I need information about having my 2012 wedding in St.Thomas please help...

[moemarx]

Hi Tara! 

Another 2012 St. Thomas bride!?  How exciting!  Are there any others on here?  I imagine we'll start filling up soon enough if not.   

Thanks for your compliments on the Stardust.  I had my heart set on a villa and after a ridiculous number of hours online I was beginning to get discouraged.  Everything was either too expensive (even with us splitting the cost with my family who would rent it with us) or I just didn't love it.  So when I found it, spoke with the owners, and realized that not only could we afford it... but we could afford it staying there by ourselves my head nearly exploded from the excitement LOL!!!  We also reserved with Janelle @ Island Bliss for the coordination and she has been very helpful.  Within 24 hours of our placing our down payment with her she forwarded me vendors and the applications for our license.  I have not booked anything else, but Janelle has suggested that we start with photography to increase our chances of getting who we want before they book up.  My favorite, from all that I received is Elisha Orin and I hope to book with her.  I'm not sure what her 2012 prices are though, since we haven't requested those rates as of yet.  She then suggested that after photo we should decide on catering and that this should be done by late summer or early fall for a Saturday night wedding.  In a perfect world, we would like to be able to take a scouting trip this summer to try food, find a ceremony location, and confirm that the guest accomadations aren't roach motels in disquise...but we'll have to see if we can do that.  I've never even been to the island?  Have you? 

 

Anyhow...My current project is guest accomodations.  I am planning to send out save-the-dates in late April/early May and prior to doing so I would like to have decided on 2 hotels for the group rates and have a website setup with the travel suggestions.  I just reached out to a travel agent that one of my bridesmaids recommended today and we scheduled a call for next Monday to discuss.  Assuming all goes well, I will let you know what I learn about the 2012 group rates and I'll send her info your way if you're interested. 

 

BTW...Good question on the RSVP's.  I've been wondering about that myself recently.  I guess it's somewhat dictated by when we need the final headcounts for the caterer but the sooner the better...right?   I figured I would do a little searching on here and then if that failed I would email our trusty coordinator.  

Have you booked your venue or any other vendors yet?  If so, I'd love to hear the details. 

[TaraBinki]

Hii!

 

omg its soo nice to hear from someone else getting married in ST Thomas 2012!! haha We booked Elisha Orin!! I have her rates if you want me to fwd them to you I love herrr and are so excited! We are going too book her husband for video and I hope hope hope do a photobooth as well she said that would be $500 extra! We may even do a trash the dress on St. John her suggestion

 

I have created a wedding website already..its www.taraanderik2012.com - check it out any feedback I would love love love to hear from a fellow destination and St Thomas bride

 

We sent out a engagement announcement this November just to inform people We are planning a destination wedding in St Thomas to get the word out..We are inviting around 210 people! Estimating around 100..We want to send out a pocketfold invitation or save the date this July/August so its about a year in advance. not sure when they need to book their room by or give them a deadline to rsvp?

 

We went to St Thomas this August and fell in love with the island! I have plenty of pictures and video if you want to see We stayed at the marriott which I thought was gorgeous and now they are doing a $70 million dollar renovation I'm just nervous the room rates are gonna be real steep! That's why we were thinking of doing a block at the marriott and block at bolongo bay..they are only 2 miles from each other.

 

Ceremony is on the Marriott Seacliff Terrace

Reception is at Havana Blue

 

We are looking into doing a catamaran boat for the rehearsal dinner From Iggie's so Lorena should be sending me information

 

Waht elsee? Oh yes and we booked DJ Eric Snow..he has great reviews and does a ton of weddings

 

how many people are you inviting? Waht about wedidng party? did you decide on colors yet? I cant wait to do welcome bags! haha

 

 

 

[irishbebe03]

Hi guys,

 

So after looking at Marriott today I think I'm falling in love with it..lol I still want to get the Wyndham prices before I decide. Tara, I love that gazebo they have and the Havana Blue restaurant. What wedding package did you pick and what foods? I was looking today at the lists of all that kinds stuff.

I am hoping to find a place by April and send out save the dates in the summer. When are you having your wedding at Marriott in May? I am hoping that May 19th 2012 isn't taken...thats my ideal date being that it is our anniversary..lol Do you think booking by April is good?

What are you having your husbands wear? Do you think black suits will be to hot for them? I still think I want that look for my pictures.

Tara, you are getting one hour of picture taking with your package right? Did they tell you how many pictures they will take or is there no limit? That's enought questions for now lol talk to ya soon

[irishbebe03]

Oh and Moemarx..I have mostly siblings that will be in the wedding party too..my brother..my fiances two sisters...my best also lives in another state becuase her husband is in the air force. She too is a mother and is unsure because of money and time that her husband gets off if she will be able to come....I hope so because I was in her wedding as her maid of honor.

[greysgirl]

I've stayed at the Marriott and LOVED it.  The location was gorgeous, and you can't beat the views.  Plus, Blue Havana rocked!  Good choice!  There was this awesome restaurant up in the hills overlooking the harbor called Mafolie's that was amazing....and would be a good rehearsal dinner spot or romantic dinner for you and DH.  Congrats!

[irishbebe03]

Tara,

I just looked at your website and it is soooo cute!!! I have been to St.Thomas before but I was on a cruise and was there for only the day. I loved it though. I was wondering if you could send me some pictures of the Marriott from your stay in August. If possible do you have pictures of the gazebo and Blue Havana? My personal email address is [email protected]

[TaraBinki]

 Hi Gals!

