heather007

We made a list this morning with things on it that we wanted/liked. We don't need too much stuff, but there are a few things: Kitchen Aid Mixer, a fancier set of dishes for when company comes, some more towels, a maid. LoL. ~~

Quote: Originally Posted by Leia78 yeah, I wasn't expecting them to ask me for them. They looked sooooo fake! What looked so fake? ~~

What a beautiful picture of you are your hubby and your Dad. You Dad is so cute!!!! ~~

What's the magic bullet? Is that like a little blender? ~~

They wanted to see your reciepts? Crazy, didn't even think about that. ~~

I think that the koozies are worth it. We are giving both koozies and travel mugs to our guests, giving them the option of using them both, depending on their mood and type of drink that they are drinking. Plus, koozies are very small and light, so they are easy to pack, and, they are something that they will probably use on a hot summer day, sitting in there backyard. ~~

We are planning a cocktail hour at the hotel bar. That's when we plan on handing out the OOT bags [maybe]. Other than that, we might add optional events, like tours and things, but not to certain. I know that my sister and brother-in-law are planning our bachelor and bachelorette parties down there, so, like the PPs, I don't want to take up too much of our guests' time. ~~

I'm so excited, tomorrow we are going to go and add gifts to our registries at The Bay and Home Outfitters for the majority of things. We have already added things to our Sears, and on Friday we are going to Bowring for our "sparkly" items. Any suggestions? LoL. We weren't initally going to register, but too many of our guests were asking about our registry, so we caved in. I figured that next weekend we would have the chance to go, just because I have so much homework and marking to do this weekend, but Francis' Mom called and told us that she already received her invitation, which we sent out on Monday, and she lives in the next province, so that means that probably 80% of our guests have already received theirs. I just need to get my homework done tonight so that I don't have to worry about it tomorrow and can focus all of my attention on picking out things we want. How exciting!!!! ~~

Oh dear, that's a major concern for a lot of the brides here. We have asked our guests to save room in their suitcases, and surprizingly, a lot of them were more than happy to do that, because it felt like they were contributing to the wedding. Plus, if you also have guests that are only going for one week, they may only need one suitcase, leaving you an additional suitcase to fill up. I know too that other brides have shipped their items down prior to the wedding. Good luck!!!! ~~

Quote: Originally Posted by 2009bride Hi all! I'm getting married at the Barcelo Riviera Maya May 2009 and am stressing out a little on centerpiece ideas. I would like to create my own instead of using what the resort offers but I don't want to deal with the hassle of traveling with everything and risking things breaking (vases, glass, etc). Does anyone know if there's any arts & crafts stores around the Riviera Maya/Cancun area where I can buy everything that I need instead of buying it here in the U.S.? All I need is a Michaels or AC Moore store and I'm good. Please if anyone knows if there's any of these 2 stores in the area, let me know!! Thanks!! Very good post. I'm getting married at the Barcelo Riviera Maya Colonial in February and I'm facing the same issue. I'm going to email Claudia and ask her if there is a shop in Playa Del Carman, considering that is the closest place. ~~

They are at Michaels right now actually. Dumb question, because they are such a fine glass, how did you ladies pack them in your suitcases? Plus, I'm planning on putting them in my OOT bags, so would it be one ornament per couple or per person? I'm guessing per person. ~~

Try not to worry Honey!!!! You two will look amazing together. Francis is either wearing all white or tan, I told him it's up to him, so definately if he wears the white, our two tones won't match exactly, but that's okay. ~~

Love the RB outfit. ~~

We are also going to be bringing down extra luggage with us. Plus, some of our guests [my two sisters and their husbands= 4 people for sure] are only going for one week, meaning that they will only fill up one suitcase each. However, they will be bringing two each, allowing us to fill them up with our wedding extras. Plus, I will probably need another suitcase or two. ~~

Thanks everyone. I got the starfish from a seller off Ebay, I can't remember his name, so I have to search for it. The map I collected from the unofficial Barcelo website. Then I copy, pasted, and cropped. ~~

Here is some pictures of their arches and their yappals? I forget the other name, it's the one that costs $500.00. We are going with the yappal, but no arch. ~~

Ladies, There is a language barrier. If you look very carefully at your emails that you have recieved from Claudia, you will see that improper grammar and sentence structure is not being used. With that being said, I have found that by only asking one or two questions at a time, works best. Here are some pictures that I have gotten from Claudia. Centerpieces: fruit centerpiece flower Table set-up: We are having our reception outside, with the round tables. We are bringing our own chair sashes in turquoise and using the white table linens. My fiance likes those the best. Sorry about the size. ~~

From our research, we have found that it saves a few pennies, but nothing to write home about. Personally, I wanted to have a legal ceremony here first for two reasons: 1) I really don't want a foreign Doctor taking my blood, I'm too afraid of people making mistakes. 2) I don't want to stress out down there. We are arriving three days prior to the wedding and our WC told us that shouldn't be an issue. However, I have some friends who got married in Mexico in April and still haven't gotten their documentation from there yet. We are going to have a legal ceremony here. Nothing fancy, probably get my parents to be our witnesses, and instead of kissing, we are going to shake on it [just like how Mineaux did]. ~~

