beckys98

I just looked at the Travel Tips section of your website and you are so smart to put the part about the customs forms! We (and by "we" I mean my fiance) lost that slip one time we went to Mexico and he had to spend money to get it replaced and we almost missed our flight home! Lesson learned. We're getting married in Jamaica and for some reason I can't remember what they did when we were there last year, but I think it is the same. So I'll add that to my travel tips list! Also, since you fill the forms out on the plane it is a good idea to bring a pen. Never have I traveled internationally where the flight attendants had pens and we had to beg and borrow a few times

a). My nightmares started last week . I'm definitely going to be a blubbering mess! I picture all my pictures with me having ugly crying face. That is part of the reason why I don't want a videographer! I don't need to see that...ha c). Report back on your eyelash extensions! I would love to do this but I'm chicken. I'm definitely going to at least do eyelash tinting but if you have a good experience maybe I'll try it. d). The bikini wax is well worth it if you're going to be in a bathing suit for a week. It is not fun, I won't lie, but definitely worth it!

I wonder if since the spa doesn't do airbrush make up they will waive the vendor fee? I mean, if it is something they don't offer I would think that would make sense.

@@rachelia160 Are you definitely doing a menu card? We are doing a Jamaican menu so I kind of feel like we should so people know what they are eating but, again, I'm lazy (and free-time-challenged). I thought we could include a note of thanks on the reverse side, and I guess it would add some color to the table... I also need to find a good design that I like for all this stuff. I haven't found one yet, but it should probably be next on my to-do list!

Haha! Oh I have one too! We only got 2/3 of the way through decorating our house because I gave up. My friends are like "Oh, I wish my husband was more involved! He just leaves me to do everything!" And I warned them to be careful what they wish for. Usually he'll come around to agreeing with me in the end, but it either has to be HIS idea or he has to evaluate all options himself before coming to the conclusions that my selection was the best in the first place. My favorite one is he INSISTS that we let everyone give a speech at the wedding but we limit them to 1 minute. I think this is the worst idea of all time. No one will stick to 1 minute and we'll spend the entire reception on speeches, and there is NO WAY I'm telling my dad and my sister that they each get 1 minute. A month after we got engaged my dad told me he already had his speech written! He was so excited. I'm still working on him with this one. My recommended solutions is having a microphone available at the beach party the evening before with a 30 minute "open mic" window so people can say something if they want to. Then just do dads and MOH/BM at the reception. That way it doesn't derail the actual wedding! I'll report back and let you know if I won God love him, but he's lucky he loves a patient girl!

We looked at Dwayne Watkins but he was out of my budget! My top 3 were Misha Earle, WPAJ, and Stacey Clarke - and we decided on Stacey Clarke. Her package pricing was excellent and I liked the tropical, bright feel her photos had. Some of the others were a little more vintage or dramatic in their editing style, and I really want to make sure the photos look beachy and light. Stacey covers the vendor fee and the Monday after our wedding she is going to take us off the resort to get some additional pictures - my fiance is Jamaican so we really want some photos where you can tell we are there! Does Your Face Beauty do both hair and makeup? I've pretty much decided on the spa to avoid paying a vendor fee, but I love the idea of getting my hair and make up done in my room to avoid the heat as much as possible. And I'd love airbrush make up...

We aren't doing one, but we also don't have a bridal party. But my sister got married in Mexico and everyone is so well acquainted by the wedding that it isn't really necessary to tell people who the bridal party is. The only reason I considered doing one is if I do fans for the ceremony I might do a program fan. But I think I've nixed this idea because I'm too lazy to worry about the fans and lugging them down there. Ha! I am doing an itinerary though, but that will include more than just the wedding day. My plan is to share it electronically (we set up a Facebook group for guests) before we leave and then have it printed out for them as they arrive. As a guest I like to know where I'm supposed to be and when, so I want to provide that to my guests! I'm sure 85% will ignore it though

