Sparkles8300

I am using Sungold Photography, a husband and wife team. They have been so over the top helpful. The wife is from Texas and I think he is from Jamaica??....but they now live in Jamaica. She is just the most friendly person and has that great friendly Texas attitude. She seems so nice and I can't wait to work with them. I think they travel back and forth between Jamaica and Texas quite often, so maybe you could meet with them when they are in TX if they happen to be near you.

I just got home from our site visit to the Grand and meeting with the WC, Pilar. That same question came up for me and she said that no kids can come at all. You are not even able to have flower girls and ring bearers to be in the wedding. Thats fine with me because I don't want kids at my wedding, but for people who have children or nieces/nephews that are in the wedding they would want to stick with the Suites. I took a bunch of pictures of the Grand and the other properties so I will post the link when I am done uploading them later tonight. I did get a chance to see the wedding set up for the Suites and it looked BEAUTIFUL. They were in the process of setting up for it as we happend to be walking down the beach so I took a few pictures knowing all the brides on here would be dying to see! Check back later tonight for a link

Here is a link to a bunch of pictures that my parents took while doing the site visit to IBGRH.... Picasa Web Albums - Davey & Neta - Iberostar Gra... I know that the only other wedding that is booked for the Grand is for the day after mine. Of all dates, I wanted DEC 5th and it's the ONLY other wedding that is booked there!! So, now mine will be on DEC 4th which is a Friday...but oh well, when your at an island who cares what day it is!! If any brides are considering locations please check out the pictures. Also, the wedding planner, Pilar has been above and beyond helpful so far!! She gets back to my emails within 2-4 days and always answers all of my questions. My FI and I are heading to IGRH next week to see it for ourselfs & I can't wait!! Pilar has arranged a meeting with the florist and cake baker so I can tell them all of my wants/ideas in person!

As for entertainment, my parents said that when they were there a band was going to come play. However, since my parents were the only ones at the resort, when they told the MDC staff how they were going to be going to Rockhouse for dinner and drinks that night, MDC canceled the band. I think they will be flexiable with whatever you want for entertainment as long as you are bringing a bunch of guests to the property. I would just try and work out what kinds of things your group likes before you get there so they can plan it according to the nights you will be there to enjoy it. It sounded like they are small enough that they can change things to suit your group if it's taking over a lot of the hotel. Plus, it's not like we would really need entertainment on the Rehearsal Dinner night or Wedding Night so that would only leave 1-2 nights where I am sure they would do something fun to suit your wedding.

Claudette- I just asked my Dad and he said that there is no way anyone should try and walk to Rockhouse. He's a little nuts and is not scared of anything but he said most people would never be able to do it. There are lots of shady people all along the road and he said once you get to Rick's that the traffic gets really bad, so you have to dodge cars lol. He said on top of that it was a really far walk. They took a cab ride at night as they did not feel safe walking the road at night. We are honeymooning at Moon Dance Villas for 5 nights after our wedding. So we will def be heading up to the Cliffs for a night to hang out with my parents and their friends and check it out for ourselfs. They are renting the 4 bedroom villa so that should be really nice. The place next door is Hide Awhile. I can't wait to see the pictures of your wedding...it's coming up soooo soon!

Here is a link to my Dad's pictures from MDC. He took a million pics of the grounds, hotel, rooms, wedding area, etc... it is looking so beautiful!! Picasa Web Albums - Davey & Neta - Moon Dance Cl...

I am doing fuchsia and burnt orange!

Everything looks amazing! I love the flip flops Your guest are going to have such a greart time!

