neubride's reviews

I told all our guests that we weren't interested in gifts, we would consider people taking the time off and making the trip up to the Wind Resort Beach club as the gift! Our mothers still encouraged us to register somewhere, especially for the guests that wanted to get us something for our new home together. We registered at Target, in their 'wedding club', and signed up for all the home appliances that we needed, wanted, or that ours were on the verge of dying. It worked out really well, because people could either go into the store or they could pick something from the registry online. We also got some Target gift cards, which are perfect for any new couple!

This is one of the nicest spas that I had ever been too! My mother set up a spa day for me, my mom, my two best friends and two of my aunts. We all went together and sipped on tea while we talked with our consultants about my upcoming wedding on the beach. Everyone at the spa seemed really happy for us, and I really loved their cheerful but professional manner! We each had a mani and a pedi, and our feet looked amazing! I chose an orange nail polish! It was really great to have such a nice spa treatment and to get our feet and hands ready right before the wedding! My mom was great about setting it up. She said that she called a month ahead just to make sure they could handle all of us at the same time.

This was probably the most stressful part of the whole wedding. Somehow, my future parents-in-law thought it was their responsibility to pay for the rehearsal dinner because my parents and we were paying for the wedding. Why they didn't offer to pay for part of the wedding ceremony is beyond me, but they insisted on paying for the rehearsal dinner. Then they said that it would be expensive, so that we should get Pizza Hut Pizza or something along those lines. I stood up and finally said that everyone will pay for their own pizza, and that if they wanted they could pay for some of the pies. It was a horrible fiasco, because then they only made reservations for six, but we were a group of eighteen, and finally once we realised that it would take an hour for everyone to be able to sit together, we finally ordered ten pizzas to go and went back to our apartment. The manager felt really bad about the confusion, and even gave us a 10% off coupon. Our at appartment, my parent-in-laws finally became normal again. And the pizza was delicious. Lesson? Don't let bad planners plan anything, because it will just fall to pits and then we'll have to pick up the pieces.

Ceremony:

I give this place a ten star rating! We knew that we wanted to get married on the beach, so it was just a matter of finding a place that could take us. We found our about the Wind Resort while visiting the coast and fell in love! We met with a manager that day, and spoke about possible wedding packages. We went with the 'cloud 9' option, which means that we would get married on the beach with our friends watching, and then we would have access to the reception hall for a feast. What I loved was that they took care of everything, they got the minister, and flowers and chairs and decoration, and our only task was to be there! It was such an easy day for everyone! It does take a while to get there from Durham, but it is such a peaceful and wonderful place that it is worth it.

Reception:

The reception hall is really pretty, and it was perfect for a group our size. They took care of every aspect of the dinner and reception, including setting up a meeting before hand with the resort's chef to talk about a menu, a cake, and the hotel took care of linens and music and flowers. They were even able to suggest some photographers. It was a perfect setting for a wedding reception, it was bright and clean, and everyone had a great time.

Guest Accommodations:
I think the best part of the Wind Resort is that they have so many different types of rooms and cottages. Our friends and family could chose between renting out an entire cottage for a week, or just getting a room for the night at the hotel. I loved the small cottage that my parents rented for the week! It super cute and clean, and all our other family members who were staying in hotel rooms were able to come down and have breakfast and lunch there. My parent's cabin was basically the meeting point for everyone, which is what groups should consider when traveling down here. ALSO pay attention to the website, because we got 15% off coupons for our guests.

I go here all the time, and the staff knows me for my regular every six-to-eight week stopevers. I was kind of sad that I wouldn't have a wedding up-do for my wedding, since I would be miles away from my favorite hair dresser, but at least my hair color could look nice. I did make an appointment to have my hair colored two weeks before the wedding ceremony. They do amazing high lights and low lights, and I always leave looking more natural and fresh looking than when I walked in. They are really great with coloring, and if you need to get your hair dyed, or of thinking of a color change, I suggest you come here. Some of the stylists may have very drastic looking hair styles, but they understand that most of us just want a simple cut and style.

I traveled to Canada a few years ago and bought the best eyeliner in the world. Since then, I only wear Lise Watier make-up. I think it's natural and beautiful, and my skin has no allergic reaction to it. I can't buy it in the states, but I can order it online. I suggest starting with the eyeliner, and then foundation and lipstick. They have great colors and tones. I have even sold my mother on how good Lise Watier make-up is, and she only wears their lipstick and liner now. And again, because I was having an on-site wedding, I took care of the make-up myself. I made sure it was light, and I looked great in the pictures!

I didn't know much about rings or jewelry, I just know that after five years of dating I started to look more seriously at wedding rings in magazines. My husband was smarter than I was, and set up an appointment to look at rings together at Donald Haack, in Charlotte. He chose the place because it was close to my parents house, and he had gone to Charlotte a few weeks earlier to ask my parents for my hand in marriage. My dad asked him where he was going to get a ring from, and then told him to "go down the street, by the mall. That's a nice store." It was a nice store! Lots of expensive looking jewelry, and the salesperson told me that choosing the ring is easy since I already chose the man (?). It took us two visits, and we finally found a setting that I loved! It was simple, a little elegant, not really like the kind of rings I normally wear, but I wanted a ring that was simple and that would last for life. I didn't want my ring to be trendy, which is why I have this beautiful and classic ring on my finger now!

Because we were being married on the beach, no one thought that it would be necessary to have the groom wear a tux. And because the wedding ceremony would be in June, we all agreed that a nice button down shirt and pants would be good. My husband got the nicest outfit from Banana Republic! He said that he spent over four hundred dollars, but he did get some things on sale, and he also included a few extra shirts and a pair of shorts that he would wear throughout the whole wedding weekend. On the wedding day, for the ceremony, he did wear a suit, but it wasn't a stuffy suit! He just looked so cool and relaxed! He didn't have any groomsmen, so it was just him standing up there, barefoot (we were both barefoot, much to his mother's dismay). I think Banana Republic has some of the nicest cloths for men, especially for guys in their late twenties. It fit him well, the colors were cool and trendy looking, and we looked great in the pictures.

Save the date

We got all the paper invitations from this website. This is the website that my cousin used, and so it came highly recommended from my aunt and cousin. It was perfect! My mom and I loved shopping for guests books, and save the date cards, and invitations online. It was so easy, and it saved so much time and money! I originally wanted to buy from a local shop, but once the boxes with the guest book and save-the-date cards started arriving, I realized how much easier shopping online was. Also, I can't say enough about the guest book we bought here. We got great reviews from it, and guests still mention how cute it was when they see my mom at the grocery store! We're famous for having a great guest book! Awesome!

Invitations
The invitations came out nice! It was great to have everything taken care of at one place!

I went to several trunk shows, and most of them were at the Hayden Olivia bridal shop. They have a great collection of designer names, and they have a great trunk show every month or so. They book up fast, so I always called ahead or had one of my girlfriends call ahead and book us places. My best friend actually picked out here dress at one of the shows! It was a Valenta dress that she never would have looked at twice if it wasn't for a model who put it on. It's really a chance to see different dress styles that don't really pop in pictures as they do in person.