ErinDoc

I thought I would share a picture after the fact, since my original posts were so long ago. Here are the mom's and the grandma (and the dad's too) on the wedding day

JamaicaSukie - I did not bring my own chair ties, but I would guess that they could just move them into your reception. Because of rain, they tore down the ceremony decor while moving the site of my cocktail party AND setting up the reception....so I would guess that moving the chair ties wouldn't be a problem at all.

Marriage Certificate - - - - - - - I just heard this weekend that the WC at the Suites received my marriage certificate. They emailed to ask me for my phone number and current address to send it. Hopefully I will receive it this week! I was married November 6th, so it didn't even take 3 months, which is much better than I was originally thinking. I think I'm going to keep it a secret from my husband until my name has been changed. He is so much more excited for me to change it than I am.

Yes I did have another photographer that we brought with us. Digipix still took some pictures after the ceremony to use on the DVD and cover. I thought they did a good job.

I traveled with my dress as my carry-on in the regular garment bag that I got when I bought my dress. I had a small puddle jumper that was not very full so I just laid it out in the overhead bin, and in my other flight my dress flew first class even though I didn't. They did let me preboard and then I stacked my dress on another bride's dress who was flying first class. The attendants are usually good with finding a place for it where it won't get destroyed by people shoving their luggage into the overhead bins.

Someone asked recently about Digipix, and I used them as my videographer for the ceremony only. I thought they did a great job!! The DVD skipped when we first got it so I emailed them and the sent me another copy within days. They were so nice and great to work with!

http://www.wishlantern.com/White-Eco-Wish-Lantern-Ten-Pack-_p_33.html Hey Ladies, These are the eco friendly wish lanterns that I bought, and they are on sale right now. Thought I would mention it since that was a recent topic on this thread.

Yes, sky lanterns are allowed. I was married at the Suites. We tried to do them the night of the welcome party, but most of my guests arrived that day and were exhausted so they didn't stick around after it ended. Then we were going to do them the night of the wedding, but the weather didn't cooperate, so we did them the last night we were there on the beach. We had 10 lanterns and 11 people left on the last night so it actully worked out perfectly!

Paula, your pictures look beautiful!!! That dark sky looked familiar about half way through your pictures. It's still crazy to think that we were right down the beach from each other. I loved the color of your flowers!!! Your mom looked so nice too....I did recognize her in the pictures from our chats from the airport to the resort. I'm still sorry we didn't meet! Are you back to reality yet?

The beach party was definitely on a Saturday night in November while I was there. We had our rehearsal dinner on Saturday night at 8:30 so we missed the whole thing. It looked pretty awesome though! ...at least my photographer go to go

http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/products/iberostar-rose-hall-suites-all-inclusive-montego-bay-jamaica/reviews/5329 Hi Ladies - I finally posted my review! I wish every day that I was back there....

Yes, Nicole's studio is in Maryland, but I met her years ago through a great friend of mine....so we brought here along for the whole trip. It was awesome! I would highly recommend CSA. They have a free Catamaran cruise that lasts about 2 hours and takes you out to Rick's Cafe (but doesn't let you off the boat) and then stops at some caves to swim for about 30 minutes right by Rock House. There is definitely something to be said for being able to walk right out onto the beach at CSA. If you are a beach goer you should totally check it out!

I thought that Swept Away was the perfect change from the Iberostar. It was so nice to see a different part of the island, and the feel of the two resorts are so different. I would highly recommend it!! We did the Suites from Wednesday to Wednesday and then Couples Swept Away from Wednesday to Saturday. I thought we could have used one more day at CSA, but in general, I thought it was the perfect amount of time at both resorts!!

Hi All - We just got back from our PERFECT wedding at the Suites and our incredible honeymoon in Negril at Couples Swept Away late last night. It was more than I could have expected!!! For anyone doing any freaking out about how things are going to work out and what everything is going to look like, if I can offer you any advice, I would say that IT WILL WORK OUT. Nicole and Tiffanie and the staff at the IRHS are wonderful!! They are so easy to work with and will help take care of everything. Remember they plan and execute a wedding almost everyday, so they are so much better at this than we are. I hope that helps a little bit. Just wanted to share a few pics with you before I do my review.

Also, about the taxes and fees at the resort, all are included. Whatever you see on the price listing, for example, $2100 for the wedding and $18 per person over 8 for the wedding and reception and then $8 per person for Menu A of appetizers for a cocktail party is exactly how the costs come out. It was definitely pleasant to not see any "additional charges" on the bill for our festivities at the resort. For anyone thinking of tips for the band, etc. I talked to my TA to see what they suggested and here is what we came up with: WC - small thank you gift Ceremony Officient - $20 Band - $10 per person in the band DJ - $20 maybe (we'll see how good he is based on all of the great reviews I HAVEN'T read)

Sorry I wrote the message above from my phone but couldn't figure out how to attach the pics from my phone.

