Getting Maui’d!
Karen & Scott were married in Makena, Maui, Hawaii and shared their wedding story with WM! Considering getting married in Maui? Share your story with us too!
Why have a destination wedding on Maui? Very simply, we decided on a destination wedding to avoid both the politics and the over inflated expenses that goes with hosting a nice wedding affair in California, and to bring the wedding to “neutral grounds” for all of our guests.
We knew we wanted something special; a private wedding in a beautiful location and to be surrounded by people we love the most. But we realized quickly that was going to be a challenge as neither of us have any family living in California, yet this is where our life and most all of our friends are. To host a wedding here meant a great deal of traveling for our relatives. In all likelihood, only a few would be able to attend due to the high cost of traveling to California. And the same issue would be true for our friends if we didn’t host a wedding locally. So we quickly realized no matter what location we picked we were not going to have everyone we care about the most attending.
We ruled out having a wedding in our area quickly. The Bay Area of California is rated as the second most expensive region in the world to marry, (New York being first), and we quickly discovered how true that was! And on top of that many places wanted to control your event, from the food, drink, decorations, music and more. At every location we looked at there were restrictions and rules that didn’t fit into our plans or budget. No thanks!!
This left us with one option and a very simple solution; take the wedding to neutral grounds (where we can have a wedding exactly the way we want), then host some celebrations when we return. My father was the first to suggest we forgo the formal affair and instead marry in Hawaii, and the idea really just clicked. We were fairly sure we were going to honeymoon on Maui, so why not just get married there too?? Dad said he would be there, and for me that was most important.
We did some checking and realized you can have a beautiful wedding in Maui, hire a coordinator to set everything up for you just the way you want, and for no more then a song compared to a wedding in California. And Maui is rated the number one island to visit in the world! This was our perfect solution. From that moment on we knew we were not only going to get married, we were going to get “Maui’ed”! We notified everyone, set the date, and on June 29th we exchanged our marriage vows ocean-side in Makena, Maui. (Visit their website.)
Confessions of a Bride-to-Be: Where Do I Go From Here?
Where do I go from here?
“Now, honey, don’t do the whole thing out of town,” says my grandmother, as I tell her about my wedding plans. By out of town she means the city I was considering for my wedding, which is a 40 minute drive from my home town. As I hang up, I feel my blood pressure rising. What is a short drive compared to the many people traveling from out-of-state to be at our wedding? Is she serious? Whole thing?! I wonder which part she’s hoping to attend.
My home town boasts two swanky hotels: “Holiday Sin” and the “No-tell Motel”. I was considering a larger town for my wedding, to offer better accommodation to out-of-town guests, with a destination they may enjoy. Apparently, this will be inconvenient for some family members, who’d prefer that I marry on TV so they can watch from home. Oh gosh, excuse me, I just had bridezilla moment.
It’s been 3 months since my honey and I engaged, and I’ve made scant progress on my plans. I have, however, spent hours researching, day dreaming, making notes, building a budget, surfing the net for ideas, rebuilding the budget, considering selling all my belongings on ebay, begging on the phone, sketching dress ideas and considering elopement.
I have bookmarked about a hundred different options online from locations, to dresses, to rings, to ideas, to cakes, to flowers, to forums and I’ve decided three things I want for sure: easy, inexpensive, and beautiful. It seems that this is a virtually impossible combination. You can have easy and inexpensive, but not beautiful. Inexpensive and beautiful, but not easy. Easy and beautiful, but not inexpensive. And that last one is the most common option.
I often fall asleep wishing someone would just put together a simple elegant wedding package that doesn’t cost the price of a small car, and can be held close to my family and friends. But I wake each day with the realization that we are another day closer to the date I’ve set, and yet no closer to having an event planned.
Now I’m wondering should I spend a fortune on one day, paying for it over the next ten years? Or curb my desires to accommodate the local Knights of Columbus Hall as a reception site? Or chuck it all and marry my sweetness at the local justice of the peace?
I’ve consulted the Magic Eight Ball, it said, “Reply hazy. Ask again later.”
Welcome to The Future Mrs. C!
Photograph by Christine Tremoulet. Not the real Future Mrs. C.
