Brenners

Kellygrrrl, I sent the clear starfish to JBMarch. She should have it by now. Then it is on to you!

I do not know about the free stay so I cannot comment on that. As for the officiant question, we had a symbolic ceremony and we just had him do his own reading. It was beautiful and we are very happy with how it turned out. He did ask us if we wanted to say something special to one another and we did.

Hey MsBlissMpls! You will be so happy you did a DW! One word of advice that Delta employees gave me was do not wait to be last to board your plane. Board as soon as your zone is called so you can have room in the first class closets for your bridal gown. They flight attendants were always very nice and accomodating. Worked out great! Once my professional pics arrive, then I will definitely post! Cannot wait. Who is your photographer? Happy planning!

I originally said no to a veil - until I tried one on! I thought it completed the look and I loved it! There was a breeze on my wedding day, however, I did not feel that my veil was blowing in my face at all. We just got our wedding video back last week and I thought it swayed gently and beautifully in the breeze. My veil was fingertip and I am so glad that I had it!

Like danandjamie, we had the violinist and she did fabulous. We had Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring, Canon in D, a song while we did our sand ceremony (not sure what it was but it was a lovely choice) and All You Need is Love by the Beatles. She was great with all of them!

Also keep in mind the amount of items that you are bringing to your DW. You may have to pay for extra checked bags, overweight bags, or mailing the items to your location beforehand. Also, keep in mind the cost of bringing back anything you bring. Those costs add up quickly and really eat away at anything you may have "saved" by paying less.

We did not get airfare quotes for our guests - just the group rates. 7 days/6 nights, our cost was $1028 per person for the Palace and this included transfers to and from the airport to the hotel. We got our airfare on our own and used our miles for that so I only paid $40. We were originally quoted a slightly higher price, but I signed up on Barcelo.com as a preferred customer (it is free) so I was able to see any specials/deals they were running. I found a lower price a few months later, contacted Wendy and she was able to get them to honor the lower price.

Why is your TA waiting until August to give you group rates? We used Wendy Hicks from Wright Travel and got rates shortly after choosing her for both of our resort choices which was in March/April 2011 and our wedding was February 2012. You may want to go with another TA if she isn't giving you any group rates now. As for Xhail, how long does it take for her to respond to your emails? Typically our WC Lillian woul respond later the same day or the next day but right now is their busy time so it would sometimes take 3-4 days for a response - which I still found to be a pretty good response time.

melcrna80, we went with and offsite photographer as I viewed photographs from other weddings on here and on Unofficial Barcelo. They were ok - all posed shots - but we wanted photojournalistic quality. If you want only posed shots (any many people do like those) then they are the group for you.

Mexico, Sorry that your planning has been so stressful. Lillian was our WC and we had the exact opposite experience. As for the iPod, we did not miss a DJ. One of our groomsmen manned the iPod which was not a lot as I downloaded the wedding dj app so all of our music was organized. Our guests had a great time between our bocce ball/heart game, drinking, talking and dancing. The dj was not missed by us.

The structure of the dress also plays a large role in fit. My gown did not lace up in the back but the boning and structure gave me a nice tight fit. I am sure that you will feel tight but not too tight!

Hi Kristina, I am more than happy to answer your questions. BDW was extremely helpful to me so it is the least I can do for other brides! Everyone tanned quite easily and those who missed spots of skin with sunscreen did, unfortunately, burn quite easily. I used an SPF of 30 and reapplied after each swim. I got a nice tan and no burn. The heat and humidity were perfect. We have been in the Riviera Maya in May and it was hot and miserable - even with an ocean breeze. Our ceremony was at 4:00 because it lasted about 30 minutes and we wanted pictures before and during sunset. Sunset was around 5:45 or so. We originally planned for 4:30 but changed to 4:00 and I am really glad we did as it allowed us time to take photos on the beach and other areas of the resort before we lost light. We had our photographer for 8 hours (1:30-9:30) and it still seemed like we could have used more time with him. We even wound up doing a TTD on the spur of the moment because we had such a good time with our photographer Erick Rodriguez.

We brought our iPod and danced on the beach without a problem. Our guests had a blast as did we. A dance floor was relatively spendy and just not worth it for us.

