NJ_bride

We went with the half private half not idea too. We had a private cocktail reception after the ceremony for 2 hours with hot and cold apps, full bar, and DJ. This is where we cut the cake and had our dances. Then we just reserved enough tables for our group at the resort's Beach party which included every type of food imaginable, full bar, coffee and dessert bar and a free show. It was perfect as we had so many people with different food tastes it would have been impossible to pick a menu. I was very happy with my choice and it really let are guests get the full experience.

My Hubby was a jeweler and I think the reason your stone faded was not b/c it was lab created but b/c it was treated. I have several pieces of Caribbean Topaz. When I got them they come with a card that explains that while the stone is a genuine topaz, the beautiful dark blue-green color comes from a treatment they do to the stone. Over time this color can change or fade from chemicals, ect. They said not to use jewelry cleaner on them. I have many other lab created stones and they are fine b/c like you said they are the same make up as the genuine ones. If you like the lab created be sure to ask if they are natural color or treated stones. As for alternative choices I highly recommend the Pink Tourmaline.

Hi Megan! we just had our CSA wedding on December 5th,2008. It was our first time there and my 1st time in Jamaica! We loved it so much, we are booking our return trip already. I just posted my review of the wedding today as well as a separate review of CSA. PM me with any questions.

We stayed at CSA from December 2-9th, 2008 for our wedding. I was so happy with this resort that I decided to post a separate review of the resort. -rooms- we had the top grade Beachfront Veranda, the rooms aren’t fancy but we had the best view, a mini bar, and a flat screen TV. There was no issue of noise or lack of privacy. Others in our group had other categories of rooms and were also happy. When you go out just put the door sign to make the room up and they will take care of it. The guy stopped by every afternoon and asked what I needed restocked in the minibar. -Food -the best I ever had in any island. Local beef patties were the best at Cabana Grill and late night snacks too. I loved the sweet potato chips with Pumpkin dip at SeaGrapes, the Lemongrass was so good we ate there 2 times. Amazing breakfasts at the Palms and Patios. The first morning we got our breakfast delivered to the room too. We also dined in the Palms for the International Buffet and Lobster night. Patios for the 1st night’s dinner was delicious we loved the quesadilla and pizza at lunch. We didn’t make it to Feathers, as the night we planned there were no entrees that hubby and I would like. Many of our other guests did go though and raved about it. -The excursions- this is what makes Couples different from other AI’s. Your excursions are included, no charge. We did a snorkeling trip with about 22 of us, the reef was great! We also went on the Catamaran Cruse which took you to see sunset by Rick’s and snorkeling at the caves. When we go back we plan on doing an excursion every day. There were no problems reserving for these either. -The entertainment- Every night there is a show in the Palms after dinner, singers, bands, dancers, all very good. The entertainment guys really get people up and dancing. Every night we also went to Aura night club for cocktails and more dancing (each night here is themed too). Our bartenders were great and we always had a lot of fun there. The Beach party is amazing, so much food, and a nice show too. -The beach is absolutely perfect! Clean, tons of chairs with floats, shady spots with hammocks and warm clear water. I spent most of my beach time floating. Others in our group used the flag service but we always just went to up to the swim up bar. We loved the bartenders there too. They make a great Jamaican brownie drink! Only thing I would say is bring the beach towel in your room cause they don’t seem to have them out on the beach for trade in all the time. -resort set up- everything is spread out. Depending on what your idea of relaxation is there is a spot for you in CSA. We let all our guests do there own thing, some liked the beach, others pool, others did excusions. The grounds are beautiful and very safe, you see security everywhere. The resort was full the whole time we were there but never seems that way. There are vendors on the property and they never bother you. This was a nice change from the other islands we have been to. There are bugs, you don’t see them or even feel them bite you but the next day you have bites , wear repellant! -The salon/spa- wow, what a facility. My Mom, 2 bridesmaids, and myself all had our hair styled there for the wedding, The stylists did a great job. My husband, his father, uncle, and a friend all went for hot shaves that morning and had some laughs with the ladies too. My husband and I really enjoyed our couples massage on our last day too. Many of our guests utilized the spa, gym, and running track and said all are very nice. -Finally and most importantly is the service/staff. If you have ever been to any other Caribbean island or Mexico you know that the Jamaican people blow them away. Everyone is smiling and everything is No Problem. We never waited for anything for a long period of time. If anyone thinks the service is slow they are out of their mind! We are from NJ and NY and we are used to the fast paced lifestyle, we leave it at home on vacation. Every staff member we encountered from security to servers, even landscapers were friendly. The others guest we met were so friendly, everyone congratulating us, it really is a place you can make friends. We know why people go back year after year. Please feel free to PM me with any CSA questions.

