Paula0509

Quote: Originally Posted by latown9958 A little inspiration I received from my father via email this morning. ( Mind you my father is a 56 yr old white male/Chemical Engineer.) Bring 'em out, bring 'em out, it's hard to talk wif' da swine flu in yo' mouf................. HAHAHA god love him..... Also another email i received this morning from my wonderful WC at Pueblo Bonito Sunset Beach in Cabo - Hi Lauren, Cabo has not been affected and all restaurants, bar, resorts and activities are working as usually. Laura Ortíz Wedding Coordinator PUEBLO BONITO OCEANFRONT RESORTS & SPAS [email protected] Love the note from your dad! Also, we received a note from our coordinator in Cancun, at the Casa Magna Marriott, saying that they have no Swine Flu issues there, either. Again...this is all being blown so out of proportion by the media...

Hi Ladies, My fiancee just got a call from his friend who works for the Associated Press, asking to interview us for a story about how DWs are being affected by the Swine Flu. I'm on the fence about this one - we're still planning to continue with our May 30th wedding in Cancun, for about 80 people. Is there going to be a lot of backlash that we're irresponsible for doing this? I hope not. I think a lot of people out there (especially my guests) know that the media is blowing this way out of proportion...

Hey ladies, I know we're all really down about this....I feel like I've been making myself sick about it (literally!). Anyway...I had to post something a little lighthearted courtesy of "The Daily Show". It made me and my fiancee laugh our a$$es off, and helped relieve some tension for the time being. Enjoy! Snoutbreak '09 - The Last 100 Days | The Daily Show | Comedy Central Hang in there, ladies!

Same here - we're also making it legal the week before we leave for Cancun. We were going to have the civil ceremony down there, but didn't want to have to worry about the blood tests/paperwork etc...we just want to relax as much as possible

Hi everyone! Has anyone used/booked a cigar roller for their event? We're thinking of booking one for the night of our rehearsal dinner (our reception is indoors, so no cigar roller needed in there ), but not really sure where to begin looking for one, or what the rates may be. Thanks!

Hi! Yes, we are bringing our own priest down to Cancun. He is a family friend, so I really wanted him to perform the ceremony. When we were looking at churches, we ran into no issues with bringing in a priest -- there were no extra fees or anything like that. The only thing I'm not sure of is whether or not he would be authorized to perform the legal ceremony...my guess is no? We're having the legal ceremony in the US (and as of recently, our Catholic ceremony, too...long story...but we're still bringing our priest down to perform a symbolic wedding/offer a blessing). In terms of costs...we're paying for his flight/hotel. Hope this helps a little!

Quote: Originally Posted by MsSunshine I'm so sorry to hear about the church situation. Does the Marriott Casa Magna no longer perform catholic ceremonies there? I know a bride who had a catholic ceremony there last year in the gazebo. What they did was enclosed the gazebo to make it an alter. Her wedding was amazing! I wish I could have my ceremony at the Marriott, but unfortunately, as of very recently, Catholic Weddings are no longer performed there, either. I guess there was some sort of new rule by the local bishop saying that Catholic weddings can only be performed in a church.

Bad news....Looks like Iglesia de Cristo Recusitado is booked for our date! Needless to say, I'm extremely frustrated/stressed at this point....we have 75 people coming to Mexico, and our ceremony site has been pulled out from underneath us, with 2 months until our wedding date. Please please does anyone know of any other Catholic churches in Cancun (or within a 20-25 minute drive?) that they can provide photos of, or have contact information for? I've seen lists of Catholic churches in Cancun/RM, but really have no idea how far they are from our hotel (CasaMagna Marriott), or what they look like. I want a church that reflects the beauty of the area...while I love traditional churches, this was something I could have at home, and was really looking forward to a truly unique church to have as part of our memories, as were our guests. On a side note, we're contacting the Marriott to let them know to STOP recommending this chapel (Immaculada Concepcion) to its guests, since it cannot be used for Catholic ceremonies. Had they told us this information up front, it would have saved us this headache as we wouldn't be scrambling to find a place for our ceremony... Any suggestions would be so appreciated! I'm sort of freaking out here....

Perfect - I'll look into this. Thank you!!

Quote: Originally Posted by michp Did they tell you more about what the problem is? My sister is booked to get married at the same chapel- i think- the one on 5th ave in playa She hasnt been told this - yet- by our church? Basically, in all Catholic churches, there is a place in the altar that is blessed/has a part of the Eucharist (communion bread) that is always kept in the church in order for it to be considered recognized by the vatican as a church that can perform catholic ceremonies (this is what I was told by the lady handling our paperwork at our church in the US.....but even with 12 years of Catholic school as a kid, this was news to me ). We are bringing our own priest to perform our ceremony, and since luckily he speaks spanish, he's trying to get in touch with someone working at the El Pueblito Hotel/Concepcion Imaculada Chapel to see what he can do. I'm supposed to hear back from him this week to see what happens....

