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errol _flynn posted:"The crowd had made a circle, and no one would walk through it. One older lady asked her to repeat her answer because she couldn't hear, so my now-fiance told the whole crowd she had said yes. Everyone clapped, and the crowd died down a bit eventually. At this point she reminded me to put the ring on her. I'm glad everyone enjoyed my story. Thanks for the congratulations! And amethyst, that's a beautiful reception (and great photography)! Believe me, I'll be coming back to all of you when my fiance and I are planning our 2011 wedding.
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Dec 18, 2009 05:46
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Thanks for all the nice comments! As I mentioned before, if anyone has any questions about eloping and then throwing parties feel free to ask  .
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Dec 18, 2009 20:28
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vanessa posted:Has anyone here had their ceremony on one day, and their reception the next day? How did that work out for you? Obviously nothing is finalized until my fiance and I decide together on a place, but I wanted to hear about other people's experiences. This post was from a few days ago, but since I did this, I figured I'd chime in. We had our ceremony on Friday, and a reception on Saturday. We split the dates because the ceremony was in NYC, and the reception ended up in Philadelphia. We only invited our extended family to the ceremony, and everyone to the reception. We skipped the rehearsal dinner, and instead had a nice dinner after the ceremony at a restaurant. Some people opted to just go to the ceremony and the dinner, others went to just the reception, and some went to both. We made sure to put RSVP's for both events in the invitation so we could get an accurate head count. Tracking everything was a bit of a challenge, but not unmanageable. It worked out very smoothly, and people didn't seem to mind. It was nicer in some respects, because we didn't have to worry about the reception until the next day, and we got a good nights rest before going out to party the next evening.
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Dec 18, 2009 22:48
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JohnnyRnR posted:Don't ask. Tell. Good point. Though by now it won't be much of a surprise.
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Dec 19, 2009 15:55
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GACK! I've been planning on proposing this Christmas for months! Ring is in hand, scandalous proposal set up, etc. Then I find out my BROTHER is planning on doing the very same thing in another part of the country with his girlfriend at her parents' house. Where my proposal is concerned, NOBODY knows, as I wanted it to really be a surprise to my girl, and my mom, and that element of surprise is essential to the proposal. So, am I now screwed? Will my younger brother think I'm trying to upstage him? Should I tell him I've been planning this for a while, and, hey, Mom will be happy that even though she couldn't be there for his proposal, she got one from me? Or should I put it off for a couple of months so he can have his/their moment in the spotlight?
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Dec 21, 2009 12:42
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Clockwork Sputnik posted:GACK! I've been planning on proposing this Christmas for months! Ring is in hand, scandalous proposal set up, etc. Then I find out my BROTHER is planning on doing the very same thing in another part of the country with his girlfriend at her parents' house. My brother got engadged. My sister then got engaged and married before he got married. He was a bit pissed that she 'upstaged him'. She is now 7 months pregnant, and my sister-in-law is 6 months pregnant. They were a bit pissed that she got pregnant first as well. My wee sister is 23, my brother is 31. I don't know what I'm trying to say, except, maybe, there will always be a reason not to do it, for the sake of someone else's feelings, so you should just get it done (but maybe give your brother the heads up)
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Dec 21, 2009 13:50
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Clockwork Sputnik posted:GACK! I've been planning on proposing this Christmas for months! Ring is in hand, scandalous proposal set up, etc. Then I find out my BROTHER is planning on doing the very same thing in another part of the country with his girlfriend at her parents' house. Sigh, I understand why you're concerned. My husband and I got engaged in 2007 before his little sister did, and immediately started planning for a wedding in October of 2008. When she got engaged a few months later, they immediately started planning a wedding--for May of 2008. I was pissed off as all hell. Not because of being upstaged, but because their side of the family all lives out of town, and in her desire to be married ASAP, she didn't think at all of the fact that it meant their family would have to travel here twice in one year to attend both weddings, or not come at all. And that's exactly what happened-- some relatives just opted out of coming because it was too much to come out twice. I would talk to your brother. It could be that he's totally cool with it, and that you guys can really play up how cool you both are. If you're totally fine with waiting a few months, you can do so, but I feel like you both can make it work, as long as you talk first.
