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Quote: Originally Posted by Tonir Wow those are gorgeous! I would never know that you didn't splurge on these too. Very pretty! Thanks Tonir. The table flowers were extra cheap because they were re-used the next day for a local chamber of commerce banquet. That's another way for brides to save money - see if you can share the centerpiece flower cost with another event, since you likely aren't going to have any use for them after your wedding reception. Those flower varieties were extremely long lasting, even in heat.

My links aren't working in my previous post, so I'm posting again... Here is the boutonniere my husband wore [green cymbidium orchid with 2 small burgundy (?) dendrobium orchids and hypericum berries]: All bouquets lined up in florist's delivery box [bouquets were purple/fuchsia peonies and green cymbidium orchids; mine also had ivory roses]: Closeup of my bouquet:

I love idea #3 - different islands in the Keys, especially if many of your guests are driving down to Key West from Miami. They'll definitely remember a lot of the Key names from their drive. Such a cool, unique idea!

YES! I highly recommend wedding insurance!!!! See landwlkr's post for the reasons to choose wedding insurance instead of/in addition to travel insurance. The week before our wedding a hurricane (Hurricane Ida) was moving through the Gulf of Mexico and it was very uncertain where it would hit. The Florida Keys were definitely at risk. We were nervous wrecks! The one and only thing that gave us comfort was the fact that we purchased $25k in wedding insurance coverage through WedSafe. The hurricane didn't end up hitting the Florida Keys, so we were fine and everything went off without a hitch - weather was gorgeous and all of our vendors showed up and did an excellent job. BUT, I still am so glad we had wedding insurance for the peace of mind. Since our wedding was at a private estate we also got liability insurance (also through WedSafe). The fact is, fires and accidents occasionally do happen during wedding receptions. Liability insurance protects you just in case an accident happens and someone decides to sue you. Also make sure your vendors have liability insurance. We paid around $400 total for $25k in wedding insurance coverage and $1 million liability insurance coverage. Some of the best money we spent. Although insurance is a wise decision for any wedding, I see a lot of brides on this forum who are having their weddings in the Caribbean during hurricane season (generally June 1 - November 30th). I think it would be very, VERY unwise to not have some type of insurance if your tropical wedding falls between these dates.

Quote: Originally Posted by amzavala So, I have lots of dumb questions: Do you think a cocktail hour with hors d'oeuvres after the ceremony followed by a 3-hour reception is excessive? They offer a 1.5 hour reception or I could skip the cocktail hour. When does the champagne toast usually take place, during the reception or immediately after the ceremony? I'm attaching my DJ's reception planner. It might help some you brides since it has his timeline recommendations on cake cutting and other parts of the reception. We did a lot of customization for our wedding, however. We had the speech/champagne toast during dinner. First dance and mother/son dances were immediately after dinner. We didn't cut the cake until several hours into the dancing part of the reception. I definitely do not think a cocktail hour with 3-hour reception is excessive. Its what we initially planned, but we ended up paying our DJ to stay an additional 2 hours because everyone was having so much fun (so we ended up having a 6 hour reception + an after party). People who've traveled to a tropical location for a wedding will want to party for a LONG time! Reception Planner.doc

We did not do place cards for our 36 person wedding. We had a welcome cocktail party on Thursday and the rehearsal dinner on Friday, which everyone was invited to. By the time the wedding day (Saturday) came around, everyone knew each other and got along wonderfully. I honestly think our group would've laughed and ignored the place cards if I had used them. People were moving around from table to table and socializing all night anyway.

We didn't exchange gifts with each other, aside from our wedding bands. He covered most of our honeymoon, so after we got home I bought him a leather recliner He and our cat are very happy with it.

Here are a few of our tables just after set up. We had a glass hurricane with a candle in the center (florist provided) and three vases with flowers on each table. My MIL also brought little white pumpkins for the tables since we got married in November - she wanted to add a festive, seasonal element even though we got married in a tropical place. They were really cute Here is a detail shot of the flowers. We asked our florist to use inexpensive varieties for the tables (and splurged on the bouquet/boutonniere flowers since those were more important to me). I know the vases had green kermit mums, alstroemeria, and green hypericum berries.

Please don't. Asking your guests to pay $12 for transportation after they've spent many hundreds (or thousands?) of dollars to attend your wedding would appear very petty. $360 really isn't much in the grand scheme of a wedding budget and you are the host for the evening. If the per plate cost for dinner were just $12 more you'd pay it, right?

