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Puerto Vallarta    Terra Noble    Dreams    Flowers

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White Weddings









ABOUT THE PROPOSAL

He’d annoyed me recently for disappearing last Saturday and the Saturday before when we were supposed to be working on errands and other chores. I was a little annoyed but we finished up our homework & reading for our marriage class & then grabbed a quick dinner at the Café Red Onion. We went to our special Salsa class for dips & lunges and had such a fun time. I was laughing the whole time & nervous he was going to drop me! We got a little lost at the end and decided to leave early.

He suggested getting some cheesecake, so against my diet, but wanting to be nice I agreed. We got off the freeway near the mall & then ended up by this cool park with a beautiful waterfall. I kindly told him the cheesecake factory was ‘that way’. I was getting a little suspicious, but not really getting my hopes up.

The beautiful Water Wall at night- such a perfect place to propose!

So we spent 30 min parking and getting cheesecake to go & headed back to the waterfall. Of course, it was late and the sprinklers had come on, but we ran through them to the park bench & sat down to eat our cheesecake. Again I was getting a little excited & annoyed b/c I’d taken my camera out of my purse. Within about 2 min, a security guard came over to his truck & told him he had to park somewhere else. So we run back through the sprinklers and get in his truck. Drive about 100 yards down the road and finish the cheesecake.

We drive home & I as we walk in the door, he starts apologizing for being gone for the past few Saturdays and promises to do better. That’s really the last thing I heard b/c he got down on one knee in the middle of our hallway and gave me a ring . I really don’t remember anything he said, but that Zoë got all excited because somebody was on her level.

Stopped by my mom's the next morning on the way to church to show them.



Celebrating with our good friends & Zoe the next night.




ABOUT THE WEDDING




Terra Noble Spa


Terra Noble is a holistic spa in the hills above Puerto Vallarta. We're going to have the ceremony & reception there. It is beautiful, intimate & private- all the things we were looking for (& there are no stairs for grandma!). The ceremony will be held by the ledge over-looking the city with a floral arch. I will hide the hot tub during the ceremony with flowers & then float candles in it during the reception. There is a front area for cocktails & appetizers. We'll clear out the ceremony area & put up dining tables & a dance floor. Tons of flowers & tiny lights everywhere!

Area where the ceremony & dinner will take place- dancing on the grass. The guest's view as the watch the ceremony.



Area headed towards the front cocktail area & the covered area has some cool couches & we can setup tables here.


Where the bar will be set up with lots of candles! Like this...






Dreams Puerto Vallarta

Located on the beautiful South shore of Banderas Bay, Dreams resort is an AI that's been highly recommended by other knotties & we were impressed when we went there. To see all the hotel pics.





Flowers & Bouquets

For some ideas, check this out.
Or see flowers available in Mexico.




Hair & Make-up Ideas

A great knottie has uploaded all her photos to photobucket which includes HUNDREDS of hairstyles & make up ideas. Click HERE.

Also other helpful bios include

Curly Hair Half Up Half Up Bio Short Hair Updo





MY DRESS!!!!!

First Fitting November 2006





   


My first dress was a silk sheath dress called Avigail by Winnie Couture. They have a whole line of great sheath destination dresses which are all between $500 and $900. I love the V-neck and the V-back and all the beautiful beading. After I ordered it, they said they couldn't add length to the train, so I canceled my order :(



My Dress Shopping Advice

Be Open Minded
The first time- I knew what type of dress I was interested in, but I was open to trying on anything. At each store, I usually let each person I was with have a 'freebie' dress they could make me try on (no matter how much I didn't like it!). It made them feel involved & it was good to make me try on dresses I would have blown off. Some looked surprisingly good!

Be Articulate
Tell the salesperson, what you are generally looking for but let her know that you would be open to suggestions if she thought one particular style would be more flattering for you. I told them I was getting married outside, didn't care for strapless, etc. If there are dresses that will never ever be your style- say so upfront.

Be Dressed Appropriately
Underthings- your girls with you & the attendant will be seeing your underthings, so keep that in mind. I wore some biker short underwear things by assets (since I wanted a sheath type of gown) from Target, which is similar to the more expensive Spanx. . Wear something you are comfortable in & not showing too much skin(don't make the attendant see you in your thong!). Some dresses are OK with a strapless bra & I recommend taking one. I ended up not using it with quite a few of the dresses I tried on because they were open back.