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Dec 21, 2009 14:39
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My fiancee and I got engaged on July 25th of 2008, and by January of 2009 locked in July 31st of 2010 as our date. On July 24th of this year, my cousin proposed to his fiancee and they decided to make their date July 24th of 2010 for the one-year anniversary. That's fine, the date's important to them, I understand that. I just guess it means half my relatives (all from CT) won't come to mine since their wedding is on Long Island and ours is in Reading, PA. Not to mention that my cousin and his new wife will probably be on their honeymoon and not show for ours. For me, the kicker is that I didn't hear about it from my cousin, but from my father a week later. He asked me "how committed" my fiancee and I were to our date, since my cousin had decided to go with a date exactly one week before ours. I informed him that since we already had the church, hall, caterer and photographer booked that we were very committed, and if that meant my side was thinned out even more, it was just the way things were going to be. When I left my cousin a voicemail to remind him of our date and ask if he and his fiancee had considered it, he replied with another telling me that they had "spoken to all the major players" and they all agreed that having their wedding on the 24th wouldn't change their plans regarding the 31st. Given the state of my relationship with my family at large and the elderly, frail state of many of them, this probably means they weren't going to come anyway. Oh well, I guess I get to invite more friends instead.
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Dec 21, 2009 17:17
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Okay so getting close to popping the question and we got one big conversation coming up, money. I make about 3 times what she does which neither of us has an issue with. We haven't talked about it seriously yet but I'm wondering how this conversation went with you and your SO and what the outcome was? Currently I'm leaning towards the "combo" method. We each keep separate accounts but have a joint account for household bills, vacations, kids, large purchases. We keep separate accounts for smaller personal things (we both have wildly different hobbies), gifts and that kind of thing. I'm not 100% sure of the splits but I want to make it fair as in, I make 3x what she does I'd pay 3x what she does into the joint account. Obviously this would be a sliding scale based on what each of us is making. I don't like full joint account because I'd like to be able to suprise her when I can and her seeing a charge to a jeweler or a big cash withdrawl would kind of ruin it. I also don't really like completely seperate accounts and just splitting up who pays what bill. There always seemed to be issues that would creep up with this when I lived with someone in previous relationships. I've looked all over online and talked to a few friends about it, ones that don't mind talkinig about that kind of thing, but thought maybe I'd get some more experiences from here.
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Jan 3, 2010 06:25
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Tindjin posted:Money We do use the joint savings quite a bit, though. Good luck with your proposal!
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Jan 3, 2010 07:35
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Tindjin posted:MONEY As scary as everyone makes it sound, we opted for totally joint accounts. So far, so good. We'd been living together for 5 years before getting married, and I sort of wish we'd done it earlier. However, I do wish I had money to surprise him with sometimes-- that's the only downside. What would happen in the event of a divorce? No idea.
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Jan 3, 2010 08:26
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On a similar topic... Wedding planning is fun, yet it hurts my wallet. I'm going to read through the last dozen pages this week because I know you guys have a ton of tips and plans, but marrying a Latina means I have at least 60 family members to feed. The reception looks like it'll cost at least $13k so far. *shudder*
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Jan 3, 2010 08:33
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Skychrono posted:On a similar topic... Do you know any good buddies or any of her family wiling or able to cater?
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Jan 3, 2010 11:10
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Tindjin posted:Okay so getting close to popping the question and we got one big conversation coming up, money. Yeah, we do the combo method. We have separate checking and savings accounts, a joint checking and a joint savings account. We're lucky, though; our company (we work for the same company) allows us to do as many direct deposits as we want, so every paycheck we have one lump sum go into our joint checking, another smaller sum into our joint savings, and the rest into our personal accounts. It does make life a hell of a lot easier to have the joint account for mortgage, bills, groceries, etc.
