carrierae

I got my veil and caketopper from etsy. My cake topper piranhas are an inside joke (our cake is going to be a big blue ocean with fish on top) Part of my bridesmaid gifts were inspired from Etsy. I really liked the tote bags, but I would never ever pay $135 for each one. My grandma found the pattern that the seller ripped off (she is selling it as her own!). Its actually a Simplicity pattern. Here's my pics with the totes.

I bought mine from Etsy and I love it. I really wanted that style and I couldn't find any locally. I took a chance and it paid off. I paid $58 for mine. The flower is a separate clip so you can adjust it however you want. http://www.etsy.com/transaction/43418680

Sorry...I was exhausted when I wrote that. I meant to say "luckily they weren't expensive" not they were expensive. Also, my first towel cover came from KMart...I don't know why I wrote Target...I guess target was just in my head at the time

My wedding colors were fuschia, orange, and green so I tried to keep my gifts in that theme. I only have 3 bridemaids, so luckily gifts were too expensive (thank you amazon). I got the Nalgene water bottled discounted for like $8. Their passport covers are actually pink. I only paid $8 for them. The orange thing is a "wet bag". Its a waterproof bag so you can toss in all of your wet bikinis/clothes without ruining your bag. Those were $8 as well. All three from Amazon. I got the striped towel chair covers from Bed Bath and Beyond for $20 each. I was sooo mad! I bought mine at target. It was solid pink (but no inflatable pillow) and I loved it. It folded into a beach tote. It had so many pockets and tied down to my chair. I bought it from Kmart. I bought one to test it out...when I went back to buy them they were on sale at 1/2 price but they were out of stock!!! booo. The last thing I got them was actually a last minute gift. My mom and grandma wanted to help for the wedding. We talked about doing tote bags. I've seen the same ones on Etsy and the lady was selling them for $135 each! My grandma is making them with matching luggage tags and the Bridesmaid's names on the bags. I really like how they came out. I like loud and fun colors. I'm just going to put all of the goodies into their tote and use the tote as a bag. I might find some local candy and give that to them as well.

http://cdn.bestdestinationwedding.com/f/fc/fcc5ca67_2bsmall.jpg http://cdn.bestdestinationwedding.com/c/c4/c464a1a3_7small.jpg http://cdn.bestdestinationwedding.com/9/92/925b0627_bridal20face20option_3.jpg No edits, just the digital proofs...I'm still waiting for my BW film proofs Originally Posted by carrierae Well my whole world got flipped upside down. I am an officer in the Marine Corps and I was told I would not be deploying until next year (because I am a department head and the only one to run the shop while my comm chief is deployed). My fiance and I planned our wedding this Aug in Jamaica. I was told two weeks ago, I am leaving for Africa for a 6 month deployment. Oh the emotions I was going through....at first, it was unsure I would be able to come back to attend my own wedding. Well luckily for us, they granted me 9 days of leave to get back. Now a bigger concern....my dress. I ordered a David Tutera dress (the "molly"), which I was in love with that was not coming in until July. When I tried it on, I surpised the store owner by not needing a single bit of alterations, but I didn't bother to measure myself....especially since I could try on the dress. Now I don't know if I have gained or lost 5 lbs since then! I was able to contact David Tutera and let me tell you....they rock! They were able to get me my dress (without paying any extra fees), in less than two weeks! It is ready for me to pick up!!!! yay! I'm going to go in on Tuesday and try it on. I'm also going to measure myself so I know what my size is. No time for alterations. Definitely check out their dresses, they bent over backwards to send in a sample for me to TRY on before I ordered it (back in Jan) and now they are helping again by taking one more stressful event out of the equation. His company is amazing! PS- I will post pics from Tuesday's dress fitting!

Ok...links are a go! Just the digital proofs...no edits yet! (and I still haven't received my BW film proofs yet) http://cdn.bestdestinationwedding.com/f/fc/fcc5ca67_2bsmall.jpg http://cdn.bestdestinationwedding.com/c/c4/c464a1a3_7small.jpg http://cdn.bestdestinationwedding.com/9/92/925b0627_bridal20face20option_3.jpg

It keeps saying its "being held for moderation"....its been well over a day and I tried to post twice! Here's a link, I'll see if it works....here's some of my proofs http://cdn.bestdestinationwedding.com/f/f9/f96b335c_4bsmall.jpg

I was supposed to post the pics awhile ago, but things were so hetic! I tried to post last night, but I guess it didn't want to work! I'm finally in Africa and its HOT here! I was able to squeeze in my bridal portraits before I left, so my digital proofs are slowly coming in (my photog hasn't developed the BW film ones yet)....it definately gives me something to look forward to while I am away! Since this thing is being tricky, I'll post them one at a time. (these are just the proofs...no edits yet!) PS- love all the pictures, everyone looks so pretty in their gowns!

