JayKay

That is a tough situation. My FI and I knew we wanted a DW but we had lots of negative feedback from both our families at first. Some people didn't like the location or the resort we chose, some people thought it was to much money, others thought we were being selfish for asking them to pay to come all this way. I realized that we can never made everyone happy, and if we would have had a wedding at home my FI or I would not have been happy with it. We realized that its our wedding and we are going to do what we wanted to do, no matter what people say. There will always be a few unhappy people with any decision you make. Good luck with everything!

Congrats on the planning. Try looking in the moon palace thread, you should be able to find information there!

For us picking the location and the resort was the hardest part. Cost was a huge issue for us as well as we wanted something affordable for our guests. We ended up narrowing it down between Mexico and Jamaica, but just didn't fall in love with any resorts in Mexico. We then were looking in jamaica and narrowed it down to three resorts. From there we went to our travel agent who was able to provide us with pricing for all the resorts. Together with the pricing, and the available wedding packages at each resort, we made our decision. Good luck with your decision!!

Love your pictures!!!

Beautiful pictures!

They look great! Love your colors!

What a neat idea! They look great!

Very pretty pictures!

Maybe see if there is a seller on etsy who would customize shoes for you.

I love #2!!

They look great!

What a neat idea! And that dress is beautiful!

Thanks for sharing this link!

wow, never would have thought to try that but I just might have to!

This happened to one of my good friends. What she ended up doing was having the ring made slightly bigger and then the inside of the ring they lined with 18k yellow gold, that way it has less other metals added to it. Her rash went away within a few days and she has had no problems since.

I ended up finding them cheaper at Superstore, but I have also seen them at London Drugs, although I don't know how much they were.

Try searching for threads for bridal party gifts, there are tons of them with tons of ideas!

Maybe try searching for brouchures, such as pre travel ones. You should be able to find some with useful information that you can include in your welcome booklet.

