hanna

Any of you TA's work with Catalonia Royal Tulum?? Just trying to book a vacation next May.. and our current TA doesn't work with that resort.. PM me if you can help! Thanks

Ya, Rocio is choppy in her responses.. but just know she is always super busy with brides that are coming in that week... so when your wedding gets closer, she is better about responding.. Here is what I got from her for our June 5, 2009 wedding: "In regards to the number of guests for the private reception.. if the minimum of people for a private event it`s 25 guests... but if the number is less than 25 people and you want still to go for the private reception I will need to charge for the 25 even the final head count it`s less than that."

So frustrating! Sorry to hear about that! My budget was around $1000 and I went with Mexicanweddingphotos.com and had Mike Razo. He was great and got 3 hours of coverage, album and retouching. Got my photos the next week on our honeymoon at the Excellence Riviera Cancun. I know it is that last thing you want to deal with, but if she is a flake now.. at least you found out before it was too late and she just didn't show on the wedding day or something.. Best wishes!

I had a blue garter - which was from Gainesville, Fl where we lived for a bit - Football team colors were orange and blue, so that was fun.

I haven't personally used them, but went there for our honeymoon and inquired about doing a TTD shoot.. after looking through their album, we weren't very impressed so ended up setting up a shoot offsite with someone else. The shots were very standard, like point and shoot.. I was suprised that their portfolio album didn't have amazing photos to impress people with.. I have to say that if possible, I would probably recommend hiring someone else.

