beckyandbrian

Quote: Originally Posted by Beba0301 All I can say is wow!! Your pics look amazing. I would love to have pics taken like that but they look expensive. What are her price ranges? Hi, thanks for your compliments! I honestly don't know her current price range because I booked Elizabeth last summer. All that I can tell you is that she is worth every penny I paid and more! In my opinion, your pictures should be the biggest investment you are making in your wedding because it is the only visual you will have left when it is all over. You can only hope that a photographer can capture the range of emotions you feel on your wedding day and Elizabeth certainly did that and more. Check out her website for even more outstanding work: Mexico Wedding Photography, Elizabeth Medina Photographer, Yucatan, Maya Riviera and throughout Mexico. There is a section to contact her and she can give you exact pricing. Good luck!

I don't know about Cabo, but we were married in Playa and our resort handled the translation for us for a fee of $40 - you may ask to see if your resort can do this for you.

Quote: Originally Posted by monicaswave OMG Becky! Your pictures are soooo beautiful. The one where you are walking down the aisle and crying reminds me of me. I haven't had my wedding yet but I don't knwo what I'm going to do to not cry. I'm the biggest crier....i cry in everyone's wedding even if I don't know them that much so I don't know how I'm going to do it to not cry on my own. Your dress is also soooo gorgeous! I know...I tried so hard to hold it all together and I really thought I had - until I got to the very end of the aisle and the emotions just welled up and I couldn't hold it in anymore:) It's so hard not to cry because that moment is almost like the emotional release of every feeling you have about this person you are choosing and every emotion you've experienced planning this day - it all came together right there for me!

Quote: Originally Posted by superez Hi Becky, I was absolutely mesmerized by your slideshow! You make a gorgeous bride and you and your hubby are such a cute couple! The pictures really conveyed the emotion of the day with your family/friends. I love your small party...that's exactly what we're doing! I have to ask where you got your hair flower? Seeing your pictures is making me rethink how I am going to do mine!! Thanks so much and CONGRATULATIONS! I too would have called in sick to stare at those pics all day!!!! Susan Thank you, Susan! It is so nice to hear such wonderful compliments!! We had an absolutely perfect wedding and I loved every minute of it:) The hair flower came from ebay - here is a link to an auction from the same person who I purchased it from: Ivory Gardenia Flower Hair CLip Pin & Pearl Pin BONUS - eBay (item 380016230877 end time Apr-16-08 19:27:09 PDT) Good luck and I am sure your wedding will be beautiful!

I am so very sorry that you are going through this! I know how you feel and it is absolutely the worst feeling in the world to feel that no one is supporting you in the decision that is the most important you will ever make. It is YOUR day and you have to unfortunately let go of what every other person thinks or feels and just go forward with what you want. We only had seven guests at our wedding and in the end that was fine by me. My sister came alone without her husband or children and complained that I was having my wedding at an adult only resort (although the sister resort next door was kid friendly and children were allowed at the wedding and reception). DH's family thought the world was literally OVER when we told them we were getting married in Mexio and had no problem telling us exactly how they felt. The people that could absolutely afford it wouldn't even think of spending their money on our wedding. There is always a way for people to plan for things and to make it if it is a priority to them and, if it is not a priority, they need to just quit giving their opinions. This is all about what you and your FI want to do. The really bad part of it all is that you have to just finally say you don't give a crap about any of their problems or opinions with your wedding. You will have an AMAZING wedding and never regret for one minute your choice to have a DW. It will be beautiful!

Love your photos! You look like you had a blast! The Royal is such an amazing resort...everything looks just beautiful!!

Welcome to the forum! I just got married at The Royal March 1st and had the time of my life!! Absolutely amazing resort, wedding and honeymoon - you have made a great choice! There is so much information for you on this site...let me know if I can help in any way. Happy planning!