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Jan 3, 2010 16:12
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Tindjin posted:Money. We're combining both of our incomes into a joint checking account, and from there will pay all bills, and siphon off an amount to a joint savings account. Neither of us make very much to begin with, and we're not really the type to have big surprise purchases because we tend to budget everything out. The credit cards will also be joint, though only one will ever be used with regularity (paid off each month, used for the 1-3% cash back) Not saying neither of us don't like surprise gifts, just that when we do surprise each other it's often something small or handmade
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Jan 3, 2010 18:30
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We have one checking account and one savings account. It works just fine for us, and it makes it easier to keep up with everything. Our paychecks both go in there (and are similar amounts) every week, and everything comes out even, really.
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Jan 3, 2010 18:39
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Tindjin posted:Money We do joint with a separate savings account for my student loan payments. Because he's in school, I make more than he does at the moment. Both our paychecks go into a joint account, and we have a joint credit card. Almost everything comes out of that account. I have a separate savings account back at my Canadian bank that I slaved to put away 10k in before moving down here, so that at least my student loan payments would be guaranteed for the duration of his schooling. I occasionally make ebay purchases out of that account as it's connected to my paypal, but for the most part, everything comes out of the joint account. If either of us is planning on buying something big (i.e. over $50) we run it by the other person. We live a pretty minimal lifestyle and despite being on limited income we've got a pretty cushy running bank account balance. We've never fought about money. In the future, our positions will be reversed where he's the one making more (much, MUCH more) but I don't anticipate it being a problem. I don't resent providing the lion's share of the income now, and I don't imagine he will either- it's a logistical thing. I doubt this would work for people who have less compatible spending habits.
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Jan 3, 2010 18:40
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Are there any good tips on how to relax and not get anxious during the planning process? The big day is Feb. 27th, but there's still no caterer. I haven't gotten a reply after sending out initial inquiries about two weeks ago. It likely wasn't the best idea to ask around the holidays, but I'm feeling pretty stressed about the fact that there's less than 2 months to go, it's a 3 hour round trip to the city we're holding it in, and all while trying to be a good graduate student and finish my already a year delayed research project. All of my to-do lists are written out several times over. There is literally nothing that I can do tonight that will speed up the process and yet I'm finding it difficult to fall asleep when my stomach's in knots. Please tell me it'll be ok and it's not going to be a horrible party if I don't find a caterer right away 
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Jan 10, 2010 10:36
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It'll be fine! Maybe following up with them this week will help get their attention, but I'm sure you'll find someone. I'm feeling really laid back about the whole thing and I'm wondering if it'll change once I'm closer to go time. The wedding is in October but I'm moving in April so the wedding is just kind of in the back of my mind. Plus it's a backyard affair and maybe that's just less stressful overall.
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Jan 10, 2010 15:34
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Got my ring from eweddingbands.com a few weeks back, had to send it back to correct the ring size due to an error on my part, really good service and quick turn around time. 4 more weeks till my wedding, and now I got a cold, well better to get sick now Only part thats driving me crazy is our recepcion went from 250 invites to almost 300 people...
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Jan 11, 2010 17:24
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If anyone's had success with getting their family/friends to use one of the 'honeymoon registry' sites, I'd like some advice. My fiance and I are getting married in July, and this weekend we inventoried all the things we'd really need from a registry and since we've been living together for a few years, we've got most of the basic stuff covered already. Overall, our registry list is around 15-20 items long, mostly kitchen gadgets we don't have/would like to update and a big armoire for the bedroom. Help with a honeymoon would be a much better gift, in our opinion, so we started researching stuff out in the Bahamas and places like that and all of the registry sites. My friends seem to like the idea, but the problem is our family. Her parents love the idea, but they're a southern family (the wedding will be a few hours from Atlanta) and can be very traditional in terms of wanting to give a physical gift instead of a honeymoon registry (even if it's not on the physical registry list). My mother, on the other hand, hates the idea. She thinks it's tacky, we're begging for cash, that a 10-place setting set of china is a much better choice for us, that people will think we're spoiled for asking for help with the honeymoon, things like that. She's also said she'll refuse to tell anyone on my side of the family about the registry if we go ahead and do it. So overall I'm not sure what to do. We'll have more than enough saved up to pay our own way to a small Orlando/Disney honeymoon if the idea falls through, but we'd really like to go somewhere more exotic. Have any other couples used these registries, and how did you get your families to go along with it?
