claudette

In case you couldn't tell, I'm totally procrastinating from the real world of Thank You cards and work! Okay, Rehearsal Dinner! Big3n09, I LOVED the restaurant at The Rockhouse - it was delicious! Since we were paying for it ourselves, we wanted to limit the menu a bit and so we created our own. My contact at The Rockhouse was Dwight Jackson. His email is: [email protected] A word about The Rockhouse - I did not find them nearly as nice as the Cliffs or the people at Tensing Pen which is where we honeymooned for 3 nights. I might be biased at this point, but the people at the Cliffs were by far the nicest! Perhaps because they something to prove, but either way they were the nicest! The Rockhouse has a beautiful location and the restaurant view is breathtaking at sunset but again I was not impressed by the staff - in fact, some were downright rude. They've won so many awards that I feel they just don't need to be nice anymore, which is a shame, but great for the Cliffs! I really want to see them succeed! I can send you a copy of the rehearsal dinner menu - a lot of what we put was based on what we were eating the next night at the reception so we didn't want to repeat it. All in all the menu was a success and the rehearsal dinner beautiful! The Rockhouse restaurant cannot do a private dinner, which was fine for us. But if you do want a private dinner their new restaurant, the Push Cart - located right next door is available for private dinners. Their food is more casual and more authentic, and with us having very picky eaters as guests, we opted for the regular restaurant. I would definitely recommend the Rockhouse restaurant for the views and the food! Everybody had a great time and it was nice to be out and about and see some more of Negril!

Since a couple of people have asked, I decided to just go ahead and post the TTD picture password here! It's junkerttd The ones on the beach took place about 10 minutes up the road in just a public spot that Brian took us to. We were going to do it at the Villas (so Leslie I am sure that spot will be beautiful!) but there was a wedding going on that day and I just did not want to be on the beach in my wedding dress on someone else's day, you know what I mean? The others are all taken in this amazing cave that Brian took us to! I am so glad because we would have never known about this place! It's so hidden and looks like someone's home! It's right across the street from PushCart Restaurant (right next door to The Rockhouse) and it's called something like Johnnys Cave and Bar or something like that...it's just an elderly woman who owns the property and charges $5 for you to go down into the cave. Warning: she will charge more if she sees you in a wedding dress! The cave is something I recommend to everyone even if you are not doign a TTD shoot - it's a super fun excursion to do with the group and I highly recommend it! I'm sure if you come in a group, she'll give a break on the price too! Bring your snorkel gear and fyi while we were doing the TTD shoot there were actually a couple of snorklers who were dropped off by a glass bottom boat (since the cave opens up to the ocean) so that was actually very funny to be posing in a wedding dress in the ocean with snorklers next to us! Felt like a true model shoot! Hehe! TTD was a blast and is something we will remember for the rest of our lives! It was sooo amazing and was so different - exceeded my expectations! If you can do one, please do! Oh, and the dress is completely fine! I immediately hopped in the shower after the shoot (I wish I had gotten a picture of that! It was so funny to be in the shower in your wedding gown!!!) and it was actually cleaner than the night before from the reception! So if that is your concern, don't let it be or just get a different dress. Hope you like the pics!!!

