SarahTD

Hi Caroline, Thank you so much for being willing to answer questions. This is such a foreign experience to me that I'm afraid I'll totally miss something or wish I had known something so you are really helping. I had kind of had those fears about the beach when I heard it was public. It really does sound like a bad idea so I think I will shoot for the gardens or something and then take some pictures on the beach. We are staying in the oceanview suite with butler service. I'm pretty excited about that. I've been to Sandals Royal Caribbean and Beaches Turks and Caicos (for his brother's wedding. His parents are really glad they don't have any more kids because our weddings make them spend lots of money on travel) and I've never experienced butler service. Any advice as far as that? Did you feel that it was worth it? Again, thank you so much!

Thanks, Alex! I am getting so excited. 4 weeks from yesterday we get married and we get to Antigua 3 weeks from today! Yay!!! I don't have much to do now but wait. I have another dress fitting on Sunday so I'm looking forward to that. She says my bodice is being difficult. Other than that, I have my shower on the 21st and finally stopped ordering stuff for my OOT bags (now that I know what they're called). How about you? Still have lots to do?

I hope they figure it out soon. My friend suggested that we do another "wedding" at our party so the kids can be there, but I'm not sure they really care about actually seeing us get married or if they're just feeling left out in general.

Yeah, it's pretty funny. He can be half asleep and, if I even say "Sean T.", he says "f**k that guy" automatically. I guess the second month is pretty hard.

I love those! And that is an awesome vest!

I'm getting married there June 6, 2011. Just 4 weeks from today. I think my biggest question for anyone who has already gotten married there is: were you surprised by anything? Is there something you wished you had known going into it? Do you have any advice for first time brides going to another country to get married? Thank you all in advance!!!

My fiance and I are both doing Insanity. He just started the second month and says he's getting sore all over again and says terrible things about Sean T . I keep starting over, but I'm still doing the workouts and getting better at them. I can really feel a difference in my strength. My endurance is getting better also. I get married 4 weeks from today so I had better step it up and get more consistent. Good luck everybody!!

Hello all! I'm new here and it's so nice to see others are experiencing some of what I am experiencing. In 4 weeks, I am marrying a wonderful man who has 2 children, a boy (15) and a girl (12), from a previous marriage. They live in another state and, with his previous job, he was able to travel to see them more. Coincidentally, since he and I got together, he had to change jobs and can't travel to see them. It was terrible timing because, of course, it looks like I took him away from them which is the last thing I would do. So, we fly them to stay with us for one week per year (my fiance doesn't work in the same town where we live and is often in Canada so he's not home for a week at a time usually). His ex-wife has a baby with her boyfriend and has moved on, but seems to rile the kids up at any perceived slight on my or my fiance's part. For example- I was talking on FB with another friends who is also getting married and I said we are having some close friends and family go with us. She went nuts saying he should consider his children "close family". Anyone would see that that is not what I meant, but I'm afraid she's gotten the kids all excited about something that was never meant to hurt their feelings. They knew we were going to an all-adult resort and we are having a party to celebrate with them and our friends when they are here. I can go on and on. We are both so frustrated.

Hey Alex... Sorry- busy weekend. My reasons for choosing a destination wedding really center on my laziness . I was never that girl who had everything planned out and the idea of planning a huge wedding just didn't appeal to me. It always seems like the bride and groom spend a ton of money and are exhausted by the end of the day. I live in a small town and know everyone so it would be a huge production. We decided we wanted it to be about us and make it easy (well, easier). We chose Antigua because it's a new place to scuba dive. I saw that you have a brochure with prices on it? Would you mind emailing that to me please? It's [email protected]. That would take a lot of guesswork out. Thank you so much! Sarah

All of these photos make me even more excited for my wedding. We get married in Antigua 4 weeks from today!

