amyh

Tequila Bottles (shot glasses in the background) First Dance "All the way"- Celine Dione and Frank Sinatra Trying to dance "Solja Boy"

Tablescape and details The sweet heart table

My only bridezilla moments were while trying to gather everyone for shots! Entering the cocktail hour My Bro and I (and the yummy blue margs!) My SIL's (Hanssel's sis and my Bro's wife) My momma My cousing/MOH and her daughter Fun times with the Guestboard His read: she makes me happy, I love her Mine read: I wear the pants

some of my MOH's in the Melia lobby making sure Hanssel gets to the church! I was planning to take a cab, but my cousin offered to drive me and my dad to the church! The boys waiting 2 of our 3 flower girls

I know, long over due. There are a ton of pics in these Kodak galleries Kodakgallery.com*Join now and receive beautiful photographic prints from your camera Kodakgallery.com*Join now and receive beautiful photographic prints from your camera Enjoy! Getting Ready! I gave all of my MOH's a personal time line (thanks Alyssa) and a cute nighty from VS and made sure they all wore it that morning while getting ready. I of course wore a white one Flowers

Quote: Originally Posted by Maura amyh did an awesome thing i will have to come back later to post photos of - she got dry erase boards and had a teenage family member run this - the guests were given directions to write a message to amy & hans using 5 words or less on the dry erase board and take a photo. i saw her photos and some of them are totally hilarious, while others are really sweet and sentimental. i am doing this also for my wedding in 3 weeks so i will let you know how it turns out and will post pics right away when i get back. if you want to check it out in the meantime, check amyh's planning thread (called amyh's planning galore, use the search to find it) i will post the directions when i get back but i gotta go run out for an errand right now. Thanks Maura for the explanation! You saved me some time, hehe! Yes, my guests had fun with them. They even made it out to the dance floor!

Very cute! I'm jumping on this bandwagon soon. Short hair is hot!

That is so cute and so sweet of you Abbie! I'm sure she adores you!

I am so sorry ladies!!! I have been so busy and everytime I try and upload pics I get timed out and fed up, lol. I will post a link to my kodak gallery in another thread. Thank you all so much for your sweet words. It was truly an amazing day. Thank you all for letting me relieve it! Quote: Originally Posted by Nrvsbride I absolutely love the pic of you guys in the rain. They say rain is good luck in a marriage so at least smile knowing you will have a great marriage! Thanks Glenda. So many people were telling us this. Honestly, it didn't bother me all that much, but it did make a mess out of everything. We didn't take a lot of formal pics, they were only to do half the fireworks (almost none at all). The extra lighting for the beach and ocean was a waste since we had to have the sides of the tent covered since our guests were getting soaked. But I am very fortuanate- 175 guests were there and I married the man of my dreams Quote: Originally Posted by Maura wow amy how shady about the stuff that happened at the melia... and bummer about the rain. but in those teasers you look amazing - i cant wait to hear more! how did your dry erase guestbook go? ive been dying for you to get back so we can hear all the little details. Quote: Originally Posted by blinkgrl119 Amy those 2 pictures you have are amazing! truely!! Cannot wait to see the rest of them! I do have one question though - I know you were going to try do the guestbook where the guests write a message on the whiteboard - how did that work out for you? I realise you won't have had time to put it together yet, but did it go down well with guests? I'm itching to see the end result of this - because this is what I plan on doing too! Anyhoo - congrats lady - even with the slight problems....YOUR MARRIED!! woooo hooooooooooo xxxxxxxxxx I'm so sorry, here are the pics! They guests boards were a hit!!! I thought they were so much fun!

