We (still) do!!!! - My vow renewal thread for St. Thomas!!

[pinkjewel]

Thought maybe I'd start to share some details of our upcoming vow renewal in May.

This coming May will make 12 years and I suppose that is an odd number of years for a vow renewal, but we had originally planned it for 10 years and my father got quite sick(and passed away) and we decided to postpone it.

Anyhoo, the story. My husband and I eloped to St Thomas for our original ceremony. It was a second wedding for the both of us and the only people invited were my immediate family. We got married at the Marriott's gazebo which was beautifully decorated on a bluff overlooking the turquoise Caribbean waters. It was really gorgeous, but since we were doing it all long distance I left most of the details to the wedding coordinator which was fine, but all the details were not quite to my taste. We lucked out on that trip as the Ritz Carlton upgraded us (at no charge) to one of their fabulous suites(1200 square feet), and threw in all sorts of extras. It was pretty fabulous! So, every couple of years we return to St. Thomas. Since we go so often, I had a much better idea of vendors I wanted to use, and finally everything is starting to come together. We will again be at the Ritz- but doubt we will be so fortunate to get the incredible upgrade again.

This time we have opted for a beach ceremony on Lindquist Beach. This is a breathtaking beach (even better than Magen's Bay!!) that is virtually deserted during the week. Locals like to keep it for themselves, and many taxi drivers won't even take you there if you ask-lol. It is barely marked and you need a 4 wheel drive to navigate the unpaved road just to get there. We are having a rose petal heart made in the sand to stand in (similar picture follows). I have booked the Officiant, the photographer (Alain at Blue Glass Photography-he is soooo talented), dinner will be at the yummy Oceana, the cake will just be a little cake for us, but it will be Caribbean rum with bavarian creme filling and will be decorated with seashells, etc and have 2 seahorses on top (similar to cake pics- but tiny!!!)-made by Cynthia at the very clever Sweet Stuff. Bouquet I'm still working on as I DON"T KNOW WHAT I"M WEARING!!!!!!!!!!!! It's too late to order anything, no one around me has anything appropriate off the rack, and I'm too chubby right now to wear any samples. I'm beginning to panic a little. Since we have started planning this I have lost 12 pounds (Yay!!!!!), I'd like to lose 15 to 20 more before the ceremony- which gives me about 3 months. I think it's definitely doable, so will literally be working my butt off to make that goal. OK- this is a pretty long post for me, so that's it for now. Pictures following of rose petal heart and cake pics, and Lindquist Beach

 

[pandabee]

Re: We (still) do!!!! - My vow renewal thread for St. Thoma

oh my goodness this all looks so beautiful!!!! I was looking into St. Thomas as well for our elopement but we're going with T&C instead. The seahorse topper is so adorable. Congrats on 12 years!!

 

[antiquesparkler]

Re: We (still) do!!!! - My vow renewal thread for St. Thoma

Pink Jewel,

We looked at St. Thomas too- it looks so beautiful! Congrats on 12 years! I love your ideas for your vow renewal. If you want any support on your weight loss journey, feel free to join us on the weight loss thread. Lots of us soon-to-be brides are in the same boat, myself included.

Keep us posted on your planning progress! Love the cakes too.

 

[pinkjewel]

Re: We (still) do!!!! - My vow renewal thread for St. Thoma

oh my goodness this all looks so beautiful!!!! I was looking into St. Thomas as well for our elopement but we're going with T&C instead. The seahorse topper is so adorable. Congrats on 12 years!!

thanks, Pandabee! Since we go to St. Thomas fairly frequently, we know our way around the island and feel pretty comfortable there. I've never been to T & C, but have heard lovely things about it. Are you doing a beach wedding?

 

[pinkjewel]

Re: We (still) do!!!! - My vow renewal thread for St. Thoma

Pink Jewel,

We looked at St. Thomas too- it looks so beautiful! Congrats on 12 years! I love your ideas for your vow renewal. If you want any support on your weight loss journey, feel free to join us on the weight loss thread. Lots of us soon-to-be brides are in the same boat, myself included.

Keep us posted on your planning progress! Love the cakes too.

Hi, antiquesparkler- and thanks for the welcome!! St. Thomas isn't everyone's cup of tea, but we love the harbour and the waters, and even the hustle and bustle of Charlotte Amalie when the cruise ships dock! We have our favorite restaurants-although as the economy tanked many of our favorite haunts went out of business, and we love the Ritz Carlton there. And- it doesn't take too long to fly there-which is a major benefit to us!! I need to check out your posts again to see where you ended up deciding on your wedding.


