Treely, Madly, Deeply: We. . .RELAX?!

It was 10:15am and our hair and makeup people had just left all of us in our done-up glory. I specifically remember us looking at each other in complete disbelief. How were we ready so quickly? I had budgeted for us to get ready from 7:00am until noon. The First Look was scheduled for 1 - 1:30pm. WHAT.

Hive, let me tell you. I cherish this chunk of hours so much. We didn't so much as turn on the television. Instead, we let the music (carefully selected by BM Tiny Dancer, our DJ for the weekend) play. We laughed. We sang. We talked. We danced. We drank Mimosas. It was glorious.

The only hiccup that occurred was incredibly minor: one half of our photographer duo, Jimmy, was to arrive at GM Y's house to take the guys' getting ready pictures for noon and leave around 12:30-12:45ish to get Mr. Palm Tree to our First Look location on time. At least, that's what I had scheduled. The problem, however, is that my idea for the First Look location literally came to me when I was getting ready Friday morning (so, in all fairness, it wasn't on anyone's Wedding Schedule that I had carefully crafted and provided). I had dashed a quick Facebook message to him before we left for the rehearsal and he called me during our rehearsal dinner to confirm times. Somewhere, things got confused, and he arrived at GM Y's house around 11:30ish with plans to leave at noon. GM Y had called BM Y, I was sitting on the floor like O.O and DOC E said, "no, I'll handle it." And she did. Yet another reason, folks, to hire a DOC.  

Treely, Madly, Deeply: Girls Getting Ready - The Candids

Our hair and makeup team was scheduled to arrive at 6:45 and begin at 7. That's right, you guys. Our day began at 6:45am.

Well, to be fair, I guess I should say that some of the girls' day began at 6:45am. We had discussed a shower schedule and everything the night before and since I was going to be getting everything done last, I graciously let them shower ahead of me. This was in no way related to me sleeping in a little. ;)

I woke up around 6:30 with SIL/BM Badonk in bed next to me. I squealed, "I'M GETTING MARRIED TODAY!" and she squealed with me. We hugged and cried for a second. I sent a text to all of the other girls requesting a glass of water and some ibuprofen to kill any semblance of the impending headache. BM Tiny Dancer arrived, humming the bridal march and I had butterflies. This. Was. It. 

Before I go any further, I just want to stress that making the decision to spend the night away from Mr. Palm Tree and with all of my best girls was so smart. I felt so loved and. . .safe? I'm not sure if that's the right word. Regardless, I went to bed happy and I awakened happy. Any butterflies or nervous-feelings were good ones. I don't think I had a single negative moment that morning and really, isn't that the way it's supposed to be? Isn't that what every Bride dreams of? It's what I dreamed of, that's for sure. When we first got engaged and I would daydream about the time in between what was the present and the future, which was when we would get married, I would think about having the best sleepover ever with my best friends and waking up with them in the morning. SIL/BM Badonk, MOH Mem, BM Y, BM Tiny Dancer, BM Blackout, Rev. Fun and DOC E are truly the girls who you dream about having by your side for these important days. I could not have asked for better. 

Treely, Madly, Deeply: We Celebrate Rehearsing!

After our rehearsal at The Fez, everyone came back to our place to relax for about forty-five minutes before making our way to the rehearsal dinner. Our rehearsal dinner was held at the Carnegie Science Center, which is where one of the offices for the catering company I work for is located. My boss and our staff really, truly took care of us, with a customized menu, customized BEAUTIFUL details and customized desserts. I am obviously biased, but I would be happy to go into further detail for anyone looking for a caterer in the Pittsburgh area.

I wanted to have it at the Science Center because it's a great location in Pittsburgh. It's along the river and has a great view of the skyline. It was important to me to treat and recognize our guests and the people who have helped us throughout this process.

Treely, Madly, Deeply: We Rehearse!

The Friday before our wedding, Mr. PT and I had to be at our venue no later than 1:00pm to go over last-minute details and make our final payment. I dragged DOC E with us so that we could introduce her to the coordinator at The Fez.