Betty Gambil (Hair/Make-up: A) She and her assistant did an amazing job with our hair/ make-up. She did my hair, 2 mom’s and 9 MOH’s. If you need more info, please pm me. Art Lemus and Rudy Arpia (pre-pics A) I don’t have pics, but I was very please with their work the day of. We met the day before as soon as they arrived. They advised us that they were heading out to the venues to check out some photo ops. Once they were “off” Hans invited them to stay and enjoy the wedding. They kept taking pics even though they were no longer on the clock. I believe that’s it Let me know if you have any questions J

Our Lady of Guadalupe (D) Be prepared ladies, your ceremony will be nothing like you planned. I was warned by my WC about this church, but I wanted pics in the church and in downtown so I went against her advice. I could hardly hear the priest. There was a point where he was asking us questions and Hans turned to me and answered “Yes?” It was so funny. We had chosen three readings and readers, somehow this man with no shoes and ragged pants did the first reading and read the wrong one. We had a traditional ceremony and wished to have the blessing of the coins, rosary, lazo, bouquet for the virgin mary, etc. Of course the priest only called up the coins and the rings! My cousins ran up to us place the lazo over us once they figure the mass was almost over and the priest never called them up. The bouquet was never given to the Virgin Mary and our rosary was never blesses. Oh well, but if this is very important to you, be prepared. There was a festival or something going on outside and all you could hear as a drum band and cars honking! I also noticed a broom to the side of the alter! I was hoping someone would notice it and move it so that they wouldn’t show up in the pics!

The wedding Priscilla of PrisarVallarta Events (A++++++++) You can search my posts in this forum and find that I once contemplated hiring an outside WC. If you are unsure, I suggest you go out and get one! We had a huge wedding, it poured, we even had a mini electrical fire. She handled it very well and it was great not having to stress about it on our day. We arrived on Tuesday, July 1st and met with Pris and her husband Hector that evening at the lobby at Melia. We went over the last minute budget, paid her the balances and I handed her all of the wedding stuff. Thursday we again met, had our food tasting at the Mayan (amazing!), met with the band manager and the tent vendor. So many things could have gone wrong (if you are a pessimist, you would say they did) however, Pris handled everything well. To sum up, waves were eating up the beach, Pris had workers digging trenches along side the tent, she managed to have the fireworks set off even when we were told it was not going to happen because of the storm and she even surprised us with FIRE DANCERS! Pris met up with us for a third time during our honeymoon to give us receipts and go over last minute expenses (she tried to give us back money!). I can go on and on… Mayan Palace A The food was amazing! We had a meal tasting even though we had already chosen our menu. The purpose was to choose the platting! The display of each plate was beautiful, I told the photogs to take pics! Again, it poured during the reception, the poor waiters were running in the rain to get the food out. It was insane, but they got it done. The only negative, some of the bartenders took money from our guests who were not aware that we purchased the bottles of alcohol. They were trying to purchase a bottle to take back to the hotel and the bar tenders took their money! Very shady. Another guests mentioned that one bar tender asked her if she was going to tip them. Enlace A+ Definitely get a live band if you can! They were amazing. Again, we met with Carlos, the manager of Enlace, on Thursday. Gave him a list of songs and a breakdown of the sets. Also handed over the pre-recorded mixed CD’s, including our first dance and parent dances. He allowed us to use their sound system when they were on breaks and even for an hour after they ended since we still had access to the venue. Mariachi/ Tent/ Fire Dances/ Videographer I don’t have contact infor for these since they were all contracted by Pris. The Mariachi was great and added so much for the cocktail hour. It was so croweded in the sunset bar since (again) it was pouring and everyone was trying to seek cover during the cocktail hour. The Tent- if your WC advises you to get a tent then GET ONE! LOL, it was very sturdy and was definitely needed! Fire Dances- Amazing. Everyone kept talking about them the next day. It was a great surprise. Videographer – TBR (to be reviewed )

Puerto Vallarta Tours – Yelapa (C-) Waste of money and time. I feel like we wasted a day doing this tour. It was boring and the food was disgusting. Little activity. Save your money or spend a little more and go to Las Caletas. Puerto Vallarta Advantures- Las Caletas/ Rhythms of the Night (A) We almost didn’t do this tour since it was pouring rain and I was freaked out to get on the boat at night. However, the crew flew to LC and we saw a great show and had great food. I never realized how huge LC was. You LC brides made a great decision! Mandala (A) We went to this club two nights in a row. I actually through a fit because I wanted to wait until the second night, when the rest of the group was arriving, to go to this club. It is very nice. A must. Zoo Bar No grade. It was empty so I don’t want to give it a bad grade since we went on a wrong night. It was small though and can only imagine how hot it must get on a good night.

