FLgator

Girls- Thanks for sharing your similar stories, not that I hope everyone else has just as sucky friends as I do, but it is nice to know its not just me. I'm really only talking about 3 girls who were my closest friends for years now, not my casual friends. I am not one at all for having attention on me, it was just the lack of any kind of gesture and lies from the people I thought would be there the most. It just made me really sad to see what our friendships have come to after all these years. I know people change and go their seperate ways, but there are those few people that you think you will always have in your life (I know it sounds cheesy). Oh well, now I know their true colors. I wish I was like my husband and could let things go easily, I tend to hold a grudge. I am working on that. I am totally with you girls on needing to find new friends, too bad we are spread out all over the continent! On a positive note, a couple people that I wasn't real close to ended up going on our wedding trip and it really brought us closer, including some family members, so I am very thankful for that.

I confess.... that I feel like I don't have any truly good friends anymore. Those few I thought were my best friends really let me down this past year when it came to our wedding, three in particular. Two of them haven't even picked up the phone to see how the wedding was or say congrats, not even a darn card! All I got was a couple posts on facebook about my pictures and how they want to hear all about it. Well if you want to hear about it then pick up the freakin phone and call me! I was in one of their weddings just over a year ago...went to the shower, planned the bach party, was in the wedding, and she can't even pick up the phone and say congratulations! Are you kidding me! I had a shower thrown by my now MIL in which not one of my friends attended b/c it was in another state. I never had a bach. party b/c no one ever offered to throw one for me. Then the same friends that "wouldn't miss my wedding for anything" found that they had better things to do. One even flew to DC for the inaugral ball, and told me she really wanted to go to the ball b/c she may never get the chance to again....did she think she was going to get another chance to go to my wedding??! I really just want to say forget them and our friendship, but I am not sure if I am overreacting. I know a lot of girls on here expressed their disappointment with friends and family. My question is when it came to those that really let you down (not those that had legit excuses), what ended up happening with your friendship with those people. Did you just get over it, or did your friendship change or even end? Ok, I feel a little better now and I am done ranting.

Quote: Originally Posted by poohshek Congratulations to you and Jared! Very nice pictures and thanks for sharing. Question, I really like your sand ceremony with the picture frame. Can you tell me where I can purchase a similar frame? Thanks! Thanks! The frame is from Kohl's, a lot of girls have used the same one and there are a few threads on it. It is on sale for $13.50 right now, here is the link... Umbra Ether Frame

Yay! We received our dvds of our wedding pics, now I just need to get around to printing them. I found Bella Luce Photography (Katie & Brian) through this forum, and I am so thankful that I did. They are based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and we hired them to shoot our wedding in Ocho Rios, Jamaica on 1/19/09. This husband and wife couple were very fun to work with, and really fit into our group. Our guests loved them! They made us feel comfortable in front of the camera, and the quality of our pictures far exceeded any of our expectations. Any couple would be lucky to have them shoot their big day! We had our ceremony on Reggae beach, a lunch reception at Evita's (a restautrant on a hillside overlooking Ocho Rios), and then went to Ocho Rios beach for a TTD with our cruise ship in the background. I have posted a few of my faves below, but the rest can be viewed at Bella Luce Photography click "proofs" then click "Jared and Jamie's Wedding" then enter an e-mail address.

Quote: Originally Posted by MsShelley had anyone been to this hotel yet? We are looking at it for a honeymoon option, I have seen nothing but good reviews online, any more feedback or pics? Shelley, we too are looking into a late honeymoon here. Did you find out any more info, did you book? Thanks!

