Ayita

My first reaction is... wow ! And what are you going to do if they accept to sign the contract, but don't honor it and not refund you ? Sue them ? (and spend the same money and much more in lawyers fees ?) A contract is only worth what you're willing to do with it... I would think twice before asking to sign a contract, that is I think kind of inappropriate as you are not in business with them. If they are your friends, and they should be since they are in your party, I would simply explain to them what I'm doing for them and tell them that you would expect a refund if they did not come. That would have the advantage of first, staying in a friendy / trustworthy relationship, second, allow them to say no if they did not want to, and third, you would not risk to lose your friends over a (useless I think) piece of paper.

Congrats Catty !!!

Quote: Originally Posted by MrsSmigs Great Job! May I ask how many you had to do? how long did it take you? I made 50 - 25 in French and 25 in English. After designing and printing, it took us about three nights to cut and assemble. I think. I can't remember very well now ! And DH did a lot during the day, when I was at work...

I am so glad for all you that are getting married in Mexico and maintained their plans !!! Just to let you know that among my guest we had a 4 year old, a 6 year old, a 74 year old and an 81 year old and everybody is super healthy. Really, it was nothing ! So glad the CDC recognizes it. Have a happy wedding everybody !

Amy I did not know you were there ! Sorry I missed you... Well we were not bothered by the construction, I guess our bungalow was far enough from it (#16). The massage... same story for me ! I asked for a 10 am on the same Friday, they said they couldn't and I got a 1pm instead !

Quote: Originally Posted by tylersgirl I have been meaning to do this thread b/c I bought the best ring cleaner at the Houston bridal show last year. It is called Something New. I bought the kit and it works wonders!!! It cleans my ring better than the jewelers. It does not contain any harsh chemicals and it is safe for all rings and jewelry. Here's the website: Something New Jewelry Cleaner Enjoy! Yeah ! I got it at the Houston Rodeo this year. The best is that it can clean pearls, too, being entirely natural ! Works wonders. I'm glad to see there is a web site, but it actually lasts for years...

My turn !!!! What I would do again : - have a DW !!! Everybody had a blast ! - chose a secluded, intimate venue. It allowed us to be between us, and to party until 4:30 in the morning, we closed because... well we went to bed ! - use an outside WC. It helped me so much, specially 2-3 weeks before when we had to negotiate hard with the hotel. I know my WC put a lot of energy into this negotiation, as well as of course making my wedding erfect (I did not take care of ANYTHING past the pre-wedding meeting). - do a very simple set-up. Being on the beach in a beautiful venue was enough in itself. - a ceremony at 5:30pm. It was still a beautiful light but we were not under a blaring sun. I still got sunburnt ! - use i-pod for ceremony/cocktail and computer for reception. We used a program called virtual DJ and it was like having a real DJ ! Except we pickd our tunes - rent speakers and wireless mike. Perfect for ceremony, speeches, and making the dance floor sound like a dance floor - rent 4 lightings. Not expensive but made the dance floor look like a dance floor ! - rent lounges for cocktail hour. Everybody ended up sitting. - completely enjoy our wedding day without feeling compelled to entertain. I am so glad I could do this. - taste food and pick up before hand. Food was amazing ! - use la Europea for wine and liquors. They took back unopened bottles (except white wine that had been chilled) and they gave us grate advise ! We bought wine without tasting and it was so good, all the red wine disappeared (18 bottles for 21 adults...) (did I mentioned the 30 bottles of champagne were also drunk...) - welcome drinks. It allowed everybody to meet in a fiendly atmosphere, before the next day. That was just what was needed. It also allowed DH to relax... he was anxious about the social times. - hungover kit. EVERYBODY used the Alka Seltzer starting Saturday morning... - OOT bags. Not everything was a hit, but everybody used the coin purses, the hungover/after party kits (including the aloe and the after-bites), and the mosquito repellent. - use a hair/make-up artist. I loved to get pampered. I always do it myself. It was part of the wedding to have her for me for 3 hours. Plus, she was awesome, and she offered to do my TTD hair and make-up in replacement of the 2 BMs hair she did not do (because BM did not come). - downsize the cake following the reading of this thread !! - use a TA. She was not super helpful at the time of picking up a venue, but she was after that. It allowed me not to worry about guests bookings, or re-bookings / formalities when one of the hotel did not open, or when they started to cancel because of the flu. Plus, she told our honeymoon hotel it was our honeymoon and it prooved efficient ! We got upgraded and all. - get a relaxing massage with DH to put us in the mood, the day before guests started to arrive. - travel first class. Allowed us not to worry about the dress, the suit, and the 6 suitcases. - offered 1 bottle of champagne with a gift tag to each of the two couples not part of the wedding. They ended up closing the party with us instead of complaining.... I had taken the material to make the gift tags with me, not knowing how many non-wedding guests there would be. - get a second dress for the TTD. I first used my real dress, but at the time of getting in the water I changed and I am so happy I did ! My second dress (a David's bridal) did not retain water. I think it was stain-proof or something. In like 10 minutes it was dry again. AWESOME! DH stayed wet in his linens, just as I would have if I had stayed in my silk... - buy more wine and liquors that I though would be used. Ended up being almost all drunk ! What I would do differently : - get a contract after the first contact with the venue !!! I went through horrible anxiety just 20 days before the wedding because everything was changing. Turned out it was more because of the disorganization than anything else, but it put me through a hard time - this could have been avoided. - not push guests to book. Prices went significantly down in the last weeks before departure, and I kind of felt guilty... - try not to feel compelled to entertain... - buy some hand sanitizer for the OOT bags ! If I had known... happily my MOH could find some in Houston before she came... - shorten the cocktail hour. We had 2 hours. For me it was good - we had 1 hour of pics, and 1 hour of drinks and appetizers - but for the guests I felt it was too long and they were hungry. Specially the kids ! What I would not do again : - mani/pedi at the hotel. 3 hours.... for something not really great. - floating candles. We could not use them because there was too much wind. - fans. Again not used because of the wind (except by my niece and nephew ) - buy some silk flower petals. The silk flowers were great, but petals ? Silk petals on the beach ? not very environmental friendly. I therefore did not use them (not even for decoration). - door hangers. Funny, but useless. - not schedule a group activity for the Sunday night. Everybody was exhausted. - not schedule a group activity for the Monday. We ended up cancelling it... There are not a lot of things I would not do again. This wedding was just as I had pictured it...

