Shakara

For my bridesmaids and maid of honor I gave them ones with the word bridesmaid and maid of honor on the handle… same concept with the windows decal… I just got a small one Welcome books!- these were not as fun… it took a while… I got photo albums for a dollar from Michaels thanks to someone elses great idea… BUT they were 24 pages!! And at first I was gonna try not to fill it all or do every other but it didn’t look right so I filled all 24 pages with a bunch of info that probably no one will read lol. I’m attaching the complete template For my bridal party and flower girl I got a beach bag, picture frame, jewelry box, towels, bath robes with names on it

The OOT bags!!! I must admit these were the most fun to put together! Okay so originally I bought these bags from walmart on sale for $3 and I was gonna use them for the bags until I realized how huge they were and how ridiculous they looked because I didn’t have big stuff to fill them so this what I decided to instead… I’m folding the beach bag up and putting them into a gift bag: Included into the bags are also: First aid kit… I bought from the dollar store and added bug repellent stuff from minimusbiz Key Card/Tip money holder- I bought the coin purses from oriental trading and then used the same template and labels I used for the luggage tags

PRE TRAVEL STUFF- so thanks to this site… I also discovered vistaprint! Which has been my second obsession next to this forum. This is what I plan on sending out to my guests probably next week- travel brochure, luggage tags, and a packing list. I made the brochure directly in vistaprint because it was free if I didn’t upload anything so unfortunately I don’t have a template. I saved it in vistaprint so if neone knows how I can save it into another file outside of vistaprint I’d be more than happy to attach it! So Luggage tags I just printed on those name badge labels with the red border from staples and then stuck them to luggage tags that I got from Michaels and put packing tape over it so it doesn’t get ruined

The flowers! Sooo thanks to this site…. I discovered silk floers!!!! And decided it would be wayyy more worth it to spend money on these rather than real ones that’ll day. I think the decision depends on the type of girl you are… im the type of girl who would choose edible arrangements with chocolate covered strawberries over a dozen red roses any day!!! I decided to go with Shavon’s Wedding Silks because I heard really good things about her and she was very quick to respond and easy to work with. Total cost was under 500 and I got 4 corsages, bouts, and hair flowers too. My bouquet will be a combination of these two pics: Since my maid of honor and and bridesmaids will all be wearing the same dress. I thought she should have a different bouquet. This will be hers: This will be my bridesmaids: I still don’t know who exactly the person is whose making the cake… I’m pretty sure it’s a distant cousin or something but she’s really good and lives in Kingston… that’s about all I know… neways.. this the picture I gave my mom to give to her and of course her response was “no problem mon†cost- FREE.. it’s a wedding present AND we got these ADORABLE cake topers from mirrorimages.com ….. LOL I love them!

My ROR Planning Thread (SUPER LONG…LOTS OF PICS) Okay Ladies sooo I’m leaving in exactly 8 weeks!!! I know I know im pretty early BUT the next weeks until departure look like hell for work with ER calls and conferences… my next free weekend doesn’t look like until the weekend before we leave… and that’s my bachelorette party in AC soooo anyways…. I think I’m pretty much DONE with the planning... except for the ceremony wording and program. I’d like to start by saying Thank you ladies for inspiring me with these amazing ideas as it was from you ladies who I got every idea from! Leading up to a Destination Wedding… in Jamaica!... Okay so my FI is a Sergeant in the Marine Corps and I’m a physician assistant who works with one of the busiest neurosurgeons in DE… so a traditional wedding was def out of the picture because there is no way we would have time to actually plan a traditional (with that being said we were completely naïve to what actually goes into planning a destination wedding…) I mean I’m still praying FI's gonna make it to our wedding… Anyways…. Originally we wanted to do somewhere different like Costa Rica and then my family (whose from Jamaica) decided to give there input…. And soo we decided Jamaica! The original planning turned out to be a disaster with destinationwedding.com so I have no cute invitations or save the dates…. I didn’t find the site until I was at the end of my rope… but it turned out to be Just in time!!!! If I didn’t find this site… we would def be at JP court. The Rings: The Dress- So when I FINALLY found the dress I wanted… I of course did NOT bring a camera and then when I went to try it on when it came in to the boutique, my camera was dead! AND SURPRISINGLY I don’t have to do ANY alterations! YAYYYYY!!!!!! BUT I won’t have an actual picture until the wedding day cuz i'm afraid I wont be able to put it back in the bag as neet as the lady did. The shoes- by rampage bought at macys on sale for $40! The picture isn’t that great because theres clear paper around it. But they made me the perfect height so I didn’t have to alter the dress. Back up shoes- so my FI is convinced that I’m gonna sink in the sand for some reason and has me paranoid so I got back up platform flip flops at sears for $15!! My Marine will of course be wearing his amazing dress blues I have my maid of honor and bridesmaids are wearing a soft yellow Alfred angelo dress The groomsmen- the site wouldn’t let me copy and paste the pic so heres the site if your interested! JCPenney : Stafford® Essentials Bone LinenLook Suit Separates

