PurpleUnicorn

UPDATE! i received my sarongs and they are very nice. i wouldn't say the quality is top notch, but decent enough for the price. i am comparing them to a sarong i bought in the Dominican Republic over 10 years ago which was pretty high quality. these ones are kinda thin, but seriously they are for the beach and they are certainly good enough for that! in terms of how they look, they are VERY pretty! the colors and designs are great! not cheap looking at all. like i said, my only issue is that the material itself is a bit on the thin side. oh, one other thing, i bought the standard size for everyone, but i got one "mini" sarong. when you wrap it around, it is the length of a mini skirt and it comes with ties. BUT, i ordered the pink one with palm trees (see my link below), and when i put it on and tie it, the palm trees are upside down! you would think it would be made so when you are wearing it, the design is right side up. for the standard size sarongs which can be worn either way, it wouldnt be an issue, but for the mini with the ties, it can only be worn in one direction. so this is the only one i regret spending money on. now that i have it, i will keep it and use it of course, but if i had known, i would have skipped it. http://www.turtleislandimports.com/index.cgi/pid=128%7C64%7C1071/Mini_Sarong_Wrap_Skirt_Pink.htm

this is awesome!

For my private reception, i have to pay extra for alcohol for 2 hours. it will actually be a lot cheaper if i bring my own bottles of wine to drink during dinner. The resort (Sunset Beach) allows me to do this as long as I pay their "corkage fee" (they will open and serve it during dinner). Basically, i am hoping to get bottles of wine for around $10 each. Less would of course be better. I just want a decent bottle, doesn't have to be too fancy. For example, I live in California where Yellow Tail and Barefoot wines go for about $6. I would be totally happy with these brands or something similar. I was able to find out that Yellow Tail in Montego Bay is around $20! this scares me and i am hoping to gather more info on prices and types of wine i can buy before i go. Does anyone have knowledge or experience with this? thanks!

this is a great thread for AHR invites! i might just steal some ideas, thanks!

i got pictures finally! FI tried on the suit and it fits great!!! i also LOVE the quality and color - it is PERFECT. i am soooo happy i listened to everyones good reviews on this thread and now i can 100% add my own awesome review!!!! totally and completely worth the price. we totally could not afford a brand new suit - or so i thought - before finding studiosuits, i thought we would have to go the khaki pants route with no jacket. and i was kind of disappointed because i have such a fancy dress, so i really wanted FI to be comfortable AND be dressed up!! i envied all the pics i googled of men's attire for destination wedding and now my FI has his own! i am waaayy more thrilled than he is obviously, LOL. but he says its comfortable, fits good and he concurs that the suit is overall good quality. we ordered the preset sizes for jacket and pants. so the pants came un-hemmed as it said they would, but no biggie, we can hem them for fairly cheap. i think the jacket is tad too long on his arms, but FI says its fine. but he said when he gets the pants hemmed, he will bring the jacket and see if they think they should do anything with it. so without further adieu, here is my FI in his beige linen suit! the pants are a 32 regular (i folded them to the right length for the picture) and the jacket is a 42 regular. color is Beige Linen and i LOVE it!!! i chose the color based on a previous post on this thread! Oh and the shirt he is wearing and we think it goes well, so no need to spend money on a new shirt. The tie I bought from Dessy to match the color of the BM dresses.

oh and for when, we would do it in august - about 4 months after the DW, just because we wont be back in our hometown until then (I am away on internship this year).

i have started thinking about planning a DW just because so many of guests cannot come, i will definitely keep it informal though. the one thing i am struggling with is invitations. i am happy to make them myself to save money, but i am wondering if i should even just do an e-vite - not sure yet. i dont have a budget, but want to keep it as cheap as possible. so we plan to do a BBQ summer party my sisters house. it will include dinner and hanging out for the evening. i will have music, but not sure how much dancing there will be. i will definitely not wear my wedding dress - way too fancy! i bought a similar dress for my TTD, so if i dont really trash it, i might wear that. but even then i am thinking to get a cute white, cocktail length summer dress and wear that. FI will likely wear shorts! he wants to wear shorts for our actual wedding, but that is where i drew the line! definitely not hiring a pro photog - i have one for the DW and thats enough for me! for cake, i am going to get my beach themed cheesecake that i dreamed i could bring to Jamaica! (but obviously cant and for my DW, i am just getting whatever cake is included in my wedding package and sticking my cake topper on it). i think i will use the cake topper again - why not! i havent really thought about decor. since it will be at my sisters house, i cant think of what we would do besides put tiki torches in her backyard and maybe get a banner or something, i plan to do a running slide show of our pro photos - have to talk to FI about that since he is the technologically inclined one!

