Jump to content

heather1214

Jr. Member
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    299

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Everything posted by heather1214

  1. heather1214
    Were they all unique or were there some duplicates?
  2. heather1214
    Hello May Brides!!! Just curious for those of you who got your pictures back already, how many images did you get? Thanks so much!!
  3. heather1214
    @cinnagirl: love the pictures!! Your decor is amazing!! did you bring everything with you!?
  4. heather1214
    Gorgeous!!!! You were an absolutely stunning bride!!! So exciting to get the photos! How did you end up finding your photographer?
  5. heather1214
    We invited 100 people, and after our save the dates went out last July (I think?), we got an idea of who we thought would be able to make it. (of course EVERYONE said they were coming initially but you'll start to see who is actively looking to book) We put our Travel Agent info in the STD, not pricing, so they could contact her with ANY questions. It was extremely helpful and I didn't have to worry about telling anyone about pricing. We didn't include her contact info in the invite, though I wish we had, because they didn't go out until end of January and guests who hadn't booked yet had lost her info! (so I was getting texts and just sent a screen shot of her info to them) We were expecting bewteen 40-60 people from the start so that's what we used to negotiate rates. We locked in 20 rooms as soon as we could book (360-something days in advance) and 20 seats on the same flight. We ended up filling both. (we had 7 additional rooms booked and an additional 30 seats booked outside the "group" for 50 total seats and 27 rooms) The only thing I will say about reserving seats on the plane, the airlines like to see the seats getting booked or they bug you. As long as guests book with your TA, they should be filling your block of rooms no matter when they arrive... When our guests sent the response cards back, we basically already knew they had booked bc our TA would send me updates. I mainly needed their food choice and the response card was just a formality. I'd encourage people to start booking as soon as you negotiate rates...and you're never going to be able to wait until they send back their RSVP to negotiate a good rate. Hope that helps! We were happy over all with what we put on hold, it locked in rates for our guests who booked within the "group". We also got a dicount set-up for those who did not book the same travel time as us.
  6. heather1214
    We did a Jerk Chicken app, Caesar Salad, Surf & Turf (tenderloin & shrimp as lobster was not in season in May) and they had a choice at dinner between apple pie or brownie (and everyone had wedding cake). We did a vegetarian option of pasta primevera. I asked Nicole for all of this and she was ok with it. I didn't want to bother with several different choices. We only had 2 vegetarian so dinner went really smoothly. They just made their choice on the Response Card. We had 2 groups, 1 group of us (22 total) flew from Philly, Sunday-Saturday was $3078 per couple with flight. The other "group" flew all different times/airports so I'm not sure. We locked in our rate early in the process so all of the guests coming in on Sunday got that rate.
  7. heather1214
    Not at the Suites! We had several golfers on the trip with us. My husband is a huge golfer so the guys went the day of the wedding to Cinnamon Hill, it was $200 per guy but that included everything (and a caddy). He said it was 100% worth it!
  8. heather1214
    I got married at the Suites May 23, but we did our site visit at the Beach last May. After staying at both resorts I will say the food is good at both places and the service is outstanding, however the day passes at the Beach are cheaper for locals so we noticed a lot of that last May. During our wedding trip just recently, at the Suites, we didn't notice any. The inside of the rooms at the Suites are also much nicer. Our room at the Beach was awful (I think this was just bad luck), and considering we went specifically to check the place out, it was bad customer service on their part! Our room overlooked the lobby roof with astro-turf! Ultimately, I didn't get married at the Beach mainly because of their wedding coordinator. (who is no longer there, surprise!) We booked a vacation there to see the place and sit with her. We made an appointment, which she confirmed via email weeks prior and then she was off the entire time we were there! Nicole at the Suites was so accomodating and gave us a tour on the spot. I was sold! I think overall the Suites is just a nicer upgraded resort. You have to factor in everyone's budget though. The Beach does just as many weddings a year so I'm sure with the right WC, you will love it! Our ceremony was on the Lazy River and we did a private reception at Calabash with 50 people. It was AMAZING!
  9. heather1214
    I love the 3 panel idea!! Thanks ladies, I'll head over to living social now to sign up!
  10. heather1214
    I feel the same way!! Our photog has a FB and has been posting a bunch of sneak peeks for a few weddings and only posted 1 picture from ours!! We were his last wedding in May so he has enough time to edit before June weddings started. Those earlier May brides have been waiting a bit longer, but the anticipation is killing me!! Has anyone looked into doing a canvas? I'm sure I'll want at least one. Any recomendations where to purchase?
  11. heather1214
    Yes, all of those are in your room, and the rooms have robes too. The hair dryer is actually decent. I always bring my own incase it's one of those awful wall units, but they are real hair dryers!
  12. heather1214
    Stunning!!! That dress is absolutely gorgeous on you!! Congratulations!!
  13. heather1214
    Congratulations to all the May 2013 brides!!! Those who have posted pictures look stunning!!! It's amazing to see all of your planning come together! Can't wait to see more!!!
  14. heather1214
    For the group dinner, it depends on your headcount. Anything larger than 25 they say would have to be a set menu and below that you are able to order from the menu, but either way they are not private and do not cost anything extra. (if you want a private event, there would be an extra charge I'm sure). We did one group dinner at the steakhouse for 28 (it was the night before the rest of our 25 guests came) but we sat at 2 large tables so I didn't have to get the food choices. My husband is a avid golfer (he golfs 3-4 times a week) so he and 10 guys went to play the morning of our wedding. They played at the Hilton, it was called Cinnamon Hill. It was around $200 a guy to play but included the round, clubs, shoes, and a caddy. He said it was 100% worth it! It's just down the road from Iberostar and the shuttle for the hotel took them there. There were all levels of golfers with him and they all enjoyed it!
  15. heather1214
    I'm looking for a knock off of my adorae for a trash the dress next year on our anniversary trip (yes I'm already thinking about my anniversary trip!) Has anyone dealt with trendgate or variousdress? I found somethig very similar for really cheap but I'm curious if either of these companies are trust worthy... thats my dress.... and this is the knock off
  16. heather1214

