Jessica&Adam

Hey Memorial Day Weekend Ladies! I haven't posted on here in a while, so here's an update: Bought the dress about 2 months ago! We sent our Boarding Pass STDs out about 3 weeks ago. Took engagement pics about 2 weeks ago. Have booked photog and DJ. I've started looking at BM dresses - getting close to making a decision, but still kind of up in the air... Have not yet: Decided what to do about ceremony music - we are having the ceremony on the beach and I have no idea what to do about music - live or recorded? What are you ladies doing Booked any airfare - its still SOO expensive, and I keep hoping it will go down after summer Decided on Honeymoon location Decided on flowers/decorations Only 8.5 months to go, and sooo much to do still! Not really sure what all I should have accomplished as of right now though!!

I think it greatly depends on your location and cost. We sent out 130 STDs, and are expecting (and hoping) that no more than 40 acutally come. I think a realistic expectation for our wedding is a guest list of about 30. We sent STDs to all our family and most of our friends, but we are thinking only our immediate families and closest friends will actually make the trip due to the expense involved. Hope that helps!

While we are not paying for the *entire* wedding ourselves, we are paying for at least half - which equals to about $15,000 just for our part. I'm not a good saver, so of course I don't have anywhere near that just laying around. So while most people warn against going into debt for a wedding...for me it was the only way. We took out a HUGE loan, and we are using that plus a one year no interest credit card. Although it sucks to be $15K in debt already, it was really the only way for us - we only have a 10 month engagement, and I would never be able to save that kind of money in time. Yes, it is going to take us a few years to pay it off, but I seriously think it is totally worth it - you only get to do it once, so splurge and don't have any regrets! Another thing we are trying to do is pay as we go, in cash. This makes the overeall hit of the final payments seem not as bad.

Quote: Originally Posted by CayoLargo These are some of the best photos I have seen especially since they are done by you yourself and a self-timer. I give kudos to you and your FI for pulling that off...Can I ask what type of camera you used...I know you said digital but what brand and kind? Those are truly great! Thank you so much! Its a Cannon PowerShot SD800 regular point and shoot camera. It is such a great camera, very affordable, I just love it! So easy to use and the quality of the photos it takes is great! Hope that helps!

Thank you! Yes we used a digital camera on my tripod, using the timer feature. Pretty easy, just have to be patient with it! Here's just a few more...they are similar shots, just a little different, and out of order hehe:

Thats it! And I have NO idea why they are sooo big - I used photobucket! Ahh!

Here's more... More to come...

So since there are sooo many I will only post my favorite e-pics - we took them on Sunday and I'm shocked by how well they turned out - its hard to believe we took them ourselves (using a tripod and the timer on my digital camera)! They were taken here in San Antonio, TX at the historic San Antonio Missions (San Juan and San Jose). I love the rustic look they provide. Scroll all the way down because there are 3 pages of them! Enjoy!! More to come...

These are definitely some of the best e-pics I think I've ever seen! Congrats girl they are awesome!!!!

Quote: Originally Posted by Mendy Name: Mendy Wedding date: 1-15-09 Location:Negril, Jamaica (Sandals) Welcome!! I'm living in TX but was born and raised in KS! Good to see another Kansan forum member! Happy Planning, Jessica

Does anyone have any pics of a good wedding scheme for colors of aqua and coral? I've searched all over the internet and it is so hard to find these 2 colors together! I'd even like an aqua with a coraly-orange, or a coraly-pink. I just can't make up my mind and its especially hard when I cant find many examples of what I'm looking for! I def want the BM dresses to be aqua, and I was thinking maybe coral/pinks/oranges for flowers and centerpieces.

COURTNEY!! OMG I loved your slideshow...it totally brought tears to my eyes...sooo beautiful! I LOVE the pic of your husband with tears coming down his face. Adorable! So I really hope you plan on posting your Hilton wedding review too...I'm waiting!! Awesome job, girlie!

