yeya99

What do you mean steal drum. You mean like Batucada? Drummers kinda like brazilian style? If thats what you want let me know i hired some for my own wedding but Im not sure if steal drum is batucada.

Your welcome! My parish is the Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic ChurchIn regards to the music you they sent me a list of suggested songs that are often played at weddings. If you don’t like the list you can always tell then to play something else. The Musicians know when to play you don’t have to worry about telling them when to do so. You just worry about showing up for mass like you would any time you attend regular service. LOL I really liked all the songs so I did not change any of them. When I asked for a quote they sent me the list below showing the suggestions of songs and when they will play them. If you don’t like the program I’m sure you can tell them to play something else. If you’re not familiar with the songs just go to you tube and type in the name of song and author. There are plenty of samples on there so you can be familiar with each piece and decide if you like it or not. Also if you don’t want to spend so much money on a quartet you can ask to have a trio, violinist or something simpler. Your wedding coordinator can also suggest musicians for the mass, In my case I asked for a quote on the musicians and a list of songs. After months of no reply I just outsourced and did it myself. Of course I had to pay the outside vendor fee. List of Hists Band Catholic Wedding Songs.

Let me tell you from experience you will know what family members really support you and who your TRUE friends are. The people who you really care about will do their best to be there for you and they wont hang the dangers of Mexico over your head. I can say one thing from my own experience, many people will be green with envy afterwards, HA

Thank you every one! I wish I could get married all over again. All I have to say is enjoy and savour every min of your wedding day. We wait and plan so much for it and the dream is gone in a flash. sigh. Being a bride is awesome!!!!

Thank you, Im glad I was able to help somebody! Best wishes on your upcoming wedding. =0) Im sorry for all the typos. I hope I made my self clear. I have a bad habit of typing fast and not going back to proof read what I wrote!!! If you have any questions in regards to what I wrote let me know.

Hi I just got marriee there and I wrote a thread answering all these questions. I think I covered all your questions plus a few more things I wish I had know in preparation before my catholic wedding. I hope it helps new brides to be planning a catholic wedding. The paper works is a pain but its is OHHHHHHHHHHHHH so worth it! http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/thread/69693/every-thing-you-want-to-know-about-catholic-ceremony-at-grand-caribe-real#post_1549576