Quote: Originally Posted by ~Andrea~ Hey fellow cruise brides! We are back from our wedding cruise on Freedom of the Seas and it was fabulous! That ship is amazing, so much to do, delicious food, and the best staff around. Sarice, you will just love your cruise! Make sure to check out lunch in the main dining room. I didn't discover that until the last day and it was so yummy! They have this giant salad bar and you walk around and point to what you want. The chef mixes it all together, chops it up, and serves it with fresh bread. OMG that sounds so good right now ! Our guests kept thanking us for picking such a great ship. That was a big relief to hear! My advice after going through our wedding and cruise experience is to be ready for whatever comes your way. Everything I had read on different wedding message boards said be prepared as something will go wrong on your wedding day. Their advice was to just go with it and everything will be fine. Because of their advice, I went on this journey saying I will be totally satisfied as long as I come home married. That really helped me deal with the bumps in the road we encountered on our wedding day. And it turns out we were really really lucky to have our wedding! I woke up, stepped out on my balcony in Jamaica, and found it to be super humid, cloudy, windy, and rainy. On the way to the hotel it rained even more. Once we got to the hotel our WC said we needed to be ready to go promptly at 1 p.m. as pouring rain and a cold front was approaching and we needed to beat it. The WC ran around setting up tents and clearing out the rainwater and mud. After I saw 1:15 pass, then 1:30 p.m. pass with no one coming to get me and my dad, I knew something was wrong. The WC called my room and asked when we needed to be back on the ship. She said everyone was in place and ready to go except the minister hadn't showed up yet. OMG, I couldn't believe it! I was able to let the terrible weather go and accept the fact that there would be no beach pictures, etc. but leaving there unmarried wasn't an option. They scrambled to find another minister and he showed up around 1:45. The new minister was sooooooooo amazing! He gave a beautiful ceremony and palm blessing. I guess it was meant to be that he would marry us . Anyway, I hope by sharing this you can see it never goes as planned but at least it still goes! One of the biggest bummers to me is our pictures and video. We weren't able to get many because of the down pouring rain and wind. We had to hide under tents and this pink cement structure and that's where we took almost all of our photos . But, I do have tons of memories from all of the craziness! The next day our ship was unable to get to Grand Cayman because of weather and a couple on our ship couldn't have their wedding. My heart broke for them and I also knew how fortunate and blessed we were to have our day. I don't have many pictures yet to share. Sarice, if you want Freedom of the Seas pics let me know. As my family/friends start loading them onto our photoshare site I can send them your way! Let me know if you have any questions! Oh, you mentioned needing lots of support in your strapless dresses. I'm also bigger on top (DD) and was worried about that. My seamstress sewed cups under the lining of my dress and it worked perfectly!!! At first I hated the idea of not being able to wear a bra. She suggested buying Hollywood Tape as a security blanket and it worked like a charm! Plus, you won't have to worry about your bra showing or pulling on your dress. Hey Andrea, Congratulations! I'm sorry the weather wasn't so great for you guys, but it sounds like you made the best of it and had a great time anyway. You look so pretty in your siggy pic, can't wait to see more!

Quote: Originally Posted by Emily&Matt I really liked the flower punch outs on the invitation. The Michael's near me is one of the small ones, so I've never seen that before. Honestly, it looks so pretty, I am starting to feel like doing something like that and not fussing with a big deal. Thank you! I actually didn't use a punch out on these, mostly because the sleeve that they are in would't of been a solid background. The palm trees are a clipart printed in black ink.

Quote: Originally Posted by jmb0902 Quick question - what font is the cursive writing used for your names on the invitation?? Thanks! It is PetrascriptEF... here is the font file, or you can find it free online if this doesn't work. Attachment 3215