Kristina the weather was perfect the entire time! It rained once for about 10-15 minutes but we had no idea that it had rained as we were in our room getting ready for dinner. We just noticed that it was wet when we walked outside. It was occasionally cloudy but cleared up and was sunny most of the time. The water was pretty calm most of the time and even when it became a little wavy, it wasn't nearly as bad as the waves in Cancun. I think the reef protects the area pretty well. Temps were 80-82 and lows of low 70's upper 60's.

It takes about 6-7 minutes or so to walk to the Colonial along the boardwalk at a relatively quick pace. If anyone has difficulty walking then that would be something to take into consideration.

My turn finally! The list is long so bear with me! What I Would Do Again: Marry my best friend. I am so lucky to have found someone so amazing and to spend the rest of my life with him. Hands down the best decision I ever made! Get married at Barcelo Maya Palace. We got engaged in Cancun in February 2011 so we were lucky enough to do a site visit at several resorts. It was down to Barcelo and Ceiba del Mar. Ceiba was our favorite but they refused to come down on their prices. We could not expect a couple to pay $6000 for airfare and to stay at that resort so we chose Barcelo instead. We were not disappointed. Our guests raved about the resort, the restaurants, the beaches, the pools, lack of smoking, the cleanliness of everything, our wedding and reception…everything! If you are debating about a resort, I cannot recommend Barcelo enough! Have Lillian Vargas as our wedding coordinator. Lillian was so on top of everything and had it all organized exactly as we discussed. Lillian was quick to respond to my emails and answer all of my questions. If she didn’t know the answer, she would check with the florist, violinist, etc…then get back to us very quickly. Lillian was awesome, sweet and a great person to work with during this whole experience. Also, listen to your wedding coordinators. This is their job and they are professionals. They know what they are talking about so take their advice and recommendations into consideration. Lillian made some great suggestions and we did not regret any decisions based on her recommendations. Choose Erick Rodriguez from Claudia Rodriguez Studio as our photographer. Erick was very patient and fun to work with as my husband and I do not enjoy having our photos taken. Erick arrived promptly at 1:30 and took some amazing photos throughout the day and night. We saw a few as he was taking them but we are anxious to see them all! We also did a trash the dress with Erick a few days later that was so fun. We hung out afterward and swam with Erick and his assistant/cousin Omar. They were awesome people and so great to get to know them. Cannot wait to see our professional pics and will post some later once we get them back. Choose Red{i} by Chelsea to design my barefoot jewelry, bridal bouquet jewelry and bridesmaid’s hair flowers. They turned out beautifully and Chelsea kept me up to speed on her progress by sending me emails and photos to ensure that she was on track with what I wanted. She did an awesome job and will have her continue to design jewelry for me in the future as it is fun, gorgeous and one-of-a-kind pieces. Thanks Chelsea! Wear my beautiful Casablanca bridal gown. Though it took several stores (six to be exact) and umpteen gowns, I finally found the one and never regretted my choice. The look on my husband’s face when he first saw me in it was priceless (thank you Erick for capturing it!) and well worth the wait! Wear a veil. I originally decided against a veil and was just going to have a simple flower in my hair, however, after I tried on a veil with the sample gown in the store, I fell in love with the look. There was a light breeze the day of our wedding which was perfect. The beading on the edging perfectly complimented my dress. It made the look complete. Wear wedges. I walked around on rocky areas of the beach and the beach itself without a problem. I do not think we could have gotten some of the photos we did had I worn flip flops or heels. The wedge gave me great stability and balance. Wear my hair down with partially up on the sides. Many brides are posting that they are afraid of their hair being wild in the wind but my hair stayed in place perfectly. Have the Barcelo spa do my hair and makeup. Karla was fantastic. Many women hire Adrian and his team at $600 + for his services and I think his work seems great, however, the Barcelo Strawberry Passion package comes with the hair and makeup as a part of it so I decided to go with the spa. I had a hair trial in MN and brought photos with me. Karla did better than my hairstylist and my hair stayed in place for 12 + hours. My makeup was fantastic as well and everyone commented on how nice my hair and makeup were done. The few photos that I have seen I think it turned out well. Basically, don’t sell the Barcelo spa short. Bring in pictures and communicate with the staff. They really do want to please you. Choose our reception menu. Everyone loved all the courses: shrimp cocktail, lobster bisque, surf and turf, white chocolate and raspberry tiramisu. The food was excellent and the service from Victor and his staff was astounding. Have only one layer for our cake. The cake servings says 20 but it will feed much more than that. The cake was delicious, however, after 4 courses and a dessert tray that was given to each table (we did not know that we got a dessert tray after our tiramisu and before the cake!) no one could each much. Lillian told us not to get the extra layer and we listened to her advice. Have Coral Beach for our wedding ceremony and Playa Azul for our reception. Coral Beach was quiet and private for our wedding and Playa Azul was deserted when we arrived for our reception at 6:30. So happy with both location choices. Make OOT bags. This was a bit of a pain to be honest, but ultimately worth it in the end. Our guests loved them and used the bag for the beach everyday. We decided from the beginning to keep them simple. Some brides really put time and effort into their bags and they were lovely, but we just did not have the time to do this. I found bags online for about $1.50 per bag including the personalization on the bag with “Mexico 2012†on them – we decided against putting our names on them as we wanted guests to actually use them again! We put inside them the following items: Deck of cards with “Mexico 2012†on the case. Starfish bookmarks for about $1.50 each. Lip balm with SPF 15 with “Mexico 2012†on them for 99 cents each. Hand sanitizers from Bath and Body Works that had tropical scents such as “Mojito†or “Pina Colada†that were on sale for around 99 cents each. Welcome letter thanking everyone for coming and providing a run down of events that we had planned as well as our room number in case anyone needed to get a hold of us. Two pocket folder