EVERY THING YOU NEED TO KNOW Catholic Wedding@ Grand Caribe Real Cancun Ok I just got married at the Grand Caribe Real I think I can answers all your questions that I wished some had told me before hand. I know I freaked out when I found out that there is NO rehearsal but calm down I hope this guide helps some of you. If you read these it should answers some of our questions and put you at ease. I’d like to add that I only had my catholic mass at the Grand Caribe Real chapel so I don’t know much about their other services. All my guests along with my hubby and I stayed elsewhere. I’m sorry if I can’t answer question about food and music and so on, it’s just that our reception was at another location. Note *I was able to get my bridal dress ironed there for $30 dls as I was getting married in their chapel. With this said it is possible to get married in their catholic chapel without having to have your cocktail or reception on their resort. Also you do NOT need to pay for guests passes for the people attending your wedding. On the day of my wedding the limo dropped my wedding party and I off. I was greeted by my wedding coordinator and everything was straight forward. At the end of the mass my new hubby and I left in the limo to and our guests waited in the hotel lobby for the arranged private transportation to pick them up and shuttle them to the reception location. No one was hassled or asked to provide a day/ evening pass. The Resort offers floral services, music services photo and video for the ceremony. Personally I paid to have and outside florist and outside musicians play during my mass. When I got married they charged 100dls per outside vendor. As of 2011 they now charge $ 200 USD. Still I got a better package deal outside the resort. But if you want less of a hassle then you can opt to use the hotels services. It might be pricier but its less of a head ache. =0) Hint hint hint if your videographer and your photographer are part of your wedding guests you don’t have to pay the extra outside vendor fee. =0) Just follow the don’t ask don’t tell policy. The Catholic Nuptial mass will be very traditional. Since you are in Mexico you will do all the Mexican traditions as part of the mass. It will all add to the flair of your destination wedding so don’t be afraid of it. I loved it. The meaning of each ritual is so romantic. I will detail what you need to have so that you are properly prepared. First off since there are NO rehearsals. I was lucky enough to be given a booklet by the priest at my church, this booklet is given to all brides and groom when they are going to marry so they can prepare themselves for their nuptial mass. Well this book is a guideline that contains all the suggested readings and scriptures, and rituals for a catholic marriage celebration. Since I was freaking out about the no rehearsal I read this small book and followed the guidelines. I followed the instructions filling in the booklet as it asked me too. It’s a easy A, B and C type of thing where you fill in what you like. It is self explanatory and guides you to pick and chose the exact readings that you want read in your ceremony and that are meaningful to you. LOW AND BEHOLD thank god I was prepared with that. Because when I showed the booklet to the priest he exclaimed that my booklet is exactly the same book he likes to use and asks the couples in Cancun to use it when they go to him for the marriage prep class. He collects these little paperbacks in different languages from other couples. My parish priest in Houston gave me an English version and a Spanish version. The priest that married us asked if I could donate the small booklets to him after the mass. =0) The night before I gave the booklets to the people doing the readings and then after the church ceremony they gave them to the priest. Go to your local parish and ask for the following book Together for Life: Special Edition for Marriage Outside Mass [Paperback] Joseph M. Champlin Juntos Para Toda La Vida (Spanish Edition) [Paperback] Joseph M. Champlin Joseph M. Champlin(Author) If they don’t have it, you can get it on amazon it only costs about $4 dls. http://www.amazon.com/Together-Life-Special-Marriage-Outside/dp/087793617X/ref=pd_sim_b_1 Reading my pic in preparation! When you arrive in Cancun a few days before the wedding you will NEED to meet with the priest. Your wedding coordinator at the Grand Caribe Real will set up this appointment with him. It is vital you attend as this is where the priest meets you and he asks you what readings you want and so on. If you have the little book I reference above and you have outlined everything as it guides you to do, all you have to do is show it to the priest and he will jot down what you want. It will be a breeze. The priests that speaks English and Spanish is father Eugenio Guerra. He is really nice After you discuss the readings he will explain how the rest of ceremony will carry out. During your appointment the priest will also explain the meaning of each ritual if you don’t know them already. FYI Some of the customs of a Catholic Mexican wedding originated after the Spanish came to Mexico and intermarried with the native Aztec Indians, blending their religion with some of the Aztec customs of worship. The Catholic Church went along with this because it was more acceptable for the Aztecs to want to call themselves "Christians" if the church would allow them to bring some of their own more familiar methods of worship into the church. The wedding service in Mexico will follow the rules of the Catholic church, and will be a full Mass. Apart from exchanging vow’s and the obvious rings you will also fulfill the Mexican tradition. Make sure you have 4 sponsors for the following list. You cannot get these things yourself. They are a gift given to the couple by friends and or loved ones. During the mass the priest will ask the people offering the gifts to the couple to come to the alter with the items and have them blessed. They will then leave the items in the alter and you will proceed with the ceremony. YOU WILL NEED Mancuerna (Lasso) - it is customary that the two people putting a lasso around the couple that is being wed be a married couple) they are the main sponsors as they will symbolize your marriage god parents. After the couple have exchanged their vows, the El Lazo, or the Lasso, a white ribbon or rosary, is put around the couple's neck in the shape of an eight. The