emme

Quote: Originally Posted by CowtownBride2B To all you Coba girls - did the coordinators give you an option besides the jacuzzi area for a private cocktail reception? I asked the coordinator, she replied and answered my other question but ignored the one about other location options. My concern about the jacuzzis is that there isn't really a good set up there, but it's so hard to tell from the pics Karla sent me. So for that matter anyone have any good photos of a private cocktail receptiona at Coba? Thanks so much! I had the same concern as you...so we ended up having our reception at the "quiet" Coba pool. We had been there 2 years before our wedding so I pre-arranged this location before we got there. I had seen both locations in the past and just knew that the jacuzzi pools didn't have the space that the quiet pool did...and it was in a bit of an odd shape to make it functionable for the size of our group and the setup space that the DJ would need. In my opinion...what we chose was perfect! We had 40+ people so there was more than enough room for tables and dancing in front of the DJ as well as a cake table. It was also right next to the bar for drinks...and the kids had a great time playing on the hammocks right next to everything. We also took a dip in the pool towards the end of the night because it was SO HOT!! Myself included...wedding dress and all...heehee Another thing that made it even better was that our entire group was staying in villas 22-23-24-25-26 and these are the villas that surrounded the quiet pool which made everything really convenient. Ohhh...and another thing that was quite handy was the snack bar being right across the bridge from the reception. We went with the cheapest cocktails...so if people were drinking hard liquor (rye, rum, vodka)...they could just run over to the bartender at the snack bar...although the bartender did sneak us a bottle of Jagermeister

Quote: Originally Posted by Raykel Thanks Keira. That is the only part I am still confused about...I know a couple of people who told me they just left their marriage certificates in Spanish, dropped them off at AMA and voila. Another friend who just got married in the Mayan last year said that they had to get the marriage certified in Mexico and then translated and registered somehow here...it was so much hoopla they decided to do the legal marriage here and vow renewel there. Just getting the whole thing done at once like you are sounds so much easier! Quote: Originally Posted by TeNeil I too am confused about the cost and lagalities involved with the wedding certificate coming from Mexico. A friend of mine was married in Mexico last year and says that technically she isn't married in Canada because they haven't paid some other fee that is required in canada? Makes no sense to me.... I guess I better go to city hall and get this figured out. I may be able to help you ladies from Alberta out with this dilemna because I have just been dealing with all of this over the last month. I did not have to do any extra work or spend any extra money to get everything "legalized" here. I chose to bring everything (official marriage certificate) back home with me so I could have it translated and certified here. Before I went to all of the trouble to translate...I thought I would just bring it in to the motor vehichle / registry branch to see what they would say. It turns out that they see so many Mexican marriage certificates and as long as they can make out the location of the wedding (Tulum, Quintana Roo, Mexico)...we were good to go!! I was so impressed!! The first step for me was the name change on my drivers licence and my vehicle registration. One tip that I found out AFTER I did this at one business...is that if you are an AMA member...they will do this all for free. I wish I would have known before I paid for it. Now that I have recieved my new drivers licence...I can go ahead and start changing everything else. Some places just need a verbal change...others need a copy of the licence and marriage certificate. The only thing that has been even a bit difficult is doing a land title name change. We owned our house before we got married so the land title is in my maiden name. This process has me filling out a form, having it signed by a notary public (free for AMA members), and sending it all along with my original marriage certificate (yikes!) to Edmonton, AB for them to be able to do this change. Unfortunately I cannot change my home insurance information until the land title is changed and states my new name. I must say that it has been much easier and certainly cheaper than I thought it would be As far as "legalization" goes...the way that I think about it and rationalize it...is that if you and and your husband lived in Australia and were married in Australia...and then you moved to Canada...you're still "legally" married...and your marriage certificate is still not a Canadian marriage certificate. I believe that the certificate is the thing that makes your marriage legal...no matter what country your marriage took place in. That's just my own logic to the whole deal... TeNeil...I haven't heard anything about a "fee" to make things "legal" here...seems odd but I am curious... Hope this helps everyone out

We started off our processional with my husband walking both his Mom and my Mom down the aisle...one on each side of him. We wanted our Mom's to feel special and thought it was a nice touch. After that, then came the rest of the bridal party and then me with my Dad. It's really a personal choice and whatever you're comfortable with...no "rules" with destination weddings

CONGRATULATIONS and Happy Wedding Day Keira!!!!! I hope you are having an amazing day and a great time in Mexico

I went with Shutterfly... I love it!!

