Sarah

I used this one: aylee

I didn't carry on any votives, but we did carry on our sand ceremony vessel and the 3 pouring glass containers including colored sand. They did a test on the sand when we went through security, but no issues with the glass. On the way home, I carried on only the full sand ceremony vessel and Jeff had the other glass stuff packed in his carryon. Again, they didn't care about the glass, but were very interested in the sand- another test and we were on our way- no problem.

I've never even heard of it, but it sounds cool!

I just thought I'd post a follow-up to this thread. We ended up hiring the Mariachi Los Cabos International Mariachi Trio for 2 hours. Well, imagine my surprise when I came down the aisle with my dad to the most wonderful music, but looked over and saw an 8 piece Mariachi band! When I paid them I told them I'd only negotiated a price for a trio for 2 hours and he said- "I know, that's ok!" So, I don't understand exactly how I ended up with a full band, except that I did tell them about the forum and that it they did a good job for me that I could probably recommend a lot of business to them. I'm not sure, but the mariachi band was awesome- my guests were very impressed, and everyone loved them. Now that I have heard a trio and a band, the band makes a MUCH bigger impression- and looks cool too. So, if you can afford it, spring for the band!

Congratulations Sarah! The Riu palace is such a beautiful place, I'm sure your wedding will be amazing! Enjoy every minute of your day- everything will be perfecto...Soak it all in...and then hurry back to tell us all about it! No, speaking from recent experience- enjoy your husband for a few days, THEN hurry back to tell us all about it! Have a great time

Tammy's right- I really liked my hair and I felt that the stylist did a good job at recreating what I wanted from a vague description and a picture. However, my makeup was absolutely horrible. My lipliner was so crooked, I had eyeshadow an inch past my brow line and I seriously looked like a clown! If you have a simple hairstyle in mind it probably wouldn't be bad, but I kinda feel like I just got lucky in that department. Knowing what I know now, would I have someone besides Dreams do my hair and makeup? Definitely... Edyta & Christa used Suzanne Morel salon with terrific results- I might look into that one if I were you...

Since you girls are all asking about these- I thought I'd post that my guests LOVED them! They are fantastic quality for the price- I'd easily pay 5x more for them. My guests all used them throughout the wedding week and were impressed. They are of course not super expensive and they don't look like it- but they are well worth it and well appreciated...just an FYI! I got a taupe/beige color and they worked perfect- went with my decor and were neutral so my guests could use them in the evening with muptiple outfits.

Aww, you're right! Now I'll always remember one of your anniversaries! lol

Sooooo late to this Anny, but I just had to tell you congratulations! What a beautiful legal ceremony- you looked gorgeous!

Awesome Tammy! I love the look- and i've seen you in person so I can totally imagine what it looks like up close and personal. I love what she did with your eyes especially, but it all looks great. Keep playing around with it- you'll feel more confident after doing it a couple more times. This way, you can have your makeup trial with the Sheraton, and if it goes well, then great. If not, you have a backup- we need all the ways to decrease stress we can!

We had the blood tests, and it went extremely well. The man who drew our blood was very clean & professional and didn't even leave the smallest bruise- I was very happy with how it turned out. Just an FYI...I'm not sure if all the WC's use the same person, but Mariana arranged for this one to come to our hotel...

Happy early birthday Rachelle! Hope you have a great day!

Edyta's wedding was so beautiful. Her flowers were amazing and the price she paid was incredible. I paid $100 for my bouquet with HALF the roses- she did some great research! Her table bouquets were awesome too- I don't remember who her source was, but it was a total bargain! She also had the best idea EVER with the horses- I'm so happy she was ok with me copying her- it seriously was so much fun. She is so creative!

Woohooo! Hot Mama in the HOUSE! Yowzers Jess those are smokin- and I don't just mean your eyes!!! So many great shots...those are awesome! Tony is going to flip out- now that I know boudoir pics are actually well-received...lol I'm so proud of you for doing these- it's so much fun and Leigh just absolutely never ceases to amaze me with her work. Well done both of you! So Jessalyn, when are you planning to give them to him? Just so you know, if you do it just before the wedding, it makes for some very interesting conversation during any lulls in the ceremony...hehe

Jill, you probably just saved yourself some $$. Hardly any of my invitees sent their RSVP cards back, despite the stamp. You can use the stamps to pay bills! lol

Here are a couple more (the ones with Tammy are pretty much the same)

Quote: Originally Posted by JANET1111 Sarah - Phew I am tired after reading all that I am so impressed with your wedding and hope that writing the review was the final OCD touch and now you know you can just RELAX! And I mentioned this on the other thread but your makeup was FLAWLESS and so photogenic. Good choice on doing it yourself! Thanks Janet- I actually thought of you and heard your voice in the back of my mind telling me to relax and enjoy myself. You and Christa...I had to remember what both of you said about just letting things happen and enjoy every minute. Although, I had done so much ahead of time there really wasn't much to stress about! I had 3 days before the wedding to just hang out and have fun. Yes, I do feel much better now that I got this review done. I am just so excited to finally be married! woohoo!! Yes, hopefully now I can direct my OCD-ness to another area- like cleaning my house! lol

Quote: Originally Posted by A10CALGAL Hahaha! Yes, nice but shot Sarah. That reminds me of what Rafael said when I got my dress off & he saw my "Rafael's Booty" panties!! hahaha I love it! Quote: Originally Posted by TAMMYM Sarah, I went from orginally booking Juan for 1.5 hours to three hours.. lol... Does he usually show up right on time or a little early? He's been right on time all 3 times I've used him.