Quote: Originally Posted by LadyN Hi Jessica!! Thanks We haven't done a site visit yet, but we are planning on doing one in October. Still no word from Fernanda...but hopefully soon...Very soon. I just got an email from Josephina from CasaMagna telling me that someone else is requesting the same wedding day as me and are ready to SIGN a contract...EEEKKKK. I'm so not even ready to sign yet. Worst part is my FI forgot his cell phone at home this morning so I can't even call him to freak out right now. This is why Plan B's were invented right? Right. Now all I need is Fernanda to email. What I love so much from the website, for the Hilton, are all the activities they have for your guests...if they choose to stay there. I am soooo glad I came across this thread, cause possibly loosing CasaMagna doesnt seem so bad if the Hilton is on the list too. This process takes SO long. Wish me luck. I'll definitely be back to ask more questions. LadyN, Trust me, I understand your stress! Haha there have been too many times where I've had to call Adam freaking out! How big is your wedding going to be? Do you want the ceremony inside, outside, on the beach? Where do you want the reception - inside, outside, or on the beach? What factors are most important to you in your wedding? The answers to these questions could help you decide between Casa and Hilton, if you can't do site visits. PS ladies, I got my dress a few weekends ago - SOO excited! Its sooo cute and beach formal! YAY!!! I honestly always swore I would never buy a dress from DB, but since I'm going to trash it (doing a TTD session) anyway, I figured what the hell! And this dress is so perfect!! Here is the link to see it: David's Bridal - Bridal Gowns ST9505 Beaded lace tank, chiffon split front over charmeuse slim A-line.

Quote: Originally Posted by katrina we went straight to belize from riviera maya. it was very easy although it took some research. and personally i think it was the perfect honeymoon spot. if you end up deciding on belize, pm me and i'll let you know exactly how we got there and and who we used. Katrina, I had never even thought about Belize, but that is a good idea, especially since its so close to Mexico! How are the beaches there? Is it really touristy? We are wanting somewhere semi-secluded yet exotic with awesome beaches and ocean to relax on. Does Belize fit the part? Do you have any pics you wouldn't mind sharing? Where did you stay while there? Sorry for the 20 questions!

Quote: Originally Posted by LadyN Hilton Cancun Ladies...you are all SO awesome with the information you've all provided on this thread. I just emailed Fernanda a few days ago to get a quote, so I'm exited to hear back...but from what you've all said I'll be very patient waiting for her reply. Indy...Congratulations on your wedding! My FI and I are actually hoping (crossing our fingers) on getting married June 27th, 2009! I'm still trying to narrow down my choices, CasaMagna is one, and then I came across the Hilton thread. I just HAD to contact them. Their hotel is BEAUTIFUL...from the website anyways. Wish me luck! LadyN, Welcome to the Hilton Brides thread! The Hilton resort in Cancun is SOOO beautiful. Do you plan on doing a site visit? CasaMagna is really nice too...we also did a site visit there, but the Hilton really just blew me away. It has everything I wanted, and Fernanda is great to work with and very knowledgable. Let us know if you have any questions and congrats on your engagement! -Jessica

Help! Its about time for me to start thinking about where we want to go on our honeymoon! There are just too many options though and I need some help! We are wanting to stay somewhere near Mexico so the flight isn't too long or expensive (so no Australia, Hawaii, etc). But then again I think going to Bora Bora or Fiji or Tahiti would be awesome! For those of you who are honeymooning somewhere outside of Mexico after your Mexico wedding...where are you going and is it ridiculously expensive?? Thanks for your help!!

Courtney and everyone else who has decided on flowers, Who did u go with for your flowers? Was it very expensive? I have no idea how much to even EXPECT to pay for flowers!! I mean on my site visit a while back I met with 2 ladies who were florists that Fernanda recomended, but they don't speak English, and they had cool looking pictures, but I have no idea how much the kinda stuff they showed me would cost...and I was just wondering if anyone is going with other people?? Thanks!

This is hard b/c they both are such talented photographers. I had originally wanted to book Claudia, but she wasn't available for my date unfortunately. After looking at all her photographers blogs I knew I definitely wanted Citalli. She is SOOO awesome! So definitely don't worry if you end up changing the date and going w/ Citali - she will do just as good of a job I guarantee it!

