Emmers

Not ready for a count just yet, but thanks for sharing the site! Will definitely bookmark that.

By the way, here is Sascha's website if you're interested: Destination Wedding Photographer for Cancun and Riviera Maya and the rest of the World

We're using Sascha Gluck as well. I've seen his name already posted on here. He has more competitive prices than some of the other area photographers, and he just won an international wedding photography award! I think he was the only one from that area to win We're really looking forward to working with him.

Adorable! All of your efforts will be worth it because they look great

Quote: Originally Posted by finleys7 Emmers, I wasn't even thinking about place card until Amy had mentioned it. Karla and Reyna haven't said anything, I guess it can't hurt. But it's just another thing to worry about. When people get assigned a table they don't get assigned a seat. how will they know who is sitting where. Unless if we put the name and table number on the card and flip it over with the meal choice...it's still not that viewable. I am going to wait this one out, until she says something...UGH! Finleys - We're in luck, I think it was a Lindo thing. I contacted Karla/Reyna about it, since we are also at the Italian Restaurant. We were informed/confirmed that they just need a total count. No need to do individual place cards, so one less detail to worry about!

Tom Hanks: (among a millions other movies) Philadelphia

Hi ladies and congrats to you both! Everything I had read recommended that you send them out anywhere between six months and a year in advance, but more than likely 6-8 months in advance. I think we ended up sending them out six months in advance...to the day. A year in advance is sort of pushing it because a lot of the hotels don't even have hotel pricing out until a year in advance. So you may have trouble locking in certain rates or suggesting hotel rates if they have not yet listed them for the following year. Instead, while we waited for the new pricing to come out, we started talking about it and having our families spread the word so people knew it was coming.

This is great! Thanks a lot for posting. Awhile back, we added a page to our wedding website for area attractions and left it as "more to follow," but we have yet to finish that effort. Thanks to you, I think we can do that in a reasonable amount of time! Thanks!

I LOVE this! You did an AMAZING job. I cannot imagine the time that went into preparing this, but I totally want to steal your ideas After all, imitation is the highest form of flattery, right? Congrats by the way!

Voted. Great pic! Good luck!

Thanks all for reading our story! I'm sure your engagements were just as memorable Congrats to you all!!

Quote: Originally Posted by LDeeken Shannon - I think we are going to do Brownies from the Ah Cacao store in Playa Del Carmen. I saw that another Iberostar bride had done that and I thought it would be a great idea. Also, this would be something we could get once we get to Mexico so we don't have to transport something else. My Mom had the idea of having the chocolates delivered to the guest's rooms while they are all at the reception. Then when they return to their rooms they will have a thank you note with a brownie waiting for them! Reyna at the Del Mar said it would be no trouble to have them delivered, just $.50 per room charge. I think we are also going to make a donation to a charity on behalf of our guests. LDeeken - We were planning on doing the same thing with the chocolates or cocoas from Ah Cacao. Do you know if they do any sort of delivery to the hotel? I googled their locations the other day, and they are located in some nearby hotels, but I wasn't exactly sure if they'll deliver (even if for a fee) or if we have to pick it up. I'll probably just contact them and ask, but figured I'd check here in case you knew anything. Thanks!

Quote: Originally Posted by LDeeken Emmers - Thank you so much for sending that over. I cannot believe how expensive the manicures/pedicures are!! I was really hoping to take all of my bridesmaid on the morning of the wedding, but I don't know if I'll be able to swing that. Ldeeken - No problem, and my sentiment exactly. I was thinking of taking my bridesmaids as well until it was more than twice what I expected. It's way overpriced! Instead, I'm sort of thinking of just giving them all gift certificates to their local mani/pedi place and taking the other couple ones in my area to get them done together before we all head down. That way they can come down to Mexico with freshly painted fingers and toes.

Quote: Originally Posted by LDeeken Also, does anyone know the cost of a Manicure and/or Pedicure? LDeeken - Here's another price sheet we received from Iberostar. Only this time, rather than including only the prices for manis & pedis, it includes a list of all their services. Of course, they caveat everything with "subject to change," but it gives you an idea of what you can look to spend. PRICE LIST SPA 2010.xls

Quote: Originally Posted by LDeeken Also, does anyone know the cost of a Manicure and/or Pedicure? Based on the price sheet for optional services we received, manis & pedis are $69 and $79, respectively. I attached the list they sent me. Hope it helps! OPTIONAL SERVICES MAR & BEACH 2010.pdf

Quote: Originally Posted by finleys7 Hello all, I wanted to share with you my experience with the girl who did our invitations. She did such an amazing job in less then a month. I provided wording and information, a few ideas, and our colors and she came up with AN AMAZING invitation that represents me and my fiance and completely set the tone for the wedding. Your invitations look beautiful! Only a few more months!!

