jlj1176

I finally received my online slide show from Claudia Rodriguez. The link is below: http://claudiaphoto.com/slideshows/c...jennifer_will/ I think I am in wedding planning withdrawal.....now that the wedding and the AHR are over I want to re-do it all! I wish I was back in Mexico!

Hello girls, I used Sarah Sproullie for my wedding monogram. I want to order a custom monogram for a bridal shower that I am planning. I have emailed Sarah three times (in two weeks) and have not heard back from her. Does anyone know of another monogram vendor that they have used? Thanks.

Congrats mxbrid789! You look gorgeous! I love your dress! The pictures are amazing!

BtoB - you look gorgeous! The pics are great! I have a pretty random question. I am planning a bridal shower (along with a few other girls) for a friend that is getting married this October. We are having the shower at her moms house (very big with a pool) and are going to have a caterer come in. We are planning on doing a clambake and are doing the red and white checked table clothes and going with the whole picnic / clambake theme. Any suggestions for favors? Or does anyone have a favorite website for unique types of favors? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

We have all of the OOT bags in 3 big boxes to be checked. Did the airport give you any trouble with that? We are also going to have 2 huge suitcases, a smaller one, 2 carryons and my dress. How much was it to check the box? We are flying Delta and I know if varies but just to give us an idea, of how much yours weighed and how much it was. THANKSSSS!!! Stacy Hi Stacy, We flew USA3000. We checked two of our suitcases for free (first two bags on an international flight with USA3000 is free). The box and other suitcases cost us $25 to ship. The guy at the counter told us you really aren't supposed to ship a card board box but really didn't give us a problem about it. We just said we didn't know that and he stapled (instead of taped) the destination information. We carried on way more than they should have allowed but they didn't say anything to us. They didn't have a closet for my dress (there was another bride with her dress on the flight too) so they used the overhead compartment to lay both of our dresses flat (one on top of each other). I thought for sure that I was going to have to get my dress resteamed when I got there (it was taffeta) but surprisingly enough it was wrinkle free when we got to the hotel. Hope that helps!

Sorry I meant to say at the reception location, not the ceremony location (the ceremony was on the beach and very breezy): The ceremony location was okay - some breeze but not much. It wasn't bad for cocktails and dinner but dancing was a different story! I danced all night so I was definitely sweating! But like I said - I think that could have been in part of having a 20 pound dress on! I didn't hear anyone complain about the heat the entire time that we were there. Thanks, Kathy! I am pretty sure we don't have to do anything here either. I called another courthouse in the area and they had no idea what I was talking about. LOL

It is pretty hot. Not unbearable. There are plenty of shaded areas by the pool and beach that get a good breeze. Walking around during the day does get hot though. As for the wedding...we had our ceremony on the beach and it was so windy that it didn't feel hot at all. We had fans as favors on each of the chairs during the ceremony. I had a pretty formal dress with a train so at different points I was pretty hot. The ceremony location was okay - some breeze but not much. It wasn't bad for cocktails and dinner but dancing was a different story! I danced all night so I was definitely sweating! But like I said - I think that could have been in part of having a 20 pound dress on! I didn't hear anyone complain about the heat the entire time that we were there. We didn't ship anything down in advance. We bought a luggage scale online (best $10 I ever spent) and packed everything. Will's aunt came over a few weeks before we left and took close to 50 pounds worth of stuff to bring with her. We took the rest. We had two huge suitcases, one smaller suitcase, three carry on's, my dress, and a large cardboard box (about 50 pounds) filled with things. Since you can't carry liquids on the plane we had to check most of the OOT goodies (we had a lot of non liquids but also large bottles of lotion, after sun, pepto, etc) Quick question for past brides - when Karla delivered our wedding paperwork she said that we had to take our marriage license to our local courthouse and register it. I just called the courthouse and they said that we don't have to do anything. Does anyone know which is the case? Thanks!!!

