NATASHA

Check out the little flowers with the candles in front of the pool. What do you think of something like that? This is my dad and MIL, btw.

Quote: Originally Posted by anacgarcia Thanx a lot natasha!! that sheet really helps to get an Idea of what we really need, I had missed many things.. thanx a lot!! Do you by any chance have a picture of the floating flowers in the pool I want to have an idea of how much do I need to buy.. You know - I don't. Also, the candles blew out! When I asked my husband if that was something we could have not done, though, he said, "no - I really liked them" so he must have noticed them! The real big impact factor, though, is having the candle bags line the perimeter of the pool. It's beautiful

Totally different story - if you're on a boat then, yes, have it handy with an easy way to carry it. For your own peace of mind, though, you probably should assign it to your mom. Twice that day I was rummaging through my backpack thinking that I had left something important behind. Then my bridesmaid took it from me and said she was going to be in charge of everything which really helped (including my cell phone). Also, you probably will want to have your monitor with you - at least before the wedding. The stress of anticipation, the trying to get ready in time, can make you skip eating and drinking like you normally would and will spike your levels. Don't put your body in harms way.

no problem - keep the questions coming.

Wear as little as possible. Yes, have the bra cups sewn in. I'm not sure I would say forgo the most wonderful dress in the world because you don't want to wear a petticoat, but I wouldn't have been able to handle it. Especially when we were dancing. Whew - it was hot when those salsa teachers had us going!

Here you go - this totals to just under $31,000 for the items you selected (excluded gifts to each other, attire, etc.). Note that these include tips (15%) and tax (10%). Tips were for food and beverage, flowers, and for Maye (based upon the arch, table settings, candles, etc - everything that they had to source and set up) but not photographer, musicians, etc. as suggested by Maye. summary_wedexp.xls

I'd do sisters as well. A DW makes things a bit different - people are investing to be there. Adding the "burden" of being a BM to that many people (I put it in quotes because if you read some of the BM rants you'll see that ultimately at least one person sees it as a burden) is going to be problematic. Plus, trying to keep that many people moving forward in the same direction is going to add stress to your life (and theirs). The really great thing about a DW is that you all get so much time to spend together in the days before that it's like one big party. Organize a special spa day for the girls - EVERYONE will appreciate that burden.

My bridesmaid brought one for me - it was a PITA! You don't need it and you won't want to keep track of it. Give your lipstick to a bridesmaid. I had to take some medication so I gave it to my coordinator and told her to find me at the right time (which she did). If you don't want to trust her, give it to a bridesmaid. If you really need something - you're right there at your hotel and you can easily send someone up to your room to grab it.

Quote: Originally Posted by Nrvsbride I think I am going to go with fireworks and salsa dancers. I'm still not sold on the fire dancers idea. LOL. Natasha do the salsa dancers teach your guests how to dance at the reception? I'm not quite sure what their services are. I would like to get dancers that would maybe dance with each other for a song and then interact and dance with my guests. Do they do this? -Glenda Yes. After the toast, I said, "OK - now we need everyone to get up and get on the dance floor" and immediately people were lined up and our salsa dancers came out and started teaching people steps. Very high motivation. They danced with each other at the end (and during) after people got really tired. If they start dancing at the beginning, it will look intimidating to people. They start out with everyone following them doing steps and then after a song or two, they start showing couples moves. Finally, they dance together. Here are two pictures. My caveat - people liked the salsa teachers, but they loved the fire dancers. If you asked our guests, this is the one thing they would have said, "yeah, that was nice, but..." So if you're deciding between the two, I'd go with the fire dancers.

I've stayed there a few times (love it there, btw - you're going to be so happy with your choice). Please make sure that they verify that the location that you are selecting will be closed to the public. There is an area that is just below the pool. It's really pretty and i loved the idea of the sound of the water coming over the pool. However, they wouldn't close the area off and it's adjacent to the mail beach access path so people would be walking by and people would still be in the pool right next to where you and your guests.

I would go with the solo guitar and the firedancers. AND I would get sparklers for each of the guests. Rebecca, didn't you do that? It makes for GREAT pictures and they're like $2 or $3 per person.

We hired a nanny who sat totally bored as it wasn't needed. We had a lot of kids who ranged from 4 to 15. They danced the whole time (there are tons of pictures of them), hung out together (they'd all been together for days so they had their own games of tag and hide and seek going without anyone needing to do anything), and just generally enjoyed themselves. Our wedding wrapped up around 10:30 or 11. Those with kids left around 10 (or one left and the other stayed). It worked out great for everyone. No need to do anything.