that held the welcome letter. Notebook with a Mexico 2012 sticker on it. Pen Postcard from Mexico if they wanted to send one home to family and/or friends. Have the bellboys distribute the OOT bags. It cost $3 per room for a total of $18 which was great since we had each guest getting a bag. One room held three guests so this was pretty inexpensive and saved us time from running down each guest to give them their bag. Do a sand ceremony. We wanted to add something special to our ceremony and this was perfect. We purchased a beautiful frame and only added a little sand during the ceremony and finished it later in our room. We now have a gorgeous reminder of our wedding. Keep the decorations simple. The only decoration we brought with us were place setting frames that had our guests’ names on them. We gave Lillian our guest list seating chart for each table and the staff set up the frames at each table. Guests could take them home and put a picture of their trip inside as a reminder. We had thought about bringing LED candles, vases, sand, shells, starfish, etc…then decided against it and we are so glad we did. Our guests thought the reception was decorated beautifully and we could not agree more. When we drove up with Lillian, my breath was taken away at how gorgeous everything was. Any other decorations would not have made it anymore beautiful. So glad that we did not do anything more. Not stress about the wedding. I actually enjoyed my wedding day as I had complete faith in Lillian and Barcelo to make our day special. Did things go perfectly? No. Our JOP either forgot or was never told that we were having my husband’s aunt do a reading so we had to tell him during the ceremony. No big deal as the reading was done (superbly by my husband’s aunt!) and the world did not come crashing to a blazing end. I knew that there would be little missteps along the way and knowing that made it easier to deal with them when they happened. It added to the day actually and made it that much more special. Go to a florist prior to finalizing our flowers. We struggled with choosing flowers so we went to a local florist, found flowers in our colors, arranged them then sent Lillian pictures. She sent them to the florist and voila! Our flowers were exactly what we wanted. Having pictures of what you want helps quite a bit with the language barrier and makes communication that much smoother. Do an all-inclusive. Our guests were impressed with the food and top shelp booze at the resort. There were so many restaurant options and the drinks were made perfectly. Limit my alcohol intake. I never had a hangover and felt great everyday. I took advantage of the all-inclusive and certainly drank more than I typically do, however, I wanted to enjoy each day so I drank a glass of water with each drink to limit the amount I consumed. Wear sunscreen! I never burned which is more than I can say for some of our guests. They forgot to reapply after swimming or did not do a very thorough job so some were lobsters for all or part of the trip. Remember to be careful in the sun! Use our iPod for our reception music. We chose not go with a DJ and we are so glad! We created an event on FB and had our guests make song requests. We downloaded them onto our iPod and played the music during dinner and our dance. Everyone loved the music and had fun. One of our groomsmen was in charge and he loved playing DJ. Saved tons of money and no one missed the DJ. Have a game for getting us to kiss. I stole this one from Avens. We drew hearts in the sand, had Lillian get us some bocce balls and we had our guests try to make it inside one of the hearts. If they hit the target, then we kissed. If they missed, then they had one of three choices: kiss someone themselves, sing a song with the word love in it or take a shot of tequila. Our guests got so into this game and had so much fun! It was a blast and everyone got involved. Thanks Avens for the idea! Do a trash the dress. I had no desire to do a trash the dress but Erick said he was free the Tuesday after our wedding and he would love to photograph us at the cenote across the road. We took him up on the offer and loved every minute of it! Cannot wait to see the photos. The photos were fun to shoot and swimming afterward was a blast! What I Would Not Do Again: Let my family stress me out before the wedding. We had talked to everyone about a destination wedding after we got engaged and everyone said they were on board and would for sure be there. Then many people in my family told me I was selfish after we booked and said they could never afford to go to Mexico. They said many nasty things to me and no one in my family wound up attending our wedding. In the end, I did not think about my family once during the wedding or reception and I had a total blast! My family loves to create drama so I would not have had fun if they were there so it worked out for the best that they chose not to go. If anyone else is experiencing family drama, please do not let it get to you or ruin or change your plans. The people who truly matter will actually be there and that is all that you need. Trust me. Have my FIL come down on Wednesday and leave Sunday. He needed a lot of guidance and help and it did not allow us to spend much time with other guests since we basically did a lot of babysitting for one person who had no interest in beach, ocean or pools. He just wanted to sit in the lobby all day. My husband was able to go with him to Coba on Friday and they both had fun but really, he should have come down Thursday and left Sunday. Have our stay the same length as our guests. We arrived a day before our guests, however, that was spent organizing our OOT bags and meeting with the wedding coordinator. We left the same day as most of our guests. We had very little down time and wanted to spend more time together before and after the wedding. The resort is huge so we were able to get away from our guests, but there was always someone wanting to join us for dinner, lunch, breakfast, drinks, etc…which is why we wanted a DW but some extra time alone would have been great. Missed the opportunity to thank the violinist and JOP after the wedding. They both left quickly and I honestly have no idea what the violinist even looked like! We had to give their tips to Lillian as we did not see them after the wedding. I could go either way on this but maybe a little extra time with the videographer as he recorded the ceremony and immediately after but we only have photos and no video of our reception. I only wish we had video of the toasts as they were lovely but not sure it would be worth the extra cost for just capturing those moments. Maybe bringing our videocamera and having someone in charge of it would have been a better option but we had no room in our luggage! Have only the three hour reception. It went by so fast. We wish we would have added another hour or two but the cost was pretty high so we decided against it.