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Jan 11, 2010 18:57
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CubsWoo posted:So overall I'm not sure what to do. We'll have more than enough saved up to pay our own way to a small Orlando/Disney honeymoon if the idea falls through, but we'd really like to go somewhere more exotic. Have any other couples used these registries, and how did you get your families to go along with it? Do you have a wedding website (with wedding info, "your story," etc.) that you could attach the honeymoon registry site link to? Then it wouldn't matter if your mom didn't want to share the registry with her family. I don't think it's tacky to have a honeymoon registry but if you're having a big wedding, I do think it's kind of tacky to have only 15 items on the physical registry. That can't possibly cover all the different price points for a wide variety of people and you'll be cornering them into doing the honeymoon registry site, giving you cash or coming up with something all on their own. The people who won't at least give you cash, also tend to be people who will come up with things all on their own, by the way. If it were me, I'd come up with more items for the registry, link the honeymoon registry to the site, tell all my good friends that we want a cool honeymoon and tell my younger, closer relatives the same and have them all spread the word. If you don't end up with enough, you can always save up the rest for a cool honeymoon on your own and go a little later. From my own experience, I think a lot of people are suspicious of honeymoon and downpayment registries because we don't know much about them and don't want to take the added effort to research it. I've ignored honeymoon registries before because I wasn't sure if there were fees associated with using the site or anything and much preferred to hand them a check. But having the registry at least let me know that they would appreciate the money over a present.
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Jan 11, 2010 19:52
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CubsWoo posted:Registries I agree with your mom. Gift registries are tacky enough to begin with, but a honeymoon registry really is just a horrid idea. After all, why not just write "Please give us cash and nothing but cash CASH CASH CASH" on the invitations?
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Jan 11, 2010 19:55
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KarmaCandy posted:Do you have a wedding website (with wedding info, "your story," etc.) that you could attach the honeymoon registry site link to? Then it wouldn't matter if your mom didn't want to share the registry with her family. We will, but we haven't set it up yet. quote:I don't think it's tacky to have a honeymoon registry but if you're having a big wedding, I do think it's kind of tacky to have only 15 items on the physical registry. That can't possibly cover all the different price points for a wide variety of people and you'll be cornering them into doing the honeymoon registry site, giving you cash or coming up with something all on their own. The people who won't at least give you cash, also tend to be people who will come up with things all on their own, by the way. The 15-20 things compose the stuff we really need. I'm sure we'll register for more small things, but most of it will just be for replacing stuff that already works just fine. Plus the wedding is in south Georgia, and we live in the Chicago area, so either the registered gifts get shipped to us (denying the 'give a gift at the reception' thing) or, more likely, we'll need to rent a U-Haul and move everything up north after the honeymoon. quote:If it were me, I'd come up with more items for the registry, link the honeymoon registry to the site, tell all my good friends that we want a cool honeymoon and tell my younger, closer relatives the same and have them all spread the word. If you don't end up with enough, you can always save up the rest for a cool honeymoon on your own and go a little later. This is basically the plan - we're hoping we can get people to go for the honeymoon registry, because of our work/school schedules if we don't do the honeymoon right after the wedding, we won't have time free for a vacation for at least another year. vanessa posted:I agree with your mom. Gift registries are tacky enough to begin with, but a honeymoon registry really is just a horrid idea. After all, why not just write "Please give us cash and nothing but cash CASH CASH CASH" on the invitations? Ironically, in the same conversation she told me most of my side of the family will skip a physical registry and hand me a check at the reception/not show up at all and mail me a check. Which is fine, I guess, but aside from the fee the registry site takes out (like 5% as we withdraw, I think?) I don't really see the difference. CubsWoo fucked around with this message at 21:20 on Jan 11, 2010 |