Amanda - that is so funny that you saw our group! You should have stopped in the reception to say hi! Oh - that is something I forgot. Thanks for reminding me. I had made my hair / make up appointment back in February for 12 noon the day of the wedding. In early May I made appointments for two of the bridesmaids (the other girls did their own hair / make up) and for my mom. I confirmed 3 times with Reyna that there were four appointments set for 12 pm. When I got there Karla had NO idea what I was talking about. Reyna never booked any of the appointments! Luckily we were able to get in. Me at 11 am (way too early for a 5 pm ceremony) and my mom, sister and cousin for 2 pm. It kind of stinks that we weren't all together but was happy that we were able to get appointments. I would email them again before you leave to confirm any appointments that you may have made. Also bring a copy of the email that states your appointment times as back up!

Yes, we were supposed to be at the Tropical Restaurant. About two weeks prior to our arrival we got an email from Reyna saying that we had been upgraded to the Lindo hotel and since the Del Mar was still closed that they were moving our reception to the Beach Hotel's steakhouse "El Puerto". This restaurant is exactly the same set up as the Tropical. We had to send out a mass email to our guests since the dinner choices had changed from Skirt Steak or Grouper to Tenderloin or Chicken. When we met with Karla - she told us that we were back in the Del Mar. We had explained to her that we had contacted all of our guests about the new location and food choices and we had ALL of our welcome letters printed with the information stating we would be at "El Puerto". At this point El Puerto had reservations reserved (by other guests at the hotel) for dinner but Karla worked it out with the restaurant manager (who contacted the guests to tell them their reservations were cancelled) and we ended up with the private reception at the Beach Hotel. We used the resort DJ. I was nervous about this since I heard he doesn't speak English. We brought a CD with our first dances and then an IPOD with a wedding play list just in case. We definitely did NOT need the IPOD. The DJ was AWESOME! Everyone danced the entire time!!! We had a few guests approach him to ask if he would make CD's of the music he played that night for them. He was really very good! My only suggestion would be to stay calm if they try and switch things around. I got the sense that with the Del Mar / Beach closing and then reopening that there was some confusion with where the weddings / receptions would be. But if they try and move things, just explain that you have everything printed and they do everything they can to get you back on track. Hopefully since the resorts have been opened for a few weeks they are back on track. Also, with so many guests it is easy to feel overwhelmed and torn between people. What we did is picked an area at the pool and made sure everyone knew where it was (by the pool bar...lol). That way if we went to the beach, or our guests went to the beach, lunch, etc. eventually we all made it back to the same spot (people filtered in and out all day). The pools are large so it was easier than trying to spot people walking by. We were all in and out of the pool but there was always a few people in that area. Not sure if you are doing OOT bags for your guests. Since we had such a large amount we didn't want to hand them all over. So I made a list in Excel of who was checking in on what day (and the amount of bags for each room). Each morning we rolled a suitcase up to the lobby with the list and OOT bags and gave them to the front desk. They would go over the list and make sure that they had the reservations in the system and then hand them out as our guests arrived. It was very simple and we did not have any issues with missing bags / guest not getting them. Let me know if you have any other questions! Quote: Originally Posted by sjr133 Hi Jen, I'm so glad to hear that you had an amazing time. We are leaving this weekend for our Del Mar wedding. Do you have any suggestions? I see you had a large group as well, we have about 90 guests coming. Did you have a DJ? and were you supposed to have the reception at the Tropical Resturaunt? Thanks sooooo much, and congrats again!!!! Stacy