 

We are doing July 20, 2012. We picked this date cause its pretty cheap to fly and stay in St Thomas So we are only doing the ceremony at the Marriott on the Terrace..the gazebo area wasn't big enough to fit our group..still gorgeous though! So we only picked the lowest tropical package which is $1,000 for ceremony and will add on if we want an archway or flowers for aisle etc. Their flower prices are outrageousss and I have 8 bridesmaids so not sure what to do about that? anyone have ideas of other things for them to carry instead? haha

 I also negiotiated to have my own photographer as well. I had my heart set on Elisha Orin so I told Patricia Telemaque from the Marriott who we met with when we were down there..that Elisha was a family friend hehe and finallyy got them to write that on the contract! It was Elishas idea too! Shes really great. The marriott forces u to use them for flowers, photography etc. but hte pictures are super important to me so we worked it in..gotta be persistent though.

 

Ceremony at 3:00 So then Havana Blue starts at 5 o clock! Food is legit unreall..its very modern and upscale! and when i say that its wickeddd expensive as well. We are doing the buyout option of hte whole restaurant we are working with Kate Atwell who has been really great. We are doing our own proposed menu (  my dad is wicked into food & wine) so she can work with u to estimate costs way before you even give as deposit

 

I definately want my Fiance to wear a blended linen suit..when we were down there last August- holy moly was it HOT!! sweating yikes so we are going to search for a tan ish colored linen suit..I have heard mens warehouse sells them only around Feb-April and they are decent priced

 

whats everyones colors? flower ideas? dresses? anythingg you want to sharee haha this is SO fun!!

 

Irishbabe sending you some pictures now

[moemarx]

Hi Girls.

 

Tara your site it gorgeous.  What website program did you use and was it easy to use?  How much did it cost if you don't mind me asking?

 

My fiance and I we're trying to think of a way for the guys to have an island look but at the same time still be somewhat formal.  We've decided on either nayy or grey linen suits, with the groomsmen wearing pants and a vest with a shirt and tie and my fiance wearing the same but with a jacket for the ceremony as well.  I posted a picture of what we're going for but in either navy blue or grey.  This suit in the picture is from JCrew and not quite what we want but you girls get the idea.  I came across a thread on here last night about a company that offers custom linen suits made to order for $99!!!!  The thread is about 65 pages long and has tons of brides who posted reviews and pictures...so it seems totally legit.  I mentioned it to FI this morning and he agreed that it could  be worth our while to order his suit to make sure we happy with the quality and service.   

 

 

I've heard that about flowers prices on the island.  How expensive are we talking?  I don't even know what to expect and am a bit nervous about it.  I came across seashell bouquets on etsy and thought they could be a fun idea for the bridal party to cut down on the floral cost.  Maybe even a possibility for a DIY project.  Have you girls found etsy.com yet?  It's incredible!  I can get lost on that site for hours looking at things...there are so many talented people on there.  And you can find such incredible deals.

[TaraBinki]

MoeMarx,

 

We did our site through weddingwindow! I loved it because there are sooo many things you can include on it and personalize it youself! I think we paid like $175 but we did the 2 year most expensive package with unlimited storage but its well worth it! Great way to have people stay informed. You can even include a rsvp on it too!

 

So funny we are totally doing a semi formal theme as well this is why we have decided to stay away from any type of beach theme since most people think casual like that. I even will be including like a suggested attire on the website too. Like more of a cocktail party. We arent even getting married on the beach..I;m just not into that hahaha The girls will be wearing cocktail type dresses instead of like standard bridesmaid dresses ya know? They are going to wear bright tangerine very difficult to find but even if I just find them at nordstroms I will be excited! I want like really high open toed pumps for them as well with fun funky jewelry!

 

we originally wanted chocolate brown suits since our color scheme is like brown, bright orange with some like champagne but we will just have to see! I have seen that site for the $99 site for suits too!! haha so funny we had the same exact idea to have my FI order one to see the quality first before the 6 groomsmen order with the 2 fathers as well. I figure I'm going to go the mens warehouse route first see if I can find those since the groomsmen can physically go there ya know? If we cant find anything then we will  be ordering one from that website too! So you will have to keep me updated when u order it.

 

For flowers all I know is the Marriott forces you to order through them They are about $100 each so I have 8 bridesmaids..thats A LOT...and flowers arent like my thing..they are just okay to me in general but arent a super top priority to me ya ..know?

 

etsy is the best ever..ive ordered a bunch of things on there last night I ordered invitation samples...I got my Will you be my bridesmaid cards in there!

[Willow188]

Hi all! It's so weird to see that everyone has a 2012 wedding date! I'm getting married in March, and I can't believe how fast it's coming up! I'm getting married at the St. John Terrace at the Wyndham and then we're having dinner downtown at Herve. I wanted to do Havana Blue because it's AMAZING, but the buyout was too much for just 35 guests. We're going to take the parents there for a thank you dinner a few nights before the wedding though. I love the Wyndham, but the all-inclusive package was a bit steep for some of our guests. Even though it comes out to be worth it for the trip, people had sticker shock. (It starts at around $400 for two people.)

 

The welcome party/rehersal dinner is going to be at Iggy's at Bolongo Bay. I looked at having guests stay there for about two seconds before I saw how expensive the so-so rooms are. Totally not worth it. But the welcome party is going to be awesome! (Tara, did you ever hear from Bolongo?) Beach barbecue buffet, steel drummer, tiki torches and a beach bonfire. Yay!

 

I'm sure you guys have heard this before, but the vendors are AWFUL at returing calls or messages in a timely manner. However, now that it's getting close to the wedding they're responding right away. (Except for the photographer. We're using Ashley Photography, and I'm starting to get REALLY nervous about that.)