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Im Lisa and am planning my wedding at AZUL FIVES in Playa del Carmen!

'Tis the first week of school; the sweet smell of academia is perfuming the air, and the last remnants of summer are almost behind us. Most of us have perfected the art of dressing for class. You've become a Kung fu master at "the five-minute dash," pouncing out of bed like a ninja and slipping stealthily from your pajamas into your look for the day. But how does the karate kid decide what to wear to school? A few things to consider, grasshopper, when preparing for class: 1. I understand we are all broke and living off ramen noodles, the diet of poor champions and fashionistas alike. Lucky for you, Bowling Green is a spendthrift’s dream! There’s a consignment shop on every corner; your closet has the potential to range from preppy to punk without making you cry when you open your wallet. Be open-minded to the beautiful world of recycled clothes. You can be the best-dressed kid on campus and still have enough cash to eat another meal. PHOTO grey bridesmaid dresses 2. Don’t just take! Give back to consignment and thrift stores by going through your closet and getting rid of pieces you haven't worn since middle school. I promise you, you don't need them anymore. Don't be afraid to downsize: sometimes less is better. Plus, you may even get a little extra cash in your hand while you’re at it. 3. Consider buying basics. Take notes from sensei James Dean, the king of the basic. If you have a white tee and a pair of jeans, you're probably going to be set for life. Once you have these essential pieces (classic blacks and whites, button-downs, denim jeans, a chunky sweater) you can then add accessories, layer your favorite leather jacket, etc. If you start with traditional separates that you can mix and match, you will be able to create a variety of different looks without forcing yourself to buy a whole new wardrobe. 4. Don't be afraid of the numbers. One thing that folks usually get hung up on when shopping is size. If it fits, it fits. Don't squeeze yourself into a size two just because you can; wear the size that will flatter your shape and be comfortable. Wear clothing that allows you to—oh, I don't know—breathe. Your clothes should not strangle or swallow you. You're looking for the fit that is just right. At the end of the day, dress to make yourself happy. Does it matter if I like what you wear? No. What matters is that you leave your room feeling confident. Dressing for school is about figuring out what works for you. Find your own look, grasshopper. You get a black belt from me. READ MORE maternity bridesmaid dresses

Our past photographer at Decordova Photography will be covering my friends wedding in Jamaica this October, and is offering his packages at a discount to other couples having a wedding in Jamaica on October 16 or October 17. I don't think it matters which resort as she is already bringing him down. You can arrange those details with him. That package is around $1100 total in Canadian dollars. Hope someone makes use of the savings. You can message him on his website www.decordova.ca. or info@decordova.ca. Please reference my name Emma or my friend Nikki. Love Emma

The sci-fi thriller Humans, which wrapped this week on AMC, depicts a world where people turn to “synths” (a.k.a. robots) to help simplify their daily lives. Naturally, things only got more complicated when the robots began caring for their kids and sleeping with their husbands. In the real world, however, scientists and designers are claiming that a new wave of sartorial technologies will lighten the burden of another habitual (and in turns inspiring and maddening) act: getting dressed. Researchers at the University of Toronto and the Institute of Robotics and Industrial Informatics in Barcelona, for instance, have turned computers and mobile devices into personal stylists. After studying thousands of photos on the fashion website chictopia.com, the team, led by U of T computer scientists Raquel Urtasun and Sanja Fidler, came up with a complex “fashionability” algorithm that tells users how to make an outfit, and even the background of their photos, more appealing. “We want people to be able to use it to dress better,” Fidler says over the phone. It’s also useful in helping people select pictures to post on Facebook or online dating sites, she explains. They hope to launch an app in the coming months. PHOTO beach wedding bridesmaid dresses Fits.me, meanwhile – a website that bills itself as a “virtual fitting room” – uses volumetric robots to help users assess how well clothing purchased online will fit them. Punch in your measurements, and an image will appear onscreen of a woman or man with a similar body type wearing the article that you’re interested in. (Caveat: Users can only “try on” pieces from participating retailers.) The idea was developed in response to high return rates and customers’ dissatisfaction with their online shopping experiences, chief executive officer James B. Gambrell says from London, where the company is headquartered. The data the site gathers are proving useful to participating clothing labels, too. “We can tell a brand how people are wearing their clothes. If [a customer is] looking at a size 8 blouse, we can tell if they’re wearing it loose or tight, and what their average body size is.” Over in San Francisco, a startup called Electroloom has created a 3-D printer that shoots out garments – or, more accurately, a liquid solution that turns into polycotton when it hits and adheres to a 3-D model – on demand. Still a work in progress, its prototypes have crafted tank tops and skirts sans sewing machine, and its founders have indicated that a working model will be ready for early adopters by spring 2016. For anyone who has ever needed a hand doing up her dress, the Zipperbot, created by Adam Whiton, from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Personal Robots Group, is apparently up to the task. The device, which resembles a bulkier version of the pull tab on an actual zipper, is not available to purchase yet. However, Whiton thinks his bot could start a trend in assistive clothing, helping people with disabilities get dressed, for example. It could also be handy for anyone who wished her pencil skirt detected motion, loosening its fit for lunchtime walks and zipping up again once back at the office. He admits that having a sartorial robot that performs common functions on its own can be confusing for users at first. “We want to be in control of our clothing, because we want to be in control of our identity,” Whiton says over the phone. Handing some of that control over to an automated entity, as he sees it, is all about baby steps. “Right now, wearables are pretty big. But the next step is going to be more about activation,” he predicts, referring (of course) to full-on sartorial robots like his. READ MORE convertible wrap dress