Love your dress! Mine is a Casablanca 1918 and I agree that the lace was fairly lightweight. I did not want to take mine off either. You wedding looks beautiful! Congrats!

Hi Nixen. Our guests stayed at the Palace as did we. However, there are two Palace hotels - Oaxaca and Michochan and while most guests' rooms were in Oaxaca like ours, they were far away from us. Our WC grouped our guests together on one end of the hotel and us closer to the beach. We ran into our guests here and there but we could easily escape to anywhere on the resort - even on the Palace end - and not run into our guests if we chose to be alone. There are so many pools and the beach is so large just at the Palace that you have plenty of space to go wherever you want.

pommie in aussi, I am so sorry. I went through the same thing as none of my family attended my wedding when they originally all said they would be there when we discussed a destination wedding a year ago. I knew my parents could not make it as my dad's health was poor but he would not be able to make it to a church next door either so that made little difference. Then my dad died in March 2011 and everything went to hell. My family thought I was selfish for continuing with our plans for a DW and told me so many times. My wedding was last Saturday and my brother paid for his family to fly to FL and go to Disney World which is more expensive than Mexico to let me know that he thought nothing of me and my wedding. But you know what? I don't care. If my family had been there, it would have been non-stop drama and no fun. Instead, I had my FI's family there and our closest friends - all of whom support and love us both and were so happy for us. I did not think about my family at all. I called my mom the morning of our wedding to be kind but did not call again until after we go back. I had the wedding of my dreams despite my family's best efforts to ruin it for me. I realize that I do not want or need people like that in my life and it doesn't matter if they are "family" because people who truly care about you would never treat you like that. Have your wedding the way you want it and the people that matter will be there. Ignore anyone else.

