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Hi SnoopyNut - Sorry, I haven't been getting the post updates, so I just saw this now. We got married at my in-laws' house in Skyline Drive...it's 3-4 houses East of the Observatory Deck (popular tourist stop with the vendors and donkey...) that overlooks Charlotte Amalie harbor. Where are you getting married?

We also went with a custom clay cake topper by an artist on etsy.com -- her user name is "mudcards". She was really great to work with and our guests loved it! Ours was the 3rd picture in this listing (with the black dog): Handmade Dolls and miniatures on Etsy - custom made couple cake topper by mudcards

Hi Mandie - I just send you a PM about Molly's (other thread) but I saw this and figured I would add in what we did for a welcome dinner... We had a lot of people arrive on Friday for our Sunday wedding, so Friday night we just organized for everyone (who wanted to go) to hop in taxis at the Marriott and go to Duffy's for dinner/drinks. Duffy's had another party that was 30 ppl that night, so we ended up having dinner at Dos Amigos (sister restaurant to Molly Malone's) and then going to Duffy's for drinks after dinner. Everyone paid their own way and had a great time! Dos Amigos was great about separating checks (3-4 ppl per check) and gave us 2 servers for our table of ~20. There are taxis in the parking lot right there and people ended up going back to the Marriott in groups as the night went on. We had too many guests to pay for a rehearsal dinner for everyone and couldn't really split out a group without hurting feelings. Our Duffy's trip wasn't expensive and people could either do their own thing or come out with us. It also served as our combined bachelor/bachelorette party, since our guests are scattered all over the country and we couldn't get everyone together before the wedding. Hope that helps!

Quote: Originally Posted by mandieweez 1. Name - Mandie Hastings 2. Where are you from - Dana Point, CA 3. Where are you getting married in St Thomas - Lindquist Beach 4. When are you getting married - May 7, 2010 5. who is you WC - Janelle Scott I look forward to any advice! I'm searching for a photographer, hair/makeup and a rehearsal/welcome dinner venue. Can't wait to hear about all of your weddings. Welcome Mandie! I got married in STT on May 24th and used Ashley Armitage for photography and Sugar and Spice Artistry for hair/makeup. Both were AWESOME. Ashley does mostly photojournalism style, but throws in some traditional posed photos as well. She is a bit pricey compared to other photographers on the island, but she only schedules 2 weddings PER WEEK, instead of multiple per day like I've heard the others do. We had decided that photography, catering, and cake/desserts were the most important aspects of the wedding for us, so we just budgeted accordingly. I would highly recommend Sugar and Spice, too. They were on time, brought 2 suitcases full of hair/makeup supplies(!) and were super sweet and easy to work with. They listened to my hair/makeup ideas and did exactly what I wanted. We didn't have a rehearsal/welcome dinner, but I would recommend Agave Terrace (Seafood), East End Cafe (Italian), Havana Blue (Latin fusion), Lotus (Asian + sushi), Mafolie (Seafood), and Duffy's/Molly Malone's/Dos Amigos (if you want something more casual). Hope that helps!

