alexisinjamaica

Haha I think once is enough for me! It's been fun so far but I've seen enough episodes of Bridezillas to know I wouldn't last long if I had to deal with any terrible brides!! But that is so nice of you to say, thanks!

So sweet-- thanks!!

I wanted to keep our AHR to $5000, but the venue that we fell in love with is $5000 just for the space rental. We are planning to stock up on alcohol at Costco or BevMo and FI has some bartender friends that we could enlist to help out with mixing drinks for a reasonable cost. Then we're planning just to have passed apps, cupcakes and a small cake to cut, an iPod playlist for music, and a slideshow of wedding pics going. I'm hoping we can do it all for $7500.

I went to several "fancy" bridal shops in Beverly Hills but was not wowed by anything. I found a small bridal shop on Yelp that had only about 12 reviews but all of them were great, so I decided to take a chance and check it out. That ended up being the place I found my dress. It's a Sottero and Midgley and I loved almost everything about it but wanted to change the neckline to a sweetheart and add some clear beading to the lace near the bottom so it'll sparkle in the sun. Dress + sash + alterations and custom beading = $2150. I didn't want to go over $2500 so I was happy with that!

Thanks for the compliments! I did spend a lot of time on it, because I'm OCD like that! I haven't booked a bus/van yet for the Dunn's falls excursion-- I'm waiting until I have a headcount. But the Wedding Coordinator at Secrets sent me over a document with a bunch of tours they can book for us through a company they use called Amstar. The tour for Dunn's River was quoted at only $55/person. So, I'd suggest checking with your hotel WC to see if they can give you info on similar packages/tours. OR if you're working with a travel agent they should be able to provide you with some info too. Mine did, but the prices were better through Amstar/the hotel. Good luck! Haha I'm sure your site is great as-is!!! You can feel free to borrow things from my site, but don't start all over!

MY FI and I can't afford a site visit before the wedding, so we're doing all of the planning from here and taking a leap of faith! My feeling is that by the time we arrive there's not going to be a whole lot we can control and I can't sweat the small stuff if something goes wrong. By then I'll just be in vacation mode and enjoying everything. I'm reassured because what I've seen and heard of the resort (Secrets St. James) looks great, but it still would be nice to see more info from past brides. Since it's a newish resort there's not a lot out there yet. Just crossing my fingers all goes smoothly and everything is as wonderful as it looks in pictures!

It's still a bit early for my guests to book, but I am worried about this happening to me as well. Everyone so far has been very gung-ho about the whole thing but you just can't believe it until you see it and they actually pay and show up. I'll be happy with whoever comes, because I care more about marrying my FI and having an awesome vacation than I do about the drama of who can and can't go and whatever lame excuses they have, but I admit I'll be sad to not have many people see me in my dress if not many friends and family show up! Guess I'll just have to get creative about when I can wear it again if that happens. Good luck to all of you ladies who are in this boat right now and I'm sure everything will work out and you'll still have beautiful days!!

Hello fellow brides! Just wanted to share my website and get any feedback/suggestions from others who've completed their sites. http://alexisandjoseph.modwedding.com/ Also I only sent out save the dates around 4th of July, but I'm annoyed more people haven't signed the guestbook. LOL. Would love to see other sites for ideas/inspiration!

Yikes, better get a move on it! Thanks everyone for the input!!

Hello! Just looking for input on when to send out official invitations. My wedding will be on 4.27.13. Save the Dates were mailed out and received by 4th of July, 2012. Guests have to pay for their rooms in full by February 22, 2013. I was thinking of sending out final invitations in early November, before the craziness of the holidays and to give people who might have forgotten/not realized that final payment was due in Feb a few months to save. Does anyone think that's too soon/late? Appreciate any input!

Hi everyone, I thought I’d share instructions on how I made my semi-DIY scratch-off Save the Dates! These were a huge hit with my friends and family and many thought I ordered them as-is from a vendor and just mailed them out. When I explained how I thought of the idea and put all the pieces together they were super impressed! First, here are the pics. Info on where to purchase supplies is below. Enjoy! Supplies all gathered up and ready for assembly. Printed card, pre-DIY. With scratch-off sticker cut to size and applied. All wrapped up and ready for envelopes. In the envelope! And here's one with the scratch-off scratched, if you're interested! I knew I wanted to do a scratch-off STD after seeing this cute design on Martha Stewart Weddings. http://www.marthastewartweddings.com/226949/scratch-save-date-how Bonus: I knew the idea would be perfect for a destination wedding since I could incorporate the coin needed to scratch-off the card with reminding guests to save their pennies for the wedding. I had a picture in my mind of a layout and rough idea of what I wanted the card to look like. I’m pretty much a design idiot so I sent a very crude drawing to Ten Eight Ink http://www.etsy.com/shop/teneightyinkdesigns?ref=seller_info, an Etsy stationery designer who worked with me until we had something I liked. This only cost me $24 for the custom design. I printed 100 postcard sized cards of the design on Vista Print. Cost: $21.82 I purchased 100 2” scratch-offs from http://www.easyscratchoffs.com/ (the reviews on the Martha Stewart craft mentioned that the paint was tricky to get right, so this was a much faster/easier method). These were a bit too big for the space I had, so I cut each one to fit. Cost: $9.34 I purchased a large roll of baker’s twine from Amazon in a color that coordinated with the STD cards. Cost: $10.71 I purchased two rolls of shiny new 2012 pennies from an Ebay seller. (I wanted to be sure the pennies were brand new and I wasn’t sure the bank could give me that, so when in doubt I went to the internet!) Cost: $6 (shipping and handling account for the extra cost). I purchased 100 small vellum envelopes from Amazon for the pennies. Cost: $18.03 I purchased 100 kraft paper envelopes from Amazon. Cost: $25.73 The stamps are from Zazzle.com http://www.zazzle.com/heartfelt_love_blue_postage-172887160673223512 I bought 300 of these since I also plan to use them for invites and RSVP cards. Cost (for all 300): $283.51 The wrap-around labels were another custom Etsy purchase, from seller Modern Moments. http://www.etsy.com/shop/modernmoments Cost: $24 (I plan to use these on my invitations too).

I'm SO EXCITED to hear this! Can't wait for your full review and pics! Glad you and your friends all had a great time.

I did receive a doc with prices for many of the add-ons, like chair upgrades, sashes, tiki torches for the aisle, etc. If you give me your email address I can send.

Nope but I feel like I really need to tackle the photography thing next so if anyone has ideas/suggestions please let us know!

Hello! I LOVE your whole planning thread, but especially your programs!!! I was wondering if you could PM or email me the templates? My email is [email protected] THANKS!

OMG these are too cute!! I would love to get the templates if you're willing to share. Can you PM me or send to [email protected]? Thanks!!

Wow, awesome rates! I think April is the high season, but I'm set on that date so oh well. How many nights does that price cover?

Let me know if you find any good pics/reviews or info! I'm eager to hear, too. Good luck and congrats to you!!