Dee'Jean and Miguel

[miguelsbridetobe]

Miguel and I are planning a May wedding but it is two years away. My parents do not have a lot of money and to be truthful, my dad was never around and I can not depend on him. So we have decided to plan the wedding in two years instead of one. So am doing a lot of on line research to find out what will make my wedding special. I really do not know what I am doing.

The story of Miguel and I. I met him during my freshman year in college. We happen to know a mutual friend and I was bored one day. Our friend wanted me to come to the movies with him and behold there was our friend with two of his other friends. I looked a mess. I thought I was just going to hang out with my buddy and he brought friends. It was a little distressing. When we got to the movies, my buddy left me to go and talk to some of his other friends that were at the movies. Miguel started talking to me to make sure that I was not bored. And then we be***e friends after that.

After five months we started dating and after ten months we be***e engaged. Now after two months of basking in excitement, I am trying to plan a unfortunately big wedding. I have no idea what to do because his families proposed list of guest is three times as big as my families. What should I do?

[Marsha]

congrats!!! we are here for you, trust me these girls are like best friends. As far as his parents guest lists, i say, since u are paying for it tell them they can invite x amount of people. and then, your parents the same and dont forget to invite the people(friends) you guys want and it will be a nice mix. if people complain then tell them to help u pay for there meals/drinks! anyway ask questions, "borrow" pics and have fun planning!

[Kelly1Mickey]

Congrats on your engagement!! Ok first....decide how many people you want to invite. Once you decide on the number, don't change. The easiest thing to do next is to split the guest list into 3. You and your FH get 1/3 of the available slots, his family 1/3 and your family 1/3. If either family wants to invite more than their amount, they can dish out the money for it. (this is assuming you are paying for the wedding).

IF there really is no cap on the guest list (i.e. money and/or space are not restricting you), don't worry if the guest list is uneven. My FH's guest list only accounts for about 10% of the total guest list! YOu don't have to have a brides side and a grooms side like you hear about.

Now, do you have any colors, themes, styles in mind? Let us know and you will probably be inundated with ideas and pictures to inspire you.

[miguelsbridetobe]

We have picked our colors and they are light blue, silver, and white. We do not know about the white yet. My family has a problem with the whole white and purity thing. I do not know what to do about that either. The who is paying for the wedding thing is still up for grabs. We have devised a strategy so no matter what we will be able to have a nice wedding. I am thinking that the maximum amount of guest will be 150 and I definately need to stick to a budget because money is real in my world. As far as the theme, I think we are going with the interlinked hearts. We both seem to like the symbolizm. I welcome all advise and comments.

[taylorsmom]

Welcome to the board, the best one around! I am also doing the interlinked hearts, I thought that they were cute. I am not going overboard with them though, just adding them here and there. Like my invites and heart decorations for reception, napkins..........just little things. Good Luck with your planning, you have lots of time. :)

[Kelly1Mickey]

We have picked our colors and they are light blue, silver, and white. We do not know about the white yet. My family has a problem with the whole white and purity thing. I do not know what to do about that either. The who is paying for the wedding thing is still up for grabs. We have devised a strategy so no matter what we will be able to have a nice wedding. I am thinking that the maximum amount of guest will be 150 and I definately need to stick to a budget because money is real in my world. As far as the theme, I think we are going with the interlinked hearts. We both seem to like the symbolizm. I welcome all advise and comments.

Those are my colors too! I will dig around in my files to find some pics for you. And I know Sarah will find tons of pics for you too!

[miguelsbridetobe]

:) Those are my colors too! I will dig around in my files to find some pics for you. And I know Sarah will find tons of pics for you too!


That will be really helpful.

