TTD, still motion style

WOW. By now you likely know that we have signed up for a "Trash the Dress" photo session the day after our wedding, somewhere on a beach/jungle in Mexico. VERY exciting. Many people would instead call is a "smash the dress" or "wet the dress", since most brides don't actually trash their dresses. I intend to be a wet/dirty-the-dress bride as well, as I do so want to donate my threads to the Making Memories Foundation. In the spirit of things, I keep my eyes peeled for any inspirational TTD footage or links that come along...and this one takes the cake. Check it out. I love how artistic it is, and the way that the music flows along with it...if we had something half this inspiring, I would be oh-so-happy. What do you think?

Shootin' at the Slough - Cheryl + Andrew's TTD // Vancouver from StillMotion on Vimeo.

Courtesy of Mrs. Milkshake on the Wedding Bee blog.

Joshua Radin: TODAY

budget budget, who's got the budget

Through all the glory and beauty of a wedding, there is one insidious issue that, although we would like to forget it, keeps cropping up. Money. Payments to vendors. Dress and Suit purchases. Gifts for wedding party, gifts for parents, gifts for each other. Plane tickets, resort stays, food, drinks, activities. A wedding, and the commonly-surrounding events (i.e., bridal showers, engagement parties, honeymoons, etc.), costs a lot. No matter how you slice it, or how cheaply you try to do it, and no matter how wealthy you (or, if you’re lucky, your contributing parental or familiar units) are, most families feel some burden from the financial obligation of a wedding. And, if there is one thing I’ve learned through helping others plan weddings, it is that almost everyone, almost always, goes over budget. I’m not a huge fan of the phrase “over budget,” primarily because it seems to indicate that at one point, there was a plan to be ‘under’ or ‘at’ budget, and someone failed at that plan. Ew. I like to avoid the feeling of failure whenever possible. So instead, I propose that we give that situation a different name. For example, instead of saying “Yes, we’re over budget on our wedding,” perhaps people could say, “We decided to spend a bit more than we originally planned so that we could have the things that we want on our wedding day.” Doesn’t that sound more mature and reasonable?

I look at it this way: the only things that get in the way of sticking to one’s budget are one’s desires (or two’s desires, so to speak). If a bride or groom desires to have things in the wedding that are outside of the budget, a conscious decision is made to either pursue that desire, or not to pursue that desire. There are no accidents in wedding budgets (unless of course a vendor is dishonest with you, or you do not read the fine print in a contract), and if anyone tells you otherwise, they’re lying - because they too do not want to feel the failure that comes with having to admit that they have gone “over budget.”

Wowie Wow

As I'm working my way through grading 2 weeks worth of student postings (thanks to my abrupt bacterial infection last week, I'm behind), this pop-up ad for www.like.com comes, seemingly out of nowhere, and entices me to look into some handbag sales. BAD IDEA. Just a few weeks ago, I lost my composure and purchased this adorable and perfect-for-the-beach-setting handbag by HOBO at TJ Maxx (I love the Maxx- can you tell?) so I am in no good position to purchase another bag. However - I may just reconsider that thought after seeing this ridiculously functional and fun-shaped bag by Kate Spade (at bloomingdales and other places, no doubt) - it's so wonderful!

Ok first, to give props to the bag I actually purchased:

"Amuse" by HOBO International

The bag I will just drool over (I swear; it's $262 on sale at bloomie's, ugh) --

Kate Spade "Tamarind Cove"

Keeping our Guests Cool

I love the idea of raffia or similar fans placed on every chair at the ceremony site, with a little ceremony program tied on the front (our ceremony will be quite short, so I'm thinking 1/4 of a typical 8.5x11'' piece of cardstock would do the trick). But which type of fans to choose? I found a few slightly different looks that I just can't decide between, so I am hoping that someone out there will point out some pros/cons for each type. I keep transportation of the fans (from the U.S. to Mexico), as well as the likelihood that guests may keep and use them again in mind...and of course, the price is always something to consider. Colors...textures...shapes....ribbon or flowers on the fan....I'm maybe not as picky about those things, although if someone has a thought on which would 'go' best with our wedding destination, I'm all ears.

