DCcook

Hi, I'm sure Elizabeth has more insight, but just to chime in...there is Hacienda Xcanatun, which is VERY close to Merida...just on the outskirts. It's beautiful, and it was my 2nd runner-up location. Many of the ones that I was interested in were somewhat isolated, including the one I ultimately chose -- Hacienda San Jose. I was concerned about the distance from Merida (about a half hour) but I just fell in love with it, and we got engaged there so why not! There might be others outside of the Yucatan that are closer to a city or beach but I just looked in the Yucatan. I'm sure you'll find the perfect venue! Good luck!

My oh my! I'm beginning to have heart palpitations as I sift through these posts and face the realization that November is just around the corner! I'm so impressed with everyone's wedding planning progress. Sometimes I feel like I'm in good shape but other times I feel like there is so much to do. I see that many of you have guests that have already booked. We are not using a travel agent so it's a little hard to tell at this point who is coming and who isn't, though I have some idea. Anyway, this is a good reality check! It's good to see how everyone is moving along! Happy 4th!

Thanks for the feedback, ladies! I was thinking that I probably shouldn't sweat it since our wedding party is already not very traditional. GinalynL, I have not asked my niece but it's a great idea! LOL My sister (her mom) thought she might be too old to be a flower girl, but I probably should just ask her and I'm happy either way - whatever she wants to be!

Hi girls! I was wondering about your thoughts on this one. Our wedding party is very untraditional to begin with - on my side it will be my sister, my BFF, and brother with no "MOH." On my FI's side, it will be two buddies, and a woman friend (no best man). My niece is 11, and at first I had been thinking that I'd ask her to be our flower girl but I'm now thinking that she's probably outgrown that role. So, I was thinking about a jr bridesmaid instead but that would mean I would have an additional person on my side and no flower girl. I think we're asking my nephew (her brother) to be our ring bearer, so that may help even things out. We don't have other young children attending our wedding so I think this may be all we have. Is this ok? or too lopsided on my end? Would not having a flower girl but a ring bearer be strange? Thoughts? Thanks for your advice!

I'm beginning to worry about this, too. I feel terrible for the May brides who are dealing with this right now. My guests don't seem to be freaking out yet, but I was just about to send all the hotel information to guests when this flu broke. I figure that they're probably in no hurry to book their reservations right now so I'm trying to focus on the things than I know I will need -- regardless of where the wedding is -- like the mens' attire, etc. Trying to stay positive...

You may have already decided what you're going to do since I see your question is from a month ago, but I'm doing both a band and DJ. However, our package happens to come with both. They do 45 minute sets plus 15 minutes of DJ music in between plus 1 or 2 hours (whatever we decide) of DJ in addition to the 4-5 hours of the band playing. I think I'm going to use the DJ time during dinner and have the band play during the dancing part of the night, or start right around the dessert course. I'm just trying to decide how long we should have the band play. I wonder whether the band playing from 8-1 is too long...

As much as I love cooking and entertaining, I am not going to register for fine china. I honestly don't have the space to store it, and we'll be moving around from time to time. I don't feel like I'm missing out, though so if you feel like you are, you should! I am not registering for everyday dinnerware either as I have built up a good collection over time. I do strongly recommend buying porcelain everyday dinnerware, however. Perhaps down the road I'll invest in china if I find that I'm suddenly lusting after it.

I've been using Wedding Window and really like it. I would have gone with a free one, but I liked the templates on this site the best. I also like the email blast feature to send email updates to our guests and even electronic STDs for our friends across the globe since snail mail wasn't a good option for some of these folks. Other providers may offer this, too. Not sure. I purchased a personal domain name as well through GoDaddy as well.

Thanks for the feedback, ladies! I think the suggestion to do the cocktail hour through 7 is good and wrap up dinner at 8:30ish and start the dancing around then. beachbride2009, I hope you get the pics you want after your ceremony. That's what I was initially planning, but our photographer strongly suggested doing the pictures with enough daylight. In the end, I don't mind switching it around. The hacienda is beautiful...my only concern is that it's about 30 minutes away from anything else and not everyone is staying there. So it will be hard to keep the partying going for everyone. Hopefully, it will go okay. It's great that you have a nearby cantina to go to!

Thanks! I don't feel all that organized, especially since I don't even have my website up and running like you do (looks great by the way)! I appreciate the feedback on the timeline! I'm still fiddling around with it and am on the lookout for how others are organizing their big day. We'll see...

Hi everyone! I'm starting to think of our wedding day agenda and when we should start things off. I'm wondering what other people are planning or how your wedding day looked in terms of the timeline. I'd like to have a ceremony at dusk. The ceremony and reception are all taking place on the grounds of the hacienda we booked. Our photographer has recommended taking pictures before the ceremony, by about 3:30 since the sun sets around 5ish in November. So, my timeline is looking like this: 3 or 3:30 Pictures with my groom and wedding party 5-5:30ish Ceremony 5:30 or 5:45 Cocktail Hour w/mariachis or a trio 6:30 or 7ish Dinner starts 8:30 Dancing This is where things fuzzy for me. I'm thinking we want the band (we're looking at booking a live band) to start perhaps towards the end of dinner. How much dancing time is good? I envision the night wrapping up around midnight but I don't know if 3.5 hours of dancing and music is too long. Also, some folks will be staying at the hacienda with us, but there is not enough space. So some will be transported to their hotels about a half hour away (we'll provide a shuttle at various time of the evening). This makes things a little dicey in terms of an after-party since some may be interested in keeping the party going even after the last shuttle. What are others thinking? A daytime or evening wedding? Are you having a cocktail hour? What does your timeline look like for the day of your wedding? Thanks for the tips in advance!

Hello everyone! I'm in search of a great salsa band. We're getting married in Merida, Mexico. It would be great to find someone local to Merida, but we are also pulling vendors from Cancun and the RM, which is not too far away. I've seen recs for Balance La Banda and La Mata (I'm not sure if the latter plays salsa or not). Are there any others that I'm missing? If people have had experience with the two above, I'd also appreciate your feedback! Thanks! Melissa

I'm definitely hacienda-bound. They are SO beautiful, and I like that they're off the beaten track. I have checked out a couple of these in person. Xcanatun is beautiful, and the events coordinator is great and very and top of it. I'm still deciding between haciendas, but so far, I'm finding that the events staff are very flexible and allow for your own vendor picks.

Hi, everyone. Just introducing myself. I'm Melissa, and I'll be marrying the greatest and cutest guy In Nov 2009 in Merida, Mexico! I'm looking forward to hearing about everyone's planning for the big day. Saludos!