1BeachBride

Okay, I'm back... Now I had 50 guests attend so it was a decent size group. We got married on the beach. The chairs were decorated with the sashes and I have to admit seeing it in person was much better than the pictures on the website. It really was a nice set up. The package was for the guests to attend the wedding and a semi-private dinner. The prices for all of this destination wedding stuff are inflated because DW's are the popular trend now. So the hotels are definitely capitalizing on it! Nothing you can do about that... we were overcharged but oh well! I had a semi-private dinner. Here's the bad & ugly part: We did not get to select which restaurant we wanted to have our dinner in. We were told the restaurant is chosen for you based on your number of guests and availability. We didn't find this out until we were sitting down with Kenya (WC) to finalize things. We wanted to choose a restaurant and couldn't so we were quite annoyed with that! Then we were told it was going to be in Bamboo restaurant. So we left the wedding coordinator's office that evening, & went to go scope out Bamboo. It was okay (asian themed). Since it was air conditioned, we were fine with that especially since there was no other option. Well, after the wedding ceremony on the beach, we had our own private train just for our wedding guests, that came & took us all to the restaurant. (It also picked up all my guests & dropped them at the wedding location for the ceremony.) I'm thinking we were going to Bamboo with air like we were told but found out Kenya told us the wrong restaurant name. It was Tapeo, actually next to Bamboo & was outside the main part of the restaurant in the HEAT! (Other resort guests were inside in the air.) Well let's just say we all lost weight sweating that day & my uncle got sick in the heat & had to leave dinner to get medical attention. Dinner was horrible, no music playing at all, service was extra SLOW, the food sucked, and the dessert & cake tasted terrible as well. But our guests were all so pleasant & polite that no one complained (except me). I also didn't like that everyone had to eat the same meal. We had salmon which was mediocre at best. We cut the cake after we ate so people could have cake and the discusting puffed pastry apple thingy as dessert. The cake was so much fondant we barely could cut into it. It was designed really cute though. Next the train came to take us to our Beach Bash. Well one third of our guests had to leave to go back to their rooms to freshen up & change because the heat was unbearable & people were drenched in sweat. So these people walked or got a golf cart to their rooms & would come to the Beach Bash late. The rest of us got on the train & went to the location. Well, they were still decorating when we arrived at the site so we had to sit on the train in the heat for about 5-10 minutes more & wait. We made the decision after the wedding ceremony to move the beach bash from the beach to the outdoor pavilion because it was forecasted to rain. Good thing we did because it rained toward the end of the beach bash. If this happens on the beach, you don't get any money back. So, the Beach Bash was a cute set up & this is where we did our first dance, mother/son dance... it was really a fun time but this was because of our group. We MADE it fun- we had brought our own laptop with playlists we made at home, so our guests enjoyed the music. The DJ guy kept asking if he could play his music so I let him for a few songs. (OMG!!!) Why did this dude play the most vulgar songs- Lil John, Shots (unedited), something else with a bunch of profanity. I made him put our playlist back on. Didn't think it was appropriate to have my parents & older family members hearing about "they wanna suck our c*ck"! The party food at the bash was 3 trays of mini pigs in a blanket, & pork lunchmeat with crackers. Mind you, about half my guests don't eat pork. We got no option & coordinator knew about the no pork thing from when we selected our dinner menu, we had told her. We assumed she would respect the dietary restrictions for the beach bash but NOPE! All in all, I got great wedding shots because we brought 3 photographers (family) with us. The set up on the beach looked beautiful also. But the wedding dinner was terrible & overpriced. We could have gone to a buffet and been happier. The Beach Bash was way overpriced! We only did it so we could have a reception. The liquor was all cheap stuff. I saw a really cool boat while we were on vacation that was for weddings. They pick your guests up, take you all out sailing & you have dinner & drinks on the boat after your ceremony on the beach. Not sure how much or the info but if I had known about that option, we definitely would've gone with that instead. Don't mean to sound negative because my special day was wonderful but I'm giving my honest opinion. It could've been better in several areas for as much money as we paid the resort. Hope that answered questions.

Hi Ladies, Just got back from my wedding there. It was a beautiful day and my hubby & I are still on cloud nine... I can answer some of your questions. Give me a few minutes and I'll respond to @@Feltzwedding & @@Kerrierf.

Ha! Funny!

I see... You're very welcome. Once again, great job! I'm amazed by how some of you ladies are so prepared well in advance. Wish I had my things together early. Anyway, I wish you luck with your wedding. I have 8 days left and then I'll be posting from another viewpoint. So excited!

So it seems I'm definitely not alone! Quite a few of you are also considering a change. Come to find out, my mother even brought an outfit to change into for the afterparty! I find that hilarious being as though she is not young, a dancer, or a partier. I guess she wants to be comfy sitting on the side with my father. LOL

Vistaprint doesn't give free stuff like they used to a few years ago. Now it's just discounted items all the time or free shipping. I like FREE better! I'm done with my wedding stuff anyway. Just telling others so you know!

Oh my goodness! I see your dilemma in choosing. I like the style of the first dress, young, short, beachy but dressy... but I see what you're saying about the color...possibly getting washed out. I think you'll be okay though! Your dress has more color to it than that washed out pic. However, the second dress is nice also. It's more formal & elegant. My friend had a beach wedding last May in Riviera Maya. She had very long BM dresses like #2. They were blowing in pictures but extremely HOT. All their pics have big sweat marks on the dresses under the girls' arms, on their backs, and under their boobs in the front. They were baking in the sun. I say go with dress #1. Good Luck!

