The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
Date - 5/15/2010 5:30pm
Location - Grand Cayman
Resort - The Reef Resort
The Good – OMG where to start! The Reef Resort was beautiful and our room was perfect! We went with the studio suite with a king size bed and a jetted tub! Everyone but DH’s dad & stepmom (they HAD to be complicated lol) did the all-inclusive plan and I am so glad that we did! The food there was a bit pricey and it was so nice not ever worrying how much we had spent on drinks or food. The food was so delicious (and this is coming from some one who does not eat seafood). I don’t think I will ever be able to eat Seafood in Dallas because I have been spoiled by the ubber fresh food there haha. The wedding day was amazing. I got up and chilled out on the beach until lunch. After a yummy lunch I went to my room to shower and gather up my things to get ready. The ladies got ready in the one bedroom suite that my sister, Jeremy, and Amonda shared. My awesome photographer showed up and lucky for me she works in a floral shop part time so she was able to fluff my flowers up and make them look beautiful. Also she was able to help my sister with my hair (she was in freak-out mode about being the hair lady) and it turned out perfect! The ceremony was every thing I wanted it to be and everyone said it was so beautiful and sweet. After the ceremony and a quick toast we all piled in to two little cars and ran up to Rum Point for some sunset pictures (so worth it!!) and then back to the resort for dinner. Sunday we went around the island taking pictures with the photographer and Monday everyone left and we had the next 3 days to ourselves! We had such a great time and it was so relaxing! We cannot wait to go back next year for our one year anniversary.
The bad - We had some people who like to complain or make a big deal about little things (ok 2 people). Yes the service was a lot slower than we are used to, but take a freaking minute to stop and look at where you are! Yes we are on “island time” which = Chill OUT!!! That was my biggest annoyance! I had apparently lost weight. Which would have been fine, but this made my corset back be pretty much the same width almost all the way down my back. In the grand scheme of things this is not a huge deal and my dress was/is still beautiful, but I love the corset back and was a little sad that it did not really have the look I was going for. Also my hanger for my dress broke while I was still in Dallas!! I was offered on both flights to hang it in the first class closet, but since the hanger was broken I was unable to. =( Luckily when we got to the resort and hung it up it had 2 days of steamy showers to help the few wrinkles fall out of the dress and the veil. The east end of the island is windy which is not an issue, but between that and the waves we cannot hear the minister or ourselves on the flip video we took to show everyone. It would have been nice to have because the minister ad-libed this part in our ceremony about being barefoot it was so sweet and I am afraid I will not remember what all he said. The music system they used was having some issues so we had no music to walk out to, however they got it to play during our toast so it worked out anyway =)
The Ugly – Our flight back SUCKED!! We ended up sitting in the freaking Miami air port for over 4 hours! Then when we finally we on the plane we sat there for another hour and a half! After sitting on the hot plane (yep the turned the air off for a while) for 45 min they finally tell us that we were waiting for our captain to get thru customs! He was flying a plane back from Costa Rica that had been delayed for 2 hours, but instead of letting us just chill in the terminal until he got there they decided to board us! WTF!! We did not get to Dallas until after 1am and did not get home until after 2. Needless to say we slept most of the day on Thursday. What a sh!tty way to end such a wonderful trip! Thanks American Airlines!!!
All in all I will say that the trip was more than we could have ever imagined and the wedding was a dream. I like to think it was in part to all you lovely ladies and your well wishes =)
Location - Grand Cayman
Resort - The Reef Resort
The Good – OMG where to start! The Reef Resort was beautiful and our room was perfect! We went with the studio suite with a king size bed and a jetted tub! Everyone but DH’s dad & stepmom (they HAD to be complicated lol) did the all-inclusive plan and I am so glad that we did! The food there was a bit pricey and it was so nice not ever worrying how much we had spent on drinks or food. The food was so delicious (and this is coming from some one who does not eat seafood). I don’t think I will ever be able to eat Seafood in Dallas because I have been spoiled by the ubber fresh food there haha. The wedding day was amazing. I got up and chilled out on the beach until lunch. After a yummy lunch I went to my room to shower and gather up my things to get ready. The ladies got ready in the one bedroom suite that my sister, Jeremy, and Amonda shared. My awesome photographer showed up and lucky for me she works in a floral shop part time so she was able to fluff my flowers up and make them look beautiful. Also she was able to help my sister with my hair (she was in freak-out mode about being the hair lady) and it turned out perfect! The ceremony was every thing I wanted it to be and everyone said it was so beautiful and sweet. After the ceremony and a quick toast we all piled in to two little cars and ran up to Rum Point for some sunset pictures (so worth it!!) and then back to the resort for dinner. Sunday we went around the island taking pictures with the photographer and Monday everyone left and we had the next 3 days to ourselves! We had such a great time and it was so relaxing! We cannot wait to go back next year for our one year anniversary.
