MikkiStreak

I think I'd send them at the beginning of October and ask to have them back before Thanksgiving. I wouldn't go with the timeframe of Thanksgiving-Christmas for them because at work, most people are crazy busy because companies are trying to finish billable projects by the end of the year, as well as trying to get budgets in place for the upcoming year. Outside of work, the time is spent with shopping, and weekends are filled with company parties, family parties, church parties, etc... It would be much too easy to have the RSVP get lost in the shuffle. Plus, I think it would be harder to do follow-up phone calls and actually get your call returned. I'd ask to have RSVP back before Thanksgiving, and then after the New Year, maybe do some phone calls to follow-up from those people who haven't sent them back in. Also, I'd argue the hell out of the resort wanting final head count 60 days prior---- even for local weddings, most hotels/resorts/facilities don't ask for head count until 30 days prior...

Quote: Originally Posted by SERGIO wow!! Thanks! Those are quickest welcomes ever in my forum life!! We're women and we're brides----- we *really* like to talk!!!!!!!

Dang Kelly! Almost looks like a bootie call on the beach caught on tape! Are we going to see this on one of those "girls gone wild" videos? Seriously, the photos look great! Who did you wind up finding to shoot your wedding and TTD? I thought for awhile there you had problems finding someone with substance? BTW--- so glad to see you guys made it out before the storms got really bad.... I was wondering how you guys were yesterday...

Welcome Sergio--- I've been a fan of yours for awhile now...

That is just amazing! You know, you guys really should put together a book of your photographs and stories like this one day---- it would be amazing! And congrats on Sergio! I've seen his work before and I agree, he is amazing!!!!

Quote: Originally Posted by Mrs.B 2008 and maria - we have been telling people for a little over a month? I say, give it another couple months. Things will die down quite a bit as people get used to the idea... It's kind of like dealing with 4-year olds: If they think they're being told what to do, they're going to stomp their feet, cry and throw a hissy fit and tell you NO, you can't make them!!! If you use simple, fun, exciting words to convey what you're doing, they'll eventually come around and go along with it. As the idea sinks in, the people who actually care and really *want* to be there (no matter what they think they can/can't do), will start looking into it as an option. The more they look, the more excited they'll become. Eventually, they'll get on board with the plan. Some won't get on board, regardless of what you do--- and my idea for them is this: don't invite them. If they ask why, tell them it's because they bitched so much it sucked the fun out of it for you, and if that was their behavior before the wedding, then damned if you were going to deal with their behavior the day of!!!

How long has it been since the news broke about the DW? We threw a surprise "birthday" party to announce our engagement. Let's put it this way--- One of the siblings asked what our plans were, and when they found out, they didn't speak to us the rest of the night. A couple days later, I got a call at work from that person to tell me that FI's mom started crying and saying that FI must really not want her to attend since we were planning on going so far away... From immediate family to extended family, the opinions rolled in faster and harder than the well-wishes did. But, after about 4-6 months, it started dying down once they realized we were serious about our plans and weren't going to change them. Now, it comes up every once in awhile from one member of the family, but that's about it. We still talk about eloping. In fact, we're talking about doing the legal ceremony in St. Thomas this spring, and - we might just call the planning quits after that.

I can't say for certain, but I keep thinking they don't allow outside vendors. But, Lorna Richardson is the wedding planner there and could give a definite answer. As for our plans--- nope, we're still up in the air. We talk about doing a legal ceremony for just the 2 of us in St. Thomas this spring, and then having the 50+ person wedding/reception in Mexico in '09. But, we change our minds almost daily at this point....

Wow--- that hacienda is absolutely amazing!!!

Attachment 1041 Attachment 1043 Attachment 1044 Amenities_Azul_Beach_Hotel.doc Event_kit_082506_PRECIOS_2007.pdf Wedding_Packages___Azul_07.doc

Here's their optional items and package pricing info.... Attachment 1040 Omni_Cancun_Wedding_Costs.doc

Attached is a spreadsheet to compare your wedding costs from one resort to another. All fields in greenish/blue on this spreadsheet do not need information entered in them. They will populate automatically. When you open this document, you will be looking at the "All Resorts" page. Here, you can enter the name and amenities for the resorts you are considering. When you enter the resort name, it will populate on other pages of the spreadsheet. At the bottom of this page, you will see other tabs listed as "Resort 1" through "Resort 15". When you click on these tabs, you can enter pricing information you receive from each of the resorts you are in contact with. Enter the quantities and price per item, and the totals will fill in automatically. These amounts will automatically update the main "All Resorts" page. When you are finished, the first page will show you what your costs would be to have a wedding at each resort. The goal of this spreadsheet is to give brides a side-by-side view of what they can expect to pay at each of the resorts they are considering. Hopefully, this will help relieve the 'overwhelming' aspect of trying to gauge expenses for each of the places you're considering.... Attachment 1039 Resort Spreadsheet.xls

