antonia321

Hi Steph, I had the same problem with many of my guests that didn't get the all inclusive. My experienced traveler friends were like - WHAT A DEAL but others though it was so expensive because they didn't get the all inclusive. What we did is basically put on our website what "All Inclusive" means at my dad's suggestion and listed EVERYTHING it includes (found on the Royal website) and basically, said, "You will only need money for tipping, if you want to shop, go out in the town or doing any activities not listed in the all inclusive! How great is that?" The flipside was got some extra guests that we didn't expect but in the end, my prior guilty feelings subsided for picking a 5 star All Inclusive hotel! -a

Hi Angela, I had given our guests options to stay at all three Real Resorts all walking distance from each other: The Real, Gran Porto and Royal. I'd say about 75% of our guests stayed at The Royal, while the ones with kids or didn't want to spend as much stayed at the other two. The beaches of the Gran Porto and the Royal are right next to each other and are public so we would walk back and forth to hang out. Also, since all the resorts are downtown, it was easy meet up, walk around in the city together, shop or explore the nightlife. I had six guests stay at the Aventura Palace because they had a time share there. They had to take 20-30 minute cab ride to meet up with all of us which became a pain to them. Even though the beach wasn't private, it was the best location for a large group vacation. Beautiful grounds, white sand beach front while still being walking distance to everything. I guess I wasn't thinking only of the wedding, since that was only one day, I was thinking of the vacation as a whole and there was things to do there for everyone. The DJ was a separate expense and was so worth it!

-- I did a search for this and couldn't find the threads so I just thought I'd post another one -- I looked into using them for my wedding in Mexico since two other friends of mine were using them, one getting married in Hawaii and one in the DR. We didn't end up going to either friends wedding because they were just months apart from ours. I didn't use DestinationWeddings.com because we didn't get any good quotes from them and the TA wasn't too helpful so I scratched them off the list completely. I'm posting this because my friends just got back from the DR wedding and had a terrible experience with DestinationWeddings.com. Their first TA, Eileen, mistakenly booked their guests with a different wedding and also double charged some people's credit cards. So they asked for another TA @ DestinationWeddings.com after that disaster. Their second TA, Debbie Ryan, accidentally booked 1/4 of their guests at a different and less nice resort 40 minutes away! My friend said, they were walking around this terrible resort looking for the bride and groom. Luckily, his cellphone was working and he contacted the groom. Debbie wasn't able to do anything until the next day, something about faxing vouchers to the correct resort and redoing the transportation. Basically, fixing the mess because more guests were arriving the next day and heading to the wrong place. AND after all was said and done, one guest still wasn't able to switch! It would be different if the resorts were close by or even just short cab ride away but 40 minutes? As you can imagine the bride was so upset and her mother was LIVID. She is not on this forum so I thought I should share this with everyone. I know some of you have had wonderful experiences with DestinationWeddings.com but I'm thinking that they are just not consistent. Maybe they are random agents not all having the same expertise or adequate training? I just hope none of you or your guest have to go through this.

we used the beginning of Van Halen's "JUMP" for the entrances. it was a lot of fun!

Lady Cheese- This just came to mind... I was a BM at a DW in Rome about 6 years ago and the bride got us (and herself!) all Prada travel cosmetics bags in brown with a pretty candle inside. (there is a Prada outlet just outside Rome) It wasn't exactly this but there are some different ones on Bluefly. Bluefly - Women's Designer Handbags and Accessories at Bluefly.com - #300174502 - Prada ivory nylon zip small cosmetic bag Bluefly - Women's Designer Handbags and Accessories at Bluefly.com - #300174402 - Prada ivory nylon zip cosmetic bag I have to tell you, the candle is long gone now but the bag was the greatest BM gift I ever got that I still use all the time, for traveling, to the gym, etc. Would I ever buy a Prada or any luxury brand cosmetic bag for myself? Uh - no. But it was awesome to get a high quality and useful present that I will keep forever. I tried to do the same thing for my girls (didn't want to copy as that bride was there) but as I said, my gifts were bulky!

Fabulous dress!! The pictures are going to look so great. My MOH's dress was different from the BM and looked good and she felt special

the passport cover is awesome! what girl wouldn't love a gift in a little blue box?!?! especially since you would never buy something like that yourself. its also nice that its small, too. I got my BMs a cute beach/summer bag filled with Bliss stuff but it was super bulky present.

YAY!!! can't wait to see your pro shots!

