Starfish0512

Originally Posted by uhura526 

 

@Starfish0512  I saw some of your wedding photos on Rebecca Davidson's website and they are absolutely gorgeous!  Also where did your husband get his suit?

Thank you!!! She does an amazing job!  We got both Shaun and his brothers suit through JOS A Bank.  There was a buy 1 get 2 free deal so we took advantage

Originally Posted by agm04 

 

 

Thank you!  I've actually finally gotten things figured out and we have deposits down for June 22nd - yay!  I really appreciate your response.  Celebrations is just not in my budget - I think I'm going to go with Juliette from Save the Date, as we really clicked and she put me at ease.  I'm definitely not hands off, so I already feel like I'll be paying for more than I need, but I'd rather have the piece of mind.  Were you happy with Flower Dell?  They seem to have more reasonable prices than others.

Absolutely use Flower Dell!!!!  I was worried about flowers as I had never seen any of her work but Molly reassured me they would be beautiful!  I only wish I could have taken them home with me!  They did however last into the next day, through my TTD session and still fresh right before we left for Little Cayman. Just amazing!

Originally Posted by CariBride 

 

@Starfish0512 

Your wedding is so beautiful!! I'm also holding my wedding at CC and Luca for the same amount of people. Could you tell me who you used as your photographer & cake? 

 

I'm also looking into the sky lanterns...where did you order them from? Who did you hire to cater the welcome dinner and brunch? 

 

Sorry for all the questions.  

 

Thank you!

@CariBride Thank you!!! We used Rebecca Davidson for our photgrapher, she is simply amazing to work with.  She has an incredible eye and is great at being invisible!  So fun to work with, let her do what she wants and she'll get you great shots! I'm still waiting for the second half of my photos!!!

The cake was done by LUCA and was fantastic!  Gave Laura a picture, she gave me flavors and that was that.  We coordinated extra flowers from Flower Dell for the cake.  LUCA also catered the welcome party and brunch, we were extremely easy at that point so easy finger food menu and typical bruch menu. Both fantastic, easy and a little cost relief for your guests!!!

As for the sky lanterns, it was through the sky lantern

https://www.theskylantern.com/shop/index.php?osCsid=be36e03ee1f6bf2505edbb072ec0175d

No worries about the questions, My biggest source of info came from www.crystalblueweddings.com Danielle has such a plethora of info and ideas!!

Originally Posted by shannonmarie 

 

I really like your dress! It looks very beachy and light weight.. Where is it from?

@shannonmarie  I got my dress from Pronovias in NYC.  Amazingly light, comfortable and traveled really really well!!  $$ wasn't too bad either   Cleaned right up after the Trash the dress session!

Originally Posted by CariBride 

 

@Starfish0512

 

I'm holding around 18 guests for my wedding, too. Did you hire a videographer? If yes, who did you use? 

 

 

@caribride I didn't use a videographer but kind of wish I had.  Aaaron Reberchak (sp?) also of picture this does an amzing job, we just couldn't fit it in the budget! 18 people was PERFECT!!!! Would not have changed a thing

Originally Posted by agm04 

 

Sorry for blowing this thread up with all my questions, but for those of you who are farther along in this process and/or have experience with Luca:  I contacted Caribbean Club and LUCA Friday (via email or their online form, can't remember which).  I called CC and spoke with Danielle on Saturday.  She was helpful and very nice and said someone would be in touch with me from Celebrations and Luca.

 

I ended up reaching out to both separately on Monday.  I know weekends are probably really busy, but I'm trying to nail down my date and venue, and I can't do that until I have pricing details.  Celebrations has been really proactive, but Luca not so much.  I called twice yesterday and was told I'd be contacted soon, then got an email at 8pm last night saying that Laura had been out of town for 2 days and would be in touch with me today (Tuesday).

 

It's 7:30 pm and still nothing!  So my question is, am I just being crazy and impatient?  Are they always slower to respond, or are my expectations way off in terms of response time with destination wedding planning?  If it's going to be like this the whole time, I'm not surethis type A can take it!

 

Anyone out there want to reassure me that they will be responsive overall, or go ahead and tell me that I'm being obnoxious?  Haha.

