beachbride0519

The one hour was nice because honestly they don't rush you to finish right at an hour, it's very relaxed. We actually stayed longer than an hour and then went straight to our dinner reservations. My wedding was supposed to start at 3, but as all brides doing a DW should know, that is island time so mine didn't start until closer to 3:30...the ceremony wasn't long at all, then the signing of the papers, and them pictures and then we did the cocktail hour. Then dinner. If I could do anything over I would have had my wedding ceremony earlier so that I had more time after for pictures alone with my new hubby. It started getting dark fast after the cocktail hour. The iPod dock to rent was I think $150/hour. My husband wanted to kill me for spending that but we didn't do a DJ or alot of other things we cut expenses on. They provided our sand ceremony, you pick the colors you want. The jar is plain with Martha Stewart Weddings etched on the one side. We still have our sand in it at home but turned so you can't see the etching. The plane ride home jumbled it all up so the sand looks nothing like when we had our ceremony LOL. But again another part of having a DW. For the appetizers they have a ton to choose from and they were ALL delish that we got. You can tell the wedding coordinator about allergies and they will keep them away! All the guests loved our apps. Hope that helps! Let me know if you have any other questions!!

Hi Brooke! I actually handed out some of my welcome bags at a group breakfast the morning after we arrived and then the last few people that trickled in we actually met them at their rooms and gave them the bags.

We brought our own cake topper, and a few things to decorate but mainly just had them put our favors on the few tables and the natural surroundings were just beautiful! We didn't buy anything extra for the ceremony besides the ring bearer pillow...we did do the sand ceremony. Which I loved! Honestly everything was so simple because you don't need to overdo anything there...the natural surroundings are sooooo beautiful! We didn't have a DJ, we actually rented the iPod dock and had our own playlist. So we just kinda knew which songs where going to be when and went with it. We only had 18 total people including us so we didn't do the whole formal reception thing. As for the dinner, she set up the reservations and then the restaurant took care of us from there. They had two long tables set up for us and we had one server just for us. He was very attentive. The only thing I would change is ...I would have had my wedding earlier so we could have more time for pictures and I would have liked more time before our dinner. Other than that everything was perfect!

Thank you!!!

Thanks!!

We brought our own photographer...and let the wedding planner know that ON THE DAY of the wedding....During the on site planning session she asked us if we needed photos and we just said no. Only because I had heard that they give you a hard time...but honestly we had no problems. And then my Father in law video taped our ceremony and the cocktail reception. It came out vert nice and we didn't have to wait for anyone elses videos, we fot to see it as soon as we got home! The Beaches photographer will show up for ONE picture since you get a free photo with your theme and then will leave.

Congrats on booking your wedding!! I had the beautiful beginnings theme. You can choose white or magenta orchids for the bride bouquet. You can bring your own flowers or choose from the other bouquets they offer (which are very costly) most of the past brides end up using real touch bouquets because they can't get the colors they want in a budget friendly price...but it's totally up to you! I did a 1 hour cocktail reception after my ceremony...that's when we cut the cake, did our first dances, and mingled with the guests. It was very nice. After that we all went to Schooner's for dinner. So I didn't pay extra for a private sit down dinner, they just sat us all in the same area, with two big tables next to each other. Hope that helps!

Hi Taylor! We had our reception outside of Schooner's...I loved it there! We had a small group though. I have seen a bunch of the locations for the reception and honestly anywhere on the property is beautiful! We also did Natural Touch flowers, not real ones..and we had a guest video our ceremony and 1st dances and such...so we didn't use Beaches for that. ~Jess

Rachel we gave our single guys welcome bags, ours were different colors so I just made sure they got manly colors lol

You're welcome!!

Hi Rachel! We gave out welcome bags with a bunch of goodies and then also gave out sea shell bottle openers and starfish wine stoppers. So each single person chose one and the couples each got one of each thing. They were a big hit! Good luck

Jacquelyn, I had everyone get together the morning after we all arrived and handed out my welcome bags then. Gave a little "thank you" speech with my fiancé too. The people that arrived a day or two later I just met them in their lobby at time of checkin and gave to them at that point [/right]

These shoes are BRAND NEW...only worn for about 10 minutes before my wedding, didn't even walk out of my room with them!!! They are from David's Bridal, and they are a size 8 1/2. They are the color "Regency" which is a beautiful purple. If you go to David's you can see the color in their bridesmaid's dresses. I bought these because they matched my sash and my MOH's dress, but unfortunately the sizing was a little too big on one foot. The size does run a little big, so if you normally wear a 9 then you would definitely fit in these. I ended up going to the store and the 8 actually fit me better than these. They are so comfortable on and I wish I could have worn them! Since they were a little too big they slipped off the back of my one foot and made me think I would trip going down the isle. I ended up wearing flip flops for my wedding. So I'm willing to sell these for the price they sell for at David's but with free shipping. I will pay for shipping anywhere in the US only! Sorry Canada ladies, but if you need them shipped you will have to pay the extra cost. I'm not afraid of offers for a little lower cost too, so please message me with any questions! Here is a link to the shoes: http://www.davidsbridal.com/Product_Satin-Peep-Toe-Platform-High-Heel-with-Bow-Maribelle_Accessories-Shoes-Heels-from-2-to-4-Inches

Hi Brooke! Congrats and welcome to the thread! I got married at Beaches T&C this past May 19th at 3pm. We had 18 people and didn't do a private reception, because it was either $50/pp or $75/pp depending on what you wanted. We couldn't fathom spending that when we were on an all inclusive resort. We did opt to do the private cocktail reception though for 1 hour. We are so happy we did it this way. After the cocktail reception we had reservations at Schooners for dinner and everyone was very happy. I have heard of people doing the reservation at a restaurant for their "reception" and it worked for them. You may just be limited in which restaurants can accommodate that many people all together. Like Le Petite Chateau from what I saw couldn't do a party that large. And neither can the Hibachi restaurant Kimonos. But don't let that deter you. It's all a matter of what is in your budget let me know if you have any other questions! ~Jess