hollisandsteph

Ok I cannot believe I am posting this..lol My husband is a trip and loves playing with the video recorder on the camera. You should see the ones we don't have downloaded yet..:-) This first one is the view from our balcony and the second is when were were walking around on the pier. YouTube - Ocho Rios YouTube - Sandal Ocho Rios

Quote: Originally Posted by jmhein Order a dirty banana and a hummingbird and a Jamaican smile and your life will be great!! When you want a bit more rum for later evenings, go for a Rum Runner, Mai Tai, coconut rum and pineapple juice, etc, etc....!!! We had so much fun! We LOVED the Jamaican Smiles. Infact we brought the max amount of rum cream we could just for those. Between the other couple who went with us and ourselves we brought home 12 bottles...lol Somehow they all made it through the airports without being broke. We just finished off the last of our bottles a couple of weeks ago. It was sorta of a sad night..lol Ok so everyone doesn't think we a are huge drunks. I gave my brother a bottle as a thank you for recommending the place and we had a huge 4th of July party where we were stingy and set out 2 bottles with the mixed drink machine we rented..:-) It was great! The dirty banana was also great. I didn't care for the hummingbird for some reason though. That was the one that really pink and kinda tasted like bubble gum right?

Ok so I love the whole married thing. I love getting mail with my new name and every time I get to sign Gaskill to something I get a chill...lol We were together for 8 years before we were married so not a lot has changed except what we call each other and how we filed our taxes this year..lol I do get very teary eyed (ok so sometimes when I am home alone I down right cry!) when I read other people post about leaving or just returning, especially if they were at the same resort as we were. Since we had a very small wedding at Sandals there was very little planning I actually had to do. Sometimes I feel a little cheated others I am relieved because it was soooo easy. I miss the anticipation. This time last year we were getting pass ports and clothes and making lists of things we needed to pack. My ticker was counting down days and the thought of the unknown was just as exciting as it was scary. We honestly thought about going back this year but the guilt of not taking our kids somewhere was too much. We decided to update our house (carpet, furniture and appliance) and take the kids on a couple of weekend trips around Ohio. We hope to go back next year. I guess time will tell. I think I feel like alot of you ladies on here. I only get on this site every now and then and when I do it is not nearly the same amount of time I used to spend!

My brother and his wife went there a year before us, which is where we got the idea to marry there. They had the credit and were able to use it anywhere on the resort. They used it in the gift shops. Our perk was a trip to Dunn's River. It was amazing. Make sure you do that excursion!

We had sooooo much trouble getting cash. You will need cash for tipping and excursions. There are no ATM's at the resort and we had to basically get a cash advance from the desk on the Rivera side. There was only one person that could do it and if she was not in we were SOL...lol We did try to get money off site and that was a huge pain too. Not all ATM's would work with our Visa. We ended up hiring a driver and he took us to an actual bank (we were shopping and tubing down a river). Make sure you take $5 and $10 for the tipping!! Also the only other problem we had in Jamaica was communication. If you need to call home it is very expensive to get a calling call in the gift shop and international card that you buy in the US do not work. We have kids and figured out that it was cheeper to have them call us. There was a $12 difference in our phone bill so it was not bad at all. Next time (and yes there will be a next time...lol) we will have them call us. There is a main Sandals line and then all they have to do is ask for your room. Hope this helps!

It is totally legal. I have gotten my drivers license, my social society card and even filed my taxes with my new name. I just sent the paperwork down before hand! You will get your marriage license a few weeks after you get home but I needed to change my name for our bank account so I took my temporary marriage license to the DMV and they gave me a licenses without my official marriage certificate. I will all work out. Don't worry. Just make sure you and your hubby sign your certificate correctly. I know one of the girl's husband signed something wrong and they had to resign it a few weeks after getting home.

I would be thinking the same thing! I would not want to waste that much time out of my trip if I was switching islands! We talked about going back with our children and when researching I took into account the bus trip with them and decide we would stay in Montego Bay when we take the kids!

