Celina

You guys are so sweet! Thank you all for the wonderful words! One of the great things about BDW is seeing the outcome from everyone's planning. I heart BDW!! Quote: Originally Posted by Raeka You looked beautiful Celina. Love your hair and flowers. looking at your photos makes me miss the PV sunset. It's such a gorgeous view. Mel - I can't tell you enough - THANK YOU for getting my pics up! That bouquet is copied from yours! I loved the flowers too. The PV sunsets are incredible! I can't wait to go back! Quote: Originally Posted by Alyssa aaawwww Celina i love the pic of your daughter crying - how sweet is that!?! you looked beautiful - congrats again!!! Thanks Alyssa! My daughter is a crier for sure! She is such a girly girl! Quote: Originally Posted by KatyKo Another photo whore...checking in Your pictures are great. You look so beautiful and that sunset is unreal!! Thanks fellow PW! OMG - those sunsets are beautiful! That one was made especially for me! Quote: Originally Posted by 2bebridejamaica HAHAHA you know us all too well!!! I admit ... that is the best thing about the forum... the pictures!! You looked gorgous my twin date-r... LOL... what a happy day!!!! Thank you sweetie! Quote: Originally Posted by Yari Oh Celina! I totally want to cry. You look so beautiful, everything looked amazing. Congrats!! I am so happy for you. Welcome to the Mrs. Club. Thanks Yari! I am so happy to be a part of it! Quote: Originally Posted by Abbie woooohooooo! so happy to see your pics you looked beautiful, your smile looked like it was as uncontrollable as your tears ps my stepson cried too just like your daughter, isnt it sweet? I totally predicted she would cry. My MOH told me that she was shaking she was crying so hard! I gave her an embroidered hankie so she put it to use! Quote: Originally Posted by PhillyBride09 Aww Your pics are beautiful!! Congrats!! I have to ask though...Where did you get your Daughters Dress?? I am LOVING it!! :-) Thank you! I bought her dress at JC Penny's for $10 last year. My Stepmom added the teal tulle underneath. I bought her a matching sash and flower at David's Bridal. Her dress was one of my favorite parts of the wedding. Erin here on BDW was my inspiration for the tulle under the dress. I loved it too! Quote: Originally Posted by Sloan I gotta agree with Mummergirl - I peed a little when I read the title. Congrats Mrs. E, you looked amazing! And I thank you for satiating my need to look at other people's pictures and making me giggle. Ha ha.. you are too cute! I can't stop laughing at the title myself..! Quote: Originally Posted by Helen_S81 Oh Celina! You looked beautiful! You are glowing! I'm so glad it all worked out for you after all the hard work you put into your wedding. I love your hair and the flower and your kids are so cute. Congratulations once again Mrs. E! Mamma Helen - THANK YOU! You got me through it all and prepared me along the way! I wish I would have gotten some amazing pics like Katie did, but oh well! Mine aren't so bad!

As far as the photographer went, we just paid for the disk $300 and went on about our business. I am more upset about it than Shawn is. I just expected more.

Smells like Teen Spirit - Nirvana Red Hot Chili Peppers

Thanks Ladies! I really liked how my hair came out too! I gave her two pics and she nailed it! (literally...with like 60 bobby pins) but I loved it! Quote: Originally Posted by DallasAshli You look beautiful! Your hair is gorgeous! Everything was amazing! Oh, and I loooovvveeeee the title of this thread! I'm proud to be a photo whore and I'm rejoicing! Dallas Ashli ~ Ha ha! You crack me up!

Us and the kids Us and our parents and step parents Most of our group. For some reason some people went to the bar or to change their shoes. Our rings Our cake - which was wonderful! The cake table - you can see the blumeboxes that were used for the dinner centerpieces - we brought them over from dinner. Rachel - recognize those cake boxes? Thanks for the inspiration! Thank you all for your inspiration and help with my wedding. I don't know how I could have gotten it all done without your help! Much Love, Mrs. Ellis

My dad walking me down the aisle Everyone at the arch Bridesmaids My daughter - she was a total crier! Sand Ceremony Me and Shawn The big smooch! I'm a married woman!!

