TinkerSofi

Thanks, my Canadian MOH hasn't seen them yet but I can quote her, she'd say "Oh God! Those are so you!" haha. I was thinking of the cocktails after the dinner but maybe before is even a better idea! And there's only 13-15 of us for the rehearsal dinner so that shouldn't be a problem to get a reservation as long as we do it as soon as we get there. I agree with you, I'm not a big fan of long tables for that same reason, you can only hear about 3-4 people but you don't tend to socialize with anyone else. We just don't get a choice for this dinner so we'll take what we get . I'm used to the Canadian sunsets which are very long, I forget over there the sun sets so quickly. Good thing I mentioned it!! I was totally losing sleep over it and didn't want to finalize the welcome brochures for this reason (i'm including an itinerary) Those shoes actually come in blue, they're a very light blue. I considered them but I'm all about ballet and dancing and things like that so pink was more fitting . That's just horrible, if we're all in the same resort for a week it would be nice for people to be acquainted with one another. That's the beauty of a DW that you get to enjoy a whole week with all these people. I'm trying to get the social juices flowing. I know alcohol will help lol, it always does . I thought the first look was a lot longer but if it's only 15 min it's nice. Have you seen the pictures of those gorgeous walls around the resort on the brides' facebook page? I'm thinking those would be super nice spots for first look , before heading down to the beach club and then taking pictures around there. I'll definitely talk to our photographer about it. We discussed it with Juan and thought it would be nice. I just want to see his face and I know that once I enter the ceremony I'll be so nervous that his face will kind of get lost in the whole moment. I think first look are a nice private moment to kind of take everything in before getting married. It might also help with my anxiety . Thanks for the tips! I forgot how fast the sun sets over there and that's kind of what was worrying me. I'd look over here and you know how it takes forever for the sun to actually disappear, but you're right, it's not like that at all over there. I'm working with Octavio Montes and he takes some amazing night time pictures too, so even if we lose the sun completely I know he'd be ready to amaze us anyway. However, I think I'll feel more comfortable moving the ceremony to 5 and then if we have a few minutes of the first look, it would be perfect. The shoes I bought also come in light blue . They are just beautiful. I can't stop staring at them haha and since they're not too high I see myself wearing them all night (or most of the night ) I think today I pretty much decided that as much as I'd love to write our own vows this will be pure torture for Juan. He's been giving me the signs that he is not totally comfortable with it but I've been too much of a bridezilla to see it. I'm not going to put him through that. Basically when I asked, he replied "do you want to do that? ok?" but he doesn't seem too excited about the idea haha, which means he doesn't want to do it . It would be sweet for you guys to recite the same poem for your vow renewals. It's like coming full circle

@@snswedding2016 thank you for your help. Just now we've started considering a first look. How does that work? Do you do a first look and then still do some other couple shots? I think I might keep the dinner at Flavours as a welcome dinner, then go to 1910 afterwards for people to keep mingling. After all food makes everything better and the dinner is only an hour and a half. Then I'll do a reservation at another one of the restaurants for the rehearsal dinner the day before the wedding. Sometimes just writing things on here really helps to clear up ideas. Thank you!

