beckys98

Hi @@Karenanne83! Congratulations on your engagement! My fiancé and I are getting married in Montego Bay on June 11, 2015 at Iberostar Rose Hall Suites. Jamaica is an EXCELLENT choice! (Although, my fiancé is from there so I'm slightly biased.) You'll find that a lot of really great resorts in Jamaica are adults only and do not allow children under 18 on premise, particularly in Negril. This was a big factor for us as we have nieces and nephews we wanted to be there. Montego Bay is going to be most convenient for your guests since the airport is right there (it is 15 mins to our resort), and it is also in between Negril and Ocho Rios so it is convenient for day trips to either place and attractions like Dunn's River Falls and the Martha Brae. My advice is to determine what are your "deal breakers" and what you are willing to compromise. For example, we were looking at RIU Palace Tropical Bay in Negril, but it doesn't have an onsite disco/nightclub and that just would not work for our group. We aren't the type to turn in at 10:00pm and most people won't want to go off the resort to go to a bar at night. We also didn't want a "mega resort" where you need a shuttle to get around, and we wanted a resort that only does one wedding per day. (The RIU does up to 4.) Thinking about scheduling our wedding itinerary and locations around other weddings just gave me too much anxiety! Also, try to get information from the resort about the costs for the actual wedding and reception. There were some that appeared to be a great deal but then they nickel and dime you for every single tiny thing on your wedding day. OR the rate was just too high for our guests. It didn't seem fair for us to get our wedding for free and ask our guests to pay out the nose. So we went somewhere in the middle. The resort is the absolute toughest choice - it gets SO much easier once you do. I have had absolutely zero doubt about Iberostar Rose Hall Suites since we picked it! Every bride has rave reviews for the resort and wedding coordinators and my experience has been great so far. If you have questions about Jamaica, I'm happy to answer them. If you haven't been, it is a safe, beautiful country with a unique culture, friendly people and amazing food. Happy planning!

It will be hot - but there is always a breeze off the water, which really helps, and it cools off in the evening. My sister got married in July in Mexico and with the ceremony on the beach it really was fine. June wasn't our first choice, but it is just what worked out for us with timing and price! We *thought* we'd be around 40-50 but based on the RSVPs we have and those who have said they are definitely coming, I think we're going to be closer to 75-80! We invited a total of 130 (including the plus ones). It is going to affect our budget, but it is a good problem to have For colors - we aren't having a bridal party just because we don't want to put any extra costs on our friends who are coming and to keep the planning simple, but we'll use mostly turquoise and shades of blue for the decor. I love the colors of the water and beach! We will probably just bring colored chair sashes and something simple for the centerpieces. It still feels like FOREVER away - but I know it'll come up fast!

Thanks, Ladies! So great to have objective opinions (friends aren't always objective)! Unfortunately they don't have the first dress in ANY stores. I live in Chicago where there are many stores, but they said it just isn't available yet in ANY stores. You can't buy it online either, which is silly since they let you return online orders. Who buys a dress without trying it on? (Well, maybe me I guess!) I think the reason they are willing to let me buy and return that one is that they'll keep it as the store sample if I don't take it. You've affirmed my concern about the fabric, too. @@Surfingsara I was able to try on the second/satin one in the store, fortunately. I actually didn't think I wanted satin at all but it is SUPER light and the sample was hugging me in all the right places on my bottom half (the top half would need alterations). I don't know if the chiffon will hug my backside the same, and if it doesn't I'd go with the second/satin dress. The first/chiffon dress also has a longer train, and I'm not sure how that will work out. The second/satin dress has a slit in the front and separates when I walk so it doesn't really matter how long it is without shoes and then I can put heels on for the reception. My sister got her dress at DB and they did the same - told her it would be 16 weeks and she got it in maybe 8. I had it hanging in my closet for her for a long time! The second/chiffon dress they said they could get in 8 weeks, though. Okay, so I think I'll try to ask in my most persuasive manner if they'll let me order both and return the one that doesn't work. (I'm not great at this stuff - I may make my sister do it for me. Haha.) If they say no, maybe I order the first/chiffon one in hopes it comes in sooner - if it comes in roughly 8 weeks I'll would still have enough time to order the other one (I have approx 21 weeks). Even if it doesn't come in early, I could still order the other one after the 8 weeks to be sure I got it in time. Then if the first/chiffon one comes in and I LOVE it, I could try to sell the second/satin one. If the first/chiffon one comes in and I don't like it, then there is no issue since I can just return it for a full refund and keep the second one. Ha! Clearly I'm thinking *out loud* here!

