JENGONDA9

i am again so late to this thread, but if your concern is the brown color, I believe they can make white chocolate ganache...actually here is a recipe: White Chocolate Ganache Recipe i think the cake sounds delish though!

Quote: Originally Posted by host i think she is figuring $10 per person with 2-3 people sharing a cab...$20-30 will get you most places... ah ha! i misunderstood

I am so late to this conversation but... After we got engaged in April, I committed myself to do a sprint-triathlon in September. I know it sounds nuts and I have never done anything like it before, but I got a friend, her boyfriend and my FI to do it and it ended up being pretty fun! I eat healthy most of the time, drink a ton of water and try to avoid elevators, but I am telling you that the 3-part work-out was the best thing I ever did for myself. Swimming is so awesome for your upper body! For me it is best to have a goal when I exercise so getting myself on a training schedule was perfect. No matter what your body is like, you only need about 12-14 weeks to train for one of these. In the end, I probably only lost about 2 pounds but all my clothes fit better and my body is firm. My other piece of advice: Never, ever get on a scale. I have never owned one and I rarely use them. You will know by how you look, feel and fit in your clothes that you have lost weight.

Quote: Originally Posted by marfa75 since a shuttle was 12 bucks per person, instead I am putting a little envelope of pesos in each welcome basket. It will be about 10 american dollars. And I will have a picture of a cab on the envelope and it will say something like, here are a few pesos for cab fare, good night : ) Do you guys think that is tacky or totally unneccessary? Its sooo much cheaper than a shuttle because a cab ride would be 10 bucks TOPS for like 4 people instead of 12 bucks for each person i think that is a great idea too, but my experience in cabo is that cabs cost a lot more than that...depending on where you are going

we are just now trying to figure this out for our welcome dinner. i think we are going to arrange group transport but ask everyone except our bridal party to pay for it at $10 roundtrip. some people are going to take their rental cars but i bet most people will prefer a bus.

I loved the white/beige wedding pictures I have seen - like Tammy's. But we were also inspired by the bougainvillea and so I really wanted fuschia in my wedding. It looks so cool against the sand/ocean backdrop. Unfortunately my BMs backlashed against fuschia dresses so I opted for black chiffon, with hot pink acapulco lilies for the floral. The guys are wearing dark pink ties and black suits because Aaron really wanted them to be dressed formally. We are asking our guests not to wear black. Since my dress has silver beading, that is our other accent color for the ribbon on the chairs, for the centerpieces and for his tie. I have some of my stuff posted in my pic gallery.

we used Free Wedding Website Trial | Personal Wedding Websites as well and loved all the options. i especially liked that we could upload documents and change the page headings. Wedding Websites - Aaron Birnbaum & Jennifer Gonda

Hi Jackie! I would go with # 2 because I would want some other people to share the memory with. We are planning to do our big "honeymoon" on our 1 year anniversary so that is always an option.

Can I just say that I think all you Chicago brides should plan a get together? I would even drive down from Milwaukee Sorry to hijack, but it is crazy how many of you there are!

Hi Alison! I'm another midwesterner getting married in Cabo! Happy planning! Jen

Aww shucks, thats so sweet Ali! And what a cutie he is!

I haven't been anywhere else in that area but we went to a wedding at the Bahia Principe Akumal-Tulum and didn't really care for it. They had loads of problems - the minister didn't show, their wedding time was changed like 3 times, the drinks were really weak and the food was not good at all. Not to mention that it was so secluded that we felt trapped and there was no nightlife. But the weather was absolutely great and the pools were nice if you could get a chair. Lots of coral in the water so I wouldn't recommend swimming there either.

I love it Tammy. Hope you don't mind I am saving and copying!

Hey Jen- If you are willing to look a little further up the coast, Todos Santos has great surfing and quite a few inns that are more traditional Mexican and much less expensive than the Los Cabos area. It is about a 45 minute drive. Personally I don't do all-inclusives b/c I like to be more adventurous with my meals and don't eat/drink enough to make it worth an extra premium of more than $100 per day... but your guests may love it. You might want to check with them about what they would prefer. I loved the Cabo Surf, but our quote was really high for the rooms and we just couldn't ask many of our broke friends to pay that much.

Hi ladies! We chose the Hotel Finisterra because: -we wanted to get married in Cabo -we did not want an AI as we had bad experiences of feeling "trapped" in the past -we wanted a beautiful sunset-over-the-beach view for the ceremony -we wanted to keep the base room cost under $200/night -we wanted a smaller hotel, but had too many guests to do a boutique (originally we were going to do it at The Bungalows but our guest list grew too fast and they can only accomodate 55 pp and only in low season) -we did not want to be on Medano Beach where all the vendors are -we wanted to be walking distance from the nightlife in Cabo so our guests wouldn't try to drink and drive or need to spend a fortune on cabs and shuttles -we loved the Palapita event center next to the beach for a semi-outdoors reception -we liked that they had their own dedicated wedding coordinator -and lastly, we thought all their pricing was reasonable in comparison to some of the other non-AI's we looked into Hopefully it was a good choice - we'll find out in 6 weeks

Hi Jenn and welcome! I went on a DW cruise from Cocoa Beach to the Bahamas and the one thing I willl say about it is that the Bahamas are not really known for sandy beaches. Their wedding ceremony was at Greycliff Gardens in Nassau, which was absolutely drop dead gorgeous, but not beachy. I don't know much about the rest of the Caribbean. Have fun planning!

My advice is to go to the shops and ask for their informal section. These are usually less poof and more lightweight, not to mention less expensive. It is so much fun to look online, but once you get into a couple shops, you will figure out what is most flattering to your body and what feels right! Mine is posted in my pic gallery if you are interested. Good luck!

HI there- We are having an AHR 4 weeks after our wedding in cabo. I REALLY didn't want to, but our parents were pretty adamant. It is mostly for their friends and for extended family and our coworkers. We are inviting 225 and it is an open house with wine, beer and hors d'euvres. Also, it is costing us another $7500 so that is a huge consideration. I am refusing to do any of the planning and luckily we found a place that is really cute inside and doesn't need any decorations!

Welcome and congratulations! Hope we can help!

so pretty! i love it! is this the alegria inn?

Hi! I am working directly with my hotel coordinator at Finisterra. If you choose a hotel that has one, you might not want to add another layer. There is another thread on this issue and I know many of the brides have been very unhappy with their coordinators. Tammy just fired WIP. Through this forum, you can find out pretty much everything to do it on your own! And you have plenty of time to pull it off. Best of luck! Jen

Another Cabo bride here! Welcome JPKW! What is your first name?

we have a mariachi band (although i am not sure which one) coming for 2 hours for $1050. They are playing for our ceremony and our cocktail hour.

HI Tammy- Finisterra's beach is on the Pacific side of the rock formation and there is no public access. This serene backdrop is one of the main reasons we chose it. You get the back side of the lands end rock formation and then Pedregal kindof overlooks the beach. There are quite a few traveler photos on tripadvisor to give you a feel for what it looks like. Good luck!

Welcome SHannon! I agree with everyone else that once you pick your location everything else falls into place. Questions to ask yourself are: how many guests, what is your budget, All-inclusive or not, will there be kids, how much do you want your guests to spend, beach or no beach, etc... And for Cabo, you also definitely want to ask whether you want to be in town near the nightlife and other activities or if you are okay with being removed from it. Let us know how we can help! Jen