Thanks ladies for all of your posts! Always so helpful, and nice to know that I am not alone on most of mine Would Do: OOT Bags: we kept them pretty simple - but the stuff we put in there our guests really used: ~ I made first aid kits with bandaids, advil, rolaids, wet wipes, immodium. Esp since the resort shops charge so much for that stuff. Probably would have been good to add small bottles of aloe and bug off wipes. ~ Bubba Kegs !!! The best thing ever!!! We had an entire suit case of bubbas - 40 of them total. Bought them from fireflybuys.com for $6 each incl tax & shipping, and EVERYONE used them the whole time and loved them. Even for the guests that weren't drinking loved to just keep nice ice water in them. Highly recommended for lounging at the pool/beach all inclusive ~ Welcome folders with the itinerary, map of resort with specific wedding locations highlighted, guest list with photos and how we knew them - this was especially helpful for the parents to keep track of all our friends , soduku, spanish translations, photo share info (set up account on photobucket and stoked most of our friends uploaded their pics) Ceremony on the beach - loved it and it was our dream. It was so beautiful - although it was hot - June 5th at 5:00pm... Probably would have encouraged our guests to wear khaki shorts... Private reception - even though we had 4 hrs (7pm-11pm) it went by soooooo fast. Couldn't imagine having to do it in a 2 hr non-private ceremony. Cost a few extra grand, but I felt it really made if feel like our wedding. Esp since we had 40ppl.. We did our rehearsal dinner in one of the restaurants, and it was hard to relax not being private. Upgrade to ocean view suite. Was amazing to have the spectacular ocean views from every window and 2 balconies. Super nice to have living room for our guests to hang out. Grand Palladium - we did a group block in order to get our guests $86 pp/pn AI. The resort was fantastic, and our guests couldn't believe how nice everything was considering they paid so little.. Especially most guests hadn't ever stayed at an AI and were just amazed at the value for all you can drink & eat and great service. Also- due to the low occupancy swine flu, everyone got upgraded to Jr Suites Flowers incl in wedding package - contemplated doing real touch to save on costs.. but in the end my bouquet and 1 bout were included, and paid $200 for 3 BM bouquets, 3 bouts and 2 corsages. They were so beautiful and exactly what I wanted. Stuck to white and greens and it was stunning. Photographer: Mike Razo with Mexican Wedding Photos. He was fantastic and we got our pics a week later on our honeymoon at the Excellence. Booked the 3hr package for $1000 and it was great. He is very talented, although I wished he would have told me to stand more facing the camera cause 75% of my shots I am standing with my side facing.. and didn't like that view of the dress and made me look a little fat.. haha.. We did a photo list.. but didn't really use it.. Got most of the pics we wanted, but my mom wanted some of her and the grandkids.. even though she didn't tell me.... so I guess make sure you ask your parents what is important to them.. Although I pretty much planned the whole wedding and every detail by myself and would have loved a little more input and help from people.. but oh well... ~We did IPOD music and set up our playlists which worked out great... until some of our drunk friends put their IPOD's on!!! And totally ruined our playlist and we missed our father/mother dances.. plus it was only younger hip hop all night, rather than some other music we added for our parent's generation... so would assign someone in charge of the music and to make sure nobody touches it!! ~ Spa - morning of the wedding went to the Spa with the girls to get massages and manis. Wasn't sure if I was going to have enought time that morning for it, but it was fantastic. Didn't realize how stressed and tense I was, so it was very much needed. Although, for my mani, got a french and the lady didn't ask me if I preferred round or square tips.. and just started filing all my nail away till I was left with this short stumpy little square.. it was fine I guess.. just not what I wanted at all. I am not a big mani girl... so now I know to be more specific in the beginning... The only thing is I tried not to be a bridezilla.. so we took our time and had a leisurly lunch.. but then we ran kind of late to do hair & makeup in the room. Would have allowed myself 5 hours total for shower, hair, makeup, dressing, photos... by the end we were 15 min late to the ceremony and didn't have any time before for photos... Give yourself a lot more time than you think you need!!! ~ Brought lots of dollar bills... brought $300 in ones for tips for the staff, and comes in really handy.. WOULDN'T DO: ~ We didn't hire a videographer due to budget, but my brother & mother have camcorders. So, my brother set his up on a tripod, which was great.. until the photographer and guests stood up infront of it the whole ceremony taking pics.. so that was ruined. And my mom had one.. but she never hit the record button so there are all these pics of her holding it.. for nothing... Would have assigned one of our tech savy friends to be in charge of it so my brother/mother didn't have to worry about it... ~ Stress... was so worried about everyone and all the details, was hard to relax. But, I think that is pretty normal for a wedding. Would have wished I had one organized reliable person to make sure I didn't forget stuff and help me with the details. My husband is in the military, so we move around a lot, and we live in DC where all my best friends are back in Cali.. so was kind of hard to coordinate everything on the internet. Esp on the wedding night, would have loved to have someone help me stay on track with the timeline.. I didn't hire a wedding coordinator, but I can see where that could be very useful.. although expensive for a DW.. ~ Greet all our guests... we took 2 days out of our trip really to greet everyone upon arrival. As I was glad we did it because the resort was huge.. wished I would have delegated some of it out.. Felt like I really missed out on hanging out with everyone cause I spent the whole day in the lobby... By the end though we just left their gift bags, a note and a map at the front desk to meet us at the pool. ~ Plan a cocktail mixer.. we all hung out by the pool all day and didn't want to leave at 5pm to get ready for a mixer.. having planned activities is hard because everyone is on their own schedule and time frame, and nice to just go with the flow and not have a schedule to stick to..

endless love - those pics are wayyy better than the ones I got cause I didn't want to get too close as the ceremony already started. smf47 - I am almost positive the isle is sand. The location of the beach ceremony is beautiful. It is on the far right side of the resort right off the Excellence section. It was nice that it is a covered area so your guests won't get too hot. Note that it is on the border of the property line, and to the right of the ceremony location, there were lots of beach goers and locals looking on. But - the ceremony site is set back pretty far from the water, so it isn't really intrusive, although they may get in your pictures. The reception location outdoors (shown in last recep photos posted by endlesslove) upstairs past the lobby overlooking the ocean and resort is beautiful!!! I also saw a reception set up on the sand that was decorated Mexican style which was pretty cool, but more public as it is in the center of the resort on the beach. The resort is beautiful and whatever you all decide, you will have a great time.

