JamaicaSukie

Wow! You just made my (and my guests) whole day! Lol! I thought the pools were shut down and night swimming was not allowed. I LOVE night swimming. Yay! Thanks!

You left to go for a swim at 1 am? Does that mean we're allowed to use the pools after they close?

Wow! Congrats! You look beautiful! I love, love, LOVE your bouquet. Did Tai Floral do that? How much was it?

Thanks! I figure this is the only way anything will get done. Lol! I should be receiving the samples this week, so I will post another update re: how they look. I still go back and forth between spending the money on chair ties in the colors I want and just going with the free silver or white chair ties from the resort. I think it will ultimately come down to money if we need to cut costs as we get closer. Next on my to do list is to start exploring possible excursion options. Since we are only "hosting" 4 days, we don't want to infringe too much on our guests free time, however, many people have asked us what activities we're planning. We are hosting a welcome cocktail hour on the Thursday most guests arrive, a rehearsal dinner and possible "last night out" for Friday night, the wedding is Saturday and then a good-bye/thank you brunch on Sunday. I was thinking maybe a group trip to Aquasol Theme Park which is a theme park at Walter Fletcher Beach and has all kinds of activities (fees may apply) such as jet skiing, glass bottom boat rides, go-karts, etc. According to Frommer's, admission is $5 for adults, $3 for kids, plus the cost of any activities. I figured that while I can't afford to take everyone on a specific excursion, I might be able to afford to at least coordinate the trip to this park and pay the admission fee for our guests. We'll see how this works out.

Thanks !

Jessica at Stylish Scribe was so great to work with. One small complaint I have is that once she is done with your order, she does not respond to emails. I emailed her shortly after I had received my invites (and confirmed they were good) to ask about the postage for the invites and she never responded. That being said, she was very responsive throughout the creation process and they really came out beautiful. We've gotten rave reviews! Quick update - I booked my make-up artist and hair stylist. I am working with Peter-Gaye Lambert-Rose (female) and one of her stylists. They have been very responsive and the hair dressers claims she can keep my wild tresses from frizzing out the day of. For airbrush make-up and lashes and hair for me, and traditional make-up and hair for my two attendants and FMIL, the cost is $620. A 50% deposit via Western Union was required to confirm the booking. You can see her work here. www.facebook.com/prettyfacesjm www.makeupartistdirectory.com/prettyfaces Blog www.prettyfaces23.blogspot.com

Wow! These look incredible! Great job!!

That's terrible! Can they even do that? I'm getting married at the Suites on 7/7/12 and have confirmed with their WC (Nicole) that the rates have not changed for them but if they had I would be livid as well. When you signed the agreement, were there any rates on there? If so, then I can't see how they can change an agreement without the consent of all parties. They should also allow you to use the vendors you've already booked if you can provide proof that you booked them before the new rates were released. You will lose money if you have to cancel those vendors and the hotel needs to be sensitive to that. I would write EVERYONE and their mother at Iberostar until they fix this. I would also write negative reviews wherever I could warning future brides and copies to the WC at the Grand (but I'm really aggressive like that...lol). Hope it works out for you in the end.

LOL! I just realized that you called me Stephanie. LOL! You can just call me Sukie. The pics of the invitations and STDs are from the invitation websites (Stylish Scribe and weddingpaperdivas.com). As I get more into my DIY projects (like my OOT bags) I'll start posting my own photos.

Lol! I will definitely post more! Speaking of which, I received my Beach Wedding Collection Set today after only ordering it 4 days ago. I'm happy to report that it is perfect for a casual, laid-back beach wedding. The flower girl basket is a little on the small side if you have an older flower girl (like 6/7 and up), but it's the perfect size for younger children. The pillow is darling, the glasses very nice, the shell details subtle yet noticeable. Definitely worth $160 but NOT $250. The personalization was nice but not high quality (kinda faint) but still a pretty keepsake. They personalized the champagne flutes and the cake cutting set. Oh, and most importantly, shipping was free!! I thought for sure it was a scam but nope, it's for real. Check them out if you're interested. http://www.cyber-savvyshop.com/items/amazing-weddings/wedding-ceremony-sets/beach-wedding-collection-set-cc7600-detail.htm I also sent out my invitations today. YAY!! I wanted to DIY but I just did not have the time or patience to cut the boarding passes. I ordered from Stylish Scribe on Etsy and it was a very quick and smooth transaction. Once she starts working on your invitations, you have her full attention. We must have emailed each other 20 times in one day to get the invitation perfect but she was patient and diligent. The extra money for the metallic boarding pass holder was totally worth it. I got 80 boarding pass invitations (each invitation came with 2 passes), RSVP postcards, pass holders and mailing envelopes for $380. She tweaked the invitation to my specifications (i.e. - colors, picture of Jamaica) and was fast once the I approved the proof. I would definitely recommend Jessica at Stylish Scribe. http://thestylishscribe.com/ Hope to have more to update soon.

Thanks ErinDoc. I emailed Nicole before I saw your response and she confirmed that they would move the chair ties for us. Good to know!

Thank you! I was beginning to think my wedding was turning out lame since no one commented on anything. Lol.

Anyone have any experience with this?

Anyone?