First I have to say a HUGE Thank you to Mel (Raeka) for loading these to my Photobucket account. I love you and you Rock! NOW...for the good stuff Me getting my hair done. The minute she put the veil on I cried uncontrollably! Mine and my daughters dresses The charm I recieved from StephanieMN. She sent me the charm and I sewed it on Shawn's hankie. It is a pic of his father to have with him on our wedding day. Stephanie - thanks for making Shawn's day special! I had one of the BM's take it to him and he got choked up and went into the bathroom to compose himself. Very sweet. DH and Groomsmen Me and my dad before the wedding Me and my kiddos before the wedding

Quote: Originally Posted by syl1115 Oh Celina, I am so sorry to hear about the photographer. I know how pictures say a thousand words and those are memories that cannot be captured. Just keep them alive inside. I am so glad everything else was good. Congrats and post pics soon! Thanks Sylvia! I hope to be able to post some pics soon! We did get a few good ones! Plus I haven't been able to see everyone's pics, so hopefully they got some too.

Hi guys, I'm back! I've been back a week but our computer at home - the monitor went out. While I was gone they adjusted my access at work and I can't post photos! I TOTALLY SUCK! Our wedding was great and everything was perfect! I am glad to be back but totally mad about our photographer. I am glad to hear everyones day was perfect! Amy and Michelle you guys are next!

I am apologizing in advance but I am having problems posting pics but I thought I'd do the review anyway.... RIU Vallarta - A Due to our flight being cancelled we arrived later than expected (9pm) We arrived late and got checked into our upgraded master suite! Very nice – had wrap around patio that overlooked the pool and the ocean, Jacuzzi, huge shower, sitting area, walk in closet, double sinks and bidet. We ate at the buffet the nights we were there and for the wedding we ate at the Flamingo restaurant. There were plenty of choices there daily. If you tip your bartenders, housekeeping, valets and wait staff, you will be treated like royalty. We were there for 10 days and DH budgeted $200 for tips and we were treated like stars. At breakfast we had our drinks waiting for us at our table, they were carrying our plates to the table for us, pulling out our chairs for us, our room was spotless, and we never had any problems with towels or anything. This was at breakfast, lunch and dinner. We ate in the same areas every day and the wait staff works hard and we tipped at every meal. Even the lady who brought drinks to the family pool came by us first and brought us our drinks first. The people there don’t make a lot of money and are very grateful. A little tipping goes a long way. In our case – absolutely NO complaints with the workers there. Except at the spa (I’ll get to that later) Wedding Coordinators – Erika and Jessica – B The only reason they got a B was because they lost some of my stuff. Otherwise they would have gotten an A. We met with Jessie the morning after we arrived. We gave her all of our choices and I explained to her that I had some items that had to go with our stuff (vases, place cards, sign in book, candles, luminarias, cake boxes, knife and server, kid bags for dinner..etc.) I took all my stuff down to her on Saturday morning by 9am with detailed instructions on where everything went. I must say that every single thing was perfect! My flowers were incredible. I was 110% satisfied with how they came out. The only thing is that they lost the box my knife and cake server were in, they lost the pewter palm trees I used for table number holders and they lost the votive candles that went on the cake table. After the wedding was over, we didn’t really hear from them. No follow up as to how things went. I also had to remind her about having our dresses pressed. Our guests got in with their day passes with no problem. We recieved a fruit tray and had our breakfast in bed on Monday after the wedding. The night of the wedding they decorated our bed with a heart shape with red rose petals and had petals in the jacuzzi. It was all very sweet. Flamingo Restaurant – C The service was SO FREAKIN SLOW! We had three tables of 11. By the time we were done with our food at table 1 – they were barely bringing out the food for table 3. The appetizers were kind of weird. We got fried mushrooms, chicken wings and some other stuff. DH was irritated by this. We had an asparagus, tomato soup that was good. They also did the calling of the food when it came out which irritated me. The main meal was good as was the Caesar salad. We were supposed to get Baked Alaska for dessert, but we never did. We cut our cake at the bar. We did get bit by mosquitoes. I had OFF wipes, but forgot them! Bar Mezcal - A We rented out the bar from 8:30 to 11pm and the time went SO fast! I could have danced till at least 2am but when it was time to go – they let us know! They had a cake table set up for us and the table looked like it was going to fall apart! They set it up beautifully, but it looked a little rickety! We used an Ipod and played our own music. We had a really good time. The WC’s even strung up some papel picado for me which made the space look more festive. Renova Spa – A+ The spa manager was like a Marine Sergeant. She was no nonsense, never smiled and was kind of rude. If you make your deposit through PayPal, they want the card it was made on to pay your balance or you can pay cash. Cecilia did my hair and it came out perfect! I gave her a couple of pics of the way I wanted my hair and she did it to a T. I had about 40 pins in my hair, but it came out great. Unfortunately my BM wasn’t there with me when my hair was done and when Cecilia put the veil on my head, I started crying uncontrollably. My hair stood up all night against the humidity! DH and I also went to the spa for our complimentary body scrub and for massages which were great. Aldo Tovar Photography – F+ Okay – this was the worst of all because when the moment is gone…it’s gone and there is no turning back. I didn’t hear from or see the photographer until we got down to the Flamingo and were getting ready to walk down the aisle. Aldo did not come, he sent his side kick to come down. He was an older guy who took pictures. So he took a lot of pics of me and the bridal party and me and my parents before the wedding. He took a lot of pics of the wedding and he took three pictures of us and the bridal party after the wedding at sunset and the group photo. It total he took 69 pictures. I have two pics of me and DH after the wedding. I can not express how sad I am about this. What happened was, the sunsets in PV are beautiful. The photographer is paid $10 per person in the photo for sun set pictures. SO – while he was taking pictures of our wedding, he was also taking his sunset pictures of others on the beach. I had this one lady who I thought was going to jump in our wedding pictures she was practically stalking the photographer. Then he was getting upset with our family members who were taking pictures the same time he was and the flashes were going off at the same time. So between the lookey loos who wanted their picture taken and our family members and their flashes, DH got mad, the kids in the photos lost interest and the photographer got mad and just checked out with us. After he did the big group photo he disappeared. After seeing the original photographers work, I expected more. Unfortunately I didn’t get the pics I wanted of me and DH. I am so sad, yet happy to have the few I do have. We ended up buying the disk from the photographer, but I am still upset about it. Keep in mind, the guy we paid was not the guy who took the pictures. Overall, I would definitely go to RIU Vallarta again. If we had to, we would have had our dinner at one of the indoor restaurants. The ambiance at the Flamingo was great, but the mosquitoes and slow service were the bad points. We would have demanded more from the photographer and we would have had someone take our kids for a few days. (but that’s another story). I hope this helps any future RIU Vallarta brides. Please PM me if you have any questions

