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rockcity posted:It sounds like they've gotten it consistent now and they're forecasting them to be slightly cheaper (20%) than mined diamonds. It sounds like the bulk of them will still be under a carat, but larger on average than the ones from Apollo. The next time I'm in the area I might stop by and see what info I can get out of them in person. There site is down right now to convert it to a storefront so who knows. There are currently surprisingly large white diamonds being grown, but they're being sold privately to keep it quiet. One lab I've dealt with has grown synthetic white diamonds over four carats. I know they've said "20% cheaper than natural" but I don't think they can support that price without the cooperation of DeBeers.
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Jan 17, 2011 23:18
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I finally got my ring back! My boyfriend's dad made it, please excuse the crappy photos, because it looks so much better when not limited by my photography skills. The engagement band is a squid with a sapphire eye with tentacles wrapped around a diamond, and the wedding band is a squid with a ruby eye that fits into the engagement band. Sadly, I'm in my last few weeks of pregnancy and the swelling in my fingers is keeping me from wearing any rings. I've worn it a few times, but it gets so uncomfortable that I'm going to have to wait until after the baby to wear it on a regular basis.   
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Jan 18, 2011 02:48
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So my fiance and I have finally started planning our wedding/honeymoon in earnest now that we have a better idea of our finances. We want to do a small destination wedding in Vegas. We were thinking of just eloping, but our family and some friends expressed interest in going too and we'd love for them to be there. What's typical for the hosts to pay for at destination weddings? I figured a rehearsal dinner for everyone (his family will cover this I'm guessing) and then reception, but is there anything else?
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Jan 18, 2011 11:04
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Earlier this year, someone in this thread recommended Look Park in MA for outdoor fall weddings. Whoever that was, thank you so much. We visited it this weekend and absolutely loved it. We've got a hold on a date in October for a week while we check out one more place, but I'm pretty sure that we already know where we're going to end up. The Garden House was too pretty to pass on.  We've also already found pretty much everything else we were looking for, so we're likely to have all the major parts ironed out by the end of February. I like the idea of relaxing for eight months instead of going nuts with a few weeks left looking for photographers.
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Jan 18, 2011 16:13
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Sundae posted:Earlier this year, someone in this thread recommended Look Park in MA for outdoor fall weddings. Whoever that was, thank you so much. We visited it this weekend and absolutely loved it. I think that was me! Hooray! I hope it works out nicely. If you do end up going with it, pretty please post lots of pictures & what you think of the venue. I'm still not engaged, but I'm still obviously slightly insane and thus doing small plans in advance...
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Jan 18, 2011 16:21
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I will certainly take pictures! I'm going to be up there again in a month to take care of table-layouts and to do a tasting at a caterer (my fiancee really trusts me WAY too much... letting an engineer do table layouts is a baaaad idea  ), so I'll bring a camera along and snap a whole bunch of the Garden House. No guarantees on Pines Theater - I'm not making myself trudge through two feet of snow to get to it again. (I'll grab some if it's clear, though.)A question for anyone who cares to answer, and pardon the vagueness: We're doing a two-part wedding, with a small catholic ceremony with only our immediate families first, and then a secular outdoor ceremony with all the guests at the park. This lets me get my religious component and satisfies our families, and then it lets us both go hog-wild and have the wedding we actually want too. Only one reception, of course. Anyway - I have absolutely no clue where to even start on writing up a ceremony. Does anyone have suggestions for a starting point to work off of?
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Jan 19, 2011 14:58
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Years ago I saw in one of these threads a website of this store that sort of let you "design" your own dress. I dont remember the name, but I am wondering if anyone here remembers the site I am talking about
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Jan 21, 2011 05:33
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ChloroformSeduction posted:I finally got my ring back! My boyfriend's dad made it, please excuse the crappy photos, because it looks so much better when not limited by my photography skills. The engagement band is a squid with a sapphire eye with tentacles wrapped around a diamond, and the wedding band is a squid with a ruby eye that fits into the engagement band. Sadly, I'm in my last few weeks of pregnancy and the swelling in my fingers is keeping me from wearing any rings. I've worn it a few times, but it gets so uncomfortable that I'm going to have to wait until after the baby to wear it on a regular basis. for content: My boyfriend (fiance!!  ) started randomly sending me pictures of rings in the style he knew I liked around August-September and got me this right on Halloween weekend (my favorite day of the year, aww): http://www.gemvara.com/Round-Blue-Sapphire-White-Gold-Ring-by-Carl-Ansley/jewelry/v/216705/
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Jan 21, 2011 06:12
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Zealous Abattoir posted:Years ago I saw in one of these threads a website of this store that sort of let you "design" your own dress. I dont remember the name, but I am wondering if anyone here remembers the site I am talking about Was it dressbydesign? I almost did this for my dress, but I wasn't a huge fan of not being able to try before buy.