    From the album: Show us your wedding dress!

  17. heather1214

    From the album: Show us your wedding dress!

  18. heather1214
    We used Kevan and I HIGHLY recommend him!! He was so professional and was really fun!! You don't pay a vendor fee for him, but his prices were separate from any DJ the hotel provides in a "package". I know the packages at the Suites have changed from what I was given so I would double check on that. Kevan was separate from the hotel, he is just their preferred vendor. (We made our deposit to him directly and paid him the balance in cash) I think the fee's are just to rent it out so no other guests can enter (it was $800 just to rent Calabash privately with 2012 pricing, that didn't include anything!) My pleasure!! The hardest part of doing everything is putting it together in your mind! We did Calabash in private. I will say, it was pretty hot in there. We asked to have the air turned up but it never really cooled down. Our whole group danced from start to finish though so it was expected! We did dinner at Aunt Rubys with our group one night. It was comfortable, but then again we didn't get up and dance so I can't say if it would be to warm. It was pretty and you got a breeze from the ocean though!
  19. heather1214
    They don't offer the Huppah at that location because there is no way to secure it as the teardrop is concrete. I didn't bring anything to decorate the arch with except I got a large flower arrangement that doubled as my centerpiece on our sweetheart table. The edge of the white material they used was a little yellow (from the sand probably). No one will notice, but I'm OCD so of course I did! You could certainly bring your own materials for them to use which would still make the arch look beautiful! Our timeline was 4:30: Ceremony 5:00 Champagne Toast on Lazy River 5:30 Cocktail Hour 6:30 Reception at Calabash It was rainy when we were there (nothing like our site visit last year, and it was the same week!) It rained for a couple hours every day sometime between 3:00-5:00. They ended up having to dry off the whole area because it stormed at like 2-3:30 and I refused to have it inside unless it was actually raining during our ceremony time. So we didn't start until almost 5:00. Still had plenty of time for pictures and we went into the reception around 6:45. I sent final wedding documents to Nicole and never heard back until we got there. I just planned the day out on paper and wrote down exactly where I wanted everything. If you are worried about how things will look, I highly receommend doing that. Nicole did everything perfectly! I'll work on a review this weekend so I can post pictures of the ceremony/reception set-up!
  20. heather1214
    Love all of these pictures!!! The vintage look is so timeless, very beautiful!! Congratulations!!
  21. heather1214
    Love those!!! Where did you get your orchids and vases?? My wedding is over and I wouldn't change a thing, but since planning I'm obsessed with orchids!! I plan to use them in the future when entertaining!! haha They are so pretty and would add a cheap beachy look to an outdoor bbq!
  22. heather1214
    We added those flowers. It was $100 from Floral Fantasy, and we also used them again on the sweetheart table. We had 40 guests seated and there was plenty of room. The paperwork I was given said it fit 80 I think. I have more pictures, PM me your email and I can send you some. I knew right away I did not want the wedding on the beach because of everyone standing to close. Pictures friends and family gave us already are amazing and the best part, no one in their bathing suits in my shots!! Guests were watching the wedding from the terrace and from their private balcony. And everyone got up from the pool to watch behind the bushes! I read a review that said it was the "stage" of the resort and I agree 110%. Coming over the bridge gave such a dramatic effect. I wouldn't have changed a thing!!!
  23. heather1214
    I'd have to say that paying thousands for the "ceremony" that only included only 8 people (my dad did the ceremony, and we rented chairs, so the did not have to provide those either)... then to pay $18 extra for everyone else at the ceremony, then pay to rent the restaurant, and paying for the bar was a little ridiculous (and we went to get our own liquor bc they didn't have some of the bottles our guests enjoyed). All of my guests would have been eating and drinking somewhere for free anyway!! It ended up coming to about $125 a head... which is about average for home... except I didn't have to invite 300 guests. Flowers are also ridiculous! But I doubled my girls bouquets for some of the centerpieces and just splurged on a few tall ones to alternate. ...but my guests made a great sacrifice to come to Jamaica, so in the end it was all worth it!!
  24. heather1214
    A sneak peak of some family photos for the lazy river ceremony! Our day turned out better than I could have ever imagined!
  25. heather1214

    From the album: 2013 Iberostar Rose Hall Suites Brides

×
×
  • Create New...