Destination Scout

As the coordinator of the coordinator of the wedding, I'd like to add some clarifying points. DJ Doremixx mixes music well. I've worked in dance clubs and have heard my share of "DJ Train Wrecks", and Ivan is not one. The beats and sounds flow well together. He has a lot of equipment and can offer couples lighting, dance floors, glow sticks. Marie's wedding was complicated by a few things: It is in Tulum - not Cancun, this requires 1 3/4 hour of driving time it requires the use of generators, the hotels are not on city power it was at a venue where Ivan was not familiar with the property Marie had a specific set of music they wanted played I think that Ivan will work out perfectly if he knows the venue, is in Cancun, and the couple does not have strong music preferences. I had attempted to meet Ivan in November. I was at the hotel with a second client who was also waiting to meet Ivan. Ivan was two hours late. Unfortunately, I couldn't wait for him because the bride and I had another appointment with another vendor. However the groom (of the second couple) walked Ivan through the hotel and the layout for Marie's wedding. I trust that the groom did this. He's a wedding photographer and is an expert in weddings and lighting. The groom and I both tried to e-mail Ivan. Neither of us received a response. When I called him weeks before the wedding he was very short, and told me that he had not received our e-mail but he would look for it and reply to me. He didn't want to discuss any of the details. Apparently he found it because he had the e-mail at the wedding. Unfortunately, Ivan was supposed to arrive at noon on the day of the wedding in order to work out all of the additional logistics. I called him at 1:00 and he had not yet left Cancun. When I called at 1:30 he had left Cancun. When I called at 3:30 he had a flat tire. He arrived at 5:00. He laid out his equipment, and had left cables all over the beach. My assistant had to bury the cables because Ivan had no intention of doing this. Ivan had some initial problems setting up the sound and lighting system. He tried to say that it was due to the generator not being large enough, but in the end he got it all to work without any changes to the generator. Ivan did not have time to test his sound system before the wedding party arrived at the wedding party. Because of this he was attempting to test while the guitarist was playing. I had to ask him to change the way that he was testing so that it would not disturb the party. He was able to do so. At another point in the wedding he could not access the couple's play list. He didn't ask for help. Instead he waited for me to approach him, and once I knew what the problem was, I was able to correct it. Just like the tire and the generator, Ivan always has an excuse. Bottom line - Ivan is a good DJ. He's not a problem solver. If you want something specific make sure that you hire a coordinator to work closely with him so that all the kinks get worked out. It's probably better to have a coordinator in Cancun that can physically chase him down and speak to him in person. Regarding Ivan's personal attack and the comment that he had asked why there wasn't any organization and I had replied that this was my first wedding. Maybe there was a translation issue because we were speaking in english, which is not Ivan's native language. The actual conversation was, Ivan: "How many wedding have you coordinated?" Me: "This is my first for someone other than a close friend or family member." This isn't a secret or an excuse. Ivan requires more management time than I gave him. He needs someone to pick him up and deliver him at the venue. He needs someone to show him where to set up the lights and the DJ booth. He needs someone to help him test the setup. He needs someone to clean up after his set up. He needs someone to stop by if music is played that shouldn't be. He is very responsive to directions, and will do anything asked if it requires immediate action. I didn't give him that and that is probably the source of the problem.

Where are you having a reception? It's best if you can use local musicians so that you don't have to pay for their travel.

I definitely think you can skip the programs and menus. They are just going to catch in the wind or clutter up your pretty table setting anyways. I'm so excited that you're day is almost here. I know that everything will go well for you!

Hi Maili, Congrats on your upcoming wedding and your plan for a Tulum wedding. I was married in Tulum a year ago and am headed there this weekend to coordinate another one. La Zebra has a pretty steep site fee, but it is reasonable since they have a strong restaurant business. If you are looking at having a legal ceremony I would say that $800 is a very reasonable coordinator fee. Getting a legal ceremony itself will be around $1000 for all of the court/lab/translation fees. There's a lot of legwork to be done, regardless of how many guests you have. If you get the whole event coordinated on top of that, you are really getting a bargain. Let me know if you have any other questions.

I am so excited for you. I'll give La Zebra a little wave when I drive buy on Cinco de Mayo and send you happy thoughts. Great job! Your day will be beautiful.

Thanks for the post and pictures. Your honeymoon looked like a lot of fun.

Hi Ana, I use Wells Fargo, and they have a service called "Express Send" that allows you to transfer up to $1,500 to Mexico before they charge a fee. It takes a while because they confirm the account before they allow you to send money, but I really like that feature, since I rarely get an account with all of the correct information the first time.

Congratulations LeAnn! I can tell the difference. You look awesome and you've worked so hard.

Charlie & Marie are only $500. Your wedding package should cover the cost of a symbolic ceremony without any additional cost. I would just ask for them to use Charlie & Marie. There may be other people in Tulum that do this, but the only ones that are any good are Charlie & Marie or Dan Poole.

Tara, Your coordinator at Dreams Tulum will know how to contact Charlie. Tulum is a small town and Marie & Charlie are quite famous with the locals.

Hahahahaha! That's rather ironic.

Great job Renee! I needed this weigh in as a good reminder. I'm up half a pound. I only worked out three times last week, and I've become more lax in my diet/alchohol consumption. So this week I'll start journaling what I eat again and get back to the gym more often. Thanks for keeping me in check.

Wow! Great work girls. I can't believe it's almost time for another weigh in.

I started the 100 push up challenge a few weeks ago but then got sick. I need to restart next week. It's a great challenge and I definitely see the difference in my arms.

Yeah Sheri - go enjoy your vacay - and congratulations!

If you are down in the Akumal area I would suggest Esencia Estate | Luxury Hotel Mexico Riviera Maya Mayakoba Tulum Playa del Carmen It's the same prices as any big spa here in the US - but absolutely dreamy. I'm sorry - I don't have any recommendations for the Cancun area. I've seen some cool ones, but never been there. The Rosewood Mayakoba looks great. So does Tides. Have a great time.

You do need to get blood tests for a legal wedding in Mexico. Your coordinator can have someone come to you and do the work. It is not required for a symbolic ceremony - which most girls choose just because it's less of a hassle.

HaHa LeAnne! Poor lady - and she doesn't even know it. Can't help you Manders - I'm on the tiny side. I could use duct tape and it wouldn't matter. On the good side - I can now fit into all but one pair of my jeans. Not very comfortably - but I'm hoping that will happen in the next week or two.

Quote: Originally Posted by Sapphire723 You mean your gym doesn't encourage pantsless workouts? You would think they could do something about that. Right?

Made it to the gym today - only to discover that I hadn't packed any workout pants. So I ran errands instead. Boo.

Very exciting! Congratulations!

Congrats Tash! That is awesome. I'm stuck on a plateau as well, but I think it's a motivation thing for me. I've been sick and busy and I'm lighter than I've been since I moved in with my husband. I need to suck it up and keep going, but I'm happy to wait until my cold rolls into the next phase.

I had the same thought. After discussing it with my husband and photographer we decided that you really wouldn't be able to see the ocean at night, so then you are just left with weather and sand. At that point, we decided to have the reception inside.

We bought a separate jewelry policy through Allstate, who also carries our car and homeowners insurance.

I'm sorry that things aren't going your way. Is there any way you can turn this into a positive? I know you don't want her to hijack - which is completely understandable - but can you give her a "to do" list? It will be very helpful to have someone there before hand. It could actually alleviate a lot of stress.