brownsugarbride

Love the teaser pic---looking forward to seeing everything!

I too, am looking for a more private location than most of the resorts can offer. Might I suggest St. Lucia or Turks and Caicos? St. Lucia was at the top of my list, but budget concerns made Riviera Maya a great compromise! If you want a little more bang for your buck, you could investigate some options in Jamaica. Happy hunting!

I'm still going back and forth with myself about a videographer. For me, great photos reign supreme, and I don't want a videographer who is going to get into conflict with my photographer for good shots, etc. I can't see us wanting to watch our video (I hate watching myself!) but other brides keep reporting that they loved having both photos and video! Decisions, decisions!

Thanks for the suggestion Sofia!

I'm planning to get married in Riviera Maya, but this post definitely gave me some food for thought! I definitely will be taking the time to work with my planner to create a gorgeous chuppah for my ceremony!

Tova-That is gorgeous! I just love all of your DIY projects! I don't consider myself to be that crafty, but I have hopes that my mom and a crafty friend or two can help me out!

Congratulations on your wonderful surprise engagement islandluv! This website is chock full of great information. My personal vote would be for an all-inclusive resort where you could venture off occasionally if you wanted a change of pace. I always felt a little trapped on a cruise ship myself (the one time I went).

I'm hoping so! I really want to focus on making everything about my wedding unexpected and personal, if that makes any sense (any chance to deviate from the same ol', same ol' in a meaningful way is good in my book).

This is a situation where it is probably best to at least get in touch with a local planner. Although some of the hotels may be used to hosting Indian weddings (the Grand Palladium and Half Moon Resort are venues that keep coming up), they're the ones who know what is going on on the ground. Here's a link to Jamaican planners from Wedding Wire, and you should also definitely check the reviews here for Jamaican planners as well. I can't wait to see your plans come together! (The stars keep conspiring to keep me from attending my friends' Indian weddings, but at least I can live vicariously through others! LOL)

Well, one way I pitched the DW to FI is that we could save money by having the wedding and the honeymoon in the same general location. However, there is an organizational conference being held in Malaysia next summer that I am dying to go to. It won't be a honeymoon exactly, but I'm hoping that we can also fit that in as well!

Sofia: I really like the chuppah in the first picture. I'm not sure if it's the light, or the actual fabric (or both) but those colors are FIRE!

RaynDrop- I still haven't told a lot of people, as I want my wedding to be one surprise after another For a lot of my friends, they will find out when I send the save the dates! LOL LOL All of the research that I did was for off-resort weddings because I wanted to select my own photographer. (Photography is VERY important to me.) One of my friends recommended Dreamy Weddings to me as a very good planner for St. Lucia and other islands. Even if you don't use them for weddings, you might want to use them to arrange for a tour or activity as a thank you for attending.

Hi resh! I have not personally planned a wedding in Jamaica, but I posted some possible leads in another thread for you: There are a good number of Indian immigrants in Jamaica, so I am thinking that you should be able to find something! One way of going about it is to google "Jamaica and Hindu Wedding", and contact some of the vendors involved. You can always cross check the quality of the vendors on this site and others. One place I'm seeing come up a lot is the Grand Palladium in Montego Bay: http://chrisjoriann.wordpress.com/2011/01/19/an-indian-wedding-destination-jamaica/ http://torontodestinationweddingplanners.ca/2011/04/04/new-blog-indian-wedding-in-jamaica/ http://www.maharaniweddings.com/2011/11/jamaica-indian-wedding-by-studio-b-photography/ I hope this helps get you started!

I haven't tried this, but there is a bride on here with an absolutely fantastic wedding planning thread and review (coconoir1908) that I recall had something similar to what you were looking for: http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/t/78847/coconoirs-planning-thread-pgs-1-8-final-review-templates-pgs-18-19

Congratulations to you and your intended, knb! I have never visited Aruba, but from what my FI tells me, Aruba is a beautiful place. (We are having our event in Riviera Maya.) Have you checked out some of the reviews yet? The Westin seems to get good marks from brides, as does the Renaissance. Something that is really helpful is to chat with a good travel agent, who can give you insights into the different resorts you're looking at. Lastly, check out the threads for Aruba on the wedding and honeymoon boards---there are likely a few more brides honeymooning in Aruba than having their wedding there. I hope this helps, and welcome!

Welcome Steph! Florida really is a great choice for a destination wedding. One of the most enjoyable weddings that I've attended was in South Florida. Have you decided on a city yet?

Yazmin- It's always great to get perspectives from professionals like you that have been doing this for a long time! I know things will come together for me eventually! Thanks again!

I am so sorry to hear about your illness! I agree with the others, you still look great in your photos!

Welcome and congratulations on you engagement! As Allie noted, a travel agent really can take some of the pressure off and guide you toward great resorts that are in your budget and satisfy your preferences. The brides here are just fantastic for giving advice and support.

That sounds unpleasant! I hope that everything else happened according to your plan and that you had a wonderful, blissful wedding and honeymoon!

These are great! I love the purple background as well.

Jen: Have you checked out the Azul Sensatori thread? That might be the fastest way to get your question answered.

Welcome and congratulations on your engagement! Definitely check out the thread for your resort, as the the brides can give you more up to date and specific advice about your venue. Again, welcome!

Wow...your invites are spectacular! I can't wait to see the rest of your post(s)!

I am so sorry to hear this! I really hope someone does the right thing and turns it back in!