Meitra

HMM 01282012, I got married at MDC last December, and I would 100% recommend having your reception at Annie's without the tent. There's something about the open air reception that is just magical! You can hang your shells and anything else you'd like in the covered portion of Annie's which also is your dance floor. Have Fun! Meitra

nope, sorry.

OMG I love love love your dress!

yep I was pretty bad about being last minute on my design ideas too, and they managed to do everything I asked I got my bouquet, Matron of Honor's bouquet, two flower girl head wreaths, 5 bouttoneires (spelling?), two pin on corsages, flowers for the aisle and chairs and all of my centerpieces from Floral Fantasies. Additionally, my MIL used them to decorate the tables for the rehearsal dinner as well and they turned out great too You can check out my photographer's blog for pictures http://www.norasweddingblog.com/?p=2300 And please post a comment if you go to her blog b/c if I get enough I get a credit towards ordering pictures form her Also let me knwo if you want to see anything specifically b/c I have a million more photos I can send you of any one of the items I'm sure!

Thanks Lisa! I can't remember what brand my shoes were, I got them at Nordstroms though And I love love loved them!

Thanks! It was at Moon Dance Cliffs and it was so fun! Our cake was chocolate with coconut cream filling and I had her use butter cream frosting instead of fondant on the outside. Hope that helps

It was yummy! If you go to my photographer's blog you can see pics from our wedding, including one close up of the cake. Just go to www.norabohanon.com and then click on the blog tab at the top of the webpage. Cherry's email is: [email protected]

Jacki7896, Yes, I used the steel band that MDC offered. I had them play for the ceremony and the cocktail hour. We were able to tell them what songs to play for everything, except one thing that Kerry didn't tell me about was that they would play a song in the middle of the ceremony while we signed the marriage license. So I didn't select a song for that and while we were signing our marriage license they played "I never want to dance again" by Wham! OMG, I was sitting there like "what are they honestly playing right now???" to my hubby as we signed our license... As for the songs we did pick, here they are: While Guests are being Seated: Wise Men Say, One Love While Parents are being Seated: My Way Groom and Best Man entrance: I’m Yours Matron of Honor/ring bearer/flower girls entrance: Canon in D Bride’s entrance: Here Comes the Bride Bride and Groom recessional: Hot Hot Hot Let me know if you have any other questions! Meitra

Hi all, I just wanted to post the link to my wedding photos by Nora Bohanon. She's from Chicago, but she gave us an amazing deal and flew all the way to Jamaica to shoot our wedding! Let me know if you have any questions and I'll be glad to answer them. Also, please post a comment on her blog if you like them b/c I get a discount on prints if we get 25 comments So thank you in advance! http://www.norasweddingblog.com/

Congrats on booking at MDC I just got married there and had no problems getting through customs at all. They just waved me on through.

Don't go to LTU Pub on the cliffs. We had been before and liked it but when we went with a big group it was a horrible experience. A 1 hour wait for drinks and 2 hours for food!

