CanadianBride.com Talkboards / CanadianBride.com Talkboard / Destination Weddings

Back from DW

Shmez — Mon, 05 May 2008 13:20:20 GMT

Hey girls,

DH (first time writing that!!!) and I are back from our DW in Jamaica. We had such an amazing time. I'm so sad to be back to "reality". I go back to work officially tomorrow, and am dreading it.

But, in the meantime, I thought I'd give you all a bit of a taste of our pics. These are some non-professional pics taken by my cousin who lives in Jamaica. Not sure when we'll get the professional ones.

I hope this link works. If it doesn't, does anyone know how to get links to pics on facebook to work?

http://www.facebook.com/photo_search.php?&id=865960550&view=all

Symbolic Ceremony Vs Regular?

cheriejay — Wed, 07 May 2008 15:38:37 GMT

im getting married at the iberostar varadero in cuba and im wondering if anyone can tell me the difference between these two ceremonies? the price details etc and what exactly is different? thanks in advance

DW

smurf993 — Fri, 09 May 2008 01:28:50 GMT

I thought that i might be neat to have us DW ladies all answer a few questions about our weddings so that newbies would be able to see who got married where and what they thought

so here goes.. ladies copy and paste in your answers!!!

1. Where did you get married? Riu Ocho Rios

2. Formal or informal? Very informal... no speeches, no dance (expect for us being hauled on stage by two drunk ladies from New jersey!!

3 Why did you choose it? wanted less common spot and english ceremony and i always dreamed of a Jamaican wedding.

4. did you upgrade anything? Had the royal package with extra wine, petals and runner. offered the room upgrade the day before the wedding... but never took it. for the sake of three nights it was too much hassal. we were happy where we were.

5. was it worth it? Could have went with the free package and been just as happy.. but i loved the breakfast in bed!!! it was amazing!! and we were in no mood to venture out of the room.

6. what was worth your time and effort? having the huge train removed from my dress, favors... my guest loved them. DH gifts.. he loved his pics and his knife.

7. what was not worth your time and effort? worrying... about the set up, flowers, meal choices, etc... worrying about dates that people wanted to go... worrying about the people that were going. buying flip flops... i never wore them... barefoot all night!!!

8. Change anything?? not really..but I would have gotten my BM to bring lunch to the spa when she offered rather then going to the buffet after. so that i could have spent more time with my girls getting ready. i have no pics of me getting dressed... i was in such a rush i forgot!!!

I might have said a speech... maybe i would have been nice to thank my parents, my sister etc.. but we did do a small informal thank you. however it was hard to hear us with 33 people sitting at one long table.

9. favorite thing?? swimming at night with our friends... just us on the beach. One night we were all walking down the beach and saw an amazing shooting star!! it was paradise!! laying in the loungers till the wee hours of the morning... with DH by my side.

Rui Bachata Puerto Plata

sarie2213 — Thu, 08 May 2008 14:19:52 GMT

HI!

My fiance Chris and I are planning to be married April 9, 2009 at the Riu Bachata in Puerto Plata. Does anyone have any feedback on this resort and/or pictures?

Thanks,
Sarah

really need some advice re: booking process

kantweyt — Tue, 06 May 2008 15:02:02 GMT

Hi Ladies

So, after many calls and conversations..our TA has provided me with the following rate..

Departing April 16...for 7 nights..

Adult rate: $1205.00 + $338.00 per person based on double occupancy for one week

The hotel is Ocean's Sand in Punta Cana..

I'm waiting for her to call me back so we can start the ball rolling and book...but I'm just worried that we haven't gotten the best rate for our guests...as we are going to be pretty much locked in at this price..

Does this sound like a good price..?? I just can't hold off any longer and we really need to book this thing and get the ball rolling.....

OMG OMG OMG

July2008 — Wed, 07 May 2008 19:56:26 GMT

I leave for Newfoundland in 65days....for some reason that seems reallllly soon to me.....only 9 weeks from friday till I love.......wow...its coming soooo fast.....

For those having an AHR....

ifoundhim — Wed, 07 May 2008 19:30:46 GMT

DH thinks it's silly to wear my wedding dress all night... he thinks I should wear a regular dress, run upstairs to the hotel room at some point, throw it on and come back down for our vow renewal. He thinks it will be pretentious to greet guest while wearing a wedding dress (we are not being announced, we'll be there first). I just think it will be a pain in the @ss. What do you think? TIA for any opinions :)

Bridal Shower?

