Celina

Hey - I just realized we have the same wedding date! Woo-Hoo!! Anyhow, if your FI already told her - I wouldn't worry about it. If the little girl asks, smile and tell her politely that you aren't having flower girls, but if you do you will definitely keep her in mind.

Hi Ladies, I'm in a predicament and am not sure what to do. My sister and best friend are my wedding party. My best friend is my MOH, my sis is my BM. Well, my sister is currently unemployed. Her and her husband have 3 kids and we (my FI and I) don't see any financial windfalls coming their way. As of right now, they are trying to start their own business and it's a huge investment. I have talked to my sister about going and she is optimistic about going, and wants to take the kids. She is going along with me with all the details and planning. We have an appointment to try on BM dresses on February 9th. Like I said, she is optomistic that she is going. However; If just her and her husband go I know that they still need passports, cost of wedding attire, flight and hotel, etc. Just that alone is going to cost them $1,500 for them two - tack on three kids and spending money and the cost is higher. My FI thinks I should ask my other friend Irene (who we know is going) if she would be my back up in case my sister flakes out at the last minute. I'm not sure what to do. Irene knows my sister's financial situation, but how do I ask her ? THEN - Irene's mom has cancer. She told me upfront that the only way she wouldn't go is if her mom got sick during that time, then she would be obligated to stay here to take care of her. I dont know what to do. My FI has his two best friends lined up and they are both for sure things. Any help? Thanks! Celina How do I ask my friend

Kim, I am so sorry for everything that happened to you on your wedding day. Daniella's lack of professionalism is unexcuseable. I am getting married at the RIU Vallarta and hope that nothing like this happens to me. I have kept copies of all of our correspondence and will be extra anal with our planning and details. Thank you for the post. If this would have happened to me, I would have spend my wedding day in a Mexican jail, because believe me girl - me and Miss Daniella would have went heads up!! Hopefully you got some good pics to remember you and your husband. I wish you the best! ~ Celina

Congratulations and welcome to the forum! Let us know how we can help!

Welcome to the forum and congratulations! Happy Planning!

For BTB I nominate Mora (Edna) also. She has been so supportive of me and helpful of my cake searching mission. She steered me in the right direction and is always so helpful! For Mrs. I nominate Mel (Raeka). She is a gem and has been so helpful to us RIU Brides! She always has great information to share. Good luck ladies!

We plan to do a Justice of the peace quickie here and he is not even going to put the wedding band on me until we do the wedding there. We just didn't want the hassle. The wedding in Mexico is the one that counts to us.

Great job! These look wonderful. I love the first line..."Because you have shared in the lives of our children..." Beautiful.

Hello and welcome! We're getting married next door at the RIU Vallarta. We were just there in November and got to take a look around. Let me know if I can help!

Wow - that is great! I bought my dress on a whim as well. It is so exciting! I had my eye on a dress on-line and out of the blue looked at the website and there it was for $89 - YES $89! I never whipped out my credit card so fast in my whole life! That is awesome, congratulations!

Wow $150 an hour is a steal! That is awesome! We are having mariachi's for 1 hour. We plan to have our guests seated for dinner, and the mariachi will be playing and will follow just the bridal party from the beach to the restaurant and when the guests hear them playing, they will know we are coming. They will probably play the remainder of their hour during dinner. Just thinking about it makes me excited!

WOW - those look great! I am going to jazz up my bags too - only with a Bedazzler! You are queen of the DIY's! If I went to your wedding I would be over the moon to get one of your bags!

Last November we did our scouting for hotels in Puerto Vallarta. Although both of the hotels we stood at had small kitchenette's, I was somewhat envious of those who were at the all inclusive hotels. We ended up purchasing groceries for breakfast and snacks, but still - you're on vacation. Do you really want to cook? Then, you have to take taxi's in to town or eat at the overpriced hotel restaurants. We stood at Paradise Village in Puerto Vallarta and paid $50 for two hot dogs and fries, two club sandwiches, a bottle of water and a diet coke. That was our first and last meal at the hotel. If people are traveling with kids, AI is the way to go. You can eat and drink whenever and whatever you want. If you plan on staying at the hotel a lot, go with AI. If you are going in to town, you can find some better deals at restaurants, but then take into consideration the cost of round trip taxi's - plus dinner. Also, if people are coffee drinkers, some of the hotels charge a fee to use the in room coffee maker. I think ours was $15 to use the in-room coffee maker. I know for our wedding we are definitely doing AI. After forking over hundreds of dollars in taxi's and restraunts for a week, it would have been worth it to go AI. Hope that helps!