Quote: Originally Posted by Sparkles8300 Claudette- Your wedding was out of this world BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!!!!!! I have the same colors and I am sooo glad that I do, because everything turned out so amazing. I love the rose/starfish arrangements that you had on the chairs lining the isle. Your dress is so pretty and you are one skinny bride (your pictures motivated me to get to the gym)! It looks like all of your guests had a blast! Where/how did you book DJ Paul? I really want to make sure that our DJ is really good and I watched some of your video and he seemed really fun and like he had good energy. Your cake was so pretty. I am trying to figure out how to steal a picture of your cake table b/c I want my cake to be that exact same thing (if you have a pic you could send me that would be so awesome [email protected]). I also love the fact that they pulled off that slideshow for you. How cool is that!!!!!! At what point in the night did you suprise everyone with the fire dancer? After the cake cutting? Also, (sorry for a million questions) could you email me the link to your TTD shoot. We are doing our TTD at Moon Dance Cliffs & Villas during our honeymoon so any location suggestions would be awesome. I def want a picture of us holding hands and jumping off the cliffs. I am so happy for you guys & wish you the best with your new live as husband and wife! Hi Leslie! Thank you so much for the comments! And GREAT choice on the colors (haha!) Everyone LOVED them and while my mom was a bit hesitant that they too "loud" in that kind of environment they looked PERFECT! I was extremely pleased with how lovely everything looked! And Kerry really went above and beyond with making it look that way! I was very pleased with the rose/starfish arrangment and loved that Rosemarie from Floral Fantasy did such a great job with it! I have to add however that we had been in contact beforehand and I wasn't sure how many rows of chairs we would have (b/c I didn't know how the Cliffs would arrange them). Rosemarie told me that it wouldn't be a problem and that if more were needed she'd have them ready. Well if you look at the rows, you will notice that the back row did not have them. Not a big deal at all and nobody really noticed. I didn't even tell Rosemarie - actually, I didn't even see her! So she might have corrected it had I told her. They were $35/piece and I was glad to see that the Cliffs moved them over to the reception site without me saying a thing! I loved my dress! However, I got in an argument with the owner of the store I got the dress from - long story short I bought a dress off the rack, left it at the store for my dad to come by the next day, and when I came in the next day I had changed my mind and just did not want the dress! Well she was all huffy and puffy about it saying they have a strict no return policy which I said, well I don't want to return it, but can I exchange it? Well we went back and forth for awhile, but she finally let me exchange it for the dress you see in the pics - and I LOVED it! However, I think she deliberately ordered me a dress one size too small! I watched her measure me and I had to keep on correcting her! She would say a smaller number than what was on the tape! Then she was like, okay based on these measurements your size is X. And I was like, um, I think I should get size Y since it's easier to take something in than let something out. Well she ordered the smaller size! Ahh! But I made it my determination to "show her" by fitting into that dress! Here's the link to my dress: ASM3050 - by Sottero & Midgley Absolutely LOVED it in the end! I LOVED DJ Paul! He was AWESOME! THe MC was Oliver and he was quite hilarious! I absolutely love music so I actually created the list of songs I wanted and the order of them, and Paul was really happy with that! He actually said that he made a bunch of CDs from my songs for himself! Here's his email: [email protected] Oliver was with DJ Paul and had great energy! Very funny and danced with a lot of the guests, including my mother in law! Too cute! The only thing was that he had his wife/girlfriend with him - which was fine - but she actually caught my bouquet which I thought was a bit inappropriate. Going so far as to snatch it out of my friend's arms - yikes! LOVED the cake! Turned out prettier than I imagined it! As I told Neha, I don't have the pics on this computer, but Brian mailed me a DVD with all the jpegs (and they are not copyrighted so I can share them with all my friends which is really nice!) so I will email you a picture when I get to the DVD! If you just want to let me know the number of the picture, that would be great! As for the fire dancer, Oliver and Paul said that they would bring him out when the energy was down - well the energy was actually never down! So at one point (definitely after the cake cutting) they just asked us all to leave the dance floor for the surprise - turned out perfectly! Okay, I think I covered everything except for TTD, which I am going to put in a separate post... Please don't worry about the questions! I was JUST in the same position so I understand the millions of questions that go through your mind at any given moment! Hit me with them all! Hugs, Claudette

Quote: Originally Posted by Neha Claudette, gorgeous pics! You look amazing! Congratulations- glad the wedding was everything you hoped for. =) My update: still in planning mode... we got our plane tickets and so have our parents, so we're definitely getting married in November at MDC! (no matter who else shows up =) ). We are trying to figure out our reception decor right now...I really like the table runner with a few centerpieces look. I think we're going to go with that. One question- what is everyone doing for favors/welcome bags? I'm trying to find something small and useful for our guests! I found some seashell bottle openers that are cute, but I don't know... Anyway, I'm starting to get excited! Time's flying by! Hope everyone else is doing well. Hi Neha! Thank you! It certainly was everything I had wanted and hoped for! And I am sure that it will be the same for you! My favors, which were the sandalwood fans that my friends and I had tied ribbons to in my colors, did not arrive until AFTER the wedding, so that's when I gave it to them! Lol! BUT I must say that there was such a nice breeze the wedding day that it may have been a blessing in disguise to NOT have the fans or they might have all over the floor in the pictures blowing away! As for the welcome package, I went very simple but one thing I HIGHLY recommend, especially if you have family and friends like mine who always want to know what's going on, is putting a copy of everyone's flight information (I also emailed them the copy a couple of days before the wedding and a lot of them were on each other's flight and had no idea! This really helped with figuring out transportation, which Miriam and I arranged for everyone) and an itinerary - very important for the day of the wedding! Even with the itinerary, I felt like I was going to lose it with the amount of questions everyone was throwing at me! So I'm VERY glad that I had the itinerary or else there is no telling what I would have done to all the guests! I also included a small picture album for each room in my color. I can attach a picture of the favors and the "welcome package" I did for everyone later as I'm not on the computer that has all the pics! Hope this helps and good luck!!! Claudette

