The questions that brides struggle with a lot is the changing of their name. Am I going to miss being a _____, or am I going to love being the new ________? It is a difficult decision, for some.
I have never questioned whether or not I was going to change my last name. I was talking with my sister a few years ago about this. She said she had a very hard time letting go of our maiden name and embracing the new one. I told her I had no problem letting go. My last name doesn't make me. I make my name.
The question I struggled with more was, was I going to move my maiden name to my middle name or get rid of it all together. Tradition would tell me to let go of my current middle name and move my maiden name to the middle. For me, this doesn't not work. You see, I LOVE my middle name (especially since B and I share our middle name). My first name can also be a last name, so if I moved my maiden to the middle I would have 3 last names. YUCK! It just won't do.
So, my decision? (As if you haven't already guessed) I am letting go of my last name and embracing the new while keeping my middle name.
Are you struggling with the name change?
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
A party, for me?
What's that you say? I get a party? Oh heck yeah!
I received my invitation to my first bridal shower about 1 week ago. I was so excited to get it that I took pictures to show you.
A little back story for you: My sister told me early on in our engagement that she wanted to host my bridal shower, awesome! The when having dinner with my aunt and uncle, my aunt asked if she could and I told her my sister wanted to do it. She reminded me that she had done my sister's shower and would be willing to help her with it. My uncle suggested that my sister host it at my aunt's house. This was a great idea since my sister was trying to figure out where to have it.
She here is the invitation my aunt sent out to attend the bridal shower my sister and aunt were to host:
My sister told me my aunt had my uncle design the invites. I think he is a pretty good job, don't you?
I'm super stoked about the shower and I can't wait to wear my new dress!!!
I received my invitation to my first bridal shower about 1 week ago. I was so excited to get it that I took pictures to show you.
A little back story for you: My sister told me early on in our engagement that she wanted to host my bridal shower, awesome! The when having dinner with my aunt and uncle, my aunt asked if she could and I told her my sister wanted to do it. She reminded me that she had done my sister's shower and would be willing to help her with it. My uncle suggested that my sister host it at my aunt's house. This was a great idea since my sister was trying to figure out where to have it.
She here is the invitation my aunt sent out to attend the bridal shower my sister and aunt were to host:
I'm super stoked about the shower and I can't wait to wear my new dress!!!
Dazzle
The dazzle I am speaking of is ShoeDazzle. Everything for $40 and the stylists find you shoes. O. M. G.
Thus far the stylists have been a little off for my taste, but then in my alternative selection for March, there were the most Beautiful shoes my eyes have seen. They are named Pixie.
The dusty rose is to beautiful and the shape and style of the shoe is so classic! They arrived and the shoe in person did not fail to meet my standards:
The heel height was a bit taller than I had imagined (I'm not used to wearing heels anymore) so I had a little trouble walking in them the first day, but I managed. The second day I wore them I purchased gel stickies for the pads of my shoes and they fit and felt much better.
So before you stop reading this post because you are saying to yourself, "girl, your colors are not pink" I have so many pre-wedding activities to participate in.
I have purchased a black and white polka dot dress from White House Black Market and thought that these shoes would be perfect with it. I am planning on wearing this dress and maybe these shoes to at least one of my bridal showers.
My fiance even said he like the outfit and didn't ask how much they were. He only asked if they were a "just because" buy or a "useful" purchase.
Have you made clothing purchases for pre-wedding activities?
Thus far the stylists have been a little off for my taste, but then in my alternative selection for March, there were the most Beautiful shoes my eyes have seen. They are named Pixie.
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| Pixie from Shoe Dazzle |
So before you stop reading this post because you are saying to yourself, "girl, your colors are not pink" I have so many pre-wedding activities to participate in.
I have purchased a black and white polka dot dress from White House Black Market and thought that these shoes would be perfect with it. I am planning on wearing this dress and maybe these shoes to at least one of my bridal showers.
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| WHBM |
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| A terrible phone pic of me in my dress and shoes!!! |
Have you made clothing purchases for pre-wedding activities?
Fabric flowers
I guess a theme for our wedding is, no real flowers. I laugh about this because I LOVE flowers. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE! Being that our wedding is outside at my parent's farmhouse, there will be flowers in the gardens. But, as far as corsages, bouquets, and centerpieces, no real flowers.
As you can imagine, I have scoured the internet for every tutorial imaginable. I was looking for flowers that I thought were pretty and easy/quick to make. I didn't want to be stressing over making a dozen fabric flowers if each flower was going to take a long time to make.
