goodtoglow

If you feel it is right, and he wants to go, then do it! My fiance would be bored to tears if I brought him along.... although I did quickly show him a picture of a potential dress and he lit up when he saw it... then did the classic "It doesn't matter what you are wearing, I know you will look beautiful and trust your pick" Phewph!

I'm going to wear nice sparkly flip flops (Aldo has great selections) for the ceremony and put on killer high heels for the reception and pictures! I'm thinking sparkly/glitter pink open toes!

Those are great! Classy, elegant, and perfect for a Rome wedding!

I have been to them all, LOL.... Bello - Service wasn't great. They helped with getting the dresses on but seemed very rushed and offered no help or suggestions. I did find a dress there that I liked - the lady helping me said they would give me a discount for ordering so early (this was in July - my wedding isn't until Nov 11). I went back there with my bridesmaids and a new lady was helping - she completely denied this being possible. Luckily I started having second thoughts and decided not to go with this dress. Lisa's - Service was fine. Good selection. The lady was VERY rude to my friend who had her phone out to text her boyfriend about being late for their dinner plans. She told my friend she had to put her phone away because no pictures were allowed. My friend turned the phone around to show her that she was sending a text message but the lady was so rude despite that. It completely sourced the experience and I actually took off the dress and left - she was THAT rude. Bryan's - The first place I went. No complaints! Good prices, cheaper dresses than the other places, plenty of selection, and good service. Mallory helped me. Sposa New West - GREAT experience! The lady was very helpful, gave us great opinions and suggestions, and not pushy at all. They had many discounted dresses as well as newer dresses. I found the prices to be $1000+ Sposa Couture - THE BEST EXPERIENCE!!! Rita helped me out, and I actually had an appointment back to back with a girlfriend who is also engaged. They do not have the largest selection (lots of Enzoani), but that didn't matter to either me or my girlfriend because we both found "the" dress here. Dresses are $1500-$3000.... which is why I haven't purchased mine yet - I'm having trouble telling myself it is okay to spend $2900 including tax on my dress! There was also a dress at Sposa New West that I loved - and Rita said that they could bring either dress to whatever location is more convienent for me so I could try them on back to back. I am going to take her up on that offer! Just like the lady at Sposa New West (I think they are sisters, and the lady in NW is the owner) Rita was super helpful, not pushy, and gave me valid opinions that I appreciated and wasn't overwhelmed or insulted by. My friend and I both said we would have a hard time buying knockoff dresses because of how amazing Rita was. My friend has already purchased her dress, actually!!!

They are both stunning on you - but I love the shape that Brianna gives you, and the neckline is so flattering! You look like a million bucks in it!

Awesome, awesome news Ginger!!! Can't wait to see pictures!

They will send fabric samples? Thats good to know.... do you have to pay for the sample?

Thanks for all of the insight regarding boning, everyone! Like many of you have said, it is worth ordering the dress and if it doesn't turn out quite like I hope it will be perfect for Trash the Dress! Does anyone know if you can pay more for higher quality fabric? My dress is french taffetta and I would love to have something similar. Karen that dress looks great!!!

I'm here! November 1, 2011. Ship leaves Miami October 29 2011 and we will be married in St Thomas! I'm so excited - almost at the one year mark. Carnival has been great so far!

