melglnh2o

Anny ~ Is that the photographer that the resort uses? It looks similar to the photos I saw when I was there on a site visit. Your album is absolutely lovely!! Very nicely done!

We are expecting between 80 and 100 people to join us in Cancun for our wedding. We will be arranging for buses to pick up the guests at Fiesta Americana Condesa and transport everyone to and from the church. I am not yet sure about the cost as the WC at the resort is handling it. We have not had any issues in regards to hosting the reception at the resort even though we are being married in an off-site church. We will probably do some kind of ceremony (sand ceremony or something like that) in the grassy area overlooking the beach and ocean at the resort after the church ceremony so we can have some great beach pictures. Then we will start the reception outside on the concrete area between the pool and grassy area and then move it into the ballroom later. I took many pictures of the church and resort (plus other places as well). If interested in them, let me know and I will email them to you.

Relieved is an understatement! I really felt like I couldn't start planning any other part of the wedding until I nailed down the place and date. Now with that out of the way, the rest I know will just fall into place. As for the vendors, the WC at the hotel will be taking care of everything. Food is most important to the FI and we sampled that and it was delicious. Photography is most important to me and we sampled their photographer's work and really liked it too. As for the rest, we don't really care!

But where do I begin... Like some of you, picking the place was starting to drive me insane. I found that this was the hardest thing to do by far (so far)! I researched so much but what my FI and I thought we wanted and what we actually fell in love with, were two completely different things. I am so glad we looked at a variety of places. (It is kind of the same for dresses.) We thought we wanted a small intimate place away from the touristy crowds (Omni Puerto Aventuras) but we ended up loving a big resort right in the hotel zone of Cancun (Fiesta Americana Condesa). We also looked at a couple of big hotels away from the crowds (Paradisus Riviera Cancun and Occidental Grand Xcaret) and a smaller place in Playa del Carmen (The Blue Parrot). All of the places we looked at were fantastic in one way or another but we both just really felt it when we were at FAC (Fiesta Americana Condesa). Making a site visit was a must for us and I am so relieved that we found our place for the reception. For the ceremony, we actually want to be married in a Catholic church but I didn't think that finding a church in Riviera Maya would be a problem. Well, actually it was! There were only three Catholic churches that we found in Cancun but only one was feasible for us. I don't even know the name of it as it is located inside of a school's grounds. I don't love it but I liked it the best out of the 3 we looked at and once it is decorated I am sure it will be fantastic. Plus it will be private and it really is the perfect size for our group (we are expecting between 80 and 100). I just always pictured being married in a Spanish Style Cathedral but this place we found will be great. Last but not least I want to thank everyone on this forum for helping me narrow down the selections and find the perfect place for us. I want to especially thank Anny (anacgarcia) as she responded to one of my posts and recommended the FAC. I absolutely fell in love with the place when I was there and everything about it was perfect!! SO THANK YOU very much for the suggestion Anny! With all the hotel choices in Cancun, I doubt I would have found that place! If there are any particular places that you have interest in that I mentioned above, please let me know and I will email you the pictures. I haven't quite figured out how to (aka haven't even tried to) post them in here yet.

Awesome. Thanks for the feedback. Those are a lot of the points that we were concerned about so I am even mroe excited now to see the place. Emmanuelle (WC) also has been very fantastic too. Quick responses and great information. Best of luck with your wedding!!

I am so sorry that a lot of you ladies didn't get the reactions that you wanted from your moms. I am sure deep down they were smiling (maybe even crying)! I am so lucky to have such a wonderful mother. I scheduled my first dress shopping trip when my mother was in town (she lives about 500 miles away) and this was the only reason I did so because I wanted her to be a part of it. I was not actually that excited to go dress shopping either. I tried on many dresses and she was smiling the whole time. By the time I put on the last one and came out of the fitting room, she could barely contain herself. She starting crying because she said this last one was the most beautiful she had ever seen and that it was made for me! It was my favorite of the bunch too and I didn't want to take it off. I almost started crying too. My mother took lots of pictures and I was so happy that I could share that experience with her!

This is very helpful. I appreciate your comments. I also noticed that you are getting married at the Omni Puerto Aventuras. This is actually one of the places that I will be looking at on my site visit this weekend. What made you choose that place?

Thanks so much for the website! Again your invitations are beautiful. Well done!!

Super cute!!!!! One of these days I need to start thinking about doing my invitations. I am such a procrastinator. Do you remember the website that had the wording (Long Island Boy Meets City Girl)? That is so great.

I like #4 the best. It is very romantic and perfect for a destination wedding!

Welcome. Are you going to be married at the resort or somewhere else? I was looking at the DR for my DW too and I loved the church at Altos de Chavon but we decided to get married in Mexico instead. Good luck and happy planning!!!!

We will probably invite about 200 people but expect that only 100 or so will make it.

Thanks for all the wonderful suggestions. Now i just need to get out there and try them on and then do some research online. You gals are great!!

Thanks for the ideas and suggestions. I will have to try some of them out. I am just afraid to go into the stores that have expensive dresses because I don't want to fall in love with one and have that debate with myself! But finding a dress online for cheaper than the stores is a great option.

I have been to David's Bridal and a Jeanettes Boutique in Manassas. I plan on going to Katherine's in Old Town and I have also heard great things about Leesburg Bridal so I hope to get out that way soon. A friend recommended a place in B'More called Stellas. Have you heard of it?

I am still searching for my perfect wedding dress. Where did you find yours or do you know of a great place to look (other than David's Bridal). I am trying to stay under $600 if at all possible. Thanks!

Laura, I stayed at the Estate Lindholm earlier this year and it is amazing and wonderful. The owners (Lauren and Byron) were absolutely fabulous. Enjoy your stay! Melissa

Are you going to honeymoon in the same location as your wedding, planning on going somewhere different (if so where), or something else? Just curious.

We both knew we wanted a destination wedding and we both love the beach (although we want to be married in a church) so that narrowed it down at first. We looked at Casa de Campo in the Dominican and also other islands in the Caribbean but we were finding that it was very expensive. So we narrowed it down even further to Mexico. It is still relatively less expensive compared to the Caribbean and the people are very helpful and friendly. Cabo was out because my FI brother got married there so we decided on Puerto Vallarta. I did all kinds of research and was getting ready to finalize our booking at Playa Fiesta in PV but it didn't seem right. We really love the Caribbean beaches and waters so we chose the east coast of Mexico instead. Plus it was cheaper to fly to for our guests (mine are from Ohio, his are from DC and Ecuador). I don't really prefer Cancun (too touristy) and Tulum would be great but we thought it would be too far for the guests to travel once they arrived at the ariport. So Playa del Carmen was in the middle and that is how we picked our location. Neither of us has been there but we are going down in two weeks for a site visit. Hopefully we will find our perfect place!!

I really like d. the best! Good luck in narrowing it down since I am sure we will be all over the place.

We are only having one on each side. Short, simple and less stressful!

TMarraty and mkdela, Thanks for the suggestions. Do either of you have photos of how and where the reception would be set up? Thanks, Melissa

My vote is for #9. Great photos.

I really like #3 the best. I agree with RiuBride that it is very sleek and sexy!! But I don't think you can go wrong with any of them!

Has anyone been to or know anything about Kool Beach Club? I thought it might be an interesting place to host a welcome dinner, rehearsal dinner, or possibly even a reception. I haven't been able to find too many photos though. Any help is greatly appreciated. Many thanks.