Hi @@Beachlight - We are hoping to do the Steakhouse for our rehearsal dinner. I didn't want to do it for our wedding because it is outdoor and I'm really paranoid about being TOO hot, sweaty and uncomfortable in my dress. I definitely want the air conditioning for the reception. But I'm not so worried for the rehearsal dinner. I think the only restaurant that is more formal than the others is Calabash; but I think they are all "nice" and you're group should be fine. For a private reception they tell you which restaurant based on the size of your group. We should be at Calabash since we'll be around 70, which is what I want anyway. I feel like the decor there is neutral enough that any decor we bring won't look odd. The Mediterranean is kind of nautical looking and the Mexican is, well, Mexican. I'd really be fine with any of them (except steakhouse) though! From what other brides have said, they try not to seat other guests around you for a semi-private dinner, but basically your group is just sitting together in one section of the restaurant. Most have said they were by themselves until the end of their meal (assuming they started dinner at 6:30) and have said that they didn't even notice the other guests in the restaurant! As far as coordinators, I've heard from both Nicole and Simone. Simone just sent me my final details sheet this week!

Tai Floral is also the vendor for Iberostar. From what ladies have said responsiveness is an issue and they are more expensive than outside vendors, but their quality seems to be okay. At Iberostar you don't get charged for an outside vendor if they just drop the flowers off - then the wedding coordinators set them up. If they came on site to set things up or decorate there would be a fee. So you could ask about that. Most ladies seem to use Floral Fantasies or Jan's and have been very happy!

So far my experience with Iberostar Rose Hall Suites has been great. It really is the perfect mix of what we were looking for for us and our guests. I also love that they only do 1 wedding per day and all the brides on here and other forums that got married there have only RAVE reviews. You should definitely go with your gut - in the end, feeling comfortable with our decision was important. IRHS gave me peace of mind some of my other options didn't. And I imagine we all need all the peace of mind we can get in planning a wedding in another country! I haven't second guessed our choice at all. If no one has actually booked yet, I think they'll completely understand if you change.

Hi @@Sandraco8 - Congratulations! We aren't getting married at Hilton Rose Hall but practically next door! Have you tried a travel agent for the group booking? I haven't dealt with our hotel on any of that and have the travel agent handling all my guests' bookings and questions!

Haha!!!! Yes, a little perspective is always helpful, right? I was going to say the same thing but you put it in a nicer way than I could muster

You're right! At least I don't have to worry I'm forgetting things and also have a record of what we've requested for when I get there and meet the coordinators.

It is the resort's form that I have to complete that covers pretty much every little detail from when we're arriving, what time I want to get my hair done, if we're customizing our ceremony script, restaurant request for rehearsal dinner, flower selections, you name it. It is 11 pages! Since you're wedding is off resort you probably have a different set of final details!

Haha! I mean, I've always kinda wanted a Rascal so it isn't the WORST option ever

Wow. Wow. Wow. There are so many things at the tip of my tongue I'd like to say here - but out of the respect for the respect and decorum I enjoy on this forum I won't. What I will say is please go find another site to troll. As @@MissJen3 states, this site is for us brides to be supportive and helpful to one another. Nothing you have said fits the bill so please spare us. @@JennyZ, I'm sorry this thread has taken this turn and probably caused you more angst. It has me fired up and it wasn't even my OP. You sound like you have been very thoughtful and considerate and I'm sure you'll find a way to make everything work in the way you and your fiance want for YOUR special day. I highly doubt they are, but if your future in-laws are anything like the above commenter you wouldn't be able to please them anyway! Hang in there!

Oh no! That is the LAST thing you want to worry about right before your wedding! Crossing my fingers for you that you won't need surgery. Definitely rest it as much as you can to keep swelling down and promote healing in the meantime. I had a stress fracture in my ankle once and the swelling was really the worst. Just have people carry you around like a queen at the resort! Fanning and feeding you grapes is optional. May not be so bad

Last night my fiance was on the phone with a friend asking questions about booking. I heard him say "We're getting married..." and I was OH WEIRD! Sometimes I'm so consumed with the travel and guests booking and budget that I forget that we're going to be MARRIED after all this. That sounds crazy but something about hearing him say it make it feel more real. Also, I got my final details request form from my resort yesterday! That sure make it feel real too!

Oh, sisters...mine is pretty much the only one left to book and our deadline was 2/6 Our travel agent told us the lowest room category is almost sold out, which I relayed to her, yet she still hasn't booked. I know she is coming, but the deposit is only $150! What's worse is she also had a destination wedding so she should understand, and I sure as heck didn't miss her booking deadline! I'm also not even having a shower or bachelorette party for her to plan...so I'm taking it pretty easy on her. All I ask is that she book...ARgh! (Rant over...ha.)