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Jan 11, 2010 21:18
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CubsWoo posted:Which is fine, I guess, but aside from the fee the registry site takes out (like 5% as we withdraw, I think?) I don't really see the difference. And this is exactly why I ignore people's honeymoon registry sites. I don't want my money going towards stupid fees. If it were me and I had cool family/friends that would be willing to do a honeymoon registry, I would suggest looking into http://www.smartypig.com Rather than a registry, it's a savings account that you create for a specific goal. It's social so you can make it searchable and friends and family can donate to the account if they choose to. So you'd create an account, label it Honeymoon, set your goal amount, and people can donate and see how much you've accumulated (you can set it so they can see the exact $ amount in the account or just what percentage of the goal has been attained). Unlike a registry that takes away 5% as a fee, Smarty Pig will give you 2% interest on the account - which is more than most savings accounts (Edit: there is a 2.9% fee when guests put in money if they don't have their own Smarty Pig account though). It can't be purely social, you have to make a direct deposit each month towards your goal as well but it can be as little as $25 and I think you can put the deposits on hold if you need to. You also get cash boosts from certain retailers if you use them when you cash your goal money out including American Airlines (3% cash boost) and Sandals (a 10% cash boost!) and travelocity (2% - 10%). If you have over a year, you can slowly build the fund up yourself after the wedding, and have people contribute to it again for your birthdays/Christmas/other occassions. KarmaCandy fucked around with this message at 22:08 on Jan 11, 2010 |
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Jan 11, 2010 21:45
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It is finished. As of 10:45am, December 25th 2009, no longer am I a bachelor. I proposed to my girlfriend of 3 years. My great grandmother's 1ct European cut diamond ring with inscriptions was placed into the box which was then placed into another much larger box. It was the last gift to be opened. I said that I had to help her with the box, so I got down on one knee. My father, who was the only one on the face of the earth that knew what was about to happen, grabbed my mother and pulled her back so she wouldn't be in the pictures and put his arm around her. She pulled the ring box out and stared at it. "You... you got me the earrings I wanted!". I flipped the top open and her mouth dropped open. and she stared at it for what seemed like an eternity. "Breathe" I said. And with a cracking voice I said, "[name], I love you with all of my heart, and I can't do this without you. So I'm asking you, will you marry me?" And then came the "YES! YES YES YES YES!" and tears. I think her and my mother ripped through a box of tissues in near record time. Mom and dad get a daughter, I get a finance, her parents get a son. I think we're all making out pretty drat good in the long run. When she hugged me and tried to strangle the life out of me, I whispered, "You said that all you wanted for christmas was me... Well kiddo, you've got me forever." And more tears. Now, the planning begins. Our apartment has been invaded by what can only be described as a legion of her best girlfriends. Armed with margaritas and bridal magazines, they came with such fury and speed that my only choice was to turn the office into a bunker. Modern Warfare 2 and my best friend/man have been my only compatriots. The Killian's is running low. Thank god he lives next door. Here's what we've got so far: Colors are tentatively picked-lime, pearl, green, blush Season- Spring (April) Day of the week- Sunday Guest list- Being fleshed out as we speak Size- 100-125 Venue- Two locations have been discussed. Huge antebellum greek revival mansion. Number 2 is a plantation. Tertiary targets are being discussed Bridal party- Done My side- Done Wedding bands- Picked out and ready for purchase Date- don't look before 2011 Officant- Done and done Aaaaaand, that's it. No music, invitations, save the date cards, etc. I actually remember seeing something on here for an invitation that I thought was pretty awesome. It told the story of the bride and the groom using text... art? I don't know what that's called. It's pretty far back and I can't remember how far to drill down for it. If anyone knows what the hell I'm talking about, your help would be appreciated. We're planning what we want, and then taking a scalpel to it after we're done to make it fit into a budget to present to her mother and father. Thank god they love me. This is a lot of loving work haha.
