jennifer769405

Ok, I did not hire a wedding coordinator but the officiant is helping me to pull together some of the details of the wedding. He lives in the area where I am having the wedding and actually got married on the same beach last year in May so I figured would have the needed information/resources I needed. Mind you, I am getting married on the Caribbean coast of Cost Rica, not a popular location for weddings due to the lack of all inclusive resorts. However we choose this location because we had traveled there before and loved the natural beauty of this underdeveloped area and wanted our guests to have a unique travel experience. That being said....When I asked about renting chairs for the ceremony on the beach, this is the response that I got: NOW, ABOUT CHAIRS ON THE BEACH. I HONESTLY ADVISE AGAINST IT. WHY? BECAUSE YOU WILL BE IN THE SAND AND CHAIR LEGS SINK IN THE SAND AND WELL, SOMETIMES PEOPLE TIP OVER. THERE IS NOT A HIGH AND LOW TIDE HERE IN THE CARIBBEAN SO THE SAND IS LOOSE AND SOFT. MOST CEREMONIES I HAVE DONE ON THE BEACH HAVE THE GUESTS STAND IN A SEMI-CIRCLE WITH THE COUPLE TO BE MARRIED IN THE MIDDLE END OF THE OTHER SIDE CREATING A CIRCLE OF LOVE AND SUPPORT. I have never heard of having the guests stand at the ceremony, does this seem odd?? Anyone ever hear of ceremony like this? The ceremony is going to be short and sweet, but I'm still not very comfortable with guests not having the option to sit down. I don't want to seem over demanding...any thoughts on this?

I went back and forth on this and ended up asking a my a couple of friends and my sister to be in it, but I don't want to make them buy a certain dress or make it difficult....they all seemed like they were waiting for me to ask them and were wondering why I hadn't. I wanted them up there with me for support...I'm not the type to like all attention on me, so I thought that would help with my anxiety and make them feel a part of everything! Is it weird if they are not all wearing the same thing? I was thinking about telling them to find something in the color scheme that they love and feel like looks great on them...something that they know they would wear again, and it doesn't have to be formal, a sundress would be fine. But then my fiances mom made a comment about the small details making a difference, so now I'm not sure what I'm going to do I'm beginning to wish I would have just kept it the two of us...

Oh wow, that sucks!! I'm glad your credit card company caught it right away....makes me a little nervous about online shopping...

Nice bags, I've been looking for bags and I think I may just order some of those! Thanks for sharing

I love the idea of a welcome booklet and they look great!

Great job on the OOT bags!! I'm sure your guests are going to love them!

Thanks for sharing the checklist...I definintly need to get more organized!!

I'm very sorry about your mother, I can't imagine how difficult that must be Considering the circumstances, I think the letter is PERFECTLY fine. Good luck with everything, and I wish you and your family the best..

Thank you all very much for your great suggestions! My fiance actually has a friend who is a professional photographer living in Puerto Vallarta, Elizabeth Lloyd, who has offered to give us a pretty good deal and will be photographing the entire week. He wasn't sure if she would be available or what she would charge...but it just so happens that she is available and is willing to do it for a great price! So it looks like I have it covered. I also want to thank you Ask.CostaRica for the information regarding ceremony time...I will def be moving the ceremony time up and will also be talking with the restaurant about the dinner and reception times....and in your earlier post you mentioned being very familiar with the Puerto Viejo area...do you have any suggestions on areas or places to go for the post wedding photos (TTD)? If so I would love to hear them! Jennifer

Wow! What a great deal!! I guess I need to get on the coupons....so glad I found this forum

Great job! And thanks for the idea and template

I am interested in getting in on the order! I would like to order about a dozen of them, I did read that the PA-028 was a silver color, but I'm wondering if there is a color that is more grey than silver? It looks like PA-036 might be but it's hard to tell.... Anyone know?

I would be worried about shipping the stuff and I don't really want to lug everything with me...so I think I'm going to have a little get together about a month before we leave to give everyone their bags and send out the bags to those who don't live in the area. I'm hoping that this will get them excited for the trip and prevent them from buying some of the items themselves.

What a great idea...and you did a great job putting the information together!! I think I may do something similar

Very nice and creative!! I wish you could pass some of that creativity my way...I went into Michael's the other day hoping for some inspiration and seen lots of cool stuff but had NO IDEA what I could do with it!!! Your guests will love them I"m sure!

What a cute idea!! I love them

It is really unfortunate that you have to deal with that I've been pretty lucky so far...I actually expected a lot more of that, but to my surprise my uncle, who I am pretty close with, was the only one to give me a hard time and said that he wasn't going to make it before I even gave him any of the details!!! It wasn't until he learned that other family members were on board that he decided to book his flight. But my fiance and I knew that this is what we wanted to do so we were prepared to go alone if that ended up being the case! Now it's actually getting bigger than I had anticipated and I've outgrown my original reception space which leaves me searching for another one that can accommodate my group....yikes! I hope everything works out for you two!

I'll take the mens white linen fedora hat....I'll PM you with my zip. Thanks

I LOVE the idea of parasols vs the bouquets! I would not have thought of that had I not read this thread. Now that's what I want to use for the BMs:) Thanks for the great info ladies!!

I think I'm going with Fuschia and Grey...with white of course and hints of black.

Very cute! Great ideas

I am having the same issue. Some of my fiances aunts and uncles have rsvp'd via our website with a guest that we have never even met, while in the meantime we did not extend the invitation to other family and friends that we would have liked to be there just to try and keep the numbers down. Here I thought the destination wedding would less stressful! Ha!

Hi Ladies, I still haven't decided on a photographer yet and was wondering who everyone else is planning to use and what they are charging you? It's pretty important to me that we have nice, creative photos so I want to make a good choice! I'd like to have someone booked in the next week or so. Thanks, Jennifer

I was wondering if anyone has used Einar Villavicencio to perform their wedding ceremony and handle the legal documents? If so, I'd love to hear about your experience as I am considering using his services. Also, his wife Monica Restrepo does photography and flowers and the prices are VERY reasonable...has anyone used her services before? Any information would be much appreciated! Thank you Jennifer

Thank you for your response and the information! I guess I should have mentioned what I already have in place as I would really appreciate any feedback/sugguestions/advice/info that anyone could provide me with. I wish I would have known about this site BEFORE I started the whole planning process! Well we have set the wedding date for May 22, 2010 so I am really hoping and praying for some nice weather...however, I do realize that it is the rainforest therefore a chance for rain! I have reserved all the rooms at El Nido and at Tierra de Suenos for our guests. And my fiance and I will be staying at the house on the Property of the Jungle Love Cafe, which is where we are planning to have the reception. I tried to keep everyone/everything within walking distance. I have actually been leaning towards Playa Chiquita for the ceremony as it would be closer and more convenient. Thank you for sharing the photos with me and I would love to see more if you have some! So...info anyone?? Has anyone stayed at any of those places or know anything about any of them? Thank you Jennifer