Hi everyone! I’ve been a long time lurker and sometimes poster but now that we are approaching our 3 month mark (ahh!!) I think it’s time to start my very own planning thread. Think this will definitely help me focus and hopefully make decisions J How we met: Jamal and I met a little over 4 years ago at a mutual friend’s birthday party. As usual, I went to this party with one of my best guy friends. We get to the bar about an hour into the party, say our hellos and make our way to the bar for drinks. After realizing that drinks were $15 a piece (gotta love NYC bars), I made a mental note that I needed someone else to buy me drinks that night haha. My friend and I always have the problem that people think we are “together” so we separate right away and go mingle. I did spot a cute stranger hanging out with our group but none of my immediate friends knew who he was. A little while later, as I was finishing my drink, coincidently, this cute stranger comes up to me and asks if he could buy me a drink J. We spent the rest of the night talking and hanging out. I eventually go to the bathroom with the birthday girl and find out that he was one of her really good friends and she assured me that he was a good guy. So when he asked for my phone number at the end of the night, I didn’t hesitate! To add a little twist to the story, the birthday girl knows him because he used to date her cousin and when they broke up she decided to keep her friendship with Jamal despite the breakup. She jokes that she kept Jamal in the divorce! We had our first date a couple of weeks later and have been together ever since. This relationship felt different right from the beginning. It almost felt easy, if that makes any sense. He and my friends (guys and girls) got along very well right from the beginning and that was so important to me since they are my family here in NY. And now we have been living together for almost 3 years now and have been engaged for about 8 months. The Proposal: It was Christmas morning 2014 and we were at my parent’s house opening presents like the big kids that we are. We take Christmas morning very serious in my family, we were onesies and my dad dresses up like Santa haha. This year was no exception. Jamal and I wore superhero onesies! After I opened my presents I took my new niece Sophia, who was only 2 weeks old, from my sister-in-law so that she can open her presents. I'm obsessed with Sophia so I want to hold her at all times. Then suddenly my brother comes to take the baby from me and I'm not happy about it and I don't let him. Little did I know he was doing it for a reason. He tried again warning me about a dirty diaper so I gave in and handed him the baby. I got up to help clean up the living room since there was wrapping paper everywhere! Then Jamal says "oh wait there's another present". I turn around excited for another gift and there he is on one knee with a beautiful ring in front of my entire family! Being the lady that I am, I say "oh shit" and start crying immediately and everyone in the background is screaming in shock and happiness. He asks me to marry him and there are more tears. He finally asks again "uh is that a yes?" But come on as if it would ever be a no. So yes I was proposed to while in a wonder woman onesie by a man dressed as batman J This was the best way for him to propose – I loved that it was in front of my family. Since we don’t live near them (we’re in NYC and they are outside of Philadelphia), I usually miss out on random family events. And it was amazing to have them be a part of this. Here is my ring Location / Timing: It was never a secret to anyone that I would have a destination wedding. For me, a big, expensive NYC wedding never felt right. And in Jamal’s eyes, we could have grabbed our parents head, down to city hall and call it a day. Both sets of immediate families were immediately on board and that was most important to us. Before we even told them our plans, we decided that if we needed to pay for any of them to come, we would. As long as we have our parents and siblings there, everyone else is icing on the cake J So as soon as we got engaged, the search was on. I must have spent hours and hours searching on google for locations/resorts. We had no idea where we wanted to get married but knew that we didn’t want Dominican Republic (so many friends have gotten married there already) or Jamaica (Jamal has distant family there and didn’t want to have to invite them). We finally came across Danialle from BeachBum Vacations and knew immediately we had found our travel agent. Right from the beginning she was helpful, knowledgable and super nice. She was able to help us decide that Mexico was the right place for us and our guests since we wanted to be considerate of our guest’s budget. Our resort requirements were: - Somewhere different to get married – I personally don’t like the beach and sand very much so I didn’t want a beach ceremony/reception - Keep costs for guests around $1,000 for 4 days/3 nights - All-inclusive with amazing food - Not a small resort After seeing pictures of the skydeck at Azul Sensatori I fell in love! A rooftop ceremony reminded of NYC and it hasn’t been done in my circle of friends, where destination weddings are the norm. So after some more research and thinking, it was done. We were going with Azul Sensatori. We didn’t want a long engagement but wanted to be considerate of our guests and their budgets, so after looking at work schedules (I’m an accountant so certain months are blocked off), we decided on November 2015. Based on availability at the resort, we selected November 20, 2015. Our travel agent was able to secure a room block for us. We started with 20 rooms in the block since we had to put down $100 per room to secure them. This was all done by end January 2015 so needless to say it was a very very busy few weeks. Now as much as I loved the pictures, I was sooooo nervous about picking a place without actually seeing it. We and my friends are huge travelers and have become accustomed to really nice hotels and amazing service and are willing to pay for it. But because of work schedules, we weren’t able to make it out to Mexico and still get information out to our guests early enough so that people could start saving money and blocking that time off. But thankfully a friend of a friend had gotten married there in September 2014 and loved it and her guests had a great time. So knowing that we have similar friends that put me at ease. We still scheduled a visit to the BDR in June to make sure