Wholly Matrimony! is thrilled to have a Bride-to-Be joining us here, blogging about her own wedding planning process! Tomorrow The Future Mrs. C will be sharing the first of first of her “Confessions of a Bride-To-Be” posts.
The Future Mrs. C is planning a spring 2009 destination wedding over 2000 miles away from home, which you can imagine is quite a challenging feat. She is a writer by day, and in her spare time she enjoys spending time with Mr. C and their dog, belly dancing and taking beautiful photos. Sometimes she paints and writes just for fun. When she’s happy, she sings. When she’s sad, she likes to watch babies laughing on YouTube (does the trick every time).
Don’t Let a Hurricane Ruin Your Plans!
Planning a destination wedding? Don’t forget to keep hurricane season in mind!
Hurricane season can be a rather tricky time for summer weddings. The official hurricane season in the Atlantic begins June 1 and extends until November 30, encompassing the entire summer season in the Caribbean. The Pacific season starts officially on May 15. If you’re planning a Caribbean cruise from June through November, it pays to be aware of the possibilities.
A lot of travelers second guess their wedding plans, thinking that having their wedding on cruise ships is a bad idea. Of course, hurricane season and cruise liners do not go together well at all, but somehow the cruising industry has managed to stay above the hurricane season at least most of the time, making the summer one of the best times ever to take a cruise to the Caribbean. From August to December, the prices of cruises and everything that goes along with it (dining, ship lodging, activities and such) are at an all time low.
You might be thinking, is it even safe enough to take cruise during the middle of hurricane season? You might never find out. That’s because cruise line main strategy is to avoid the storms not fight them. Cruise lines have been operating in the Caribbean for years and have, by virtue of experience, specific hurricane/tropical storm emergency response plans in effect. These cover everything from designating a bridge officer as the weather monitor during the season to outfitting ships with state-of-the-art satellites to backing up onboard efforts with expanded staff at headquarters.
Hurricane season can be a real bummer, and especially for those of you who have had your hearts set on a summer wedding on a cruise line. Being displaced by a pesky hurricane or have had your long-awaited wedding planned and everyone flown in, be cancelled due to inclement weather know exactly how it feels. The good thing in all this is that the capabilities of the cruise liners and the liner companies themselves, have the technology to get through the storms. This means that shipping companies and weather services go to extra measures to insure that there are no mishaps.
Of course, this means that nothing is promised. Do not take any cruise reservations to be final ones, because any slight inkling or joke of a storm will cause the shipping company to pull their ship and their passengers off of the ocean in a heart beat, for everyones safety. Some might advise that it is smart not to finalize anything! Don’t pay any hefty deposits for anything having to do with your cruise during the summer months, the peak of the hurricane season. If this isn’t an option, look into insurance to cover your wedding plans. There are policies available specifically for this type of need.
Also, hurricane season means rainy season. Expect more showers to pop up during humid afternoons than you’d find during drier winter months. During hurricane season in Florida on the west coast you can set your clock by the afternoon storms that they have during hurricane season.
Bottom line is that should you chance a honeymoon or romantic getaway to the Caribbean, Mexico, or southern U.S. during the season, when lower hotel rates make such a trip more affordable? If the answer is yes, acquaint yourself with places that offer a hurricane guarantee, read the fine print in any hurricane guarantee… well before the rain has a chance to wash it away.
You can keep an eye on hurricane season and other weather related information at the NOAA website.
Original article by Heather.
What a Wreck!
I wouldn’t wish a bad cake experience on anyone, but the Cake Wrecks site is hysterical! Thanks to Sasha at Sparkliatti for sharing the link!
Don’t want a Cake Wreck? How about some delicious chocolate cupcakes instead? Check out the Planner Pages, where Brenda the intern has posted a very delicious sounding recipe! Whip some up! After all whose wedding cake is it anyways?
First Comes Love, Then Comes Marriage…
I had to take a break from the wedding related posts for today to congratulate Robyn, the woman behind the scenes of Wholly Matrimony for 10 years. She rocks!
Robyn is the owner of Buttons & Bows Photography out of Orlando, Florida. Recently, she had the opportunity to photograph one of the The Bump finalists contest over at The Nest, the baby magazine owned by the same people that run The Knot.
Her amazing, amazing work can be seen here. She truly is wonder woman, and I’m always so amazed by her beautiful photography (along with pretty much everything else she does). I could not possibly be more excited for her today, having her work featured so prominently!