The Anti-Bride Phenomenon

Here we are, just 58 days from our wedding day. And, here I am, a bride just 2 months away from her wedding day. You know what that means - all social situations involve some kind of questioning about the wedding. "So, are you ready?" "Are you excited?" "Do you have everything done?" Due either to the fact that I'm a little wedding-crazy to begin with, or to the fact that we chose a wedding with as few drama-causing elements as possible, I don't at all mind that everyone and their grandmothers ask me the exact same questions. Over. And. Over. Honest.

I have, however, started to feel like I'm "giving up" on certain details of the wedding. I have really tried to maintain a reasonable perspective on the whole event. It's just one day; yet, it's an important enough day that 32 people (woo!) are traveling to another country to witness it. I don't know about anyone else, but, to me, that makes it more than 'just a day.' Keeping the spirit of 'more than a day' is difficult when the day is happening a few thousand miles away.

So - maybe I'm not giving up on details, per se, but instead, becoming more 'normal' and reasonable in my approach to these things. I have, for the better part of the past 18 months of our engagement, allowed myself to get lost in the details. And when one is planning a destination wedding (read: more simple than at-home-wedding), there are fewer details to obsess over, which means more time to obsess over fewer details. Hmm. I'm fairly certain that I spent hundreds of hours on things like choosing the invitations, the favors, the bridesmaid dresses, the wedding dresses, the wedding resort...but, yet I have failed to make any decisions about reception decor. Well, technically I did make a few decisions, but I haven't fully committed to them yet (i.e., nothing has been purchased yet). Am I excited to make these purchases? Not really. Do I still have to do it? Yeah. This is just one example of the anti-bride phenomenon I am experiencing.

How about those out there who are married? Did you become the anti-bride as the wedding got closer? Or get sick of the details and just want it to get here already?

SMB Tip Number 83: Cancun Airport

A colleague of mine just returned from her honeymoon in the Riviera Maya, and having flown into and out of Cancun airport, had a few tips to share.

First - the food in the airport is ridiculously priced (2 burgers, 2 onion rings, 2 shakes at Johnny Rockets = $33). Eat elsewhere if possible.

Second - walk past every person IN the airport who tries to give you a ride or persuade you to talk to them. They are selling timeshare presentations. Your ride is OUTSIDE the airport with a sign that has your name on it.

Third - plan to be delayed at Customs coming into Mexico. If you are bringing a mass quantity of items (say, for a wedding...) place copies of your receipts inside your luggage, with a note written in Spanish explaining that the items are for a wedding and that you do not plan to sell them in Mexico.

More tips to come!

SMB Tip Number 82 :o : Cash Flow

A recent SMB bride wrote me today with some great insider information. If you believe you would like to have some cash on you during your trip to Mexico (pesos or dollars), get it prior to arriving at the resort. SMB does have an ATM on hand, but apparently it works only sometimes, and the front desk will charge you a whopping 10% fee (wow!) to withdraw money from your account. While you may not believe you'll need any cash, we have learned from countless blogs, forums, and emails, that a few dollar bills here and there can encourage things to happen more quickly (or, if you forget your sunscreen and need to purchase that $20 bottle from the gift shop, you won't have pay international credit card fees in the process). Just a little tip from the world we'll enter in approximately 65 days!

SMB Photos

I found a few more great resources for photos of the Secrets Maroma Beach Resort - check them out when you are feeling procrastinatory! :o) Many of the albums were created back in the Fall, so some things may have changed (more grass, etc.).

Album 1

Album 2

Album 3

Album 4

Album 5

Album 6
The SMB Lobby Bar-->

I get by with a little help from my Friends...

Planning a wedding in Mexico has its ups and downs, ins and outs, and half the time I feel completely behind and alone in the process, while other times, I know many people who are willing to help and do so without even knowing it. Today is a gracious kind of day! Not only am I super happy to have a full Saturday without too many obligations on it, but I am also very thankful for my friends and family.

