Paradisus Riviera Brides - POST HERE!

Congratulations, newlyweds!

We also had a difficult time selling my future in-laws on our plans for a destination wedding in Mexico - they were not too thrilled with the idea initially. Fortunately, though, they have come around. I think the key was including my FMIL in the planning, making her feel a part of it as much as we could. And we really reinforced the idea of both of our families on vacation together for a week-long celebration instead of for one night. I think the pictures of the resort helped too!

Hey girls!

We have also had a really hard time with the Destination wedding thing. Every time I call my parents they are like are you sure you want to go to Mexico? My answer...OF COURSE!! Its gotten to the point that I don't even bring up the wedding which just keeps us from arguing. I figure its my day not theirs! (FI and I are footing the entire bill too which helps some) I'm sure that they'll love it once they get there so I'm not really letting it get to me. FIL love the idea so its one less thing to stress about. Hope that helps at least a little bit...

Yamille..I also asked Perla if they can set up chair bows, overlays, and centerpieces that I bring myself and she said that it wouldn't be a problem and that there was no additional charge.

yamille-i bought my pink chair sashes off of ebay..great pricing..perla wanted to charge me 4dollars a bow..CRAZY..

Hey Lauren- would you mind passing along the seller? I just am afraid that they won't be good quality if I just pick a random one. Thanks!

Hello all,

Is anybody doing programs I wanted to do them but since I can't speak to the officiant beforehand I am not sure what to include for the order of events.....

We have really simple programs. It has the names of the parents and wedding party as well as a thank you message. I wanted programs for a keepsake

Perla was able to put us in touch with our minister - but we were doing a symbollic ceremony, so maybe if you're doing the legal ceremony it's different. He gave us an outline of what he wanted to do, readings etc., we customized and added a few things.

Not that we did programs - we didn't have a bridal party and it wasn't one of those things that was all that important to me. We did hang tags with the "Symbolism of the Starfish" and little silver starfish on each of our fans.

I know we have some time - our wedding is 7 months away, but I'm getting nervous about our guests not booking. We sent out the Save the Dates in early March and though many have received travel quotes, no one has booked their travel. Can anyone give me an idea of when they started to see guests booking their travel?

Also, is anyone else using Destination Wedding Travel? A friend of a friend referred them to me and though our agent has been great, I'm seeing that their pricing for air and hotel are not as low as Orbitz or Expedia. Actually one of my guests brought this to my attention just a few weeks ago. I just checked again today and Orbitz is offering 40% off - a significant savings from some of the earlier quotes. Some of my VIP guests are the ones hit hardest by this ecomony and they are looking for the best travel deal. Does anyone have any advice to offer? Did all of your guests book through your travel agent or did some book through an online discounter such as Orbitz or Expedia?

Also, my sister has 4 kids and I was told the Paradisus only allows 2 kids with 2 adults per room, so my sister and brother-in-law would have to get 2 rooms which would almost double the cost of the trip. But I know the resort has Family Suites with 2 double beds and a sofa bed which would accomodate her family. Has anyone else run into this?

Sorry for all the questions - all of this has just consumed me lately. I appreciate any advice you can give!

Thanks!

Brooke

Does DWT match rates? My guests and I made reservations through a travel agent who was able to match rates found on the internet. Tammy, the BDW host, also has a travel agency that many BDW brides work with. If DWT doesn't match rates, may be you can switch to an agency who does since it's still early.

No worries that guests haven't booked yet! The majority of my guests didn't book until Jan/Feb for our May wedding. Some of them made room reservations early and then waited on air travel.