BeachBride09 — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 15:50:04 GMT

People are starting to ask me if I'm having a bridal shower and I say yes but now i'm starting to womder if I should be having one since all of the invited guests won't be coming and we're not sure if we're having an AHR. Im starting to think people are asking because they don't want me to have one.

Did all of you ladies have a shower? Who did you invite? Does it seem greedy to have a shower since you're not having your wedding here?

I've got STD's and I'm sharing them!

BeachBride09 — Thu, 01 May 2008 17:59:30 GMT

Now that everyone's mind is in the gutter with mine, I just wanted to share my STD's in case someone out there was thinking of doing the message in a bottle theme.

The first batch has gone out and they've been a huge hit! In fact they've been such a hit people are refusing to open them as they look too cute the way they are. FH's co-workers are actually running around trying to steal each other's bottles to open them and read them so they don't ruin their own. lol

SunBride's professional photos!

SunBride — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 02:04:41 GMT

Okay, well to go along with my insanely long review, here is my insane amount of professional photos (over 2500!!!)

I got my dvds (6 of them!) Friday night and have been doing pretty much nothing all weekend except organizing them. They were already organized by part of the day, but I was basically trying to delete a few and also create some favorite folders that I can now use for printing my albums, making photo books, and showing to people (since almost nobody will want to see 2500 pictures).

So I'm posting some of my favorites below right in the thread (yes, there are lots). Go to the following links for more

For those of you who aren't crazy enough to want to see them all, choose from one of the following albums depending on how many you want to see:

[url=http://picasaweb.google.com/stephzebra/Top125StephAndJYSProfessionalWeddingPhotos?authkey=K9ZOQf_QTmg] My Top 125 Favorites [/url]

[url=http://picasaweb.google.com/stephzebra/Top250StephAndJYSProfessionalWeddingPhotos?authkey=nhjaGUWf4R4] My Top 250 Favorites [/url]

[url=http://picasaweb.google.com/stephzebra/Top750Part1StephAndJYSProfessionalWeddingPhotos?authkey=eXuz96hedaE] My top 750 favorites - Part 1[/url]
[url=http://picasaweb.google.com/stephzebra/Top750Part2StephAndJYSProfessionalWeddingPhotos?authkey=OUcudhI40_s] My top 750 favorites - Part 2 [/url]
(2 albums because max 500 allowed per album)

Alternatively, you can see photos in slideshow format on Jodi's website (she chose the photos so they aren't the same as my favorites)

[url=http://www.members.tripod.com/daydreamphotography/destination_weddings.htm]Daydream photography - Destination weddings (slideshows) [/url]

Or to see all my photos (well I received 2800 but happily managed to deleted 500 because either I didn't like them or they were very repetitious, so there are about 2300 below)

[url=http://picasaweb.google.com/stephzebra/GettingReadyStephAndJYSProfessionalWeddingPhotos?authkey=weBHXjluOZE] Getting ready [/url]

[url=http://picasaweb.google.com/stephzebra/DetailsStephAndJYSProfessionalWeddingPhotos?authkey=0kwc_3DOiW0] Details [/url]

[url=http://picasaweb.google.com/stephzebra/BeforeCeremonyStephAndJYSProfessionalWeddingPhotos?authkey=8RM-a-7330A] Before Ceremony [/url]

[url=http://picasaweb.google.com/stephzebra/CeremonyStephAndJYSProfessionalWeddingPhotos?authkey=coE7J36y-KM]Ceremony [/url]

[url=http://picasaweb.google.com/stephzebra/AfterTheCeremonyStephAndJYSProfessionalWeddingPhotos?authkey=_lE0ZMdMPyk] After the ceremony[/url]

[url=http://picasaweb.google.com/stephzebra/DinnerStephAndJYSProfessionalWeddingPhotos?authkey=3GlXQcwVIi4]Dinner [/url]

[url=http://picasaweb.google.com/stephzebra/TheNextDayTTDStephAndJYSProfessionalWeddingPhotos?authkey=wHENv4nS9yQ]The next day / TTD [/url]

[url=http://picasaweb.google.com/stephzebra/CreativeEditingPart1StephAndJYSProfessionalWeddingPhotos?authkey=ASj0lVNKHn0] Creative Editing - Part 1 [/url]
[url=http://picasaweb.google.com/stephzebra/CreativeEditingPart1StephAndJYSProfessionalWeddingPhotos?authkey=ASj0lVNKHn0]Creative Editing - Part 2 [/url]
(2 albums because max 500 allowed per album)

Our photographer was Jodi Laundry, daydreamphotography.com. She traveled with us for the whole week. Here is my review of her:

[b]
AS A RESULT OF RECENT EVENTS I HAVE DECIDED TO DELETE MY REVIEW.

