Hey Mr. DJ...

Put a record on!

We have booked our DJ. So what if we only interviewed one company. We talked to them on the phone and just knew they were perfect.

We are going with Style Matters DJs. They've got stellar reviews all over the internet, answered all our questions right away, and seem to be exactly what we're looking for in a DJ.


Less than 24 hours after speaking with them, we were mailing in our deposit. The total cost came in under budget (yayyy!), but the real sneak-attack killer was the traveling expenses. We are getting married in a Chicago suburb, and they charge you for every 25 miles outside of Chicago they have to travel. We are over 50 miles away. Ouch. But I'm finding this common among Chicago vendors.

But even so... it's totally worth it to have a real professional Chicago DJ instead of just some kid from the suburbs who spins in his basement.

Now that we have that covered, our major vendor To Do list is dwindling. All that's left is the florist and bakery.

Oh Crap

The diamond in my engagement ring fell out.

I was going to blog about other things, but I think this pretty much trumps them all.

Before I give anyone any heart attacks, I'll tell you that yes, I still have the diamond.

It all started yesterday morning when I looked down at my ring and thought, "hmm... the diamond looks crooked."

All day long, I kept looking down and noticing more and more just how crooked the diamond was. Here is the email I sent Ryan from work yesterday afternoon:

"This is weird, but I'm pretty sure the diamond in my ring is crooked. I don't know if it's always been that way of if I knocked it out of alignment, but we should definitely get it checked out this weekend. Don't want it falling out!"

Ha. Total foreshadowing.

So yesterday evening, after dinner, I was sitting at my desk, admiring my crooked diamond, when I pressed my finger down on the top of it. There was a tiny "click", like the diamond had moved. Well, that's not good!

I pressed it again, and POP... the diamond fell out. Right there onto my desk.


I laughed (yes, laughed), because I had totally seen this coming, yet I was still surprised. But I was relieved that it had happened while I was paying attention instead of, say... going for a run.

I called Ryan and he couldn't believe it. We already had plans to visit the jeweler on Saturday to shop wedding bands, so the timing couldn't have been better. But, still... it's only been four months. That doesn't really give me too much confidence in my ring!

The Honeymoon Reveal

After weighing our options and eliminating some fierce competition, Ryan and I have decided to spend our honeymoon at the Excellence Playa Mujeres.

So what was it that sealed the deal? This YouTube video, actually. The resort has absolutely everything we could ask for in a honeymoon, plus things we had never even thought of. The video highlights just how unbelievable gorgeous and immaculate it really is.

Here's just some of the stuff we'll enjoy on our trip...

• 7 swimming pools
• 8 international restaurants (reservations are never required)
• 11 bars
• 24-hour free room-service
• Pool and beach waiter service
• Free non-motorized water sports (sailing, windsurfing, kayaking, snorkeling, etc)
• Food and drinks whenever you want (omg, you know this is my favorite part!)
• Daily activities and nightly entertainment
• All taxes and gratuity included (so you don't have to carry around money... ever!)

And of course, here are the special honeymoon perks...

• Fresh basket of fruit upon arrival
• Bottle of sparkling wine
• Romantic dinner
• Turn-Down service
• Champagne breakfast in bed
• 15% discount on spa treatments (I think this calls for a couples massage!)

Here are some photos of the resort...

Who wouldn't want to enjoy that view during lunch?

The lazy river, which wraps around the entire resort.

Private romantic dinner on the beach.

You can even get a suite with your own private rooftop pool!

Perhaps we should have held off on making this decision until later in the year. Now that I know where we're going, I just want to go now! I may or may not be looking forward to the honeymoon just as much as the wedding.

Ryan says he plans on having alcohol with every meal. Looks like we made a good choice.

Sun, Sand, and Cocktails... Oh My!

We decided on our honeymoon! Yes, that was quick. What can I say... we know what we like.

Our criteria:

• under $4,000 for 6 nights
  
• all-inclusive (we really like to eat and drink)
  
• tropical (duh)
  
• fun things to do (excursions, etc)
  

My original list of possible honeymoon destinations, and why some locales got the boot...