Hi, We booked our Catholic ceremony for our May 30th wedding at the "Capilla Inmaculada Concepción" at the El Pueblito Hotel in Cancun; however, we just recently received a call from the church we're filing our paperwork with in the US, saying that we can't use this church because it's not recognized by the Vatican! I guess this church does not meet the requirements necessary to be able to perform a ceremony recognized by the Catholic church. Needless to say, I'm scrambling to find a church for our 75 guests. I'm especially bummed because this church looked sooo cute in the pictures -- it had a great outdoor element that I thought would be so fitting with the destination wedding vibe. So with that, does anyone know of any Catholic churches in Cancun? I hate to sound picky, but I'm really looking for something that is bright and airy, and embodies the feel of Mexico/destination wedding as much as possible. I've researched online but haven't had much luck, especially when it comes to finding photos of the churches. Any suggestions would be so appreciated! We'll need to book something asap so that our church in the US can continue processing our paperwork in time for our wedding (can take upwards of 2-3 months...eek)

Quote: Originally Posted by JaimeLynne I think that is a very generous gift! I know I would love to receive that I'd put a note with it saying "this is for a drink of your choice by the pool!" or something like that. I'm sure it will be VERY appreciated!! Maybe you could even work with the hotel and ask how much it would be for a group rate of these... maybe they will sell you drink tickets specifically or something like that. This might work out in everyone's favor - that way there wouldn't be like, say, $2 wasted on the gift card if the drink only cost $8.... does that make sense Anyways, think it is a wonderful and thoughtful idea if you can afford it!!! What a great idea -- I'll definitely ask the hotel about this. Thank you!! We're waiting to see how some other expenses net out to see if this is something we can afford to do, but I'm really hoping it works out! Thanks for all of the great feedback, ladies!

Thanks for your response! Actually, that brings up a good point....what do you think would be the minimum for a gift card to make it worthwhile to guests? In a perfect world, I'd love to do $15-20 cards per couple, but I don't know if that will be feasible. Would $10 be too little though? If included with other little things in the gift bags (water bottle, mini-sunscreen packet, advil, etc.)

Quote: Originally Posted by kstinson1503 Hi Paula, I'm not the bride (I'm the big sis of the bride that got stuck doing all the planning , but I am planning my sisters wedding for May 28th, 2009 at the Casa Magna. Where did you decide to do your reception? That's what has me stumped at this point. I can't decide if we should do it in the carribbean fountain area, which is nice b/c it's shaded but still open, or to do it in the garden area. We don't have a huge group going (only 25), so I don't want to use a huge space. Did you do a site visit? Glad to hear that someone else choose the Casa Magna too; it looks beautiful. Sounds like you may be done with your planning, so if you have any suggestions, I'll take what I can get KIM Hi Kim, Oh how I wish I was almost done with planning! We actually just got our guest count - 75 people - so now that I know that, I feel like it's full speed ahead! As far as the reception location, we did not do a site visit, so everything I'm doing is based on recommendations/ photos. We're having the cocktail hour in the Pool Garden, and then the dinner is in the ballroom. At first I was hesitant to have the reception indoors, but then, after giving it more thought, I figured that not only is the cocktail hour outside, but our church is sort of outside-ish (a chapel at another resort), and the rehearsal dinner will be on the beach, so I was okay with having an event indoors. Plus, the outdoor events have to have the music end by 10pm, and i wanted to party to go later into the evening than that (our ceremony isn't until 4pm...though I'm considering pushing it back to get more of a sunset view during the coctkail hour). Oh and also, to see pics, I found this very helpful...it's photos from previous weddings at the marriott.... del Sol Photography Wedding Photojournalism Best of luck with your planning! Is your sister having a DJ or a band? We're having a DJ, but I'm a little nervous b/c I have no idea what to expect. Keeping my fingers crossed! Please don't hesitate to contact me if you have any other questions!

Hi, Has anyone used/considered using hotel gift cards (ie Marriott/Hilton, etc.) as part of what they plan to put in their OOT gift bag? We'll attach a little note with the card saying it's a little something they can put towards meals, drinks, spa services, etc. Our hotel is not all-inclusive, and knowing that our guests are spending a good amount of money to be at our wedding, I was thinking it may be nice to give them a gift card to use at the hotel for whatever they like. I think we would also put things like bottled water, advil, etc. in bags along with the gift cards, but I figured people may prefer that as opposed to things they may not use, or may not have room to pack in their suitcases? Is this tacky? Do think this would be appreciated, or would people view this as sort of awkward?? We are having 75 people at our wedding, so the gift card wouldn't be for a lot of money - maybe $15-20 per couple? (enough for 2 drinks by the pool...) Again, I'm mostly worried about the "tacky" factor here...Please help!