My First Full-Blown Meltdown.

My first, and hopefully only meltdown.

For the first time this weekend I really regretted deciding to have a destination wedding. I realized that I have somewhat touched on this subject before but I am writing this to be a complete open book. So far the planning process has been really easy and stress-free, but as the wedding gets closer, the real stuff is kicking in.

My aunt (the one whose veil I am using) has rheumatoid arthritis and has had some complications due to the disease lately. She has gotten numerous tests done, but they can't figure out exactly what is wrong with her. She is so sad and disapointed that she will miss the wedding and I am so sad and disapointed that she wont be there. I completely understand why she can't come, no one likes to travel internationally when they aren't feeling well. At the same time, I started regretting my decision.

On the other end of things, one of my bridesmaids dropped out of the wedding. Yep, 2 weeks before the wedding she told me she won't be coming after all. Although I was never fully convinced she was coming, it still sucks to know she won't be there for sure.

Things have gotten better since hearing this disappointing news and my parents have reminded me that our wedding will be full of love no matter who is there. As we get closer I am getting really excited to be on the island and not have to think about anything for a while. Hopefully when I return I can come back and tell y'all that my wedding was amazing and I don't regret a thing. For right now though, I have mixed feelings.

Have any of you had a destination wedding you regretted?

We Should Be Dancin' (Yeah)

Mr. PF and I are huge believers of dancing at a wedding so we knew we would have to make a great playlist to keep our shindig going. Our only rules were no Rihanna (Mr. PF is not a fan) and no Black Eyes Peas (I'm not a fan)

We are gonna start the night off with some LMFAO- Sexy And I Know It and finish the night off with Journey- Don't Stop Believin', but here is what we came up with for the middle stuff!

Bruno Mars- Marry You
Hot Chelle Rae- Tonight, Tonight
Ke$ha- Tik Tok
Katy Perry- Teenage Dream
Selena Gomez- Love Song
Chris Brown- Forever
Maroon 5- Moves Like Jagger
LMFAO- Shots
Michael Jackson- Thriller
Kool and The Gang- Celebration
Sir Mix-A-Lot- I Like Big Butts
Christina Aguilera, Pink, Lil Kim, Mya- Lady Marmalade
Bon Jovi- You Give Love a Bad Name
Katy Perry- California Gurls
Pink- Get The Party Started (Mama PF favorite song lol)
Beyonce & Jay-Z- Crazy in Love
Ke$ha- Blow
Justin Timberlake- Sexy Back
Katrina and The Waves- Walking on Sunshine
ZZ Top- Sharp Dressed Man
Billy Joel- Piano Man
Bon Jovi- Living on a Prayer
Eddie Money- Take Me Home Tonight
Don Mclean- American Pie
Garth Brooks- Friends in Low Places

Phewf! That's a lot of songs! Hopefully our list will keep the party going! Any other brilliant suggestions to add??

We will probably throw in a couple of slow songs every now and then just to give people a little rest.

What songs are on your "must play" list? What songs got people up at dancing at your wedding?

DIY heaven...or hell?

This is the story of my life right now... Remember all those DIY projects that I started, oh 4 months ago that I thought I had a lot of time to finish? Yeah, well now I have about 19 days to finish them. Doh! How did the wedding sneak up so fast??!?!?!

Picture via Hand Made Ryan Gosling

It seemed like such a good idea at the time making my own menus and programs, now I could honestly care less about them. I'm sure I will get them done, but instead of actually doing them tonight, I will just write about how I should be doing them. :D

So here's my advice to all the bride to bees that are still months out from their wedding, finish the projects you started while you still have the drive!!! When you get this close to the wedding your mind is just filled with happy, lazy, lazy thoughts.

What projects are you DIY?? Have you started any projects that you have yet to finish?

Dad AND Mom?

I'm talking about the big march down the aisle.

My mom and dad are 2 of the most important people in my life and they both had their fair share of fun while raising me. I thought about it a lot and realized that I want both parents to walk me down the aisle.

