Thread: "Just Us" Wedding - Making it special for family

Hi All - My fiance and I are getting married at CSA on December 1. We're going, just the two of us, and having a very private ceremony. This seems like the (almost) perfect idea for us, as we're both very uncomfortable with the idea of being the center of attention at a large wedding. And, with budget constraints, we were starting to face a "Big Wedding" vs "Amazing Honeymoon" dilema. So, best of both worlds? The Amazing Weddingmoon at CSA!

Since my family is not able to come with us (my only regret with this type of wedding), we're planning a small, informal, "bring a dish to pass - no gifts" type BBQ for close family and close friends over the summer. My fiance and I want to do something special for each of our parents at the BBQ to make them feel included as a part of our wedding. Has anyone done anything similar, or have any great ideas for incorporating something from Jamaica into our presentations to our parents?

I really appreciate your advice!

People have done a webcast of their ceremony back home. We had the ceremony videotaped and it turned out awesome. You could show that at your party. Congratulations, you are going to love CSA .

We had a similar situation when we got married at CSS...too much family to bring. We decided to "go it alone" and so had our wedding video-taped as well as having pictures taken by the resort video/photographers.

When we got home we had a reception and showed the video as well as putting the digital pics into a slide show presentation so everyone could enjoy them. We even mixed in some Bob Marley and Luciano raggae music so they got the flavor of music also. People said our reception was more like a beach party. I suppose, in a way, we brought Jamaica home with us.

Best wishes on your weddingmoon!

Bart & Bug

You will be so glad you are doing it just the two of you We got married at CTI this May, and it was so romantic and stress free. All the things weddings aren't these days. No regrets! We did a home reception with the cake, a dj, a cater the whole 9 yards, did not wear the dress though. We played our wedding since they obviously were not there, as well as played a funny slideshow we had made that showed us growing up and it was a huge hit. We made our reception a beach theme, so even yours is my casual maybe you could have that theme too. Its so easy to find stuff! Best of luck to you both!! have a great weddingmoon!! xoxo

Larla,

Congrats on the big day (though past now)! I hope it was everything you imagined it would be. We are getting married at CSA 5-11-13....& it will be just the two of us as well. As with you, my only regrets is that our parents can't be there. But due to budget retraints, we had to decide. Obviously we chose a private wedding on the beach. A big wedding with 250-300 people did NOT appeal to me in the slightest - for many reasons, main one being the stress of planning such an event. We are also doing a big reception some time after our return (also on a budget). We are planning to rent a shelter at an area park and do a BBQ type thing....& post a slideshow of pics and video - if we can get someone to record it for us. We can't afford the webcast, unfortunately. Can you tell me what you guys ended up doing for your reception?

Gina & Jason

Originally Posted by beachorbust

Larla,

Congrats on the big day (though past now)! I hope it was everything you imagined it would be. We are getting married at CSA 5-11-13....& it will be just the two of us as well. As with you, my only regrets is that our parents can't be there. But due to budget retraints, we had to decide. Obviously we chose a private wedding on the beach. A big wedding with 250-300 people did NOT appeal to me in the slightest - for many reasons, main one being the stress of planning such an event. We are also doing a big reception some time after our return (also on a budget). We are planning to rent a shelter at an area park and do a BBQ type thing....& post a slideshow of pics and video - if we can get someone to record it for us. We can't afford the webcast, unfortunately. Can you tell me what you guys ended up doing for your reception?

Gina & Jason

Gina & Jason - Congrats on making an excellent decision! CSA, just the two of us, was TOTALLY the best wedding decision. It was a bit sad on the day of the wedding that our parents were not there, but after the ceremony and photo-shoot/reception with a little cake, we had the day to relax and enjoy being married. We weren't worried about who was doing what where and why... We just got to be together. It was excellent.

We're still working on our reception ideas - sometime over the summer. We didn't do the webcast, but they did set up the video recording equipment, even through we didn't buy the DVD up front. They say they keep it on file for a while, in case couples change there minds, you can call back and order it and they will ship it to you. We didn't buy it, but since they did that as a courtesy, which was wonderful, we might end up getting it to show at the reception.

We had an amazing time and am hoping to go back soon (maybe for our 1 year!).

Best wishes for you on your day!