Quote: Originally Posted by TAMMYM Nice butt shot.. ROFL.. This is what we have planned as of right now. 5:00 = Juan meets me at my room for a few pics 5:10 = Juan and I leave to meet Cain for "before wedding pics" 6:00-6:20 = Ceremony 6:20 - 7:30 = beach pics with group and alone shots with Cain and I 7:30-8:00 = Dinner pics of champagne toast and cakes.. Please let me know what your thoughts are? I thought you'd like that- roflmao... I took my dress off in our room and he saw my underwear and said "Is there anything you didn't think of?" lol I think that looks like a good timeline. Just remember that things always take waayyyy longer than you plan. If there's no way you would consider having Juan for longer then I think this is the optimal timeline. If you thought about going an hour or half hour longer you could get some more pics of you alone in your room (those are always so pretty) and extend the time for Juan to take pics of you 2 until like 8, then do the cake/champagne thing. Just my two cents...

Quote: Originally Posted by TAMMYM Sarah, great review.. Question time :-) So you mentioned you hired Juan for four hours on your wedding day.. I hired him for three. Did he take "getting ready" pics? and if so how long did he shoot for? That was the one thing I did give him direction on. I had him check in with me at my room at 4, then go straight to Jeff's room & take pics of him opening his b-pic book, then getting ready with the guys. Then, he was back at my room at about 4:35 to take pics of me getting my dress on...here's a pic that can only go here in the private forum! lol He took pics of me getting dressed, then in the room, then out on the way to the wedding. The ceremony went from 5:40-6, then we shot for 2 hours after. Three hours would give you about an hour after if you used him before the wedding like I did...

Quote: Originally Posted by Nini_Bride wow Sarah. I'd agree, you take the cake for the longest review, but I read every last word of it. So helpful! And, I did have questions as I was reading through it, but have since forgot so I'll follow up on those later! lol. I like that you did your review from beginning to end - excellent idea... but you should add your reviews on your b-pics with Leigh, and your site visit. I'm not sure how to go about the whole site visit thing and a small review would help. Like, how long did you meet with Mariana for? How many dishes did you try? etc. Fantastic review though, thanks... I've gotten more information from your review alone than in my entire time on this forum! lol. Great ideas Courtney- I totally meant to review the b-pics too, I just forgot! lol I'll have to go back and add that in- look for it in a few minutes! I actually have done reviews for BOTH of my site visits- they're on here somewhere...let's see... Site Visit #1:http://bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/t1009 Site visit #2:http://bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/t3179 Glad I could help- it's kinda "paying it forward" because there's no way my wedding would have gone so well without the forum!