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Jan 21, 2011 06:46
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I got engaged on NYE after being together most of the past 7 1/2 years. Here's some ring porn for those interested, click pic for a couple other shots: Haven't seen anything like this so if I missed it apologies: We're planning on sitting down soon to discuss finances, a date, etc. and I want to have a bit of the outline planning done ahead of time to ease his mind. I'm huge on checklists/planners/binders and would like feedback on this one I found by people more advanced in their planning, like if its missing something (obviously I won't be using it all but you never know what little thing you can miss) I like it since it's laid out by months/weeks before: http://www.realsimple.com/holidays-entertaining/weddings/planning/wedding-planning-checklist-00000000000222/index.html Also, tips on finding a venue in North Western Pennsylvania, around the Mercer County area. We're both at such a loss on this since I'm Atheist/Agnostic and he's a lapsed Catholic who'd always dreamed of having his priest uncle officiate.
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Jan 21, 2011 08:54
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zamiel posted:I got engaged on NYE after being together most of the past 7 1/2 years. Here's some ring porn for those interested, click pic for a couple other shots: .
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Jan 21, 2011 11:03
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zamiel posted:I'm huge on checklists/planners/binders and would like feedback on this one I found by people more advanced in their planning, like if its missing something (obviously I won't be using it all but you never know what little thing you can miss) I like it since it's laid out by months/weeks before: http://www.realsimple.com/holidays-entertaining/weddings/planning/wedding-planning-checklist-00000000000222/index.html My suggestion is that if you really want the uncle to officiate, talk to him about it before you start planning venues. If he's still a priest, he might be limited in where he can preside over a marriage ceremony. Once you get past that, figure out what is more important: venue or date you get married. If venue is more important, scope out places and see when your favorites are available. If date is more important, be prepared to search a little bit harder for a venue. We wound up changing the date to get our venue. We planned our wedding in 7 months, and a lot of venues we looked at pretty much laughed at us for not booking more than a year in advance. Once you get the venue booked, then figure out your checklist for planning the rest. What you posted looks pretty average as far as what you can find online, but when you do some stuff will depend on a lot of things: how busy you are, how much you want to/can get done in advance, etc. For example, if your venue provides catering and entertainment, then you won't need those items on your checklist, or they'll be combined with other items.
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Jan 21, 2011 19:05
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Hi. Found this thread from the Weddings of the Damned thread where I've been watching for definite Don'ts on weddings. For ring porn here's our engagement rings: A couple weeks after he'd proposed and given me mine, he kept teasing that the guy never gets a ring. Being the huge LOTR nerd that he is, I got him the One Ring as his engagement ring which is what he's got on in the picture. Our wedding is set for April 16, 2011. I've really just started planning this month even though we got engaged last May. I kept thinking I had so much time and then, all the sudden...I didn't. So far, I am trying to keep expenses down so we can possibly have a short honeymoon. I'm renting my dress from a wonderful shop about 30 miles away. She will be tying in our wedding color of red to the dress which will make it a bit more mine than just a rental. Bridal party is picked. Bridesmaid dresses are picked as well as groomsmen clothes. We're reserving the band shell that he played at with the punk bands he was in earlier years. It's already got seating and great acoustics. I think it will be fun to decorate and use. A friend is officiating the wedding in a non-religious ceremony. Another friend works for a florist. She will get our flowers at cost and arrange them. Photographer is a friend as well who is doing the wedding at 1/5 of the normal cost. Two weeks ago I was in full panic mode after attending a wedding expo and realizing how much I had not even thought about yet. Now, after having a close friend step up and give me advice, I feel better. I also ordered Wedding Planning for Dummies and I've stopped looking at all those brochures I got shoved in my hand at the expo. I think going there might have been a bad idea for me. Any other ideas for cost efficient weddings? Also this is my 1st wedding but I'm also 36 with 2 kids so I'm no blushing bride of 18. Edit: the one time I don't preview my post first, I post a picture in 8X10 form
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Jan 25, 2011 04:09