I first found tutorials in the Martha Stewart website:
I tried the tutorials for the Dahlia (1st pic) and the garden rose (2nd pic). The dahlia DID NOT turn out well! It may have been the fabric I chose, but it was not good! But, the garden roses turned out well:
I was hoping to put a fabric flower on a headband for our flower girls, but this flower come to a point in the back and would probably not sit right. So, on to look for more...
I kept finding similar tutorials for flowers shown in the very first photo above, so I tried it out. They seemed easy to make since all I had to cut were circles of the fabric in the same size. Some tutorials told me to sew and some told me to hot glue. Since I am a sewer, I started with that. The flower turned out nicely but it took longer than I had expected.
So, next I thought I'd try the hot glue. Boy did this go faster than I could ever have hoped. Even though there was a lump in the middle from the glue, you couldn't tell and the flower still looked good. I was able to knock out 2 flowers in the time it took me to sew one.
These flowers I made are all a little large to go on top of my flower girls' head, so I will have to make more that are smaller.
Tutorials I have found:
Chrysanthemumfelt flower
Fabric flower similar to one I did above
Fabric Carnations
Hot Glue Flower I did above
Some other ideas I have for fabric flowers are wrist corsages and brooches for clutches I am going to make.
What do you think? Great idea or what?
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| Source |
I first found tutorials in the Martha Stewart website:
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| Martha Stewart for above 2 photos |
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| Garden rose I made |
I kept finding similar tutorials for flowers shown in the very first photo above, so I tried it out. They seemed easy to make since all I had to cut were circles of the fabric in the same size. Some tutorials told me to sew and some told me to hot glue. Since I am a sewer, I started with that. The flower turned out nicely but it took longer than I had expected.
These flowers I made are all a little large to go on top of my flower girls' head, so I will have to make more that are smaller.
Tutorials I have found:
Chrysanthemumfelt flower
Fabric flower similar to one I did above
Fabric Carnations
Hot Glue Flower I did above
Some other ideas I have for fabric flowers are wrist corsages and brooches for clutches I am going to make.
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| Source |
DIY Chalkboard
I thought I'd share with you how I made the chalkboard for my photobooth. It is really easy and staight forward.
1. Gather supplies: Fine sandpaper, very fine sandpaper, challkboard paint, painter's tape, wooden board.
I purchased the wooden board from AC Moore. The edges are grooved similarly to baseboard.
2. Sand the wooden board. I started with the fine sand paper and finished with the very fine so the board would be very smooth and easy to write on:
3. Decide on the design. Do you want a wooden border; do you want only the edges to be wood?
I chose to do a wooden border so I placed my painter's tape around in the design I wanted:
4. Paint; I took the board outside and used the chalkboard spray paint. I made sure to cover all the areas. Let dry and repeat as many times as you think necessary.
5. Once you have put on all of the coats of paint and it is dry, remove the tape. DONE!
Do you think you will make a chalkboard?
1. Gather supplies: Fine sandpaper, very fine sandpaper, challkboard paint, painter's tape, wooden board.
2. Sand the wooden board. I started with the fine sand paper and finished with the very fine so the board would be very smooth and easy to write on:
3. Decide on the design. Do you want a wooden border; do you want only the edges to be wood?
I chose to do a wooden border so I placed my painter's tape around in the design I wanted:
4. Paint; I took the board outside and used the chalkboard spray paint. I made sure to cover all the areas. Let dry and repeat as many times as you think necessary.
5. Once you have put on all of the coats of paint and it is dry, remove the tape. DONE!
Photobooth
My photographer, cousin Rolf, sent me a facebook message last summer/fall encouraging us to do a photobooth. I had been wanting one of these, but since I was getting the family discount, I didn't want to impose and cause him to have to do more. So, with Rolf's go-ahead, I started thinking and ordering supplies.
Rolf is going to supply the backdrop for the "booth."
I purchased a box full of photobooth props from someone off of the Weddingbee Classifieds. The box is full of awesome stuff: red parasol, big sunglasses, hats, and feather boas...
I thought I'd make a few things to add to the pile of stuff. It is always nice to see messages from friends and family, so I made a wooden chalkboard sign:
Unfortunately, the wood's natural lines show through the paint even though I put on lots of layers.
I also made lips and mustaches on sticks. I don't have a personal photo, but this is pretty much what they look like:
Of course these are a little nicer than mine. This etsy seller is actually talented at working with clay.
All in all, I think I have enough costume/decorations for the photobooth and it is going to be epic!
Are you thinking of doing a photobooth? How will you provide props?
Rolf is going to supply the backdrop for the "booth."
