Sjay

Originally Posted by JA2012 

 

Wasn't going to use bubbles because I swore if they touched my hair it would frizz. Hahaha! But then when I saw them on sale I figured it's a cute way to add another element to the ceremony.

@jreist sorry you had a tough night...and thanks for the heads up. 

We used these for our recessional and they looked great! We had a windy day so people just held the wands up in the air and there were lots of bubbles. Don't worry, they very likely won't hit you at all... but hopefully they'll look great in the photos!

Originally Posted by jreist 

 

My fiance had his bachelor party last night. I am normally not a jealous person at all, we always party apart, but for some reason it was seriously emotional for me. So if you guys haven't gone through that yet, be ware!

 

I wish someone told me it would be a rough night lol I had a couple of my married friends call earlier in the night and thought it was sweet, but unnecessary. But it was definitely helpful at 4:00AM lol. I'll undoubtedly be calling all my friends when their fiances are out now lol. 

 

Otherwise, under 6 weeks until the wedding! Things are getting so much more fun and less stressful!

Oh no, sorry to hear! I honestly can't say that happened to me at all. No jealously, worrying what he was doing, etc. so it doesn't happen to all brides-to-be. I did wonder what he and his buddies were getting up to and if there'd be crazy stories and if he could share any of them with me afterwards! I was sooo excited for him and hoped it'd be lot of fun!

The only (serious) thing I wondered about, is if/when he'd come home as he didn't know where he was going to be spending the night (home or at a friends) so that was the only thing on my mind. Thankfully he txt'd midway through the evening to say he'd be home so then I at least knew to expect him.

Originally Posted by Jaciv2000 

 

I tried to email the Suites but no reply. Anyone know how long the walk is? Trying to figure out how long my music should be......

Hi there,

I just did the 'walk' 13 days ago, and I was so excited it felt like about 10 sec, but it was more like 1.5-2min. You exit a side door of the west wing of the Suites, go down a short flight of stairs (if you have a train get Nicole to fix it at the bottom of the stairs!!) and then you walk across an interlock pathway in front of Aunt Ruby's and take a 90-degree left turn on to the sand, where you'll be facing the ceremony set up (and water) and in line with your aisle. From there, there's still a short walk across the sand until you're actually at the top of your aisle (and runner) unless you have a lot of guests and therefore many rows of chairs. 

I had only one attendant, my sister and MOH, so we walked in to the same song and it was about 4 min in length so it worked out just fine. I too wanted to hear most/all of the song, and I did!

Originally Posted by sfox4214 

 

Hello Brides

 

I was wondering if anyone had any pictures of the set up for the semi-private at aunt ruby's ? I have seen the private, and they seem to use round tables for the private receptions. However, the semi-private looks like they use the square tables to create rectangles ? Anyone know if they are flexible with the layout of the square tables ? I don't really want one really long table, i'd like to do a U shape so that everyone can see everyone. 

 

Also, we are going to rent the steel pans band for our ceremony so we can do our first dances on the beach after the signing and champagne toast. Does anyone know if we can request songs for the steel pans band ? I'd like to use some modern songs for our dances, not just any tropical beat. 

Hi there,

I've recently returned from our Suites wedding and we did semi-private at Aunt Ruby's. I wasn't taking photos myself that evening, but I'll see if I can find any of our set up from the photos that friends and family have shared with us since our return. 

They are flexible with seating to a certain extent. You can absolutely use their square tables to create rectangular tables. We had two guest tables, one seating 12, another 10, and our head table of 4 was at the top of them, so we were set up like U but not actually attached.

How many are you in total? The long 'arms' of the U can't extend too long because there is a set of stairs that lead into the interior of Aunt Ruby's. These stairs need to be accessible to your group (and anyone else seated nearby) as starters are self-serve at the indoor buffet. I'd say you could fit max 14, maaaaybe 16 ppl on each 'arm' of the U, so assuming you'd have a head table, you could do a U shape if you had no more than 32 guests.

Another thing to consider is that there are interior pillars at Aunt Ruby's. You can only do a U shape if you're set up closer in to the building (interior of the resto) so if you had your hopes on being against the railing, unfortunately that space is too narrow to set up a U. 

I'm not sure if any of this is making sense, so I'll try to post photos soon!

Originally Posted by nattiejamrock 

 

What photographer is everyone using, and what helped your decision? I'm torn between Merrick Cousley and Clayton from sungold right now.. i also emailed some other people that are a little less familiar but obviously want to hear the reviews and reliability! 

We're using Merrick on Monday! When we get our photos I'll post some so you can see his amazing work. 

We're on our way to Jamaica tomorrow!!!  

