I’m back, I’m married, and everything was FABULOUS!!!

[MarieSam]

This post is so overdue, I got home late Sunday night but it has been such a pain getting back into the swing of reality after spending two wonderful weeks in paradise! But I’m back and everything was better than I could have ever imagined – it was a little crazy leading up to the welcome dinner and wedding but both events were incredibly wonderful I know for sure I could not have had such a perfect wedding without this forum! Thank you all for your support, ideas and inspiration!! If I could bottle up my wedding experience, I’d share it with all you brides and grooms to be because it was truly the happiest days of my life

 

I am going to try and post a full review sometime this week and then more in-depth reviews on different aspects of my wedding, including my uber late planning thread that I just didn’t have time to complete before I left. But I did take pics of everything so I promise to follow through on that gals!

 

Until I get more time to post the full thread here are some of the highlights with pics of course :

 

1) Akumal is the most beautiful, best kept secret in the Quintana Roo –if you haven’t picked a wedding location yet GOOD GOD consider Akumal – it is a piece of paradise that you will instantly fall in love with!!! It's a small town with no big hotels, just a bunch of amazing villas, condos and smaller hotels. We stayed at the Casa Romero property (Luxury Villas and Townhouses on Yal Ku Lagoon: Akumal) and it was gloriously wonderful dream. The owner, David Poor, was the nicest man and so welcoming and hospitable. This was also where we held our Mexican fiesta themed Welcome Dinner – uber fabulous!

 

Our pool at the Casa Romero villa and private backyard access to Yal Ku Lagoon:

 

Our Welcome Dinner in the courtyard:

 

The amazing beach I got married on:

 

2) Our friends Ismael and Silvia of Sauce Vacations (best transportation/tour company in Cancun/Riviera Maya) – are saints!! In a nutshell – they gave us a 14-passenger van to use for free throughout our stay, they picked us up from the airport (a party of 30) in a bus and drove us to Akumal, they provided tours and transportation for all our guests, they provided a taco man for our welcome dinner and a fantastic all-female mariachi band that was the bomb!!! We love this family, if you use them let em know MarieSam sent you and they will take extra special care of you – Here's their website:Travel and Tours Experts ¡¡

 

 

*****more to come with pics!!!!

[MarieSam]

3) Jennifer Smith of Turtle Bay Caf̩ is the best damn wedding coordinator, caterer, cake baker in Quintana Roo!!! She is God sent and can create the wedding of your dreams Рfood is unmatched, her cakes/desserts are to die for (her tres leches cake is like good sex, hehehe). And best of all Рmy wedding ended up being under budget Рshe is fantastic!!!! Contact her at www.marrymeakumal.com or www.turtlebaycafe.com

 

4) All my wedding vendors were awesome!!!!

 

a.Stephanie Williams and her husband Isaac are the best photographers in the world and so, so wonderful!! Our families LOVED them and they worked so hard during the welcome dinner, our wedding and TTD session. I can't wait to see their pics!!! Check them out at www.stephaniewilliamsphotography.com

 

b.Paul Schrank of Playa Weddings photography/videography is beyond wonderful!!! My wedding was about 80 minutes late (yep I had too many damn people getting hair and makeup) and Paul and his assistant stayed later than expected – about 2+ hours later. They were so accommodating and were everywhere throughout the festivities capturing all the important moments. www.playaweddings.com

 

c.Charlie and Maria – shamans who perform the Mayan Wedding Ceremony are out of this world. If you are considering having this ceremony it is an experience you and your guests will never forget. Truly one of our best decisions! Everyone cried during our ceremony, it is a touching and incredibly spiritual way to get married – you will love it!!!

 

d.Alfonso de Malaga is a great if you’re looking for a Spanish guitarist for your wedding! His rates are reasonable and he is so kind and excited to a part of your festivities. He can be reached at [email protected]

 

e. DJ Bob is fantastic!!! He played 2 hours extra because our group could not stop dancing and he kept the crowd moving. He is a GREAT GREAT DJ and his rates can't be beat! www.weddingdjrivieramaya.com

 

f. Karis Staley is a magician at makeup and hair!!! She worked her ass off to get me and my humongous wedding party ready. We started about an hour later than we planned -- not her fault at all, it was ours. But she made everyone look amazing!! I love her and would recommend her to anyone in the So Cal area or wanting to bring their own artist with them, she is worth every dime! http://www.projectwedding.com/vendor/show/karis-staley

 

5) Misc points:

 

-- my daughter sang "The Way I Am" by Ingrid Michelson and brought the house down!!

 

-- Tommy and I did a surprise First Dance that started off as "Spend My Life With You" by Tamia and E. Benet then mixed into a hip-hop routine -- it was a blast and shocked everyone!

 

Without further ado, here are a couple teaser non-pro pics taken by my brother and other family members! Forgive my photo with my bridesmaids – my eyes were closing, lol. Will post more as I get em…

 

My daughter and I

 

 

Tommy and his dad wearing his “free” vistaprint “Father of the Groom” hat, lol.

 

My cute ass parents, love em!!

 

Will post more pics...hopefully later today!!!! Love ya all

[ndinn]

Congratulations! Your pictures look great. You looked amazing! Glad eveything went well.

[foxytv]

OMG MarieSam .... fabulous pics and I know the best are still yet to come! Akumel sounds absolutely AMAZING and like heaven on earth! I have added it to my list of plces to visit - and stay in your private villa!!!

[sunstarsmoon]

Congrats, glad you had an amazing time

[Jen_S]

Congrats welcome back Mrs!!! You looked so beautiful!!!!

[Destination Scout]

Yeah! You worked so hard for this. Your pictures are gorgeous. I am so thrilled that everything was wonderful.

[Banana11]

Congrats MarieSam, you looked stunning!! Can't wait to see more pics!

[staceyp]

WOW! if our wedding looks half as special as yours i will be happy!

[BlakleyBrideToBe]

Congrats. Your wedding looks like it was amazing!