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Quote: Originally Posted by anacj13 Hi Can you send this to me in an email? I can't open this for some reason. Thanks!! The address is simply xcaretweddings dot com. For other brides, there is also a cute little church in the town of Puerto Morelos called Iglesia de San Jose!

Quote: Originally Posted by PynkLemonade Hey Ladies, we used wedsite.com. It is absolutely amazing. To me, my website sets the tone for our wedding, so I wanted to go outside the box and do something different. It was only $40 for the entire year bc I used a coupon code from retailmenot.com. Check it out if you want, I think it's a great site to use!!! www.ourlifebeginson8910.wedsite.com WOW WOW!!! That is AWESOME!!! I love it and I'm sure your guests do too!!

For those getting married in Mexico, you may also want to consider a "Day of the Dead" type of altar which is what my family is going to do. Basically we're going to have a table w/ pictures of our deceased loved ones, surrounded by candles, flowers, food and liquor!! (b/c our deceased liked to have fun too!). We may also include any mementos that remind us of those family members. I'm sure you can ask your wedding coordinator for tips on that as well!

Hmm, my guess is also that she probably thinks you're too young?? I think your compromise of moving the date to 2012 is HUGE though! Once she sees you're still willing to go through the wedding after more than TWO YEARS of being engaged, how can she say it's not right? Don't worry - there is plenty of time for the idea to sink in for her!

I sent my MOH flowers w/ a note asking if she'd say yes. The florist was so touched by my message that she wrapped the vase in a white bow (making it look more "wedding" like). For the remaining bridesmaids, I'm sending them cards by mail or giving them cards in person, and might throw in a little gift if I'm able to find any in between my xmas shopping! I found "Will you be in my wedding party" cards at a Hallmark store believe it or not!

Quote: Originally Posted by FutureMsMoulton OK I thought you girls would appreciate a place to let all of the other girls who never sleep and are up all night to discuss whats keeping you awake or just to talk to! ' Its 1:45 am here in NYC and I am awake on here and looking at tons of new info and researching the sand ceremony vases right now! Why are you up late?? OMG I cracked up when I read this!!! ME TOO!!! I am also in NYC and went to bed at 2 AM b/c of this site!! aack!! I love that there are other obsessed brides but I may have to go to therapy if my habits worsen. haha

Quote: Originally Posted by SMB&CRZ So I have a huge fear of being unable to control my emotions at my upcoming wedding. I am an emotional person and generally a big cryer. This wouldn't be so bad if I didn't get big red splotches all over my face when I cry. I am so scared of looking like a blotchy freak in all my pictures from the ceremony. I don't even think I am going to be able to give a speech! At my engagement party when I tried, I broke down in tears. Anyone else suffer from this fear or get the red splotches? Any suggestions or ideas are most welcome! LMAO!!! Don't be afraid of crying! In one of the sweetest weddings I attended, the bride cried all the way down the aisle. It was so touching! I was also a reader at my friend's wedding and I don't know what came over me but I couldn't NOT cry through the reading for the life of me. Apparently the guests loved it b/c I got many awkward compliments. odd... Honestly though, I think it's a bit sad whenever I have attended a wedding and not one tear has been shed. Alright, that said, my best suggestion is to have a glass of champagne or a shot of tequila and get yourself pumped up and excited (not sentimental) about marrying your best friend!!

Quote: Originally Posted by ipodgirl I would like to recommend my destination photographer - Sergio. He covered Matt & Sol of Del Sol's wedding too, so you know he's really good!! Wedding Photographer Arizona Wedding Photographers Arizona Photography SERGIO'S BLOG In 2008 he covered my Cancun wedding day (no hour limits) for $6,250. I am not sure what his current prices are but you can always email him and ask. wow this guys looks awesome! too bad he's based in Arizona (?).

Yes, this is such a fantastic and useful review. Thank you SO MUCH for alerting us future brides and I'm so sorry for your bad experience!!!

Ok, so I LOOOVE the idea of a "meet the guests" packet. Out of curiosity - how did you organize these? By family, last name, etc.? Also, I'm assuming you put a picture and a quick sentence or two about the person. How long did this take? Seems like it would be a pretty big project! We're expecting over 100 guests but I think I really want to do this!!

I vote for Friday! That way you can have time to relax w/ your family on Saturday. I want to have our wedding on a Friday too but my FI thinks that would be too hard for our friends who are young professionals and may not have the ability to take a long weekend due to work. :/ bleh.

