~*Kathy*~

Awww, thank you Erika...I'm so honored. Wow!

Lana - really? That's awesome! What part of town are you in, if you don't mind my asking? I'm up in the North-Westish....not far from Castledowns.

Gail - Which restaurant are you trying to rent out? The Tropical? I don't know if the Tropical and the Brazilian are the same place or not, but the Brazilian had A/C. I was freezing my boobs off when we ate there one night lol.

Great review, you looked stunning! I didn't realize I had a date twin on the forum, so that's awesome...AND you're from Alberta!

Thanks Aimee!! I'm just trying to help my girls!! I think wedding pictures are soooooo important and that you should love them at the end of the day. And I truly love mine, I'm so pathetic, I look at them like...all the damn time haha.

Just wanted to chime in on this one too. DH and I were initially looking in to using fotocaribbean as it was a more cost-effective option as opposed to hiring an outside photographer, however, after seeing fotocaribbean's website (yikes, it looks a bit better now but it used to be much worse) and seeing samples of their work via a very dissatisfied bride on the mr. iberostar boards, I decided against using them. Best decision I ever made. I am so thrilled with how my PROFESSIONAL pictures turned out that I can't believe I ever considered using fotocaribbean. I find their shots to be very posed/cheesy/fake and they make all couples that get married there use the exact same locations and the exact same poses. It is not creative or original at all. Just my opinion though. Best of luck to you! There is a plethora of talented photographers that post here on BDW, I would talk to them and see what they can do for you.

Oooh I have another! I love the Oxy face wash. I've been using it for probably 10 years, it is the best. Keeps my skin clear and soft, I've had MUAs ask me what my beauty routine is and how I get such nice skin and they are always surprised when I tell them that all I really do is wash my face with Oxy.

This is such a fun thread, thanks for starting it Erin! So we've been almost officially married for a month. I have to say, like SunBride, pretty much nothing has changed. We've been together almost 9 years and living together for 6 years so nothing is an adjustment. The only real change I noticed is that we have sex more often lol, I have no idea why but I'm not complaining. There are small things, like our nicknames for each other now include "wifey" or "hubster" lol and I'm totally not used to signing my new last name at all on things and have yet to perfect my signature (it is a lot longer than my old last name). BIL and his wife wrote in our wedding card that our nephews need cousins....I was like "no thanks!" haha, we're so not ready for that and I'm not sure if/when we ever will be.

I used to be really fond of those Cover Girl pressed powder foundation compacts...but they stopped making them! Now I'm in love with Bare Escentuals Bare Minerals collection, but it's expensive lol.

Quote: Originally Posted by kristaheer Your pictures are gorgeous!! I love the ones where you're taking your shoes off - so unposed. Thank you! I love those ones too...it wasn't posed at all, in fact, I hadn't realized Sascha was capturing that at the time. I had to take them off otherwise I would have fell on my face trying to walk in the soft sand in 3 inch stilletos hehe.

Quote: Originally Posted by Erika J It is soo amazing, I was acutally showing my FI your pics last night to show him how your hubby wore a black shirt. Thanks for sharing, and with this group... no one will ever get sick of looking at pics. Aw thanks! Hehe, trying to convince your FI to wear a black shirt too? It was actually my hubby's idea. I must say, I'm pretty happy with how it turned out...I thought I wanted him in a white shirt, but the contrast that the black provides looks really good with my dress. A white shirt might have been overkill for me I think. Dayla - Thanks!!

Hi girls! I hope you all aren't sick of seeing my pics yet haha (I know I'm not!). Just thought I'd share another slideshow that Sascha put together for me. Enjoy!! http://cancunphotos.net/darkroom/sha...hy_and_Cameron

double post, sorry

Welcome and congrats! I'm from Edmonton too and got married in the Riviera Maya last month, let me know if I can help you out somehow!

Sigh! Looking at this thread reminds me of how much I love my Maggie and would have another wedding tomorrow if it meant I could wear it again haha Angela - that dress looks gorgeous on you! The top part of it reminds me a bit of my dress (Carla).

Quote: Originally Posted by thedeanerswedding Hi everyone! Sorry i'm late in getting in on this conversation - i'm quite confused. My hotel is telling me I don't need to bring or translate anything but when I spoke to the Mexican Consulate - they INSIST that i need the Long-Form Birth certificates. Is anyone here that recently got married at Dreams Tulum that can verify what is actually needed? Thanks so much! Nadine Hey there! I believe SunBride (who is from Ottawa), had a civil ceremony at Dreams Tulum last spring and said in one of these threads that she didn't need to do any translating or authenticating of documents. Maybe she'll see your question and pop by to let you know. I just got married (civil ceremony) at the Iberostar Paraiso Beach in February and all they needed to see were our long-form with certificates (very easy to obtain) NOT translate and we were not required to have the consulate/embassy authenticate our documents. Everything went off without a hitch. Try not to stress too much about this. The consulate told me the exact same thing about how we "must" have this, but they were incorrect. Just get a written confirmation from your wc and you should be ok. I've stressed (needlessly lol) in the past about this too, so I know how you feel. Good luck, hope this helps!

Quote: Originally Posted by SgtPepperette The number 1 favorite I couldnt get a picture but this one is pretty close to it... I totally agree, GET THIS DRESS! lol I think the cut is really flattering on you and it is completely gorgeous! Nice work, it took me about 20 dresses to find mine lol.