Mdgirl76 - I just got married and wore my hair down because I hate the way I look with my hair up. I was glad with my decision because I thought it looked pretty *however* in retrospect, I wish I would have pulled some of it back. It was windy on the beach and hot. My hair would blow in my face in pictures and was kind of a pain. I think if you wear it partially up or back, that would be good, and just make sure you pin any lose hair down or it will end up in your face.. I used a lot of hair spray.. but apparently not enough..grr. best wishes

Hi ladies, great thread. My husband and I just got married June 5, 2009 in the Riviera Maya. We met when he was the CO in the Coast Guard in Santa Barbara, CA. Fell in love and moved with him to Gainesville, FL 1 year later. It was hard to leave my family, job, friends.. all behind, but it was worth it! He attended grad school for 1.5 years and now we live in Washington, DC. I think the hardest part for me is reestablishing myself professionally. In Santa Barbara, I loved my job and worked as a groups coordinator and manager of a Resort & Spa, and since then just doing Exec Asst. But, I want to get my MBA and do it online once the GI bill is able to be transferred to me. Then I would like to eventually be a HR Director. DC has been nice because there are so many other Coastie people that DH knows so it has been an instant social circle. Florida was more difficult and took more time to get used to the area and find friends. I love traveling and moving around though, and luckily my husband hasn't been deployed while we have been together (although he was over in the middle east before we met). I did most of the projects and planning for the wedding, which I enjoy. Did anyone else find it a little lonely (besides having the forum of course)? I think with moving so much it is hard to establish really close friendships, and so I found myself doing everything really by myself, so it got a little lonely. It would have been nice to have my family and best girlfriends around to help. But, thanks to the forum for so many great ideas and support.

We returned from 16 days in Mexico (Riviera Maya / Playa del Carmen) with no problems at all. We mostly stayed on the resort, but we went to Coco Bongo in Playa one night for our Bach party, some of our guests went to Playa during the day for shopping, and Cozumel. Everything is normal and safe. The airport they are doing health screenings taking your temperature and filling out a questionairre. Nice because customs is super fast! For anyone that has traveled during peak season, you know that customs in Cancun can take over an hour, and this time there was zero wait time! Nobody is in masks or sick or anything. So, happy planning and have fun!!

We did a symbolic and just booked the "renewal of vows" ceremony - which was cheaper too. Just bring your marriage certificate and you will be fine. We actually brought our own officiant which happens to be one of our good friends, so he performed the ceremony which was really nice because it was very personalized. Since it isn't "legal" you could actually have anyone perform your ceremony for you, doesn't need to be designated by the resort.

added a french bustle also. here is the link to the Davids site. David's Bridal - Allover draped taffeta trumpet with button back.

Purchased brand new from Davids Bridal. Worn once at the wedding. David's Bridal - Allover draped taffeta trumpet with button back. Style: P9345 Color: White Size: 8 Bustle: French White taffita fabric with sublte rooching throughout the dress. Zipper closure with cloth button overlay. Medium sized train with easy to use and beautiful french bustle that stays in place! I am 5â€7’ - wore 2†heels with dress, 130lbs, 34b, 30 waist, 34 hips. Minor alterations - took in bust a little, hemmed very slightly - like 1/2 inch, added bustle It is in great condition – worn for 3 hours during wedding. Only a little very slight dirt stains at the very bottom of the train. No tears or noticeable stains. Will include veil for free: 1 tier, Swarovski crystals, white satin trim - it is beautiful! PM me and make an offer. Puchased for $500 new, looking to sell for around $250 obo.