Quote: Originally Posted by KLee147 I have a quick question for ladies that have already been to the resort. I tried searching the thread but I couldn't find anything on if there is a cost for the in room safe. If there is can anyone remember what the cost might have been? Thanks! Hi Keira...I am soooooooo excited for you...you leave on Saturday!!!!!! Have an absolutely wonderful time As far as the safe goes...we've been to the resort twice...once flying with Air Transat and we had to pay for the safe which was about $5 per day ($35 USD for the week)...and for our wedding, we went with Air Canada Vacations and the whole group received all of their safes for free!! One thing that I should strongly recommend to everyone is that you need to know what is included with your tour operator!! The front desk people tried to charge some of our guests for safes (ACV is free)...and make sure you ASK for a safe lock / key because they didn't offer it and some of our guests had to go back the next day to line it up. Also, ACV has a contract in place where the late check out is available (at no charge) based on availability. We didn't leave the resort until 5pm so late check out was a bonus...BUT...it took me 45 minutes to convince the front desk person that our group didn't have to pay $10 an hour for a late check out...AND...we only ended up with about 1/2 the rooms with a late checkout which was okay because people just put their luggage in other rooms for the afternoon. If you know what your "extras" are...print it out and keep it handy in case you need it. OH!! And one more important thing about paperwork!! I had MANY suitcases going down there because we took a bunch of our own wedding decorations and supplies (program fans, tealight holders, bug spray wipes, etc...) and I got the "red light" going through customs in Mexico. They went through all of my bags, asked me if the items were gifts for people, as well as a few other questions. I answered their questions and told them that I had receipts for everything so they they took a look at my receipts...and then they let me go through. I can't say what would have happened if I didn't have any receipts...but I'm glad that I did...just in case. Okay...and just one more tip...LOL!! Bring bug spray!! We have Watkins insect repellant cream and it worked wonders!! At dusk and at night, there are sooooo many mosquitos. That was the biggest complaint...and the fact that it was the hottest freakin' October in like 9 years or something like that!! It was HOT!! 41 degrees one day with 100% humidity!! Crazy...but just a good reason to stay in the pool and drink

We just got back from our wedding in Mexico and we just went with the "regular" vows...although we did a ring exchange with our 3 children (blended family) so we wrote special vows for them... "As a symbol of our family's love and commitment, I want to give you this ring. I hope that it always reminds you of how much you are loved and that you are a very important part of our lives" We kept it short and sweet because once you say the same thing to each child (3 times) it ends up being a few minutes long and we also wanted something that we could recite from memory. I must say that this is the moment that had everybody in tears!! When we started placing rings on our children's fingers and opening our hearts to our "step" children and pledging our love to them...wow...the waterworks began!! It was touching...

Quote: Originally Posted by KLee147 <--- goes out to Nicole!!! She is getting married today!! Woot woot! I know you aren't reading this Nicole but I wish you the best of luck. Quote: Originally Posted by KLee147 Oh I want to make a quick shout out to Emme!! It's her wedding day today and I hope she is having a fabulous time!! I wonder if her and Nicole have met yet? hmmm. Thanks for the shout out I was married on Thursday (15th) and Nicole was married on Friday (16th)...and we got to meet on the day of her wedding as she was walking through the lobby in her wedding dress. I went up and introduced myself and congratulated her and her new husband. Nicole looked absolutely beautiful... I plan to post a review but am waiting on my pictures before I do...but in the meantime...everything was absolutely AMAZING!!! Karla and Christian (Coba WC's) are FANTASTIC!!! They went above and beyond for our whole group. I am a very "particular" person and they took care of every single detail that I requested. It was wonderful. Sorry I can't be more help with the photography issue because we brought a friend with us (as a guest) who is a photographer here at home. We didn't run into any trouble whatsoever...and I really believe that since she was a guest it was a totally different situation. Please feel free to ask me any questions about anything and I will try to help out as best as I can. I will keep you all posted on the review as soon as it's done...hopefully sometime this week...

WOOT!! In 10 short hours we will be boarding a plane to Mexico!! I'm super excited!! Just thought I would say a quick "hello" on BDW before I go and say THANK YOU to each and every one of you for all of your posts...they were sooooooo helpful!! Talk to you all soon... Nicole ~ I will see you in a day or two...YAY

Hi Ladies...I thought I would come and take one last peek at BDW before I hop on a plane in just 10 hours!! I'm super excited!! I would love to get together with you all...so just let me know what dates work best for everyone and I will try to work it out. I know already that I can't make it for the Nov 14-15 dates because we're going on a "honeymoon"...well kind of...we're going on a road trip to see KISS in Vancouver and will be gone for about 5 days. Keep me posted...and have a great week!!

Thanks for the congrats Janet!! And thanks for the tips on name changes...this is perfect and cheaper and less hassle! I will go in with the Mexican marriage certificate and see what they say first. The worst they can say is "no" and then I'm back to my original plan of doing the translation...

Hahahahahahahahahaha...

Mother of 6...Father of 4

I am feeling pretty good this week...BUT...next week it's all going to hit me and I will be a basket case

I have a thought... Does Air Transat refund your money to your travel agent so you are able to use that money with another company...like Westjet? If you look at the WJ website...there is an awesome seat sale right now if you just did the flights. It would be about $732.00 round trip including taxes (for the flight). The website just doesn't say how many seats it has available. This is using your dates (Nov 3-10) and from Calgary to Puerto Plata. Also...I'm SURE that if you contacted the RIU...and asked them what your best option was for a room rate...they would give you a sweet deal because you're already booked. If they refused...they would simply lose your business because you would have no choice but to go to Punta Cana. Personally, I think they would be silly to not give you a kicka** deal. How does that sound? Like alot of work...but at least you would get to keep your dates and location. Just a suggestion Hope is all works out...