Shoes- Wear comfy shoes for going to the stores & perhaps bring along some potential shoes you might wear with your dress. They are at least better than walking around barefoot & will keep the dress from dragging any more than necessary.


Be Flexible
I got frustrated because I saw all these dresses online & in magazines, but I could hardly ever find that exact dress/styles/manufacturer to try on. I suggest showing the attendant some styles that you like (& take the time to explain what it is that you like about it....). You probably won't be able to try on that exact same dress, but you can probably find something similar. I got excited about trying on several Maggie dresses, but none of the stores in town carried any of them! If you are dying to try on a specific dress, call ahead to the store to confirm they actually carry it.


Be Thoughtful
When you try on a dress, try to figure out what it is about that dress that you like or don't like. Giving the attendant feedback about each dress will improve your odds of finding the right one. Just taking it off without 'gaining some knowledge' is really a waste of time. I would say-
"this neckline isn't very flattering"
"I don't like this material"
"I don't like the way the waist/torso/chest area stops/starts"
"I don't like things that go straight across my chest/butt/back/boobs"
"I don't like the way it hangs"
"its too much dress/train/beading/lace"

Also remember the good things about a dress, "I don't like this dress (for a reasons above), BUT
"i like the beading"
"I like stuff at angles like this"
"I like this train- it s a good length"
"this style is good one me"
"I think I like the gathered/layered look"


Be Prepared
Take a camera, take snacks & water, take hair brushes/clips to fix your hair (it gets messed up trying on all the dresses), take makeup to re-apply (but not so much that it gets on every dress you try on!). Maybe take something to take notes & dress names (and prices). At the nicer, full service salons, I tried on about 30 dresses at each. We spend 2-3 hours there & I would suggest a morning appointment, a lunch break, and then an afternoon appointment if you schedule allows. Smaller stores that had fewer dresses I wanted to try on took less than 30 min. Some stores require appointments, some may make appointments & some will not do appointments at all.

Be Sure
After trying on a dozen dresses (or even 2 dozen) go back and re-try on your favorite one or two at the end. Take time to see it with a few different veils & become familiar with what your options are & what looks best with each dress. Also have them clip up the train to see what the dress looks like bustled. Ask what their deposit policy is, how quickly the dress will arrive, what your color choices are, what alterations they can do or suggest (built in bra, hemline, adding straps, changing neckline). Will they store the dress for you? Will they clean/press the dress for you? before/after bridals? before/after wedding?


Extra Tid Bits
Sleep on it & shop around to see if you can find it cheaper (and not pay sales tax!)
Some stores may not allow cameras or food & drinks (or even any children).
And the big one! HAVE FUN- this should be a great time & not stressful :)

DRESS SIZE CHARTS
If you need help figuring out which size wedding or bridesmaid dresses to order, click above. Also link to maternity and jr. bridesmaid size charts.

Online Places to Search for your dress cheaper
http://community.theknot.com/cs/ks/user/www.bridesave.com (They will actually give you prices online)
http://community.theknot.com/cs/ks/user/www.houseofbrides.com (They will actually give you prices online)
www.netbride.com
www.rkbridal.com
www.lakebridals.com
http://community.theknot.com/cs/ks/user/www.bridepower.com
http://www.elegantgowns.com/
www.pearlsplace.com
http://www.chrissyobridal.com/
http://bridalgown.net/
http://community.theknot.com/cs/ks/user/www.gownsales.net
http://community.theknot.com/cs/ks/user/www.leephilipbridal.com
http://community.theknot.com/cs/ks/user/www.bridalmart.com
http://community.theknot.com/cs/ks/user/www.jaysbridal.net
www.perfect-bridesmaid-dresses.com


DRESS SHOPPING

The entourage- Mom, Gram, best friend Tina & I

To see the dress from Day 1 (sorry they are so dark & blurry)....
To see all Day 2 Pics


 
Bustles & Veils

Places to order veils: Veilshop, Occansey Design, and Theknot.

I ordered a waltz length (~54") ivory super sheer with a silver pencil edge with rhinestones around the edge from Occansey Design.
Rhinestones like the first one and the cascading cut like the second one. $70 including shipping & handling.




Bridesmaid Dresses

Dresses I ended up ordering for the girls.