I've checked out the weight loss thread, and may decide to join it. Sigh- we all want to look our best for photos, don't we? I had been on a plateau for about a week and then-boom- lost 3 pounds pretty rapidly. Yesterday, I felt weak and dizzy and almost passed out. Ate some steak last night and feel much better today! I've been on a fairly sensible diet, so was kind of surprised by what happened. Oh well, just need to monitor myself and not get too over zealous. Three months and counting...

 

[pinkjewel]

Re: We (still) do!!!! - My vow renewal thread for St. Thoma

So on the dress search, went and tried on some Claire Pettibone dresses- LOVE, LOVE, LOVE her dresses!!!! Adored Abigail, which fit really well, but I decided it's a little too heavy and formal looking. I'm thinking about Cloisonne (without the train) which is lightweight cotton and silk and has such pretty detailing, and the back is to die for. Also love that this series of dresses she designedwas inspired by art deco jewelry. How appropriate is that for a PSer?!! What do you all think?

 

[antiquesparkler]

Re: We (still) do!!!! - My vow renewal thread for St. Thoma

We decided on a small wedding with close family and friends about 4 hours away from where we live and a really amazing honeymoon cruise that will include a stop in St. Thomas.

OMG. I love love that dress. It is so beachy and perfect for your vow renewal!

 

[maple2012]

Re: We (still) do!!!! - My vow renewal thread for St. Thoma

I love that dress!!!!

 

[pandabee]

Re: We (still) do!!!! - My vow renewal thread for St. Thoma

Yes we are doing a beach wedding! Her dresses are SO stunning and I love the backs. The Cloisonne looks so perfect for a beach vow renewal.

 

[pinkjewel]

Re: We (still) do!!!! - My vow renewal thread for St. Thoma

We decided on a small wedding with close family and friends about 4 hours away from where we live and a really amazing honeymoon cruise that will include a stop in St. Thomas.

OMG. I love love that dress. It is so beachy and perfect for your vow renewal!

Sounds perfect!! When is your cruise? Lots of jewelry in St. Thomas- so much fun to play with, but lots of unscrupulous dealers, too. But there are some good reputable ones, too. Bought my Chopard watch there a few years ago (authorized dealer) and was able to save a bit.

And thanks for your comments on the dress. I do think it may be perfect- as long as it looks good... OK- need to exercise more

 

[pinkjewel]

Re: We (still) do!!!! - My vow renewal thread for St. Thoma

I love that dress!!!!

thanks, maple2012!! Claire makes the most gorgeous dresses that are so my style. Romantic, fluid, and with such beautiful details and materials. I'd love to go to one of her trunk shows just to try on every dress she makes

 

[pinkjewel]

Re: We (still) do!!!! - My vow renewal thread for St. Thoma

Yes we are doing a beach wedding! Her dresses are SO stunning and I love the backs. The Cloisonne looks so perfect for a beach vow renewal.

Oh how fun!!! Do you have details anywhere?

 

[Sparklelu]

Re: We (still) do!!!! - My vow renewal thread for St. Thoma

Wow, can I just watch what you do and copy?? Lol
DH and I will be married 35 years in June. We stayed 3 weeks at Pavilions and Pools in 1979. We are actually thinking of going back there. I've been in contact with a wedding planner in St.Thomas, Janelle At Island Bliss weddings.

We just want a fairly simple beach renewal, but I want a dress ( I want to find this)
and a bouquet and pictures!


http://www.islandblissweddings.com/st-thomas-packages

She says we can customize as much as we want. I'm kinda leaning towards the picnic after option!! Forget about a restaurant,we are more picnic folks.
I will be watching this thread!, don't worry I really won't steal your ideas.

 

[packrat]

Re: We (still) do!!!! - My vow renewal thread for St. Thoma

So excited to see a renewal thread! I'm hoping to do ours next year sometime-we also are at 12 years right now-congratulations pinkjewel!

I started a board on pinterest and while JD isn't exactly thrilled about being the center of attention again, he'll deal w/it to make me happy.

 

[pinkjewel]

Re: We (still) do!!!! - My vow renewal thread for St. Thoma

Wow, can I just watch what you do and copy?? Lol
DH and I will be married 35 years in June. We stayed 3 weeks at Pavilions and Pools in 1979. We are actually thinking of going back there. I've been in contact with a wedding planner in St.Thomas, Janelle At Island Bliss weddings.