or http://bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/t32896

Just back from the Tides ! We spent a week there, after spending a week in the hotel we got married at. Before beginning, let me say that despite the little minuses (see below), we had a great time ! It was the perfect honeymoon. I would do it again the same way if I had to start it over with. First, this is the perfect place for honeymooning : private bungalows with private patio and private pool lost in the jungle... huge suspended (so they can rock) beach-beds... little tables for two around the pool at night... of course not many people due to the flu hype thing... not to mention the staff that will do everything to make you feel comfortable. We had dinner several nights in our bungalow, two nights by the pool. One night we had the romantic dinner on the beach (unforgettable). And one night they set-up a table just for us two up in the lounge (they had forgotten about our dinner on the beach... but they will do it anyway if you ask). Food was exceptional (and I know this is Mexico but darn ! Try the burger !!!!). We did the Mayan cooking class, nice couple experience with the chef, food - OK but not the best I had (maybe because I cooked it lol). DH had a blast closing the mayan oven (basically, putting dirt to the sides of the wooden panel laid on top of the banana leaves to air-seal the oven). DH likes to play with dirt Anyway we liked the food so much that we did not go back to have dinner in Playa at all !!! And we even ordered 3-course dinners, which ends up really expensive... but hey, it's not your honeymoon every year !! The Spa is great. The place is fantastic, to start with. We were a bit disappointed by the Asparamor massage (I preferred the massage by the beach done at the other hotel) ; but I did the holistic and it was AWESOME. We also did the Temazcal ritual. If you want to be in contact with nature and you're not afraid of hot, very hot steam rooms, do it... We loved it. The plus, our TA had mentioned this was our honeymoon and we got upgraded to Royal (ie, butler service) and the maids always spread our room with flower petals and did some nice stuff with the towels (swans, hearts, etc). Not sure if they do that on the luxury service or if you're not on honeymoon ? But they did it for us for sure. The minuses : - the road is HORRIBLE. I mean it. We had a pretty bad driving to the hotel we got married at, but compared to the road that goes to the Tides, it was sweet and soft. First you get to go along the paved road, full of speed breakers. Then you hit the dirt road. A bit bumpy, but OK. Then you turn left as if you were going to the Azul Fives / Petit Laffite, and this is where it gets really bad. Holes and rocks and dirt all along. The entrance was actually moved when they built the Fives. I think they are rebuilding a road (I saw tons of brickes alongside the road) but it will take some time... DH said he would definitely ride it on a scooter though. - the mosquitoes. They had a blast with me... Well, you're in the jungle and so it's a mosquito paradise specially if they have fresh meat. The hotel provides with citronnella candles and spray at night and they do have mosquito repellent everywhere but it's not enough. We went to Walmart (remember that you cannot carry insecticides through customs...) and bought the whole line - spray Baygon casa y jardin (house and garden), mosquito repellent spirals, electric mosquito repellent for the room (with the liquid)... even with that, it was a war. We used our water guns when we got tired of spraying We also tried to make friends with the lizzards we saw but it did not work out well. The mosquito netted door was always closed... - the service is... not constant. The day to day stuff is great. The waiters, the spa people, the maids... great. The things that are actually done are also great. But ask for things that are a bit out of the ordinary and wait and see... For instance : I left a CD with the video music at the reception for our videographer (I had forgotten to give it to her). When she came to pick it up, 5 hours later, it was nowhere to be found. They had to come get us out from dinner, they looked for it everywhere... nothing. It took them 3 days (3 days !) for them to get the CD to the office of my videographer. Dinner on the beach : they just forgot it ! Glad we did not program it for the last day !! They put it up the next day and it was so awesome, really, but what with forgetting it ? Bookings at the Spa : wrong hour, and booked for 2 instead of one... We wanted to go to Hidden Worlds. I mentioned it. They said they would book it for us. I said yes OK I can do it myself but let's get pampered. The day before we left, I called them because I had not heard of them, and, oh no, they could not book for us (but did not let me know), so I finally got on the computer and did it myself... So really, if you ask for things, follow up !!! If you follow up it will be OK. On a money note : everything at the resort is expensive, except for the laundry ! However, the quality is almost always there, and I have to say that they did not charge us with everything every day. For instance, we would get a few drinks and find out two of them (one each) were not charged (it happened several times). We have not used the travel agency at all, but I read that this is where it's the most expensive. Hope you have fun there !!