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Jan 12, 2010 03:03
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Bruiser posted:It is finished. As of 10:45am, December 25th 2009, no longer am I a bachelor. I proposed to my girlfriend of 3 years. My great grandmother's 1ct European cut diamond ring with inscriptions was placed into the box which was then placed into another much larger box. It was the last gift to be opened. I said that I had to help her with the box, so I got down on one knee. My father, who was the only one on the face of the earth that knew what was about to happen, grabbed my mother and pulled her back so she wouldn't be in the pictures and put his arm around her. She pulled the ring box out and stared at it. "You... you got me the earrings I wanted!". I flipped the top open and her mouth dropped open. and she stared at it for what seemed like an eternity. "Breathe" I said. And with a cracking voice I said, "[name], I love you with all of my heart, and I can't do this without you. So I'm asking you, will you marry me?" And then came the "YES! YES YES YES YES!" and tears. I think her and my mother ripped through a box of tissues in near record time. Mom and dad get a daughter, I get a finance, her parents get a son. I think we're all making out pretty drat good in the long run. When she hugged me and tried to strangle the life out of me, I whispered, "You said that all you wanted for christmas was me... Well kiddo, you've got me forever." And more tears. Congratulations! I love well-planned engagements. It's probably the biggest surprise you'll ever be able to spring on someone, unless you can somehow surprise them with being pregnant before they know it.
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Jan 12, 2010 04:45
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Welp guess it's time to untrack this thread, engagement was called off yee-haw. Oh well, better to have it happen now than to be posting a "TELL ME ABOUT DIVORCES" thread later.
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Jan 15, 2010 07:32
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 Rant ahead. I'm getting married next Friday. Today was our rehearsal. I contacted the celebrant, saying "it's our rehearsal, you need to be there so we can go through the ceremony." She shows up, proceeds to bustle around the lawn where we were planning on having the ceremony complaining about how it's not the right shape for her and how she thinks people won't be able to hear and a million other things (nevermind this is a loving expensive wedding venue and they've done a zillion perfectly fine weddings on that lawn in front of an absolutely gorgeous view of the New Zealand coastline). The staff at the venue ask her if she'd like to run through the ceremony, and she says "Oh? HO HO. This is not a proper full on rehearsal, no no no goodness me." For fucks sake. This was the only opportunity I had to run through the ceremony before I get married in one weeks time and she laughs off the idea rehearsing at, um, my loving wedding rehearsal. And then! It gets better! She asks me about the reading that my soon-to-be-mother-in-law will do.  She's doing a reading from 1st corinthians, and saying a couple of words after it. That's not appropriate, I'm meant to be talking not her. She's only to do the actual reading, a commentary is not appropriate. You email her and tell her that is completely inappropriate.And then when she sees I'm offering bubbles or punch for guests to drink during the ceremony: What do you think that is. Is that anything to do with me? No no, it's just punch. We're offering guests drinks when they arrive, which they will probably sip on during the ceremony. That's not appropriate. You may only offer it afterwards. To offer it during the ceremony is not appropriate.And with the outdoor part of the wedding: We need a microphone otherwise no one will be able to hear you. Maybe we could just speak up a bit, a microphone seems a bit unnecessary (it is a very small gathering of 56 people). That is not appropriate. You can't mumble at each other. At another wedding I went to blablablablablablalbalblablablalblablablbalaalblbla its not appropriate.I am sick to death of this woman. I wish I had never hired her, except it's too late to change now because her name is on the marriage licence. She has completely ignored everything I've wanted and is trying to take control of aspects of the wedding out of her jurisdiction. You miserable cow, just say the legally required parts, sign the paper then GTFO. Edit: Honeymoon registries. We're going with one for our wedding, and when I sent out the "how to get there etc" information I included a little part about presents. I just said that as my fiance and I had been living in sin for almost 3 years we already have all the traditional wedding present sort of things, and that instead we we set up a Honeymoon registry so they could donate to our worthy cause of having a kickass holiday. Every single person who has commented has said they loved the idea. Rarotonga and Aitutaki, here we come 
Tamarillo fucked around with this message at 09:42 on Jan 15, 2010 |
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Jan 15, 2010 08:23
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cool kids inc. posted:Welp guess it's time to untrack this thread, engagement was called off yee-haw. Oh well, better to have it happen now than to be posting a "TELL ME ABOUT DIVORCES" thread later. That sucks, sorry to hear it. I went through this a couple of years ago and it was really the best thing, in the long run. Good luck to you.
