Britni

I am getting married there on April 7, 2010. It's a wonderful, relaxed resort. We have been there 3 times previously for vacation and it's where we got engaged. If you have any questions, please let me know!

Great thread! My FI and I are doing just the 2 of us as well, getting married on April 7, 2010 at Sandals Royal Caribbean in Jamaica (we've been there 3 times already for previous vacations). Luckily, I have always known I wanted this type of wedding, so my parents were prepped since I was much younger and they don't mind at all. FI's family was more surprised, but when I explained my reasons, they understood. We are also having an informal family BBQ when we return. Trouble is, we both have enormous families, so it is hard to keep it simple and small. We are thinking no children will help trim the numbers down so that we can still have it in our backyard. I just ordered my dress the other day. I was having the same troubles as a lot of people here- everything was too poofy or ornate for me. Finally, I found a wonderful small bridal boutique in NJ and the girl helping me suggested I order a bridesmaid's dress since they are simpler, and then just order it in white! I found the perfect dress, plus they have someone on staff who can add some custom bead work to it. So really it will be a unique, custom dress in the end. And the price.... $240 for the dress, plus maybe about another $100 for the alterations and beading. Can't beat that! Here's the link. Jasmine Bridal You can click the white color swatch to see it in white. Maybe you can find a retailer near you who sells Jasmine Bridal. I had considered ordering online from Nordstrom, etc, but getting to try it on is super helpful.

Hi! I found this bathing suit on Ebay and just got mine in the mail, and it is awesome! So I just thought I would pass along the link. It's such a cute "bride-looking" bathing suit to enjoy wearing during your DW week / honeymoon! 61021 Cute White Bandeau Pearl Pinup Bikini Swimsuit S - eBay (item 220422206659 end time Jun-25-09 08:21:58 PDT)

That's a great website! Thanks!

Thanks, all very helpful everyone!

Hi, I am getting married at SRC in April 2010, and I am in the process of picking my date and time. Any feedback on a certain time of day being better than another for the ceremony to take place? Would love to hear the pros and cons of morning vs afternoon vs sunset. I imagine we are able to pick our wedding time, right? Thanks!!

We did the zipline canopy tour last year (we stayed at Sandals Royal Caribbean). It was soooo fun! I would totally recommend it! The tour guides / guys who hooked you up on the ziplines we very funny and added to the fun times. There were a bunch of shorter lines, and then the final one was a HUGE one over a HUGE valley. The views were awesome and I have great memories from it. A few things to be prepared for: It is some hiking on some un-even terrain, so make sure to bring sneakers if you plan on doing this tour. You'll be the most comfortable. Also, plan to be gone most of the day. It takes awhile to get to the canopy tour place, plus our van stopped to pick up other people at other resorts (including non-sandals resorts), so it did feel like a long drive there. But you get to see another side of jamaica and our bus driver was great and gave us lots of interesting info about jamaica. I am really glad we did this tour/excursion!

Awesome! So helpful, thanks!!!!

I am having a private ceremony in Jamaica (just FI and I). We both have enormous families, but want a mellow ceremony, so having a big bash when we get back is kinda the best of both worlds for us. So since we don't need invites for the actual wedding, and just the AHR, what do I do in this situation as far as STDs? And then do I send a formal invitation as well? If so, when do I send these? If our wedding is in April '10 and the AHR is in May '10, what would the timing be if I needed to send both? Or is just the actual invite enough for the AHR?? Also, should I be sending a separate engagement announcement earlier? This is kinda a unique situation and any advice would be great! Thanks!

I am having a private ceremony in Jamaica (just FI and I). That said, do I send STDs for the large AHR we are having? And then a formal invitation? If so, when do I send these? If our wedding is in April '10 and the AHR is in May '10, what would the timing be if I needed to send both? Or is just the actual invite enough for the AHR?? Thanks!

I do not know the locations officially, only from what I have seen in past stays. You can have it on the beach, which is lovely. I have also seen a couple getting married on one of the piers under the gazebo-type things they have. This is probably a very pretty place as well, but it can get especially windy out there from what I could tell. There is also another area that is more of a "garden" with an open style gazebo which is very pretty with the natural flowers. If you want, I believe I have a photo of myself standing in that area, if that helps you get a better mental picture. PM your email and I can send it to you. Let me know if there's anything else I can help you with! Best, Britni

Here's my awesome monogram made by Rebecca: Thanks, Rebecca!!

Quote: Originally Posted by jennie We have finally.....woohoo!!!!..... chosen the Riu Tropical Bay to have our DW at and stay 1 week. When our guests leave, we will then change resorts for our honeymoon. My FI and I have finally narrowed it down between Sandals Ochos Rios and Sandals Royal Carribean Private Island. Does anyone have any suggestions from a recent stay in 2008 or 2009?? Thank You all in advance. I see you posted awhile ago, so perhaps you already made up your mind. But I just got back from my 3rd stay at Royal Caribbean. We will be getting married there next yr as well. We love it because it is very mellow there and the service is excellent. It's not as much of a "party" resort, like say Sandals MoBay, but we really like the laid back atmosphere. There is a french restaurant there we really enjoy, plus a great Thai restaurant on the private island. If you have more specific questions about that resort, I would be happy to help! Britni

I am glad to see other people doing this as well! I was wondering if my FI and I were the only ones! Our plan so far is this- We got engaged at SRC in Jamaica just a month ago, in April. It was our 3rd year back there, and since it is such a special place for just "us" we knew that was where we wanted to get married. I have always known planning a big wedding at home and spending a ton of money was not for me. I think having a private wedding will make us even more focused on what the day is about, and not trying to accommodate our families. We also have huge families, so an actual wedding would get huge and out of control fast! I am really getting even more excited about our private ceremony thanks to this thread!! Marriage is about 2 people committing their lives to each other I am also excited about our AHR we are planning. We have family in NJ, as well as all through New England. So I am hoping to rent a huge lakehouse in the Catskills. We will have it for a couple days prior to the party to prep, have the party on Sat for about 100 guests. Then maybe just our immediate families will spend the night and we can all have breakfast together the next morning. And hopefully if we can take the time off from work, (my FI and I own a magic and costume shop together www.thewonderfunshop.com) we can stay a couple days extra, just the two of us. So I say, go for it! I hope it turns out beautifully for you!

Great! Thanks so much, Jennifer!