MrsWeiss1211

Here's a technical question: I want to do the ttd shoot on sunday evening (we're getting married Saturday evening), but we're flying monday afternoon. How does one transport a soaking wet wedding dress back to the states?? Another idea i've been toying with is actually selling my dress in the Bahamas. Like I use it, trash it, send it to the dry cleaners and the store/individual who buys it picks it up? Anyone do this before?? D

Hi Ladies! So so so so so cute! I'm in! I got my sand, foam sheets, and glue gun. I'm about to order my bottles (8.5oz Quadra from specialtybottles.com). Wondering a couple of things: 1. Does anyone have the template for the actually invite (although, mine's going to be a STD)? 2. Those who printed them at home, did the parchment paper really make a big difference? 3. What size shells, sand dollars and starfish did you purchase? Thank you! D

Hey KT, Congrats on your engagement (and stumbling onto this site)! I heard about it from a friend who used BDW extensively while planning her DW in Turks and Caicos. She said it saved her! To answer you wildflowers question, I flipped through magazines and picked 3 looks that I liked, scanned them and send them to Natalie and Alexander for them to look at. By the time my FI and I met with them, I was already leaning towards1 more than the other. Alexander gave us some good ideas, but when I spoke with Natalie (over the phone, mind you!), she totally put it together for me! I like wildflower now, but I'm hoping I'll love them when I see what they come up with! As for the work permit, I was told that they can run anywhere from $500-$1000 for each person! On top of the flight and accommodations! We were looking at $3500 BEFORE we paid anything towards their fees or packages. Hope that helps!

Hey Stephanie! So glad to hear that we have same vendors! Looks like your wedding is right around the corner. Congratulations! Please please please send me a message when you get back and let me know your experience! I'm really interested to see how everyone delivers! My FI kept wishing that the vendors had come to us, but I didn't want for them to know they we were set on the O&O and hike up the prices, hence our all over town excursions! I was trying to be smart about about it, but I'll be so glad when they all come to us on our 2nd site visit in October. Oh! A question: are you hiring an MC for your reception instead of having Jose do it? My FI isn't sure that he'll be able to rally the crowd. (i'm not sure our crowd will need rallying... but... you know boys...) Also, I forgot to mention that BB will do a free trial at the Bay Street location in case you want to see exactly how they work. Now.... off to plan my Message in a Bottle Save the Dates!

