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Well, We're heading off to the Travel agent tonight to possibly change our honey moon plans.. We booked for Mexico last year and already had to deal with parasitic water, then we got Mexican drug cartel warnings, and now a deadly Flu.. I'd rather not live my first few days with my wife in fear of death. Trouble is, I don't know much about the world around me to pick out a new destination! So I wanted to see if any of you could help out. What we're really looking for is a fantastic all-inclusive resort in nice weather in a relatively safe (read no deadly plagues or kidnappings) area. I'm interested in Hawaii, but I hear it can be expensive and we're on the east coast so the travel time would be quite extreme.. Any secret get-aways that others have enjoyed in the past I could look into?
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Apr 28, 2009 16:52
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You could look into the Florida Keys. You may be able to get a better deal staying on one of the less popular keys than Key West, but they're all pretty close together so traveling to any of them won't be so bad. I loved it when I was down there for a class trip. Warm weather even though we were there in February, gorgeous water with reefs and fish everywhere (great for snorkeling), and some interesting historical sites. It is a pretty tourist-focused place though.
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Apr 28, 2009 17:02
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FidgetyRat posted:Any secret get-aways that others have enjoyed in the past I could look into? Pretty much all the islands in the Caribean would work if you guys are just looking for an all-inclusive beach resort. They all have them. Bermuda and the Bahamas are only like 2 - 2.5 hours away from the east coast if you get a direct flight and they usually have pretty good deals. I stayed in the Breezes all inclusive in the Bahamas and it was pretty terrible so don't stay there(though I tend to think all inclusives usually do kind of suck). Jamaica is kind of a shithole and a bit seedier than other islands but they have a ton - like 30+ - of all inclusive (and couples only - like Hedonism, Couples Resort, etc) resorts where you'll be barracaded in your resort and nothing can get to you. The Dominican Republic also has an over abundance of all inclusives. I really like St. Lucia personally, but pretty much anyplace where there's a Sandals resort would probably work for you. There aren't really all inclusive resorts in Hawaii, suprisingly. I stayed at the Hyatt Regency in Maui and loved it. They were (and still are) offering the 3rd night free (for certain rooms) and complimentary breakfast each morning. The breakfast is really good and is super expensive so getting that for free was a nice bonus. It was an expensive vacation (but totally worth it).
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Apr 28, 2009 18:28
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SKULE123 posted:Hey, I'm trying to figure out groomsmen gifts for a wedding in late June. Anyone have wicked or unique ideas beyond cufflinks, humidors, and flasks? I have a pretty large wedding party, including a groomswoman. The guy I was a groomsman for got everyone a Boos Block Specifically, the B12S non-reversible, linked below. They're engraved (looks like wood burning) on one side, so I remember where I got it when I cut my veggies every day. http://www.johnboos.com//STOREFRONT/IMAGES/B12S.JPG - tried to upload it on waffleimages, but it doesn't seem to be loading for some reason. URL it is.
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Apr 28, 2009 20:19
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Hey, I really appreciate the groomsmen gift ideas so far, hopefully you guys can keep them coming. Have investigated everything you guys have suggested here (and the custom bobblehead dolls someone suggested elsewhere), will probably make a final decision in the next couple of weeks. Yeah, I'm one of those people who tries to take in all the ideas before I decide. :/
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Apr 28, 2009 20:35
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FidgetyRat posted:Well, We're heading off to the Travel agent tonight to possibly change our honey moon plans.. We booked for Mexico last year and already had to deal with parasitic water, then we got Mexican drug cartel warnings, and now a deadly Flu.. I'd rather not live my first few days with my wife in fear of death. Seconding St. Lucia (I'm partial b/c I live here--we need more tourist money!). It's pretty cheap here, especially if you get out of the north, touristy part of the island. It's generally no more dangerous than other places, as long as you aren't an idiot about things. When is your honeymoon? If it's August-November, the Caribbean might not be your best choice since those are the worst months of hurricane season. Although St. Lucia is mostly out of the hurricane zone, it gets plenty of rain during that time (re: flooding). Sandals anywhere is pretty much the same. Beautiful beach, all inclusive, etc. But if you end up coming here and wanting to get elsewhere around the island, I can give you some tips. There are some pretty cool things like snorkeling, sea turtle watching, and zip-lining in the rainforest that make it worthwhile to get off the resort.