[miguelsbridetobe]

My FH has about seven really close friends and it seems that we are all getting married within the same two-three year span. We have two more weddings in front of ours. So it seems that all of the wedding parties are the same. My FH has Five groomsman, and one bestman. I have five bridesmaids and one Maid of honor. My MOH and I started looking around for dresses that would fit all sizes. I figure an A-Line dress looks better on almost everyone but I am not sure. I want a coordinated look that is almost uniform. I have decided to go with baby blue bridesmaid dresses and the groomsman vest are going to be baby blue.

The MOH dress is style F11520 and the bridesmaids dresses are style F11165 in blue frost.

I found that David's Bridal has the dresses that I want but I hate their service. I have been there three times and two out of the three have been the worst experiences in the world. I like the dresses but I am not sure if I want my bridesmaids to go through the experiences that I went through.

[miguelsbridetobe]

Since Miguel and I have sometime to plan our perfect wedding, We have finally selected the place that we want to have our wedding reception at. It is offically at the Langley officers club. They have everything I could want. The club is right on the water and it is very classy. They even offer the napkins and table cloths in our wedding colors. Now we are trying to decide what we want as far as food. Here are the choices we have narrowed it down to:

The Italian Buffet-cute because we are planning to go to Italy for our honeymoon
Tossed Green Salad
Linguine with Marinara and Alfredo Sauce for the Vegetarians
meat Lasagna- FH favorite dish,
Italian Sausage with Pepers and Onions,
Chicken Parmesan
Chefs Vegetables
Garlic Bread

or the Touch of class wedding package- However, I think my guest might still be hungry after this one
Chilled Shrimp with Tangy Cocktail sauce and Lemon
Finger sandwiches
Vegetable Crudites with Ranch Dressing
Fruit platter
Grilled Chicke Kabobs
Crab Rangoon
Black bean and Cheses Quesdilas
Carved Steamship of Beef served with horseradish sauce and Rolls

I have had both, but I do not know which one to choose, my FH is leaving it up to me. If you were a guest which one whould you prefer?

[miguelsbridetobe]

So I do not forget the wonderful advise that the ladies of this board have given me i am writing down the flowers that maybe helpful for my own wedding. I want light blue flowers in my arrangements so, I am going to check on
Sterling Roses, white stock, delphiniums, and caspia

[miguelsbridetobe]

How We met I met Miguel in October of 2003. A mutual Friend asked me did I want to get out of the house and goto a movie. I thought I was just going out with my friend, and he showed up at my house with my FH and two other friends. I was surprised because I was not dressed to meet other people. We went to the movie to see Scary Movie III is was an awful movie. My friend left me to talk to other people in the theater and Miguel just started conversation with me. After the movie we all went out to IHOP. At the end of the night, Miguel walked me to the door to make sure I got home safe. It was so sweet of him, since it was not a date.
The proposal
It was January 19, 2005. I was at school and it had started to Snow unexpectantly. My transportation did not show and I was stuck in the snow for an hour waiting for a bus. I called Miguel and told him to come and pick me up. It took him an hour to get to me and two hours for us to get back to hampton. By the time we got home, it was almost ten and here all of the places to eat close at 10pm. So we ordered a large Pepperoni Stuff crust pizza and mild wings. We went back to his house and I took a shower. When I ***e upstairs, all of the lights were out in the bedroom, he had candles burning and my favorite CD playing. I thought we were going to have a candle light pizza dinner and then he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. I cried my eyes out and of course excepted. :p
I am marrying the greatest man in the world!
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/deejeant/detail?.dir=31e7&.dnm=b493.jpg

[Lacey]

Since Miguel and I have sometime to plan our perfect wedding, We have finally selected the place that we want to have our wedding reception at. It is offically at the Langley officers club. They have everything I could want. The club is right on the water and it is very classy. They even offer the napkins and table cloths in our wedding colors. Now we are trying to decide what we want as far as food. Here are the choices we have narrowed it down to:

