JQLong

Very Nice Erica. I have seen a lot of turquoise, black & white so it should be very easy for you decoration & favor wise.

Hi Pacificgirl! I too am on a budget and because my fiance and I are paying for the wedding ourselves, I needed to be realistic on what I was going to spend on a gown. Check out jasminesbridalshop.com. The service was awesome. James - my rep answered all of the questions I had promptly. I ordered my dress about 4 weeks ago and I should have it within the next week. What I like is they show detail of dresses they have already created on their website....not just the designers they are looking to duplicate. Check them out...you won't be sorry! JQ

Thank you Erica. Our colors are turquoise & yellow. What are your colors including the turquoise?

Thanks Sharon99!

Here are a few of our engagement photos. My wonderful brother who is also my fiance's groomsman, took them. We were lucky to have a beautiful day in the park....

Your dress is lovely!

Thank you ladies. I will post pics when I receive it. I am having it delivered to my MOH house. It will stay there until next year when I go for alterations. I ordered a bridal garment bag from Amazon so I'll keep it in there.

My One last thing...We will not fill them to we get to the resort. My fiance and I arrive the day before our guests. We intend to put our stickers on and fill them there. Please give any suggestions on what to put in them.....I already have one....My fiance and I met online and I found these cute LOVE keyboard magnets. The sticker says "Love is the key" and they can be personalized..... What do you think?

Ladies, Today I went to Target just to get out of the house....oh boy am I glad I did. I have been searching online for weeks for an affordable idea for favors for our wedding in St. Thomas next year. I have seen so many great ideas on this site.....So.....onto my find today.... Our colors are Turquoise & Yellow...I found these cute pails with a bow at Target....and guess what the price was.......(drumroll please...) They were $1.00 originally....but Target had them on sale for...... $.25!!!!!!!! I could not believe it! I was literally smiling as I loaded up my cart with the little yellow pails. Every time someone would come pass my cart if they smiled at me...they got the excitement. The bows were put on the pail through 2 holes so it can be replaced. We are expecting about 30 guests so I went ahead and bought 41! The target near me only had 20 so I went to customer service and the lady printed out the stores that had more.... I also found this sparkly kind of card stock paper...also turquoise & yellow.... Now...I need ideas of what to put in them! The paper was also .25 cent a piece so I bought 10 (three colors come in the packs yellow, turquoise & pink). There were different color pails: yellow (obviously), blue (almost turquoise but wasn't close enough), pink (fuschia), white (awesome to go with any color theme). Ladies....if your idea is to get a pail....please go to Target. Not sure how long they will last....especially if you live near me :-) The pails should be light to travel with....I plan on getting stickers (Thank You's).... Please share any ideas on what to put in these little treasures!

I saw this dress before we actually got engaged. This is a Pronovias Gown. I did extensive searches on replica dress makers.....JasminesBridalShop.com came up in one of my searches. The service has been amazing. Here are pics of my dress they emailed me.... My dress was shipped on Thursday. Not sure if I will be posting pics with me in it....But I will give a full report on how it fits. Let me know what you ladies think! The site I used - www.jasminesbridalshop.com JQ

You look beautiful. What an amazing dress.

She looked amazing..... All I kept thinking.....was my fiance is not royalty....but he is my Prince Charming....I can't wait until my royal wedding! May 20, 2012!

Hi there IslandBride201x...the email from American Airlines states for a group of ten or more but...I think if you put the code in as the reservation is being made, it will give you the 5% off regardless of who else has booked. The great thing about American is that they do not require the guests to leave from the same location. I believe Continental does (which can be very inconvenient). I just went on their website...told them I was getting married next year....and within the next day or two I got the code. the code is valid for travel within a week of our wedding...which is cool in case folks want to saty longer. I hope this info helps! JQ

Sharon99...I even though the airline rates are not yet published, I contacted American Airlines (they seem to be the only airline flying direct to St. Thomas). I inquired about a wedding group rate and they emailed be back with a 5% group rate code. Not much but every penny helps!

The dress does look Ivory. A darker ivory though. The dress is beautiful.

