jandl2013

Hello AR-Dreamwedding, Congrats on your wedding! Your pics look great. When you have a moment could you also send me the organizer spread sheet? I'd really appreciate that. Also, if anyone has the invoice could someone please send that to me too? My email is [email protected] We are having a site visit next month, and I want to have a great idea of what I should be asking when I arrive before my fiancé has a fit about the prices. He is going to faint if I don't prepare him in advance...lol. Thanks ladies!

You ladies are flying along with all of your plans and all of these posts. I'm so behind with posting...sheesh! LOL Took me ages to read through a lot of stuff. Hope everyone's plans are coming along well. I'm trying to pin my colors down a bit. I'm using shades of purple and red for my theme "Caribbean Dreams of Passion and Romance". I'm thinking a true purple with some lighter shade highlights along with red highlights. Hotel is booked for both the Iberostar Grand and Iberostar Bavaro suites, and we are going down to visit in September.

Hey! We have the same wedding date, but different locations! )

Hi Katya, Thanks for that information! I've been trying to determine how to choose a menu so this is helpful. I'm only sorry our date isn't available for you to do our photos. Even my fiancé was impressed by your website and photos and it's been hard to impress him during this wedding process! Hope you enjoy the rest of your summer in PC. I'll be there in September to check out the hotel and restaurant so i'm looking forward to it! Jackie

Thanks for responding. This insight has been really helpful to me. I had a feeling that they might not be able to accommodate everyone in the Gazebo, but I assumed they had other locations outside of the beach. I have a room block at both the Grand and the Bavaro because I have people interested at staying in both hotels but that's also great to know so I can explain the difference to my guests. That would be great if you can share some pics with me. My email is [email protected] Thanks!

Wow....i thought I was the only one that thought grass felt completely weird on my feet....LOL!! I don't mind concrete or other flat surfaces but grass just feels strange and awkward. Glad to know i'm not alone.

Beautiful video Kate and congrats to you and the Mr on your gorgeous wedding. It was so heartfelt! That's why we're springing for photography and video also....i definitely want to have beautiful memories of everything that weekend.

Thanks for that info Ivendram! I have so many picky eaters that I don't know how I would do a plated meal so i've been very concerned about that. I thought about doing different packages for alcohol for the cocktail hour and after dinner too but i'm still not sure. I'm thinking the tab might be the best option for the harder alcohols too. In regards to the bus is that $7/trip or just $7 and then that covers them to go to and from?

Exactly JY! I have people that don't drink, people who drink a lot, and potentially some underage so I have no idea what my happy medium is at this point!

Hello to all you past and future brides. I can truly say that this sit has been a major blessing! It has been my savior in terms of keeping me calm when i'm close to the breaking point or if i'm just stuck about how to move forward with an idea or problem. I have experienced most of what has been talked about on this thread from people giving me a hard time about our location for the destination wedding, the hotel, etc. etc. etc....and the joke is my wedding has NOT yet occurred! lol I have a ridiculously large family that is very traditional and opinionated and everyone wanted things done THEIR way. I took a step back from everyone and concentrated on what my FI and I want and that has helped tremendously. Because we both want to please our families so strongly, it has caused us so much unnecessary stress so the best advice I can offer is to concentrate on what the two of you want. People that love and care about you guys and what you want will make the effort to either be there or provide emotional or other support if they are unable to attend. A travel agent will definitely help you out, especially when dealing with a large amount of people or people who have never traveled Don't inundate your FI with stuff they could care less about, you'll just get angry and frustrated so it's not worth it Don't spend too much on the unnecessary (ex. extra fancy save the dates and extra fancy wedding invites or decorations...like seriously people throw these things aways) I think I have been getting way too caught up in some of these things so I had to put my own brakes on USE THIS SITE TO TALK WITH OTHER BRIDES WHO ARE IN YOUR SHOES! I can't stress this enough because most people really don't want to know every single planning detail of your planning unless weddings are their thing or they really want to know. This site is a fantastic source for information for us destination wedding brides or potential brides and to be able to vent to people who truly undertstand is such a big relief and it might save some relationships with family and/or friends that just don't get it or are just too blinded to see it. Don't STRESS...take a step back from planning if it becomes too overwhelming. The last thing anyone wants to deal with is a true BRIDEZILLA! YIKES! Remember to try to enjoy yourself during planning AND during your wedding. Don't let anyone steal your joy because you are getting ready to marry your sweetheart and after the wedding it will just be you and that person so use this time to create a bigger and better bond between the two of you that will last LONG after your big day! GOOD LUCK LADIES

Oops..I'm using my phone and Boothe button too soon. You're wedding looks lovely. Congrats!!! Did you pick a menu our have buffet style? I am trying to figure out the best way to handle that. Also, did you pick a drink package our just run a tab for the event? Last question...lol. How much did the buses run? I'm going to have to do the same thing.