We danced to "is this love" by Bob Marley. Well, we tried, my dad "stole" me after 15 seconds !!!!!!!

I got married 10 days ago in Playa del Carmen and it was super windy ! Surprisingly, the flower petals stayed very well in the sand, long after the ceremony was over. My veil was tucked behind my shoulders (elbow length) so it was OK. And we had rented speakers and wireless microphone, glad we did ! We used it both for the ceremony and the speeches.

I'm baaaaaack !!! 11 days of honeymoon and 7 pounds later (yeah guacamole, shots and pina colada ), after what was the most amazing wedding ever ! I'll be posting a review shortly... still waiting for pics though !! My friends are not super fast in posting them...

... where we're honeymooning. It's already "bringing back memories" for me, this is so awesome The bride and groom are super elegant. The bride is beautiful, radiant. I am so happy to be there even if this is just as an anonymous in the crowd. Just wanted to share a bit of happiness from the still flu-free Riviera Maya

A little update ! They DID open all of our suitcases even though we got a green light... they started to look through them and several times asked us how much thing did cost... also asked FI (that I had briefed), so we always answered to the same question by different persons : 500-600$... I did not show I was speaking Spanish and I could hear them look through the items saying " this is not expensive". They were clearly looking for expensive stuff. I almost had an issue with the disposable cameras but pointed out they were rolls, not cameras... and it went well, they let us out. They missed the expensive stuff which was the flowers...

We are now almost a week after, and I still have wedding dreams... am I normal, doctor ?

The biggest hits for us were : - Alka Seltzer. Everybody drunk so much they were pretty much used after the Friday night !! I should have put some more in the hungover kits - After-bites wipes. Big hit. - Deet-free mosquito repellent. Some guests did not have mosquito repellent at all. Others went to natural reserves (Xel Ha, Xcaret) were insecticides are not allowed. Was a great hit ! - Aloe. A lot of people got sunburnt despite the welcome booklet advise... - A lot of people used the Tums, Advil, and Immodium too... - The hibiscus coin purses. Everybody used them to put their pesos in. - the pens - the "meet the guests" pages - everybody loved it The stuff not used : - the energy patches. But they should have, everybody was pretty tired ! - the door hangers. Funny to make but not used at all. The stuff I don't know about : - the bags. Not used so much as the hotel here does provide beach totes, but might have been used in other places (guests continuing their vacation). - the spanish for dummies - the flip flop bookmarks - the flip flop post-its (got these for posting messages on doors) - the favors (plantable). I will find out later if people planted them ! The stuff I should have had : - hand sanitizer. Yeah that was about that time ! But I had not planned for it at first and could not find any once I got here. Happily one of my BM found some in Houston before leaving (after a hunt...) so I put some in a basket on the bar during the cocktail with a little tag saying "active flu prevention" on it that I had prepared the night before leaving

