Cindy, congrats on the dress!

Mandalinn, my florist suggested that and I just couldn't picture it. That looks great- I think I may have to go back and change my order!

I have officially gotten over the dieter's worst part of the wedding planning: I picked the hors d'oeuvres, salad, dinner and cake! Thank God, too, because I haven't lost any weight in almost three weeks! I felt like I was munching salads all day so I could go pig out at these tastings (which I did!). Now, I just have to get gorgeous so I can eat the meal guilt-free!

How's everyone else doing?

Lafayette - my partner is a floral designer, and she did the designs (not the construction, but the designs) for all of our flowers, so we requested lots and lots of detail photos. I will try to get you some more bouquet pics as they become available so you can get a better idea what it looks like. For now, look at this (crappy quality) pic that shows what this concept looks like on a centerpiece:

http://picasaweb.google.com/mandalin...93253674246546

For those of you who want to see photos (Warning - they messed up the photo CDs on the table cameras so I have to get them re-done, but you can get an idea of the pictures here. At least the prints are ok!)

Table Cameras from wedding:
http://picasaweb.google.com/mandalin...ddingTableCams

Our digital cam pics from the wedding and honeymoon:
http://picasaweb.google.com/mandalin...ngAndHoneymoon

Sorry for the high photo volume...no time to sort through and post links to all the good ones individually. :-(

Warning: Extremely long wedding summary below!

OK, so the wedding was gorgeous. It was POURING, of course, but we had a plan for that and it all worked out ok. I think we actually managed to pull off a wedding where everyone had a good time, which is amazing…although we did have a couple of people get seriously out-of-control drunk, which was a bit of a bummer because they got inappropriate with some of my family. We have a ton of wine in the apartment now, all the leftover bottles, and we’re trying to share the wealth with friends as much as we can because we can’t store it all! The food and wine were really good and I think everyone had a blast. Sarah and I wrote our vows independently, but they basically said the same thing, which was funny…essentially, we said that things never go as planned, and that is ok because we are together…which is really true. It was absolutely gorgeous and the arch that my dad built for us was amazing…so special. It was great to see everyone, particularly Sarah’s best friend Alicia who lives in DC and Anthony, who came out from Taiwan.

((ok, so this is poached from a letter to a friend. Elena and Chris = my sister and her fiance, Dean = Sarah's dad))

We were just so amazed at how wonderful everyone was. Elena and Chris REALLY made magic happen for the whole thing…taking care of all kinds of details so I wouldn’t have to. We have a lot to live up to for her wedding in July! Since we had to move inside for the ceremony, Chris drove all the way down the hill to find us firewood in the pouring rain…they took care of packing up all the stuff, making sure everything was in place, making sure we didn’t have to worry about details, and etc…it was really, really amazing. Elena gave a toast that said how crappy it was to grow up so close in age, but how great it is now to have planned our weddings at the same time, it was really sweet. Dean and my dad also gave toasts that were great (Dean essentially talked about how he not only got me in the family, he also got my entire family, and went on for a bit about how great they are). We danced and had fun.



Afterward we took a limo over to the hotel where Sarah proposed…what was great was that we ended up in the exact same room, which was so special. Then we boarded the ship on Sunday, and it was AMAZING. We just relaxed and enjoyed…my sister got us a fabulous honeymoon package for the boat, so we had lots of special perks (champagne, really plush robes, chocolate covered strawberries, facials…). We also got a really relaxing couples massage. The ports were great…we took a Mexican cooking class in Acapulco that redeemed the city (the time we were on our own was really sort of sketchy…the people are really aggressive and it has aged from being a nice resort to a dirty, run down version of its previous self. The other cities, though, were amazing. Our favorite was probably Ixtapa/Zihuatenejo…the people were so friendly and it was very pretty, plus the food was amazing. We had the best fajitas of our lives...I am drooling just thinking about them. In Puerto Vallarta, we went horseback riding, which was really cool. After we had ridden out to a river, we got to swim on horseback. It was definitely a once in a lifetime experience. Then we just walked around in Cabo. It is a touristy town, but still nice, and we had another great meal. Then back on the boat for another couple of days at sea before we had to finally go back to real life. It was really a once-in-a-lifetime, great experience. I put on a few pounds, but I’m absolutely 100% convinced it was worth it…where else can you have room service bring you hot tea and chocolate chip cookies before bed every night?

