Douglas Reyes3 said:Please don't laugh at me, but I'm having a hard time figuring out where they're holding the engagement course over at Solin🙂 Does anyone know exactly where that is located in town?
It's at Our Lady of the Island, in that building near ☕
Thomas Cruz9 said:How many months in advance do you typically take the pre-marital course, and what kind of timeline does the priest usually recommend?
Our wedding is set for October 5th, so we’re planning to knock it out this month, or May at the absolute latest. We both work during the peak season later on, so finding three full days to dedicate to it will be tough... The priest actually reached out to ask if we wanted to do it this month, so I don't think he's worried about any specific "expiration date" for the course. And regarding your other post, I was at a church wedding where the groom hadn't received all his sacraments, and honestly, you couldn't even tell...😛
So, I finally sorted things out with the church and the priest today regarding the engagement prep course dates in San Diego, but they don't match up at all with what I'm seeing online. Is anyone else actually planning on going this month?🙂
Are there any girls here who bought their wedding dress relatively early? I might have a bit of a situation on my hands. My dress is going to be sitting in a closet for a long time because I found an incredible deal on it way ahead of schedule (we actually talked about this earlier)... The problem is, the skirt is this massive princess style with tons of tulle, and it already looks kind of grayish to me 😢 I know tulle can lose its brightness if it just sits there. I tried it on recently and my mom says it doesn't look gray at all, just white, but still... I've been doing a ton of reading online about how to care for tulle and bridal gowns. Some women suggest soaking the dress in a tub of lukewarm water with a little bit of mild liquid soap to lift the grayness, then carefully hanging it up to drip dry so the tulle doesn't lose its volume. Has anyone actually tried this method? And if you haven't—or if your dress turned gray too—which dry cleaners did you take it to and what did it cost? I'm really hoping someone has heard of something like this 🤷
Christian Phillips3 said:Hey guys, anyone here actually been to the "Cvitak" gym over in San Diego or maybe checked out those "Moji Kolacici" bakeries in San Diego? Thanks a ton in advance... :-)
I’ve been to Sweet Treats in Santa Monica before. I’m definitely going back there on October 5th! Their treats are great, super consistent, and they aren't pricey at all. If you want to know anything else, just ask. Honestly, I could really use some help with these workouts too...🙂
Now you guys have me curious about all these makeup artists. I actually asked my students—the ones who just finished high school recently—how much they paid for their prom makeup. Honestly, the numbers they gave me were even higher than what you all are mentioning here... they said they paid $167 😲. I mean, why all the hype? If they’re charging that much for prom, wedding prices are probably going to skyrocket too! I don't really trust these professionals, anyway. I just don't think anyone can do my makeup quite as well as I can... so I'm planning to spend this winter practicing like crazy to get it perfect. I'd much rather spend those $167 on some high-quality setting spray, foundation, and highlighter instead.
Thanks so much for the detailed guide 😁 Regarding the lighting, you might want to check if the band offers those services themselves. For example, the band we booked (Imagine Dragons) actually brings their own lights, smoke machines, and even a video wall 🤷 Also, if anyone’s interested, I’m heading out to a bakery in San Diego this Sunday to check out a local shop for some gourmet cookies and cakes. I'll let you know how it goes if you want... everything looks delicious in the photos and the prices seem pretty reasonable 😍
Paul King5 said:I honestly thought Vagus didn't offer any discounts since nothing was mentioned on the flyer, but thank God I didn't toss it in the trash. The guy didn't explicitly say the deal lasts through the end of March, but he did mention it'd be smart to swing by before summer hits because they're expecting gold prices to spike. Even without that discount, their prices are solid. The rings I like are around $1000, whereas Zaksa totally shocked me with their pricing compared to them—not a single ring under 4000-$1500. Tiffany & Co. is also great regarding prices, and I actually snagged a 20% discount there. They have a massive selection and can make basically anything we want regardless of our budget. Like, we could just bring in a photo and say, "I want rings worth $1000," or $1333... etc. I guess most jewelers do that, but these guys were actually really nice 😁 Johnson has good prices too, and they were offering discounts as well. In the end, the only reason to hit up the Fair is for the jewelry deals. Oh, and I won a cake in the raffle 😁... I was hoping for a wedding cake, but nope... just a regular cake I have to order and eat within a month. Still, I'm happy. First time I've ever won anything 😁
I had budgeted about $3,000 for this ☕. I ran into an acquaintance the other day who got married a few months ago, and he and his wife picked out the simplest yellow gold bands. He told me they cost them both together only $533 😲. That really shocked me—in a good way, obviously! When I asked where they went, he said they bought them in San Francisco, though he couldn't quite explain it. He was a little vague, just saying it was somewhere between Marmont and Gregory. Does that sound like where Vagus is located? 🤷
Douglas Reyes3 said:I went both days, but honestly, there wasn't anything particularly special about it. I did manage to snag a few discount coupons from Tiffany & Co. for rings; they're valid until the end of the year, though some last for about five months.