Congrats Amanda and Danielle! Your pictures are amazing! I am glad you both enjoyed your day! Danielle - Congrats on the baby! That is so exciting! We got back from Mexico on Friday. When we arrived on the 21st of June the Del Mar was open, however, they honored the upgrade for us and our 53 guest to the Lindo. They did move the ceremony / reception from the Del Mar to the Beach Hotel. We had the ceremony on the beach and the private reception at the Beach Hotel's Steakhouse - El Puerto. Everything was PERFECT! We couldn't have been happier with how it all worked out. It was even better than I imagined. I worked with Reyna over email before arriving (wasn't really thrilled with her response time). When we arrived, we met with Karla. Many of the details that I worked out with Reyna were not accurate. Karla was wonderful and corrected all of the information / details quickly and efficiently. I was so happy that she took over our wedding. She is so hard working and detail oriented. I can't compliment her enough!!! We went with Claudia Rodriguez photography. Claudia was our photographer. Although I haven't seen the pictures yet - I am sure they will be great. I have been checking out her portfolios online for about a year now! Claudia was very sweet and great to work with. She made everyone feel very comfortable and not too posed. I am going crazy with anticipation for the pictures to post online and arrive. We left the Lindo on Saturday, the 27th and headed to Excellence Playa Mujeres. The resort was unbelievable! If you ever decide to go back to Mexico for a romantic getaway it is a fabulous resort. Adults / couples only and completely centered around romance. Please let me know if any of the upcoming brides have any questions. I'd be more than happy to help in anyway I can. As soon as I get the pictures I will post the link!

Hi Ladies, I am finally packed and ready for my early morning flight! I can't wait to get there! I just wanted to thank you girls for all of the advice, tips and support! I will post a review and pictures when I get back! And congrats to Amanda! Hope you are having a great wedding day today! Take care, Jenn

I am bringing fans for the ceremony on the beach. I bought wooden fans from theknot.com. They were 89 cents each. They are very plain but pretty. We are tying tags at the bottom with our logo. Quote: Originally Posted by FutureBotter Hey girls ... question ... we're getting married on the beach at the Maya. Many of you have had fans on the ceremony chairs. I'm going back and forth on the necessity of these when we're on the beach. Typically there's a pretty decent breeze on the beach, but in late July the temps are going to be pretty drastic too. What are your thoughts? Thanks!

How exciting for Gail! I hope they are having a great time!!!

I am so sorry to hear about your friend! You are in my thoughts and prayers! Quote: Originally Posted by BBtoB Thanks! Yes, it is! Planning is good and keeping me busy but had a rough week. Here is the scoop, My good friend passed away. Her funeral is tomorrow. It is so sad, she was only 31, would have been 32 on Thursday. Pretty broken up over it. But with everything coming up, I have to stay strong, with the ocassional outburst. We are leaving for Mexico in 3 weeks, then we head off to Australia and New Zealand for 3 weeks. Then we get back and have our AHR. It is going to be crazy! I just got my Annoucements for the DW and AHR out today. WOOO HOO! That is a miracel in itself with the way the week went. I wanted to get them out last week, but had a really hard week. But just keeping busy. Trying to get everything done. FI has been great, I have been a nightmare for him this week. I just hope he still wants to marry me after my bridezilla/mourning ways. Ha! Bess

Good luck and Congratulations, Gail! I hope you have a beautiful wedding day!! Can't wait to hear about it!

I finally heard back from Reyna. She explained that the Steakhouse on the Beach side is a private reception. I feel so much better now that I don't have to change anything. Gail - you are doing the steakhouse as well. She sent us the PDF with the menu options. Do you know if we have to pick on for everyone or if we can give people the options? When we were planning on the Tropical at the Del Mar - everyone had an option.

Thanks for the information, Danielle! I am not sure if it is the same steakhouse. Reyna has not gotten back to me yet. Reyna said the steakhouse was on the "beach side". So I am not sure what that means. Is there a fee for having the dinner at the steakhouse (or any of the restaurants)? Also, does anyone know the cost for renting the convention center with the lounge set up? I am assuming it would be $6 per person / per hour to have open bar? Thanks!