We just want a fairly simple beach renewal, but I want a dress ( I want to find this)
and a bouquet and pictures!


http://www.islandblissweddings.com/st-thomas-packages

She says we can customize as much as we want. I'm kinda leaning towards the picnic after option!! Forget about a restaurant,we are more picnic folks.
I will be watching this thread!, don't worry I really won't steal your ideas.

Sparklelu- Congrats on 35 years!!!! I don't mine if you copy at all!!!! Janelle's husband, Stuart is our Officiant!!! He's supposed to be the best on the Island! It's slightly less to book him directly and he comes and picks you up at your hotel and takes you to your ceremony and drops you wherever you want after. I talked with Janelle,too- but since I really wanted control of my vendors directly-even she said that I was probably better off just booking Stuart directly. He'll also book music for you too or you can tell him recorded music you want. If you want hair or make up done- book Sugar and Spice early as I hear they book up. They'll even come to your hotel or condo and do it for the same price as at their salon in Charlotte Amalie. The other vendors I mentioned are all ones that Janelle works with if you want to specify them. Any other info you want -just let me know!! Oh- and I recommend East End Flowers for your bouquet- talk to Ali.
Love the dress you picked!!!

 

[pinkjewel]

Re: We (still) do!!!! - My vow renewal thread for St. Thoma

So excited to see a renewal thread! I'm hoping to do ours next year sometime-we also are at 12 years right now-congratulations pinkjewel!

I started a board on pinterest and while JD isn't exactly thrilled about being the center of attention again, he'll deal w/it to make me happy.

Yay!!! more vow renewals!! packrat, congrats on your 12 years,too!!!! Any idea what type of venue you want, yet? We'll have to start a thread just on vow renewals!!

 

[pandabee]

Re: We (still) do!!!! - My vow renewal thread for St. Thoma

Yes we are doing a beach wedding! Her dresses are SO stunning and I love the backs. The Cloisonne looks so perfect for a beach vow renewal.

Oh how fun!!! Do you have details anywhere?

Not in any one gathered place! I think they were mostly scattered through the "getting lost in stupid stuff" catchall thread. So our intimate DW will be just us and my parents (possibly also my brother depending on his class schedule). Working on finalizing my dress choice and starting to think about floral arrangements! My "vision" was always to have Tiffany blue as the theme color and contrasted with my favorite flower tiger/orange lilies. Since we won't have a bridal party, we'll have to rely on his tie and my shoes as the pop of color next to my flowers hehe. Going neutral with a gray suit (that he already owns, woohoo!) and white shirt for him.

 

[pinkjewel]

Re: We (still) do!!!! - My vow renewal thread for St. Thoma

Yes we are doing a beach wedding! Her dresses are SO stunning and I love the backs. The Cloisonne looks so perfect for a beach vow renewal.

Oh how fun!!! Do you have details anywhere?

Not in any one gathered place! I think they were mostly scattered through the "getting lost in stupid stuff" catchall thread. So our intimate DW will be just us and my parents (possibly also my brother depending on his class schedule). Working on finalizing my dress choice and starting to think about floral arrangements! My "vision" was always to have Tiffany blue as the theme color and contrasted with my favorite flower tiger/orange lilies. Since we won't have a bridal party, we'll have to rely on his tie and my shoes as the pop of color next to my flowers hehe. Going neutral with a gray suit (that he already owns, woohoo!) and white shirt for him.

that sounds wonderful, pandabee! For our DW, we did the same thing- just immediate family. It was really nice not having to entertain tons of people on our honeymoon! I am also looking at Tiffany blue or even a little more minty green for the accent color-but I'll be mixing with soft pinks (haha- no big surprise I'm using pink!!) and ivories. DH is going to wear white shirt, color tie(tiffany blue?) , and vest and pants in either tan linen or grey. Depends what we can find that he likes! If you do an arch you could also bring in color with flowers on it- or the gauzy fabric. Or bows on the chairs if your family wants to sit down for the ceremony.

 

[pandabee]

Re: We (still) do!!!! - My vow renewal thread for St. Thoma

Haha I would be so surprised if you didn't have pink!! Tiffany blue and coral seem to be a very popular color combo now but I think baby pink would be a nice change. Good thought about the arch I hadn't thought of that!! We'll have one set up so I'll have to scout down some sheer fabric and bring it with me.

 

[iluvshinythings]

Re: We (still) do!!!! - My vow renewal thread for St. Thoma

I just wanted to pop in and say I love that dress! Happy renewals!

