allieplask

Hi Heather,  Thanks for the response.  That was my worry with the Huppah.  I am extremely OCD as well with this whole thing.  I have printed out pictures of how I want the ceremony site set up and just don't know how it will look at the Lazy River location.  I guess I will just have to wing it once I get down there. Did you privatize the Calabash?  We are torn between Aunt Ruby's and the Calabash (outside versus inside with AC).  What was the temperature in the evening?  Did you or your guests feel like it was too hot and muggy around 7pm to have an outside dinner?  Thanks for all the help,  as I am sure you understand how frustrating it is to plan with no responses from the WC.  I am sure they will do a great job down there but being so Type A, I want everything planned before I get there.  Thanks!

has anyone done a rehearsal dinner with the whole group? I have about 70 people staying at the suites, and just thinking it would be fun to do hibachi or something for everyone, but not sure if that's allowed.  thanks!

i have our birth certificates and passports all ready to send to the resort for our marriage certificate.. does anyone know the address?? i tried searching the forum but didn't come across anything?

Originally Posted by heather1214 

 

I also got this same response.  The reason was because Rashel does air brush make up, her assistant does Hair, which they do offer at the Spa.  

 

Do any past brides have any advice on hair at the Spa?  Who are all of you using for hair? My concern is that they won't be able to accomodate all 9 of us as well as another bridal party from the Beach or Grand the same day.

 

I don't want to get my hair done at 8 am because there are 20 women in there that day.

Yeah I am wondering the same thing about hair - using the salon vs. Rashel's girl... I like that Rashel's girl can do it in our room, would we have to go to the spa?

I was told no fee for Rashel at the Suites but if you book her hairstylist you do pay for the stylist.

Originally Posted by CourtandMatt 

I was told by the Suites WC that I just have to pay for Rashel's hair stylist.  Kassi22 - I look forward to hearing what they tell you.

are you bringing the lanterns in your checked luggage on the plane?  the more i read from the airlines, it says no chinese lanterns.  i don't want them to get taken....

Originally Posted by Dazeydawl 

I just bought mine from justartifacts.com
They were $1.68 each for the 100% biodegradable wire free ones. Which I think is cheaper than the groupon deal

thanks, those are the numbers i had too... i just saw someone mention 100 and got worried.. we are at 70 guests but i don't think we will hit 100

Originally Posted by sfox4214 

 

It depends on where you want to do your private dinner. For any Suites 2013 brides ... these minimums apply.

 

Aunt Ruby's - 100 min

Calabash - 70 min

Mare Nostrum - 40 min

(Maria Bonita does not have private)

100 is the new minimum for a private reception? is this true???

Thanks!  Do you know if you have to pay a vendor fee for him?

Originally Posted by heather1214 

 

I found reviews on here, and his website is:

 

http://jaweddingdj.com/dj.php

 

He is a Jamaican vendor and has been very professional and quick to respond so far.   When I met with Nicole, she said she knew Kevan well and that he does a great job!

How did you get set-up with Kevan?  Did you get that info from Nicole or are you bringing him in separately?

Originally Posted by heather1214 

 

That was one of my questions to Nicole. At 50 you can have it at Calabash.  Most of the reviews I've read from Mare Nostrum had 30-40 people and they said it was the perfect size.  When we went to that restaurant it's very nautical and cute but I don't think 50+ would fit in there with a dance floor.

 

My DJ is Kevan and he sets up regularly at Calabash.  He's bringing lighting and it appears they use the far side of the restaurant as the dance floor.  Calabash is a large space.  

Thank you!  I just emailed the hotel about this.  Originally we told Nicole we wanted Aunt Ruby's because we thought we'd be over 100 people but now it's looking more like 80?

Originally Posted by sfox4214 

 

 

 

 

Allie,

 

They are VERY strict about their minimums ... I've already gone rounds with Nicole on this. I would email her immediately and ask her about the possibility of having less than 70 and see what she says. You don't want to wait till last minute to find out they won't do it :/ Or better yet find out the restaurant you can use is already rented out ... I've seen brides complaining about this lately.

 

Kassi,

 

I was told that you could not have a DJ and sound system if you are doing a semi-private, that you only get this if you have a private reception. I believe the paperwork says that as well. Also, they say that there may be other guests dining at the same time with a semi-private ... However maybe because you have a larger group that wouldn't be the case.

Noticed someone mention a private dinner for 50 guests.... I'm looking at the paperwork that I have and it says that for a private reception you can use Mare Nostrum for 40-50 people, Calabash for 70-100 people and Aunt Ruby's for 100-200 people.  I don't see a problem in us having 70 guests for Calabash (we are at 60 right now) but if you are between 50-70 what do you do?

Also, I think I know the answer but I've been a lot of disco talk recently... if you rent the restaurant for your reception you are able to have the DJ and a dance floor in the restaurant, right?

We are doing one through Island Routes - the boat fits 100 and the cost is $2,900 plus transportation costs per person.. I am not sure how it breaks down per person, we have about 60 people booked so far and are expecting under 90?  We are treating our guests so it was important to have the entire catamaran to ourselves.

I'm curious about this too. I also remember reading somewhere that someone had tons of beers brought out to their bonfire by the hotel and the beer was kept on ice. Even if we could have that, and if people wanted liquor they could go to a bar to get it......

We are looking at having a beach bonfire as our welcome party. I have been told the bonfires are right in front of the beach bar by the infinity pool. Does anyone know if we need to pay to get the national or international open bar or if the beach bar is close enough to walk a few steps and get a drink?

we sent ours out in early October (I think...).  I know it was about 8 months before the wedding?  We wanted to make sure we got all the invites out way before Christmas so people could place deposits without having to worry about the holidays/spending money.

