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Quote: Originally Posted by ellsbells Soontobeamrs - you asked if folks were having 50+, I'm having abt 70-80 ppl at my wedding, sounds like that shouldn't be a problem. When I visited recently there was an 80+ person wedding, the guests all enjoyed it tremendously (I asked!). That was actually the first wedding they had in the ballroom, apprently some kinks to be worked out (dance floor-wise), but all was good by the time the wedding happened. I'm having the rehearsal dinner at the seaside grill, and the wedding reception in the ballroom. I went in there when i visited, and it's a bit, well, bare, but suspect it looks good with all the tablecloths, lights, tulle to split the room, etc. Some guests at the wedding suggested adding more flowers to make it look nicer. There's a stage, which will look good for our tango (!) but perhaps a bit bare during dinner... like it needs a band? dunno... Some thoughts: the beach is rocky, The guests I talked to suggested warning people to bring water shoes. I need to get a welcome email written and sent out that includes that... ack. Also warn them that it's a trek from the airport - those guests who weren't warned weren't pleased. Those who knew expected it, so that made the ride easier. I'm telling folks who can afford it to book a private shuttle...maybe I should try to organize something, but not sure yet. So much to do! I also want to arrange a trip to the ruins for the guests on friday day - if anyone's done that, let me know. (tour guide, van company, etc.) Some of the guests for the other wedding barely knew the ruins were there, and since the resport no longer does the bike trips to the ruins b/c of the construction on the road I'd like to get my guests over to see them. If anyone out there has any email/welcome note/anything they used do pm it over! Would be good to see what others have used. Ok, I should get going here... scary how much I haven't done yet. You'll be fine!! No stressing!! I may have that many people too... don't know yet. Let me know what you think of the ballroom when you get back- I'd love to see pics of it decorated. SO you are having a DJ I am assuming? What time are you entertaining until? Do they have a seperate price list for the ball room? Sorry to bombard you! Thank you for the info~

Quote: Originally Posted by Matt Adcock One of our friends / wedding guests is Sandra Casillas, dreams Tulum wedding coordinator. We are really promoting Dreams Tulum as one of top picks these days Awesome... I think she is my WC. I'm in the clear! I'll be talking to you in the next few weeks... Tenative wedding date is February 27, 09.

Quote: Originally Posted by Matt Adcock Emily, I spent several days working on your photos... You have a beautiful family and your daughter is absolutely beautiful. She is a blessing! We thank you for the referral and kind words here. As you know and for others to know, del Sol is no longer taking reservations in any hotel that does not allow outside photographers. This is only our 2nd wedding at moon palace in 5 years and it will be our last unless they change their photography / outside vendor policy. We work in the world of wedding planning 2.0 (a play on words of web 2.0) where brides actually do all their planning and research online, as Emily did. She hired us from thousands and thousands of miles away and from the UK I might add, and trusted our vision. We want these hotels to trust our vision that we can get their word out to brides thousands and thousands of miles away by showcasing their venue in slideshows and in other outlets where these brides will recommend their services. They do this by showcasing their photography and then their thoughts on their experience. Resorts need to see how they can grow from a mutually beneficial relationship that we are trying to establish with our marketing practices. Allowing us on their property will not only provide free marketing their weddings through brides who post on forums like this one, bur also potentially direct 1,000,000 + page views per month to them from sites like BDWF. Lets face it, Bridal planning for destination weddings is an online business. This is not rocket science here... There are only a small handful of other resorts that have the same policys... or...resorts that charge a fee plus 3 nights to stay at their hotel. Regrettably, Emily will be the last bride that del Sol will photograph in Moon Palace resorts unless they change their policy. We are sad by this but it is a decision that we made on the behalf of our clients. If anybody from moon palace is reading this, please contact us and lets negotiate on how we can make the world a better place for everybody. We are happy to provide your hotels with tip top notch professional marketing by slideshows displayed from weddings occurring at your resort. How did we shoot on their property... sneaking in. We don't want to play like that anymore though... we hope all brides can understand. Emily, thanks again for trusting our vision. We absolutely love your photographs and thank you again! Cheers, Mateo Do you know if Dreams Tulum allows outside photography? I was going to wait to talk to you in more detail until we have it booked- we are waiting for the '09 rates to post. But would be good to know if you are even an option for us?