What I would do again... 1. Have a DW in Jamaica! And use a local wedding planner instead of the cruise ship planners. 2. Wear a formal wedding dress, even if it was a little toasty in the sun. 3. Fly in a a great photographer...thanks Bella Luce Photography! 4. Do a TTD shoot in my real wedding dress. I went back and forth on whether I would want to wear my wedding dress back on the cruise ship that night, and even brought another sundress to use. I ended up using my original wedding dress, and I am so glad I did. 5. Use cheap DIY invites....in the end it didn't matter, so I am glad we saved money on the invites. 6. Wear a veil. I literally decided 2 minutes before the ceremony to wear the veil I borrowed from my cousin and brought along only for a few pics originally. 7. Use silk bouquets. They looked great in pictures, and now I have them as a keepsake. My mother inlaw had my bouquet for 2 days after the wedding in her cabin, she never knew they were fake and kept them in water the whole time, ha! She told the customs guy they were real and he was shaking to make sure it didn't have any bugs. 8. Choose a 5-night cruise....I had fun, but was ready to get off and take a break from the fam. I thought originally that I wanted a longer one, but in hindsight I am glad we stuck with 5 nights. 9. No lunch reception decorations. I am glad we kept it simple and let the view speak for itself. 10. No programs. They weren't missed, and it saved time and $. 11. Sand ceremony. What I wouldn't do again... 1. Use Celebrity's salon for my wedding day hair. I am sure this varies greatly, but the stylist was rude and did a crappy job. I had a hair trial with my own salon at home, and had many pictures.. but the final result on the ship wasn't so great. I should of done my own hair. 2. Spend so much $ on wedding day makeup. I bought a lot of pricey products and did my own makeup...it didn't look much different from the makeup I use on a daily basis. Waste of money. 3. Invite certain distant family members out of obligation, b/c a few of these family members actually came! They complained the entire trip and were antisocial...they added nothing to our day except cost us more $ and they didn't even give us a freaking card! 4. Entertain family back home following the cruise. We aren't going on a HM until May, but I wish we didn't have family return home with us and stay until we went back to work. I was sick of people by then and needed a break! 5. Have more than just our siblings as the wedding party. I won't go into to it b/c it is a long story, but the other couple in our bridal party really disappointed us as friends throughout our entire engagement. We originally were going to have just our siblings, but felt obligated to ask this particular couple b/c they introduced us. What I am indifferent about, because it didn't matter either way... 1. Raffia fans with ribbon wrapped handles and logo tag. 2. OOT bags. I think our guests appreciated them, but weren't expecting them at all. They also added a great deal to our luggage. 3. Bands for ceremony and lunch reception. A cd or ipod would of worked just fine for either.

Andrea, I hope your day is amazing...can't wait to hear about it!

Oh YAY! Thanks Katie, I love them...makes me want to go back! I still can't believe someone lives in that little hut that we invaded!

Quote: Originally Posted by ~Debra~ Jamie, your pictures were amazing and you looked so beautiful! Sorry Almarie wasn't a delight to work with but at least your day was still amazing. The set up - from what I can see looks great! I love your arch. I'm also glad you liked Evita's! I can't wait for my turn. A quick question: When did Almarie tell you which beach you were going to be getting married on? A couple days before? A week? She just said to me that it would closer to the wedding date. Oh and Congratulations!!! Thank you! I requested Reggae Beach from the beginning and she said I could book that location by placing a deposit. We booked August 1st, so it was about 5 months out. You will really like Evita's! Hopefully it's not too warm for you at the restaturant that time of year, I guess it all depends on what time you are there. Good luck, and feel free to ask any questions.

