cool I actually agree the lace veil is a little much with the lace dress.  I tried on two veils a much simpler one with no lace or embelishments and the one in the picture.  I'm still not sure what i'm doing yet about the veil but I have time to think about it.  I always wanted a lace veil because I thought it looked romantic and very spanish which was the look I was going for but it might have to change that.  I agree with a veil looking good in pictures I mostly just want to wear it for the ceremony and for pictures on the beach.    

Whew! Ok LOL I am always scared to be honest on these boards. I love how I can look at different styles of dresses and like them for different reasons. I could never wear a simple gown or a poofy ball gown- but I love the way they look on others. I like your gown because it has a lot going on- I like variety- but mostly since I cannot decide and stick to one style myself. I like a visually stimulating dress and yours certainly is that. How are you planning to wear your hair? You need to showcase those straps! I had straps too but I'm not a fan of up do's for my face so I did half up and half down. If you won't wear the veil long, I guess it doesn't matter. I love the romantic feel of lace and wanted a mantilla cathedral veil but it was too jarring with my dress.

Quote:

Originally Posted by NJBride2014 
 

 

 

This is my dress and belt I love it so much totally not what I had pictured myself in but when I tried it on everything just worked so perfectly.  This was mine and all my bridesmaids/mother favorite dress.  I'm glad to have this part or the wedding planning finally done with.  Now just have to wait for it to come in uh 8 months is a long time.

 

 

 

Here are some pictures with me in it. Note the the best pics because the sample dress was a couple sizes to small but you get the effect.  Also this is not the veil since they didn't have the right veil that matched my lace but very close.  I really wanted a lace dress with some kind of strap as I'm busty up top and also wanted a mermaid cut with a fun bottom and this dress was perfect for me.  What do you guys think?

I love the straps of this dress and the belt. It's great for your bust. Can I be honest? I think a lace veil clashes and you should go with a more simple veil without a lace trim but if you want a little something on it, you can get a veil with rhinestones on the trim or rhinestones scattered throughout. My dress was bust like this and had a lot going on. Your dress seems to have a textured change on the bottom. I think the lace on the veil too makes it look so busy and takes away from you. Just my opinion, hope you aren't offended. I love veils so even though I think a flower clip goes great with this dress, I can't discourage you from a veil totally lol. I think they look super in pictures. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wedding2014 

Ahhhhhh I can't wait!! We were gonna do secrets for hm just going 4 nights after wedding , but decided on excellence playa mujers couldn't resist the 2 story suite!! Maybe we will do secrets for anniversary! Ev thanks for all your advice!

Woohooo you made it! LOL open away!

I heard Excellence is amazing. You won't regret that either. My aunt goes every year. I really want to try it. We fancy adult only resorts but couldn't exclude my niece, nephew, and god sister from our ceremony. 2 story suite? OMG I didn't even know.

No problem. I love to chit chat hahaha. My husband is like "babe...we're already married get off the boards." I'm like "but it's my hobby. You have yours. I have mine." LOL plus I have major wedding withdrawal so talking to brides to be is like crack for me haha I sound like I have no life.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wedding2014 

Ev it's ok!! I'm contemplating using my dress for the TTd it's satin maggie sottero

To be honest- I don't know about Satin. I would ask a professional photographer or another bride who trashed a satin dress. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wedding2014 

Aww thanks! I can't wait... Never been to dreams resorts but we heard great reviews and wanted a place with good food for all inclusive! That was important to us!

We stood at Secrets Capri in Riviera Maya and the food was relish. We liked the Italian restaurant best even though my husband doesn't even like Italian. I had the most delicious risotto and he had duck. The food was amazing! You are going to have such a great time!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wedding2014 

I'm almost there!!

Yup almost! BTW I love the Dreams resorts- good choice. They have reasonable prices and they do not skimp on the quality service. We stood in a Secrets in Mexico- which is their adults only resorts but its the same company. I can't wait to return- we swear by that brand of resorts. The overall company is called AMResorts and they own Secrets, Dreams, Zoetry, & Now. I am dying to try Secrets The Vine in Cancun. trying to take my mom there for her 50th. It is absolutely stunning. We originally wanted Mexico but our guests acted like chicken shits about going there and my husbands Dominican family in DR were offended so we had to go with DR as our location lol.

But I'm a big fan of Mexico. GORGEOUS beaches!

