acw271011

That's a great article. I'd be curious to know how they arrived at the actual photographers on the list, but only for curiosity. I really hope you post pics after your wedding. I'm curious to see how they turn out with SL.

That's a GREAT tip and something not a lot of people think of if it's a smaller boat. We did a "sunset cruise" in Jamaica when we got married and the water was rough. Everyone was fine at the beginning - drinking and dancing to music. The next thing we knew 3 people were heaving over the side! (gross!!) lol I'm totally terrible with boats so I had taken something earlier in the day to make sure I was ok and stayed away from food and booze. I've learned my lesson the hard way!

Congrats and welcome to the site! This is a great place for information that will help you on your planning adventure! I'm going to suggest that finding a travel agent is your first best step. They will become your buddy through the planning process and will help take a lot of the stress off you, as well as being the contact for your guests. If you're in the US, Wright Travel is affiliated with this site and they are destination wedding experts!! There is no charge for them to work with you. If you're still trying to decide on the where and when, definitely talk to a TA and they will help you sort out your must haves and help you work out a destination. Once you have the where, go through the forums here and get to know the other brides that are using the same resort. As well there are the vendor reviews that will give you some ideas. There are a ton of photographer reviews as well that will help you sort through and find a photographer who's style you like. Contact them and get their pricing and get a feel from them before you decide. Here is the link to contacting Wright Travel: http://www.wrighttravelagency.com/go/plan-your-destination-wedding?keyword=BDWTB Good luck and happy planning!

Wow! You should go into business! everything is awesome! Kim is right - you're so crafty!!! It's the area where I fail. Dismally. Could you post your tags once you have it printed? I'm trying to do the same thing but a different design and different saying but I've redesigned the tag 3 times and have hated it every single time. Like I said - a dismal failure when it comes to DIY. Thank goodness we're already married!!

Oh wow! you're a Mrs!!! Congrats! It's finally almost here! Can't wait to hear all about it and see pics! It will be beautiful I know it!! Just don't forget to relax and enjoy too! That's just as important after all the planning!

Here's 3 sites that I found. I have no idea if it's what you want and I didn't read through the sites but they might be worth a look. http://www.myweddingfavors.com/palm-breeze-natural-raffia-fans.html http://www.favorsandflowers.com/palm-and-bamboo-fans.htm https://www.etsy.com/search?q=raffia+fan

What you're saying is a very common thread throughout this site! lol For someone not overly familiar with the process it can definitely be frustrating! Firstly, this time of the year is one of the busiest for destination weddings. It may sound cliché but since your wedding isn't until July, the coordinators will be busy with the brides that are ahead of you. I do want to reassure you and say that the WCs at these resorts know their stuff. It's what they do for a living. They aren't ignoring you. Your planning won't really kick into high gear until a couple of months before your wedding. That's a bit intimidating for brides from the US and canada that are used to the amount of detail that is needed for a wedding at home. Definitely if you haven't heard after a couple of weeks, send the email again. Another tip is to try to put your questions into one email rather than sending an email with one question, then another. That makes it a bit easier for the coordinator to go through and give you your answers all together. Good luck and happy planning!

I got married in Jamaica in October and we were lucky enough to have the best of both worlds. The resort had their gazebo right down on the beach which was perfect because I didn't want sand. I wanted shoes too. I still feel the same way. There was a constant breeze off the water when we were there, and I remember the ladies on the resort forum all said that April was the windiest month of all. I don't know if it's the same for Cancun but generally there is a breeze off the water and 80 degrees is a pretty comfortable temp.

That's a great question and one I don't have an answer for. I'm sure your TA would be the best person to answer it for you but odds are there is another bride on here who has a good answer as well if they've been through it.

I completely agree that a negative review benefits someone trying to decide on whether or not to select that vendor and I was in no way downplaying your concerns. Bear in mind though that in a community like this screwing up will put you well on your way to being out of business because word travels very quickly. I'm very glad you made your decision on a photographer that you feel you can work with but also sorry that you feel BDW wasn't of any help to you. I sincerely hope that the photographer you chose doesn't have a screw up or delay that affects your wedding. Being happy and confident with who you're working with is important and it sounds like that's what you have. Good luck and happy planning!

Thank you Tammy! You do help keep this site real! I want to clarify something too. First of all I've been on this site since late 2010/ early 2011. I don't remember the exact date but I got married in October 2011 so it was a good while before then. Planning a wedding is stressful enough without people adding to that stress with negativity. Nevertheless it's guaranteed that some bride somewhere is going to have a bad experience. It's the nature of the beast. I have definitely seen brides here that have had things happen that very much upset them or their wedding plans. I've read reviews on here that are definitely negative so to say they aren't here is wrong. I dealt with multiple photographers both in Jamaica and right now in Mexico and not one single one offered me a "deal" to write them a positive review and they all know that I'm on this site. I almost wish someone would. I'm not going to say it doesn't happen but with the hundreds and hundreds of brides that have been here and still are and all of the conversations I've had with brides I'm going to come out and say I think you're wrong about the number of reviews that are "fixed". You know maybe if you took some time to actually get involved with some of the individual conversations with the brides here you would see the real good and bad points that they're dealing with instead of reading reviews and judging them to be untruthful. There isn't any bride here that I've dealt with in 4 years that has had a negative comment removed by anybody so I'm going to totally disagree with both of you. And I'll also say that the photographer we used in Jamaica was Awesome!!! And that's completely the truth!!

