Monday, May 3, 2010

Etsy

On my hunt for custom made things for a low price I found etsy. And I instantly fell in love with this site. I found etsy because of a forum which I am an active member on Best Destination Wedding . It is so great to find so much info all in one place. Thanks to this forum I haven't turned into a bridezilla or have decided to cancel my wedding all together.

But back to
Etsy . I ordered my real touch flowers from Jdleggans . She was wonderful, responded to my messages with in a few hrs, and updated me with the process of my order. I ordered a bridesmaid bouquet, 2 hair flowers, 2 bouts, and a ladies corsage in all white roses with purple ribbon for $77 including shipping! The flowers are breath-taking, no one believes they're fake and they feel just like real flowers too.


I also ordered my garter for $7.00 including shipping from Birds of Paradise . She was a pleasure to work with and went out of her way to make it the perfect color for me. I received it less than a week after I ordered it.


I also recently ordered a custom hanger from Lilafrances with the words lucy (heart) emil. I am still waiting for it but I've seen pictures of many others she has done and they're great. This will be used for taking pictures of the dress. And then I will have it as a keepsake :)

Invitations

I do love how pretty the Pocketfold invitations look but I wanted something simple and I since I am going to also give a brochure about the wedding weekend and travel information etc,. I am not the most creative person either so I went on 123print.com and found these really pretty invitations that go with my color scheme. I ordered 50 invites and RSVPs with envelopes for the price of $57.00 including shipping (I upgraded to the better quality paper as well). I am very happy with the way they came out. The envelopes aren't the best quality but they'll do.




Saturday, April 24, 2010

Destination

I had no idea which resort I would like to get married at (since I've never even stayed at a hotel). The only thing I knew was that I wanted it to be in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. I chose this destination not only because I have family in the DR but because Punta Cana has one of the most beautiful beaches in the world.
After months of research and planning I chose Catalonia Royal Bavaro/ Catalonia Bavaro . The Royal side is adults-only. My main issues were budget of course. I didn't want to have people pay $1000 to attend our wedding for the weekend. Also I wanted the liberty that our family from DR could stay only one night if needed for a very low price (about $65 per person per night) or stay the day at $50 per person.
The price per person including travel and stay is between $600-$700 this includes direct flight from New York to Punta Cana and stay at the all inclusive resort for 3 nights.


My Dress!

So I ordered my dress on February 13 from a Chinese Vendor: Gianinarbridal on ebay.. I know I know but with a $5000 budget including travel and stay for my destination wedding, it was really the only choice I had. My dress arrived 10 weeks later and it is absolutely beautiful, the quality is great, it is already altered to my exact measurements, and for under $200, one cannot go wrong. My dress is a replica of a Maggie Sottero Amara Royale. I know a lot of people don't agree with this, but I can't justify paying so much for something I am only going to wear once.