SSNM

That is so nice of you! Welcome

Hi and welcome. Everyone said it beautifully so I must just concur. You'll find a lot of support and good resources here. Happy planning!

Nice post! Thanks. So far I have been able to go under budget for pretty much everything I set out to buy. I bought a wedding saree with dupatta (veil) for $600 that would have normally been $1500. My fiance and I got a great value on my e-ring which came with a matching band ($3500 for 1.4 carats plus sidestones). Instead of buying indian wedding jewelry set for $300, I will spend $10-$50 on a really nice rhinestone necklace that I will wear as a tikka/tiara and accent with a nice necklace and earrings from my repetoire. I am really happy with my spending so far and I hope to keep it up. With you guys as a great source of advice, I am sure to have no problem

I completely empathize with the original poster. When I was planning my local wedding, it annoyed me that I could not tactfully ask for monetary gifts. Most people would consider it poor form if a guest didn't bring a gift to a wedding so you'd think some clear direction on what the bridegroom needs would be appreciated. I mean here I am spending an insane amount of cash to host a respectable event only to receive unuseful gifts -- very poor ROI. However etiquette is etiquette and I do not want to put a loved one in an uncomfortable position of asking for a gift they might not be able to afford to/be comfortable with giving me. Now that I am planning a DW, I am saving a huge chunk of cash so I can look at that as my 'monetary gift.' Therefore, I will tell my guests not to bring gifts; I would not want them to throw more money into my wedding than they have already anyway. Heck, if I don't even want to throw a lot of money into it, why should they?

My gut says do the church you love. I don't perceive 50 minutes as a particularly long time, but if it is a rough commute (i.e. rough road, uncomfortable seating) then it can get over-bearing. If you are impartial, then chose the closer church for time and comfort purposes. Or as previously suggested, provide water, snacks, and/or a comfortable drive for the further church.

mouse: ratatouille

Okay I know I am reviving a really old topic here, but I wanted to ask this question. 1. Short of just never going in the water and constantly carrying a fanny pack with your valuables, how do you keep your passport, money, and credit card secure while on a vacation away? It is impossible to not travel with these and these are things that would be a target for thieves. 2. Do they sell water-proof flat fanny-like packs that you can just strap onto yourself and swim with while on vacation? If such a thing existed then at least you could keep all your important documents and money on your person at all times. 3. Would it not be prudent to encourage all guests to check the resort's policies on theft before booking so that you know what to expect if something were to happen? That way, a hotel with an inadequate theft policy can expect to see a lot less bookings than one that did.

Who does the photography at Dreams Palm Beach? Is it photosouvenir or another company? Also, do the private dinner packages include open bar, or is that extra?

Just wanted to say thanks to you all for being so open with your budgets...it really helps to get a realistic idea of what a DW costs and it also makes you appreciate the warmth of this forum and everyone's willingness to help

Your review was definately helpful. Thank you so much!

Quote: Originally Posted by rickmarcie I'm currently in this same stage. We have decided the only way we can afford a wedding is to do a destination. Now I'm not sure how to tell our friends and family! Do you send different invitations? We plan to have 1 -2 smaller "gatherings" post wedding in our home towns-- do you just not invite people to the actual wedding? Do you invite everyone and keep your fingers crossed they don't show? How do you word all of this in an invitation? I'm getting worried about this step.... I would strongly advise against inviting everyone and hoping they won't show -- I have heard of too many times when that back fires and once you invite someone, you can't un-invite them without completely assaulting etiquette. For the people who don't know you are getting married and you can't accomodate, just don't send them an invite. If someone realizes they are not invited and asks you why, just say you are having a small ceremony and unfortunately you can't invite anyone. It sounds cut throat, but it is just that. And I think most people will understand and not be offended. Those that are probably never planned a wedding or clearly have no sense of what it means to be on a budget or have no appreciation of the fact that some people just simply want an intimate wedding and not a circus. Those are the people who are really not worth worrying about anyway.

lol, I am adjusting to the island time thing myself. I my wedding isn't until summer 2010 so I guess I just feel I have time. I'll send my questions and I no longer feel the need to send fifty more to get a response. Also, I am realizing how busy these WC's must be -- they seem thoroughly overworked. No point in me harrassing them especially when I am not even sure if I will end up choosing their resort.

I suspect it is a value for money thing. RIU tends to have really good packages for weddings and ROR, I believe, is the cheapest of the 4 RIU's in Jamaica. It is the only wedding package I have found in Jamaica that will accomodate up to 60 people for ceremony and reception for less than $3000. The RIU chain also has a good reputation for being a good resort.

Quote: Originally Posted by JENANDKEV Thanks for the info No problem

I just got an email from Dreams Palm Beach that you do not need any documentation to have a symbolic ceremony; therefore, you could just do the symbolic, have it exactly how you want it, when you want it, and then sign papers in your own country afterwards (or before if that makes you feel better). But just like everyone has said, go with your gut. I, too, want my first wedding kiss to be the one where I am legally married so I completely feel your angst. But I still think what happened with your friend's wedding would be the most ideal situation because you get the benefits of both worlds; a personalized ceremony and then the legalization in the same day in a nice and very cost effective resort; a rare combination as far as destination weddings go in my opinion I am soo going to ask about that!

