My Planning Thread/Pics

[JM2010]

I know every bride-to-be on here probably ends up feeling like this, but I cannot believe it's already time for me to do this post!! Here it is! = )

 

I'll start with...

 

The Proposal

07/02/09

 

I've been getting a lot of calls/emails about how it all happened so here's a copy to you guys:

 

 

We almost missed our flight because I thought it left at 7 but it actually was leaving at 4! Realized that at 3:15 and made it to the airport by 3:30! We had to bypass the lines and sprint to our gate but we made it.

 

So Marlon and I were packing for Europe on Tuesday night and I was tired so I said I was going to just go to bed around 1:30 and finish in the morning. He said he wanted to stay up and finish. At about 4am I heard him coming into the bedroom and I woke up. Went to go to the washroom and there were 4 ring boxes spread out on the counter. I asked him what they were and he said he didn't know. So of course I open one and there's a post it note inside that says 'Remember when you were late for our first date?'. So now I realize that he's proposing and I start sweating and yelled his name. I open all the boxes and there's a post it inside and each has a different memory/inside joke of ours. I come out of the bathroom and notice that there is a trail of boxes going down the stairs and into the den. I start opening them all and they all had post-its inside. He just watched me open all of them with a smile on his face. There were some random ones in there too like a stick person picture that said 'This is me waving at you'. There were boxes all over our place!! In the fridge, all over the floors, furniture, everywhere, and they all had notes inside. The trail went down the stairs to our garage and it ended there but there was no ring in the last one...so I was like 'Am I supposed to go into the garage?'. He said, "No, let's just go back to bed." I knew that that couldn't be the end of it because he wouldn't make me open all of those boxes (100 of them) for nothing!

 

So we go back upstairs and there's another trail back into our bedroom that leads to the bed and up onto my pillow. They have notes in them too and the second last one says 'Will you marry me' and the very last one had the ring in it. I didn't cry I was just happy and excited and still half sleeping. My hair was a wild bird's nest and I was just wearing one of his t-shirts and I had racoon eyes cause some of my mascara didn't wash off.

 

He was actually planning for it to all happen in the morning and not 4am but he made too much noise coming in the bedroom and woke me up. He put the ones in the bathroom because he knows that’s the first place I go when I get up.

 

The ring's beautiful and exactly what I wanted. Nothing's finalized yet but the wedding will be next July somewhere in the Caribbean.

 

So that's the story! We're both really happy and I'm still somewhat in shock and now jet lagged. Haven't slept since he proposed!

 

Rings

He had my ring made by a jeweller. My wedding band was made as well. He wanted his to be tungsten and we ordered it online. I have a round solitaire in platinum and the band is plain platinum. I’m not a big bling kind of girl...pretty plain and simple! It’s this style he had made for me. (He knew beforehand that I loved this combination)

 

 

 

Destination Wedding Location

 

My family’s background is largely Bajan (from Barbados) and his is Trinidadian. Neither of us has been to Jamaica so we figured it would be a good neutral island to choose. We chose RIU Ocho Rios because we went to a wedding in 2008 at one of their hotels in Punta Cana and we LOVED everything about it and heard great things about Ocho Rios. We will be getting married at the beach gazebo at 4pm. We have rented out upper level of the Plantation restaurant for our reception. We wanted to have more privacy so that seemed like the best option for us. I’ve heard that we will have a view of the ocean and the pool area so it should be a nice background. We have 75 people coming which is wayyy more than we were expecting. We’re both pleasantly surprised at the turnout.

 

Invitations

 

We got our invitations made by a company called Stephita. We went with a simple design on the front (2 palm trees) and a turquoise colour. (It’s the colour I’m going with for the wedding). We’re both really happy with how they turned out.

 

[JM2010]

Destination Wedding Location

 

My family’s background is largely Bajan (from Barbados) and his is Trinidadian. Neither of us has been to Jamaica so we figured it would be a good neutral island to choose. We chose RIU Ocho Rios because we went to a wedding in 2008 at one of their hotels in Punta Cana and we LOVED everything about it and heard great things about Ocho Rios. We will be getting married at the beach gazebo at 4pm. We have rented out upper level of the Plantation restaurant for our reception. We wanted to have more privacy so that seemed like the best option for us. I’ve heard that we will have a view of the ocean and the pool area so it should be a nice background. We have 75 people coming which is wayyy more than we were expecting. We’re both pleasantly surprised at the turnout.