I was married on a Sunday in Jamaica. I wanted to be engaged exactly one year and the one year mark fell on a Sunday. I also figured since we were getting married in Jamaica Sunday was no different than Saturday or Monday right? The whole 7 days was like a weekend. :-)

I was at SGOR last May and it took exactly 2 hours to get to the resort. The thought of it drove me nutts at first but we all napped on the bus so when we got the resort we were ready to go exploring. It is a very smooth transition from the airport to the bus to the resort and then to your room. Before you know it, no matter where you are, you will be sitting by the pool enjoying a Pina Colada...lol

I did have a little trouble early on with communication with the wedding planner but honestly hold tight. Everything works out in the end and almost all of it can be done at the resort. In fact, with the exception of all the paperwork you go over everything when you meet with your WC (Ours was Kari Ann) in Jamaica anyways. Then you get to see picture and and really get a feel for everything. You will have a book sent to your room within the first 24 hours that will have pictures of possible locations and flowers and such. You take that with you with any ideas to your meeting before the wedding. Everything will go smoothly. I promise. We had no trouble what so ever while we were there. Everything was perfect. I know it is frustrating before hand because you just want answers but it all works out! Oh yea, one thing you might want to think about is music. Their selection is very very limited. You can bring your own music. It is no problem at all.

What size are you looking for in a dress? My friend bought a dress that she is no longer using and wants to get rid of. It is a very pretty dress. Simple and pretty. I would have to double check but I think it was a 10 or 12.

Whooohooo. You are gonna love Sandals! 9 months later and I still wish I was there every day! I was at SGOR but I am sure you will still walk away with the same feeling!

I went in May which is supposed to be the rainy month. It was overcast the first day and I was very disappointed but waking the third morning to bright sunshine made me forget the first day. The sun reflected off the water and made it an amazing shade of blue so every morning the first thing I did was look outside to see the water. Even in the "rainy season" we saw very little rain. We had a small down pour the second day and it started to rain (more of a sprinke) just as I was walking out of the spa after having my hair down before my wedding. It was little overcast during our wedding which kinda sucks but at least it was not raining and I came home married with amazing memories!

I went in May which is supposed to be the rainy month. It was overcast the first day and I was very disappointed but waking the third morning to bright sunshine made me forget the first day. The sun reflected off the water and made it an amazing shade of blue so every morning the first thing I did was look outside to see the water. Even in the "rainy season" we saw very little rain. We had a small down pour the second day and it started to rain (more of a sprinke) just as I was walking out of the spa after having my hair down before my wedding. It was little overcast during our wedding which kinda sucks but at least it was not raining and I came home married with amazing memories!

I started actually dieting the first of the year and lost 12 pounds in the first month. I found a really great website just to help the tracking end of things. It's LIVESTRONG.COM - Health, Fitness, Lifestyle You need to go to the section marked "daily plate". There you can track how many calories you need in order to lose X amount of weight a week. I am heavier so I can have 1369 calories a day and lose 3 pounds a week. I use a journal in addition and write down everything I put in my mouth. It has kind become a challenge for me. I have a 2 1/2 year old and am busy too but once you have counted the calories a couple of times it get easier. I do go to the YMCA but have only had time to make it about 2-3 times a week the last 2 weeks but I am still taking it off just by calorie counting. You would be surprised how many you take in just by not paying attention. You can use that website too to find the calories of the different food. I herd Free Diet Plans at SparkPeople is a good site too or something like that. I am sorry I cannot help as far as a good exercise but I thought I would give my input on the diet end of things. Oh one thing I do at home as far as exercise is use the exercise ball. You can look up different ways to use it on youtube. Can you tell I use the internet alot..lol Good luck and if I can do it, you can do it..lol

We thought the same thing about the clubs and that is why they just rented. It worked out ok and gave me and my friend some time to hang out at the pool and have our hair done. The driver's name is Homa Dunn and I actually kept his business card because we enjoyed him soooo much. This is his number so he can make some money on the side..:-) 917-3022. He also works through JUTA tours (1 (876) 530-0450)but I know he will give you a better rate if you call him directly. He told us to pass it around so don't worry about it. It was very stress free because he would take us where we wanted and then just wait. We were not on any time lines! I recommend going tubing. That was the first thing we did and it was A LOT cheaper than paying through the resort and a ton of fun! Don't forget to take smaller bills for tipping either. That is just in general. It is soooo hard to get cash while you were there. Homa drove us around to several banks until we found one that would let us get money off out Debit card. It was a huge pain in the butt! Calling home is a pain too!

