susan1672

Thanks Shannon. I'm going to try to negotiate with her about it...this should be fun. I agree, the prices are totally ridiculous. By the way - what time are you having your reception and are you doing a formal cocktail hour? I wish we could start the reception at 6:30 since we are having our ceremony at 5 but Janielle said the earliest the reception can start is 7 so I guess I'll just have my guests go to the lobby bar in between for an "informal" cocktail hour and then we are going to extend the reception for an hour to make it from 7-11.

It seems there is a huge price difference in renting the Port Maria depending on how many guests you have. I am thinking my final count will be about 53 people but it's an extra $1,500 to rent it out for 51-75 people compared to 30-50 people which I think is absurd. I wonder if I could negotiate to just pay a per person fee for anyone over the 50 person maximum of the lower priced package? Have any previous brides had this issue?

Hi Maria! We have the same wedding date Only I'm getting married at the Grand. How is your planning going? Just wanted to say hi since we have the same date and tell you good luck with everything!

I bought the pillow boxes at Michael's and the flip-flop playing cards are from Oriental Trading.

I spent some more time personalizing my OOT bag items this weekend, so here is a pic and two of the templates. The first item is a pillow box filled with tropical themed candy including tropical fun packs, flip flop gummies, and seashell shaped hard candy. I will post a final pic and prices of everything once my bags are officially complete and when I can make myself stop buying more crap to put in them lol ;-) Tropical Treat Stickers.docx Playing Card Stickers.docx

bree - I didn't make the box for the bottles. I actually ordered everything from sandartsupplies.com and then folded the box using the opposite side so it would be brown on the outside. I can't take all the credit for this, so I will refer you to the brides I used as an inspiration for this project....here are the links: http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/t/72777/message-in-a-bottle-save-the-date-invitations-pictures-instructions-and-prices http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/t/74261/our-mib-invites-with-lots-of-pics-and-additional-info#post_1626979 Good luck : )

I got the tiny starfish from ebay member kawagner101. I'm not going to lie. Some of the starfish were too large so I had to break them off to fit in the bottle but you really couldn't tell once they were in the sand. It was sad because I felt like I was breaking their little arms and legs off : ( Here is the template I used for the chapstick labels. I used Avery Label 5160 and I think they were either from Wal Mart or Staples. I was able to make two out of each label so I just cut the label in half then and wrapped them around the chapstick. Hope that helps! Chapstick Labels.docx

I havee templates of everything except the invitations and response cards bc one of my bridesmaids made them using photoshop and a design program. Let me k ow what you need : )

I love these and think I would add some more of my own bling to the heal.

HERE ARE PICS OF MY FORMAL MIB INVITES! THANKS TO SO MANY BRIDES ON THIS SITE FOR THEIR INSPIRATION! I mailed out 100 of these babies and I must say - it was A LOT of work! In the end, everyone was absolutely amazed by them and I got so many compliments which made the time and effort well worth it!

Love this dress but wanted a more fitted gown. Size 6

I love these! where are they from? Thanks!

The spreadsheet is so helpful! Thank you : )

Yes - I tried the chapsticks and they smell delicious!! I think I got my wisps at five below too because that was the best deal I found. Good luck : )

Thanks! I can' wait either!! I just ordered plain mugs and I might just add a tag or removable label to them.

OOT bags so far with a few personalized items. I am still working on personalizing everything else and will post pics once that is finished. Price Breakdown: 14 oz. Mugs: $1.17 each (discountmugs.com): Beach scene disposable camera for photo treasure hunt: $1.99 each (theknot.com) Sewing Kit: $1.00 (dollar tree) First Aid Kits: About 70 cents each (ebay) Chap-Ice Tropical Chapstick SPF 15: 2 for $1.00 (dollar tree) Travel Tissues Pack: 8 for $1.00 (dollar tree) Door Hanger: Free from Vistaprint Personalized Key Card Holder/Beach Safe Container: $1.50 each (oriental trading) Flip-Flop Playing Cards: .67 cents each (oriental trading) Emery Board: 20 for $1.00 (dollar tree) Tropical Scented Anti-Bacterial Hand Sanitizer: $1.00 each (bath & body works) Wisp Toothbrushes: .25 cents each (five below) Crest Toothpaste: Free from relative who is a dental hygienist : ) Gold Bond Body Wash: .33 cents each (shoprite) Banana Boat Sunscreen: .97 cents each (Target) Flip-Flop Gummy Treats: .33 cents each (oriental trading) Tropical Candy Fun Packs: .08 cents each (oriental trading) Seashell Shaped Hard Candy: .16 cents each (oriental trading) Shout Wipes: .39 cents each (minimus.biz) Advil Packet: .27 cents each (dollar tree) Pepto Packet: .60 cents each (minimus.biz) Bags: $1.46 each (discountbags.com)

