amandalsu

I really like it. I like the ocean theme in the how we met to go along with the destination wedding. I really need to get started on mine! Was the knot website easy to design?

I would be so upset with my mom and bridal party! How could you not tell her. Maybe it became much more see through when she walked out side and it was too late when they realized it. I hope it isn't in her pictures!

Welcome to the forum. You will find so much useful information on here. You are so awesome to help your mom with the planning!

That was awesome. You are very lucky to find a man with some rythm.

Sylvia, I don't have her phone info but you can contact her through the website link from the 1st post in this thread (innate photos). I saw on the Pualina Ulloa thread you had been in contact with Kristen at Dazzling Details. They likely have her contact information as she is one of their recommended photographers.

That is so frustrating after you put so much time and effort designing details like the boarding pass invites to represent you and your wedding! I would be livid. I think the best advice so far is to have him talk to his family to make sure the rest of the details go according to plan. Keep venting here to help keep the peace with the new MIL.

That is so exciting that it is so close. Waiting is the hardest part for me right now. Please share your experiences when you get back and enjoy yourself.

Welcome and good luck planning. Picking the destination and then the place was the hardest part for me. This forum provided a ton of information and ideas to help me with my decision.

Great thread. I use smashbox light primer and I think it really helps with oil control and making my foundation last. I have super oily skin and travel a lot (which makes me even more oily) and this has made a huge difference.

Congrats. I love Grand Cayman and that was one of the places on my short list when I started looking for destinations. Make sure you learn to scuba dive if you don't already. The diving there is great.

Wow what a steal for a beautiful dress!

Those are so beautiful. You are so lucky to have such a talented and giving friend.

We have had a huge jump in "probably won't make it" now that it is getting nearer. Many people are hurting from the economy or using that as an excuse. And one is due a month before the wedding. In order to keep the guest count up on his side of the family, we had to pay for FI's mother, sister, brother, niece, and nephew to go. Luckily I travel a lot for work so I was able to use miles for the airline tickets. That definitely skewed my wedding budget but the nephew is doing the video (he has gone to film school and has access to professional equipment and is very talented), the niece is managing the music (ipod), and the brother is the BM. We are putting several of them up in the villa with us and the others in a discount hotel. No all inclusives for us! They are on there own when the get there with the exception of the welcome dinner and wedding. It was a big expense but one we decided was worth it to have them spend it with us. I would have done the same for my family if they needed it. (Thank goodness they didn't)

Good luck with the planning. You can find so much useful information on this site. It has really been a big help with my planning.

Welcome and happy planning. I like the color combo.

Welcome and happy planning.

Just find an amazing rain friendly location. I have seen some really beautiful pictures of weddings with rain falling around them. It was really romantic. And the rain let up right at sunset and it was the most beautiful colors because of the rain clouds in the area. And don't forget, it can rain any day of any season. Also, you will have the pick of the litter at that time because it is the off season. That means cheaper rates and more negotiating power. This August, a lot of the villas had huge discounts including free days. Your guests will enjoy the discounted rates. I think there is a big palapa up in the Sayulita or Buceries areas that hold a lot of weddings. If I come across it again I will give you more info. You can probably rent out a great beach front resturant or ball room for a great deal at that time of the year. I think it is a little warm in August so something with air conditioning might be a good idea.

Look in the Mislamoya area. From what I recall, that is the farest south where it seemed there were several options for hotels. I think there is a Barcelo with an all inclusive option, the Intercontinental mentioned above, and Casa Iguana, a very affordable but well maintained property where the Boca Bento resturant is. It is not on the beach, nor does it have a view of the ocean. I am sure a travel agent or a travel website can give you a good listing.

This is a great list. I have been scouring the internet and bridal magazine for suggestions.

"2. If you go accross the overpass when you are outside, there are cabs accross the street. They are 1/2 the cost of the aiport cabs." Just make sure you know what the cost would be to take that same taxi to the airport from the location you are going to so you know how much it should cost. If you don't know, they are not going to give you that great of a deal. You can call your hotel and ask the fare for a return trip to the airport. Also we took one of these cabs on our very first trip and he reversed down the road at a very high speed for a very long distance. Then he took us through a cut through to the main road (came out near the Carls Jr/Hardees). I was really questioning our decision at that point. But it is just because they are facing the wrong direction on the highway to go to PV. They are pointed at Nuevo Vallarta. It turned out fine and he was really nice. Overall our experience with cabs in PV was great on both of our trips this year. They drive kind of crazy but it is no different than in NYC and at least these are nice and talk to you.

I guess I should mention, Yelapa is further south than Las Caletas (about a 30 minute boat ride along the coast-but a beautiful ride passing the secluded beaches like Las Caletas). It is pretty much beach front resturants that allow you to use their chairs and umbrellas if you order from them. We were told the resturants here are much more tasty than Las Caletas because that beach is exclusively tourist on the PV Adventure tours. The beach and water are beautiful at Yelapa. There are places to stay but supposedly the electicity shuts off at 8 pm there. It was a really neat place that was recommended to us by several locals. There are several different water taxis that go there at different times of day and I think they depart from several other locations than the two beaches I named above but because it is so far south I would recommend taking a street taxi down to the one's I recommended and a water taxi from there.

