Svnoyi

Wow, I guess I'm the only Orlando-area bride that had an outdoor wedding in July without any problems at all. Not even heat. I, personally, remember August being much hotter than July... every year.... after being in Florida for 18 years.... but that's just me, apparently. Â Check out places just outside of the theme parks for the best deals. As far as venues, I can't recommend anything - we had a MUCH smaller wedding (18 people), so I can't help you there. Good luck and happy planning!

I'm taking a hint from the designer of my dress. Â I'm on Amy Michelson's mailing list. Most of her gowns are not undergarment friendly - even when I asked the salon attendant what to wear underneath, she looked at me and said, "...well, nothing." You could see my thong underneath the dress just when I was trying it on. Â Amy sent an email with links to a site with undergarments that went well under her gowns. I'm going with these: http://www.barenecessities.com/Commando-Low-Rise-Girl-Short-Panty_product_CommandoGIRLSHORT.htm

Oh, I know, I'm so bummed! They were a great couple. At least they're being kind about it, though, and not lashing out like a bunch of monsters...

At our wedding, I walked down to "All I Ever Wanted" by Jim Brickman. The story behind it was a long, complicated one... I'd originally heard the song as a MIDI on a website, long before I was ever engaged (or even thinking about it), and said then, "I'm walking down the aisle to that song." I saved the song to my computer and moved along. Years later, when I was getting married, I went back to the website to find the song... and found they had changed all of the music! The computer I had saved it to was long, long gone, and the song was instrumental so I couldn't even Google lyrics for it. I had nothing to go from - no title, no artist, no lyrics. I looked for another song, but nothing fit like that one did! I was so crushed. Finally one day, I was going through old data discs in search of an essay, and... there it was. I had backed up that old computer on this disc, and the song was right there! We are debating for our vow renewal what to walk down to. I think we'll walk together to "Babe", which was our first dance song.

Old: My mom's wishbone brooch, from 1948 (she wore it for good luck at her own wedding) New: My garter Borrowed: The handkerchief my oldest sister carried at her wedding fifteen years prior (it was embroidered with blue flowers as her "something blue") Blue: An aquamarine bracelet given to me as a bridal gift by my other sister (aquamarine is my birthstone)

Officiant Reverend Randall Miller, Uniquely United (Orlando, FL) I don't think I could ever say enough about Reverend Miller! Where do I start? With very little time to plan, I booked Reverend Millerabout four days out from the date. He handled this perfectly, and was quick to respond to my e-mails the entire way through. I had originally provided a ceremony I thought I wanted, and he explained he would perform it, but personally felt it was wordy. Trusting that he knew a LOT more about weddings than I did, I said "toss it out the window and do your thing". And goodness, am I glad I did! The Reverend sent me a skeleton outline of the ceremony and removed a few parts at my request, but the outline didn't really go into full detail about the beautiful ceremony that was about to come... He asked me the day before what he should wear, his traditional ceremonial robes or a suit. (I requested the robes because the wedding party would be in tuxedos.) The day of, he was polite and shaking his hand made me feel at ease. There is a certain kind of love that just emanates from Reverend Miller that everyone around him can feel, too. Our ceremony was light-hearted and spontaneous; he is certainly a master of his art! He had wonderful surprises in store that made our ceremony special, and his humor gave everyone a few laughs. After the ceremony, almost all of our guests wanted to know what church he was a reverend for! I was so happy with Reverend Miller and I smile every time I think about our wedding and what a wonderful person he was to work with. I recommend him to everyone, and when we renew our vows, there is no question who we'll ask to guide us! Transportation Elegant Transportation (Orlando, FL) So I just did a search to see if I could find this company again... I can't. I'm guessing their bullcrap wasn't tolerated! Prepare for a horror story. It started at 8:30am that morning, when I received a call from the driver. He was at our venue, utterly confused, and asked where we were. "You had a limo reserved for today, right?" I told him, "yes... but not until 9:00 tonight." The company had told him 9:00 in the morning, which he made clear to me he didn't appreciate (like it was my fault). Uh oh. That night, the driver was UTTERLY rude to my mother, sisters, bridesmaid, and even my mother-in-law and father-in-law. When we left the venue, he was parked about a block from it. We had booked a wedding package that was supposed to include red carpet service and vinyl decals - neither of which were provided. We climbed in, and half the lights on the inside didn't work. There was a bar that was supposed to be stocked with soda and sparkling cider (part of the package)... instead, it was stocked with Sam's Club bottled water. The best part of that night: when the driver took a turn, water (melted ice) from the bar spalshed out and poured ALL over us. We ended up having to move because we got soaked twice when he turned the corner! My train was drenched... and had to be dry-cleaned by our hotel at 5:00am the next morning because it had already developed a huge, ugly yellow water stain! To add insult to injury, the charge showed up on my debit card a few days later... and was $150 more than what I was quoted. When I called, the clerk couldn't tell me why the charge was added, or what it was even for. (I think the driver cut himself a tip, personally!) As I said, I tried to find the company again and can't seem to do so, so I would venture to say they finally got shut down or went out of business. If not, BEWARE, ladies! Stay far, far away from this vendor! Special Services Toppers With Glitz (topperswithglitz.com) You've probably seen the ads for TWG all over every wedding website you've been on. Sari is an absolute delight to work with. She sent me several crystal samples to help me decide on my colors, and the topper was PERFECT. You would think a machine created it. There is not a single space in the crystals, not one flaw or bump in the curves of the letter. Above all, I think one very simple gesture "topped" it for me: inside the box for my topper was a small, handwritten note from Sari, wishing me the best for my big day. I love when vendors take that little extra time to make you really feel like you're special. Great work and a great person to work with, I highly recommend TWG!

