SunBride

My two suggestions would be 1) Wash your hair only every 2nd day 2) Use salon products. I switched to salon products about 5 years ago, but I refuse to pay regular salon prices. I always buy them at stores like Walmart, Winners or Zellers for much cheaper than salons. In fact if I buy the litres (there is always like a buy one get the 2nd half price special) I find it works out to pretty much the same price as the drugstore brands (i.e. I will pay like 20$ for 2 litres, which is equivalent to 6 normal size bottles, which are usually like 350ml, so equivalent to about 3,50$ for a drugstore brand bottle!) There are also some salon "superstores" that sell the litres for cheap. In Ottawa we have one called Chatters, and another whose name I can't remember as I've never been. So the lesson here is, shop around!

I would think that you "should" go through the DT coordinators since they travel to the other resorts to take care of the weddings, but if you are really having trouble getting a hold of them, it can't hurt to email the Barcelo coordinator, especially for questions like restaurant/menu options, ceremony location etc. Worst case scenario she tells you to contact DT or you get no response at all right? P.S. I would CC DT on those emails

Just as a pointer, I know I had trouble finding a used veil in the length I want, 1 tier, but you could actually buy a 2 tier veil and cut one of the tiers off (right at the comb) if you find one you like that is 1 tier.

Quote: Originally Posted by SunBride Um, that's not exactly true. Sure, they keep pushing back the re-opening date, which sucks, but you can't have expected them to say on Day 1 "we're moving everyone for the next 3 months" when they had no idea how long it would take. They are loosing TONS of money on this so they have to be careful and take things week by week. They are being quite proactive now by moving everyone through mid November to give some piece of mind to all brides in the next 3 weeks. Also they have been answering emails and sending updates. And they have been doing a terrific job of relocating brides. In the past couple days we have had 5 of our brides on this forum relocated (in fact I don't think anyone with a wedding prior to Nov 15 is still waiting relocation) Plus they have informed all of you of your choices (and they have provided more choices than what they originally said) so that you can do your research now and when the time comes you can make a more informed decision. I understand it's frustrating not to have solid answers for those of you who are farther away, but honestly, what can we expect them to do? They would give you answers if they had answers to give! So it sucks for them as much as you brides to be. While they handled this horribly in the first couple weeks (i.e. brides having to find out about this on here rather than through them) they seem to have gotten their act together in the past week or two. Honestly, I don't think we can expect that much more for them, the situation is outside of their control. They could be doing a bit better on the communication (i.e. making sure all employees are sending out consistent emails) but overall they are doing a decent job. Sorry if it seemed like I was attacking you SandyW (or anyone else). That was certainly not my intention but reading it over again I can see how it seemed that way. I guess I was just trying to remind you guys to think positive thoughts by pointing out that things have improved a lot since the beginning. Obviously you are still allowed to complain as much as you want because this is a really shitty situation, I was just trying to help you think positively. And also to remember that the resort is doing everything it can. I know it sucks when they say "we'll have news next week" and then next week becomes the week after, and they keep saying that without giving you any real news besides the fact that they are relocating more brides. It sucks that the news so far has never been good, but at least they are giving updates, and telling you pretty much everthing they can since the situation is out of their hands. It's impossible for them to give a definite date of re-opening, which is what you all want obviously. Does anyone know - out of all the resorts that were closed during the summer (for the same reason) have any of them succesfully reopened? We have heard that the other resort which was closed the same day as DT (Euro something or other) is half open, but what about the others that were closed several months ago?

Quote: Originally Posted by SandyW that is what they say every week! And every week we wait with very little or no response. Um, that's not exactly true. Sure, they keep pushing back the re-opening date, which sucks, but you can't have expected them to say on Day 1 "we're moving everyone for the next 3 months" when they had no idea how long it would take. They are loosing TONS of money on this so they have to be careful and take things week by week. They are being quite proactive now by moving everyone through mid November to give some piece of mind to all brides in the next 3 weeks. Also they have been answering emails and sending updates. And they have been doing a terrific job of relocating brides. In the past couple days we have had 5 of our brides on this forum relocated (in fact I don't think anyone with a wedding prior to Nov 15 is still waiting relocation) Plus they have informed all of you of your choices (and they have provided more choices than what they originally said) so that you can do your research now and when the time comes you can make a more informed decision. I understand it's frustrating not to have solid answers for those of you who are farther away, but honestly, what can we expect them to do? They would give you answers if they had answers to give! So it sucks for them as much as you brides to be. While they handled this horribly in the first couple weeks (i.e. brides having to find out about this on here rather than through them) they seem to have gotten their act together in the past week or two. Honestly, I don't think we can expect that much more for them, the situation is outside of their control. They could be doing a bit better on the communication (i.e. making sure all employees are sending out consistent emails) but overall they are doing a decent job.