Opening words of Officiant: Officiant: “Friends, we have been invited here today to share with Meitra and Jason a very important moment in their lives. Since they met, their love and understanding of each other has grown and matured, and now they have decided to commit to one another to live their lives together as husband and wife.†The Giving in Marriage: Officiant: “Who presents this woman to be married to this man?†Father of the bride: “Her Mother and I do.†(Father of the bride sits down) DEFINITION OF MARRIAGE Officiant: “In marriage, two people turn to each other in search of a greater fulfillment than either can achieve alone. Marriage is a bold step, taken together, into an unknown future. It is risking who we are for the sake of who we can be. Only in giving ourselves fully, and sharing our lives with another, can the mysterious process of growth take place. Two among us, who have stood apart, come together now, to declare their love and to be united in marriage.†Declaration of Consent: Officiant: “The covenant of marriage can only be entered into by those persons who are legally and spiritually free to offer their hand to another. With this in mind, Meitra and Jason, I will now ask you to declare your intentions to each other. Jason, do you take Meitra to be your wedded wife? Do you promise to love her, comfort her, honor and respect her, and be faithful to her all the days of your life? Jason: “I do.†Officiant: “And, Meitra, do you take Jason to be your wedded husband? Do you promise to love him, comfort him, honor and respect him, and be faithful to him all the days of your life? Meitra:“I do.†Officiant: “Please face each other and join hands.†Opening reading: Officiant: “You have known each other from the first glance of acquaintance to this point of commitment. At some point, you decided to marry. From that moment of yes to this moment of yes, you have been making promises and agreements in an informal way. All those conversations that were held while riding in a car or over a meal or during long walks -- all those sentences that began with "When we're married" and continued with "I will and you will and we will" -- those late night talks that included "someday" and "somehow" and "maybe" -- and all those promises that are unspoken matters of the heart. All those common things, and more, are the real process of a wedding. The symbolic vows that you are about to make are a way of saying to one another, "you know all those things we've promised and hoped and dreamed -- well, I meant it all, every word." Look at one another and remember this moment in time. Before this moment you have been many things to one another -- acquaintance, friend, companion, and fiancé. Now you shall say a few words that take you across a threshold of life, and things will never quite be the same between you. For after these vows, you shall say to the world, this is my husband, this is my wife.†WEDDING VOWS Officiant: “Jason you may now recite your vows to Meitra.†(Jason recites his vows to Meitra) Officiant: “Meitra, you may recite your vows to Jason.†(Meitra recites her vows to Jason) Commitment of family and friends: Officiant: “Now that you have heard Meitra and Jason recite their marriage vows, do you, their family and friends, promise from this day forward, to encourage them and love them, and to help guide and support them in keeping the promises they have made?†If you agree, please say, “We do.†SECOND READING Officiant: “Happiness in marriage is not something that just happens; a good marriage must be created. And it is created in the following ways: It is never being too old to hold hands. It is remembering to say “I love you†at least once a day. It is at no time taking the other for granted. It is having a mutual sense of values and common objectives. It is standing together facing life. It is forming a circle of love that gathers in the whole family. It is doing things for each other not in the attitude of duty or sacrifice, but in the spirit of joy. It is speaking words of appreciation and demonstrating gratitude. It is not looking for perfection in each other. It is cultivating flexibility, patience, understanding, and a sense of humor. It is having the capacity to forgive and forget. It is giving each other an atmosphere in which each can grow. It is a common search for the good and the beautiful. It is establishing a relationship in which independence is equal, dependence is mutual, and obligation is reciprocal. It is not only marrying the right partner, it is being the right partner.†EXCHANGE OF RINGS Officiant: “Do you have the rings?†Officiant: “Jason, please place the ring on Meitra’s finger and repeat after me: Meitra; With this ring I thee wed. I pledge to you my love now and forever.†Officiant: “Meitra, please place the ring on Jason’s finger and repeat after me: Jason; With this ring I thee wed. I pledge to you my love now and forever.†CLOSING Officiant: “Today is a day you will always remember -- the greatest in anyone's life. You started off the day just two people in love, and you will end it as husband and wife. It's a brand new beginning, the start of a journey, with moments to cherish and treasure. DECLARATION OF MARRIAGE Officiant: “Meitra and Jason, having witnessed your vows for marriage with all who are assembled here, and by the authority vested in me, I now pronounce you to be husband and wife! You may kiss your bride." INTRODUCTION OF NEWLYWEDS Officiant: “Family and friends, it is my pleasure to introduce to you for the first time, Mr. and Mrs. Jason Shepherd†(The guests stand and applaud, as the couple then lead the recessional out.)