Hi Everyone! We just got back from our Site Visit to Paradise Island and I've got a full report! We spent 2 nights at Atlantis (the Coral Tower) and 2 nights at the One and Only Ocean Club (Hartford Wing) and got to meet a ton of vendors! Here's my opinion and experience with places and people. Venues: Atlantis this is a great property for families with children. There are a ton of activities to keep everyone busy- everything from crazy water slides, to sting ray feeding to swimming with dolphins! They are people EVERYWHERE and my FI kept saying that he felt like he hadn't left Manhattan! The group room rates are really reasonable $180/nite in the beach tower, but all the little tiny extras will totally get you! They charge you for the utilities in the room (electricity and water!), a bottle of water in your room is $6, a sandwich is $18, a slice of pizza is $16 and the buffet is $52 per person! They even charge you $18 for your pool towels! We were shocked when we got the final bill. One and Only Ocean Club This place will blow your mind away! Every detail is thought of and worked out perfectly- from the refreshing juice that they provide all the time in the lobby, to the complimentary champagne and chocolate covered strawberries that they bring every evening! Every room comes with a butler that will take care of any little thing you can think of! They even steamed by engagement photo dress for me last minute! The grounds are emaculant with their beautiful versaille gardens and the famous Cloisters. While the Cloisters are actually a public property, the late afternoon slot is reserved for O&O brides. The Cloisters are everything that everyone says they are- so romantic, so classic, so perfect! The versaille gardens are gorgeous and provide the most idilliac setting for a reception. *we decided on having our wedding at the cloisters and having the reception at the O&O. In order to secure these sites, we have to guarantee 10 rooms for 3 nights each (which will run our guests $1500). Thankfully, our guests are into the luxury hotel experience Florists Wildflower We were so impressed with this family team! Natalie was away the weekend we went down, but we met with Alex and felt completely at ease! We discussed our vision and felt that we were completely understood. Natalie called me when I got back, and after spending 20 minutes on the phone with her, I felt like our wedding came to life! We are aiming for a truly unique garden wedding. I want our guests to feel like they've never been to a wedding like this before. www.wildflowersbahamas.com Floral Arts We had a really hard time getting to this place and I feel like it might have started us off on the wrong foot. The ladies we met were very nice and help me develop our theme. I did feel like Michelle was a little nervous to give suggestions (perhaps it was my adement dislike for Ivy). They apparently had the exclusive contract at the One and Only until a few years ago when the resort opened up the floral options to couples. www.floralartsbahamas.com *we're still waiting for proposals, but based on experience, I feel like we'll go with Wildflower. DJ Jose Ageeb Look no further Paradise Island brides! He's a one-stop shop! Not only is he providing us with DJ services (and sound system), he's also arranging a Cigar Roller, a Junkanoo Band and our Ceremony Music. He has a great personality and is so willing to work with you on anything. My FI only concern is that he may be too soft spoken to really liven up the party so we may also hire an MC. I wish we could have attended one of his events so that we could have experienced his party vibe. www.partybahamas.net [email protected] 954-364-8100 Stephen Bain Our WC arranged for us to meet with him so that we would have someone to compare Jose to. He has a very suave personality, but we didn't feel like he was really listening to our vision. While we are getting married in the bahamas, we're not looking for a the reggae music reception and after I mentioned Bobby Darren and Frank Sinatra, he played Bob Marley for us Don't get me wrong, we will be playing Bob Marley, at our casual rehearsal dinner... However, I think that he would be a lively DJ for a wedding and he did say that given a few days (weeks... probably) he could provide couples with all the extra touches they may be looking for. [email protected] *we're definitely going with Jose Officiant Matthew Sweetin What a great guy! We want to take him out for a beer and just talk about life! We actually cancelled all our other officiant meetings after speaking with him. He'll take care of everything for you (for a small fee)- from expediating your marriage license, to procuring your documents and official copies and sending them to you at home. www.islandpreacha.com Cake Swiss Pastry Shop Manfried was very sweet and his wife was very informative. They gave us a complimentary sample box of 4 flavors: Red Velvet, Chocolate Mousse, Pineapple and Vanilla. Only cons: They are really deep into Nassau and took 30 minutes (and $80!) to get there. I was looking forward to the Cake Sampling Experience where we sat down with the pastry chef and talked it out. It was really busy the day we went (saturday) and there didn't seem to be a private place to meet. http://www.swisspastryshop.com O&O They wanted to charge us $200 to attend a tasting (I bet I would have gotten my ideal experience there...) so we didn't do it with them. On top of it, they want to charge $1400 for a cake to feed 60 people! *we've decided on a 4 layer cake- the bottom layer will be 12" of pineapple cake then there will be 2 faux layers of 10" and 8" and the top layer of 6" of chocolate mousse for the low low price of $400 (and a $30 delivery and set up fee). Make-up Artists Bobby Brown I met with them at their Bay Street location (across from John Bull) and they were really helpful (and pretty). They said that they would send an artist to my hotel and do our makeup there. I have 3 bridesmaids, 3 matrons and each of our mothers, so I'm thinking that I may need 2-3 artists! Here are their prices: Bridesmaids/Mothers- $75 each Bride: $50 242-323-2797 242-432-8834 [email protected] Mac They are also located on Bay Street in the same building as BB. Same deal with the artists coming to your hotel. Their makeup artists were a tad bit more made up then I'm going for on my wedding day. Their prices: Bridesmaids/Mothers: $75 Bride: $100 242-425-9289 242-323-2731 [email protected] Photographers I mentioned earlier that this was my biggest stressor and it was quite the roller coaster ride! Ben Jamieson After corresponding with him for nearly a month, when I went to schedule a meeting and a tentative photo shoot, he informed me that he books 6 months in advance and would try to squeeze me in for a meeting. We were planning on basing our hiring decision on our engagement pictures so he wasn't an option. Then our WC insisted on scheduling a meeting with him for us as he is known as "the best" (we heard this from several of our vendors). Well, he blew it off and never showed up. When our WC asked what happened, he told her he honestly forgot. We never got an apologetic email from him. I was never too impressed with his photos and definitely not impressed with his lack of professionalism. Wellington Chae Came highly recommended by Matthew Sweetin. We saw a couple of his online galleries, but they lacked the artistic flair that I am so desperately seeking. But it's only fair to say that I'm being extremely picky about our wedding photos. He was really quick with responding and was very polite in our emails. [email protected] Dede Brown She came highly recommended by Jose and after she sent us her portfolio via email (her website is in the process of launching), we breathed a huge sigh of relief! Dede is an artist, and stumbled onto the wedding photography scene by accident (she took "getting ready" shots for a friend and then got asked to shoot that friend's friend's wedding.... and so on). She's shot a total of 4-5 weddings and already has developed a great eye for those unique shots that I'm hoping for (you know the ones where one person is in focus, the other out of focus, the different angle shots, and those magical candid, RELAXED moments...). We met with her and I toured her around the Ocean Club to see how she would shoot and I liked her vision. We booked our engagement session with her on the beach and really enjoyed it (even though I can be super awkward in front of a camera). I'm excited to see how the photos come out! Her fees are so reasonable and she provides her couples with a CD of all the images for more convenient printing back home. *we really liked dede but will base our decision on whether to hire a local photographer based on the engagement pictures. So, that's most of it, ladies! I hope all this information helps you guys! Happy Planning <3

