mistibuard

This is so funny! The one day I log on for the first time in 6 weeks I see the question above!! Unfortunately, I NEVER received my luggage. AA has 10 weeks to supposedly find the bag and if not I will receive a check. It'll be 10 weeks next week..so we shall see. I honestly do not want a check. I want my friggin bag!! I hope you are all doing well. Take care!

Oh my! You look absolutely beautiful! I love it! Congratulations!! (I'm glad you loved the hair)

Hi Ladies, I’ve been married for two weeks, and before I leave the forum I wanted to share what I did to my hair. Honestly, it was nothing major at all. I knew I wanted a messy bun and it was easy to create. In December, I had my my stylist sew in some hair (check out Demure Tresses on FB--she's here in Houston..she has Indian hair and Brazilian hair..I’ve referred a few brides on the forum to her). I planned to do my own hair so getting the hair sewn in December gave me a chance to play with it and learn how to work with it. I had the hair taken down and re-sewn a week before my wedding. Here are pics before the wedding, during our photoshoot (where the wind was blowing like crazy- but hey—it’s a messy bun), and also here are pics of me just walking around the beach. The hair I purchased was great for this occasion. I did get into the beach water and of course immediately washed the salt water out of my hair..and put in some leave-in conditioner. I hope this helps at least one of you. Best wishes to you all! Here are a few of our wedding pics http://www.brilliant.tc/2011/03/marrying-friend/ And here is just a general pic of how the hair looked after I washed it and put the leave-in conditioner in. Once again, I hope this helps at least one of you.

Instead of me emailing pics to you, check out this FB site. http://www.facebook.com/#!/album.php?id=134062736623921&aid=20512

Hi TimsWife2Be, I actually talked with a lady on tripadvisor sometime last year when I was struggling with the same thing you are. She sent me her professional pics from Beaches. I'll let you be the judge... Send me your email address and I will forward a few to you.

Kimterrance- We took the pictures after our ceremony (we started at 3pm and went until 6pm). MissRodriguez- YES, that was our wedding song! Be ready to tear up..lol! Also ladies, I’m hoping to get a few pics this weekend from my parents, so I can post pictures of us signing our marriage documents along with our two witnesses, our cocktail reception and first dance pics. Once again, I went with the BB package and in my opinion all went well. Here’s a brief run down of how things went: The wedding began at 2pm (I didn’t have a bridal party), we said our vows, listened to the pastor (who I thought was pretty good), walked over to the table to sign our marriage documents, then we walked to the gazebo to have our cocktail reception. By 3pm we were walking toward the Veranda Resort (next door) to meet Ileana on the beach and begin taking pics.

Hi butterfly, The resort has two gazebos and their both in the Caribbean Village area. The one I chose was right behind the restaurant Schooners. It has slightly more shade because of the trees, plants, etc. I also went with the BB package. I didn't have any upgrades, didn't purchase any of Beaches crappy pics, etc. and everything was great! I hope this helps you somewhat.

Thank you Lizzdee, Have you hired TI for your pics?

Hi Ladies, Our wedding pics have been blogged. I truly loved Ileana...and her work speaks for itself. You MUST hire her for your wedding. http://www.brilliant.tc/2011/03/marrying-friend/comment-page-1/#comment-21319