I have no idea where to start! We had an amazing time and I only regret not taking the time to do this earlier so I hope this is going to be thorough enough. My pics are taking too long to upload so I will update the thread later. Planning thread http://bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/t24132-8 Airlines- Mexicana/ Aeromexico ( Travel was very smooth. Mexicana/Aeromexico still provides snacks/meals during their flights and FREE headphones (even during the ½ flight from PV to Guadalajara). My only complaint was that the planes are out dated and seemed to be falling apart. However, there were no delays. Our flight from PV to GDL was cancelled but they put us on the flight which left an hour before ours which was nice. We purchased our tickets way in advance so we were able to check to bags each. I carried my dress and laid it flat in an empty overhead compartment. In addition to my dress, Hans had one carryon. We each checked a large suitcase and a storage box full of wedding stuff. (my god-mother took a third box and my mom took one carryon full of wedding stuff). Everything arrived fine and we had absolutely no issues. Melia Puerto Vallarta (C-) DO NOT STAY HERE! This is very hard to judge since we knew that the hotel was not going to be that great. We were limited with choices for hotels for our group. We needed an affordable AI close to the Mayan and there are only 2 within walking distance. Melia was literally a group decision (my bro made an excel sheet and passed it around to our guests in sometime last year and we added a poll on our website). We did not get a group rate, guests paid between $55-$125 per night depending on when they booked. Our TA (a family member) would contact us when Melia was offering deals so we could send out mass emails. We had about 80 guests at this hotel. I’m giving the negative review because so many of our guests got sick. One was even diagnosed with salmonella (she lives in GDL so she IS used to the food) and another guest fainted twice and was picked up by an ambulance. My dad was bit my something and his foot was so swollen I freaked and made him go to the doctor on call. My cousin had bed bugs in her bed, yuck! The service was okay. They were a little rude to my guests and refused to serve them beer. I know we had a rowdy group, but it is an AI! No upgrade for us even though they kept calling us “Los Novios”. No big deal for us, but they did screw up some of our guests rooms who paid for ocean view. They tried to comp them and provided them with massages, but you all know what a hassle it is to switch rooms. Positives- Lots of activities for kids, huge pool, a variety of restaurants. With in walking distance of the Mayan (where our reception was held). Personal plus- We arrived to Melia and walked through a theater. I looked up to a sign which read “Julio Cesar Teatro”. I have mentioned before, however, my brother passed away 12 years ago and his full name is Julio Cesar. I got chills and so many people commented that they knew he was with us all! Mayan Palace (Reception Location) I’m not sure how to grade this since we only stayed there one night and I was a bit intoxicated, lol. It is a beautiful resort. Great food. The pool is not that nice and I actually preferred the pool at Melia. But it was a great place for our reception. Grand Velas Vallarta (Honeymoon) A++++ (service)/ A+++++ (spa)/ F (rain) This resort has amazing service. From the moment we arrived it was like “Mr. and Mrs. Santiago, can I offer you a drink…” I noticed more staff than guests (not sure if it has to do with how expensive the resort is). The rooms are very spacious and comfortable. Food is AMAZING! They have one restaurant with buffets for every meal, a snack food restaurant and three others you need to make reservations for and follow the dress code. There was even an “ice-cream man” making rounds in the pool area! The rain totally ruined our honeymoon. It rained three days straight. Hans and I spent our days ordering room service for breakfast and lunch and watched Law and Order reruns. There was not much to do in terms of activities so I was a little disappointed. The Spa is a MUST!!! We splurged and had a couples massage. I have never been to a spa so I have not way to compare it, however we were told that it is one of the best in the world. So if you do not stay at this resort, at least try their spa! Hans and I had a couples massage and it was amazing. The moment you walk in, some one is there to guide you to the “rituals” (sauna, orange-menthol steam, cold pressure shower, Jacuzzi, Hot-Cold plunge pools, foot massage, etc.)

Thank you so much ladies! We are still in Mexico (currently in a cyber cafe with slow internet access). Our wedding was amazing! We had tons of rain, but we had a blast and it was as perfect as possible, not smooth, but still perfect if that makes sense. I promise to give a full review once I get home and settled. Here is one pic for you from Los Angeles Wedding Photography, Orange County Wedding Photography, Pasadena Photographer Miss you ladies! See you soon!

