TATrisha

these are so much fun!!! Have your guests received them yet and have you heard any feedback? I bet they love them!!

I was in the same place when I got married. What we ended up doing was putting together a registry of things we really wanted but wouldn't buy for ourselves, so a Dyson vacuum, new dishes, a fancy garbage can, etc. Everything was more expensive, so people went in together to buy things. Sure, we still ended up with some crap, but mostly we got a few really nice things. Also, are you flying in a photographer for your wedding? Ask if they have a bridal registry. I have one for my brides. I have family members buy wedding albums, prints, canvases, or even just help pay for the cost of the photographer all the time. It's super awesome and what a great gift!!

My January destination wedding bride had an amazing solution to this which I thought was SO cool! Her seamstress actually sewed in little white buttons on the bottom of the hem. She did it in such a way that you couldn't really see it from outside the dress. It was super awesome. So for the ceremony where she was barefoot, the dress was buttoned up. Then for pictures we took it down so she could wear adorable heels. Then she just buttoned it back up for the reception so she could wear flip flops. And finally, for her AHR she will just unbutton it and wear her heels again! It was the first time I had seen it and I thought it was so cool!

It's tough to figure out if a review is real or not, but thank you Tammy for everything you do to try and moderate this. My only recommendation is to research who it was reviewed by and see if they have made other contributions to the forum. If they have, and not just the same week, odds are they are legit.

Oh you are not alone in your type Aism I had a chart as well. I listed out the resort names on the left and then all the things I wanted on the top. So not just things that would be nice, but EXACTLY what I wanted. Then i went and I'd put an X in the cells when the resort had what I wanted. Eventually it narrowed it down. So, for me, here are the things I needed All inclusive Children allowed Ceremony on the beach (nobody allowed to walk in front of our ceremony!!!) Private outdoor reception Large resort (needed to have plenty to do and be able to escape our guests and have some alone time if we wanted) Lots of dinner choices for the guests Close to touristy things (Tulum ruins, Playa Del Carmen, etc) Able to fly in my own photographer Price point $1000 per person or less for 3 nights air and hotel. In the end I went with the Gran Bahia. It fit all my needs and was the cheapest option. Best decision I made!

I second the idea of a second dress. I would get something cheap but cute that you wouldn't mind changing into during the reception if need be. My dress was super heavy, but just like Jamy said, the excitement took over and I didn't even realize how hot I was. Then I would just hold my dress up and get a breeze going under there and it made all the difference to cool me down And drink LOTS and LOTS of water!!!

They are so beautiful!! And having the location mixed might be a good thing. That way if anyone books without looking through all the documentation on the website they'll still get the right resort!

Andrea you look gorgeous and your flowers and cake look great!!!

Per a review on Trip Advisor... it is $80 for a van round trip and admission... however she said she talked them down to $60 per person because there was four of them. BUT... that was 2009. But I'd expect a price similar to that.

Yup, 4 days is for legal. Symbolic I believe you can do the day after you arrive if you'd like... but I think they'd prefer it be the next day so you can have your meeting with the coordinator.

Oh i can't wait to see them Emily!! (and for those in the US, that's $830 and $817 Canadian) You could also switch the album on facebook and make it visible to everyone. It usually defaults to friends only, but if you switch it to everyone then we could link to it on here and you wouldn't have to reupload anything.

I think it looks beautiful. Definitely less pink, but it's soft and pretty.

Welcome to the forum! Moon Palace was my runner up wedding location (I got married at the Gran Bahia), but I thought Moon Palace was beautiful. There are a ton of topics and threads on here that will help you out. I would start in this thread: http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/t/66759/moon-palace-2012-brides

Welcome to the forum!! Sandals Negril is AMAZING! Great resort with terrific food (at least I thought so). I would highly recommend the outdoor private reception. The wedding I photographed there had it and I thought it was very well done and everyone had a great time!

Congratulations Rachael! I'm so glad that your wedding day was so great. I cannot wait to see pictures!

Here is Rachael's wedding review!! I also posted it in the Official Gran Bahia Thread http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/t/79537/my-wedding-review

I am SO sorry about your bridesmaid's mother. That is so terrible!!! In my opinion, your groomsmen isn't any less of a friend to your groom. He didn't do anything wrong (the normal reason for asking to step down) and has probably stood by your groom's side which is why he is a groomsmen in the first place. I wouldn't cut him. I would go with uneven numbers. As a photographer, there really is nothing wrong with this. You can barely tell. Most traditional weddings have ushers and things that make the boys side uneven anyways. Photographers know how to work around it and not make it look awkward. Are you planning on couples walking down the aisles or just the ladies? For my wedding I had couples, in which case there would be a gentleman on each side of one bridesmaid. However the last wedding that I photographed at the Gran Bahia, the groomsmen were already standing at the alter. In which case, you really wouldn't notice.

Great review!! I can't wait to see pictures. I think we can't see them because we aren't friends with you Can you upload a few directly to the website? How many photos did you end up buying from Acricife. Did their prices change at all?

I've added you to the list Promise! And SO exciting! You're getting married one day before my 5 year anniversary! I cannot believe how quickly time flies!

Welcome back Rachael!!!!! I'm so glad to hear that you had a wonderful experience. I think that's the end result is that everyone panics and once it's time for their wedding they realize it was for nothing. The wedding coordinators are amazing, the resort is awesome, and it'll be the time of your life! So happy for you!!!

Oh no! That was Capture Studios. That is definitely NOT the resort videographer.

Hi Jeanna! I've never been to that specific resort so I'm not much help to you, but I just wanted to say welcome to the forum and I hope you find a lot of fantastic information and resources here! Best Wishes! Trisha

$41 a person sounds like the $36 for the meal and the $5 for the drinks... but that seems slightly odd to me that she'd put it that way. I'd maybe respond with what kind of drinks you were looking for.

Welcome back!!! I'm so excited to hear all about it!!

I photographed a wedding at the Riviera side. They got married on the beach which is located directly next to the gazebo, so I have photographs of both. Let me know if you'd like to see them as they aren't on my blog. [email protected]