Hey Otto, I spoke with you about a month ago (on your way to a wedding in Orlando) and you never emailed me back! no worries tho... we found a great photographer based in the bahamas

Hey Kathy, They are called The Studio Photographers and their main office is in Jersey. Really great team. They told me that all of their destination weddings have been featured in National Publications. Just found another associated fee for flying in your own photographers- Temporary Work Permits! I'll be getting more deets on that this weekend and will have a full update report when I get back.

Hey Girls! Thanks for the responses! And thanks for Jose's email. I'm going to send him a message now and see if I can meet with him (or better yet attend an event he's dj-ing) while we are down there! Just an update on the photography situation- I found an awesome photographer in staten island (we're from manhattan) and they quoted me $4500 for 2 photographers for the entire weekend + $1000 for travel and hotel BUT $3000 of that goes towards whatever we purchase- like prints and albums. That really means they are about $2000! Other photographers I looking at are charging $3000-$4000 for a few hours and they only include a CD or website. Sounds like while they are a little more expensive, we'll get a TON more! I'll update when I get back from the site visit and let you guys know more deets. D

Hi Ladies, Its my first post on BDW! I've been a silent member for a few weeks and have finally gathered enough information to feel like I have some idea on what's going and a ton of questions on how to put it all together. Planning our wedding is going to be so much fun! Thank you for all your brilliant ideas and suggestions! Soooo.... My Fiance and I are heading to the Bahamas Feb 24-28 to do some reconnaissance. Here's what we're thinking in terms of Vendors. Flowers- Wildflower- I've viewed their website and pictures of their work and I think they are very talented. I have a meeting scheduled with them for when we get down there. Anyone know how their prices compare to say Floral Arts and Full House Floral Events. I looked at their websites, but wasn't blown away. Is that just the pictures they're showing. Anyone use them for their wedding? Cake- The O&O wants to charge us $1400 for our wedding cake. I think that's asinine. Swiss Pastry Shoppe- I've seen this place listed a few times on the threads. Has anyone used them? Anyone gone for a cake tasting?? Anyone know any other pastry shops? DJ- Everyone is raving about Jose Ageeb. Does anyone have his contact info? Has anyone used anyone else? We really want someone with a "club-like" dj feel. Entertainment- Ceremony Performer- I'm thinking a violinist? Does anyone know of one? Steel Drum band- we'd love to hire one for either our rehearsal dinner or cocktail hour. The O&O is quoting me $500-1200/hr. Is that the going rate- or are they hiking up the price? Junkanoo Band- has anyone ever experienced one of these? I've youtub'd them and I have mixed feelings... Fire dancers- anyone have any recommendations? Officiant Matthew Sweeting- everyone is raving about him as well. My fiance is Jewish and I'm christian but we're both wayyy more spiritual than religious. Is he a good fit? Also, anyone know any good rabbis? We're not sure that we'll use one but I'd like to meet with one just in case. Photographer- I'm stressing out about this vendor. I'm not even sure how pricing works for them. How is everyone structuring their contracts? I'd like them to shoot my whole weekend (casino night, pool party, rehearsal dinner, getting ready, wedding, reception, late night, brunch and trash the dress...). Am I going to be selling off my first born for something like this? Has anyone flown in a photographer? How does that pricing work?? If anyone has actually figures or even sample contracts that they feel comfortable sharing, please message me. Anyone have any names? Right now I'm finding photographers in california and miami, but i'd love to have some local as I think they will be more reasonably priced. Am I right? Hair and Make-up I'd love to have 2-3 artist come to our room and get all the ladies ready. Anyone have any trusted stylists? Right now my only idea is to go to the Mac store in Nassau and see if I can hire someone from there... Travel Agent Has anyone used Destinationweddings.com? I hear that they not only get you group discounts on flights but also set up payment plans with 0% interest. Sounds almost too good to be true?? Guys, thank you so much. You all have been so amazing in the other threads I've read!

Hey Girls, Just an idea- but in my culture (i'm colombian), its customary to hand deliver wedding invitations. My FI and I are going to be calling friends and family that live nearby and personally deliver the MIB. It's really gonna help us cut down on the cost of shipping. Plus it adds a really nice personal touch!