Princess402

Oh my gosh those are so cute! They would be perfect for my flower girls!!! Now I want to go to Target...

I don't know if I can add anything new here, but I'm also flying in my own photographer. My initial reason for this was that I was planning on getting married in the DR and there were just no local photographers there that I really liked. I was also noticing that a lot of resorts won't allow outside photographers (or at least not without some ridiculous fee!) so even if you find someone in the country that you like it could still be a problem. And photos are just too important to me to go with resort photographers. Especially after you see some of the AMAZING wedding pics past brides post on here! So, I ended up inquiring with a lot of local photographers in my area, and some I liked from other areas as well, and ended up finding Michael Wachniak. He hasn't snapped a single shot of us yet but I think this will be the best decision I have made regarding the wedding! I LOVE his work (like makes my heart flutter), lives close to me (so we can do an engagement shoot as well), and is in my budget even with travel costs (well, close enough, lol)!!! Fast forward to me moving the wedding to Mexico, in particular the Mayan Riviera, a place where there are so many amazingly talented photographers, and I am still happy I am bringing my own photographer. Why? Because to get someone who (in my opinion) is as talented as my photog for the coverage I want would be double the price! Not kidding. And like I said, I also get an engagement shoot, no time limits, etc. And no hassle from the resort for having an outside photographer.

Hi Ladies, I could use some dress opinions/advice. Here's the story: Well I went over a month ago now to try on wedding dresses, and ended up falling in love with a couple of Maggie's: Ambrosia Ambrosia - by Maggie Sottero and Brianna Brianna - by Maggie Sottero Ambrosia I have to say though really was the one that took my breath away, whereas Brianna also looked great but was really my second choice, but admittedly was more appealing in terms of the fabric etc, being a little more appropriate for a destination beach wedding. Now I've come across another dress online by Private Label by G that is rather similar to the Ambrosia (actually from the pictures online I may even like it better, especially the neckline which on this Private Label dress I think is stunning) but looks to be a lighter weight fabric, similar to the Brianna. Private Label by G Wedding Dresses - Style 1383 [1383] - $1,248.00 : Wedding Dresses, Bridesmaid Dresses, and Designer Wedding Dresses Could this be the best of both worlds?! Problem is I have called around to all the local bridal stores in my area and none of them have this dress available for me to try it on! So sad I'm terrified to buy a dress I haven't tried on... what do you girls think? I'm especially interested if anyone has any info on or personal experience with Private Label by G dresses in general (quality, fit, etc... especially as compared to Maggie Sottero?). Thanks in advance for any help you can give me

Quote: Originally Posted by somethingblue Hey princess402, I am using Liz's business partner Susan! I think they are wonderful dont you? What is your wedding date? Wow it really is a small world!!! Yes I've been very happy so far. Liz is so fast to respond to my emails it's ridiculous sometimes, lol. We are getting married December 8th, what about you?

Quote: Originally Posted by sunkisseddreams Hi Ladies This message is for Somethingblue (Heather) & Princess402 (Angela)... I'm from Van as well and was wondering what travel agent your using? I've met with 2 so far and I've mentioned that DRC is my number one choice right now to both but they seem to talk about the resorts they are "specialists" in... meaning they probably get extra commission when you book one of those resorts! Any help is appreciated! Lisa I'm using Liz Moore from All About Honeymoons and Destination Weddings. She has been great so far, and especially in terms of pricing! She was recommended to me by my photographer. Definitely give her a shout if you are looking for someone local. There are also TAs on here that I know are fantastic, and also definitely (and obviously) DW specialists. TA Jill, for example, is very knowledgeable about Dreams, and there is a Canadian TA on here too but I can't remember who that is at the moment... in any case, just click on the banner at the top if you're interested in that option. Good Luck

Quote: Originally Posted by somethingblue Heather & Braden December 6 2010! Congrats! You are getting married just two days before me AND you're from Vancouver too?!? Exciting!!! Vancouverites are going to be taking over DRC in December, lol.

I haven't decided about cups yet but *might* be interested in something like "Mexico 2010". I'm wondering too where you're thinking of getting the cups (and what the cost is?).

Quote: Originally Posted by Angie1017 Princess - btw I am soooo jealous you are getting married at Dreams! It is such a gorgeous resort!!! Aww that's sweet! It was so tough deciding on a resort, they all have pros and cons, you know? And it's tough to find one that you think will please everyone, and yourselves too! When I first started planning I totally fell in love with the Dreams resorts, but it really did seem like a "dream" to me to have my wedding there... too pricey for us and for our guests. Then we started looking at the Dominican Republic and the Dreams resorts there were much more reasonably priced, as were the costs for the weddings so I was thinking a Dreams wedding might be possible for me after all. But when it actually got close enough that we could start checking prices and availability, etc, our TA advised that flights to the Dominican were a mess (multiple stops, long layovers) and that although not all flights would be like this, there were no guarantees. And we couldn't do this to our guests. Total bummer. She suggested we have a look at Dreams Riviera Cancun, brand spanking new and offering great introductory rates, free kids, and awesome group perks and freebies. We looked at the photos and initial reviews and were sold! We changed all our plans, booked our date, and had everyone start putting down deposits on rooms right away. So my dream wedding gets to come true after all - so cool the way things work out sometimes!!!

When I first joined for forum I had no idea where or when we were going either (and changed my mind a ridiculous number of times!). Best of luck to you in sorting it all out - this forum is such a great resource no matter what stage of wedding planning you are at!

Lindsey!!! I'm also a December 2010 Mayan Riviera bride Secrets Maroma looks SO amazing, great choice and good luck with all your planning on there! Hope to see you around the forum (there are a couple of 'December 2010 brides' threads if you are interested) and best of luck with alll your wedding plans!