I bought these DVD's and finished my first 90 days and now am in my seventh week of the second 90 days. I started with the "lean" program and now I am doing the "classic". I absolutely LOVE these DVD's and workouts. I have always worked out and was really into the Turbo Jam (also by Beachbody) but really wanted to test the P90X out before the wedding. I already worked out 5 days a week and rarely missed a day, but this program requires you to work out 6 days a week and I truly stuck with it everyday- even worked out the DAY of the wedding and throughout the honeymoon (my DH thought I was crazy!!). It really got me into the best shape and just really kicks your butt! I HIGHLY recommend these to anyone thinking about it. I purchased the set on ebay to save some money, but I am so glad that I did. I debated for months on whether to purchase them, but they are totally worth the money.

We didn't "register" our marriage. The only thing that I did was take the marriage license to the social security office and the BMV. I was misunderstanding you I think. You don't need to have your state recognize it because your state didn't marry you. If the SS office changes your name, the US recognizes it as legal and you don't need to do anything else. As long as Social Security accepts it, you are fine.

Did you have it translated into English? Maybe that is the issue?? We did have ours translated, but we had NO issues at all - it was the smoothest process ever. I would be pretty upset to have to go to the justic of the peace after you LEGALLY married in Mexico. Besides, then the "legal" wedding date according to your state wouldn't be your real wedding date. I would fight it as much as I can because there should be no reason that it is not treated as a legal marriage in your state.

I say it's your flipping wedding and too bad if she's not happy! On her wedding day, she will get to pick her BM dresses and until then she should suck it up...because we know that YOU won't be bitching when it's her turn. There is always something for everyone else to complain about or have an opinon on and it doesn't matter what makes everyone else happy - it matters what makes YOU happy! Besides, you told her she could wear a shawl. What's the problem then? She will be covered and there will be no bulges showing. You are much more gracious than I would be by offering for her to pick another dress in the same color. There is no possible way that you could pick a dress that would look FIERCE on every girl and every shape. It doesn't work that way - that's why you pick your favorite and everyone puts a smile on their face and acts happy.

I carried mine on and it was in the normal white plastic garment bag. I purchased another of the same bag for I think $10 or $15 from the bridal salon and double bagged it for my own peace of mind. I carried it on and it did not fit in the overhead compartment, so after a few tears and some pleading, the pilot offered to put it in the cockpit with him and they hung it there. Our plane was super small, so there was no way it would fit in the overhead bin. On the second plane, it would have fit just fine in the bin, but they offered again for the cockpit after I asked and everything was fine:)

Quote: Originally Posted by steph_n_taz A thought: do any of you think it would benefit my fiance and I to arrive at the Royal a week in advance, totalling to 2 weeks at the resort? We are just concerned with the fast pace of the whole week, because of the planning and meeting with the coordinators. I'm asking this question assuming you are going with the 1 week, all inclusive option, as I'm doing. What do you think? Would it just be a waste of money? I'm mainly worried with our choice of wedding day. We originally wanted to marry on Tuesday, May 12 2009, but since we have to arrive in Mexico 4 business days in advance, we'd have to arrive earlier than the usual Toronto Saturday departures. Any thoughts? We arrived on a Tuesday, married on Saturday and stayed until the following Saturday, so we had 11 days there. It was definitely a nice amount of time, but you always want to have longer. Even if we had stayed for three weeks, I don't think I would have been ready to leave!

Quote: Originally Posted by Jentwo Thanks for the quick reply Becky. I think it's great that brides come back after their big day and give back to help the upcoming brides! Thank you! Quote: Originally Posted by steph_n_taz Yes, thank you Becky, thats very helpful to me. The process is pretty much the same for us Canadian brides, with the apostille and translations and everything. Thanks again! No problem at all! Glad to help!!

Jen - we received two copies of our marriage license in Spanish with the Mexican raised seal. We paid an extra $30 to The Royal to have it translated into English (just to be sure there were not issues when we got home). So, we received the two Spanish copies and then the translated copy. They were given to us on Monday or Tuesday (wedding was on Saturday). I went first thing Monday morning after the weekend we got home to the social security office. I needed my old SS card with my maiden name, photo ID (driver's license) with my maiden name and the marriage certificate. I gave them one of the Spanish versions and the translated copy. No questions/issues/problems at all. Two minutes later, I walked out with a letter that said a new SS card would be issued in my new name and mailed to me. I just got it yesterday - one week later. I then went to the BMV and I thought I would need that SS letter print out, but they didn't need it. They just wanted my old driver's license and my marriage certificate (Spanish plus English translation) and again no issues/problems at all. Couple of minutes later, I had a new driver's license with my new name:) I was also worried that I would have problems, but it was unbelievably easy! Maybe I got lucky, but it was just like I was married in the US.