American Airlines (F) If I could possibly give them a grade lower than a F I would…lol! We were gone for a full week and returned last night and AA still can’t find our luggage. Everything I needed for the wedding was in that luggage- earrings, bracelet, make-up, clothes, undergarments, TTD attire, etc. I will definitely reiterate what I said earlier, girls try to pack all things needed for your ceremony in a carry on bag. Oh yeah, on the flight from Houston to Miami there was another bride in line waiting. I literally saw her and ran to the front to make sure there was room for my dress to hang in the captain’s closet. Quite funny when I think about it. On the connecting flight from Miami to Turks I had my own overhead bin with my dress and my husband’s suit. Customs (A) Customs was very simple. Our flight landed before the US Airways flight and everything went smoothly. Shuttle Service to Beaches (A-) Because we couldn’t find our bag, we had to wait a little longer for the next shuttle to Beaches, but it was fine. The ride is literally 10-12 minutes from the airport. Check-in (A) Our flight landed at 12:20pm and rooms aren’t usually ready until 3pm, so we checked in and one of the Beaches reps took us to Guiseppes for lunch. We ate lunch there, walked around the resort, and once we returned to the front desk our room was ready. Oh yeah, they had cold towels and punch for us. I couldn’t really taste the rum, but I did like the punch. Our Room (A+) We stayed in the Honeymoon King Luxury Room in the French Village. The room was absolutely fine with me. We had a 46 inch screen television, tile floors, king bed, etc. Truthfully, you do not spend a lot of time in the room, so I wouldn’t worry too much about the room. If we were in our room during the day we were either taking a quick shower before we went to our next event…or we were taking a quick cat nap (which rarely happened). Seriously, when you get to the resort you will truly laugh at what some of the people had to say about the resort on TripAdvisor. Some people just have to have something to complain about I suppose. Pools (A) We went to the Caribbean Village pool (not the one directly behind the lobby) and hung out there one day. It was cool…hardly no kids, quiet, and sunny! We went to the waterpark one day too..lol! Restaurants (B+) I would give all of the restaurants a B+. We ate at every restaurant except Kimono’s and Cricketeers (although my honey did hang out at Cricketeers ALL night the first night). Wedding Planning (A+) Once you arrive to the resort you’ll have a binder in your room with your wedding planner’s information and the meeting time. Our planner was Stacey Ann and she was truly great!! We met with her Thursday at 10am, and went over all of the details of the ceremony—did we have speeches we wanted to say to each other, we read over the wedding scripts, chose the flavor of our wedding cake, gave her our CD for the ceremony and reception, ordered our honeymoon breakfast, etc. We also set up our wedding dinner at Sapodilla’s which is truly the best restaurant at Beaches. Welcome Dinner (A+) We had our welcome dinner at Schooners—bring something to stay warm! It was kind of windy and the restaurant is right by the beach. It was great. Our guests loved it! Wedding (A++) After making 16 phone calls to American Airlines about our lost bag that we NEVER received, the wedding day still went well. I did my own hair and make-up as planned, but we literally had to go find the items that I needed off of the resort. It was an adventure the morning of the ceremony. I found make-up, earrings, curling irons, etc. Ha! It’s really funny when I look back on it. The couple next door to us in the French Village had gotten married in Jamaica 10 years ago. They were very supportive. They told us that it was our day and not to allow the lost luggage to ruin anything…and we didn’t. My ceremony was at 2pm, and I was the only bride getting married that day!! My honey had to meet with the pastor 15 minutes before the ceremony. Stacey Ann came to my room and picked me and mom up on her golf cart. My mom went to her seat..and then they began playing the music as I walked down the “aisleâ€. The ceremony was fairly quick, yet very intimate. I have a few pics of me crying. We did do the sand ceremony and we signed our papers. Our cocktail reception was at the area next to the gazebo..so we did our first dance, cut our cake and ate our hor’douerves. Tropical Imaging (A++) We walked to the Veranda Resort at 3pm to meet with Ileana from Tropical Imaging. It was a very windy day, so my hair was flying all over the place..but it was so much fun. We took group shots on the beach and some at the Verandah Resort. Afterward, our guests went back to the resort while we began our adventure with Ileana. I KNOW our pictures will be hot! She showed us a few and we were like “YES!â€. I can not wait to see our pics! After taking pics with Ileana, we had our wedding dinner at Sapodilla’s which was great!! We had reservations at 7pm, and the atmosphere was perfect for the occasion. We also had the remaining of our wedding cake served at the dinner reception. Red Lane Spa (B+) We reserved the couples massage with Stacey Ann for the day after our wedding. It was very relaxing, and my honey and I both enjoyed it. I think I would’ve enjoyed it more but my mind was racing. I’m not sure about what…but it was. Off site Activities Froggies ATV Tour (A+) We did the tour the second day of our trip. We had so much fun!! Froggie picked us up from the French Village and went to the Blue Hills area to his place. We had so much fun on the tour! Wear your sunglasses if you do this tour. Dust was flying everywhere! Conch Shack (A) We ate at the Conch Shack after we did the ATV Tour. It was cool to see all of the conch shells. We also met another couple from NYC . We talked with them and shared a cab back to the Grace Bay Area. Taxis can be quite expensive out there…but it’s so worth leaving the resort to see the island. Sapodilla Bay (A++) I think this was my favorite beach. The water was crystal clear and SO quiet…it was so peaceful. You could stay out there forever..literally.

