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Thank you so so much! I truly appreciate it! Keisha You know my little sister! Well I guess she isnt so little anymore. lol that is quite the coincidence!!! Small world, right?? I am so happy you enjoyed our wedding pictures -we had a a FAB time! If you ever need your makeup done Michelle is the TRUTH! Thanks so much! Keisha I am so certain you will look gorge in your wedding dress....I loved my dress, the price, the look and I didnt have to wear a bustier or anything underneath because it fit so well.......also post dry cleaning it looks brand new even after the TTD! Cant wait to see your pics! Happy Planning! Keisha

Thank you so so much. I cant even remember the designer. We got the dress at Nancy's Bridal for about $800! It was a dream! I was so happy to not spend a crazy amount for a dress. Thanks again and I wish you many blessing in your marriage! Ciao Keisha

Hi Ladies! I had the same dilemma. Ohhhh, the stress of what to do with this natural hair. I have 4a hair and have been natural for 2.5 years in April but was right at the 2 year mark when we got married at Iberostar Grand 10.26.13. I'm not an advocate of sew-ins just because I sweat in my head and hubby HATES weaves, knew I didn't want Senegalese Twists or braids and would never even think about wearing my hair loose in the humid Jamaica weather. After much contemplation and I decided on a DIY hairstyle. Having my hair, makeup and nails done were included in my wedding package however my sister and MOH is a MUA so she beat my face, and I didn't trust the resort beauty shop with this thick, natural hair. I just didn't. Maybe they would've done a great job but I could chance looking crazy on my special day. I also enjoy doing my own nails so I handled it. Youtube and the countless natural hair bloggers I watch gave me the inspiration. I knew I wanted a bun from hell-big, ostentatious and downright ridiculous- and I didn't have enough hair to get that accomplished. I bought a couple bags of cheap Kankelon and Marley hair and starting practicing my bun a month prior to the wedding. I liked the Marley bun but it wasn't glam enough for me. However, it received lots of play at work . I settled on the Kankelon bun (yeah with the $.99 or $1.99 a bag hair) and it turned out great. Im not going to lie the humidity got to these edges halfway through the night but that is to be expected. Go to Youtube and see if you find any inspiration. If you have any questions for me let me know. BTW....my hubby has locks and I re-twisted them the night before the wedding and our WC and Star Friend braided him up the day of. We even did TTD a couple days later and my bun was still holding strong after being fully submerged. I washed my hair after that and rocked a drawstring ponytail, twist out and wash n go for the remainder of our honeymoon. Happy Black History Month! Ciao! Keisha

Tesa, Thank you so much! I got the inspiration from this website and didnt even think about DIY'ing. We worked with a design/printer duo out of Illinois. They were referred to us by hubby's friend who uses them for promo work and other stuff. Here is their contact info if interested: Bart Troyer Allegra|Marketing Print Web 630.801.9335 630.776.0276 cell www.allegra-aurora.com Phil Studdard did the design: [email protected]

I am back and ready to post pics but my files are too big and they won’t attach and the two above-mentioned are not appearing in the vantage point I desired. I am going to include some vendor reviews. I at least know how to do that. Photographer We choose Misha Earle and she was fab! I love her personality, style and energy. She arrived with an assistant and truly captured us in the best possible light. She was able to corral our group and provide great instruction as hubby and I are not picture people. She even got a good laugh as our wedding party photo bombed the photographer. We also had a special treat towards the end of our reception! She provided a photo booth and fun props that everybody enjoyed. We had a TTD session a couple of days later and once again she was awesome. We dramatically walked down to the water, went under and displayed our love for the camera lens. Misha was truly a part of our wedding experience. If you are getting married in Jamaica I highly recommend her. Take a look at her website: http://www.mishaearlephotography.com/ and here is a link to our slideshow: http://mishaearle.myshowit.com/keisha_will Resort & Wedding Coordinators I want to live at Iberostar Grand Hotel Rose Hall. It is AMAZING. It is expensive but well worth it. I mean it!!!! The decor, the service is EVERYTHING. You can only experience it for yourself to understand. We stayed at this hotel the year prior and knew we wanted to get married here. Dreams do come true! They provided the most spectacular location for our nuptials and I couldn't be happier with the resort and service. Our wedding coordinators-Janielle and Syrecka were fab! I enjoyed working with both of them. I was a pretty laid back bride and tried not to stress too much. I mean getting married to the man of your dreams in Jamaica is plenty to be happy and grateful for. They were both super-responsive to my inquiries and requests and were a dream to work with. They both have sooooo much going on and so many details to remember-I dont know how they hold it all together. Thank you ladies for being part of my wedding. I appreciate you both and wish you all the blessings in the world. Flowers Ugggg, Tai Flora......if it wasn’t such a hassle I would’ve went Floral Fantasies. They were rather difficult to work with, fairly unresponsive and provided the wrong color flowers for everything outside of my bouquet. Makeup &Hair & Nails Michelle Finch (my sister and only bridesmaid) did my makeup. She was awesome. She is a MUA in Chicago and works for MAC. She is an incredible sister and great makeup pro. She even did another bride's makeup at the Suites a couple of days before she beat my face. If you need a MUA or are in the Chicagoland/Indianapolis area email her at: michellerfinch@@gmail.com In Chicago swing by the Michigan Avenue Nordstrom MAC counter, ask for Michelle and she will get you all the way together. I did my own hair and nails. I was 2 years natural at the time and couldn’t chance anyone not caring for my tresses the way I do. Thanks YouTube for help with my nail design! If anyone has any questions please reach out. I am working on getting my photos resized so I can post them on this forum. Ciao, Keisha

