Destination Scout

My friends live in Mites. I'll have to read about all of these great suggestions. Thanks!

How fun! Very sexy.

I understand completely. I've been a single mom for 13 years and never developed any real friendships in that time. I moved to a new state to be with my fiance when he proposed (I had lived in CA and he lived in AZ) and moved away from my family and co-workers. I had to pay for my mom to even attend the wedding. My dad wouldn't even come even though I offered to pay for his flight. One of my co-workers in my new office threw me a bridal shower. It was small, and I didn't know many people but I was touched by the fact that I even received that. I really found that I couldn't dwell on the fac that I don't have normal relationships. That's just not who I am - but it did make me sad if I thought about it for too long.

I haven't heard from them in quite a while either. I would definitely just stop by. They will drop everything to help you once you are there. On the price, I would just start negotiating. Their quote of $150/person includes, a 5 course dinner and an open bar and tip. I do not believe it includes the priest/shaman for the ceremony or any entertainment. But you should definitely ask. Her original quote to me for dinner was $100. When I told her it was too much she mentioned that it also included fire dancers and that if I wanted to arrange my own entertainment she would work on a dinner menu in my budget of $50/person. We agreed on a very pared down menu. However, what they ended up serving was quite a feast. I probably would have paid $75/person for our actual meal. It included: ceviche guacamole grilled prawns, lobster tail and fish (yes, that's three entrees per person) nutella & cone wonderful mousse cake two glasses of wine/person We ended up doing drinks a la carte and bringing in our own tequila. I know that the government has been cracking down on the liquor laws though, so it would be reasonable for them to deny this request at this time. We ended up having a three day bartab of $500 ($25/person). So that being said, if I had to negotiate the dinner and an open bar again I would be comfortable paying between $100-$130/person depending on your menu. Good luck!

Easy Cruise docks for most of the night until 4AM, but they don't cruise the Carribean any more. They only cruise in the Aegian and the Greek Isles now. I think the hawaiian island cruises dock over night, but I don't know of any in the Carribean. Maybe someone else knows more, or you can find a private or smaller cruise company. I have a friend who is a captain. I'll ask him this weekend how one would go about renting a boat and captain. How many people and how much per person were you expecting them to spend?

Perfect TDD! It looks pretty sturdy and like it won't catch a lot of sand in it. Great choice!

Does anyone know of any easy and/or inexpensive flash applets you can add to your website that you can use to create a slideshow on your website without frames? I've found a few easy applications but they all put the pictures in an ugly black box. Thanks!

I don't know whether this is the right place for this, but I thought I would throw it out there in case anyone is interested. I'll be spending 10 days in Germany attending a girlfriend's wedding at a castle. I've never had any interest in visiting Europe, but now that I have started researching it, I am getting very excited. If anyone has any suggestions on where to visit, or any questions for your own research, let me know.

And have fun in Tulum! I'm rather jealous.

Hi Marie, We had our reception at Milamores. Pam and Alberto, the new manager there did a wonderful job!!!! The hotel is spectacular. There are so many different rooms that you could use and I felt like a princess staying there. We didn't do a fancy cake, but the chef at Milamores made one for desert that was so light and creamy. It was a wonderful desert but I have no idea how it looked before they cut it. Here are pictures of my wedding and reception. Dreamtime Images and my review that includes a link to my pictures of the area. PM me if you have any questions. http://bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/t41016

Congrats! We were married in Tulum in Feb. and thought the weather was perfect. It was a little breezy and needed a sweatshirt in the evening, but we liked that. If you like things hot though, I would suggest May. It is more humid, but not unbearable.

If you would like to do a boat cruise out of Tulum you'll need to contact a catamaran out of Akumal. The only problem is that the cats that leave out of Akumal do not have sonar, and do not run at night. Tulum night activities are tough since it is such a quiet town and so for away from anything else. Your best bet might be to throw your own party. Does the Gran Bahia allow you to bring in dance instructors, DJ or band? What about hookups for an iPod? We had a full blown reception with salsa instructors, iPod music and a photo booth. We only had 20 people but it still ended up being quite a blast. I have contacts for entertainment down there, so let me know if you need any help.