Laura at LUCA is fantastic, however, this is there "off season" even though they stay busy year round.  I'm slightly type A (if there is such a thing as being slightly) and I learned a great deal of patience while planning everything.  Also remember things run on caribbean time and they truly do hold your word, right of first refusal etc even wothout a deposit.  Just let me say my piece about Celebrations... they do fantastic work. That being said they also over charge an arm and a leg.  They quoted me $1500 over what I ended up paying by organizing most of my own vendors and having Molly from celebrations do a few.  They are one of the only coordinator services that have a retail shop so they have to upcharge to cover their rent there.  Also make sure you read the fine print, I just wanted a day of coordinator with a few extra services and for that they would only only communication for 2 weeks before the wedding.  crazy for a type A girl... I'm sure they do phenomenal for a hand off bride witha  huge party but for us they just wernt right and really expensive...

Originally Posted by uhura526 

 

@Starfish0512  WOW! You look absolutely beautiful!  The cake, your dress and hair..just lovely.  Did you guys have music and dancing at your wedding? Your flowers look really nice!  Did they ask you what colors you wanted or was it just a choice of having a tropical bouquet?  Looks like you guys really had a wonderful time! Congrats!

Thank you!!!  We chose not to do a formal reception, dancing, dj band etc.  We did our cake cutting at the beginning of our dinner so if there was chance of susnset pics we could get them but that didn't work out either.  We did the toasts at LUCA and as a way of wrappuing things up we had chinese lanterns for each person to set off from the beach. Our families had never seen them before and we so amazed by them also loved the thought of sending off wishes for Shaun and I.  I had Molly orchestrate the florist for the best prices as there are a few on island.  She worked with Floer Dell before and loved her work.  I send a number of pictures as to what I wanted, changed things up on her completely a month before the wedding and she nailed it spot on! Loved all of her designs, there is so much more that I don't have shots of, the decor at Luca, patiently awaiting my pro pics!!!

Originally Posted by agm04 

 

Hi everyone!  I've loved going through this thread - pictures are gorgeous, tips are fantastic!  I've FINALLY narrowed my options down for a destination and we're thinking Caribbean Club/Luca late June 2013.  Hopefully we'll be able to book something in the next few weeks.  For CC brides who have hosted a welcome BBQ - can you give me an idea of the per person cost?  Would love to do that, but already worried about budget.  Thank you!

Hi there! We too we concerned with budget going into theplanning stages and had originally thought of doing a family style cooking event on Thursday night as the welcome party.  Last thing I wanted to do when we got there was cook and couldn't have been happier with our choice to cater in Thursday night and Sunday morning brunch.  We did simple finger foods, pasta salad, potato salad and a ceasr salad.  It was delivered to our suite and cleaned up promptly the next morning.  I think it was around $36 USD a head... so worth it for the welcome party so you can socialize and not be bound to the kitchen.  Laura at LUCA is great to work with!

We did stock our suite with breakfast foods, lunch stuff and drinks, beer wine etc... We use our suite as the "host" suite as we were on the bottom floor beachfront so easy access for everyone! I wouldn't ahve done it anyother way, CC is truly a special place and they certainly take care of their wedding parties there!

So it's been a bit over a month since my wedding on GCM, have been awaiting my pro pics but simply can't wait any longer for a quick review for those getting married later this year or next.  Despite our arrival 5 days early into the worst rain they have had ever, we made the best of our trip.  Our guests arrived Thursday, still raining and we didn't care.  Small wedding just 18 of us total, family only.  We stayed at Caribbean Club, held everything there on Saturday afternoon, dinner at Luca and words can not explain how perfect everything was!  I have high expectations and everything exceeded what I had hoped for!  Molly from Creativent is AMAZING! She is so detail oriented and organized, thought of everything I might have forgotten, like markers for my signing map and lighters for the chinese lanterns we lit off Sat night.  Beyond the little details, she is just a pleasure to work with.  Hannah at Focus Salon did my hair and my sister's hair.  It came out beautifully! Flower Dell took care of our florals and used Massive for rentals - again exceeding my expectations!  We had Kate Allenger play the violin for the ceremony and cocktail hour, Rebecca Davidson was our photographer and had Reverend Myers as our officiant.  We also did our Rehersal Dinner at Ortanique - supposed to be outside but it was still a little soggy so they were very accomodating to bring us inside.  I had said from the moment we arrived, that we were there on the island, together with family with the end result being us getting married.  I absolutely didnt care that it rained for thefirst 5 days because the mornign of the wedding it finally broke and the sun came out during our ceremony.  The following Sunday was GORGEOUS out! Truly a special time for all of us!!