PLEASE CONTACT ME VIA PM IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS.[/b]

And now for some photos:

details

[IMG]http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w54/stephzebra/Steph%20and%20JYs%20wedding/17133.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w54/stephzebra/Steph%20and%20JYs%20wedding/17115.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w54/stephzebra/Steph%20and%20JYs%20wedding/17120.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w54/stephzebra/Steph%20and%20JYs%20wedding/17134.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w54/stephzebra/Steph%20and%20JYs%20wedding/17105.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w54/stephzebra/Steph%20and%20JYs%20wedding/1791.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w54/stephzebra/Steph%20and%20JYs%20wedding/1773.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w54/stephzebra/Steph%20and%20JYs%20wedding/1757.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w54/stephzebra/Steph%20and%20JYs%20wedding/1779.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w54/stephzebra/Steph%20and%20JYs%20wedding/1750.jpg[/IMG]

Getting ready :

[IMG]http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w54/stephzebra/Steph%20and%20JYs%20wedding/126.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w54/stephzebra/Steph%20and%20JYs%20wedding/137.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w54/stephzebra/Steph%20and%20JYs%20wedding/175.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w54/stephzebra/Steph%20and%20JYs%20wedding/193.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w54/stephzebra/Steph%20and%20JYs%20wedding/1152.jpg[/IMG]

Before ceremony :

[IMG]http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w54/stephzebra/Steph%20and%20JYs%20wedding/2129Small.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w54/stephzebra/Steph%20and%20JYs%20wedding/1244.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w54/stephzebra/Steph%20and%20JYs%20wedding/1215.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w54/stephzebra/Steph%20and%20JYs%20wedding/1278Small.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w54/stephzebra/Steph%20and%20JYs%20wedding/412.jpg[/IMG]

Advice/Comments on Turks and Caicos

nicandpaul — Tue, 06 May 2008 22:09:49 GMT

Hi Ladies,

I am new to the board. We are thinking about having our destination wedding in Turks and Caicos. We have not decided where yet, but can anyone provide any advice or comments about this particular destination?

Thanks!

Nicole

Non-pro Wedding Pictures

paradise83 — Wed, 07 May 2008 16:13:50 GMT

I posted them in the newlywed section:

http://forums.canadianbride.com/Topic654266-11-1.aspx

ANY IVB BRIDES CARE TO SHARE THEIR WEDDING DVD??

cheriejay — Thu, 01 May 2008 21:28:29 GMT

Im so excited to see someones wedding video...everyone raves about them and i would love to see one...that is if anyone is willing to share!!

thanks

Document Translation

jenna2777 — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 18:06:14 GMT

I was wondering if any of you Dominican brides out there would be able to guide me to a good place for document translation. Is there anywhere you would recommed?

We have found a company called DRSI in Toronto but are unsure - have any of you used this company or have any information about them?

Thanks!

Just got back from Iberostar Varadero and Sandals Royal Hicacos...

cubagirl08 — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 21:19:59 GMT

Well, we did it!!!! We finally got married April 8th at the Iberostar Varadero. The wedding was perfect! Everything went as planned and the wedding was so beautiful. I got married at 4h00 and it was ok.... It was still very hot.... The morning of the wedding it was pouring rain.... I was so pisst... but it stoped raining at 1h00 pm... It was a close call.... Belkis had told me the day before to cross my fingers because it was suppose to rain on the wedding day. She showed me some pictures of the wedding location in case of rain and it was very nice... That calmed me down a bit..... To know that the wedding site would still be nice if it was raining was very comforting....

But everything turned out great and we got married on the beach... 4h00 pm was ok, but if I was to do it again, I would get married a 2h00 or 3h00 the latess... I just found that I didn't have time to take enough pictures after the ceremony.... We were a group og 36 people and evrybody was running after me to take pictures with us but we were running out of time... I had to "run" away from everybody... The photographer takes pictures with the wedding party, friends, parents, family and then, you leave for about an hour alone with your husband, the photographer and the videographer.... GET THE DVD!!!! It's really worth it.... Can't say so much about the pictures... I really don't like mine.... Thank God I had a friend with a very good camera to take back up pictures... The photographer had good ideas for poses and stuff but the quality of the pictures is so bad.... The ocean isn't even blue in my pictures... looks more like a lake than the ocean... I paid 400$ for 136 pictures (5X7), 5 (8X10) and all the negatives..... It was way too much... Not worth 400$ at all... But if you want the negatives, you have to by the package.... If you don't want the negatives, you can purchase every picture for 3CUC each. We tiped her anyways because she was really nice and patient. But i'm not showing my pictures to anybody... I'm showing my friend's pictures to my friends and co-workers.... The wedding was on a tuesday and I received my pictures on the friday.

