beckys98

Hi @@Julande - Where will you be traveling from? Your packages will be a little different if you're coming from Canada versus the US. I'm an American bride getting married at Iberostar Rose Hall Suites with 65 guests and we'll be closer to $15-$18k all in. There are always places you can cut back, but Iberostar Grand will be more expensive than Iberostar Suites too. Congrats!

Awww - You give me too much credit! It was a no brainer to help you out! As I said, it is just too bad it was my fiance who was going to Toronto instead of me so we couldn't meet up! But he was glad to bring them to you and your thank you gifts were NOT NECESSARY but SUPER SWEET! I agree about the helpfulness of this site though. As I mentioned to you, I didn't start a planning thread because I thought how much less-creative and interesting my stuff is than most of the other ladies, but now I kind of wish I had because it is so nice to get the feedback and support on things as you go! Now I'm only 6 weeks away and in crunch time! I'll have to keep paying it forward when I get back and maybe I'll do a post-wedding thread with all my details in case they help someone!

Love the glitter! That is super cute!

I've had some bad luck with shellac chipping within a week! Last time I went to Jamaica, in fact. I'm worried about it getting messed up while we're there and not being able to get it off. So I'm doing a regular manicure the day before we leave (a Saturday) and I'm doing a polish change only at the resort on wedding day (a Thursday) right before my hair/makeup appt.

We have 65 adults! But we do couples as one post. Sometimes we are close with both friends so that post is a little longer, but if it is a close friend with their "plus 1" we just make sure they are in a picture and mention them. So, that helps! If you and your fiancé split them up it isn't bad. They do take a little time (maybe an hour each) because we want to be thoughtful about what we say about each special person. We each usually do one per week and we started just 2 months before our wedding and we're almost through all of them! It's fun to do them! Also, if you had a few hours on a Sunday you could write a few of them in a Word doc and then just copy/paste them to post one at a time!

Your fiance sounds JUST LIKE MINE! Haha. I LOVE the glittery table number! I would totally steal this, but my fiance wants to NAME our tables instead of numbering them. I wonder if I could still figure out how to do the same idea with a word. Love the confetti, too!

Oh yeah - the Facebook group is the best! We set it up after our booking deadline and it only has the people who are actually going in the group. We're doing a "Shout Out" for each guest where we post pictures and the story of how we know them and some fun facts. This way they all get to know each other a little bit before arriving. They'll at least recognize everyone's face! Plus it gives us a chance to show just how much everyone means to us. Everyone has told us how much they love it! We also posted our optional excursion on there as an event so we could get a rough idea of how many people want to do it.

Our reception has to end at 10 pm! (Iberostar) We considered extending it to 11pm, but it was going to cost us about $1,000 to do so, which was hard to justify for an hour. We will head to the onsite disco after our official reception ends to keep up the dancing. My sister had a destination wedding in Mexico where it was the same - reception ended at 10 and we moved to the disco - and it was great! We didn't even really notice the other people in the disco because we were having so much fun. For us it is an extra $10 per person for an extra hour of the bar for the reception, which is SO hard to justify at an all-inclusive. We're already paying for it for 4 hours, which is crazy enough

Hi @@Victoriabride - I'm getting married in just 7 weeks and we did not do a mailed invitation! All we did was the original STD email (via Paperless Post), which linked to our website with all the resort and travel information. We had people RSVP on the website for both our welcome event and the wedding itself. We did tell people not to wait for the invite to RSVP because we weren't sending one. I sent a couple of reminder emails out since there was 6 months from when we sent the STD and our booking deadline so people didn't forget. We have had zero issue. I have not heard any comments about it and I honestly don't think people even thought about it! They have all the information they need already. That said, all of our invitees use the internet and email, so if you have some older folks who don't go online you might need to do something printed for them. We now have a Facebook group set up for those who are coming where I will post travel tips and other information and updates for the trip! So far, so good and we're in the homestretch! We just prefer to spend that money on something extra for our guests while we're in Jamaica and - to be completely honest - I just didn't have the spare time to do it. My job is pretty demanding and I work a lot of hours. We did a destination wedding to keep things simpler (not that it is simple, but simpler than a traditional wedding) so it was an easy choice for me to skip it. Good luck!! Happy planning!

WOW! Gorgeous!! Can't wait to hear the details!

Hi! I actually have that third turquoise pair sitting at my desk right now! I have been having extreme indecision on my shoe choice and bought 5 pairs online to try. I like those because the heel height is very sensible but they are still fancy! The color is gorgeous and they are very comfortable, but I went with a small wedge shoe instead. I agree that you probably wouldn't wear them again, or at least I wouldn't!

@@Sabes44 Oh me too! I took it for alterations on Saturday and the place is a storefront on a busy Chicago street (meaning, all windows). I walked out of the changing room desperately clinging to the top so I didn't flash everyone! Fortunately she pinned the straps back right away so I could let go. Haha. I love the dress even more now that I have mine!

@@Sabes44 did you get the lace straps? My ONLY concern with the dress is the skinny spaghetti straps digging into my shoulders after a while. I feel like a wider strap wouldn't be an issue, but I didn't get the lace straps.

Is this the Katie May Lanai dress?!?! I have the same dress! I just got it on Friday actually and went for my first alterations appointment on Saturday. It fits like a glove and all I need to do is shorten the straps, hem and bustle. (Although I was hoping it would be a little more snug so I could lose 5 more pounds, but oh well!) I cannot wait to wear mine either! I am probably going to sleep in it on my wedding night because I won't want to take it off It looks stunning on you! Congrats!