Quote: Originally Posted by MissyR I really take offence to this frankly. There is a DT bride who is getting married on the same day and the same thing happened. I said No. Frankly I picked the Paradisus, after tons of research, b/c I didn't want to get married at a resort that did more than one wedding a day. Why is that mean? b/c I want my day to be mine and mine only? Hotels have policies - I appreciate that you are stressed out but there are lots of other resorts that are prepared to do 5 wedding a day. I don't think it's about being inflexible - I think when they make exceptions they lose reputational points with the industry as a "one wedding a day" resort and from those brides who have chosen them particularily for that reason. Please don't call me inflexible. You don't even know me. I completely understand both of your positions, and am not taking sides at all but I suggest we cease to discuss this as it could get ugly and the brides on here have enough stress and drama as it is so perhaps people can just agree to disagree and not talk about it anymore. I would hate for brides to get more upset than they already are.

Quote: Originally Posted by Meggzilla i do not have any last minute people coming so i'm not sure but does anyone know if we should be contacting the barcelo wc for things we need or to go to landy? i need to make spa appointments and haven't heard back on who i should contact for that. any ideas? I think for most wedding stuff you should be contacting Landy/Lizette as it sounds like they are travelling to the other resorts for all weddings to handle all the details. For something like a spa appointment though, you can take care of this yourself, that is what I did. I contacted the spa myself by email to make my appointments so that I would know it was taken care of. I suggest you call the general hotel phone number and ask to be transfered, or ask for the spa email address, or if you find an email address on their website write to them. Worst case scenario you can just book it when you arrive, 99% chance are they will be able to fit you in but if you are very unflexible about the time you want your hair to be done (personally I was) then it would be better to try to schedule it in advance.

Quote: Originally Posted by MonoAmor How are they able to fit so many extra people in Barcelo? Are they not at capacity in Nov? So in answer to our bit of discussion about how busy Nov is in the Mayan Riviera there is another thread that was just started and Paul Schrank who is a local videographer (including mine!) posted a great answer I think and he says that overall November isn't busy. Maybe it was just a coincidence then that we had so many DT November brides. http://bestdestinationwedding.com/fo...868#post579629

Quote: Originally Posted by PlayaWeddings I live here in Playa and have been doing weddings here for 4 years. I think the best month for a wedding is November. The rain slows down and it's still warm. The sea is still warm from the summer. The tourists don't arrive in earnest until Christmas so it's not so crowded. Our tourist season here starts in December and November is at the end of low season. People earn much less money during low season so everyone in the tourist business is eager to please and start earning money again. In January and February it gets very windy and it gets cool. When you get both it can be pretty cold. The high winds can make for very challenging conditions for beach weddings. You need some luck to avoid the winds. I've had great weddings during these months. Your best bet is to bring the reception indoors away from the wind. March and April are the highest part of the season. Lots of tourists and lots of weddings. The weather is great but you should plan ahead for these months. The more private you can make it, the better. We got married last year at the beginning of May. I like May, it's hot but the nights are really nice. May and June are very busy for weddings and these are at the end of everyone's seasons. Everyone is working a lot during these months. Since weddings happen late in the day and the night, the weather is really good for outdoor events. Probably the least chance of a rain-out. In July it gets too hot and we usually get away until September. September and October are really nice months here for us, but it rains a lot so it's not so nice for weddings. It's a great time to visit though. Everyone is psyched for the new season and we get some perfect days weather-wise. And there is no competition for space. Thanks for this info Paul! It's good to know. I see comments about "busy season" often posted by other travellers and I never know what to think as you hear different things from different peoples but hearing itWe from a local who is in the wedding business I think we can trust this overall assessment of the seasons. We were actually just talking about this today in the Dreams Tulum closure thread as brides were wondering if November was a really busy month, for Dreams Tulum November was the busiest month of weddings (based on the number of members on this forum, which obviously isn't a perfect representation). Also in Canada, people on travel south between December to March, very few people travel to mexico outside that timeframe so I wasn't sure how the overall picture was when you add in the American and European travellers who might be on different schedules.