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GEMorris posted:Our stuff is at http://www.oslopress.com/ our invitation was the willow design. If it is not cool to self promote like this let me know and I will edit this part out. ::shameless:: Just bumping 10 months after my first post to say that we updated our website at the end of December. It is now much more polished and has a lot more pictures. I know we are outside of the budgets of a large majority of brides, but it might be good for inspiration. Anyhow, goon-owned business, thought newcomers might be interested. ::/shameless::
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Jan 25, 2011 05:40
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Got engaged back in June and we've just been waiting for our K1 visa to clear, if we're lucky she'll be here by April! I bought the engagement ring when I was semi-broke at a jewelry show so I wasn't very pleased with it. As such I went all out with the wedding ring and had it custom made with a design I came up with. It's based off a Bedouin design I took from a bracelet then mixed in Arabic calligraphy (the heart literally says love) 
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Jan 25, 2011 08:04
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Can I ask if anyone has any suggestions for a cheap elopment in Napa/Sonoma at the end of April? My fiancée and I have been looking but most places want 3 or 4 grand and offer a bunch of stuff we don't want. Like cakes, and photographers. We really just want someplace nice to stand (and an option for if it's raining) with room for 10 people and an officiant. I can't see it taking more than an hour or two. Any suggestions?
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Jan 25, 2011 17:01
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Ashex posted:I bought the engagement ring when I was semi-broke at a jewelry show so I wasn't very pleased with it. As such I went all out with the wedding ring and had it custom made with a design I came up with. HELL YES. That ring is absolutely stunning, and you kick rear end such an awesome design. Congratulations!
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Jan 25, 2011 17:09
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Sundae posted:HELL YES. That ring is absolutely stunning, and you kick rear end such an awesome design. Thanks! The design I came up with was a bitch for my designer to make, she and her husband had to have a friend make a 3d wax mold of it as his usual method wasn't working. I brought the rough design and she made it awesome If you're in the Seattle area and want jewelry made I highly recommend Fremont Jewelry.
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Jan 25, 2011 19:10
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Trying to find other examples of the ring below.. http://shopping.schubachstore.com/Style-10298-Half-Bezel-Set-Round-Stone-Anniversary-Band My hopefully soon-to-be really likes this style and it works with her being able to wear it all day (she has to wear gloves in a lab setting). She always hates taking off her other rings because they can catch on the latex and rip it. Anyone have any comments about this store or know of other reputable stores that would have this kind of a ring? Most of my G searches turn up low cost online stores that raise red flags just from looking at their website or the costs. ETA: Or if someone could give me a better way of describing this style of ring that would be awesome also. Thanks for any help that is provided. Tindjin fucked around with this message at 22:14 on Jan 26, 2011 |
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Jan 26, 2011 20:00
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I'm in charge of picking out the following songs for the reception: Mother-Son Dance Money Dance (not sure if we are going to actually do this) Garter Off Garter Toss Any suggestions?
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Jan 28, 2011 01:50
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AzCoug posted:I'm in charge of picking out the following songs for the reception: For the Mother-Son, my husband chose What A Wonderful World, but then had the DJ skip in "Brick House" in the middle to shock the poo poo out of his Mom. It was pretty hilarious. I have no idea what a money dance is? For garter off/garter toss we did Oh Yeah by Yello.
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Jan 28, 2011 03:17
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Giving props to JohnnyRnR. I just bought a loose diamond from him. He worked with me for a few months trying to find a good diamond within my budget. He managed to beat brick and morter stores in price by at least $1500 given the quality of the diamond. Man I am SO happy I went through him Buy from this goon
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Jan 28, 2011 16:37
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We went to double confirm and book the post ceremony meal and reception venues today, so it's all done! Going over our food budget, what we want and expected guest numbers, we've been told we should be well under budget on the food, which is nice. All we need now is a dress, the cakes, my suit, nice clothes for the kids, cameras for the tables, possibly a photographer (undecided on if we want a professional yet), and decorations for the reception. But it does mean that on Monday I can print and post the invitations! Just over 3 months to go.