Personalized Sewing Kits Personalized First Aid Kits Template: First Aid Kit Labels.docx

Here are some responses I received back from Janielle. I'm still waiting for the 2012 Price List. 1. In your last e-mail, you said the agreement and fees for the free wedding package would be available a few weeks ago. Could you please send this to me? The agreement was ready but we added the 2012 prices, I will send these to you by tomorrow 2. Also, I've been hearing from previous brides that the DJ used by the resort isn't that great. I want to hire an outside DJ named Kevan DJ-Vaun Stewart but I don't think I should be charged a vvendor fee, given that the resort DJ hasn't received great reviews. Please let me know if it would be possible to waive the vendor fee. On that same note, I also don't understand how one resort charges a vendor fee for booking Rashelle Edwards and outside photographers, but the other doesn't. I know there are 3 separate resorts but they are all Iberostar so there shouldn't be a difference. It should be consistent. If I am charged vendor fees during the week of my wedding and then find that a bride at the Suites is not charged, I will want to speak to someone about this. As said before we have different standards at the Grand. And the fee for Rashelle is a day pass fee of US$ 100 which is mandatory. If needs be let me know if you need to speak to a manager. Please note we no longer permit outside entertainment vendors, hence you will have to use the DJ provided by the resort. Also I can assure you that the reviews on the blog are not about DJ’s at the Grand as we just started using our DJ’s at the Grand, as in the past brides have taken their own. The DJ’s at the Grand differ in quality they are the best of all three resort. 3. What night is the beach party held at the Grand and what time does it begin and end? We do not normally have it on a particular day, and I won’t be able to confirm with you until a week in advance for both the Suites and the Grand. What night are the beach parties at the Suites and Beach in June? 4. Does the Grand offer a trip to duty-free shopping in Montego Bay? Yes we have a complimentary shuttle to the Shoppes at Rose Hall which goes from Monday – Friday from 10:00am -5:00pm. I want to go a few days before the wedding to purchase small bottles of Appleton Rum. 5. I want to book a steel drum band for the ceremony. Who are the available bands to choose from and what are the prices? Do I have to wait until we arrive to book this? I will book the Steel Band for you they cost US$ 450 p/h 6. Another bride received incentives such as a free welcome party and free cocktail hour for booking 25 rooms. I already have 16 rooms booked. Would I be eligible for any of these incentives once I reach 25 rooms? The only thing I did was organize the welcome party it was an incentive provided by her Travel Agency. Also, how many rooms do you need to book in order to stay in the presidential suite? Would we be able to get it for our wedding night? You will first have to book a regular room for your entire stay and then pay for an upgrade at US$1000 p/n The sales department wasn't able to help me with this question so if you could answer, I would really appreciate it.

Here is my first personalization project for my OOT bags! I bought tropical flavored chapstick from the Dollar Tree (2 for $1.00) and removed the labels. I then used Avery return address labels and printed my logo on them, then added SPF 15 at the top. I decided I needed a Red Stripe during this project as you will see in one of the pics lol.

I designed this door hanger on Vistaprint then just ordered the oversized post cards and they are the perfect size! I will just cut a hole out or add ribbon so it can hang.

Our fuchsia and orange guest book from Amazon:

Here is what I will be giving my bridesmaids before the wedding. I am also going to get them each a nice keepsake gift as well so I'm still trying to think of something! I will probably also get the same t-shirts for our parents to wear on the plane ride down!

Here are our logos. The first one is from Rebecca from Allurements by Rebecca on Etsy. I highly recommend her! The second one is just a simple one we used for the save the dates.