We did the Vallarta Adventures Outdoor Challenge in May. This is the canopy tour "on steroids". We had a blast. You do need to be somewhat physically fit. Here is the link: Puerto Vallarta: ATVs, Zip lines, Waterfalls, Hiking, Outdoor Adventure The hike up after the first canopy tour was kind of brutal. That is the only major hike in the whole thing. I think we did it too fast because we were excited to get to the next one. Plus I am terribly out of shape and overweight. That 5 minute hike was more excercise than I have done in years. The guys had no problems with it of course and most of them don't exercise regularly. We had so much fun. It really isn't scary. Even when repelling, they control your decent with another rope. You could completely let go and you wouldn't be in any danger. We took the boat from the Marina and had them drop us off right near our villa in old town on the way back (rather than taking the 4 wheel drive vehicle all the way back to the marina to get in cabs and go back to old town). We bought a CD with pictures of everyone in our group. It was hundreds of pictures for 7 people. The guides were awesome. Very funny! We were able to get 30% off due to the swine flu scare but they had already offered 10% off when we contacted them via email. We are planning on doing this again when we go back for the wedding with our friends and family members that are physically able to do this (which is most of them). We also took a cab to Boca de Tomatlan (spelling?) which is pretty much the southern most beach you can reach by car. It is also the beach the boats drop you off at on the Outdoor Adventure Tour. We hung out there for a while. There are not nearly as many "beach vendors" bothering you there. We then took a water taxi for about $10 per person to Yelapa beach. Then we parked ourselves in some chairs in front of a resturant and had the best ceviche and buckets of beer for hours until the water taxi took us back. A very affordable excursion and I don't remember there being any beach vendors bothering us! The day before we had priced it from Mislamoya beach and they wanted around $50/person to take us there. Be sure to ask several vendors and tell them you know you can get it for much less than that. The Boca de Tom... beach wasn't that much further a drive to warrant the price difference.

You might try Plush Catering (Boco Bento Resturant Owner). It is more mexican fusion food but the food and presentation is amazing. He does have some more traditional dishes. We did a tasting with him and were wowed. Another bride on here used him for her wedding and her guest said it was not only the best wedding food, but the best food in general they had ever had. His prices are a little higher than the caterer we chose but I would have gone with him if my budget had allowed. PM me if you would like contact information. I have an email for the owner Stewart. I think the caterer we are working with is Elite Catering. I don't have any contact info for them but I can probably get it from my wedding coordinator if you need it.

I had to have a similar conversation with a few that expected to be a part of my wedding party. We decided on my sister for MOH and his brother for BM only. I told the others, I would rather them save the money they would have spent on being in the bridal party and use it to turn my DW into a great vacation for them. They are already one of the few friends actually being invited to the wedding so that makes them feel special, and I have asked them to help me get ready on the wedding day. Of course, I will not be asking them to perform bridesmaid duties of throwing showers, setting up things or fetching things for me on the day of. This will allow them to be much more relaxed on the day, wear whatever they want, but still be an important part of my day. They all seemed really happy with this and understood that a wedding of less than 50 doesn't need a bridal party. I wish I would have been given this option for the bridal parties I was part of. Plus just picking one each, and it being a family member, no one had their feelings hurt or felt left out. You can't argue with the family card. Good luck. If they are really your friends they will support any decision you make!

I do not know anything about Hacienda San Angel but we did visit Le Kliff resturant when we were in PV last time. The food was not very impressive and the prices seemed rather high for the quality. It seemed to me to be a bit a tourist trap type resturant. The view is great but the ceremony site is at the beach level on one side of the cliff resturant. We didn't go down there but it was pretty far down if you have any guests with mobility issues you should check to see if there is an elevator. They also have a huge family of 20+ badgers (huge raccoon looking things) that come up to the tables and run and fight all over the resturant after dark. Some what entertaining, some what freaky, but not guests I would want at my wedding. A wedding party was sat while we were eating. There were only about 12 of them and they sat right in the resturant with all of us (not even a very good table). They spun noise makers and sang and clapped when the wedding party came in but they did the same for someone's birthday. I didn't see these people getting married in the wedding area, so they may have just shown up for dinner. There did appear to be a private room towards the back, but I believe it was indoors. There are some amazing resturants in PV but Le Kliff disappointed us. It is also very far from PV. It was about an hour each way from the hotel zone. We had great taxi drivers each way so the trip was fun but just be aware. We went to La Palapa on the beach and it was amazing food. I had read somewhere about someone having thier wedding there. It is not a private beach though. I think it is on Los Muertos but don't quote me on that. They also have Vista Grill which was right next to Villa Coco we stayed in. It has a great view of the city and bay from a huge deck, but it is up in the residential area so there can be interesting sites. We had a blast staying up there because we wanted something more "authentic mexico" rather than an AI mega resort that could be anywhere. But don't try to walk up those hills. They are steep! If you do not need a beach view, Boco Bento is a great resturant set near the base of the mountains and a river. There is not view of the beach or bay. I think Barcelo hotel is across the way. So you might be able to do the wedding there and the reception at the resturant. It is in a small budget hotel that is really well maintained with very nice grounds and pool area (that the resturant overlooks). We went there to do a tasting because the owner also owns Plush catering. The food was unbelivable. There is a big roof patio that can be rented for events. We might have our welcome dinner (or brunch) there. I hope this helps. Everyone has different opinions and I am a bit of a food snob (hence picking PV for my wedding). So take my advice with a grain of salt. I would recommend you take a trip to check it out and taste the offerings. We completely changed our initial wedding plans after visiting PV and seeing things in person.