Congrats!!! I haven't been on in quite sometime, been up to my ears in last minute details... Anyways, I am also using Reverend Myers, Rebecca Davidson and Focus Salon (review?)  I have worked with Rebecca beofre but how was your service and your hair/makeup?  I think I am working with hannah from Focus... How was La Dolce Vita?  Where is that?  We are looking for a Sunday night dinner spot...

So happy everything went well for you, congrats again!!!

Originally Posted by chitownbride 

Hi all - I just got back from our wedding in Grand Cayman and it was AMAZING!! If anyone has questions I'm happy to help.

 

Here is a run down of our vendors.

 

Welcome BBQ - catered by Chef John (local who has a BBQ on the public beach - he is amazing)

Rehearsal Dinner - La Dolce Vita

Wedding ceremony and reception - The Wharf

Planner - Mary Ann at Celebrations

Photographer - Rebecca Davidson

Minister - Reverend Donovan Myers

Rentals and Flowers - Celebrations

Hair and Makeup - Crispin from Focus Salon (came to my condo)

Accommodations - Harbour Heights (condos)

Transportation - Tropicana Tours

Welcome bags - brought beach bags and koozies from the US and went to Cost U Less and Blackbeards for snacks and beer

 

I will say, one of the most helpful things was that all of these vendors work together all the time and get along really well. They worked with each other on a lot of the logistics so I didn't have to get involved. For example, it rained all day on the day of the wedding, but Mary Ann worked with The Wharf to set up our "plan b" ceremony layout and Rebecca adjusted our timeline and let Mary Ann know where we would be. By the time I arrived at The Wharf, everything was set up and was absolutely perfect - all I had to do was walk down the aisle! And the sun came out right before we started!

 

I have to give a huge shout out to The Wharf. They were amazing! They have a private beach for weddings that is adjacent to a patio that is tented with white tents (that you do not have to pay for). They are very flexible and can accommodate as few or as many guests as you have. The service is excellent and the food is amazing. And there is no food and drink minimums. Celebrations brought in the rented tables, chairs and linens, as well as centerpieces. The website for The Wharf does not do it justice - it is the perfect beach-side wedding location and one of very few restaurants right on the water with private space. With such a pretty location and amazing views of the beach and water - you hardly need any additional decor! We were supposed to get married on the beach, but with the weather they moved it to the upper deck of the restaurant and it was still amazing - looking right over the water and the suns

Hi!!  I do believe I am using Flower Dell and Massive for rentals.  My coordinator is taking care of the decor for me and she also said that Flower Dell's prices were the best on island.  Have yet to receive my final quote but when I do I'll be sure to let you know!

 

Originally Posted by atrigler 

hi Cayman Brides!  Anyone using a florist and not going through an event company?  I emailed with The Flower Dell and their prices seem really reasonable.  Just wanted to see if anyone else has talked to a florist or has any recommendations.

 

Also - I saw some posts about Massive Event Rentals and was thinking about going directly to them for rentals.  Anyone heard anything about them?

 

thanks!

You can tie them a number of different ways!!!  The website, I believe has links to videos on how to tie them.  http://www.ssekodesigns.com/

What's even better is that a portion of the cost goes back to the women in Uganda who make them... 

 

Originally Posted by WPGBride 

Those are pretty cool. So what, you can tie them however you want ?
 

 

Originally Posted by Krysta lee ann 

wow those are cool!! where did you get the coloured sandals from?
 

 

Absolutely!! This are the recommendations i received from Molly, our coordinator..

Focus Salon, Spa Esprit and Eclipze  all three have websites and prices are all consistent with each other. 