At this point, our 'people present' guest count for our Mexico wedding is 32 warm bodies. I have no idea how that happened, and I completely did not expect that many people to make a priority out of our wedding day (and a Mexico vacation in August...c'mon people, I'm realistic too). How amazing, especially in a year of economic recession, heightened concern for the drug war violence in Mexico, and crazy exaggeration of the "swine" (H1N1) flu by the media (many of the businesses in that country are suffering greatly due to travelers changing plans and heading to other countries for vacations). I often joke that we picked the worst possible year to have a wedding in Mexico, but at this juncture I believe it will be a wonderful experience for us, and for our guests.

In this same vein, in response to my earlier posting about my hair-flower-obsession, a friend took some time to look on the internet for similar hair pieces. She found 3 options, all of which were amazingly close to the original, and it means so much that someone would spend time to help me in that way. Here is a picture of the one I chose to purchase, for a mere 23% of the cost of the other flower! It was found at "Wedding Factory Direct" and I will update this post when I receive it in the mail, and include a full review of that vendor. Hooray for gracious Saturdays!

OOT Bag Addition...

Drumroll please!

We received the FI's favorite addition to the OOT bags in the mail on Friday. And, I have to say, I tihnk they will be my favorite too! We found an EBay seller who was able to take the monogram that I created and recreate it for their printing purposes...and voila, a super fun favor for guests at a DW who also happen to be at an all-inclusive resort (read: the guests can bring this to the bars and get their favorite drink anytime!).

The EBay seller we worked with is called Factory 21 (the woman's name is Kaylan) and they were fabulous. She even let me send her the font files that I used to create the monogram so it would be replicated exactly on the cups. She was very responsive and the cups were here in just 10 business days.

Bridal Accessories: Part 2

I forgot to mention - I'm completely obsessed with a hair pin that would not only match my ensemble amazingly well, but I feel like it would be 'the' standout piece for my ceremony-dress-ensemble. However, it is $125...and as I have said before, I get a bit stuck on the 'it's just one day!' business, particularly when every cent is coming out of our own coffers. This stuff is harder than it looks people!


Photo courtesy of glamgal.com, maker of said obsessed-about-piece

Bridal Accessories

Although I ordered my veil a few weeks ago and still have not seen it in the mail (I'm only concerned because an independent seller on Etsy.com has agreed to custom make it for me, and I haven't seen any estimated shipment information at all yet...), I actually was able to pin down a pair of shoes and a lovely little clutch purse for the wedding day. I still may purchase a second pair of shoes to better match the second dress that I purchased (for the reception and Trash the Dress photo session the day after the wedding) but both of these items work rather well even if I am unable to find a second pair. I like the idea of wearing flats mainly due to the fact that I won't have to worry as much about either taking them off, or falling face first into the sand while walking down the aisle. We'll see how that goes.

For all you DW brides out there, I purchased the shoes at TJ Maxx ($50) for half the cost at Nordstrom, and the clutch purse is from Target boutique ($15).

The Sounds of Mexico

In the case of our wedding, the sounds of Mexico will no doubt include a large percentage of the wedding guests belting out some awesome karaoke at the Desires Nightclub, located right inside the SMB resort. I found some photos of the festivities...get your pitch pipes out people and start practicing!

The OOT continues

Our OTT bags have some fun new contents! I have read many postings around the web about how much guests of DWs enjoyed having a little pen and game book to bring to the pool, so I grabbed some fun brightly-colored pens at the Dollar Tree, along with some word search books from Target's dollar bin section.

And who doesn't love a little pack of Chiclets?

I also nabbed a few boxes of randomly-sized bandaids (Walgreens/Dollar Tree), along with some great individually-packaged antibacterial hand wipes (Dollar Tree) for the first aid kit (and hope to add little packets of pepto and advil in the near future). I'm surprised that I have thus far been able to spend relatively small amounts of money and come out with some really fun stuff that I hope our guests will enjoy. It can be done!