We rented an old american car for pictures... The group loved it... It was entertaining them while we were taking pictures alone with the photographer..... It cost 60 cuc for 1 hour... very worth it...

As for Belkis, she was great.... We can't complain about anything...

After the ceremony, we had our dance. I had my own music for my dance with my husband and my own music for the dance with my dad. After that, we had a cha cha on the beach.

As for tiping... we tiped the photographer and videographer, belkis and the waiters at the dinner.

I got my hair done at the salon and I loved them.... But one suggestion... book your appointment EARLY!!!! They work on Cuban time.... (very slow) My appointment was at 12h00 and I got out of the salon a 3h00 pm (Me and my flower girl)......... The wedding was at 4h00 and belkis had told me to be ready for 3h30..... So only 30 minutes to get ready.... What a rush!!! LOL

We spent the second week at Sandals Royal Hicacos... OK, but not a 5*... The best part about it is the food!!! Awsome food!!! but the service sucked.... and it was kinda stinky in the bathrooms....

Any questions you may have, feel free to hask... I would post some pictures but don't know how...

Looking to see what to write on FH wedding band

mariolab — Tue, 06 May 2008 11:28:55 GMT

My FH is frm spain and I am polish so I thought it be nice to write something but I have no clue what cause i am not a big poet, any ideas ladies I am going thursday to order his wedding band so any help

thanks a million :P

My Majestic Colonial Wedding PROS

puntabride — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 07:45:21 GMT

I got married at the majestic, and had a wonderful time!! :D We had perfect weather, and it couldn't have gone any better! I have one too many photos to fit into this, so you can see the photos at:

[url]http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=190671420/a=116391070_116391070/t_=116391070[/url]

ETA: You may need a login..so you can use this one:

ENJOY!:P

Viva Whyndam Maya~~~

Georgia1 — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 00:41:34 GMT

Hi ladies.. so it is final! My resort is the Viva Wyndham Maya in Mexico. Has anyone heard of any weddings that have been here? Our coordinator seems a little slow, it took about 1 week to get an email reply and He/She (cant tell by the name)only had one photo of the ceremony site!!! Any suggestions on how to get more pictures would be great! Hope everyones planning is going well!!!

ROR Bride

smurf993 — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 09:58:03 GMT

Everything was amazing.... a little different then some of the other brides though as we ended up in the middle of tropical depression.

First. our rooms. They were great... we stayed in building three room 3140. it was a regular room but very nice, and very clean. I asked about the upgrade that came with the royal package, and was told to check back on monday... on monday i checked back and was told we could go to a suite in the deluxe side on wednesday. we were getting married on thursday and opted not to move for the sake of two days in the suite. Our room was on the same floor as nearly everyone else in our group.

There was nothing in our room when we got there... no flowers, gift basket... nothing. that was fine. we were just happy to be there. We went around the hotel and checked it out, and went to bed sometime around 4 am.

Food... amazing!! Ate at the buffet every morning. Bring tips for the omelette guy... he is freaking amazing!!! the buffet even had lucky charms!!! We had our lunches at the plantation which had the best variety of food and was close to the pool so there was little walking.

Pool. we used the one by our building. It was where everyone seemed to be when they weren't in the ocean. There was lots going on there and no problems getting chairs. We had 10-12 for our use every day. make good friends with the Scuba Caribe guy LeScelles... he saved our seats every morning (he is also a newlywed...got married the day we left). The guys at the swim up bar are great...service quick and always made you feel special... stay away from the "special Drinks" unless you are looking to be drunk with in two drinks... those things are very potent...lol with the extra rain that we had there was a shortage of towels only one morning and no one seemed to mind.

A La Carte. we went to the asian for the 3rd sitting and there was no food... plates were empty when we went in. we were not impressed. other members of our group went the next night and loved it. Sir John was great... had the steak and it was perfect. We only tried to get reservations one morning... it was hard.. .the rest of the time others in our group made them... so we just went with them. Ate most nights at the buffet... and loved it. Have to admit by the end... some good old home cooking was sounding good. mammee bay.. was amazing!! some people in the group ate here twice and loved it both times. Great food and great view!!

