acw271011

Thanks Val. the support from everyone on this site has been a help. it's hard when you get so down about things when it looks like nothing will work out. now we're 3 days from leaving and 8 days til the wedding!! woohoo!!! and you better believe I will report here. after everything I've seen on this forum since January.... absolutely I want the chance to "add my 2 cents" lol my one big worry is that Donnalee who will be the acting "best man" does something that pisses off hubby to be lmao but I've made him understand that he absolutely needs to keep her around to sign the licence so he can't say too much to her lol keep fingers crossed and I've already put him in charge of the sand ceremony, NOT Donnalee lol

thanks Tekeya. I'm really excited to be working with him. I spent almost a hour with him over the phone just because we are so tight on time and he was soooo sweet. he's setting ours up as a story and wants to "interview" us before the wedding about how we met, etc mostly because I told him we're older and have grown children and grandchildren. but I'm really looking forward to what he puts together. and I hope maybe we'll have a sneak peak for our AHR on Nov 5th. we have Merrick Cousley for our photography and he's another one that, given everything we've been through, has just been a saint to work with. many others would have given up on us by now but he hung in there and encouraged us and stood by us. right now I just want to GO!!! the wedding is extra fluff now even though I'm excited about it. I want to get to Jamaica and get onto the beach and have the sun and the sand, then the wedding lol I'm not sure the wedding part has even sunk in yet!!!!! maybe like you said it will on the way to the airport lol

woohoo - leaving on saturday and 9 days til wedding day - Oct 20th at Gran Bahia Principe, Runaway Bay. totally can't wait!!! counting down!!

woohoo!!! we leave on Saturday.... NOW I'm getting excited. get married in 9 more days!!! I think pretty much what needs to be done is done but there really isn't anything to do! the big news is we got the video guy!! the one that did Tekeya's. it was just too irresistible and with having nobody there except Chandlyn and Donnalee I wanted something special. he's very reasonable and has been working with me the last few days so I'm looking forward to seeing what he comes up with. believe it or not, we're doing engagement pics this Friday. the day before we leave!!! can't wait. my dress bombed. not at all happy. they didn't do it properly so now I have to go back on Wednesday again. I've heard this about David's Bridal so Wednesday had better be a happy day... or you will hear me hollerin... wherever you are!!! oh yeah - and belated Happy Thanksgiving to the Canadian ladies here. we spent it in the US so no turkey except at Perkins restaurant. lol

don't know if you'll get too much for July of next year yet. they may make you wait a while...

when do you arrive? we're getting married on the 20th but leave for home on the 22nd.

check out Michaels. they sell it in a bolt. not horrendously expensive. definitely get to tommy bahama at the niagara outlet mall. my hubby to be is wearing tommy bahama. I think it looks great on guys and the outlet mall is pretty reasonable. there is a davids in mississauga and they're pretty good there. I bought my dress in the US but my alterations are being done in mississauga. there's a davids in niagara alsoo. small store but I had good service there when I got my dress.

well 3 weeks to go and we leave 2 weeks from tomorrow! woohoo! pick my dress up next Friday as long as there isn't anything left to do to it. I'm already packed pretty much! now I'm feeling like nothing else can go wrong... and we're actually going to get there and get married!

I would love his contact info if you have it and how much it was? after seeing yours, and not having any guests or anybody going with us, it would be so awesome to have something to look back at.

david's bridal has adorable flower girl dresses for $79. I had a store credit so I got the one that we bought for $69. they will ship to canada, but if you can get across the border easily, go into a davids store and order it. we did the watermelon dress with a guava sash, watermelon flip flips and guava hairband. looks adorable. I've already given it to the mom (stupid dummy that I am) so I can't ask for it back. wish I could - I might be able to make some money back. total I spent maybe $140 I think for all of it so it's not like it will break the bank

that is absolutely beautiful!!! what a wonderful keepsake to have!

I think we've come in at about $9,000 or $10,000 but we lost money on things that we cancelled,bought invitations that didn't get sent, flower girl dress that won't get worn... all kinds of fun stuff.

Hi, I'm getting married October 20th at Gran Bahia Principe Jamaica. the countdown is on!! just about 3 weeks to go and we leave in 2 and a half!!! we have Merrick Cousley (Jamaica) booked to do our pictures. his work is stunning!! we were originally all set for November and our plans fell apart. sooooooo.... we changed the date to what we want and going by ourselves. no wedding party. nothing. it will be dinner for 2. the resort wedding coordinators are going to be our witnesses. not happy but it is what it is and we'll make the best of it and have a good time!!

here's his link: http://www.steeldrummusic.net/buycds.html the stell band is great. I took the whole cd and we've just picked out what we want. for $6 you can't go wrong and it beats paying the $400 let me know how you make out with it. it took him a couple of days to get back to me, but when I emailed him a second time he responded almost right away. you have until january so still plenty of time

Flowers email directly to Tai Flora. Don't deal with the resort over it. Jennivie Wisdom is the one I've been working with and she seems really sweet. I'm going to make a point of going into the store in Ocho Rios to meet her just to say thanks. We're doing a CD of our wedding music. yes - they do set up a sound system to play it. we found a guy that does the steel band wedding music so that's what we have. I'll find the link if you want it - it's $6 to buy it so super cheap!!