I’m back and I’m married! Let me start by saying I had the most perfect wedding ever and that it was seriously “the best time ever!†to quote a friend of mine at the wedding But here’s my more detailed review: At the airport we had a hard time finding the Moon Dance shuttle driver. There was no one holding a sign, so one of the local tour drivers there called Moon Dance for us and found out driver waiting in the parking lot. He was very helpful so of course we tipped him. Maybe we were a little early, I’m not sure. So don’t be afraid to ask one of the other tour drivers to help you find the Moon Dance driver – you may have to. The drive itself was just fine, and when we got to Moon Dance we were greeted by the staff and they had welcome drinks ready for us. Very nice! They immediately took our bags and helped us all check in. Moon Dance Cliffs: It was pretty much exactly as I expected from the photographs. Very pretty. We had a group of 40 people so we pretty much had the whole place to ourselves. The staff was extremely friendly and helpful and knew everyone’s names. They have hairdryers in the rooms, but no iron or ironing boards. You have to send things out to be pressed if you need something ironed. The villas don’t have closets, but they have armoires with a hanging section in them. They have shampoo, soap, and shower gel, but no conditioner (so don’t forget your own J) Oh and I highly recommend drinking a dirty banana! Sooo yummy Sea Wind Resort: We had a welcome dinner here on Thursday night and it was so much fun! It’s on the beach and they had a bonfire for us and I hired a reggae band through them as well. Everyone was up and dancing and it was just a great time! They even had African drummers play for us as a surprise. They were really great to work with leading up to the event and I contracted the transportation through them as well. I highly recommend them for a beach dinner. PushCart: We had our rehearsal dinner here on Friday night and they were also wonderful. My MIL planned it all, but I was frequently copied on her emails. She is very detail oriented and they were really good about responding to all of her questions. She hired Floral Fantasies to do the table decorations and they were very pretty. We shut the place down for our party and hired a mento band. The mento band was late, but they did play for the full two hours that we hired them for. I wasn’t really drinking this night, but I heard from everyone that the drinks were good and strong J The food was good, and I highly recommend the seafood frittaz as an appetizer if you go – they were delicious! We had our tables set up outside for dinner and it started raining at that time – they were so fast and picked everything up and moved it under the covered portion within minutes! Great service Other restaurants: We went to dinner at Ivan’s at Catcha Falling Star one night with a group of about 22 people. It was absolutely delicious and the restraint was really pretty overlooking the cliffs. DH and a friend went to Three Dives for some jerk one afternoon and absolutely loved it as well. They said it was the best jerk they had. But keep in mind that it is not a fancy place at all, more of a roadside feel to it. The last night there we went to LTU Pub with a group of about 22 again. Unfortunately we had a bad experience there. They were not equipped at all to handle that many people at once and we waited 2.5 hours for our dinner and 1 hour to get our drinks… I thought the food was good once we got it, but one of my friends got food poisoning that night The wedding!! Like I said it all went perfectly! I did my hair trial a few days before the wedding day. I showed him a few pictures and he got it just right! So the day of the wedding it only took about 45 minutes for him to do my hair. One of my friends did my make-up. She and I went to several different makeup counters and did a few trials at home and then wrote out everything we used so we wouldn’t forget. She did an amazing job and I loved my makeup! Throughout it all Kerry was coordinating everything so that it all went perfectly. The steel pan band was good from what I remember, although I was kinda distracted by the wedding ya know We met with the officiant the day before the ceremony. We wrote the ceremony for him to use and then we also wrote personal vows. I used Floral Fantasies for our flowers and the reception centerpieces. The bouquets were pretty much what I asked for as were the centerpieces, so I think she did a good job. We had hanging orchids around the gazebo, which were really pretty! But in the wind the kept blowing up onto the groom during the ceremony. So I would recommend weighting them down with a crystal or something so that they don’t start flying during your ceremony J I would also recommend that you make sure you have a lot of candles on your dining tables for lighting while you eat dinner. Some of our candles blew out in the wind and then it was hard to see what you were eating. But the setup really was beautiful! I used Cherry to do my wedding cake, mostly b/c she was $100 cheaper that Margaret Myrie. The cake looked similar to what I asked, and it tasted pretty good too. We had a chocolate cake with coconut cream filling and a buttercream frosting. It didn’t melt at all btw. We used Kevan Stewart (DJ Vaun) as our DJ. He met with us the day before the wedding as well and went over what music we wanted for each special dance and then what type of music we wanted for dinner and what type for dancing. He also asked if it would be okay to take requests or not from our guests and then he also let us know that he could download any song that people might request within a few minutes b/c MDC has wifi – really cool! He got a good vibe for our group and our group was dancing the entire night – it was soooo much fun! No one wanted the dancing to end. He also went above and beyond in my book because he got there really early the day of the wedding to let us use his pa system for the wedding ceremony and also to let the videographer tap into his mic feed if she needed too. I used Donnette Peterson from Exotic Dream Weddings as our videographer. She was really nice to work with and very reasonably priced. I haven’t seen the video yet, so I can’t comment on the product yet. The food was really good, but the one thing that I heard raves about was the potatoes au gratin, everyone went back for seconds of those! I really felt like I had the most perfect wedding ever! I couldn’t believe how beautifully it all came together and how much fun we all had. Please ask any questions you want and I’ll do my best to answer them, b/c I know how invaluable it is to talk to someone who’s been there. Happy planning to all of you and just know that you will absolutely have your dream wedding at MDC

OMG I leave tomorrow morning at the crack of dawn for my wedding in Jamaica!!!!! I am so trying to stay calm, but am really tense about making sure I don't forget everything and that it all goes wonderfully! AGGH! I really can't belive it's finally here!

I was told that she does the cakes for Riu Negril. Her name is Novia Reid, but she goes by Cherry.