soon2beMrsG

Ohhh Ladies I've been soooo neglectful. We've been going mad with details and etc. but I will answer each and every one of you this weekend! Cheers to the Villa Brides! Soon2beMrsG!

also another handy tip from the wedding mapper: http://www.weddingmapper.com/diy/wedding_map

Happy Friday ladies Here's a handy site I thought would help you in your planning. The wedding mapper is pretty cool and you can send it to your guests. www.weddingmapper.com of course it has all the other wedding planning trappings like your own website etc. but the map tool is what I use it for as I've already done a wedding website with www.mywedding.com (which is the best one i think because you can have sooo much information and guests can RSVP and it really streamlines everything). Any issues with vendors yet? I'm a bit wary of photographers now sigh. Hope all is going well in your Villa Plans! oooh redginger, i thank you soo much for all that info. The ceremony is going to be in Lily Pond Gazebo and the cocktail hour/reception in the royal croquette lawn/royal pavillion. I'm also going to have stations - cigar rolling station, an ice cream sundae station and a martini station to be set up. Crazy about the pop up guests!! My thing is if you REALLY want to see you should have chosen to stay here like I said so now you just have to wait until the wedding day! I've been very neglectful this week but the work to pay for the wedding had to take over. More this weekend ladies. Soon2beMrsG

Hi ladies, Happy Friday! something funny for the brides to be: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/melissa-lafsky/wedding-planning_b_896771.html Melissa Lafsky Editor, writer, ex-lawyer GET UPDATES FROM MELISSA LAFSKY Like 37 The 8 Truths About Weddings (That

Hey Gingerpeach, My coordinator is Andrea Smith and she's wonderful. She's been nothing but accommodating and even deals with my mom, which is no easy task. I'm blessed with a VERY involved Mommy of the Bride. I'm still bringing in my own florists because there are no real Blue kind of flowers in Jamaica and thinking of signature drinks even in these early days but its been great so far. "Date Twin" I love it! Any advice for our ladies and me? Always, Soon2BeMrsG

for all my villa brides - thought this article was worth sharing! http://www.mywedding.com/blog/wedding-basics/gifts-and-favors/favors/the-perfect-out-of-town-guest-gift-bag-by-offbeat-bride/?utm_source=Delightful+Details&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Delightful+Details+2011-07-05 The Perfect Out of Town Guest Gift Bag by Offbeat Bride If you’re planning a destination wedding, you may be wracking your brain over what to do for welcome bags for everyone. Thankfully, around the time I was planning my Hawaiian wedding, I ran across an article with the perfect inspiration for my own welcome bags: Modern Bride’s welcome bag included: * A woven bag * Bottled water * Mints * Cooling gel and sun block * Maui guide book * First aid kit * Fan Now, this welcome bag had some good suggestions, but it was also important to me to use as many local products as possible. (I strongly believe in supporting the local economy of both Maui, and the other Hawaiian islands that I love.) So why shouldn’t I try to use all local products? So with the article as a starting point, I started a search for most of those products pictured above, but made locally. Here is what a thousand hours of online research + months in Hawaii yielded — the perfect “Welcome to Maui†gift bag products: CONTENTS: Lauhala tote bags: I discovered the online Ailana Kai catalog. Their large Lauhala Tote Bags were perfect! But, depending on how many products you’re planning on including, they make bags in all sizes. A map of the island: We grabbed a bunch of driving maps from the airport when he arrived. They were free and EXCELLENT for tourists. We also included a hand-made map of all the wedding event locations. Sunblock: Of course we had to use Maui Babe SPF 30 sunblock! Ideally I would have loved to give everyone a large bottle, but they’re very expensive. So we contacted the sellers and they hooked us up with small 1 oz bottles. Snacks: * We found Wow-Wee chocolate bars — the most delicious chocolate bars ever! These are made on the island and come in eight different flavors. My favorite is chocolate and potato chips. * Speaking of potato chips, we HAD to include a bag of Maui-style potato chips. They’re my favorite snack on Earth. I have had them shipped from Maui to my apartment in West Hollywood. I don’t care, there’s nothing like them. * To wash it all down, we also included Hawaiian Springs water, from the big island. Mini first aid kit: Okay, this wasn’t locally sourced. But I just had to include it because, you know, accidents have happened to us before while on vacation. Fans: Also, not locally sourced, but from Koyal Wholesale. Lip balm: I swear by Oils of Aloha Kukui lip therapy. I buy them in bulk when I go to the islands, and they’re perfect for the girls and guys to use. And here’s how it looked when it was all packed up: Of course, I’m always open for more advice or suggestions for affordable local products to make the best Welcome to Hawaii bags. So if anyone out there has any more ideas feel free to leave ‘em in the comments! by Offbeat Bride on June 30, 2011 in Favors, Guest Bloggers