 

Invitations

 

We got our invitations made by a company called Stephita. We went with a simple design on the front (2 palm trees) and a turquoise colour. (It’s the colour I’m going with for the wedding). We’re both really happy with how they turned out.

 

 

Bridal Party

 

We have 6 bridesmaids, 6 groomsmen and 1 flower girl who will be almost 1 and ½ by our wedding day.

Both sets of our parents will be there as well.

I had the bridesmaids dresses made by a seamstress a lot of my friends have used for their weddings. They’re turquoise, 100% silk with silk chiffon over top. They’re all empire waisted but each girl chose their own top style (halter, strapless, sweetheart etc.) They’re floor length and flowy. This is the look I was going for (in turquoise!):

 

I covered the cost of material for the girls and he covered the shirts/pants for the guys. Our seamstress only charged $90/dress.

The groomsmen will be wearing light grey linen dress pants from Le Chateau and white dress shirts from Esprit.

 

The flower girl will be wearing a simple ivory dress because I want her to be comfortable! I ended up getting it at Winners for $30!

 

[JM2010]

Bridal Party

 

We have 6 bridesmaids, 6 groomsmen and 1 flower girl who will be almost 1 and ½ by our wedding day.

Both sets of our parents will be there as well.

I had the bridesmaids dresses made by a seamstress a lot of my friends have used for their weddings. They’re turquoise, 100% silk with silk chiffon over top. They’re all empire waisted but each girl chose their own top style (halter, strapless, sweetheart etc.) They’re floor length and flowy. This is the look I was going for (in turquoise!):

 

I covered the cost of material for the girls and he covered the shirts/pants for the guys. Our seamstress only charged $90/dress.

The groomsmen will be wearing light grey linen dress pants from Le Chateau and white dress shirts from Esprit.

 

The flower girl will be wearing a simple ivory dress because I want her to be comfortable! I ended up getting it at Winners for $30!

 

 

Bride and Groom

 

I was quick buying my dress. I got it at the first store on the first day of shopping. It was the second one I tried on. It’s an Amy Michelson gown called ‘Millionaire’. I found her website online and really liked a lot of her dresses but I didn’t plan on trying that particular one on. When I did though, it looked amazing. I absolutely love it and I know he will too. It’s form fitting and open back, which is what I really wanted. I found some Swarovski crystal slim Havaianas online and will be wearing those!

He will be wearing the full, light grey linen suit from Le Chateau and a white dress shirt, no tie.

 

 

 

Hair/make-up

 

I’m going with a low, side chignon. I’ll be having my hair done at the resort’s salon Renova Spa. 3 of my bridesmaids will be getting their hair done as well and the others want to do their own.

I’ll be getting my make-up done and the girls chose to do their own. One of his cousins does hair/make-up so she will be there for damage control!

 

[JM2010]

Programs

 

We had our programs made by a company called ‘Custom Programs For You’ in California. I found them online (like pretty much everything about our wedding!). What’s great about them is that the programs come in a fan design so our guests will be able to use them if they’re hot during the ceremony

 

 

 

Photographer

 

I came across an album our photographer had put together at the boutique I bought my dress at, White Toronto. It was of a destination wedding and I loved the shots he’d taken. His name’s Christoph Strube and he’s an amazing person who’s done loads of photography and traveling around the world. His website is Christoph Strube Scroll down on the main page and you can see a couple of weddings he’s shot. I’m so happy he agreed to do our wedding!! = ) He’ll be there with us for the week and will take shots throughout the week as well.

 

Ceremony

 

We are doing a non-religious ceremony. I’m Buddhist and he’s not religious so that was the best option for us. We will be doing the unity sand thing. I want to have a white runner going down the aisle and have it bordered with flower petals. We’re having white chiavari chairs with white organza sashes. I think the ocean is the most beautiful thing in the world so I don’t want to have any other floral arrangements for the ceremony because I don’t want it to take away from the perfect setting!