Quote: Originally Posted by drtracy FI and I are in Cancun right now. Everything here is perfect. One person with mask at airport & a few workers at airport had them around their necks but not on, weird. They did take temps when leaving airport but didn't say anything or have us fill anything out. There are several kids here as well. No worries ladies it all seems like paradise to me. We haven't gone into city because we just got in yesterday but I'm sure we will & I'll report more when we return. Right now going to eat my breakfast in bed. I heart room service! Drtracy, you got it right : this is also paradise to me ! Yesterday night we had dinner and drinks in Playa and nobody is wearing masks or anything. The only weird thing is thinking today is Cinco de Mayo and the streets were pretty empty for a day that important. Your wedding is gonna be awesome ! I am starting my honeymoon today. I am looking forward for the archeological sites to reopen (normally, tomorrow). Have fun !!

Hello girls, I need a piece of advise here ! During our photo shoot after the wedding, my dress got wet at the bottom by walking too close to the water. It is silk, and it made a ring at the bottom. The dress also got filthy from sand and the stuff they put on the wooden floor (the most worrying - orange-like stains, the product is probably an oil or some waxy stuff). I originally wanted to preserve my dress to donate it and got another dress for the TTD. I'm now wondering if my dress is not ruined anyway... and if I should just use it for the TTD (which is tomorrow). Any advise here ? Do you think the rings can go away ? And the stains ? Thanks ladies, Ayita

Hello girls ! I just wanted to say hi ! My wedding was so amazing. Everybody had a blast ! We ended up the party at 4:30 in the morning with DH's brother, DH's best man and some guests from the hotel that were really cool and that we had invited to party with us after the dinner so nobody would be left out. The weather was amazing, the food delicious, the hotel staff perfect, the wine amazing, the music awesome. My Dad stole my first dance (he stole me after like, 10 seconds of me dancing with DH) ! My mom was so drunk she does not remember somking a cigar or seeing the cake even though she was sitting next to it for almost an hour ! She was dancing like crazy ! Both our families, that were meeting for the first time, got along so well that it was just a pleasure, not being stressed about anything. The Friday night welcome drinks helped a lot as it allowed everybody to meet before the ceremony itself. EVERYBODY used their Alka Seltzer - I should definitely have put more of that in the OOT bags !!! I hope everybody here have the same experience. It was just what I had dreamt of - perfect wedding in a perfect place on a perfect day. Can't wait to see pics !

Hello Ladies !! Just a little word here to say I had such a wonderful wedding on Saturday !! I was sad to be missing some of my closest friends, that had to cancel for very good reasons (one of them has a 2-months old baby needing surgery beginning of June and did not want to take any risk ; another had final exams after a 2-years class and could not afford to be stuck in Mexico if anything happened ; another friend had his flight cancelled... and 2 got threatened with lay-offs). In the end I had 10 guests cancelling over an initial 30. We ended up with two big tables instead of 3. That was even more intimate than anticipated, and awesome. Anyway, here on the Riviera Maya, there are still no cases reported and life goes on as usual. Playa del Carmen is alive with restaurants and bars open , the sun is shining and the wind is blowing. The only thing is, the archeological sites are still closed. We are still staying for our honeymoon though ! My wedding was fantastic. I will write a review when coming back, but everything went so well. Juliette from Papillon Weddings took care of everything and I did not have to move a toe. The hotel has been super accomodating with everything, specially given the circumstances - a very good come back from a bad start. A lot of people told me it was the most moving ceremony they attended. I can't wait to see my pictures and video - I feel that everything went so fast I did not really enjoy it enough. Also, I'm a big photog myself and feel so strange about not having taken pics myself. Can't wait to see. I asked Claudia Rodriguez if she could send me one or two teasers to help me wait ! We'll see. Well ladies that plan to go to Mexico - honestly just go - or wait and see and don't re-plan everything ! Right now the Riviera Maya is safer than Houston or NYC (everything is open air and there are no cases), there's really nothing to worry about. People start to realize it's not that serious - within two weeks it might just get solved. I'm so glad I went. The stress of the first 3 days was terrible - receiving mails and text messages and calls of people who could not decide and wanted US to tell them what to do - or people just cancelling when we thought they would come... but starting Friday, when most of our guests arrived, everything was so great. Have a good day, I will post pics soon ! Ayita

Hey ladies ! So I thought I would give you a quick update ! Here everything is awesome as there are no problems here in Playa del Carmen (whereas there are problems in Houston so I'm actually better off here !) 10 of my guests have cancelled so we are down to 22. This is still a party ! We are getting married tomorrow as planned ! And I will have to stay away from the office for 72 hours when I get back. My parents were going to Cuba afterwards but had to cancel. Apparently all airports are closed in Cuba right now (which sounds strange to me but this is what I heard). And my brother are going to have to stay in quarantine for 7 days when they come back to Singapore... 7 days at home !!! Other than that, everything is fine. I hope the archeological sites reopen next week when we're on honeymoon... otherwise we might shorten it maybe. Did not decide on this yet.