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Apr 28, 2009 21:22
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melaneyelia posted:St. Lucia ... Well you've certainly convinced me! That sounds wonderful, and we were planning on looking somewhere tropical that's not Hawaii.
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Apr 28, 2009 21:29
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melaneyelia posted:When is your honeymoon? If it's August-November, the Caribbean might not be your best choice since those are the worst months of hurricane season. Although St. Lucia is mostly out of the hurricane zone, it gets plenty of rain during that time (re: flooding). How bad is the rain during the hurricane season? We'll be leaving for our honeymoon that last Monday in September & I'm so scared that anywhere we decide to go will just be a washout. Also, I would kill to go sea turtle watching.
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Apr 28, 2009 23:50
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melaneyelia posted:Seconding St. Lucia (I'm partial b/c I live here--we need more tourist money!). It's pretty cheap here, especially if you get out of the north, touristy part of the island. It's generally no more dangerous than other places, as long as you aren't an idiot about things. We were about to book St. Lucia today, but the plane was set to land in an airport 2 hours from the resort.. after layovers in florida, etc. we were looking at almost a full day travel time.. Not sure what we're doing now.
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Apr 29, 2009 01:22
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Man, am I out of line for being a bit annoyed at people who came to the wedding and didn't give us a card or anything? It seems a little rude to me to attend a wedding, enjoy the food, drink like a fish, and not even give the couple so much as a card. A few people gave us shower gifts and not wedding gifts, which strikes me as a bit unusual but totally fine, but nothing at all seems a bit cold. edit: Ugh, never mind. I know the correct answer is "they have a year, and no one's obligated" and I should stop worrying about it. I just have a sinking feeling some people just completely didn't bother (and in one case I think it might be due to bigger issues that I'd like to know about), but I should really forget about it. Either they did and I'm being bitchy, or they didn't and there's nothing to be done about it! LittleCat fucked around with this message at 19:22 on Apr 29, 2009 |
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Apr 29, 2009 18:31
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Most of my guests will be coming from out of town and we won't be expecting gifts. We know we'll probably get some but won't be upset if we don't. All we want is for the people we care about to show up and have a good time with us. Personally I'd rather get nothing than a card, cards are a waste of $3. Just tell me how you feel! 
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Apr 29, 2009 19:59
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For me it's more of an etiquette issue. We spent a LOT of time and money making sure our guests were well looked after, comfortable and happy. And a couple people took major advantage of that (our bar tab ended up being a lot higher than we would have liked, since apparently the venue was letting people buy rounds of shots on us despite that not being in the agreement - shots do not equal highballs in my books), hardly said a word to us, and (apparently) didn't get a gift. Or write in the guest book. Or give us any sort of well wishing at all, really. These are not people who I'd have expected that from. I don't care about the stuff, but it does make me wonder if those people have some sort of passive agressive issue with us (in which case, why not just NOT come to the wedding? geez). We had a cousin in from New York who might not have gotten us anything, and I totally get that. gently caress it, though. The wedding was seriously amazing and I'm not going to let a few sour grapes spoil my mood. We've got the cash to cover the booze, the gifts aren't an issue, and if people are being jerks intentionally (as opposed to being thoughtless unintentionally), they can let me know whenever they feel like it. LittleCat fucked around with this message at 20:14 on Apr 29, 2009 |
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Apr 29, 2009 20:11
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LittleCat posted:For me it's more of an etiquette issue. We spent a LOT of time and money making sure our guests were well looked after, comfortable and happy. And a couple people took major advantage of that (our bar tab ended up being a lot higher than we would have liked, since apparently the venue was letting people buy rounds of shots on us despite that not being in the agreement - shots do not equal highballs in my books), hardly said a word to us, and (apparently) didn't get a gift. Or write in the guest book. Or give us any sort of well wishing at all, really. These are not people who I'd have expected that from. I don't care about the stuff, but it does make me wonder if those people have some sort of passive agressive issue with us (in which case, why not just NOT come to the wedding? geez). I can understand. Most of our guests were from here in town and we had a few that didn't bring anything. Like, I seriously would have been happy with a card with a silly poem written in it-- my friends are not made of money. At the same time, I think, I wouldn't expect my friends to bring things to any other party I've thrown, would I? And then I think again, Well, I kind of would. Even if it was something free, small and silly. BUT. There's nothing that can be done about it, so it's more than anything a lesson to never go to a wedding giftless. 