(Don't usually use animated emoticons, but that about sums up how I feel right now )

Thanks to all who've helped, advised, brainstormed, reassured, laughed with me, cried with me, listened patiently while I ranted (just once...I think? lol) and of course shared invaluable info/photos/reviews/menus/maps/etc, etc! There's no WAY we could've planned our wedding without your help. 

I'll be back in awhile (hopefully before the holidays hit full swing) to post feedback and photos, and of course to continue to pay it forward to all the brides still in the planning stages. 

What would we do without each other and this forum??

Take care, and please send good wedding karma (and weather!) our way!

Sarah

We're on our way to Jamaica tomorrow!!!  

(Don't usually use animated emoticons, but that about sums up how I feel right now )

Thanks to all who've helped, advised, brainstormed, reassured, laughed with me, cried with me, listened patiently while I ranted (just once...I think? lol) and of course shared invaluable info/photos/reviews/menus/maps/etc, etc! There's no WAY we could've planned our wedding without your help. 

I'll be back in awhile (hopefully before the holidays hit full swing) to post feedback and photos, and of course to continue to pay it forward to all the brides still in the planning stages.

What would we do without each other and this forum??

Take care, and please send good wedding karma (and weather!) our way!

Sarah

Originally Posted by Kassi22 

 

 

I know! I was just talking to my mom as I'm now in crunch time getting all the little stuff figured out (invitations, etc) and I'm just 4 months away.... which I know will go so fast! I do remember looking on here when it was a year away, and it just felt like days ago!

 

Can't wait to see your review/photos!

You'll get it done, just keep at it continuously. Everything we had total control of we got done early, so my stress in the last few weeks has really been with the resort and (still) with the florist, so I'm sooo glad the rest is settled.

This past week has had it's stressful moments for sure, but I've also had time to relax, go to the gym, meet up with friends, etc. without feeling panicked. Gotta keep a balance right? With just a couple of days to go, I almost don't care about what's left to do - I just want to be there!

Originally Posted by jreist 

 

Whohoo! Glad there is one less thing to stress about!

Have an amazing time! Take pictures of the beach resort too if you happen to pop over there ;-)

Thanks, we will! Oh I'm big into photography - I'll be the one with a drink in one hand and camera in the other, lol. If I get any Beach shots, I'll definitely share.

Originally Posted by papoue 

 

 

So happy for you...and I'm sure you'll have a wonderfull wedding!

 

Enjoy every moment!!!

Thank you, and thanks again for finding that post that was eluding me! 

Originally Posted by heather1214 

 

Yesss!! See, everything will work out perfectly!! Now you can exhale!

Yes, very happy. Now to get the flower order FINAL before our plane takes off, lol!

Update! We will have lanterns at our semi-private at Aunt Ruby's!  

I presented my argument (via email) to Nicole, and she wrote back saying they would accommodate the request. Yahoo! and phew!

(I do wonder if the PR Manager who I emailed about this and another issue had anything to do with the decision. I'm not sure as I haven't heard from her today but if that's what it took, it was well worth it.)

Originally Posted by Kassi22 

 

 

Congrats and good luck! I'm sure everything will go off with out a hitch.

 

Be sure to post a review when you get back. Would love to hear how it all went!

Thanks Kassi! I will definitely post a review and photos when we're back.

Wow did that year go by quick, lol.

Originally Posted by heather1214 

 

 

If you go into a thread that you think it may have been discused at the top of the thread under the headline (in a yellowish orange) there is a blue link search option "Search this Thread" you can type in key words and it will pull all of the posts in that thread that have them in there.  I tried looking yesterday at lanterns & semi-private in some that I've posted in. No Luck.  Maybe you can try some that you posted. That's so frustrating. 

 

I'm surprised FF was higher.  I honestly think it depends who you talk to down there.  Nothing ever seems consistent after reading posts from other brides on here.  I think everyone just makes up their own prices.  I hope it all works out for you.  Try to enjoy your last few days, I'd definitely take into consideration the lack of communication when tipping these people!! Do they forget that they work for us? (not to be rude, but it's true)

I have been searching but with no luck - but Papoue just found the post I had been looking for!! (See above). I'm not an unreasonable bride - if they have done for one, why can't they do for others? I actually came up with another idea to meet them halfway - use some (but not all) of the lanterns at dinner, IF there is a way to use the rest at our beach cocktail party. I know there really aren't any trees, but if we're set up right by the pool bar we could hang some there and along the wall that skirts the beachfront. We'll see what happens!