I purchased a box full of photobooth props from someone off of the Weddingbee Classifieds. The box is full of awesome stuff: red parasol, big sunglasses, hats, and feather boas...
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| Picture seller put up in the ad. |
I also made lips and mustaches on sticks. I don't have a personal photo, but this is pretty much what they look like:
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| Etsy Seller |
All in all, I think I have enough costume/decorations for the photobooth and it is going to be epic!
Are you thinking of doing a photobooth? How will you provide props?
Monday, March 21, 2011
On your mark, get set, ...
With just under 3 months left, I have begun to stress a bit. There is soooo much to do! It is comforting to have less items on the to-do list than have been done, but the ones still on there look so daunting.
Over the past week, the groomsmen gifts arrived, I've been putting together the invitations, I purchased the flower girl and ring bearer gifts, and made some of our parents gifts.
I will take some photos and get them posted ASAP, I promise!
Forgive my lack of posts, please! I've been getting things crossed off.
Over the past week, the groomsmen gifts arrived, I've been putting together the invitations, I purchased the flower girl and ring bearer gifts, and made some of our parents gifts.
I will take some photos and get them posted ASAP, I promise!
Forgive my lack of posts, please! I've been getting things crossed off.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
DIY Pocketfolds
I was able to find some instructions on how to make my own pocketfold:
Mrs. Ballet Flats gave instructions on how to use a 7" x 19" piece of cardstock.
Mrs. Deviled Egg gave instructions on how to use a 12" x 12" piece of cardstock.
I chose to use Mrs. Deviled Egg's instructions since I knew 12" x 12" cardstock is very easy to find and comes in many different colors. The pocketfold would be black allowing for red and white to be featured elsewhere in the invitation. I then did some research to find black #80 cardstock at a good price.
I ordered 80lb 12x12 cardstock (CV12-BK) from LCI paper. For 3 packs of 50 I paid $46. Beat that pocketfold seller people!
On the blogs and boards, everyone was saying to use double-sided tape. I went to my local Michael's and chose the tape that looked the strongest. I needed strong tape because I was working against physics. The pocket has flaps that are folded under and taped to the invitation. This flap will be pushing out against the tape holding it down.
I followed Mrs. Deviled Egg's instructions and used the double-sided tape. The fold didn't want to stay on the invitation. So I tried different tape, no luck. I went back to Michael's to look for another adhesive option and that is when I found the most wonderful glue EVER! I mean it, this stuff is awesome. It is called 2 Way Glue. It is blue when wet but dries colorless. If you adhere two things together while wet (wet bond), it is permanent. If you allow the glue to dry and adhere something to it (dry bond), it is temporary.
It was a little more than I wanted to spend ($6 before I used a 40% off coupon) but it was WELL worth it! I applied the glue to the flaps and held them down for a few seconds. I then put the invitation under something heavy and allowed it to dry while I made more. None of the ~130 invites I have made have come undone. This bottle of glue lasted me through all of the invites and for some other projects.
So for $52, I made ~130 pocketfold invitations, 1/3 the price if I had purchased them pre-made.
Have you had huge savings so far in your planning process?
Mrs. Ballet Flats gave instructions on how to use a 7" x 19" piece of cardstock.
Mrs. Deviled Egg gave instructions on how to use a 12" x 12" piece of cardstock.
I chose to use Mrs. Deviled Egg's instructions since I knew 12" x 12" cardstock is very easy to find and comes in many different colors. The pocketfold would be black allowing for red and white to be featured elsewhere in the invitation. I then did some research to find black #80 cardstock at a good price.
I ordered 80lb 12x12 cardstock (CV12-BK) from LCI paper. For 3 packs of 50 I paid $46. Beat that pocketfold seller people!
On the blogs and boards, everyone was saying to use double-sided tape. I went to my local Michael's and chose the tape that looked the strongest. I needed strong tape because I was working against physics. The pocket has flaps that are folded under and taped to the invitation. This flap will be pushing out against the tape holding it down.
I followed Mrs. Deviled Egg's instructions and used the double-sided tape. The fold didn't want to stay on the invitation. So I tried different tape, no luck. I went back to Michael's to look for another adhesive option and that is when I found the most wonderful glue EVER! I mean it, this stuff is awesome. It is called 2 Way Glue. It is blue when wet but dries colorless. If you adhere two things together while wet (wet bond), it is permanent. If you allow the glue to dry and adhere something to it (dry bond), it is temporary.
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| 2 Way Glue |
So for $52, I made ~130 pocketfold invitations, 1/3 the price if I had purchased them pre-made.