Carried on my dress, a small Vera Bradley backpack and a larger backpack. FI carried on a larger carry on duffel and a small backpack.. no problems. We flew Airtran.. which is a cheapie airline (booked on United.. but cancelled as they added a layover) and Airtran isn't the nicest as they are more of a budget brand. But - I just layed my dress flat in an overhead as the flight was only 50% full.. no problems. They said there wasn't room in the closet (ya right) ... but worked out fine since the resort steamed my dress before the ceremony anyway

I think because it is a program, and more of a nice touch to the ceremony, most guests won't even notice. They will be busy taking in the beautiful atmosphere and probably skimming the program. I say let it go and focus on the bigger things.. Esp since it is just in a song title, not like you spelled your mom's name wrong or something.

Hanna’s Planning Thread / Wedding Review Wow! We are married!!! Everything was more incredible than I could have imagined!!! Thank you to everyone on here for all of your support, ideas and advice. Truly couldn't have done it without all of you!!!!!! Here are some planning pics: planning pictures by hannaandjosh - Photobucket Here are our pro pics: Pro Pics pictures by hannaandjosh - Photobucket Engagement: We were engaged on Cinco de Mayo 2008, Cancun Mexico. Josh set up roses and candles up in our suite after a fabulous private romantic dinner on the beach. It was absolutely perfect and as much as I was hoping he would propose on that trip, I was still super surprised when he did it. He proposed with a beautiful aquamarine (my birthstone) and diamond ring, and told me he wanted me to pick out my official engagement ring. I loved this idea since I had exactly what I wanted in mind, and it was a fun process to chose a ring together. Resort: Wedding at the Grand Palladium White Sands, Riviera Maya, Mexico June 5, 2009. Flight: Airtran. We originally booked United.. but they added a layover to our direct flight, so we got a refund and rebooked on Airtran as they were the only airline to fly direct during all the swine flu mayhem.. They aren't the nicest airline - you have to pay for all your bags, $15 for 1st, $25 for 2nd, each way. And my FI is military and they didn't give any sort of waiver to him, even though most other airlines give him a break. Plus - we packed everything in to 2 suitcases and 2 large duffel bags, and they said one of the duffel bags were 1 inch to big.. come on.. so after arguing with the guys for a while.. really, 1 inch.. we grabbed a roll of tape and taped it down to make it smaller. I carried on my dress and a carryon bag with no problems. I asked at the counter if we can be put on the upgrade list for 1st class since it is our wedding, military, and flight wasnt full.. but they said no, only if you want to pay $99 pp/each way. So, forget it. I laid the dress flat in an overhead since they said there wasn't room in the closet.. right.. The staff was kind of rude on the plane.. but whatever, it was a direct flight and went by pretty fast. I will avoid Airtran at all costs for future flights though. Worth paying a little more for a more hospitable airline. We usually fly Delta and they are always really nice and accomodating. A nice touch is that my husband arranged for a limo to take us to the airport since it was an hour away. So sweet and romantic.. and really nice since we had a lot of stuff.. Vistaprint: I love Vistaprint!! I used them for our STD replys and magnets, gifts - tshirts, pens, notepads, hats.... , window decal, labels, tentiative and final RSVP postcards OOT Bag tags, Bubba keg tags.. Papersandmore: I used them for invite paper and printed the invites on my own. Did a ivory cardstock overlayed with vellum. Realized that Vellum is a little difficult to print on because some of the ink transfers to the printer and onto the next page - so finally learned you need to print a blank page on a regular piece of paper in between to clear out any excess ink. Bubba Kegs: O M G.. the best thing we brough for everyone were the bubbas!!! We bought 50 of them (25 pink, 25 blue) from fireflybuys.com for $6 each. Everyone loved them and they are soooo useful at an AI! It is so great because we got the 20oz size which was a perfect size. Great for the pool to keep your drink sanitary so pool water doesn't splash into it, and keeps your drink nice and cold. Transfers: We arrived on Friday, May 29th and used AGI Tours for our transfers. I highly recommend using them as I arranged transfers for all 36 of our guests in advance with Javier and everything was perfect. We were greeted with a sign that said “Hanna & Josh’s Wedding Party†and driven directly to our resort in a nice van with awesome a.c. We took a pit-stop at Walmart in Playa Del Carmen to pick up vases for the reception and some alcohol. The Playa Walmart has all the same type of stuff as your local Walmart does, so it was really convenient to also stock up on some extra toiletries and misc goods. We also used them to transfer to the Excellence for our honeymoon and back to the airport for departure. They always showed up on time, or early, for all our guests and provided excellent service in a nice vehicle. Rooms: We booked 20 rooms directly through the resort with Olga Ramos, the reservations