Congratulations Gingerpeach!!! Let's hear all about it!! I'm sure it was gorgeous and what great advice to take a moment (no matter how small) to step back and appreciate the day. Will definitely heed that. Half Moon is doing wonderfully and all the save the dates are out. Now to doing my actual invitations with the Fiance. Messages in a bottle to be shipped internationally. How are the stress levels ladies? Found a photographer yet Catererbride? Always, Soon2beMrsG

Hi Jwed12 Our date is 04/21/2012 and I'm getting wary of Alain myself as I didn't see a lot posted by him. I'm going to do more research because our hotel also makes us pay an outside vendor fee so he or she would have to be worth it. Our wedding is going to be at Half Moon Resort in Montego Bay. I literally can't wait! Soon2beMrsG

hey my villa ladies! Thought I would share this free e-book for http://www.thebridecafe.com/guide.pdf its awesome for the stress you're feeling and for future stress! How are the plans going? Looking into florists now and thinking about Alain Hottat as a photographer. Always, Soon2beMrsG

I'm booking Alain Hottat too! He's really quick to espond to email and really reasonable in price. I received the same quote and couldn't believe it! I hope to hear about your experience with him because he's been good thus far.

Oh Redginger, I feel like such a traitor now but we finally decided to release Endless Summer (hey ladies its available April 21, 2012 if you want it) and we're going with Half Moon. Here are the reasons: http://halfmoon.rockresorts.com/guest-rooms/royal-villas.asp - so I'm technically not a traitor because we're still getting villas + the ceremony and reception site is the Royal Pavillion = total privacy see them stairs... yah so did we in real life and let me tell ya, I didn't see anything good happening from having a broken neck on the day of my wedding although the villa was beautiful it was too compartmentalized Paulette my prospective wedding planner was awesome though and took me about 7 more villas and if you're still looking I would suggest Noble House - flat and beautiful and the ocean is right there. We went to Half Moon last and honestly we fell in love all over again. Up until then we were dead set on Endless summer. Then we got a tour (by the Endless Summer is on the Half Moon golf course) and honestly it gave us the villa feel with privacy, reasonably affordable and I didn't have to worry about blocking off rooms for the guests attending. So even though I started this as a villa bride I am now a "Sort of" villa bride. I'm still doing the following things though: getting my own DJ & looking for a steel band getting my own photographer - Alain Hottat (check him out ladies his site is amazing and very affordable http://www.jamaicashoots.com) Bringing in my own florists Putting our own flavor on the decorations So even though I'm having it at a resort I'm like a hybrid of sorts. I hope the ladies forgive me b/c I'm still going to give as much info as I can. Also, I saw this place for tables cutlery and they seemed pretty reasonable http://hireagejamaica.com/ forgive me Soon2beMrsG

Hey Crasht1224, I'm definitely loving the led thowies for lights! As for music, that sounds like a great idea but you have to have a good MC? A friend who isn't scared of public speaking, a particularly well spoken uncle or aunt? I would suggest a Daddy or something but he's going to be busy doing the dancing with you and all that. I've enclosed a music spreadsheet that I'm giving to my DJ (my friends said it may be look OCD but my co-worker who is also getting married is using it too) also it can be passed around to your wedding party if you would like them to suggest music. You could arrange your iPod playlists. Hope it helps. P.S. it only opens on Excel 2007 or higher. All my best wishes, soon2beMrsG Team Wedding Playlist Suggestions.xlsx

just saw this warning about photographers ladies and thought you should know. from islandbrides.com Important Notice About Photography In an effort to reduce costs/maximise profits, more and more resorts are ony allowing brides and grooms to use the resort photographer for your wedding or charging high fees to allow you choose your own. islandbrides.com believes your wedding photographs are one of the most important aspects of your day, and the only one that lasts a lifetime. We recommend checking with your chosen resorts for rules or hidden fees. The following is a list of resorts who do not allow you to (or make it very expensive to) choose your own photographer: Sandals Resorts - All locations Breezes Resorts - All locations Couples Resorts - All locations Grand Lido Resorts - All locations Hedonism Resorts - All locations Starfish Resorts - All locations "Rooms on The Beach" Resorts - All locations Pink Sands Resort - Harbour Island, Bahamas Rose Hall - Jamaica Half Moon - Jamaica Grand Palladium Lady Hamilton Resort - Jamaica Frenchman's Reef - St Thomas/USVI Ritz Carlton - St Thomas/USVI This list is not complete, and we will add to it as we learn of more. Please check with your resort before booking!! always, Soon2beMrsG

some Endless Summer pics!

Welcome deannamarie85! Trust me now that I'm back from Jamaica I totally know the feeling of changing venues but we're still undecided. We're still holding onto Endless Summer Villa but Half Moon is just so wonderful and private (especially in the dead season of April). Congratulations on the wonderful day! All my best, Soon2beMrsG