21. Choosing bouquet jewelry. I got myself added to the clear starfish passing thread and had the little guy in my bouquet for my special day. That was my something borrowed and I felt like I had all those brides with me on the beach. It meant so much to me! I also asked Chelsea to create bouquet jewelry for me and she did not disappoint! They were lovely pink, white and clear crystals and pearls. They added a little sparkle to my flowers and even my FI commented on how nice my bouquet looked!

Adding a bit more for today! 20. Choosing bridesmaid and groomspeople gifts. I went to Things Remembered and got each bridesmaid a necklace that fit her style and had them engraved with her name. The jewelry boxes were free when you paid for engraving so I had each one engraved with something special from me to them. My FI bought one groomsmen cuff links from Things Remembered as he wears a suit and tie everyday to work and the other an engraved flask as he used to be a bar manager. My FI bought his female groomsperson an amber necklace that was lovely as she was looking fro jewelry to bring a little color to her khaki dress. 21. Choosing jewelry for me and the bridesmaids. My FI had me covered with diamond earrings he gave me for my birthday, a diamond necklace he gave me for Christmas 2010, and a diamond bracelet he gave me for our wedding day. I also wore a pearl bracelet that I purchased for myself. For my bridesmaids, I gave them the aforementioned necklaces as well as hair flowers created by Red {i} by Chelsea. Chelsea also made beautiful barefoot jewels for me that I wore for the reception as the wedges were too difficult to wear on the deep sand at Playa Azul. I also wore them for my trash the dress session. The females guests loved them and all wanted to know where I got them. Check out Chelsea's great jewels as you will not be disappointed!

Hmmm...have you considered getting married legally in the UK after you move? You would have to update and get a new visa but that might be less of a hassle...

kisekae, we got married legally in the US and were asked to give an address where they could send the marriage license in case we moved. We were not moving so it was the same as our current address. I would go online to your local government office website and/or call to find out what process you need to follow as that will be your safest bet. You may need to do your legal ceremony in Canada first but can keep it secret from your guests. That is what we did.