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Jan 28, 2011 16:42
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Masonity posted:We went to double confirm and book the post ceremony meal and reception venues today, so it's all done! Going over our food budget, what we want and expected guest numbers, we've been told we should be well under budget on the food, which is nice. And rings... I am starting to get a bit nervous now :x Thank gently caress we are not having any speaches.
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Jan 28, 2011 18:03
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AzCoug posted:I'm in charge of picking out the following songs for the reception: For our songs we had a Simon and Garfunkel/Paul Simon sort of theme going on, we did the Father/Daughter dance to "Father and Daughter" and the Mother/Son dance to "Loves Me Like a Rock" (we also named our daughter Cecilia, so yeah, kinda fans here...). I honestly can't remember what we did for the money dance; I don't think we did a specific song. We did "Bust a Move" for the garter toss because it was funny.
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Jan 28, 2011 18:57
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Alright, ring questions! My SO and I were looking at rings online tonight. We found the same style ring at the same time, but in different places. As I was looking at this one at Costco of all places: http://tinyurl.com/489kzlx She found this one on Blue Nile: http://www.bluenile.com/opal-diamond-ring_9822 I know there are some differences between the two, but enough to justify the price difference? Also, she found this ring that she loves, but I've never heard of this website and I'm a little wary: http://tinyurl.com/4o6nor4
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Jan 30, 2011 07:34
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RabbitMage posted:Alright, ring questions! My SO and I were looking at rings online tonight. We found the same style ring at the same time, but in different places. Honestly I'd say the one thing that's going to make a difference in those rings (aside from 18k vs 14k white gold and the 0.02cttw difference in diamond size) is the quality of the opal. Opals are one of those stones I'm not comfortable with buying online since so much of what makes them beautiful is the changing color flashes that occur as you move the stone on your hand. A still picture of an opal can only tell you so much, but to get a really good one I'm of the opinion you should see it in person. I've bought opals online before but only from trusted dealers that were specifically well reviewed for the quality of their opals. EDIT: Just checked to see if you'd posted in this thread before. You probably already know this but if you're serious about an opal ring, be aware of the fact that they're very fragile and shouldn't be worn the same way most women wear diamonds (every day/during chores/exercising). You can do a lot of damage to opal if you don't treat it right, and it takes some good care and conscientiousness to keep them in top condition.
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Jan 30, 2011 21:42
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Rootbeer Baron posted:Opals Oh yeah, I know. I suspect the GF would have sense to take it off if she was doing anything intense, but I'd also insure the hell out of it, assuming insurance will cover things like that. If I did buy online, I'd go for a place that has a good return policy. That is one of the things I know about Costco-it seems like you can return almost anything almost anytime and they don't care.
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Jan 30, 2011 22:27
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AzCoug posted:I'm in charge of picking out the following songs for the reception: This was fun to think about just now. I asked the husband what one of them was and he said "I don't remember. . . do you? Good, because I thought it was a test." Entry into the reception: Star Wars Imperial March Money Dance: I can't remember for the life of me. I remember a family friend had his way with my husband. It was hilarious. Cake Cutting: A Kiss to Build a Dream On Garter Off/Toss: I can't think of this one either. My SIL used "Girls" by the Beasty Boys. Pretty funny, cut it off after the first chorus though. Father/Daughter: Isn't She Lovely How awful, I can't remember many of the songs we used. Our DJ sucked, I'll blame it on him. He changed a lot of what we were supposed to have at the last minute.
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Jan 30, 2011 22:54
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Bahunter22 posted:This was fun to think about just now. I asked the husband what one of them was and he said "I don't remember. . . do you? Good, because I thought it was a test." Being married on May the Fourth (be with you), we're really torn on if we should find a nice, normal song for the entry to the wedding ceremony itself, or if we should go for the Imperial March.
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Jan 31, 2011 00:05
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RabbitMage posted:Opals I don't know the third guy, but I only have one thing to say about the Costco and Blue Nile links. Nowhere does it say "Natural Opal without enhancements." That's a red flag for me. If you don't care about treatments then either ring is probably fine. BlueNile's track record for selling enhanced gemstones without disclosure isn't exactly encouraging.
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Jan 31, 2011 00:16
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JohnnyRnR posted:I don't know the third guy, but I only have one thing to say about the Costco and Blue Nile links. Nowhere does it say "Natural Opal without enhancements." That's a red flag for me. If you don't care about treatments then either ring is probably fine. I think, mostly, we just want something that looks pretty. I do think I talked her out of an opal though, after discussing how fragile they are. I'll get her something else with an opal on it, and we have a list of other gemstones to consider.