Thanks for alll the input ladies!!! I went on a Michaels shopping spree today and decided to go with BOTH! My reception set up at the resort is gonna be a t-shaped table and there's at least thirty so I figure it's gonna be pretty long. I bought three of the vases with bright pink candles and sea shells and 4 black wooden bases with white candles and the silk pink stargazer lilly to do every other. I figure if the table looks tooo crowded I could use the vases to decorate somewhere else like the cake table, guest book table, etc. and just leave the four stargazer/candle/bases on the table. AND everything pacts perfectly well with the bubble wrap in my moms (she doesn't know it yet) carry on Total cost: 63 bucks (gotta love no sales tax DE!)

Quote: Originally Posted by SeptemberBride Hi fellow Brides..I just received this email...For JUNE BRIDES 2010 Dear June 2010 Brides. How are you all doing. If you have not committed to any florist yet, you will be in line for a FREE wedding, so please do not do so until Next Wednesday March 17 2010. This weekend March 13 & 14 2010 The Jamaica Pegasus Hotel in Kingston is having the LARGEST wedding show for the year. At this show there are lots of give a-ways. GrandeGarden - Night Vision will be giving away Free Wedding Flowers and Decor a Value of $500.00USD for any one getting married in June 2010. We would like to have your permission to enter your name into the drawing Please send me an email confirming this to GrandeGarden::Front Page before Sunday 14 March 2:00pm. Drawing will be @ 8:00PM that evening Do not miss out Charmaine Thanks for sharing!

Quote: Originally Posted by latoya1908 I'm planning to bring my own bouquet to Sandals Grande Ocho Rios. I still need corsages for the mothers, a boutinniere for my dad, and flower petals for the aisle. My TA informed me this evening that the corsages would be $45 each and my dad's boutinniere is priced at $35. Additionally, we're bringing our own chair sashes, fans and programs, and doing a sand ceremony. To set all of this up would be a charge of $300!!!!! Come on now! That's just ridiculous!! I wonder if I should contact Jans. Do you think she'd do the corsages and boutinniere for less than what the resort is quoting? How does the delivery of these items work? Would she be allowed on site to bring them? Geez that is alot! The quote jan gave me four bouts were $10 so I can't imagine the corsages would be much more expensive. I don't know the rules about Sandals and outside vendors, but back when I was booked at beaches I know they were kind of giving me a hard time. If they do allow outside vendors I would def recommend Jans because that is seriously a lot of money to spend when you could get it for less than half the price.