I am in the process of sending out magnet save the dates that include several pictures, wedding date, wedding website, and location. To save money I'm going to VistaPrint to print out the travel agent information and mini travel details on an insert and send that out. I'm sending boarding pass invitations in September.

I'm with you on that plan Shari. I have been consumed with all this planning, but at least now I'm seeing a light at the end of the tunnel. I'm sending out my save the dates next week and my invites at about to be designed soon do they should be out the door by September. Is times to start looking up the information for my tables settings, decorations, and most importantly the dress!

Hi JB!, Congratulations on your recent nuptials! I am so happy to see your post. I am getting married next May, and I decided to go with Iberostar for the same reasons...picky eaters, various age groups, etc. Because of the communication I've had with the hotel, I have been thinking about just getting married at the Jellyfish restaurant since I was going to have my reception there anyway. It has just been too stressful trying to get the information I need...and I speak Spanish so I was definitely getting frustrated with the vague answers. I think i'm going to have the ceremony and reception at Jellyfish and then have a welcome/thank dinner at Iberostar the day after the wedding which will also serve as a mini bday party for my dad and my MIL who will both be celebrating their 60th birthday. I asked for a beach bbq rate and they quoted me a crazy rate of $40+/person so we'll just eat in one of the restaurants and call it a day. They told me that they could not accommodate more than 30 ppl for the gazebo wedding. They also mentioned to me that if I have ppl staying in the Grand or Bavaro then they don't have to pay to attend the wedding but if they stay in the other hotels like the Dominicana or the Punta Cana resort then we would have to pay a small fee for those guests. For this reason, I'm trying to keep everyone in the Bavaro and let my guests know that if they choose to stay in the other resorts we will not be responsible for the fee (I hate doing this but we might have a large crowd so we can't afford to pay a whole bunch of money for this). Did they try to make you pay for ppl that were also staying at the Bavaro??? I am going for a site visit with the FI in September so we should be able to get more clarity when we are there to make a final decision. In the meantime, my save the dates only have the city and country location and date. My invites are about to be started and I have a surprise location listed for the reception. I figure if everyone is already at Iberostar then that's fine if I end up at Jellyfish for the wedding itself because we'll transport everyone to Jellyfish via bus. The photographer that you used is with Iberostar or was it an off-site one? I know they discourage the off-site vendors and want to charge a big fee for that so that's the other reason i'm leaning towards Jellyfish since they don't charge. Would you mind sharing some pictures with me if you have a moment? That would be great if you have some. Thanks again for all of your input. Congrats again!

Hi Lorcas, Fabulous!!!! Sorry for my delayed reply...I have been in save the date and invitation hell..lol. I was completely consumed by it. I haven't been eating or sleeping but I've been researching like a lunatic for HOURS...lol.

Hi fellow brides! Long time no post For those of you planning on St. Lucia, just beware of the flights! I had to change my entire plan because the flights were so expensive or unavailable from certain locations that it made it nearly impossible for a number of my guests. Just check out the airfares as much as possible. This is part of the reason that I changed my plan and actually lost my deposit that we made. Broke my heart because I was DEAD set on St. Lucia and I LOVED my planner (Awesome Caribbean Weddings). I'm having my reception and/or wedding at Jellyfish Restaurant now so i'm happy with my current planner and location but I was beyond stressed up until I made that last minute change of heart. Good luck ladies!

Hi ladies, Been a minute since I've been on here...between work and home and getting ready for my fiancé to move in, it has been NUTS! Still working on my save the dates which are officially LATE! LOL. But it will all get done soon. I'm so EXCITED to hear about the bridal suite because i'm starting to not have that much confidence in using the hotel since they aren't giving me enough information. I still feel a bit up in the air regarding my hotel choice though. Hope all is going well with everyone!