I like the tv too much to sell it!!!! LoL. No, like money isn't really the issue. At this exact moment it is, but, as I said, he does make more, individually, than what an average couple combined does, so it's not whether or not we need to urgently sell off our possessions to come up with the cash. Plus, things lose so much value once they are owned, so I would feel very upset after spending so much money on something and not getting that money back. I know that, if we have to, we will take out a loan, then after the wedding, within a few months, we can pay it off. I also do blame myself, because I am very good with money, that I did not take the wedding budget in my own hands. I am the one who is doing all the buying/planning/etc., so in all actualilty, I should be the one controlling the money for it too, instead of always going to him to get it. This has definately been a huge eye opener for both of us. We both need to work on this together, and I don't want to blame him 100% for it, because that gets us, as a couple, no where. Thankfully, we caught it before it got much worse. ~~

Yeah, that's why I'm wanting to find some pre-martial classes to go to. He used to be really good with his money. When I first met him, he saved absolutely everything, had zero debt, and would not use a credit card unless needed. Then we got together. Maybe a phase? Do people go through them? I know it's nothing bad: like drugs or booze, but what would make a person spend so much money in such little time? Maybe stress? I know he has been stressed out at work for about two years now. I think the message that I was trying to get across is sinking in though. I feel like a crazy person for also airing my dirty laundry over the internet too. ~~

Wow, I was really mad when I posteed that first message, I don't think I have ever been that mad. He came upstairs and I was sitting on the spare bed bawling my eyes out. I told him that we need to postpone the wedding because we should not get married with this lack of communication. He didn't want to do that. He knows that he is at fault, but I also am taking some of the responsibility for not "writing down" everything that I needed to purchase. He really doesn't want to postpone the wedding, we are both looking forward to it so much, afterall it is our wedding. I think with me threatening him, it scared the poo out of him, because he emailed his banker and told him that he needs to set up a meeting with him as soon as possible- with me there too. He admitted that he has a shopping problem, which is huge. How I found out? He told me. He sat down beside me and said "I screwed up big time." I know that he thought that he was okay, because he had some money saved up in a "rainly day" investment that would ultimately cover the cost of the wedding, but, because the stock market crashed and the Canadian dollar fell off it's rocker, he lost over half of it. We are going to meet with the banker this week to figure out options, because depleating our bank accounts is not an option. I do really see some good coming out of this. We have had some communitcation errors in the past, but nothing this severe. Plus, I told him that my biggest concern was the fact that he isn't taking my opinion into consideration. I told him how much that hurts and I know that by me saying that, it finally hit home. He really wants this to work, and so do I, so we are going to try to figure something out instead of postponing the wedding. Plus, I'm going to phone the local church and see if I can get up into pre-marital classes. I can honestly say, I have never been that mad in my life. Wow, I think that there was steam coming out of my ears. ~~

Yep. What a week. ~~

I know. I'm thinking that we need to call off the wedding to clear up this issue. ~~

I am so freaky mad right now- I don't even know where to start. My fiance has spent almost our entire wedding budget in the past year, while telling me that he has it saved. I don't work because I go to university full time, am an assistant professor at the university, and am doing an unpaid co-op practicum experience. I don't have time to work. Plus, he makes well over what an average couple makes. Well, last February, he wanted to buy a 50" tv, and I said no, we need to save the money for the wedding, or, he could pay off my student loan, which equalled the same amount of money [$8000.00]. He told me that he would do both, pay off my loan and could still afford the tv. So, I said okay. He was incharge of the budget, because it is ultimately his money, and he kept telling me that he had it already saved. Then, 4 months ago, our washing machine broke [it was two years old]. So, instead of calling someone to look at it, he went out and bought a brand new washer and dryer, costing [$2000.00]. Then, for some stupid reason, he decided that he didn't like our appliances [two years old] so he wanted to buy a new stove, fridge, and dishwasher. I said no, but, that didn't matter. They cost [$5000.00]. Everything he bought was on sale, so really good prices, but still. Oh, then he also bought new golf clubs, for him and myself, which wasn't needed, hockey equipment, and a laptop. Grand total: $19,000.00 in the past year. Our wedding budget was $18,000.00 but has gone up to $22,000.00 because of some extras. What the am I suppose to do? We have $5000.00 in our offical "wedding budget" plus about $10,000.00 in investments. I am so mad right now. I don't even now what to do. I sold the old appliances and got $1000.00 for them. Oh, and remember, I didn't find out this lack of money until today. ~~

Ladies, I just found the Feb. 09 thread. I'm Feb. 12 at the Barcelo in Mayan Riviera. I can't believe that I have 3.5 months left. I still have so much to do, plus lose 20 pounds, but that should be easy enough to do. I have to go and clean my oven, then I will post the things I have to do/have done. ~~