Hi @@CurlyKD. Welcome and congratulations on your engagement! Did you already check with the resorts on date availability? That could make a difference in which one you end up with! Iberostar Rose Hall Suites does allow children - it is the more expensive Iberostar Rose Hall Grand that does not allow children. You are correct that each of the 3 adjacent Iberostar resorts only does one wedding per day. That was one of the reasons we picked it! The thought of working the day's schedule around other bridal parties gave me anxiety From everything I've read about both IRHB and IRHS, you can't go wrong with either. The wedding coordinators at both get rave reviews and I haven't seen one unhappy bride! So far my experience with the wedding coordinators has been great. I just emailed a list of questions and got a thorough reply the next day. So that should give you some comfort. We choice Suites because we are in our 30s and when we looked at our guest list we knew that many of our friends would choose a resort like Suites for themselves for their own vacation. Suites seems to have nicer guest rooms and just the overall grounds look "nicer." Plus, you get access to everything at Beach if you stay at Suites, which is kind of nice! If you have any other questions, just let me know! My wedding date is June 11, 2015 so we're getting into the thick of planning our details now while it is winter and there is nothing else to do Happy planning!

I FINALLY went dress shopping today for my June 11, 2015 wedding. Unfortunately, the bridal shops I went to didn't have the specific dresses I was hoping to try on by the designers they carry. I guess I should have verified that ahead of time - rookie mistake! The dress I really wanted to try on at David's Bridal is brand new and they don't have it in any stores yet to try on. They said I could order it and if it doesn't work out they will let me return it for a full refund so long as it doesn't leave the store (so I'd try it on there). But because it is a new dress they expect that will take the full 16 weeks and that won't leave me with enough time to get something else if it doesn't work out. There is a relatively similar dress in the same line that is a top contender as well, though I don't like it *quite* as much as the back on the one above. If they were the same material I could maybe assume that the new one would look just as good and take the risk and order it, but one is satin and one is chiffon. Ideally they'd let me order both at the same time and just keep one, but I think I would have to have some really strong persuasive skills to get them to agree! But it might be worth a try. Has anyone had an experience like this? What would you do? Is it just far too risky to order a dress without having tried it on?

I actually have an appointment tomorrow at a salon that carries Stella York and Maggie Sottero because they have some nice backless/back detail options. My dream dress is the Katie May Poipu dress, which I may still try, but it is a little more than I wanted to spend and I'm not sure it'll look GREAT on my pear shaped frame I also just saw this new one on the David's Bridal site that I'm going to try on! http://www.davidsbridal.com/Product_halter-chiffon-sheath-gown-with-beaded-straps-swg645_wedding-dresses-new-arrivals

We aren't even doing invitations! We sent out electronic STDs in August for our June wedding and we'll continue to send email reminders and information to our invitees. We're just trying to keep things simple and, with only a couple exceptions, our invitees are savvy enough to use our website. So, I think you can do whatever you want!

Your niece's wedding is the day after mine (in Montego Bay)! Definitely work with a travel agent on the room reservations, but other brides on this site can answer other questions! There are a ton of good ideas on the forums, even in threads for other resorts and locations.

@colleent09 in addition to keeping it cold and minimizing trips to the bar, it also keeps the sand out of your drink when you're on the beach! Plus, it is an added bonus of reducing waste. That is a lot of garbage created when you think of all those disposable 8oz plastic cups. My sister did koozies for her DW and they did not actually get much use since they didn't really fit the cups, as @@kmk2016 mentioned.