I have GREAT NEWS for you ladies!!! My parents just got back from their trip to Moon Dance Cliffs and they LOVED it!! They said that the people are so amazing and the service is wonderful. Kerry already had napkins and everything picked out in my colors to show my parents the samples. They stayed at both the Cliffs and the Iberostar Grand (where I am now having my wedding due to the number of guests that MDC could not hold). My mom is head over heals in love with Moon Dance Cliffs, so much so that they are planning on doing a week there with all of their friends after my wedding at the Iberostar!!! My parents were THE ONLY guests at the hotel so the upgraded them to a 1 bedroom suite which they said was huge and super nice. They said that the workers at the Cliffs were so amazing and that they will now carry around a piece of them in their hearts forever. My mom said even the pool boy took her on a tour around the cliffs and that everyone that works there is over the top friendly and the service is wonderful. She said that everything is done now on the grounds/rooms and that they are now working on doing a sundeck down on the actual cliff area. My mom really wishes I could have the wedding @ Moon Dance. They felt this was the REAL Jamaica where as Iberostar is more corporate. About the drive there, they said it felt like a tour because the driver from Moon Dance Cliffs was talking to them the whole time and telling them all about everything that they were seeing. My dad said his favorite thing he ate during the whole trip was the jerk chicken at MDC. They said that your weddings will be so special and will be beautiful there. Kerry even showed them a book of all sorts of colored lanterns that you can have hanging from the trees and that everything looks great! I will post pictures (I still have not seen them) when my dad posts them to his website. I am so heartbroken that I am not having my wedding there.

cute idea

I am so so so sorry that you are having to deal with this. I would never think that a Westin would be treating an cutomer like that (let alone a BRIDE!). Good for you for posting this and hopefully no one else will ever have to be in this situation again. Have you tried to contact the corporate office with a complaint?

AWWW he has blessed you both! Congrats!!

I don't think that it is too formal. It's beautiful! You should wear whatever you love and feel beautiful in. As long as the groom and wedding party are wearing the same level of clothing it will look great!

Thank you all for your compliments!!! I still can't stop looking at pictures of it!!!! What do you think would look good on my FI? A tan suit with a with button down with fuchsia tie and brown dress flip flops? or do you think close toe shoes look better? What about bridesmaids/groomsmen..barefoot, flip flops or what?

Quote: Originally Posted by lil_miss_frogg I love how this is set up...but I am confused as to what the RED names mean. The others are pretty obvious. The red are those that have sent back a RSVP card as "No".

So Far: Photography $6,500 Dress $4,000 Ceremony $3,800 Dinner private area rental $1,500 DJ $950 Flowers $2,000 Cake $200 OOT $1,000 Travel $3,400 Invites $400 =$23,650...oh well, still WAY WAY WAY WAY cheaper than even just the FOOD min at the place I wanted to get married at at home!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We have been using an Excel spreadsheet that my FI made. It tracks those who RSVP by verbal, by response card, as well as those who have booked and what room they have booked in. I will attach it. Wedding Invites.xls

Beautiful pictures It looks like you guys had a blast. I love your hair btw!

Quote: Originally Posted by katrina i love the nannerpuss!! i seriously crack up everytime, but i know it makes some people crazy ME TOO!! All of a sudden one day I had "you can call me a nannerpuss nannerpuss" in my head. I kept singing it and my FI was like what the hell is a nannerpuss?.. I had no idea where I had heard it, so I looked it up and realized it was from an IHOP breakfast commerical. LOL Now I sing it to my dogs b/c it gets them really excited. OMG I am such a dork/nannerpuss!

Your pictures are BEAUTIFUL! I love your dress and all of the different shots he got of you and your FI. He does great work!