Quote: Originally Posted by Gail they orig told me that to. but had a meeting yesterday and del mar not opening. i didn't ask about beach. my ta upgraded us last week so we are staying at maya, but don't know where to have rec. reyna's e mail last night said steak house at beach but i know nothing about it. she said it is identical to tropical. sorry but at this point i trust nothing they say Hi Gail, Reyna emailed me at 11 pm last night telling me that we are now being upgraded to the Lindo. She send a PDF about the steakhouse but not much information about it. I am happy for the upgrade - but really frustrated about the wedding portion of our trip. Have you found out any information regarding the steakhouse? Is it a "private" venue? Is it open air like the the Tropical? I am wondering if we just have to go there for dinner and then plan a separate area for drinks / dancing? Any help anyone can give me regarding the Lindo would be much appreciated!!! Thanks, Jennifer

What hotel will you be staying in? They told me that the Beach is re-opening on June 1st and that the Del Mar will be reopening on the 15th. Are they moving you into the Beach hotel or will you be getting an upgrade to the Maya / Lindo? Did she happen to mention when the Del Mar will be opening? I am sorry this is such a nightmare for you! I honestly believe that once you get there it will all work out perfectly and you won't be nearly as stressed out as you are at home! Quote: Originally Posted by Gail i got another e mail. now offering steak house at beach, reyns said it is like tropical- does anyone have any input on this- thanks

Quote: Originally Posted by akbeach So, just heard back from WC and they are saying everything will be open at Del Mar for our date June 20 but it sounds like we should be ready to be moved to Lindo/Maya/Grand just in case. At this point, I have had 3 out of 3 BM drop out and found 3 new ones so I am over worrying about it. It is about the marriage and the wedding so whether they move our location or leave it, we will just be happy to be in Mexico and be swine free! Thanks for keeping us updated girls! Thanks for the update! I just emailed Reyna over the weekend to see how the reopening plans were coming along. She told me a few weeks ago that they will be up and running by June 15th. I am still proceeding like we are getting married at the Del mar. If we get upgraded, that is fine with me. I just hope I get a little bit of time to redo the welcome letters / etc. I know your wedding is the 20th. When are you checking out of the hotel? We arrive the 21st.

Quote: Originally Posted by Gail i just called. Reyna's day off. her assist speaks poor english. I have to pick new restr. Please help...I had 3 dinners planned. rehearsal, midweek and and last night along with reception. Where is best place to have/ options...ceremony and cocktail hour. This is a mess. All the programs/itinerary's are wrong now OMG! What a mess! I am so sorry that they aren't getting back to you with a clear answer! I wish I knew more about the Maya / Lindo so that I could share that information with you. Whatever you choose will be great! Take a deep breath!

Quote: Originally Posted by delmarbride09 jlj1176 Thank you for the update. Reyna just emailed me on Monday and mentioned that i would have the same wedding I've been planning with the del mar, but it would just be at the lindo/maya side, I just had to pick a new restaurant for the dinner/reception. But maybe i'm on that line, since the wedding is on June 19th, that it is still up in the air. Oh well, I guess we will see. Gemstone - your wedding pics are great! is that the del mar or the lindo? Does anyone have pictures of the italian restaurant at the lindo? Yes, my guess is since you are so close to the reopening date that they would rather you just plan for the Lindo in case they are not ready at the Del Mar. I said to my fiancee last night that I have a feeling we will be moved to the Lindo as well. Not sure how much tourism will increase between now and the wedding. Hopefully if it does change they let me know before we are scheduled to leave so that I can look into other options. At this point, I don't care where the wedding is held as long as I am on the beach in Mexico! The rest of the details can be worked out!!

You look gorgeous! For any early June brides getting married at the Del Mar. I got an email last night from Reyna saying that the resort will reopen on June 15th. I know the original posting on the Iberostar boards said June 1st. Just wanted to give you a heads up in case the WC's haven't contacted you yet. Reyna thinks that our wedding on the 25th will go on as planned at the Del Mar but said she will email me if something changes.

Hi Danielle, I hope you have a fabulous trip! And I am sure although you had to change venues at the last moment your wedding will be perfect!!! Can't wait to hear all of details!

Trevess, you look beautiful! I love your veil! Looks like you had a great time. Thanks for sharing your photos!