Charrey

This sounds delicious! I saw something similar on Semi Homemade where they hollowed out the watermelon, balling it, and poured the drink back into the shell, using the watermelon balls as garnish. Sounds like a pain in the butt but pretty cool.

Quote: Originally Posted by Lady_Di I love this one because it is so much quicker to make and it's practically same as a traditional lasagna. Replace ground beef with turkey beef if you want. Skillet Lasagna Recipe I am so going to try this, it sounds amazing and much less of a PITA.

I'm going all out tonight! We are having penne pasta in homemade marinara sauce, chickened seasoned and pan fried, salad, cucumber salad, and garlic bread. And for dessert....key lime poke cake (which is AWESOME btw..hubby loves it and it's so easy to make).

Quote: Originally Posted by reaganlane How did you seal it? I wanted to use the sand from the beach and bring it home but I'm afraid in the travel, it will get messed up. Was your sand still packed in there or all mixed together? Dry out your sand really really well if you are using beach sand. Mine got packed in the bottle and I had to whack it repeatedly to get it to fall out in clumps. After the sand ceremony, bang the frame on the table to really pack the sand in there. Add more on the top, bang it again, add more, then press it down with your fingers and add more to make sure it's really packed in there. I used packing tape to seal it off before sliding the top back on. I carried mine the whole way home and put it in the little magazine flap infront of my seat on the plane. I had no problems with sand shifting. If I had packed it, there may have been some shifting, especially in checked baggage.

I was in Jamaica a whopping five days before my wedding. I wore only strapless bikini tops while I was in the sun. I bought two just for those five days.

Ours was at 4pm, which worked out really nice. I was able to hit the beach in the morning and leisurely get ready. The sun was beginning to set when we were having our photographs taken between 5 and 6, which made for some beautiful photos. However this is the time of day the breeze stops and it was very very very hot. When we were in Jamaica, it rained every single afternoon for 1-2 hours at about 1 or 2pm. Something to keep in mind!

I started planning a year in advance. I got the big things for the AHR booked and ordered things a little at a time. I started in on the details about three months in advance. Six months to a year is enough time. Some venues and services fill up more than a year in advance so it's good to book those things ASAP. As far as the photography, flowers, etc. for my actual wedding ceremony, we booked those with the wedding planner when we arrived in Jamaica. It was very easy to sit down with her (at Couples Swept Away) and let her take care of it. It took about an hour to plan the whole ceremony! I was very anxious about not having these things booked ahead of time, but I did not need to worry. They did an excellent job of taking care of everything. I did bring a sand ceremony frame, fans, and other small details. The earlier you start, the more time costs are spread out over, which really really helps because all of the little things add up! Start looking for gifts and accesories whenever you have free time and cash.

I checked my local Dollar Tree and they did not have them

Quote: Originally Posted by msglave Did anyone remove the back (frosted piece) and replace it with the glass from panel 3? That's what I'm thinking about doing to make a bigger slot for pouring and also so that you can see the sand from both sides. That is a good idea. You would just need large vases to hold more sand since that would create about twice as much space.

Here's the best shot I have of mine so far:

My frame held up pretty well. I traveled with it on my lap and carried it through the airports with no problems. Some sand escaped into the front chamber, but it was no big deal since the front pane is removable. I did have one major issue. IF USING SAND FROM THE BEACH, DRY THE SAND OUT REALLY REALLY WELL BEFORE PUTTING IT INTO THE VASE. You have to either dry it out in an oven or on a cookie sheet in the sun to get it really dry. I was pounding on the vase like a friggin ketchup bottle trying to get the sand out since it packed in there and stuck. I also dinged up the frame a little when trying to knock the sand out of the vase.

I'm leaving tomorrow and got MOST things done. I did not finish the beaded cake servers, but will just have them for the AHR. My house also isn't as clean as I'd like it to be for our house sitter but OH WELL. I'm letting go of those little things. I'm done, and ready to enjoy it all

We had a get together at a casual restaurant/bar for everyone going to Jamaica the week before where I gave them their OOT bags. We are having an AHR. Much of our 'honorary' wedding party cannot come to Jamaica, so we are having a bbq at our house a week before the reception when we will give the wedding party and parents gifts. As far as decorations--I didn't see the need for many since the beach will be beautiful enough for the ceremony. I do have fans, a sand ceremony frame and bottles, cake servers, and toasting flutes I am carefully packing in a carry on. I am shoving my purse into my carry on and using my dress as my personal item and either we are putting the tux into my dress bag or my fiance will carry it himself.