Inspiration and others I liked.





Suits & Groomsmen Outfits

We bought this suit from Macy's/Foleys. I can only find a pic of the pants, but it comes with the blazer. It's from their International Concepts Line and it's a light, beige stripe suit. Ignore the goofy expression :) Also check out the non-tux bio for other great ideas.














Start of my table centerpieces. Got the vases on sale for $5- they are fairly light weight glass & hopefully won't break. The candles were $1 each and then I wrapped ribbon around the candles. I'd like to put petals or roses at the bottom of the vase and then on the outside. And below is my inspiration






Light Aqua Napkins that I used our Letterpress on



Candles to Float in the Hot Tub during the Reception & a Box for the Rings. Cute lanterns from Target.




Custom Matches for our sparklers and cigar roller from American Weddings <$25 for 50.





Cakes

Great collection of wedding cakes here.







Wedding Ceremony & Reception

Check out the Sand Ceremony Bio for all the details, wording and some great pics.
Here's my sand ceremony vase- it comes with our initials on it from Wedding Star.


I'm also planning on making some mini sand ceremony vases to give to our bridal party and parents as a small reminder of the day they stood by outside & promised to protect and defend our marriage. I'll put pics up as soon as I've got them done.

Here's some photos I've collected.


Do It Yourself Projects


Guest Book
Palm Fans
Guestbook / Epics Album in MP
Crossword Puzzle
Photo Share Note
Save the Date Magnets & RSVP Postcards
Save the Date Travel Newsletter
Welcome Note
Water Bottles
Big Day Time lines
Favors- Making a Difference Starfish
Postcards from Paradise
Petal Toss Bags
Cake Topper
Sand Ceremony Favors
Table Numbers
Ceremony Program
Reminder Postcard
Rehearsal Invite
"Mrs." Clothing


If you have questions about how I did any of these projects, feel free to email me. Sorry about all the cropping that Shutterly automatically does.



Here's the Poem for the Book
From each of your experiences comes a very treasured gift
A piece of hidden knowledge we didn't know exists
So share with us your wisdom about marriage, love and life
How to be a loving husband or to be the perfect wife
Please write your thoughts and wishes to share with us for life
For the greatest gift of all is the gift of your advice


Palm Fans

I ordered the palm fans from Oriental Trading Co.online. They are good for the price, but the size varies quite a bit (some large & some small). I wrapped the handles with ribbon (approx. 2' - 3' of ribbon per handle). The flowers & pearls were attached with glue. Then used glitter glue to add some extra sparkle. Feel free to ask me if you have any questions. I still need to affix my monogram tags.

Here's some examples of how I'd like to make the fans.




And here's how mine turned out!




Guestbook / Epics Album

My mom did a fabulous job arranging all my engagemnt pics into a My Publisher album.  She incorporated some great love scriptures and left white space for guests to leave advice.  Click here to see all the pages.  Below are examples of a few pages.




CROSSWORD PUZZLE

I used the cross word puzzle maker from Eclipse to make a crossword. Saved it as a PDF then as a JPEG. Inserted the JPEG's into publisher to decorate it a little. Then printed them out & glued them together.




PHOTO SHARING

In love with photos? Get all your guests to upload & share their photos with you. Create a wedding account on shutterfly (or any other site) with an email & easy password for all your guests. Make a card for your OOT bag & welcome packets.




Save the Date Magnets & Postcards

I created these in Microsoft Powerpoint & Publisher. I uploaded them to Vistaprint & waited for a magnet sale.. Super easy & very cheap. I ended up using the first one, but you can also see the original one I created.



I wanted to get a general feel for how many people might be thinking about coming when I sent out my save the dates & travel newsletters. I made these postcards in Microsoft Publisher, saved them as JPEG's & printed them from www.vistaprint.com . My order total for 50 glossy (too many, but the smallest increment I could order) was ~$35 with S&H and extras.




Save the Date Newsletter

Since the wedding was less than 8 months from when I got around to sending out the STD, I went ahead and included all the travel information. These were created in Microsoft Publisher, printed out front to back, and stapled at Office Max.

Front & Back



Inside Pages

a


In the mail they go! Good job!