Have you had huge savings so far in your planning process?
Pocketfold Wha????
Once I had decided our invitations would be pocketfolds, I needed to investigate our options. I new I wanted to keep it to 5" x 7" instead of square invites due to postage charges.
The pocketfold can me arranged in many different orientations:
The Himalaya (A7): $35.99 for 50 (paperandmore), $75.50 for 50 (envelopme)
The Cascade (A7): $35.99 for 50 (paperandmore), $75.50 (envelopme)
The Atlas (A7): $35.99 for 50 (paperandmore), $75.50 for 50 (envelopme), $35.75 for 25 (LCI paper)
The pocketfold can me arranged in many different orientations:
The Himalaya (A7): $35.99 for 50 (paperandmore), $75.50 for 50 (envelopme)
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| Himalaya |
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| Cascade |
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| Atlas |
I was beginning to see that purchasing the pocketfolds was going to be very expensive since I needed to send out 121 invites. The orientation I fell in love with was the Atlas, so I now needed to find instructions on how to make my own pocketfold.
Preparation for Invitation
Over the years I have had the pleasure of being invited to friends and family's weddings. So far, most of the invitations looked the same. Very simple and sweet. Usually one page with a ribbon bow at the top. Even though this is very nice, I knew I wanted something different. Maybe a bit more complicated, so I started searching for inspiration.
A increasingly popular invitation is the kind that is similar to a concert poster. Mixing and matching colors and fonts easily make these invitations appealing. We have seen these from a few brides on the weddingbe; such as Miss Sloth and Mrs. Sand Dollar.
Then there are some invites that are more simple but still styled differently from those I have received before:
An then there is the wonderful letter press:
Last, but not least, the pocketfold:
Once I saw the pocketfold invitations, I new exactly what I HAD to have. I could keep the design of the invitation simple while making the invitation as a whole more exciting.
Next, a cost breakdown.
Where did you seek invitation inspiration?
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| Miss Sloth |
Then there are some invites that are more simple but still styled differently from those I have received before:
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| Mrs. Argyle |
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| Mrs. Beagle |
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| Mrs. Scissors |
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| Mrs. Apple Cider |
Next, a cost breakdown.
Where did you seek invitation inspiration?
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
She's Bringing Out the Crazy
I had a crazy moment yesterday. I want to have paper lanterns at the wedding, but they are pretty expensive. I could afford them, but do I want to pay >$1 - $3 per lantern? NO!
My next thought: make the lanterns myself. Hmmm...
A little research turned up a little info:
These are neat, but not what I pictured hanging at the wedding.
This one is very cool, but I couldn't find the instructions on how to make this. It is supposedly made on a Martha Stewart Blog.
This is very cool and I've done something like this before to make a Halloween decoration. But it won't have the same effect as the paper lanterns.
This is when the CRAZY popped up. I thought, why not combine the idea behind the string lantern and the paper. I could paper mache lanterns made from tissue paper. My next step is to try this out...
Have you had some crazy moments during your planning?
My next thought: make the lanterns myself. Hmmm...
A little research turned up a little info:
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| paper lanterns |
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| paper lantern |
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| String Lantern |
This is when the CRAZY popped up. I thought, why not combine the idea behind the string lantern and the paper. I could paper mache lanterns made from tissue paper. My next step is to try this out...
Have you had some crazy moments during your planning?
Monday, March 7, 2011
Drinky Drinks
Last post I told you about the straws I purchased for our guests to use, but I haven't yet told you what liquids we will be providing our guests.
First and foremost, we are having a backyard (frontyard) BBQ wedding, so we MUST have H2O, lemonade, and iced tea.
Secondly, we will be having some alcoholic beverages for our peeps to enjoy. Many of you may not be aware of the fabulousness of Virginia wineries. Virginia has sooo many wineries and actually, a good number of them surround Charlottesville. I have tasted many of the wines from local vineyards at different festivals as well as at the vineyards. I don't want to go crazy with the wine, but I do want to feature the local Virginia wines.
Also, there are 4 breweries near our farm (2 of them are ~5 minutes away). So, I'd also like to feature a few beers from them. The most popular of these breweries is Starr Hill. I believe I can get a keg from them, and my friends have already informed me of the beer I should will be choosing. I still need to go to the other 3 and do some taste testing.
Not all of our guests drink alcohol, and they may feel left out without anything bubbly, so I also am looking to get some sparkling cider. Alpenglow cider is made in the Shenandoah Valley which is where we grew up. So I have been scouring Charlottesville looking for it but have only found it in one location (a very expensive general store). This is the best sparkling cider I have EVER tasted!