Lasso signifies the union of the two in an unbreakable bond of love and trust. Bellow o are our Sponsors (marriage god parents) put the lasso around us. It is customary that since they are tying you together they will be 2 main witnesses that wlil sign your catholic marriage certificate. Arras (coins) – During the wedding, it is customary for the groom to give the bride Trece monedas de oro or '13 gold coins' blessed by the priest. These gold coins symbolize all the wealth and material possessions that the groom gives to his bride, as a mark of his unquestionable trust and confidence in her. The acceptance of the coins by the bride, in turn symbolizes her consent to maintain his trust and take care of him and his belongings with utmost devotion. During this part the priest will also guide you and tell you what to say just like when you exchange the wedding vows. You just repeat or read of what he tell you to do. Here is a pic of my arras. They usually cone in a little chest: These wedding ceremonial arras can be purchased any where. Google it if not amazon also has sells some http://www.amazon.com/Wedding-Ceremonial-Arras-13-gold-Treasure/dp/B003DRLQ5A Unity candle set– symbolizes the two of you becoming one. You each grab a small candle and you light the larger pillar together I dont have our professional pics yet but here is a picture where you can see the unity candle set. * At the end of the ceremony you will sign a catholic marriage certificate. =0) If you have gotten married civially in your own country dont worry as your guests will be non the wiser. They will see you sign a a marriage certificate too. Its a certificate presented by curch that your officially married. You will need a total of 4 witnesses to sign the certificate. Two of them should be *the married couple that you chose to be your lasso sponsors plus two more people. In our case we chose our maid of honor and best man. Sponsors should sign the main marriage certificate along with bride and goom and other two witnesses will sign other church documents. . . Bible and rosary- Symbol that the word of god will always be in your house. Bellow is my lasso, bible and rosary and arras. You don’t need a ring sponsor. You can buy your own wedding bands. Have the ring barrier carry them in and give them to the best man. When they call for the rings the best man can pass them to the groom. Extra bouquet to offer to the virgin marry.- At the end of the mass the birde and groom walk out of the chapel. The bride and groom then walk towards a statue of the Virgin Marry at the back of the chapel. The bride then offers as small bouquet of flowers. The bride kneels and says and small prayer in your on words. It does not have to be outloud. In prayer bride givins thanks for her new love or asks Marry to guide her in her new married life. During your meeting with the priest, you must also hand over to him all the required paper work such as the official transfer letter ( permission to marry letter from you local parish) and all your authentic sacramental documents. These include (baptismal, first communion, and confirmation certificates) and a dispensation if one of you is not catholic. ( keep in mind they will want you to email copies of all this before hand) . They just want to make sure you have everything in order. You can send this to your wedding coordinator and they can forward it to the church or you can email the scanned copies directly to the parish in Cancun. The person in charge of the marriage records for the Nuestra Sra de Guadalupe Catholic chapel @ the Grand Caribe real is: Sra. Guadalupe Ramos Parish email is : [email protected] ph: 011 52 (998) 849-50-35 Her extension is: 103 To conclude your meeting with the priest he will ask you if your already confessed and if not he will hear your confessions separately after he is done with all the formalities and has answered all your questions. He needs to know if you have confessed in your parish or if you need to be confessed as you will be receiving a sacrament and will be receiving the Holy Communion. Before you leave he will also remind the two of you that even though you are getting married the next day you MUST NOT HAVE SEX. =0) The day of the ceremony the priest will guide the whole mass and he will tell the participants when to come up and do the readings, when to stand up, when to sit, when to kneel. He understand that not everyone attending is catholic so not everyone will know. Make sure everyone doing the readings sits on the first or second pew on the left side. You will need three people. One for first reading, another for second reading and the last for the Responsorial Psalm. I suggest making copies from your booklet and giving them what you want them to read ahead of time so they can practice and not ne nervous. Music during the mass- You must hire musicians offered by the hotel or provide your own. Don’t forget to hire the music for the mass or you will end up with long quiet awkward moments. LOL I hired a quartet services from an outside vendor. The quartet did an amazing job. I can fully recommend The hits band company. They provide music and entertainment for all kinds of events. If you follow this link you can listen to a demo they have for their catholic wedding celebration. http://hitsband.com/4.html Here is their home page http://hitsband.com They are very professional and so worth the money. Ok ladies well I hoped this helped. If your curious how these items look, I put pictures above from my own ceremony to give you an idea of what the things look like. Setting the chapel up for the ceremony. From here you can see the small staircase you come down then you meet the person giving you away. When they get ahold of you, you walk towards the back of the chapel where the roof starts and you begin your grand entry. There is a glass panel so the guets dont really see you clearly till you stand in the center as you walk in. Florist decorating on my wedding day. How they will see you enter the chapel This is the side doorthat Bride comes out from and walks down stairs to the back of the chapel. Mother of father meet the bride at the bottom o of the stair case . Other Awesome Chapel Views Wind will blow inside the chapel. Look at my veil. It was not too bad though! Gentel breez was nice. Thats the end I hope this helps some of you! Best wishes on your upcoming wedding and may your ceremony be the happiest day of your life as it was for me!