Ok ladies good news! I got it taken out...but it took 2 weeks and a semi-nasty email in order to get the job done. I told her I knew she had taken it out of everyone elses and that it wasn't fair for her to make it so difficult to have it taken out of mine. Here was her email response: "After a speaking to the executives I finally got you to take away the insurance clause. As I said to you before, I have removed the clauses from another brides because before it was easier, now our policies have changed and this is a process we most follow. Because you are very important to us and we really want you to be happy and make this easy for you we will remove the clause from the contract. This is a very special exception and just for future references we are not doing it anymore, because we highly recommend it and it is for your protection." So ndoshi, it might be a little hard but I seriously bet she'll still take it out for you. And just tell her very bluntly that if she doesn't take it out you will go to your second choice who doesn't require the insurance....and she'll probably take it out. All, What did you do/are you going to do for ceremony music? Are you using something live or something recorded? I don't know what I want to do for this! I definitely want to walk down to Pachobels Cannon in D though, so I don't know what would be best. Any ideas?

PLEASE HELP: CONTRACT ISSUES: INSURANCE CLAUSE Ok. So I am growing kind of frustrated about the Insurance clause in the contract. It sounds like Indy and Opice both got it taken out without too much trouble. Sooo I emailed her about it and she sent me two US Insurance companies to contact. WHen I called, they said they wouldn't do it. So I told her this, and she said she was dealing with the legal department there and they would figure out. She then emailed me again to say to check with my Homeowner's Insurance (which I don't have since we rent), or to try a major insurance company. I told her I tried that (which I did) and it didn't work. So then in her last email she said ok and then gave me a number to an insurance place which she said they highly recommend, that they know can do it. I'm sooo frustrated though, b/c I don't WANT the insurance! It requires a minimum of $1,000,000 and that will cost me a few thousands of dollars to get!! That is DEF not in my budget! Plus, insurance like this should be something that we have the OPTION of getting, but aren't required to. But apparently thats not flying here. HELP - what do I do? I can't afford to buy insurance!!!

Welcome to the forum ndoshi, how exciting!! You are getting married just a few weeks after me! Happy Planning!

Quote: Originally Posted by kelcrooks Finally heard back from Fernanda! She's working on our contract right now! She actually has responded really quickly this week - hopefully that's a good sign! Opice - we're booked for the week before you - November 8th. Any pictures you have to share would be great. Can't wait for Indy to get back so we can all see her pictures. Hey! Have you gotten your contract back? does it have that weird insurance clause on the back page? If so, what are you doing about it?

OMG CONGRATS COURTNEY! You are now a MRS! I'm so excited and happy for you that everything went wonderfully. I absolutely cannot WAIT to see more pics, so please please please post more when you can soon! Hehe, we're selfish here! YAY for you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Opice, I think those flower combos sound great! Plus, it is whatever you want!! I have not decided on flowers yet... And for menu I'm doing the carribbean salad, the duet of salmon/filet, and the flan cheesecake for desert...yummy!! What did you decide on? kelcrooks, She just got me my contract, so you should def get yours soon! I feel SO much better now!! All (especially Opice), HELP! Speaking of the contract...so I'm thinking I'm running into that whole "insurance" dilemma. You know, the one that you negotiate out of the contract? Was this what it says about it in the contract? "You further agree to obtain and keep in force General Liability Insurance covering the event described in this contract with the limits of not less than $1,000,000 per occurance & to provide the hotel with a Certificate of Insurance naming Hotel, Hilton, and the owner as an additional insured for your event" Ok so I emailed her and told her I wanted it taken out (is that what everyone else did?) and she said that there are a few companies in the US I can go through to do this. Did anyone else have to do this?

These would be my top picks: 1. Have you checked w/ Vincent, Sol Tomargo's associate? Or Diego, her other associate photographer? They are both amazing! 2. I would highly recommend Elizabeth Medina (she lives in Merida). 3. Juan Carlos Tapia is amazing as well, but kind of expensive! He is based out of Cabo. 4. Claudia Rodriguez, who is based out of Cancun and does awesome photography. Any of Claudia's associates are great too if she is unavailable. 5. Martha Roque, who is based out of Cancun. 6. Michael Maurus is based out of Cancun and does good work. 7. Dino Gomez, although I'm not exactly sure where he is based out of...but I know he shoots in Mexico a lot.