DeAngelis2be - I got my wish lanterns from wishlantern.com. I got the Eco friendly ones...a 10 pack for $45 with shipping. They look pretty big but I am not sure exactly how big. My plan is to do them after the welcome party on the beach but I don't know the exact plan. Here are some pics of the package of 5. So I got two of these and they look pretty easy to pack .

http://nicolekphotography.com/2011/09/i-love-getting-fun-stuff-in-the-mail/ My photographer posted my OOT bags. Check it out!! Only a week and a half until we leave......WOW that time flew! I will let you all know how it goes... Here are my general details: Welcome party - Friday night - Lobby Terrace (use Lobby bar so we don't have to pay for open bar) - 8:00 - 10:00 with Mento band then wish lanterns on the beach Rehearsal dinner - Saturday night - Calabash (approx 23 people) will pick off the menu Wedding - beach ceremony at 4:30 PM (no aisle runner, only white fabric on huppa no aritifical flowers, Steel Pans band) 5:30 - 6:30 cocktail hour on the beach - Menu A & National bar - Steel Pans band 7:30 - 10:00 - private reception at Aunt Ruby - guests picked choices from the group menu & DJ Happy planning to everyone!

Hi Ladies - I wanted to share responses from the WC at the Suties (see red answers). Hope this helps those of you with similar questions.... Also, email me if you would like me to pass along any of the attachments that Tiffany mentions. My email is [email protected]. Hi Nicole/Tiffany, My wedding is quickly approaching, and I was hoping you could answer a few questions for me: 1. Can you provide a general outline of the wedding ceremony that I could use in my programs? Please see enclosed ceremony outline. 2. What shape are the tables at Aunt Ruby's? How many people can sit at each of them? I have seem where you have request the Steakhouse to be in private ,how many guest do you have ? In order to have the steak house in private you have to have 50 guest are more . if you meet the requirement to have the Steakhouse in private you can have round tables or square table both can hold up to 10pax. 3. Are wish lanterns allowed? yes 4. I would like to let my guests choose their dinner if possible. What are the dinner options at Aunt Ruby's? When do you need to know the final head count for the wedding/reception and dinner counts? Please see enclose group menu for the Steakhouse ,we need the count at least a week before arrival. 5. I would like to book a Mento Band for a welcome party on Friday night on either the lobby terrace or the lazy river island. When do you need to know which we choose - the terrace or island? Are either already booked? A month before your arrival . 6. Do I need to do anything further to book the steel pan band for the ceremony and cocktail party and the DJ for the reception? no we will book then for you. 7. Do people normally tip the DJ and band (in addition to payment for their services)? It optional 8. I sent in details with my wedding documents. Is there any other documentation that you need from me for wedding/rehearsal dinner/etc. details? Attached you will find some documents, one with the information about the wedding day (Wedding Details-PDF file), and the other (Last wedding details-word file) with the details that you need to fill out and send us back before your arrival. We would appreciate if you could fill out the word document called “Last Wedding Details†and send it back to us at your earliest convenience. Once we receive this document back we will send you an itinerary of the day based on this information as well as an estimate of the wedding charges. Thank you, Erin

Hi Ladies! I posted a few weeks ago about sending in my wedding documents with the PA notary seal (that is no longer a raised seal.) No issues here!!! They were acceptable even though JA likes to see the raised notary seal. Does anyone know how far in advance the resort needs your dinner count for the reception if you want to let your guests pick their meal?

Hi Paula!! Jodi-Ann only mentioned that time frame one time so I am not sure how strict it is. I decided to do less than I originally was planning. Did you decide on your reception decor? I can't believe how close our day is!!!

My sanity appreciates!! (oops....spelling not so great on that one)

Sharan - thanks so much for sharing your pictures!! They are beautiful! Congrat!! Regarding Tai Flora, my wedding is about 2 1/2 months away, and I got my quote back from Jodi-Ann this week. If I'm remembering from my phone conversation a month ago with Jodi-Ann, they require a deposit of half down two months before and then the rest two weeks before. I probably would have liked to know the numbers that I was working with a little sooner, but she was great about sending me ideas and changing colors in the bouquet that I wanted. they seem to operate similar to the hotel in that they don't need final details until only a few short months before the wedding. I know that doesn't help all of the frustrations, but hopefully it helps a few. I'm a planner too, so I totally get it. However, this whole wedding is forcing me into more of an island mode in general which my snaity and my FI appreciate.

I went for the notarized photo copy approach, and my TA (who has done a ton of Jamaica weddings) seemed to think that would work even after talking to the WC. I will let you know asap if the don't accept my notarized copies without the raised seal. I figure I will just bring the originals along to Jamaica just in case they have any issues. I'm hoping that getting them in a little early (3 months early) will be enough time for me to get them acceptable copies if these don't work.

FYI - I am not sure how many Pennsylvania brides there are out there but in getting my documents notarized to send to the WC my TA noted that my documents didn't have the raised seal which the WC said was necessary. Apparently it has been the case for a few years in PA that the embossing seal is not necessary. My TA is handling it and spoke with the WC coordinator again. She is sending a note explaining all of this with the notarized documents. Hopefully that is acceptable but I will keep you posted in case anyone has a similar issue.