The Italian Buffet-cute because we are planning to go to Italy for our honeymoon
Tossed Green Salad
Linguine with Marinara and Alfredo Sauce for the Vegetarians
meat Lasagna- FH favorite dish,
Italian Sausage with Pepers and Onions,
Chicken Parmesan
Chefs Vegetables
Garlic Bread

or the Touch of class wedding package- However, I think my guest might still be hungry after this one
Chilled Shrimp with Tangy Cocktail sauce and Lemon
Finger sandwiches
Vegetable Crudites with Ranch Dressing
Fruit platter
Grilled Chicke Kabobs
Crab Rangoon
Black bean and Cheses Quesdilas
Carved Steamship of Beef served with horseradish sauce and Rolls

I have had both, but I do not know which one to choose, my FH is leaving it up to me. If you were a guest which one whould you prefer?

Both menus sound yummy. Here is how I would look at it. What time of day are you having your reception. If you are having a lunch or late night (after dinner time) reception I would go with the "Touch of class" package. It just seems to be made up of lighter "snackier" food. If you are having a dinner time reception like I am I would go with the Italian food option. It is more of a dinner time meal. It also has all your bases covered already (vegetarian, kosher, picky eater, ect)

[Lacey]

Here are some blue toned flowers that I found for you.

http://www.flowersculpture.com/wedding_galleries/wedding13/wedding13.html

http://www.bloomeryweddings.com/portfolio_detail.asp?PRODUCT_ID=BW139

http://www.bloomeryweddings.com/portfolio_detail.asp?PRODUCT_ID=BW138

http://wedding7.weddingchannel.com/contentsets/popshow.asp?vhl_uid=10422&next_item=15010010

http://www.uniquefloralexpressions.com/index.php?Bouquets.html&show=Photo&photo=bouquet_017.jpg&alt=Bouquet+of+Hydrangeas&descr=Hand-tied+Hydrangea+Bouquet

http://www.uniquefloralexpressions.com/index.php?Bouquets.html&show=Photo&photo=bouquets/hydrangea.jpg&alt=Bouquet+of+Hydrangeas+and+Roses&descr=Hand-Tied+Bouquet+of+Blue+Hydrangeas+and+Pale+Yellow+Ro ses

http://www.modernbride.com/flowers/popup_photo.ssf?/cgi-bin/slide-show.cgi/modbride/slide_show.ata?index=31&g_id=206

[miguelsbridetobe]

Here are some blue toned flowers that I found for you.

http://www.flowersculpture.com/wedding_galleries/wedding13/wedding13.html

http://www.bloomeryweddings.com/portfolio_detail.asp?PRODUCT_ID=BW139

http://www.bloomeryweddings.com/portfolio_detail.asp?PRODUCT_ID=BW138

http://wedding7.weddingchannel.com/contentsets/popshow.asp?vhl_uid=10422&next_item=15010010

http://www.uniquefloralexpressions.com/index.php?Bouquets.html&show=Photo&photo=bouquet_017.jpg&alt=Bouquet+of+Hydrangeas&descr=Hand-tied+Hydrangea+Bouquet

http://www.uniquefloralexpressions.com/index.php?Bouquets.html&show=Photo&photo=bouquets/hydrangea.jpg&alt=Bouquet+of+Hydrangeas+and+Roses&descr=Hand-Tied+Bouquet+of+Blue+Hydrangeas+and+Pale+Yellow+Ro ses

http://www.modernbride.com/flowers/popup_photo.ssf?/cgi-bin/slide-show.cgi/modbride/slide_show.ata?index=31&g_id=206


Lacey, You are soo much help. Thank you for the pictures and the advice about the menu.