i ordered from bridesbouquet.com i love how they turned out. they have mostly roses though, but thats what i wanted. the colors are great.

i still struggle with that part - about the really important people not coming. i started this post when it was almost the case that my FIs parents weren't coming. i couldn't handle the fact that it would be ONLY my friends and family there. finally, his parents booked which made me feel a lot better. also reading everyones replies on here made me feel better about all the other friends who said they were coming and then backed out. i was supposed to have between 30 - 40 people, now we have 17 including me and FI. Now i am completely fine with the number of people....though the part that still hurts sometimes is that one of my BMs just recently backed out - after she bought her dress and everything so she really had me believing she was coming! also, another super close friend backed out who supposed to officiate my ceremony in French! (FIs family is French and the Jamaican minister we are getting is English). so my friend was supposed to co-officiate. now we might have to pay $300 for an interpreter or just have an all english ceremony. i don't know what we are going to do yet. but its not the money issue that hurts, its that these 2 people will not be at wedding. i try to focus on my four BMs that ARE coming and how amazing that is and i have to realize that i can't have ALL of them. i should be (and most of the time i really am) just grateful for those who are coming. the one thing i know is that when i am there in Jamaica ON my wedding day, i am going to be blissfully happy and it will be the best day ever and the people that are there will make it amazing. i didn't think once about changing my reception plans - i am still doing a private dinner and reception. the DJ comes with our bonfire package, so i am just keeping it as is. i wasn't planning on doing an AHR, but have been thinking more seriously about it,. problem is costs. if i do it, it will have to be a backyard affair.

hey no problem everyone! FYI, i just ordered six sarongs! i will post back here when they come in!

i like the Maggie and the Allure the best! they are all pretty similar though and i don;t think you can go wrong with any. and if you want me to pick between the 2 i like, i pick the allure! i like ruffles - but i am biased because my dress is Jenna by maggie sottero!

i placed my order on Feb. 15th and in the comments box, i requested that i receive the suit by Feb. 28th....and today i got an email that it was shipped and the estimated arrival date is Feb. 28th! so if it really gets here on time, i will be able to take a picture of my fiance in his suit and will post it here! after march 2nd, i won't be see him until we go to Jamaica.... oh and i ordered a preset size.

love this dress so much i bought it for myself!!! lol. and you look amazing! ps. i started a thread just for Jenna brides and no one posted there but me - find it and post your dress there too!

yes, i second sharing where you ordered! since i only need 25, i figure you are likely going to sell to someone who wants all 50.

thanks! you too!

oh, and what is the SPF?

i need about 20-25, would you be willing to sell that amount?

do you mean you wanted them for all your female guests? I am just getting them for my bridesmaids!

those are awesome, they look so real!

sounds good!

do u have a picture of it? i love seeing pics of real brides in Jovi?!

wow, this is an AMAZING thread!!!! i have not even started on thinking about my ceremony music! i am definitely saving this thread to come back for inspiration. and when i have a list, i will definitely post it here.

no problem everyone, i am always happy to share great finds because i get so many from all of you!! i will be getting each of my BMs a sarong in their favorite color. i already asked them their fave color, but they don't why, lol.

this is AMAZING forum for destination weddings! i only wish i found it sooner myself! but even since i have found it, its been amazing.

a great, affordable resort in Jamaica is Sunset Beach Resort and Spa in Montego Bay or Sunset Jamaica Grande in Ochos Rios! I am getting married at Sunset Beach and am SO excited! i know someone else who had her wedding there and she said it was fabulous!