Quote: Originally Posted by theiseli CAN ANYBODY TELL ME ABOUT HOW TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR WEDDING IS LEGAL BACK IN THE US? JAZMIN HAS BEEN PRETTY VAGUE WITH ME. THIS IS WHAT SHE TOLD ME THAT WE WOULD NEED... these are the only 3 documents you need to present, no translation, no any additional document. 1).- Valid passport (English are fine) 2).- Tourist card (that will be receivied once you arrive to our country at the Airport) 3).- Blood test be done here at our Medical Center at the Hacienda Doña Isabel that is at the main entrance of our 3 resorts Note, the 4 witnesses need to present valid passport or valid driver license + touristic card (please make sure your card have the complete number of code on top " it is like 11 numbers behind a cod bar"). IS IT REALLY THAT EASY? WILL WE HAVE TO PAY ANYTHING EXTRA OR DO ANYTHING EXTRA TO MAKE IT LEGAL IN THE US? From what I understand...that's all you need to make it "legal" in Mexico...but then you need to take an extra step once you get back to your country in order to do your name changes and everything. When we get back from Mexico, I am going to have the marriage certificate translated from Spanish to English through a translation company in Calgary (2 to choose from that I can find)...then I can take this english marriage certificate to the motor vehichles agency and have my name changed...and whatever else needs to be done. Sounds pretty simple...I sure hope it is

Nicole...I completely agree with Keira about the speeches. We have 2 full hours to have dinner...so why not mix it up a bit with the speeches...when everyone is there and you have everyone's full attention. We are not having anything formal (for speeches)...but we do plan to say our thanks to everyone while we are all seated for dinner. My Mom actually asked me about this last week and I told her that nothing was planned but if she and my Dad wanted to say something, dinner was the time to do it. Save the reception for dancing and the PARTY!!

Quote: Originally Posted by BahiaBride16 Yay!! I wanna start packing SOO bad, but I know as soon as I start I'll need something! I feel the same though, as soon as the packing starts it'll really start to sink in!! I gave all of our OOT Bags out on the weekend (they were a total hit!) and we had a pub night for the wedding party to all meet each other on Friday and then my suprise bridal shower on Sunday! All I basically have left are the appontments too, picking up my dress, waxing, manicure, pedicure etc. I can't wait!!! :-) That's so awesome!! The next 12 days are going to go by so quickly for the both of us!! We will definitely have drinks...and we'll cheers SusieQ for her birthday...and cheers ALL the BDW brides

Quote: Originally Posted by KRama Emme! You're leaving in 12 days!! That is so exciting!! So what last-minute things are you working on right now? Or are you an ultra-organized bride and have everything done already? I am starting to freak out a little I think that I have all of the DIY stuff done...except the program fans which will only take about an hour tonight because they are halfway done. I gave out my first OOT bag today and my friend LOVED it which made me so happy!! I will continue to give the bags out this week and just be saving any of the bags for people that are flying out of different provinces. Other than that...I've been mostly focusing on the last minute appointments...dress fitting, nails, ring cleaning, pedicure, etc... Next weekend I will pack and then things will really start to sink in

Quote: Originally Posted by KLee147 Ah ha. I think you're right. Thanks!! Oops...I meant the map is from 2007 (not 2005)...but I think they did make a few changes. I am also curios if they still have the Oriental restaurant at the Hacienda...because that was the best!!

Quote: Originally Posted by Lady_Di I would love to have a party like that! Where did you guys get the dresses from? Thrift shops? It was a blast!! Most of the dresses are from Value Village (thrift store)...and a couple of them are from boxes in our storage rooms. Some of the girls wore our grad dresses from 1991...

Quote: Originally Posted by KLee147 Ladies I've just sent you all a copy of the .pdf. Emme hope you don't mind just thought I would help a sista out. That's awesome! Thanks so much

Quote: Originally Posted by KLee147 This is fantastic! I just have one question, I don't see Portifino on there, am I missing it? I wonder if it is C5 where El Charro is supposed to be? This brochure and map was from 2005 so maybe they changed the name??

Quote: Originally Posted by krayzeekitty what a great idea - have a blast and please post the pics! Quote: Originally Posted by Jtswedding Thats so funny can't wait to see pics!!! Pictures are on page 2 of this thread... Quote: Originally Posted by Lady_Di The pics looked great!! Is this like a bachelorette party? Sorry, I'm not familiar with the term of stagette. Yes...stagette = bachelorette...just like a stag = bachelor...all good times!!

What a great DIY idea and they look awesome!! I wish that I would have done that when I sent out my STD's...