I just had my wedding there. I only had the catholic ceremony in the chapel as our reception was elsewhere. It is not necessary to buy day passes. ALL of my guests as well as my husband and I stayed in other hotels and we did not have an issue there. Guest’s passes are only for people who are not attending a function like a wedding at the hotel. Again don’t freak out and DON’T buy guest passes they are not needed for your guests to attend the wedding.

Wedding Ceremony: Location Ocean Front Our Lady of Guapdalupe Catholic Church Blvd. Kukulcan Km. 11.5, Hotel Zone Cancun, Q. Roo, México, OT/Other 77500 Chapel located on site of the Grand Craribe Real Hotel. http://www.realresorts.com/Caribe_Real/ Wedding Reception Hacienda La Esperanza Alfredo V. Bonfi Cancún Quintana Roo [email protected] Tel. 52(998)2060285 While we took our wedding pictures guests had a welcome cocktail hour where they were greeted with Tequila sunrise and Piña coladas along with GOURMENT CANAPES Shrimp mango skewers with a sweet and sour sauce Tamarind lobster tails on a crispy tostada Caviar served on seashells, Tai veggi rolls with prune and ginger sauce Teresa Tart (tart made with puff pastry topped with eggplant, tomato and cheese) That helped them get into the party mood and satisfy any hunger they might of had while we took our pictures and arrived to the hacienda. They enjoyed this while they looked on to a Mayan fire dancer show. You can see a tiny bit of show on the video above it was attached to the end of the Mayan Ceremony Clip. We arrived in horse carriage Center Pieces and Color Pallet theme were Tiffany Chairs with brown sahes and cream colored table cloths and seat cushions. After the show guests toured the hacienda and then were seated for dinner. Mariachi played during the Guests requested their favorite Mexican Mariachi songs while they helped themselves to a full on Mexican Buffet Dinner After the show guests toured the hacienda and then were seated for dinner. Mariachi played during the Guests requested their favorite Mexican Mariachi songs while they helped themselves to a full on Mexican Buffet Dinner * Mixed greens salad with pear, apple walnuts, goats cheese and a light soy and lemon vinaigrette. CREAMS * CARROT SOUP BUFFET MEXICANO * Filete de pescado a la veracruzana (Flaky, white fish simmered in a Veracruz style sauce with capers and green olives. * Mole poblano (pollo) (Mole poblano contains about twenty ingredients, including chili peppers and chocolate, which works to tame the heat of the chili peppers. But it is not a chocolate sauce per se as it is just one of the many ingredients and does not dominate. In Mexico its a staple at weddings and big holidays. * Chiles rellenos de queso (stuffed peppers with cheese * Fajitas de Arrachera ( Beef Fajitas) GUARNICIONES (Buffet escoger 4 opciones ) * Arroz salvaje con albaricoque y arándanos secos (wild rice with driedcherriesand apricots) * Calabaza con relleno de pan de maíz (Zucchinifilled with corn bread stuffing) * Batatas con esencia de vainilla (Sweet potatoes with vanilla esences. * Frijoes *Charros ( Mexican style beans with all the toppings * Buffet was accompanied with a variety red and green hot sauces, guacamole, pico de gallo tortillas : Our Desert TableSpread * Pulpa de Mango con licor de Xtabentun ( Frozen mango pulp with Xtabentun liquor * Café de olla with canela y piloncillo) (Mexican style coffee with cinnamon & hot sugar cane syrup * Flan de queso Napolitano (steamed caramel cheese cake) * Buñuelos ( Sweet Columbian style fritters * Arroz con leche ( Sweet rice pudding) Our reception went into the after party. When the clock stroke 11pm table of appetizers was brought and traditional live Mexican band arrived (tamborazo) While they played people continied to slam tequila, rum, wine, cognac, whisky, and margaritas and helped them selves to AFTER PARTY APPETIZER STATION * “Sopes†de picadillo ( thick corn boats filled with ground beef * “Tostadas†de tinga ( chicken tinga topped on a crispy tortilla shell) * Salbutes & Panuchos -Salbutes and panuchos are popular antojitos (appetizers or snacks) in the Yucatan area of Mexico. Salbutes are small, thick tortillas, deep-fried, and then topped with shredded meat and vegetables. Panuchas are similar but are also topped with beans. Habanero chiles are usually added to both salbutes and panuchos. * Tacos fritos ( fried tacos) * Tamalitos( con pollo) & Quesadillas (tamales and quesadillas) First Dance At last by Etta James! We met online many years ago and went through so many things to be together having to face family obstacles, job loses, and living in different counties UK and UK. It was crazy but we managed to make it through it all. This song in the end was fit for us. So for the dress laddies I chose white! Many pick the Ivory but for some reason the white was stunning to me! Here is a clip of us getting ready in the morni ning, and then the day after trash de dress video!