Quote:

Originally Posted by LaurenandChris 

LOVE your invites! I'm working on mine right now. When are you sending yours out?

Nice!  What about the locations... or does everyone know where all the events will be taking place?

Originally Posted by Dazeydawl 

hey ladies i just finnished my wedding day timeline to be added to our welcome packet for the OOT bags... just looking for some opinions, should i add anything?

 

Thank god.  I don't know if this applied to the Suites as well (and I know that the hotel can do whatever it pleases), but I'd be very upset knowing the main reason I booked my wedding at IRHS was because one the "1-wedding-per-day" and that it's now to late to make any changes as we have 60 people booked to attend.

Originally Posted by albellis 

I had a question about the pier gazebo, so I sent an email to the WC yesterday and also asked about the rumor of them having more than one wedding per day. Kymoya responded a few hours later (not sure if Trisha has left?) and said that she wasn't aware of them doing more than one wedding per day. Hopefully that stays the same!

Not yet, that is our new project! When we have the desig done, I will def post it... Our plan is to have all our guests wear the shirts when we go on our catamaran trip. Hopefully it will make for cute pictures as our photographer will be with us the whole weekend so he will be photographing all of our events.

Allie, Have you made the t-shirts yet?  I would love to see what you have designed!

We have the same table number frames.. Ikea?  Where did you get the Raffia fans and pashmina's.  I need to order fans for sure.

It seems like you brought TONS of stuff down with you.  Did you bring extra suitcases or have it shipped?  I think bringing tons of stuff down/back is my worry - I don't want to be stuck with all of that and so am just not sure how much I really want...

let me know what you find out about tablecloths that are floor length....  it seems as if the tables do have white floor length tablecloths with a smaller/shorter white tablecloth on top.  maybe they can just not put the shorter one on the tables for us?

Originally Posted by heather1214 

Nicole said only $100 as long as they don't stay all day long.  I emailed FF about renting white tablecloths, she said the resort should provide them.  I just want to be sure the ones the resort provides goes to the floor.  It looks silly to me if they don't.  FF said they could get my runners for me, so I think they can supply most anything you need.  I didn't ask about a tent or dance floor though as I don't need one.  FF is quick to respond and VERY friendly!  I'd gather all of your ideas into one email and get in touch with them.  The longest I've waited for a response was 1 day. 

 

I also e-mailed TF back in August.  I just got an email from Jodi apologizing, saying she'll answer my questions in another e-mail.. which I have not gotten... 

a tequila tasting? that sounds like so much fun! especially if the wedding is in mexico.. i love it!

Originally Posted by Tulumbride2013 

Melnry
The tequila tasting is through our resort, in a private party type area. It's 17$ a person.. Weird I know having an all inclusive and paying to drink, but they do snacks and stuff like that and I think it will be great:)
As for the bags.. I'm most def wishing I didn't have to lug all this crap down with me! I may give mine out before we go at least to the ppl who are local.

I agree with the few others who have responded to this...... for me, things like advil and suntan lotion are not things I would want to get in an OOT bag because I'm a crazy packer and I already have all that stuff with me anyways.  More work for us and things that I am not sure would be appreciated.

Like Choco, we are doing "pre-travel" packets with packing lists and luggage tags.  When guests arrive in Jamaica, they will get a welcome/thank-you-for-coming letter, a list of scheduled events/activities, a resort map and a note explaining that we are treating all of our guests to a private snorkel/catamaran.  They will also be getting canvas beach bags (per room) and t-shirts for each guest (my FI and I own a company that specializes in graphic design, printable apparel and promotional products).  Although we aren't crazy about lugging everything down there with us, we figured we couldn't not do bags and t-shirts since they are at such a low cost to us.

Originally Posted by Kal520 

So...tell me if I'm crazy and delusional from wedding planning but I don't think we can going to do welcome/OOT bags. Originally I thought obviously we have to do them it's what you are supposed to do! But the more I think about it and my fiance and I talk about it, it's just a bunch of crap no one is going to use or want and all the toiletry type stuff people bring with them anyways. No offense to anyone (well...everyone!) who is doing them I think they're cute especially the bags themselves, but maybe not for us. It will be waaay less stuff to drag down there, save money, time, effort, etc. Instead, I think maybe we will buy everyone a bottle of champagne or some sort of bigger useable gift to show our appreciation for them coming to Mexico for our wedding. What does everyone think about this? Good idea? Bad? Any other ideas of bigger gifts we can do per room?
 

That's a good idea to rent the tablecloths - I didn't even think of that.... Does FF rent tablecloths??

I also got this response today, 29 cm is like a foot haha.  I'm sure she meant inches.  Anyone renting tablecloths from their florist?  

OMG this bothers the hell out of me!  It looks so weird!  I plan on bringing my own tablecloths to avoid this and so that they will hit the floor.

Someone posted this before about the tables at Aunt Ruby's and I saved it for when I had to order tablecloths....

"The table measurements are as follows; the round Tables are 182CM in Diameter and the Height is 74cm.

The rectangular Tables are 243cm in length and 76cm in width and the height is 74cm."

Originally Posted by heather1214 

Hey Ladies, do any of you know if the tablecloth goes to the ground for the round tables at the reception.  In pictures I've seen of regular dining they don't.  I don't want to bother Nicole if someone here can answer this. 

InkLineDesign has really cute straws on Etsy.. We ordered ours from there and plan to use a stamp for the flags to customize.  We also ordered custom stamps from RubberStampChamp - they were great and well priced.

All the DIY stuff is so cute though!  Did you travel with the matches to Mexico? We wanted to do matches too but I didn't think we could bring them on the plane with us?