I got the sense that FF is a much smaller operation. Tai appears to have some items on hand to rent out, whereas FF had to outright purchase some items so they jacked up the rental rate to offset the purchase costs. You are right - the only thing consistent is that nothing is consistent! LOL

Oh believe me, there are a few tips that are hanging in the balance right now. We will decide based on what happens in the next six days.

And you're not rude, they do work for us, we have hired/rented/booked them for our weddings. So much to pay for, so many charges on top of things we've technically already paid for...so we're fully entitled to expect good customer service and that they will deliver on what we are paying for.

Originally Posted by papoue 

 

 

Hi Sjay, look to Missee17's review ("Resort Reviews" section)...She said that her lanterns were installed enven though she didn't rent out the restaurant:

 

..."Reception:

We had our reception dinner at Aunt Ruby’s Steakhouse. We didn’t rent out the restaurant because we didn’t have 50 people, but that actually worked out for us money wise. The décor looked amazing. Nicole and her crew did a wonderful job. They even put up my 12 lanterns I brought even though we didn’t rent out the restaurant. I was so pleased on how everything looked."

 

Hope this can help!

OMG! Papoue, thank you SO much, this is the post/review I've been looking for! You have no idea how happy I am right now - thankyouthankyouthankyou!!

Originally Posted by heather1214 

 

 

I'd e-mail Floral Fantasies.  They got back to me right away, within 3 days I had everything under contract. (I sent pictures of everything I wanted and they priced it out) I bet they could put everything together for you for this week.  I do not trust TF, their communication is so terrible!  Are you doing a lot of flowers?  It's 1 week before you leave what are they thinking?!  I don't think I'd be able to sleep if I were you!!! Sorry to hear they have added stress a week before the wedding!

 

As for decorations, I think I read in these posts that they don't allow you to hang lanterns with a semi-private.   If you asked her specificially about hanging them and she said yes, print those out and take them with you!! 

Thanks Heather. See and I absolutely remember reading reviews of semi-private dinners where lanterns were allowed. I've been planning our wedding for a year, so I would've read through BDW posts going back 1-3 yrs if not further, so trying to find those posts now is difficult! Those brides really aren't active on BDW anymore so I doubt I'll get a response from any of them.

I had reached out to Floral Fantasies earlier. They were good to deal with however their quote was substantially more and they couldn't bring it down or match Tai's, and we couldn't justify paying that much more for the same thing. We're not doing a lot of flowers or decor, we've just been at the bottom of their priority list for some reason. I leave in less than three days and Jodi-Ann just emailed to say something she ordered for us hasn't arrived and she doesn't know if it will be in in time!! ACK! We submitted our order to Tai in September so there is no excuse! TERRIBLE customer service, just terrible.

Okay, my turn to rant...

We just got a response to our final details document from Nicole (yes, ONE week before our wedding) and she is trying to tell us now that we can't hang paper lanterns at Aunt Ruby's with a semi-private dinner. What?!?! Nowhere in any of the wedding details docs, and at no time in our correspondence over the last year has she every mentioned any exclusions or limitations to decor!! In fact back in May 2012 we asked questions about decor at Aunt Ruby's (when we knew we would have semi-private) and their response was "yes we will do the decoration according to how u want it."

The lanterns are the biggest piece of our whole decor plan and we went to a considerable expense to purchase so many - and lights for all of them - that we are FUMING right now. I wrote her back and said this was completely unacceptable, and then I located an email address for a PR manager at Iberostar and wrote her/him too. I am 100% positive that I have read posts/reviews from other brides who had lanterns at a semi-private Aunt Ruby's, and that's why I'm up at 1:30am searching (unsuccessfully so far ) for those posts to share them with Nicole. We will have them if I have to damn well hang them myself!

Nicole also gave us some BS about not necessarily being able to accommodate our requested seating plan. We are 27 people. We have THREE tables. We've asked to be in a corner of one of the patios at Aunt Ruby's. And they don't know if they can do that "because there will be other guests dining there"??? Are you kidding me? How else would she set up three tables for a wedding if not together? After all of the money we are spending over and above what we're all already spending to be at an AI for a week, and her concern and focus is on the OTHER hotel guests?? 

On top of all this, Jodi-Ann @ Tai Flora's gone MIA on us. We leave in the wee hours of Friday morning (FOUR days!) and we don't have our flower and decor order finalized. ARGHHH. She's been so slow and so late providing us with answers, information, photos - all the stuff we need in order to finalize - and now she isn't even responding to us. 

I keep hearing that everything turns out wonderfully once you are there...but I honestly can't believe it right now. IF we get our flower order sorted in the next few days and even IF we get all our decor set up the way we want, Nicole and Jodi-Ann won't get any more than a 'D' grade from us. It's shocking how they conduct themselves and run their business in a customer-focussed industry. 