A bonus that I just realized I haven't shared: originally, Mr. PT and I booked the 'medium' room at The Fez, the Balconade Room. It's truly gorgeous and, true to its name, has its own balcony. About two weeks prior to our final meeting, I met with Debby to finalize a few things and go over paperwork-y stuff. At this time, she said that a wedding had not been booked in the Grand Ballroom and she would love to offer it to me at no extra charge. She said that our wedding was big enough that it wouldn't get drowned (seriously, folks, this room is HUGE) and also that we would have a lot more space in terms of where to put the buffets and how many people we could fit at a table. The space also came with other awesome freebies, like monitors for picture displays and customized uplighting. "If you're in love with the Balconade Room, of course you can still be there," she said to me. PUHLEEZE. I jumped at it. 

Moving along - after our meeting, we went into the Grand Ballroom, where the staff was setting up for an event that evening. The Fez does not offer evening rehearsals because their space is in such high demand, so everyone was slated to arrive at 2. Standing there, knowing that we'd be back again in a little more than twenty-four hours to be married was a definite "oh, this is real" moment.

Treely, Madly, Deeply: A Recap Before the Recaps

Hive, after much alluding and teasing, I am finally here to bring you the Palm Tree recaps. Taking a page from Mrs. Gloves' book, I figured it might be nice to refresh some memories before we delve into the wedding goodies - since it's been almost five months since I first posted here on the 'Bee.

The Palm Trees dancing to The Time Warp a la Music on Demand last summer.

Advice from a Married Lady

I'm sorry to keep you all waiting, Hive - I pinky promise that recaps are coming, I'm just waiting on all of my ducks to be in a super straight and organized row before we go Live. 

In the meantime, though, I wanted to share with you all some reflections that I think would be helpful to those of you in the planning stages. There are so many decisions that go into making a wedding freaking happen, it's so easy for some to get lost in between the cracks, some to be forgotten, some to be rushed into, some to never have been thought of, some that standout as amazing. . .so on and so forth.

I guess I should technically throw in a Spoiler Alert! here, since I'll be discussing specific details of our day - feel free to bookmark and read it post-recaps. As I mentioned above, I just wanted to make sure to share these things with those of you still planning, in the hopes that it may help you all with your own decisions.

The Palm Trees in Paradise: We Feast!

Feast is not an understatement either, Hive. I feel like we ate (and drank ;) ) 24/7. 

Couples Negril has four restaurants on site. You can read the typical explanations on their website - this is the Palm Tree version. :)

First up: Cassava Terrace.

all photos personal

Brunch on our first day. Deeeeeelicious.

Mr. Palm Tree, obliging the blogger.

Cassava Terrace is Couples Negril's 'casual' restaurant. They feature buffets for breakfast/brunch, lunch and dinner. I know some people view buffets as an immediate lesser quality, but Mr. Palm Tree and I are not those types of people. We love buffets and this one most certainly did not disappoint. 

His plate looked like this every day.

Their buffets had a fairly standard set-up: a hot food area, which would feature about 10-12 things, a made-to-order area (Mr. Palm Tree got a lobster omelet almost every morning), a dry area, a cold food area and then a 'feature' area (my favorite was when they would serve fresh ham for brunch - yum). In the mornings, the bar area had self-serve Mimosas, Bloody Mary's, freshly-squeezed juice and made-to-order smoothies available as well as a coffee bar. Oh, and there was ALWAYS a dessert option. We ate there every day but I believe two for breakfast,  twice for lunch (but I was beyond impressed and stuffed each time) and a handful of times for dinner. Cassava Terrace also featured entertainment during dinner. 

My favorite, the Silver Birds Orchestra (thank you to Hive members Pumpkin_Bunny and Katie1494 for reminding me of their name!).

Cassava Terrace also held a beach buffet every Thursday evening, during which - weather permitting - they move everything outside onto the beach. It's honestly amazing and I marveled at how much work they must put forth to make this happen. 

Mr. Palm Tree said this was his favorite restaurant, which was not surprising to me. I thoroughly enjoyed it (and took full advantage of the self-serve Mimosa area for brunch each day) and have not a single negative thing to say.

Next: Heliconia Grill.

This is CN's other 'casual' restaurant, although it's referred to as resort casual. We found the difference between the two to be simple: Cassava Terrace would serve you in your beach-wear, but Heliconia Grill required you to wear clothes (and the men's shirts had to have sleeves) during dinner. 

Heliconia during the day.