Quote: Originally Posted by LDeeken Shannon - I think we are going to do Brownies from the Ah Cacao store in Playa Del Carmen. I saw that another Iberostar bride had done that and I thought it would be a great idea. Also, this would be something we could get once we get to Mexico so we don't have to transport something else. Thanks for the brownies idea. I'm looking into that at this very moment. I love the idea of having something local and delicious. I am also considering Mexican painted tiles as favors, but they may be a pain to get down there (and I'm a little apprehensive about holding off until we get down there to buy them). We figure the tiles would be a nice momento and they can be used as a decoration in the guests' homes or perhaps even as a potholder.

Excellent photos...amazing! Especially the TTD!!!! Where did you take them, and how did you find that cave? And how did you get the pink lighting in the back? Details, details!

Quote: Originally Posted by BlieLena I am looking into on for our cocktail hour too... I have my WC on it, I'll let you know if I am sucessful! Sincne ev I am so close and to throw out any Plan B's would it make sense to have the DJ starting at cocktail hour playing live Bob Marley tracks w/ steel drum songs of popular songs like Red Wine etc.. I ve gone onto Itunes and you can find any song recorded in steel drums style. I would love to start cocktail hour with a very carribean feel instead of the Mariachi Band. I figure since all my guests are staying in Playa they will see them in town Lets keep this post going, otherwise maybe we should start a new band out there Did anyone ever have anymore luck with locating a steel drum band? And the prices that were quoted earlier are a lot steeper than we intended to pay for a single cocktail hour. You just can't seem to find much if you're not actually on an island in the Caribbean. However, we, too, would like more of a Caribbean feel than a Mariachi one. If nothing comes up, we really like your idea about starting off with steel drum versions of songs we like on iTunes. Great idea! Thanks!

Quote: Originally Posted by LDeeken I'm kind of with Amy when it comes to the OOT bags. I have been to wedding out of town where they put so many great things in the bags, but you never end up using them. We are just going to try and be VERY practical. Maybe a mug, inflattable rafts (got these at another wedding and they were amazing), and maybe a lanyard to hold their room keys. An idea my mom came up with was sending our guests a few things beforehand like luggage tags, a travel case for their passports, etc, and a spanish for dummies mini book so they can practice on the plane. Just a suggestion! Also, I think the less decorations you bring down the better. If you just use what the resort has then you don't have to worry about packing more items. We are also thinking of getting our favors from a place in Playa del Carmen. There is a chocolate place called Ah Cacao that another bride used and had brownies for all of the guests. We are going to do that and make a donation to a charity. Thank you everyone for the great OOT ideas. I had heard about the mugs (I think my mom first mentioned it) and it seemed like a very practical item for the guests. The rafts are a cute idea, too, especially since you can collapse them for packing. I really like the idea of sending items in advance, especially the passport cover and spanish-for-dummies. You are absolutely right about the hassle in bringing too much down with us. The wedding dress alone will be quite a feat. We were trying to think on a smaller scale as well when it came to OOT bags - knowing that the mugs will take up a lot of room, we were thinking of things they may need that week, like chapstick with spf, ibuprofin, aloe, etc. Thanks again to all for the great ideas! Emily