I have personally brought a Bubba with me all 4 times we stayed at an All Inclusive and it was the best thing I packed! However, we're looking like we are going to have 70-80 guests, so that is just not feasible! On the pre-trip information we send people I will suggest they bring one. I do plan to do a room key/tip holder on a wrist coil for our guests - primarily because I always wish I had something to keep my tip money dry in the pool/beach but it will also help our guests identify other guests that are part of our wedding group (those they don't already know) when they run into each other. That *may* be the only favor we do, but we are hooking up transportation for some excursions and looking into a catamaran or sunset cruise for our guests as well. I agree with all the other posters that no one is going to have expectations or be disappointed if they don't get an OOT bag!

Hi! We're starting to look at our honeymoon for our June 2015 wedding and wondered if anyone had any genius ideas of places we could fly to direct from Jamaica? Our original plan was to go to Peru/Machu Picchu but it would involve at a minimum 10 hours of travel to get there in the middle of the night - back to the U.S., then to Lima, then to Cusco. It is just a bit much! Does anyone have experience with, or ideas on, where we can fly direct to from Jamaica? We want to avoid another Caribbean island, since that'll be where we just came from. That is why we were thinking South America. And we want a unique and memorable experience. I tried just googling where we could fly direct to from Jamaica but I couldn't find that information easily, so I thought I'd throw it out there on here!

I carried my sister's dress to Mexico for her wedding last year (yes, I am a very nice sister!) and was SHOCKED it had no wrinkles after the trip! Carrying it slung over my arm, I fully expected bunchy wrinkles in the sides, but not really. The couple tiny ones fell right out after hanging it up. $160 seems extremely steep to me! I think past brides at my resort didn't even get charged for it, or it was very minimal.

I agree that you might as well send her the invitation. I have a friend who lives a couple hours away that is a single mom to a teenage daughter, and she uses that as an excuse. She made a snarky comment to a mutual friend about the cost of the destination wedding, even though I gave over a year notice to save. It's not THAT much and she goes on a vacation every year anyway. Her sister lives near me and I'll see on FB all the time that she is here visiting and she never calls. I debated whether or not to invite her and decided to just go for it. No harm in this case. On the first birthday party - I've actually NOT been invited to some of my closest friend's kid's first birthday parties and they told me it was because I don't have kids that they thought I would be bored! Basically they thought they were doing me a favor, and I really don't mind! For the most part, they are right. Could it have been something like that?

I think it is a GREAT idea! My sister got married in Mexico and as the bridal party walked from the hotel room to the wedding location we stopped at the pool bar and all did a shot. Totally spontaneous so the photographer wasn't even there. Fortunately another guest took our picture, tracked my sister down for her email address, and sent it to her. It is one of the BEST pictures from the wedding. Long story short, it'll be something different and memorable and it'll up the fun factor! I may steal the idea (but with rum instead, since we'll be in Jamaica)!

We were 6 months out as of yesterday. My FI and I have some time off around the holidays, and there is not much else to do in January, so we'll start hitting the planning hard! I have a list of things to tackle like figuring out what we want to do about speeches, do we do father/daughter dance, slideshow, what do we want the officiant to say in our ceremony, timeline, etc. etc. Of course I have ideas on all of those, but I GUESS I better get his opinion too Oh and I still have to figure out what I'm going to wear...

A survey?! Um...no...I'm not planning a wedding by committee! I'm so sorry you're going through this. I definitely agree with CalgaryBride that if he thought you were rushing it initially or had other thoughts in mind he should have spoken up - now is not the time to place blame on you! It is also just entirely unproductive. We decided together from the outset that whoever comes, comes. Whoever doesn't, doesn't. We did pick our date to give people enough time to plan and save (even though it wasn't our ideal time of year) and we did pick a family friends resort so people could bring their kids (even though it seriously limited our options). Those are just about the only concessions we are willing to make! And we'll focus the rest of our energy on making the week the BEST time for those who come. I hope you can work this out without too much added stress on your relationship There is 0% chance I would change my date if I already had people book! No way.