I have had a Gay best friend, Jon, for the past 15 years. We had some great times together in high school and college. When he was born, his mom did not want him or anytihng to do with him. So when he was a baby, his parents got divorced and he and his dad moved from SC to MD. During high school my mom pretty much acted as his mom and would help him with homework, cook us dinner, and do all of the "mom" sort of things for him. In college, we hung out all of the time and I became close with his boyfriend, Chris. We would drive to eachother's colleges and hang out pretty much every/every other week. I went to Jon's college graduation with Jon's dad and Chris to see him get his diploma. After college, I moved up to Northern MD to live with my now FI and Jon moved down to DC. We still saw eachother maybe once a month or so for the first few years out of school. We both had always drank alot (most days of the week) when we went out and we did all of the stupid things college students do. Once we graduated, his drinking never slowed down while mine did. He is now 27 and still going out and getting totally WASTED Thurs-Sunday and sometimes the other days as well. He has gotten arrested over his drinking, kicked out of bars, DWIs, and lost most all of his friends by treating them like crap over his drinking. He also stared doing Coke all of the time (I guess it's the drug of choice in the DC gay scene). He has gone out on binges and gone home with random guys every night and not changed his clothes from Weds-Mon. I mean his drinking is BAD. Back in August he came over and got totally shitfaced and was doing lines in my bathroom. He stayed up all night with the Britney Spears CD blaring dancing around my living room. I had not seen him in MONTHS so I thought it was funny to see him acting like this (A super gay guy dancing and singing to Britney is really entertaining). It was not until we woke up the next day and he cracked open a beer that I realized he had a major problem. The FI and I were having some friends over for crabs at 1pm and I was busy trying to get all of the side dishes ready. While I was doing this, Jon continued to drink a whole 12 pack and somehow found my liquor and started taking tequlia shots. By the time all of our other friends got here, Jon was totally belligerent. He was being a total asshole to my guests and my FIs guests. He was calling everyone losers, cunts, bitches, etc... I kept asking him to stop and go lay down and he wouldn't. He kept talking about how "everyone wants so be me, you all wish you were me". I mean really?! We were so embarassed to have this guy at our lunch were were hosting. I did not want him to drive so I was stuck having to babysit him. I did not talk to Jon for a few months and finally I gave him a second chance. I sent him and Chris (who have now broken up but still live together) seperate invites to our wedding. Chris had become one of my best friends and he and I do dinner every Thursday and he is just the greatest. Jon totally takes advantage of him. Even though they are broken up, Chris buys all of Jon's clothes, pays for his gas, takes him out to eat, got him a flat screen for Christmas, cleans up his mess, pays for all of their dogs vet bills etc.. He is a total enabler. Anyways, we invited both of them down for dinner on Saturday. Jon promised to be on his best behavior. We went to a sushi restaurant for dinner, where Jon drank a million beers, all the while saying, "I am being so good by not drinking liquor you should be so proud"! Somehow our wedding came up and I was like, "I have not heard from you guys yet, are you planning on coming?" This is where the total slap in the face happend. Jon told me "No, I am not coming and I think it is totally selfish that you would have a destinaion wedding in this ecomony. I mean who does that. A wedding is about friends and family not about making people save to go to Jamaica. I could get laid off at anytime no way am I coming. I mean it is just so rude to even ask people to come to Jamaica." I was SHOCKED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He kept going on and on about how selfish we are, right to our faces!!! The boy who had no mom who my mom took in, the "friend" I have bailed out of jail, the same person who has $20,000 in his savings account b/c he lies and tells Chris he has no $$ so Chris pays for EVERYTHING, the guy who has not ONCE paid for a damn thing for anyone but himself is calling ME selfish??! I about exploded while trying to, in the nicest way explain that it is an invite and he could have declined in a nicer way. He was trying to tell me that he has no $$, totally forgetting that when we were to the ATM he laughged and showed me his balance of $20,000 and was cracking up at how Chris pays for everything and he has so much money. I totally called him out on it. So my FI told me to drop it and we went on with the night like it had never happend. We got home at around 1am and decided to go to bed. Jon decided to stay up and drink by himself, he drank all of the beer in our house (9 beers) and 3 of my mini bottles. He got totally wasted and kept going outside to smoke and setting off my house alarm (3 times) and turning up, who else, Britney Spears! I was so over him already from his behavior and actions over our wedding but this was the icing on the cake. The next day I said bye to them both and I guess on the way home Chris told Jon I was pissed. Jon then started texting me with "you think you are so great, get over yourself" I told him how selfish and rude I thought he was and again he texts back "what is selfiish is your destinatin wedding" we went back and forth...it's totally over. I have let this alcoholic ruin too many nights/days of my life. I am just so hurt that after all of this time he has turned into this. The sad thing is, I am less upset about everything else that he did that and every other night, than I am about how he feels about my wedding. He really thinks after 15 years of me and my fam always being there for him, that it is selfish to have a destinaion wedding where he would have to spend $1,200 to come? If he really had no money I would understand, but he has at least $20,000 cash in the bank. It hurts so bad that someone who you have done EVERYTHING for could turn into this. The same guy who told my FI over and over, "I better be a groomsmen in the wedding" when it was at home now does not even want to come to the destination wedding. What a great "best friend" that is!!!!! My feelings are so hurt, just seeing him throw his life away and seeing all of the pain he causes everyone makes me sick. Now he told Chris not to talk to me anymore. Chris is so in Love with Jon still, he is going to listen to him...what are we 5? Who tells someone who they can/can't be friends with. I HATE Jon!!!! Real HATE! He really must have the devil in him. I am sooo sorry for writing the longest post I have ever seen but I just had to get this all out, even if nobody finishes reading it. Writing it out made me realize how I was an enabler too. I am glad to finally be done with him. I just hope Chris realizes it before something really bad happens to him.

