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” :flame:! 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! :lol:

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).

Thanks mandalinn - we may have to go the measurements route for some of the guys. I do want colored vests that coordinate somehow with my bridesmaid dresses. Ties as well. Speaking of which, I really like the look of a regular tie, as opposed to a bow tie - that's a change since back in my college days when the groomsmen all wore bow ties. DF likes it as well, amazingly enough, since he is such a traditionalist.

Anyone know where I can get Jelly Bellys cheap? $5/pound or less is what I'm looking for. They are part of my favors - I know this is going to sound corny, but I ordered some of those "perfect pear (pair)" candles and then I'm going to have clear boxes with juicy pear flavor Jelly Bellys to go with. I love anything fruit related - fabrics, prints, paintings, dish patterns,... so this was right up my alley when I saw them. I think I'll have different varieties of pear names for the tables, and I'm going to have the florist do a cornucopia-type centerpiece for the head table, incorporating pears, apples and small gourd/pumpkins.

Along those same lines, I may have pear martinis at the bar - haven't tried one yet, so may change my mind once I do - we'll have to see.

Bridesmaid dress shopping this weekend - both bridesmaids will be in town, along with my Mom, so wish us luck. I'm really hoping to find something in a yellow/gold tone that we like, or burnt orange/cinnamon. Red could work as well if the right shade - I really want to stay with Fall/harvest colors.
Cindy

We had regular ties. It looked really sharp.

Depending on your colors, you might also consider putting your groomsmen in black shirts. We did, and could NOT have been happier with how it looked. Of course, your fiance might not go for this if he is a traditionalist on the attire, but it did look really nice.

David's Bridal is evil bridezilla fodder. That place encourages you to freak out so you spend tons of money on their solution. They should really just offer you their special kool-aid when you first walk in the door!

My wedding is March 29, 2008, and I plan to pick out the dress in October 2007, six months before the wedding and when I'll be at my goal! If it works for Martha Stewart, it'll work for me! And because I am, in fact, much more OCD than this post lets on, I do have a seamstress waiting in the wings who will make me a dress from scratch if I don't find what I want... ;)

Mandalinn had her dress altered quite a bit, I think, and her pictures look beautiful.

Mothers are in a league of their own when it comes to weddings, aren't they? I feel your pain and I am just no longer discussing the subject with my mother because I've had enough!!!

Yes I totally agree with you. I bought my dress on the first visit to Davids Bridal. The dress that I really wanted was on the girl next to me and that was the only one that they had in that size. Man was I really sad and mad. I did find the most beautiful dress, but I am just worried that I wont find anything.

Forgive me if I am going off a little bit, I need some advice. I was talking to my FH about wedding stuff tonight and I was telling him that I have the wedding itch, baby itch and buying the house itch. I just wanted it all to happen now. I am tired of waiting. Do you think that I am going crazy?? I just want all of this to be over and all I want for us to start our life together. Granted my FH lives in California and wont be here until june 20th, he is moving his parents from California to Indiana. I moved here in Dec when I got my job. Just to give you some history on why I am asking this question!!! Sorry for going off just needing some advice!!

Yes MOM'S are MOMZILLA'S and it is a long story to get into mine, so I will just leave it at that!!! :)

Jill, your point about waiting so that you can plan each stage was timely! I would love to have everything done and would have if my fiance hadn't become so involved in the planning. He has slowed me down but I know the whole event will truly be "ours" so it is worth it.

I wanted the wedding planned ASAP (still kinda do) but I do events professionally and knew that dinner for 180-200 would be much easier than my usual luncheons for 500-600, especially if I just paced it out and checked off the arangements. I guess in that respect, I am not the typical bride! I would love to have the whole house perfect, too, but I'm definitely pacing myself there!

As for the David's Bridal dress, I'm not sure what alterations cost but taking the dress to a consignment shop and buying the one you love in a smaller size may be worth considering both for finaces and just for you. Just keep momzilla at home... I felt guilty about excluding my mom but it makes things so much easier. Is this possible for you Sunshine?