Excursions we went to dunns river falls via the scuba Caribe guys... did snorkeling and the falls with some fun on the boat on the return trip...it was great. bought the video for the climb ($40) as we figured we were first timers and we were buying everything...lol... haven't watched the video yet...maybe tonight. due to the rain washing out the roads this was the only trip we did. we had planned to go to fern gully and shaw park... but we could not get there.

We went shopping in town with a driver that LaScelles arranged. He took us to a really nice set of shops and we got some really great deals... NEVER pay the price on the item.. it is just a starting point...lol. it was hard to get used to this but it was fun trying to work out a price.

Parasailing... 60 bucks and i would have done it again... I did it with Brent. It was great to be up there all by ourselves. very romantic!!! we are going to go again the next time we get to a resort.

Wedding

I had to go find Chandlyn on monday and try to set up a meeting. There was a mix up with the times due to the fact that There were 2 Amanda's getting married April 17th... one at 1pm and one at 3pm. So we had our meeting. I knew mostly what i wanted before hand and we just filled in some blanks.

Spa. The spa was great. However, like Jenelle... i was not in the book even though i had paid and booked in advance. Funny thing was that the other people that i had paid for were there. so go to the spa before the wedding and check it out... make sure you are in the book.

Audrey did my hair. I had pics and she didn't really follow them. The first time that she did my hair when i saw it i cried and she redid it.... the second time was AMAZING!! she did a better then i wanted job in the end.... so leave enough time to have your hair done... and some extra in case there are problems.

Wedding itself

around 1030 am (before i went to the spa) chandlyn called my room and told me about the mess on the beach due to the weather and that it was still giving rain. she asked it i wanted to go with the beach or the steak house. I asked her what she thought and she told me the steak house would be the better choice. i took her advice.... she is more experienced then me!!!

I was late getting my hair done, my girls came to my room around 230 for the 3 pm wedding. at 245 the girl came with my bouquet. When she opened the door i heard opps!!! from behind me. one of the loops on my dress had broken. I was a little late for the ceremony but no one seemed to notice. My sister had gone to the gardens while i was at the spa and gotten a hair flower for each of us... they were perfect. I had a real hibiscus in my hair. Just PERFECT

The wedding started, and i was standing outside the jewelery store waiting for us to proceed. i could hear the steel drum band playing and see FH from around a pillar... he could not see me. I was great. I remember how pretty everything looked... esp the petals on the runner.

Sheldon the minister was great, funny and happy though the service. he made jokes and kept FH and I at ease.

I never saw Chandlyn after this point.

We went to take pics (2 hours or so) and my guest mingled within the steak house and the pool bar at the deluxe wing.

Pics

were amazing...we bought the extra time and it was worth it. we got more time then we bought due ti having to stop for the rain from time to time. I thought that this was very nice.. and very thoughtful. The e new guy is great.. has lots of new ideas and new places to take people. we are more then pleased with our pics!!! They come on a dvd... which is great but i had to copy them to a cd as i don't have a dvd player on my computer...lol

Video (haven't watched it all yet but LOVED IT so far) you need to have songs picked out. FH and i never did this. and forgot to give him our cd for the supper... but he put some great songs on there.

SUPPER

at supper i had requested that we have a CD player... i asked twice and it never showed. i had wanted to do some dances at the supper. However, i had taken on the no worries attitude by that time and did not care that it didn't show up. We ate supper which everyone loved. The phographer from the resort came and took pics of everyone (they had to buy them the next day if they wanted them) and Christopher came back and did cake cutting pics... again amazing!! the cake was larger then i had thought and well...typical only a handful ate it. It was good but i have to say that i really only had one mouthful... i was on to the blue oceans by that time...lol

After supper we mingled, watched the show which was grease. after the show we hung out. The two ladies from NEW JERSEY came over and asked me to dance with them. The Reggae band was playing and we dance down by the stage. We were dancing away when the band announced that they were going to slow it down for the bride and groom. We went up on the stage and had our first dance in front of everyone... it was amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i have no idea what the song was though. something about a sun. lol.

On the way to bed, i got my bracelet on again, and we were given a bottle of rum. we stopped to say goodnight at the snack place and a guy did up a big plate of fruit for us. WOW!!

The whole night people kept clapping, yelling out , coming up to talk to us. We felt FAMAOUS!!! it was overwhelming!!