Quote: Originally Posted by NHPT you rock- this is exactly the review i was waiting for. makes me relax a little for my wedding. is there anything you would change/cut out/do diferently? Honestly- there is nothing. Everything went exactly as I planned, everything went off without a hitch. Everyone and everything was in place just the way I wanted it. The ONLY tiny little thing in my opinion, is that I wish Jeff's bout had been white instead of red- but that was my decision- I ordered it red. I just don't think it matches his tie- and we changed from and ivory to a red tie at the last minute and I didn't think about the flower. Also- and I forgot to say something about this in my review- I never really discussed with Juan a timeframe for anything! I just assumed that we would take some pics right after the ceremony, then go to the reception, and then head back out to get some sunset photos. Well, the ceremony ended at 6- we did pics on the beach with the fam, then they headed up to the cocktail hour. We continued pics with Juan. By the time I realized it was getting close to sunset and weren't going to make it to the reception on time it was like 7:30 and there was nothing I could do. We didn't get to the reception until almost 8:00. My guests didn't mind, but some peoples' guests might! So, lesson learned: talk to Juan about what you want to do! I wouldn't necessarily change it though- we took sooo many pictures and I know it will be worth it in the end. We just didn't have much time at the reception. It seriously felt like we got there, danced, ate, and 5 minutes later it was over. I have my timelines, powerpoint seating chart, and wedding details documents if you're interested PM me your email address again and I'll email them- I totally copied your timeline Nicole... Anyone else too- if you want to see what I gave Mariana at my meeting, just PM me. Quote: Originally Posted by Natalie M Sarah, this review was awesome!! Thank you so much for reassuring me that I picked a great place that myself and guests will love!! I will probably have some questions for you but when I think of them I will PM you!!! Thanks again for all the details!! I'm so happy for you!!! Thanks Natalie- truly, Dreams is awesome- you have nothing to worry about- epecially if you are using Mariana. Feel free to ask away... Quote: Originally Posted by Adamsgrrl AWWWWWW.... how sweet!! You did a wonderful job!! And you look beautiful! Can't wait to see more pictures! I just got an email from Juan- it's going to be a week before I get my pics. Oh well- I want him to take his time so they are good! Quote: Originally Posted by jpkw Sarah - I LOVE LOVE LOVE your review!!! I have been anxiously waiting to read this, thanks SO much for putting together all of this information. I got tears in my eyes as I read your last sentence about what Jeff said to you during your first dance! I'm SO happy that everything worked out so perfectly!!! I know how much planning and energy you put into everything and I am absolutely thrilled for you! I cannot wait to see all of your pictures and to see how beautiful you looked!!! I do have a few questions (believe it or not): 1) I'm using the same mariachi and am SO happy you gave them such a good review! Jose asked me what type of music I wanted him to play for the ceremony. I just said romantic trio music, but he said it would help if I told him specifics. Did you give him specific songs to play, or how did he know what to play for yours? If you loved your music, maybe I'll just tell him to play whatever he played for yours? Did you have a specific song for the processional? That's funny that he wanted specific music, because a couple months ago I ASKED for the ability to request specific songs, and he said they didn't have a song list but were working on one. I gave him no specifics- I just said romantic music for the processional, and triumphant party music to burst out right at the recessional. I honestly can't remember my music in detail (can't wait to get that video!) but I remember thinking it was sooo nice! You could probably tell him just to do what he did for mine- it was great. 2) Dreams make-up: I have appts for myself and my bridesmaids to get our makeup done at Dreams (and my hair too). You've scared me with your experience (but I'm SO glad for the heads-up). Do you think I should book someone completely different (suzanne morel) or will Dreams be able to do the make-up if I give them specific instructions on how to do it?? (Also, for the hair?) let me know your honest opinion - thanks!!!! Dreams is so much cheaper than outside vendors for make-up but I want to be happy with it!!! I honestly cannot give Dreams a good recommendation for their makeup. Maybe it was just the girl I had? Her name was Isaura and she was probably 40ish. She did my hair first, then went to get makeup and brought this like archaic looking makeup box and totally didn't look like she knew what she was looking for as she picked out stuff to use. My foundation was too light, I had gold eyeshadow out about an inch past my eyebrows (I'm dead serious!) and my lipliner was drawn on so crooked it totally looked like 5 year old did it. I am not a picky person (only to myself), I'm not the type of person to ever complain about stuff like at a hair salon, or restaurant, or anything. So, I didn't say anything except that my hair looked nice and that I would probably just do my own makeup so that it looked more natural. But honestly, I would have someone else do your makeup. Edyta's looked great from Suzanne Morel- maybe you could look into having her salon come do your BM's? I guess it depends on what it's worth to you. I was soooo glad I spent the $45 to try Dreams and find out that it was terrible before the day of the wedding. What about doing it yourself? I'm totally not a huge makeup person, but the lady at the MAC counter taught me alot and I felt totally confident doing it. I think it came out well. Dreams is much cheaper- but now I think I know why! Also, alot of the girls that work in the Dreams spa do everything- my hair and makeup was done by the same girl. Another bride I met there said she got a massage, then hair done by the same girl. I just don't think they're specialists at anything- just do a "so-so" job at everything. Maybe you'll have a better experience than me, but I just would feel terrible telling you to go ahead if yours ended up anything like mine... 3) Luminarias - how many did you end up using? I brought 95 with me. I cut the edge with a paper punch that looked like lace- they were so pretty! My guests loved that they went down the stairs to the bathroom area- the stairs looked so pretty. Oh, but you're at the Cascade Terrace, right? You can have them along the sidewalk there- it looks great. I also saw a party set up on the beach with luminarias set up along the sidewalk to the beach- it was beautiful. The tables were right on the beach, and they had HUGE palm fronds (like 8 feet tall) with torches along the edge- I'd totally do that if I was doing a beach reception. thanks Sarah!! A HUGE congratulations to you & Jeff!!! I'm so happy your wedding was so wonderful and everything you hoped for! Thanks! It was wonderful, and it was everything and more than what we hoped for!

Our song was (it's soooo strange to talk about my wedding now in the past tense!) "Come What May" from the Moulin Rouge soundtrack. Long story short- it's a song we both loved before we were together, but were friends. When we started dating we always said it would be our wedding song- it's quite dramatic. Our song with our parents was "You Raise Me Up" by Josh Grobin. My dad loves that song.

