luvtoteachlaw

When I went there on vacation, I went out of JFK in New York, had a brief layover in Atlanta, and was in Punta Cana by 2 pm. It was on Delta. I don't know if that helps at all!

Bluefields Bay Villas, Jamaica for July 17, 2009. I visited the location in July and knew immediately it was the right spot for us. I have: Booked the villas Booked the photographer Bought my dress Purchased my STD's but haven't received them yet Completed an initial website for info on the wedding Shopped for groom and groomsmen attire, but haven't picked yet I will be getting married in exactly 11 months and I cannot wait!!

Separate rooms. He will be with his brother and friends and I will be with my mom and sisters. It's like one more night with my family before I go off and begin a family of my own. I like the idea of not seeing each other until the ceremony. Even though we live together, there is something about him not seeing me until the big moment . . . I like the anticipation and excitement!! He feels the same way . . .

Quote: Originally Posted by NotYourAverageDW P.S. Quick question, I'm still looking for a venue in Jamaica, is it possible for you to post a link of Bluefields? Absolutely!!! This place is totally great, and despite my stress about how to structure the guest cost, I think it is the best deal going for an all inclusive, private villa wedding. I have personally visited there for a site visit, so I can speak from experience when I say the place is perfect for a destination wedding. You have no worries at all with a personal chef, maid, butler and driver and all inclusive food (even lobster each night!) and open bar 24/7. The rehearsal dinner and reception cost are included in the rental rate, which is AWESOME. The also have an onsite wedding coordinator. You can see info (including personal pictures from our site visit, which is always good) on my site: www.heatherstevewed.weddingwindow.com The Bluefields villa site is: Villas on Bluefields Bay, Jamaica - Private Luxury Waterfront Villas I am surprised that more people don't check this place out!!

Quote: Originally Posted by NotYourAverageDW I agree with the pp. Make a note on the website. Pricing is a tricky thing, but if you provide a detail account of what will be included then hopefully you'll be able to fill the villas. Another thing you could do is put a counter on your website that shows how many ppl have RSVPed and and shows the amount that people will have to pay. If they check your site frequently, they'll be able to note the trend of the prices decreasing etc and that might help stimulate people to book. Good Luck! I like the RSVP idea! I will have to look into that!

Quote: Originally Posted by yamille So pretty!! Which style Casablanca is it? I love it! Thanks! It is Casablanca style 1827. I love Casablanca dresses! They are so feminine and romantic! CasaBlancaBridal.com: Fall Collection/1827

Ok, so I am ready to send out save the date cards. On them will be a reference to our website, which will ask for a preliminary RSVP. Of course, the biggest issue yet to post on our site is the per person cost. And everyone will want this info before sending in the RSVP, with the exclusion of our immediate families and our bridal party who will be there regardless. So, as you may know, with a villa, you rent out the whole place for a big chunk of change. It does cover everything for the week, and guests will not have any extra expense except for personal shopping, etc. that they may wish to do. The guests do not call up, make a reservation, and pay for it directly. Instead, the guests pay me and I pay directly for the rentals. We are renting out Bluefields villas on the south coast of Jamaica. They have a total of 5 villa properties, which can accomodate up to 43 people (or 50 as I was told when I visited there). I deal with the owner of the villa directly, and right now I have all five villas on hold for my week. My problem should be obvious - the per person cost will change based upon the amount of people who can come, but some people cannot decide to come without knowing the exact cost. Right now, I know that 25 people will be there (our immediate family and bridal party). This is without sending out any STDs or invites to friends and extended family (who know this is coming and have expressed excitement). For just those 25 people, we will need three villas. I expect we can fill the rest (which are smaller) with friends and other extended family. The total cost for all five villas is $50,000.00 for one week, with no discount. If we fill the villas (43 people) it will be approx. $1,163.00 per person. However, if we don't get all five filled, or if we get more people (up to 50) the amount could fluctuate. If I feel confident about renting out all five, I am going to try to negotiate a discount off the regular rental rate. I am at a loss with how to structure this whole thing. I think the owner of the villas is waiting to hear the preliminary RSVP count before deciding the deposit amount because it will be based on the amount of villas needed. I need to have pricing info listed on the site prior to sending out STDs. Can anyone provide any guidance or suggestions on how best to structure this "cost" issue? Should I list the $1,163 as the cost, or just set a range (say from just under $1,000 to about $1,200)?? This is causing me some major headaches right now!

I love BE products! I have never been a person who ever liked to wear makeup except for a powder and mascara, and these products convinced me that I can wear eyeshadow and foundation and look and feel natural. The foundation is so lightweight - I never wore foundation before because it felt heavy, too creamy and just gross on my skin. BE foundation is like a powder, but it doesn't dry out your skin. There is a good foundation primer to use that helps minimize pores and control oil, if you have skin issues with that. They also have a good lip primer and eye primer. The eyeshadow colors are beautiful and blend seemlessly together for a natural look. I never wore eyeshadow before, and now I am addicted to it!! Ebay is a good place to buy for less. Here is a good site that includes a list of color charts for BE colors, as well as a forum for tips, comments and suggestions. Welcome to Mineral Madness!

As I am sitting here reading this thread, my FI said (as expected) that most men will have no idea other than it is a white dress (forget the fact that there is white, ivory, champagne, etc). He said if you really want to confuse him, take out a bridal magazine and show him like 30 dresses . . . he will have NO IDEA what your dress looks like!

http://http://blog.peta.org/archives/mani_large.php Now this is a bit much!!

I used to think that all girls had "innie" belly buttons and all boys that "outtie" belly buttons. Mostly because the boy next door that I use to swim with had an outtie.