I'm with you on that. we have a tendency to forget that it's a different country and even though it's english, things aren't always interpreted properly by email. sorry if this old lady sounds like she's preaching, but I'm old enough I'm know to be the mother of most of you. my oldest child is 30 and my youngest is 25! so ladies - take responsibility for your planning. yes - use the resort. by all means. that's what they're there for, but it is a foreign country and being proactive will always get you further ahead. try and anticipate. and spend a few bucks on a phone card!! I've found 3 time snow that a phone call helped tremendously!! I've spend a grand total of $20 and it was well worth it!! end of lesson for today lol

OMG!!!!! I cried! This is just awesome!! you have reinforced the faith that I have in Merrick and his photos. I'm 3 weeks and 5 days away and I CAN'T WAIT!!!!! Sarah, they're beautiful photos. you must be thrilled and now I'm excited to have Merrick do my photos as well. thanks so much for sharing!!

Hi, first question, canadian or american? I only know the canadian courts cuz I work for lawyers. when a divorce is granted you get one copy of a document with a red seal on it. that is the "be all and end all" of your papers and generally costs mucho buckos to replace if you lose it. you also get an order that is "certified to be a true copy of an original", which a lot of places will accept as proof of divorce. generally when you're getting a marriage licence they want the original red seal one. I don't know what they give in the US if that's where you are. we were instructed that Jamaica needs at minimum a certified copy of the original of the final decree, not the order as heard. so that's what we're taking with us and be prepared to leave it there for it to become part of the registrar's records of the country. they will also keep the certified copies of your ID, which also will become part of the registrar's records. so far the only thing I've sent is our info form. I haven't yet sent any ID and Chandly just told me I don't need to send it in advance. my thought is that like I said, we're only 2. we have no wedding party, or guests or anything. it's just us so maybe doing our stuff is simpler?? don't know for sure. but yes, all we need is the birth certificate certified, passport certified, and divorce order in original. we haven't been asked for a credit card form yet, again probably because it's just the 2 of us. we definitely aren't over on any of the costs and they're saving BUNDLE on our dinner reception!!

I just posted what I have and I was told they won't do from photos. what they have is what you can get. no changes in design or colour.

wow. I must have the easiest thing in the world going on. I email Chandlyn and I hear back from Chandlyn, not Donnalee. And Chandlyn said as far as all our details, not to worry, we'll do it all when we arrive, probably because we're only 2. no guests, no wedding party. zilch. I asked her about sending our id and she said not to worry about it, we could do it all when we arrive! lol we picked up all of our notarized copies from the lawyer on tuesday and he charged a grant total of 50 bucks so I'm definitely not complaining. we have our original "sealed" divorce orders both of us so that's what goes with us. I did have one email that I sent to Chandlyn, but Donnalee answered but I think that might have been because I copied both. I don't do that anymore. Chandlyn only lol

ok. so for what I was given for info: for cakes: I was told I have these 3 options attached to these mens and this is what we have to chose from for our dinner menu: the Tai Flora document is too big to upload, but for anyone that got it from Jennivie, she told me the selections are any between 149 and 164 and the matching bout is free. if I can alter the catalogue to post here I will. whoever was looking for the 2012 packages, this is it: Cakes.pdf 2012 packages.doc

wow! so much to review!! miss a few days and you're way behind! first Val - you looked STUPENDOUS!!!! absolutely gorgeous!! if that's the sneek peek of your pics, I can't wait to see what's to come!!! congrats on finally getting the big day done! I'm really getting nervous about the posts I'm seeing. our day is 4 weeks from tomorrow and we leave in 3 weeks. bugs??? roaches??? yuck!! some of what I'm hearing really worries me since we're only 2 and don't have any friends to back us up with help!! we're doing a sand ceremony too but I'm going to have the big guy take care of that. Donnalee ain't gettin anywhere near it!!! lol and I've had completely different stuff given to me in terms of what cake design options I have, what flower design options I have. cupcake - where the heck did you get those pics of the cake options?? I got nothing like those sent to me!!! unfortunately I'm at work and what I do have is on my home puter but tonight I will post what I have for flowers and cake. they are nothing like what everyone else seems to have and I was told I couldn't change any designs or colours. you get what you pick and that's it. flower selections from Tai I'm really pleased with if it helps anyone. she gave me about 15 choices but since we're just 2 I opted for something a bit bigger so we're getting a nice bouquet (I hope) a bout, and a really nice centerpiece for our table for $200. given what the costs are here, I'm fine with that. it's the jamaican tax that kills you!!! 17%! wow!! plus someone here was asking about the 2012 package prices. I have those at home too so will post them. hello to all the newbies!! this is an awesome site. the ladies are wonderful with both advice and moral support! I'm so going to miss it later on, but I'm going to stick around to check on some of the january weddings just to see how they turn out!!! tekya - you still sound like you enjoyed everything in spite of the mishaps and that's all that counts. we do have to remember that it isn't home. it's a different country and they do things differently there. and you're doing it from a distance. they're a hotel chain. they do their best (most of them) but things will happen. if you don't find a way to laugh about it, you go crazy and life is just too short for that. I've learned that lesson BIG TIME over the last few months of being deserted for my wedding. and lastly for anyone still looking for a photographer I can't say enough about ours even though we haven't used him yet. he has been a prince with all of our disappointments and upsets and I would recommend him just based on his attitude because he has been so great. if his pictures are half as good as his website and how he deals with things, I will truly have beautiful wedding photos.

try merrick cousley photography in jamaica. that's who we're using in 4 weeks! his site is merrickcousley.com and I think his work is great!!

what kind of problems did you have? please share. it helps the rest of us know what to watch for. I've seen the warnings about the sand ceremony so I'm going to have my FI take it with him since he's by himself. that way we make sure it's done the way we want and done right. and I saw the warnings about the cake disappearing so I'm in for that, especially since I'm re-using our topper for our at home reception. chandlyn said if anything, since we're just 2, that they pay extra special attention to us and we'll feel spoiled! I really hope she's right!!