calchik

Beach/Pools – A+ There were 3 pools on the resort but we only went to the one closest to the ocean. The other 2 were the quieter pools and the one we were at was the activity pool. Pool was nice, although a little deep for my liking since I’m barely 5 feet. When I was in the pool and not where it was really shallow I was on my hubby’s back cuz it was too deep for me to stand and be able to breathe. Lol. Ramone at the pool bar was fantastic, he made the best drinks and strong too. We’d tell him what type of alcohol we wanted and he’d just whip up something good. The big hit was the Hulk drinks aka vodka whatevers. The beach was fantastic. The sand was so soft, fine and pretty clean too. There were hundreds of beach chairs so never needed to save them and always enough that we could drag empty ones over to where the group was hanging out. There were tons of hut things if you wanted shade. The ocean was relatively warm so it was easy to spend a while in there. Walking out to the ocean was the same soft sand, water shoes weren’t needed at all. One of the best beaches I’ve been too and I’ve been to Australia, Mexico and the Bahamas. we stole sand from the beach to use in our sand ceremony at our AHR. Teehee. Food/Restaurant – A I’ve been to several all inclusive before and I think the food at our resort was the best one. The selection was vast for every meal. My breakfast was usually from the omelet station and the cook always did fancy flips to get it on your plate, lots of fruits and I enjoyed the different flavors of yogurts. Lunch was usually hamburgers and fries or fish/ pork with rice and veggies. And they had the best nachos ever! The guacamole was to die for and the chips were like deep fried tortillas maybe? I don’t know but they were good, and once I discovered them I ate them every day with my lunch. Dinner had a good variety of meats and we usually had 3- 4 deserts and ice cream. We went to Makato (Japanese) as one of our a la cartes. We got lazy and didn’t book any other restaurants in time so they filled up. The food again was excellent, so was watching him cook it in front of us. Then he did a tenaka show for us with his spatulas. There was a late night hamburger/ hot dog place, only open after 7 pm. Everyone loved the late night food option and we were normally there every night after the lobby bar or nightclub.

My wedding was on May 13, 2009 originally supposed to be in the Mayan Riviera, Mexico. Due to the swine flu, my tour operator, Sun Wing, cancelled all packages to Mexico for the month of May and I found this out 11 days before I was supposed to leave. I still had my wedding planned and Erick from Claudia Rodiguez booked but I had no way of getting to my wedding. Needless to say there was a lot of freaking out and crying on my part until my travel agent offered me a solution. We could move our wedding to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic BUT we’d all have to get extra flights to Toronto because that is where the package is leaving from. My travelers were from Calgary, Edmonton, Moncton and California. Surprisingly everyone except 2 people from California paid the extra $400ish each to fly to Toronto to still attend our wedding. We had 24 guests and having a destination wedding and spending the week with them was the best decision I ever made. Flight – A Our flight from Toronto to Punta Cana was with Sunwing and I have no complaints about it. They served us champagne and then wine with dinner. Appropriately they were showing Bride Wars as the in flight movie, but I didn’t watch it. One of my friends was sneaky and told the flight attendant we were getting married so they announced our names over the speaker and the whole flight applauded our soon to be wedding. Getting to the resort - B There was a bus waiting for us to take us to the Gran Bahia Principe Bavaro. Once we were on our way, it was about a 30-40 minute drive and they stopped at 2 other resorts first, they gave us our information packets for our resort. This included 2 room keys, 2 towel cards, and a booklet about the resort: hours of restaurants, map, activities, phone numbers, etc. We did have to fill out a quick form and with the bumpy turning bus ride it made me and a couple other people quite nauseous hence the B Resort – A+ Check-in – A+ There was no check in. Since we were a big group, 22 of us, they already checked us in. We were greeted at the bus with a yummy red drink and then our luggage was loaded onto trolleys and carts and we were zipped away to our room. Our entire group was in the same building of the resort which was very helpful as we ended always bumping into each other or just going along knocking on all the doors finding who was around. Rooms/Housekeeping – A Being the wedding couple we could have asked for an upgrade to our room but we didn’t want to be separated from our guests so we didn’t bother. When we got there, there was a towel swan and balloons on the wall. Our room was great, very spacious which became necessary on wedding day when there was like 7 people in my room. King size bed which was a bit hard, but I prefer it that way. Then it opened up to a sitting area, which we never used as a sitting area. It became our disaster area since we ended up throwing anything and everything on the couch. Bathroom was of good size too, which became necessary when I was lying on the floor on a towel my hubby put down for me after I was sick due to a ridiculous amount of rum on our snorkeling trip. Eek. We were on the first floor so our room didn’t have a smell. But my MOH was on the third floor and their room had a musty smell to it. Housekeeping was excellent, cleaned our room every day. We had a sunscreen explosion in the freezer bag that we packed it in and I was too lazy to clean up the bottle and throw out the bag but when we came back from the beach housekeeping did it for me. The day before my wedding I had my dress hanging and when we came back after the room was cleaned there was a different towel animal and a note that said “I am maid, good luck on wedding dayâ€. It was so cute and nice of her to leave me a note. We had mini fridges that were stocked with pop, water, and beer that got refilled daily. Several of the guests asked for more beer and they got it no problem.