Hi Everyone! I have so many things I want to comment on because I know how hard I felt it was to find info so here it goes... Planning 1st of all BDW was my best friend, the info on here simply can't be found other places. All my supplies, favors, ect were purchased from the following: Michaels Crafts, The Guestbook Store, The WeddingChannel Store, Wedding Accessories online, Smarty Pants Boutique, Jordan Almond Flowers, and Advantage Bridal. All suppliers get an A+, quick shipping, great products, and fair price. My STD and Invitations came from a local stationary store, The Write Touch, super personal service. Attire His- linen suit from Macy's Tasso Elba line, same for father's suits and shirts. Looked great and good price. His shirt -Tommy Bahama, worth the $ Bridesmaids & My Mom's dresses- from Nonchalance in Morristown NJ beautiful, we loved them. Girls were Jim Hjelm, Mom's was a B2. Me- the dress, an Elma Reis couture, worth every cent A+++! I will not recommend Dressed to the Nines in Morristown, the shop was rude, messed up the dress in alterations and ripped us off for them too. Buy Elma Reis from another shop! Shoes- Nordstroms- super comfy. Veil-made by Mom, pretty but too heavy took it off after pics. Rings- A+++, our rings were custom made from a local Jeweler, Classy Diamonds, they also made the gifts my Mom gave us on our wedding day and my engagement ring. Travel We used Liberty Travel, most guests did as well and all were happy as far as we know. Our agent Dawn was great in helping us with a lot of room changes, getting guests in other hotels when CSA sold out, and flights being canceled. Flights- Air Jamaica was pretty good, liked the free champagne! Warning to brides though, they have no closet so your dress will go in the overhead bin. The attendant was great though and put it on top and shut the bin so no one could place things on top of it. Everyone arrived on time with all their bags. Flight delayed coming home, but was expected. Welcome Dinner Please see my separate review of the Negril Escape The Wedding We stayed at Couples Swept Away from December 2-9th for our wedding. We had almost 40 guests staying at CSA and 50 there for the ceremony day. I really can’t say enough good things about this resort. It may be a little more $ than others in Negril but worth every cent. All our guests who stayed at other resorts were disappointed and wished they had been able to get into CSA. We are already planning our next trip. - Believe me when I say every single detail was perfect! Kenisha, the wedding coordinator was awesome we had a meeting scheduled with her the day after we got there. She had all my email communication from the last year and we reviewed everything. She helped me assemble my welcome bags and had the front desk give out the ones to guests arriving that day. I picked the flowers, CSA uses Floral Fantasies who is the same florist I got the coffee/rum items from. The flowers were gorgeous, I picked my own, a bouquet of purple orchids which was an upgrade and got Anthony a matching bout which was complimentary. I had a memorial centerpiece of mixed tropical flowers for the sand ceremony table and then moved to cake table. I let them make up the bridal party bouts and bouquets of mixed tropical flowers and had corsages made for parents and grandparents. -We had a 4pm ceremony on the beach with a sand ceremony. The weather was perfect. I choose not to upgrade the arch or aisle; the standard white tulle and palm plants were very nice. After the ceremony we had a 2 hour private cocktail reception with hot and cold apps in the garden. Cocktail hour food was great. We had our cake cutting and champagne toast in the garden with the knife set I brought from home. We got the chocolate cake which was complimentary and decorated with my cake topper and purple orchids. The cake tasted like a ring ding- we loved it. All the items I brought were put out as requested and tables for cocktail reception even had sunken flower centerpieces complimentary! -For dinner we had tables reserved for the resort’s weekly Beach Party and show with all our guests. It was not private but it was free with many choices for food and drinks. This was the best choice for our large group of people with many different food tastes. It is a huge event with ice sculptures and all. It was fun to eat right on the beach and the show was really cool with fire walkers, bands, pirates and others. - My Mom, 2 bridesmaids, and myself all had our hair styled at the resorts’ salon for the wedding, I brought some pics with me and they duplicated it perfectly. The girls just let them do updos for them and were very happy. Everyone’s hair survived until we called it quits at 4am. We all did our own makeup. I was able to duplicate my MAC trial run and it looked great. Photography We used Sungold photography. Paula and Damian arrived about 45min before the ceremony and shot all the prep pics, ceremony, alone shots of hubby and I, cocktail party and some Beach Party. They were great to work with as I am not photogenic and they tried to make me feel at ease. I choose the digital package which included 5hrs of shooting all images on a copy right free disk. I have not received my pics yet, so I will review Sungold separately when I get them. Music We had a DJ for our ceremony and 2 hour cocktail party. I arranged them through the resort. We brought a burned CD of songs we wanted for the processional, recessional, sand ceremony, 1st dance and dance with Dad/godmother. The DJ also took requests during the cocktail reception and seemed to have a nice variety. Resort Please see my resort review under the Couple’s forum! We loved this resort! Overall despite many prewedding problems with family our wedding turned out perfect! I don’t know a single person who had a traditional wedding at home who can say the same. We will always be happy that we stuck to our dreams when it came to a destination wedding. If anyone has any questions please feel free to PM me.

