AshleyL

Thanks so much for the advice ladies. I truly appreciate the help

Thanks for the advice! We didn't send out that many invites originally but word of mouth got out about the reception. I may see if I can come up with a list though and start making some calls, or like you suggested send them out separately. Thanks so much! I was very happy with my hair. I took in a bunch of photos, and I did the hair trial (because I had heard not great reviews too) and they did a great job. My bridesmaids and my mother also liked their hair. My one bridesmaid felt the backcombing was too high so she just told them and they fixed it right away. You just have to be honest with them, they dont mind fixing things to make you happy. I got a manicure the same day as my trial and by the wedding day I had smudged it, well the girls fixed that for me too. Just sneak them down a pina colada (we did and they loved it!)lol. They were extremely nice and hard working, but they did try talking me into getting my make up done there too (they get paid based on the number of appointments so if no one books, they sit there all day and don't make money). but I spent a bunch of money on MAC make up and makeup trials back home to learn how to do it properly so I just did it myself. Hmmm there didn't end up being a beach party that night. It was raining most of the afternoon/evening and we only had about an hour of clear weather to get photos outside. I'm not sure what happened with the beach party. We chose not to do the gazebo dance because everyone was happy either hanging out at the lobby bar (it was piano night) or heading over to Pueble Principe and the bars there. Honestly I'm glad we didn't spend the extra money to rent the gazebo, the weather wasn't that great and a lot of our guests were exhausted and in bed by 10pm lol. Thanks Vicky! My husband picked his suit up at Tip Top Tailors (just a suit store in the mall), it's part of Calvin Klein separates collection and cost about $300. His shirt was also from Tip Top and he couldn't find a short sleeved one he liked so he just bought a long sleeved dress shirt and had them shorten the sleeves (they charged $10 or something like that). The boys khaki pants and white shirts were from Old Navy - $30 for the pants, $12 for the shirts, but the shirt didn't end up fitting my bro. So the shirt he ended up wearing came from Tommy Bahama Outlet and was $60 (his shirt is the one with a sublte striping on it.

Hi ladies, We were married in Jamaica February 7th, returned home on the 18th. Overall the wedding was fabulous except for the fact that my family and DH's family did not get along...at all! As a result we have decided to cancel our planned reception (was supposed to take place in May) We have been contacting the various vendors/suppliers for our AHR and have managed to get our deposits back for most things. I'm extremely upset and saddened that because of the selfish behaviour of a few people, we are no longer able to celebrate our wedding, but there isn't much we can do at this point. I can't force people to grow up and get over it... In our original invite we included info about the planned AHR so now I need to send out notices that it's cancelled. I need advice on what to say. I don't want to cause more drama so we want to say something like "we are enjoying being newlyweds so much that we have decided to cancel the planned reception and just enjoy each other" (but obviously worded better than that). I would really appreciate any adivce on proper etiquette or wording. We were planning to send the notice out with our Wedding Announcements. Thanks in advance for any help!

Hey ladies, feel free to check out our wedding pics at the resort: http://www.stephaniekooblog.com/2011/mar/05/jl/ Also, we did a day after session around Ocho Rios and St. Ann's http://www.stephaniekooblog.com/2011/mar/06/ashley-dan-day-after-session-jamaica-destionation-wedding-photographer/

Hello ladies, Well it's been a month since we returned from our wedding at the Gran Bahia Jamaica. I have wanted to update you ladies for so long but have had to deal with some personal stuff first. I will be writing a review of the wedding (but just to let you all know it was wonderful, the resort is amazing and Beverly is great!), but for now I need some help from you lovely ladies one more time. There was a lot of drama going on between my family and my husband's family (at the wedding) and as a result we have decided to cancel our AHR that was planned for May. I had already included information (date, time, location) in the original invitation and now I need to find a way to cancel. I'm thinking of sending out the cancellation notification along with our wedding announcement. Do you ladies know the proper way to say we have cancelled? Any help would be greatly appreciated. I'm going to start reading through this thread and getting caught up. In the meantime if any of you have specific questions about the resort, or wedding details just let me know.

Many thanks ladies! To Akua thanks I will definitely check out that spray, and I did the exact same thing; went to Mac and just bought everything they used. Expensive but it should be worth it. And yes I am so excited! Stressing a bit about my dress alterations which STILL aren't finished, but I just can't wait to get on that plane! Soontobemrsdow: thanks for the review. It eases my mind to hear how smoothly everything went for you. We didn't use the Martha Stewart room template but I did the same kind of thing on the back of our vista welcome brochures. Glad to hear it was so useful.

 Waterproof spray? Where can I find this? That is awesome, I didn't know such a thing existed.

Beautiful photos StephAli! Where did you have your ceremony? I leave in 9 days and we were planning to use the gazebo.

I'm going to walk down the aisle to the steel drum band (haven't selected the song yet). I don't want anything sappy as I will have a hard enough time holding it together. My Dad passed away a couple years ago, and so my Mom will be walking me down the ailse. I've decided to attach a charm with a photo of my Dad and the inscription "always in my heart" to my bouquet. And just writing this has me tearing up so definitely no sappy music lol. I want something upbeat but still romantic.

 I basically gave up on Jan's flowers. They sent me a quote about 3 weeks after I requested it. then I asked to see photos of bridal bouquet options and they sent me one photo of a bouquet I didn't like. I don't have the time to chase them down for info so I'm just going to use the resort flower supplier and deal with Beverly when I get there. We leave in less than 2 weeks!! So excited!

