redginger

These 2 companies have horseback riding tours in the Ocho Rios area. I haven't used them, but you could contact them to see if they are willing to accommodate your request. Good luck! http://www.chukkacaribbean.com/OchoRios/tourDetails.php?Horseback-Ride-N-Swim-10&lang=eng http://www.bracostables.com/

Welcome Amanda! That's a unique date for a wedding

Hi, I'm looking for large orchid flowers (4 to 5 inches) in purple, orange, or fuchsia. I plan to make make hairpieces (barrettes) for my bridesmaids. I haven't been able to find nice orchids online. Please let me know if you have any to sell. Thank you!

That's strange, but at least it's memorable That seems really crazy that it took 6 months to get your marriage license. Is that the typical time period, or was it due to delays by your resort in submitting the paperwork?

Here's the website for Vistaprint freebies that was posted by another bride. You can also sign up for a Vistaprint account and get freebies by email...I get these emails almost everyday! http://vistaprint-goddess.weebly.com/sample-email.html

Your bouquets are so gorgeous and colorful...I love the tropical look! My bouquet will be very similar to yours

Here are some tips from Destination I Do Magazine. I don't think I will follow all the guidelines, but thought others might find this useful. I do think the $100 - $200 tip for the officiant/minister is excessive. The minister will only be there for 10 minutes for the ceremony and we're meeting him for the first time on the wedding day. We'll tip our wedding coordinator if she meets or exceeds our expectations on the wedding day (so far, she's hardly done any work for us and we're paying her a lot of money). Tips on Tipping Tipping is a method for expressing your appreciation for a job well done. When planning your wedding budget, it will be important to include gratuities in your calculations. When planning a destination wedding in locations other than the United States, it is prudent to check with your wedding coordinator in that locale. Gratuities and customs vary from country to country and knowing expectations prior to the event will help in your budget planning. general considerations regarding tipping: 1. Check your contracts and final bills ahead of time to see if a gratuity was included. You don't need to double tip-unless of course, you want to. 2. The host should carry an envelope with cash on the wedding day for unexpected tips. 3. In general, the owners of businesses do not receive tips. 4. Guests should not be expected to pay parking lot attendants or coatroom attendants. This should be arranged in advance so that you can inform your guest with discreetly placed signage. 5. Wedding planners do not receive gratuities. 6. If you use a wedding planner they may be the person responsible for dispersing the tips on the wedding day. If not, be sure to designate someone to handle this detail for you. check out the guidelines below for expectations and ranges: Service provider Range of tipping Bartender 10-15% of liquor bill or $25-$50 per bartender Caterer 15-20% of food and drink bill Coat & Powder Room Attendants $1-$2 per guest DJ or Musicians optional-$20-$25 each Florist, Photographer None Limousine Driver (s) 15-20% of limo bill if not included in contract Maitre d'hotel $1.50-$5.00 per guest Makeup Artist or Hairstylist 15-20% of fee Officiant $100-$200 Valet Parking Attendants .50-$1 per car Wait Staff $10-$20 per staff member

Thanks for the feedback! I didn't think about the sanitary issues, so I definitely won't use them for our cake decorations!

How far is the room from the dinner location? Even if it's a walk, I think most guests would enjoy dancing or drinking after dinner. You might want to ask a few family members or close friends to help corral other guests to the after dinner event. If you can afford it, can you hire a DJ? Or, if you plan to do a bride/groom dance together, I'm sure guests will follow :-)

I'm thinking of buying freeze dried petals too. If I use them for table decorations, will they last in the tropical heat? Are they safe to use as cake decorations? Thanks!

Wow, that's a big increase! I'm curious why you decided to book flights about 2 months prior to your wedding date? I'm thinking of booking flights about 3 - 4 months before our wedding and uncertain whether that's too late.

If your pre-wedding planning is going well and you have most of your vendors, perhaps you can just hire a wedding planner for the day of the wedding. I've already hired a wedding planner for pre-wedding and day of wedding -- but I could have done all the pre-wedding planning myself as she hasn't done much work at all.

My TA gave me the same advice, and flight prices actually increased this month! Now, all the TAs I've contacted said the flight prices are unpredictable this year because of gas prices, merger of major airlines, etc. Not sure when to book now.

It's been a while since anyone posted here and I'm wondering if any brides purchased travel insurance to cover both the hotel and flights. I'm not sure whether to purchase basic insurance coverage (includes trip cancellation/changes for specific covered reasons like illness, death or hurricanes) or the cancel for any reason insurance. Insurance adds quite a bit of cost, so any feedback from recent or current brides would be appreciated! Thanks!

Congrats on your wedding and welcome back, MrsTGun! Yes, you should seriously do wedding planning for destination brides...you're so talented and inspirational -- but, not on the side but as your career

Are these resin (fake) starfish?

My fiance and I always tip at least 20% at restaurants and other service venues (often 25% if we really love the service). And we're budgeting for tips in our wedding budget. But to be honest, I'm finding it really hard right now to even imagine tipping our wedding coordinator, DJ or any other wedding vendors. They have all been extremely unresponsive and I have had to do so much work on my own -- more than I had anticipated for a destination wedding. If they exceed my expectations on the day of the wedding, then I will definitely tip big -- but I don't plan to tip if they don't deliver good service.

That's great...glad you got a better price. We're getting the same pricing too, but still haven't booked yet!

I've talked to a number of travel agents, and they all said the same thing -- that airfare prices will likely increase due to gas prices and/or due to the merger of 2 major airlines, and that this is a year that they're unable to predict when airfare will decrease. I still haven't booked our airfare because I'm hoping it'll decrease -- but feel that I may regret it if prices actually continue to increase!

In another thread, Anudrum responded to my question and said they were good quality... http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/t/75749/60-days-and-counting-very-long-will-have-plenty-of-pics/100#post_1678061

That's way too high...does it include trip cancellation insurance (usually about $75 - $100 per person)? From West Coast, including Oregon, you can find roundtrip airfares under $700 on Expedia and other travel websites.

Hi: I sent you a PM. Thanks!

If you've ordered the small tote bags (14 inch X 14 inch) from VistaPrint, could you let me what you think of the quality? Thanks so much!

Selina, How is the quality of the VistaPrint tote bags? I'm not sure whether to order the small 14 inch X 14 inch tote bags. Thanks!

Do you prefer fake or real starfish? The yellow ones are sugar starfish and come in very large sizes for dramatic bold effect (as large as 10 - 12 inches), but very hard to find nice, fake ones. On the other hand, you can find nice, fake white pencil starfish.