Hi Caroline...Congratulations! I was already thinking I wouldn't pick the beach and you've reinforced my decision. Thanks for the info. Sounds like your pictures turned out well if you ended up buying even more. That puts my mind at ease. Did you have a reception? I worry about the strangest things, but one of my biggest worries is getting hijacked by the photographer and missing my one hour reception. Is that completely crazy? Anyway, congratulations again. Would love to see your pictures

Your dress is gorgeous! Who's to say what is "too much"? Well, the bride is to say so it must be perfect. Maybe bring the veil with you and decide when you get there. I'll scope it out when I'm there and let you know how windy it is. Are you planning on the beach, garden or gazebo? I had initially wanted to do the beach, but all the beaches being public makes me nervous. Anyone could walk into your pictures or turn on a boom box right next to you. It probably wouldn't happen, but I still seem to worry about it. We'll go take pictures on the beach afterwards. So what made you decide on a destination wedding in the first place and what made you choose Antigua? I think six people is perfect. Is it you guys and your parents? I honestly was shocked that we ended up with 5 couples coming with us but everyone decided to come. We've got both sets of parents, my best friend (and MOH) and her date, our friend who introduced us and her new husband (my wedding is her honeymoon) and my best friend from high school and her husband. Should be a really good group. We're going 6 days earlier than everyone else so we can have some time alone to hang out and scuba dive. The Saturday that everyone else arrives, we plan to let everyone rest and get used to the place and then have a welcome "party" at the pub after dinner. Then Sunday we'll all have a rehearsal dinner together and then Monday we get married. I'm trying not to overplan everybody because it's their vacation too. I think I'm rambling now. Just excited to talk to another Antigua bride, I guess. Anyway, it's kind of a pain to get to Antigua from Texas. We're actually driving 4 hours to Houston so we can do the flight in 1 day. Everyone else is staying the night in Miami. If I had given it any thought other than that I just wanted to get the flying over with, I would have wanted to stay the night in Miami also because I've never been there. Talk to you soon!

That is a gorgeous dress!!! How exciting! I think the personalized underwear is really cute. Mine are pink and say "Mrs. Derousseau" across the back. They'll be good for a laugh after a stressful day anyway. How many people do you have going with you? We have 12 including us so it should be a small but fun group. Are you planning any group activities besides the wedding?

I think it's going to be very pretty. I would love to see pictures of your dress. I'd show you pictures of mine, but it is only a bodice at the moment. Luckily, my friend works fast. Thanks for the info on the champagne limit. It makes much more sense now- I had no idea. I'm not going to wear a veil. If there is the least bit of wind, that thing will try to kill you. I bet you guys have something like CafePress. I also got Bride and Groom shirts with the dive flag. You can even personalize underwear .

MarleyDog- I'm glad you liked the shirt. That site allows you to personalize different things too, though I can't imagine how much shipping would be to the UK. You might see if you have something like that there. I know the moms are going to cry when they see their shirts . I told Dania a little of what I wanted- like to have a little welcome party for everyone in our room. Then she started telling me how much snacks and bottles of champagne were going to cost. I'm in a butler level room and, as far as I can tell, can have as many bottles of champagne as I want. Unless I say it's for a party. Very confusing so I dropped the subject with her. My dress is strapless silk chiffon sheath with very light panels on it as kind of an overskirt which will blow nicely in the wind. I hope. My friend is making it. She makes beautiful clothes. She would kill me if I Trashed the Dress- painfully! What is yours like?

I don't have anything to compare her to, but I don't find Dania always that helpful either. Very nice, but tried to upsell me constantly. I never even heard of being able to have a dance floor. I will have to ask about that. Did you see the maid of honor shirt?

It won't let me copy the picture but here's a link http://www.cafepress.com/+badass_maidofhonor_womens_tank_top,400873673?utm_medium=cp_social&utm_source=addthis&utm_campaign=PDP

Oh, I have those! I just didn't know what they were called. One of the things I did was go to www.cafepress.com and have t-shirts made for the ladies and hats for the men. It's a nice little commemorative personalized thing. Our moms have "Mother of the Bride" and "Mother of the Groom", my best friend has "Bad Ass Maid of Honor", etc. I'm also including packs of playing cards, sunblock and bug spray.

Hi Sweetness... What dates are you going to be there? We are there May 31-June 11 and we're getting married on the 6th. Really all that I am waiting for now is my dress. You guys are going to have to forgive my ignorance, but what is an OOT bag?

Hi Marleydog, Planning seems to be going okay. Really all there is now to do is wait. My friend is making my dress, pretty much got the music planned, just anxiously waiting. How about you? Sarah

Hi everyone... I'm getting married at SAG on June 6, 2011. It's getting close and I'm getting very excited and nervous. I chose to do it this way so I wouldn't have to plan very much but I think I have too much time on my hands now to worry