Hello everyone ! I'm currently in Playa del Carmen and it is soo nice here. Although archeological sites have closed, restaurants bars and clubs are open. Also there are less people than usual, making it real cool. There are still no reported cases of flu on the Riviera Maya. The only noticeable signs is a few people here and there wearing masks, and the pharmacies being out of masks and hand sanitizer. I honestly feel safer here than in Houston, where a kid died from the flu and did go to a big mall while sick... Think about it : Cancun is farther away from Mexico City than Houston is (807 miles versus 749) !! And I don't think the border will be an efficient barried, even if the flu has no visa to enter. And there are 49 cases in NYC - none here - why would it be safer to fly to NYC than to Cancun ? I also still don't think it's a big issue, because people that die actually remainined unattended during a long period of time (the first woman was treated for throat infection, then pneumonia before they detected the flu ; same for the kid) and don't necessarily contaminate their relatives. I also notice that people that gety sick on flights are only a few. i.e., it's not the whole flight that get sick but only a handful. So is it that contagious ? Also, the death toll does not increase. Anyway, I'm here getting married tomorrow. 10 of my guests cancelled so we will be around 25. My family is there (and my bro will get quarantined when going back to Singapore) ; DH family is there ; and a few friends (I'm missing two in my party and DH 1). We still plan to have a good time ! And on return I will be working from home for 72 hours - sounds like extra vacation to me !

Quote: Originally Posted by Blkatz so I went from a wedding of 42 to a wedding of maybe 18. I have cried the entire day. Pretty much besides myself-fiance doesn't get it-I keep telling him that i have wanted this wedding since I was a child and now it might not happen because of this flu situation. I literally have hired a DJ, a photographer, a videogapher-and will now only have 18 people if i am lucky. UGH. I really dont know what to do now Blkatz... as I was saying in the other post... what you should do is marry the man of your dreams, and enjoy every bit of it ! Have a blast with the DJ ! Never regret the photog and the video that will capture these beautiful moments. It's like eloping, with the people that really care for you. It's gonna be awesome, just as you dreamt it. I checked in online... my office that was looking like Martha Steward's annex / UPS annex is now empty and it is so strange... the limo comes at 9:30am... I can't wait ! My parents were in Mexico City airport a few hours ago, for their connection. They told me half of the people wear masks. Excellent ! This is eactly how we should treat ANY flu. In Japan, as soon as somebody is sick they wear a mask... why not here ? Anyway. Wash hands people ! And enjoy ! That's all I have to say !

Oh my god Blkatz I am so sorry ! If I did not get married on the 2nd of May as well I would come to your wedding I don't know how many people will end up coming to mine. I know my parents are already there, my brother is flying out tomorrow, and some friends are already vacationing in Cozumel. As far as I'm concerned - i'ts enough, I really just needed DH, and if it's not a big party with everyone, well it will still be the beautiful day when I marry him and I hope you can just feel the same... do it for you, and DH, and the few faithful ones that will be there with you. ENjoy every bit of it. Don't ever think about how it should be - or you will fail to enjoy this moment that will remain one of the most beautiful of your life. My heart is with you. Ayita

My TA is currently on the Riviera Maya on a trip visiting resorts... she does not even MENTION it. My parents took their flight to Mexico from Paris this morning. No problem. Hoestly girls, it's just the flu. People die from the flu every year, much more that the small number of people that sdied from the swine flu. Take necessary precautions - wash your hands often, consult a doctor if you have flu symptoms - but that's it. I leave tomorrow and I'm not cancelling anything. If my guests chose not to come, it's their choice, I'm not going to try and convince them, nothing. If DH and I are in Cancun tomorrow at 3pm, we'll get married on Saturday, no matter who's there who's not. Cancelling for a freak-out that journalist looooove and spread as they looooove to do it ? No way. I don't have TV at home and only read news on paper - and believe me there's no panic on the paper... less sensational media...