This thread is definitely making me feel better about all of the little things I have not found time to do! Love it!

We are out of $$ so we decided not to do gifts to eachother for the wedding. I was going to get him a nice personalized cigar humidor before we nixed the gifts.

My father passed away five years ago, and my mother a year ago. When my dad died, I knew I'd ask my uncle who was like a second father to me. He passed away a year ago as well. Since this is a difficult subject for me, I was just going to walk alone. Until last night at the pre-Jamaica get together my cousin asked if I was having another uncle (my dad's brother) to walk me since he is going. Now I'm thinking about it all over again, and really he's the closest to a father I have. I may ask him a couple days before the wedding, I know he will be honored. I'm leaving in three days and getting married in 8, so I better think fast! I just pictured walking alone all this time so it's strange to think about so last minute!

I have been planning my wedding since May 27, 2009 and I cannot believe I leave for Jamaica IN FOUR DAYS!! Tying the knot June 18th This week I have been going crazy trying to take care of any and all loose ends because once I get down there, I don't want to worry about a thing. I've been sooo busy and very moody. Up and down (plus I'm PMSing..sorry TMI!) My fiance and I have been bickering almost every night this week. He is very laid back and does not care about the details one bit. He gets irritated when I freak out over the details and I get upset because I feel like it's all on me and he does not care! Is this arguing normal the week before?? We rarely fight! Any last minute advice?? Words to calm me down?! I'm so stressed and high strung right now I can't stand myself.

Well I finished my frame using the tutorial I posted. I used elmers glass and ceramic glue, which dries clear and worked pretty well, but it was a little runny. It looks just like elmers school glue before it dries, and has about the same consistancy. It worked, but I would not really recommend it. The flora bond looks like it would do a better job. I tested it with sugar, which I also would not recommend because now I have little bits of it stuck in the frame that I cannot get out! Oh well! A very small amount leaked out, so I put another bead of glue on each side of the outter pains of glass. I almost had a heart attack last night when I realized I glued the top shut!! My lovely fiance was able to get it open with his brute strength but I was really freaked out for a minute since we are leaving in four days. DO NOT GLUE ANYTHING WITH THE SLIDING LID ON!! I found two glass bottles at Hobby Lobby half off ($3.99 a piece) and I hot glued some leftover teal ribbon crossed around the neck of the bottle and a tiny starfish I have for centerpieces ontop. I'm very happy with the way it turned out! Total it cost me about $40 including supplies. Beats $60 they are asking on etsy for just the frame.

I recently went to a beautiful wedding that was decorated to the T (the bride had been planning it for three years), but the crowd was full of stuffy business men and women. My fiance and I were the only ones in the whole place with a beer. Everyone else was drinking fancy coffee and talking about work. We did not stay long!

I work at a small insurance and investment office. There are two agents who sell, and I do all of the behind the scenes work (paperwork, filing, answering/making phonecalls, etc). ALMOST as exciting as it sounds! I don't love my job so instead of getting licensed as an insurance agent, I'm going back to school this fall to finish my degree in early special education.

I received the frame and a week out from my wedding I'm gluing it together today! I found a really nice tutorial describing in detail with pictures how to glue it together. Wish me luck!

We are having at at home reception when we get home and only 13 people are traveling with us, so we did not spring for the reception. After the ceremony, we do a toast and cake slicing. Then our guests will mingle at the bar while we do pictures, and we are just going to dinner afterwards at one of the restaurants on the resort. No extra expense.

My invitation reads: We are getting ready to depart on a romantic trip which is only the start Lucy and Joe will be married on Friday, June 18, 2010 Negril, Jamaica Please join us for a reception when we return July 10, 2010 at 5:00pm -venue name and address- You can add something like "we kindly request adults only, please." I would not call it a buffet because people will expect a full dinner. We sent the invitations in late May. I think etiquette says to send them at least 6 weeks in advance, so definitely do not wait until after Christmas. You could either send them a month before you leave (the bulk of your RSVPs will be sent back right away) or right after you return home.

Talk to your DJ. Another options I recently saw at a wedding is just having a laptop set up on a high top table with the slideshow running the whole time, so as people mingled they could stop and look.

We are getting married June 18th and our AHR is going to be July 10th.