Breakfast in bed was part of our package. It was brought on time and was MASSIVE!! everything that you could think of.

Does anyone have a checklist of things to bring with you

mariolab — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 15:46:05 GMT

thanks ladies for your help, it's 43 days away and i wanted to have my checklist for my guests to send so i can no longer spend hours on the cpmuter gotta work and finish last minute things

thanks a million:D

Beach Theme decorations

cstauber — Sun, 04 May 2008 10:56:31 GMT

Ladies,

I went yesterday to Dollarama to get shells and got starfishes from Michael's. I would like to decorate our dinner tables with shells and starfishes. I am also thinking of getting these place cards

http://www.beau-coup.com/beach-themed-place-card-holders.htm

Anyone has had this theme and would like to share photos?

LATE FLIGHTS TO CUBA!

bushness — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 14:18:07 GMT

Hi girls, I just got my flight info from my travel agent and I'm shocked about the flight times

departure 4pm (it's okay I guess, hotel arrival 1 pm)

return 10pm at night (arrival in toronto 2 am??)

we have some elderly and also some children...I'm not sure why but It's the first I've heard of this flight times....

Did anyone had this experience? is it only cuba?

Geting Married on August 8, 2008

Holguin, Cuba Playa Pesquero

Documents for Cuban Wedding

GoneSalsa — Thu, 01 May 2008 17:01:25 GMT

I'm a little confused by the documents needed. Can I just send everything to the cuban consulate and they can do the translation and notarization? Or do I have to pay $85 for a lawyer to take 5 minutes to notarize our birth certificates and my divorce certificates? What did you ladies do?

Pro Pics from my wedding

paradise83 — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 13:18:01 GMT

Here are some of my pro pics:

...

Here are some more:

Photog went MIA

heather002 — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 01:43:49 GMT

We found the perfect local photog to bring with us to our Mayan Riviera wedding. However, when I called him almost two weeks ago to "confirm and sign on the dotted line" he went MIA.

My fiance believes that I'm jumping to conclusions and that maybe he is on holidays, but the way how I see it if any vendor disappears for more than a week or two, well.... Anyway, I know that I still have nine months to find a new photog, but not really. My wedding date got pushed back a week to over Valentine's Day, so a lot of the local photogs are booking for that already. Plus, the charter planes here for my resort are filling up very quickly, faster then what my TA thought they would, so she has basically said all of our guests needed to book asap. So, we need to put down the deposit for the photog soon too. [This is why my wedding was pushed back- the original date charter was already booked.]

So, now I'm looking for new photogs, something that I thought I had finished, and luckily, I'm thinking that I "might" have found one, but I'm not getting too overly confident. We are working on a budget of only paying for the all-inclusive trip down there, plus a cash bonus there, so that makes it even harder.

Another issue, is that the resort that we are staying at, we are not allowed outside vendors from Mexico, so the photog needs to be a guest of the hotel, plus, the Mexican photogs are way too expensive for the package I want.

Well, if you made it this far, thanks for reading. :cool:

Well I'm off Tomorrow

PPBride — Thu, 01 May 2008 09:50:05 GMT

My turn has finally come and I just wanted to thank all you girls for the support tips and advice over the past year. I couldn't have got through all this without some of these postings. I especailly wouldn't have been organized. Thank you so much and I will post some pictures and a review in two weeks!

IBEROSTAR VARADERO WEDDING!!!

cheriejay — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 12:21:02 GMT

Hi Everyone...I am getting married at the IVB in December 2008...I know its far away but I am wondering what kind of pictures that they take down there....im looking for different positions and unique picture ideas...any tips of things i should know getting married down south...and I am doing bags if you have and ideas too about what to put on the T-shirts for all your guests i am totally lots with what to put on them...thanks for all your help!

Don't forget

smurf993 — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 10:02:31 GMT

Okay girls... my brain is on overdrive... I have to be packed thrusday night as we are leaving friday morning... i need some ideas for last minute things that i might have forgotten!! i have a list but i am not trusting it at the moment. i am sure that there will be something that I am going to forget!!

Melia Las Dunas?

sccoper — Sun, 14 Oct 2007 08:07:20 GMT

Has anyone been married at Melia Las Dunas in Santa Maria Cuba. We are considering this spot for our wedding in April and would love to hear some feedback

Anyone looking to unload their dress?

DanielleMB — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 00:53:24 GMT

We're getting married in November in DR and I've been trying to find a destination wedding with no luck. Just checking to see if anyone out there has their destination wedding dress for sale that is anywhere between a size 8-12. If so, PM me or post a picture. Thanks!