I agree!!!! He is a total douche!!!! Throughout this entire season he really had me fooled into thinking that he was a good person. Nobody with a heart could ever do what he did to Melissa, let alone on TV in front of the cameras. He must have serious issues (I mean, what normal guy cries that much anyways?!!). I feel so bad for Melissa, she was such a sweet girl who really loved him. Molly seems like a player to me so hopefully Jason will get whats coming to him. Now that Molly "won" I am sure she will lose interest b/c it seemed that to her this was all about victory and winning, not about loving Jason. I think that is why she forgave him so quickly. Also, she is so competitive, I would not put it past her trying to contact him to try and get him back throughout the 6 week break. UGH It makes me sick. I don't even want to watch tonight, but I have to.

My mom actually has the same exact detached retina issue happening right now. We are located in Baltimore so she was seen a few weeks ago by the Wilmer Eye Institue at Johns Hopkins Hospital, one of the best Hospitals in the world. Her doctor said that she will be needing to keep her head down constantly and that she will not be able to fly after surgery. This was really upseting because her and my father had already booked a site visit for Jamaica in April. However, he gave her the time frame of 4-6 weeks of not being able to fly, so she should be all recoverd by then. Maybe your sister's Dr. gave the 8 weeks as a worst case and she will end up being able to make it to the wedding. Since they are both having the same issue, and I would assume, the same surgery I would think/hope/pray that the 8 weeks is just a worst case. I will keep your sister in my prayers and I hope that she is healed and able to be there with you on your big day!

I am having the same issue. One of my best friends and her husband own a timeshare for the Westin (which owns Sandals) so they are planning on staying at the Sandals. She is in my wedding as a bridesmaid, so they will need to be at both the rehearsal and the wedding. That would cost us $75/pp two nights in a row. This seems like a lot of $ just because they chose to use their timeshare instead of sell it and come stay with us at the Iberostar. I made the mistake of not posting the fact that there is a day pass when I made my website. I don't know how to handle this? I don't want to seem cheap but I also don't want to pay the $75/pp two nights in a row...could I tell them I will pay for the wedding and they can pay for the rehearsal or what do I do? I am so confused!

Quote: Originally Posted by MsShelley congrats, it is really pretty on you. BTW, where are in in Maryland? Thanks! We live in Downtown Balimore in the Canton neighborhood. I can't wait for spring so we can use our rooftop deck for cookouts and crabs! Are you close by? I am so enjoying this snow day!