Hi @@Kristin18! The minimum for a private reception in one of the restaurants is 40 guests. And then which restaurant it is in depends on how many guests you have. 40-50 - Mare Nostrum (Mediterranean) More than 50 but less than 100 - Calabash (Gourmet) Over 100 people - Aunt Ruby's (Steakhouse) I don't think there is a minimum to do a private tented reception on the beach, but you have to pay to rent a tent and the meal pricing is different.

@@Ruzanna if it helps my invite to attendee ratio is about the same as @@snswedding2016. We invited about 140 (including plus 1s) and we have 65 adults attending. Based on verbal RSVPs we thought we might get up to 80 - and were terrified about the budget - but a lot of those didn't pan out and we ended up at 65.

@@budgetbride2015 - Haha! I actually put my sister and best friend in charge of my guest book. I told them what I want but I don't have the time to put it together. So if for some reason they don't do it, it probably just won't get done! I'm not doing a shower or bachelorette party or anything so this is literally the ONLY thing I've asked them to do

This isn't exactly the same thing, but we started a Facebook group for our guests attending the wedding and we're doing "Shout Outs" for each guest. We include some pictures and tell the story of how we know them and something interesting about them. We end a lot of them with something like: "For a fun fact about so-and-so, ask him about the time when we..." so they even have something to talk about when they see them at the resort! And, of course, it allows us to show our appreciation and how much these people mean to us. It is taking us awhile to get through them because we don't have a ton of free time and we try to be thoughtful with what we say about each person, but we're about 2/3 of the way through our list. So far everyone LOVES it and they've started interacting with each other on the group page.

8 weeks from today for me! To me I think "Oh my gosh we only have 8 weeks left - so much to do!" To my fiance it is "We still have 8 weeks! We have plenty of time!" Haha. I get my dress tomorrow and have an alterations appointment on Saturday. I'm hoping it is a little bit snug because I still plan to lose 5 pounds. My fiance has given zero thought to what he is going to wear and we have not gotten rings yet. I'm still working through a fair amount of details like centerpieces, place cards, guestbook, welcome letter/itinerary, etc. So much to think about! Honestly, I'm not really into all the planning and I'm anxious for that to be over. The to-do list is just getting in the way of my excitement!

I second @@racht33 - Definitely do your research and ask lots of questions. It IS crazy that you have to pay extra for food and drink at an all inclusive but eventually you accept that there is no way around it We have 65 adults for our wedding in June. We are having a private reception, which is an additional $800 and includes beer and wine. To add liquor is is another $10 per person per hour! And then our package covers 15 people, so we also pay $20 per person over the 15 which includes set up, champagne toast, and cake pretty much. It adds up. We also have a welcome event which, fortunately, our meal is not at an extra charge (not private) but the bar again is at $10 per person per hour. Also make sure you are asking about extra fees for vendors. Most resort charge a "vendor fee" if you use anyone out side of their preferred vendors for a DJ, hair/makeup, photography, etc. Those fees vary wildly by resort. Good luck!

I'm just seeing this thread and wanted to also add ***BIG HUGS*** to everyone. Last February I lost my mom (2 months after we got engaged) and then my fiance lost his grandma, who solely raised him, in April. I would also like to recognize them and like all the ideas shared! I would love to use a wedding picture of my mom, but they are all with my dad and I think my stepmom would be uncomfortable with that. But I think we'll do an empty chair on either side of the aisle with a lantern/candle. My aunt and my mom were very close and looked so much alike - my aunt will be there but it is almost hard to see/talk to her because of how similar she looks and acts to my mom! It means the world that she will be there and she helps keep my mom's memory alive and close, but it is very bittersweet. I know my wedding day will be especially hard and I'm trying to prepare myself to embrace it.

So exciting! Have the BEST TIME! Can't wait to see pictures when you return.

Hi there - We had bridesmaids dresses from David's Bridal for my sister's wedding in 2013. I just looked back to see if I could find the timing. Her wedding was July 4 and it looks like I ordered the first week of April - I don't remember exactly when I got it but I remember having PLENTY of time for alterations. I want to say we got them mid-May. My sister also got her wedding dress from there. They told her 8 weeks and she got it in like 3. It was crazy! Hope that helps a little!

@@calgarybride2015 It isn't actually even the vendor fees! We're using the preferred DJ and our photographer is covering the vendor fee. But the DJ is $190 per hour and the photographer is $2,500...not exactly cheap even by Chicago standards. (Those are our only outside vendors.) He isn't anti-tipping in general. He is from Jamaica so he likes to support Jamaicans and the Jamaican economy, but that also means he knows how far an American dollar goes in Jamaica, so he just has more modest dollar amounts in mind than what I had in the budget

My fiance is just REALLY private on Facebook and I'd say I'm moderately private. He posts, but NEVER anything personal and he has to approve anything he is tagged in. He didn't even want me to post when we got engaged, though he didn't go so far as to ask me not to. My post about it was somewhat veiled (it was the day after my birthday so it was part of a post about that as well) and I haven't posted a single thing about our wedding or our plans. We don't actually even have our relationship status on there. Everyone uses social media differently and that is totally fine. I don't care if our guests post pictures of themselves from our wedding! But since our approach to social media is fairly private, I think it is fair to ask that our guests not post pictures of US right away. I'm not going to be mad if someone posts anyway - I'm just going to put it on the welcome letter and leave it at that for peace of mind. Whatever happens, happens.