Thanks jillybean720 and Lafayette for the words of encouragement. See and I watch the damn discovery and baby story shows. Maybe that should be an answer to not put myself through that, so maybe I wont think about it. I live with my SIL and BIL and they have a 17 month old godson. We adore each other but it is still not the same as having one of your own. You know. I know that one day we will be able to have a family, but I know that I need to wait till all the other big moments have taken place and we have our wedding and our house, before our family.

As for the momzilla she lives in California. I put her to a test about a weekd ago and asked her if she would come to Indiana instead of all of us flying to Vegas. She said no and no one else from your family would come, you are so SELFISH. I am just glad that she is in another state right now because she would be driving me nuts. She hasnt even offered to help out either, but at this point I think it is safe to keep her out of the mix right now!! :)

Oh, boy! My mother has given me the selfish lecture, and the self-centered lecture, and the spoiled little brat lecture... but I've been listening to that all my life so, in the interest of not increasing the cost of this wedding by adding therapy bills, I have stopped telling her anything about the wedding.

I've had family vehemently oppose my dream of a wedding in Ireland with only our closest friends and family, repeatedly insist that the country club was the ONLY venue worthy of consideration for the reception, insist that children MUST be included, insist that people I have never even met be included on the guest list... I consider each of them to have BLOWN THEIR WAD. They are no longer allowed any say in anything. Period. Amen. Each person gets one request. If they didn't realize it, then that is not my fault.

As a result of keeping them all happy (big surprise- several were bridezillas at their own weddings and would now like to play the same role in mine), some of my dearest friends, who live in Europe, will not be able to attend the wedding because travel to Milwaukee is a damn sight more expensive than Ireland. Instead, Bob and his wife whose name no one can ever remember will be attending. Yippee!

So much of the wedding stuff strikes me as doing whatever keeps the peace and managing to keep the things that are really important to you. For me, it's my fiance and the fact that, at the end of the day, we will be married. Anything else is just not that big a deal, I guess! Um, maybe we should disregard my previous rant then ;)

No I wouldnt disregard anything. I just need that motivation to help with my mom.

On a better note I am just so excited to be getting married! I cant wait!!

Welcome Sunshine!

I’ve had a bad experience almost every time I’ve stepped into David’s Bridal. I doubt I will go there for my own dress shopping. DF’s mother has offered to go dress shopping with me when she’s in town next month helping us close on our townhouse (she’s a lawyer and will serve as our legal representation, for free!). I think it’ll be too early to order anything, but it will be nice to start getting an idea of what I might like and what looks good.

DF came across a fun idea for table names that I think we’ll use. You name each table after a place in the city the wedding is in and put a picture of yourselves at that location on each table. We both love Madison and were able to easily come up with a list of places of significance to us so I think we’ll end up doing it.

Our contract is final with the Monona Terrace, so glad we have our ceremony and reception sites all taken care of.

Our friends that are getting married in Madison on Sept. 2 will be here Thurs and Fri next week to meet with their caterer and bakery for taste testing. Sadly I will be at work during those times. Ah well, guess I’ll just have to look on the bright side that I’m being spared the calories, right? ;) It will be nice to spend some time with them anyway.

Shan- we are thinking of naming the tables after Irish pubs but I have some elderly guests who, while they're no strangers to the drink, would be very confused. I have this amusing image of a group of people turning their walkers and heading off to Paddy's for the reception... I think we'll do numbers and drinking establishments, just in case!

Does anyone have any David's Bridal survival tips? I have bridesmaids all over the place (like Europe) and would like to get the dresses there because it would simplify the measurements, purchasing, etc. Seriously, the bridal Barbie was TOO MUCH!

Lafayette – When I ordered my bridesmaid separates for my sister’s wedding through David’s Bridal it wasn’t too bad since my sis sent me the item numbers and color of the items to order. All I did was go to the store to try on samples to find my size, paid, and then picked up a few months later. I remember it taking an awfully long time to get the items (4 months maybe?) so I would suggest getting in touch with them to get a time estimate if you’re going to go through DB. So, if you can find what you want online and go to the store knowing exactly what you want that will help. In my experience the trouble starts when the sales staff tries to “help” you make decisions or select things for you, if you can bypass that all together it really helps. Good luck!