I love your colors! You look amazing!

Quote: Originally Posted by LALA I can't believe you are finally getting married!!!!!!!!!!!!! Everything looks wonderful! I love when the "old crowd" gets hitched. Aww thanks Kate! I am so happy that I am part of the "old crowd" lol.

Thanks everyone! I am so excited! I have not started packing and am still in search for shoes (flip flops/ sandals/ wedges/ etc.) but we purchased a camera today!!!! Quote: Originally Posted by blinkgrl119 waw i love all your planning...cannot wait to see the end result!! nice to hear of someone else planning way in advance too! Yes, but do not make the mistake of waiting until the last two weeks to make all the DIYs! Quote: Originally Posted by Alyssa Amy, your wedding is going to be so amazing - i LOVE all the little details!!! i wish i was going LOL - it all looks GREAT!!!! xoxox Alyssa, I feel the same about your wedding! Quote: Originally Posted by Jenn3878 OMG Amy everything looks amazing!! LOVE your colors and how elegant everything looks! We are doing the Fedoras as well - where'd you find yours? Any company you could reccomend? Thanks I purchased them in downtown Los Angeles for $9 a pc! But I cannot remember the persons name, sorry. Quote: Originally Posted by ErinB Amy!!! Everything looks amazing! Your wedding is going to be beautiful. Got room for 2 more guests?!? LOL Lol, I actually only have 2 seats left! Quote: Originally Posted by NewOrleansbride OMG - I love your guest book!! I may have to steal that from you- I've been hopelessly searching for months and have not found anything that I particularly want (until now)! I can't wait to see photos of the wedding! Congrats! Thanks, go right ahead! Quote: Originally Posted by PaulaV I have been looking forward to this thread Amy! We shared similar colour schemes and I just loved all your details! The para la cruda packets still make me laugh... I wished I had those. Your guests will may be very glad to have them I know! I loved the orange in your scheme though! I am so excited about the cruda packs but have no idea how to take them!

Quote: Originally Posted by Christine thanks girls for all the compliments, we are really enjoying her. She actually slept for almost 5 hours last night-so we are feeling pretty good today. I will try to post more later. That's great news! My friend, who also needed to get induced, said the same about her little boy's sleeping habits. He slept longer. She read somewhere that this tends to happen with babies who deliver later in gestation I can't really remember why though.

Guestboard– 3 White erase boards from Lakeshore ($3 ea.) I came across this image and thought it would be a great alternative to a guest book. I plan to assign this to my cousins’ teen kids. All they need is a camera and instructions! Kids Activity Packs- A simple bag with a personalized logo for each kid, DIY activity book, crayons, stickers, origami thingy. I also purchased lanyard for the older kid’s but my not get a chance to cut/prep the strings. http://bestdestinationwedding.com/fo...activity+books Luggage tags- super last minute, but I had all the supplies. I used name card badges and perforated name cards, green cardstock and clear lanyard string for the ties. Personalized Hangover Kits- I designed the logo, but got everything for free (including the container)! Personalized Shot glasses – this was the sample I received about a year ago. My cousin arranged to get these made in MX but I have not seen the final result. Keep in mind the monogram will be larger. Personalized Tequila Bottles- These are the labels. Again, I have not seen the final version since my cousin arranged these as well. Each table will have one.

DIY stuff! Boarding Pass STD’s Formal Invite http://bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/t17565?highlight=invites Bridal shower invite Starfish Escort/ Meal cards front back Table Numbers (in the making)- We chose a lyric from each song we love and used them for our table numbers CD labels- my fsil making the cd’s for us with each song from our table numbers