 

Originally Posted by CaymanBride0512 

Starfish0512-  Will you post who you chose for hair and costs?  I have been practicing doing my own but I'm getting frustrated that it's not turning out

like I want.  :  )  

 

Thanks!

Finally, I have fianlly decided on two different shoes.  For most it's about an amazing pair of heels, that of which I am indeed insanely jealous of... however, my FI and I are the same height and I did not order extra length on my dress,  therefore flats it is.  For the ceremony I will be DIY barefoot jewelry for my MOH and I but will then slide these simple beauties on.  My jewelry is from kendra scott in white lily and will be having a colorful bouquet.

For the TTD the following day I am going with the sseko sandals in either fuschia or violet with an amazing colorful cuff bracelt also from kendra scott - Love her!!! Leaning toward violet as purple and orange are my colors but thinking the fuschia will photograph better... 

Wow!  Thanks for letting me know it came up in a google post!!!  Definitely need to fix that! On the good side though, yes, it is my dress, and I love it!  I went to the NYC salon looking for a different one and tried that one on, done deal.  It is super light and comfortable!  Pronovias from what I can tell ranges 900+ and up.  Mine was 15. plus alterations total of 20.  Thought it was reasonable as the quality is amazing! What is your date again?!

 

Originally Posted by kkb4987 

Starfish!!!

 

Oh my gosh!!!  So....we must have the EXACT same taste because I was just doing a google search engine for the Pronovias dress Paola and saw that you have a post of you IN THE DRESS!!!  So random!!!  Well.....it is beautiful!  I have not tried on any dresses yet but thought that one was beautiful by the pics!!  Congrats!!!  What are the price points for these dresses??

Welcome to the board!!  Congrats on your upcoming wedding!!  Sounds like you have it all set! Smith's Cove is gorgeous, had my engagement shots done there...  i'm doing my own makeup but only after I use my groupon deal for a lesson and discount off pro supplies in Boston.  Still have yet to book a salon for my sister and I... 

Originally Posted by CaymanBride0512 

Hi Everyone,  My FI and I are gettng married May 21.  Simply Weddings is our planners and we are having an intimate sunset ceremony at Smith's Cove. Mari Abe will be doing our photos as well as TTD session following day.  We found a VRBO at the east end Reef Resort which cut our hotel cost incredibly!  Glad to finally see current Cayman Brides on here.  Look forward to everyones pictures.  Anyone doing their own makeup?  Pro Artist is not in the budget.  :  (

LOVE LOVE LOVE how everything turned out! You look gorgeous and it so does the decor.  Thanks for sharing Tori!! Congrats on your wedding!!!

Kristin,

If you are already working with Desiree from GOH then you may not need another coordinator.  Unless, are you having your ceremony elsewhere?  I can't remember if you said, sorry!!  I am doing everything at Caribbean Club which is why I needed a day of person...  140 a centerpiece though?  What kind of flowers are you using? That seems high to me... There is a new florist on island, Molly just gave me the name the other day,Flower Dell, said shes been doing alot of amazing work with her lately, I am awaiting my quote next week some time. Creativent services are posted on their webpage, ours was a bit custom as I had booked mostly everything on my own except for the decor and flowers which she built into my quote for services.
 

Originally Posted by kkb4987 

Diane,

 

Im SO glad you like Rock Gorgeous Hair too!  You HAVE to post pics after!!!! 

 

I'm working with Desiree from GOH.....but I also thought things were SUPER expensive!  We are having approx. 50-75 guests.  It is important for us to do something with the ceiling.....so I will probably do draping (so.....$1500 or so).  As for centerpieces.....I was quoted like $140 per centerpiece.  That cant be right......can it?  I was hoping to do a lot of it myself with sola flowers from www.saveoncrafts.com.  However, there is something to be said about not having to worry about doing anything else for my wedding.  I just don't know if I can afford creativent.  How much are their services.....anyone know?  Desiree is willing to get my anything I want....but I'm sure there is an upcharge for what she does.  Who knows.....maybe it is just super expensive anyhow.

 

As for my photographer, I am flying down a video/photo husband/wife team from Kansas City.  They are fairly new to the business, cheap, and dont quite realize how good they are yet!  Ha!  More bang for my buck....they are also filming my rehearsal dinner......all for $2600 plus cost of flights and 3 nights hotel.  Pretty good I think! 