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Jan 15, 2010 13:49
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Woo, excited to be chiming in on this thread. The boyfriend and I have finally agreed on tying knots and starting families. Some background on us: we met about 3 years ago through friends, had strong attraction but lived in different states for college. We agreed that a LDR wasn't possible, but kept in touch over the past three years as good friends -- through icky relationships, rough times in school, etc. -- and visited a few times. When I made plans to relocate to Houston for my career (where we both grew up), he jumped at the chance to help me out and helped me get to job interviews, find a place, etc. Not to be cheesy, but it felt kind of like the missing piece of the puzzle was put in place. The ring is a 0.75ct diamond, an heirloom in his father's family passed down through three or four generations. It needs resetting and some band work, but I'm incredibly honored that his family asked him to pass on the 'heirloom ring.' He wants the proposal to be a surprise. As for wedding plans, we both want something small so we can focus more on getting a house/stuff for the house. We're both only children with massive extended families. They're scattered in a band throughout Texas, Lousiana and Mississippi, with a smattering of folks in New York. His side of the family is really supportive and loving. Unfortunately, my parents went through a hellacious divorce, and my Mom's side of the family will most definitely try to murder Dad's side of the family if they come in contact -- no matter the situation. My mother has been a vituperative little hellion about wedding plans, stating, "If you invite your father, his family, and his girlfriend to the wedding, I want them to sit at least ten rows behind me and wear something so I don't have to see their faces." I half-sputtered "It's my wedding day, you will all behave for at least 24 hours" was met with an acidic reply of "We'll see about that." This lead to a weekend-long fight that left me almost sick with disappointment. Reading this thread has been a pretty good morale booster, though. I'm going to hold still on the "For one day, stow your poo poo" attitude with my mother and her family, and if they can't get it together? Sorry, guys. Not in my new family.
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Jan 15, 2010 16:37
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Does anyone have any experience with Spence Diamonds? I went into the store in Langley, Vancouver yesterday and put down 20% on a ring that my girlfriend and I had looked at a few weeks earlier. The ring is 19K white gold, with two tapered baguettes (.18K each) and a round cut center diamond. The diamond itself is Canadian (girlfriend's preference), 0.54K, SI1, J color, excellent round cut. The diamond itself is $2249 Canadian. Too be honest I'm a little disappointed with the price. I looked on Brilliant Earth and found 0.65K diamonds, VS1, H color for less! My problem with going with Brilliant Earth or any of these online wholesalers is that I'm concerned about the warranty (Spence Diamonds has 5-year replacement due to cracks/chips, lifetime cleaning, lifetime trade up and 5-year resize and repairs) which online wholesalers cannot match. I guess my question is how important is that when purchasing a ring? I assume replacement is pretty rare but what about cleaning? How much would my girlfriend expect to pay in ring cleaning over the years? I read that you should have your ring cleaned once every 6months-1year. Anyway, I'm only just starting to look and the nice thing about Spence Diamonds is that I'm not committed. I can cancel or change my order at any time if I'm not satisfied. I realise that buying from a brick and mortar store forces you to pay a premium however I didn't expect it to be quite that much. On the other hand buying from a brick and mortar store would definitely give me peace of mind especially living in Canada (the online stores all seem to be in the US).
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Jan 18, 2010 22:43
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So we have officially moved into the next step: ceremony/reception planning. Which brings me to a question: Have you ever attended (or did you have) a themed wedding? We are thinking of doing a halloween themed wedding, but we are very worried about crossing the line from nice to tacky. When you went to a themed wedding, was there something you saw that made you say "ok that is too much"? etc. Also, does this sound like too much? It's kinda the rough sketch we are starting with. For centerpieces, alternating flowers in cauldrons http://www.amazon.com/New-Age-Large-Cast-Cauldron/dp/B000WS7ATE or carved pumpkins with just a light inside, carved with fall leaf cutout. Tablecloths would be either black or orange. Cauldrons on orange, pumpkins on black. Napkins matching etc. That's about all we got. We are afraid it may be over the line already. I'd love to hear if you think it is.
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Jan 18, 2010 22:55
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Hawkeye posted:Halloween Wedding . That being said, I've seen photos of some awesome masquerade Halloween weddings. If you want to make it more of an upscale Halloween party think about going with black and silver as opposed to bright orange. I've also heard of people bringing in someone who does tarot readings and the likes. I think your options are endless. If you're not on Offbeat Bride, I highly suggest signing up. There are TONS of Halloween weddings on there if you're looking for inspiration. Good luck!