Hey ladies, been emailing Beverly and she responded the same day. Confirmed everything, but I tried to bump the ceremony time up a bit so we aren't rushed for photos. Unfortunately there is another couple getting married right before us so we can't switch our time. I'm trying not to stress but I just hope nothing gets confused with two weddings. I have already asked for the Italian restaurant and the gazebo for ceremony and dance and Beverly confirmed it so fingers crossed. For the ladies that need to get long form birth certificates, I was told that these are the ones needed for renewing or applying for passports in the future so it might be easier just to get them now. Our photographer us Stephanie Koo. Her and her husband are a photography team from BC but willing to travel for destination weddings. They have been awesome to work with.

I bought my dress at Ethos and have seen some not great review on here. My experience was wonderful. I ended up losing about 4 dress sizes and my dress was too big. My consultant (Janice) ordered me a second smaller dress and had it shipped super fast (only 2-3 weeks) and they didn't charge me any extra. Janice also gave me a 10% discount. Pamphilia - I'm getting my dress altered in Red Deer so I don't have to drive back and forth for fitting. For hemming (3 layers), bustle, cups, and changing zip up to a corset it's $330. My next fitting is Jan 11th eek! I never even asked about the colour of the modest panel so I hope it turns out. I did take in a bunch of photos of corset backs that I liked and didn't like and that really helped.

Hi, thought I would mention - when our TA quoted us prices it was every 16th person free if everyone paid in full by the end of October. If everyone paid in full by the end of November, it was every 21st person free. So I dont' think it's when you book I think it has to do when your guests pay by. Ask your TA, maybe you have an earlier date you can encourage your guests to pay by so that you get the better deal?

Quote:Originally Posted by StephAli Hey ladies! Thanks so much! I paid $500 to have the gazebo and DJ for the 2hrs. The bar was suppose to be $15pp/hr, or $22pp for 2hrs, well it was that, but she gave us a discount and only charged us to "set-up" for 25 people instead of 59....It was DEFINITELY worth the $$$. You can buy the booze and mix (not sure of prices) but once I got there I decided that it wasn't worth it. I didn't want to have to worry about anything....  Time wise....I found that we had just more then enough time btw the wedding and the reception. Probably 2pm would be ideal. After the wedding we listened to the steel band, had our cake with champagne toast and then pictures! During pictures most of my guest went to eat lunch (jerk chicken! SOOOO GOOD...at the snack bar near the beach....open 11-330) and then they went for a swim! Alastair and I went for lunch after the pictures and then went up to our room to just chill. It was nice just to have some "us" time and take in the day...now that our nerves were relaxed! With having so many guest there it was kinda hard to find any alone time! We definitely should have taken an extra wk!  All the pictures I posted were actually taken by friends! I don't get the professional ones until next wk. The photographer that I used is Wendy MacCrimmon from North Bay, Ontario. She was already planning on being down there for another wedding that week, so it worked out well for both of us! She was FABULOUS!! When I get her pictures I will post some of them for you to all see!!  Nitty Gritty wise... We met with Beverly on the Sunday before the wedding and literally went over all the options again. So don't fret if you change your mind about anything. She was super accommodating and willing to make anything work for you! The day of the wedding my flowers got delivered to my room about an hr before the ceremony. I had to meet Beverly with the bridal party and my parents in the lobby 15 mins before the ceremony and the guys all had to be at the gazebo then to meet Beverly's assistant. I didn't like the ministers wording so I had rewritten the ceremony and he read it word for word. It was super windy out, which was kinda nice because it was probably the hottest and sunniest day of the week so the breeze helped to keep us cool! And to be honest I thought it would be windy (based on everyone elses pix) and I was looking forward to my hair blowing in the wind! The girls in my bridal party did my hair so I didn't have to worry about the spa staff (although I went there for a hot stone massage the day after the wedding and it was amazing!). One of my girls got braids in her hair, but she got it done at one of the stores up in the mall area (I'm not sure what one...) If you get the Dolce Vita for dinner you will most likely get the little room we had off to the side. The Grill doesn't seem to have a separate section, and one night when we were in there for dinner there was a wedding group sitting along one side. It wasn't the best setting, so try to get the other one!! Because we were getting married they upgraded us to Gold Club and therefore pre-booked all of our dinners at the A la carte restaurants. Having the gazebo for dancing was awesome! All of my guest really enjoyed themselves and the only complaint was that it ended too early! When we got back to our room there was a bottle of champagne and the room was all decorated with a bubble bath ready to go! The morning after the wedding they delivered us breakfast in bed. We had set it up for 930, but they called at 815 to see what we wanted (you choose anything that's available at the breakfast buffet) and then delivered it at 845!! TOO EARLY! lol....but we ate it and then went back to bed!! Cold omelets are never yummy!! I don't know what else to tell you!! It was perfect and amazing!! I wouldn't have changed anything about it! I am attaching a picture that shows the chairs! and one of our bed so u can see how fun it was! (they had found my vows (I left them on the dresser) and put them on the bed too....that what the piece of paper is...  If you have any questions feel free to ask!! Wow StephAli thank you so much! 2 months to go for me, and it is a relief (and so exciting) to hear about your big day! That's the first I have heard regarding wedding seating for the Grill vs Dolce Vita. I was also wondering about writing our own vows, so I'm very happy to hear that went smoothly for you. What did you and your guests think of the steel drum band? Did you use Tai Floral for the flowers? Thanks again for posting this. I know we all love to hear about, and see the beautiful photos of the wedding day

My Mom is wearing a blue and green long sundress with strappy silver sandals. His Dad hasn't asked and I'm not too worried about it. His Mom on the other hand wants to make her own dress - in grey. I'm not 100% excited about that but oh well. Just kinda hoping she runs out of time and has to buy something instead lol