Wedding Ceremony: Location Ocean Front Our Lady of Guapdalupe Catholic Church Blvd. Kukulcan Km. 11.5, Hotel Zone Cancun, Q. Roo, México, OT/Other 77500 Chapel located on site of the Grand Craribe Real Hotel. http://www.realresorts.com/Caribe_Real/ Wedding Reception Hacienda La Esperanza Alfredo V. Bonfi Cancún Quintana Roo [email protected] Tel. 52(998)2060285 Best Man and Groom OK ladies I chose WHITE ADORAE GOWN! Many pick the Ivory but for some reason the white was stunning to me! While we took our wedding pictures guests had a welcome cocktail hour where they were greeted with Tequila sunrise and Piña coladas along with GOURMENT CANAPES Shrimp mango skewers with a sweet and sour sauce Tamarind lobster tails on a crispy tostada Caviar served on seashells, Tai veggi rolls with prune and ginger sauce Teresa Tart (tart made with puff pastry topped with eggplant, tomato and cheese) That helped them get into the party mood and satisfy any hunger they might of had while we took our pictures and arrived to the hacienda. They enjoyed this while they looked on to a Mayan fire dancer show. You can see a tiny bit of show on the video above it was attached to the end of the Mayan Ceremony Clip. We arrived in horse carriage Center Pieces and Color Pallet theme were Inside the palapa thatched roof where the dinner was held. Tiffany Chairs with brown sahes and cream colored table cloths and seat cushions. After the show guests toured the hacienda and then were seated for dinner. Mariachi played during the Guests requested their favorite Mexican Mariachi songs while they helped themselves to a full on Mexican Buffet Dinner After the show guests toured the hacienda and then were seated for dinner. Mariachi played during the Guests requested their favorite Mexican Mariachi songs while they helped themselves to a full on Mexican Buffet Dinner * Mixed greens salad with pear, apple walnuts, goats cheese and a light soy and lemon vinaigrette. CREAMS * CARROT SOUP BUFFET MEXICANO * Filete de pescado a la veracruzana (Flaky, white fish simmered in a Veracruz style sauce with capers and green olives. * Mole poblano (pollo) (Mole poblano contains about twenty ingredients, including chili peppers and chocolate, which works to tame the heat of the chili peppers. But it is not a chocolate sauce per se as it is just one of the many ingredients and does not dominate. In Mexico its a staple at weddings and big holidays. * Chiles rellenos de queso (stuffed peppers with cheese * Fajitas de Arrachera ( Beef Fajitas) GUARNICIONES (Buffet escoger 4 opciones ) * Arroz salvaje con albaricoque y arándanos secos (wild rice with driedcherriesand apricots) * Calabaza con relleno de pan de maíz (Zucchinifilled with corn bread stuffing) * Batatas con esencia de vainilla (Sweet potatoes with vanilla esences. * Frijoes *Charros ( Mexican style beans with all the toppings * Buffet was accompanied with a variety red and green hot sauces, guacamole, pico de gallo tortillas : Our Desert TableSpread * Pulpa de Mango con licor de Xtabentun ( Frozen mango pulp with Xtabentun liquor * Café de olla with canela y piloncillo) (Mexican style coffee with cinnamon & hot sugar cane syrup * Flan de queso Napolitano (steamed caramel cheese cake) * Buñuelos ( Sweet Columbian style fritters * Arroz con leche ( Sweet rice pudding) Our reception went into the after party. When the clock stroke 11pm table of appetizers was brought and traditional live Mexican band arrived (tamborazo) While they played people continied to slam tequila, rum, wine, cognac, whisky, and margaritas and helped them selves to AFTER PARTY APPETIZER STATION * “Sopes†de picadillo ( thick corn boats filled with ground beef * “Tostadas†de tinga ( chicken tinga topped on a crispy tortilla shell) * Salbutes & Panuchos -Salbutes and panuchos are popular antojitos (appetizers or snacks) in the Yucatan area of Mexico. Salbutes are small, thick tortillas, deep-fried, and then topped with shredded meat and vegetables. Panuchas are similar but are also topped with beans. Habanero chiles are usually added to both salbutes and panuchos. * Tacos fritos ( fried tacos) * Tamalitos( con pollo) & Quesadillas (tamales and quesadillas) Cigar roller for our guests to enjoy after dinner. He was great entertaiment for guests as well First Dance At last by Etta James! We met online many years ago and went through so many things to be together having to face family obstacles, job loses, and living in different counties UK and UK. It was crazy but we managed to make it through it all. This song in the end was fit for us. After cutting the cake, having toasts, dancing like crazy and slamming tequila all night and getting everyone drunk, we decided to go with a bang. Our after party went into the wee hours of the morning. The limo picked us up and we left our guests watching a fireworks display as we were driven off the estate. Time to say good bye! Here is a clip of us getting ready in the morning on THE big day, and then it cuts off into the day after.... trash de dress session.

I think the train is what makes this dress look so amazing. Like a BIG MORON, I forgot to un bustle it when I walked down the isle. AGGGGGGGGGGGG. I was so nervous that day and was just going with the motions that completely overlooked that the train was bustle when I put it on I forgot to let it loose. Nor did either my mom or sisters remind me to un bustle it as they forgot as well. I only remembered AFTER the ceremony. You don’t know how much I kicked myself in the butt for this. I did let it down for the pictures after I remembered it. =0( Thinking about it makes me cry. My seamstress only did one hook on the side and during the reception the threaded loop that she stitched to have a side bustle broke so I ended up having to have the train down during the reception. It was my fault, I should have asked to have more than one hook done as a back up. So make sure you get more than one hook done if you get a side bustle. I did have a ring hook to carry the train on my finger and not have to drag it. Still I would have liked to have been hands free. But after they rolled out the tequila I pretty much forgot and let got LOL.

