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Hi Monika! You're absolutely right, catholic weddings held in Mexico have no legal weight there or here in the US. However, as a favor our priest will "marry" us legally when we get back once we show him our catholic wedding certificate. It won't be a full on mass either - he said it will only take a few minutes, we can come in our jeans, and all we need to bring are 2 witnesses. He will then sign our county marriage license, thus making it legal here for us. I was totally surprised at his offer, I didn't think that was possible!! I'll keep you gals posted, hopefully he'll remember this when we get back!! Susan

Hi Anna! This is what I understand from our priest...our official catholic ceremony will be in Mexico only, but as a favor to us he will marry us legally here in the US. In his eyes, we got married through the church no matter where, and since it's not legal in Mexico or here in the US automatically, we will present him with our catholic certificate after we get back, have a quickie ceremony of some sort (not a full on mass, he made it sound like it was only for a few minutes, all we need is 2 witnesses and come in our jeans) and he will sign our county marriage license. From what I've read from other catholic brides, this is extremely rare, but I would ask your priest if he will do this for you! Let me know if you have more questions and keep me posted! Susan

Welcome to the forum and congrats on your cool wedding! Would LOVE to hear the report and see some pics!!! Susan

Hi Johanna, We are getting married in the cutest catholic chapel in Playa del Carmen where Dallas_Texas (Catherine) got married too. There are 2 english speaking priests in the area and we are having one of them conduct our ceremony, Father Jorge Castaneda. There are a few wedding planners in the area who can help you plan this and manuever the catholic paperwork process. Catherine had a wonderful experience with Ajua Weddings and I am having Caribbean Blue Weddings coordinate mine, which so far has been great. WC Yazmin de la Mora can also coordinate Catholic weddings. As far as the legal marriage, I just found out that our priest here in the US will marry us legally when we get back!! So we don't even have to go to the county office after all. So if you decide to get married through the church it won't hurt to ask your priest if he'll do this. Good luck! How exciting! Susan

Hi Jujigirl, Although we ultimately decided to marry in RM, I seriously considered Isla b/c I love that island! I found a very responsive wedding coordinator on the island by the name of Juliette Franze. I totally would have gone thru her had we decided to have it there. Check out her website Papillon Weddings & Events - Isla Mujeres Mexico. She was pretty reasonable too. Happy planning! Susan

Love this thread! My mom and I were JUST talking about this today! My aunt mentioned she wanted to wear a long dress, and my mom freaked b/c now she thinks she has to do the same . I told her I want everyone to wear whatever they want as long as they are comfy and cool! So I'm gonna have to show her these pics - thanks ladies!!!

Yipee! I had posted a message about this a while back and thought I needed to get married legally through our local county civil process after having our Catholic ceremony in Playa del Carmen (ie., no legal marriage in Mexico). Well, we happened to be speaking to our priest after mass today and he offered to marry us legally when we get back from Mexico (provided we show him our mexican catholic marriage certificate of course) in a very short, very casual (he said we can show up in jeans even!) ceremony with just 2 witnesses. I was so happy to hear that! Now we don't have to worry about going to the county registrar recorder for the civil ceremony. What a relief! So, for anyone getting married through the catholic church in Mexico, ask your priest if he will do this. I have a feeling it depends on the priest and the diocese, but it won't hurt to try!!!

Welcome and congratulations! You'll have fun on this forum . susan

Welcome! So proud of you that you decided to do what you both really want!!! I'm getting married in Playa this May, have never been but it's been fun planning as there are lots of options to choose from. Have fun with the planning and Congratulations!! Susan

Congrats Jamie! I know, doesn't it feel SO good to finally confirm a date! And I would say you picked a fine date at that...we are getting married on May 30 of this year in Playa!!! Have fun with the planning . Susan

Welcome!!! I think you'll find this site a GREAT resource in your planning. Congratulations to you and Lauren!!

The second dress is gorgeous! That one gets my vote, plus you don't have to go through alot of alterations!!

Like you, we were going back and forth about that one. We decided it would be less hassle and money to get married legally here and have the religious ceremony in Mexico. For us, that's the one that counts . Good luck!!! Susan

Thanks for posting this question! I need to know too. We haven't made plane reservations yet but wondering what anyone's experience was flying Mexicana (or Alaska) with possible layover in Mexico City, so what is best way to pack and can they put it in a flight cabin closet of some sort? Thanks!!!

From one Susan to another - welcome!!! So glad you found us here, this will be a HUGE help to you! I am getting married at a church in Playa, but tons of brides here having theirs at Dreams so I"m sure you'll get loads of help. Congrats! Susan

Quote: Originally Posted by Leticia congrats!! hey your're one day after me!! Hi Leticia! First of all CONGRATULATIONS! That is so cool that we are one day apart, it feels good to have someone in the same countdown mode ! Is the Barcelo in Playa or somewhere else in the Mayan Riviera?? Susan

Hi Melissa, I visited Roatan for a week way back in 96 and really loved it! I'm sure it's much more developed now, but I'm sure the spirit and overall scenery have not changed. I went with three other girls and stayed in some little one room cottages on the beach not too far from Fosters. Can't remember the name, I wonder if it's still there now, but it was owned by a nice family. Loved hanging out at Fosters, eating yummy pancakes at Rudy's, and taking the boat to West End. Yes, it is very poor and Coxen Hole, the main city on the island was quite 3rd world, but the people were very nice. I don't dive, but the snorkeling was awesome. I say go!!!

