justgotengaged...nowwhat?

I had these same worries - I went down on a Thursday and got married on a Monday, and I also wore a strapless dress. So I only wore strapless bikinis until the wedding, and I stayed out of the sun a lot. I went tanning before the trip (I know, I know - BAD), and when I got down there, I tried to stay in the shade and I wore a TON of SPF30. You don't want to have a burn on your wedding day, or even a really dark tan. I have a friend whose friend got married in Jamaica - she had the worst tan lines with a strapless dress, it looked horrible in pictures. You don't want that! As for food, I tried to stick with chicken, rice, veg. - normal stuff I would eat at home. And drink PLENTY of bottled water! I only had a few alcoholic beverages leading up until the wedding day, but I still have a great time . Get lots of sleep - trust me, these things work. I still fully enjoyed myself with my guests while doing all of this. Also, I went to the gym or ran on the beach in the morning. This was a great stress reliever and it was so nice to be out on the beach in the early morning, plus it helped cause I knew I was still consuming more calories despite watching it. Even if it was just 30 min a day to myself, I squeezed in some exercise (after the wedding, forget it - I took the whole week off haha!). Have a great time and enjoy every second because it goes by so quickly! My best advice is to savor every wonderful moment and have tons of fun

You pay when you get down there We are using our CC. I am going to post a review when I return.

Hi everyone - quick question. I am leaving for the Majestic (yay!!) in a week. Back when I had Maritee, she quoted me at $50 per day pass (which I am fine with, we have DJ Mania as our DJ and I know he brings an assistant). Maritee, as you all know, is now gone. Today, I emailed the resort asking how I was to pay this fee and I mentioned the $50/person. Yadilis wrote me back and said its $100/pass. Has anyone else had a problem with this? I was prepared for $50/person and to be honest, I dont want to have to fight this when I get down there. We are already paying a lot for the presidential suite, open bar, buffet....you get my drift. If any of you ladies could let me know, I would greatly appreciate it!

I think no matter what - NO BRIDE should have to be too far from her own dress while flying, guard that thing with your life! My seamstress really knows her stuff, so I am confident she is going to pack it correctly(how, I have no idea - but I am going to sit back and let her do it!) However, now I am limited to what I can actually carry on in terms of other items. I did see a good tip from another bride on this forum - to pack your shoes with your carry on as well. I am basically bringing ALL of my bridal gear with me on the plane, can't be too careful.

My seamstress just did my final fitting the other day and she told me to bring my carry on with me when I pick up my dress in 3 weeks. She is going to roll it and put it in the carry on. Its a jim hjelm trumpet dress, not very big - so I was pretty pumped when she told me she would do that for me! There better be room in the overhead bins when I get on the plane or I am going to make a stink! I am also bringing with me a small steamer (like MDLady, I am a little nervous about having the resort steam it).

Hi everyone - just curious how long you girls have given your MOH's/BM to decide and tell you yes or no about coming to your wedding? This seems to be very common - important people backing out or treating you like the plague when they don't want to tell you they can't make it. What a shame! I suppose we have all gone through this. My fiance's best man is his cousin, and he has not booked yet (he lives in another state, far away). Our wedding is in April, the 26th. How long should I give him to book, before mentioning to my fiance to ask another of his friends to be his BM? My fiance is almost TOO nice and does not want to nag his cousin, but we are getting down to the wire here and I am getting anxious! He did tell us he ordered his passport, and we are going to help the BM and other groomsman with their wedding atire - but I think we should have a deadline to get a final answer from him. Thoughts?

Hi Karen! I actually just saw your pics on FB! They came out beautiful, congrats. Thanks so much for the info. I know I should be searching through the other threads on this site for ideas, so I appreciate your post. It's a little overwhelming for me right now! I have been just enjoying the engagement phase, now its crunch time.

Thanks Mexican Beach Bride! I appreciate the prompt response. Ok so my reception is at the Parrot Bar, so how many paper lanterns is enough? 5? 10? I do not have all of my rsvp's in, so I feel like I shouldnt be ordering sashes, table runners, etc until I have a firm head count. Also, what are you bringing for the tables? I plan on puchasing flower centerpieces, but I am thinking that might look too bare, and the tables will need something else? Sorry if these questions are redundant.

Hi everyone, I am a MC April bride, my wedding date is April 26th. I just emailed Maritee (Claudia?) so I am waiting for a response from her. She must be swamped with emails! Just a few questions: I am doing a symbolic ceremony, do I need to bring my marriage license with me for this?My fiance and I are going to a JP within the next month, so I am not sure if I will receive it in time. Also, what type of decorations does the resort provide for the reception? It is my understanding I have to bring most of the decorations. Are chair sashes provided, or table runners? I am trying to make a list. What about the paper lanterns I see in a lot of photos, do brides bring those? I am less than 4 months out and I suppose I have some decsions to make, I wonder if it's a bad thing I am not stressing over any of this!

