Julie's Jamaican IRHS After the- fact Planning Thread!!! PIC HEAVY!

[Jules23]

Hello Ladies!

 

I am going to start the thread off by tradition and thanking those who created this site, those who have posted on this site and for all the brides on here for answering any question i needed answered!!! Thank you to this site for boarding pass invites, pocket fold invites, OOT Bags, Scavenger hunt cameras, keycard/tip money holders, and every DIY project I didnt even know about before meeting this website. This site truely made my wedding day what I was, and I couldnt be more thankful!!! 

 

the PROPOSAL

 

My fiancee and I had been dating for about 7 years before he finally proposed to me. I was kinda expecting it since he kept asking what kind of ring I wanted but when the moment finally happend, I was completely surprised! We went back to my hometown for thanksgiving long weekend (the day AFTER my birthday). Once we got to my parents house, he asked me to go on a walk with him. I was pretty tired at this point and really kept postponing it! Finally he said lets go and I agreed. We left the house and he was in the car, and I thought hmm I thought we are going for a walk! But he wanted to go somewhere else for a walk. Im surprised I didnt clue in at this point! However, we started driving and I said, where should we go? He said, hmmm somewhere with a nice view! So we went to the harbour which has a nice walk path around it and a cute little lighthouse. We got out of the car and started walking. It had been a good 20 mins when we stopped at the lighthouse to enjoy the view. Before I knew it, he turned to me and said "you know how much I love you right" and I said "yes". Completely changing the subject I then said "wow, look at all the nice boats". He ignored what I said and went back to the lovey dovey stuff and I knew by the shakyness of his voice that something was different! He said abunch of nice things and before I know it he was on his knee! My eyes instantly filled with water as I covered my mouth and screamed! All I could see was a little read box cause my eyes were too clouded, lol. Of course i said YES, and thats how we are here!!!

 

the Wedding Decision

 

We always knew we wanted a destination wedding - we didnt want the 200 + guests and people we hardly knew at our wedding. We just wanted to be sourrounded by our close friends and family - those most important. We also didnt want to bare the expensive of having an at home wedding as we wanted to put that money towards a house. We searched endeless websites trying to narrow down a location... between mexico to aruba... it was a hard decision! We knew we wanted a carribean wedding as we had taken a cruise to many islands and fell in love with the sun and the ocean. That is how we decided Jamaica! 

 

the Resort

 

Once deciding on Jamaica, we had to decide on a resort. We knew FOOD was the most important priority for us and our guests. We also wanted to make sure it was all inclusive. While deciding between two resorts, and after endless hours of reading travel review sites, we finally decided on Iberostar Rose Hall Suites. We couldnt have been more happy with our decision. The staff, the resort, the food, the drinks, the entertainment met more than our expectations. I would go back in a heart beat and I know all of our guests would to. Everyone is still talking about it till this day!! It was easy to contact the wedding coordinator and reserve our date. We choose April 23, 2011. 

 

the Wedding Colors

 

PURPLE my fav color! And I needed a nice accent color so I choose GREEN!

 

Our Rings

 

My fiancee got my engagement ring custom made by a local jeweler in Vancouver. 

 

A few months prior to our wedding we went back and had our wedding bands custom made by him also. He did a fantastic job! Exactly what we wanted. 

 

 

 

the Save The Dates

 

I definatly knew with planning a destination wedding that letting people know well in advance would be the best idea. After viewing this site, the second I found the "boarding pass" thread, I knew this is what I wanted to do! At the time, I didnt have enough posts to download anyones templates so I had to make them from scratch my own. I used a combination of word and powerpoint. It took along time to finally get a design that I liked and to also find all the materials to make them! 

 

 

 

the Bridesmaids

 

My close girlfriends and I went on a "girls" weekend trip to try on wedding dresses. Surprisingly out of the 4 of us, 3 of us were getting married within one year! and we were all going to be in each others weddings. I asked them with a "will you be my bridesmaid" card that I made myself. Unfortunatly, only two of them could make it. 

 

 

the Invitations

 

I came across someone else's planning thread (I apologize I dont recall the name) but they had their pocket fold invites by cardsandpockets.com and I knew this is what I wanted to do! I had spent so much time creating our save the dates that I really didnt want much more work. These were perfect! I was still able to design my own layout as you print them yourself. But all the paper is precut for you and the colors were perfect!

 

 

the DRESS

 

It was about 7 months till the wedding and I still didnt have my wedding dress. I started freaking out because I knew if I needed to order it, the deadline would be CLOSE. I kept postponing it cause I was trying to lose more weight (but that didnt happen, lol!). I went to Bryans Bride in Brentwood mall in Burnaby, BC. The staff their is amazing!! I picked out abunch of dresses and came across one that I liked in the bag but couldnt see the bottom so I never pulled it. However, the consultant ended up pulling it and I knew the second I put it on, it was THE ONE. I came out of the change room and my MOH cried. So of course, I had to get it!