Trash the dress wondering

mariolab — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 11:40:52 GMT

I wanted to know or those who have done it if your dress got damaged because i want to do it but we are doing a after home party and I don't want my dress to be ruined, post some pics if you want

thanks

My Pics and Review

lyndzcraft — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 20:33:13 GMT

Hello Ladies! I am back from a week long vacation at the Iberostar Varadero. Here is a little breakdown and some pics of the resort and wedding.

Resort - Absolutley beautiful! Perfect weather!! Didn't rain once although it was a little windy on the beach a couple days. The grounds were well kept, the rooms were spacious, the beach is gorgeous and the workers are awesome! Say hello to Alayn, Lester, Cecil and Rocio - they are the animation team and they are awesome and so much fun!

Wedding - Our wedding was at 11:30 a.m. Belkis picked myself up and my 5 bridesmaids up in the golf cart at 11:30 so we were a tad late but that's OK. The golf cart holds 6 people.

At first glance I wasn't pumped with the beach gazebo and thought about changing the location to the garden gazebo. But then I remembered that the reason we went to Cuba was the beautiful beach and now I am happy that we didn't change.

The ceremony is really quick - we wrote own own vows, changed rings, kissed and it was over. It was perfect, it's such an intimate setting. After the ceremony they served champagne and Brandon and I had our first dance. It was so pretty, there was a live sax and keyboard player. Next was father/daughter and mother/son at the same time. Then the whole wedding party went on the beach to do the cha cha.

We hired the photogapher and videographer. The video is awesome!! I forget his name, but he did a great job!! You get 2 DVD's for $200 CUC cash. The video is about 20 minutes long and has the ceremony, the dances and part of the photo's on the beach - I would recommend doing it. I forget our photographer's name but she was great too - We paid $300 CUC cash and received 100 5x7 prints and 5 8x10 prints as well as 1 picture CD. I am really happy with the way the pics turned out!!

Our photo session was over around 1:30 so we all changed into our bathing suits and had a few cocktails around the pool. We had our dinner at 6:30 but our group went around 6:00 so we could have a whole hour together at the Cuban Restaurant. The meal was good - we got lucky and were offered lobster for free if we wanted it. A lot of people chose to so we had chicken, lobster and I think we chose beef. After our dinner we all gathered at the beach gazebo where we were married. We got a few bottles of champagne and wine and hung out on lounge chairs and relaxed. It was the perfect ending to the day!!

Flowers - You chose your first 3 choices and you get one of them, I got my second choice. I ordered 5 additional bouqets for my girls and it cost $50cuc I didn't get the boys bouteniers but they stuck pink flowers in their pockets and it looked great!

I can't think of what else to say about it other than it was perfect - more than I ever dreamed of. I would recommend the IBV to anyone - it's a beautiful place, the food is good, the people are nice, the beach is awesome, and there is lot's to do. We did a catamaran day trip to swim with the dolphins, 20 people from our group went and it was fun. We also played volleyball, rented the mopeds and drove into Varadero, played water sports, dance lessons, and relaxed by the pool. I wish I could go back!! Now, it's time to get things done for our AHR next Friday!! If you have any questions, please feel free and I will answer them as best I can!

Oh, I didn't get my hair done - I decided I didn't need to. I brought an adapter and a converter for the outlets. The adapter worked in one of the outlets by the nightstand and my flat iron worked. It did not work in the bathroom. I was also able to plug in my curling iron behind the TV which was a North American outlet. My friend did the same thing but her flat iron sparked and I am not sure if it works anymore.

Here are a few more pics from the Resort Photographer - Good Luck to Future IBV Brides!! You are going to have a beautiful wedding!! Oh, My HUSBAND and I weren't too pumped with Belkis - just not overly friendly, I guess doing 2 or 3 weddings a day can drain all the excitement out of it. Maybe she was just having a bad day!

If you want to see more pics let me know and I can link you to my facebook page!!

Married at Last!!

Brandon & Lyndsey Harker!

DW brides: Post your dress

lizap — Sat, 08 Apr 2006 15:06:31 GMT

C'mon, ladies...show 'em off!!!

Liza

Public beach brides

BrandyG — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 16:02:59 GMT

I was just reading something that said chairs might not be alowed on public beaches for the ceremony. Is that true?

Why would people be alowed to have beach chairs and unbrellas, but no folding chairs and arches?

