Ladies: Please chime in! Ditching the wedding for Jamaica?

Sandals from what I heard is AWESOME.. but yeah they're crazy expensive and about the same price as a wedding!

If you're going to regret it I would say go for the big wedding now and use the money you get as gifts to either put towards Sandals for a honeymoon orrrr go to Jamaica and stay at a hotel other than Sandals.

As for jersey dresses and a swimsuit... it's Jamaica... that's all you need! We packed so much extra crap thinking nights on the town, etc. and we used none of it... we were on the beach all day and night.

Oh man the beach day and night sounds like a dream!

I would definitely have the big wedding. If its something you are worrying about regretting now, you probably will. My FH is trying to talk me into going to vegas instead of having a wedding (hes not a people person...mainly because his only family member is his dad so everyone else there is either for me or friends of ours). I am standing my ground. I told him that I have been looking forward to a typical wedding my whole life and I will regret Vegas! Maybe if you have the wedding, you can go to any beach for even a weekend honeymoon (money wise if its and issue) and get the best of both.

It is, but I will warn you (not to be mean, but because I had the crap scared out of me)... some hotels, well most, don't have lights on the beach in their area... and the crabs are out and about at night like crazy so if you guys are going for a stroll along the beach down by the water, keep your sandals on!!! There was this HUGE crab that was approaching my feet while we were sitting down talking and my friends bf told me to get up... I was like huh... he yells at me to get up and grabs me... my friend and I looked at each other like WTF then we saw the crab move and umm yeah we took off running! lol

I love JA and although I've never stayed at Sandals I've heard its amazing!!! When you get off the plane they have a special welcome area for their guests at the airport...sweet!

.

You mentioned regret.. if you think you may regret it...do not do it! It looks like you've found middle ground w/ the backyard wedding and bbq. IMHO you should really take your time and weigh the pros and cons..

.

Personally this is why we chose a DW to the DR...for us it was the best of both worlds because we were unwilling to let go of our dream honeymoon lol But, we knew that meant a ton of ppl would not be able to make it and still for us the pros outweighed the cons. Good luck!

Ahem.. this is one of the reasons we want to go.. could you imagine breakfast this way?????

I damn sure could! LOL The decision was too easy for us lol Thats is sooooooo my idea of a great start to my day

I don't think you will regret it if that is what you truly want for yourself. It is about you and your man at the end of the day...whatever will make you guys closer and happy that is what you should do. Jamaica is an awesome place and sandals is very nice but there are so many other resorts that are all inclusive like sandals that are cheaper. You should look into couples resorts too...they include tours, sports, all kinds of stuff that sandals does not...Research research research before you make a huge decision on your resort stay! :-) My favorite place is still Mexico...I love all the Secrets resorts, they are wonderful and it is far cheaper than Jamaica :-) Just a thought lol

Are you referring to Sandals Negril? First of all, I honeymooned in Jamaica and loved it. The ocean is so calm, you can lounge in a floaty without waves breaking on you. There are a ton of accommodation options all around the hotel that would be more affordable. Jamaica is all about the beach anyways. Negril has a 8 mile beach so you can get your exercise by strolling up and down the beach.

@ KenWay my cousin was telling me last night that there is a new Secrets resorts opening in JA this year!

.

@ FourWinds I've stayed in Negril 4 times and you are right...the beach is to die for!

Well I don't know anything about sandals! but i kind of wished that i had eloped and not had the ceremony! hehe. the ceremony portion was more of a headache than i had anticipated and more drama with family and bms too. looking back i would have traded that for a nicer honeymoon! ;p still, i would not have known this unless i actually had the ceremony. so double-edged sword? i really didn't know what to expect or how much drama my family would create since there has not been a wedding for a decade and i was the first daughter, although not the oldest, getting married.....do what you really want...i am thinking if you are more shy and down to earth and just love vacationing just the two of you, elope!!!!!

We're considering Montego bay

I would really recommend Couples Resorts in Jamaica. Their resorts are beautiful, and their wedding packages offer a lot of options. We had a wedding at Couples Negril last year. They absolutely loved it.

I tried to elope....I should have kept it to myself, instead I shared it with my mom and now she is tagging along to Aruba to watch us get married on the beach. So we are doing a wedding/honeymoon in one. When we return we are having a formal dinner reception (moms idea).

Personally, I would sit down and figure out what was most important to me for my wedding. Is it walking down the isle, the flowers, family and friends...

I decided not to have a destination wedding because family and friends are what I want to remember most on my wedding day - so to me the backyard BBQ sounds like a great idea. You could do so much to dress it up without spending tons of money. You'd have the people most important to you there - AND have your dream honeymoon! Good deal.

OK, here is one more to throw i the mix. It is in Costa Rica. We specialize in customizing our all inclusive package to exactly what you want. We make sure that everything is arranged ahead of time so that you don't waste a second of your time. We pamper you with romantic sunset dinners, massages, great adventure tours. It all about you. We only handle one couple at a time so your privacy is guaranteed.

www.mytropicalhoneymoon.com

As for packing .... your idea is perfect. It is very relaxed and carefree there.

Tropical honey moon looking at your website makes me know that i definenately want my honeymoon at your resort. It looks gorgeous from the pictures. definately going to have a small wedding and go there

Sandals is a wonderful place to have a wedding, a honeymoon or an anniversary. Many brides like to have a small wedding and save a big portin of the budget for a great honeymoon. When you love to be on the beach relaxing with your loved one near the ocean, there are never any regrets. This is about the 2 of you joining together and you will have a wonderful time at Sandals. The Sandals in St Lucia and Bahamas are slightly more preferred than Jamaica simply due to local cultures. Montego Bay is beautiful. Have a wonderful time!

I would go for a big wedding instead of the backyard. Jamaica is not all its cracked up to be. I've been there and it is real run down and a little yucky in places. Of course the beach is beautiful and I'm sure Sandals is nice too. A honeymoon is just a place to spend some time together. A wedding/marriage lasts forever. You have the rest of your lives to take vacations.

I had a Caribbean beach honeymoon and it was pretty dang fabulous BUT... the beach isn't going anywhere. If you think you might look back and regret not having the bigger wedding, then maybe you should have your wedding and then take the beach vacation for one of your anniversaries later on. Usually the packages that the resorts offer for honeymooners they also offer for anniversaries. But... only you can know which is more important to you.