Hi! I had all the same dramas with people, too much to type (see my other posts). Now that my wedding is all over with I can give you a clear prospective. Once you get there you will be happy with people that came an honestly won't give the ones who didn't and their negativity a second thought. Those people's priority in my life just dropped big time. Especially the ones like my Aunt's who called me selfish for having a DW and "excluding" the family (even though I invited everyone, over 200 invited) From the friends who didn't come I'm getting a lot of the "I wish I came" crap cause they see the pics and heard what an awesome time we all had. Others have avoided the topic of my wedding all together as if we don't talk about it, it didn't happen! LOL! I regret spending so much of the last year miserable about others attitudes about the wedding. I know it's hard but throw yourself into planning and surround yourself with supportive, happy people. Lots of luck.

My Husband and i have a friend who is in the t-shirt business. My husband insisted that we have a funny t-shirt made to give everyone and since he was actually excited about something wedding related I went with it. I am so glad I did because both our gusts and ourselves loved them. Since the guy who made up the shirts knows us we gave him full creative control. Front Back This is how we placed them at each setting the night of the welcome dinner

Ok, so I want to try to post the DIY stuff we did as well as a few items that I haven't seen on BDW. I got some great ideas from here so I hope others can benefit too! The welcome bags: We did these instead of an OOT bag. Our guests loved them! I used stamps to decorate plain white paper bags. Tags:Made using card stock and stamps, tied on with Raffia. Contents:Coffee scoop, Blue Mountain Coffee, and Appleton Rum Welcome letter for bag: (template for letter attached) I used the sand dollar stamp again for these. December 2008.doc

I couldn't take mine from Jamaica either. New it going there so i just enjoyed them until I left.

Ok, I know I haven't done my reviews or posted my planning thread yet but this stuff is fresh in my mind so I'll start here. Pictures are coming I promise! What I would do again -marry Anthony -Jamaica, Jamaica, Jamaica (1st of many trips for me, I can't tell you how much i loved it!) -Destination wedding (my dream come true) -Couples Swept Away (sight unseen!) -Invite everyone- even if I knew they couldn't come -have Sungold as my photographer (Damian & Paula are a blast) -have a couture dress(there are some regrets about the shop, but the dress was awesome) -Do a welcome bag instead of OTT bag. I included Blue Mt. Coffee, Appleton Rum, a coffee scoop, and a welcome letter in disposable gift bags I decorated. Can't go wrong with food/booze. -Negril Escape Resort for my welcome dinner (see my review) -Get my nails, toes, and waxing done the day before I left (freed up time in JA and they all looked great) -tanning B4 going, I never burned at all and my dress looked good. -The custom T-shirts. This was Anthony's idea, our guests loved them! -The Guestbook Store custom guest book, we had everyone fill out the pages at the welcome dinner and they are hysterical! -Our rings - we went "big" and they rock! -The almonds- ok I know everyone else hates them but in our Italian families this is a tradition, I loved the way they looked in the mini straw bags. -bubbles for ceremony- everyone used them! -Most importantly- not stress over the details, everything was perfect and I enjoyed my vacation! I kept the mindset that whatever happened happened, and like I said EVERYTHING was perfect, no regrets! What I wouldn't do again -my regret is not about the wedding itself but about the year leading up to. I should have never let family interfere with our happiness, life goes by too quickly to spend it fighting. The people that came were truly the people who wanted to be there, if they didn't come, their loss. You cannot force people to feel a certain way or be part of something. To all future brides, trust in yourself, your FH, and your dreams!