Quote: Originally Posted by big3n09 Claudette CONGRATS!!! everything looked very nice, especially you! I have a question I have the option to do AI for $125pp per day which is a bit much to me because I don't really like AI since I'm always on the go but do you think it's worth it and how was the alcoholic beverages if you or any of your guest had them, that's the real question, LOL Thank you! That's a really great question - and one that was sprung on me at the last hour from a couple of my guests who went to the Cliff's website and saw that it was all-inclusive so they thought that what they had paid for was AI! It was kind of a mess but everything worked out! Just a word of caution - Miriam told me that if one person wanted to do AI, the whole group had to do it! That's why we ended up NOT going with the AI option. Because we did the rehearsal dinner at The Rockhouse, which my hubby and I paid for, and because the reception dinner is obviously already paid for as well, I just did not think it was worth doing the AI option. There were some drinkers on the guest list, who were slightly surprised by how expensive the alochol was, so what they did was go into town (about ten minutes away) the first day we arrived and pick up their own alcohol. That worked out very well and I personally would recommend that. You could save time and just do it on your way to the Cliffs from the airport, which is the something I would change if I could go back and do it all over again. We just wanted to arrive to the resort so badly that I didn't even think about stopping for groceries! Hope this helps! Good luck planning and send over any other questions you might have! Claudette Oh, one more thing! Richard, who I just cannot say enough great things about, planned special all-inclusive dinner which included certian drinks, for about $30/person which we loved! We did one on Thursday night and it was delicious with jerk chicken and jerk pork and then they had this rum dance party afterwards where they had all sorts of games for us to do and it was SO much fun! He also did another all inclusive dinner on Monday night for the guests that were still there. So that's another thing to keep in mind when you're thinking about the AI.

Quote: Originally Posted by stacey18 Claudette, congratulations. Your pictures are beautiful. A quick question about your table decorations. Did Moon Dance do those for you or did you arrange to have them done by a florist? And if I could be so bold, do you remember approximately how much they cost. Congrats again! Hi Stacey! Thank you! I actually had the florist do the centerpieces and the table runners and then I brought some shells for the table (bought them at Pearl Craft Stores, very similar to Michaels) that Kerry placed around the table. And I could be wrong, but I think that Moon Dance picked up the petals from the aisle after the ceremony and placed them around the tables as well. Now that I've been there and seen how helpful Moon Dance was with everything, I would simply ask Kerry if she could do the same arrangement for cheaper. The centerpieces were $35 a piece. At first I thought I would just bring down my own centerpiece, but then the more I thought about it and the closer it got to my wedding, I realized it was definitely easier to have someone else take care of the centerpiece! And since we were such a small group and didn't have that many tables, the cost was not bad. Since we didn't receive our suitcase until Sunday evening, I am definitely glad that we did NOT decide to bring our own centerpieces! Hope this helps and let me know if you need anything else! Good luck and happy planning! Claudette