Quote: Originally Posted by emandom Just wanted to make a recommendation to all Mexico Brides... I have just returned from our wedding at the Moon Palace. Although we had not budgeted for it after reading up on the internet we hired an external photographer to do our photos. I admit we were a little sceptical but I have just seen the photos and I love them so much. It was important to us to get good pics as many friends and family were not able to join us on our wedding day. We hired Vincent Guihard from Del Sol Photography. He was amazing. I usually hate having my photo taken but he made me feel so relaxed. The photos are like nothing I have ever seen before ....No one back here can believe they are sooo amazing. It was an amazing experience and we had such a lot of fun. It seems several of the hotels have a no external vendors policy including The Moon Palace as they want to monopolise everything, and I would have hated to have had the bog standard, one pose fits all photos taken by them, especially now we know what we would have missed. I can not recommend Del Sol Photography enough. If you want any details let me know. Vincent is the associate, and Matt and Sol are the main photographers. They edit everything. Their communication was fantastic. All I can say is hire them, you will not regret it....Their website is del Sol Photography Any questions or if you would like to see some photos let me know EmX What were the rates like? Did you just have them come for the ceremony or reception too? I am so glad everything turned out so well for you! Makes it all seem worth it, huh? Congrats!

Quote: Originally Posted by neen we're expecting somewhere between 75-100 ppl and we're having our reception at the Seaside Grill which is right on the beach and has a great view of the ocean. the only downside, well there are actually 2 - firstly, its right next to one of the pools so its not totally private (though the rest will be closed for our group), and secondly, the reception cannot begin until 6:30pm because they won't close it down to everyone else until 5pm and then they need time to set up. We're trying to figure out what to do with all our guests between our ceremony (which should be over by 4:45 latest) and the start of the reception dinner...thinking we have a really long cocktail "hour"? Any other ideas? That sounds good to me... like someone else said, I could have my reception in a ballroom anywhere! Are you having music/DJ or just going to the disco? I am so excited for you!!! Long happy hour would be great! It would be neat if you could somehow engage them in their own photo session... like they'd take pics of their families, friends.... for your scrap book? You might get some hams and end up with cool photos. I don't know how you could get the word out. Just an idea... camera + cocktails + time = kickass photos? Maybe.

OK Ladies.... Of you that have already gone to DT and still going.... who has had or planning to have a larger group We are planning to have around 50 attending... may be more or less but I am guessing right around there. How is DT accommodating a larger group for the reception? And for all of the brides that have been to DT, where would you suggest I host the reception for the best privacy/view?

Quote: Originally Posted by neen we just booked our site visit - we're heading down in July. i know there will be a bunch of weddings before then (YAY! more reviews and pics!) but if anyone has anything specific they want to know or see pics of, let me know. i'll send a reminder when its gets closer Yay Neen! How exciting a site visit! I think I must resist... afraid I'll start to micromanage... and that is the whole point of going to mexico (not!)

Thanks! Going dress shopping next week in LA... probably will end up buying it back here in Minnesota- sure does help to not have tax on clothing and shoes when you are talking about what a wedding dress cost.

Quote: Originally Posted by LisaG LauraB is not on here anymore You might be able to send her a PM and ask her. Bummer! Oh well... probably be a needle in a haystack anyways! I better focus on finding the dress first! How did you get so many points? I don't really get the forum thing. I figured out how to post and reply, that's it~!

Quote: Originally Posted by Opice34 Hi! Well, we got engaged in October, so we've had a bit more time for planning. (Although I haven't done much other than pick the spot!!) We're getting married November 15th at the Hilton Cancun. What are you thinking so far? I would have loved to get married in Beaver Creek. It is just so beautiful there. But yes, prices were insane!!! And we thought it would be a bit of a logistical nightmare with people having to fly into Denver and drive 2 hours. We're going back there for a vacation in July and I'm excited! We're staying at the same place we did when we got engaged. I haven't even started dress shopping yet, so I have a ton to do! Are you thinking Mexico or somewhere else? I'm so excited for you! Congrats again on the engagement! It sounds like it was a wonderful day! Hi! Yes, we are planning on getting married at Dreams Tulum... just south of Cancun Feb 27, 2009.... we are just waiting for the rates to be published because it is outrageous right now! So I am playing the waiting game for a few weeks until I can get a better ball-park rate. Going dress shopping next week in LA... my sister lives out there. Otherwise, need to work on the website this next couple of weeks so it is ready to go when we get everything nailed down! Hard to be organized! Good luck with the planning~

