Jenn

I'm so sorry for everyone who has been affected recently! It sucks! My husband was laid off this summer (3 months after we bought our house) and I know how hard it is. My husband had a hard time pulling his ego out of the trash, but he's finally working again and has restarted school. Luckily I'm the major bread winner, but my DH wasn't doing too shabby before. We're scraping by these days, and hoping that 2009 will bring some better financial times.

I wish you all the best of luck!

If you want a veil then you should have one! One word of advice to all though... a little wind is great, but if it is a VERY windy day (like my wedding), ditch the veil for your ceremony. Mine was in my face the entire time... it looked fantastic in pics that we posed for, but it was in my face in pics of the ceremony

I think picking a location is definitely one of the hardest parts of a DW... so you are not alone! Think about what the most important things are to you - ie great beach, private ceremony, only wedding of the day vs. one of many, cost for your guests, AI vs. ala carte, etc. There are so many components that go into this decision, that it can become overwhelming very easily. I think if you try to come up with your most important things, it will help to narrow your location. If you aren't planning on doing a site visit, which many of us didn't, then you need to go on reviews and your gut. I LIVED on Trip Advisor for a few weeks, and then just took a leap of faith - and I made the perfect decision!

Hope that helps a little bit, and good luck!

I think its gorgeous! And the flowy lace overlay will look beautiful on the beach!

Oh that's so frustrating! I would make phone calls until I got an answer to some things... you are bringing 120 people to their resort, so they should be able to ease your mind! Give them a few more days, and if you don't get answers, then look elsewhere. I think Mo (TA Maureen) did a private reception off property in Ochos Rios, so she may have some info for you... Good luck!

Kathy, I haven't stayed at either place you mentioned, but DH and I went to Belize this past summer and stayed at Belizean Shores on the north end of Ambergris Caye. If you don't mind being a 5 minute boat ride from San Pedro, the world slows down a bit and the diving/snorkelling gets even more amazing (its awesome everywhere on Ambergris, but is even more pristine away from San Pedro). If you're looking for nightlife, then San Pedro is more your speed. Either way, you'll love Belize! Its a beautiful country and the people are wonderful!

Here's a link to the review I did... http://bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/t23602. Feel free to PM if you have any questions!

That totally sucks! Did they think they weren't invited initially or something? It just seems strange since you said she had previously mentioned wanting to come. It sounds like you guys are close with them, so I'm sure it will work out and they will come. Give it a few days...

In any case, *HUGS* and I'm sorry you have to deal with this!

We put our fans and bags of rose petals on each chair for the ceremony. That way everyone got them and it was obvious what they were for... I know a lot of girls put pashminas in OOT bags. My hubby handed out cigars at the wedding.

Mo - Thanks for the encouragement I can't believe how close you are! You must be so excited!

Melissa - I'm sorry you're going through this too! Its really a rollercoaster, and every month is trying. Sprinkling baby dust your way and hoping 2009 is good to both of us!

As always, ladies, thanks for listening

I think it depends on the type of resort you are looking at. If you are looking at a large place and have a lot of people going, I think a TA is invaluable. The TA's work with these places all the time and have lots of connections and freebies. It also takes you out of the picture when it comes to hounding your guests to book/make deposits/etc - which is a huge weight off your mind!

However, if you are looking at a small boutique resort, and a small guestlist, you may do better negotiating yourself. We took over our resort with our 20 person wedding, and got a 10-15% discount for everyone that was not advertised. I don't think that my resort even works with TA's, so it wasn't an option. We worked out a bunch of special deals for activities and our wedding elements as well.

Thanks again for all of the support ladies... I never made it to the doctor's appt. I ended up having a positive test, then getting AF ridiculously heavy, so I'm assuming I had an early miscarriage (I retested with AF and it was negative). The holidays just added to the disappointment of it...

But, we're trying, and charting, and hopeful...

Thanks for listening and being here!

Thanks for all the moral support ladies Still no change in my situation, but

I've resolved to wait until the weekend to POAS.

Thanks to those of you who sent me PM's as well! You girls really are the best!

Will keep u all posted. Hopefully I'll have an answer before the doctors appt.

DH and I definitely discussed getting wedding bands... but they need to be reinked - sometimes every year (ack!) and I'm guessing the finger hurts, a lot. Coordinates are a cool idea! I'm still a bit superstitious about matching tattoos, but that's just me. Let us know what you decide!

Thanks for listening I've missed you girls too! And Mo - OMG 33wks already! I really haven't been around...

I think the thing that is hardest is that my DH is convinced we're pregnant, so he got rid of my Diet Coke, won't let me drink a beer, and keeps pouring me glasses of milk - lol. And except for him, I don't want to talk to anyone about it, because my mom will go crazy that she's going to be a Nana! We decided not to tell friends we were trying, so that's out as well. Its been a really emotionally trying week. Everytime I take one I think it'll turn positive, try to distract myself for 5 minutes, and then deal with the disappoint - again.

I know this is just the beginning of the rollercoaster of TTC, but it sucks. We were planning on starting to chart this month, and really give it the old try, but I'd need to actually get AF for that to start!

I've been off the pill since August, and although we aren't charting, we aren't pregos either... It definitely varies person to person. Definitely start vitamins now if you are planning to start trying in March Any good multi-vit with folate will do. You may want to have a pre-pregnancy planning visit with your OB as well. Good luck!

Agree with others that you should figure out what budget is right for you We were in Jamaica for almost 3 weeks and the honeymoon portion of our trip (13 days) was about $7000. We moved around a bit, and stayed 4 nights at each of 3 locations in Jamaica, after a week at our wedding hotel. It was truly an amazing trip and way to start our life together. I personally think once you figure out what you can afford, try to stay for as long as possible! Happy planning!

I am officially 1 week late for Aunt Flow. I am always regular. DH and I have been "sort of" TTC for 4 months now. By that I mean we aren't charting, but I'm aware of when things are supposed to happen. I've now taken what feels like 100 pregnancy tests, and they've all been negative except 1, and that one was really faint and was followed 2 days later by a negative. I'm totally confused about what's going on with my body! I'm a doctor, so inherently I know that my hormones are probably just off this month for some reason, but its utterly frustrating! I have an appointment Monday with the OB, but my hubby is driving me nuts. Everyday he wants me to take another test, and to be honest, its really depressing when they come up with a single line...

As others said, Negril has an amazing beach! Soft sand and clear water! The cliffs are gorgeous as well. We couldn't decide so we honeymooned at Sunset at the Palms AND The Caves. Both areas are fantastic

I haven't stayed at either place and don't know the wedding requirements, but if you like the Rockhouse, you may want to check out Tensing Pen and Catcha Falling Star. Both are cliffs properties. I have friends who have stayed at all three, and they all get awesome reviews. We stayed at The Caves for part of our honeymoon, which was incredible, but would've been cost-prohibitive for our guests. The cliffs are definitely not a kid/mobility impaired locale though, so be aware.

Happy B-day Carly!!! Hope it was a good one!

Great review! Congrats and beautiful pics!

A higher resolution picture will allow for a larger print of good quality. I did Kodak because it allowed me to download my guest's pics at high resolution, so that I could then print (off Kodak) if I wanted to. Sign up for the regular account and then upgrade to the one you pay for. Sorry, it was a while ago so I don't remember the name of the upgraded account, but it'll be obvious.

Hope that helps!

Sarah you look beautiful and Tammy - great job! Fantastic memories to have

{{{{BIG HUGS}}}} That totally sucks! I'm so sorry