Why would you feel bad for choosing a cruise? I know people can be opinionated on whether they like to cruise or not, but all of our guests (82 and counting) have been very receptive of us choosing a cruise. What better time to try out cruising, than when they will be surrounded by family and friends?! A few people have chosen not to come because they don't prefer to travel via ship, but the number has been pretty low (under 5) and we only found out through word of mouth, they didn't actually tell us that is why they are not coming. Ochos Rios is beautiful, we stopped there in October 2008 on a cruise. There were two negatives (amongst many, many positives): we noticed there was a strong sewage smell in the area around the cruise port (could have just been the winds the day we were there. I recall being told that the sewage plant was nearby, though). Also, the driver of the ATV tour we did accompanied us to a grocery store to pick up Blue Mountain Coffee and we did feel uneasy being there around the locals. I was getting a lot of stares and a few guys made comments to me. Not sure I would have been okay had the driver not been with us. However we loved every other aspect of Ochos. My fiances cousin is honeymooning there in May. My friends went there this past year and loved the resort they stayed at. I've only heard good things from coworkers who have gone! Start by finding a coordinator in Jamaica. They should include everything you need in their package - ceremony site fees. officiant, flowers, transportation. Other things are add ons (champagne after the ceremony, decorated aisle, chairs, reception food). However I would recommend just letting everyone do their own thing after the ceremony (give them a timeline well before the cruise of how much time they will need to set aside for the ceremony, so they can plan activities afterwards, or organize a group activity for after ie. Dunns Falls). Then have your reception aboard the ship (rent the Steakhouse!). This is what we are doing. It allows our guests to enjoy St Thomas and get in some beach time and snorkelling (we arrive at 9am - ceremony at 10:30am and we will pay for transport to the beach - then everyone can plan their own activities until they need to be back on the ship for 6pm - and the Steakhouse seatings begin at 7pm) Good luck!!!! I think your wedding will be great!

Janelle from Island Bliss Weddings? I have booked her and she is absolutely fabulous. She is a great communicator, always replying to me within 24 hours (even before I booked her and had a million questions). Her attention to detail and pleasant demeanor make me feel as though I am her only bride, even though I know she probably has hundreds of bookings right now! You can't beat her prices either. I would email Janelle as well as DestinationWeddings.com and compare their prices and responsiveness, and see who you connect with more, even if it is only via email. You will be pleased you chose St. Thomas (if you end up choosing it 100%). I've been there twice and wouldn't have picked anywhere else. It is stunning, fabulous weather, great locals, and true paradise. We love the Virgin Islands so much that after our wedding cruise ends we will be heading back there for our honeymoon (splitting our time in between St Thomas, St John & Tortola -> another place that is heaven on earth). Your guests will be thankful you chose St Thomas too! Good luck!

I completely agree with what you said, Prettypigpig - I definitely don't want to pay the $2450 + tax for the Enzoani dress (Esme) I have fallen in love with.... but my worry is that a knock off dress will lack the boning and structure that the Enzoani has, which is why I love the designer dress so much... Does anyone have experience with having a knock off made when the original had lots of boning and structure? How did the knock off compare?

I don't think it is "tacky" but I do agree with those who say that they would find it very odd to receive an invite to a potluck reception..... I don't plan on having a potluck reception, but I am going to ask close family and friends to help us out by making some things. CLOSE family and friends, ie. parents, siblings, my aunts and the bridal party. My mom and I will likely make the majority of the things the week leading up to it, but having my bridesmaid bring her signature dip, my FMIL bring her famous casear salad, my aunt make her cheese ball, and my other aunt bake some delicious sweets would mean the world to us, not to mention no party is complete without those items! I definitely will not be asking "regular" guests to bring things though.

I think we will be doing the same thing, except our donation will go to Canadian Cancer Society and Crossroads Hospice in Port Moody. I've asked a lot of our friends what they think about favors and they all said that so many people will forget them and to not bother doing them. A donation to these charities has so much value to us so that is what we are doing! I'm not sure if we are doing OOT bags, because everyone is going to be bringing what they need anyway. I may do something small along with the welcome letter (hand sanitizer, advil for the hangover)!

Thanks for everyones thoughts! I'm back at square one  Perhaps I will do as many chairs as we can fit. My other thought was putting blankets and pillows down on the sand for those that wanted to sit.  Cougs, there should definitely be enough room for people to stand as they can stand wider and form a U shape around us. I've looked at many pictures of the beach from all different angles and if they stand in a U formation everyone should be able to have a good view of us.  Tiseege, I will contact Tammy B, thanks for the thoughts!