Are you looking to feature local wines and beers at your reception?
First and foremost, we are having a backyard (frontyard) BBQ wedding, so we MUST have H2O, lemonade, and iced tea.
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| Tea and Lemonade |
Secondly, we will be having some alcoholic beverages for our peeps to enjoy. Many of you may not be aware of the fabulousness of Virginia wineries. Virginia has sooo many wineries and actually, a good number of them surround Charlottesville. I have tasted many of the wines from local vineyards at different festivals as well as at the vineyards. I don't want to go crazy with the wine, but I do want to feature the local Virginia wines.
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| Barboursville Vineyards |
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| Veritas Vineyards |
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| Hilltop Berry Farm (Meade Wines) |
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| Blue Mountain Brewery |
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| Devil's Backbone |
Not all of our guests drink alcohol, and they may feel left out without anything bubbly, so I also am looking to get some sparkling cider. Alpenglow cider is made in the Shenandoah Valley which is where we grew up. So I have been scouring Charlottesville looking for it but have only found it in one location (a very expensive general store). This is the best sparkling cider I have EVER tasted!
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| Alpenglow Cider |
Sips
I have just made a wedding purchase!
I have jumped on the striped straw bandwagon. These red and white striped paper straws go along with our color and paper theme so I thought, why not?
It looks like I got a great deal on these! I purchased from www.candochefs.com and I will be receiving 500 straws for $24 after shipping. A steal, right?
One thing I am worried about is the color of the straws. They say red and white, but the company had a disclaimer saying they may not be exactly a pictured and would at least be in the red color family. But they consider orange to be in the red family. They may need to be shipped back, but I'll have to wait a few days to find out.
Until then, let me leave you with some straw eye-candy:
Are there and bandwagons you will or have been jumping on?
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| Straws |
It looks like I got a great deal on these! I purchased from www.candochefs.com and I will be receiving 500 straws for $24 after shipping. A steal, right?
One thing I am worried about is the color of the straws. They say red and white, but the company had a disclaimer saying they may not be exactly a pictured and would at least be in the red color family. But they consider orange to be in the red family. They may need to be shipped back, but I'll have to wait a few days to find out.
Until then, let me leave you with some straw eye-candy:
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| source |
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| source |
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| source |
Friday, March 4, 2011
Honeymoon Mania
The second step in our honeymoon planning was to choose an island on which to stay. Our choices:
All of the islands are beautiful and would be amazing to visit, BUT some of these islands are some of the most popular vacation spots. Meaning, there would be a bazillion people and it would be geared towards tourists. This is not our idea of perfect vacations. So we thought about what we'd like to see the most.
From our research and speaking with people who have visited many of the islands, we decided we wanted to see the volcano the most, but we'd settle for the hundreds of waterfalls on Kauai. I looked up the different timeshares available and their proximity to the volcano. There was only one. Vacation Internationale Sea Montain - 5 minutes from the black sand beach, Farmer's Market ~20 minutes, close to the volcano, great reviews. Why wouldn't we want to stay there?
It turns out we are not the only people wanting to stay there. The resort was booked up for 2 years. Sad face :(. So we got on the waiting list. We also put ourselves on the wait list for resorts in Kauai. It seemed like every few days my mom was getting calls and emails for available condos in Kauai. They were all for Princeville. This was not the most ideal location so we kept turning them down. It got to a point where we were afraid of not getting a place to stay at all. So we took an offer with good dates. It had a full kitchen and the reviews for the resort were great. The pictures on the resort were beautiful.
So my peeps, do you know why this area of Kauai is famous? 10 points to the one who can tell me what musical/movie is played here.
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| Kauai |
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| Oahu, Hawaii |
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| Molokai, Hawaii |
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| Lanai, Hawaii |
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| Maui, Hawaii |
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| Black Sands Beach, Hawaii's Big Island |
From our research and speaking with people who have visited many of the islands, we decided we wanted to see the volcano the most, but we'd settle for the hundreds of waterfalls on Kauai. I looked up the different timeshares available and their proximity to the volcano. There was only one. Vacation Internationale Sea Montain - 5 minutes from the black sand beach, Farmer's Market ~20 minutes, close to the volcano, great reviews. Why wouldn't we want to stay there?
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| Vacation Internationale Sea Mountain |
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| Wyndam Bali Hai Villas |
South Pacific
The musical movie was filmed on the beach just down the road from the resort. Remember the song Bali Hai? Yeah, that's right!
I am super stoked about this trip. The mister says it has yet to hit him, but he will be giddy for it as time approaches.
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