Hey all! I'm going to attempt to start a journal of all the things I've done (and will do) to prepare for my big day. I know for me this site can be a little overwhelming so I hope that by putting all of this stuff down maybe some bride (someday) will find it useful. Some background - I got engaged 7/1/11, however my Fiance and I had already been discussing dates, locations, etc., and were already settled on the Iberostar Rose Hall Suites. The day after we got engaged, I sent Nicole an email to book the date. At first the date was booked and we got stuck at the Beach (which is great but not what we wanted). We took it in the hopes that maybe the Suites would become available and we could switch over. Well, low and behold, 7/7/12 DID become available! Ladies, if your date is booked, be sure to ask Nicole to put you on the waitlist. This will show her that you are serious about it and she will probably be more likely to think of you if the date opens up. Since I work full time and go to graduate school at night, I have very little time to plan a wedding. Basically, I can do my wedding stuff between semesters. This means I had to get a lot done over the summer while I was on break and during the winter break. During the summer, I found and ordered my dress (Mori Lee 1602), booked photographer Marcia Roberts, paid for our flights and 50% of hotel, and ordered (and sent out) the save the dates (ordered from weddingpaperdivas.com). Currently, I am on winter break for a couple more weeks and have gotten the following done: ordered and sent out the invitations, my dress came in, ordered bridesmaids dresses, ordered beach wedding collection set (which includes ring pillow, flower girl basket, guest book, etc.) and I've started ordering sample bags for the OOT bag and samples of table runners and chair ties. I've also already ordered my waterproof badge/key/money holders from CreativeIDSupply (only $1.04 each with lanyard). My dress! So excited to rock this in Jamaica! My save the dates from weddingpaperdivas.com I got my boarding pass invitations from Stylish Scribe on Etsy.com. Love, love, LOVE these invites! I had lime green incorporated into the color scheme and had her include a little picture of thisland of Jamaica. My bridesmaids will be wearing the convertible "Twist" dress by Dessy. I really liked this dress because they actually CAN wear it again as something completely different. The ways to wear this dress seem limitless. One will wear it in the color oasis and the other in apple slice. I got a beach wedding collection set which includes a keepsake garter and toss garter, cake cutting knife set, toasting flutes, ring pillow, flower girl basket, and guest book and pen. I'm not very fussy (or original) when it comes to stuff like this so this set is perfect for me. At least this way I know I have the basics. Whatever you do, don't buy this for $249+. There are cheaper ones out there. I got my set for $160. I don't think I will be happy with the chair decor the hotel offers so I've ordered some samples from efavormart. I ordered sample satin chair sashes and table runners in turquoise, sage and apple green. They are much cheaper at $.81 per sash than what Tai Floral is charging ($2.50 per sash). So long as the hotel is willing to set them up free of charge, it would be cheaper to just buy the sashes myself and bring them down. I plan on including waterproof ID/key/money holders in the OOT bags. I found these on ebay. http://www.ebay.com/itm/ZIP-LOCK-ID-CARD-BADGE-HOLDER-NECK-LANYARD-/300541098765?pt=Uniform&var=&hash=item8bb3886ee8 I got the inspiration for the holders from another bride on hear. I plan on copying her "To Have and To Hold: Money, ID and Keys" idea and print that on name badge inserts (purchased at Staples) and slip them into the badge holders. I am also talking to Peter-Gaye Rose (P.G. Rose) of PrettyFaces for hair and make-up. Her prices are pretty reasonable and they do airbrushing, lash extensions, facials, mani/pedi, etc. http://www.prettyfaces23.blogspot.com/ ; http://www.facebook.com/prettyfacesjm#!/prettyfacesjm?sk=info Finally, I am considering hiring the band Irie Connection to play our reception. They charge $460 an hour and can do reggae covers of popular songs. They have videos up online if you just search Irie Connection. That's all I've got so far. I will continue to update things as I go along. Hope this helps!

I have a rather silly question for past brides. For those of you who brought your own chair ties, did you bring the double the amount for ceremony and reception or is the staff at Iberostar will to move the chairs/chair ties to the reception once done at the ceremony?

Is Rashel Edwards the only MUA in Jamaica?! She's booked on my wedding day and I can only seem to find posts about Rashel Edwards. Does anyone know anything about Peter-Gaye Rose (female) MUA in Jamaica? Or any other suggestions for airbrush MUAs in Jamaica. I'm so frustrated right now. My wedding isn't for 6 months so I thought I had time to book. Now the only MUA with any sort of rep on this site is booked.

I really wanted to book Rashel Edwards but she's already booked for my wedding date. Do you guys know any other make up artists that do airbrushing?

Ah thanks! Luckily I work with a lot of notaries so I won't have to spend extra to get notarized.

Hey ladies! So I'm a little confused about the documents we are supposed to send (i.e. - birth certificates, passports, etc.). Are we supposed to make a photocopy of these documents and get the photocopies notarized? I'm think that's what they meant but I wasn't sure and didnt' want to wasted FEDEX postage. Thanks!

That would be great. Can you pm me?

Hi there! We would really like to hire a reggae band to play at least an hour at our reception. However, not everyone in our group is familiar with reggae music so we would prefer a band that could do reggae covers of popular songs. Any suggestions? I've already contact Irie Connections manager and am awaiting her response, but I would like to have some options. Thanks!

Yeah I gotta say I'm a little nervous about it too now that fiance put negative thoughts in my head. We are playing with the idea of getting married stateside and then just doing the renewal in Jamaica but that just doesn't sit well with me. I'm uncomfortable asking people to send X amount of dollars to come and watch us basically renew our vows. Any advice anyone can give would be helpful.

I have a question for past Iberostar brides. My fiance is uncomfotable sending copies of our birth certificates and passports. He is concerned about identity theft and whatnot. How safe is it to send this paperwork to someone we've never met? Has anyone had any negative experiences? I could also use advice on what to say to fiance to ease his mind. Thanks

I wanted to follow up with you on whether you received additional information/responses from the resort. I wonder if this is the new rule at the Suites as well. Perhaps an option might be to have your reception at their beach restaurant (the open air one...I believe the beach has one...Uncle Tony's maybe?) and have the DJ and bar set up right on the beach. I saw another bride was able to do this at the Suites. I'm considering it myself.