OK, I just re-read this before I posted it- I think this is the longest post in BDW history- although, did you expect any different from me? lol There is an excess of information here- please pick through what applies to you and skip through the rest of my rambling. For those of you who want a blow-by-blow of my wedding day, it’s here- all the details are in this review. If you have any questions after you read this (I don’t know how you could…lol) feel free to ask! For our Save the Dates, we sent picture frames and an invitation: Picture frames from Walmart: $3 each Paper, cardstock, and black gatefold cards from Hobby Lobby Engagement Photographs by Juan Carlos Tapia. You can view them all at www.jeffreyandsarah.shutterfly.com. We put an engagement photograph in the picture frame, and enclosed a magnet printed by vistaprint. Juan’s review will be later. I spent a lot of $$ on our STD’s and it’s not something I would repeat. Honestly, we probably sent out 60 of these, and about 30+ had the picture frame and all. I don’t remember exactly what these cost in the end, but it was a LOT (probably $600+ including shipping). If you’re not sure how many people are going to actually come, don’t spend a ton of $$ on STD’s. People loved them and I got great feedback, but it was just not worth it to me. Vendor Grade: Vistaprint: (A+) super fast shipping, great quality products. I’ve ordered magnets, postcards, and greeting cards from them. VistaPrint - Business Cards - Full Color Printing - Digital Printing Company | VistaPrint. I made DIY invitations using pocketfolds from Cards and Pockets. Metallic paper, cardstock, and envelopes were from Paper and More. Invitations were assembled using miniature brads from Hobby Lobby These were very time-consuming, but my guests were really impressed. There was a ton of info in the invites and people loved the presentation. I really wouldn’t spend the time or money on response cards, if I were to do it over. It was just an extra expense and we thought with a formal invitation it was just the proper thing to do, but it was totally not necessary. I think people actually found them inconvenient. Vendor Grades: Cards and Pockets: (A+) Their website is a little Spartan, but shipping is always timely and products arrived in great condition and as described. They also have great ideas on their website and a gallery of customer pics. cardsandpockets.com. Paper and More: (A+) Another great company for super fast shipping, helpful customer service and reasonable prices. I’ve ordered about $200 worth of metallic paper through them throughout this whole process! Discount Wedding Invitations, Vellum Paper, Vellum Envelopes, Card Stock Source - Paperandmore.com ATTIRE My dress: Allure Bridal from Bridal Gallery in Grand Rapids Michigan (A) Bridal Gallery - Grand Rapids, Michigan. I went into Bridal Gallery on a whim after exhausting the dress shops in Lansing. I walked into Bridal Gallery and immediately fell in love with my dress. The saleslady was very helpful and not pushy, and I bought my veil there as well. Trashing Dress: My trash the dress was my original dress, and was a steal at $99 from a local thrift shop. It was a $900 Venus Bridal dress that a local dress shop had donated when they got rid of their discontinued styles. When we decided to do a more formal wedding, the dress got demoted to the trash the dress position! Alterations: Silver Thread in Lansing did my alterations and Carol’s prices were fantastic and her work was great. She worked around my schedule and got my trashing dress in a week before we left for a last-minute alteration. They definitely get an A+. Jeff’s Suit: We bought his wedding suit from Banana Republic (A). Super fast shipping, free in-store returns and it fit great. http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n.../Jeffssuit.jpg Groomsmen Attire: We bought our groomsmen linen pants from Burlington Coat Factory for $9.99, and shirts from Marshall’s for $20. Bridesmaid’s Dress: http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n...ydollDress.jpg My bridesmaid’s dress is from Nordstrom (A++). I ordered a ton of stuff online from Nordstrom and returned a ton also- their shipping is cheap ($5) and return shipping is free, so for an online shopper like me it was ideal. I just kept ordering dresses until I found the one I wanted. I seriously returned like 10 dresses to them- no hassles. Flowergirl Dress: Again, Burlington Coat Factory. It was $29 and exactly what I was looking for. TRAVEL Travel Agent We booked our room block and hotel arrangements through Tammy the host. Wright Travel Agency. (A+++++) Tammy was awesome to work with and guided me through the process of blocking rooms and then was so helpful to all my guests as they contacted her to make reservations. Tammy got us an unbeatable rate and provided excellent customer service. I had some serious PITA guests and Tammy dealt with them well. She worked with me to find solutions to problems that arose and there’s no way I could have done this without her! Well, I probably could have- it just would have cost me an arm and a leg! AIR TRAVEL Seven of my Fourteen guests (including Jeff & I) used Frontier Airlines. I’ve never flown Frontier before, but have flown many other times. I’m only mentioning this because I felt their service was outstanding. This is the first time I’ve been to Mexico and not been delayed (out of 4 times) and had helpful customer service at every airport- Detroit, Denver & Cabo. The personal TV’s are really nice and the flight attendants seemed genuinely kind. I give Frontier an A. CAR RENTAL Once again, we used Payless. We almost went through Dominic that Natasha and Andrea recommended and his communication was great- we just had a history of getting great rates and great service through Payless and decided to try it once more time. I made a reservation for an economy car online the night before we left (talk about last minute!). The reservation was for $198 for 9 days. We got to the airport and were taken to the Payless building after waiting about 15 minutes for the shuttle (my only complaint). When we checked in with them, we asked for a discount and an upgrade since