MissyR

Welcome to the forum and happy planning!

The Paradisus for us in November was 1645 pp (plus tax) from Toronto one week and 1785 pp plus tax out of Calgary - taxes are about 275 pp

It looks awesome! The only minor suggestion I would make is to enlarge the font just a bit - I find sometimes with the script-like fonts it's a bit harder to read!

One option would be to buy a hinge from a craft store and use a glue gun - an easier (and probably cleaner) option would be to drill a couple of holes in the bottom of each and use some sort of fastener or wire. I bought one large shell from Michaels and drilled two holes in the middle. I have threaded ribbon from the bottom to top (so the ends both come up through the holes) and will tie a nice bow that the rings wil be attached to...

Welcome to the Forum! Unfortunately your decision isn't going to be that easy (wink wink) - there are so many great resorts it really depends on a number of factors - price point, adults only vs. kid friendly, beach ceremony etc. As a first step I would read through the DR section reviews and post to get a feel for some of the resorts - then think about getting a TA (there are some great ones on here) to help you narrow it down!

Wow the prices have really gone up. For me the mariachi is $650 for 45 minutes - that's the 2007 rate that she's honouring since I booked last December!

November is a busy travel time - Most hotels are at 75% capacity or more at that time of the year b/c it's essentially post hurricane. Personally I don't think that's over priced - Our guests are paying 1960 pp taxes included for one week at the PAradisus in November... we have 57 ppl booked using that rate..

No we didn't pay extra! We carried on two boxes (10 centrepieces in total) - We each took one box as our carry on and then I had a larger purse...

YOu can bring your own decorations (we took all our centrepieces down for our site visit) and there is no set-up charge for that. In terms of timing - our ceremony is at 3:30 and we have the DJ booked to go as late as we want (there is no curphew)! Tel: 52 (99 872 83 83 - Perla's extension is 8046.

It looks great!

I think I can honestly say that most of the ladies on this forum went through something similar at some point. For us, we told our families for 3 years before we were even engaged that we would be going away to get married and gave them 1.5 years advance notice of the day and price. For many people this wasn't good enough. Too expensive, no vacation time, what if it rains all week, don't we want to have everyone there? We heard everything. We had relatives tell me to my face that I had clearly decided that having my wedding in Mexico was more important than having all my family there. I cried, changed my mind, cried some more. At the end of the day we decided that this was about FI and I marrying each other - we weren't being unreasonable, unrealistic or "mean" by going away. And guess what? Most of the ppl who bitched and complained in the beginning have booked and paid in full.

I am the next "official" Paradisus to get married and that's on November 27. Have you emailed Perla to ask about availability? In terms of locations - your best bet, regardless of size, is on the beach. Indoor wedding receptions for 120 could be in the banquet rooms or perhaps one of the restaurants - I don't really know! I hope that helps!

We are doing Royal Service - Frankly if you are only considering doing it for the WISH package I wouldn't spend the money. If you want your own pool, beach area, and butler - then that's a whole different story!

I guess it would depend on who else is going to be there - perhaps someone special sitting in the first row (if you are having more than you and DH) - a mother, MIL, grandma?

Quote: Originally Posted by sandra1976 Hey Missy, You got the "wish" package free because you are staying 7 days in the royal Service suites right? Hey Sandra - you are correct - the free WISH package comes when you stay in Royal Service!

Our wedding party is two - my sis (MOH) and FI's brother (BM). We didn't pay for either trip - we will be giving them gifts at the welcome dinner. I wouldn't worry too much about etiquette - I think destination weddings are a great chance to do what you want!

We wanted to give ppl as much flexibility to do their own thing too! We are having a welcome dinner the night that everyone arrives (90% come in on Sunday) - the boys are organizing a golf afternoon for anyone who's interested and the girls will be doing a night out/stagette - other than that everyone is on their own - I am sure we will all meet up for dinners, drink etc.

We went with the WISH Package (which is free if you stay for 7 nights) and it's for six people. A couple (or a few dozen!) pages ago I posted some spread sheets - one was our custom one. We are doing chairs with brown bows for the ceremony on the beach. I have provided Perla with pics for all of this, including our bouquets. Our champagne cocktail will follow on the beach with pictures - then we move into the official cocktail hour with food and open bar (I picked 7 appetizers from all the lists combined) with the Mariachi trio - then we are moving to the terrace for dinner, dancing, and the rest of the night. For Table Options they will do whatever you want - for 22 people another option could be a square - with an open centre and people seated around the outside - a little more spread out than a rectangle - we did this for my granparents 50th and it was amazing - there were 6 ppl on each side (24 ppl) and it was perfect. I am going to PM you Brook my home phone number. I am around all weekend if you want to fire off questions - seriously!

It is overwhelming - We are totally here to help you. I looked at all the menus and picked items from each to make my own. We are having - mixed greens with goat cheese, tortilla soup, choice of steak, chicken, pasta, and bananas flambe (with rum and ice cream). In terms of ceremony and reception - 99% of ppl have the private beach ceremony - that is what we are doing. Then our reception is on the tequila terrace (again a popular choice). Just ask ask ask!

Brook - Welcome! I cannot believe that you are having to switcharoo 8 days before you leave - please ask ask ask us - we can give you information and prices for anything and everything. Daniela has been great - I don't deal with her that much as I deal primarily with Perla but they are both truly wonderful - I had the chance to meet both of them when we did our site visit and have nothing but nice things to say! In terms of photog - we are bringing our own so I have nothing to add about that. We are using Swank - there really are two options for a DJ - Swank or Mannia - Becks used Mannia and she was happy with the service.. I will be sure to provide a full report on Swank after the 27th of November.. OMG that is sooo soon! EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEKK! Perla and Daniela have tons of books of stuff (fabric etc) - the best bet is to send Perla pictures of the stuff you want and they will take care of it - Perla told me they prefer to get pictures so they know exactly what you like!

So sorry for your loss. Know that you and your family, friends and loved ones are in our prayers during this difficult time. HUGZ.

Away: Alone

We put our deposit down a year in advance which was good cause it allowed me to secure the 2007 rates for some stuff... We are honeymooning over Christmas and New Years - spending 10 days touring Chilean Wine Country and then a week at Disney World! Cannot Wait!

Just be cautious! If you are using the name but incorporating it into your own design that should be fine - I just wouldn't use their "brand" on anything you print...

7 nights AI out of Toronto is about 1900 per person taxes in and Calgary about 1980 per person...