MsSmithtobe

I got them on ebay surprisingly. I did have them made, I'm sorry I don't remember the site, I think it was CDPostershop The dress Uniquevintage.com and the shoes shiekhshoes.com. Thanks!!! GoJane.com, everything runs small so be prepared. I had to send all 3 dresses back for larger sizes.

I'm going to use the resort DJ but provide him with specific songs I know I want played.

Ok guys so I was bored at work, so I decided to get my planning thread out of the way, lots of pics. http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/thread/68954/mssmithtobe-s-picworthy-iberostar-rose-hall-suites-planning-journal#post_1539113

First, I wanna thank Tammy and all the people who have helped my day come to life with your help and advice. My FI and I have been together for 8 years, we met in college and 5 years later he proposed. The proposal- http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/thread/60055/semi-surprise-engagement The ring- (I designed it and sent the design to him but I was still surprised) So now to the planning! We are both from NY, so we had always planned to marry there. Until…. We saw the prices! I don’t know how people do it. So I started looking into destination weddings. At first, the plan was Europe, but I realized that would be a budget buster for most of our guests. When we thought about the Caribbean, I had no choice but to end up in Jamaica. My family is Jamaican so it made the most sense. I scoured the internet for weeks looking for resorts that would be affordable and beautiful, I narrowed it down to four. We vacationed to Jamaica that year and hired a driver to visit the resorts so we could make our pick. Riu Montego Bay- Nice resort, very spring breakish, didn’t like that they did more than one wedding a day. Royal Decameron Montego Beach- drove up to it and didn’t even go in. Not very resort- like on a main street. Holiday Inn-After looking at pictures online decided it was too family friendly. Iberostar Rose Hall Suites- I was impressed. The grounds were immaculate and it had such a laid back atmosphere, I knew my guests would love it. This is one of the pics we took on our visit. I contacted Nicole as soon as we got back and booked our date, that was about a 2 week process lol. On to the dress, I am not very picky, didn’t need a name brand or anything. I just knew I wanted a mermaid dress. After trying on several dresses at David’s Bridal, I found it and nothing else I tried on could compare. I love my reception dress, purchased online. We got caricatures done for our save the dates, they were too cute. Everyone loved them! We hired a photographer from Craigslist to do our E-pics and they were great also http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/thread/60275/engagement-shoot My invites were done by Sproullie Designs and Sarah was awesome to work with. I got passport invites and everyone thought they were so unique. Lol, not for us BDWer’s. I can’t figure out how to include them here, but they were great! I did my own pre wedding brochures and luggage tags. Both from Vistaprint! I added elastic string to the business card to make it a luggage tag. I also got my placecards from Vistaprint, just plain old business cards. I purchased a white pen, to fill in the placecards. Shoes I’m a budget shopper, I purchased all my things online. My shoes were great for the reception. My ceremony shoes won’t be seen because of my dress, but they serve their purpose for walking in sand. Reception Ceremony I purchase shirts for my girls and I bought the dresses as gifts. Shirts I’m planning on using silk flowers for the girls, less expensive. I purchased the bouquets from Etsy - ASpring Wedding As far as the hair this is my inspiration. And for make-up I bought the cutest cake topper from Etsy I also did wedding cd's as my favors. The wedding playlist is 1.Bob Marley-Is this love (prelude) 2. John legend- So high (processional) 3.Robin Thicke- Sweetest Love (recessional) 4. Shabba Ranks- Ting a ling (bridal party intro) 5.Method man & Mary j. Blige -All I need (Bride and Groom intro) 6. R.Kelly- Looking for Love (first dance) 7. Raheem Devaughn-Mo Better (last dance) 8. Raheem Devaughn- Believe (dinner music) 9. Parachute VA- She is love (dinner) 10. R. Kelly- When a woman loves (dinner) 11. Jah Cure- Love you (dinner) 12. Taurus Riley- She's Royal (dinner) 13. Erykah Badu ft. Stephen Marley-I'm in love with you (cake cutting) 14. Fat Man Scoop- Baltimore club ladies anthem (bouquet toss) 15. Marvin Gaye- Sexual Healing (Garter removal) 16.James Brown- it's a man's world (garter toss) 2 We plan to get married on the beach in 35 days! I know I’m probably missing stuff, but this is what I have for now.

For past brides who used Marcia Roberts photography, did you only pay her in cash? How did you travel with that much cash?

Jules23- I only have 5 weeks to go and I still have not heard from Nicole. She finally emailed me the address to send in my docs for the marriage license, but since then I have not heard from her. I'm starting to get anxious.....