Hi, I am making final preparations for our wedding in 10 weeks time in Jamaica. So I wanted to join a forum so that we can share our experiences and hear from others.. We have decided to write our own vows has anyone else done this or just gone for the traditional vows? Thanks Vee

Hi there I'm new here and looking if it's even a possibility but we would really like to bring our fur baby and have him involved in our ceremony. He's a very well trained and we'll behaved chihuahua mix and ways approx 12 pounds. We are looking to get married in Mexico or somewhere with nice beaches (for pictures) and a resort that is kid friendly and possibly with a free or cheap wedding package... I know it's a tall order but just curious if anyone else has looked into this ... thanks in advance Sent from my SGH-I337M using Tapatalk

Hello brides! Does anyone know a place that sells bubble wands in small quantities and cheaper than 10 cents each wand? My local Michael's sells 100 for $19.99 (link below). I always use the 50% off coupon so it comes out to be 10 cents for each wand, and I only need 25 = $2.5 but I would have to spend $10 to get it. YES, $8 is not much difference but I hate buying things in more quantities than I need and then hold onto them thinking I'll need them in the future..then probably end up throwing them away... Thanks! http://www.michaels.com/celebrate-it-occasions-bubble-favors/10141711.html#q=bubble&start=1

Hi my name is Nicole Crooks am new here and looking for ideas for my destination wedding hope I will get some input in what I want on this site .

Hi Everyone, This is my first time on a forum site so please bare with me! I have just finished my confirmation for my beach destination wedding at Melia Caribe Tropical in Punta Cana, DR for May 28th 2016. I am just starting, as I have just booked my room, paid the deposit, chosen the beach gazebo and Tropical Convention Center for the wedding/reception at 5pm. I have chosen the Fairy Tale Tropical package and am expecting arounf 40 guests. There are a few things I am still very curious on, like decor thats used there, flowers, name tags, DJ for the reception (costs associated with all these)? Photographer? Make up and hair (they have a salon there but...if anyone has used them or has any feedback on their services that would be greatly appreciated. What kind of items do I need to be brining there as far as the ceremony and reception? Just finding a place with the available date has been so much work in itself, and just like everyone else my time is limited as I go to work FT and am pursuing the Masters in the evening with school. Talk about a stress diet that will keep my thin for the wedding . I am going to try and continue to stay as active and invloved on this site!! Conrats to everyone who is planning their special day as well!

Hey Guys, I was just wondering Who is the best DJ in UK? Or how to determine the best Wedding band?

At Wedding Jams, we don't just give you one option that leaves you with hundreds of artists to scour through. But, we don't give you endless options, either. Instead, we offer four easy selections with our interactive wedding album that will customize your results instantly in just 3 simple steps. 1) Enter your location to open the wedding album. Flip through the album to make a few easy selections. Then, let us do the work. 2) Search some top tier musical acts based on your choices. Click the wedding ring to add them to your list of favorites. 3) Request a price quote from every artist you like. Or, contact the artist directly. The choice is yours.