Jamaica - It seemed too built up and commercialized. We're looking for something with a more secluded feeling.
Dominican Republic - I had been here before. We really preferred to choose a place that neither of us had ever been.
St. Lucia - Too secluded. The #1 resort on the island didn't even had air conditioning or TVs in the rooms! We like our modern comforts.
Aruba - Again, with it being too built up. I was surprised at this one, but it just didn't feel "right".
Costa Rica - Can we say bugs?! I hate bugs. I've heard Costa Rica is beautiful, but it's a little exotic for our tastes, and I couldn't find any all-inclusive resorts that didn't get terrible reviews.
Belize - I had a hard time finding all-inclusive resorts in Belize. It's a pretty small country.

So that left us with Mexico. A country that had originally started at the very bottom of my list had quickly shot up due to ideal climates, stellar reviews, and pristine beaches.

Our list of possible resorts in Mexico...

Royal Playa del Carmen: $3,053 for a Royal Oceanfront suite with indoor jacuzzi. The resort has a 91% rating on TripAdvisor. Negative reviews: heavy on the party scene, rocky beach.


Excellence Riviera Cancun: $3,141 for an Excellence Junior Oceanfront suite with indoor/outdoor jacuzzi. The resort has a 92% rating on TripAdvisor. Negative reviews: I had a hard time finding any.


Excellence Playa Mujeres: $3,258 for an Excellence Junior Oceanfront suite with indoor/outdoor jacuzzi. The resort has a 92% rating on TripAdvisor. Negative reviews: Crowded pools (which might not be an issue since we're going in the off-season).


El Dorado Maroma: $3,906 for a Beachfront suite with indoor jacuzzi. The resort has a 90% rating on TripAdvisor. Negative reviews: Boring, low on entertainment.


Well, it was obvious to us that the Excellence resorts just stood out above the rest (at this point, I don't even remember what drew me to the other 2 in the first place!).

But the idea of having 2 resorts owned by the same company in the same city confused us. They both have between 400-500 rooms. They both have 8 restaurants. They both have roughly the same number of pools and bars. And they're practically the same price.

Oh, how will we ever decide?!

So we discussed them both to death, flipped back and forth on a daily basis, and finally made a decision last night.

Which resort will we be spending our honeymoon at? Stay tuned for the reveal, along with tons of drool-worthy details!

I Heart Weekends

1) The paper arrived and the Save the Dates are done! The Gocco wasn't nearly as scary as I had pictured, although I probably could have done a slightly better job with my printing. Well, practice makes perfect. Hopefully by the time Invitation-printing rolls around, I'll be a regular pro!

2) My handwriting is way better than I thought. And, surprise-surprise... I remember cursive! All this means that self-addressing my Save the Date envelopes (and dare I even say... our Invitation envelopes) is not at all out of the question.

3) Major Honeymoon research is happening. Despite our instant gut reaction of "bleh", I think we are actually leaning towards Mexico. I am amazed to discover that they have some fabulous all-inclusive resorts. I'm wishing it was time for our honeymoon right now.

4) I informed my ladies they should be on the look out for a knee-length navy blue dress and silver heels to wear to my wedding. Cut, style, fabric all optional. Gigantor orange floral print not (that's a "no").

5) Now off to tan myself! Ryan and I are headed to the Michigan dunes tomorrow for some much needed beachy relaxation. Mmmmm.....

More detail-oriented posts are in store for next week, so stay tuned. Happy weekend!

Save the Date... or Else!

I designed our Save the Dates last week. This weekend, Ryan transferred my Photoshop file to InDesign. We printed it out at his office, cut it to size, and now we're ready to print.

So what's the hold-up?

We don't have paper. We went to Michaels, Hobby Lobby, and JoAnn Fabric. They had cards and envelopes... but they didn't have the right size, price, or quantity.

$1.00 per card? Are you kidding me?!

So I bought our cards on Paper Source. We went with 125 A6 Notecards in Blossum (pink), and 200 A6 Envelopes in Night (navy blue).


I received an email that said our package was our for delivery, so now my Gocco and I just wait patiently. I think I have my weekend activity planned out. Is it lame that I'm excited to start printing?

Honeymoon Surprise

After spending at least 3 days straight telling Ryan how we were $10,000 over our budget, he pulled out a huge surprise... As our wedding gift, his parents have offered to pay for our honeymoon.

Wha?! ::double take::

That's thousands off our budget! Thousands of dollars that Ryan and I would be paying out of our own pockets. Just... wow.

We have been truly blessed with incredibly generous parents.

Now where should we go... St. Barths? Belize? Costa Rica? Dominican Republic? Jamaica? Mexico? Aruba?


So many options! Planning our honeymoon will be so much more enjoyable with this enormous weight lifted.