sweetiecat

I like the welcome cocktail idea as well. Basically, just anything to get your guests acquainted with one another at the start of the mini vacation will help everyone feel more comfortable.

I believe the etiquette rule is that you only have to invite a guest if the invitee is in a serious relationship (i.e., married, engaged, or some say living together). Otherwise, you're in the clear to invite them by themselves. For a destination wedding, I might relax this a little if the person didn't know many of the other guests very well so that they would be more comfortable. For a group of single ladies in their 60s, however, I think they would spend most of their time together so it would be fine to invite them without guests.

I was at a destination wedding in January with about 35 guests, and it really didn't take very long to take the group photo. After the cocktail party was wrapping up, they just asked everyone to stand together for a photo before leaving. They then did one with the groom and his guy friends, and the bride and her girl friends.

The postcards are adorable - the colors combination is awesome! I know the stamp thing would drive me crazy as well if everything did not line up right, but I'm sure no one else will notice.

Can I ask why you chose Rondel Village over Coral Cove? I was looking at Coral Cove myself, but am unsure about a few things (no pool, limited air conditioning). Hopefully Rondel Village will create an amazing wedding day for you!

Absolutely beautiful wedding! Congratulations!

Super cute!

I think the guideline is for the bride's mom to set the formality level by buying her dress first and then the groom's mother to match the formality level. I don't think they necessarily have to match otherwise.

Very pretty!

Thanks everyone!

I'm Stephanie, and I'm new to the forum. My boyfriend (yes, the official proposal hasn't happened yet, but the ring is ordered) and I are planning on having a destination wedding, probably in early 2011. I wanted to get a jump start on planning for the wedding since we would like to give the guests as much time as possible to plan and save, and I really don't want to wait much more than a year after the official engagement date to the wedding. We attended a destination wedding earlier this year at Sandals Negril in Jamaica, and we absolutely loved both Jamaica and the atmosphere of a destination wedding, since we were able to reunite with old friends and make some new ones. I initially thought that I still wanted a wedding at home, but after being a bridesmaid in another wedding this summer, I was able to see how much easier and less stressful the destination wedding was. Not only that, it gives us a very good reason to return to Jamaica (or at least another tropical location)! So far, I have focused my search mostly on Jamaica since I am more familiar with it. We have not decided yet on the resort, but I am mostly interested in the following qualities: - Small resort (not a 500+ room mega resort) - Preferably all inclusive - Negril or other similar areas compared to busy Montego Bay - Good food I guess I'm just looking for properties that will not feel like a wedding factory but are still affordable. So far I like Coral Cove in Little Bay, Jamaica, and Sunset at the Palms in Negril. I'm also considering Bluefields Bay Villas but am concerned that it would be more of a hassle to plan travel arrangements and that the guests wouldn't get as much privacy. I do need a place that can accommodate my brother, who will be 15 years old at the time of the wedding. I'm looking forward to really participating in the forum and utilizing the great resources that can be found here.