Hello BDW! I am so sorry for my delayed review. Post wedding I didnt want to think about anything other than basking in the Jamaican sun with my brand new sexy hubby! Then work and life and ish happens and before I knew it its the end of January and I haven't done my wedding for my 10.26.2013 nuptials. In spite of my extreme tardiness I have to be certain to pay it forward and give back to BDW what it gave to me. Planning a wedding is a daunting task and planning a destination wedding compounds the stress. This website has helped me tremendously throughout the planning process. It has been my go to resource for almost everything I have desired, lusted over, needed and didn't want to be bothered with. I want to give special recognition to all the ladies with super-detailed posts, planning threads and wedding reviews. I know you are also many of the same extraordinary women who DIY'd and created elaborate welcome bags and such. Thank you for giving me inspiration and thank you all for participating in the wonderful sanctity of marriage. Special Shout out to Dani Scales. That phone convo helped me more than you will ever know!!! May you all be blessed within your marriages forever! I'm going to try and keep this somewhat concise. My husband and I met a club, dated for about 2 years and he proposed 12.22.2012 in Chicago, Illinois. It was one of the most special days of my life. After short contemplation we decided to get married in Jamaica. My parents, husband and I vacationed at Iberostar Grand in the summer of 2012 and absolutely feel in love with the place. What a divine dream of a resort. We knew if we ever got married it would NEED to be a this resort. We sent out e-Save the Dates. That went over fairly well except for the lack of responses, bad email addresses, questions/responses that were previously addressed in the STD and an overall lackadaisical attitude towards deadlines and such. Ehhhh, I guess that is to be expected! We bought new luggage and brought about 8 bags total. I stuffed my dress in my carry-on and he did the same for his suit. We missed our flight had to pay an exorbitant amount of money for another (Southwest eventually refunded the entire trip- it wasnt our fault) In any event, we eventually arrived in Montego Bay and the hotel was just as I remembered. I LOVE THAT RESORT! Included below are some specific reviews on vendors and then I'll let the photos do the talking. If anyone has any specific questions please message me. Ill be checking intermittently. Im having major issues uploading pics will be back in later Ciao

My sexy hubby and I were married 10/26/13 @ Iberostar Grand Hotel Rose Hall and we used Misha Earle. She is amazing, talented and has the best personality-EVER. You WILL not be disappointed. Ciao, Keisha

Good Luck Lady! Whatever you choose will be beautiful! Ciao,

Hey Lady! So this is my entire set. There are two single bands for the top and bottom and the side stones on the bands stop in the same place as they do on the engagement ring. I dont think its too gaudy or ostentatious but then again my center stone is not as big. Im thinking about getting them sautered so the bands will lay flat but I am unsure.

OMG, we have the same ring but your center stone is bigger!!! Yours looks amazing!!! What are you doing for wedding band? Ciao,

Hey DaniScales, I am getting married at the Grand on 10/26. I have a couple of questions for you if you dont mind. Do you have a good idea of the "flow" for your special day? I have been trying to imagine it and cannot come up with a fluid chain of events, ie ceremony, cocktail hour for attendees while we take pics or send our guest to the bar in the lobby to hang out while we take pics, dinner at the Surf and Turf restaurant and then...................... idk.... any insight is welcomed thanks in advance Ciao