Thanks for your input ladies. For not having given much thought to a bachelorette party, now I have to admit I'm excited! You're right, it'll be a fun night out with the girls. I'll be sure to share the details! jmhein, Have fun at your BP next weekend!!! Susan

Hi gals! I'm having my DW in Playa del Carmen with only parents, aunts and uncle in tow (6 guests total). One of the reasons why we decided to get married abroad was to avoid the big fat wedding - we have a huge family and it would easily be 200 to 300 people! Instead, a couple of months after we get back, we'll most likely have a small AHR with a few family and friends. I wasn't intending on have a bridal shower because honestly it's not a big deal to me, and it also doesn't seem right to me to invite folks who won't be at our wedding. However, a friend of mine just told me she would love to help in the planning of a little bachelorette send off for me, like dinner/drinks and maybe a tame male stage revue show (!). Another friend of mine, when I told her of our weddings plans, said to please let her know if there was anything she could do, kinda along the same lines as my other friend. What do you gals think, would it be bad etiquette/tacky in the same sense of the bridal shower to have something like this Would love to hear your thoughts!! Susan

Hi Marcy! I am just getting started with my own catholic wedding in Playa but from what little I know it is a full mass/liturgy complete with readings and music. I am hiring a classical guitarist for just music and no singing (another fellow bdw gal did exactly this and I am copying . She also told me that she and her hubby picked the readings with her priest in the US and then shared that with the priest in Playa. I will keep you posted as I go through this process! Next, we are meeting with our priest here to have him complete the permission paperwork, schedule our pre wedding class, etc. Good luck!!! Susan

Thanks gals! I will most certainly share my pics with you! We're still waiting to confirm photographer (either Claudia Rodriguez's team or Jill Higgins) so that's my next "to do"! Now that I've decided on my locale and date, how do I change that on my little bdw profile?? Have a great evening!!!

(Yikes!!! I had written a nice long message this morning and something went wrong as I was submitting it, so only the title came through! So sorry! Let me recreate it now... Good morning ladies!!! Yipee!!! After about 2 months of researching and trying to decide on location (Hawaii, Cabo, or the Riviera Maya), hotel, WC, and the type of ceremony to have, we FINALLY confirmed a Catholic ceremony on May 30, 2008 at the Nuestra Senora del Carmen seaside chapel in Playa del Carmen!!!!!! I am SO excited!! I couldn’t even sleep last night, even though I am fighting a cold bug and needed to rest! It just feels so darn good that we will be having the type of wedding we’ve always wanted - something unique, special and memorable - even in light of the weirdness we’ve gotten from some people (future MIL and some others)! So as far as our accommodations we are staying at the Hotel La Tortuga, a small non-mega resort hotel a few blocks from the beach that is so CUTE, extremely reasonable (how can you beat $80 bucks a night for a standard room?!?!) and has consistently received great reviews on Tripadvisor. I have to say that Anna, my contact at the hotel, has been extremely helpful, informative and super nice as she answered my endless questions about the hotel and planning a wedding. Caribbean Blue Weddings will actually be my WCs (the hotel contracts with them), but before sending them our deposit yesterday Anna was my source of info and go-between. Once I submitted my deposit, Anna handed me off to Irene of CBW, who immediately contacted me to introduce herself and follow up with all the details. She also seems very nice and thorough! I am hopeful that my positive experiences with Anna and Irene so far will continue towards a great wedding! We haven’t yet confirmed where to have our simple reception dinner for our 6 guests, but we’re not too concerned about that right now since Irene will help us and all we want is a nice meal, have a traditional mexican trio serenading us while we eat, and a yummy cake! Since our parents/aunts/uncle are up there in age, it’s not like we’ll be boogying the night away (haha), so we didn’t have the need to hire a dance band or a dj. We may head on to another locale in Playa to dance after if we want, or my future hubby and I may just want to start our wedding night early! (hee hee). We’ll be having a very informal AHR a few months after we get back. I am so grateful for this forum and all you lovely ladies for all the info and resources that have helped me come to this decision!!! I truly appreciate it! For those brides who are still in the midst of trying to decide, feel free to pm me if you want more details on my experiences so far. A million thanks, and have a great day! Susan

Is this why the search function was and still isn't working? Any idea when it'll be back! I'm so dependent on it these days! Thanks

Hi all! Just wanted to see if anyone had Father Jorge do their catholic ceremony in Playa? I was a little concerned to hear that the other English speaking priest in the area, Father Quinn, sorta rushes through the ceremony and can be a bit "blah". I'd love to know what anyone's experience with this other priest has been. Thanks!! Susan

Hi all! Well first of all, I think we have finally chosen (though not confirmed) our wedding location...Playa del Carmen! Yay! With the help of the fantastic staff at the small Hotel La Tortuga (Anna is great, very friendly and responsive!), we will be working with their wedding planners Caribbean Blue Weddings. We are planning to get married at that cute Catholic chapel in Playa then having a simple dinner for 6 guests at the hotel afterward. I'm excited! I have just asked for a copy of CBW's contract/agreement so we can look it over. Can anyone please give me any advice on what to keep an eye out for? I have already been told that the payment policy is $500 non-refundable down payment to reserve/confirm (which will ultimately be applied to balance), then 50% 3 months prior and the remaining 3 weeks prior. When we're ready to pay the deposit, they will give us the info on how to deposit into their US checking account, after which we will receive a receipt, etc. Also, would love to hear of anyone's experience with Caribbean Blue Weddings! I did a search on this forum and only found a couple of messages, but both were positive. I checked out their own website and there are tons of good testimonials, but wanted to see if anyone here has used them. Any advice anyone can give me would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!!!! Happy planning!!!!!!!