Okay, I'm done. I hope I can sleep now. Thanks for letting me rant.

Originally Posted by jreist 

 

If any bride happens to know where in town, that would be great! Sounds like a good groomsmen job on rehearsal day lol

Originally Posted by justine416 

 

Have you thought about going into town prior to your wedding day to buy sparklers? As I know other brides have found them in town

Yes please - past brides, do tell where you found them!!

Originally Posted by Shauna253 

 

 

We are having our entire reception on the beach but we are planning on scattering luminary bags in the sand. Right now I'm on the hunt for white lunch bags, filling the base with sand so they don't blow away, and then sticking a tea light in the bottom. We may even line the inside of the bag with gold doilies to give a lace vintage look (as it goes with our theme). I just need to find white lunch bags now. If anyone sees any in Canada let me know. Getting them shipped here is too pricey.

Thanks. I'd thought about those but didn't realize they could be created with something as simple as white lunch bags (thought they had to be specialty paper so as not to burn and thin enough to really see the glow.) Appreciate you sharing! I hope you find the bags too!

Originally Posted by missroxy 

 

What are you girls planing on giving as favors ? If I do OOT bags, should I also give them wedding favors ?

 

ahhhhhhhh so much going on in my head right now hahaha

We're doing a few small things as our way of saying thanks - both with gifts and an experience. 

- A welcome gift: a small photo album with a welcome/thank you letter from my FI and I, a map of the Suites that we personalized with our own events, and an itinerary of our planned events over the week. The welcome letter invites them to fill their album with photos of the wedding/trip afterwards...and we plan to send everyone a photo to include in it with our wedding thank you cards.

- Bubbles and fans at the ceremony

- Jerk seasoning and Blue Mountain coffee favours at dinner

- Wish lanterns at beach party following dinner

- 2 hr catamaran cruise the day after the wedding

Our thinking behind everything was:

a) we have a small group (27 incl us) so we deemed we could afford to do all of this

we didn't want to have to cart 25 OOT bags of stuff with us, along with all the other decor items we're already bringing

c) it was important for us to reflect us, our interests/personalities: photography (photo albums), bubbles (childhood nickname, plus they're fun and will pretty for photos!), and we're foodies (jerk and coffee)

d) this entire trip is really about creating a memorable experience with our friends and family, hence the catamaran cruise (read: likely not something they'd treat themselves to)

Hope this helps!

Anyone have ideas around doing something special for a first dance? Since sparklers are likely not going to happen, we'd like something else fun that would look great in photos.

Not into glow bracelets or the like, and we're already bringing a bunch of candles with us (some of which will be moved from dinner to our beach party). I thought about little flag things...ribbons on pieces of dowel, but I don't know how well those would be seen in the semi-darkness.

If only we could somehow easily bring our lit paper lanterns from dinner to the beach and hang them somewhere..?! lol

Originally Posted by Sjay 

 

Have any recent brides attempted to bring sparklers into Jamaica? I had planned on bringing them in my checked luggage (even knowing they're not allowed) but I'm not sure what happens if they find them - are they just confiscated? Has anyone experienced this? 

 

I have asked a couple of my vendors to source them for me, but I know they'll be expensive...especially compared to the ones I bought from Dollerama!

 

Not sure what to do...

Just as an FYI, Tai Flora sourced some sparklers - $5.50 ea + tax, ouch! That's how many 30 of them cost me in Toronto.  

Originally Posted by heather1214 

 

I just asked my MOH's husband who works for the FAA what the chances are they don't find them.  He said Zero chance.  They will find them and they consider them explosives.  Guess it might not be a good idea...

Thanks. Did you tell him lots of people do get them into Jamaica and all over the Caribbean? I'm curious what he'd say. Clearly they are not found!

Have any recent brides attempted to bring sparklers into Jamaica? I had planned on bringing them in my checked luggage (even knowing they're not allowed) but I'm not sure what happens if they find them - are they just confiscated? Has anyone experienced this? 

I have asked a couple of my vendors to source them for me, but I know they'll be expensive...especially compared to the ones I bought from Dollerama!

Not sure what to do...

Originally Posted by futuremrswarner 

 

Oh, SJay! You're a star! I will definitely try to check it out... although without a car right now and living in downtown Toronto, it might a little difficult to get there.

I hear you! I'm also car-less and downtown. There is a GO train stop right there - could bring a backpack to lug it all home.

Oh wait, Lug bags are there...could warrant the purchase of a new bag for you! (I love Lug...<sigh>)