pzl101

How was your experience at RK Bridal? That was one of the places I was going to go. I've heard you should go there knowing exactly what you want otherwise it's a mess and confusing.

holy cow! how did I not hear about this????? This place sounds crazy and amazing!

NOT changing my name. I'm one of three girls and we're the last ones in my family with our last name. Our father passed away at a young age when I was just a kid so I want to keep our family name in honor of him. I told my FI and he is OK with it because of my dad. However, he does prefer that I change it. He tries to guilt me (only half serious) by saying "don't you want to have the same last name as our kids?" My reply is that we're not any less of a family just because we have different last names.

ohhh cool, I just googled them. That is the best of both worlds of being barefoot with some accessory! I guess it depends on what time of day when the wedding would be. I imagine noon/midday it would be hot but later on near sunset, it would be cool.

That's sweet you have one each and you all are such close friends. My FI and I have separate friends and we don't mix and mingle lol As for a dress code, I am requesting everyone to NOT wear dark colors. I love bright colors so I want the ladies to wear colorful dresses and the fellas to wear gray/tan/khaki/light blue. No black or navy. No jackets but I want them to wear ties.

so glad to hear you say that! Every time people hear me say "I don't like grass" they look at me like I'm nuts! haha I also don't like standing on grass with shoes on either. All this talk about sandals .. I just came back from Aldo and bought 3 pairs! They are having a huge sale! I just bought casual summer sandals but they did have cute fancier ones with sparkles etc that aren't too expensive. I may look into them when it comes to shopping for wedding sandals.

haha, I also considered just doing city hall during the search. Now that we actually narrowed it down to a place or two, I'm still stressed because of the prices! All the add-ons and upcharges, they really get you - like WHY do I have to rent chairs?? I'm kind of pushing for an elopement on the beach just the two of us!

Hi shaeshae - picking a place is definitely stressful. I am totally in the same boat you were last year - glad to see you're back. My Fi and I were also in between Jamaica and T&C but in the end, T&C was just too much. It's such a small island, they have to import everything. He preferred AI just to make it easier for the guests and out of the places with the most AI, we weren't crazy about Mexico, DR or the Bahamas and I was just in Jamaica in May and loved it. I'm trying to steer away from the big AIs too so no Sandals, Beaches, RIU. I'm in contact with Secrets and Jewel so far. There's not much info on Jewel here on BDW but I vacationed at their Runaway Bay location and had a great time. It's an AI but not huge and the people were so friendly and the beach was gorgeous! I hear Negril is amazing but I don't want the cliffs resort and it seems the only AI on the actual 7-mile beach are the big chains. I was in Puerto Rico a few years ago and loved it! I guess it depends on where you are on the island because it varies. The ones in San Juan were just OK but if you head further east toward Fajardo and Vieques, they are gorgeous! But you can't go wrong with Punta Cana either. My sisters stayed at the Majestic and really really liked it. Hope this helps!

My 100 post !!! Finally! Close but yet still so far. Keep it up ladies! Speaking of Google Drive - Google actually has a Wedding Planner doc! It's called All-in-One Wedding Planner. I've only played around with it just a bit (since I haven't booked anything yet) but there are pre-set tabs for budget estimator (with formulas pre-calculated), guest list, music, photographer, caterer, etc all the info you need already formatted. For example, in the guest list tab, they have checklist columns for address/email/StD sent?/invitation sent?/dietary restrictions?/etc Each tab also has some tidbits and advice from Style Me Pretty. It;s nice that I don't have to start from scratch and can edit the sheets as I see fit.

wow, Italy!Those are great ideas for OOT package! I was in Montepulciano a few years ago - what a beautiful place. Are you getting married in a vineyard?

I heard back from Lisa, the Wedding Manager - is that who you worked with? She sent a bunch of attachments with pictures and descriptions so we just have to go through it and see if we like what they offer. Are there multiple weddings a day at Secrets? I was under the impression they only did one per day but she listed 2 times (11am and 2pm) for my 1st choice date and then 3 times (11am/2pm/4pm) for 2 days before and after my preferred date. Does that mean someone already has the 4pm slot for my date?? We are having maybe 24 people (including the 2 of us) so we may just bring a docking station - they said to rent their sound system is $180/hour with a minimum of 3 hours!

yikes! we're 10 months away from our date. I better start hitting those stores to try on!

ohh I agree! I also am assuming beach only even though I've seen pics of gazebos and piers. No garden for me, I can't stand the way grass feels on my feet (I know I'm weird lol) It creeps me out bc I feel I'm standing on bugs, ants and dog poop! I'll probably go with flat sparkly sandals although tempted to go barefoot - I'm OK with sand on my feet! lol

yeah I was thinking we could get a private room and all get mani/pedis/facials etc with champagne and snacks served

I've done a lot of online browsing so I know what style I like (fit and flare/trumpet) but who knows if it will actually look good on me. I've also researched a bunch of stores in NYC to check out - tempted to go to Kleinfeld's just to try on but there's no way I could afford their dresses!

hmm, I bet one of them is taking the lead - there's 3 of us too and I always let my eldest sister handle everything when it comes to family/organizational stuff. But I'm sure it's annoying from your end!

Hey RaynDrop - I'm having a small wedding but never really cared to have bridesmaids. We have just 22 on the guests including immediate family and 6 friends each) I didn't want to choose among my friends (because then that would be the whole guest list! lol) and when I mentioned to my sisters "if I did have bridesmaids, it would be you 2", they kind of made a face like "really?? why us?" We get along but aren't that close. I think they expected me to pick my friends over them. It's weird because they are super excited about the wedding and will come with me to look at dresses and they've talked about organizing a bridal shower/bachelorette party so it's almost like they are unofficial bridesmaids ... My FI thought it was weird I didn't want a bridal party bc he wants (or thinks he should have a best man) I told him I'm totally fine with him having groomsmen if he wants - we don't have to be even. My friend got married with 10 groomsmen and only 4 bridesmaids!

oops, sorry LisaJoy, nevermind, just realized you explained about your dinner in another thread! there is soooo much information here! I'm getting confused about what I'm following! haha thanks for your help and i'm sure i will have more questions about Secrets!

I agree! I keep going through her planning thread because it was so detailed! great advice and so helpful....

so you had your dinner reception at one of the restaurants instead of at the beach? you were able to reserve the whole restaurant?

thanks for the info .... I filled out the form and emailed them too. I have no clue on how the process works or what steps to take. I definitely have an idea of what and how I want the wedding to look ... but I guess first my FI and I have to make a final decision on where to have it? I emailed a couple of places to do a comparison but Secrets is def our top choice. Once we decide, we have to put down a deposit to reserve the date ... and then we don't hear back from them until 2 months prior??

no engagement party. and i'm pretty sure my sisters and friends will throw a bridal shower and bachelorette party. The bachelorette party will be more like a spa day or wine tasting at a vineyard as opposed to going out clubbing though ...

wow! that's great ... man i gotta get a move on ... we've set a date and have contacted a couple of resorts .. now just waiting to hear back and get more info and compare them before making a final decision ...

is it standard to organize an outing and pay for guests? I'm not having a wedding party either ... a catamaran cruise sounds fun

fireworks sound awesome! but i think i may do sky lanterns!