~Melissa~

Wow that Allure dress is so HOT! And those shoes posted are fabulous! I really wish i would have gotten colorful shoes instead of plain white with bling. Just love the way they photograph.

Oh I LOVE IT! What about maybe making the fonts of your names a little bit bigger?

I agree check out the BDW vendors I'm sure one or more will fit into your budget perfectly! Just make sure to check with your resort if an outside vendor is allowed. I'm pretty sure Dreams either has a fee or your photographer needs to be a guest. Not sure about Riu but when I was married in 07' there was no outside vendor fee. In that case flying in a photographer may be your best bet! Best of luck I'm sure you'll find the perfect photographer for all your needs!

Oh good find Trisha! I'm subscribing to this thread cuz I think this DW will be soo cool and I can't wait to hear what place you picked! I was going to recommend Las Caletas in Puerto Vallarta for it's jungle area but I think the ceremony is along the private beach there. And it's not RM or Jamaica.

Yes I totally think this counts as a DW! Be sure to check out the Cali threads: California - Best Destination Wedding Forum ~ The Ultimate Destination Wedding Resource Such a beautiful place! I'm sure it will be a gorgeous wedding. Congrats!

Awesome work! Now that the hard part is over the fun part begins happy planning Meredith!

Hmmm I don't know about her and her status. Sorry! But if the commander is involved that's good. I hope they can come to your wedding!

Those came out awesome and beautiful! So nice to see some work from our very own becks :-)

The original ban was lifted a couple months ago. As for Air Force there are specific areas of Mexico which are forbidden unless there was a new memo that came out this morning? We are traveling to Riviera Maya in November and last I heard that was still OK. Just FYI this isn't new. The DOD have made several warnings about travel to Mexico for the past year! Anyone with family in the DOD and considering a DW abroad should check with them first if they really want them there. There are a few more hot spots that are tropical that we aren't allowed and it changes all the time. ETA: I merged the 2 military travel threads in case anyone was curious.

I don't remember being able to see the ocean from the Himitsu terrace. Hmm ok I just went and looked at some pics LOL And you are right you can see it but very far away. Here it is: and then the other terrace the Bordeaux? Then the view which is awesome!

Maybe change the color of the font to blue and make the trees grey? I don't know something about the coloring is off. Pretty blue though.

Wear what your comfortable with. I bought some fancy shoes and by the end of the night of dancing I think I was barefoot! haha bronze sandals are nice but I agree we need a visual :-)

What a sweet engagement! Congrats!

Green shoes sound like fun! I always resort to online shopping but I recall seeing a pair of green heels at Ross lately! I know they always have different selections but you may want to give it a shot. Crap I forgot you're in Canada and I dont think they have Ross. Hmm have you checked Winners?

Quote: Originally Posted by tvt we got these awesome hand painted magnets while in PV - and they could be customized. We got our names and wedding dates. Anyway, I was thinking that you could do those for your seating cards and then people go home with a cool hand painted magnet too. i collect magnets from every place we visit so i might think this is cooler than it actually is, but just throwing it out there! What an awesome idea! I wish I would have thought of that. I collect magnets as well on our trips. It's fun to find a cool one and PV has so many. I'm pretty sure we have a few neat ones from there. Love all the place settings. You girls are so creative :-)

HI Galina, welcome to BDW. Thanks Trisha for the referral. Yep we just moved from Destin 4.5 months ago. I miss it dearly! It's a great spot for a wedding. Are you thinking about doing it at a resort along the beach? Or just the public beach there? There are so many resorts along that strip. I personally think the Hilton SanDestin has one of the best set ups for the weddings and they have the beach right there along with gardens and such. As for hair Brava Hair STudio in Fort Walton beach (just before the Destin bridge) does a nice job and across the street bella day spa Bella Day Spa That was my salon. Jason was my hair stylist. Love him! What type of beach decoration are you looking for? One of my past brides who got married there had the arch way and ordered all her flowers from hawaii. It was very affordable compared to the local shops. I also know Michael from Michael's Flowers he's kinda the go to guy in the area. But I think he hold his shop? Here is his site: http://www.floralsbymichael.com/ His flowers are gorgeous!!!! Umm here's the bride's wedding slideshow it may help you. This was across from the coast guard right before the jetties. I guess inbetween the crab shack/howl at the moon and McGuries/Emerald Grand. It was the perfect spot. Melissa Green Photography - Utah Wedding and Boudoir Photographer If you need anything else let me know. I leave for Destin April 16 and I'll be there for 11 days so I can take some pictures of stuff for you if you would like. I don't mind since I'll be in the area anyways.