I ended up coming home with a whole bag full of flyers. 🙂
To be perfectly honest, I was expecting much more from the whole experience. I asked several vendors very specific questions hoping for even a rough quote, but the responses were always just "it depends on this" or "well, you could do this or that..." It felt a bit vague. The only exception was at the booths where actual employees were working—they actually knew their stuff and what they were offering.
The one silver lining for me was seeing the makeup artist I'm planning to hire in action; she was doing the makeup for the bridal gown runway show.
That’s great! Let me know if you have any wedding flyers left over. I might check out Vagus jewelry, though I'm not sure if they even offer discounts at fairs like this...🤷
Most of the exhibitors were exactly the same ones we saw last year.
I really wasn't a fan of how pushy some of them were—I mean, they were practically badgering couples into signing up for their services right then and there... Wouldn't it have been much more effective if they had actually showcased their work instead of just trying to sell it? Some people didn't even seem to know what they were supposed to be displaying at their own booth. For instance, I asked a woman from Bobis if it was possible to do a multi-tiered wedding cake where every single layer has a completely different flavor and sponge type, and she looks me dead in the eye and says, "No, it all goes on crunchy praline, you get praline inside and marzipan on the outside, plus whatever decorations you want." I couldn't help but laugh and just walk away—I mean, obviously, you can totally do that, but her lack of knowledge was just too much.
I tried a cake from Creme de la Creme at one of the receptions, and honestly, it was the best cake I've ever had in my life. The couple had ordered a combination of chocolate, vanilla, then chocolate again, and then vanilla...😍
Charles Gomez4 said:😁 Just share the news as early as you can. At least tell the younger crowd ahead of time—tell the older folks in person first, then send a "formal" invite if you're actually going. Get it done a month or two in advance. Those invitations absolutely wiped me out; I felt like I spent my entire summer just traveling from one house to another. 🙄
I’d love to just get this all over with right now, just so I can feel like I’m actually making progress...🤣 Also, let me ask you—roughly how many invites would I need for about 160 people?
Hmmmm, my rental fee actually covers all the decor for the hall. If you want to bring your own lamb, it’ll cost you an extra $7 or $9 per person—I can't remember the exact figure—but honestly, if you bring your own booze, I'd be careful, or they'll come after you for it the next day... Every venue feels so different to me. Personally, I'm not a big fan of lamb, and a lot of my friends aren't either, so why not just handle it yourself? You could find something better, or maybe just do half lamb and half pork to save a little cash... 🙂 Nobody has said a word about the bachelor party or the wedding reception in forever 🙂
gentlewolf69 said:Me too. I’ll never regret wanting to hear the Pink Panther, but man, they really went overboard with those prices. If there are five people in the group, then every single person is walking away with more than $1000 for just one night... someone else is out there working their tail off all month for that kind of cash.
And let’s not forget you have to pay for a seat for every single one of them too! That’s actually one of the reasons we didn't book a group, Boss. It would've cost us at least $1,800, plus six extra chairs... 🙂