Quote: Originally Posted by Megan24 Thanks I might just have my Mom and Grandpa both walk me down the aisle. They both have played the most important roles in my life By the way I love the back of your dress it is so pretty!! Thank you Megan! I think it'd be really, really sweet if both your Mom and Grandpa walked you down the isle.

I was in the exact situation as you and my mom walked me down the isle. Everyone was really touched by it and my mom was SO happy that I asked her.

I think those pool fountains are really cool! I'd also add some lighted lily pads to float around the pool, like these: LED LilyLytes - Floating Lotus Lily Lights

Are you planning a dinner reception? I'd find it strange to cut and serve the cake before dinner. Also, is there a large gap between your planned ceremony end-time and the beginning of your reception. As a guest, I really prefer a smooth transition between ceremony to cocktail hour to reception. I think most weddings have a cocktail hour with appetizers between the ceremony and reception (or just cocktails). This is when the guests mingle and the couple can take photos. Our photos after the ceremony did not take long (25 minutes?) and we were eager to get back to our guests and enjoy some of the appetizers we'd paid for. You can also do your formal photos before the ceremony to save time. Immediately after the cocktail hour we did our grand entrance with our parents and bridal party and then dinner began. About midway through dinner the speech/toast began (we only had 1 speech). Then after dinner we had our first dance (we didn't cut the cake until very late in the evening). You could cut the cake immediately after everyone finishes dinner, then go into your first dance, and your photographer would then be free to leave after that. We had an outdoor reception at night without much lighting other than some string lights and candles and I don't think the professional photo quality was bad at all. Our photographer's assistant came prepared with lighting equipment that wasn't intrusive or too bright, but it got the job done.

I'll be honest - I think its difficult to request that your guests take time off work, travel to a destination of your choosing, book at a fairly expensive resort the week of your wedding, and then ask them to make themselves scarce for your honeymoon. I do absolutely understand your frustration and desire for privacy, but also think you could end up ruffling some feathers if you tell your guests to stay at the other 2 Sandals resorts. My suggestion would be to book your honeymoon at a completely different location in St. Lucia... I don't particularly find Sandals resorts very private anyway. Here are a few small, private St. Lucia resorts I'm dying to stay at: St Lucia Resort: Ladera West Indies Ti Kaye Village, Resort & Spa Cap Maison Luxury Villa Resort & Spa - St Lucia, Caribbean

I have never been there, however, you might want to take a look at the Trip Advisor reviews and pictures: Coconut Cove Resort and Marina (Islamorada, FL) - Small Hotel Reviews - TripAdvisor. Looks like there are a lot of wedding pictures. The Florida Keys forums on Trip Advisor are also very helpful and MUCH faster moving than here, with lots of local contributors.

Take a look at the monthly temperature and precipitation averages: Average Weather for Key West, FL - Temperature and Precipitation I also found Wunderground's trip planner very helpful when deciding on dates: Trip Planner : Weather Underground

Jcarvale - The property is called the Island Palms Estate. There is also a website exclusively for the estate so you can get more information: Island Palm Estates | Home. The pictures on that site are not completely up to date though. There is a new second pool in front of one of the houses and there is also new porch furniture. If you'd like to see pictures of our wedding weekend and the houses/setup, just PM me with your email address and I'll send you a link to my wedding album. We really loved Islamorada! Its such a nice, laid back, "Keysy" community with unique shops and restaurants as well as plenty of outdoor activities to keep guests entertained. Our vendors from Islamorada were also incredibly helpful and professional. Edit: I just also wanted to mention that we honeymooned in Key West after our wedding in Islamorada. We stayed at the Mermaid and the Alligator B&B (http://www.kwmermaid.com). We tend to like small "boutique" type places when we're vacationing so this was perfect for us... and it was also within easy walking distance to Duval and of all the action of Key West.