The hacienda is in a very rural place, Its not on the beach what so ever. It is in the middle of nowhere. I don’t recommend staying there a week if you want to be close to the water as its not accessible to the beach. It’s a good 30- 40 min drive from Cancun off the beaten path. It is very tranquil and beautiful though. It does have great stables and lots of people who play polo rent it out to practice as they have polo courts and equestrian classes there. Rentals start at a minimum of $ 5,000 usd a day. You can rent it per day not exclusive per week, which is great as most haciendas require you to rent it for a week! If you want to have a beach hacienda wedding I recommend sticking to hacienda Corazon that looks breathtaking. I wanted and hacienda right on the beach but I could not find one. Hence we decided to have a very casual Mayan ceremony on the beach, the catholic ceremony overlooking the ocean and then went for the whole Mexican rustic hacienda theme for the reception. In this way my husband got his beach wedding and I got my dream of a hacienda wedding close to my roots. Had we know about hacienda Corazon we would have gone for it, we could have killed two birds with one stone! It’s funny how you find everything after you don’t need it. LOL.Also the Catholic Church wont allow you to get married anywhere but inside a church so we looked for a catholic chapel overlooking the ocean. It was the next best thing. I would have loved to have a full on Catholic ceremony right on the beach but that is simply not allowed in the catholic faith. =0( Still if your interested they have three rental properties. Go to http://www.hacienda-andalucia.com/eng/hacienda-andalucia-groups-and-events-services/facilities-at-hacienda-andalucia/hacienda-andalucia-in-hacienda-andalucia Click on the groups tab and you can see all the properties. Las Marias and Andalucía are a bit smaller lest pricier but still just as nice.

Our rings Grooms Atire My official shoes, jewelry, floral bouquet and hair inspiration

The Dress ADORAE! by Maggie Sottero and Midgley http://www.sotteroandmidgley.com/dress.aspx?style=JSM1307 After trying on a few and even purchasing a dress on ebay , just did not feel like it was my dress. So when I saw this dress in a magazine I had to try it on and when I did I knew it was THE ONE It was simple enough for a beach ceremony and elegant enough for an hacienda reception. I chose a chapel length mantilla veil. Ever since I was little I always knew I wanted a traditional Mexican veil for my wedding. This one was prefect as it had little diamonds the sparkled around the embodied lace and hence matched the beautiful sparkly accent on the dress. The hard part was picking the color of the dress White or Ivory So which color do you think I picked for my big day?!?!? I cant wait to get my pics on Monday!

Nice! Hacienda Corazon looks amazing!!!! We had our reception at hacienda La Esperanza. Its not on the beach though but the whole estate grounds are lovely. Our Catholic ceremony was at a chapel on the beach and then we moved the whole party to the hacienda. It was about 30 min from the Cancun tourist zone. I cant wait to get my official pics and video!

Oh man I had written a detailed thread on the Cathollic ceremony and reception but this computer of mine erased it. Will follow up tomorrow so stay tuned for more!

Locations Welcome Cocktail and Mayan Ceremony @ Avalon Bacarra Cancun Hotel Here are pics of our Mayan Ceremony Set up and outsidle cocktail area where we enjoyed food and drinks and music. Coming from two cultures I did my best to combine both. Since I am Roman Catholic I cannot get married anywhere that is not a church. With that being I decided to have a Mayan Ceremony on the beach followed by a cocktail hour accompanied with a batucada. (Brazilian drums) to get the party started. With this we killed two birds with one stone and we used that cocktail hour as our welcome cocktail. Everyone got to meet each other break and ice and were warmed up ready for the official ceremony. Being that my hubby is of Pakistani decent I asked the shaman to tweak part of the ceremony for us. In the Mayan ceremony it is customary for the bride and groom to exchange a crown of flowers to crow each other. In Indian and Pakistani weddings they exchange floral garland necklace. I also decided to serves appetizers reflecting my hubby’s culture. Flavored Lemon and Mango margaritas were served as drinks Canapes that were served were Babaganus-with mint infusion in coconut and red curry curry, Falafels Vegetable Samoosa Mini Lamb kebobs Tandoori style shrimp Mango Mouse. We drank and ate and had a good time but we made sure to send everyone to get a good night’s rest early enough as the next day was going to be exhausting! Small clip of the Mayan Ceremony and cocktail hr festiveties.