I am stressing out. The reason to plan a wedding a year in advance is to be able to book a place to be married, I suppose. Every place we want to get married seems to be booked already. I know we'll figure something out, but it has me down. We may have to opt for Friday or Sunday instead, in order to have a place to get married. There are advantages and disadvantages to either day. Opinions? If you had to pick a Friday or Sunday, which would you prefer?

Mandalinn

We posted at the same time- everything sounds like it was wonderful! I am so happy for you! And love the flowers, I may have to steal some ideas!

I'd probably do a Sunday, and start it a bit earlier so it can end at a reasonable hour (10 or 11pm), or even do an afternoon. That way, people still have ample time both to get ready (the problem with a Friday evening is that people don't have getting ready time after work unless they get off early) and to get to work the next day.

Sorry you're having such trouble finding an available spot. I know how frustrating that can be...

I had a Sunday wedding which I planned on purpose. It gave me an extra weekend day to get everything ready plus my guests and I didn't have to drive in commuter traffic to go to the pre wedding dinner. It also allowed travelling guests to arrive on Saturday if they wanted.

Cons of a Sunday wedding - The place I had my hair done had later Sunday hours than Saturday and some places were even closed on Sunday. My florist was officially closed on Sunday but I told them in advance and they had someone available to deliver my flowers and even gave me a cell phone number as a contact. I don't think it would be too different if you had a specific hairdresser you wanted in that they would be willing to accomodate a Sunday if you let them know in advance.

If you are having it at a church, you might have to work around their hours.

Hello girls!

I was pointed to this thread from a panic I posted in the general support - my guy finally made me pin down a date this weekend and I'm now having to progress to full-on wedding planning. I'm not much of a wedding "type" - if I had my way, I'd just have a nice casual barbecue or something after a very small ceremony, but my guy is really set on having a big fancy affair!

So, in trying to figure out just how much this ordeal is going to cost us, I stumbled across a wedding day "countdown" on theknot - 499 days from now to Sept 20 '08! That seems like both a heck of a long time and a very very short time to get things under way as far as weight goes!

I'm not really doing anything as far as planning just yet, since I'm in the middle of finishing up my masters thesis and just don't have enough time to do what needs to be done, let alone wedding stuff that I can't really handle yet. I'm moving down to Kansas City in July once I finish my degree, and we'll do the wedding down there, too - not a whole lot of chance to check out locations when I'm 300 miles away and too busy to visit!

Anyhow, looking forward to getting to know you all, and sharing support as we go through this all together!

mandalinn - Your cake was gorgeous! Love the orchids. Your centerpieces and lucky bamboo look great too, your hard work putting those together paid off. Looks like your honeymoon was a blast! You both look so gorgeous and happy. Those pictures of hoarse swimming, hehe, I didn’t even know there was such a thing. Once in a lifetime experience for sure. BTW, I would re-dub “Sarah's skanky swimsuit”, more like “Sarah’s HOT Swimsuit” ! Hope you don’t mind my saying so. I’ve always wanted to wear plunging necklines, too bad my body doesn’t agree with me!

Loved looking at all those pictures, sometimes I browse on theknot.com for ideas for flowers and things, it really helps me see what options are out there and visualize. I just remembered that I had put together a slideshow from my sister’s wedding last October, if any of you are planning a fall wedding you might want to peek, I thought her choice in flowers/colors was lovely. http://s54.photobucket.com/albums/g1...rue&interval=3

Christine – Sorry you are finding places are filled up so far in advance. My first choice reception site was taken, but I like what we ended up with just as much, even if it doesn’t have the sentimental/nostalgic value. nelie, good points about the Sunday stuff, didn’t even think about the issue of some vendors not being open, church schedules, etc. We are having our wedding on a Sunday early afternoon, partly because many of our guests would consider a Saturday (Shabbat) wedding improper. But the following day is Memorial Day, so that should help the traveling folks a bit.

RCC – Glad to see you ‘round these parts.

Cindy – WTG on the dress. I don’t know about when to get the final fitting, I would talk to your tailor/seamstress. They should know what the norm is.