Good Wedding, Bad Wedding
Ok, not really. To me, all weddings are pretty good … although I’m all ears if you have a bad wedding story that you want to share! But this post has nothing to do with actual weddings at all, but instead I just wanted to send a shout out of THANKS! to the women over at Good Mom, Bad Mom for the link love to the site. You guys ROCK!
I’ve already added the shiny new “featured at” button over in the sidebar over there. I’ll wear it with pride!
Return of the Dress of the Month!
From December, 1999 to March, 2006, Wholly Matrimony was proud to host a Dress of the Month contest. While the contest has been on hiatus for awhile, we’re excited to announce that it is making a return this fall!
Submit the details of your dress by August 20, 2008 here for consideration as the first Dress of the Month in 2008 - and be sure to check back on September 1, 2008 to see who the winner is!
The rules are simple and few. Unlike the former Dress Contest, anyone is eligible to participate in the Dress of the Month Contest! We want real brides in real wedding gowns. No supermodel magazine scans or “on the rack” shots, please. You must have at least one photo of your dress online at the URL you submit, so that we can see what the dress actually looks like on you. (Multiple shots from multiple angles are preferred.) E-mailed photos are not accepted!
Please enter the Dress of the Month Contest only once every three months. Contest winners are asked to display an award (shown here) at their web site, with a link back to this site. Photos entered must be available for current and future use/promotion by the owner of “Wholly Matrimony!”. So if you are sitting there staring at your monitor and thinking, “Hey! My wedding dress was beautiful too… I could win this award… no scratch that, I must win this award!” — why not fill out the “Dress of the Month Contest” application — and prove it!
The contest is now continually updated to archive each Dress of the Month. We’ve also added a”With Honors” showcase of former dresses submitted. Good luck to everyone who decides to enter their dress…and as always…”may the best wedding dress win”!
Please visit the official Dress Contest website to see past annual winners, finalists, semi-finalists, and honorees.
You can see past winners here:
You might want to also check out the With Honors Winners, here, and here; and the last annual dress contest, which will hopefully return next year! Stay tuned for details!
Don’t Need Nothing But a Good Time!
What an absolutely fun and fabulous idea. Jannine was planning an ’80s theme wedding reception, and included a line on the RSVP card asking guests to “Suggest Your Favorite ’80s Song”. She said her family was skeptical at first, but in the end they got suggestions like We Got the Beat by The Go Go’s, We’re Not Gonna Take It by Twisted Sister, Melt With You by Modern English, and Raspberry Beret by Prince.
I’m a huge Go Go’s fan, and really I would have been happy having any of these songs played at my own reception, so I think it is a fabulous and FUN way to include your guests in your planning!
Speaking of planning, she gives some really, really great advice in her post:
Some advice:
Before you even start planning a wedding, discuss with your fiancé what you really want out of your wedding. Do you want a big or small wedding? Where do you want it? Why do you want it? Last November, sitting on the beach in Kauai, we discussed all of these things. For us, having our friends and family be part of what we are committing to is very important. We want to have a really fun party to celebrate. However, we do not want to make a mockery of our vows so we are having a separate morning ceremony up a mountain canyon. This will be simple and sweet, no mullets, and crimped hair. After an afternoon of relaxing in the mountains we will gather again for the 80’s reception….good times!
I can’t find any information on how it all turned out - the wedding was a few weeks ago - but it sounds like it was a beautiful ceremony followed by a reception where the Guests Just Wanna Have Fun!
Have a fun wedding or reception idea we just have to know about? Tell us!
Map It!
I don’t know how I missed this site before, but what a cool thing to have for your wedding day! You can create a (free!) wedding map to share with all of your guests. Not only can you note all the wedding locations like the ceremony location and the reception venue, but you can also note things like restaurants, hotels, beauty salons, and your favorite nearby attractions. This is especially great for your out of town guests who might need some recommendations on things to do while they are in town for your wedding. I love it!
You can also store all of your vendor contact information on your map, hidden from public view, so that you have all of your information stored in one place.
If you make one, be sure to check out their tips page for some cool information on how to make your map fabulous!
Have you used Wedding Mapper? What did you think of it?
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