starchild

Very cool! We are so not traditional, we've already opted out of the long speeches and bouquet toss/garter throw. People keep saying "but you have to" but we aren't budging on that. I'm not a prude at all, but there is something weird to me about pulling up my dress and having my groom playfully take off my garter in front of my dad and brother. He may as well rip off my panties and get to work

Kashmira I know what you mean . . . moderation is sooooo hard when something is yummy!!!

You are always better off eating real food, in moderation as others said. If you have the time get a copy of "Never Be Sick Again". I forget the author's name but it is the only health-type book that makes total sense to me as a non-scientific person. He devotes a lot of time to this topic and it actually changed my lifestyle. Basically, your cells constantly rebuild themselves out of what you put into your body. When you put these chemicals into your body "you are what you eat" so to speak, and your cells build themselves out of these toxins. Our ancestors weren't eating high fructose corn syrup and hydrogenated oils, there is no data -yet- to show how these things destroy your heath over a period of 60 years, because most of these chemicals are very new and there has not been enough time to conduct life studies. So, over time these toxins cause your cells to mutate and show up in various ways - cancer, diabetes, chronic pain, obesity, etc. They throw off your body's natural balance. The idea is that every disease or sickness is caused by sick cells, cells that have mutated, typically due to habits of each person. You aren't going to fall ill from drinking one diet soda, but drinking diet sodas daily for years (for example) is a slow poisoning of your cells. If you keep your cells healthy, he argues that you can even beat genetics and avoid these issues. He also goes into chemicals in shampoos, cleaning products, lotions, etc. and how habitual use can cause everything from headaches to cancer. Maybe that's TMI, lol, but it's very interesting to say the least!! A good read, maybe for after the weddings when we aren't so busy!

Welcome LuLu!! You will find great info and people here ) Enjoy!!

Good to know, I'm thinking of going with them too. Thanks!

Thanks ladies!! When I saw them they said sunset in Mexico :0)

We finally decided to hire the videographer. Some of our guests do video for a living but we wanted them to relax at the wedding instead of work. A tripod would work for you though, if you don't necessarily care to have movement. We also have tons of family that aren't attending so we wanted a decent quality video to show later. I'm sure to miss a lot as I buzz around so I want to be able to see what I missed later too. Also, we are skipping the traditional speeches because sometimes they get soooooo long and we just want to party!! Instead we will have the video guy get candid words from guests throughout the night.

Quote: Originally Posted by jenniferjoy Congratulations! I am getting married at the RIU in Ocho Rios. Although I don't have any specific details about the one in Negril, I've heard great things about the food and service at all RIU resorts. Good luck! Oooh, we are honeymooning there in June. Can't wait to hear about your wedding, it's a beautiful resort!!

I went online and printed out about 6 ring styles that I would be happy with. I would have loved anything because I'm not too into jewelry, but I actually got one of the exact rings I suggested. So I was semi-surprised!!

Thanks Ann, that was interesting!

Consider the time of sunset where you will be AND the weather that time of year. My wedding is at 6:15 pm because P.V. in June it would be unbearable for us and our guests to sit in the mid-day sun. The sun sets close to 8pm in June there so my pictures will not be totally dark.

My BM's are everywhere too! I searched all the bridal websites until I found styles I liked, checked the designer's websites to find the store locators, and picked the dresses that were most widely available. I went with a Jasmine bridesmaid dress and they have retailers nationwide. Some of my BM's went to the local retailer to get fitted and ended up ordering online from House of Brides where they were able to save a little money. Here's what we chose to match our theme:

I'm a little late but here is what our groomsmen are wearing:

Quote: Originally Posted by anacgarcia I just sent an e-mail and got an automatic response.. her prices run from $17 to $60 for set.. NO WAY I could pay that.. but I think I cand do something like that... Aww, I'm sorry . . . those are beautiful, maybe if you just invite 5-10 people? LOL . . . you probably can do something very similar and be happy with the results )

Excellent ideas everyone!!! Baybug I'm stealing your idea to include where you are staying on the rsvp card. I'm already having them add a song they want to hear at the reception so it's gonna be a big rsvp card, but that will work! I'll pass them out as I see the people and leave the ones at the desk for people staying at my hotel. You all freakin rock, thanks for the feedback!!!!!!