I did have my dress altered quite a bit...from a size 18 to a size 10 (regular sizes, not bridal sizes), as well as completely changing the dress back (from a zipper to a yummy corsetback), so it ended up being one-of-a-kind despite being originally purchased at David's. One word of advice - the David's alterations people not only do a shoddy job, but they won't do -any- design changes on the dresses other than adding the pre-fab "sleeves" on. If you find another alterations specialist, they are almost guaranteed to take better care of you, for very little extra money.

I've got a stupid question that's been puzzling me for a while, so here goes...what's with all the open-toe bridal shoes? I always thought that stockings were part of the super-traditional bridal attire (hence the garter), but sandals are for bare feet. Do a lot of brides not wear hose? Do some manufacturers make toeless hose or something? Wouldn't they ride around on your feet, making the end of the stocking difficult to hide under strappier shoes? I can't belive I spent three years living in a girls' dorm and have no answer for this.

I didn't wear hose. Your legs are buried under piles of dress, usually, so there is no need, and honestly, it gets kind of sweaty under there.

Oh, for the girls currently trying on dresses, coat yourself in baby powder from neck to feet next time. Rub it in nicely - it prevents that whole "I am sweaty and sticky under this giant freaking petticoat/slip thing" issue that really irritated me during the dress try-on process.

I agree Mandalinn82. I was uncomfortable the whole time. I was sweating and uncomfortable the whole time. To make it worse I had a pimple on my back that everyone could see and it was so red. Might I add very embarrasing!! But my SIL was great, she helped me the whole time try on like 6 different dresses. There was a family of woman over the other side of where you come out and they were helping me also to pick the right dress. When I cam out in the one that I liked they all gasped, that really made me feel good!! I love my dress. Hopefully I can upload a picture soon and show you!! :)

Thanks for the tips! I'll be the girl in the Shower to Shower...

It is now acceptable to wear hose with peep-toed shoes and many have decided that applies to open-toed shoes as well. (Living in the Midwest, I have become an expert on fashion don'ts and their rationales!)

I just think it looks tacky and, yes, they do sell pantyhose with openings for your toes. To keep them from just sliding up your legs, there are two openings- one for your big toe and one for the other four, which creates a little thong.

If you want the bare leg look but want the support of pantyhose, several places sell pantyhose styled like leggings. They even have varying lengths to accomodate a shorter skirt or the long walking shorts that are popular right now. I found a great brand at Target (called something like "Solutions").

Thanks to you guys, I am a little more excited about the dress... I'm sure I'll get more excited as I lose the weight!

Sunshine - I had a serious back pimple issue as well! There is a really great over the counter treatment that cleared it up for me - fairly inexpensive, and SO worth it not to have a giant red splotch on the wedding day. It completely cleared my back up (and I get sports bra/sweat acne on my back constantly) in 3-4 weeks. Its called Natures Cure Body Acne Spray. Don't bother with the Nature's Cure pills...waste of money...but the spray is salicylic acid and it -really- works. I didn't bring it on the honeymoon, but my back stayed clear for the two weeks after the wedding anyway.

Well for once my mother is not acting like a MOMZILLA. She has offered to pay for our honeymoon, which I am super duper excited about. We are planning on going Hawaii, and wanted to know if anyone has any recommendations. My mom was saying something around $1000.00. So I wasnt sure what to do? Any advice that would be great.
Thanks

That's awesome! They have their moments, don't they?

I'm not sure what a trip to Hawaii would cost. I would call a travel agent who can give you some pricing and then you can always try to get a better price on one of the online sites.

We haven't really gotten that far in our planning yet. All I know is I want to go to a non-English speaking country, preferably in Europe, where bikini tops are optional ;)

LOL Lafayette you are so funny!! I wish I had the body for it to be optional. I am working on it so that is the good thing. I was just so surprised that she called me out of the blue to do it. I was really excited. I have been frantically looking like crazy for places, but I still need to plan my wedding also. FH will be here for good in 3 weeks from California I am so excited.

