petunia

Quote: Originally Posted by foxytv the bottom part will be made into a christening gown when we have children. That is one of the most wonderful things I've ever heard.

Quote: Originally Posted by kristendotcom Hi Jenny, I say go for it! You only live once so have as much fun as possible. My hubby and I have been discussing moving to St. Thomas in 2010. I'm all for it but he is unsure. Here is a good website I found about moving to USVI: USVI Moving Center - The Ultimate Resource for Relocating to and Living in the Virgin Islands I just saw this thread and was going to post the same exact link as Kristen did. It's probably the best source for information about living in the Virgin Islands that you'll find anywhere. I've been going to St. Thomas every year for 13 years. My fiance and I have definite plans to retire there in about 6 years. I wish I had the opportunity to have done something like your fiance wants to do when I was younger, but, then again, I would have had to worry about a job. Now when we go we can just enjoy everything the islands have to offer, and only work if we want to. HA, like that's going to happen!!! The best thing about moving there is you are still in the United States. The worst is that it's harder to get things you're accustomed to and they will be more expensive if you find them. Do it!!! Don't spend years regretting the decision not to.

Hi! I know the Westin is very kid friendly, and, as such, is more of a family resort, and there will most likely be many children around. The beach there, however, is not as nice as all the other beaches on St. John, which you won't want to miss. The Ritz also has lots for children to do, and it's on St. Thomas, which has more diverse activities island-wide. Have you any idea where you want your ceremony to be? Will you be having a reception? Another consideration is to contact a wedding planner in the US Virgin Islands and get her input on the different resorts. I recommend Sherri who posts on this board. I've seen a wedding she coordinated and it was simply beautiful. I'm sure she'd be glad to help.

Beautiful pics of a beautiful bride and her wonderful wedding. If my fiance sees your pictures he will definitely want to steal you "Terrible Towel" idea. LOL.

The disco dress is stunning. I agree with Krisite...it would make a great wedding dress for someone who wanted to go less formal. I can't wait to see a picture of you wearing it.

Shannon, What a great job your hubby did creating the slide show. Everything looked wonderful, from the wedding to the honeymoon. You make a beautiful couple. BTW, I love the Oregon coast, and the misty atmosphere is just how I remember it. Gorgeous backdrop to your pictures.

I've never been to a destination wedding, but it's quite reassuring that all of you, as guests, thought they were wonderful.

Sylvia, Your slideshow is wonderful. What a great job your junior photographer did. I don't plan to have a photographer, either so you've inspired me. By they way, you and your husband are a stunning couple.

April, Congratulations! That has to be one of the most beautiful weddings I've ever seen. You and your new husband are very special people. Your parents did a good job raising such caring loving people!

What an annoying pain in the butt this all is, and it's totally unnecessary. I'm sorry for you, the kids and your dad. If your ex has visitation and can not see the kids during that time, is unavailable, then the kids stay with you, right? Well, isn't this just another case of his unavailability? I'm not sure I would consider at this time bringing up the fact that he doesn't see the kids enough or contribute enough to their support. That should be another argument (and inconvenient for HIM I might add.) If it appears that you have issues and are angry with him then sympathies might lie with your ex that you are angry and therefore might pose a threat. Just state that if he is unavailable to spend his visitation time with the kids, then you will gladly keep them. Let it known that you understand how important a wedding day is and will do whatever you can to help him have a wonderful wedding. (BARF!!!) Smile sweetly.

My son had them from about the age of 4 until about 7 or so. We found that if we had him go to the bathroom when he woke up screaming it would kind of snap him out of it. I also found that having say loudly, "I'm not going to have any bad dreams tonight," seemed to prevent them. The power of suggestion? I don't know, but it may have contributed to the end of them. I personally hate to dream, so even I will chant "I'm not going to have any bad dreams tonight." I rarely dream. Not saying it works, just saying it appeared to, but could be coincidental.

I rarely see any personal use items on a registry for either a bride or groom. These would be shavers, tooth brushes, callous removers, hunting vests or dancing shoes. I don't think those things are appropriate for the "spirit" of a shower. However, I have seen couples register for things that typically would be more appealing to the guy. Register at Home Depot or Lowes for tools and other home maintenance items such as yard care. Register at electronics stores for home entertainment. Register for outdoor entertaining, grilling items, outdoor bar. We'll be close to retirement when we get married. John asked if I was going to be having a shower because we should register at CVS and put things like denture care items, Viagra and Depends on our list. Funny guy, huh?

jacilynda, That cake is absolutely stunning.