Hi all, We have been back for about a week, and have just been trying to catch up with work and classes. I don't have many pics yet, but I wanted to share our experience especially for those brides looking for vendors outside of Ocho Rios resorts. First, we arrived in Ocho Rios via Celebrity Century cruise ship on 1/19. I won't review the ship here, since the wedding itself took place off of it, but if anyone has any questions I would be happy to answer them. I will rate everything on a F-A+ scale Wedding Transportation - Lee's Tours and Taxis A+: We had arranged our transportation through Lee's Tours and Taxis, specifically with the owner Norma. There were 37 of us, and we arranged for 2 larger shuttles and a 7 seater for me and my bridesmaids. The plan was that the groom would get on the 2 large shuttles with the rest of the group and then leave before I got off the ship and got picked up by the car. Well, I pictured this being a complete logistical mess, but everything went suprisingly smoothly!!! The drivers were waiting and watching for us as soon as we got off the ship, and the timing worked perfectly. I can't say enough about the owner Norma, she has been wonderful to work with. The shuttles were very nice...they were new, clean, and most importantly had a/c. The drivers were fantastic, very accomadating and funny too. All of our guests received bottled waters for the ceremony and then on the drive from the ceremony to the reception they received rum punch or red stripe. Everyone loved the rum punch...they said it was very strong. All these drinks were complimentary with the shuttles! Ceremony - Tropical Weddings Jamaica: We aranged the ceremony through Almarie of Tropical Weddings Jamaica. I had heard rave reviews from many former brides, and had a hard time finding another coordinator. The rating for TWJ is hard, because we loved the location and the ceremony set-up...but to say I was very happy with Almarie would be a lie. The reason being is that through the whole planning process she was very short with me and seemed annoyed by all my questions. I never actually talked to her by phone, with the exception of giving her the credit card info. Most everything was done via e-mail. If I put many questions in one e-mail, I would have to number them out, or I would not get answers to all of them. I will say that her response time was very good. I thought TWJ's prices were pretty high, but I really didn't have another option. I got the same vibe from Almarie on the day of the wedding. My bridal party and I felt very rushed down the aisle. My mom was upset because she was shoved down the aisle before she could even say anything to me and hug me. I was still trying to get my veil on with the help of one of the guests when the processional was started and that guest wasn't even able to get back to her seat before we all walked. Granted I never spoke up, but I felt like I didn't have time to. The chair set-up and arch were beautiful. The colors were perfect. One problem was that we were short a chair for our guests...which didn't end up being a problem b/c someone was standing in order to keep a toddler under control. Had everyone wanted to sit down, it would of been embarrassing. We hired a steel drum band for an hour through TWJ. I didn't notice, but my family said that there is no way they played for an hour, but instead put a cd on. I'm not sure though. The officiant was great, I loved how the ceremony flowed and he was funny at all the right moments too. I highly recommend him, his last name is Higgins. We brought our own silk bouquets and just ordered corsages for the mothers and grandmothers through TWJ. They were mediocre corsages, and we could of done without them all together. The small issues really didn't end up mattering, our ceremony was beautiful and I wouldn't of changed a thing. A side note, Reggae Beach is a private beach, meaning you have to pay to enter. There were very few people on the beach that day. I think a few natives even lived there in little huts. It is a very rustic/natural beach. Lots of shade and coves....we loved it. Lunch Reception - Evita's Restaurant A+: I had worked with the owner, Eva, to arrange our menu and a band to play for approx. 2 hours. We paid $150 to close down the restaurant for the day, and made our own menus from the regular menu. Our menu was a choice of soup or salad, a choice of stuffed tortellini alfredo, fish of the day, jerk sausage spaghetti, or chicken parmesan, and a choice of cheesecake, tiramisu, or chocolate bobsled pie. There was also great bread on the tables with yummy dipping sauce. We paid $25pp for that menu and had an open bar at a 10% discount. The restaurant is sooo cute. It is up a hill just minutes from the port and the balcony (where we were seated) overlooked all of Ocho Rios. There was a dance floor area between us and the band. The servers were amazing...very friendly and fast. Everyone loved the food, and everything had a little spice to it. The desserts weren't as fabulous as the food, but they were good too (we didn't have a wedding cake). Eva wasn't there that day, but she was wonderful to work with throughout the planning process. Eva had arranged for a husband/wife duo "Just Us" to play for 2 hours for $250. The wife was the main vocals. They played some older popular music like...At last, unforgettable, last dance, Route 66, along with Reggae. I was so caught up in all the events that I hardly paid any attention to them, but they did a great job. It is an open-air restaurant so it was a little warm, but not uncomfortable. Photographer - Bella Luce Photography A+++: We found Katie and Bryan of Bella Luce Photography via this forum (they are members). Katie is the main photographer and her husband Bryan is her assistant. They are based in South Dakota of all places, and we arranged for Katie to fly to Jamaica to capture our big day. Lucky us, Bryan ended up coming too! They met our shuttles at the port and rode along with us the entire day. They are a great couple...very friendly and fun! We spoke before the wedding, and I told her just a basic overview of the shots I wanted of our families. Besides that we had no clue, and thankfully they just took charge and arranged some great shots. They were very attentive to what they were shooting, and even instructed our family members to remove sunglasses, hats, and random stuff from their hands so they wouldn't end up in our pics. I didn't even notice but my grandfather had a Home Depot hat on to take pics....thank you Katie for directing him to take it off! Hiring them was one of our best decisions. They were a perfect fit with our group, and all of our guests just loved them. After the lunch reception, we went to Ocho Rios beach to do a very quick TTD shoot (we had to get back to the boat). It was a lot of fun, and our cruise ship was part of the background of some of the pics. We have only gotten a few sneak peak photos, but so far they have far exceeded my expectations and I love them all! I will post a seperate thread once we get them all back. Here is a link to their blog, including an entry about our wedding.... Bella Luce Photography All in all, our wedding was perfect and we wouldn't of changed a thing, except to slow everything down b/c it all went by so fast! The weather was hot, but beautiful. We can't wait to spend some more time in Jamaica in the future. PRO PICS Non-PRO PICS

