mich999

My wedding was over a year ago sorry, but I did mani/pedis the day before my wedding. They did a very good job, though there wasn't a huge color selection (instead of 20 pinks to choose from, maybe 5-10). My flower girl and DH's sisters had their hair done at Hilton spa. Wasn't overly impressed with DH sister updos, but I don't know what they requested and if that's what they wanted. Generally, the Hilton has a very nice spa, was just there again this past May and had a great massage, but I ran into the same issue when I was planning my wedding - not enough reviews or info to feel comfortable going with them for hair/make-up. Good luck!

Great review, I'm sure many brides will find it helpful. Congrats - can't wait to see Juan Carlos' pics, though it will take more than a couple months (at least based on my experience). But they are absolutely worth the wait in my opinion.

Thanks for the review - nice to have from someone who successfully went the villa route. Congrats!

You will love, love, love the Hyatt in Kauai - we were there for our honeymoon last May! We took an all day Zodiac boat tour of the Napali coast that was awesome - I think there's only one company that does that. As for food - highly recommend Tropical Taco on the North Shore. Also for some of the best pizza I've ever had, Brick Oven Pizza in Kalaheo. And Roy's for chocolate lava cake.

Quote: Originally Posted by peterpanpixiedust After reading this I guess I'm the only crazy person. I really wanted to have my E ring polished just before going and tuck it in the box until pics. I am a perfectionist and I don't want any smudges on it. But now after reading this maybe I should just suck it up and wear it. Grrr! FI and I usually don't have a problem with me not wearing it all the time because I don't wear mine to work already. I just love how it looks when it comes back from a polish and that sheen goes away so quickly (my fiance's loves to hold my hand OVER the ring, and even when I remind him, he forgets. So it's gets oils on it pretty quickly. God bless him). I brought a new container of that jewelry liquid polish you can buy at any drugstore or from a jewelry store (so it wouldn't leak in my luggage) and cleaned my rings the day of ceremony. If you get your rings polished before you go and just give them a refresh the day of, they should look perfect.

We wore our rings when traveling (even wedding bands because I once had a friend that had her bands stolen going through security when going to her wedding in NY) and put the bands in the room safe. Otherwise, I agree bring your rings with you - I wouldn't want to get married with a fake ring either.

There are several really good photographers in Cabo. I think if you find one you love locally it is usually easier and less expensive. I would only look to bring someone if I couldn't find someone locally, but others (as posted above) have had success and sometimes save money bringing in someone they love.

I did not use them for me or my bridesmaids but the flower girl and DH's sisters did use them for hair. Updos were fine. No one I know got make up done there. When I got married I couldn't find wedding reviews of hair/make-up at Hilton anywhere so I didn't want to take the chance and went with recommendations from the forum.

tlseege - that is an excellent explanation. I found out in Illinois that the County has no idea what you're talking about either when you ask about getting married in a foreign country, but that's because they don't issue the license and you don't have to do anything with them to make it legal. That being said, we did have our certificate translated and recorded a copy of the original certificate, along with the translation with our local county Recorder. That way it's of public record and if we ever lose our original, I can get a copy (or a certified copy I suppose) from the Recorder's office. I know there are lots of people who get married locally first to avoid any hassles, but I did not find getting legally married in Mexico to be difficult if you plan ahead - so if it's important to you, do it!

Quote: Originally Posted by tinalv That's a great deal! Did you book it directly off American Airlines website aa.com? Yes. I've been checking orbitz everyday and then just booked directly on aa.com.

Hi ladies - I just booked non-stop flights on American in May (our one year anniversary) from Chicago to Cabo for $416 each!! Not going to get any cheaper than that, 2 days ago they were $813 each. Just thought I'd let anyone know still shopping for flights for this spring.

Sounds like maybe a larger restaurant would work and be more budget friendly. I'll try to do some brainstorming! We was soooo lucky to have my friend's amazing house - I don't think we could have done an AHR otherwise.

It really depends on your size and budget. We used a friend's house and yard in the city with catered food, bartenders, etc., but no DJ or sit down dinner because otherwise it would have been just as costly as having the wedding in Chicago. But a lot of brides do plan on that and if so, there are tons of places in Chicago that work.

No problem! I checked the Men's Wearhouse site and they still have my DH's suit - Calvin Klein tan linen. The pants are cheap but the jacket isnt. I would make friends with your local Men's Wearhouse manager and if you are buying several suits maybe they can give you a discount or let you know when the suit you want will go on sale. I'm pretty sure we bought ours in March and everything was 50% off. Also, Formally Modern Tuxedo (Formally Modern Tuxedo Styles) has a tan suit for rental like a tux, but my DH liked the linen suits better - he had very strong opinions on this topic! Have fun! Oops - I just realize FMT is a Chicago area store - but Milwaukee isn't that far away : ) That store might know of others nearer to you that carry the same suit for rental too.

We had a solo violinist for the ceremony and a Mexican Trio (Los Mosquitos - I think they were all guitars, but I'm not 100% sure) for the cocktail hour, then a DJ for dinner/dancing. I didn't hear the trio much (was taking pictures) but guests loved them. Generally I have only seen positive things on the forum about trios for ceremony/cocktail hour, but I think people don't usually use them for the dancing portion - I would definitely use the ipod or have a DJ for that portion. Hope that helps - good luck!