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Apr 29, 2009 22:30
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zap actionsdower! posted:I can understand. Most of our guests were from here in town and we had a few that didn't bring anything. Like, I seriously would have been happy with a card with a silly poem written in it-- my friends are not made of money. At the same time, I think, I wouldn't expect my friends to bring things to any other party I've thrown, would I? And then I think again, Well, I kind of would. Even if it was something free, small and silly. Thanks, I'm glad I'm not coming off like a total greedy whore here. Yay! I think mostly I'm just suffering from a bit of the wedding come-down (and a serious amount of sleep deprivation). I was planning this thing for the better part of a year, and now that it's over I'm feeling a little agitated in general. We're taking the weekend away, and I'm betting I'll be a lot more calm and collected by the time we're back. I really don't like being the center of attention most of the time, so I wasn't expecting to get hit by the whole newlywed depression thing, but being exhausted really doesn't help.
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Apr 29, 2009 22:55
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They probably weren't trying to be jerks. There was an open bar, they probably asked the bartender if shots were included and the bartender said "sure".
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Apr 29, 2009 23:27
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Yeah, we're definitely blaming the bartender for that one. Don't think anything will come of it, but my father's complaining to the venue about it. It's a bit shoddy to give out shots and charge them as highballs. Although, not to get ranty here, but (young) people seem to have really crazy ideas about wedding bars. One of my new husband's cousins told him that since it was last call, it was their obligation to "break the bar". And one of our friends grabbed like four beers because it was last call. And these were some of the few people who knew that the bar costs were being paid for by us. Later we found out one of them thought that because it was an open bar, we paid some sort of nominal fee and the rest was free (???). When we were thinking about a toonie bar, my mother in law told my fiance's cousins that we were doing that and assumed that meant we had some sort of arrangement whereby the drinks would only cost two dollars and we wouldn't have to pay anything. I don't understand why so many people seem to think that alcohol is free? LittleCat fucked around with this message at 00:13 on Apr 30, 2009 |
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Apr 30, 2009 00:08
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Well it's not that uncommon. We paid a flat fee for our open bar at our wedding and I'll be encouraging all of my friends to drink all they can when it's close to last call.
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Apr 30, 2009 01:23
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Chemmy posted:Well it's not that uncommon. We paid a flat fee for our open bar at our wedding and I'll be encouraging all of my friends to drink all they can when it's close to last call. Same here, our wedding is in two days (OH GOD TWO DAYS TO GO) and we have paid a flat fee per person for the drinks. Whether they have 1 or 10 drinks we will be paying the same price for them so I am encouraging everyone to enjoy themselves.
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Apr 30, 2009 01:39
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God I would have loved a system like that. The venue was ridiculously awesome, but the bar loving gouged (everyone still enjoyed themselves, though!). At least the food was more than worth the cost. Also: Senor Tron, good luck!
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Apr 30, 2009 01:40
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LittleCat posted:Also: Senor Tron, good luck! Thanks. I have been lurking this thread for months but haven't really posted in it much. It's been an interesting preparation to say the least, I will have to do a post about our experiences when I have time to get it all down.
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Apr 30, 2009 01:49
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GoreJess posted:How bad is the rain during the hurricane season? We'll be leaving for our honeymoon that last Monday in September & I'm so scared that anywhere we decide to go will just be a washout. That time of year is pretty bad as far as rain goes. Like I said, hurricanes are rare here, but we get lots of tropical waves (the first step before tropical storms). Part of the problem is the flooding which varies depending on the part of the island, part of it is the culture--people absolutely don't go out if it's raining more than a sprinkle. It doesn't rain 24/7, but it can certainly change plans. The upside, if you're adventurous enough to take on a rainy Caribbean island (any of them, really), is that prices are very low for that time of year, both flights and hotels. The cool thing about sea turtles is that when it's not nesting season, it's hunting season!
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Apr 30, 2009 05:09
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Just wanted to post saying that we just got back from doing our registry at Bed Bath & Beyond and the whole experience was really great. They had more than enough options of anything we could possibly need, a checklist ready for us to make sure we didn't forget little things we may not have thought of, and the staff was extremely helpful and friendly, even allowing us to stay in the store an hour past closing while they cleaned up so we could finish going through everything! We'll be setting up a second registry somewhere else with "fun" items like board games and camping equipment and stuff.