I finally kind of got back into the planning today. I've been super lazy this whole week haha. I guess I still have time to give myself the luxury to slack off for a week without major consequences. I got my veil weights from @@pddcmc this week! yay! I haven't tried them outside yet, but I put them on the veil today and they blend in pretty nicely: The trick is to place them all at different heights, otherwise they stick to each other and your veil ends up all bunched up haha. Other than that not much happening. I worked on our ceremony script today and we're sitting down with Juan tomorrow to keep working on it together. Right now I basically copied and pasted from two different scripts but I need to cut it down, especially if I want a Spanish and English ceremony. I really want to keep it short and sweet, especially since it will be so hot out. Neither of us are really good poets so there's no hope for us coming up with anything original for this thing haha. It will be our little Frankeinceremony (made out of pieces of different scripts). Right now I'm trying to sort out some music that I have and hoping to get started on the playlist. Then I'll keep getting some more as I think of newer songs I'm having a huge dilemma with the timeline of things and times of events. Juan basically told me that he was cool with anything I decided, so I'm recruiting you guys! Here is what our week itinerary looks like: Sunday - We arrive Monday @7:30 - Semi private dinner for everyone. Thursday - Wedding My dilemma here is that apparently the restaurant where we get the semi-private dinner is not very good. We get this dinner for free and the main purpose is for people to get to know each other. Past brides have recommended meeting with everyone at one of the bars and having like a cocktail hour there and then saving the free semi-private dinner for the rehearsal dinner. What do you guys think? I think the cocktail hour would be better for people to mingle rather than having dinner with long tables set up, but I'm not sure. I can still make reservations at another restaurant for the rehearsal dinner, since our families are small and we have a small bridal party. Itinerary for the wedding day: Sunset is at 7:19 Ceremony @6:00-6:30 Reception @8:00-12:00 I'm wondering whether I should move up the ceremony to 5:00 and then reception 7:00-11:00. The hotel would kill me because I already moved it from 5:00 to 6:00 before haha. I honestly don't know why I'm so indecisive about this! I want to get that soft light of sunset for the pictures and I'm afraid that it will be too dark by 7:00 when we get to do couple shots. I don't know if anyone can help out with this . Maybe I should e-mail my photographer and ask his opinion. He is the expert after all Update on the shoes: Well, remember how I wasn't totally sure about the shoes? I found these other ones that I absolutely love, they're also from Nordstrom and they are so me it's not even funny. So...i ordered them haha. I love the pink but they didn't have my size, only half a size bigger (which sometimes fits depending on the shoe), so I ordered them in that size and the champagne in my actual size. Of course I'll be returning a pair but I'm really hoping the pink ones will fit! They're supposed to be here next week. Funny story, I waited about a week for them to bring more sizes and they didn't so I ordered. What happened today? they have the pink ones in my size!! Ugh *crying face*. If push comes to shove I'll exchange them. The nice thing about Nordstrom is that I can return online purchases to the store and they charge a flat shipping rate. I don't think I'll return the first ones I got because I also love them and they go with so many outfits!! I just wasn't sure I loved them for the wedding with my dress. I felt like the dress was very princessy and the sandals not so much (despite the nice sparkles). These ones fit perfectly with the dress.

this is totally the hard part! We wanted to keep it at $1500 for guests but ended up at $1700. A few people have said they can't afford to go, but you can't please everyone, so that's ok with us. Even if you have a wedding at home some people might not be able to make it. It' just the way things go. I'd say find a travel agent and let her do most of the research. We had a list of things we wanted, that and our budget kind of limited our resorts and then we made a decision from there, but then we were flexible on the date. The travel agent actually came up with two resorts and we picked one. You will seriously go insane trying to tackle this whole research on your own. Like some of the other girls have mentioned, Jamaica can be a bit more on the pricy side but it doesn't mean you can't find anything. It's just a matter of finding out whether what you get for your budget is what you want and if not what is going to give (either you have to raise the budget, or settle for a hotel that might not have everything you want, or switch to a different destination).

I think this time might be the exception too because of the family and friends that are going to be at home

Ha! i just read this thread from back in the day. Kinda crazy timing, I just found out yesterday that LaurieLee got the tour company to honour our original price for new bookings with our group (4 months before the wedding). They're $300 more expensive if you book through our own. All I can say is that she's been great to work with so far Time to start calling people who were on the fence and get this guest list finalized!

I dont know why but this never really bothered me and I feel kinda silly saying that I don't see what's wrong with it (what an ass right?) I wouldn't post someone else's wedding while it's still going on but i don't care if other people do when it's my wedding. The only reason why I wish they wouldn't post during the ceremony is because by the time they choose a filter, add a caption, etc. the ceremony is over! I guess just like I don't see what's wrong with posting things I also don't see the point of posting things as they happen haha. I just wish people would stop taking pictures of everything and instantly posting things and start enjoying the moment but this is more of a general wish rather than just for the wedding. Knowing myself I won't post anything until I get back because simply I have more important things to do and enjoy than to be on fb during my vacation haha. I know some people can't/don't want to disconnect and I can't ask them to either. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

those are such great news!! I'm glad they can still order a new dress in time and everything worked out. Aside from getting back on your health routine, you should also celebrate that you're one size smaller than when you got the dress! That's no small achievement . Props to you for working out twice a day! I can barely work out once a day, sometimes beating the internal endless list of excuses haha. I think if you really watch the diet, even if you don't go twice a day to the gym, you'll see pretty big changes anyway .