Quote: Originally Posted by Morgan how about this just kidding ROFL!!! I thought you were serious there for a second... haha

In addition to many of the above considerations (i.e., hurricane season, etc), we checked w/ our guests schedules! We had our list of "must have" guests and made sure they didn't have any conflicts w/ our preferred dates. I originally wanted end of October but one of my aunt's has a huge commitment then so that's how we arrived at early November

I've been thinking about this a lot as well and I agree w/ not wanting to spend this special vacation with total strangers. I am planning on approaching it the following way: 1. If those single friends are part of a bigger group, I want to be sure there are other single friends they can pair up with (i.e., for sharing rooms or whatever) so that at minimum, they can split the costs (since paying for a room on your own is expensive!!) and so they can have a room companion. 2. We will call those single people before sending the official invitation to explain the situation and make sure they are ok w/ pairing up w/ mutual friends. I think most will be since they are not in serious relationships but if they throw a stink, we'll have to consider if we want to make the exception. 3. If we invite singles who are NOT part of a bigger group or are part of a group w/ no other single friends, I think we may have to allow them a guest b/c I agree it's too hard to ask someone to come alone. I am going to try my best to avoid this though - even if it means inviting a not-so-close friend to create a "singles" pair. I'd rather have that than a stranger, ya know?

Quote: Originally Posted by Morgan This dress popped in my head when I read the title Monique Lhuillier Scarlet Gown and a Veil for Sale The ones posted are pretty similar. OMG I love it!!!! Thank you!

Thanks everyone!! I really appreciate all these suggestions. I have yet to buy a bridal magazine and I've been engaged since JUNE!! I have been postponing this piece b/c I want to lock in a date but now I'm getting really excited w/ all these tips!! Bridal Bootcamp here I come!

Quote: Originally Posted by creoletexan My biggest stressor is my mom. ** BE PREPARED FOR LONG RANT ** 1) She calls my younger brother, who stays with me, and goes on and on about how it's a recession and no one can afford to come to the Bahamas, and that NO one on her side of the family is coming, and that I should just have it in Baton Rouge, LA. Which is strange, because my uncle, her younger brother, is already making plans to go. My grandmother bought a $1400 stove last month... yes just the stove was $1400. Then she takes it one step further just to be spiteful and says that no one is going to come to my wedding including the bridal party. She doesn't even know who is in the bridal party. My brother tells her that the bridal party is staying with us in the beach house and has already paid their deposit, and then she is once again speechless. Then he tells her that my aunt, my dad's sister, is coming, and when she finds out she's coming, then she says she might come but she has to check her finances. She can come because my aunt is coming, but she can't come because I AM HER ONLY DAUGHTER. Just LAST month, she was going car shopping for a new car, because her MERCEDES was acting up, and she has TWO other vehicles that she barely drives. My younger brother has been with me since July, so she hasn't had to pay his $400 rent and give him money for food. Then, she asks about my husband's side of the family, and my brother, I don't know why, told her that we were paying for my FIL to come and he's staying a week in the Bahamas in the Beach House with us and watching my son. He's 66, retired, and doesn't care, he's just happy to go to the Bahamas and spending time with his grandson is a BONUS. My FIL raised my husband by himself so of course my husband is going to make sure his dad is there. Then she was like, maybe if she paid for me, I would come...now she's jealous. My FIL lives on Social Security and in no way could afford to come on his own, plus he is the Best Man. My mom is a software engineer and gets paid more than I do. She has failed to realize that I could care LESS if she came, and would rather prefer if she didn't, because I don't need her negativity and selfishness. She can either continue to b***h and get uninvited or just save her money, come to the Bahamas, and shut it up! wow, I feel so lucky my mom has been supportive throughout this process! I just cant understand these kinds of attitudes!!!! I'm so sorry. It seems you'd be best off just ignoring her (and her remarks) and focusing on everyone else. Maybe maybe then your radio silence will force her to conform or (as you want!) convince her not to go at all!

SheriB, I contacted wedding planners at various resorts first to 1) understand if their wedding options were suitable for me, 2) see if they had availability around the time frame we are considering and 3) see if their basic group rates were w/in reason for our guests. It also allowed me to see how responsive they were! I have not worried about the flights or packages yet b/c they change so much!! I have decided to negotiate a basic group rate first w/ the hotel (which I assume will be the maximum guests might pay) and then talk w/ a TA so that guests can choose whether they want to book room and airfare separately or whether they want to review the options offered by an agency. I think it's too hard to try to lock down packages up front b/c guests (as well as me!) will wonder if prices will get better so I'd rather just let them soak in the details first and then try to offer packages should they choose to take them!

To be completely honest, I did stay at a hotel during our site visit that was rated 90% positive on Trip Advisor and my FI and I hated it!!! HOWEVER, in retrospect, I should have paid more attention to the descriptions of the place! The reviewers clearly stated the hotel was no frills. Had I noticed these comments and also paid attention to the reviewer profiles, I would have realized sooner that it would not be a good fit. Riu is clearly a well established chain though and if your hotel had any major problems, they would be flagged by the reviewers. My lesson learned was to read "in between the lines" better and decipher comments both positive AND negative - you can learn a lot from so-called good reviews too!