Quote: Originally Posted by DelightfulDani I think it really depends on if there are important people in your life who you would like to stand up for you and are willing to take the responsibilities. I have 3 friends and a sister who would absoulutely die if they were not apart of th wedding. They are looking forward to a destination wedding. I agree. If you don't care then don't, BUT If you deep in your heart you really want one, you should have one. . You will be suprised how flattered and honored your friends and family are when you ask them to be part of your wedding. And many times you will become closer because you are sharing the ups and downs of wedding planning with them. You could always pick your mother or grandmother, godparent or someone you admire if you don't have a dependable/willing girlfriend. My husband was so resistant to pick people on his side to be a part of our wedding, at times I had to step in and do it. And they were so excited so have even the smallest role.

After reading this thread, I decided to watch part of my video. Its so long that my husband and I haven't had the time to watch it all. My favorite parts have been watching my guests having so much fun dancing and watching the toasts again. You miss out on a lot of this stuff as you are dancing yourself and making the social 'rounds. I have to admit that watching me give my thank you speech after all those cocktails was slightly painful but hilarious at the same time. A year or years from now, I'm sure the painfulness will go away and I will be laughing my head off. The photos should def. be the bigger investment but I'm so happy that I got the video.

i can't wait to see pictures!

what a beautiful video and a great memory from the day... i got teary!!

its beautiful and special because its connected to your mom!

I love different and creative things, too! We agreed that those can go on my right hand so I will be book marking your ring page... My husband is very classic so I ended up with a very pretty eternity band similar to Tiffany's legacy band but purchased in the diamond district in NYC. I am guessing the total cost of our bands were between $3000-$4000. you must post a pic of the two rings together when you have them both! i'm so curious!

I used him to for our wedding in March. He was fabulous and kept the party going!

OMG! that ring is gorgeous! I would have loved a ring like that! I didn't choose my e-ring or band. How does it look with your e-ring?

when you think about it, the gown is actually minimal because on your wedding day, its all about the entire look but together. Your hair, make-up, accessories, the veil, and most importantly, the big smile you will have on your face and your "its my day" glow. that's why pictures of real brides in their dresses on their wedding day look better than on the model. because it more than just the dress!

i love the head band. am a def. not a hair expert, but will your flower be in the back of your head? maybe you don't need take the head band off. its so pretty!

I will give you my timeline which might help! 8 months before -- Aug 2007 -- Put up website from Wedding Windows. They also have a planning schedule in their planning tools which we followed. Had wedding date, resort information and other useful information on the destination, bridal party, etc. It was not totally completed but a work in progress. 7 months before -- Aug/Sept 2007 -- Sent out STD postcards. Had the wedding date, location and a link to our website. There is an rsvp function on the website that few people used as well as a guest book where people can reply. 6 months before -- October/November 2007 -- We finally got our discounted group rates for the resort so people could start booking. Sent out an e-mail announcement through our website. I would say that 50% of our guests booked in October and November when the rates when out. 4 months before -- December 2007 -- Website completed. Send out formal invitations with wedding schedule, map of area, and rsvp cards. I sent invitations to everyone on our invite list even though I knew they couldn't come. I think a lot of the guests didn't really take the wedding seriously and booked only after they got the formal invitation. 1 month before -- Feb 2008 -- Deadline for RSVP March 2008 -- Wedding! It worked out well! Although most people knew early on that we were getting married in Playa del Carmen through us or family gossip, so our guests were anxious to book. Hope this helps!

LOVE it!!!!

I had part of my bachelorette party at the beach club. They had an awesome fireshow and it was definately a night club/party atmosphere. Unfortunately, that's all I can tell you. The location is great though! On the beach and right on 5th Avenue!

I agree with Morgan. I am 7 years older than my sister and there were def. a time in our lives when weren't close and didn't get a long. And as the big sister, I didn't seem to realize the effect that I had on my younger sister. They look up to you, live in your shadow, and sometimes I didn't understand why she would get so sensitive about things that I didn't think were a big deal but were to her. Its an honor to be part of a wedding, especially an intimate destination wedding. My sister ended up being my maid of honor and I had three of my best friends as BM. It was nice cuz I didn't have to choose between the friends! We also had an uneven bridal party because I wanted more of my girls than my DH. Everything worked out, it didn't look weird. My sister went all out for me, above and beyond any of my friends. I think sometimes when you give people the opportunity to be close to you and be there for you, they just run with it. Good luck! and I hope this helps!

$50!?!?!? that's such a steal! LOVE the color.

it was $250 for 4 explosions to go off when we cut the cake. it was a fun surprise! I didn't tell my husband so he was totally surprised, too. I think they are called "cold explosions" or something like that. Our DJ provided them for us. you can take a look at my wedding slideshow for a picture. del Sol Photography Wedding Photojournalism you can skip ahead to photo #185 and #186 for the cake cutting and explosions.

Yes, its the same price. I don't remember it being offered, I think I requested it because I knew I wanted one. We had a choice between 3 buffet menus.