manager for the resort. So, that was great news and the rooms were beautiful. Because we booked as a group directly with the hotel, we received a great rate of $86/person/night for double occupancy. We had to pay everything upfront at check-in, meaning we had to collect the $ from all our guests in advance. I didn’t mind because it meant our guests were able to get a lower rate – and if anyone wanted to, they could book their own room through a travel agent or online at the current advertised rates. We booked the Colonial section, however they closed Kantenah & Colonial when we arrived due to low occupancy with the swine flu, so we were all upgraded to White Sands Jr. Suites. White Sands section is still very centrally located and a quick walk to the Colonial Pool and beach area that was our favorite place. Me and FI paid extra and got an upgrade to a Suite. It was a fantastic room with a sitting area, huge bathroom and jetted tub, master bedroom and 2 large balconies with amazing ocean views. It was a perfect room and was very convenient to have the living area at the front of the room for visitors. The front desk tried to bill a few of our guests twice, as we already paid for everyone’s rooms at check-in, so that was a bit frustrating. There is a beautiful salt water pool area that is rocky with lots of waves. It is really pretty and a nice change of scenery. The style reminded us of Cabo San Lucas a little. Resort: The resort is beautiful. There are 4 main lobbies and I had an easy time getting around as I studied the resort map for months prior to our arrival. However, my mom had a difficult time remembering the different lobbies and got lost a couple of times. There are 8 different a la carte restaurants and multiple buffets. Bars are everywhere, there is a fun disco that opens at 11pm and beach bars that are open 24hrs – late night tacos were the best!  We really enjoyed the beauty of the resort as they built it to protect the natural surroundings. Very tropical with lots of plants, flowers, iguanas everywhere. The staff was great, Pedro the bellman was awesome! The Spa: omg, the Spa is incredible. The best part is that all of the amenities: steam room, Jacuzzi, pools… are free for resort guests. The massages were incredible also, and only $50 ($1/minute). I had Juana for a massage and it was one of the best massages I have ever had (and I worked for 2 years at a 5* Spa in California). We went there the morning of the wedding for massages and manicures, and just to relax with the girls. It was the perfect way to start off the day. Even for our guests that never got a treatment, loved going there to relax and pamper themselves without spending a dime. OOT Bags: I assembled the bags in our room and hand delivered them to our guests when they checked in. Because the resort was so large, we wanted to make sure and greet our guests upon their arrival. Most of our guests arrived Tues/Wed, so it wasn’t too bad, although did take a large chunk of our day. For a couple of FI’s friends, we just left their gift bags with the front desk and left a note to meet us at the Colonial Pool. Wedding Rehearsal: The resort doesn’t do a formal wedding rehearsal, but I thought it was important to do one anyway. I organized for everyone to meet at the site to run through the ceremony. Unfortunately our officiant and best man got lost and missed it, so I did it on my own. I wished I was a little bit more familiar with proper ceremony procedure & etiquette as my mom got a little upset when I didn’t instruct how the parents were to exit the ceremony once it was finished. Only to find out later from the officiant that the brides family should exit first, then grooms family. Oops… But – it was really helpful to have a rehearsal and would recommend it even if your wedding is small so everyone knows where to go and what to do. Wedding. We scheduled our wedding on the Kantenah beach at 5:00pm. We brought our own officiant with us – one of FI’s good friends that has performed a few other ceremonies for his friends. We ran a little behind getting ready as didn’t start hair until 2:30 for our 5pm ceremony, so I would recommend to brides to start getting ready far in advance because rushing at the end wasn’t fun. My bridesmaids realized after helping me get ready.. they still needed to get ready, and we ran about 15 minutes late. But it was ok, because then it gave all our guests ample time to arrive at the ceremony location. I feel like if we would have shown up exactly at 5pm, we would have been one of the first ones to arrive.. The sun was shining and it was a pretty warm day, so I wish our guests would have worn shorts cause it was just so hot.. We did pictures after the ceremony, starting with a group shot then into individual photos. I made a list of all the photos we wanted, but never gave it to my MOH to help me with it, but I think we got all the photos we wanted. We also brought a bottle of Don Julio and some wine for post ceremony drinks as the resort said it wasn’t enough time in between ceremony & reception to do a formal 1 hour cocktail reception – but everyone mostly just drank champagne and shots anyway, so it worked out pretty well. After that the shuttles came to take everyone to the White Sands lobby for cocktails and our 7pm reception at La Laguna. The reception was