My mom is disabled, and her wheelchair can't make it on the sand, she's going to use her walker to get on the beach, but she needs a chair for the ceremony, she can't stand for more than a few minutes at a time.

I'm very freaked out.

MY TURN!!

lyndzcraft — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 22:14:19 GMT

Hey Ladies!! We leave tomorrow from Toronto to Varadero for our wedding on Monday!! It's been a long time coming - everyone is VERY excited!!! A little stressful at times, but I am sure everything will be worth it!

Thank you all for your help and your wonderful ideas! I will definitely post a review when I get back next weekend, along with some pics!!

In the meantime.... SO LONG - When I get back I will be a MRS.!!!

I hope I can sleep tonight!

Wedding attire challenge

mariolab — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 16:33:19 GMT

Hi girls I just picked up my dress and realised that it is off white , and my fh is all in white but real white so here are some pictures and let me know what you think because i have no clue what to do and i can't ask his opinion because i don't want him to see the dress

so am i still gona be the center of attention or him and is that gonna look crazy or nice?????:w00t:

HELP

Using my CHI Flatiron at IBV

Biffy — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 19:24:38 GMT

Have any of you done this??? I hear I need a converter (not just an adapter)? Where do I get this
????

pro pics and my pics

smurf993 — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 05:26:25 GMT

hi there,

i have been trying to get the links to work so that everyone can see the pics... clearly. They are so messed up when i post them here. i am also trying to post some resort pics for those of us getting married that the ROR

resort

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=109734&l=3676b&id=687510703

wedding

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=109717&l=37c68&id=687510703

I really hope this works!!!

Are non-sandal shoes a bad idea?

mrsfink — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 02:46:27 GMT

So I fell in love with pair of shoes today. Ok I'll admit it, I'm obsessed!!! But they're not the strappy sandal-type shoe most girls seem to be going with. They're lilac and lovely and comfy and buttery soft - but is it ridiculous to consider patent leather peep-toe pumps? It's real leather, not plastic (they're Salvatore Ferragamo) but do you think my feet would get too hot?

Here's [url=http://purplewedding.files.wordpress.com/2008/04/dsc05359.jpg]a photo of the shoes[/url] (the color came out weird but you get the idea - oh, and pardon the black fishnets, ha ha).

What do you think?

Our AHR with some pics!!

jmhein — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 21:31:03 GMT

Hi everyone,

I know some of the DW brides are planning an AHR and I thought I'd let you know how ours went. We had it this past Saturday and it went better than I ever could have hoped for! It was SO MUCH FUN!! We went the somewhat traditional route and rented a hall, rented some music equipment, had a dance and a cold buffet. We came in at under $2000 for the whole thing. It was a bit of an expense but we really wanted to celebrate with our friends and coworkers who didnt make the trip and it gave us a chance to re-live the whole thing over again! It was seriously one of the best parties ever if I do say so myself! ;) I got to wear my dress again (why NOT!!? :P), and dh and our bridal party who was there wore their outfits again. We decorated with a tropical theme and a friend of mine made us a beautiful tropical wedding cake. We really wanted it to have a very light and fun party atmosphere though, and I think that was definitely achieved!

The timeline went like:

7 PM - guests begin arriving - we met everyone at the entryway and gave them a bead necklace in black, gold, or green (Jamaican colours mon!)

7 - 8 PM - guest mingled, indulged in the chocolate fountain that was set up with fruit and pretzels and snacked on the chips and salsa that were on the tables. A photo slideshow of our wedding was on rotation on a screen.

8 PM - We announced what the beads were for! Anyone who made someone say the word "No" or "Know" would receive the other persons beads. The person with the most beads at the end of the night would win a Bob Marley doll and a bottle of Appleton Rum! This game was a huge hit as it really got everyone mingling and having fun! (And asking some PRETTY interesting questions to get beads I might add!!)

8:20 PM - we played our wedding DVD, everyone loved watching it!

8:40 PM - more mingling and indulging in $3 drinks! LOTS of drinks...

9:00 PM - dance started

10:30 PM - cold buffet served, most people having too much fun to eat! ;) We then did our cake cutting

on til 2 AM - party party party!!

Now for pics:

Table setting - floral centrepieces because I had won a $100 floral gift certificate at a wedding show! Favours were alternating flip flop shaped candles and flip flop shaped playing cards from Orientaltrading.com :

Entryway - fake palm trees and such:

Greeting table - we had people sign our matted picture in gold and silver ink and we will now frame it. Treasure chest was full of beads:

More of the decorations:

Beautiful cake:

OK and later on in the evening...