jmhein

Quote: Originally Posted by chicago88 I received my official marriage certificate - yeah!!!!!! Now, the name changing process! Hooray!! Right on "time"! Jamaican time that is!

Quote: Originally Posted by LC_Rachel You cake is very pretty! And you look good in that dress! I would find a way to wear it again too. Maybe now try to get an invite to P.Diddy's white party (is he still doing that?) That dress looks to good on you not to wear a 3rd or 4th time. Ha ha, thanks! You're right, I DO need an invite to P. Diddy's white party! How do I score one of those?

Quote: Originally Posted by hollisandsteph I am glad everything turned out so well at your AHR! I also love the bead idea! The cake was also awsome. Did you do the first dance, the father/daughter dance or the toast? I have been debating on these things and I was just curious if you did them or not. We decided not to do the first dance or father/daughter dance or any toasting again simply because we wanted it to be more casual. But that was a completely personal decision, you can definitely do whatever you would like and I'm sure the guests would love it either way!

Your wedding looked absolutely beautiful and you are a gorgeous couple! Congratulations!!

Thanks! I just had my AHR this past weekend and it was a huge hit! I did make some changes to the timeline and I think it worked even better: See this thread: http://bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/t19840

Everything looks GORGEOUS! Have an amazing time and enjoy every second!

I dont think that's the case for Jamaica?? If it is we should be in trouble because hubby's brother was his witness. No one seemed to have a problem and we now have our official Jamaican marriage certificate so I would say no worries...!!

Quote: Originally Posted by Heidi Looks great! We JUST sent out (& are still sending out) invites for our AHR. Did you have cash bar? That's the one thing we can't figure out what to do. Do you think just beer & wine is good enough. We can't afford an open bar for 200 people... We had a cash bar, which is basically the norm here! However, the hall we rented sold drinks for $3 each which everyone was EXTREMELY happy about because the prices at bars around here are about $6+ for a drink! The hall brought in some Red Stripe for us too!

Quote: Originally Posted by xandrafaye Your friend also did a wonderful job on the cake! I may want to eventually use it for inspiration! Absolutely!! She is very talented, she just does cakes for FUN!!!

I also ordered from them and only paid around $15 for shipping, I was very happy! It all came quickly and I didnt have to pay any duty!

Hi everyone, I know some of you are planning an AHR and I thought I'd let you know how ours went. We had it this past Saturday and it went better than I ever could have hoped for! It was SO MUCH FUN!! We went the somewhat traditional route and rented a hall, rented some music equipment, had a dance and a cold buffet. We came in at under $2000 for the whole thing. It was a bit of an expense but we really wanted to celebrate with our friends and coworkers who didnt make the trip and it gave us a chance to re-live the whole thing over again! It was seriously one of the best parties ever if I do say so myself! I got to wear my dress again and dh and our bridal party who was there wore their outfits again. We decorated with a tropical theme and a friend of mine made us a beautiful tropical wedding cake. We really wanted it to have a very light and fun party atmosphere though, and I think that was definitely achieved! The timeline went like: 7 PM - guests begin arriving - we met everyone at the entryway and gave them a bead necklace in black, gold, or green (Jamaican colours mon!) 7 - 8 PM - guest mingled, indulged in the chocolate fountain that was set up with fruit and pretzels and snacked on the chips and salsa that were on the tables. A photo slideshow of our wedding was on rotation on a screen. 8 PM - We announced what the beads were for! Anyone who made someone say the word "No" or "Know" would receive the other persons beads. The person with the most beads at the end of the night would win a Bob Marley doll and a bottle of Appleton Rum! This game was a huge hit as it really got everyone mingling and having fun! (And asking some PRETTY interesting questions to get beads I might add!!) 8:20 PM - we played our wedding DVD, everyone loved watching it! 8:40 PM - more mingling and indulging in $3 drinks! LOTS of drinks... 9:00 PM - dance started 10:30 PM - cold buffet served, most people having too much fun to eat! We then did our cake cutting. on til 2 AM - party party party!! Now for pics: Table setting - floral centrepieces because I had won a $100 floral gift certificate at a wedding show! Favours were alternating flip flop shaped candles and flip flop shaped playing cards from Orientaltrading.com : Entryway - fake palm trees and such: Greeting table - we had people sign our matted picture in gold and silver ink and we will now frame it. Treasure chest was full of beads: More of the decorations: Beautiful cake: OK and later on in the evening...