Nicely done Malyna! I'm a teacher so my eye is very critical for errors. Please don't take offense! Under How We Met- you have "We me" not met Schedule of Events- you have "Friday November 13, 201" not 2014 Passport info- you have "6 months post travel" you mean prior to travel dates You did a great job with it! Your guests will be excited. It's funny how the knot gives a standard format but the websites end up being so personalized and very different. lol

@@JoWil JoWil was the venue's DJ expensive? I have ten days before my wedding date and now it seems I'm reconsidering things just to have a back up plan. We plan on playing music on my iphone through Wedding DJ since we know the type of music we like, but now I'm wondering if we should do a DJ.

I'm not doing it but I like the locket on a bouquet. It's very subtle for overly sensitive people like myself. My only sibling, my older brother, passed unexpectedly a few years back. He will be remembered by leaving a chair empty in the front row. My daughter is the flower girl. She will place a rose on the chair when she walks up. Candles will blow out on the beach so I thought the rose was just as symbolic. I just have to remember not to keep looking at the chair or I'll be an emotional wreck!

@@nina1116 They will. I'm packing an old suitcase (we no longer want) with our things for the wedding & OOT bags. It will be left there when we return. Other brides have suggested this & it's probably the best option for me since I have to take 50 of them.

Hey @BHolders Welcome to the site! Tough decision on the location...

@@LoriGran Would the extra guests cost you? I don't get any perks like @@kmk2016 was talking about. We have a welcome party, the wedding, dinner reception, a private beach bash, and a brunch planned for our guests. Plus OOT bags. So it would cost us about $100 per person for the uninvited extras...

I had a timeline which I basically made up and estimated the times. Thank goodness I didn't print it. I saw this post & decided to run it past my WC. Quite different. As soon as I find the email, I'll post mine.

Someone brought up a good point on another post (similar situation of uninvited guests): It is unacceptable to bring uninvited guests with you to a wedding at home so why do people think it's okay for a destination wedding?

Oh, I see. I'll be packing everything for us... (as usual) so It's done correctly . Nothing like a woman's touch!

@@jayejayelynn A suitcase and a half of decorations...WOW! Is your resort all inclusive? And are decorations in your wedding package? Our package includes decorations, chair sashes, etc. We're just bringing a few things to make it more personalized for us. I can't imagine taking that much. I'm nervous about the one bag that will be checked! Aren't you scared your wedding supply luggage will get lost/stolen?

@@jayejayelynn My bags include a welcome/thank you letter, snacks, first aid kits, meds, cups, and some other stuff. Yes it is a lot. It's bulky stuff that I can't compress. Plus we have some decorations & things that we're also taking. We're taking the items there in an old suitcase. When we come back home, that suitcase will stay there. We don't want to lug a lot back home with us.

I found out last week that I have a friend who is bringing her friend along to the DR for our wedding. She never even rsvp'd so I assumed she wasn't coming, let alone bringing her female friend with her (who we don't even know). I was pissed too! I didn't address it yet. In the meantime, I've calmed down and decided we aren't letting her friend attend any of our wedding events...We're not paying for someone we don't even know. And who wants be at a wedding where they're the only person who doesn't know the bride or groom...awkward! Relax and calm down, don't get upset before your big day!! Just don't let them attend wedding related events. They will be there on vacation but not at your wedding. But I still say it's very rude & upsetting! They could have run the idea past you out of consideration. I also have an inkling that they knew it was wrong which is why they didn't mention it to you and are probably going to try to crash... prepare your wedding planner about crashers and the situation ahead of time! I am!

We'll be taking our OOT bags with us to the destination. I wanted the bags delivered to each room but my hotel charges a fee for that & I figure that money would be a waste. However, if I write specific names on each bag (which I was anyway), they will distribute them at check-in for FREE. That's the magic word for me & I like that idea better anyway...check-in to a welcome/thank you surprise from us! I was trying to figure out how to do a completed guest list for my OOT bags once I arrive there. Now I think I will just stick a blank one in there like you're doing. They can complete it themselves...less work for me Great idea! @jayajayelynn We already gave out our pre-travel package to guests on May 21st. (Our wedding is June 21st.) I delivered a lot of them to mailboxes & timed the mail perfectly on the others. Our guests all loved them & got really excited all over again.

I'm trying to get everything done now so the last week and a half is just crazy thoughts going through my head and nothing to physically do except pack it all up. It seems like the time flies by after you get to 2 months before the wedding date. I have 27 days until my wedding as of today. LOL. Less than that before I leave. Enjoy it all & post pics when you return @@liz24

I don't think they mail them anymore. They're available for download. Don't want to use my color ink...

@@itswrightsc No shipping! You can only buy it there in Jamaica. Go off the resort to a store there. If you ask them for Wray & Nephew (pronounced Ray), they will know what you are talking about. Or you can do Appleton Rum.. Both are well known Jamaican name brands like Absolute is here. Not expensive, probably a couple of dollars like airplane bottles here in USA. If you buy a lot they should give you a deal. I would do little travel size bottles. Tie a yellow,black, & green ribbon on the neck of the bottle with a tag you make on the computer that says "Thanks & Irie Love - Bride name & Groom Name" (Irie means like "a whole lot" or "great") You're wedding is close & you have a late start with OOT's. It'll be a lot of effort to get those done. You don't have to do them. How many guests do you have? Hope this helps you out!

That's how I explained it to him as I made more purchases. "They're taking off work & paying thousands of dollars to travel and support us. The least we can do is give them an OOT bag as a way to say thank you." @@angelajackson