beachbum21

These are really beautiful! Are you planning to share your templates? Just curious, I know not everyone wants to, but if you're able to I would really appreciate it! Thanks!

Hi Leah, It really depends on which package you choose. I sent you a PM with more details. Quote: Originally Posted by Leah22 Hi beachbum! What's your cost per person for hosting the wedding off-property? I'm considering a switch to an off property wedding as I watch my wedding costs at the Grand rise. Thanks!

Hey Liz! Who are you using to plan your off-site wedding? We're planning an off-site wedding as well, just curious because we're on the hunt for music vendors! Thanks!! Quote: Originally Posted by Lizk23 You should have just asked ME about it!!! (I assume you're talking about me cause my profile says exactly what you read) I'm not fake i promise! lol I see we have the same wedding date, but yes mine is on a private beach nearby and yes our reception is at the Iberostar, but at the suites not the beach resort. (I believe you said yours is at the beach?) But don't worry I have my own wedding coordinator, I am literally not using the Iberostar WC's for anything, I don't even have their names or contact info! So I won't be bogging them with questions or anything like that, they're there for you 100%! I know the one wedding a day thing is a big deal to a lot and for good reason! But unfortunatly no matter where you go and what they promise, that won't be the case. Every 5star resort I've been to in the Carribean is always packed with weddings! I was in Punta Cana and they had 9 wedding in a day at our resort, one after the other after the other. I bet there will be a few more wedding than just us too. (off resort weddings) (obvs. cause destination weddings are awesome!!) But you will be the only bride on the beach during your ceremony don't worry!!!(well you damn well better be) And if it helps put your mind at ease, we don't have a large group and will be at our ceremeony site until 6:00 and having dinner at 6:30 at Calabash. Good luck with everything and I hope this helps. Oh yeah one more thing....Can I get in on this DANCE PARTY?!??!?!

Hey capecodder! If it's for before your trip, here are a few suggestions: - themed night: you all wear old prom dresses (or super ugly prom dresses) and go out somewhere - dinner & bar - wine & cheese party and head out or do it at a hotel or someone's house - spa trip with bubbly - pub crawl It really depends on what you want, do you want to get all dolled up and head out? Do you want to have "challenges" all night (ie. you can pick up booklets that have challenges for the bride, or your friends can think them up). Or are you looking for more of a relaxing day? Ie. spa treatments and a low-key night with your favorite gals? If it's in the budget, you can do a night away at a cottage or chalet or something with/without skiing or whatever. I told my girls what I didn't want - strippers, strip clubs, to be dressed up like a stripper or in anything uncomfortable and encouraged them to keep it local (for majority) to go easy on the budget given it's already a destination wedding and then let them decide. They know me well enough to know what I would/wouldn't want (i hope!! lol). I hope this helps! Quote: Originally Posted by capecodder We are down to 100 days until our wedding!! Can't believe how quickly time has flown!! My girlfriends are asking for ideas for my stagette. I'm thinking of going to spa for self serve facials and then maybe to hotel room for some drinks? Anyone have any other ideas?? I'm not really that big of party person anymore. Went out to much during my university days! Lol!!

Welcome Kim! Wanted to mention that for the bouquets, I too am torn and am focused on figuring out flowers now. Not sure if I should get real or real-touch. I haven't seen super reviews on the real flowers so far for where I'm going but have seen some really great reviews on bloom bridal for the real-touch. While a little on the pricey side, you can re-sell them! I don't think I'll want to keep them, they'll probably just collect dust but I could absolutely re-sell them and someone else could enjoy them! Just a thought! Quote: Originally Posted by Kim Deslippe Thanks ladies, So cool, it's amazing how this internet thing brings brides from around the world together and then some are right next door...lol! My FI is from Wyoming, Ontario (his family still lives there) which isn't that far from Sarnia. Still haven't made it through all the posts on this thread yet, but so far it's been interesting and I'll be sure not too beg for anyone's templates...haha. I'm attempting to do a lot of DIY projects, so far I've designed my own STD and invites (if you look you can find templates on-line for free), just waiting for my paper to get here from paper and more so I can get the STD printed and send out. Trying to make the big decision on bouquets and bouts right know, I wanted to do something different, like use shells for the bouts but my FI doesn't care for it and I don't want to spend a crazy amount of $ on flowers that won't really last to be brought home. I've looked into using real touch but they are pretty pricy too. Thinking that I may used fans or parasols for the girls. I attempted to make my own wedding hanger yesterday, and I must say that it didn't turn out too bad. I really liked the idea of them but didn't want to spend $25-30 on it, so I spent $1.50 on 2 hangers at Dollarama and $6.50 on 100 ft of wire at Lowes and it only took a little more then an hour. I could do one for each of my BM (3) for less then $20, love it when I can save money. Can't wait to finish reading everyone's posts. I love seeing and reading about everyone's ideas and experiences, it makes me look forward to my day more and more, but it is still so very far off