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Apr 30, 2009 07:37
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God I wish I set up a registry at Loews or Home Depot  Didn't expect to be building a house when we got engaged last year. Oh how things change unexpectedly. Not really a point in registering now since invitations have gone out already, the bridal shower is over, and the weddings coming up fast... I'd so rather an air compressor then a bunch of kitchen stuff (but the woman might argue..)
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Apr 30, 2009 12:41
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I went to the jeweler yesterday with my natural sapphire and got a picture of it, loose in the setting. Their actual jeweler isn't in til Monday so I won't know if I can use my own side diamonds that actually have meaning to the girlfriend, they are two equally sized diamonds from anniversary gifts given to her grandfather for working at DuPont for 40 and 50 years. I know it doesn't show off the stone, but I really got the picture to show off the filigree.
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May 2, 2009 15:22
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That setting is gorgeous. I love the detail on the side of the band.
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May 2, 2009 15:27
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So after 5+ years and much nagging I think the day of engagement is coming.. we already looked at rings a long time ago and she really like this boonerings ring:  So about the stone.. well I read wired and they had an article about cultured diamonds a long time ago so I think one of those would be really cool.. she's also said she'd prefer not a giant moneysink (her most prized jewelry is a soda can tab necklace). It seems tough trying to find a price for these stones online.. though I did find a site created-diamonds.com that seems to pretty much be exactly what Im looking for. The ring takes an emerald cut and for the dimensions Im probably looking at between .20 and .35 carats... if I had to quantify it I think the shape of the ring and a lighter colored diamond (light blue or green? Shes not incredibly girly so I think an intense pink J-Lo ring wouldnt jive) would make it interesting and pretty without having the diamond e-peen as the main focal point. So I guess Im just asking if anyone has experience with these stones or with these sites, or just ring theory in general (of course I should just ask "hey whats your favorite color" one of these days).
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May 6, 2009 13:54
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I linked you in the GWS thread, but I was really happy with Brilliant Earth. They have a diamond selector where you can pick what stone you want and it's all conflict free so you can still give deBeers the middle finger. http://www.brilliantearth.com/loose-diamonds/search/ Also, to compare, two .35 carat, emerald cut, D-F color, VVS clarity diamonds: Created-diamonds: $1606 Brilliant Earth: $850
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May 7, 2009 04:26
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UGHGGHGHGGHHG photos. They are amazing. If anyone is in the Midwest and in need of a photog, check out Joe Crimmings..jpg) .jpg) It's Nanerpus! If you're in the mood for wedding porn, you can see two albums here. There are 422 photos total, but I couldn't do that to Facebook. Album 1 Album 2 zap actionsdower! fucked around with this message at 15:10 on May 7, 2009 |
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May 7, 2009 04:34
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zap actionsdower! posted:If you're in the mood for wedding porn, you can see two albums here. There are 422 photos, but I couldn't do that to Facebook. I have my dress picked but I'm a little nervous about buying it now when I have over a year to go before the wedding. I'm just scared that I won't be able to find it anywhere when it DOES come closer to wedding-time.
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May 7, 2009 06:45
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http://www.hawaiiweddings.com/ We had our ceremony on Monday! I woke up at 4am to start hair and make-up. I had a pro with 15 years experience working for MAC. He has an annual contract with the all-Japan Hula Festival so we had a lot to talk about between Oahu and Tokyo. We did makeup for 2 hours, and he put my hair up in 15 minutes. The photographer was excellent as well. He does photos in the same garden, same beach and same wedding company everyday but was still patient and enthsuiastic. Everyone (20 guests) assembled under a tree on the beach so my aunt could sit down during the ceremony. The free-style hippie ceremony began with a conch shell. Captain Howie's metaphors rambled a little, but our vows were solid, the rings were exchanged, and we finished with the traditional kiss. My in-laws enjoyed the ceremony even though they couldn't follow the English speech. The reception was brunch at a famous diner (Cinnamon's in Kailua) that was perfect for everyone. We didn't have a cake, but I did steal a carrot pancake with cream cheese frosting sauce. My dad gave an excellent speech and I dismissed everyone to go back to the beach before they flew home. We spent the afternoon boogie boarding and flew back to Japan the next morning.  ps. Seconding the envy of the Rocketship dress! I wanted something fitted, but altered my mum's dress for sentimentality. peanut fucked around with this message at 08:57 on May 7, 2009 |
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May 7, 2009 08:52
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Response cards annoy me.. Sent the things out over a month ago.. Stamped all the response cards, (even put extra since postage may go up this month). And still only got back maybe 1/3 of the guest responses.. Why is it so drat hard to take a self-addressed/stamped envelope, put a check next to attending, and pop that in the mailbox UGH! On the bright side, already 9 people NOT attending that I've never met nor heard of before..