Where did you find your wedding-day necklace? It's beautiful! Quote: Originally Posted by laura b Sorry it took me so long to get to this...I just got done with my AHR and now I can finally breathe again! I'll start at the beginning. The Dress: You all know that I had fits about this. I originally ordered a dress made for me in China to copy an Italian dress. I really hated it when it got here, so I went dress shopping again and bought an Anjolique gown. For more about my extended wedding dress dilemmas, you can go to this post: http://bestdestinationwedding.com/fo...04-post14.html Anyway, the dress was great, everyone said it was beautiful, but MAN was that m'fer hot in Tulum in July. The Invitations: We were DIYers on this front...they turned out great! Our wedding colors were pink and brown, and we had a hibiscus motif throughout everything. We ordered our envelopments online and I don't have the name of the place but PM me if you're interested and I'll find out. They were pretty inexpensive. Out of California. Here's what the invitations looked like, and cost about $200. When closed up, I tied a pink ribbon around them. They also included an RSVP card which I didn't have any more copies of. Here are our thank you cards and cds we made for the OOT bags. Cups we had made for our guests (they had lids and straws). This picture is a little washed out, but they also had the hibiscus print. We got these basically for free because my DH does freelance for the lady who sells them. Here are the OOT bags and some of the other goodies. We got them at Dollar Tree and probably spent about $200 all in all for everything in them. Michael got his suit at Banana Republic outlet for about $200. It was beautiful. My son got a similar suit by Liz Claiborne at Macy's. It was about $100. Dreams Tulum: I love this resort and can't say enough good things about it. The food and drinks are excellent and all of my guests had an awesome time. My photographer was the only one who had a problem with her room, in that her a/c leaked, but she got moved promptly once she complained. The wedding coordinator, Sandra Casillos, is extremely overworked. She does not always get back to you in a timely fashion, but she did everything she could to ensure that we had a beautiful wedding. Those ladies (she and her assistant, Landy) work their tails off and are often there from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. The Wedding: The ceremony was beautiful. We didn't get any rehearsal, which was a little nervewracking, but it all turned out okay. We added parasols and starfish to our decorations, which everyone was happy to have. My bouquet was not the prettiest, and they painted the calla lilies and the boys' boutinieres...after which they ran onto their suits and my bouquet got all over my hands...wtf is up with that? But it was okay. The ceremony started a little late, but this is Mexico, after all. They are on a different, more 'relaxed' timetable. All of my guests loved my minister, and even though we requested a non-religious ceremony, it was quite pray-ey, church-y. But in a sweet way. The cake they made was great. I ordered a monogram cake topper from eBay for $27...the resort did the rest of the decorations. To be continued...

Quote: Originally Posted by AmyInMI I appologize in advance if this ends up being long-winded! I had the same situation as Sarah did actually!! Around the end of March Sarah mentioned to me that the thrift store she bought her dress at had some dresses in the window. I almost did not go in to look but decided I had nothing to lose but a bit of my time. The dresses there had just been donated by a local bridal shop and were brand new with tags still attached for $99. While there, this young girl started small talk with me and informed me that the last tuesday of the month everything is 1/2 off. I then realized it was tuesday and the last tuesday of the month so the dresses would now only be $50. I found one that I really liked at the time. It was satin and has crinlin underneath, making it rather full. I am not sure who the designer is but the original price was $899. I tried it on and it looked nice, despite the fact that it was 2 sizes too big. I called my mom and texted her pics with my camera phone and decided to just buy it, if I changed my mind I would donate it back for my $50. While at the register, the lady behind me was commenting on how beautiful it was. I mentioned that it was half off and now only $50 today. Well, apparently the woman at the counter overheard and misunderstood me. She rang me up and then announced my amount owed, $26.50!!! I was shocked! She somehow thought that it was 1/2 off of the "$50" I mentioned to the woman behind me in line. Fast forward to the beginning of July- I got thinking about the dress and started questioning if it was "the one" for me. I felt that although it is really pretty it wasn't what I dreamed about and asked Aaron if he minded if I looked some more before I paid to get the 1st dress altered, and of course he did not care. I went to a local bridal shop, which is actually the shop that donated my 1st dress to the thrift shop! I love my new dress, which is posted in the wedding dress thread! I do not think I will even use the 1st dress, I will most likely just donate it back to the thrift store!! You can use it for TTD!!!!!!! For $26.50 you will have the hottest pictures rolling around in the sand because you won't care how much the dress cost! Jealous!!!