I am so sorry. That is heartrending.

I don't know what your price range is, but I like TURQUOISE JEWELRY - Turquoise Necklaces, Earrings & Rings- NOVICA

I also had a hard time with justifying the expense. However, I found that by looking at alternatives to resorts such as private villas and boutique hotels I was able to cut costs down to $150/room/night. With airline tickets at $350/person that totaled about $725/person plus food/beverage/ground transportation/events which usually tacked on an extra $300/person for a 5 night stay. The expense still narrowed the guest list down to about 20 people but I felt good about giving my guests a high value experience. They also enjoyed the non-resort vacation because most of them are experienced travelers and really wanted to experience our destination rather than an expensive hotel.

Our ceremony was at sunrise so we had brunch, a treasure hunt and then a cooking class.

I was under the impression that you couldn't take live flowers through customs. I chose to toss my real bouquet since I had live flowers.

I had a backless, spaghetti strap dress and I have A not perky boobs. My dress was very thin and showed every wrinkle. I ended up having cups tacked into the dress and using double sided tape on the inside of the cups, to my skin to make sure they stayed in place. They weren't really my boobs, but no one could tell the difference.

I've done Chichen Itza, Ek Balam, Coba and Tulum. I think that Tulum is the easiest and really nice, especially if you hit it first thing in the morning before all the tourists arrive. Another option for Tulum is the night light show, but that can be hit and miss because they keep changing the days that it is available. This is a beautiful, fully excavated site on breathtaking cliffs overlooking the ocean. It is easy to walk around the sites and read all the markers, getting a good idea of the history and architecture. Coba is the second easiest for you, and it is also very nice but be aware that this is a huge property and it's not very well marked. In order to really enjoy this site you need to hire a guide ($300 pesos) once you enter the site, and then rent a bicycle after your tour in order to ride through the entire area, because it's huge. This is not a very touristy area but unlike Tulum or Chichen you are allowed to climb and explore anything. It is set in the beautiful jungle and the day trip ends up being more like a hike through the jungle with ruins then a ruins tour. My most favorite set of ruins is Ek Balam, near Vallodolid. It is half excavated, a 45 minute tourwill cost your $200 pesos if you find another family willing to share the guide with. It is an older set of ruins, so it is pure mayan, and only partially excavated. They also have the third highest mayan ruin in the world (taller then Chichen) and they allow you to hike all the way up. They also have some beautiful original plasters that have been so well preserved that you can still see the carvings. You can also combine this trip with the cenotes near Vallodolid, Dzitnip and Ik Kil which are beautiful cavernous, but small cenotes. It's easy to visit these two cenotes and have a pleasant lunch in the quiet little colonial town of Vallodolid if you either rent cars or hire private transportation.

Welcome. Here is my wedding review, which I held in Feb. 2009 in Tulum. It's a beautiful area and I highly suggest it. Let me know if you have any questions. http://bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/t41016

It should get there within 2 days. If it doesn't, you're bank should research the transfer and return the money to you.

I don't know how you are used to traveling, but if you'd be comfortable with staying at a less familiar place, I would suggest breaking out the Lonely Planet at staying somewhere that may fit in your budget.

He's embarrassed by you! WTF? I am so sorry you are going through this. This is completely unacceptable. Would you let your friends talk to you that way? I'm sorry sweetheart, but you cannot have someone in your life that feels that way about you. It's not healthy. Hugs!!!

Hey Prarie Girl - I just wanted to check in and see how you were doing. Your co-worker sounds like a jerk. Have you figured out how to get around him yet? How is the job search going?

Great job! I love your BM dresses. Have fun, everything will be beautiful.