Choosing a resort. We got engaged in Cancun February 6, 2011. We were lucky to be able to perform site visits across the area – from Cancun to south of Playa del Carmen. We even did site visits at Isla Mujeres. Our final two resorts came down to Barceló Maya Palace and Ceiba del Mar. Ceiba was our favorite, however, they would not negotiate a group rate for us and in fact, the prices they gave us were more expensive than ones we found online that included airfare. Even with the reduced prices online, however, their prices were still more than what we wanted our guests to pay. Barceló Maya Palace gave us very competitive rates and even when our group dwindled to 7 rooms, they still honored our group rate. Some of our guests ventured out on their own which was unfortunate but it still worked out in the end. Choosing a date. Even though prices are more expensive in the winter, we live in MN and wanted to escape the cold. Some friends of ours married near Playa del Carmen in May 2010 and the heat and humidity was overwhelming making the trip less fun. My FI wanted a date near the full moon and we also wanted a Saturday wedding to accommodate any guests wanting to arrive Thursday or Friday and leaving Sunday or Monday. We finally decided on Saturday, February 11, 2012. We also wanted a ceremony near sunset for the photos as well as having the last wedding of the day at Barceló since they have many each day. The date and time worked out perfectly. Choosing a ceremony and reception locations. Our friends who married in Mexico before us had their wedding at Sandos Playacar which had no private locations for ceremonies or receptions. There were beach-goers and topless gawkers everywhere. We knew that we would want private locations for both our ceremony and reception. Based on our site visit, we chose Coral Beach for our ceremony and Playa Azul for our reception. Both locations were private, intimate and gorgeous. I started to doubt our locations until the day of the wedding and realized how silly those doubts were. We chose perfectly! Choosing wedding colors. My FI was very hesitant when I mentioned hot pink and orange. Then I showed him pictures I found online of bridesmaid dresses and flowers with those colors and he agreed that they looked good together. Most go with turquoise to match the Caribbean and it is lovely but I think it blends too much into the water and doesn’t really stand out. Pink and orange are in so many of the flowers and plants in the Riviera Maya and I think it really pops and stands out well in the beach setting. Choosing the STD’s and invitations. Our STD’s (I have to be honest here) were chosen because they were free through Vistaprint. They were of a gorgeous beach with a palm tree but we did not want to spend a ton of money on STD’s then turn around and spend tons on invitations. For our invitations, we ordered samples from Wedding Paper Divas and Invitations by Dawn. I highly recommend that you order samples as the pictures look far different than what you see in person. We chose our invitations through Invitations by Dawn and I went to Anchor Paper and Archivers to get background paper and ribbon to add more color and depth to them. All of our guests loved them and they were far more simple than the passport invitations which are very popular. If you have the time for the passport invitations, then go for it but our time was too limited for it. Choosing a wedding dress. Oh this was painful. My girlfriends made it less painful but it was still 6 bridal shops before I found “the one.†I researched online and loved Jim Hjelm, only Jim Hjelm did not love me. It was heartbreaking but I had to let it go. I finally went to Dena Marie Bridal in Roseville, MN where I found the dress that was right for me. It was a Casablanca Bridal gown and it suited me perfectly. It was a strapless lace and I think the definition of knowing that it is the one should be that you don’t want to take it off! I also did not want a veil until I tried one on with the sample gown and decided I had to have one! Both were perfect for me and I realized that you need to keep going until you find the dress that makes you feel beautiful and special! Choosing wedding shoes. Ugh. It took a while to find shoes that did not cost the same or more than my wedding dress! I wanted beautiful shoes even though it was a beach wedding and knew they would need to be wedges. Wedges that are elegant are challenging to find but I finally found what I liked in Coloriffics and I highly recommend checking them out. Zappos, DSW, Amazon, pretty much every store and online source has them. Choosing the groom’s attire. Ladies, as much as you may like the look of a dark suit, be kind to your groom and don’t do it. We saw some grooms who looked as though they would pass out from the heat and while dark suits are nice, they actually look out of place in such a tropical location. My FI and I went to Men’s Warehouse where we found a gorgeous linen suit and we got another suit for free. My FI was handsome in his gorgeous suit and looked like he belonged on the beach as it fit the setting so perfectly. Choosing the bridesmaids’ attire. As I mentioned, my FI and chose hot pink and tangerine orange for our colors as most flowers and plants seem to have these colors in them. I originally had four bridesmaids so we decided that two would wear orange and two would wear pink. I let them choose the style they liked best and felt the most comfortable in and went with them to help them pick out their choices. Each bridesmaid was grateful to make their own choices and was very happy with the way they looked. They each looked gorgeous! Choosing the groomsmen/lady attire. We asked our groomspeople (one was a female) to wear khaki pants and white long-sleeved shirts. The lone female wore a khaki dress. They looked perfect and again matched the tropical setting and complimented my FI perfectly. Choosing the reception menu. This was challenging. BDW was so helpful but Unofficial Barceló was helpful as well. If you have not registered and reviewed their forums, I highly recommend you do so. Our final decision for our menu was the shrimp cocktail with avocado slices and cilantro, lobster bisque, surf and turf, white chocolate and raspberry tiramisu and the pineapple wedding cake. I highly recommend all of it. All of our guests loved the food and were amazed when one course after another was brought out. We had one vegetarian option and though I did not see it, I was told by our guest that it was