we got a car through them last fall for $97 for a week. They didn’t discount the price at all, but upgraded us for an extra $20 to a Dodge Stratus- up like 3 car classes. We ended up paying $215 for 9 days for a Dodge Stratus with 2,000 miles on it- it was brand new! The people who checked in in front of us paid $240 for the same car for FOUR DAYS- it definitely pays to negotiate! We didn’t purchase the extra insurance since my credit card covers most of it, so total cost- $215. Payless gets an A-. It would get a better grade if our shuttle came faster. VENUE - DREAMS LOS CABOS Room, check in, service, etc… Dreams was fantastic. Once again, it exceeded our expectations. The bellboys were helpful and greeted our guests with cool towels upon arrival. Checkin was smooth and the front desk people were always helpful and pleasant. My guests were impressed with the champagne at checkin. The front desk staff handed out all my OOT bags without complaint and I happened to be peeking around the corner when my dad arrived and heard the presentation- it was very nice. Our room was not remodeled, but clean and spacious. We were on the 6th floor in a honeymoon suite, which was huge! The 6th floor rooms also have cathedral ceilings were were awesome. Our view was of the main pool, above where the Himitsu restaurant is. If you left your doors open at night it was a little noisy in the morning because of the El Patio Restaurant- dishes clanging, etc- but if we were up before 7 it wasn’t a big deal anyway. We did see one of the remodeled rooms and it is gorgeous! They did change the curtains in our room while we were there, and Juan was really happy to have the beige background to work with. My guests booked excursions through the concierge who was very helpful. The bartenders/Waiters were great- especially Victor, Moises, Jesus, Pepe, & Ricardo. We liked Ricardo so much we requested him for our reception- he was very grateful and provided excellent service. Food: The food overall at Dreams is good. There were some things I LOVED- Dreams Tacos, Chicken Kiev, Omelettes to order at El Patio, and the Chilaquiles. There were some things that were just so-so, but that’s totally expected in Mexico. Everyone on this forum talked about how bad Himitsu was, but some of my guests wanted to try it. I’m not a huge sushi or Asian person anyway, but what I had was tasty and my guests said it was good. I believe Edyta’s guests enjoyed it as well. So, I guess it depends on what you order- my friend loved the vegetarian rolls, but said the Pad Thai was nothing like it should have been. Just an FYI… Welcome Dinner Our welcome dinner (rehearsal dinner without the rehearsal, or whatever you want to call it) was on the terrace at El Patio Restaurant. It was set up exactly as I had requested with one long table, menus on top of the plates, and candles. The waiters were wonderful and kept the dinner moving. One of our guests (Jeff’s dad) fell asleep and was 40 minutes late- we waited for him. I wouldn’t recommend doing that! But, our waiters kept us drinking and kept bringing rolls. The food was great- we had: Appetizer: Salmon, Tuna, and Mahi-Mahi Carpaccio served with roasted bell peppers vinaigrette and balsamic vinegar. I didn’t even taste this since I’m allergic to Salmon and Tuna- this was something Jeff really wanted though, and he said it was good. Soup: Minestrone with Pesto and Parmesan Cheese (so yummy!) Entrée: Choice of Tortellini filled with Spinach and Cheese ( I had this- very good) or Chicken filled with Spinach and Cheese with Grappa Sauce. I also tasted the chicken, which Jeff had- I preferred it to the tortellini, but both were excellent. Dessert: Warm Apple Tart with Ice Cream- Fantastic! I paid $22 per person for my welcome dinner, except my 2-year-old niece to whom they served chicken nuggets and fries and the cost was $11. I was very happy with the welcome dinner and tipped each waiter (there were 3) $10. Weather I just have to comment on the weather for those who might be still debating what time of year to go to Cabo. We now have been there in September, February, and May. September is very HOT, February was too COLD. This was just right. Seriously, I couldn't have ordered better weather if I wanted to. It was 89-91 every day and just perfect in the shade. If you wanted to lay out it was great. At night it was 65-70, and just perfect with a pashmina or cardigan. On my wedding day, I was actually comfortable in my wedding dress. The only time I was too warm, was when we were taking pics right on the beach and standing out there for a long time, and at the reception when I was dancing like a crazy drunk college girl! Ahhh...I want to go back! HAIR and MAKEUP I debated forever about what to do for my hair and makeup. I was going to use Hive, then Susanne Morel, but just never got around to booking anything. I had an idea of what I wanted, but never could find a picture. I didn’t want an updo- just something down, curly, and kinda messy, but elegant. I did a hair and makeup trial at Dreams 2 days before the wedding. My hair was ok, my makeup was HIDEOUS! I left crying and went back to my room and had a meltdown. My friend Jenny came to my room, and Jeff came up too and they calmed me down. They both talked me into washing it off right then and doing my own makeup. I had gone to the MAC counter a couple weeks ago and bought a whole new set of makeup just in case- best decision I think I made for the entire wedding! I ended up doing my own makeup and using Dreams for hair. On the day of the wedding, I loved my hair- it was exactly what I wanted. So, Dreams Hair: A (with direction and redirection!) Dreams Makeup: F CEREMONY & COCKTAIL HOUR Our ceremony was at the Dreams Gazebo at 5:30pm. Our mariachis started playing at 5 while guests were arriving. My parents had made so many friends while they were there, that in addition to our seated guests, there were about 10 people standing on the outside by the restaurant watching the wedding too. For my guests, I had paper fan programs, tissue holders, and a pouch of rose petals to throw. No one except Edyta & Tammy remembered to do this this though- thank God they were there to ambush