Thanks Brooke! Crystal - I don't have the professional pics yet, but should by the end of this week or next. I'll try to post some of our guests' pictures later today... I didn't use a wedding coordinator, as we had the ceremony/reception at my in-law's house on Skyline Drive (overlooks all of Charlotte Amalie). I was able to mail 2 big boxes of decorations and other stuff to them in April, plus we brought down other decorations in our suitcases. I'll write a more formal review of everything soon, but here's the short version! Let me know if you want more detail about any of these vendors. Overall, they were EXCELLENT. Many of them had worked together on weddings before, so there was absolutely no tension and they coordinated well. Warning: This will be long...! VENDORS: Photography: Ashley Photography Ashley Photo VI Ashley was awesome - she was efficient and just pushy enough to keep everyone in line, but super friendly. She wasn't intrusive at all and really blended in with the event. I love her photojournalism style of pictures, but she also includes some posed pictures. Catering: Modern Saute' Modern Saute AMAZING food. We did a buffet of lots of smaller dishes, instead of served entrees. Guests are still commenting on how great the food was...which is what we wanted! Ched and Jon were really helpful and their staff (servers + bartender) were great. They even set up my decorations for me! Cake/Cupcakes/Desserts: VI Desserts VI Desserts in Saint Thomas USVI We had an 8" cake to cut and cupcakes for the guests. It worked really well and then we didn't have to worry about having the cake cut and served. The cake and cupcakes were both lemon cake with passionfruit filling and vanilla buttercream. REALLY good. We bought way too much, but everyone loved it. Super moist cake and cupcakes. We also had lemon bars, bittersweet turtle bars, macadamia nut chewy bars, snickerdoodle cookies, and oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. Everything was amazing Florist: Forever Flowers Forever Flowers Flowers were beautiful and reasonably priced. I brought flower tape, wire, and ribbon from home and made the bouquets myself (I worked at a florist for 3.5 years in hs!). I just did a bouquet for myself and for my MOH (she was my only bridesmaid). I got roses, but they also offer tropical flowers. Order 3-4 weeks in advance for bulk, not sure on arranged. Makeup/Hair: Sugar and Spice Artistry Sugar and Spice Artistry As I said before, they were awesome! Eye/face makeup lasted all night, but it also wasn't very hot when we had our event. The location at the top of the hill/mountain also helped with a great breeze. We had pictures at the Marriott around 430pm, which could have been really hot, but it got cloudy right as we started (which was a life-saver!). Guest Transportation (Hotel to Ceremony/Reception): Air Force 1 Tours Air Force 1 Reasonably priced and on-time. We had 2 safaris (max 50 ppl) on the way up and they did two single-safari trips for the way back, one at 11:00pm and one at 11:45pm. Super flexible and really friendly! Ceremony/Cocktail Hour Music: Guitarist Chris Robbert Chris Robbert Music Chris was great - he blended in well and brought his own amplifier. We told him which songs we wanted for processional and recessional and let him choose the rest. He has a wide range of songs to choose from. Dinner/Dance Music: we used speakers + iPod I highly recommend putting in lots of sing-along songs! We had everyone out on the dance floor. A wireless microphone also provided lots of entertainment! Half the night was impromptu karaoke - super funny and entertaining. Guest Accommodations: Marriott Frenchman's Reef, Laura J was our room coordinator Laura was incredible. She fixed any issues we had and was available for anything we needed during our stay. She even upgraded us to a suite! Love her. Marriott was the perfect spot for our guests, it's in a great location, provides a ferry to town ($6) and has 2 great pools + beach. Bar: We had a connection through Matt's dad for the alcohol/mixers. We bought other supplies at Cost-U-Less (Costco-type store down there) and brought compostable cups from here Eco Products: Welcome for the drinks. We "rented" a bartender from Modern Saute for the night, but provided all the other supplies. A friend of ours took over the bar at 10pm, after the bartender was done. I know I probably forgot some vendors...hope this helps!

I would avoid having a wedding on St. Thomas during Carnival...my in-laws live on St. Thomas and they always say how crazy it gets during that time! I think you'll also run into higher hotel fees and possibly flights? Even though Carnival may only be concentrated to downtown areas, that means your guests won't really be able to explore those shopping/dining areas very easily during their stay. Also, the route from the airport to almost all of the hotels is through downtown (headache!). I would be wary of possible delays that could result for your vendors or guests during Carnival...you'll have enough to stress about as it is! Good luck planning!

Hi - Sugar and Spice did my makeup and hair (plus my sister's hair) last Sunday for our wedding - they were fabulous! Both JeT'aime (hair) and Angelica (makeup) came. They both were so sweet and did a fabulous job. I brought pictures of what I wanted done for my hair and JeT'aime did exactly what I asked for! It was perfect. She even brought leftover orchids from a wedding she had styled earlier that day and added them to the back. The makeup lasted all night and looked great in the pictures! I had stress breakouts on my cheek and Angelica covered them completely. You couldn't even tell! She even added fake eyelashes to really make my eyes pop. I thought their prices were reasonable - it was $270 for my hair and makeup plus my sister's hair. They ran our credit card on the spot, super easy. They were recommended by our photographer (Ashley Photography). If you have any other questions, let me know!

Hi Suzanne - Not sure if you are still looking for info on Wyndham Sugar Bay, but have you checked out www.tripadvisor.com for reviews? We originally considered Wyndham as our hotel for guests, but we decided to go with the Marriott. My main concerns about Wyndham were the steep stairs and small/rocky beach. We stayed at the Marriott last May when we got engaged and it's really a fantastic location. It has a ferry boat ($6) to downtown and Havensight, several restaurants, and a long stretch of beach. BTW, all-inclusive is also an option at the Marriott, but for group rate bookings everyone has to do all inclusive or no one can do all inclusive. You can't have some people on all-inclusive and some not...at least at the Marriott. Wherever you book, negotiate the group rate down! The Marriott is normally $273/nt and they offered us $230/nt for group rates at first...my fiance got them down to $208/nt...then $203/nt. Good luck!

I think that would be really cute! My fiance' actually proposed to me via personalized M&Ms...he had "Will you" and "Marry Me?" printed on two different colors. He proposed without a ring, so he had to figure out some other way to do it! It was really cute. Anyway, he had no problems ordering them (it's really easy), but you do have to order a minimum of three bags I believe...so it's not cheap. We just kept the leftovers in the freezer and munched on them for a couple of months. I say do it!