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hits: - bags themselves - travel mugs - luggage tags. everyone had them on their luggage, so glad i splurged on them Luggage Tags - individual tylenol, pepto and immodium My Store Supplier - Wholesale General Merchandise & Novelty Items!!! - gum, snacks misses: - post its for leaving notes for each other. everyone ended up bumping into each other anyways - spanish phrases, everyone looked at it once and that's it things not really used but people said they were glad they were in the bag: - first aid kit - kleenex - travel wipes

nice work, very well done. i love your colors

update for you girls heidi i hope moving your wedding works out for you my canceled mexico wedding is now in punta cana at the same resort chain so bahia principe bavaro instead of tulum now. our guests have had to pay an extra $300-500 to fly from where ever they are in canada to toronto so we can get the package to punta cana. i think cuz we're legally getting married this weekend it makes getting a wedding there easier cuz it's just a renewal of vows. still leaving the same date and getting the same wedding date. surprisingly there might only be 4 or 6 people out of 26 that won't be able to make it. everyone else has fronted the extra money and will still be there for my wedding. i love my family and friends!! finally i can stop crying. now i can go back to being stressed cuz i have a week to plan my wedding...again.

my canceled mexico wedding has turned out happy as well. it is now in punta cana at the same resort chain so bahia principe bavaro instead of tulum now. our guests have had to pay an extra $300-500 to fly from where ever they are in canada to toronto so we can get the package to punta cana. i think cuz we're legally getting married this weekend it makes getting a wedding there easier cuz it's just a renewal of vows. still leaving the same date and getting the same wedding date. other mexico brides, maybe this is a different location option? surprisingly there might only be 4 or 6 people out of 26 that won't be able to make it. everyone else has fronted the extra money and will still be there for my wedding. i love my family and friends!! finally i can stop crying. now i can go back to being stressed cuz i have a week to finalize my wedding stuff.

i'd go to mexico if i could, fuck the swine flu. i canceled my group excursion and the cancunvista guy said it's so sad that there's not a single case in cancun but yet everyone is cancelling. there's more confirmed swine flu cases in the USA right now than mexico but yet we're banned from flying there. on a positive note my crying has gone from every 30 mins to every other hour. i almost made it 3 hours tearless until i started cancelling everything. walking past my half packed wedding stuff really isn't helping either. i couldn't even move my wedding to june when they "might" start flying there again cuz a lot of my guests said they wouldn't go. so frustrating and depressing to lose all that planning. we've found 2 resorts in jamaica that have wedding openings for the same week i was going to get married in mexico...in 8 days. there's a very small glimmer of hope. i'm supposedly to be bouncing off the walls excited right now instead i have no wedding at all.

i'm officially canceled although jazmin hasn't replied to me yet. no photography with claudia, no group excursion to coba with cancunvista tours, no poolside reception with DJ bob. no gazebo, no xel ha. nothing. i couldn't even move my wedding date to sometime in june when i get back from my honeymoon cuz a lot of my guests said they wouldn't go. which i think is ridiculous because the cancunvista guy told me it's so sad that there isn't a single case in cancun but everyone is canceling. there are more confirmed cases of swine flu in the USA than in mexico. mexico has more deaths and was the start of it all but still. the world health organization raised the pandemic phase to 5 which is a strong signal that a pandemic is imminent. i'm trying to move the whole thing to jamaica now. found 2 resorts that have wedding openings for the same week i was going to mexico...in 8 days. one of them is the bahia principe there, unfortunately it's looking more expensive for the wedding part. now we'll see if my TA can work it so nobody pays extra...which is highly unlikely since we're not getting refunds. wish me luck i still get a wedding somehow