me with petals! I also had parasols for all the ladies- these were a hit with my guests. I bought them from Japanese Kimonos, Chinese Paper Lanterns, Chopsticks, Chinese Dresses. I got the “wedding parasols” and paid $8 each. They were a little more expensive than some I’ve seen, but I was impressed with the quality- Juan said they were the nicest ones he’d seen and we used one for a lot of my pics. The ceremony goes SO FAST! Before we knew it, it was time to walk down the aisle- my dad forgot that he had to walk with me and was sitting with the other guests, so my mom had to go get him- too funny…We did a legal ceremony which is in Spanish, with Mariana the WC interpreting. It was simple, but nice. My dad and brother sang and my dad played the guitar- I cried, it was very touching. My dad also performed the sand ceremony, which went really well. After the ceremony we had a cocktail hour at El Patio of hot canapés. We almost went with tray passed cold canapés, but I’m glad I didn’t since my guests spent a ton of time on the beach getting their pictures taken and Tammy had to pretty much make them eat! It was great having Tammy, Steve, Edyta & Terry at my wedding- it’s funny how close you can feel to someone you only know from the internet, but yet I was insistent they be in our pics- they felt like family. I paid $22 per chair for the ceremony & cocktail hour- there were 12 chairs. RECEPTION Our reception was at the Oceana Terrace. Tammy & Edyta were making fun of me because I went to check on the progress of the setup THREE times that day! Jeff & I didn’t stay together the night before the wedding, so it was hard to sneak around and make sure he didn’t see me, but I did. I had a square table setup, with table runners that I made, 4 drowned rose centerpieces, sitting Chinese lanterns (battery powered and from the dollar store- awesome find!), my personalized candles for name cards, and a thank-you white paper fan from The White Aisle : Unique Wedding Favors and Invitations and my menus on each plate. I paid $180 for the wiring, and brought 24 Chinese lanterns in small and large sizes that were hung over the reception area. I had 95 white paper bag luminaries that Dreams put sand and a votive in for me. These were around the palms, the edge of the pool, and down the stairs to the bathrooms. I was supposed to pay $1 per votive but Mariana forgot to charge me and I didn’t realize it until right now as I’m writing this- lucky me since I had about $120 votives! She also put 4 hurricanes with sand and votives around the table and I don’t think she remembered to charge me for that either. Jeff & I spent so much time taking photos that we arrived at the reception about an hour after our guests- oops! Most of them had been drinking quite a bit by the time we got there though, so they were having fun! The waiters were terrific, and the food was excellent. We had: Appetizer: Portobello Mushroom in a Puff pastry shell with Balsamic Vinaigrette Soup: Cream of Broccoli Entrée: Lobster & Filet Mignon Dessert: Tres Leches Wedding Cake The food was phenomenal. My guests loved it and were very impressed. Very tasty! We did our first dances immediately upon arriving at the reception and it was a great move. This allowed Juan and Enrique to leave and we could get on with the party. Jeff & I did our first dance, our parents’ dance, and then cut that cake. By this time it was about 8:15 and we finally started eating. The service was fast, the food was terrific, but the waiters were awesome during the dancing and party afterward. I bought glow necklaces and bracelets and the dollar store and gave them to Mariana, not sure how it would work out. Well, as soon as the party music broke out and we started dancing, the waiters opened up the glow stuff, activated them and started passing them out to the guests. The waiters were also wearing them- it added a fun touch to the party atmosphere. The waiters made us shots, and brought drinks out to the guests on the dance floor. The dreams speaker system was LOUD and we had so much fun! I felt like I was in college at a party- I drank and danced so much! Terry, Edyta, Tammy & Steve showed up a little later and it was great to see them. Terry & Edyta did shots with use, and Terry & Jeff conned with Edyta to pretend they were going to throw me into the pool- they picked me up and swung me in the air- I was freaking out- Edyta got great pics! Anyway, can you tell I loved my reception? We had to end by 11, so the waiters started wrapping things up around 10:30ish- I kept begging for one more song…it was so hard to end it! My reception was gorgeous, if I do say so myself. I had this vision in my head of what I wanted it to look like, and Mariana and her staff interpreted it PERFECTLY. When Jeff & I walked around the corner and saw it I exclaimed out loud and cried- it was so perfect. Hotel guests were taking tons of pictures of it, and random people stopped to tell my parents how beautiful it was. Someone said it looked like a magazine. Ahhhh, I was so happy! The cost for the reception was $40 per person because of the surf & turf. I also tipped each of the 3 waiters $20 for their service. WEDDING COORDINATOR I really debated hiring an outside coordinator, and almost broke down about a month before the wedding, but stuck with Mariana, the onsite WC at Dreams. I cannot say enough good things about Mariana. She gets an A++++++++++++++++. She was so responsive to my emails, always kept perfect record of all our correspondence, and was so friendly and sweet. She greeted us at check-in and confirmed our appointment for the next morning for our blood work. She met with us the next night to go over all the details and collect the huge piles of stuff I’d brought with me. I came prepared with a PowerPoint presentation, and 4 page Word document of all the details, ceremony setup, timeline, and everything we’d discussed. I figured I’d let her talk then fill her in with everything she missed…well that wasn’t necessary. She went through the paperwork she brought and had covered almost every single thing in my mountain of paperwork- did I mention she is phenomenal? I thought of a couple other details as the wedding