If they know for sure they are coming but can't pay until next year, could you put down the deposit for them? I've thought about doing this since our deposit is only $150, but it would have to only be for people I really trust to come through! If it sounds like our resort is close to selling out I'll definitely give this serious thought.

I honestly wouldn't be THAT worried about it, except that I've seen several brides from my resort talk about the resort selling out, overbooking and/or bumping their guests to another resort. (We don't have a room block.) I just want everyone to be together so that is my biggest fear!

It's funny how predictable and unpredictable people can be! I will just be super bummed if the resort sells out and people can't stay with us. It pretty much defeats the purpose (plus those $160 day passes will bust our budget). I am thinking of sending out a reminder email today to our invitees - before everyone gets too distracted by the holidays. We also want to know who is planning to travel solo so we can pair them up for the double occupancy rate. We're happy to play matchmaker if it makes the trip more affordable for people!

Okay, what is your secret to getting people to book? My wedding is 6 days before yours in Jamaica and we only have 7 people who have booked (none of which are our family). At least 25 others have said they are for sure coming, but haven't put down that darn $150 deposit, which is driving me crazy.

I love your dress and it sounds like we are the same size! I'm really struggling with my dress vision right now and was thinking of something nontraditional (colored) or open back. But I'm gonna think about this because I'm also on a dress budget... (I'm in Chicago as well.)

Oh wow! I'm not married yet, but my photographer's contract says 8-12 weeks! Congrats on your recent wedding!

Hi @goldammarpayne. I'm in Chicago, too, and $20k for a wedding here would be a total STEAL. My friends who got married in the city paid upwards of $50k, which to me is just absolutely insane. I think it is completely possible to do what you describe for 20-30 people for $10,000! We are expecting probably 50 people for our wedding in Jamaica and our budget is $15,000, including our travel, my dress, photography, etc. While we really wanted to get married when the weather is horrible in Chicago, prices were much more expensive January through Easter, so I would avoid those months to save money if you can. The good thing is most all inclusive resorts make it really easy on you with on-site planners who work with you on all the details. (And this site will help you get a lot of questions answered.) You can make it as simple or complicated as you want. We aren't doing a bridal party and we're bringing pretty minimal decorations to keep it easy. I've been to a few resorts in Mexico. We really liked RIU Palace Riviera Maya and my sister got married at Catalonia Riviera Maya, which was a very affordable option. But definitely browse around the forums here and you'll get some great ideas. Have you reached out to a travel agent yet? They can definitely help you narrow down your options! Also, I completely empathize with NOT being excited about your wedding. I actually had a meltdown just this weekend and tried to convince my fiance that we should skip it all and just elope. (He laughed at me! Ha.) We've had a series of crappy things happen since we got engaged last December and I guess that is probably why, and I'm just hoping as we get closer to the date I'll get more excited. I better!

We sent out electronic Save the Dates in August 2014 for our June 2015 wedding. So far, we only have 3 couples who have put down a deposit (it is only $150!) and none of them are even our family. I'm planning to send out a reminder email this week before people get too crazy with the holidays to see if I can get more people to book. I've heard stories of our resort selling out or overbooking/bumping so I really worry if people wait too long they won't be able to stay with us! That kind of defeats the purpose. I'm trying to avoid sending a mailed invite entirely - since I don't have people's addresses and they all have all the information already anyway! Oh and to save money.

I'm so jealous that your resort offers air brush! Mine doesn't and I just cannot stomach the vendor fee to bring someone in to do it - especially since I don't have a bridal party so it would just be for me. I would probably pay the $200 if they did. I'm getting married in June and I'm a MAJOR sweater (ugh), but I did my own make up for my sister's wedding in Mexico last July and I don't think I look bad in the pictures from the end of the night so I'm hoping I'll be okay!