RaychelRae

Quote: Originally Posted by Tanya Marie RaychelRae- I know how you feel...I was so sick over the whole beach thing after our site visit, I knew there wasnt much beach, but when i was there, there was nothing, then my parents went a few months after us and it was worse. So this is BY FAR the best news. I am just wondering if any of you ladies, heard if they will be performing ceremonies on the beach? Tanya- I haven't heard anything about beach ceremonies, but I would assume that if there is enough beach to hold everyone, that they will do them. I couldn't imagine them turning down that extra business. I wouldn't be surprised if that is one of their many motives to restore the beach in the first place. BTW, I haven't told you this yet, but thank you for posting your website link! It's a really great site! I hope you don't mind, but I used some of your wording for my Playa del Carmen and Playacar Palace pages on my site. You just summed everything up so well!

Quote: Originally Posted by Tanya Marie RaychelRae- I know how you feel...I was so sick over the whole beach thing after our site visit, I knew there wasnt much beach, but when i was there, there was nothing, then my parents went a few months after us and it was worse. So this is BY FAR the best news. I am just wondering if any of you ladies, heard if they will be performing ceremonies on the beach? Tanya- I haven't heard anything about beach ceremonies, but I would assume that if there is enough beach to hold everyone, that they will do them. I couldn't imagine them turning down that extra business. I wouldn't be surprised if that is one of their many motives to restore the beach in the first place. BTW, I haven't told you this yet, but thank you for posting your website link! It's a really great site! I hope you don't mind, but I used some of your wording for my Playa del Carmen and Playacar Palace pages on my site. You just summed everything up so well!

Quote: Originally Posted by roxmysockz RaychelRae i think you should share that also! I'd love to see if you didnt mind x Due to a couple requests, I've attached my photographer comparison excel sheet I made. I knew how overwhelmed I was when I started looking for a photographer so in hopes that it will give even the slightest bit of direction to those just starting out, here it is. FIRST OF ALL....I feel the need to post a sort of disclaimer, especially since many of the photographers listed are on this forum. *Please keep in mind that it has been about 6 months since I received this info from these photographers, so if they have higher prices than I have listed here, please don't harass them via email about it their jump in prices! *Please keep in mind that this spreadsheet was focused on what I was looking for in a photographer and is in no way meant to highlight or degrade any of these photographers in a harsh way. My pros and cons were based on what I (and I alone) was looking for in a photographer. *If you are interested in any of the photographers in the slightest bit, please also contact them yourselves to inquire about other perks they offer that I just may not have been interested in for my personal use. Give them a chance to sell themselves because they all are really great, which is why I was looking at them in the first place. *This is what I alone was looking for in a photographer, and what I based my pros and cons on. Some brides may find my pros to actually be cons, and vice versa... Want unlimited shooting Want digital proofs Want an exotic TTD session Don't really care about prints/albums offered Want to stay around $3,000-$3,500 Want "fashiony" photojournalism style Don't really care about video Photographer Comparisons.xls

Quote: Originally Posted by abbie32 Hello Ladies, It's so great to see some 2011 brides on here. I'm getting married April 6th, 2011 at Dreams Cancun and I am so excited. We are putting down our deposit this week. We are probably going to have about 40-50 people. I totally understand what many of you are going through right now trying to pick a resort. I was trying to find something that everyone would like and was losing what "WE" wanted for "OUR" wedding. I could've been a travel agent for Mexico at the end of my searching but I kept coming back to Dreams Cancun. I fell in love with the gazebo and the lighthouse. I'm from the Maritimes so I just felt like I could have pics that looked like I was home at the lighthouse and the gazebo was just stunning. They also have a nice pier in the water for some great pics. It had everything that we wanted for our wedding. Our choices were also very limited because we have kids attending our wedding so we needed a family-friendly resort. We are going to spend the week with our family and friends and than move to a more private adults-only resort afterwards for a honeymoon. Our DWS told us it will probably cost between $1300-$1500 for an all-inclusive 7 day package for our guests so we thought the cost was reasonable as well. I'm seeing so many beautiful wedding dresses on here and it's making me want to go shopping!!! I decided I was going to wait until June to look for my dress when my MOH moves back home but it is so tempting! haha I'm having a hard time right now trying to pick a photographer. It would probably be cheaper to just go with the photographer on the resort but I only plan on getting married once so I want our pics to be amazing and I want a video as well. Does anyone have any suggestions for a place that does great pics and video? I emailed Claudia Rodriguez bc I heard great reviews but I haven't heard back from her yet. I got off the planning for a bit since I feel I have so much time but it will be here in no time. I'm back in planning mode again so look out! haha Tara :-) Welcome, Tara! It sounds like you have a very good start on things! I understand where you're coming from with the photographers. Phots are very important to me, and since there are SO many photographers that shoot the riviera maya area with so many pricing options and packages, I contacted about 10 photogs and got price sheets from each one of them and literally made an excal spreadsheet with the pros and cons of each one. I know it sounds a little anal, but that was the only way I could narrow them down!