Hello ladies!!!! I'm back! And MARRIED! Woohoo! It will take me a while to write a thorough review, but let me start by easing everyone's nerves and saying that Moon Dance Cliffs exceeded my expectations! Everything was SO beautiful and the staff went above and beyond to ensure our wedding day was perfect! Linus and Kerry were AMAZING! And Richard, the manager, was unbelievable! How I wish I had been in contact with Richard before, as he truly knows the meaning of "customer service"! And the place is an absolute dream! You feel as though you are in a movie as soon as you arrive! All my guests were thrilled with the hotel and I couldn't have been happier with the venue myself! We had some issues, including one suitcase that got "lost" from Delta and didn't arrive until Sunday - one day AFTER the wedding that had the wedding favors, tealights, and my husband's and I's wedding shoes! After getting teary-eyed over it on Saturday morning, Kerry assured me that everything would be perfect even with these items missing and proceeded to make sure that everything was beautiful! They did things I didn't even ask them to do: put ribbons up on the gazebo with bows in my colors, decorate the cake table and the dessert table, and take care of all the little details like the guestbook, wedding wish box, etc. And it turned out beautifully! A couple of things that I have to mention b/c I loved them so much: 1) Slideshow projected on the pond: There's a pond right near the dance floor - I had this dream where I saw pictures projected onto a pool - I asked Kerry if she thought it was possible. She had her doubts, but her and DJ (DJ Paul was awesome and I highly recommend him by the way) tried it out and it worked great! There was the slight issue with the fact that the CD of pictures we had chosen was alas in the lost suitcase, but my future sister-in-law put together a quick CD of abour 30 pics and those were projected out over the pond! It was super cute! And I guess Moon Dance liked the idea a lot too because there's actually a permanent structure for the projector now! 2) Fire Dancer: Wow!!! I am SO glad that we had the fire dancer and even happier with the fact that we kept it a secret from everyone (including my parents)! They all LOVED it! Highly recommend him! (I don't even know his name, but Kerry was the one who got him for us) 3) Lights On Friday, I asked DJ Paul to add the basic lighting package and wow! What a difference! The hotel had a party on Thurs. night and I saw how dark it could be in the gazebo, so I just asked for the basic lighting package and I am so glad that I did! I loved the lights and it just added that extra touch to make it feel like a wedding rather than a random party. Okay, enough writing since I know it's a lot to take in! But I am back and here to answer any and all of your questions! And if you're like me, pictures say a thousand words, so here's a link to our wedding slideshow that Brian has already put up (he was WONDERFUL!!!) Wedding Photography by Brian Nejedly - Jamaica, Mexico, St. Lucia, Barbados, Caribbean If you want to skim through the 800 pics he took, just go to private galleries and enter the password: junker Oh and if you want to see some trash the dress pics, just let me know and I'll send you the link! I feel odd about posting them on here since they are fairly intimate! And if you go to: YouTube - Jamaicawedding2009's Channel you will find some clips that a friend of ours filmed. Bottom line, everything was great and I have no doubt that all of you will have an amazing time! Hubby and I want to go back so badly - so if anyone wants some extra guests at your wedding, let us know! Hehe! Taovandel, hope everything is going well with you! So excited for you and your new family! Meena, I will be talking with you soon! Hugs to all! Claudette

Quote: Originally Posted by nylaphoto I have received a few emails about Moon Dance Cliffs, as I shot there just last week. I have added a few photos to my blog and I will let the Groom who is on the boards post his reviews of the resort. As far as photography, light is key as the sun sets very quickly in Jamaica. It goes from harsh light all day to sunset very quick, so allow your photographer the time for formals. I shot a day after shoot for a few hours as we ran out of light after finishing group formals. If you are having an afternoon wedding, be aware the sun sets directly behind the gazebo which is covered in shade. The resort is not lush, as it is new, so open shade is very limited for formals. I always recommend having a day after shoot on all destination weddings at different locations. Also make sure your photographer if not local arrives at least a full day prior to the event. Our flights were delayed leaving and arriving so plan accordingly with your vendors. Overall a great trip, heading back to Negril in just a few weeks for another shoot. LOVED the pictures on your blog! The wedding looked beautiful! The fire dancers were such a nice touch! Great pics - loved the colors! Glad that you had safe travels to and from Jamaica!

Quote: Originally Posted by Neha Hey all! nobody's posted in a while...We've signed our contract and are putting the deposit down Monday! I'm so excited to finally have the place booked! We did decide on the AI option so if anyone has questions about specifics, PM me. Also, I bought my dress! Things are finally coming together. One quick question- we are trying to figure out our photographer and have spoken to Sungold and Saab so far. Any suggestions on how long to get the photographer for and if the "associate" photographers are any good? I looked at the websites but they only have a few pics by the associate photographers. It's certainly a lot cheaper to go that route though! We're thinking the 5 hour package...think that's enough time to get the wedding and some of the reception? Hello Neha (and everyone!) I've been MIA for awhile, but I'm getting married at the Cliffs in less than a month! Woohoo! Very excited! I just wanted to say that I went with a local photographer, Brian Nejedly, who I just have had a wonderful experience with so far and am very excited to use him! Wedding Photography by Brian Nejedly - Jamaica, Mexico, St. Lucia, Barbados, Caribbean His prices are reasonable, he responds very quickly to emails, and he's from my home town of Atlanta! Anyway, I just wanted to throw his name out there as a possible photographer! His site says Ocho Rios, but he is not charging me a travel fee for Negril. Best of luck planning! Everything will work out in the end! I don't know how much I'll be on in the next month, since I'm extremely busy at work and with wedding planning, but I will be sure to write a super-detailed review upon my return - with plenty of pictures!

Sparkles, I just realized that your parents will be staying at the Cliffs one week after your wedding, so probably not where you want to be honeymooning! Hehe! We're still trying to decide whether we should stay at the Cilffs or venture to another hotel for our honeymoon. Do you know what property is next door to the Cliffs? Thanks!