Question for all you ladies that have already been to the Iberostar Rose Hall Beach resort... can you please comment on the beach itself?? I recently heard from a friend that her friend/family member went to this resort a few years back and the sand was actually more like tiny pepples and less like soft sand.. I haven't read/heard of this anywhere, and i've searched the trip advisor reviews as well as these forums. Just curious... do you need water shoes?? I really hope not, I thought it was a really nice sandy beach, from what I've read it's about a km of beach at the Beach resort and there's very little seaweed but that it is cleaned up daily. No mention of rocks, pebbles, etc... Thanks!!

Your dress is very pretty! I agree with the above posting, go with the first bouquet, it's gorgeous!! I stored your pic for reference... I was set on this one (below) but now also really like your idea!

Oh no! I think people will totally use them! All-inclusives have germs everywhere! Great for using before snacking on the beach, etc... maybe it's just me! lol!! I picked up hand sanitizers, travel candles and travel-sized shower gels that smell like the tropics! Awesome finds Quote: Originally Posted by Sharon99 Wow great sale! I wanted to buy the hand sanitzers but FI thinks its lame & no one will use them...UGH!!

You may also want to try something like The Bay, I saw some there a while ago, or maybe something like la senza??

I re-read your posting just to be sure I understood, it sounds like from what you read the other bride's ceremony will be held off-site and she's going to head back to the resort with her wedding group for the reception.. right? I think that as long as your first choices are not comprimised, I'm not sure there is really an impact to you or anything the resort can do about it... If you got what you wanted for your big day, and the WC is focused on you and your wedding, then they are living up to their policy. At the end of the day, there really could be a few other brides the same day as you if they all had their wedding ceremonies off-site, and they all decided to come back to the resort for dinner, they probably could, so long as it's not a private reception I guess. Plus, given there's only one disco, you're bound to run into other brides at the disco later on. Now don't get me wrong, I too took into consideration their one wedding per day policy when selecting the resort but at the end of the day, it's really a one wedding *ceremony* per day policy. As far as the welcome dinner, rehearsal dinner, etc... these are not wedding ceremonies and you'll be competing with other brides anyhow to book them. And finally, I wouldn't be surprised if I happened to see another bride when I do my TTD shoot, again, not something the resort can/should control, as long as they aren't getting in the way of your wedding, you should be great! I'm sure Silvia will do everything she can to make sure you have the day of your dreams!!! Just thought I'd throw in another perspective... Quote: Originally Posted by Nikadawn Thnaks Ladies, the one wedding a day policy is exactly why we booked Rose Hall. I assumed that this applied to receptions just as much as ceremonies but perhaps not. I have already emailed Silvia and plan to follow up with a phone call this afternoon if I haven't already heard back from her. I'm not going to hold a grudge against anyone for this but I do feel that they broke policy here and a discount or free bonfire is in order. I'll let you know what happens....

Hi Stacy! I checked out Gran Bahia as well, I've stayed in this chain in Mexico and loved it but the reviews were better for the Iberostar and I really liked that they only have one wedding/day so it's not a wedding factory with wedding parties bumping into each other. The Suites was my first choice but worked out to be well over my max so I opted for the Beach, this way those who want to can spend more and stay at the Suites or Grand and those who can't will stay at the Beach but everyone can go to the wedding at the Beach. I haven't read anything bad about this place, I can't wait to see for myself in April! You're in a great spot because you're so early! We started our search a bit late so early bird specials were expiring too quickly. Good luck!!