Invitations

I went back and forth over odering invites from somebody or DIY-ing them myself. I couldn't find anything I really liked, so I ordered the pocketfold from Cards and Pockets. I ordered the silver metallitc Signature C pocketfolds for $1.50 each. I received my samples very quickly & their customer service is great. I designed the invite and all the inserts myself in Publisher.






Some inspiration for my invites & online places to browse.

www.paper-source.com
www.mypersonalartist.com
www.blissink.com
www.notfromabox.com
www.mygatsby.com
www.invitationlane.com
www.grapevineweddings.com
www.bellainvites.com
www.papermints.com
www.ceciny.com
www.bellafigura.com
www.polkadotdesign.com
www.envelopment.com
www.myjeanm.com





Out of Town Bag

I purchased some small gift bags from Hobby Lobby for 50 cents each.  I put a tag on each bag to know which guest was getting each bag (b/c different people got different items).  Below is the list of things I generally included.
Welcome Letter
Photo Share Note
Crossword Puzzle
Big Day Timeline
Big Day Timeline for Wedding Party
Rehearsal Invite
Postcards from Paradise with Pen/Pencil (OTC)
Shower Sponge
Chapstick
Aloe Vera
Lotion
Tylenol
Gum
Earplugs
Flip Flp Note Pad (Oriental Trading Co.)
Deck of Cards (OTC)






Welcome Letter & Embosser

I ordered the embosser from Wilshire Graphics & was pleased. They are the cheapest & let you do tons of customization. They give you lots of proofs & were willing to make several revisions for me. (If you order from them, please put my name down as a referral- Thanks!) The welcome letter was done in powerpoint, printed out, placed on card stock that had rounded corners & this little corner heart thing to hold the letters in place.





Watter Bottle Labels

I purchased the labels from planet label and made the design using monograms that I'd used in other places. It was quite painstaking getting all the actual printing done, lined up properly & not clogging the printer. Again, sorry for the stupid shutterfly cropping parts. These were my trail runs, tha actual ones will be more neatly assembled. I will have lots of sheets of the paper for slaa





Big Day Timelines for Guests & Wedding Party

Thanks to all the knottie girls for your inspiraiton on these. I did them in powerpoint & they are still tentative. I'll let you know when I get a final version & get it all printed out.




Making a Difference- Starfish Favors

As a guest favor, I wanted to write a special letter with lots of meaning. I've heard the story of the boy throwing the starfish back into the sea. It worked well with the starfish theme & saying thanks for making a difference in our lives. I bought the starfish, tied ribbon around them, glued a magnet on the back, printed out favor tags on sticky paper, attached the favor tags. The tags have our monogram on one side & "Thanks for making a difference" on the other side. I also put together a greeting card thing to have with the starfish- made it in Publisher & used Vista Print to have them made (30 for $30 includes S&H). I bought some boxes online from Box Depot.




Postcards from Paradise

I bought several packets of postcards on our scoutting trip, bought post cards stamps (I was advised not to bother mailing anything from Mexico- too expensive & too slow), made a cute little note, used pens from Oriental trading, and of each pair, I addressed one to Mr. and Mrs. D..








Petal Toss Bags

I bought 2 packages of 12 bags from Walmart. I made the little tags in Powerpoint, printed & cut them out, then glued them on with a hot glue gun. Just make sure the back of the bag doesn't get glue too (don't glue the bag shut).

Other ideas for sayings:

To toss in the air and sprinkle around
To shower the couple so that joy will abound.
When [bride] and [groom] exit as a pair,
please joyously toss your petals high in the air!

After the big kiss, be ready for this;
The couple will smile as they walk down the aisle.
And that is your cue to toss high in the air,
these petals of love for this happiest pair.

Throw petals of wishes for the new Mr. & Mrs.

Cake Topper

I purchased the 3 letter monogram cake topper on ebay. I liked it because it matched my Font (Harrington) that I had been using on all my other projects. They arrived within 30 days (so allow plenty of time). I got the 3" size and the 5" size letters. I bougth some crystals from Hobby Lobby, but the 5mm and 7mm are going to be too big. I bought some smaller 2.6mm crytals from Ebay seller crystals_unlimited. I did a trial arrangment and put the crytstals all on the topper in an order I liked.


Here's some of my inspiraiton ideas.