Well, if you look at it this way, they probably got to have the ceremony in english, which is definately preferred by me and for guest comprehension (no one in my family or my FH's family speaks spanish). As long as the minister didn't interrupt the ceremony to take over and we just did the paper work afterwards in the background, you still end up with a beautiful ceremony and it still counts as a legal event. AND it all happened there in the same day which is what one would want anyway. Heck, even if the minister showed up the next day and we signed papers, that would be even better because the actual wedding day event would have been fully enjoyed and then the minister just shows up after to do the boring paperwork...heck I may even push for that myself! What would have been a piss off, is if he a) never showed up, or he interrupted the ceremony, or c) you had to repeat the ceremony all over again in a lack lusture setting for legal purposes. I am with you when I say, do it once and that's it. In this case, that is what happened so I would be happy.

Quote: Originally Posted by taratoons If you don't mind me asking, was there a huge difference in price between the Dreams and the Riu? And why was Palm Beach not what you wanted? We have narrowed our choices down to Dreams Punta Cana and Dreams Palm Beach based on package prices, and are taking a planning trip in July to choose between the due. Any information you could give me, positive or negative, regarding Palm Beach would be really appreciated. :0) Along similar lines to this question, what is the difference between RIU palace Punta Cana and Dreams Palm Beach in terms of the quality of the resort? From a package perspective, I find the Dreams package to be more adaptable to the couple travelling alone while the RIU catered more to those bringing guests, hence making Dreams more affordable for couples marrying without guests (from what I can tell). But I have never been to these resorts (or any all inclusive resort for that matter) and so I really want to make sure I pick a good one. Any advice would be great.

Hi Soccergurl, I am so glad your wedding came out amazing despite the previous problems you mentioned. Dreams definately sounds like they have a definate method to the madness. I, too, am wondering about the above questions..

Does anyone know if you need a birth certificate to marry in Costa Rica? My FH has lost his and I would really like to have a legally binding ceremony abroad (doing the city hall thing locally is an absolute last resort for me). Most websites where I read up on legal requirements never say that you need a birth certificate although one resort I came across listed it as a requirement.

I am set on being able to get legally married abroad. For me, separating the two is anti-climatic. My budget it pretty tight, so I was hoping to consolidate honeymoon (which my fiance really wants) and a nice wedding (which is what I really want) in one nice package. If we just sign papers for the legal stuff, then really any ceremony/vacation after that is just expensive fluff. When I was planning a local wedding I didn't even consider having a honeymoon as I didn't think we would have enough money left to do so. It also makes it harder for me to justify asking my family to spend up to $2000 for the 'expensive fluff'. It is just my quirk that I will have to get over if I am going to persue the DW thing. On a positive note, Costa Rica seems to not have the birth certificate requirement...I will have to look into that and maybe I won't have to get over my quirk I noticed that you are set to marry in Mexico. It is my understanding that many people who marry there opt for a symbolic ceremony because of the tedious and/or unclear requirements to have a legally binding ceremony in Mexico. In such a case, it would be in the best interest of the destination wedding industry there to not have any particular requirements for a symbolic ceremony. My family is very anti-mexico unfortunately with all the stuff that has been going on there recently so probably not an option for FH and I unless we want to go by ourselves.

Well, so far, it is an issue; I have been informed that it would be virtually impossible to marry in St. Maarten's and at a few villas in Jamaica without the birth certificate -- none would accept his other documents. Looks like I am doomed to have a symbolic ceremony if I want to have a DW unless he can somehow get a copy from Bangladesh. Sigh...slowly trying to let it sink in, but it seems so anti-climatic to me . I was hoping the DW would just be the real deal and be done with it. Anyone know an officiant where I can just go to them in my jeans and just sign the piece of paper?

Well that would most certainly make sense. Thanks for the info

Okay so I just got an email back from RIU in Dominican Republic that has the following description of the free wedding package for 2010 brides: "Free Wedding Package: Only at the ClubHotel Riu Bachata; available with the booking of 5 rooms. There is no limit on the amount of guests for the Free Package (up to the maximum capacity), just as long as 80% of them stay at the resort where the wedding will be held." Having said that, in the email I was told I would be informed of the price when I talk to the wedding coordinator at the resort...so a bit of a mystery...I guess we will know for sure when 2010 rolls around and we start seeing what other brides experienced. As for the "maximum capacity" it said lower down in the brochure that it is 60 people. This seemed to apply to any package you go with free or not, but I'll just post what I got send and let the reader decide. RIU dominican wedding info.pdf

Thanks Jen! I'll try to fill in the holes as soon as I get a response. I read on some other threads that said the cut off was 50 but then they may have been for 2009 packages and not 2010...not too sure.

Okay found the thread: http://bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/t46285 Thanks.