Can you reallocate the money to your own gazebo setting at Fiesta Americana? My concern is timing, lighting for your pictures, in addition to carting guests around to this additional location.

No problem - I just wish I knew who our darn cuban salsa teachers were!

Hi Lindsay, I gave her a tip that she passed along to her team. I am also going to send her a few photos and tell her she can use them in any marketing or for examples. I figured that was the best way that I could thank her for her assistance.

My responses are below... Quote: Originally Posted by Nrvsbride Ok I have more questions: 1. How much do salsa dancers cost? We were quoted this (we chose the cuban couple) Option A: Mexican Salsa Instructors / One Class One Dancer $180.00 Couple $260.00 Option B: Cubans Salsa Instructors / One Class One Dancer $220.00 Couple $380.00 2. How much do fire dancers cost? We paid $675 5. Did you guys tip people at the end and if so who? We checked with Maye and she said she recommends tipping her people who do setup and the florist. We gave her money to cover 15% for both. We also provided drinks for the musicians, DJ, and photographer. We offered food for the photographer but he declined (he never took a break). The tip for the hotel (food and beverage) was included in their fee. -Glenda

full service - and she excels at the planning phase

Hi Glenda, We booked Maye before anything (7 months before the wedding) during our first site visit when we were picking the site. No - I would not book things on my own. Maye always came in at a reasonable price or better than I could get on my own (early on I checked her prices vs. things on the boards and/or calls I made on my own) and if I needed her to come down on something, she worked with me to descope (say, flowers) to get to the price I was looking for. You will waste hours just trying to get vendors to respond. I had SO few hassles because I paid Maye $800. If I added the value of my time, just dealing with flowers she paid for herself. Margaret, if you are looking to do a legal ceremony in another portion of Mexico, you need to find out the local customs/requirements. They vary.

Quote: Originally Posted by MagsieMexico So, I'm late to this thread but I have a question for the married ladies too... What was the ceremony like? I feel like we all talk about the party the most... Was it really short and rushed? Did you all have them in Spanish and translate? Did you get any time to personalize it with the officiant? Could you do your own vows, or anything special? thank you! If you want to be officially, formally, married in Cabo you have to have the legal ceremony in its entirety exactly as written and in Spanish. You can pay to have a translator (~$150). You can also add on to the ceremony your own section AFTER the officiant is done with the legal ceremony. Part of the ceremony is signing documents. Some judges will wait to do the signatures after you do your own vows (if they don't have another wedding after). In total, the legal ceremony, translated, is about 20 minutes (according to Maye). We opted to get married in the States the day after we got back. We did not have the legal ceremony. We wrote our own ceremony and Maye officiated for us. I loved it. It was about 7 minutes. It felt like the perfect amount of time and it was perfect for us. It didn't feel rushed and it was the most important part of the whole day for my husband and me.

Quote: Originally Posted by Nrvsbride Can somebody please give me an idea of how much an officiant costs? I am not getting married legally or by the church in Mexico, I just want a symbolic ceremony and I was curious as to how officiants charge. I know it all depends but I figured I would ask to get an idea. Thanks. -Glenda Maye officiated for us (we wrote our entire ceremony) and it was included in her $800 fee.

Yay! and Yum on the crab and artichokes.

I love the little suitcase.

Hi Rachelle - check Tommy Bahamas - they have nice shirts and pants that are just dressy enough (short sleeve of course due to the heat) for the groomsment. Beautiful pics Karla!

I had the same concerns as you, so we got married the Monday that we returned from Cabo. Loved it. We still consider that Saturday to be the anniversary that we are sentimentally tied to. The rest was paperwork.

My husband picked the ring out by himself. I never talked about rings - except for when we first met 3 years before we started dating. We were at a dinner party and I talked about how I hate diamonds given the political situation. He had felt the same way and never met a woman who would say something like that (funny). Anyway, after he proposed, he went on and on for 20 minutes about how he found a no-conflict diamond from Canada and how much he thought about it and what I said about the diamonds made from lasers (that night three years before we even started dating) but they just didn't look the way this one did and blah, blah, blah. My ring is beautiful - it took him, apparently, a long time to find it. I have very small hands so I can't imagine any other ring working for me (it's low profile, etc.). He thought of everything (he's so thoughtful) and I really, really love what he picked out. Funny story - he stole one of my rings from the drawer to get my size. Of course, I wear it on my right hand so it's too big for my left hand (not quite sure why I haven't got it sized yet!).