I love the dress. I really wanted a dress with cap sleeves so I'm kinda biased that way . I really don't think it's too much because like Kim said, you'll be on the terrace. Plus, it's your wedding and you can wear anything you'd like . I think whether you decide to keep it like this or take out one layer from underneath it will look great. I like the first and the third inserts the best. I think the first is nice, simple and clear, but the third one is also nice with the picture. Another thing to consider is that if you're printing them at home maybe the first one might come out better. Sometimes, unless you have a super nice printer it's hard for the pictures to come out really sharp.

don't panic about the weather! Whenever I've gone and it says thundershowers it was the most gorgeous days ever. It might rain for like an hour and then the sun comes out and it's all nice again. Then, once I went where it rained on 4/7 days we were there and the stupid forecast kept calling for a sunny day the next day. Nope, it just kept on pouring. Moral of the story, the forecast lies hahah. You'll be ok

I think hard shelled luggage plus wrapping them up nicely would work.

@@acastello2 Hi Amanda, welcome to the forums. The previous girls have done a great job at answering your questions but here are mine in case I can add anything: 1. I noticed that this resort has a gourmet all inclusive package available. Did you select this for your guests at the wedding? If so how much is it additional? The resort has a choice of gourmet inclusive or not, not for the wedding but for the whole stay. So technically you can pay the one price that includes your stay, all you can eat food and drinks or you could just rent a room and then pay a la carte at the restaurants or go eat outside of the resort. I don't know if I'd recommend going this way, I think if you want to pay for every meal there's much cheaper places you can stay at. If you're traveling from the US or Canada, or even Europe, chances are you'll end up with the all inclusive option. I'd recommend it as it's something off your mind and you know up front how much you'll be spending for the vacation, including the food. We didn't even consider the non all inclusive option so I can't speak about the difference in prices. I just think you're getting more bang for your buck if you go all inclusive. The wedding itself is a totally different story and in this case you can choose a buffet or an a la carte menu for it and you would choose that for all your guests. This is an extra price not included in your vacation. 2. Does the wedding package you chose indicate where you get married? (sky deck, garden, beach) Is food included in the package or is it a separate cost? The best way of looking at the Karisma weddings is by dividing it into ceremony and reception. Karisma doesn't work so much with packages. There are some, but you can totally start off with the basic, which is $950 (this has just changed and this is the price for all brides, even US ones) and then you can add things as you see fit. You can choose any location you want, but just be aware some have extra fees as the ladies above mentioned. For example the sky deck is $1700 for the ceremony. Usually more secluded areas have extra fees. Then we go on to the reception. For the private reception, the price of it is based on the menu you choose, and they have a wide range of prices for that. You can see them here: http://karismahotels.uberflip.com/i/183324-private-wedding-events-banquet-kit-3 These prices are based on a per person basis and they all include 4 hours of open bar. You also get to choose any venue you want, with some having extra fees as well. For example the sky deck for the reception has an extra charge of $15pp added to the pp price of the menu. After this you can start adding decor, the DJ or rental of the sound system, etc. and these are extra costs. You can also bring decor from home and pay a small set-up fee. 3. Has the booking process and planning been stress-free and easy to communicate with the hotel staff? We also worked with a Karisma certified travel agent and she's been a dream. She has taken care of pretty much everything for us so it's all been pretty smooth. In terms of communication, it can be hit or miss depending on who you get. I had one coordinator first and she was great, taking 3 days to respond, the one I have now takes a week. However, I think this is pretty much standard for any hotel you choose so I wouldn't base my decision on this. 4. Please you do not have to answer this question if it is too personal. How many guests are you expecting and approximately how much is the wedding going to cost? We're having 40-50 people at our wedding and the wedding itself is costing us around $7000. To this, you have to add another $2000 for the photographer and videographer and then of course all the extras. All in all, I think we're going to spend around $15000. We're cutting on some costs but then upgraded other things. I'm not going to say it's a luxury wedding but probably much better than what we'd get here at home.