Hi Courtney - My FI's parents have lived on St Thomas for almost 10 years and it's a beautiful island, but it can be expensive (we actually just got back yesterday from a week there). We are getting married at their house, but our guests are staying at the Marriott. We stayed at the Marriott for a few nights in May and it was great! We had an ocean-view room and the view was amazing. I've heard mixed reviews about the Wyndham, mostly about the resort having lots of stairs and the rooms being run-down or dirty. That said, I've never stayed there - only heard things from FI's parents and read reviews online. Also, keep in mind that all-inclusive is not very popular on St Thomas, so a wedding at a STT hotel will probably be more expensive than it might be at a Mexican resort. I've heard the Marriott in particular is pricey for receptions. You could always get married on a beach and then go to a local restaurant for the reception. I know a few people on here did that... There are several wedding planning coordinators there that could give you lots of ideas and help with planning. Good luck!

Quote: Originally Posted by Just Martha Thanks for all this! The reason we wanted a hotel and not a condo is because I don't like to cook on vacation. Actually I don't like to cook at all. ha! Thank you so much for your help! Too funny! We are just the opposite on ski vacations - we love to go to the local grocery store and pick up food to cook in our condo for breakfast/dinner (lunch on mountain, usually). I've heard good things about Beaver Run Resort in Breck, but I've never stayed there. They have everything from hotel rooms to 2BR suites. It's also ski in/ski out, which is great. Beaver Run Resort Good luck! I'm sure you'll have a great time no matter what. Are you planning to take ski lessons?

JustMartha - I went to Steamboat as a "beginner" skiier a few years ago - it was great! Lots of beginner and intermediate terrain. It's a nice little town, too. We stayed in a condo there, which would probably be more romantic than the Sheraton. Have you looked at this website for Steamboat lodging? Steamboat Hotels and Lodging - Search For All Steamboat Hotel and Lodging Options for Steamboat Springs, Colorado I prefer staying in condos vs hotels, because condos offer more space and a full kitchen (usually), so you're not dependent on restaurants for all meals. I would also recommend Breckenridge. It's a great skiing mountain and one of my favorite mountain towns. Lots of restaurants, shops, etc. It also has condos, hotels, and B&Bs, for lodging, depending on your budget and desired location. The website for Breck will have lodging options: Breckenridge Ski Resort :: Perfect Mountain. Perfect Mountain Town. Would you be flying into Denver and then driving? If so, be prepared for a semi-long drive to Steamboat...especially if it's bad weather. It's about 3 hours in GOOD weather from downtown Denver. I think you can also fly into Steamboat, or at least near it, but I've never done that... Breckenridge is about 1.5 hours from Denver. Have a great time! It would be hard to choose a "bad" skiing spot in Colorado.

My (future) sister-in-law had her wedding on a Friday a few years ago. It wasn't "destination", but people still had to travel in from all over the country. It was great! It was also on a holiday weekend, so most people just took Thurs/Fri off and had a 5 day weekend. As long as it works for your guests' schedules, I say go for it!

Quote: Originally Posted by landwlkr Wow, thank you for looking for me! We were thinking to go for a week, so Saturday to following Sunday. I will check out Orbitz and see what I can find. Thanks again!! Everyone here is so helpful. Terra A week would be great! Sorry, I was thinking for some reason you'd be going down alone for a couple days...silly me. With the FI is MUCH better. I just checked Orbitz for flexible trips in September/early Oct and it looks like it's $395 with 1-stop for Sat-Sat on Sep 13, 20, or 27...or $437 direct...on American.

Quote: Originally Posted by TheTomato Anaiah, I'm so jealous of your reconnaissance trip! I am (terrified) planning the whole thing without ever actually being there so anything you could suggest would be helpful. We have family and friends staying at lots of different places in the Cruz bay area. I think the photographer my planner chose is Crown Images (Photography by Sage Crown Parker) and the video is Brandi Mays. The florist is East End Florist (I think they're actually in St. Thomas). My biggest concern is shipping things there. My villa company offered to receive some packages but recommended I send everything priority mail a month in advance! Anyway, congrats and hope you have a great time. It's definitely a help to have future family down there and be able meet with vendors! But, I'm not using a planner at all, so everything is on me... St John is GORGEOUS and most of the island is set aside as National Park land so its much less developed than St Thomas. There are several great hikes on St John and lots of ruins from former sugarcane(?) plantations. Be sure to visit the Anaberg plantation ruins. Great view and lots of history. That's great that your villa will allow you to ship packages to them. That will be so helpful. I definitely recommend shipping with plenty of time - St Thomas mail can be unreliable... Think of sending packages as a good thing - you'll force yourself to be organized way ahead of time and then all you have to do is get on the plane! Good luck! I'm sure everything will be wonderful.