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May 7, 2009 14:46
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razzberri posted:I love, love, LOVE your dress. It looks like you had a nice, intimate wedding, which is what I would ideally like to have. BUT, so far it looks like we'll have at least 100 guests, and that's mostly just family so we're having a hard time paring down the guest list. (Stupid big families...grr) Either go ahead and buy it now, or, if you can, wait and see if the price will drop with the season change if it's at a regular dress shop. I found my dress on the David's Bridal discount rack since it was going out of style. We've still got a year and a month before our wedding, but having the dress is encouragement to take care of myself and not put on weight, plus I don't have to worry about finding The Dress again if I'd waited. Zap, the pictures are gorgeous! And your dress looks beautiful on you!
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May 7, 2009 15:59
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I'm having a nightmare of a time and I would appreciate any ideas. I plan to ask my long term girlfriend to marry me, but I'm having a lot of trouble finding a substitute for a diamond engagement ring - as we both feel strongly about the diamond industry and she hates rings. I was hoping to find a nice emerald pendant or necklace (as green is her favorite color) with a white gold chain (as silver is better than gold for her complexion). She will be horrified if I spend too much money on it, as we're saving for a house, and neither of us are really that material. I do want to get her something nice enough that it will last, but I'm looking in the hundreds of dollars (pounds) rather than the thousands. I'm located in the UK but have only found a paltry selection of options both online and in bricks and mortar stores. I've found emeralds in simple settings but I was hoping to find something a little bit more unique design wise. The more interesting stuff all tends to be emerald/diamond. Does anyone have any suggestions?
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May 7, 2009 16:00
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Not sure how helpful this will be, but we both hate diamonds too, and were similarly looking for something unique design-wise. In the end, we went to places who specialized in estate jewelry, then found one willing to swap out the evil diamond for a pretty sapphire plus a nice discount for the downgrade in stone.
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May 7, 2009 16:05
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Blamestorm posted:I was hoping to find a nice emerald pendant or necklace (as green is her favorite color) Are you opposed to peridot? Its a bit softer, but also cheaper and a much deeper green. I would also suggest looking on Etsy for well made, cheap jewerly (or at least for ideas). Speaking of rings, has anyone had any experience with wooden rings? Its the only thing we've really found for our wedding rings that we both like, but everywhere says they only last a couple years at most. Not to mention the ridiculous amount of care (i.e. not washing hands with them on) they require.
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May 7, 2009 16:26
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If she loves green and isn't very materialistic at all, would she be opposed to fake? The emerald is my birthstone and I wanted emeralds forever. My family owns a jewelry store and my mom warned against emeralds since they're kind of brittle, but she got me tiny emerald earrings a couple of years ago. She also got me tiny chrome diopside earrings at the same time. The emeralds were cloudy and ugly and the chrome diopside was bright and pretty (and way cheaper). I also have one in my necklace and it's lovely.
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May 7, 2009 16:33
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Blamestorm posted:I'm having a nightmare of a time and I would appreciate any ideas. I plan to ask my long term girlfriend to marry me, but I'm having a lot of trouble finding a substitute for a diamond engagement ring - as we both feel strongly about the diamond industry and she hates rings. We handled this by buying a used ring. He just went to Zales. They didn't even have the ring categorized correctly-- they sold it to him as white gold, and it was still a steal for that material. When I took it in to a local jeweler to get it resized after he proposed, we found out it is actually platinum, which made it an even better deal. Obviously that's unlikely to happen and buying a ring that isn't what you thought it was isn't the ideal situation. But it IS a good way to get an inexpensive ring without paying into the diamond industry.
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May 7, 2009 16:47
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Blamestorm, you might want to check out estate sales either online or in your area. You can find some pretty cool and unique pieces that way, and a lot of times not that expensive. And I second the idea of shopping around on Etsy.
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May 7, 2009 16:54
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Beautiful, beautiful pictures peanut and zap!
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May 7, 2009 18:33
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Thanks very much, lots of good ideas!
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May 8, 2009 10:00
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