justdeb1107

Quote: Originally Posted by emmie2008 you may want to see if you can specify a specific photographer. I agree with this 100%. Sulan did a good job, technically, but you could tell she was offended by stuff like my husband asking her to take shots of me where there was clear water in the background instead of a bunch of dark, ugly seaweed. The individual photographer is important. We just didn't know which one to ask for, which is why the boards are so important.

Quote: Originally Posted by Prettyhazardous Deb ur pics were great... Thanks, Ashley.

Quote: Originally Posted by kpuckrin Are you able to share how long your session was? I believe our coordinator is working with Blue Glass and I'd like to know whether or not we should book extra time with the photographer as we currently only have an hour. I think we did the $500 for one hour thing, which I believe was originally supposed to include 72 shots. However, we ran over a little on time and they sent us nearly 120 photos on the disc. They also did some artwork on some of the shots (i.e., making the whole thing black and white except the bouquet, etc.) without charging us extra. Even though the photographer they sent us (Sulan) was somewhat rigid about what we wanted shot, I was more than happy with the pictures they sent us and the quality of the photos. They were lovely! I would definitely recommend Blue Glass.

P.S. Lindquist Beach has no amenities, but it also has very few people/buildings. That was really important for the pictures. I highly recommend this lovely location.

We got our Blue Glass photos back this week. Here is a link if you are interested. I am SO GLAD I did TTD shots. They were our favorites! We didn't print anything from our actual ceremony, but did canvas prints of several of the casual beach shots. Make sure you have an idea of what you want to do. I got several good ones here on the board (reclining on the beach, the Corona shots, etc.). Also, our ship (the Glory) cleaned my dress when we got back and it was completely unharmed from our time in the water. Welcome to all the new ST brides. For some reason I hadn't been getting notifications of new messages for this thread, and I see we have lots of new brides. Best wishes to you all! Deb and Tom Wedding Photos

Quote: Originally Posted by emmie2008 Oh, and a few sips of champagne before the ceremony is also quite helpful! (I know people have mixed opinions on this..not suggesting you go down the "aisle' intoxicated, but I enjoyed toasting with my girls beforehand!!_ A single glass of wine would have been a tremendous help to my nerves that morning. lolol

Awww...I hate that you and your guests got rained on. When we pulled into port that morning it was raining and I started out stressing over that. I mean...from what I've read, it hardly EVER rains on STT. If it does, it normally lasts just a little while and clears up. Oh, well, glad you guys did okay despite the weather. I know it wasn't what you'd dreamed, but glad you made the best of it. Some of those canopies the coordinators offered were starting to look really good to us as we squinted during the whole ceremony. I never thought about that because everyone's pix don't come out that way. I think due to the storms we had strong wind. Some of the pictures look okay, but I (and my hubby) were pulling hair out of my mouth nearly the whole ceremony. hahaha

Quote: Originally Posted by Prettyhazardous I'm sure my wedding will go off w/o a hitch... and if not I'll just get drunk hahha. Now THAT'S funny! Maybe if I'd have had a glass of wine prior to the ceremony I wouldn't have been freaked out so much by our little "hitches!" lol

A bride's wedding day is going to be stressful, even if "escaping" to the islands to have the ceremony. You have to trust a lot when it comes to making arrangements from miles away. I want to make clear I wasn't trying to say anything overly negative about Island Bliss. The Scotts are a super nice couple. I do, however, want to be very honest and frank about our experience so others can make informed decisions about their big day. Cheers,

Quote: Originally Posted by Jessica I'm sorry your had some rough spots on your big day justdeb1107. I used Janelle and Scott when I got married 2 years ago and they amazingly followed every detail I had enviosioned and told them about perfectly. It sounds like they were maybe having an off day and I'm so sorry that affected you! I hope your pictures turn out nice and that you at least enjoyed your time on St. Thomas and the cruise in general. Thanks, Jessica. I don't know what happened. I'd read so many good things I was a little shocked by the end result. However, just like my DH said...regardless of the details, we accomplished what we set out to do. The real reason we were there was because we want to share our life together. Ultimately, the flavor of the wedding cake is trivial compared to that. We had a GREAT time on our trip and we have many, many happy memories of our cruise.

Quote: Originally Posted by CrystalM Wow I'm sorry you had a bad experience with Island Bliss Weddings. I haven't heard a single bad thing about them before this. I'm using them - al la carte style though...and I mirco-manage so my fiance and I are handling everything. Please don't get me wrong, we didn't necessarily have a bad experience. Fortunately, we are pretty laid back people and the little things didn't both us much. However, when you pay a hefty fee to use someone's service, you'd like them to get your details right. Our "just the two of us" wedding cost over $1,600. At that rate, you don't expect to make a pit stop at your minister's house because he forgot your custom vows. lol

I love your sig pic. Do you already have your Blue Glass proofs? We got married on the same day and I was told a month...