I am soo jealous. We talked about planning a repeat trip right around the same time you are using our income tax but decided to spend it on updating our house with new appliances and such. Now that I am back on this site I think I want to reconsider. I want to go back sooo bad. We are going back September of 2010 for sure with our friends so it kinda seems bad to go three years in a row...lol Have fun and make sure you visit Milton at the bar the in the Rivera building!

BTW I was not trying to change your mind at all about the resort by telling you the golf was actually pricey! We LOVED it and was very impressed with everything! We are planning on going back next year (this year we are updating our house)!

My husband went golfing there the morning of our wedding but we stayed at SGOR. He said he knows that it also went to Dunn River but not sure about the others. Just to let you know, he had a good time but was slightly disappointed in the course. We did not bring his clubs so it was pretty expensive too. He said to make sure you bring your own balls. They are like $45 for a dozen and they only carry Pro V 1. Don't forget to tip the driver and the caddy. It ended up being around $100 total for clubs, balls, cart, caddy and tips. The good thing is his caddy had a side business. We ended up hiring him to drive us around for the day in Ocho Rios. It was a lot of fun and we saved a ton of money there!

To tell you the truth my favorite is one of the runner ups. I like the 3rd to last one posted. I also like the last one too. But have a destination feel to them. Plus they look lighter and let me tell you from experience you will want a lighter dress. It gets HOT!

I love the oranges and reds. You might like the color I choose for my bridesmaid.

Tv shows 1. Fraggle Rock 2. Punky Brewster 3. Knots Landing 4. Growing Pains 5. Charlie's Angels 6. Facts Of Life 7. Small Wonder 8. Step by Step 9. The Love Boat 10. Bosom Buddies 11. The Wonder Years 12. Family Ties 13. Moonlighting 14. Living Single 15. My Two Dads 16. Blossom 17. Saved by the Bell 18. Who's the boss 19. Dallas 20. The Muppet Show 21. My so called life 22. The Smurfs 23. Three's Company 24. Knight Rider 25. The A Team 26. Dynasty 27. Today's Special (was this just a Canadian show? I'm not sure) 28. The Cosby Show 29. Wonderful World of Disney 30. My Little Pony 31. Alice 32. Kids Incorporated (hehe) 33. I Dream of Jeannie 34: She-Ra: Princess of Power 35. Gem 36. Truth or Dare 37. Ally McBeal 38. Mork and Mindy 39. Full House 40. Family Matters 41. 3rd Rock From The Sun 42. What's Happening 43. Different Strokes 44. Party of Five 45. Voyage of the Mimi (PBS) 46. Life Goes On 47. You Can't Do That On Television 48. Suddenly Susan 49. Pin Wheel 50. Star Search 51. Double Dare 52. Star Trek 53. Degrassi High 54. A Different World 55. Melrose Place 56. Charles in Charge 57. Third Watch (and they are taking forever to release s.2 on DVD!!!) 58. Inspector Gadget 59. Baywatch 60. 227 61. Buffy the Vampire Slayer 62. Good Times 63. Little House on the Prairie 64. 90210 65. Amen 66. Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood 67. Santa Barbara 68. Fresh Prince 69. The Jeffersons 70. Angel (the spin-off from Buffy) 71. Perfect Strangers 72. Gilmore Girls 73. Friends 74. Miami Vice 75. are you afraid of the dark 76. hart to hart 77. Mr. Belvedere 78. Las Vegas 79. The X files 80. Silver Spoons 81. Mork N Mindy 82. The incredible Hulk ! 83. Fantasy Island 84. Webster 85. Murphy Brown 86.The Electric Company 87. Married with Children 88. That 70s show 89. Romper Room

It is a shame you are not gonna be on the other side of the island. I saw some AMAZING TTD pic from Dunns River falls. They were beautiful but too bad they were from after my wedding or I would have stolen the idea!

Meals- seals

I stressed about our flight too but everything on the way down turned out great! In fact we even got in about 1/2 hour earlier than expect. I know on the way home we waited on another flight to get in to take off so I am sure they will wait on your flight. There are usually several people flying from the same place to the same place so they would not be waiting on just you!