Welcome! I'm a RIU Vallarta Bride - November 8th! HAPPY PLANNING!

Have a wonderful day Mel! I wish you many more happy years! Love ya! Celina

I'm going barefoot for the ceremony and flip flops for the reception. I'll probably get my flip flops at floppyjos.com

Hi, I found the link. It's Puerto Vallarta Vacation Rentals. They may be able to help you out with mariachi's and some other stuff. Look at their website or give them a call. I spoke to a lady there named Pat Jones. She sent me some great information.

I am worried that he won't like it. The dresses he likes are all kind of frou-frou for my taste. My dress is nothing like the dresses he likes. All I told him about it was that the dress I chose was definitely my taste. Since I am on the busty side, strapless was not an option, I definetly needed something that allow me to wear a bra. Also, my dress is short and is perfect for the beach. I am wearing a veil to dress it up. You know, like Tammy B said - if you wore a potato sack, he'd love it! In the end, it's your day and you only get one chance to be a first-time bride. I'm sure we'll all be glowing and they'll love us in whatever we wear!

Quote: Originally Posted by Sarah We had lived together for 2 years, but didn't spend the night together the night before the wedding. We had our welcome dinner the night before, spent some time with guests, then I helped him move his clothes & stuff for the wedding to his own room. He and I each stayed alone the night before the wedding. At the moment it was stressful- I was having a mini-meltdown...not about getting married, just that this was my last night "alone" and didn't want to leave his room. It was really hard to do, but I'm so glad we did. We both spent that time apart writing letters to eachother that we read right before the wedding. It was a very special time. The morning of the wedding I woke up early, worked out alone, met family/friends (not DH) for breakfast, then went back to my room and spent some more time alone. Oddly, I really loved that alone time the day of my wedding. It was a great time to reflect on our relationship and get myself ready for the vows I was going to say and promise I was making. At noon I went to the hotel salon (again, alone) and had my hair done and drank champagne. Then, once I got back to the room, my friends and family (all the girls) brought their stuff to my room to get ready. All the guys went to Jeff's room to get ready. We didn't do pictures beforehand, and didn't see eachother until I walked down the aisle. The anticipation was unbelievable. It was so wonderful- I absolutely wouldn't do it any other way if I could do it again. Wow Sarah, after I read that I got teary eyed! We too plan on sleeping apart the night before the wedding. Although we have been together for the past 5 years and we have two kids, I think we have been apart only a hand full of times. I plan on sleeping with my daughter and probably my MOH I plan on having breakfast with my dad and his wife in the morning, probably go for a walk or work out to get relaxed and then hang out at the spa/salon and start getting ready with my girls. I know the anticipation is going to be awesome.

Since we are having or wedding and reception at the hotel, we can't hire outside vendors. I have a name of a lady that has some contacts. I'll have to get it to you on Monday.

Cute - love it! I like the bottom of the dress - it has a lot of va-va-voom! The champagne sash will look fabulous!

I don't know the exact title but I think it's called "Mexico" by James Taylor. Mel (Raeka) used to have it on her slideshow and I thought it was great.

Quote: Originally Posted by amyh Hello, I'm not Celina, however you can find maps in this thread http://bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/t4634-2 The Walmart is in the Marina and the Riu is in Nuevo Vallarta. I would assume its at least 1/2 hour?? ~It's probably closer to 20 minutes. Depends on how fast your cab driver takes the speed bumps leaving Nuevo Vallarta! If you go, just be prepared for a smell and experience like never before! Just grab your cart and go, go, go! Also, you can't take backpacks or bags into the store. You have to check them at the door. We went on a Monday evening and it was a chaotic madhouse in there! The Sam's club is right next door to the Wal Mart.

Yari, They look cute! I LOVE the magnets! I like "Pack your bags" and the who, what, where and when Great job!

I am speaking for myself here, but we decided on RIU Vallarta because it was all inclusive. Staying there pays for your dinner - they will reserve a place in one of the restaurants for the reception dinner. We decided to go to the JP here and get married beforehand to save on the cost of the ceremony. It is tough if you have people who aren't staying there because the day pass is $100 and the half day pass is $50. My FI wanted to go to Dreams, and in the end I did a comparison of what each hotel's benifits were and we chose from there. Good luck! I have some of the reception menus from the Dreams resort, and Mayan Palace if you are interested. Thanks, Celina