Here is mine, a shower gift from my MOH and bridesmaid. It was perfect, I wore it all night!

I got my sand and glass bottles at Michaels also. I had printed a sand ceremony reading from online but the wedding coordinator said the JOP would have one, he did and it was perfect. Maybe contact your WC to see if they have a family one or if you need to bring your won.

I have had both done. For my wedding trial I went to the store. One advantage to the store is that there are certain products that are only sold in the MAC Stores and online such as the pigments. My makeup held up perfect for my wedding at 4am it still looked as good as when i did it! I love MAC!

We just got back from our wedding week in Negril at Couples Swept Away. We had guests at Couples Negril, RUI, Hedonism, and Grand Lido, all said CSA had the best beach in Negril. As someone else mentioned you don't have cruise ships which is a plus. My hubby and friends have been to Ocho Rios and liked Negril better. Last fall my hubby and I went to Punta Cana, I agree awesome beaches! CSA is absolutely in that ballpark! Gorgeous clean, blue water, white powder sand, perfect! Hope this helps!

Please check out my review under Vendor/Bride Referrals.

On December 4th, 2008 we had a welcome dinner for 49 guests at the Negril Escape Resort in Jamiaca. Our dinner was held in the Captain's Ballroom on the cliffs over looking the ocean in a covered, open air setting. The views were incredible! I was referred to the resort but a former bride who had contacted them. I emailed Donald (the General Manager) in the spring to request information about having our prewedding dinner there. He quickly responded with location choices, dinner and bar choices as well as decor and music options. Communication was always easy. The food: we choose 5 entrees as well as sides and dessert. All the dishes were delicious! We have many picky eaters in our group and most people even went for 2nds! The bar: we choose the premium open bar. They provided our guests with many choices and great service. The setup and decor: The tables were set up as discussed with white linens and fresh flower center pieces, the view stole the show though. We were also provided with background music and a microphone for speeches. The staff: All I can say is outstanding, our servers, waitresses, and bartenders were great, very friendly! Value: Donald provided me with a very fair price for our dinner, we paid per head and everyone left full and happy! I highly recommend this resort for any affair, wedding, party, ect. Please PM me with any questions.

Hello and welcome! We just returned from our incredible wedding at Couples Swept Away! We had guests in all different resorts in Negril as well as couples staying with us that had been to many resorts in Negril and said CSA blew them out of the water. I can't get to my review yet but I will recommend CSA with out a doubt! Everything was perfect! PM if you have questions.

Oh, I'm totally not feeling it. With just getting back from the wedding on Tuesday i'm more worried about sending thank yous and posting pics. I'm trying to still put away my Halloween/Thanksgiving stuff! This weekend we are getting our tree and gonna decorate so maybe that will help. Also need to make some cookies. Xmas cards just aren't gonna happen...

I didn't buy it from an infomercial but I saw it there and got it as a gift...The Foodsaver! It is awesome, I totally recommend it!

I like the Kodak Gallery. I also have a Snapfish and a Shutterfly account but if people want to print I think the Kodak is the best!

Hi Everyone! I'm back, we had the most amazing trip/wedding ever. I have so much to say but I got to organize my thoughts so here are some pics from my husbands cousin to get me started. Enjoy! Shutterfly | View share

Beautiful Danielle! Congrats!

Hi Ladies! Just wanted to check in cause I don't know how much i will get on here before I leave. Congrats to everyone who gets married before I get back! I can't believe it's here! Today I'm panicking, last day at work before I leave. OMG, I'M GETTING MARRIED!!!! The next couple of days should be a blur, Macy's Parade in NYC tomomrow, shopping Friday, hair and a friend's 30th Bday dinner Saturday, Sunday laundry, pack, and last minute stuff. Monday, nails, waxing and go to NYC flight leaves 7:30am on Tuesday!

Yes! I was introduced to FH in a bar in Belmar on the Jersey shore in 2002. If in of you know Belmar that should make you laugh. He was dating someone else and so was I but we always stayed friends. Fast forward 3 summers later still in Belmar and I made the 1st move. Our friends said they new it was meant to be. We both had our bachelor/bachlorette parties this past Saturday. He went to Belmar with his buddies I went to AC with my girls for a D'jais party it was kinda like being in a time warp. Funny thing is that the bar we orginally met in my parents used to go to before they were married!

I had a big problem with breakage. i second the Silk Therapy. I also bought a Goldwell Deep Conditioner, will try tonight and let you know.