 

I have a pinterest account if you want to look me up.  My email is [email protected] if you want to ask me anything personal.  So glad to have some brides to share ideas with!

 

Oh.....and we are looking at group rates for sunshine suites, westin, and possibly booking some condos at coral stone condos (RIGHT next door to the ritz....$600 for a 3 bedroom....awesome!!!)  Super nice people there too!

 

Kristin

Antonia -
 

Ahh another Caribbean Club Bride!!! I just hit my 100 day mark yesterday, super excited! We are doing everything right there on the beach and then having dinner at Luca, wish I could help with a band but we arent doing a formal reception... My recommendation as always, check out cyrstalblueweddings.com for any recommendations of vendors on the island! Amazing site filled with ideas! 

Originally Posted by atrigler 

hi!

 

We actually just switched to November 30th ad Caribbean Club.

 

I tried to post this last week but I'm not sure if it went through (I'm bad at threads / forums) - is anyone using a band?  We're looking for a cover band that can play a big variety. Any help would be so greatly appreciated!

 

thanks!

Antonia

 

@diane - [email protected] there are 3 of them Molly, Carol, and Cindy. I have heard they are all wonderful I think the website is creativentcayman.com

They are the only ones I be found who just do day of services...
thanks so much for the name of that salon too def going to check it out!!

Originally Posted by cheepet 

Hi Everyone.

 

I just joined today. I am so mad I didn't find this site before. We are getting married at the Grand Old House on May 13th 2012 and are staying at the Marriott. Has anyone stayed at the Marriott before? For photography Rebecca Davidson was already booked so we are going with Aaron Rebarcheck. He's worked with Rebecca before. Where is everyone getting their hair and make-up done?

Hi Kristin!! Welcome! I know I'm a bit behind the ball here as its been like a month now but I just started a new job and can't get on here as often. Aaron does great work, I think he works within picture this... As for the Marriott, we are staying there 2 nights before Caribbean club so we can meet with Molly and our officiant before our families arrive. We we t down a year ago to check out the island and its a very nice property, I'll be looking forward to your review  

How long is everyone staying? We are on gcm from may 22nd till 28th then going over to little cayman for a mini moon for 3 nights. 

Cant believe how quickly it's coming!!!! 31/2 months

We are going with Molly from Creativent to handle our day of stuff,  she is also handling our minister and all the decor arrangements, I believe we are using massive for our rentals not sure who's doing the flowers.  It was an extra cost we built in as we didn't want to have to worry about all the rentals and all the little stuff on the day of. She has been beyond fantastic so far, making me feel very at ease and have zero concerns what so ever!  Rebecca Davidson actually referred her as well as Danielle from crystal blue.  Danielle used to be a wedding planner but now just handles the blog so no she isn't helping planning the wedding but has been a great resource for referrals and answers to questions I had before we hired Molly.

Our wedding is super small, 18 of us in total, we are not doing a true reception if you will, we are having our dinner at Luca and then will be lighting the chinese sky lanterns off the beach after dinner. As far as music goes, we've hired Kate Allenger for our ceremony and cocktail hour, debating on bruinging her son in for the cocktail hour. He plays acoustic guitar that of which both of us love! We are bringing an ipod speaker system and will have music in our villa afterwards but no dj perse.

As for salons I'm torn between spa to go and there's another one... can't think of the name right now, but will get back to you with it. 

Amazing how quick it's coming! Are you trashing your dress with Rebecca too?!  Can't wait for it!     

 

Originally Posted by GOHbride 

Desiree at Grand Old House is working with flower vendors for me. I don't think she's going through Celebrations since I've also heard that they're ridiculously priced! We're staying at The Westin and doing our ceremony on the beach in front of The Westin and then doing the reception at GOH.

 

Starfish - is CrystalBlueWeddings planning your wedding? We've already done most of the planning, but I feel like I want someone there on the day of to run the show! When you say Rebecca is helping you out, are you referring to Rebecca Davidson the photographer? We're using her. She seems awesome!!