Thanks everyone for the input! I will arrange the timing so that they don't have to stand too long before the ceremony. At this point there isn't anyone coming who would be unable to stand for the short length of the ceremony, but just in case I'm sure I could have some chairs at the back (I have also seen pictures of the ceremony location and there are picnic tables in the back which would work).

Those pictures are so gorgeous! Wow, wow, wow!

Congratulations! I'm glad you enjoyed your cruise and happy to hear you loved your photos!!

Your pictures are just beautiful! You used the ships photographer?

We have prebooked the Oasis Cabana in Half Moon Cay for our friends, and we plan on doing some theme nights as well, but I don't think we will have any other group things booked. We are going to tell everyone what we plan on doing and if they want to do it as well they can. I'm hoping to have the 1.5hr cocktail reception (going to try to pay more to extend it) on either the first day or the last day as either a welcome or a goodbye celebration. Great idea on having a goodbye breakfast on the last full day, I think I will definitely be looking into that!

Love this!!!

Michael you are right, there is SO much potential for amazing pictures to be taken on board the ship. I would LOVE to bring my own photographer from home.... but with the cost of flight, cruise, AND photography, it would probably cost me $6000+!!! So, on-island photographer it is and some friends will take pictures onboard the ship. Â Â Quote: Originally Posted by michaelwachniak I worked Jan 2006 to April 2007 as a Photographer on a major cruise line... I can honestly tell you this: Bring your own photographer. There are so many positive aspects of using the cruise ship photographer, but in the end (at least for this situation) they are very limited (time, locations, etc). When I shot my only wedding as a cruise ship photographer, I was only allowed (as per the wedding package) to shoot the ceremony, 1 hour of formal photos (on the ship only, as we were at sea, but i dont think i would have gotten off if we were docked), and then 3 photos in the steakhouse at night when they were having dinner (oh ya and 1 with their wedding cake after the steakhouse). Then there are the packages... X number of dollars gets you the 'coverage only' then you pay for the photos you want and the remaining ones literally get 'recycled' at the end of the cruise... I would give anything to be a REAL wedding photographer on a cruise, there is so much potential! In the end, I really do think people would be much happier with a full time wedding photographer. Having said that, most of the photographers on the ships have some insane talent and would knock your socks off... its just the packages and policies that diminish the WOW factor. Thats my 2 CDN cents! If anyone has any cruise ship related questions, please don't hesitate to ask away! I am more than happy to help out! Besides, it gives the ol' nostalgia a kickstart Michael

Oooh I can't wait to see them!!!!

Hello all! Â I'm looking for your opinions on having guests standing during our ceremony. The beach we picked (Lindquist Beach in St Thomas, USVI) really only fits 40 chairs. We absolutely love the beach and are not willing to switch. We anticipated around 50 guests coming, with 15 including us making up our wedding party, so 40 chairs would have been adequate. We now have 87 people booked and counting!!! Super exciting, but we definitely didn't expect so many people to come! Â If we had a few friends get to the ceremony site before everyone else and co-ordinate with our wedding planner, to space everyone out so they would have a good view of us, do you think it would be okay to not have any chairs? The ceremony would probably be 10-15 minutes, and we have no one coming of ill health (and we could possibly have a few chairs hidden on hand in case someone does fall ill prior to the cruise but they still want to come). Â Thoughts?? Thanks!!

I used a friend's mom who works for Expedia CruiseShip Centers. I'm in Vancouver BC though so not sure it would work for you to contact her, but here is her info anyway: Anne Gilmour Cruise & Travel Consultant Expedia CruiseShipCenters, Westwood 304 - 2748 Lougheed Hwy Port Coquitlam, BC, V3B 6P2 Tel: 604-464-7447 Cell: 604-808-1124 Toll-Free: 1-800-299-0817 Fax: 604-464-7401 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.cruiseshipcenters.ca/annegilmour