This is great news about the beach! I'm so excited! When we signed our contract for PP the one thing that was kinda a drawback was the beach, everything else about it was perfect. Now it looks like we DO get to have it all!

Tifuhhknee- Great dress! It looks perfect on you!

Nicyx- HAHA! So you're the one responsible for two 2011 threads! J/K! That is absolutely something I would've done (and most likely unknowingly did) when I first started on here too! Oh well, two threads means double the info, right!?

Quote: Originally Posted by kurlyks how many of you guys here are planning a scouting trip? I'm really thinking I want to see some of these places before I decide. Since I can fly out of DC it'd be pretty cheap to just go down there for a long weekend or something. Is anyone else doing this? We're not doing one, only because of cost. I'm just relying on all the other girls on this forum who go down there and write reviews with photos. If it were cheaper for me I would DEFINITELY go!

Quote: Originally Posted by mexbride83 Kurly, I haven't yet picked my resort, but I agree with your TA that you'll go crazy looking at all of them because that is exactly what we have done! I have to say though, if it weren't for the size of our group, we would've booked Azul Beach a long time ago. It was the first one that we truly fell in love with and we were ready to stop looking then and there. We were heartbroken when we learned that they had a 50 person max for weddings. The TA we were working with at the time (destinationweddings.com - TERRIBLE!!) knew the size of our group and still suggested this resort, apparently she had no idea there was a limit. She then tried to push Azul Sensatori, but the beach there is just awful. I couldn't imagine going to Mexico and just hanging out at the pool, so we had to forgo the Azul resorts altogether. We also really liked Playacar Palace and were seriously considering it for awhile. But again, the beach was what finally crossed it off the list for us. But we loved the idea of getting married at the chapel up the road from there and walking back to the resort for the reception! We are now looking at Ceiba del Mar and Dreams Riviera Cancun. By the way, where in VA are you from? I grew up in Fairfax County:) We did book Playacar Palace because the deal they offered us was too good to turn down, especially with the number of people we expect to have, but I do have to admit that the beach thing was a real bummer. HOWEVER did you hear that they are doing a bunch of beach reconstruction there? I don't know the full details, but I'm hoping it will give us more of a beach at PP! We are also getting married at the church just within walking distance from PP. I fell in love with it as soon as I saw it!

I vote three

Wait, sorry! ichimiyuki I got you confused with someone else. I'm sure your save the dates are great, but it was someone else's I saw. I'm such a blonde

Quote: Originally Posted by Tifuhhknee Here is the front of ours. The back just has info with dates and locations, then the website. I have my work cut out for me now, I have to get my address list together! All of my people will be easy, but FI's people to invite... I have to squeeze some addresses out of future MIL. Aww, I love those! That's great that you got such a cheap price even after uploading your own photos in there! ichimiyuki - I saw your STDs in another thread and they are so cool! Clearly I'm on a save the date kick right now!

Quote: Originally Posted by bikegirl ^ Hi Raychel, thanks for clarifying how you got your rates. I thought that ANY rates - whether through the hotel or a TA - would not be released until about 12 months before the date but sounds like I'm wrong. I think fiance and I will go speak with a travel agent soon just to get the ball rolling, then. Nicyx, I love Aqua! What a good choice. Aqua, white, and sand are all great since they match the beach. I love pink and although my fiance probably won't care, I'm sure some of his friends would prefer I not send them something so girly. Lol! I'm still trying to decide for myself - I really like pink and grey or yellow and grey but I'm afraid it will wash me out. I'm going to put together some color inspiration boards soon to help me decide. I thought that too! And when I initially called the resort I was just fishing for some information, and next thing I know I have contract in hand with rates and perks all written out! I was even hesitant because I figured they wouldn't keep a block on our rooms all the way from now until next May, but apparently I don't know much about blocking off rooms because once you give them your deposit, those babies are yours!

I haven't read this whole thread, so stop me if someone already covered the issue about the 2011 rates for hotels. Maybe it's just because we blocked off rooms for our guests but we were able to lock into rates at Playacar Palace and our wedding isn't until May 2011. Are you ladies just talking about the non-group rates that you're unable to get?

Quote: Originally Posted by Tifuhhknee I love Ivan's work! Also, Sascha Gluck. BUT I really want pics before we leave Mexico because our AHR is a week and a half after, so I think I want to book Octavio Montes for about 2 or 3 hours. My photographer sister will be there and she can do the fashiony cool portrait stuff for us later on in the trip. But congrats for having so much done!! Half of my save the dates came in. Ordered 200 on vistaprint and spend $13... just for shipping. No other costs ) That is something I thought of too. We would be having our at home reception sometime within the next month after our wedding which means we probably wouldn't have our photos back yet. And with Ivan's work I would love to have some of them on display for the reception. I might be able to sweet talk him into getting me just a couple of them early to display. So you are lucky to have that connection to someone who can do your "fashiony" photos for you! Your whole trip will be one big photo shoot! Isn't that great about Vista or 123 Print?! We did both sides of ours with color, so they didn't fall under the free+shipping category, but they are still pretty darn cheap (like $25 including shipping for 100). I would love to see yours sometime!