Ugh...I tried to post my pictures yesterday and I don't know what happened to my post!

Well things were pretty hetic before I left and I didn't have time to post my pics! I'm finally in Africa and its hot, hot, HOT! Not the most ideal location to be planning your destiation wedding from....everyone is at least 7 hr behind...but it works! I'm just sad I won't be seeing my husband-to-be for 3 months before the wedding and then not spending the first 3 months of our marriage together too. boo. The dress was actually a little big when I tried it on...I was injured at crossfit and then the deployment popped up, so I haven't been working out in the last 2 months. I lost a lot of weight in my butt and chest. It's ok, I'll eat eat eat and work out to get the weight back on! I had our photog (who is coming to Jamaica) take our engagement photos and bridal shots before I left...I didn't think we would be able to sqeeze them in, but we made it! I did my own hair and makeup and we shot out of his apartment living room lol. I only have unedited proofs for the digital shots (he took a bunch of BW film shots that haven't been developed yet)...but here is a sneak peak of my dress! ...oh btw...it can be worn short (the mermaid part is actually a high waisted skirt). I just left it long for the bridal protraits because those are usually a little more formal than the other pictures! Carrie PS- I really love looking at everyones dresses! Everyone looks so pretty and the dresses are so unique!

Well my whole world got flipped upside down. I am an officer in the Marine Corps and I was told I would not be deploying until next year (because I am a department head and the only one to run the shop while my comm chief is deployed). My fiance and I planned our wedding this Aug in Jamaica. I was told two weeks ago, I am leaving for Africa for a 6 month deployment. Oh the emotions I was going through....at first, it was unsure I would be able to come back to attend my own wedding. Well luckily for us, they granted me 9 days of leave to get back. Now a bigger concern....my dress. I ordered a David Tutera dress (the "molly"), which I was in love with that was not coming in until July. When I tried it on, I surpised the store owner by not needing a single bit of alterations, but I didn't bother to measure myself....especially since I could try on the dress. Now I don't know if I have gained or lost 5 lbs since then! I was able to contact David Tutera and let me tell you....they rock! They were able to get me my dress (without paying any extra fees), in less than two weeks! It is ready for me to pick up!!!! yay! I'm going to go in on Tuesday and try it on. I'm also going to measure myself so I know what my size is. No time for alterations. Definitely check out their dresses, they bent over backwards to send in a sample for me to TRY on before I ordered it (back in Jan) and now they are helping again by taking one more stressful event out of the equation. His company is amazing! PS- I will post pics from Tuesday's dress fitting!

Has anyone got an outside hair and makeup artist for their wedding at MDC? If so, did they do airbrush foundation?

I got super lucky with my dress last weekend. My fiance and I were browsing websites for the perfect dress. There were a few that I loved, but the ones I did were not right for my Jamaican wedding. I came across a new David Tutera dress....this was the first dress I showed my fiance that he was like "oooh...I like it". I showed my mom, sister, and grandparents....they all loved it as well. I looked up stores online...there was only 1 store that sold David Tutera in the state of South Carolina! When I called, they said they had a few David Tutera dresses, but not the "Molly" dress I requested! They did say they would be able to get a loaner and it would cost $30-40. After speaking with the company, they said it would cost $100 (to rush the loaner) but that would go towards my dress if I chose to purchase it (or any bridal gown in the store). That made me nervous....I tried on a few dresses that looked pretty, but I didn't love anything...or come close. Even my fiance joked that I better walk away with SOME kind of bridal gown from that store after I paid that! I didn't know if I wanted to take such a large gamble flying in my dress and it not working! After debating with my mom and fiance, I decided to go ahead and get the loaner. Luckily, the owner said she pulled some strings and got the model's dress from the runway (so it would fit better)....she warned me not to wear makeup that day! My mom drove 12 hours to see me in my dress. When we got to the store there was almost NO bridal dresses...just a 2-3 racks. It was clear they catered to the prom crowd. I was nervous because if this didn't work, I would have thrown away $100 and probably couldn't find anything else in that store! When I finally tried it on, it fit me perfectly....length and waist. There was absolutely no alternations needed for the dress....and everyone loved it. It seemed like it was made for me! I can't wait to wear it on my wedding!!!

Does anyone know if you can bring in outside food? I know when I originally called, they said there were no vendor fees. I wasn't too impressed with the two cake bakers they gave me. I found a play in montego bay called "bake-a-wish" and I really think their work is cleaner....we were also thinking of having a dessert bar. I emailed Kerry, but I haven't heard back from her. I didn't see anything in writing that would prevent us from having a dessert bar from an outside vendor....especially since its something the hotel cannot provide. Has anyone asked about outside food and bev?