L&J

2 weeks to go and I had someone RSVP yes yesterday - 1 month after RSVP's were do. You never know what guests will do!

The only info on our STD was our names, date, Jamaica, and our website. We had resort info on our website but if you don't have the info yet it should be fine.

we put our website on our STD's and our invitations. That said, I don't think a lot of our guests actually went to the website because they keep calling me with questions that are all answered on it. Very frustrating because we put a lot of work into the website!

I love everything. Can I ask if they were very expensive to mail?

Numbering them in Spanish is a great idea!

We are doing a fingerprint tree. I just ordered this one from Etsy!

I just posted about this on the AHR board. We had 28 people at a long table and I did not assign seats. It was working out okay until my dad decided he wanted his friends to sit next to him and the way other people already sat didn't leave room for one couple. I needed to ask everyone on one side of the table to move down. In the end, it wasn't a big deal and no one really minded moving but I probably would have assigned seats if I had to do it again to avoid any issues.

I would also say nay but you should go with your gut and if you feel its the right decision then bring him with you.

If you have an aisle runner, I would make sure you have something pretty to hold it down. I was at a wedding where it was very windy and the resort poured sand lumps every 2 feet down the runner to stop it from blowing away. It was not pretty!

We aren't doing one but here's a good link http://www.negrilonestop.com/tours_catamaran.shtml

I thought the bags from Cheaptotes were the perfect size for us and are exactly as they are pictured on the website. The only minor thing thing I could say is I wish the handles were maybe 1 or 2 inches longer so they fit a little better if you put them over your shoulder. That said, I thought they were great for the price and the only reason I'm selling the ones I have is my FMIL went out and bought much more expensive bags that we are using instead.

Hi VCwedding 2011, I have 20 of the same totes from cheaptotes.com for sale and I'm in NYC. Let me know if you are interested! I'll sell them for $15.

I'm ordering the small glowing orbs from Save On Crafts. They are easy to transport and you can change the colors. http://www.save-on-crafts.com/smallorbs.html

We invited 70. About 50 said they were coming. Our final count is 34 (with still 2 undecided 3 weeks before the wedding!) It's costing our guests about $1k-$1500 including air and hotel.

I'd say the lawyer and VISA fees totaled a little over $3k. The whole process was more complicated than I expected and I would recommend a lawyer if you can afford one. There are a few online forums with good advice from people applying on their own if you decide to go that route. It sounds like France is much easier and if you'd like to live there for a while, it's probably the best decision to marry there. Who wouldn't want to live in France!?

If we wanted to tip, is there a certain % of the wedding costs that is expected or could we just do something like $100?

I'm not sure about France but if they wanted to live together in the US and had a legal wedding in the caribbean, her husband would not be allowed into the country on a marriage VISA until all their paperwork was approved. I've heard this could take up to a year. They should get legally married in whatever country they plan to live in to avoid any legal issues. They could have a ceremony in the caribbean but not have it be legal.

Great job and very creative! It looks like you put A LOT of work into those. Will your invite continue the travel theme?

We decided to go the Ipod & bose route. I'd rather spend $500 and have the bose system to use for years after.

I ordered 20 natural bags from cheaptotes.com and am very happy with the price and quality. I agree with Aumuller. Your male guests would probably be more likely to reuse the bags if they aren't pink! I think natural with a pink logo could look very pretty.

We are also doing 1 per couple and one per single person.

Everyone's situation is different so only you will know what the right steps are for you and your FI. My husband moved to the US from South Africa and we found it easiest to get married at city hall. It took almost 6 months to get his VISA sorted out and the US VISA process is expensive and stressful. Now that we are settled, we are having a wedding to celebrate our marriage with family and friends. Everyone is just as excited for us and we don't have the stress or extra money concerns since we are done with the VISA process. My roommate from college married a man and moved to the UK to be with him. They went the same route and have put off a wedding until the are completely settled. I don't know about the French VISA process but consider that planning a wedding while dealing with moving countries, one of you possibily not working for an extended period of time and the stress of the VISA process could be a lot to deal with at once.

Thanks so much for the suggestions!

Quick update. Our AHR brunch was yesterday and everything was amazing! Not assigning seats worked out fine, however, I did need to ask a few people to move down a few seats so some guests that were friends could sit together. If I had to do it over, I probably would have assigned seats just to make it easier for everyone.

Wendyjd. Thanks for the weather update. I was in negril a few years ago in Aug and it rained almost every day but it was usually a short shower in the late afternoon. It was acutally pretty nice. The rain cooled everything down. We'd go in for a drink and the storm would usually be over within 30 minutes and we'd still have time to go back out and enjoy the sun before the sunset.