got closer and contacted her- she always said “no problem” but if she had a suggestion for something that might be better done differently she would let me know. She is incredibly organized, professional, and detail oriented. I had SO MUCH stuff with me and it was all exactly where it needed to be, exactly how I planned it. I had asked for beige tablecloths sight unseen. I went to check on the setup the morning of the wedding and HATED the tablecloths- I had her workers page her, she came right over and had them changed to white- no problem. She orchestrated having the lanterns hung, the 95 luminaries, all the centerpieces and miscellaneous stuff I brought for the tables and the ceremony. Everything was exactly where it was supposed to be. I can honestly say that Mariana did a PERFECT job- if you have Mariana there is no need to have an outside WC- she is awesome! We tipped her at the end for her phenomenal service and I plan to write a letter of commendation to her general manager. Side note: I met two other couples that had Jessica (or is it Yessica? Whatever…) as their WC and it was a disaster. I don’t mean to freak anyone out, but if you are assigned to Jessica you really need to request to get switched to Mariana. Even Mariana kindly acknowledged that Jessica is new, and is trying, but is a “slow learner”. Just FYI… PHOTOGRAPHY Boudoir Photographs Leigh Miller A+ If any of you have been in a coma and missed the b-pic shoot that Ann, Lenita, and I did with Leigh in Chicago in Feb, here's the link to her blog: Leigh Miller Photography. It was sooo much fun! Leigh is so professional, but totally brought out the vixen in each of us! I made a photobook through Shared Ink- here's the thread with pics: http://bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/t4420. I had my friend Jenny take Jeff his book just before the ceremony. Juan was there to get his reaction, and from what I hear it was a good one! He loved the book and talks about it often. He said that in some of the pictures it felt like I was looking right through that book and speaking to him- wooohooo! Mission accomplished! If I was going to use anyone but Juan Carlos for my wedding photography, it would be Leigh. Her work is truly amazing... Engagement, Wedding, and Trash The Dress PicsJ Juan Carlos Tapia A+ We had now used Juan for 3 photo shoots. The first was our engagement session last fall, then our wedding and finally our trash the dress shoot. I never cease to be amazed at Juan’s creativity and professionalism. He is always on time, always pleasant but good with direction and I like that. I haven’t seen our wedding photos yet, but I saw a couple previews on him camera and they looked awesome. I’ll update his grade after I get my pics, but for right now, I think he’s phenomenal! His use of light is incredible and I just love to watch him thing- you can see the creative wheels in his head… We had Juan for 4 hours for the wedding day, but ended up keeping him an extra 1/2-hour. We had him for 2 hours the day after. I wanted a ton of pictures, and so he shot basically for 4 hours straight- we had him shoot us individually before the wedding, but after the wedding was over we didn't go to the reception for almost 2 hours because we were taking pictures. We had a small group of mostly family who all were great friends, so it wasn't a big deal- but with a larger wedding that might not be as possible. He shot us from 6-8pm, got sunset pics, then went to the reception where we immediately did our first dance, parents' dance, then the cutting of the cake. I had him for a total of 7 hours between both days...it was enough for us- he says he has 1700 photos… VIDEOGRAPHY Baja Video Productions- BVP (Marci on the Forum) This is a hard one to review since I haven’t seen the video yet- it’s getting copied onto a DVD right now, then I’ll decide what to do from there. We purchased the raw video package for $200 for 4 hours- that’s their minimum. After reading Natasha’s review and seeing Enrique in almost all of her wedding pics, I was totally freaked out and regretted hiring them. But, I emailed Marci and just nicely stated that it was extremely important for me to retain the intimate atmosphere of my wedding ceremony and that I didn’t want Enrique obstructing the view of any of my guests, nor did I want him to get in the way of Juan. I told her that I realized this may affect the quality of my video, but that I was prepared to accept that responsibility. I honestly can’t say that I noticed if Enrique was in the way or not- I guess I’ll have to wait and see what my pics show, or maybe Tammy or Edyta can comment on this- I was too caught up in the moment of my wedding to notice! I can say that they were both very pleasant to work with, and it was nice to meet Marci- she’s a sweetie. I’ll post an addendum to this once I see the outcome! CAKE Dreams- A+ We didn’t really care that much about cake, so we just used the Dreams cake and didn’t have high expectations. We were pleasantly surprised! Our cake was actually delicious, and looked just like the picture! It was tres leches with white chocolate and strawberries between the layers, white frosting with red rose petals. I ordered a cake topper off an ebay vendor ( bandm2775) for $64 plus shipping: eBay: 3 Letter Crystal Monogram Initial Wedding Cake Topper (item 170095814903 end time Mar-27-07 11:55:00 PDT). It arrived the day before we left- yikes! Here’s a pic of the cake- thanks Edyta for taking this! http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n...Wedding046.jpg We bought 4 inch white boxes from another ebay vendor ( weddingcastle) for $0.30 each plus shipping: eBay: Wedding DELUXE White Favor FAVORS Box Boxes 4x4x4 (item 9503945105 end time May-21-07 22:03:28 PDT) I printed a sticker of one of our monograms and stuck it on the top (that’s my sand ceremony vase next to it): http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n...wedding161.jpg The waiters boxed up the cake after serving and everyone got a piece to take home. Everyone ate theirs too- it was sooo good! I paid $90 for a cake that served all my 14 guests twice! FLOWERS Dreams: A Flowers were also something I didn’t really