 

 

the Bridesmaids

 

I was planning on getting their dresses custom made however, we happen to come across a store that had two dresses in the right sizes and the right color! So we got them! However, the were silk and a little short, so I took them to my seamstress and she added a layer of chiffon on top and made the length a bit longer. I wanted the girls to be comfortable, especially with the carribbean wind! 

 

 

 

the Grooms outfits

 

My husband is Filipino and they wear a tradition shirt during marriage called a Barong Tagalog. His mom made a trip to the phillipeans to get the shirts for him and the wedding party (along with some of our decorations). They also wore khakis from eddie bauer and brown sandals from the gap. 

 

 

the Jewelry

 

I kept it simple with long earrings and braclets. I love love love pearls so had to incorporate them somehow! I had purple shoes (my favorite color that had petals on them that matched the bottom of my dress) and I also wore a white flowers in my hair! Along with our starfish theme, I had a starfish charm on my garter and I made one with gems on it for my bouquet!

 

 

 

 

 

 

the Gifts

 

For the girls, I bought their dresses, jewelry and shoes! They were travelling so far for our wedding day that the expense was already alot, I wanted to do this for them. For the grooms, we got them Ray ban sunglasses and also bought their outfits and sandals. 

 

 

 

We also got our parents gifts. For our dads we got them cufflinks with their initals engraved and for our moms we got them jewelry boxes that say "greatest mom" on them. Sorry, no pics!

 

the OOT bags = the DIY Project

 

WOW, did I ever take on a project with these! It was fun to shop for but when you have that many people coming to your wedding, one small thing adds up. We had to take two pieces of luggage just to fit all the bags and gifts inside!

 

I bought beach bags on clearance at Sears for $2.99 - great deal! Everyone used them to go to the beach to! Inside we put freezbies, beach balls, pasminas for the girls and do-rags for the guys. I put a "gift" bag inside for all the small things which included playing cards, flashlights, manicure sets, candels, keycard/tip money holder with waterproof badge, crossword puzzels, recipe cards, scvaenger hunt cameras and can koozies. I also made "wedding week survival kits" which included aloe vera, chapstick, first aid kits, kleenex and hand sanitizer. 

 

All the labels I made myself which included "spread the love not the germs" for the hand santizer and wet wipes. The "you may now kiss the bride, but ask Rob first" lip chap. The "in sickness and in health" first aid kits. The "I went to rob and julies wedding and all i got was this damn koozie" can koozies (using iron on transfers). The "to have and to hold" for the pashminas. The keycard/tip money cards and the scavenger hunt cards!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

the Ceremony

 

I made my own programs and bought the paper from micheals and attached pearl stick ons around it and tired ribbon. I wrapped purple ribbon our the fans and also made tissue packets that say "tears of joy, tears of laughter, wears of happily ever after". Each chair also had a tube of bubbles! I brought the chair sashes and attached starfish on each isle chair and also brought the fabric for the chuppah. Sand ceremony kit purchased at Micheals. 

 

 

 

 

the Reception

 

I brought alot of decorations for the reception especially for the table. Including starfish, sand, candels, glass beads, handing green and purple lanterns and our cake topper. I put "starfish" meaning cards on all our tables because this was the theme of our wedding. I also made our menus and the table number lumies!

 

 

 

 

Thats IT everyone!!!!

 

I have alot of items still left for sale including the program fans, starfish, recipe cards, and fabric. PM me for costs and any questions!! Thanx. 

 

[mrsrice11]

Your attention to detail really paid off. Everything looks fabulous. Do you mind sharing how you made the luminaries and if it was a lot of work..I have less than 2 weeks to go and I'm already packed, but I like what you did.

[risa1818]

Everything looked wonderful! Love your BM dresses and all the DIY that you did! Congrats!

[muzikgrrl]

Your wedding looks beautiful, congratulations!

[Jules23]

Hi!

 

All I did was purchase vellum paper from staples and use my ink jet printer to print the design. Then I just found small round glasses and glued them around the glasses. I actually did this in the hotel and it only took about 30 mins to do all the tables. Then you just drop a tealight candle in them and vo-la! good luck!
 

Originally Posted by mrsrice11 

Your attention to detail really paid off. Everything looks fabulous. Do you mind sharing how you made the luminaries and if it was a lot of work..I have less than 2 weeks to go and I'm already packed, but I like what you did.

 

[SweetLe]

Wow! Great job with all the details. Everything looks amazing!

[thenewsatchell]

I love the pics...you are very creative...making me feel a little at ease

[JayKay]

Congrats on being a Mrs.!!  Great thread, thanks for sharing!

[star18]

Beautiful stuff! love your bridesmaid dresses, where did you get them? who designed them?

[Jules23]

I just got them from a local bridal store in town and got my local seamstress to add the chiffon on top! thanx
 

Originally Posted by star18 

Beautiful stuff! love your bridesmaid dresses, where did you get them? who designed them?