Yeah seems to me the Riu's are jacking up the prices for DW's just like the rest of the AI's. I swear they nickle and dime you for everything now! But the pool bar is worth it even if it is $10 pp IMO. But still that stinks they're raising the price.

Quote: Originally Posted by iluckie regarding photographer, either local or flight in, the most important and essential anyone should look for in a photographer it is the photo style, do not try to push a photographer to change his/her pure style or photos may turn out something else you want, so my recommendation are: -Research for a photographer and compare their style, packages, prices (but ina way that which one gives you the best for the price) -Select some local and some to flight in (if the budget is not a problem basically will choose by style) -Then if price is a problem eliminate the ones over your budget . Well put. Also make sure you and your photographer mesh. It should be someone you're comfortable with. I always recommend an in person consult with my brides or a telephone consult. Great photos Maura! I didn't see you post your slideshow from Moon Palace Ryan & Angela on Vimeo Hopefully this helps out some brides :-)

Quote: Originally Posted by Tlseege In the end, many of us photographers end up making very little money. We don't do it to be rich. We do it because we love it and we have a passion for it. We love capturing such beautiful emotion and capturing the love on one of the best days of your life. It's what we do. It's what we love to do. But please don't think that we are making easy money, as it is anything but! Well said Trisha! It's tough especially in this market right now but you have to really love what you're doing to make it worth while. I know your passion is for weddings and my heart is obsessed about them too :-) It's a wonderful job though for sure. Plus another thing I always say is you get what you pay for.

I feel like a dork. I've seen your pics before but never realized they were from FRANCE. That rocks!!! Dude Congratulations! I love that picture of you with your dress and the chateau in the background. Awesome!~

Wow, Dreams Tulum looks gorgeous! Good to see great reviews from our BDW vendors, DJ Mannia and Citalli. Wonderful review thanks for sharing!

Quote: Originally Posted by finleys7 When I first started I made an excel spreadsheet of prices and what it includes. I don't think you have enough points to view it, so PM me if you would like me to email it to you. Good Luck! I did the same thing! great minds think alike As for RM photographers in the local area that are under $1500 I'm not too sure. You may want to find a local photog and see if they would be interested in doing a DW for a portfolio builder? Some may and I'm sure that would come in around your price range. Just make sure they're familiar with shooting weddings :-)

Quote: Originally Posted by melbeern Hi, our wedding is right around the corner!! We leave for DPC on Monday. I was wondering, has anyone heard that it is good for you and your guests to bring your own drink cups? And the bartenders fill them up with whatever you want? If so, what type did you get? Thanks! When we were there last June Andrea and Jason had cups made but I don't remember seeing anyone use them actually The cups they provide you with are pretty big... let me see if I can find a picture to show ya. So you can kind of see actually the mugs (the blue ones) from Andrea and then the beer glasses. For the fruity drinks they use a similar style. They're very tall and plastic if I can remember correctly.

I'm sold on your honeymoon spot too! Maybe I can convince the hubby to go there for our anniversary. Thanks so much for posting Casa Amorita.

Oh I absolutely love Sayulita! I never got to go to karen's place when I was there but it looks awesome. I have heard a lot of positive reviews that's for sure. Your ceremony location looks beautiful! Love those PV sunsets - nothing beats it. Very romantic, congrats!