The beautiful Mrs. Emerald with her parents

For some reason I always had pictured just my dad walking me down the aisle and getting pictures like this one...

Picture via Krista Lee Photogrpahy

Mostly just because I like the way it looks and I have always dreamed of having that special time with my dad. So I decided on a great compromise.

We will have a fairly long aisle so I will walk out with my Dad and we will pick my mom up along the way before we actually head down the actual aisle. This is special to me because since I am an only child, our family has always been really tight knit and close. I am already stepping all over traditions toes, so what's one more thing, right? :D

Who is walking you down the aisle? How did you decide?

Gifting the Girls

Searching for bridesmaids gifts was one of the hardest tasks I have yet to come across while planning this dang wedding. I needed to find something that was small enough for me to take to Mexico and something the girls wouldn't mind lugging back to the states.

I liked the idea of getting them jewelry and I probably still will get them a nice necklace or something, but I wanted to do something a little different. (I promise, this is cool! Keep reading) Before I show you...Now that they are gone, lets get to the good stuff.

So I found this awesome service called Birchbox that sends out different beauty samples every month right to your door.

Image via Birchbox

I thought it would be really fun to get a 3-month subscription for each girl that way they could get to try new makeup and also have a package to look forward to every month! Who doesn't love getting packages?? Especially when it's not something you ordered yourself. For me, it's like Christmas when I see a package sitting on my door step.

So what do y'all think? Would you like to receive a BM gift like this?

Gifting the Parents

On the cheap, of course. If you haven't noticed by now, I like gifting things that look really awesome, but don't cost a lot of money.

Gifting our parents was something that I totally overlooked until someone told me I was supposed to. And why not, really? They are the reason this whole shindig is happening. The best part about it is I don't think they will be expecting anything, so they will be surprised. Hopefully my mom isn't reading this right now...If you are, stop reading please :)

I went to my one-stop shop to check out some popular gifts for the parents. Etsy. It's not always the cheapest place, but there is some really nice stuff that's meaningful too.

So, I'll start with dad. I found these awesome cufflinks that brought a tear to my eye.

Photo via Etsy store White Ruffle

The other thing I found for Papa PF is this sweet hanky. I plan on giving this to him right after we walk down the aisle together and before he takes his seat.

Photo via Etsy store MisterandMrs.

If you can't quite read the writing it says

"Of all the walks we have taken together,
this one is my favorite.
As the first man I have ever loved,
when you give me away
know I will always be your little girl."

For mom, I am getting her a spa day at a local spa. I know its something she enjoys and also something she would never buy for herself.

Photo via Beauty and Wellness

I am also presenting my mom with my bouquet at the wedding instead of tossing it to my single friends.

For Mr. PF's mom and dad I am getting them personalized hankies. If you haven't figured it out yet, hankies are kind of a theme at our wedding.

Picture via Etsy store MisterandMrs.

Hopefully these gifts will be something that our parents will cherish for a long time and lovingly think of our wedding when they see them. I am still thinking of getting alittle something more for my mom, do y'all have any great ideas?

What kind of gifts are you giving your parents?

Our Petit Wedding

See what I did there with the title? Petit? hehe.

Our final count on guests is a whopping 33! It's to be expected since we are getting married so far away, but I am actually really excited that we will get to spend lots of time with our favorite people on earth. Since the wedding is quickly approaching, the reality that certain people won't be at the wedding is starting to sink in.

Certain people like my grandma, one of my favorite aunts and two cousins that I grew up with won't be attending. I realize that's the price you pay for having a destination wedding, but it didn't hit me until recently.

Sometimes I wonder if we should have done the big, traditional wedding like many of my cousins did, so everyone would be able to see us get married. Since travel is involved, it was obvious that some people wouldn't be able to make it. Even though I expected it, it still makes me a little sad that they wont be there.

I realize this post sounds kinda pitful... Our wedding will be full of love and laughter, but it's hard to put emotions aside during such an emotional time.

Are you having a big wedding? What made you decide to do it?