quite good. We chose this menu after reading many reviews and seeing many photos by other brides on Unofficial Barceló. I have to say that it is a ton of food and I could not finish my main course and only had a bite of the tiramisu and cake. Choosing ceremony/reception décor. There are so many beautiful ideas on this site and we thought of so many different decorations and tablescapes. Ultimately, we decided on simple and using what was already available in nature and at the resort for two reasons: First, the natural setting is gorgeous on its own. Second, we had zero interest in lugging tons of decorations to and from Mexico. We knew our guests would not know if anything was “missing†and we didn’t think that anything would be missing. The only additional decorations we added were additional string lights on the poles at Playa Azul and centerpieces for our two guest tables (the head table uses the flowers from the reception). We also decided against a huppa or flower arch and I am so glad we did not add that. I think it would have detracted from the scenery and our ceremony rather than adding to it. We did have place settings that were small frames with our guest’s name and the frame itself had little starfish and shells on them. Our guests loved them and planned to place a photo from their trip inside once they got home. Choosing ceremony music. This was challenging as there are so many fantastic songs. In the end, we chose to go traditional with our processional music: Groom’s entrance was Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring, Brides entrance was Canon in D. Our recessional was less traditional as we chose “All You Need Is Love†by the Beatles. We chose the violinist and she did an amazing job! We had a song for our sand ceremony and I honestly do not know what it was! I will need to watch the video when we get that back! Choosing a photographer and videographer. Even more challenging than a dress! We loved Del Sol but not their prices. Their sister company La Luna was not much of a bargain either. We chose Claudia Rodriguez, however, she was booked on our wedding day. Citlalli and Erick were available and we decided to go with Erick. So glad we did as he was so sweet and made us feel so comfortable. Our guests loved him and his assistant Omar (who also happens to be his cousin) and thought they did an amazing job. We cannot wait to see the photos! We also used a videographer through Claudia – Alex. He was great and very attentive. Again, we cannot wait to see his video! Choosing ceremony format. We knew we wanted to add some special touches to the ceremony but we were not sure what we wanted that to be. After a great deal of research, we decided on two additions to the ceremony: a reading by my FI’s aunt and a sand ceremony. The reading we chose was “Union†by Robert Fulghum. It spoke perfectly about our relationship and my FI’s aunt was near tears reading it as were my FI and I. For the sand ceremony, we chose a lovely frame which was engraved with our names and wedding date. We did not finish the frame during the ceremony, instead my FI finished it in our room later as it took a while to pour the sand. Our JOP was great! Claudia Rodriguez warned us when preparing for our pictures that the JOP would ask us if we wanted to say anything special to one another so we would not be caught off guard. It was a nice touch and we were prepared which was even better! Choosing a travel agent. While some of our guests went off on our own, my FI’s dad needed much hand holding so we are eternally grateful to Wendy Hicks from Wright Travel for all of her assistance. She dealt with Barceló’s group booking people and assisted many of our guests with their travel arrangements. It was so much easier to have Wendy deal with all of that and it made our lives so much better having her take charge of the travel arrangements for those guests in need. Thank you Wendy! OOT bags. Oh I had grand ideas for these but ultimately knowing that we would have to lug these down made them less grand than I originally imagined. In the end it did not matter though as everyone was just excited to have a bag that they could use for the beach and getting around the resort! We put a welcome letter inside a two pocket folder, pen, notebook, and a postcard in each bag as well as a starfish bookmark, deck of cards, hand sanitizer and lip balm with spf. The deck of cards and the lip balm had our wedding date on it and the hand sanitizer was from Bath and Body Works with different scents such as Pina Colada. Our bags had Mexico 2012 on them and everyone thought they were great – especially those who forgot to bring a beach bag. It was wonderful seeing everyone running around the resort with their bags! Choosing hair and makeup. I was worried as I heard mixed reviews of the spa at Barceló. I had my hair cut and colored the week before our wedding and had a hair trial that same day with my veil. I took pictures and showed them to the stylist Karla at the spa. She did even better than my hairstylist! It was gorgeous and stayed in place all day! I went to a MAC store in the Twin Cities prior to leaving and took pictures as well to show Karla. I told her brown and instead she went with pink and plum and she was right! The colors were perfect and matched my coloring and skin tone perfectly. My FI prefers me without makeup but even he said that my hair and makeup were perfect. He was in awe. Karla did a fabulous job. I recommend having an idea and pictures when you go to the spa and you will not go wrong. I know many want to use Adrian and a bride who got married the day before me used him but I do not think her makeup was any better than mine and I saved myself $600. Choosing welcome dinner location. Again, Unofficial Barceló was a great help here. We chose the French restaurant for a welcome dinner we had the night before our wedding. Since we had so many people, we had a set menu but it was divine! Everyone loved the restaurant and had a great time. My FI’s mom, aunt and uncle informed the manager that we were getting married so he and the servers all sang to us. They had great voices and ensured that we kissed before they walked away. At least they placed the sombreros in front of us so we had a little privacy! I will add more as well as pictures once I get into my camera! Happy planning ladies!

Our photographer said that November is a busy month in the Riviera Maya and it is actually cooler than January or February. I think November is the end of hurricane season.