Quote: Originally Posted by steph_n_taz Thanks Becky! Its good to know that you have met and interacted with her. I was a bit worried because I never heard of her in this forum. I'll let you know when I book my date, we're thinking May 14 or 15 2009 Becky, did you have to be in Mexico for 3 or 4 business days before the wedding? Yes, in order to marry legally in Mexico you have to be ther four business days in advance. When we arrived, it didn't matter what time we arrived on that fourth day in advance because we didn't meet with Zulma and Micaela until the next morning. So, we were married on Saturday and we had to be there on Tuesday (didn't matter when) and we met with them on Wednesday morning at 10am at the wedding center. Then, you both will have to have your blood drawn and they send it out to test for blood type, STD's, etc so that you can get married there. I am not sure why the full 4 days, but to make it legal that is what you have to do. A lot of people tend to marry @ home legally and then head down to Mexico (or wherever) for the ceremony and just make it a celebration. But, we wanted that moment when we said "I do" to be the "real", legal moment we were married. So, we opted to follow the guidelines of four days in advance, etc. You also have to have your birth certificates translated into Spanish and with you when you meet for the blood work and everything. We had to have someone locally translate our birth certificates. Then, you have to send them to the state you live in to have them apostille the birth certificates. This is some sort of seal from the US government that Mexico acknowledges and recognizes as legal. So, when we met with Zulma, we had our birth certificates in English with a translated Spanish copy and an apostille from the State of OH and we gave all of this to her. You also have to have four witnesses when you marry, but those witnesses have to be down in Mexico the four days in advance also. If you don't have your guests arriving that early (we did not), the hotel will provide the witnesses for you at no charge. They just sign the marriage certificate. Let me know if you have any other questions...glad to help in any way I can.

Quote: Originally Posted by steph_n_taz Hey Ladies! Just thought you'd like to know that The Royal got back to me, and sent me FAQs and the wedding application form for us to fill out. We were contacted by Micaela, do any of you know who she is? Is she the new wedding coordinator? I hope some of you will know how she works, and if she's a good coordinator. I'll make sure that I keep all my emails from her, so we don't butt heads on pricing. Let me know if you know of Micaela! Hi Steph. Micaela and Zulma are both wedding coordinators - Micaela is more like Zulma's assistant is what it seemed like to me. Zulma handled most of everything for us, but we would also get correspondence from Micaela. I just started sending all of my emails to Zulma and carbon copying Micaela. Micaela is extremely fluent in English - especially speaking it. When you get there, you will love them:) Let me know if I can help in any way.

We did not have a bridal party and we carried the rings ourselves (I had his on my thumb and he carried mine on his pinky).

I just updated the price on this to $299 OBO if anyone is interested...PM me, if so.

I was worried about this problem when I booked my wedding - we just got married March 1st @ 2pm. They told me that was the latest time that was available and the wedding that was booked after mine never even happened while we were there? But, anyway, I was worried about the heat and the lighting for photographs. I think my photos turned out great - you can check them out if you want (Becky and Brian). I am sure that it was a little bit more difficult for the photographer, but she did an amazing job. The only thing that I can even tell is that in some of the photos, my husband is squinting, but I think he would be doing that at 4pm or whatever time if the sun was still out. It was hot out, but not any worse than it was at 4pm. My husband pointed out that the heat is actually worse at 5pm than it is at 1 or 2pm and he is right. IMO, you will be fine, but do whatever makes you less stressed and worried:)

Quote: Originally Posted by Galit I just wanted to let you know that the minute I saw your pictures I emailed Elizabeth to tell her to expect to get up at 6AM at my wedding too! The pictures were phenominal!!! I absolutely loved the colors... made me so excited for my wedding!!! Thank you so much!! I was jut looking at your post of your invites! You did a fabulous job and I love the chocolate brown - very cool:)

Quote: Originally Posted by AnnR to be honest, that sounds like an awesome price for her work! I completely agree. You have to realize that she is in high demand and she does amazing, talented, very artistic work. If she wanted to charge twice that, she could!