Here is my reception dress

Great info, I put my mom on the job of sewing, I'll let you guys see how they turn out! I bought 12 inch human hair (because I plan to curl in with mine) for $25 and the clips were .75 cents you can't beat that.

So I have 18 pp booked out of 45 rsvps with 6 weeks to go. My groomsmen aren't even booked! I refuse to stress. If it's only 18 people I will be just as happy and I will save money!!! Look at the up side :-)

Yea, i definitely sent her 2 emails so far with no response, I'm hoping by 2/1 I will hear from her. Otherwise, I will call.

I am on my way to the local beauty supply to buy the clips and the hair and start sewing away!

Good to know, I was worried. I only have 1.5 months left and I haven't heard from Nicole. for the past brides, how far in advance does she start contacting you. I would like to send in my notarized paperwork but not sure where.

If this is only $20, I might leave the stuff I bought home and avoid the hassle... Time for an email...

I booked Marcia Roberts for my photographer and I am using the resort DJ and providing them with specific songs.

Islandgirl910- I never got a vendor list, didn't know they had one lol. you could probably just google Tai Flora and email them directly. The only other vendor probably is the photographer digipix. If you want other vendors I believe you have to find them yourself. Remember they are on Jamaica time meaning they may take forever to get back to you lol. Breeze616- Your review was great, it actually made me cry from excitement (I know I'ma loser). P.S. I love the term herbal refreshments lol.

Thanks! I already have all my wedding stuff packed lol!

I'm taking the centerpieces, fabric for the huppa and royal blue chair sashes. I also have votive candles to surround the centerpieces, I figure 3 to a table. As far as I know they don't provide much in terms of decorations. The floral centerpiece and the cake flowers is all I know, everything else you need to pay extra.

DeAngelis2be- Well I guess that is the reason, I didn't have to put down a deposit, my guests just book when they are ready and he sends me a list every month or so. Islandgirl910- I don't have a pic of the centerpiece I created but I do have the inspiration. This website is where I purchased most of the items, great site for DIY! http://www.save-on-crafts.com/crystalfibers.html

BTW, Hello 2012 Brides, congrats! I only have 2 months to go, but I was once in your shoes. Dont stress yourself out!

Hey I am working with Steve as well. He didn't offer me any incentives, maybe I need to have a talk with him lol. Jules23-I'm bringing down my own centerpieces, saved a ton of money. They worked out to $30 bucks each! I like them a lot. I got bubble ball vases and I am filling them with water and shredded shiny fibers (kinda like clear tinsel) with a blue floralyte, so they will glow. Then I'm putting floating candles in them. The dilemma is finding away to get them to Jamaica without breaking.....

Found a good vid of clip in hair extensions, thought i'd share. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWoLrl-45-Q

Thanks guys, your answers are so helpful!

Hello everyone, so Nicole is gonna hate me. I have a list of questions I need to ask her, a page long. I figured I would try you guys first, try to eliminate some of these. Any help would be appreciated. Rehearsal Dinner I would like to have a rehearsal dinner at Aunt Ruby’s on Friday 3/11 at 7:30pm. It does not have to be private, we would just like to sit together. There will be no additional cost for this right? Ceremony 5PM beachside Is there actually a rehearsal? What is the ceremony script? Where does the bride enter from if it is beachside? Where is the back-up location in case of rain? Is there proper equipment for my ceremony singer to plug in his keyboard and amplifier? Cocktail Hour 6PM Lobby Terrace Is the terrace large enough to hold 55pp for the cocktail hr? How much is the saxophone player? Can the bar in the lobby be used? Reception 7:30PM Calabash Is the restaurant large enough for 55 seated and dancing? DJ $450 Can he use an Ipod? Can we use our own MC? Where do I change into my reception dress? Will all the decorations I bring down be set up for me? Can the cake be 3 different flavors? A flavor for each tier? Checkout We have to check out really early Sunday morning, when do we settle the bill? Marriage License When do we receive our marriage license?

So I wanna wear my hair like this or like this the problem is I don't want to get a sew in weave, my hair is layered and past my shoulders, but if I was to curl it it wouldn't have the same effect. Has anyone tried clip-ins? Would they work? I can't do sew in's because not being able to touch MY hair gives me anxiety lol. I know I'm a wierdo. I need to add length and volume, I'm leaning towards clip-ins but do they have those for black hair?

Hey guys, I am having the hardest time finding shirts for my groomsmen. My bridesmaids are wearing royal blue and finding linen shirts for the groomsmen in royal blue is the hardest thing. We are paying for the shirts so we are not willing to pay more than $50 each. I thought about getting white shirts with royal blue boutonnieres but that would be hard to find too. I'm stuck.. Any advice?