Sparkles! Thank you and your parents SO much for the pictures are the great review! I feel as though I have a much better idea of the hotel and I am RELIEVED to see the progress of the resort! Maybe you guys can have your honeymoon there?! I have the same wedding colors as you, so I just emailed Kerry to see if she could send me some pictures of the napkins, lanterns, etc. that she showed your parents - I'm getting so nervous as the wedding date is getting closer and closer! Ahh! But also so excited! Thanks again for the sharing the pics and I love your Dad for taking so many great pictures!!! I noticed that in the picture of the Rockhouse he said that they walked there during the day - do you mind asking how long the walk took? We are having our rehearsal dinner at the Rockhouse and I'm just wondering how far away it is! Thanks for everything! And keep us updated with your plans!!! Hugs, Claudette

Hey ladies! Sorry I've been MIA for so long! First and most importantly, taovandel CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!!! I am so excited for you - what great news! Please continue to keep in touch and let us know how the pregnancy is coming along! Welcome to the forum nylaphoto! There's great information on here! I'm getting married May 23rd, and I would love to see the pics! Your bride should definitely get on here! So less than 2 months to go to my wedding - still have lots to do but I'm mainly just getting excited about being married! Woohoo! Hugs, Claudette

Hmm, I don't know about the thread - I normally just search for it right away! Your guests won't mind! Then the stress of the wedding will be over and you guys can all relax and have fun! Are you going to have a honeymoon in Jamaica? My FI and are I trying to decide how much longer to stay for the honeymoon and whether or not we want to stay at the Cliffs or go to another hotel...thoughts?

Lynnmb1021 - I agree with Mastistyle - the same thing happened to all of us; we were told Linus was our coordinator and yet we were in contact with Kerry. I think the day of Linus is there heading it up - at least that's my impression! Taovandel - I think it's up to you - I do think that everything will already be in place but it's all about your level of stress. I am arriving on Thursday and getting married on Saturday because I know my level of stress! I truly believe everything will be fine with just a few hour between your arrival and the rehearsal, and it might actually be better to have less time because then there's less time to worry! I also don't think the rehearsal will be a big deal at all! Let us know what you decide! I think you will be fine either way!

Hello ladies! Thanks again for all of the information and reminders! Taovandel, Glistening Waters looks BEAUTIFUL! I showed it to my FI and we will definitely be visiting there during our honeymoon! We're about 90% sure we're doing the rehearsal dinner at the new restaurant that Rockhouse has called Pushcart - you can find information about it here: eat | Rockhouse Hotel I think we're just going to go ahead and invite everyone who's there by that time - we'll see how it goes as it gets closer. I have to say that with the economy the way it is, people who originally were planning on coming are now saying they just can't make it It's sad, but it will still be fun and intimate! The one I'm really bummed about is one of my bridesmaids...she's really trying but just isn't sure and I need to know since she would have to order her dress soon! Anywho, I digress! Lynnmb1021 - I emailed the documents to Kerry...she hasn't told me anything about mailing them in, so I assume email is okay for now - that's a good question though for me to ask Kerry. rydm - I'm sure Noel will get in touch with you shortly - he emailed me a sample but it was an apple application and didn't play that well for me. If you send me your email, I can forward you his email to me. I think he's still in the process of making a website...I'm mainly putting blind trust in Brian who recommended him to me! Mastistyle - Aw! I love your shoe idea! Very cute! I actually still do need to buy shoes - and probably break them in too! As a present to my bridesmaids, I'm giving them jewelry sandals - I'm sure you've seen them, but if not it looks like this: Beach Bride Jewelry - Laguna Beach Beach Wedding Barefoot Sandals A friend from work is actually making them for me, so much cheaper! They're not going to wear them at the ceremony because they all are relatively short and want to be in heels, but I thought it was a cute gift for them! I still need to think about jewelry for me and I will be doing hair and make-up at the spa -I already spoke to Kerry about this and she told me reservations would not be a problem! Yay! I do have my veil; I'm doing my hair half-up half-down (still need to find a picture); and luckily Brian and I are on the same page for photography...I'm more excited about the TTD session - you can check his work out here: Jamaica Wedding Photography by Brian Nejedly. (click on Kelly and Jonas) - Brian told me we'll do the TTD shoot in the same place! Oh and rydm: I am doing a DJ, but Jennifer on this forum had Front Page Band - maybe she knows their contact info? Mastistyle - I love you gift bag idea! Very clever!