I just posted on my original newbie post beofre I realized there was a place to post about the wedding. Here is how it went for us. Thank you! -------------- Hola!!! (see? I can speak some spanish now! I wanted to write a quick follow up. My BIG day has come and gone. We were married (eloped) on Flamingo Beach in Costa Rica. Everything went perfectly. Our wedding planner was Catalina Cuervo from C.R. Referrals Travel. (www.costaricavacationexperts.com). They are located in Costa Rica and Catalina is the owner. She personally plans each wedding herself from what I was told. Catalina did an amazing job lining up the photographer, the officiate, and even arranged a candlelight chefs table on the beach. We had a private waiter and the head chef attending us, it was like it was from a storybook. We wanted something romantic but simple. We wanted to spend our money more on an amazing trip, not just all on the ceremony and Catalina made it all possible. From the moment we landed, we were taken very good care of. If you ever get to read this Catalina, Thank You! (I already sent her like 4 messages thanking her I found this website late in my planning but I did get some valuable advice in my reading. We ended up having to fiddle with the dates a little but it all worked out. Thanks to the encouragement of others, I did bring my mothers wedding dress and was married in it. She is no longer with us and this was so important to me. Thank you for your comments regarding the dress in another post I had done, it made it there and back again in one piece. I like to dream of my own daughter maybe using the same dress someday. 3 generations married in my family with the same dress would be wonderful. First, I need to have a daughter, we are working on that Here is what we did on our elope/adventure May ~15th ~ Day 1 ~ Arrival ~ Liberia airport • Private Transfer to Playa Flamingo - this took about a little over 2 hours to get to the resort • Flamingo beach Resort – Honeymoon Suite - Right on the beach, we loved the attention to service they had. May ~16th ~ Day 2 ~ Playa Flamingo ~ (B,L,D) • Catamaran & Snorkeling Tour - A lovely catamaran tour. We had hoped to see whales but did not, we did see dolphins and huge Manta Rays jumping out of the water! The sunset was beautiful and it was a nice introduction. May ~17th ~ Day 3 ~ Playa Flamingo ~ (B,L,Private dinner on the beach) • Wedding Day!!!!!!!! • 2:00pm Couples Massage - who does not like a massage? • 3:30pm Hair & Makeup - This was handled by the resort and coordinated with our wedding planner Catalina • 4:30pm Photographer - We had some pre ceremony photos, during and after • 5:20pm wedding on the beach – ceremony - We had some touch and go moments on the weather, but in the end we got the beach wedding we wanted • legal wedding officiate - arranged by Catalina • 6:15 Wedding Dinner – private chef’s table on the beach - This was magical, this was an 8 course tasting menu prepared by the head chef. He personally delivered each course along with our private waiter. I felt like royalty at this point in the day. May ~18th ~ Day 4 ~ Playa Flamingo ~ (B,L,D) • Buena Vista Combo Tour - This was an adventure day. The tour included several fun activities including horseback riding, canopy tours, hanging bridges, volcanic mud baths, it was heavenly May ~19th ~ Day 5 ~ Playa Flamingo ~ Arenal ~ (B,L) • Private transfer to Arenal - this was a long transfer, about 5 hours almost with a stop we made for lunch and at a road side fruit stand. • Check in Silencio del Campo – cabin/villa - Loved, loved, loved this small hotel. It has hot springs that are heated from Arenal Volcano, wonderful volcano views, it was just lovely and so nice to soak in the hot springs each night. May ~20th ~ Day 6 ~ Arenal ~ ( • Safari Float - A nice river float, we saw monkeys, sloths, many birds, it was a nice relaxed day. May ~21st ~ Day 7 ~ Arenal ~ (B,L) • Canyoneering & River Rafting - This was our final day of adventure. It included rappelling down waterfalls in the rainforest and then rafting down rapids in a river! It was an intense day but SO much fun. Both my HUSBAND (love saying that word now) and I are nature lovers, and adventure seekers. This was the perfect ending to our Adventure/Elopement/Honeymoon May ~22nd ~ Day 8 ~ Departure ~ ( ~ Liberia • Private Transfer to Airport - The trip back to the airport took about 3 hours. I am waiting on the final photos from the photographer, that is probably the only negative. We have the preliminary photos, they look good but I want to post the final touched up pics when we get them. It should be soon, there is a 3 month turn around on touched up final photos. To anyone wanting to get married or elope in another country, do it! The entire trip cost us about $6000 with airfare. We calculated getting married back at home, after the venue and wedding plans it would have cost us a fortune, the way we did it we had a wonderful celebration of our love and had money left over Thank you for your time in answering my questions and bless everyone who enters into marriage, I hope your lives together are special beyond words. If I can help anyone with any questions I would be more than happy. XXOO, - Photos coming soon!!! Cassidy