Sunshine, did your mom mean $1000 total or per person? If memory serves, Hawaii can be quite expensive, although I suppose it depends on how long you stay. I'm sorry I don't recall where you live exactly, but I think the flight alone might run a few hundred dollars per person each way. But how awesome of her to offer up some honeymoon funding!!

I haven't talked to my aprents specifically about financial agendas yet. They are currently in a crunch because they are closing on a new home near my sister in Va Beach on June 30, but they haven't had any offers on their house in CT yet, so if they don't sell their house before closing on the new one, they're going to get hit with double mortgage payments :o So yeah, now is not the time for me to ask about wedding money :dizzy: They did pay for my sister's first wedding and even for the reception in CT after her second wedding, so I know they will do what they can. Thankfully, neither of us wants a big traditional wedding, so we'll hopefully be a bit cheaper than the typical wedding.

The most stressful time of our wedding planning was before either set of parents had "disclosed" the amount they wanted to contribute. I knew my parents were struggling and considering early forced retirement because of my dad's health and I didn't want to make them feel they had to pay for a wedding, too.

It was hard to listen to my mother's suggestions/demands and not to scream because one was more expensive than the other but they hadn't committed any money. Starting the planning process with no cash made us look at what was really important to us and consider a guest list of who was really important to us.

In a way, I'm very grateful for that time, even though I was stressed to death! In the end, it all worked out because we found a way to pay for everything ourselves and the money they offered became the bonus fund that allowed us to upgrade the venue, bar, etc.

BTW I don't have the body yet and, unless they can reverse the Michael Jackson technology, I will never have the skin tone! It's little incentives like these that help to keep my fiance from encouraging me to exercise by walking to the custard stand and to have a huge dessert every time we sit down for a meal! Whatever works!!! Lingerie is also a wonderful encouraging option... I promised him something new for every five pounds and I'm sure it will make me feel better about myself, too!

Sunshine – How exciting about the honeymoon. I haven’t really thought too extensively about the honeymoon, we may not take it immediately after the wedding depending on other things on our schedule. I would be happy with a tropical beach and frosty drinks with little umbrellas in them, anywhere I can find that I’m happy. I’d like to go somewhere where I could scuba dive as well, always wanted to try that.

Mandalinn – Thanks for the dress shopping advice! I’ll be sure to powder up before hand. I’d really like to find a lighter gown, but it seems like those are few and far between. If it were up to me I’d show up in a simple white sundress, unfortunately that doesn’t match the formality of the tux my df is set on. ;)

I know I am really excited about the honey moon and my wedding. Well I am having my wedding in las vegas and we are going to be flying out the following Monday after the wedding which is April 7th 2008. We are getting married on Saturday April 5, 2008. Our goal right now is to buy a house and save money for our wedding which is hard but i know that i could do it.

Shan- have you looked at some of the "destination" gowns? Sandals resort actually has a line of 5 wedding dresses that are advertised as being lightweight. There were designed by Vivian Dessy Diamond of The Dessy Group. They are very pretty and I'm sure you could find something that would look sharp with a tux- it might just be a matter of pairing it with more traditional accessories like pearls.

Good luck!

Time to cut the guest list... Hard to decide who to cut! We want it smaller and more intimate, but there are people who have been important to me that I would like to invite. Sigh... I'm sure it will turn out ok :)

Oh, boy! They recommend cutting work folks first, then guests of singles. No matter how you do it, it can get tricky.

You may want to start over with a fresh list and just put down the people you really want there. It made our decision to cut some of the obligation invites very easy- not as easy to sell to the parents, but very easy nonetheless!

Good luck!

That is what was hard for us because we wanted all of our family and friends there, but we are getting married in Las Vegas and we had to cut down our list from 50 to 30 because of the price of food. We have a budget of $3500.00 and we can't go over. So I sympathize with you on who to cut out!!

That was the one wedding-related hassle we didn't have to deal with. I don't know if it was the gay thing (because that eliminated most of my dad's side of the family for religious reasons) or the fact that both our sets of parents are VERY low key and didn't have a list of people they wanted invited, but we actually got to -add- people after our original list. It sounds like a nightmare! I can't imagine having to cut any of the people we invited...I sympathize!