 

Who are you guys going with for DJs? We're still figuring that out as well as rehearsal dinner plans. Oh, and salons... Have you guys heard anything about where to go to get our hair done?

 

I'm so excited I found this thread!! Thanks guys!!

 

 

Yey for another GCM Bride!!!! Not too far behind me... we are doing May 26th can't believe how close it is!!! We've decided to do our rehersal at Ortanique in Camana Bay, fiood is to die for but there are so many great choices!  I can not praise crystalblueweddings.com enough!!! I would have been lost in all of my planning without that site and shes helpful if you have specific questions.  Rebecca is really great for recomendations too!  I don't think the other girls are active on here anymore, who have had weddings in the past unfortunately for us...  Have you been to the island before?  We went about almost a year ago and it was extremely helpful!  My one word of advice is to check out other companies besides celebrations for decor.  While they are very nice, do great work and commercialized, they are very pricey all things considered.  I received a quote from them that was almost 2,000 usd above the company I am using. Just my two cents!  Where are you staying?!  Congrats and welcome!!!    

 

Originally Posted by GOHbride 

Hey All!

 

Love to see all the GC pictures!! I'm going with Rebecca Davidson as well. Will be doing a 100 person wedding there June 2012. Would love to get some thoughts on hair salons and DJs if anyone has any good input?? Also debating on where to do rehearsal dinner so would love some advice. Thanks ladies!!

ayleebits.com has a very basic template that you can play with, i do believe a lot of girls have used that.  I used powerpoint to design mine, while very time consuming, it was worth it compared to the prices online! Good Luck!!!

You can do this with American too.  I believe it was 10 guests have to book their flights directly through american to get the discount... We got the cheapest fares directly through US Air, just a thought for those using the discount sites, sometimes the airlines are cheaper directly.

 

Originally Posted by MoBayBride2B 

Not sure if this will work for everyone but we registered our wedding with the event savers department with Airtran, any of our guests who choose to fly Airtran get 10% off the published fare.
 

 

Simply Outstanding!!!  It is so amazing to see your journey along the way to have a beautiful finish! You look stunning, the pictures are priceless and all the hard work you put into your event has absolutely paid off!  Congratulations!!!

Thank you!  I wish I could have added colors or changed colors as they came out a bit more pink than I wanted but I made it work with the printed orange and pink paper.  The only way I know of to change color is to slightly alter through powerpoint you can do that with images but because dreamstime uses already formatted jpgs. the color would change the background.  I alos googled images for hours but ended up likig these the best which is why I paid for them...
 

Originally Posted by kks2012 

This is really nice. Did you color the flower yourself? I've never heard of dreamstime, but I found a black and white orchid. Do they allow you to add color?

So Exciting!!!!!! Enjoy every little minute!!! 

 

Originally Posted by leigh2011 

A mere 30 hours and I am off to the airport...so excited (and yet so tired!).  Thanks for checking out my planning thread.  When I get back I will hopefully have some good professional photos to  share...

Thank you for taking the itme to write all this out! SO much detail and everything looks fantastic,  excited for you!!!  I am very curious how your sand ceremony holder comes out, I found one earlier a frame style if you will, but am concerned the sand wont stay in place on the way home!  If you wouldnt mind sharing after you return?! 

Tori - You have been searching for navy blue heels for what seems like forever and these are perfect!  The color is fantastic and the shoe will certainly compliment your dress!!!  While the navy CL's made you giddy (what bride wouldn't be giddy over navy cl's?!) these are a perfect choice especially if you are wearing them for such a short time! 

Are you hemming your dress to the heels or flats?  They look short enough of a heel where it shouldnt make that much of a difference with your hem right?! 

ps... have fun at your fitting!!!!!!

 

Originally Posted by torilynnsmith 

I have my first dress fitting on Thursday so the pressure was on to get some shoes! I had been scouring the internet for months and just could not make a decision.  I am planning to likely wear flat sandals for most of the day but I LOVE shoes and heels and just had to have a great pair for pictures!  That being said I was having trouble justifying $200 + on a pair of navy heels for pictures sooooooo I ended up picking up these....

 

I am looking for HONEST opinions on what you think.... I can still return these so I am hoping for some feedback before I make the final decision!!!!