@@Laurahanby the website above is where I got them from . They're really nice. I ordered about 115 of them so I had to pay for duties but I'm sure you don't have to if you order less. I think people will have a blast with them

yeah I am! I'll get my pedicure retouched but I don't know if I should get my nails done there as well or just get them before I go. I'm just happy i'm getting my bridal hair and makeup for free!

@@kcole123 Yay for the crown!! That's probably such a weight off your shoulders! one less thing to stress about @@pddcmc I get the same pain with shellac when I get it off. I wonder why that happens. I think I'll get gel for the wedding, then I also don't have to worry about it while I'm over there. Juan also loves the look of gel nails haha and always asks me why I don't get them done (because I don't have money, that's why). I know I'm going to pay the price later when I get them off, but all in the name of beauty

I'm so stressed about the dress fittings. I'm so afraid they won't be able to fix what needs to be fixed. I'm glad everything worked out with yours I had a dream yesterday about your list haha. I dreamed that I was leaving this saturday for my wedding and had all these things to do on the list! hahaha. I kept counting the months because I thought I was wrong but I kept coming to the conclusion I was leaving saturday. Then I ended up getting married and my nails looked awful and my hair looked like I had just woken up. Then somehow I ended up in wonderland (wth?) and things just went down the rabbit hole from there hahaha. Oh boy.

so pretty! I've never had gel nails done. Maybe I could get them done this time around? I do agree that they look very nice for pictures and everything but I become totally useless with my hands when my nails are long haha

don't feel bad. I also have my doubts sometimes about whether I should have bought that dress without it closing all the way to the top. I know for a fact I won't be able to lose enough weight to make it close, unless I want to go on a liquid diet and get a few ribs taken out haha. So at least you are still in more control than I am because you can lose some weight and maybe alterations can be done by then. The dresses are a lot smaller when new from what I heard so the problem might actually not be as bad as you think right now I'd say go tomorrow and talk with her about an attack plan. I think it will put your mind at ease rather than having to worry about it for a week (that's really the worst). I find worrying and obsessing with the weight usually doesn't help the cause, so worrying about it for a week might actually be counterproductive. Keep going with the diet and the hard work, you'd be amazed how much you can lose and change in 3 months!

it's a good idea to ask people a song that they would like, especially those that are older maybe. Although when I went to my friend's wedding she had all new music and the groom's dad did not leave the dance floor. That guy is just awesome. So you never know, people might surprise us I guess ahah.

Yeah, I would say my dress is one size smaller than my actual size and the top 3 inches just don't close, same with the hips are a little bit tight, but nothing that can't be fixed. That seems like a huge difference in terms of one size, to be unable to get it through the hips. Maybe they sent you the wrong size, that would kind of be good news because then they have to fix it.

Aww that's so cute . Which reminds me I still need to find my something blue.

oh man! that truly sucks I hope you can lose all the weight before the wedding! Are you planning on a plan b dress just in case? Is there any way the store could make an exchange or order a new one? even if it costs you a bit more it would be worth it just for the peace of mind.

I can't wait to see your dress!

Mine is pretty involved now, but it works better if I give him tasks to do and then he gets them done or he'll say his opinion. While he was busy with school I was doing 95% of the planning but now that things are winding down at school he's more involved. He definitely doesn't see the point of some details, for example I had to fight to get OOT bags and things like that. Other times he acts like he doesn't really care, which I've gotten mad about. Then he said that it's not that he doesn't care but that he wants this day to turn out like I imagine it and doesn't want to get in the way. When he put it that way it was easier to see his point of view and now he helps me more.

I love the tags and the jewelry, the gems look so nice