ms.nadia

Welcome!! FYI, JFK has $99/each way flights to Montego Bay, Jamaica. That's where our wedding is (largely for that reason)! We live in queens. Good luck!

Nice to hear other brides coming at it from this perspective. I think if your DW is in the Caribbean especially, this attitude is more compatible with the atmosphere

IMO, you need a third option -- a blend between the two. One is too busy, 2 doesn't have enough color! I def. think you're on the right track though. The shells and palm trees are beautiful. Good luck!

Quote: Originally Posted by Sparkles8300 We also went ahead and did our legal ceremony back in January of 2009 and our wedding is December 2009, so it will be almost one year to the day since we had our first "legal" wedding. Nobody knows about us being married except for one of my bridesmaids (my best friend) and my FIs business partner. I had gotten laid off right about the time we got engaged and I really needed health insurance so we figured we would just get married in the courthouse sooner since we planned to do it before we left for Jamaica anyway. It did not feel like a real wedding at all and we do not consider ourselfs to have a had a wedding yet. The real wedding will be Dec 4, 2009! Ohhh, Leslie! I'm so glad you posted! I was starting to think that we're the only couple in the world that's secretly married and planning a wedding but I feel like we're on more solid ground now! Congrats!

Hi, all. Catching up with this thread a little late -- I'm most likely having my wedding at Rose Hall resort as well. I have just started emailing with the WC, Natalie about reception pricing. It seems information about that is hard to come by. If anyone would like to share, I'd really appreciate it: ms dot nadia dot taha at gmail And congrats to Jaime -- next stop on the board is to check if you posted a review or photos anywhere. Erica, you must have had your wedding by now, no? I hope it was everything you hoped for. Searching for a review from you, also. Good luck to all, and I'll check back here. I'd like to have a regularly running thread for us RHRS brides.

Thanks, everyone, for the reality check and suggestions. We finally picked the one weekend -- one! -- during all of next summer that works (last wknd in July) for our immediate families. So far no complaints about that date, and even one cheer, from a cousin who is a teacher. Now, on to deal with every other insane element of trying to pull this off!

Hi, I'm Nadia. We haven't booked yet (almost!) but we're looking at 7/24/10 at Rose Hall Resort & Spa. I haven't seen many on this forum who are planning for the same location. I hope that just means I'm not very attentive!

Did anyone else have this problem? We have not picked a location or a date, just aiming for the Caribbean some time between spring and fall semesters next year. Working backward, late August, my fiance goes back to school. Early and mid August are out for my family because of religious holidays (they are observant, no getting around it). Today my FMIL calls me in a panic saying her husband, my FFIL, cannot do any of June or July, and my FSIL's graduation is mid-May. What's a DW couple to do?? How much lead time can you give people?? How is a year not enough?

JerseyKitten, Two things: one, I'm really sorry that you're going through this. That really, really sucks. The other thing is that I want to thank you and the other posters for sharing your experience with guests not coming. As someone who hasn't set a date/location or sent out invites yet, it's a good cautionary tale for me -- a reminder that you can please only some of the people some of the time.

We dated for about four and a half years before we got engaged. It'll be like 6.5 by the time we get around to throwing this wedding. A long time, but not unlike other posters.

We are going to have to deal with this eventually. We are having our wedding ceremony in summer 2010 in the Caribbean. But, unbeknownst to our family, we have been married since October 2008! My only idea so far will be to say that the marriage requirements abroad are too stringent and that we decided to do a legal ceremony at city hall immediately before we left. I think those who ask will understand that sort of thing, a formality, cannot be anywhere near as meaningful to us as vows made before our family and friends, and therefore won't feel like they missed out on something good.

I went to Ocho Rios in late September one year and it was absolutely fine. It rained a little every day but it was nice because it wasn't oppressively hot like the Caribbean can be sometimes. I would be surprised if you had any troubles. Good luck!

I want to second what JCruz said. I think it is definitely doable, especially if you are willing to adjust what time you of year your wedding is. I did 5 nights at a Sandals in Jamaica with direct flights from NYC in 2007 for just under $2300 total. So for four nights you should certainly be able to pull it off. Good luck!

Thanks for the warm welcome, everyone! I'm so glad to see that brides and grooms and vendors all come together and make this work. It's a reminder that it can be done, this is not an impossible task I'm undertaking. Thanks for the inspiration to everyone on the board!

Hi, everyone. My name is Nadia and I'm from New York. My fiance and I have always wanted a destination wedding but explored local options and finally came back around full circle and have made up our minds about this! Now we just have to decide where. And when. We're aiming for May/June/July 2010 and looking for an all-inclusive that allows children on an island that has direct flights from Newark. We're anticipating at least 30 guests but probably more like 40 or 50. I was feeling overwhelmed last night so when I found this board I emailed Tammy and am looking forward to having help from her or one of her TAs. I'm so glad I found this board!