Maybe it's because weddings are their business and they deliver good quality for what they charge. If you look at their websites the photos are well done.

If you look on the Karisma website there is a spot where you can do a search for a GI TA. Or you can just Google like I did. I just keyed GI travel agent Toronto and it brought up the list for me. Should do the same for you I would think. But Brunette 14 are you in the US? If so you do 't need to go any further than here to look for one. There is also one that some of the ladies in Canada seem to really like if that's where you are. Wright Travel are affiliated with this site and have several awards given by resorts and are absolutely GO Certified. There is a link on the site that you can use to contact them. Good luck and happy planning!

I was surprised too that it wasn't out of the new Kleinfelds at The Bay! Soon as I heard about it that's what I figured. But it's actually out of a salon called Amanda-Lina which does carry a decent selection if you look online at their website. They carry Ronald Joyce and he has some beautiful gowns! The sad part is the pricing here. Things are already more expensive and by the time you had another 13%......

Sounds like a great promotion!

Congrats and welcome to BDW! I'm hopeful you'll find other brides here with the same location. Definitely take a look through the vendor reviews and see if anything pops up! Maine is a very pretty place. I just came down the coast there at Christmas. Do you have a travel agent to work with yet? I'm not sure how mainland US weddings work for things like hotels and flights but the agency affiliated with this site are destination wedding experts! You could also try a forum search to see if there are any locations close to yours that pop up! Good luck and happy planning!

we call them slips. some people still call them petticoats.

But you have to admit they're pretty freakin cool!! lol I'm seriously considering doing these!

I so wish I had the guts to try something like this. I am SO not crafty and I mean that. I'm thinking just to go the website that someone mentioned and have them do them for me. I only need like 10 so that's nothing. Yours turned out beautifully. I love the colours!

the new "Say Yes to the Dress" that premiered last night???? I'm sorry but I just have to say that it was cheesy! I Did you see the tiny little size of the dressing rooms??? How the heck are you supposed to get into a wedding dress in that small closet sized room??? Absolutely love my Friday nights with TLC and SYTTD both New York and Atlanta. I find canadians talk so much about hating the US and things they do, but how come they spend so much time copying TV programs?? Big Brother. The Bachelor. Amazing Race. And now Say Yes to the Dress! lol The canadian version somehow just didn't measure up. Definitely like the US one better! Did you watch?

Oh my goodness - don't you have a travel agent helping you out? Get in touch with Wright Travel from this site. I'm sure they'll be able to help you out with information. http://www.wrighttravelagency.com/go/plan-your-destination-wedding?keyword=BDWTB

All you need to do is search through the site. There are a bunch of the ladies that have done them!! I've attached one link below but just keep checking around the DIY forums. And I know current brides will chime in with what they've made too!! http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/topic/961-sample-itinerary-to-give-to-guests/ Good luck!!

Ladies - check this out!! It's the coolest thing to purchase for your guests or to add to your OOT bags - wedding flip flops!! You can order a mix of both men's and women's and they have a TON of different designs and colours!! And some of the wedding designs are too cute!! http://www.partyflops.com/english2/index.html

Ouch. Not fun for sure. Compromise is definitely in the cards for all involved I think! I would suggest firstly that your friend acknowledge that FI's mom is trying to help and that it's appreciated. If there are too many people involved, perhaps FI's mom could host a shower of her own that involves his family? That way she could probably have it at her home instead of a hall? Otherwise, it may be a case of going with the flow. If the slip hadn't happened, you wouldn't know about it anyway, and there wouldn't be much you could say "after the fact" since people are going out of their way to do something special for you. I think you need to let the two ladies sit down together since you aren't supposed to get involved and see what compromises they can come to. You don't want anyone's feelings hurt so maybe letting MIL get involved and pay, even though you don't like the hall, is the easiest route to go. After all, it's only for a couple of hours. Good luck!

Congrats and welcome to BDW! You don't mention where you're from (US or Canada?) and you didn't mention which country you're considering for your wedding? Receptions for small groups are definitely a different animal than the ladies that are working with groups of 30 or more. I'm working with a similar situation with even less than that and it's proving to be a challenge. You will need to decide what's important to you as most resorts will only offer a maximum of 3 hours for a reception, and if you're a very small group, there are quite a few that will restrict you to only an hour and a half. As well, once you get into packages that are for "up to" 10 guest, or even 20 then you'll notice that what they include is quite a bit less than packages for larger groups. It can make things difficult to decide. If you have a meeting scheduled with someone for next month, then that's a great start, particularly if it's a travel agent? Hopefully it's someone with knowledge that will help you with the decisions. Your price point will also be a deciding factor in terms of where you end up having your wedding, and from there whatever your reception options are. This site has a ton of information once you where you're going. There are a huge number of forums for the various resorts, vendor and resort reviews and ladies that love to share what they know. it will be a great help on your planning adventure. Good luck and happy planning!