This has been the best thread I have ever read... sorry but I laughed out loud... mainly because I can relate. I am sure I will be up there too bc I have a dress from a previous engagement... right dress, wrong guy taking up space in my closet. If anyone wants a plain A line wedding dress in a 10 let me know! And then having a conversation with the FI he said I can get any dress I want as long as it's not that one... so yeah. Working on finding the dream dress, but once I find it there is no way I'll trash it... and then a AHR dress... I can see how it adds up!!!!

Quote: Originally Posted by alin & mako On this last trip I saw them have one at 5 pm, the next at 6 pm in the same spot and one at 6:30 in the chappel. It all went smoothly. I was impressed. So, I think they could have two max at the same time but in different locations but I think they try not to. No guarantees. Hey! I am coming to LA to go dress shopping next Wednesday through Sunday. Kindof a good excuse to come out and visit my sister (MOH) too! Any advice on places to shop for wedding dresses Our home base will be Santa Monica.

Quote: Originally Posted by phalstead I have 1 1/2 months left to the big day on Dreams Tulum....I have no idea what to do now? Sit back, relax and enjoy your fiancee!!! It's the last time in your life to be dating and engaged! Just enjoy eachother and every moment!!! Oh, and if you have a journal, take the time to write in it and if you don't have one start! You'll thank yourself later! It also doesn't hurt to go shopping for the cutest sundress ever... check out the GAP!

Quote: Originally Posted by cykim7 hi! im just starting to figure out a venue so this has been super helpful! apologies if this question was already asked but does anyone if they have more than one wedding at a time DT? many thanks!!! Yes... same day but not same exact time. The sites are accross the resort from eachother from what I have heard too.

Congrats Kate! Enjoy planning as much as you can~

Quote: Originally Posted by amodew Hi Everyone, I am finally a new member on this site. I've been on for the last four weeks as a non-member...for some reason I always got errors when trying to register. Anyway, looking forward to finally being able to correspond with everyone. I actually just found out some horrible news - apparently the resort is sold out for the week of the wedding and I still have ten people that haven't booked and are defintely planning on going!!! One of them is my brother, our best man and one of my bridesmaids!! We are quite worried but hoping that my TA could try and pull some strings I also wanted to let you know that Sandra sent me some pictures from the inside of the new convention center so as soon as I figure out how to send pictures, I will do so. So sorry you are having troubles! I can relate. Hope they get it straightened out soon!

Engaged a little over 2 years after our first date... and TBM a little over a year after he proposed!

Has anyone found any romantic Spanish songs for their first dance, website, theme.... I am open to both words in Spanish or English with a Spanish vibe. Also, may have already answered this but you can have your own DJ if you want? OR just go to the disco after dinner? SunBride... I remember you saying it was dead in the disco but we'll be bringing our own party! The other question was about the wind factor... do you recommend staying away from a veil Thanks, as always!

Quote: Originally Posted by SunBride Ladies, just a warning that I got my professional pictures on Friday, all 2800 of them!!!! I've been sorting through them all weekend, deleting a few I don't like to try to get the numbers down a bit, then also sorting them into groupings like top 500, top 200, top 100, for different purposes, and since I know that nobody (except maybe a few crazy people on these forums and our immediate family) has any interest in having to sit through over 2000 photos. Anyways, I'll probably be ready to post the links to my online albums tonight (I hope!) so stay tuned. How exciting!!! Hope you are happy~

Thanks! That helps me out!

Quote: Originally Posted by Opice34 CONGRATULATIONS!! We actually got engaged there, too! It's just lovely! We wanted to have our wedding there, but good grief it was expensive! Congrats again! Congrats to you too! We looked into getting married there first but yeah, way too expensive!!! How's the wedding planning going for you now? Have you narrowed it down? We have an ETA of Feb 27, 2009... but the resort prices aren't published for '09 yet and rediculous... so we are hanging tight for a few more weeks to find out what our guests can expect. Good luck@

Quote: Originally Posted by coquetayloca it has to be. Mexican pesos about about 11 to 1 US dollar Thanks!

Quote: Originally Posted by jodylynn007 dumb question... is this US dollars Can you tell that I have never been to mexico before?