maura777

peterpanpixiedust - I got my dress at Amy Kuschel, a beautiful bridal shop in San Francisco. The actual design studio is based here (on a floor above the salon area) so if you live in San Francisco they will make it to your body instead of buying a certain size. They started making it this month and it won't be totally toggether for my first dress fitting, but I will go in every few weeks as they make it. I can't wait! Â When do they expect your dress to be ready? Â

We are dancing to John Legend "Stay with You". It's on our favorite iPod mix so has been a big part of our life...seems perfect for us

Here is my dress! It is the sample so not my actual dress, but they started making mine and I have my first fitting next week! Love the flower on the front Â

I love it! You will sparkle in that

Light aqau and fushia with silver touches and some other tropical colors mixed in. I wish I had an inspiration board like the ones posted here...how did you make one?

Hi everyone, Â I am struggling with deciding what to do for my shower because my birdesmaids are throwing it in my hometown on the east coast and I live in California. I know that I will get a lot of gifts and it would costs hundreds of dollars to ship everything back to California! Has anyone else had a similar issue? If so, how did you manage it? Â My mom thinks I should just register for small things, but what kitchen/bedroom/bathroom stuff is small?!? Alternatively, we were thinking of just registering at stores that they have in my home town and in California and then I could just return things and re-buy them when I get back home, but that seems like such a hassle!! Â Any advice? Thanks! Â

I got these shoes for the ceremony on the beach. I had already fallen in love with some Stuart Weitzman's so I am going to change shoes after the ceremony so I can wear them. Â Â

Teira1031 - that top is soo cute! Love the color!

I am not really having bridesmaid issues (except that I have too many - 8!), but there are definitely some that just don't seem to care much about it or want to be involved. They happily accepted when I asked them to be in it but they have since not asked about any planning or offered to help with anything. Luckily, I have other bridesmaids that are very involved so it kind of evens out. Maybe some care less about me than others, but I have also realized that some bridesmaids just love weddings and the process and KNOW what is expected, while others just haven't been invlved in weddings before and aren't sure what they should be doing. I try to just roll with the punches and hope for the best!

Yes, it feels weird having people spend more money when the trip to my wedding is already costing some of them more than they can really afford. I just insisted they do it cheaply (not a fancy shmancy place or anything too extravagant). Also, I am combining my shower and bachelorette into one day, so hopefully this helps since some people are traveling for it. Finally, I told them to insist on no presents and, knowing no one will listen, I chose only very affordable items for my registry. Â

I agree with all of you. I think it's fine to tell people that you want just an intimate ceremony with no one there. If you wanted a whole crowd at a wedding in your hometown, you wouldn't be doing a destination wedding - simple as that  I think my FI and I are going to get married when we get back from Jamaica. I am afraid that if I do it before then the vows and the moment when they announce us husband and wife won't feel as momentus since we had actually already been husband and wife. Also, since my parents and grandparents and siblings live across the country, there is no way we could do it before and have those closest to us there, so we decided to just not do it.  I have friends that have done it both way and both couples were happy with their choice, so I don't think you can go wrong but, as with everything in the planning process, this is YOUR wedding and marriage and you can choose who you want there for it.  Good luck! Â

Hi girls!  I bought two bandeau bikini tops, both from Vitamin A. I am a C/D cup so it really isn't easy to find anything tht can hold them up without straps but these tops actually do a good job. I ordered one off of Zappos (it was several weeks ago so I'm not sure if they still have it) and the other I got in a store. Might be worth a try! Here's a link to one that I got on Zappos (though this is a different site):  http://www.everythingbutwater.com/browse/products/vitamin-a/miami-shimmer/41582+011tmia+149.html  Â

Hi Tropical Love,  Congrats on choosing your resort and starting to plan! There is a thread for the Grand but no one uses it so I just read this one.  In terms of the dinner situation, as I understand it, the buffet is included with the rental fee but if you want a served, sit-down dinner, it's $55 pp. I am just doing the buffet. I would prefer the served dinner but can't justify it with the cost differential since I'm having over 60 people.  As for the drinks, I am sucking that up and paying the $10 pp, per hour, or whatever it is (don't have my budget in front of me). I thought about having people who wanted mixed drinks go to the bar, but then we would end up with a group at the bar and another group at the reception and I want everyone together.  Let me know if you have other questions!  Maura  Â

Hi Toiinlove! Welcome and congrats on confirming your date! I, too, am getting married at the Grand (12-4-10) and there doesn't seem to be a lot of us on here. Happy planning! Maura

Welcome, Toiinlove! I am also getting married at the Grand and there doesn't seem to be a lot of us on here. I am only 4 months away from my date (12-4-10). Happy planning! Maura

Hi AndynJenn! My wedding is December 4, 2010, so not too far off! We have about 50 so far and expect about 55-65 total. I have lots of planning to do still!