DJ/MC Celebrations DJs (Brevard County, FL) I used Celebrations because they were "in" with one of my managers. They gave me a great deal on the service for it, but above all else, they gave me a great DJ! (For the record, we got TJ.) I booked Celebrations a week from the wedding (which garnered a few "WOW!" laughs), but they were very quick to help me get the major music planned (the special dances, tosses, cake cutting). I didn't get a chance to talk to TJ before the wedding, but I fille dout a paper survey that asked all of the important questions: who are we introducing, what songs are we using, what songs and music genres are completely off-limits. The day of, TJ went above and beyond his call of duty when my groom and his men were utterly clueless about putting on their boutonnieres - I have pictures of him expertly pinning roses to each of our guys! The music was fabulous. He knew how to plan it perfectly. I was so shocked, too, when the special request songs I was sure they wouldn't be able to find (we had three that are not mainstream, including an a capella song) were played without incident - they were able to find each one! TJ also intervened with music crashers - when my mother-in-law requested a rap song, he politely denied the request and explained that we had insisted on no rap. (I was quite irritated when my husband went up and overrode this decision. TJ, however, handled it gracefully and did exactly what I would have expected him to - he accommodated the groom's request.) Ceremony Musician Sara Kallioinen (Orlando, FL; sarapianist.com) Sara was a pleasure to work with! She was another vendor who was booked on such short notice, and I didn't have a chance to talk to over the phone. I basically had to trust that she was going to be good - and she was. I had a lot of ideas for the ceremony, but was at a loss for a few songs. She suggested our recessional song, "100 Years", which I really loved. It was so light-hearted and a great ending to our ceremony. She was able to find several of my off-the-wall requests and perform them flawlessly. Most importantly, she went with the flow: when my husband was an hour late, she rode along with it, helping to fill in the time gap with improvised selections so my guests were standing around in silence during an already-stressful situation. Invitations Jean M (myjeanm.com) While our wedding invitations were very simple - just black cardstock with silver engraving - they were beautiful and high quality. Most importantly, I loved how easy it was to design them right on the site, with a live preview and hundreds of choices. If you're looking for customized invitations with a lot of options, ease of customization and a low cost, Jean M is for you. Favors M & Ms (mymms.com) No raving review here, really. They are M & Ms, with words. I missed out on the pictures and the new glittery candies. We had red and white candy, with our names on one and "tied the knot" on the other. They were very cute, although as I understand, my sister (who bought the favors for us as a wedding gift) did not like the quality of the gift bags tied with ribbons - according to her, they looked tacky. She ended up tearing them all open and putting the M & Ms in her own metal tins, then using the red ribbon bows to adorn our going-away bubbles.