I'm getting to this late but we got married legally here so I wouldn't have been any help! Let me know Jamie if you have any questions about RIU Vallarta. Thanks! Celina

Hi Jamie, I just got back from my wedding at RIU Vallarta on November 8th and Erika and Jessica met my very high standards. They got everything exactly how I wanted it. The Flamingo restaurant is good but slow. We had a sit down dinner for 34 people and it took a long time for them to bring out food. As far as the arch being white - you won't notice it in pictures. My dress was ivory and you can't tell. We did white bows on the chairs and it came out fine. By the time they put the arch up, you will be getting ready and you won't have time to do it unless you have a team of people who aren't getting ready themselves and are willing to do it for you. Let me know if you have any questions. I can answer them and e-mail you my pics. I wasn't too happy with their photographer. The spa did a great job on my hair. I did take pics and they did exactly what I wanted. Let me know if I can help!

Hi Jessica, I'm sorry I missed you! That is wonderful that you are working with the groups dept! What a deal on the mariachi's too. My dad spoke to the mariachi's at the RIU Vallarta and got them down to $500. Needless to say we didn't have the mariachi entrance that I wanted, but our wedding still turned out amazing!

You look amazing Tara! BEAUTIFUL PICS!!

YAY Steph! I want more pics though! You look beautiful! What a room!

I need a place to post my tons of pics! I am having problems trying to post to photobucket. I already posted them in a Kodak share site, but it is so frustrating and for some reason I can't share the album on the Kodak site! I can't find the link...argh...I don't know what I am doing wrong! Does anyone have a suggestion for an easy share site for dummy like me to post photos? I am so pissed! I can't even begin to look at anyone elses pics until I get mine up! UGH!!

Yay! I'm glad you guys are back in one piece! Can't wait for pics and to hear all the juicy details!

Yay Jess! I am so happy and excited for you! Have a wonderful time and please take lots of pics! We'll miss you and can't wait to see everything! Congratulations sweetie!

Hi all, Real quick - we got married on saturday and everything was great! My family just went home and Shawn and I are so happy and are having a blast! We get pro pics tomorrow. Were still in mexico Ill be in touch! LUV Celina aka - Mrs. Ellis!