Heyyyy ladies.... so didn't get as MUCH as I thought I would ... BUT i have a good excuse... it was SOOOOOOOOO nice out this weekend and sun makes me sooo happy!!! I def couldn't stay inside!.... oh well.... there's next weekend! and all week on BDW

Hey everyone I posted the quotes that I recieved from the main florists in Jamaica... Tai Flora, Jan's Flowers, Floral Fantasy, and Grande Garden. It's in the flowers, decorations, cake, etc section. I didn't realize until after that I probably should've put it in the Jamaica section. Hope it's helpful to you guys. Ask me if any questions

OOps I forgot to say... real touch is from Shavon's Wedding Silks and I didn't get a referral I just emailed her with what I was interested in and she sent me a quote

Hello Everyone... So I thought it would be really helpful to send out the quotes that I recieved from the four different places. (I'm getting married at ROR.) First, after reading this site I discovered real touch flowers and I thought it was a great idea to go with something that will last forever for the bouqets. So, I ordered my bridal bouqet, 2 bridesmaids bouqet, 1 maid of honor bouqet, 3 bouts for the groomsmen, 4 corsages for the mothers/grandmothers, and 3 hair flowers. They were all made out of plumerias, stargazerlillies, and orchids. Cant wait to show you all the actual results. Cost was around $450.00. Now I also wanted to have some decorations for the ceremony site, we're getting married at the beach front gazebo. These were the quotes I recieved. Tai Flora (preferred ROR vendor): Hello Shakara Thank your for your patience in awaiting my response. Her are the requested information and suggestions: Aisle Markers $7+tax (rental) Aisle runner $45 + Chair Ties $2.75+ Fabric Aisle $50 up depending on length of aisle Railing Décor $40+ Arch $320+ Suggestions: -Brides Bouq – 12 yellow mini calla lily and white roses $165 -Bridesmaids bouquet – orange $ yellow casa lily, pink and red roses hand-tied $65ea -Rose Boutonniere $20ea *I decided not to go with Tai Flora because I didn't like that she put + next to the stuff I was interested in Grande Garden: Dear Shakara, I know this is long over due, it has gotten so busy and it is our policy to be attentive to all our Brides and you are next in line. I have listed your prices below this does not include tax (17.5%) or delivery ($250.00) Thanks for your patients and time, Warm Regards, Charmaine Pang Two arrangements on Pedestals $ 295.00 Chair Tie Backs- $ 6.00 ea 54" x 108" Aisle Runner runner & tropical petals $75.00 Gazebo Decor- $295.00 *The 250 delivery charge ruled this out for me* Floral Fantasy Hi Shakara, Thank you for your great patience as the Valentine's Day week was very hectic for me. Okay I'll be delighted to assist you with the requested info. For a bouquet cascading using white lilies and yellow roses this would cost $ 100.00. The bridesmaid bouquet using a small bouquet of mixed white flowers such as white roses with white dendrobium orchids this will cost $ 40.00 For the gazebo you can have small archway pieces for $50.00 each going up and pedestal arrangements from $ 150.00 going up. Please note you'll have to add 17.5% sales and $50.00 for delivery to Ocho Rios. Jan's Tropical Flowers required – orange, red, pink white & lots of yellow Flowers to be used – Calla lilies, casa blanca lilies, tiger lilies, stargazer lilies, Dendrobium & cymbidium orchids, Roses, hibiscus, Ceremony Decorations: •Gazebo decorated with fabric and three floral piece $250.00 •4 small arrangements as aisle markers (4@$60ea)$240.00 •1 white Aisle Runner (with petals on both sides)$ 60.00 oTOTAL $550.00 I really liked Jan's the best. They were the most organized and quickest to respond... not to mention cheapest So I decided to go with Jan... minus the aisle marker arrangements taking me to $310 and then were just going to bring down chair sashes and a little extra stuff decorating the signing table, etc

GOOD MORNING LADIES!!!! Okay soo it's Saturday morning... Almost 7am and I am ready for some hard core destination wedding planning today...ALL day!!!! I'm down 110 days!!!!! I have TONS of ideas, a BUNCH of stuff in my guest bedroom, a whole lot of bookmarked websites, AND a couple quotes for flowers... now its time to start putting things together!! Who else is going hardcore today!?!?!?!? I'll be back at the end of the day to update you on the results (last time I was planning a hardcore day I ended up looking at the forum ALL day lol)

Hey ladies just an FYI..... I just got home from michaels and in there dollar section that had everyting 2 for a dollar. So I got a bunch of things like photo albums for my welcome booklet, luggage tags, stuff for the kids, etc.