Here are a sampling of the rest of our e-pics, I love how they turned out! We can't thank Luke BEck enough, he was great to work with, and the pics far exceeded our expectations.

Quote: Originally Posted by KatyKo I would love to hear your experience with the DIY etching on the glasses. FI was so sweet and etched some wine glasses for me for Christmas, but I think the glass was too thin and a couple of them ended up breaking. We were considering doing this for GM gifts as well. Everything looks so wonderful! Have so much fun I am really happy with how the glasses turned out, and they were a lot cheaper than ordering them! They really weren't too difficult. The pilsner glass (we bought a box of 6 for $9 at Ross) is quite a bit thicker than a wine glass. I bought the etching cream and stencils at Michaels (I used a lot of 40% off coupons). There are special stencils made for etching...rub on and reusable stick on. We used both, but I thought the rub on were easier to work with. The key is to make sure you have covered all the edges of the stencil with masking tape. Let me know if you have any more questions...good luck!

I live in Tampa and we are getting married on 1/19 in Jamaica. It may take up to 8 weeks to get our certificate, but we wanted to do it once and in Jamaica. Its should be accepted everywhere (I hope!) Good Luck!

Quote: Originally Posted by bellalucefoto Looks great, Jamie! It was nice to see the beach where we will be shooting! Can't wait to meet you after all this planning! Katie Thanks Katie! I am really looking forward to meeting you too!

Thanks girls! Quote: Originally Posted by Andi Wow Jamie, everything looks good! How did you make your DIY undies if you don't mind me asking...they came out really good! Have fun on the cruise! Well, the only thing I really DIYed about them was the "Jared's Wife," which I used iron-on letters from JoAnns for.

BMs/mothers gifts (BMs will also get earrings, but I don't have pics)....robes from smartypantsboutique.com... sand ceremony frame (kohls) and vases (michaels), I still need to add pic and buy sand... I think that is just about all of it. Thanks again for all the inspiration!!

some OOT bag contents... DIY etched pilsners for GMs/father gifts (we also bought their cubavera shirts)... front with first & last intials... back with Jamaica and 1-19-09... personalized golf balls for GMs/fathers (they say Jared and Jamie, Jamaica, 1-19-09) GMs/fathers gift all together... still more....

DIY guest signature plate (guests will use porcelaine pen to sign)... my bouquet made by a family friend... BM's bouquet made by family friend... mother/grandmother corsages (may use real instead)... my DIY white orchid hair comb... fans for ceremony... my wedding shoes... OOT bags (they are a lot larger than they appear and zip close) - bought them for $2.50/bag at The Christmas Tree Shop in Maine last year... single guys OOT bag with cooler in bottom (same price/store as other)...

veil borrowed from my cousin (haven't decided if I am wearing it yet)... posible hairstyles.... earrings and neckalace (very hard to get a decent pic of, but I love them!)... my DIY wedding undies (Bought them from Kohls and added "Jared's Wife"), this will be my something blue... FI's outfit - calvin klein shirt and tommy bahama pants (missing undershirt and will have sleeves rolled), excuse the dumb expression and crazy dog... GM will wear white short sleeve cubaveras from Macy's with light khaki pants and shoes of their choice. DIY invitations (marth stewart kit from michaels or joanns) with book info insert... more to come...