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Planning our Destination Wedding Copyright 2002 |
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 Details Details Details... When Dana and I decided to get married, we knew we wanted to do something out of the ordinary - something that no one else we knew had ever done. We wanted nothing to do with a traditional wedding - the planning, the stress, the family squabbles, the picking of the attendants, caters, dj, churches, photographers, etc etc!!! We wanted to do something that would be completely and utterly US - unconventional and simply 'OUR WAY'!! So, being the computer geeks we are, we started researching Destination Weddings on the Internet. We thought about Ireland (two week residency required - but absolutely our favorite place in the whole wide world!), Disney (Mickey!!), Colorado (the mountains in the spring!!), or somewhere tropical that we've never been!! We settled on wherewe've never been.... Jamacia! There are many MANY resorts that will plan a Destination Wedding for you in Jamaica - Beaches, SuperClub, Couples - but we settled on Sandals Resorts because they seemed to give you a little more 'bang for your buck' - more choices, better prices, and a wide variety of resorts to chose from. Sandals offers a comprehesive wedding package with as many or as little extras that you want - there is a link to the Sandals website on the 'Links' page if you'd like more information than I'm going to provide here. You can bring as many people as you want with you - they will accomodate as large a wedding party as you want or as little as you need - Dana and I went all by ourselves - no friends, no family, just us!! You must be on the island 48 hours before the ceremony and you must be pronounced man and wife before dusk - there are no weddings performed after the sun goes down, its a government rule! The wedding package Sandals offers is free with a stay of 5 days or more (we stayed 7 and are sooooo glad we did!) - the package includes the following: - A Minister - Flowers for the Bride and Groom - Witnesses if needed - All required paperwork completed by their staff - The use of a Wedding Coordinator - The Ceremony - A small reception - A wedding cake - Candle light dinner for two - Breakfast in bed the morning after the wedding - 3 bottles of champane - 'Just Married' t-shirts for the bride and groom - One 5 x 7 picture Here are the things Dana and I purchased as 'extras' and our take on how it turned out: - Flower upgrade - couldnt have been happier!! The bouquet was a beautiful arrangement of pale pink and ivory roses! - Video - it turned out very nice! It was very professional and the voices were clear and crisp! - Pictures - we got the 36 picture package and they were great!! The photography took over 80 pictures so we had lots to choose from! They let you take home 38 pictures of the proofs and will make eight 8 x 10's of the poses you want - you get to keep the negatives of the pictures you chose.... - Personal dresser - I paid extra $$ to have a dresser - we didnt have any family go with us so I thought I needed a little more help than just Dana. The lady they provided was so nice and an expert dress train poofer She also was one of the people that stood up with us at the ceremony!! - Hair & Makeup - what an awesome experience that was!! They did a fabulous job for me - they made me look soooo beautiful... Dana was speechless over how fabulous he thought I looked!! There are a few things the Sandals Resorts dont specifically tell you until you are on site and meeting with the Wedding Coordinator that we think are worth mentioning. We've researched a ton of different Destination Wedding sites and havent found anyone that really mentioned a 'things you should know' list: - If you want ANY pictures on the beach, you must get the 36 picture package, the 12 or 24 picture package wont get you any garden or beach pictures. This was fine with me - the more pictures the merrier - but just be aware... - Even though it specifically says on the web page and other documentation that the wedding video is free, its NOT!!! You will pay $150 for the video if you want the memories preserved on film. If you take family with you - have someone from your party film instead of paying for it. - You can upgrade your flowers!! If you dont like the free flowers that come with the package - they have a book of reasonably priced alternatives. I wanted roses to dry as keepsakes so I picked out flowers from the highest costing category - it was the best $50 extra I could have spent! - You can take the bottom of your cake home with you!! If you let the wedding coordinator know 48 hours before you depart, they will have the pastry chef whip up a 12 x 12 round cake for you to take home with you. I had to carry that cake through 3 different airports to get it home but it was worth every step!! I highly recommend you request it - their cakes are out of this world!! - If you require a priest to marry you - it will be an extra $250. If want to be married in the chapel (if available on the resort), thats an extra $250 as well. - Be prepared to wait at least 3 to 4 months for your official marriage license to be mailed to you. You are given a temporary license the day you are married and then an official one is mailed to you at a later date. Be very sure that they have your correct address or you may never see it!!!! - Most of all - have fun and RELAX!! We had an absolute blast would do everything exactly the same again!! |
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![[Destination Wedding Ring]](images/newdwimage.jpg)