My fiance called our first choice place today, and it looks like we are going to make it work out for a late Sunday morning wedding. It sounds very good, and I will be so happy when we call and confirm it all in the next few days. It is a beautiful stone amphitheater nestled in the woods. Then our guests will walk back up the hill to a state park lodge with a dining room overlooking a lawn. We are going to have a lunch reception, which will be cheaper than dinner of course, and still really cute I think. I am really relieved that it is all coming together.

Well I am new to this board and I am getting married on April 5, 2008. My goal is to lose 60 lbs. before my wedding. I believe we are going to be getting married in las vegas. I am just so happy that I can find a place to chat with other brides.

All right, I had my first day of dress shopping yesterday! The general report:

1) I usually wear dark or muted colors, and white isn't exactly slimming, so I was afraid I'd put on a big white dress and see Moby Dick staring back out of the mirror at me. This didn't happen...not even in the clandestine camera phone picture I saw later. I'm happy.

2) I went to an outlet first, figuring they'd have a wide selection at reasonable prices...so why is it that every single dress they stocked seemed to be made of that same industrial-strength heavy polyester canvas? Sure, you can stick some chiffon on the outside to make it look light and airy, but I want a dress that actually *is* light and airy.

2.1) Outlets are supposed to be less expensive, right? So why were all the dresses in the five to seven hundred dollar range? It's not like they were made out of nice material, or that the quality was particularly good. (Yes, the dresses I tried on have surely been tried on many times, but I expect a dress that costs so much to be able to survive multiple tryings on without having giant dangling threads of beads and sequins.) I really wasn't very satisfied with my experience.

3) On the way home I tried stepping in to a tiny little shop I walk by often...I figured it's small, so I'll only have to try on five or six dresses before I decide they have nothing. So I walked inside, and a tiny woman with an accent asked me my size and sleeve preference, then promptly pulled a dress off the rack (a size smaller than I'd told her, interestingly enough) and handed it to me to try on. It had everything I've been looking for, fit like a dream, and the price is only $356 ($306 if I pay up-front, which I'm sure I will) and includes free alterations. I'm going to try a couple more stores tomorrow, but I somehow doubt I'll find anything else so perfect.

So the moral of this story? Don't be afraid to search different places. That, and if you find the right shape, your dress doesn't have to add twenty pounds.

Sunshine- a Vegas wedding! That's awesome! I'm speaking from the middle of planning the classic "register only for for china, crystal and silver" country club wedding, complete with valets. Vegas sounds perfect! Welcome!

I'm not so convinced I won't look like Moby Dick... I've decided to delay trying on dresses until the last possible moment- exactly six months before the wedding. That way, I can't convince myself it will look better when I've dropped the weight and purchase something that will make me look like I've tried to safety-pin my fat a$$ into the Michelin man costume! LOL How's that for "love yourself" motivation?

Welcome Sunshine!

Congrats on the dress shopping honeydew - unfortunately my dress weighs a ton it seems, due to all the beading on the bodice - hopefully it doesn't look like it adds a ton!

Hey gals - my latest stress out is about tuxes (yes, I'm doing *everything*!)

We have 4 groomsmen in Albany, NY, and one in St.Louis, MO. Albany has NO chain tux stores. So, my question is whether or not local stores all carry the same stuff, like the bridesmaid stuff, or if I should try to find the nearest chain near Albany, since St.Louis has several.
Cindy

Laffayette
I know I am very excited about my wedding!! I wish we could plan something big, but my mom is putting a damper on everything and trying to control my wedding. It is such a long story!!

I bought my wedding dress two weeks after I got engaged because I thought that David's Bridal sale was only lasting two weeks. It ended up lasting 4 months, dumb me, but my dress is so beautiful!! I agree with you on pinning yourself in the dress. I weight 220 right now and my dress is a 20. I hope that I still fit into it when I lose the weight. I have already talked to David's Bridal and they said that I couldnt return it for any reason. I was kinda sad because if I lost weight I dont know what I would do with my dress if it didnt fit. I guess I should have waited. It probably would have been a better idea.

When is your wedding??

BfL Cat - you're going to want to get them to a chain if you want them to match...especially if you are doing a colored vest or similar and want them all to be the same color. HOWEVER - we did have one male attendant (he lives in Taiwan) get measured according to the chain store's form (they will give you one if you ask), then submitted his measurements to the store and picked up for him. It worked out fine (but a word of caution...the pants seemed to run big for a few of our guys, so bring safety pins in case...this saved us from having too big tux pants).