Quote: Originally Posted by seaprincess 50 min spin class tonight Shakara - I've never tried that product, but I've got to be honest, no muscle stim will ever give you the results of hard work....if you have extra cushioning around your mid section, cardio is the only way to reveal your abs....to cut your abs its a matter of putting in the time to do a well rounded ab routine. Sorry, but you FI's right - total gimmick. haha awww mannn I guess it's back to the crunches... thanks for the info!

Quote: Originally Posted by carolina24 you are lying!!! there's no way, omg that's awful!!! yeaa it was ridiculous.. i'm guessing no one told her she couldn't sing. We STILL make fun of my cousin for it but if anyone ever mentions it in front of her she gets soo ticked off.

Quote: Originally Posted by amygirl1169 Hi Shakara, I just didn't want the hassle of having to deal with all the paperwork, translations, etc. Also when we originally were deciding on a DW, we were looking at Mexico and they require blood tests, which I didn't really want to do in a foreign country. Plus we wanted a way to include my grandfather since he wouldn't be able to travel down there for the wedding. He was absolutely tickled that we included him in our day and I know it meant the world to him. I also had my bands made from gold/diamonds from my grandmother's rings that she left me and that was just the cherry on top for him! Thanks! That's great!! I really think I'm gonna look into it... my grandma who pratically raised me isn't coming... not because of her age but she's blind and takes care of my aunt whos handicapped soo it's just too much for her to go down... but it really makes me sad. So that's an awesome idea to do it before not only to avoid all the paperwork and hassle but to have her there thanks again!

Welcome to the Forum!!!!! One of the reasons why we picked Jamaica was because it seemed the most affordable... also dont forget to add in cost of flights!!!!

1. Where is your cell phone? Desk 2. Your significant other? amazing 3. Your hair? black 4. Your mother? incredible 5. Your father? issues 6. Your favorite thing? naps 7. Your dream last night? rabbits 8. Your favorite drink? lipton 9. Your dream/goal? mansion 10. The room you're in? cold 11. Your ex? psycho 12. Your fear? insects 13.Where do you want to be in 6 years? florida 14. Where were you last night? hospital 15. What you're not? rich 16. Muffins? blueberry 17. One of your wish list items? pillows! 18. Where you grew up? jersey 19. The last thing you did? work 20. What are you wearing? scrubs 21. Your TV? 50" 22. Your pets? cuddly 23. Your computer? retarded 24. Your life? wonderful 25. Your mood? happy 26. Missing someone? yupp 27. Your vehicle? honda 28. something your not wearing? shoes 29. Favorite Store? michaels 30. Your summer? jamaica! 31. Like someone? yupp 32. favorite color? red 33. When is the last time you laughed? today 34. Last time you cried? sunday

firstly God bless your granfather... he looks amazing for his age!! Secondly, what made you decide on doing it ahead... because I seriously am thinking about it... I mean the more I read about how long it takes to get everything the more I'm like noooo i don't wanna wait!!

Chesty Razorthighs. hahaha

I came home to edible arrangements chocolate covered strawberries bouqet (my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE) soooooo much better than flowers

I use truecredit.com they offered a free trial for one week.... there was no fee at the time. I kept mine but my FI cancelled like two days later and there was no charge.

I went to my cousins wedding and his bride sang "I will always love you" like right before the vows and it was AWFUL I mean seriously terrible it was like watching those people on american idol who have a horrible voice but swear that they can sing.... but that's not the worse part.... people couldn't contain their laughter and she got really upset and walked out the side door of the church for like 10 minutes while everyone sat there.

Noo Would you ever go sky diving?