Annette, congratulations and This site is a godsend for destination wedding planning!!! I'm getting married just two days after you - so from one December bride to another, good luck with all your planning, and let me know if there's anything I can do to help! See you around the forum

PM'd you for pictures! Only interested in 10, maybe 20, of the bags tho.

So excited to have booked DJ Doremixx for my wedding!!!

Quote: Originally Posted by rdsjcr Yeh- I wonder this too... I thought the cake was included with the Ult. Package?? So how is it $450? can someone help? Maybe it's labelled $450 because that's how much it would be if you weren't doing the Ultimate package? She should really explain this though instead of just sending it like that! I'm also wondering if this means that there are only two different cake options? I can't think that is right, but then why would she only send you two cakes... I know for other Dreams resorts I have seen quite a few different cake options, depending on the package you go with.

Quote: Originally Posted by JNagan2011 I like the idea of orange dresses and pink shoes!! So does anyone have guests booking yet?? We haven't even booked ours yet even, but plan to soon. We were holding off as long as possible for better prices! As you can see from my siggy, we've got quite a few booked so far! But I don't think that's the norm from what I have seen on here. We have been getting great early pricing from Dreams (which my TA has promised will only go up) since it was new, and kids were free, so we really encouraged people to book early. Haven't booked any flights yet though...

Beautiful dress - looks fantastic on you!!!

Quote: Originally Posted by Angie1017 *waves hello* I feel the same way! From what I understand, now that the resort is chosen, and date and time of the ceremony, I don't have to book our reception site, flowers, cake, etc. until much closer to the date. This drives me crazy! He he. What do your BM's dresses look like? I'm stuck on choosing colours :S *waves hello* back! I am struggling with choosing colours as well! At first I was thinking about turquoise and coral, with accents of lime green and brown (fairly common colours I see on here!) but FI was not having the same visions as I was... Then I saw some cute summery BMs dresses in royal blue, and FI loves royal blue (or "Canucks blue" for you hockey fans out there, lol), so I figured that would be a safe colour to start with. So... now I'm thinking about royal blue with aqua or light blue (maybe tiffany blue?) and yellow. What do you girls think? Any other ideas on what would look great with royal blue?

FI and I don't want posed pics either! Don't know if you are open to hiring a photog from outside of Mexico but if so you might like my photographer, Michael Wachniak. Vancouver Wedding Photographer | Michael Wachniak I love his style and he's been SO great to work with so far!!! There's tons of great photographers on this forum though so I don't think you will have to look far to find someone great! Good Luck

Quote: Originally Posted by Laura22610 I would definitely trust the resort photographers for the entire wedding. They were really so nice and they know the resort so well, they would probably come up with some great spots for taking pictures. Plus, they are at the resort everyday so if you wanted to meet with them in person before your wedding, you could do that too. I think they are great. I guess you would just have to figure out how much more they would charge for the extra time. I know that when you buy prints from them it is $15 per picture. Although with the Ultimate Package you get 50 pictures. Definitely worth thinking about! Still not sure whether I am going with a package or not, BUT if I do yeah obviously I would like to use the photographers for something rather than paying for something that I don't use. My photog will be covering everything I need (rehearsal dinner, wedding, TTD) but maybe I could think of something else, or at very least donate the photo session to one of our guests! Just wondering how the included photography works - do you get a certain amount of their time? I know you get 50 pictures for example with the Ultimate Package - does this include any high-resolution images on a disc (and if yes, are these edited?)? Or do you get whatever pictures they take on a disc, and then just 50 actual prints? Sorry for all the very specific questions! Geez, can you tell I've been through the process of finding a photographer? I asked these questions to so many before finding the right one for my wedding

Quote: Originally Posted by michelle2011 Rachel your dress is lovely. I have a Maggie dress too ) love her designs. Mine is called Ambrosia! I love it! Is yours the 2010 Ambrosia? I tried on this dress and was totally stunned, it's so gorgeous!!! I'm between that one and the Brianna right now (two totally different dresses). I'm still trying to decide if the Ambrosia is "too much" for a beach wedding, and if it would be too hot. But I see you'll be wearing it in May so that makes me feel better - lol! I would love to see pics of you in it!

I just came across autjo's wedding review (she was a December 2009 bride) and I just wanted to share something she said that just made me so much more excited to be a December bride! December Destination Wedding - A+ Although I am exhausted from a month of wedding events, it was awesome having a wedding in early December. From the wedding to Christmas to New Years to our AHR it was like we had a wedding season instead of just one day. Really great to spend so much time with our family and friends. (Hope it's okay that I quoted you here autjo!)

Congrats and GBP has a great reputation on here for weddings! Happy Planning!!!

Quote: Originally Posted by Dmitri_Markine a $20-40 folded in your passport and a request for an upgrade seems to work too LOL, good idea, does this really work?

Wow, these are great!!! Love your wedding gazebo, everything looked beautiful AND, love the pic of the guys with their shirts open - hot!!! lol

FI and I are still trying to decide what type of room to get. I see that you had a preferred club oceanview which is definitely one we are considering. I think that's probably the lowest category we are considering, and are wondering if it would be worth it to go higher. What do you think? Originally we were very excited to get a room with a plunge pool but I have heard so many people on the FB fan page say that they are too cold to use, so I guess we are moving away from that idea... Also, did you get your room upgraded (ya know, cause you were the bride and groom!) or was this the room you booked? I know you were there when it was pretty (if not completely) full, so not sure how much wiggle room there would have been to upgrade you, but just curious.