Well, ladies, we made it through our wedding in decent shape! lol There were several details that didn't go exactly as planned, but all in all it was a good trip. When our ship arrived in St. Thomas it was raining. An earlier ship bride's wedding that started in the morning got wet. I feel so badly for them. Ours was to start at 1 p.m. and the sun broke through just in time. There are clouds in our photos, but the water looked GREAT! Hmm...reviews. First, I got off the ship and went to Just Cuts salon near the dock to have my hair/make-up done by Carol Ann. Truthfully, it was a huge waste. We were on day 3 of our cruise, and by then (despite 18 proof sunscreen) my nose was a little sunburned. I could have handled that in about 3 seconds with my regular concealer/foundation, but for some reason it stumped her. Since I'd only brought mascara off the ship, I was stuck with a red nose. (( Also, I am blonde, and Carol Ann barely put any mascara on me. THANK GOD I'd carried mascara off the ship. If I hadn't, I'd have looked like I'd had my lashes singed off in a fire for our wedding/pictures. I am so grateful I was worried about her having waterproof mascara and took it with me. My hair looked okay, but all in all, I wish I'd have done my own make-up and hair, especially since Lindquist Beach had gale-force winds and my hair just looked like a wind-blown wreck regardless. I expected some wind, but not as much as there was!!! lol Stuart Scott (Janelle -Island Bliss- Scott's husband and our minister) was late picking us up from the hair salon because the new florist they were trying out for our wedding didn't have ANY of our flowers done a mere hour prior to our wedding time. He came 20 minutes late with just my hair orchid. I could tell he felt bad, but I was upset and stressed out already by the make-up/hair situation and wasn't all that happy when we were leaving without any of the flowers. (There is nothing worse than feeling like an ugly bride.) As we pulled out of the parking lot, we saw the florist walking down the road with my bouquet/flowers and grabbed them through the window. The flowers were lovely, even if they were purple (!) and white instead of the rose/ivory tones I'd requested. Stuart got us through the courthouse smoothly. When we got back in the car I asked him about the custom vows I'd sent Janelle. He didn't have them, so then we had to drive to their house so he could print them. I was getting upset by this time. Also, listening to your minister on his cell phone talking to a buddy about meeting him for a beer isn't conducive to a holy atmosphere. We arrived at Lindquist Beach and it was far, far more gorgeous than I'd imagined. There was hardly anyone there at all, and the few people were far down the beach. It was very private. I highly recommend this location to anyone who doesn't want a bunch of sunbathing tourists around. The cake looked like I wanted it to, but it was vanilla instead of chocolate, and the recorded wedding music I'd requested was absent. There was, however, a cute family of chickens that were running around. This tickled me for some reason. The photographer for Blue Glass (Sulan) was there when we arrived. The sun was glaring. Unfortunately, it hurt my eyes and I squinted the whole time. I'm scared about how our formal photos will look. The ceremony was nice, but all in all, it felt more like a photo shoot than the blessed occasion it was supposed to be. Halfway through, Tom and I just started to make the best of it and got the giggles. I think we were simply relieved that it was nearing to a close after the stressful morning. We took all the "traditional" shots, then wanted to do some other shots we'd planned, as well as TTD. Janelle brought two bottles of Corona we'd requested, and we asked Sulan about doing a shot of us looking out to the water with them. I'd seen this on the board and loved it. She seemed put out, wanted to do the shots her way, etc. She also seemed irritated when we wanted to get the TTD shots in an area of clear water a few feet down the beach instead of the current location with a bunch of seaweed floating offshore. Since we were paying her $500 for the one hour to shoot pictures, we weren't happy. I just hope they turn out well. She told us it would take a full month to get the images on disk. After the ceremony, Stuart drove us to Secret Harbor where we ate lunch seaside at the Blue Moon Cafe. The food was terrific (crab cakes and a Philly cheesesteak wrap). Even though our cake wasn't chocolate, it was delicious (VI Desserts, I think). Then we plopped down on the beach for a few hours, enjoying the peace. In one area, there was a small coral reef and I waded around watching parrot and angel fish, crabs, and even a small sting ray that swam by to check me out. All in all, at the end of the day, we'd accomplished what we'd set out to do...have a beach wedding at a lovely location. However, if you are someone who would like to have all the little details go exactly as you'd requested (iPod music, flavor of cake, custom vows ready when you arrive, correct color flowers) you might want to work with another planner, as nice as Janelle and Stuart seem to be. Just my .02. I hope this helped.

We leave on Friday, flying to Orlando first, then sailing on the Carnival Glory on Saturday. SO glad we didn't choose Mexico for our wedding. I've read a ton of swine flu horror stories on the May 2009 bride thread. I feel so sorry for them!!! I've been running around getting stuff together to leave, nearly pulling my hair out wondering if I will forget anything. FI is chilling out, having fun with his friends, being a sweetie, and basically living the "don't worry, be happy" motto. His cheerfulness, stress-free attitude is wonderful and contagious. I'm starting to calm down. Can't wait for the wedding on St. Thomas. Only 6 days now!!!

Quote: Originally Posted by missduckie Deb - we have the same wedding date on the same beach! What time is your ceremony at? I am a little worried at the fact it's a public beach but I feel assured that it will turn out great. Less than two weeks away!! Hi Vivian! That's neat we are getting married the same day on the same beach. Our ceremony will take place around 1 p.m. When is yours? I heard Lindquist is fairly off the beaten path, so it should be secluded. We won't take long, though. My FI and I will be the only ones there. I think our photo shoot will take much longer than the ceremony. BTW, we went with Blue Glass Photography. Saw their work all over the web and fell in love. I also want to do a TTD for part of it. Anyone else doing that? P.S. I am nervous and excited, too!