My first trip to Hawaii was when I was 17 with some girlfriends who ended up being too clicky for me, so I went off alone. The pool at our hotel sucked so I walked in the Halekulani like I was a guest and went straight to the pool. OMG the pool & view is amazing. I was having the best swim of my life until one of the staff spotted me as an intruder and kicked me out about 30 minutes later ( So, I can't vouch for the rooms, but I can say the pool is amazing and the staff is on top of making sure only guests use the facilities. You'll have a blast!

When are you guys handing out your OOT/Welcome bags? My guests are staying at various places. At first I had this great idea to leave bags with each hotel so as people check in they receive their bags. Now I think that would be a logistical nightmare as I can't count on 10 different hotels to remember to do this on a guest by guest basis. I could give them out at our welcome dinner, but some guests are arriving a few days before that. If they've been there for days already, I'm thinking the welcome bag would be a little late. Should I just give them to people as I see them before the welcome dinner, then bring the remaining bags to the dinner for people I haven't seen yet? How are you handling this?

We're flying from Mexico to L.A. and from L.A. to Jamaica that same night. We aren't even leaving LAX. We wanted to separate the wedding location where many of our guests are staying well after the wedding, from the honeymoon. You're not crazy (although we may be)

Welcome!! I'm a Caletas bride too!!

Quote: Originally Posted by lambert13 He made a comment the other day that "after all of the years of care and support as a father, I pay him back by not inviting him to my wedding". That made me feel wonderful Its not that we dont want anyone there. We just want it to be the two of us. If that makes any sense. That sucks!!! It makes total sense to me that you want it to be just the two of you. I considered that for awhile too. It's unfair that people can't be supportive of these kinds of choices. I wish you two the best!

Welcome to the forum!!! Happy planning!

Quote: Originally Posted by beachlover Have you thought of making your maiden name a middle name and using his last name as your last name, that way you get both. That's what I decided to do. There are only like 12 people in the U.S. with my last name (yes we've researched this, lol) so it was important to me that I keep it, but I want to have the same last name as my husband and kids one day. I think it's a lovely compromise. But if he is okay with you not taking his name then keep yours. There's nothing wrong with that!

Quote: Originally Posted by jilly76 We just keep reminding ourselves that this is OUR wedding, no one else's, and we would love to have everyone with us, but realize that there will still be people that just can't come, and we're okay with that. I so agree. We knew from day one that many people could not come, and we kind of liked that as we wanted a small wedding. As it turns out, people we knew would come no matter what have declined for various reasons and it is what it is. Don't worry about pleasing anyone else, it is all about you and your husband who will be looking at your wedding album in 20 years thrilled that you had it your way instead of at some local venue for others' sakes.

If it makes you feel better my fiance's sister and husband are the only guests from his family, and most of them live closer to Mexico than we do. He called his parents to chat the other day, they spoke for 3 hours, and not once did his mom or dad even mention the wedding, let alone apologize for not making an effort to attend. I have a few aunts and uncles who raised me that who think it's too much to spend to attend a wedding. Keep in mind they could pay for 50 people to go and would still have money left to count. That irks me but whatever. My broke friends have been on payment plans for months to attend. You'll have a beautiful day and everyone who attends will make it very special. At least you know what you're dealing with in advance and won't be let down or surprised at the last minute. The main thing is your health and I'm glad the tests went well

Nice!! Wedding planning has made us realize how easy it is to save money. We've saved before, but never to this level. We're excited thinking of how much we can save after the wedding when there aren't so many expenses to spend the money on!