Here are our vows, they may help you! I borrowed most of the ideas from others on here and put peices together to make it our own. Opening Good afternoon, we meet here today surrounded by the beautiful ocean and blue sky to celebrate one of life’s most joyous occasions and to give recognition to the worth and beauty of love and to add our best wishes to the words which shall unite M and J in marriage. In the years they have been together, their love and understanding of each other has grown and matured, and now they have decided to live their lives together as husband and wife. On behalf of M and J, I welcome you and thank you all for gathering here on this beautiful day to witness their marriage ceremony. The fact that you all have travelled such a great distance to be here today is a testament to the amazing amount of love and support they have. All of you have given them much happiness, love, warmth, and guidance through the various stages of their lives. They would like to sincerely thank you all for being here to celebrate their special day. Ceremony Marriage is an affirmation of life, an undying commitment, a spiritual, emotional, and intellectual bond between two people. It is created from the purest of friendship, respect and love. The institution of marriage should not be entered into lightly, as it is true commitment on every level. Together you will continue to meet the challenges and obstacles of life head on. Marriage has been described as living in love with your best friend; an adventure in the most intimate of human relationships. It is the mutual commitment of two people sincerely in love who share the same dreams about life, their fears and desire of family. The vow of marriage is a pledge of their everlasting love, whereby, they commit to share all life has to offer. The marriage between M and J does not mark the beginning of a new relationship; rather, it is an acknowledgement and celebration of a relationship that has been flourishing since they met. Love is the longing two people feel for one another. It is the need to share, in body and spirit, the warmth, serenity and peace two people can give to one another. A simple touch, a hand held at a time of uncertainty. Love is life’s highest emotion. It makes us less selfish, it makes our personalities grow, and it makes our lives more meaningful. It is caring about the welfare and happiness of your partner as your own. Love makes burdens lighter because you divide them. It makes joys more intense because you share them. And it makes you stronger so you can reach out and become involved with life in ways you dared not risk alone. A successful marriage takes more than just love. It takes trust, to know in your hearts that you want only the best for each other. It takes dedication, to stay open to one another, to learn and grow, even when it is difficult to do so. And it takes faith, to go forward together without knowing what the future holds for you both. M and J, you have chosen to walk through life together. There is no truer statement of love. The choice was not made by any one moment, but by being together you grew to realize that you belonged together and that you fulfilled each other’s needs. You have come to thrive upon each other’s presence, loyalty and wisdom. The foundation of your love is profound friendship. A friendship you have nurtured until at last you realized that you wanted to be together always. The commitment you make today will be the foundation on which you will build your life together. Hand Ceremony M and J would you please face each other and join your hands. These are the hands of your best friend, young and strong and full of love, that hold yours on your wedding day, as you promise to love each other, today, tomorrow and forever. These are the hands that will work alongside yours, as together you build your future. These are the hands that will passionately love you and cherish you through the years, and with the slightest touch, will comfort you like no other. These are the hands that will hold you when fear or grief fills your mind. These are the hands that will countless times wipe the tears from your eyes; tears of sorrow, and tears of joy. These are the hands that will support you and give you strength when you need it. These are the hands that will hold you tight as you struggle through difficult times. These are the hands that will comfort you when you are sick, or console you when you are grieving. And lastly these are the hands that even when wrinkled and aged, will still be reaching for yours, still giving you the same unspoken tenderness with just a touch. Our wish for you today is that both of you will use these hands to build a marriage where all your dreams come true Declaration of Intent: M, do you take this woman to be your wife? Will you strive to love and honor her, will you comfort her and be faithful to her, till death do you part? If so, answer “I doâ€. J, do you take this man to be your husband? Will you strive to love and honor him, will you comfort him and be faithful to him, till death do you part? If so, answer “I doâ€. Vows M please repeat after me: I, M, choose you, J, to be my wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and cherish, as long as we both shall live. J, please repeat after me: I, J, choose you, M, to be my husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and cherish, as long as we both shall live. Rings May I have the rings please. Notice that these rings are a perfect circle, with no beginning and no end. They represent the unconditional love that you have for one another. Let these rings serve as a bond between you and wear them with honor and pride, as they are a visible reminder of the vows and promises that you will make here today. M, as you place this ring on J finger, repeat after me. J, I give you this ring as a symbol of my love and commitment to you and a lasting reminder of the vows made between us today. J, as you place this ring on M finger, repeat after me. M, I give you this ring as a symbol of my love and commitment to you and a lasting reminder of the vows made between us today. Engagement Ring The engagement ring is a symbol of promise and intention. Now the intention is realized and the promise fulfilled. M, place the engagement ring on J finger over her wedding band to symbolize that the love that brought you together will always protect and sustain your marriage. May the sacredness of this moment and the vows and rings you have exchanged ever remain as a priceless memory in the heart of each of you. Signing of Marriage Certificate Sand Ceremony M and J, Before you met, your lives were on separate roads, each going in different directions and seemingly leading to different destinations. But somewhere along the way, through some twist of fate, you met and fell in love. Today, standing beside the ocean, you find yourselves together at the entrance of a new path, as you promise to forever join your once separate journeys into one. You have just sealed your marriage by giving and receiving of rings. Although you will be sharing one life, never forget that you are two separate people. Cherish and affirm your differences. Love each other. Together you will laugh and cry, be sick and well, be happy and angry, share and grow. Grow sometimes together, sometimes separately. To symbolize this union and the importance of the individuals within the marriage, two separate colors of sand will be combined. Each container of sand represents the separate journeys you once were on. In a moment I will ask that you both blend your individual containers of sand together, representing the coming together as husband and wife through your marriage, into one. I now ask that you blend your containers of sand together. M and J, as the sand has blended together, your lives are now joined; your separate journeys through life are now one. Just as these grains of sand can never be serperated and poured into the individual container, so will your marriage be a molding of two individual personalities, bonded together forming one heart, one life, and one family. Closing M and J, remember to give to one another new experiences of joy. Challenge one another so that you may grow. May the love you hold for each other, now sealed in marriage, continue to mature with the passing years. May you never take each other for granted, but always experience the wonder of your union. Be slow to anger, quick to forgive, leaving no tracks of resentment behind each day. We who are present today, hope that the inspiration of this moment will never be forgotten. May all your days and years to come be filled with vision, joy and passion. May the love you now share continue to grow, and may the happiness you bring to each other be a continuing part of your life together. May you continue to live well, laugh often and love much and enjoy each and every day, believing in yourself and believing in each other. May your love be a sanctuary and a source from which you draw strength to live your lives with enthusiasm and imagination. May the people you touch in your lifetime know how much you love and care for one another and may you love one another forever. Presentation of Couple M and J, you have expressed your love and commitment, and promised each other the joy of all your days before family and friends; along with the sun, the sand, and the sea, it gives me great pleasure to pronounce you as husband and wife. You may kiss your bride! Family and friends, it is my honor to present to you for the very first time, Mr. and Mrs. M and J xxxx.

We reserved our wedding day, about a year in advance, and at that time we didn't know the travel schedule. Once the travel schedule and pricing came out we were able to book our travel. That being said, we did have to change our wedding day because the flight schedule changed.

Maybe I'm wrong, but I thought a civil ceremony was the legal ceremony, and the symbolic ceremony was not legal.

Thats so exciting! I have had my dress for a few months now and I always forget its hanging in my spare closet! I was able to get my FI clothes and the groomsmen clothes and find bridesmaid dresses, so now most of the big things are done, which is a huge relief with working full time, moving, and trying to finish school! Hope everyones planning is going good!

I know exactly how you feel!!! I have been engaged for a total of 6 months and my ring has been away for about 2.5 months of those 6 in total. I currently am without my ring for 4 weeks. I get really tired of people saying, where is your ring if you are engaged, I started just wearing some cheap ugly thing so they wouldn't ask ha!

We also aren't renting the gazebo and rather are just going to go to the disco when it opens! My group is the type of group where we can make our own fun and party wherever so Im not to worried about it!

The resort offeres different wedding packages and they all include a cake and a photographer. However, they usually only include 5-10 pictures from the photographer. We chose to hire our own from the island of Jamaica as we werent really fond of the resort photographer. Im sure there are places to go swimming with the dolphins near by! Good luck with choosing a venue for your DW in Jamaica!