Walmart Bridal Clearance!

I've been seeing lots of bridal clearance at Walmart lately! Probably making room for their new lines- which are actually kind of nice!! Just wanted to post real quick about this- I'll put up some pics later of stuff I just got! I got somethings before my wedding over a month ago now- cake server/knife set for one (more on that later! it was left in my car and never used!!), and somethings just yesterday!

Yesterday I got some bachelorette party stuff (somehow I'm the keeper of all bach party stuff among all my friends! even the stuff from my own!) and cute thank you notes- each item for $.50!!  I'll post pics later, but I'm off to run errands now and maybe even to check out another Walmart or two for more goodies!! Definitely need more TY notes! Still working on getting those out!!

There's also lots of invitations, flower petals, guest book pens, and many other things on clearance. They probably aren't the best and highest quality, but some will definitely do for the price, if you're in a pinch or throwing a quick wedding! I even saw a really cute hankercheif with blue rhinestone hearts that I would've loved to have had! But I did ask my aunt last minute for an old one of hers!

I also got my ring bearer pillows from their new line! I'll also post more on those later!! Lots to do!!!

Weddingwire.com (Free gift for reviewing vendors!)

Now that the wedding is over, I've pretty much been devoting all of my time to learning how to be a better wife!! Mostly, by saving money and getting free deals! I'm still planning on recapping wedding stuff, but I may include stuff for newlyweds and newlyweds-to-be from time to time!

 

This can be helpful to brides AS a newlywed!! If you're not quite yet married, still use this site for great info!!

 

Weddingwire.com is offering a free gift to brides who review their vendors. Not only will writing a review of your vendor get you a gift, it will also help other brides in your area in their own quest for the perfect vendors! What a great idea!

 

I first discovered Wedding Wire through a vendor I reviewed- Designs in Paper. Donette of DnP suggested I check out the site for wedding song recommendations! Yes, an invitation company helped us with our wedding songs!! Haha! They do everything (see my review below!)

 

After the wedding, I actually found out about this free gift through a random ad on Facebook.com Yes, I have succumb to the Facebook world! And I was doing so well holding out! Oh well!! I remembered the site from before, so I headed over to check it out!

 

"	My Vendor Reviews

Help other brides make informed decisions about their wedding by providing reviews of your wedding vendors. Your reviews will be attached to each vendor profile so that engaged couples can read about your experiences. "

 

 

Sign up for Wedding Wire, review 5 of your vendors and receive a reward!! Not hard to do!

 

The rewards are :

 

- $5 eBay gift certificate

- $5 Amazon.com gift certificate
- $5 Amazonmp3 gift certificate (5 free songs!!)

- $5 donated to a charity from the I DO foundation

- $59 Voucher for CanvasOnDemand (looks like they make your pictures into canvases- haven't looked into this one except a quick glance)

- 1 Year subscription Martha Stewart's EVERYDAY FOOD (Hello, cooking help for the new bride!)

 

I'm definitely going for that last one! Although I already know how to cook, I can always use more advice- especially from someone I already got lots of wedding info from!! :o)

Here are my reviews so far of Old Natchez Country Club, Cakes by Shara, and Designs in Paper. I also plan to review my photographer, Shanell Bledsoe and videographer (waiting for my video!)

 

Old Natchez Country Club Franklin, TN 37069 See All Reviews Review Date: Aug 17, 2008 at 8:51 PM Services Used: Ceremony & Reception Venue, Catering, Flowers & Decor, Event Rentals 4.7 out of 5.0 Quality of Service: (5.0/5.0) Responsiveness: (5.0/5.0) Professionalism: (5.0/5.0) Value For Cost: (3.5/5.0) Flexibility: (5.0/5.0) Edit Review Old Natchez was a great place to hold my wedding reception! Debbie was wonderful to work with, very flexible and gave GREAT ideas for decor and food! The chef was fantastic and even was willing to tweak some recipes just for us and our requests! All of our guests are still raving about the food a month later. The views, layout and ambiance are great for a reception. The service was excellent! We had a LOT of kids in attendance and the staff was great with them- even when they had to chase them off of the stairs or away from the dessert fountain! We planned out a lot of the decor ourselves, but handed it over to them to put up and decorate. It was absolutely beautiful! Debbie was always willing to meet with us to discuss ideas (even on short notice!)! She was great! My favorite part was eating the food she packed for us to have later that night- you know no one really eats at their own wedding! The staff did fix us plates and made us eat right after our first dances, but of course we were constantly interrupted and soon hurried off for outside photos, so it was nice to "re-taste" everything at the end of the night- we were both quite hungry afterwards- even though we had eaten we were too busy to taste it the first time around!   Cakes By Shara Mt Juliet, TN 37122 See All Reviews Review Date: Aug 17, 2008 at 8:44 PM Services Used: Wedding Cake 5.0 out of 5.0 Quality of Service: (5.0/5.0) Responsiveness: (5.0/5.0) Professionalism: (5.0/5.0) Value For Cost: (5.0/5.0) Flexibility: (5.0/5.0) Edit Review I would 100% recommend Shara to anyone. She is very honest and professional, yet also very kind and accommodating! It's hard to find all of those things in a wedding vendor. She really knows what she is doing- if something you are wanting is a bad idea, she'll kindly let you know there might be a better way to go! But really, I've seen her do just about anything! Her cupcakes are amazing and award winning! Her flavors and presentation are great! I'd definitely use her again- by recommending her or using her for b-day cakes, other parties, etc! Designs In Paper Nashville, TN 37229 See All Reviews Review Date: Aug 17, 2008 at 8:56 PM Services Used: Invitations & Favors 5.0 out of 5.0 Quality of Service: (5.0/5.0) Responsiveness: (5.0/5.0) Professionalism: (5.0/5.0) Value For Cost: (5.0/5.0) Flexibility: (5.0/5.0) Edit Review LOVE this company!!! They literally saved me after another invitation option fell through. They did my invites, programs, favor tags, and table confetti. They were the ones who helped pull together our theme and literally help incorporate every aspect of our wedding.Both Steve and Donette are fun, professional, and great to work with. Donette would even call my mom with ideas out of the blue for things that had nothing to do with what she was actually helping us with. She was a great inspiration for our favors (salt water taffy bags to go with our beach theme) and made the favor tags to match the invites and programs perfectly.I really can't say enough about how much I appreciated all that they did! It wasn't cheap, but it was fairly priced! Especially considering EVERYTHING they do is custom made! So no one else has the same design that you do! Everything was a hit!!   Happy Reviewing!!