Hi Girlies! I'm still here! With our Legal Day on Friday, Halloween, work and everything else, I haven't had time to log on. Our legal day was great! I cried right when the judge said, "Celina and Shawn please face eachother" My God - someone turned on the faucets in my eyes and the waterworks started. It was weird. I could talk but my eyes were streaming water! I finally stopped crying when we started saying our vows. I am so glad the judge did not use "Obey" in the vows. Anyhow - our MOH and BM were there and us. Us four went out to lunch and had margaritas. After that, FI and I went home and took a nap. LOL! Of course I have pics, but can't post from home. Today me, daughter and BM's are going to breakfast and out for pedi's. Then daughter and I are going to finish up some last minute shopping. We are trying to leave our house somewhat clean befoe we leave. That's it! I have some place cards to make and have to re-glue my flip flops and hair flowers. Other than that we are doing pretty good! We leave on Wednesday morning so we basically have today, tomorrow and Tuesday and that's it! I know Tara and Danielle are gone and Steph leaves today. YIKES! I was SO hoping to hook up with Tara while in PV. Oh well. I know where she is staying and when she is leaving so if I have some free time I may try to check in with her. How are you guys doing? PS - Amy I hope you feel better soon! Better to feel like crap here than in Mexico! Love ya ~Celina

Wowie guys...we're all getting ready to go! Has anyone else been a crybaby or is it just me? I swear - I've cried twice a day (at the minimum) for the past two weeks!

Quote: Originally Posted by Abbie yay celina! i'm so excited for you! and i just realized, my parents just got back from your hotel on tuesday, and they loved it, so i know you will too! they said it was awesome! OMG Abbie - that is so great to hear! Quote: Originally Posted by Helen_S81 Aww! Celina, everything looks beautiful. I can't believe it's your turn already because it seems like yesterday when I came back from Riu Vallarta. Can't wait to hear all about it and see pictures when you return. (Is it normal for me to feel emotional about this? Oh Helen - it is totally okay and normal! Katie was first and we have kind of held hands with eachother during this whole thing! You have been the mamma bear of the RIU Vallarta brides. After reading your post - the tears haven't stopped....now on to Mel.... Quote: Originally Posted by Raeka awe you are just too darn sweet Celina! Everything looks great. Hope you have a great time in Nuevo Vallarta and enjoy the Riu. Have some Coco-locos for me!!! Best of luck - can't wait to see the photos and hear all the details. Mel - I will definitely have a little bit of you in my wedding. You know I am copying your flowers right? I fell in love with them the first time I saw them. You were THE FIRST RIU Jalisco bride and I totally stalked your threads when I first joined. LOL! Thank you for all of your help over this past year.....now as for Rachel..... Quote: Originally Posted by LC_Rachel Wow Celina. I love it all- so much to comment on. You have some awesome DIYers plus some great extras. Love the bloom boxes, the cake pedastal!! I can't wait to see all of it come together. Congrats girlfriend. It's your turn!! Woooohooo. I'll have a little bit of you in my wedding too Rach. When you see my beautiful cake boxes...know I got it from you. Thank you for your inspiration! I saw yours and fell in love with them and wanted some for myself! Now as for you Erin....... Quote: Originally Posted by ErinB Celina, everything looks great! I love all of the detail you put into each item. I heart the favors! Do your guests know the story of the M&Ms? Girl...when I look at my daughter (flowergirl's) dress...I will think of you! She's got this goregous teal colored tulle peeking out of the bottom of her dress. Thanks for your creativity! Your hard work and smurf hands are the inspiration for her dress. Had you not have shown those pics, I never would have done it! I am doing a frame with a small story about the M&M's to put by the favors.

Palm tree boxes that we are going to fill with personalized M&M's. FI proposed to me by putting my ring in a bag of M&M's. OOT Bag Logo: Unfortunately the picture of the OOT Bag and contents got deleted from my camera. I'll take pics when we get there because everything is packed up now. Brochures for OOT bags: Tags for OOT bags: Cups for OOT Bags - Girls got pink - boys got blue - kids got cute starfish sippy cups with lids and straws (not pictured) BM "Swag Bags" - I'll give to them this Sunday before we leave. I also have added passport covers and loofas (Not pictured) There are so many things I havent took pictures of but will be sure to include them in my review when I get back. This is what I have for now and I thought I'd get it posted since this is my last day at work! That's it! We leave on Wednesday and I have been so emotional the past few weeks. This marriage thing is a huge and final step. Our legal day is tomorrow - of course I'll take pics and post when I get back. Thanks again BDW for everything! With love, Celina Soon to be Mrs. Ellis

Ceremony Site - On the beach at RIU Vallarta Hotel - Nuevo Vallarta MX Tears of Joy packets and fans to be placed on chairs: Blumeboxes to be used on reception tables (We are going to purchase flowers when we get there): Cake Pedestal, monogram topper and candles