[miguelsbridetobe]

Our First choice for a Honeymoon was Italy, however with our budget that would be next to impossible and we would not get to do what we want to do , so we are looking into other locations. :( I have been searching the internet and I have fallin in love with going to Jamaica. My FI and I are looking into an all inclusive resort with plenty of things to do. ;) Some of the resorts that I have seen have been really nice and I have narrowed it down to three hotels/ resorts Couples in Ocho Rios, Hedonism III by Superclub and Sandals Grande Ocho Rios. With Airfair included I estimate about $4,000 for eight days. I have no idea if this is too much or am I getting a deal. However, you only have one honeymoon so live it up! I do not think we will have a problem getting the honeymoon paid for but is it tacky to have the honeymoon on registry. :confused: We live together and that would be something that would be better for us rather than a toaster. I guess I would have to find out about registering our honeymoon.

[miguelsbridetobe]

I have been searching for a photographer and I think I found the perfect person. Yesterday we met with a photograher from Impressions in time and he was wonderful. I had a long list of questions that he answered without hesitation and he showed me all of his equipment that he would use the day of the wedding. I am so excited. :D I wanted to book him on the spot, but my FH wants to look at a couple more photographers. The best thing was that he ***e in under my budgeted price. For the package I want it would be 1500.00 which is 500.00 under my budgeted price :p . Things like this make wedding planning so much fun! :)

[miguelsbridetobe]

Both of our parents want to help, so we allowed them to pick what they would like to contribute. Here is want has been selected thus far

My mom will take care of photography, the reception, and invitations

My FH mom and dad will take care of the DJ and the rehearsal dinner

My stepmother is taking care of the cake.

[kg4eoh]

Our First choice for a Honeymoon was Italy, however with our budget that would be next to impossible and we would not get to do what we want to do , so we are looking into other locations. :( I have been searching the internet and I have fallin in love with going to Jamaica. My FI and I are looking into an all inclusive resort with plenty of things to do. ;) Some of the resorts that I have seen have been really nice and I have narrowed it down to three hotels/ resorts Couples in Ocho Rios, Hedonism III by Superclub and Sandals Grande Ocho Rios. With Airfair included I estimate about $4,000 for eight days. I have no idea if this is too much or am I getting a deal. However, you only have one honeymoon so live it up! I do not think we will have a problem getting the honeymoon paid for but is it tacky to have the honeymoon on registry. :confused: We live together and that would be something that would be better for us rather than a toaster. I guess I would have to find out about registering our honeymoon.

Have you tried looking at Gate Travel on the internet for your honeymoon? I saw some deals over on their site yesterday that have trips to Italy including airfare for around $800-$1000 per person, which would make it less then the all inclusives you mentioned above. Just a thought if you really want to go to Italy

[miguelsbridetobe]

We have decided to change the date and the location of the reception in order to cut cost. The wedding will be March 15th 2007 and that will be our three year anniversary as well. :D I am so excited because this was the date that I wanted orignially but I thought it would be impossible for it to happen because it is on a weekday. :) After I thought about it, it made more sense because I do not want a large wedding. So now it is on a Thursday and we will leave for our honeymoon on a Friday and come back the Weekend after. ;) It is so exciting and I found my location for hundreds of dollars less because it will be during the week. So I have saved about ten percent of my anticipated budget.

[miguelsbridetobe]

I know that I am a head of myself but I have started looking for my invitations now. I want something with the heart theme but I am having difficulty finding invitations that are reasonable. However, I have done some research and I have come up with two different wordings. I have no idea which one I am going to choose but it will be one of the following:

Two lives, two hearts
joined together in friendship
united forever in love.
It is with joy that we,
Bride
and
Groom
invite you to share
in a celebration of love
as we exchange our marriage vows
on Day
Year
at time
Location
Address
City, State

or this one
A picture-perfect wedding
isn't caught on film,
it's caputed in the heart.

Please join us as we celebrate
with heartfelt joy
our wedding day
Date
at Time
Location
Address
City, State

Bride and Groom

I have no clue which one sounds better??

[blushing_bride_2be]

Congrats on the planning and things seem to be taking off now. Your story was soooo sweet. As far as the invitation wording I like the first one but that's just opinion. You're wedding is only a few days befor my birthday March 19. Well good luck and everything is great so far!