Good afternoon Ladies.... I just had to add my 2 cents in.... I just received yesterday...pictures of my knock-off wedding gown from JasminesBridalShop.com...let me tell you...It is fab! I am at work right now and I will upload pictures of the dress and the actual when I get home. The communication has been amazing. I placed the order for my dress about 3 weeks ago. They only have to complete the straps. I searched online for weeks looking for a dressmaker and inquired to about 3. Jasmine's bridal was the ONLY one that responded quickly. I understand that we are in completely different time zones, so I expected some delay. Let me tell you....James (my contact's name) is on point. I would send him an email at 10:00 eastern standard time....he would respond by 10:30! I have to say the service....has been outstanding! Their website is o.k....but they have a link to Facebook where they post pictures of dresses they have designed. You have the option of getting premium grade (very close to the original) or designer grade (they use higher grade materials). Now I know what you are thinking....why the difference? Check out the site and you will see. Just so happens, my gown did not have any beading detail that I was concerned about paying double (the designer grade gowns are double the advertised prices....still a great deal). I will post my pics in a few.... Trust me ladies....anyone seeking to have a knock-off dress made should really check out jasminesbridalshop.com you will NOT be sorry! Happy planning! JQ

@Coconoir1908....your pics are very nice!

Good day ladies....so nice to finally see 2012 Brides getting some love! We are getting married May 20, 2012 in St. Thomas! We are very focused and have taken care of a lot so far: 1. Venue booked (including room blocks) 2. Deposit on our bands 3. My dress (it's awesome....so siked to wear it....that is why it will stay at my MOH house :-) ) 4. Airline code 5. MOH dress + 1 bridesmaids dress (very small wedding party) - the guys will be so easy.... There are obviously sooooo many other things to do. But honestly ladies, by choosing to be destination brides....we leave a lot to the WC's so....we need something to keep us occupied! Happy planning! JQ

Thank you for the info too MsFoxxy....I will contact Kate soon. When is your wedding? Yes! Leanne told me that the gazebo was going to be changed. My fiance and I have never been so we are going to be excited regardless. The renovations are supposed to be wonderful. I can't wait until next year! JQ

Sorry for the delay Ms.Foxxy...Leanne advised that once our block of rooms were booked, our guest would still get the reduced rate until they were sold out (I think that is how I understood it to be). We have also decided to take a look at Havana Blue. For the amount of money that we advised to have a beach party at Bolongo Bay, we would rather have sit down dinner right at the resort. We have yet to contact them but because I am getting married at 1:00, we will need to be creative regarding the timing. Who was your contact at Havana? JQ

Yellow & Turquoise! My fiance always buys me sunflowers so I wanted to incorporate yellow....and turquoise is one of my favorite colors. May 20, 2012.....I become Mrs. Long!

Oooops...One last thing. The room block deposit will be returned to us (they say after the event but I am going to push for sooner!)

Hi Tara....the deposit for the block of rooms was $500.00. Our guests have until April 2012 to booked their rooms...otherwise we could be on the hook for the remaining rooms (yikes....I'm sure we wont have a problem). The good thing is the room block would include me and my fiance so....we only have 9 rooms to book. As far as the room types, the guests have the option to get ocean view rooms or resort view and the option to stay at the morning star side. I thought I was doing something special by going "off season" and gettig married in May....the rates are honestly not that competitive, but I really like what they had to offer. I know what you mean about Bolongo Bay....I read some of the reviews....Marriott had its own bad reviews but I understand its hard to please everyone all the time. Once you book your date & if you decide to do a block of rooms, the Marriott will give you a wedding site for your guests to booked their rooms.. It's pretty neat because you can put you own pictures up. My fiance and I have yet to take "engagement" pics but will tweak our site before sending the STDs. JQ

Hey Tara!!! That is so awesome. MARRIOTT BRIDES UNITE!!!! I'll be sure to tell you all about our wedding when we get back. Yes, we have already made our deposit and booked a block of 10 rooms. I was worried about the pricing of the Marriott for all of my guests so I have inquired at Bolongo Bay. Lorie from Bolongo has already gotten back to me with information about our reception/party and I hope to get info about the rooms next week. While the Marriott has what I want as far as elegance for our wedding, Bolongo seems to be the place to party! Good luck with your planning and keep us posted! JQ

Thanks for the advice Ms.Foxxy. We have considered Havana Blue..very nice but pricey. Although my mother is paying, I still want it to be reasonable. I may consider going to Bolongo Bay for our reception. On my STD/Pre-Invite that I am doing electronically, I am giving my guest thelink as an option to stay there instead of the Marriott if they would like. Hopefully we can work out a deal. Anywho....Thanks again and Happy Planning! JQ