Photographer – Art Lemus of http://natalylemusphoto.blogspot.com/and Rudy Arpia Los Angeles Wedding Photography, Orange County Wedding Photography, Pasadena Photographer E-Pics http://bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/t21174-4 Wedding Coordinator – Priscilla from Prisar Vallarta Prisar Vallarta - Organizadores de Bodas en Puerto Vallarta Our Lady of Guadalupe (ceremony site) Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe Mayan Palace (reception site) http://bestdestinationwedding.com/fo...t=mayan+palace http://bestdestinationwedding.com/fo...t=mayan+palace http://bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/t9917?highlight=mayan+palace Melia (guests/ our stay prior to wedding) Grand Velas Vallarta (Honeymoon) info in my blog http://bestdestinationwedding.com/fo...locations.html Enlace – 5 piece latin band ENLACE "the reality show" pre-recorded cd’s for breaks Planned excursions- With group- Tour Princess Yelapa and Majahuitas Puerto Vallarta FI and I during our Honeymoon- Puerto Vallarta Sunset Dinner Cruise - Rhythms of the Night Tablescape- alternating centerpieces with chocolate placemats (via Prisar)

My Bouquet (with green orchids instead of hydrangeas) / FI bout I don’t have a complete pic of Hans’ attire but these are his shoes and reception shirt both from BR (he will change after the ceremony and throw on sandals) We also purchased a tie and shirt from Macy’s. Suit is from Downtown L.A. Again, I don’t have a pick of the entire Bestmen attire, but this is the tie they will be wearing (from Macy’s) (they will change into guayaveras and throw on flip flops for the reception. I also purchased fedora type hats for them to stand out) My MOHs got their dresses made and I have only had a chance to see three and only have this one pic. They are all different, but they all have the same bottom portion. The MOH’s will hold one single green anthurium My FG dresses were also made. I am in love with them! The top is made from Alecon lace (nicer than mine) which was marked $45 per yard! I had to purchase 4.5, but the man was confused and charged me $45 for all of it plus a %10 discount for being “niceâ€. I love how it sort of mimics the top of my dress. My ring bearer, the tie was purchased through Etsy, suit purchased at Ross. (Excuse is expression, he was told to smile for the camera)

Finally, my turn has come! I joined the forum in Oct. 2006 (the same time as Ann and Christine, who both have beautiful little girls!) and I have no idea if it wasn’t for the forum, I think I would’ve cancelled my DW upon planning! I will try to update this thread before I leave, but I am running out of time and I am not sure if I will have time to post those last minute details. Again forgive me for the terrible camera phone pics. Hans and I are planning to purchase a camera tomorrow! Here goes! The rings- Capri Jewelers in Downtown Los Angeles The dress- San Patrick Real (I had the neckline altered) Purchased at LA SOIE BRIDAL -OUR STORES,ACCESSORIES,BRIDAL PARTY,BRIDAL COLLECTIONS,test Hair trial and veil (180 inch, cut edge, drop veil purchased through OccanseyDesigns Custom Wedding Veils - OBridal.com) More pics/info here http://bestdestinationwedding.com/fo...ke-%5Cup+trial My Shoes (Aldo- Lashell purchased on sale for $50) I also purchased sandals at Express with lots of bling – ladies they are on sale for 60% percent off!

Quote: Originally Posted by katrina wow amy, that's a lot of stuff. but i definitely think you can get it done.. can you delegate things to friends and wedding party? I tried, but you know ppl offer but don't really come through. My FSIL is making the CD's. My friends (2 sisters) added hangtags to my fans. 2 of my BM's already left to Mexico. My SIL lives about 45 min away and it would cost me more trouble to drive all the items to her place then make them myself. I have faith I will get it all done! Quote: Originally Posted by Just Martha Amy, When my BFF got married, she had a chocolate thing. Anyhow, her escort Hershey bars were wrapped in tiffany blue paper and our names were in chocolate brown.....she had steak or salmon as her menu choices. If you ordred steak you also had chocolate brown polka dots on your escort card, if you ordered salmon you had stripes. They were SUPER cute, but I got drunk and ate mine instead of keeping it. ha! Anyhow, I know you already printed yours, but maybe you could still do something like that? And, what did you buy at the mall Pictures! Oh Martha, pictures! That's another thing on my list, purchase a camera so I can post all my wedding crap thread, lol. I'll try to find some pics tonight. As for the escort cards, I have some scrap book paper I purchased a Target a while back and I think I'll try and be creative and add it to the back of the escort cards?? I'll figure it out.