To be completely honest, I did stay at a hotel during our site visit that was rated 90% positive on Trip Advisor and my FI and I hated it!!! HOWEVER, in retrospect, I should have paid more attention to the descriptions of the place! The reviewers clearly stated the hotel was no frills. Had I noticed these comments and also paid attention to the reviewer profiles, I would have realized sooner that it would not be a good fit. Riu is clearly a well established chain though and if your hotel had any major problems, they would be flagged by the reviewers. My lesson learned was to read "in between the lines" better and decipher comments both positive AND negative - you can learn a lot from so-called good reviews too!

My biggest stress factor seems to change every day!!! Today, it's definitely the room rates! I have literally been feeling tightness in my chest and shortness of breath... this is crazy! We are trying absolutely everything possible to bring the room rates down for our guests but they're still not as low as I'd like. We are promising to bring over 150 people to the hotel (!!!) but the freaking place still wont budge!!!!! I guess the bigger factor is that I feel guilty about asking our guests, esp. certain families w/ kids, to pay to attend our wedding. We have yet to formally announce the date, hotel, details, etc. but I'm already bracing myself for the response. Fortunately, my FI and I are from opposite sides of the country so at least 1/2 the party would have had to travel ANYWAY but still... my FMIL (though I love her) has dropped subtle hints as in "well, if you'd been getting married in a hometown, at least SOME ppl would be spared the expense..." sigh. I'm already tired and we have yet to put down a deposit!!!

Quote: Originally Posted by KittenHeart Haha I know right! She assures me she won't let him knock her up until afterwards but that's not too easy to control when not on birth control. Yeah my MOH has two kids as well and is trying to figure out all these difficult alternatives and staying in a timeshare etc. Drives me mad. Extended family hasn't responded at all to anything I've sent out, fine, my mom and brother don't have the money and don't seem like they want to come. I told my mother I'd pay for the entire trip and a new bathings suit as well to see what she'd say and her response is, "well, I don't like flying either." So I'm thinking she doesn't want to come. It's terribly upsetting to me but if she doesn't want to be there, why should I force her and waste my own money. My father passed away years ago so he's really the only one with a legitimate excuse OMG I'm so sorry to hear that about your mom and brother! I can't comprehend behavior like that from a parent no less At the end of the day, what's important is that you and your new hubby are together but still. I really hope they come around for you!

Quote: Originally Posted by KJT1985 For me I think it's been the reaction to us having a destination wedding. I've had people tell me i'm selfish for doing it, people tell me they can't go and then expect me to change our plans for THEM, people laying guilt trips on me. It's really been the absolute worst part. I'm not stressing about everything else because most of it just doesn't matter that much to me. And the things that do matter are mostly in my control. I have my moments where I stress about the dress or if the salon at the property is going to be capable enough to not make me look like crap. But the worst of it is definitely the reactions... Wow those reactions are awful. We havent yet formally announced our date or location but if anyone says that to us (aside from our parents), I think I'll just say "Dont worry about it! You dont have to come!" haha. I mean, really, you dont need people there who aren't at least willing to make an effort.

Quote: Originally Posted by kuteliya This is the David's Bridal copy of that dress. Also have you seen Erudice and Columba by Pronovias? I dont know your budget exactly but if it doesnt extend so far off im sure some of the ladies in the forum have posted about their China made lace replicas and im sure you can find one of the sites that can make the dress and have it fit your budget. I bought my AHR dress from Landy Bridal and had a great experience with them. Not sure about this site as i have not bought anything from them but maybe look at the design and see if its sorta what you want Design#1. Quote: Originally Posted by KarenM That's my dress! It comes in white, ivory or ivory over champagne. I also wanted something a little Spanish-inspired so I went with lace. Here is another at DB with a back that's similar to the original JH dress David's Bridal - Lace cap-sleeve trumpet gown with keyhole back and heavily beaded sash Thanks- these are a little more along the lines of what I was thinking! It didnt occur to me that lace would play such a big role. I like it!

Quote: Originally Posted by vdaybride Pronovias is store in NYC that is based in Barcelona. They have spanish inspired dresses. I purchased my dress from there and it had the option of coming with a bolero. I chose not to get it, but it was an option. They have BEAUTIFUL dresses and the sales girls are super nice!! Good luck! Ooh, is that your dress in the slide show?? That's awesome! Ok, I'm defininitely going to Pronovias then! In fact, I think I dont work too far from there!