After two full days of travelling to Africa, DH & I had finally arrived in Tanzania, ready to embark on a weeklong safari followed by a week in Zanzibar. We could barely sleep the first night due to our excitement and extreme jetlag, so just before sunrise, we got up out of bed, walked over to our balcony, and took in the majestic Serengeti before us. We saw herds of animals for miles and miles, ranging from wildebeest to gazelles to elephants and giraffes and cheetahs to the most amazing colors of birds. Eventually, the sun began to peak above the land, and we saw a pride of lions gathered around the base of a large rock as the leader of the pride stood upon the rock peering out to the assembly. At this moment, we strangely heard the first few bars of "Circle of Life." Then the most amazing thing happened, a monkey appeared and stepped onto the ledge of the rock and took the newborn baby lion in his hands, raising him to the sky as if inducting him into his new life. Elton John appeared below our balcony and continued singing, “Circle of Life.†A rhino parted from the crowd and came over to our balcony, and DH reached down and took something that was around his horn. Then, DH turned to me, revealed the "something" was a ring, went down on one knee, and asked me to marry him. Just as I said, "Yes," the elephants by the watering hole made horn noises with their trunks in celebration of the beginning of our new life together. Okay, so maybe that’s not exactly how it happened, but it was every bit as beautiful and memorable as the story above. Here's how it happened... The story above started out accurately -- After two full days of travelling to Africa, we had finally arrived in Tanzania, ready to embark on a weeklong safari followed by a week in Zanzibar. Our first stop was Arusha, where we would stay for one night at the Karama Lodge before flying to the Serengeti the next morning for the start of the safari. We arrived at the Karama Lodge, were greeted with fresh squeezed pineapple juice, and directed to our private banda hut to freshen up for dinner. Until then, we had endured more than enough airplane food and the only non-airplane food consisted of a Kenyan “breakfast sandwich to go†we mistakenly ordered that morning, so you could say we were excited for a real meal. We set out down the path from our banda to the restaurant and DH abruptly stopped to turn around for his wallet back in the banda. He quickly retrieved it and we continued on down the path. Once in the restaurant, we were seated in front of the large, centrally-located window overlooking miles of small villages below with Mount Kilamanjaro looming behind it all. We finally felt like we were on vacation. And in the spirit of being on vacation, we ordered a bottle of wine. After our glasses were poured, DH raised his glass to make a toast. A toast to our trip. A toast to us. A toast to our lives. Together. We started talking about how perfect the night was and how happy we were. Then DH took over and started saying how happy he was…and how happy he always is…with me. He got up from his side of the table and approached me, presumably for a kiss. Instead, he went down on one knee, retrieved his “wallet,†er, ring from his pocket and asked me to marry him. I responded (or thought I responded) and we kissed. DH eventually made his way back to his side of the table while I was left with my jaw down to the ground. He looked at me again and asked, “so, was that a yes?†“Of course it was a yes! Didn’t I say yes??†You see, DH had me completely convinced the engagement would occur during the summer. This was further confirmed during a conversation on the flight over to Tanzania, so please pardon my complete surprise and perhaps my inability to communicate when all of this took place. Earlier that day, we met a father and daughter that were preparing to climb Mount Kilamanjaro the following morning. They sat at a nearby table during the proposal. When we had settled down and the daughter could no longer contain herself, she spoke up, “I’m really sorry to interrupt, but we couldn't help but overhear...Congratulations!†Her father immediately approached us and insisted they take our pictures. The father must have been reliving his proposal because he had us run through several different poses until his daughter’s embarrassment got the best of him and he returned our camera to us. The proposal was followed by two of the most memorable weeks of our lives. The Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater, Lake Manyara, Zanzibar -- everything was so beautiful and we got to experience it all together. Quite honestly, we have no idea how any honeymoon could top that trip!

Quote: Originally Posted by Rose13 are you ladies talking about for the legal ceremony (for the translation and all that?) How far in advance did you guys pick your dates? we had to push ours back due to some family stuff but I am thinking April of 2011, but I don't want to have to reserve it now and put it a deposit down till I am sure. (there is still issues with the family, so there is a small chance we may not do mexico). Do you think a year in advance is enough time? rose A year should be more than enough time. In fact, it may be too much time because we realized that some places will not allow you to book until they have the new rates out for that year. For an April 2010 wedding, we reserved our date in August. That said, we couldn't get any other Saturdays in April by then, so we're having a Sunday wedding. I see some people on this forum that are looking to schedule an April 2010 wedding and have not yet booked. I'm not sure what kind of availability they have, but I know they're still trying. Good luck!

Wow. Happy that we are doing all the legalities here in DC. The fiance used to work for a judge (who is now 93 and probably not going to make it down to Mexico), so he's going to do the official wedding. His sister can't go due to her babymaking skills (and bad timing), so she's going to go to the official wedding. If my grandmother can't fly to the actual wedding, she'll probably go as well.

How are people getting stuff down there? We are flying Air Mexicana, so we get 2 bags each, although DH would like one of his bags to be his golf clubs. Even without clubs, it seems like getting 75 OOTs and menus/placecards/programs plus all the other necessary items (we had a destination engagement and DH used a fake ring....this time we need to use the real ones ha) is going to be tricky. Ideas? Other than giving what we can to other people travelling, which may be hard since my family is in Indiana and his family is in NY and FL?