Flower power!

Hi Bees,

Ya know... I was feeling quite proud of myself for having passed Christmas and not being close to Valentine's Day, but I didn't even consider the Rose Parade. Those of you who love roses and are thinking about a January wedding, this is my heads up to y'all.

I say this because I received my free estimate from FlowersByAnne today. The numbers were certainly better than the other florist that I was talking to, but I'm not looking for a good deal. I'm looking for a knock-your-socks-off deal! And I'm beginning to think that I might have to take on another DIY project (with a few helping hands). Magazines are telling me that I need to find a florist who is willing to work with my budget. Who's more willing to stay under my budget than me?

So I googled "black magic roses" because those are my favorite flowers that I MUST incorporate in my wedding. I came upon Rosesource.com, an online wholesale flower market, where a chat invite popped up. (I've never encountered this before...)


The chat was interesting. I think I prefer it to making a call and being put on hold to listen to 8 tracks of elevator music before talking to an actual person. She was able to answer all my questions and give me a general quote for what I wanted. And if I didn't want to begin this informative chatting session, I could have simply X'd the chat box instead of clicking on "Start Chat." If you're in the flower industry, it might be a place to consider placing orders at. Of course, you should do some extensive research to make sure that they are legit before you send in your money.

My two cents is that for flowers, and the whole wedding day for that matter, is weighing if it's worth it. If flowers are at the top of your list leaving other items trailing in the dust, then you'll have an easier time settling on someone. However, if you're more concerned about not starting off married life with only two dollars in your pocket (okay, a little bit of exaggeration), then you might be willing to cut corners and not have the most elaborate celebration.

"C & J request your presence..." - Part I

Bees, we did it!

We have now officially sent out our invitations via Brides.com Because I'd like to spare other brides-to-be(e) with any agony that they might enter, I've decided to share my experience of using this particular wedding website opposed to any other sites or even the traditional paper invitations.

Why a website?
For us, we wanted a central location where our guests could read about our stories, meet some of our friends thru bios, view some of our favorite pictures, and have the convenience of RSVP'ing at the click of a mouse. This would also be helpful to us in saving us postage and having all the responses in one area.

Why Brides and not theKnot?
Most people use theKnot for their not-as-tech-saavy items. Since Mr. and I are trying to have a wedding that is different (not tacky, just not the same-old), I thought it'd be worth a try at Brides. Rather than reading a few reviews about it first, I just figured that since there were many people who posted on the boards that it was legit enough. Now that I've used the less popular I can share about my experience and warn you about things that worked and things that not so much...

Would you recommend it to me?
It really depends on what you're looking for. If it's just a place where you want to upload pictures and/or write a couple of shout outs, you could even branch out of the "wedding websites" and look into other places like Flicker, Blogger, or even Facebook.

PROS -
*One website to give info, share pictures, welcome guest book comments, manage guests
*Free
*Fairly easy to use
*Better layout designs (subjective) with tabs
*An interactive map which can be customized

CONS -
*No online RSVP option
*Unable to import own guest list into system
*Difficult to change sender's name(s)

If I could do it over again...
I would have asked a friend who is able to make a decent website. Sadly, we received an offer the day before we sent our "invites" out. :( At that point, we just wanted to get them out since we had already put in days and hours into it.

Hopefully you won't run into the same issues (I was really bummed when I realized that there was no online RSVP option), and make sure that what you're thinking is actually feasible with the prospective websites.

For those of you who made websites, what was the most difficult task?

Hip or Flop?

Hi Bees!

If you and your Mr. are in the Bay Area and looking to get some more hip-hop experience for a uniquely fun wedding dance, try Culture Shock Oakland's workshop coming up...

Culture Shock Oakland is offering its 8th Hip-Hop Workshop open to ALL AGES AND LEVELS. You will train for 8 weeks starting Sunday, October 5th (Sundays 3:00 - 6:00 pm) to put on your OWN HIP-HOP PERFORMANCE. Train with the Bay Area's Premier Hip-Hop Company and get a chance to meet WORLD RENOWNED Guest Choreographers.

Where: Club One Oakland, 1200 Clay Street (Bart Exit 12th Street/Downtown)
Cost: $165 includes DVD, Music and Event T-Shirt
When: Every Sunday starting October 5th from 3:00 - 6:00 pm.
For more information or registration email us at CSSF13@AOL.COM or call 1-800-521-8311.

Keep hoppin'! :)

If hip-hop isn't yo thang, do you have any other surprise performance plans for your guests?

*Cruising* along with our wedding plans

Hi Bees!

We finally have another item checked off our list. After an almost-got-frauded, many conversations with various people, and showing the plastic, our honeymoon is now booked!

Mr. and I will be going on a cruise to Mexico Riviera via Princess Cruises! Woo-hoo! We will start off at Puerto Vallarta (the location that we said was a MUST), swing by Mazatlan, and then make our last stop at Cabo San Lucas. This destination was a simple decision for us since we enjoy the beach so much and needed something more affordable than Europe.

The bigger decision was which stateroom to book since there were pros and cons to each. My list is, by all means, not comprehensive and somewhat subjective.

Inside cabin:

PROS - Cheaper. Period.

CONS - Small. No view.

Oceanview:

PROS - View via small round window, More space, Cheaper than Balcony, Tease of a view causing us to leave the room and get more exercise.

CONS - Seeing the view and wanting a balcony, Only a little more for a balcony, Can you see anything out that port window?

Balcony:

PROS: Amazing view to see dolphins and/or whales, Playing games next to the sounds of waves crashing, Reading on the lounge chair with your feet up on the table, Hang-drying clothes outside, Upper decks, Did I mention the amazing sunrise/sunset views?

CONS: More expensive.


Mini-Suite/Suite:

Not going there.

In the end, we decided that this cruise would be one of few (if any more at all) for us so we were going to go "all out." Also, when we were crunching numbers in the beginning, we had decided that we were willing to spend nearly one-third of our 10k budget for the honeymoon because this would be our kickoff to a life-long journey together.

So off we shall go to the white sand beaches~ Now we're figuring out which excursions will be the most memorable and fun.

Oh, and we got our balcony room for $1750, including fees and tax. AND we just received an e-mail today with great news: we got a free upgrade to several decks higher! Mr.'s mom made a call to a travel agent she had used for a previous vacation. PM me if you'd like her info. :)