i was with sunwing too and my package got canceled which essentially means i can't get to my wedding. been crying for hours now. i could try to find another location but i seriously doubt i could find a wedding time. we all know weddings are booked a year in advance. and i lose my photographer. ugh. worst day of my life. back to crying i was going to go regardless, unless there was a travel ban. guess our flights be canceled was the other thing stopping me from going. damn swine flu

i found out at work and had to leave cuz i was crying so hard. i already told my boss i'm working from home tomorrow so i can cry in solitude while working. we're considering pushing our trip out til we get back from our honeymoon in june. yes, honeymoon before the wedding, awesome. we don't care where. cuba, dominican, jamaica. then we'll pray someone has canceled, we can get married, have a reception and magically find a professional photographer. there's nothing else we can do. even if we still make it to mexico some how we've already been told by some of our guests they probably wouldn't come, including the best man. there goes a year of work. counting down the days in excitement. to have the whole thing be canceled. i planned my perfect wedding and now i know i'll have a wedding however it ends up because i was forced to, not how i wanted it. and the crying has started again. my eyes hurt.

i'm with you heidi. i was supposed to leave in 10 days. i've been crying for the last 3 hours. wtf are we supposed to do now? trying to find another destination but even if we do are we going to find a wedding? photographer? probably not. ffs. back to crying

i just sent this email below to my guests to ward off any freaking out on me about our trip since we leave in 2 weeks. i'm not concerned but will just be more careful not to get sick. alcohol will kill all germs anyways Not to scare anyone but just so everyone is aware of the situation. thanks to agnes for the heads up This doesn't seem to be located in the Mayan Riviera so we should be okay. But please take precautions from getting sick anyways: - wash your hands frequently or use hand sanitizer, cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze, consider getting a flu shot, stay at least 3 feet away from anyone who seems noticeably sick. More importantly if you do happen to get sick in mexico, see a physician when you get home, just in case I was on the pandemic project at Nexen so i'm an "expert", any questions, let me know CTV.ca | Canadians told to be on alert for Mexico illness From the article: "The illness appears to have infected hundreds in south and central areas of Mexico, but not the tourist areas on the coast. According to a report in a Spanish-language newspaper in Mexico, the regions affected include: the capital region (Mexico City); San Luis Potosí; Oaxaca; and Baja, California." "At this point, no cases have been confirmed outside of Mexico. Anyone who has returned from Mexico within the last two weeks and is suffering the following symptoms should contact a physician: * fever * cough * sore throat * shortness of breath * muscle and joint pain "Rau said he doesn't think this illness report should deter any Canadians from travelling to Mexico, but they should consult a travel health clinic at least six weeks before they travel. "At this point, people going to Mexico should think about getting the flu shot, if they haven't had one already. But I don't think there is any preventative measure they can take unless Canada issues a travel alert saying not to go."

i'm a die hard calgary flames fan too. funny how we hate the canuck and oiler fans and they hate us right back. lol. i will say the 'looooo' goalie chant when luongo makes a good save is a silly cheer. until i was told by a canucks fan i honestly thought they were booing him. loo, boo, sounds the same to me. i think we'll take the hawks to game 7. it's too bad they have home ice advantage cuz we failboated at the end of the regular season. i was at last night's game. so much fun! i was raspy this morning cuz my throat was sore from all the yelling. i love playoffs and being in the C of Red at the Dome.

yes i'm doubling posting cuz this deserves it's own post Abbie, thank you sooooo much for your long detailed and picture filled review! it was fantastic! seriously, everything you did is everything i'm planning on doing when i'm there. thanks for timing it from the airport. and glad to hear tequila was good cuz that's where my wedding dinner is. knowing which bars serve the best liquor is invaluable. lol. reading your review made me SO much more excited to go! 2 weeks til i leave. zomg i can't wait! thanks again! off to look at the rest of your pics now.

i already praised your review in the GBPT thread but i'll do it again cuz i loved your review so much! thanks for putting in so much effort documenting your honeymoon. looks like you guys had a fantastic time and now i'm even more excited to get married there.