Hi Biasha! I don't have an answer to your question, but I am excited to hear of another possible Iberostar Grand Rose Hall bride since there are so few on this site!!! I am getting married there on 12-4-10. What date are you aiming for? I would email the coordinator, too, with any questions you have. She sometimes takes a few days to respond but she does. Maura

Thanks, Breeze616! I will look up other vendors and search for their work how you suggested. I was in touch with Flower Studio today and all the flowers I said I liked are ones that are imports (of course!) so will cost more, though she didn't give an exact price. I might just go all orchids or something local to keep costs down, though I think flowers do have a big impact on the overall look so I do want them just right

Hi everyone! Is anyone getting married at the Iberostar Grand Rose Hall? There is another thread for that resort but it's not very active at all I know alot of the issues and topics to discuss are the same since their the same company and right next door to each other, but it would be great to hear from someone getting married at the IGRH, too. On another note, does Iberostar Rose Hall Suites use Flower Studio, too? I am trying to figure out my flowers but it's so hard to do over email! How did you all pick your flowers from afar? Imuze - your flowers are beautiful!!!

MissSimone, I understand what you mean. I only gave my bridesmaids about 7 months notice, and I know that some are having financial difficulties, so I felt I had to do something. Plus, some are on the west coast and even London, so they are also paying a lot for flights. However, I'm already kind of regretting it since I have 8(!) bridesmaids and that really added up!

MissSimone - I understand what you mean about some people not being able to afford the trip. I have lots of people complaining to me about the cost of the trip. It's so frustrating and I wish they would understand that the decision has already been made, and complaining to me just adds to my already high stress level. I don't want to sound insensitive to their financial situations, but the fact is that I am not going to change it, and in having a destination wedding we all knew from the get go that some people just won't be able to make it. Complain to someone else, please! As for my wedding party, I am not paying for them, though I am trying to help minimize costs by buying their dresses and jewelry and letting them wear whatever shoes they want.

Hi! I am getting married at Iberostar Grand Hotel Rose Hall. We invited over 150 people but expect possibly 50 to attend. My biggest challenge has been just finding out who is really coming and getting them to book through our travel agent. We had wanted to book all together so we can be in the same area of the hotel and because we get some comps if we hit a certain number of rooms booked. We ended up taking an initial "survey" of our friends and family to find out about how many people to expect and then actually put down the deposit for this number (on the low side, in case some people backed out, though we knew we would probably also get a few surprise yesses). Now, we just have to hope we hit this number so we don't lose any of the deposit money. The other thing was deciding when to send out invites. According to our contract, people had to book several months prior to the wedding, so we didn't want to send out invitations long after the cut off date for booking (since we would essentially be sending to people who already said they couldn't come), so we just decided to send the invites out way early, about 5 months out. That way, everyone got the invites, and then could tell us though the RSVP/booking with agent, whether or not they were coming.

Hi Sparkles, Thanks sooo much for such a detailed response! You are so helpful and we so appreciate it! I, too, am going to try to do the butterfly release but will definitely keep this a secret. Also, I ended up finding another "dream dress" that is much cooler so I am good there and will also definitely bring a short white dress. We are going to use Sungold but not Damian and Paula We would love to but they are a bit out of our price range so we are using one of their associates. Oh, and we did change the wedding to the 4th!!! So we can definitely meet while there! One question I did have was did they make you pay extra for money for drinks during the reception? They told us that the restaurant rental includes buffet or whatever, but that it's an extra pp charge for alcohol. Also, what did you do for a rehersal dinner? Were you able to just make a reservation at the restaurant for everyone? I hate the thought of paying extra for everything at an all-inclusive!!! Well, thanks again for your advice. I hope you don't mind if I continue to ask you questions in the coming months My fiance is from Downingtown and I'm from Pittsburgh but we live in San Francisco now. My fiance is always on philaphans.com all the time and some others that I can't remember! I love that we both have fiance/husband's that are obsessed with Philly sports and we are getting married on the same date! Thanks again! Maura

Hi everyone! I just booked my wedding for December 2010 at IGRH and I'm sooo excited! I originally booked for the 11th and Angellie confirmed that date but then I asked to switch to the 4th and I'm still waiting to hear back. I am trying very hard to be patient, as I know it's a a busy time there, but it's driving me CRAZY! Anyway, I was wondering if any of you who have been there can clue me in to how hot it is at night. I am dress shopping this weekend and I already know that they dress I love weighs a million pounds and is likely too hot for Jamaica. Any ideas? I don't want to give up my dream dress but I don't want to sweat the whole time, either!!!

Hi everyone, I am new to this site and excited for all the resources and advice it seems to offer. And, of course, I'm excited to be able to share the experience with everyone else who is having a destination wedding! My wedding is December 4th at the Iberostar Grand Rose Hall in Jamaica. Can't wait to meet some of you on here! Maura