Thanks Lindobride2009!!! And welcome back hehe

sunandrun - We were all able to order directly off of the menu, which was nice so that everyone can have exactly what they want. You are allowed to do this as long as you have 25 guests or less.

Abbie, that turned out so gorgeous! Nice work! I wish I had the "balls" to do this lol, I am so freaking attached to my long hair and am paranoid I'll look like Dora the Explorer if I chop mine...kudos to you for being so brave hehe.

noelynn - We had 16 adults at the dinner and two children. As far as I know, I was not charged any additional fees. Are you looking in to renting out the entire place? I'm not sure if that's an option but if it is, it will probably cost you a bit more.

Quote: Originally Posted by sunandrun Thanks you so much for your excellent review. You covered absolutely everything!! Your pictures are beautiful too. I do have a couple of questions if you don't mind? 1. Is the steakhouse air conditioned? Was everyone able to order off of the menu? Did they cover your table with special linens? 2. Did you do anything with your group after the wedding? How about a cocktail hour? I am trying to keep my costs down. I was thinking I could do the dinner like you did and then do a cocktail hour by the pool with a dj. That would save me the $800 or more for the reception. Any suggestions. Thanks Oh, 1 more thing. Did you have a meeting spot for your group to meet during the day and in the evening? I was thinking about rotating between the 2 lobby bars in the evening and by the pool bar on the del mar side during the day. Do you know the name of that bar? Hi there! I'm glad to help, no worries! The Steakhouse, El Puerto, is NOT air conditioned as it is an open-air a la carte. They did cover the tables with some white linens and the put my additional ceremony site floral decorations on the tables as center-pieces for the dinner. I felt that this was done well enough for my liking. I didn't have a cocktail hour or anything special after the ceremony (if you mean while we were taking pics at the beach), most of my family came down to the beach to watch, which was fine with me...I basically left them to their own devices. After the reception dinner, we met in the Paraiso Beach lobby for a few drinks. During the day, we usually just met by the pool wherever the first group of us were able to get a bunch of loungers. In the evening, we usually headed to the Paraiso Beach lobby for drinks or a game of cards. I hope this information helps you!

Ok, here it is. I typed it up word for word what my paper says. This should also help you figure out the sequence of events. Hope this helps!! Mexican Civil Marriage Advices Ladies and gentlemen, according to the laws of this country we are gathered here to join the bonds of Matrimony which is an honorable status: _____________ (groom) and _______________________ (bride) Seeing it is a very important act, I would kindly ask everybody to remain in silence. As witnesses of this important act, there are present here: 1. ____________________________ 2. _______________________ 3. ____________________________ 4. _______________________ Who will sign the marriage document. A great Mexian philosopher of the nineteenth century, Mr. Melchor Ocampo, wrote in his legendary letter, the following words that until today are always read in our wedding ceremonies, "marriage", it says is the only legal and moral way to found a family, to preserve mankind and avoid imperfections of the human being who are only able to obtain the perfection of the human race through matrimony in a conjugal duality. Men and women have the same rights, but it is important to observe their respective obligations. Both of you should have respect, fidelity, trust and assistance to one another and also tenderness and love, much love. Do not fight with one another, use your heads and your hearts to correct something wrong. Both of you should be aware of the great responsibility of being parents, because you should provide your children with attention, good example to follow during the rest of their lives. I now ask two questions to your witnesses. 1. Are ________________ (groom) and __________________ (bride) persons you know well? 2. And are there any objections for them to be joined in legal marriage in Mexico? __________________ (groom) do you accept ____________________ (bride) as your beloved and wedded wife, __________________ (bride) do you accept _____________ (groom) as your beloved and wedded husband? _________________ (groom) and __________________ (bride) after ratifying your wish to get legally married by means of your signature and your witnesses' signature and in the presence of your family and friends in the name of the law and the society and with the authority from the Solidaridad Municipal, here in Quintana Roo, Mexico, I now declare you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride. CONGRATULATIONS! Playa del Carmen, Solidaridad, Quintana Roo. The _____________ (day/month) of _________ (year) El C. Oficial 07 del Registro Civil. ____________________ C. ALMA ROSA ROSAS

Quote: Originally Posted by kristin928 Awesome! Thank you so much for your help! I took Spanish in High School so my translation skills are lacking (my ceremony will be in Spanish since it's on the island). Thank you so much! If you don't mind posting the reading I would appreciate it- just so my FI and I can read it over and know what it's about! You rock! No problem!! For sure! I will post the reading tonight when I get home, they actually gave us a copy of the reading with our marriage certificate, so that was pretty neat. Anyway, I have it at my house and will post it for you later! Good luck with everything!

Hi there! I just had a civil ceremony at the Iberostar Paraiso Beach in Mexico three weeks ago, here's how ours went: Processional Reading of Names Reading by a Mexican Philosopher Signing of Legal Documents & Thumbprints Wedding Vows Exchanging of the Rings Pronouncement of Marriage Recessional I only changed the order of one thing, other than that from what I can tell, everything else is in the exact same order that our wedding was performed in. If you would like, I can provide you with the Reading by a Mexican Philospher that was used during our ceremony if you're curious. Hope this helps!