Of course, what happens in 2014, when our anniversary will be on 8/9/14 and yours is 12/11/14? Think they'll remember? LOL

August, 2010, in St. Thomas. My fiance wants it to be on 8/9/10 so that he can remember the date...LOL...so that's a possibility. We'll have the ceremony on the beach at my timeshare resort, but I've been scouring the internet looking for caterers and/or venues for the after-ceremony party. I want to have some solid ideas when I go back down there next August so I can hopefully finalize some things.

Melissa, all the beaches in the US Virgin Islands are public. I don't know one that is right near the cruise ship dock. The closest are on the Marriott properties, with a man-made one recently created for the new Marriott timeshare resort. Lindqvist is on the east end of the island. The property has recently been bought by the USVI gov't and is being managed by the same group that manages Magen's Bay. There are fewer amenities on Lindquist, and also a lot fewer visitors. I'm sure as the improvements are made it will become more popular, but for now it's a beautiful, quiet almost pristine beach. If you type "Lindquist St. Thomas" in youtube.com you can see a couple of videos taken there. Another source for information on all the St. Thomas beaches is Virgin Islands Now Hit the St. Thomas drop down menu and click on "beaches" for some good descriptions of the many differnt beaches on the island.

I noticed on someone's pictures that the bride had the groom's ring on her thumb during the ceremony.

Melissa, I was there in August for the annual Chili Cook Off event. Lots of fun on a beautiful beach. I would not recommend Brewer's for a wedding. You are right across the bay from the airport and planes are landing and taking off all day long. I would consider Magen's for the sheer beauty of the beach, but there are often lots of crowds. For more privacy and another gorgeous setting I recommend Lindqvist Bay at Smith Bay Park.

Funny, but I have a different situation. I'm a more "mature" bride. Ok many of you would say I'm an old lady. My fiance and I are having a destination wedding in a place that we love, where we intend to retire. I'll be a 60 year old bride. We didn't want a traditional wedding, the kind many of you younger people are having. We both had one of those a gazillion years ago. Just a nice simple ceremony on the beach with a bunch of family and friends. I want to have a celebration party (I won't use the word "reception") after. Well, my dear dad, who plans to attend, insists on paying for the wedding. I guess this is where the older traditions come in. He will be 90 when I get married. We don't want him to pay for it. I think what I will have to do is give him a minimum amount and let him gift us that. He is such a sweetheart. This comes after my fiance just hit the poorhouse paying for his daughter's princess wedding in July. She "expected" her dad to pay for it. Yeah, I'm still fuming over that!

My fiance danced with his daughter to Paul Simon's "Father and Daughter" at her wedding. Not easy to dance to, however. It was funny how they choreographed the whole thing, but at that special moment just got caught up in the emotions and lost all the planning. It was beautiful, though. If you leap awake In the mirror of a bad dream And for a fraction of a second You can't remember where you are Just open your window And follow your memory upstream To the meadow in the mountain Where we counted every falling star I believe the light that shines on you Will shine on you forever And though I can't guarantee There's nothing scary hiding under your bed I’m gonna stand guard Like a postcard of a Golden Retriever And never leave till I leave you With a sweet dream in your head I'm gonna watch you shine Gonna watch you grow Gonna paint a sign So you'll always know As long as one and one is two There could never be a father Who loved his daughter more than I love you Trust your intuition It's just like going fishing You cast your line And hope you'll get a bite But you don't need to waste your time Worrying about the market place Try to help the human race Struggling to survive its harshest night I'm gonna watch you shine Gonna watch you grow Gonna paint a sign So you'll always know As long as one and one is two There could never be a father Who loved his daughter more than I love you I'm gonna watch you shine Gonna watch you grow Gonna paint a sign So you'll always know As long as one and one is two There could never be a father Who loved his daughter more than I love you