Sorry for all the typos too. I got a little crazy with the keys.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1Pris 



Wow! Amazing! I loved your TTD pics! I am so on the fence about trashing my dress since I will also wear it at my AHR but I think you just convinced me! I can just imagine your mothers face when she saw your dress after the photoshoot! Hehe
What other tips do you have after you've finished w the photo session? How do I care for my dress?
Thanks for your feedback!

No worries- I managed to upload all my photos into three albums and they are at the bottom of my signature if you want to see the full spectrum.

We had our TTD at a nearby resort- The Majestic Elegance. Our photographer, Phil Steingard, who I found on the threads for Majestic when we were initially looking to get married there, does most of his shoots for brides at that hotel. Our hotel, Paradisus, charged us an outside vendor fee of $1,000 to have him. In order to skirt around it, they have a clause that if  your photographer is booked as a guest for 3 nights, you do not have to pay the fee. The cost to book him a room was $600 so it saved us $400.

Anyway- he said he was more comfortable at Majestic because it was his home base, although had we insisted, he would have photographed us at our resort. But I felt like we would already have shots of us at our resort the day of our wedding and I wanted some variety in terms of backdrops. We took a cab to Majestic already dressed in our wedding attire. Here's what the day and the care afterwards looked like:

1.) He said to take a shower and come with my hair wet- so even if I didn't want to get in the water, I would look like I had. I hate the way my hair looks wet- but I just followed the pro.

2.) He told me to leave my veil home...which I later regretted.

3.) He told me not to wear my wedding jewelry because he was worried about it- that I didn't budge on. I hate not wearing earrings so I wore them anyway.

4.) We took a cab and our wedding attire but bought a change of clothes for after.

5.) We took our pictures all around the hotel first and then we went to the beach. The shoot was supposed to be an hour- took us almost 4. He kept saying "but I have some beautiful light" and "I just came up with a cool idea" and who can say no to that? We missed our dinner reservation LOL

6.) When we got to the water he said "how wet do you want to get. Like mist wet or wet wet." "Soaking wet all the way" I told him. And then the water hit my dress. I froze in terror and my husband and his best man (who came to assist) caught it on a camera phone that was later stolen at our AHR. According to them- my look was priceless. But once I realized there was no going back- we forged ahead.

7.) My dress weighed a TON ones it was wet and saturated with sand. I could barely move. It was quite comical although not so much when I thought I was being puled by currents.

8.) After the shoot, I walked into a lobby shower of the Majestic (in the bathroom of course) and went under the shower head in my dress. I got out of the dress and put on my alternate outfit.

9.) We put the dress in the trunk of the cab. I think I almost cried. I was worried about it because the taxi driver had a spare tire in the back and I pictured my dress with read marks all the way home.

10.) Back at the hotel- our shower was huge. It had two heads on either side. My husband helped me, each of took a shower head and turned it to the highest setting with a strong stream. We literally hosed down the dress. I went really close with the shower head ion the beaded parts and on the rosettes on the bottom of my train. 

11.) We left the dress in the sower to dry. I checked on it every few hours. 

12.) The next day, the dress was mostly dry, although damp around the train. Even though it was organza, the material under the dress was not. I shook the excess sand off.

13.) My mom told me to spread the dress out. We found an air condition vent on a beam in the hotel room and hung the dress from it. Then we took 4 high back bar stools and placed them in a circle. We fanned out the bottom of the dress over them to dry.

14.) Back in the garment bag it went and back in the overhead compartment for the plane ride back. I left it hanging in my house from a curtain rod. I never took it to the cleaners. I wore it without cleaning it or steaming it to my AHR. LOL my dress dealt with a lot. She's a strong one. For all the abuse she took, she should have been a tattered mess.

15.) Now my dress is in the garment bag in my closet stuck between my husbands clothes and a tupperware bin of christmas decorations. Poor thing.

Sorry for the long post- but I wanted to explain. I Trashed my dress on blind faith that it would be ok. I had no back up plan, I just took a chance. And it worked out. But now I know that it can work for other brides too.

GO FOR IT!!!!! You won't regret it. I think its cool to trash your actual dress because its like the after. People see you all glammed up on your wedding day and then they see you all sexified and sandy and gritty in the same dress. They get two versions of it and it will save you money because you won't spend money on a second dress.