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Jan 18, 2010 23:07
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Hawkeye posted:When you went to a themed wedding, was there something you saw that made you say "ok that is too much"? etc.
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Jan 18, 2010 23:46
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Hawkeye posted:So we have officially moved into the next step: ceremony/reception planning. My brother had a Halloween themed wedding, he got married the 29th, I think. Everyone had to wear a costume, it was a ton of fun.
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Jan 19, 2010 02:36
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Hawkeye posted:So we have officially moved into the next step: ceremony/reception planning. GO FOR IT!!!!!I know a few couples that have had Halloween weddings where people dressed up as well, all i heard of for weeks after wards was how incredibly awesome it was! SO I say, do it!!!
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Jan 19, 2010 05:44
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Well it seems that as long as it is done well it definitely should not be over the line, thanks for the reassurance!
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Jan 19, 2010 12:42
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Rhaegar posted:The ring is 19K white gold, with two tapered baguettes (.18K each) and a round cut center diamond. The diamond itself is Canadian (girlfriend's preference), 0.54K, SI1, J color, excellent round cut. The diamond itself is $2249 Canadian. One thing to remember is that the GST and PST tax on a diamond shipped to Canada is 10% to 20%. That at least makes the Spence store more competitive. It isn't that important to have a ring cleaned often, but it is important to have the setting inspected every 6-12 months to detect wear that could lead to a loss of the center diamond. It does happen often so it is very important to make sure the mountings on the diamond are in good repair. Another question to ask is if you need a Canadian diamond. Canadian diamonds are more costly to mine (higher labor costs) and sell for higher prices than African diamonds. A .60 H, VS2 (Ideal cut, Hearts and Arrows, GIA) is only ~$1,650 USD.
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Jan 19, 2010 19:18
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So I am the groom.. We have been told by everyone and their sister, get a videographer.. So, should I just use a family member with a video cam, or hire someone?? If I should hire someone what should I look for in a videographer, I know what to look for in a photographer but not videographer. oh and while im at it, dirty details: Ceremony Venue: 3100 (Cermony and Reception Venue, includes catering cost covered by them) Venue is McMenamins Imbrie Hall/Cornelius Pass Roadhouse Officiant: $1something Wedding dress: 300, bought online a couple sizes larger Shoes: shes still shopping Bridemaids dresses: same as shoes Grooms clothes: White shirt, Sand colored vest, i think. khakis and SAANNDALS Groomsmens clothes: Similar to groom, different colored shirts/vests i think Hair, makeup: Mother of groom paying for hers and Brides (shes happy she gets a daughter), bridesmaids pay for their own, its a friend of my moms shes doing it discounted too.. Flowers: cant remember the amount Photos: 750 bucks and hes a close friend of the family Rings: Grooms ring, 300 bucks white gold (on sale), hers.. was more than mine saphire with the band and ring actually interlock when worn together. Ill have to find it. Reception: Venue: 3100 (Cermony and Reception Venue, includes catering cost covered by them) Venue is McMenamins Imbrie Hall/Cornelius Pass Roadhouse Marquee, table and chair hire: included in costs Food: Included in Venue Costs.. 3100 covers food and an open bar up till the dollar limit is hit.. (~1.5k) but its open Beer and Wine only, liquor stuff is extra (especially with the prices of it in oregon). Cake: 300 for cupcakes, unknown for the baklava my fiance wants.. and then a local grocery store known for wedding cakes will do a 8 inch or so cake for the cutting. but cupcakes for the desert. Size= ~120.. including every little kid.. of course anyone under 12 is 1/2 cost for the catering, and then any under 5 is free. So what ever is left after the catering purchase(s) then that goes to the open bar to meet our requirement of 3100 or more on the contract with the venue. Date is Late May this year.. Engaged ~11 months.. Together for 3yrs in Dec. And we came in at or under budget for everything but her ring.. im happy, little to no debt at all yay (depends on how much is on the CC left over)~! Cabana Boi <3 fucked around with this message at 19:37 on Jan 19, 2010 |
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Jan 19, 2010 19:20
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