Thank you, Island Bride! A few more reviews today... I'll eventually get to them all! Wedding Cake Abracadabra Cake Shop (Cocoa, FL) So you might have noticed the location of the cake shop is about 50 miles from the wedding venue... would you believe the delivery and setup charge for this was only $30 more than the charge from companies that were only 5 miles from the venue?! ACS is a small company in Historic Cocoa Village. All of the cakes are made by ONE person. While he has an assistant that takes orders and helps clean instruments, he makes the cakes entirely on his own. It's a personal touch that makes a very big difference - you know without a doubt that the cake you try at your tasting is what you'll get on your wedding day! I was hesitant at first, but I have to say - Terry's efforts really impressed me. When informed that I couldn't attend his formal cake tasting, he made sure that I would get to try his work... by baking a small tier and sending it home with my husband! This had already persuaded me, and then when I tried it... wow! That's about all I can say about it. It was moist, the ingredients were fresh, and the flavor he had recommended (which I wasn't sure about at first) turned out to be the best of the bunch! He really knows his cake. I should also note that I had a change of heart the day before the wedding and called him to change the icing color (it was originally going to be dark chocolate brown, but I changed it to white). He had no problem making this change on such short notice. Our cake was very simple, but he executed it perfectly. I mentioned before how the cake flowers provided by the florist were wrong - he brought his own as a back-up! I don't even remember mentioning to him what the flowers were, but he apparently did! And of course, the cake was just as delicious as the tier he' sent home as a sample. A bonus: we didn't have to worry about saving the top tier; they gave us a complimentary anniversary cake the next year. Wedding Dress Long's Bridal (Orlando, FL) Long's gets a yay and a nay from me, so just be sure to read all of it. I walked into Long's with ten or eleven dresses I had seen online... and ended up hating every single one of them. I ended up on this adventure alone, and was very quickly discouraged by the failed hunt. The associate working was very quick to jump to my assistance, and I admitted that I had no idea what I wanted. She asked me for a few details about the wedding, and hunted all over the store - then suddenly plucked a dress I would have NEVER picked out on my own. When I put it on, I couldn't believe it - it was, beyond a doubt, "the" dress. (Even more amazing, I looked it up when I got home - it turned out to be a dress I had seen online and hated! But for some reason, on me it was simply beautiful!) For the curious, the dress was Cherelle by Maggie Sottero (the gown is now retired and no longer on her official website). When purchasing the dress, she talked me into ordering a 6. I was hesitant and told her several times that I was never a 6 in anything, ever. But she made me feel like I was a product of my vanity, and sold me on the size. When the dress arrived, I was horrified... it was HUGE. The alterations lady took one look at me and said I should have never had a 6 - or anything bigger than a 2. She confirmed this with my measurements. The dress ended up needing 3.5 inches taken out of EACH SIDE of the waist. While the alterations were flawless (and it amazes me that she was able to remove THAT MUCH fabric without destroying the dress), I was very upset that I ended up footing the bill for the alterations... when it seemed to me like the salon was responsible for talking me into the bigger size. However, at the end of it all, my dress wound up beautiful. They showed my mom and sisters how to lace my corset, and really made me feel special (they gave me a veil and tiara to wear to my rehearsal dinner.) They recommended the perfect bustle, steamed not only my gown, but also my veil (not purchased from them) and were even able to perform same-day alterations on a bridesmaid's dress that hadn't even been purchased from them (literaly three hours before the wedding!) Despite the bumps along the way, I am very glad I picked Long's Bridal. Veil Veil Shop (veilshop.com) I ordered my wedding veil four days before my wedding - yikes! - with no clue what it was going to look like or even if this was a reputable company. I went with a very simple 72-inch drop veil, which I figured "no one could mess that up, it's a sheet of fabric cut in a circle!" I was wrong - it was so much more than that. The hem was flawless, and the fabric was so beautiful and soft! Absolutely worth it, and they shipped it the day I placed the order. (Bear in mind if you order something that has to be customized, it won't be shipped that fast! I bought a veil they had in stock for immediate shipping.) I think it speaks volumes for Veil Shop that even their simplest design was such high quality, and if you choose them, I know you won't be disappointed.

Don't fret! I ordered my veil - a 72" drop veil - from VeilShop.Com ... take a breath ... four days out from my wedding! The quality was amazing. Here is a shot of it with the blusher on. I really recommend them, they were wonderful and very quick to get my order out!

Quote: Originally Posted by LadyTrunck I plan on doing all of the above ladies! All of the above--- probably with the exception of staying in the shade... I am going to Playa for the sun! Also, what do you mean 'buff with baking soda?' I've never done anything like it before so I am curious... Take a box of baking soda, and use something like a washcloth or a soft bath sponge to buff with. You can either apply the baking soda (dampened with water) directly, or put it on the sponge. Then gently scrub in circles, rinse, and scrub again until you get it down to the shade you want. (Be aware this is also a method for removing the color entirely, but that usually takes three or four good scrub downs. Do it gradually to make sure you don't wind up washing off too much!)

I tried to avoid this thread because I knew from just the preview of the title it was going to horrify me! This is so awful! I'm not AS upset as I thought I would be, since it does sound like the loss was a genuine accident and they are really trying their best to find him. I only hope they do and he comes home safe and sound!

"He only apologized because he got caught." Um, yeah, duh? Don't most people only apologize after they get caught? Doing so before you're caught is calling "admitting", not apologizing! I'm with Belle_Jacobs. It really shouldn't be anyone's business. Yeah, it sucks, but you know, it's up to her whether she accepts that apology or not. Whether it was good enough for anyone else doesn't matter.

First of all, it irritates me that it is clear Sandra is trying to keep this private and people are trying to make her come out with it. She is trying not to battle it out in the public eye, but everyone wants to force her to. Let the woman fight her battles privately - if she wanted everyone on the planet to know, she'd tell them! I think she's playing dirty trying to get her hands on James' biological child. I like her, but this is low. Sorry, but I don't think anyone should have priority over a child's biological parent unless it is an abuse situation. A cheating spouse is not an abuse situation. She needs to back off. But one last thing, has anyone considered that maybe some of these women are just feeding off the fame of the story? Who is to stop some of these tattooed harlots from running to a rag mag and claiming they also had an affair? And has anyone noticed that their stories are all the exact same? It's either the sign of a sloppy cheater, or a bunch of lying ladies looking for money from paparazzi.

We have been together seven years. We were together three years when we got engaged, and five and a half years when we got married.

Don't know what it is, but it sounds good? Judith Leiber purses (the item... not their price! )