set up beautifully with white fabric draped on the ceiling. I brought blue table runners, place cards, guest book, vases and fans, and everything was set up perfectly to my directions. I made a little book of directions with photos for Rocio indicating how I wanted everything set up, and she did a fabulous job. We had white linens and white covered chairs. The only drawback was it was super hot because there was no breeze whatsoever. Also – because of the close proximity to the lagoon and no breeze, everyone got bit up a ton by mosquitoes. That was the first time all week that anyone even noticed mosquitoes, but it was definitely a huge problem that night. Music: We used an IPOD for all our music at the ceremony and reception. We gave Rocio the IPOD with instructions on playlists and what songs to play for the ceremony. Everything was perfect, played on time, correct songs, sound system was great. We were provided a mic for the ceremony, but didn’t use it as our voices carried enough. Plus – we didn’t want this big mic in all our pics. We put together about 30 minutes of relaxing music prior to the ceremony as people arrived. We all walked down the isle to Canon in D – the piano version downloaded from Itunes. We walked out to Israel Kamakawiwo'Ole - Over The Rainbow. We also had about 45 minutes of post ceremony music for cocktails and photos. For the reception, we started off with our first dance as we only had the photographer until 8pm. Did the foxtrot to I’m Yours, Jason Mraz. I completely forgot to bustle my dress… oops.. before the dance, but it was great. Then I bustled my dress and danced again to At Last, Etta James – just for fun since I was tripping over my dress the first time. We set up a song to dance with our parents after dessert, but completely forgot about it. I felt horrible and so my advise would be to type out a specific schedule with people, music, instructions… and give it to someone you trust that can help you ensure you don’t forget anything. I wish I would have as my bridesmaids were drinking and having a great time, and my maid of honor was under the weather. Towards the end of the evening one of our friends put their ipod on to play a song they liked, which really upset me as this wasn’t some dance party, it was our wedding reception. We specifically picked music that our friends and parents would enjoy. My mom was kind of upset about this later, but what can I do about it now. So – I guess this is where hiring some sort of a wedding planner for the day of to make sure stuff like this doesn’t happen so you can just relax and enjoy. One of my friends really stepped up to help me out to be there for me, and I really appreciated that. So – make sure you pick someone who you trust and who is organized and responsible to help you and make sure it all flows properly. Dinner: For dinner I picked different items from all the menus. We had: ~ Tortilla Soup: awesome.. the best tortilla soup ever ~ Portobello Spinach Salad: I liked it cause I love mushrooms. The spinach was more of a steamed spinach – so it didn’t seem like a traditional lettuce salad. Some of our guests didn’t like it since they don’t eat mushrooms.. ~ Sirloin of Beef with mushroom sauce, and Salmon with Dill sauce. Served with steamed vegetables and baked potato. Since we had to chose only one entrée for everyone, tried to pick a surf/turf type one and hopefully something on the plate would appeal to everyone. The salmon was a little fishy for my tastes – although some of our guests loved it.. but the steak was great and everyone loved it. ~ Dessert: fried ice cream: how can you go wrong with fried ice cream, everyone loved it. Cake: We picked out our cake when we got down there and chose a 3-teir white frosting cake. I brought blue ribbon down to wrap around the base of each layer. The bottom layer was tres leches, middle was chocolate, and top was strawberry and cream. Everything tasted great. After the wedding we freshened up, changed and went to the resort disco for a little bit. It was a great wedding and it all just went by wayyyyyyyy to fast! So glad we did a destination wedding so we could really spend time with all our friends and family in a beautiful location. Everyone really loved it and we are looking forward to planning an annual reunion trip. Most of our guests had never been to an all inclusive, and for the price, were amazed at how incredible everything was. In the end, I think for our guests it was a good deal considering flights were reasonable, and room rates were only $86/person with our group block. Honeymoon: We stayed at the Grand Palladium for 11 days, then switched to the Excellence Riviera Cancun for the last 6 days. We were excited to have some alone time for the first time on the trip - family and friends arrived the same day as us to the GP resort.. The Excellence was exactly what we needed. Relaxing couples resort, beautiful swim up suite, food was incredible, drinks were great and strong.. after a few days we did start to miss all our friends reflecting on all the fun we had. After 16 days in Mexico we felt we were sort of ready to go home.. but not really. There is never enough time on vacation.. planning our reunion trip next year with all our friends! I am probably forgetting some stuff.. so let me know if you have any questions! 