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Jan 31, 2011 00:25
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Does anyone have any advice or pointers about having a destination wedding in Florida? My fiancee and I decided that we'd like to have a wedding there, on a beach, rather than have some big, typical affair back here in PA, where, to our estimates, it'd cost us around 20-25k for everything, which we do not want to spend. We've been checking out a few hotel packages online, but other than that, we're pretty clueless on the destination wedding subject. I would peg our budget at no more than 10 grand for everything, and the one place that got back to us gave us a quote of 11k, not including rooms which wouldn't be given to us at a discount. Please tell me we're not doomed here. :-/
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Jan 31, 2011 04:31
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Masonity posted:Being married on May the Fourth (be with you), we're really torn on if we should find a nice, normal song for the entry to the wedding ceremony itself, or if we should go for the Imperial March. Being normal is overrated. We just picked stuff we liked and went with it. We went with Simple Pages by Weezer for exiting the ceremony and Always for our first dance. The Imperial March was so fitting for us that it didn't really shock anyone, they all thought it was funny and perfect. Some friends of ours used What a Wonderful World performed by Joey Ramone for the exit song, another used the instrumental theme from Muppet Treasure Island. You can do anything you want, as long as you have fun!
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Jan 31, 2011 05:09
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WaffleStomp posted:Does anyone have any advice or pointers about having a destination wedding in Florida? My fiancee and I decided that we'd like to have a wedding there, on a beach, rather than have some big, typical affair back here in PA, where, to our estimates, it'd cost us around 20-25k for everything, which we do not want to spend. Where in Florida are you looking, and what time of year?
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Jan 31, 2011 07:48
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Ceridwen posted:Where in Florida are you looking, and what time of year? We were aiming for some time in May 2012, and the places we looked at so far were Key West and Key Largo, but we'd be open to looking at other spots in Florida as well.
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Jan 31, 2011 14:54
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I hope this is a good place to ask this question; This October one of my best friends is getting married, I have known him for 8+ years now and he is a really great guy. So when his lady asked my boyfriend and I to be in the wedding we said yes. The problem is that the bridesmaids dress she has her heart set on is $200. My boyfriend and I are both full time students and this is wayyy out of our budget, even with the advanced notice. This is the dress in question if anyone cares, she also wants it in plum and red. I tried to tenderly bring up the price thing with her (she is mega sensitive) and she said she was looking for a cheaper one, but they were all awful. I have also talked to another bridesmaid who is in a similar situation to me (no money and a student) and she also thinks this is way out of price range for our group of friends. In addition, the bride's mom is paying for the wedding with what I understand to be lottery winning (about $20,000). The bride and groom both work at Walmart, and the bride has a second job at an equally prestigious employer. It is not even sort of within reason to think I could pay for this dress, is there a nice/classy way to say this? I would think if she wants everyone in $200 dresses she would at least pay half. Should I give her an ultimatum and say I can't be in the wedding if this is what it is going to cost (with the intent to get her to pick a cheaper dress)? Has anyone had a situation like this? I think if I phrase it wrong this girl might end up heart broken.
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Jan 31, 2011 17:04
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kitten princess posted:It is not even sort of within reason to think I could pay for this dress, is there a nice/classy way to say this? I would think if she wants everyone in $200 dresses she would at least pay half. Should I give her an ultimatum and say I can't be in the wedding if this is what it is going to cost (with the intent to get her to pick a cheaper dress)? Has anyone had a situation like this? I think if I phrase it wrong this girl might end up heart broken. Before you have that conversation with her, have you tried EBay, Craigslist, or another online retailer to see if you can find the dress at a discount?
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Jan 31, 2011 17:46
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We are being announced at the reception to "I just had sex" from Lonely Island boys. 13 seconds of talking in the beginning, so the DJ knows to draw out the introduction, then we're going to walk in just as Akon screams "I just had sex, and it felt so good" I still really need a mother/son dance
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Jan 31, 2011 18:04
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I wasn't able to find any on ebay, but I did find it for ~$150 on another site, but with shipping it would still come to ~$175. I also looked at some other styles because she said that she was still looking, but I haven't been able to find anything similar to this one she loves.
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Jan 31, 2011 18:08
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