The groomsmen and our fathers will have white orchid boutonnieres, my fiancé will have white calla lily and orchid boutonniere. The bridesmaids will have white calla lily bouquets. I’m having a larger version of the bridesmaids bouquets with a few orchids. Our mothers will have orchid wrist corsages.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[JM2010]

Music

 

The processional is going to be Ribbon in the Sky by Stevie Wonder. I’ll be walking down the aisle to Like You’ll Never See Me Again by Alicia Keys (instrumental version). Spend My Life With You by Tamia and Eric Benet will be played when we’re signing the papers. The recessional will be the traditional wedding march played by the Caribbean Melody Steel Band. Our first dance will be to Stay With You by John Legend. Father-Daughter dance will be to Because You Loved Me by Celine Dion and the Mother-Son dance will be to Mama by BoysIIMen. We have a DJ booked for the night and are hoping to be able to use our own playlist during dinner.

 

Guestbook

 

We are using a personalized guest signature frame as our guest book. I found it online on The Knot.

 

 

Reception

 

It will be at the upper level of the Plantations restaurant from 6:30-10:30. The centerpieces will be groups of 3 vases of different heights with submerged white orchids on a round mirrored plate with 5 votive candles around it. There will be a turquoise table runner on each table. I want to have some hanging candles from the windows looking out onto the ocean as well.

We’re doing tables of 8-10 people and then a head table for him and I. The restaurant is L shaped so it will be interesting to see how it all turns out!! Our head table will be in the corner of the L.

We will be able to dance at the Plantation as well (or so I’ve been told!) so I’m happy about that. If they really kick us out at 10:30 we will just relocate somewhere on the resort! (We’re planning to slip them some $ to get to stay longer than that...hoping that works!)

The plan is to have the wedding party walk in to different intro songs in couples and then we’ll be the last to come in and have our first dance. Then start eating, do the bm’s, moh’s and parents’ speeches during dinner/dessert, cut the cake, do our speech and then dance the rest of the night!

 

 

Cake

 

We want a plain and simple cake (surprise!) but I still want it to look elegant. Here’s a pic of what we hope it looks like... We decided on a 3 tier vanilla cake with a mango buttercream filling/icing. We’ll be decorating it with real orchids. We’re using Sheila’s bakery and have heard great things about her work.

 

 

Welcome gifts/Wedding Favors/Bombonniere/Wedding Party Gifts

 

Each of our guests will be getting a welcome card and travel mugs for the beach when they get to their rooms. They mugs say:

 

These will be great for keeping drinks cold on the beach ; )

Our wedding favors are sweet tarts in transparent pillow boxes that say ‘love’ on them. I got the boxes at Michaels and the candy at Bulk Barn. I stole the idea from a friend of ours. We had fun making messages with the tarts at their wedding!

We are giving our guests stainless steel wine stoppers/pourers from Urban Barn at the reception. They come gift boxed so all we’re going to do is wrap a ribbon on them and add our thank you tags that came with our invitations.

He bought the groomsmen ‘Leatherman’ utility knives (a very man thing to do)

I got my bridesmaids earrings to wear for the wedding and gift cards for Bikini Village ; )

 

 

 

 

 

The Flight

 

He and I will be flying down on June 30th. The majority of our guests will be flying in on the 2nd. Because we have guests coming from the US, Caribbean and Montreal, there are a few who will be coming in on other days. We were supposed to fly down with everyone on the second but I panicked and figured it’d be better to get there earlier to get organized. We’ll be on the flight back to Toronto together with everyone on the 9th.

 

Honeymoon

 

We’re spending 9 days in Ocho Rios, 2 weeks in Bali and one week in the Mayan Riviera. We’ll be back home on the 31st of July. I’m off during the summers and he got the requested time off. We can’t wait for this part!

Thank you all for your help and ideas...this site has definitely been a life saver many times!!! I’ll post my review/pics when I’m back from our honeymoon. Wish us good weather!! = ) I'll be in touch when we're back with my review!

 

J

 

(Sorry it's so long and that some of the pics are too big/unclear!! :S)

[AishaB]

Congratulations and thanks for sharing. Your planning thread is great. I love your dress and the BM dresses they are beautiful. Enjoy and good luck.

[msglave]

Such a creative way of proposing...I love planning threads and yours is great! You will have an entire month traveling together. That is AWESOME!!!!! Enjoy!

[dmob]

Your dress is gorgeous and your details in planning will give you a beautiful wedding!

[KarenM]

Great planning thread! Your dress is so elegant & I really love your programs. And wow! An entire month off & in such wonderful places! Have a wonderful wedding & honeymoon!

[barbiegirl_27]

Wow, everything looks amazing! Thanks for sharing!