Wow, looks like they are working hard to relocate all you early November brides! Although the communication has been bad it sounds like they are really starting to get organized with all this. Here's an updated list: Happily Married RabbitNow - Oct 7 - Dreams Cancun Piggy - Oct 9 - Barcelo Maya Palace Trisha0612 - Oct 10 - Paradisus Riviera Cancun B&J2008 - Oct 11 - Paradisus Riviera Cancun Brides to be cendcar - Oct 27 - Paradisus Riviera Cancun jodylynn007 - Nov 1 - Secrets Maroma Beach alin & mako - Nov 8 - Barcelo Maya Palace Nueland - Nov 12 - Barcelo Maya Palace Dreamstbride - Nov 13 - Barcelo Maya Palace MonoAmor - Nov 13 - Barcelo Maya Palace Meggzilla - Nov 14 - Barcelo Maya Palace

At least you ladies won't be as hot since the chapel is open.

Quote: Originally Posted by DanielleNDerek I dont like the floral lights. Maybe not as many floral lights and you could just put crystals mixed in with the floral lights. I think a taller vase might work better. I really like the feathers though. Oh and my centerpieces are UGLY. I hate them. I'm not sure what i'm going to do. You should post yours and maybe some people will have some great suggestions on how to spice them up.

How about painting the vase with a clear frosting type thing so that the lighting is more subdued. also, how about something to bring together the vase and votives, like either a large plate of some sort, or even just a square of material (if you already have table runners or overlays, this would be like a smaller square of another color placed in the middle).

Quote: Originally Posted by MonoAmor Finally got my confirmation. So I will be joining you girls at Barcelo for Nov 10th-17th. Should be a hell of a trip! Adding you to the list so that it stays up to date List of brides moved from Dreams Tulum to other resorts RabbitNow - Oct 7 - Dreams Cancun Piggy - Oct 9 - Barcelo Maya Palace Trisha0612 - Oct 10 - Paradisus Riviera Cancun B&J2008 - Oct 11 - Paradisus Riviera Cancun cendcar - Oct 27 - Paradisus Riviera Cancun Nueland - Nov 12 - Barcelo Maya Palace Dreamstbride - Nov 13 - Barcelo Maya Palace MonoAmor - Nov 13 - Barcelo Maya Palace Meggzilla - Nov 14 - Barcelo Maya Palace

Quote: Originally Posted by MonoAmor Yah we have had a really LOOONG talk about all of this. At first he still didnt understand, but we have come to an agreement that I will be keeping her no matter what. I explained to him that I thought his behaviour was disguisting to me and I shared a couple of things you ladies said. I really think it sunk it a little. Despite this, he really is a good guy and he is wonderful with his neices so I know he will be a good dad. He just needs to open his eyes to accept animals. I have his word that he will show more respect towards her and my feelings about it. I really do trust him so I believe he is going to try. He has already stopped yelling at her and will just shoo her away gently if shes too close to him. I know its not fair to him to have me shove her down her throat, it needs to be his own decision to change his behavior. I know they will probably never be best buddies, but he has promised to treat her kindly. Honestly, this situation was so hard for me. I think it had been the biggest problem that he and I have ever had, so I really do appreciate everyones concern and suggestions on here. Now I can focus back onto the wedding and getting Luna (my kitty) set up for while we are gone. Wonderful news! Nobody said that he had to love the cat, but just be respectful of it, and of your feelings towards it. And at the same time I think you can be respectful of his feelings too, like not having the cat sleep with you, not have the cat on you while cuddling him on the couch (they each get their turn seperately), things like that.

I wouldn't usually tip a photographer, but I would tip a wedding photographer if they were really good (because they are with you all day). So in your case I wouldn't tip. But if you wanted to, I don't know, maybe 20$-50$ (this is assuming the cost of the session is like 200-400$)

Okay, I could obviously post a zillion things I love but there is only 3 things that I am REALLY bad about, like eating in hidiously gross quantities 1) Chocolate (pure chocolate, chocolate bars, chocolate in any dessert) 2) Homemade style cookies (they don't actually have to be homemade, but the soft, chewy ones, i.e. subway cookies)

I know it's hard to accept people telling you you should dump your fiancé. I mean he's not just your boyfriend anymore, you actually have plans made to get married! I would suggest going to couple therapy to discuss this. This is a serious issue and should be dealt with as such. The way he dealing with this is not acceptable (i.e. treating your cat badly and using this situation as a type of bribe)

I love the nighttime pictures of you guys with the crazy dark blue sky. Very nice! You obviously had a good photographer to take good pictures like that at night. I also love how the families are color coordinated with the baby blue and brown. We had our families color coordinate with blue (and the moms happened to both wear champagne) but it's not really that noticeable. With yours it's noticeable and looks really sharp!