Hola Katya!! Thank you so much for sending these...very nice pictures! I did think about that vendor fee so most likely i'll book a room if needed. So would the photographers actually use that room or could that end up being a bridal suite or something? Just curious so I know if we have an empty room for a night...lol. Thanks again Katya. xoxo Jackie

Unnecessary drama...I don't have kids either but it seems like those are the people that have caused the most drama even though we're trying to accommodate them.

Ouch...we are also having issues with my FSIL..she keeps asking about the wedding but then mentioning she has no money so in my opinion i think she's going to ask my FH to pay which he said he isn't going to do. Additionaly, my FH dislikes her abusive husband with an intense passion so he isn't inviting him(understatement). I am not touching that one so i'm letting him handle that one cause I already know a storm is brewing. Weddings sometimes brings out the WORST in people. It's astounding.

Trust me when I tell you it's not easy. I literally cried with my Aunt on the phone before I realized how upset I was about everything. Every woman plans her wedding and wants what she wants and wants it her way...that's just how it is. But I was also trying to accommodate everyone and it's virtually impossible to to that. The best thing to do is take a step back from everyone and planning for a few days to let everyone calm down and think rationally, then you and your fiance plan a fun outing to de-stress then have a long talk and a plan for how to approach difficult people because you don't want to get married and have problems with either side of family (cuz that's no fun at all!). I had an ex who had a nightmare mother and that is no cake walk. Planning weddings can be so friggin STRESSFUL. If people would just cooperate and understand that it's about the couple then things would be easier...lol. Wishful thinking i know

Yikes! I had a lot of those same issues also. My initial wedding should have been in St. Lucia September 27, 2013, but between the crowd (family and some of our friends), my fiance (allowing people to tell him what they want), my house renovation, and my job I almost had a complete meltdown. I made changes due to the circumstances of having travel concerns for the St. Lucia trip since my family is huge and coming from multiple desinations: NY, NJ, MD, Canada, England, and Jamaica. His family is fragmented and apparently most of them and his friends seemed highly unwiling to travel. I refused to get married in Jamaica due to my family being large and i would have had to invite EVERYONE if I did it there, so a number of my family members were fussing about my island selection ignoring the fact that my fiance's family is not from the same island. It just seemed like the airfare was ridiculously high or had long long layovers to get to St. Lucia, then people couldn't gage what their cost would be because we were not staying at an all-inclusive. To avoid any further issues, I changed the whole destination to Punta Cana which has more frequent flight options that are also reasonably priced as well as has more all-inclusive options so that people can eat, drink, be merry, bring their kids (or not). I did want my family and his family to be happy, but not at the cost or our happiness. I got tired of all of the negativity and my FH and I almost had a huge fight before I told him we can just go to the justice of peace and be done with it all. That's when it dawned on him that we will NEVER please everyone and everyone would have been really pissed if we ran off and eloped...lol. Luckily we took a long deep breath, had a long talk, and came to the conculsion that it's OUR day and it's about what we want to begin the celebration of our lives together. At the end of the day, people have a choice to make and they can either stay home or come and be supportive and have a good time. I know I have made all of the concessions I plan on making for anyone regarding our day. I don't care if we have 20 people or 100, I will be there to marry my honey! Our guests will have endless food options, a nice resort, a nice wedding and surpise great reception at JellyFish. If they choose to be crazy, my FH and I will ignore them and concentrate on OUR beautiful day. Hard to deal with the troublemakers, but if you just keep pushing forward everything will eventually work out.

Do you find that weigh-ins can be a bit disappointing? I don't really weigh in much because it's not a great indicator of exactly how much weight you're losing. It's really how many inches I think will be a better factor because if you gain muscle and lose fat, your weight isn't going to show that you lost anything. I've had this issue since i'm muscular. I usually look to see how my clothes fit and how i look in the mirror in those clothes.

I see we are all meeting again. I have the same issue with the myfitnesspal. It's a great app, but i have to remember to use it also! I need to be better with it because I think it's a great tool. I'm hoping to go down at least a size or 2 before I actually purchase! Good luck everyone with your weight loss/fit the dress goals!