neen

i think a safe max would be $5000...most resort packages will cover everything on your list for less than $2K except great photog so thats where the majority of the budget would go

YAY! Another option for music. Thanks SO much for sharing the DJ info!!!

Cute new avatar Melissa!

i missed the post with becks website...LOVE it! FI and I are going to be working on ours this weekend and i think i'll be borrowing from all of your sites ladies! hope that's ok!

Quote: Originally Posted by JessicaLovesBrian People tend to get really weird when it comes to weddings. It's like a whole new personality emerges. Hope you guys work it out! i was going to say the exact same thing! hang in there!

Melissa - thanks for being honest. I wasn't even sure what I would do after photos all dressed up in a white wedding gown waiting for the reception to start. So I think we'll ultimately have to have cocktail hour from 4-5 and start the reception at 5pm. What do you guys think of really having JUST cocktails at the cocktail hour and not food since dinner is going to start at 5? Is that tacky? Its not a money thing, its a hunger point thing. And to be clear, I'd rather have nothing or a lot of cocktail food versus just a crudite platter (i just think that would look cheap). Again, thoughts

ooh - good idea becks about the mexican terrace with a waiter! if we wind up having a cocktail hour, that's where we'll have it. so here's my new question. if we have the ceremony from 3:30-4pm, can we give guests the next two hours on their own before regrouping for the reception dinner at 6pm? i know that's weird, but the only reason i'm asking is because i don't want to start the reception at 5pm because that just seems too early to start dinner...and i don't want a two hour cocktail hour. thoughts

Gorgeous dress! LOVE it! I think going with the size 10 is the better and more affordable option since its less of a size issue and more of a coverage issue. Good luck!

i so wish we had a small guest list, but ours is currently at 173...yes 173. just kill me now. we haven't sent out our save the dates yet so no idea how many will actually come, but all our budgeting has been figured on 100. the steel drum is $350 for 45 minutes. when i met with perla and elisa, they said it was a band, but honestly, i wouldn't be surprised if it turned out to be just one guy. i have to re-confirm with perla and elisa in writing. i don't think we're going to do a welcome dinner...we have a pretty generous budget and it still just won't fit. so we're just going to let everyone know in the welcome letter that we'll be meeting at the lobby bar at 5pm on Friday night for cocktails after our ceremony rehearsal/walk through. Then we're going to have a private dinner in one of the restaurants at PRM with just our families and the wedding party. We're letting everyone else make their own decision on when/where to eat dinner that night since some will only be there for 3 nights and we figured we didn't want to tie them down two of three they have. Does that sound OK? the PRM is very nickel & dime-y. i think i'd feel better if they started off with crazy prices, but let you customize for free, instead of the other way around. oh well. the only thing that makes me feel better/not like a fool is that we're not the only ones getting screwed over in terms of costs by our resort and vendors, its a general trend across the RM and Cabo now. i can't image what it'll cost the brides that get married in 2010!

they are through Perla. i'd have no idea where to start if i tried to go it on my own with these sorts of vendors. it doesn't seem like any RM brides have been able to recommend a really great WC so feel like i'm dependent on Elisa and Perla for pretty much everything. was just venting to FI about all this stuff and he's convinced Elisa and Perla make up most of the pricing info as they go along. For instance, we want to go with the beef filet plated menu at $80/person, but only want 3 courses instead of 4 (no soup) and we want to offer guests the option of having chicken or fish istead (both of which are $60/person meals)...and Elisa said these changes would bring our menu to $90/person. Exactly how is that math done? whatever, forgetting about it for now and will take it out on some poor unsuspecting partner in kickboxing class tonight. bbl

good call...definitely one of the top 10 most helpful threads out there!