Welcome, we have several threads in the Mayan Riviera sub-forum. Unfortunetly Dreams Tulum temporarily closed due a legal battle you can read all about it in the thread

Quote: Originally Posted by SandyW In regards to travel months ... we picked Thanksgiving week (ours is 11/27/08 because our younger kids as well as our college children have most of that week off. I think a lot of Americans travel over this holiday and am concerned hotels will be more booked up over that time. There is another bride on here with same date as me who is going to Paradisus (originally planned that way) and another Tulum bride on 11/28/08 who doesn't know where she will be yet either. Oh right, I wasn't thinking about Thanksgiving. In Canada Thanksgiving is the first Monday in October, and it's totally not a big deal like in the U.S. (basically we get one day off work and we eat turkey and pumpkin pie). I knew it was a big deal down there, but I didn't realize that students get several days off school.

For the new girls, Can you keep the discussion on the closure in this other thread please? It is a pain to have 2 threads going with similar discussion http://bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/t29989 This thread here was created only for people to add their names and comments for a petition, which is now over.

Quote: Originally Posted by piggy Hi There Ladies, Just wanted to reassure those of you that have been moved to the Barcelo Mayan Palace not to worry. It's a beautiful resort and your wedding will be beautiful. I was originally to be married at Dreams Tulum on October 9th but found out two days before we were to leave that we would be relocated. It was such a mess and very distressing but in the end it all worked out for the best. All of us were very pleased with Barcelo and Lizette was super. Also the spa did a fantastic job with my hair and makeup and the resort photographers were super nice. If we go back to the Riveria Maya area we will surely stay at the Barcelo. Hi Piggy, I was wondering what happened to you because we hadn't heard from you. Thanks so much for helping calm the ladies moving to Barcelo. Maybe you can post a more detailed review and also some pics to help these girls out further?

Okay, I notice that the first couple brides who started / responded to the thread have weddings a year away, so I totally wouldn't worry, there is a very good chance it goes back up again. Quote: Originally Posted by Kat81 Yeah no doubt. We were talking to the bank about it the other day and they said it is because everything is getting cheaper in the States so everyone is coming here to spend their money.... He said it probably won't last long and should get back to normal as soon as everyone realizes they need to be spending in Canada!! SIGH! No offense, but that banker has the situation COMPLETELY wrong! Canada is suffering from the same financial crisis as the US right now which is the cause of this, it has nothing to do with people shopping in the US! There are 2 main factors (1) OIL PRICES - because Canada is a net exporter of oil (thanks to Alberta!), our dollar is very very highly affected by oil prices. The reason our dollar reached parity and above last year is because oil prices skyrocketed. Now oil prices have dropped to 70$ a barrel (they were at 150$ a barrel a couple months ago!) so the dollar is dropping with it. (2) Interest rates - The Bank of Canada (our central bank, like the Federal Reserve in the US) has brought down the country's key interest rate several times recently (including 1/2% a few weeks ago and another 1/4% this week. May not sound like a lot but it's a huge change to take place in one month). When the Canadian interest rate decreases relative to the US interest rate it makes the value of the dollar go down. All this being said, the US economy and especially the government's financial situation is in much worse shape than Canada's right now. Although our stock markets have taken a huge hit in the past couple weeks, the whole sub-prime mortgage crisis that the US has been experiencing for a year has not really hit Canada because Canada doesn't have a sub-price mortgage crisis (more regulation in place to prevent those times of mortgages). And more importantly, the US gov't financial situation is much worse, they are posting HUGE deficits because of the war in Iraq whereas here in Canada we have been posting large surpluses in the past few years. We may post a small deficit in the next year due to the impending recession but it will likely be a small one while the US posts another huge one. So all this to say it's just a matter of time before oil prices will go back up, and likely the canadian dollar too, it's just a question of whether it's a few weeks or months or a year. Right now most people are predicting these tough economic times to last about a year or a year and a half (although the crazy stock market crisis we've seen in the past few weeks will likely be less long than that, but a year or year and a half for the entire economy to get back on track. P.S. Can you tell I'm an economist ? ? ? Actually I don't know shit about any of this stuff except for what I read in the papers and the fact that my two economic degrees allow me to actually semi-understand what I read. So all this is just the general consensus of what I have been reading in the news, not my own personal intelligence/beliefs.

Hum, I don't know anything about any of the issues you've mentioned, but seeing as I am Canadian and know healthcare is free, have you tried seeing several doctors to see what they said about the endo? Have you always just seen the same doctor who has diagnosed you with this? I ask because often you hear about somebody having some problem that was always misdiagnosed until finally like the 12th doctor they saw was able to figure it out. So if you've only ever seen one or two or three different doctors maybe you should keep trying to see a few more different ones to see if they think the diagnosis is the same. Maybe ask your doctor(s) for a list of other possibilities and find out if there is any way to rule those out.