This is a budget spreadsheet I made. When you open this document, you'll see the overall budget (sheet named "Categorized Budget"). Enter your budget dollar amount in cell B35 (pink and says "Enter Budget Here). When you put your dollar amount in, it will divide that between all the categories. Then, look at the bottom of the workbook and you'll see tabs for each category of expense (Ceremony/Reception, Attire, Decoration, Music, Photography, Stationary and Gifts). When you click on each of these tabs, you can enter your individual expenses. Do not enter anything in peach colored fields. These are set to auto-calculate based on what you enter for quantity and per item price. As you start filling in your individual expenses on the category sheets, the "Categorized Budget" page will fill in on it's own. This gives you an overall view of where you're spending your money for each category. [attachment no longer exists]

Here's the set of instructions for making a logo/monogram (powerpoint). Sorry it's in 3 downloads. For some reason, 1 complete document would not upload even though it was an acceptable file size... Attachment 1035 Attachment 1036 Attachment 1037 Instruction set 1.ppt Instruction set 2.ppt Instructions set 3.ppt

I came across this document that lists all the hotels in St. Thomas, as well as their pricing information and amenities... Attachment 1034 Mafolie Hotel - St. Thomas St Thomas Hotels, Virgin Island Hotels : Hotel 1829, St. Thomas USVI The Green Iguana - A hotel in St. Thomas, USVI Also, here are some cool villas I came across too: Stone Cottage, St. Thomas - McLaughlin Anderson Kyalami, St. Thomas - McLaughlin Anderson Rockworks, St. Thomas - McLaughlin Anderson Secret Gardens, St. Thomas - McLaughlin Anderson St. Thomas US VIP Villa Rentals St. Thomas US VIP Villa Rentals St. Thomas Hotel Rate Sheet.pdf

Awesome Powerboat Rentals - St. Thomas Virgin Islands Adventure Center St. Thomas Virgin Islands St. Thomas Wedding Locations | Wedding Locations in St. Thomas US Virgin Islands BOB Underwater Adventure - St Thomas - Carribean - BOB Builds Carribean - Reef - Sponge - Coral - BOB Havensight Mall: St Thomas USVI Duty Free Shopping and Services at the WICO Cruise Ship Docks St. Thomas Skyride to Paradise Point - Ride The View - Home Tillett Gardens - Local Art & Entertainment in St. Thomas Water Island Adventures St Thomas Sightseeing Tour Photos - Charlotte Amalie Shore excursion

st thomas restaurant dinner menu,st thomas restaurants, dining, dinner, island fine dining, french restaurant Blue Moon Cafe - St. Thomas US Virgin Islands Virgin Islands Restaurant - Tavern on the Waterfront Oceana St. Thomas Restaurant and Catering ROOM WITH A VIEW | Welcome www.iggiesbeachbar.com

Old Stone Farmhouse: Old Stone Farmhouse, fine dining on St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands Attachment 1033 OldStoneFarmhouse-BanquetInfo.doc

This place looks amazing and this is where we thought about having our reception.... Havana Blue: HAVANA BLUE - Passion - HavanaBlue story Attachment 1029 Attachment 1030 Attachment 1031 Attachment 1032 HAVANA BLUE bebidas menu e-mail 6_29_06.pdf HAVANA BLUE Buy-Out Details- Events 8_28_06.pdf HAVANA BLUE Dine Around Menu Options 4_27_06.pdf HAVANA BLUE Package Pricing and Reservation Request 6_27_06.pdf

Gary Felton is another option. But, I believe his primary focus is advertising and underwater photography. His underwater portfolio is absolutely amazing. I wish he would put that caliber of effort into his weddings, because then he'd be great. The images posted on his website for his wedding gallery look good. But if you go to the client side to look up weddings, one portfolio shows up without a password requirement and those photos are just average. So I think he puts his best stuff on the website to impress people, but I don't get the impression that he follows through with that effort in the actual wedding work. (just my impression) Attachment 1028 Gary Felton.pdf

Kelly Greer is the best I've seen in the islands. But, I think her pricing is different. She doesn't have packages (that she supplied, anyways), and even though she takes a lot of photos, you pay $3 for each proof you want. She lives in St. Croix, so her travel fee to St. Thomas is $200 or $400 (can't remember off the top of my head). And, if you want a CD of all the photos--- $2,500.... Attachment 1023 Attachment 1024 Attachment 1025 Attachment 1026 Attachment 1027 1Weddings_by_Kelly_Greer.pdf 2The_Fees.pdf 3The_Proofs.pdf 4The_Albums.pdf 5About_Kelly.pdf

Last, but not least... Attachment 1022 wedding_contract.pdf

Attachment 1017 Attachment 1018 Attachment 1019 Attachment 1020 Attachment 1021 prestos_amenities.pdf reception_contract.pdf room_service.pdf videography_worksheet.pdf wedding_cake_worksheet.pdf

Attachment 1012 Attachment 1013 Attachment 1014 Attachment 1015 Attachment 1016 license.pdf master_list.pdf musician_worksheet.pdf package_rates_2006.pdf photography_worksheet.pdf

This one will have a couple posts because they sent a ton of information (for 2008 weddings). I can't remember who the contact person at the Marriott is tho... Attachment 1007 Attachment 1008 Attachment 1009 Attachment 1010 Attachment 1011 civil_ceremony.pdf contemporary_ceremony.pdf faqs.pdf floral_worksheet.pdf instructions.pdf