Quote: Originally Posted by mbarnes04 What are you guys budgeting for your DW?! I haven't started pricing stuff out yet but I am wondering what to expect... and, how much Ramen Noodles I'm going to have to eat all year It really depends on where you stay, what perks you're able to get, how many people are attending, etc. At first I was thinking that just the wedding (church, wedding planner, flowers, invitations, at-home reception, etc) was looking to be about $10,000, not including flights or hotels. That was also me looking at having our rooms, reception and rehearsal dinner at The Royal. Then I found out that Playacar Palace was having a promotional deal in which we get free unlimited private functions (rehearsal dinner, reception, etc.) and 7 nights free for the bride and groom if you book so many rooms. Plus it's closer to our church that the Royal so we could cut out vans shuttling people to and from the wedding. Because of this it's looking more like $8,000 for just wedding stuff, not including flights, and with a guest list of 75-80 people. So taking into account extra spending money, flights, and EVERYTHING I'm thinking we can pull off a $10,000 budget.

I finally found a Save the Date that I liked! And it just so happened to be one that doesn't tie into our Mexico wedding theme, or our colors for that matter! It was a free template though which means it came in pink so pink is what I got. The way I justify it is that we are sending them out so early, that by the time our wedding comes around no one will even remember what color our save the dates were! I guess it could be a compliment to our wedding colors I'm going to have them printed through 123 Print ($15 for 100 of them!). They don't look as great here because of bad resolution, they aren't actually this fuzzy. Template was from The Wedding Chicks. Welcome to the thread, bnbrmy!

Quote: Originally Posted by cmikew2 Hi Raychel, Is there a chapel on-site at Playacar Palace, or are you going elsewhere for the ceremony? We are interested in having a Catholic ceremony as well, and our TA recently sent us information that included Playacar Palace. However, I didn't see anything about a chapel. Also, do you know how many it fits? We are expecting 70-80 guests. Thank you! No we are going elsewhere. There is a little church on 5th ave that I fell in love with, and actually is what confirmed our decision to choose Playa del Carmen. As it turns out there are a lot of catholic ceremonies held there, in part probably because it's air conditioned! My WC said that most of their catholic brides have their wedding there. It is supposed to hold 75, yet they have comfortable had 80 in there before. Photo is courtesy of Pierre Violle Pierre Visual Studio - Wedding Photography- Mayan Riviera- Playa del Carmen - Home - Wedding Photographer

Quote: Originally Posted by Lisa DSO I sent out my Save the Dates (magnets so they won't throw them away lol)...pretty inexpensive (70.00 for 65 magnets and envelopes) I love the picture! Where did you find that template?

Thanks, ladies! If I were to wait until it got close to our actual date to book these things, I would drive myself (and my fiance) crazy with how many times I'd change my mind! So as soon as I liked something, it fit our budget, and we got a good vibe from it, we booked it! Tifuhhknee, we've contracted Ivan Luckie as our photographer. We also have Ajua Planners as our WC and Playacar Palace as our resort. So if anyone else has any previous experience with any of these vendors, or wants any info that we come across so far, let me know!

Quote: Originally Posted by richarsd Hi Chellycorn, We are getting married in March 2011 and I just put mine in the mail today! So I guess that makes it about 13-14 months in advance. Typically that's way early for a traditional wedding but I think DWs are different and typical rules go out the window. For us, we really wanted to give people as much notice as possible to "save the money" more so than "save the date". And like you, we don't have a date or resort confirmed yet either. We've decided on Punta Cana, DR and probably the last week of March. So in our cards we just put "March 2011, Punta Cana, Dominican Republic". I also put in small lettering at the bottom "formal invitations and travel information to follow in summer 2010" so people know what to expect. Hope that helps! I agree with you. We just blocked off our rooms at our hotel for May 2011 wedding, and once I have all the info I plan on sending mine out (which will be about 14 months ahead of time.) I figured once you have all of your concrete information, you might as well send those bad boys out and give your guests as much time as possible to plan. We aren't planning on formal invitations to follow, so we wanted to make sure ALL info (hotel, church, etc.) were in order before sending out save the dates. We also directed them toward our website which will be the main source of updated information.

I think we are going to send out save the date postcards with our website address on it. The postcards are just so people get something in the mail, but really we want them to keep up with the website since that is where we will post updated changes. We will also send out a hard copy of the info for the computer-illiterate, and keep them updated probably just with phone calls (since this shouldn't include too many of our guests - grandparents mostly)

Holy cow I didn't know they actual did get divorced! I've miss the last week or two! I seriously thought BRAVO was just playing up the drama by making everyone think that they were gonna call it quits. I used to like Vicki more in the earlier seasons when she didn't portray the old fuddy-duddy that she does now. I am 100% a Gretchen fan, even though she is probably one of the worst role models ; ) I just think she is so pretty and always laughing.

Yes it has sold

I just signed the contract for Playacar Palace for our May 20, 2011 wedding! So as of now we've got: Church (Catholic Ceremony) - BOOKED! Photographer - BOOKED! Wedding Planner - BOOKED! Hotel - BOOKED! It's starting to get real!