Official Wedding Invitations. I searched high and low till I foud something that I was completely in love with and that I felt could combine a beach and hacienda theme wedding. I found a designer in Australia who did the art work for me and sent it PDF file. He could have done the whole printing and everything for me but I was short for time so he agreed to just sell me the design. After he emailed me the file I took it to a print shop and get my invites printed, scored and folded. Design from http://trisus.com.au I chose to make my own inner envelopes with papel amate . Papel amate is Mexican bark paper. It has been crafted for centuries since the pre columbian era in Mesoamerica and this paper is still made today. I loved this paper because it tied in with the Mexican rustic theme that I was going for plus the texture and color that I chose gave it that beach look to it. I ordered the paper from http://empapelarte.com.mx/tienda/default.php?cPath=1_86_23&osCsid=e359b5ac44d661b7d79a189437649bcb They have all sorts of colors and you can get the paper in solid or perforated form. After getting my long blocks of paper I went to the closest Kinko’s store and used their huge paper cutters to cut the large sheets of paper squares to make my envelopes. I could have used scissors but it would have taken hours and the cuts would not have been as precise. The paper guillotine was awesome and saved lots of time! From ebay I purchased 14K Gold Plated 12mm Sea Shells Drops Charms Beads. They were super cheap. I bought 50 for about 7 usd. =0) I used natural twine to tie a bow around the inner envelope of the invite and attached the gold charm to the bow. Since the destination wedding was going to be in a nice tropical place I decided to add a flying butterfly inside the invite. These babies are awesome paper butterflies that come out flying when the guests open the invite, it's a wonderful surprise! I purchased the butterflies in different colors from : www.flyingbutterfly.com In the picutre obove is an example of the monarch butterfly that I purchased. To see a video of the butterfly flying go here: http://www.magicflyer-shop.com/index.cfm Finally I inserted the invite in a large square linen envelope and got personalized mailing stamps made from zazzle.com I chose designs that reflected a mix of our two ethnic backgrounds. I also made sure the stamps also captured the destination wedding. Invites got one of each stamp above and were sealed with a special red waxed monogram seal of our initials. I really wanted to put a authentic wax seal to encompass the whole hacienda theme. It gave it an elegant touch just like the old days. Since I had plenty of the Gardenia scented oil that was used to infuse the corks for the message in the bottle STDs', I dabbed a bit of the oil on the outer envelopes as a final touch! They looked good and smelled amazing too! LOL

Here are a few tid bits of the wedding preparation leading up to the main event. My hubby wanted a beach wedding and I wanted to have an authentic Mexican wedding at an Hacienda. In preparation I sent STD to inform every one that we were getting married in Cancun and since the wedding date was in peak season we had to urge our guests to start making plans as soon as possible because of the drastic prices increase during peak season. Dec 19 –Jan 15. Avoid these dates like a hawk as travel prices are 3 times as higher for everything. Had we known this before we made the deposit we would have picked another date. I decided to make my own message in the bottle informing guests of the wedding date, our wedding website and suggesting pre packages and preliminary bookings. I also did a magnate for the fridge. Message in the bottles are easy to make but they are very time consuming if you want them very detailed as I did. I ended up ordering everything and putting them together. If I had to do it all over again I would pay to have them made as I did not save that much money plus it would have been less stress on my end. I bought beach sand, mini shells, Raffia, glass bottles, corks, and mailing boxes from http://www.sandartsupplies.com/StoreBox/message_bottles.htm I went to Michaels craft store to buy the big outer shells, thin chain, I got the pearls from the craft section at walmart, and just used parchment paper to give the message that old world washed up beach feel. The metal plates with our initials were done in Mexico. I got the idea for this from http://marsinvites.com/invitaciones/catalogo/sunandsand/sunandsand.htm Below is my rendition of their bottles. The only other thing that I did order from Mars Invites other than the metal plates was a personalized seal so that I could seal the wedding invitations with a real wax seal ( I really wanted the a REAL wax seal to go with my rustic Hacienda theme. The boxes provided by sand art are the perfect fit for shipping so dont fret lookig for a shipping box. I did use a glue gun to hot glue the ends of the boxes together as an extra precatuion so that the boxes would not pop open in transit. I infused my corks with Gardania scented oil. This I also purchased at Michaels craft store. I soaked up the corks in the oil for a day and they were nicely incufused. When all the guests got their STD they said it semlled hevenly when the opended the bottle. In case the message in the bottle was not enough I also sent a fridge magnet so that people could keep the wedding date in mind often as they could and hence not forget to book for the destination wedidnt. I got really cute personalized magnates made from ebay. They have great deals so check them out. Turn around time was lightning speed! http://myworld.ebay.com/r.space.on.the.web this was our final magnate Will follow up tomorrow with what I came up with for the wedding invitations!