Heliconia was interesting because it changed depending on the time of day - or night - you visited. During the day, it had a beach grill atmosphere. Aside from the daily special, it featured items like Jerk Chicken Wings, Short Ribs, Cheeseburgers, French Fries, Onion Rings, Fried Fish, etc. They also had a self-serve nacho bar and had these patties available that are apparently a big hit in Jamaica (seriously, we even found them in the airport) but reminded me of something you'd get at school lunch. . .not that that stopped me from eating them. During the evening, it became a dinner restaurant with a specialized menu that changed each day. Then, from 10:00pm - 5:00am, it was a 'snack' bar with items like Grilled Cheese, Burgers, Fries, etc.

Our view while dining at Heliconia.

Trying to capture how close the water was. . .and failed. 

My deeeelicious brunch one day: tuna wrap, french fries and the drink of the day.

Palm Tree's post-meal.

This was my favorite restaurant at Couples Negril. We ate there our first evening and it really just set the stage for our honeymoon. Everyone was so friendly, the food was amazing (I had the lamb and I'm STILL talking about it), the drinks were delicious, the setting was gorgeous - it was just an all-around win. We also made much use of the late night offerings. Two thumbs up, for sure.

Lychee is Couples Negril's Asian-Caribbean fusion restaurant. . .at least, I think that's how they refer to it. It's a little fancier and honestly, all that meant to me was that the portions would be smaller. I don't have any pictures of our food from this place. We ate there with two of our friends on our third day there and had no inkling to return. It was decent, but I was still hungry when we left, the service was slowish and the food wasn't good enough to make it worthwhile. That having been said, everyone else we talked to LOVES this restaurant, even the people who work there. I'm also an odd bird when it comes to these types of things (Mr. PT always jokes that I am an uber-American), so take this particular review with a grain of salt. I definitely say it's worth trying at least once. 

Finally, Otaheite is the resort's super fancy, guys-must-wear-pants, reservations required restaurant. Again, folks: guys must wear pants. Not jeans. Pants. You will not be admitted if you aren't wearing pants, men. We ran into a handful of guys who were turned away because they didn't pack any pants and the gift shop's offerings were $75.00. So, please, take heed. Thankfully I remembered this from doing my research and made sure Mr. PT had one 'nice' outfit. 

Insider Info: the portions are absolutely small HOWEVER you can order extra! I don't know what I would have done if people didn't tell us this beforehand. I was prepared, so I ordeed the open-faced vegetable lasagna "with a side of beef". Ha. Mr. Palm Tree also ordered two entrees. No shame in our game, friends. 

We each had a salad (that was created and tossed in front of us by our attendant) and soup before our main.

True Confessions time: our soup bowls were placed in front of us without liquid. They had little pieces of food at the bottom, but nothing else. I said, "oh, is this a palate cleanser? Is it THAT fancy?!" and a neighboring couple and their attendant thought it was hilarious. . .because shortly after that, our attendant showed up and poured fresh, hot liquid into our soups. I was baffled. Mr. PT ordered the Tomato and Sausage, I ordered the Shrimp Bisque - so the food pieces were the sausage and shrimp, respectively. We ended up switching once the soup became, you know, soup. I will never forget how truly baffled I was when I saw the empty bowl in front of me, though. ;)

I'm very glad that we ordered two entrees each because otherwise, again, I would have been very hungry (I like to EAT, Hive). I am also happy to report that our food was absolutely, undoubtedly delicious.

Although way out of my comfort zone, Otaheite was fabulous. We ate there on our last evening and I think it was a wise choice - sort of an extra treat for ourselves before we returned to normal life. They change their menu every Friday, so depending on your timing and preferences, it could be worthwhile to visit twice during your stay. I know Mr. Palm Tree said he would like to eat there more than once on our next trip.

The menu for each restaurant was posted in Cassava Terrace and right outside of Heliconia Grill as well as outside of each respective restaurant. I'm big on planning my meals for the day so each morning, we'd inspect and decide where to go. Cassava won most of the time but honestly, it's not like you can go wrong. It was so great that they had so many options. 

And so concludes the Palm Tree Honeymoon recaps. On a scale of 1-10, I'd say our Honeymoon rates about a MILLION. Seriously, it was beyond what we dreamed it would be. I cannot wait for our anniversary trip and I'm so glad I was able to re-live it with all of you.