care too much about and probably could have saved money by going elsewhere, but just went with Dreams. But, I just told Mariana what I wanted and she got them done. I also told her about how much I wanted to spend and she made it work within that budget. I got my bouquet and MOH bouquet, Jeff’s bout, 2 large centerpieces that went in front of the gazebo, (and then were transferred to the reception to sit in the middle of the table and on the cake table), 4 small drowned rose centerpieces, and petals for the aisle, table, and cake for about $750. My flowers weren’t outstanding, but were exactly what I had in mind. I was really impressed with my bouquet. I brought a large jewel to put on the stems with satin ribbon and they executed that perfectly. They also used large leaves around the edge of the roses and it was exactly what I had in mind. I just wanted a small, simple, and elegant bouquet that wasn’t overpowering and that’s exactly what I got- I was thrilled when I saw it. And…drumroll please….I managed to smuggle my bouquet home! I was sooo happy!!! I wrapped it in a towel and put it in the large suitcase full of dirty clothes. It is totally smashed and flattened, but at least I have it- it looks totally sad and terrible, but all that matters is that I have it! I know…so naughty…now don’t any of you turn me in! My only regret with my flowers is that I had a red rose for Jeff. I wish I would have gone with white- I don’t like the red rose next to his red tie. But, oh well- what’s done is done- that is literally the only thing I might change about my wedding, and if that’s all I would change I think I did pretty good! MARIACHI Mariachi Los Cabos International A+ I was really scared about this one. I arranged this vendor on my own with really no review to go on. I emailed Jose SEVERAL times and he always got back with me- sometimes a week or two later, but he always did. He was very pleasant and responsive. He called me at the hotel the day before the wedding to confirm things and I couldn’t have been more pleased. I negotiated a package with a mariachi TRIO for 2 hours for $600. We had talked about the whole mariachi band, but I decided to just save $$. Well, I almost passed out when my dad was walking me down the aisle and it was an entire mariachi band- yup, all 8 of them! I figured I was going to be in a battle for sticking with my $600 for the trio, and was immediately thinking how glad I was that I had printed all my emails and brought them with me. The band was awesome- at least what I heard. They played soft romantic music before the ceremony and as I walked down. Immediately after we were pronounced, the burst into loud party music- it was absolutely perfect! When they were done and I went to settle the bill I was prepared for a fight. I saw Jose and greeted him- I said I had expected and negotiated a price for a trio and he said I was correct- they just decided to bring the whole band and to give them a good recommendation on the forum. So….here’s their good recommendation! I don’t think anyone else will get that awesome deal that I did, but I told him about the forum and how I will be referring many brides to him, and I can honestly say that their emails, timeliness, attire, and playing were wonderful. I can’t wait to get my video so I can hear them again. My guests were very impressed. So, if you decide to go with them, will you please mention that Sarah Camper referred you? I want to make sure he feels like it was worthwhile to have his whole band at my wedding for $600- woohoooo!!!! Contact Info: Jose Luis González [email protected] Homephone: (52-624) 173.3587 Cellphone: 624.151.5529 MUSIC We rented the Dreams sound system, Speaker, and microphone for $235 for the night. We used it at the ceremony for my dad & brother’s song, then at the reception with our mp3 player. The speaker was LOUD and it was perfect! Our mp3 player worked out great and our guests loved our music. One of my friends also had her IPOD, so pretty much any song anyone requested, between the two of us one of us had it. I wouldn’t have done it any other way- it worked out great. Final thoughtsI am so happy my wedding went as well as it did. I can honestly say that everything went PERFECTLY and for those of you who know me, it takes a lot for an anal OCD perfectionist like myself to say that. I am so glad I chose Dreams to have my wedding- after all the new girls joined and found all these other cool places I started to wish I had done something different- now I know why I went with Dreams. My guests were in awe all week. Jeff’s mom, who is impossible to please and the biggest complainer ever (just ask Tammy- she had to deal with her a lot!) couldn’t stop talking about how wonderful everything was. She almost had a cow when we told her we were getting married in Mexico. Now, you’d think she was a paid advertisement for Mexico destination weddings- she tells all her friends it’s the only way to go. We spent so much money paying for my family to be there, but I wouldn’t do it any differently now. My brother leaves for the Air Force this morning, and I wouldn't trade that 4 days in Mexico with him for anything. Not only did I have a perfect wedding, but also I had a perfect family vacation- there are memories that will last forever. I often wondered what Jeff would think when this was all said and done. I wondered if he’d realize all the work I put into this, all the details I thought of, and how I probably spent more time making this wedding for FOURTEEN people be as impressive as if it was for four hundred. Well, during our first dance, he looked at me and said “you’re amazing- I can’t believe you put all this together. Thank you so much for making this such a perfect day. I’m so proud that you’re my wife.” Talk about making it all worthwhile…

Quote: Originally Posted by AmyInMI Well I am late to this thread because we were out of town all weekend but your pics look AMAZING Sarah!! I am so happy for the two of you!! CONGRATS!!!!!! It looks and sounds like you guys had a fantastic time!! One quick question, where did you get your veil at? Thanks Amy- It's from Bridal Gallery in Grand Rapids. It cost almost as much as my dress!