The bad - We had some people who like to complain or make a big deal about little things (ok 2 people). Yes the service was a lot slower than we are used to, but take a freaking minute to stop and look at where you are! Yes we are on “island time” which = Chill OUT!!! That was my biggest annoyance! I had apparently lost weight. Which would have been fine, but this made my corset back be pretty much the same width almost all the way down my back. In the grand scheme of things this is not a huge deal and my dress was/is still beautiful, but I love the corset back and was a little sad that it did not really have the look I was going for. Also my hanger for my dress broke while I was still in Dallas!! I was offered on both flights to hang it in the first class closet, but since the hanger was broken I was unable to. =( Luckily when we got to the resort and hung it up it had 2 days of steamy showers to help the few wrinkles fall out of the dress and the veil. The east end of the island is windy which is not an issue, but between that and the waves we cannot hear the minister or ourselves on the flip video we took to show everyone. It would have been nice to have because the minister ad-libed this part in our ceremony about being barefoot it was so sweet and I am afraid I will not remember what all he said. The music system they used was having some issues so we had no music to walk out to, however they got it to play during our toast so it worked out anyway =)
The Ugly – Our flight back SUCKED!! We ended up sitting in the freaking Miami air port for over 4 hours! Then when we finally we on the plane we sat there for another hour and a half! After sitting on the hot plane (yep the turned the air off for a while) for 45 min they finally tell us that we were waiting for our captain to get thru customs! He was flying a plane back from Costa Rica that had been delayed for 2 hours, but instead of letting us just chill in the terminal until he got there they decided to board us! WTF!! We did not get to Dallas until after 1am and did not get home until after 2. Needless to say we slept most of the day on Thursday. What a sh!tty way to end such a wonderful trip! Thanks American Airlines!!!
All in all I will say that the trip was more than we could have ever imagined and the wedding was a dream. I like to think it was in part to all you lovely ladies and your well wishes =)
Would/ Wouldn't do....
Would do – DW for sure! I could not have pictured us getting married without our toes in the sand. I am so glad that we went AI it made it so easy to just relax knowing that everything was already paid for. Picked Grand Cayman and The Reef – being on the east end of the island there was almost always a breeze so it was never just unbearably hot. I really appreciated this when I was in my dress and my photographer said it made for some really great veil shots. =) All of the staff there were so nice and welcoming it was a great place to just relax.
Have a small wedding – I know there were times that I was a little sad that only a few people were coming, but it did make things a lot less stressful. Honestly if I were to do it all again I would have gone with the original plan of only taking my sister, BFF, and Fi’s BFF.
Hire my photographers – they were so awesome and personable. Every one seemed very relaxed around them (even Josh). I have only seen a few pics, but they are so good! I cannot wait to see the rest. I forgot to make a must-take photo list, but I am kind of glad I did. Jackie had some great ideas and I was not stressed or worried about getting the “right” shots. Sometimes just letting things happen is the best option =).
Would not do – Get flowers done by Jdleggins (sp) she SUCKED and the flowers I got from her were horrible! The sad part is after a small amount of research I was able to find better “real touch plumeria” for a cheaper price than the ones she ordered.
Worry so much about things! In the end we did not have palm fans, day of time lines, or oot bags, but everyone still had a great time and no one missed them. I do realize that I had a small wedding and some of these things would be more beneficial for a larger wedding. However my point is don’t sweat the small stuff! You wedding is special because it is a celebration of you and your FI’s love for each other. Just remember at the end of the day that is what really matters and that is why people came. The extras are just that EXTRAS!
Have a small wedding – I know there were times that I was a little sad that only a few people were coming, but it did make things a lot less stressful. Honestly if I were to do it all again I would have gone with the original plan of only taking my sister, BFF, and Fi’s BFF.
Hire my photographers – they were so awesome and personable. Every one seemed very relaxed around them (even Josh). I have only seen a few pics, but they are so good! I cannot wait to see the rest. I forgot to make a must-take photo list, but I am kind of glad I did. Jackie had some great ideas and I was not stressed or worried about getting the “right” shots. Sometimes just letting things happen is the best option =).
Would not do – Get flowers done by Jdleggins (sp) she SUCKED and the flowers I got from her were horrible! The sad part is after a small amount of research I was able to find better “real touch plumeria” for a cheaper price than the ones she ordered.
Worry so much about things! In the end we did not have palm fans, day of time lines, or oot bags, but everyone still had a great time and no one missed them. I do realize that I had a small wedding and some of these things would be more beneficial for a larger wedding. However my point is don’t sweat the small stuff! You wedding is special because it is a celebration of you and your FI’s love for each other. Just remember at the end of the day that is what really matters and that is why people came. The extras are just that EXTRAS!