 

[packrat]

Re: We (still) do!!!! - My vow renewal thread for St. Thoma

So excited to see a renewal thread! I'm hoping to do ours next year sometime-we also are at 12 years right now-congratulations pinkjewel!

I started a board on pinterest and while JD isn't exactly thrilled about being the center of attention again, he'll deal w/it to make me happy.

Yay!!! more vow renewals!! packrat, congrats on your 12 years,too!!!! Any idea what type of venue you want, yet? We'll have to start a thread just on vow renewals!!

Thanks! I think it would be a great/fun idea to have a thread just for renewals-there's got to be more than just a couple of us thinking about it!

Well, we'd hoped to get married outside originally, so I think that's what we'd likely do. Someplace where there were lots of flowers and plants, trees. A botanical garden possibly? There are a two that I know if, about 2.5 hours away.

 

[pinkjewel]

Re: We (still) do!!!! - My vow renewal thread for St. Thoma

I just wanted to pop in and say I love that dress! Happy renewals!

thanks!! It's such a lovely dress, but unfortunately it isn't going to work out. Too late to order and I thought I'd found one that would work on a preowned site, but when it came it was damaged and had been altered (neither was stated by the seller), so it had to go back.
So, my new plan is I'm going to have a dress made using antique laces. I have a pretty good stash and the designer also has lots of antique laces,too. It will be kind of flowy using some silks, chiffon, gauzy fabric with an uneven hemline. Here's a skirt that kind of gives the idea of what I'm talking about. I call it a mix of bohemian/ shabby chic-lol. Also, hubby's tie arrived and it's a seafoam green. I dyed some silk ribbon to go with the seafoam colors to wrap the bouquet. I'll probably do some more in pinks and tea dye some as well to cascade down the bouquet, mixing in some very narrow antique lace. Just need to find a pin to attach it all to to pin on the bouquet. Less than 3 months to go!!!!!

 

[Mico]

Re: We (still) do!!!! - My vow renewal thread for St. Thoma

Pretty! Do you have any photos of the lace you're going to use?

 

[pinkjewel]

Re: We (still) do!!!! - My vow renewal thread for St. Thoma

Pretty! Do you have any photos of the lace you're going to use?

thanks, Mico. I do have a couple of pictures of some of the lace I sent to her- she's in New Zealand-lol. Some of the laces are 9 to 13 inches wide to give you an idea of size. I think the narrowest lace is around 4 inches wide. I also sent her some larger panels of lace, but forgot to take any pictures first. The picture on the dining room table lets you see the workmanship on a couple of the pieces a little bit better. I used to have lots more antique lace (collected most of it over 20 years ago), but have gradually used it in different projects along the years. These were some of my favorite pieces that I had kept. The designer also was able to purchase some beautiful antique laces from an Australian designer who went out of business from the designer's personal collection.

 

[packrat]

Re: We (still) do!!!! - My vow renewal thread for St. Thoma

Beautiful lace! Have you made any more plans lately?

 

[pinkjewel]

Re: We (still) do!!!! - My vow renewal thread for St. Thoma

Beautiful lace! Have you made any more plans lately?

thanks, packrat!! So, not too many new plans. I was out of town for awhile and didn't really do much about the vow renewal. Over the weekend we went shopping for DH's outfit. Found a really nice warm ivory colored linen vest and slacks for him. Slacks are being tailored so no pics right now. He'll wear that with a white cotton shirt (sleeves rolled up a bit) and the seafoam tie. Thinking maybe some type of light colored boat shoes with it.

I have been hoping to get some pics from the lady making my dress- but nothing yet. I'm not scheduled to get the dress until the end of this month- but I'm a little nervous. I've given her a lot of artistic license and I' m sure the dress will be gorgeous- but until I get it- I really don't know how it will look on me!! I also don't want to buy accessories until I see it, either-leaving a lot of last minute planning. Or if I need to find something else- it doesn't give me much time either. I was in Boston last week and had hoped the BHLDN store would be opened while I was there, but unfortunately it's not opening until this coming weekend. Since they carry stock I thought it might be a good way to try on some dresses so that I'd have a back up plan. I can always take a quick trip back if I need to. I also think they have some lovely shoes and accessories. I can't decide what type of footwear for me. Since I'm only 5'1" I'd really like some platform wedges to wear- but not sure I'd be able to walk in them on the beach. The dress will have an uneven, kind of hanky hemline that will be ankle length, so height of shoe can vary. Or should I just wear some of those blingy barefoot sandals? (pic follows) I can have other type of heels for dinner, then- and I'm not restricted to wedges. I can't seem to make up my mind! I find thong sandals uncomfortable- so they are out. And then there's the jewelry dilemma. I have some pretty South Sea pearls- but they are not set. Should I have earrings made and a pendant? I really need to decide-like now!! I know that I wouldn't want anything more than a pendant-it's just too hot and humid. Or wear one of my diamond pendants? In which case, I'm not sure what earrings to wear- but they need to be dangles.
Suggestions?? HELP!!!!!!!!!!

