MissyR

Hey there! We are getting married November 27 at the Paradisus Riviera Maya - we are having our ceremony at 3:30 - and then doing pics afterwards... figure that will give us enough time for pictures etc. as the sun sets.

Our prices are close and we are out of Toronto and Calgary. I am soo F#!*ing fed up with people, mostly my family, who seem to think a DW is there opportunity to complain about how unfair their lives our. My personal favourite - "If your family was really important you shouldn't have a destination wedding." My aunt actually ripped a shred off my parents (who are on board, paying for the wedding, paying for my 78 grandparents to go etc.) and told my mom that my parents should pay for everyone. WTF!!! I cried so many nights over this in the beginning. It was such a waste to worry b/c ppl will never change - esp the ones who say they can't afford it and then take a 3 week trip to Africa.

Hi Steve and welcome! We were in the Mayan in November and we looked at the Riu as one of our options. A great resort - the only downside for us was that the wedding gazebo is right next to the pool with little privacy and it is quite noisy.. other than that (and depending on what you want) it was gorgeous!

Ours is scheduled for 3:30 - I figured even if the Judge is running late (as we are the only wedding that day) we will still have tons of time for pics etc. Another consideration for us was that the sun sets early (before 5:30) in November..

Congrats! That is one of the places we looked at for our site visit! It is absolutely gorgeous - great wedding gazebo! Any idea where you will be having the reception?

Tough call - I went with my mom and sister first - b/c my Mother-in-law lives out West (and has no daughters) I asked her to go over Christmas holidays when we were visiting. It really was more for something fun and she knew that I wouldn't ever buy a dress without my mom there but it was a nice way to share the experience - and in all honesty we have opposite taste in dresses!

We are doing a cocktail/wine and cheese reception at a museum - not super formal but I will be wearing my dress (as will my BM) and my FI will be wearing a suit. We are going to have a jazz trio for music (no dancing) something like a 2:00 - 6:00 on a Sunday with roving appetziers, drinks etc. We will have a slide show of the destination wedding as well and likely a cake.

1) What resort are you getting married at? Paradisus Riviera Cancun 2) What made you decide those? WE went for a site visit, looked at Dreams Cancun, Grand Balladium, Bahia Principe, Grand Sirenis, and Paradisus. We loved the resort, the staff and the WC whom we met. They have private beach section for the ceremony and an outdoor reception spot which is a must for us! 3) When is your wedding? November 27, 2008 4) Did you have a hard time choosing too? We got engaged on August 3 and it took us almost 5 months to decide! Please ask away about any of the resorts and the pros and cons.. happy to help!

I actually made my own - bought 12 x 12 paper and then found an envelope template through google.. time consuming but I found the paper first and couldn't resist...

I am truly lost without my search function.. today is day 3 with a blank screen!

LOL - FI just corner punched three pieces of paper and is already sighing and complaining - tooo funny... his solution is to just not invite ppl we want to come so we (meaning I) don't have to make so many... He just came in and asked if I was talking to my "forum friends" about him! tee hee

Once you pick a place you will have a ton more information! You could include info about not only the resort, but if you know where (i.e. Punta Cana etc.) you could put country info, other things to do in the area, tidbits ad little facts about Dominican Republic etc. You could also put a page about you and your FI, why you chose a destination wedding, what you want people to know about the week in gneral before they go... I am really thinking of the things I have included on my wedding website - what about information about a travel agent if you have one? Hope this helps! I am working on my STDs right now.. with some wine.. my FI is playing video games in his underwear .. LOL... boys and crafts just don't mix!

Ditto here... I get a blank screen with the word "process" at the end of my html..

Welcome to the forum! We are getting married in November of this year in the Mayan Riviera and this forum has been amazing for information and advice!

This is my first kick at a blog of any sort so here goes - In 2008 I am not only marrying the man of my dreams - but TURNING 30 and buying a house! WOOO HOO HEre's to a great year!

We visited both the Grand Palladium and the Bahia Principe Tulum last month and they were both beautiful - my only caution is that starting in 08, the GP will be doing 5-8 weddings a day which was a huge deterrent for me..

You girls are great with all the suggestions! I might just send them out now and wait and see how things go... then decide later if I want to send formal invites with RSVPs depending on how many ppl book..

Thanks for the reverse idea - I was thinking of sending out a reminder later and the invites now..

I guess I am opposed to save the dates b/c of the amount of information and detail that is being included on the boarding passes - two passes with the information - our travel agent, and our wedsite etc. which is simply the same thing I would include for the invitation. I was originally going to use these as save the dates but then I realized that I would be sending the same info twice with the invites and the STDS.

True - But people still want all the info now which is sort of annoying - and I really don't want to send save the dates - I guess I could send out the invite in late-Jan early Feb and make the RSVP date later - and hope that people book sooner than later..

I am not sure what is most appropriate - We are getting married in November 2008 which we have communicated to 90% of the people we are inviting so we are not sending STDs. I have been working on the boarding pass invites which will go out in late January early February - which is along time ahead and we would like people to book with our TA in April. The issue is with the RSVP - Do I send an RSVP with the invite or ask people to go to our website? I know some people likely won't come but we are sending invites anyways and they aren't computer savy. If we do send RSVPs... what is reasonable to ask people to RSVP for a Nov 2008 wedding? We are also planning on sending out regular updates to people and updates through our website!

I think it would look beautiful together - and really - only you will notice the contrast (not that there is any!)

You can also try stores that sell robes etc. for other occasions - When I bought my legal robes they had really good quality garmet bags for these things, priests robes, choir gowns etc. - things that are generally longer and heavier!

Hey ladies! Visited the GP a few weeks back while we were doing a bunch of site visits - it was one of our top two until she told me that they are moving to do 6-8 weddings a day beginning in January..

Depending what time of year you are going you may have flight issues - we have people coming from Calgary and Toronto and had our heart set on Dreams for end of November but there were no charters out of Calgary.. our TA said that flights into Punta Cana and Cancun are the most frequent for Calgary and Toronto..