I got married in Islamorada in November. For us, it was the perfect option. At first we considered Key West, but that involved either a very expensive flight to Key West or flying into Miami and driving 4+ hours all the way down the Keys. Our guests loved Islamorada because its still in the Keys but only a 1.5 hour drive from Miami and 2 hours from Ft. Lauderdale. We ended up booking a private estate (2 beach houses) on the Atlantic side of Islamorada for 4 days. This estate provided lodging for 23 people and all of our events were at the estate. Our other guests stayed at a resort down the road called The Islander, which you might also want to add to your list of potential venues (also look into Pierre's restaurant, but I've heard they're on the the expensive side). If you're interested in booking a private beach house or estate, here are some links to real estate companies who manage properties in Islamorada. Vacation Rentals Florida Keys (this is who we booked through) Florida Keys Vacation Rentals | Imagine Rentals View Florida Keys real estate, Islamorada rentals & Key Largo rentals with Island Villa Some other resort/villa options: http://www.islanderfloridakeys.com/ The Moorings Village, Pearl of Florida Keys Resorts The Caribbean Resort, Islamorada, Florida: Sport Fishing and Diving Rental Homes and Villas Our caterer was by far our most helpful vendor - Florida Keys weddings & Islamorada wedding catering starts with Caribbean Catering. Debbie at Caribbean Catering can also help you with finding a location. For our wedding she handled SO MUCH - all of the rentals (tables chairs, etc), decor, set-up, coordination, and food. Another local Islamorada vendor I loved was our florist, Floral Fantasy Weddings Had I hired a local photographer, I would have absolutely booked Michelle Young (Endearing Studios Just another WordPress weblog). She is one of my favorite photographers and I often wish I'd coughed up the extra money to book her. She's worth it. You can also view my wedding page on Wedding Mapper for some more photos and you can see other couples' weddings in Islamorada on that site: http://www.weddingmapper.com/plan_we...amorada/0yi2as

I wore Comptoir Sud Pacifique Vanille Coco. Its wonderful! I haven't found I fragrance by Comptoir Sud Pacifique that I don't like - they smell like vacation (especially the Tahitian vanilla scents) and are never offensive to those sensitive to perfume. Some others I enjoy and wear regularly are Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue and Michael Kors.

Thanks everyone for the warm welcome!

Thank you Tonir! The bouquets were real flowers and smelled absolutely amazing. I really regret not having mine preserved immediately after the wedding, but I'm considering having an imitation made of fake flowers.

Hello All! I recently got married on November 14, 2009 in Islamorada, FL. While searching for a location, I considered the entire Florida Keys but ended up choosing Islamorada (upper Keys) because of the ease of travel from Miami and the selection of private beach houses that allow weddings. We honeymooned in Key West and loved it there as well. I'll be checking the Florida forum often to help my fellow Keys brides. Also feel free to PM me if you have a question. Here are a few pics from my wedding.

Thank you stina! $200 extra just for the rehearsal is absolutely ridiculous!!! Both Susan and Michelle's rates were virtually the same. I think Susan was maybe $25 more. Susan charged $150-175 for the actual ceremony (can't remember which) and to attend the rehearsal was $75 more, so around $250 total for both days. She required a $100 non-refundable deposit to reserve the dates. Just wanted to also add that for flowers I also hired Floral Fantasy, specifically Debbie. I'm not particularly excited by flowers usually, but Floral Fantasy totally blew my mind! I would absolutely recommend them... and I priced them out vs. buying the same variety of flowers online and DIY assembling and Floral Fantasy was cheaper. Here is a closeup of my bouquet - peonies, green cymbidium orchids and ivory roses.

stina - I just posted a reply in your Islamorada thread. Let me know if you have any other questions. Many of our wedding guests stayed at the Islander and absolutely loved it there.

stina, I just got married in Islamorada this past November at a private estate so I'm happy to share some of the vendors I contacted. For an officiant, I initially hired Susan Ashmore: Florida Keys Beach Weddings She was absolutely wonderful on the phone and she has a very warm personality that I loved. During my search for an officiant I also spoke with Michelle De La Torre: Weddings by Michelle - Wedding Planning and Packages As you can see Michelle's website is much more professional looking, but on a personal level I just didn't "click" with her at all. However, about two months before the wedding, my husband's stepmom became an ordained minister through the Universal Life Church to perform one of her friend's ceremonies. We asked her to do our wedding as well and she accepted. Having a relative as our officiant really added a level of intimacy that we loved. Susan Ashmore was completely understanding of the situation when we contacted her to cancel, so it worked out well. I had my hair, makeup and nails done at Blu Bamboo Salon: http://www.blubamboo.com Although the owner was a bit quirky and frazzled, all of the technicians and stylists were fantastic! Monica did an especially great job on my makeup. My needs for hair were very simple (just wavy and down), but Jaime did a very good job.