I've returned from two weeks in St. Thomas. I was so planning to start looking into things for my Aug. 2010 wedding, but hey, I got there the day after working a full school year and then six weeks of summer school, and I just completely basked in the glory of vacation. I did check out a villa that is very reasonable with six bedrooms and within walking distance of the resort, but that's about it. The resort is quite small, only 74 units, so I've been looking for some nearby alternatives for guests. And, guess what! I actually got to meet Sherri! What a wonderful woman. I was on Magen's Bay and saw someone setting up for a wedding there. I went over and asked if it would be a problem if I stood on the side and watched the ceremony. I was graciously told "no problem." I then asked her name, being familiar with some WCs from this site, and she told me she was Sherri! She was very busy, being very thorough and so attentive to every detail. I was amazed at the amount of work she was putting into the bride's special day. It was as if it were her own wedding. I did stand to the side, not to be intrusive, and watched the most beautiful wedding I'd ever seen. It was both beachy and elegant at the same time. After the ceremony as they were milling around, I overheard many guests comment about how impressed they were with the wedding, feeling exactly as I did. At this point I'm not planning on using a WC, as I'm having a very informal wedding (hopefully), but if I were to use one, I wouldn't hesitate a second about using Sherri. I'd be very confident that my wedding would be absolutely perfect. I saw another wedding at Limetree Beach. It was a very very big, formal ceremony with about 40 guests and a bridal party of about 6 BMs and 6 GMs. This was held on the grassy area, which is a very pretty setting just steps from the sandy beach. It was pretty hot that day, so I watched most of it from the water....LOL. It, too was a lovely ceremony. This was a wedding from the cruise ship. I was a little disappointed in the photographer's choice of pictures. Although there are lovely photo ops on the grounds, there are such beautiful shots that could be taken from the far end of the beach, with a rocky backdrop and small waves crashing up on them. I certainly expected him to bring the bride and groom there, but he didn't. If you get married on Limetree Beach, you might want to consider asking the photographer to scout out that area for pictures. Another thing I might have done was asked the restaurant to open the bar for the guests who were just standing around with no place to sit for about an hour while pics were being taken. During the day the pool bar is open for resort guests, but the restaurant bar isn't. It would have been a nice consideration the WC could have checked into. Erica, we haven't decided on a reception, except to say we're not having a reception. I'm not even sending out invitations. If any friends or family want to be on island when I get married they are welcome to come share in our day. We'll throw a party. I told you it'll be informal. I'll be a 60 year old bride with a younger groom of 59, so it's not quite the same for us. As it gets nearer and we have an idea of who will be there we'll make some arrangements. I've considered Iggies, Coral World, and even asked some local friends for ideas. A beach party suits me fine as well, with a barbecue on the patio at the resort. I'm open to any suggestions anyone might have. There will be cake though. And music. And rum drinks. My fiance didn't come with me this year. His daughter had a gigantic princess fairy tale wedding in July ($$$$$$$$$) and he is in financial ruin for quite some time. Ate up all his vacation budget. He did express his fear, however, that I was going to come home having booked the ballroom at the Ritz.

Another small world, Natalie. I'm getting married on Limetree Beach as well in August 2010. In fact, I'll be there in a little more than a week, from August 9 til August 23. I can't wait. If there's anything I can scout out for the rest of you St. Thomas brides while I'm down there, let me know. I'll see what I can do.

Where on St. John are you having your wedding and reception? Are you working with a wedding planner?

My fiance's daughter's wedding was Friday. Not a destination wedding, but rather a huge princess wedding of monumental proportions. Well, the rehearsal dinner was on Thursday night. I was all set with my new dress and shoes. At 10:30 the night before she called, waking her father, to tell him that I was not invited to the rehearsal dinner. It was for wedding party only. Understand, her wedding party was the entire family, all aunts and uncles and their spouses, as well as attendants. She was having a family procession before the attendants came down the aisle. According to her I am not family yet, even though we are engaged. I was not to be in any family pictures, either. At one point she didn't even want me sitting with her father, who was supposed to be at the "family" table. She has not seen her real mother in more than ten years, so that wasn't even an issue. I would not let her father tell her I contributed more than $5000 to help out with the wedding. I did it to help him. I guess I got the message. Just wanted to vent. This thread seemed like a good place.

I teach in a school with more than 100 staff members, 85% of whom are women and 75% of those are marrying and babying age. Each year lately there have been at least three baby showers and at least three wedding showers. Just as is done in Lauren's school, we pass around envelopes and everyone throws in $5-$10. Then gifts are bought by each grade level and special area. We all chip in with either breakfast or lunch snacks. We know we're not invited, but it's our way to help our colleague and friend celebrate this special time in her life. We even hold these for the Grooms and new daddies. It's fun.