My work in progress. Here's how it arrived from the ebay seller & here's how I'd like the crystals to look. And finally my cake topper- thanks to Brooke! She did an awesome job on it :)



Sand Ceremony Favors


I really wanted something to give to our friends & parents who are coming to 'witness' our vows and stand by our side through the years to protect and defend our marriage. I made these little replicas of our sand ceremony vase with a nice card & a cute favor tag. I bought the glass bottles from Oriental Trading, the sand from Hobby Lobby and the beach in Puerto Vallarta on our scoutting trip, made the favors using card stock and stick paper and the boxes are from Box Depot.



Here's the front, inside and back of the favor tags.



Table Numbers

I took pictures from our vacation travels and used Snapfish.com to put a boarder and a title on them. I printed them out as 5"x7" prints.  Wrote up a cute description of our trip & the sites we saw, and then glued it on the back. I bought the stands on Ebay for a $1 or so each.




Menu




Ceremony Program




I did some minor editting to the text, but here's a rough draft of the programs.



I've saved tons of ideas and I found the Program Bio to be very helpful.

Some ideas I've collected.

Reminder Postcards

I wanted to show our guests our engagement picutres and also remind them of a few important items before the wedding.  I desigend and created these using MS Publisher and used Vistaprint to create over-sized postcards.  I will send these out near the end of January ( a few weeks before the wedding).




Rehearsal Invites

All of our guests were invited to a "Rehearsal Dinner" downtown and this invitation was included in the formal invite.  I still needed the wedding participants to meet downstairs at the hotel the day before to practice and get orgnized. I created these and printed them out at home, then glued them to some blue cardstock.  I added these to the OOT bags for each guest.



Shower Invites

Found these very cute invites on ebay & they were perfect for my Fiesta themed shower.




 

Mrs. Clothing

Not really a DIY, but 'designed' these shirts on www.customizedgirl.com. I'll post actual pics when they arrive.




Photographer


Check out this great bio to learn how to colorize parts of a black & white photo.
Check out JillAly's tips on what makes for great photos.




Thanks to mrsbahamamama


Thanks to mrsbeachybride





RESOURCES

The Knot DW Planning Checklist


The Knot DW Packing List


Travel & Romance DW Packing List


Wedding Weather Updates
Get average year round temperatures & historical rain data. Sign up to receive weather alerts & forecasts for your wedding & honeymoon locations.


Official Knot Bio List


Magnificent Bliss has links to numerous specialty bios about colors, flowers, dresses, invitations, themes, & local info. And of course, "The Best of" List" with new updates!

Help with Thank You Notes

Get help with Thank you cards! Courtesy of the knottie MoobyDoo or check out http://community.theknot.com/cs/ks/user/www.verseit.com
Great article on Thank you note etiquette.
Places to buy cards: Bliss Ink, Vista Print (make your own customized cards cheap),

Font Bio

Great examples of all the most used fonts and where to download them.

Every Wedding Website Bio

Lists and categories of hundreds of wedding related websites and vendors.


USEFUL LINKS

Want a list of who's getting married where & when? Check out the DWBrides Bio!

Have questions? Need suggestions for your destination wedding? Check out the DW Bio!
Want help with your Bio? Use Nvu...see this bio for help. Thanks MrsPresley!!



An amazing bio with tons of advice on weddings, how to get started, how to save money & millions of other things you didn't know you needed to know! A+++

 

One of the most useful bios out there! Check it out.

DW BRIDES HALL OF FAME

There have been so many great DW knotties that have all had beautiful weddings and each has provided inspiration in their own way. Here are a few of my all time favorite bios of beautiful weddings.

 

Beachbride2 Santa Monica, CA

Beachydreams Barbados

Bridetobe0Jb Royal Plantation, Jamaica

MrsLinda262 Gasparilla Island, FL

Mauidjenn Maui, Hawaii

Mrs_de Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

WifeofaKing Cancun, Mexico

MrsCozigal Tulum, Mexico

Mrs.Kennedy Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

MrsMarin Rock House, Jamaica

MrsMrav Isla Mujeres, Mexico

Mrsnnaatty Playa del Carmen, Mexico

MrsPresley Hawaii

Vibi Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

 

 

 

 

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Knottie Bio Lookup Tool Feel free to steal this code and put it in your own bio. Created by HurricaneMB.

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Please don't make me bring out the drama llama on yo-ass!

Weather in Puerto Vallarta- don't ya wish you were there right now!