We used Mexican Wedding Photos. Miguel Razo was our photographer and he was incredible. He showed up early and gave us great direction on our photos without commanding us around. We were able to suggest our ideas, but he directed a lot of the poses which we were grateful for since we weren't sure what to do. We got our pictures back a week later as we were still in Mexico on our honeymoon, so that was great. The photos all turned out incredible, the colors so vivid, lens options were great, lighting.. Would highly recommend Miguel. Had a little bit of a hard time getting a response from them online when I would email them questions, but in the end it all worked out fine! heres a link to our photos: http://i598.photobucket.com/albums/t...0Pics/HJ-9.jpg

I agree.. I wore strapless and wish I would have done this as they would poke out sometimes. Definetly bring a needle and thread with you and just do a light stitch to keep them down, but wouldn't cut them out so you can still hang your dress later. Tape could work, but then with the humidity and sweating might not stick and could poke you. So - I think a couple stitches on the inside would work best.

oh dang.. those are big... sorry! how do I make them smaller...

hmm.. lemme see if this worked...

HI Ladies!! Back from our amazing wedding at the GP. Working on my planning/review thread with pics, but let me know if you have any specific questions while it is all fresh in my mind!!

I tried to do a search for this thread, but was unsuccessful, so sorry if this is a repeat. But does anyone have a good list/resources for changing your name after you are married? Did any of you use those name change services for $30- was it worth it? Just starting the process and finding it quite tedious..

Just an update.. we got married June 5th. It was amazing! And we stayed together the nigh before and it was so nice and comforting. I went to breakfast with the girls, then to the Spa for massages and nails, then back to the room to get ready. It worked out perfect and saw Josh for the first time walking down the isle. I am glad we stayed together the night before, was really sweet to reflect on everything and vent about family frustrations.

We used the Kohls frame with the multiple panels. I glued the glass panels in, but the sand still came out. Also, the slot for the sand is pretty thin, so the sand blew everywhere during the ceremony. I brought some sand home so we can re-create it at home cause it ended up a big mess.. I think if you stuff a vase tight and carry it on, you should be ok, but the frame didn't work so well...

Hi ladies. We are on our honeymoon at the Excellence Riviera Maya until Sunday, so email me at [email protected] if you have any qs about the property or want me to take any photos. We had our wedding at the Grand Palladium Riviera Maya on June 5th and everything was so perfect. Ill write a review once I get home. But, the Excellence is beautiful and saw a wedding set up yesterday and there is another one tonight. You guys will love it here!