I just got married there on March 1st and as I have told everyone, it was AMAZING! I couldn't have imagined it better. The resort is spectacular and you are truly treated like royalty! We were married on the beach at 2pm, cocktails after in the garden until 4pm and then dinner/reception back on the beach at 5pm. Take a look at my slideshow and let me know if I can help in any way: Becky and Brian

Hey girls. As far as the flowers, I have an email of the flower choices that I was given by Zulma. I can forward that on to anyone that wants it. I was really panicky about my flowers because I couldn't get responses until the last minute. I had emailed a photo to Zulma of hot pink, orange and yellow roses and told her I wanted it the same but instead of the yellow, I wanted those replaced with green. I really didn't get a clear answer on if that could happen and ended up just telling myself that if it was just all hot pink, I would be okay:) But, as I said, when I got down there, everything went perfectly. Zulma had my emails, the photos that I had sent to her, etc. She verified with me exaclty what I wanted and told me that she would send that photo to the florist and explain that I wanted the green roses and she did. If you guys have seen my slideshow, the bouquet was perfect and EXACTLY what I wanted and it was no additional cost to me at all because roses are included. For Brian's flower, we just told her we wanted a hot pink rose. We paid an extra $15 for our mother's flowers (pinned on, but you can choose the wrist corsage) and an extra $10 for Brian's dad's (very inexpensive). The only additional cost we had for flowers was the chuppa that we were married under and the rose petals for the aisle runner. The chuppa as shown in our slideshow was $350. They gave me four choices of chuppas and you could pick which flowers and what colors you wanted. Let me know if anyone needs photos of that if you are marrying on the beach. The aisle runner rose petals are $20 per bag and we only needed two bags because it was such a short aisle (small wedding). I do have the list of the choices with photos so that you can see the types of bouquets you can choose from that are included and what is extra. In the photos, you can pick your colors, also. Just email Zulma if you want a particular color of flower not shown and she can ask the florist they use if they have that color. Decorating: the only things that are included are chairs with white colors and white sashes. You can add your own colors, if you would like. There is also a table with a centerpiece that comes standard and two potted plants on each side (these are fake flowers and that is what you get if you don't add on anything else, like we did the chuppa). Anything you want on your chairs (sashes, fans, etc), you give to Zulma when you get there and she will take care of it. For the reception, the standard is the tables dressed in white linen and hurricane candles in the center. Again, anything else you want, you email a photo of something you like and they can quote you a price. If you bring your own, just give it to them when you get there and tell them how you want it set out and they take care of it for you. Let me know if you have any other questions - glad to help!! I wish you guys were here when I was planning! I thought I was the ONLY Royal PDC bride until Heidi came along and I was pretty much through at that point. I know how frustrating it is when you can't get any answers. I am glad to see that the Royal is becoming popular - it is so beautiful. If you haven't yet seen it, you will LOVE it!

Quote: Originally Posted by hollisandsteph OMG everything is beautiful....the dress...the pictures....the subjects!! I would see a picture and think that is my favorite and then another would pop up and that would be my favorite!! :-) I am actually very jealous. I did not research enough and chose Sandals. We have to use thier photographers! I have seen examples and I think most of them look like pictures I can take! I think I am gonna miss out on the beautiful pictures like yours! Congrats though. You and the picture are beautiful! Thank you so much! You are so sweet!! There were a couple of resorts that we were originally going to go with that told us we had to use their photographer and that changed our mind on the resorts. That really is frustrating to fnd out after you book everything, but I am sure that the photos will turn our beautifully. Just think of it like this: it is the happiest day of your lives so you both will radiate with happiness and you will be on a beach with an ocean and the sun - could the photos really turn out bad?!? NO WAY!!