Quote: Originally Posted by Ryan's girl A fundamentalist church group from the U.S. has announced it plans to picket the funeral of Tim McLean Jr. in Winnipeg, declaring, "God is punishing Canada." "People are absolutely outraged about it," said Doug Mitchell, a friend of McLean's for about seven years. Led by pastor Fred Phelps, the Westboro Baptist Church from Kansas issued a release saying they would picket McLean's funeral this weekend. Phelps' daughter, Shirley Phelps-Roper, said about seven church members are expected to come to Winnipeg. "What we're doing is trying to connect dots," Phelps-Roper told the Winnipeg Sun last night. "We're trying to get you to see that your rebellion against the standards of God, your disobedience to the commandments -- your idols, your false gods, your filthy ways have brought wrath upon your head." These people are just as crazy . . . they picket funerals of dead soldiers from Iraq, and threatend to picket Heath Ledger's funeral because of his "gay loving ways" from the Brokeback Mountain movie. You can see true craziness if you look them up on youtube. I think they also mentioned that this guy cannibalized him, too. I don't think you can do something like this without being mentally ill.

So how do you like the brush? I have been using one for about a week and a half and I love it! My skin looks so much clearer, and the difficult blackheads on my nose are gone. This thing absolutely works! I got mine new and sealed on ebay for $150.

Quote: Originally Posted by MsShelley ugh! just MAC makeup I have been collecting Bare Escentuals makeup, too! I can't believe I forgot about that . . . I bought like five eyeshadows on ebay this week!

"I was a total sticker whore when I was in Elementary school. It was so "THE thing" to do. I would spend all my allowance and very carefully go over all the stickers in the store, then bring them to class and we'd trade or get jealous over others' stickers... weird kids " I did the same thing! I loved my sticker collection, and I found my books, still filled with stickers, about 5 years ago when my parents sold their home and I needed to clean out all my crap. I loved the fuzzy stickers and the sparkly stickers! I remember that they were so expensive back then . . . now they have stickers everywhere due to scrapbooking mania. If I would have seen stickers like that back then, I would have lost my mind (and all my allowance!).

I love reds. My favorite is called "Dyed in the Wool" from South Island, New Zeland. It is a great pinot noir and less than $15. I found it completely by accident when they had sold out of my other favorite, Toasted Head Merlot. Another great red is called "Masciarelli" from Italy. That is under $10. Nothing beats finding an awesome inexpensive wine!!

Wow - it's more like what don't I collect? I have been collecting ever since I was a teenager. I started with typical stuff like stickers (big in the 80's) and stamps. About 10 years ago, I started getting involved in antiques, and about 8 years ago, my collections were growing and I started selling antiques and collectibles. I love going to estate auctions. My main collection is of McCoy pottery from the 1930s - 1940s and antique and vintage jewelry. I love shopping for the jewelry for my wedding! I also collect vintage tins - I love the old advertising on them.

Quote: Originally Posted by Alyssa Hey! I did STD Boarding Passes and Passport Invite Booklets (only for those that are coming) done professionaly by Prim and Pixie - my wedding is also in Hawaii - all of my U.S. guests know that you don't need a real passport but we went with a travel theme and everyone LOVED them. Here are a couple pictures on their blog... Myspace.com Blogs - Booklets - Prim & Pixie MySpace Blog Wow!! Those are sooo nice! I like this idea too . . . but it looks pretty pricey!

I love weddingwindow.com!! I just got started on our site upon our return from Jamaica. It is still very much a work in progress. However, in addition to the ones noted above, we are using: Wedding events Gift registry Photo album FAQ I feel strongly about the FAQ and photos. I think it will help out alot to have this info for guests. Both sides of our family are detail people who will ask a bunch of questions, so we are trying to think of those in our approach to the FAQ portion of the site. Photos will help to sell the physical location, I think.

I went to an orchid farm during my scouting trip and took some amazing photos of orchids for inspiration back home. I hope to get some pics uploaded soon. This place quoted me a price of $5.50 US per dozen orchid blooms. That seems incredibly cheap!

Thanks to all of you who weighed in on this. We will discuss it with them, just so they are aware of the culture there. I am also going to run this by the owner of the villa (who lives in VA), and she will likely give me the honest scoop. Obviously, my concern is for their safety, but if it was truly illegal, then I would be worried that someone could "report" it, and they could end up charged with a crime in a foreign country. That would be an absolute nightmare. Having just returned from my Jamaica scouting trip, it seemed like the police there are all dressed like SWAT team members, and the locals appear somewhat afraid of them. So . . . I really don't wanna mess with them!

Well . . . this could be a touchy subject, but before I discusss it with family, I thought I would check to see how someone else might have handled it. In putting together my wedding website, I was checking out some travel sites for more "practical information" and found that it could be somewhat dangerous for individuals with an alternative lifestyle to be themselves in Jamaica. Apparently, homosexuality is illegal there, and threats and actions of violence are not even frowned upon by the police! So, my fiancee has a cousin who is legally married to another man (it is legal in MA), and they will definitely be coming to the wedding events. In fact, they have been very supportive of our plans. So, I am not sure what to say to them, if anything, about this new information. We will be staying in private villas on the south coast, so it is not like we will be in the middle of Montego Bay, Ochos Rios or Negril. Has anyone had to handle a similar situation, and if so, what did you do?

1. United States 2. Mexico 3. Bahamas 4. Dominican Republic 5. Jamaica (next week!!!) 6. Papua New Guina 7. Indonesia 8. Brazil

Their pricing is very reasonable and their orchid bouquets are gorgeous!

Quote: Originally Posted by ErinB Is there a particular issue you are looking for? I had a subscription last year during my planning. I only have the current summer issue for 2008, and the issue with the engagement rings on the cover (spring 2008?), so I would be looking for anything that predates that. Thanks for responding!