Honeymoon Recap Pt. 3 (Los Animales Locos!)

One of the most amazing things about Hotel Capitan Suizo was the natural scenery and wildlife. Even though El Capitan is the bustling little surfer town of Tamarindo, Costa Rica, it really feels set apart at the edge of the town and feels like it's own little jungle/ocean paradise!

We heard there would be lots of wildlife, and there WAS!! Raccoons, geckos, iguanas, lots of different birds, squirrels, monkeys, crabs EVERYWHERE, and skunks. Yes, skunks! We only saw one of those the last night, when a baby skunk walked RIGHT THROUGH the outdoor restaurant! Everyone got completely still for a moment, but it just waltzed right through one side and out the other on its merry way! Thank goodness!!

It seemed odd to travel so far to see some of the same animals we have here, like raccoons and squirrels, but they were actually quite different- especially the squirrels.

They put out food each morning for the birds and squirrels, so that they wouldn't come bother guests in the open-air restaurant, but there was still the occasional gutsy magpie bird that flew in begging for food!

This magpie wouldn't leave until I fed it!

I think the same one was begging food off of our waitress a few days before!

Birds eating fruit outside the restaurant

These squirrels were soooo funny trying to "sneak" up on the fruit with no one noticing...when in fact the whole restaurant was watching!

Ray was as bad as the kiddos trying to feed the squirrels!

The best thing was all the monkeys!! The hotel actually keeps and takes care of two baby monkeys, Sophie and Alice. They are adorable! The hotel staff watches them during the day, letting them play in the trees and entertain the guests.

The first night, Sophie jumped right up on my hubby's neck and made herself a new friend! Apparently she didn't want to share, because the moment I reached up to pet her, she BIT ME!!! It was just a little nip on the back of my hand, and although it hurt a bit, it didn't do any damage! It scared Ray for a moment, but then the rest of the week he was thoroughly amused that a monkey bit his wife!



Sophie would have nothing to do with me the rest of the week, but Alice was friendly enough to let me hold her some!

Alice was a cutie! She lost her tail at some point (I forget if she was born that way or something happened!) But she sure still knew how to swing in the trees!

Alice

Sophie- the little stinker!

Supposedly the BEST place in the area to see monkeys is at our hotel! We went on a jungle canopy tour and didn't see a single monkey! However we did have lots of fun, despite looking like TOTAL dorks!

When we came back to the hotel, there were monkeys all over!!! (none of these are Sophie or Alice!)

Um.....yes, those white things are their butts....it was pretty gross!!

I've seen plenty of these guys before!! This gecko was hangin out above our heads on the post at the restaurant!

Pretty butterflies were all around

This blue crab was soooo big that you could see it out on the beach from the restaurant (notice what good care they take of the beach--it's raked every morning!!)

This little crabby was hangin out in our bungalow-- at least our bed was way up high!!

The raccoons searched for food at night, usually eating fallen coconuts and leftover food from the birds and squirrels. They were harmless to us, but we often heard them snarl at each other, so pretty much stayed out of their way!

Iguanas were always lounging by the pool when the sun was out in full force. Now, I've had these crawling on my outside walls and roofs in Honduras and they scared the daylights out of me...however, they didn't really move around much, unless someone brought some fruit by for them, and they sort of seemed like they were on vacation themselves! So I just left them alone (other than to take pics, and they left me alone too!)

This one was peeking out from the tree at us, laying in our hammock on the beach!

Ray's new friend!

That concludes my honeymoon recap! At least for now!! If you are at all interested in Costa Rica for a honeymoon, I highly recommend Tamarindo, and even MORE highly recommend Hotel Capitan Suizo. But don't just take my word for it! Look it up on TripAdvisor to see all of the RAVING reviews and pictures! It's the 3rd ranked hotel in the area, only because the first 2 are very small, exclusive resorts with very few rooms and they are both Yoga based, and one is vegetarian. We originally booked the non vegetarian one, but decided to go with El Capitan as a cheaper option. So happy with our choice since it was the only one right on the beach!

Happy Honeymooning!!