Hi Ladies, I've just returned from the resort, and I will begin working on my review shortly (I know you guys love pictures and I am waiting on my guests to send me a few from the ceremony so I can share them with you all). However, I will try to address your concerns- so just put a message on here and I will reply as soon as I can. As far as the rooms in the French Village and the Caribbean Village, in my opinion the biggest difference would be the tv. I stayed in a Honeymoon Suite in the French Village and we had a 46 inch flat screen versus one of our guests stayed in the Caribbean Village and they had a tube as the tv. Other than that, everything was pretty much the same in my opinion. As far as the musty smell in the French Village, I didn't smell anything and my guest didn't complain either. (Oh yeah, and a ton of mosquitoes in the Caribbean Village- lol! I spent the night before the wedding in my parents room in the Caribbean Village and I woke up with 14 bites--4 of them on my face!! Lol) Personally, if we return to Beaches I'd stay in the Caribbean Village because it is closer to everything--beach, central location for restaurants, etc. Just a piece of information while it's on my mind. Someone said on this thread before, everything will NOT go as planned. So try your best to prepare for the unexpected. For example, we arrived last Wednesday on an American Airlines flight...I've returned to Houston and I have yet to receive our most important piece of luggage with ALL of our wedding items, etc. The suitcase never arrived to Turks and AA can not find our luggage. Originally I did not freak out, but by Thursday evening- Friday morning.....I was a mess. My bridal jewelry is in that luggage, items for our guests, my husbands things that he needed for the ceremony, etc. With that said, we truly had to improvise. Seriously. It really felt like it was going to be a disaster, but we truly made it work...and it turned out to be a beautiful day even though we NEVER received our luggage. With that said, girls try your best to take all of your necessary items for the wedding in a carry on bag. It will save you a lot of heartache. Also, if you can avoid it- DO NOT FLY WITH AMERICAN AIRLINES! There were so many of us (staying at various resorts on Grace Bay) that flew American Airlines and did not receive our luggage. I can go on and on about them..but I'll hush. Anyway, as soon as I get some pictures I will post the review. Oh yeah, Ileana with Tropical Imaging truly made us forget about our lost luggage when we met with her Friday and while we took pictures Saturday. You HAVE to book her! We got a chance to meet her parents and we truly had a great time!

Yay Lizzdee! That's one more thing off of your check list. Ladies, I posted my planning thread. I hope something on there helps someone. Anyway, I probably won't be on here much before we leave Wednesday morning. However, I promise to return and give you guys a detail review (like the other ladies have provided for us). Happy planning to all! Enjoy it...it truly comes fast.

Originally I was not going to do a planning thread. There will only be 7 of us in Turks & Caicos for the wedding, and I just didn’t think that I’d have anything to add- especially since most of my focus is on my formal AHR. However, now I am SUPER excited about everything and I hope that something in this planning thread will help someone else. I’d like to thank a special few for helping me throughout this journey! Brandy- for our daily conversations about our weddings, ideas, etc., all of the Beaches Turks & Caicos brides, Skadow for the boarding pass invite template and Rach220 for the Passport Welcome Booklet template! My fiancé proposed one weekend while we were in West Palm Beach. We truly had a great time while out there…he proposed Sunday morning a few hours before we were scheduled to fly back to Houston. His exact words were, “I want to wake up to you for the rest of my life…†the tears began to flow then. I’m not sure why I was in awe (I knew it was coming), but I think I looked at that ring over 100 times that day! Here’s a picture of my engagement ring and wedding band. Sorry, it's not the best picture. His ring I will be getting married at the Beaches Resort in Turks & Caicos on Saturday, March 12th. We are going with one of the Martha Stewart themes, Beautiful Beginnings.

Hi Krys, I hope all is well with the girls! If you're around I have a question about Digicel. Would you recommend us purchasing a prepaid cell phone plan from them? I'm interested in doing so I can stay in contact with our guest until they arrive a couple of days after us. Anyway, I just wanted your thoughts. I hope all is well.

Hi lv1044, I leave for Turks next Wednesday, and I have plans to do the Froggie ATV Tour and go to the Conch Shack, but these are things that I'm doing on my own. I will just call Froggie's once I get there to see what I need to do. As far as the Conch Shack, I just plan to go there and eat like any restaurant. As far as where I found the information, I've had quite a few people tell me about the Conch Shack..and one of the past brides on the forum (Winnie) mentioned the Froggie ATV Tour in her review--and that's how I heard about it.