Thank you all so much for your responses, I already feel better I have just been freaking out lately about this. I'm trying my best to make this easy for a lot of my friends - I chose not to have a big bridal party (just my sister and my FSL), mostly because I want my close gf's to come and enjoy themselves, but also because I know how expensive it is to be in a wedding. Trust me, a lot of my friends have actually appreciated this! Plus I want the wedding to be easy, ya know? Now I just have to cross my fingers that the girls I would have asked to be bm's actually come! I am sure people will start to book once the holidays have come and gone. My fiance and I normally go on vacation each spring, and we book around January - so I just have to be patient!

I agree, I would think it rude as well. I also agree that people have their own lives, and are ultimately going to spend their time/money doing what they want. I have read so many threads about this - people who say they are coming, then they don't come - only to redecorate their living room, go on another vacation, buy a boat...on and on and on! To be honest, I prefer 20-30 ppl tops, I want a small, intimate wedding. That way, I can spend time with everyone I just don't want to hound people about coming. I also know times are tough for a lot of people, so I am going to be understanding. I really appreciate the advice on when to send things out, because I have been kind of lost when it comes to this. Thank you all for your advice!

Thank you for replying Jessica, I feel better already! I also expect to have people who do not RSVP, what can you do though? I think I am driving my mother up the wall, thank god she is like my rock! I guess I just get very annoyed that nearly everyone is saying they are coming. I just want honesty, you know? I would rather people be upfront with me NOW, than tell me they are coming and then drop off the face of the earth right before the wedding.

Hi everyone, I have been a long time lurker on this board (I love reading all of the threads!). My fiance and I booked our wedding back in May, the date is April 26, 2010. Our STD's went out this summer - EVERYONE has known even before we booked that we are doing a destinaiton wedding. I included the TA's info, the date, the place, etc. It was a very basic but cute STD. My problem is, like so many women on this board, I have NO IDEA how many guests are coming. So far, my fiance and I are the only ones booked, along with my friend and her guest. We did not do a group rate - I do have a TA, but I am leaving this up to my guests to book - they can use the TA or book it themselves through Orbitz, etc. Everyone is an adult, I do not want to have to hold people's hands and harass them to book. We are 7 months out, should I be concerned about this? My mom and dad (who are booking next month) keep telling me to CHILL, that there is nothing I can do about this. I know Mom is right! I am sending out the invitations in the next few weeks, which will be great cause it's one less thing to do. I guess I just keep seeing brides on here whose wedding dates are after mine, and they have tons of people booked! Of course, I am with the majority of DW brides - everyone and their mother is telling me right now "oh my gosh we can't wait to be there, we are IN!". Yea well, thats nice of them to say...but I will believe it when I see them book. I know I am going to have dissapointments with this, I am bracing myself! Anyways, maybe someone on here can make me feel better about this. I know there will be some very close friends of mine who just can't swing it, but I just want some reassurance - I really don't want to have to be harassing people to book their trip. I am 30 years old, my fiance is 33 - we are all adults here, I don't want to babysit! I guess my question also is, if I send the invitations out in October, when should my RSVP date be? Should I also be asking my guests to book by a certain date? My parent's best friends, who are probably coming, are the type to book it last minute and do it on their own. So putting a deadline on there for booking might not be a good idea. Thoughts? Ok, there is my vent, thank you for listening!

Hi everyone, I am interested in DJ Mannia. Does anyone know what the day pass fee is for the Majestic Colonial? He told me he heard from another bride it is abotu $50 pp, I just want to verify before I book him!

Hi everyone! So I have a tentative date set and I am so excited! (April 26, 2010). I have a few questions, and I apologize if they have already been answered in this thread, if they are silly questions, or both...maybe some of you can help me: 1. My fiance emailed the WC back after she gave him a handful of dates, so we picked the 26th. How long do you normally have to wait for confirmation of your date? 2. Is there a deposit we have to put down? We would almost feel more comfortable putting down some money, but I thought I read somewhere that the Majestic does not require a deposit. 3. Do we need to be in the DR 3 days before the wedding? I keep reading in some places we do, and in others we don't. To be honest, I would feel better getting there several days before anyways. 4. We are having a symbolic ceremony. Who performs the ceremony, does the WC do this? Do we need to hire someone? 5. We are going to a JP before the wedding to officially get married. I read on the internet we have to bring our marriage license to the DR on our wedding day. Anyone have an idea how long the marriage license takes to obtain? If we are getting married in April, how far in advance do we need to officially seal the deal first so we have the proper paperwork in hand? Ok, I am done for now. If anyone could help, I would soooo apreciate it, thanks girlies!