@@LisaAnthonyPoppy I do barre classes too! Holy smokes are they intense. I mix them in with other workouts, but I sure do love the muscle tone they give me and they are SO good for my posture since I sit at a desk all day. I get compliments on my arms and shoulder muscles all the time. I follow your same diet philosophy - and I do workout so my body needs the fuel. I could just every once in awhile decline the pizza or french fries and I think that would help! I can turn down sweet - my problem is more salty carbs...and pizza. Oh how I love pizza

I'm just over 3 months away as well! We haven't gotten our rings or figured out our ceremony script yet - those are next on my list. I have been so busy with work I haven't spent ANY time on the wedding in the last month outside of hounding people to book, which I guess is important. Being busy has made it easier to resist feeling like to need to do all these extra, creative touches. I've seen SOO many cute ideas, but my original plan was to keep it simple so I want to stick to that. But, on the flipside, I keep thinking how I'm keeping it simple so I have tons of time left! And that could backfire too Oh yeah, next on my list too is to start dieting...gotta get on that...

Can't help here - I ask my fiancé every couple weeks what he wants to wear and he hasn't even thought about it, other than that he doesn't want to wear a jacket. He doesn't really want to wear a tie either. He is also not a linen pant/untucked shirt kind of guy either! He is pretty fashionable and wears more fitted clothing...so I don't know. I'm literally leaving it 100% up to him to figure out! Knowing him, he'll get something about a week before we go... My sister got married in mexico in July and the groom wore grey pants, white shirt, grey vest, tie. Looked great!

Hi Beachlight - Here are some answers to your questions. You CAN bring an outside photographer, but a vendor fee does apply. Many, many photographers will cover the vendor fee for you. I'm using Stacey Clarke and she covers the vendor fee. I have not heard many good things about DigiPix and I understand their prices aren't even very good for what you get. So you should definitely explore. My top 3 were Stacey Clarke, WPAJ/Sungold, and Misha Earle. You will not be able to make your dinner reservations ahead of time. You will be asked to select restaurants for your reception dinner (and a rehearsal dinner if you have one) on your final details sheet, but I don't think they confirm those with you until a couple weeks before. The rehearsal dinner would count as one of the 4 a la cart reservations, but the wedding dinner won't. With a group of 15 your dinner will be "semi-private" at one of the restaurants. You have to have 40 people to have a private dinner. I highly recommending sending one email to the wedding coordinators with multiple questions. I've gotten quick replies - but they literally have weddings EVERY day so they are very busy ladies! I wouldn't worry. I've never heard a single bride have anything even remotely negative to say about their experience with the wedding coordinators once they got closer to their day. They just have to prioritize! On wish lanterns, you can do them if they are the environmentally friendly/biodegradable kind. However, I've seen a majority of brides say they had trouble lighting them because of the wind on the beach and they didn't work. Others have been able to do it successfully. So just know it would be a risk!

@@RandL2015 - We are getting married in Jamaica as well. First of all, I do think fares will go down and you'll be able to find sales on Southwest. However, another strategy we used is recommending to guests that they sign up for the Southwest credit card. Right now they have an incentive where you get 50,000 bonus points for signing up. My flight to Jamaica (not bought during a sale) was about 21,000 points - so you could almost get 2 round trips with the bonus points! When the incentive ends, you still get 25,000 points, which still helps a ton. We have had SEVERAL guests take advantage of this and get their flights for free. https://creditcards.chase.com/6000324?CELL=6PLX The Southwest card also does not charge any international transaction fees. So it is a GREAT one to use to pay for stuff in Jamaica and will save you money there too. I use my Southwest card for everything, including paying my bills, and it really has the best reward. I've only had it for a year and have already used several free flights in addition to my Jamaica flight. Food for thought!

I am not very traditional, but leaning toward spending the night before apart. Maybe it is just because spending the night with my sister and my niece sounds kinda fun! And he has a super close group of guy friends that I'm sure they'd have fun with some guy time too. However, we haven't discussed and when I mention it to him he might think the not-seeing-eachother thing is silly. He is so clueless I'm sure he doesn't even know that traditionally we would spend the night apart. Ha! Boys....