 

[packrat]

Re: We (still) do!!!! - My vow renewal thread for St. Thoma

Ooo kind of scary/exciting to not see your dress until it's done! I hope it's beautimous and you post pics!

I've only been on a beach a couple times and was always barefoot or in flip flops so I am no help for shoe ideas, dangit. Barefoot, or barefoot sandals for the ceremony and bring wedges for the reception? I love pearl earrings tho, so classic.

I spent most of the day yesterday being a lazy slug on pinterest looking at dresses/bouquets and other renewal-y things. If we do it at 15 years that gives me 2.5 years to plan. That seems like an awful long time, but doing it at 13, this year, is too soon, and next year's 14 seems like shoot might as well wait till 15th so it's not an "off" number.

 

[pinkjewel]

Re: We (still) do!!!! - My vow renewal thread for St. Thoma

Ooo kind of scary/exciting to not see your dress until it's done! I hope it's beautimous and you post pics!

I've only been on a beach a couple times and was always barefoot or in flip flops so I am no help for shoe ideas, dangit. Barefoot, or barefoot sandals for the ceremony and bring wedges for the reception? I love pearl earrings tho, so classic.

I spent most of the day yesterday being a lazy slug on pinterest looking at dresses/bouquets and other renewal-y things. If we do it at 15 years that gives me 2.5 years to plan. That seems like an awful long time, but doing it at 13, this year, is too soon, and next year's 14 seems like shoot might as well wait till 15th so it's not an "off" number.

I know- it is a bit scary about the dress!!!! If she hadn't made several things for me before I'm not sure I would have been able to do it, but I've loved everything in the past so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I promise I will post pics when my dress arrives.

Gotta love pinterest for browsing. Only trouble is falling in love with things that are either no longer made, or you can't figure out the vendor. 15 does seem like a good number- we thought about waiting for it,too. But since we had originally planned it for 10, we decided to just go ahead with it. It really has helped me with not focusing on my brother's death and given me something to look forward to, so bless my dear hubby for suggesting we just do it this year.

So still need to decide on hair style and if I want something in it, jewelry, shoes, music, and find a pin to attach to the bouquet and finalize bouquet colors. I really would be more comfortable to do most of this (except music) after I have the dress, but I don't think I have the time to wait. See, packrat- planning 2 years in advance has lots of advantages!!!!

 

[packrat]

Re: We (still) do!!!! - My vow renewal thread for St. Thoma

Something in your hair would be pretty, I think. I've seen sooo many beautiful hairstyles on pinterest that make me wish I had long hair again so I could do them. Is your hair long?

How many people will be coming? We've talked about doing a beach renewal, or going to Vegas (but then I feel like I wouldn't need a new dress and I'm having a new dress by golly), but I think we may end up just doing it here, maybe in our backyard when everything is in full bloom, depending on how many we invite.

 

[pinkjewel]

Re: We (still) do!!!! - My vow renewal thread for St. Thoma

Something in your hair would be pretty, I think. I've seen sooo many beautiful hairstyles on pinterest that make me wish I had long hair again so I could do them. Is your hair long?

How many people will be coming? We've talked about doing a beach renewal, or going to Vegas (but then I feel like I wouldn't need a new dress and I'm having a new dress by golly), but I think we may end up just doing it here, maybe in our backyard when everything is in full bloom, depending on how many we invite.

Packrat, it is really fun going to a tropical island for either a wedding or a vow renewal!! I highly recommend it! There is just something about being on "island time, mon"-lol. For the renewal it is just my dh and I going, although we did have more people there when we got married.

I've been combing Pinterest for hair piece inspiration, but still don't quite know what I want. It certainly would be easier if I had my dress!! I do have long hair, but will probably wear it down and flowy. I'm leaning towards having an orchid pinned in it on the side- or maybe an ethereal looking headband or wreath. I just haven't quite found the right thing, yet. I'll keep looking.