Charrey

This sounds delicious! I saw something similar on Semi Homemade where they hollowed out the watermelon, balling it, and poured the drink back into the shell, using the watermelon balls as garnish. Sounds like a pain in the butt but pretty cool.

Quote: Originally Posted by Lady_Di I love this one because it is so much quicker to make and it's practically same as a traditional lasagna. Replace ground beef with turkey beef if you want. Skillet Lasagna Recipe I am so going to try this, it sounds amazing and much less of a PITA.

I'm going all out tonight! We are having penne pasta in homemade marinara sauce, chickened seasoned and pan fried, salad, cucumber salad, and garlic bread. And for dessert....key lime poke cake (which is AWESOME btw..hubby loves it and it's so easy to make).

Quote: Originally Posted by reaganlane How did you seal it? I wanted to use the sand from the beach and bring it home but I'm afraid in the travel, it will get messed up. Was your sand still packed in there or all mixed together? Dry out your sand really really well if you are using beach sand. Mine got packed in the bottle and I had to whack it repeatedly to get it to fall out in clumps. After the sand ceremony, bang the frame on the table to really pack the sand in there. Add more on the top, bang it again, add more, then press it down with your fingers and add more to make sure it's really packed in there. I used packing tape to seal it off before sliding the top back on. I carried mine the whole way home and put it in the little magazine flap infront of my seat on the plane. I had no problems with sand shifting. If I had packed it, there may have been some shifting, especially in checked baggage.

I was in Jamaica a whopping five days before my wedding. I wore only strapless bikini tops while I was in the sun. I bought two just for those five days.

Ours was at 4pm, which worked out really nice. I was able to hit the beach in the morning and leisurely get ready. The sun was beginning to set when we were having our photographs taken between 5 and 6, which made for some beautiful photos. However this is the time of day the breeze stops and it was very very very hot. When we were in Jamaica, it rained every single afternoon for 1-2 hours at about 1 or 2pm. Something to keep in mind!

I started planning a year in advance. I got the big things for the AHR booked and ordered things a little at a time. I started in on the details about three months in advance. Six months to a year is enough time. Some venues and services fill up more than a year in advance so it's good to book those things ASAP. As far as the photography, flowers, etc. for my actual wedding ceremony, we booked those with the wedding planner when we arrived in Jamaica. It was very easy to sit down with her (at Couples Swept Away) and let her take care of it. It took about an hour to plan the whole ceremony! I was very anxious about not having these things booked ahead of time, but I did not need to worry. They did an excellent job of taking care of everything. I did bring a sand ceremony frame, fans, and other small details. The earlier you start, the more time costs are spread out over, which really really helps because all of the little things add up! Start looking for gifts and accesories whenever you have free time and cash.

I checked my local Dollar Tree and they did not have them

Quote: Originally Posted by msglave Did anyone remove the back (frosted piece) and replace it with the glass from panel 3? That's what I'm thinking about doing to make a bigger slot for pouring and also so that you can see the sand from both sides. That is a good idea. You would just need large vases to hold more sand since that would create about twice as much space.

Here's the best shot I have of mine so far:

My frame held up pretty well. I traveled with it on my lap and carried it through the airports with no problems. Some sand escaped into the front chamber, but it was no big deal since the front pane is removable. I did have one major issue. IF USING SAND FROM THE BEACH, DRY THE SAND OUT REALLY REALLY WELL BEFORE PUTTING IT INTO THE VASE. You have to either dry it out in an oven or on a cookie sheet in the sun to get it really dry. I was pounding on the vase like a friggin ketchup bottle trying to get the sand out since it packed in there and stuck. I also dinged up the frame a little when trying to knock the sand out of the vase.

I'm leaving tomorrow and got MOST things done. I did not finish the beaded cake servers, but will just have them for the AHR. My house also isn't as clean as I'd like it to be for our house sitter but OH WELL. I'm letting go of those little things. I'm done, and ready to enjoy it all

We had a get together at a casual restaurant/bar for everyone going to Jamaica the week before where I gave them their OOT bags. We are having an AHR. Much of our 'honorary' wedding party cannot come to Jamaica, so we are having a bbq at our house a week before the reception when we will give the wedding party and parents gifts. As far as decorations--I didn't see the need for many since the beach will be beautiful enough for the ceremony. I do have fans, a sand ceremony frame and bottles, cake servers, and toasting flutes I am carefully packing in a carry on. I am shoving my purse into my carry on and using my dress as my personal item and either we are putting the tux into my dress bag or my fiance will carry it himself.

This thread is definitely making me feel better about all of the little things I have not found time to do! Love it!

We are out of $$ so we decided not to do gifts to eachother for the wedding. I was going to get him a nice personalized cigar humidor before we nixed the gifts.