Welcome to the forum. Be sure to check out the wedding review pages to read what other brides have had to say about their weddings at GBA. Happy planning!

out of curiosity, how much is Citlalli's 5 hour package? Off the top of my head I think Claudia quoted me $3,250 for 5 hours...oh yeah, and she hasn't gotten back to me since I asked for a contract. weird.

ok, just caught up too. Here's what Elisa and Perla told me, which from what you've all said, must not all be true: The extra $10/per person after the four hours covers the open bar cost The RECEPTION DINNER is three hours, regardless of when you get married. After that, you have to pay the $10 per head. Like Melissa, we're getting married at 3:30, but our dinner reception isn't until 6pm so our 3 hour reception is from 6pm-9pm and then we'll pay for an extra hour. We're not sure if we're actually going to do a cocktail hour anymore, but if we do, with the cocktail food package, plus the $10/per head per hour for alcohol, that's costed out separately from the dinner reception package so that's why it wouldn't suck up an hour of your package time. We are going with a DJ and for 5 hours its $1883.70 (I just got the contract today from Victor). Not sure why I had him price 5 hours instead of 4, but at this point, whatever! For the ceremony, I actually picked songs I wanted to have played on the PRC's sound system, but for $100 less, I can have a live steel drum band so that's looking like the way we're going to go ($350). Maybe I just added to the confusion here, but maybe some of this was helpful...

most of us have been down for a site visit...check out the RM accomodations page for our reviews

The wedding reviews (and there are several on EDR) are in a sub-forum in the BDW General section...there's a link/tab specifically for WEDDING REVIEWS.

OK, just sent Perla and Elisa another email to confirm that they booked the one and only judge that can perform a legal ceremony for 3:30 or 4pm on our wedding date. I wish they'd send us a darn contract already!

if cost isn't really an issue and you don't have to go with the venues free stuff...then: i like your original idea best and it seems to me the florist's favorite seems to have less turqoise overall. so I'd go with the turqoise square vase filled with two different types of red flowers and then you can scatter some tealights around it for additional glow. if you went a step further and put those tealights in turqoise votive holders, there will be PLENTY of turqoise, but i don't think its absolutely necessary. could you use the conch shells elsewhere? maybe on the cake table or as a border for the stairs to the beach or something? imo, it'd be overkill to have them as part of the centerpiece. all said though, every option sounds beautiful so i'm sure whatever you finally decide on will be perfect. good luck!!!

my computer crashed after my stress session (convenient!)...sorry to hear everyone else freaks out too, but glad its not just me! and becks, yes, i expect perla and elisa to respond exactly 1.3 seconds after i hit send...but for some reason i don't think i'm on the top of their priority list after catching up on the last three pages of posts, i'm totally confused. i didn't realize the ceremony in the package was not legal (add another $1K to our budget) and i didn't realize the sound system was extra (+ $400 more)! i need to send another email! poor FI...he's going to have to work harder (jk) we are also booking claudia photo...i didn't realize she had other photogs with her so we booked claudia herself. i've heard good things though so hopefully it all works out! oh, yeah, and the timeline thing...please share when you figure that out because i can't bear to start thinking about it yet!

Woo-hoo! Congrats you two!

i'd never heard of this before - thanks for sharing (and good for you!) the show is coming to DC this month and I work just around the corner...may have to check it out!!!

i just totally freaked out about our wedding plans...i was just searching around for wedding favors and decorations and whatnot and came across a great review for Azul and frantically wondered if we picked the right resort & spent 15 minutes looking back through all my stuff to figure out why I didn't consider Azul in the first place. turns out, they can't accommodate a wedding as big as mine. valid reason, have now calmed down. but am wondering - does anyone else freak out unexpectedly? i think it would make me feel better if i'm not the only one...

hey ladies...does anyone have a pic of Capri restuarant? I didn't take any while I was there and LeShay needs a memory jog

this is the cutest idea! we were thinking of doing marachas or jingle bells on a stick (I'm sure its got a name, but i don't know it!) but i never thought of putting a tag on it with a little saying...i may have to "borrow" this idea for wedding next year!