i just confirmed my manicure appts with the spa and i leave in 2 weeks. although it's just a manicure and not any bridal styling so that probably makes a difference. they also just told me that prices went up by 15%...assuming ALL their prices went up and not just manicures so here's the prices jazmin gave me, in pesos: BRIDES AND MAKEUP Hair styling $ 790 Bridal hair styling $ 895 Make-up $ 580 So up by 15% is Hair styling $ 980.5 = 91 CND Bridal hair styling $ 1029.25 = 95 CND Make-up $ 667 = 62 CND might want to confirm with the spa that all prices went up, email is [email protected]. they respond pretty quickly

ayita, so glad everything worked out with your hotel. you're a trooper for handling the whole fiasco so well. your welcome brochures look wonderful, your guests will be impressed with your DIY skills. i gotta finish my OOT bags this week and creating my guest book. and still have no ceremony songs picked, eek. i get my dress from the tailor on friday and hopefully nothing else has to be done to it. our shower is this weekend and our legal ceremony next weekend. FI and i did some shopping for 'vacation' clothes this weekend. yay for buying stuff for us and not this damn wedding. lol. my fav purchase is a cute bright orange bandeau bikini with white polka dots from old navy...well as cute as bandeaus get.

mayanbutterfly, congrats on your soon to be graduation and your residency! 95 people, that's impressive, you'll have such an awesome time. i like trish's ideas for remembering your family. i've seen flowers done before so maybe the candles would more different. love the charm idea, makes it that much more special yes i'm curious to hear if any of the past brides tipped those people. i wasn't planning on tipping the DJ, but was considering the photographer and jazmin based on their performance once i'm actually there. but i'll tip the workers at the resort and our drivers for our group excursion for sure. less than 3 weeks til i leave. pick up my dress from the tailor this friday have my shower this weekend and my legal ceremony next weekend finishing my OOT bags and my guest book this week now if only NHL playoffs weren't so time consuming i'd get a lot more done than drinking beer and yelling at my TV.

i agree there's still stress with a destination wedding. probably less than a traditional one but still there...attacking us. lol here's my wedding favors/ name cards

3 weeks until i leave, woot! i have little picture frames that are doubling as our name cards for the dinner as the wedding favors. i'll post pics when i get home since it's all blocked by the internet nazis here at work. finishing up my OOT bags this weekend and hopefully my guest book too. and i get my dress back next friday. sephora must be tired of me, i've changed my makeup consult 3 times now. lol. it's not my fault i have to schedule around the calgary flames playoff games. we gave our gifts to our MOH and BM. BM got a kegaque, charcoal bbq shaped like a beer keg. he built it right away and can't wait to go camping to use it. and i got my MOH a tiffanys square necklace which she loved and put on right away and matches her square rings which were also from tiffanys and i had no idea. phew, our gifts were a hit.

so it just finished being slushy and was warm enough to wash your car so there was a line of 3-4 cars for every stall for those do it yourself car washes. yup locked my keys in the car while i was washing my car. whoops. think the stupidest thing i've ever said was 'how do they do the olympics every 4 years when one of them is a leap year?' riiiight, extra day in the year, not extra year. i've also searched high and low for my sunglasses to find them on top of my head.

love emily griffin! and time travelers wife, i'm interested to see how that's going to turn out as a movie. The Wedding is my favorite Nicholas Sparks book, makes me cry everytime. i like Dan Brown books too aside from the girlie books i like murder mystery CSI type ones. love Lisa Gardner and Patricia Cornwell. and for true crime (the story behind real life serial killers) i love Ann Rule. FI thinks it's strange i mainly read about either murder or girlie books. lol

i did an evite shower invitation for our friends. the internet is how everyone is communicating these days anyways. my parents insisted on paper invites though. so they gave paper invites to our family and family friends. maybe do both esp if you're unsure if some people will check their email.

you could try eating smaller meals more often. eat like 5-6 times a day so almost every couple of hours. and since you're eating every couple of hours you don't need to eat that much because you're eating again so soon. it ups your metabolism cuz your body is processing food all day long. also don't eat past 7pm which is next to impossible to do, at least for me. but my PT friend tells me that all the time. and do cardio first thing in the morning when you wake up, before you eat. then it's burning fat and not the food you just ate. or you can try interval training with your cardio. go from really fast and hard to slower. i have a treadmill so i run as fast as i can without falling off for 2 minutes, then pretty much walk for the next 2 mins, and repeat for however long you want to do cardio good luck and stay positive