lynnmb1021

Hi Christy.. welcome! It looks like we are getting married around the same time. Have you booked any vendors yet? I've booked our photographer who we're flying in from the mainland and i think that i've booked the DJ (sound illusion) although I haven't gotten any confirmation in writing from Kerry yet. Lynn

Hi Sparkles8300.. hope your planning is going well too. That is funny (and slightly scary!) about Kerry's response. I have to laugh and just realize that things will work out in the end as other brides have promised! It sounds like orange and pink are popular colors!! My colors are mango and magenta! We booked our DJ (Sound Illusion) and a steel drum band yesterday. I'm going with the IPod for the wedding ceremony which Kerry said can be plugged into the DJ's speakers because they'll be setting up during the ceremony. That made me think.. do I need to pay the $200/ hr for DJ set up and breakdown?? I have an email into Kerry to clarify this.

Aaron.. so nice to see you on the forum! Looking forward to working with you in May (and hopefully this summer!) Lynn

I'm going back and forth between Ipod and DJ. I'm worried that just having and Ipod won't give enough of a party atmosphere.. i'm not sure if any of my guests will volunteer as MC. This is a tough decision! Neha and Mastistyle.. let me know what you end up deciding on Neha.. regarding wedding time. After nylaphoto's comments about lighting, I'm thinking about pushing my ceremony time in May to 3:30 or 4 PM. I was originally thinking 4:30. You should find out what time the sun will be setting on the date of your wedding (I googled it).

Quote: Originally Posted by Mastistyle Un-bride-congrats! I have a question for any of you ladies using Sound Illusions (DJ). How much did they quote you per hour? They sent me something saying it was $220 an hour...but I thought I read somewhere it was lower... I was quoted $200/hr by both Kerry and Paul from Sound Illusions. I haven't booked them yet.. hopefully the prices haven't gone up since last month! Un- Bride- welcome and congrats!

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. The pictures are beautiful! Thanks for sharing! Claudette- good luck with everything. Can't wait to hear about your wedding!!

I seem to go in cycles of wedding planning! The past 2 weeks have been consumed with beginning the project of building our house! Too many projects!! Congrats on reserving your wedding and buying your dress Neha! With a 5 hour photo package you probably won't get pictures of you and your wedding party getting ready or if you have pictures of getting ready, you'll have less of the reception.. something to think about. We looked into Sungold and Saab.. I liked both but felt that their pricing was too expensive for the amount of coverage they provided. I tried to like the associates given the cost savings but they really didn't measure up. We ended up going with a photographer that we're flying in from VA. His name is Aaron Watson. His destination package includes an engagement photo shoot (we're going to have this done when he travels to the Boston area to visit his family), shooting the rehearsal dinner, full wedding day coverage and a TTD session the day after! We'll be paying about $1000 for his travel and lodging but then he gives back the amount we spend on his travel expenses as a full credit for buying prints and albums! It works out that it will cost us about the same as it would for one day Sungold or Saab coverage and we're getting so much more. Aaron Watson Photography - Destination Wedding Photographer

Big3n09.. thanks for checking into to the vendor price difference issue. Look forward to hearing what MDC has to say! I got an email from Paul from Sound Illusions (DJ) with his prices and they did match up to the prices that Kerry had sent.

Neha, We got our contract through email..I'm sure they'll send you one in the mail if you ask. You do lose 3% of your 20% deposit if MDC has to credit your credit card at the time of cancellation. You can avoid the 3% charge if you roll that deposit money over to any remaining room balances that you're not canceling and then have your guests reimburse you the money (if you're comfortable with this). Does this make sense or did I complicate things It is $115 per person plus tax and service charge (about 20%) for reception food and open bar. They have an extensive buffet menu to choose from and you can pay extra for certain foods such as lobster or filet mignon. I attached the menu (hopefully it attaches, if not feel free to send me a private message with your email address and I can send it to you.) Attachment 3471 WEDDING PACKAGES.doc

I recommend calling Kim or Miriam if you have concerns over the AI thing. Kim was helpful when I talked to her yesterday and reassured me that the prices I was originally quoted (the grand opening rates) won't change especially since we have a deposit on all the rooms. I'm not sure how it will work if you don't already have deposits on rooms.. but speak to them. They've been very reasonable and easy to work with from day 1, since we reserved our wedding date. As far as vendors, I do recommend reserving bigger things like the photographer and DJ/band as early as possible. I feel like I can wait on decor/ flowers (hope I'm not wrong on this!) I emailed the DJ Kim recommended (Sound Illusions).. curious to see if there is a price difference. Thanks for the info on keeping Jamaican currency in mind. Let's all stay calm!!

Quote: Originally Posted by tguerre We specifically put a line on our RSVP so we would know how many kids would be at the DW or hometown ceremony. Our caterer for the DW doesn't count kids ages 3-11 in the price. We also wanted to know for our hometown reception so we could plan the food accordingly. We are getting a jumper for the hometown wedding to keep the kids entertained. Should be a blast. Great idea for the RSVP card! I would like our Jamaican wedding to be adults only and then will welcome children at our back home reception. I've talked to my friends who have kids and they said they are not planning on bringing them to Jamaica but it sounds like you can never assume! I think it will be easy to specify/clarify this on the RSVP card if I use a similar format! Thanks!

I got a little worried when I heard about the resort potentially going all-inclusive.. wasn't sure how that was going to affect the pricing that we are already locked into for our block of rooms. I just talked to Kim this morning because we had to add a few more rooms to our block and I asked her about the all-inclusive thing. She said that they are currently working out the details which will apply to new bookings and that it won't affect anyone who is already booked but that Randy will work on pricing for those who are already booked if we do want to go AI. If we don't want to switch to AI, we don't have to. I tried asking about the ceremony and reception if it rains, but she deferred me to the wedding coordinators. I'm sure they will be able to work something out, but let's all pray for sun! I'll let you know if I hear anything else!

SSleenyc- I felt the same way about the sunset ceremony but the pictures after the ceremony should be great with sunset approaching. Sounds like ceremony an hour before sunset should work out great. Big3n09- I'll be sure to post any info about entertainment if I hear anything.. I sent back a ton of questions to Kerry yesterday and will be surprised if I get a fraction of the answers back at this point. I think you are smart not to make any contact with MDC this early on in the planning! Hopefully some of the other brides with weddings closer than ours can get that info

I forgot to ask... has anyone set times for the ceremony, cocktails and dinner? It looks like sunset is around 6:15-6:30 pm in May. I'm not sure if I have to decide this now but Kerry asked in her email today. I was thinking of having the ceremony at 5PM, cocktails from 5:30-6:30 and dinner around 7? Am I completely off?? Thanks!

Hello everyone!! It's been awhile since my last post.. I've had a crazy month! Back to wedding planning! I finally heard back from Kerry after sending her our marriage license application and answers to her initial questions about what I wanted for decor, budget, etc. I realized how long it had been about a week ago, emailed her again and then never heard back from her! I finally emailed Miriam last night and then I got an email from Kerry with our wedding outline today (it seems like she disregarded the initial email I sent with colors, style). Looking back thru recent posts on the forum, it looks like everyone has run into this issue! Sounds like everything works out in the end.. I have to keep remembering that my wedding is still 13 months away and everything will work out in the end! Sparkles... thanks so much for posting the pictures! It was a relief to see that the resort has come along and to get a better idea of the ceremony site and the reception area! Claudette.. your wedding is fast approaching..so exciting!! Lynn