I haven't seen one but sounds like a nice idea if you plan to do it in b & w and then frame it or something

I'm bringing down my own photographer as well, we are using the "free trip" towards his travel and paying his (negotiated) fees. He does amazing work and we are getting an engagement session, rehearsal, full wedding day coverage, TTD and some adhoc stuff throughout the week... We also get all the shots and a professional album. When i sat down to compare costs/services, it was less expensive to bring him than to go local and the work just didn't compare. Good luck all!

Hi girls! Just wanted to reach out to anyone who has used or is planning to use TWJ for their wedding day festivities? My FI and I are booked for April, we've opted to have the ceremony and reception on a private beach in MoBay. We wanted to do something a little different and really enjoy the day in a more private setting. We'll head back to the resort after our reception for a drink at the bar and to dance the night away at the disco! I'm approaching the final planning stages with respect to choosing music, flowers, decorations, etc.. trying not to complicate everything but any words of advice, stories you can share or helpful information would be great! We are thinking about having a steel drum band for the ceremony, champagne/cocktail hour and then a dj for the reception portion but aren't sure just yet - did anyone else have a band and/or dj? If so, were they good? Were they able to take requests? So far dealing with Almarie has been great, she's been very responsive, has provided me with pics of the location and seems very receptive to my suggestions so far (I asked if she could hang some paper lanterns I'm bringing and she agreed). We were also able to negotiate a little which is great! If you check out her fb page she sometimes posts "specials". Anyhow, thanks in advance! And happy planning

I thought about it but decided I won't be going, I've been to a few and they're mostly geared to local weddings. It's really just an opportunity for them to advertise so I go home with a bag full of flyers and maybe a magazine or two They are fun though, if you haven't been go just for the full bride experience!

Is there anyone else you can contact at the resort/Iberostar company? It sounds like you've got record of previously communicating your plans, for a handful of people you would think they would just accommodate, especially with 4 of them being your photographers who are working, not guests. I feel like I'm increasingly hearing about challenges with dealing with this resort, especially around what they communicate as being allowed and then at the last minute changing direction. I'm certain that at the end of the day you'll have an absolutely fabulous time and a memorable day but wouldn't it be nice if the entire experience (including dealing with the resort YOU chose) was an absolutely positive one?! Good luck girl!

Hi LissMiss, You probably can have it shipped beforehand if it's not too far in advance, best to check with the resort directly. The only thing I would caution is shipping to another country might take longer and the risk of it getting lost might be higher. You can chose a guaranteed shipping option with a tracking number but then you're paying quite a bit more for shipping. It's tough, I have a few boxes of items I'm bringing down with me for the OOT bags and for decorations and I wouldn't want to lose any of them! But I think it would be more cost effective to pay for an additional bag or two luggage wise for the one way because once I hand out all the OOT bags at the resort it will significantly decrease my luggage!

Hi belledame! I found a great BM dress at Jacob. They always have lots of dresses and I found ours in the late Spring in a great color and it wasn't expensive at all so it was a really awesome find! You can also try RW&Co, Banada Republic, J Crew, they also have lots of options for dresses. It depends on what style you're going for, these stores offer great options that girls truly can wear again!

A note to the brides waiting for confirmation, call Sylvia or Nicole or whatever WC you have been dealing with. I had the best luck calling them and was pretty stressed about dates so confirming a date was key. It was also a big factor for figuring out the travel dates and group rates. Good luck ladies!!

Looks awesome!! I'm thinking it might be fun to have one as a welcome party! Was that on saturday at the beach or suites?

Hi there! We are not going to put labels on our cups so people can re-use them. I personally think they will be more likely to take them to work, etc... if they don't have our names/wedding date on them, just my opinion but we got bubba kegs so we really want people to use them again. We're going to attach tags that can be ripped off. Just my two cents!

Have you tried confirming with the WC at the resort? If you call them it's a lot easier to get a hold of them if email isn't working

Anyone else watching Wedding Crashers tonight?! Great movie!!

Hi girls! I made my starfish place cards! What do you think? Sorry about the grainy photo, it was taken with my phone! The starfish are fake and were purchased at the christmas shoppe and I made the cards and tied them on with raffia.

So when are we getting together ladies?