I got them at a market here in Houston. Would you be intrested in buying these? I have 40 left. I can probably fit then all in one large flat rate USPS box. From the us post office website. http://www.usps.com/prices/priority-mail-prices.htm Priority Mail Large Flat Rate Box (Domestic Addresses) $14.95 12" x 12" x 5-1/2"

We had a cigar roller as well and it was a huge hit. We had to buy a minimum order of $500 dls though. The guy was awesome, he rolled the cigars up for the guests or if they wanted to take it home as a keep sake he put them in a glass case with a lable that had our names and wedding date on it.=0) Cigar roller looks so lush go fo it!!!!!

I have a dimond white Adorae size 10. I wont sell it but 'Im willing to rent it out. I am 5'5 and I wore 4 inch heels. Renter must agree to return it dry cleaned.

For thoes of you having drama with guests backing out due to the dangers that they hear and see in the news, give them the phone number to the US embassy in Cancun. That way they can call them selves and speak to some one there and ease there mind up of what ever insecureties they might have. US embassy is not going to lie to its citizens. This helped ease the mind of my guests that attended. Hope that helps. From the US dial 01152 (998) 883-0272 U.S. Citizen Services http://merida.usconsulate.gov/cancun.html Change in Service Hours at the U.S. Consular Agency in Cancun Effective immediately, the U.S. Consular Agency in Cancun will accept the following services by appointment only: First-time passport applications Passport renewals for minors under 16 Consular reports of birth abroad Notarial services Appointments for these services will be available from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays until further notice. Please call (998) 883-0272 to schedule your appointment. The following services will be available on a walk-in basis from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Adult passport renewals Emergency passport applications The office will continue to be open for public walk-in inquiries from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday - Friday, except holidays. For emergencies during regular work hours (9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.), please call (998) 883-0272 for assistance. For emergencies outside of regular work hours, please call the emergency duty phone at: (998) 845-4364. The U.S. Consular Agency in Cancun is located at: Plaza Caracol Two, Second Level, No. 320-323 Boulevard Kukulkan, Km. 8.5, Zona Hotelera. Phone: (998) 883-0272. Email: [email protected]. U.S. citizens may also contact or visit the U.S. Consulate in Merida, the U.S. Consular Agency in Cozumel, or the U.S. Consular Agency in Playa del Carmen for emergency or other assistance. The U.S. Consulate in Merida is located at: Calle 60 No. 338 K x 29 y 31 Colonia Alcala Martin Telephone from the United States: (011)(52)(999) 942-5700 Telephone within Merida: 942-5700 Telephone long distance within Mexico (01)(999) 942-5700. You may also contact the Consulate by e-mail at: [email protected] The U.S. Consulate’s web page is: http://merida.usconsulate.gov The consular agencies in Cozumel and Playa del Carmen are located at the following addresses: Cozumel: Plaza Villa Mar en El Centro, Plaza Principal (Parque Juárez between Melgar and 5th Ave.) 2nd floor, Locales #8 and 9; Telephone: (52)(987) 872-4574 Emergency Duty Phone: (52)(1)(987) 876-0624 Playa del Carmen: “The Palapa†Calle 1 Sur, Entre 15 Av. Y 20 Av. Telephone: (52)(984) 873-0303 Emergency Duty Phone: (52)(1)(984) 807-8355. Please note that this office is temporarily under construction. For more information, see our previous advisory.

yes there is something wrong. When I tried to post, it kept saying error, so I kept doing it again and again not realizing that it was acutally posting! The worst part is that the system wont let you remove the multiple entries created out of error.!

I hired the dancers through a company called “The hits bandâ€. Don’t be fooled by the name. They offer more than just live band music. The company is awesome. They provide a wide range of services from music to entertainment shows, mayan ceremonies, to equipment rental. I hired a quartet to play during the catholic ceremony, the dj for reception, and also the fire dancers and an MC that kept the party going and passed out entertainment items during the lively reception. I got all these services through "The hits bandâ€. Look them up on face book if not go to their home page. It was easy for me to work out packages and talk to them since spanish is my first languge but I think Ricardo speaks English. =0) http://hitsband.com/v2/