Ha ha, I have stick straight hair and even it managed to try to find some bendy weirdness while I was in Jamaica! BRING HAIR CLIPS!!

You looked beautiful, congratulations!! SO glad to hear that you loved it and would do it all over again! You really have to just adopt the "No Problem Mon" attitude and you really will have the best time of your life!!

Yes, you get the register which is handwritten. The offical certificate took 10 weeks to arrive for me!

You can really customize the wedding packages at the ROR to suit your budget! We were fairly budget-conscious but did splurge on some items (gazebo decorations mostly!), here is a rough breakdown of what I did: Civil Ceremony: $200 Hair and Makeup: $140ish Upgraded decorations - beach gazebo (See pic): $412 Aisle Runner: $45 Aisle Markers - I had 4 of them: $85 each Bridesmaid Bouquets: $90 Steel drum band: I think I paid $250 but it might have been $350 - didnt get an itemized receipt 2 bottles of Champagne and Rum Punch for all guests: FREE Reception Dinner at Mammee Bay Steakhouse: FREE Cake: FREE and DELICIOUS! Disco Rental: $250 Photography (used Michael) including and extra hour, 100 pics on CD and the DVD by videographer: $1120ish... Total approximate: $2867 ish...!! Worth every penny!!

Quote: Originally Posted by DougsGirl i know there was a thread posted but i dont know if it applies to canada brides. maybe when you find out you could make a thread filling all you girls up north in on the correct way to change your name in canada! Good idea! I'll do that!

Quote: Originally Posted by chicago88 Congrats Janelle!!! Mine should be right behind yours. Sorry, I have no idea where to start with name changing stuff.... Hopefully yours arrives in the next few days!! Then we can struggle through this name changing stuff together!

All right!! Today on my lunch hour Canada Post arrived with an envelope from the Riu Ocho Rios by registered mail!! Yahoo!! Our official marriage certificate has arrived - 2 months and 1.5 weeks from our wedding date! Now... where do I even start with this name change stuff? Le sigh....

Wow, Christopher is a great photographer! You looked beautiful, I love your dress!

Quote: Originally Posted by kater Just curious, if the Mammee Bay dinner is the standard with the free reception (which is what I want), what if there are three weddings that day, all of which want that restaurant at that time? That's why I'm curious as to whether we still need to "book" it before someone else does...... Mammee Bay is a large restaurant with a wrap around balcony. I think most wedding parties are placed along a balcony section and there is space to have at least 3, maybe 4, semi-private balcony sections, it's very nice. So I wouldn't worry too much, but it never hurts to mention to Chandlyn that you want to have your dinner there and then she will block a section for you!

I'm still waiting too Chicago... I even sent Chandlyn an email on the weekend to see if it's been sent and there's been no response yet, but I know how busy she is...

I'm sure it wont be a problem! Just email Chandlyn to let her know they're on their way. I think the 30 day requirement is just to ENSURE that the Riu can have all the paperwork in order in time because they're so busy. If Chandlyn knows yours are on the way it should be fine.

I think Chandlyn could definitely arrange to have your wedding cake be rum cake for you! When the Riu Ocho Rios first opened, they only offered rum wedding cakes, and a lot of the brides didn't like that, so now they offer all sorts of options. Chandlyn can definitely get you a rum cake, I bet she'd be happy to!

Congratulations, it looked like a beautiful day!!

What time is your wedding ceremony? Ours was at 4 PM, and I dont think I remembered to apply sunscreen that day, I just had SPF 15 moisturizer on my face! But it turned out fine since we were inside all day getting ready, and by 4 PM the ceremony sites at the ROR are partially in shade. I never felt overwhelmingly hot on the wedding day and I never burnt at any time at the ROR! I did pre-tan though and use sunscreen religiously all other days!