Vanessa56

I got back from my wedding and honeymoon a couple of weeks ago and I just wanted to share some thoughts. Things I would do again: 1. Trust the wedding coordinator. I have a demanding schedule with work, and one of the benefits of doing a destination wedding was the fact that the wedding coordinator helped plan a majority of the wedding. I let go and trusted the wedding coordinator entirely. I knew generally the things that I had to do on my own, and which things she could arrange. Honestly, by the time I got the Mexico, my stomache was in knots and I had so many questions. As with many brides before, the communication isn't always the best in the months leading to the wedding. When I got to the resort, I met with the wedding coordinator every day leading up to the wedding. We spent hours going through details and everything that I wanted was possible. I had ideas, I brought pictures, and she made everything happen. It is absolutely amazing what they can pull together in a couple of days. 2. Mariachi Band. They were amazing and the highlight of the night. My husband and I kept it a secret from everyone, so after we finished dinner, when the Mariachi walked in, it was the last thing anyone was expecting! All of our guests were asking us if we knew the Mariachi were coming. We had arranged with the wedding coordinator for the Mariachi's to play a song during the cake cutting, and then we also requested for them to play a slow song/"seranade" us as we danced our first song. It was absolutely perfect! 3. Get legally married at home. Getting legally married by ourselves was actually very special to us. We had no one there, and we got married by a judge. Initially I just thought that we could do the paperwork at home (thinking more along the lines of "it's a business transaction") and thought that the ceremony would be more meaningful. While I really enjoyed our wedding ceremony and would do it again in a heartbeat, the wedding ceremony is really more for the family. The days leading up to the ceremony at the hotel were very busy, figuring out details with the wedding coordinator, hosting, greeting guests, etc. Having the legal ceremony at home really meant that we could enjoy it ourselves without the stress of worrying about anyone but ourselves. 4. OOT Bags. These were a hit with all of our guests. I included a handwritten thank you card in each guest's welcome bag. The most popular item was the survival kit with all of the medicine. 5. Seperate Honeymoon. By the time the wedding was over, I was exhausted. Who knew that entertaining was so exhausting. The first week really was more work than a vacation. We stayed at our wedding hotel for 2 days after the ceremony. Then, we switched to another hotel down the road for our "honey moon." The second week was when I was actually able to relax, and enjoy my time with my husband. 6. Tip the wedding coordinators/wait staff beforehand. After the ceremony, my husband tipped the wedding coordinator and the head server (asked him to distribute the tip appropriately within the ranks). I am sure that regardless, we would have received good service. However, since we tipped before hand, I think our service was even better. The servers coordinated groups drinks, and group activities. When the Mariachi's came, the servers brought out a mexican hats for everyone to wear. They even coordinated the limbo! My understanding is that is not standard. Things I would not do again: 1.Worry so much about the opinions of others. Knowing that it was a destination wedding and that some would object, I did everything possible to cater to my guests (including in choosing my wedding hotel). I love the hotel we ended up choosing, but along the way I realized that the people who were attending would attend regardless (and that $100 wasn't going to make or break the decision). It's impossible to please everyone. I will let you know if I can think of anything else to add.

I did both my hair and makeup at the resort spa (I used what was included in the Divine package). They were absolutely wonderful!!! I have not received my pictures yet, which is why I have not posted them yet. Here's a picture I do have where you can see my hair and makeup.

Hi Everyone. Just wanted to let you know that we had our wedding this past Saturday. Everything was absolutely beautiful. I willl post more information and pictures later, but just wanted to stop in and let you know that you do not have anything to worry about. Anel is absolutely wonderful!!!!

Congratulations! I think their response time has been more slow than normal over the past couple of weeks.

Thanks ladies! This has been an extremely helpful thread!

Yes! We got the small lawn sign and it had no trouble getting it into the luggage!

For all the brides that are having or had a mariachi band - what did you do about the rest of the reception? Did you hire a DJ, or use your iPod? I am trying to figure out how to incorporate them into the reception. Any ideas??

I'm really feeling it too. Around the same time as you mention, something just "clicked." I realized that I needed to take care of all these small details I had never thought of before. Needless to say, it's keeping me busy!

Awesome...thank you both!

Has anyone used the ipod for the cocktail hour/reception? We do not have an ipod, but I recently won an ipad and would like to use that. Does anyone know if we're allowed to use an ipad? My concern is that the hotel is docking the ipod. If they're hooking it up to a computer, it should not be a problem.

This is my inspiration picture. I sent it to my WC and she said it could be done!

I decided to do Mother of the Bride/Father of the Bride and Mother of the Groom/Father of the Groom (t-shirts for the moms, polos for the dads). I got those all through Vistaprint. I also decided to get a small lawn sign that says "Shoes Optional."

Amy and Joda, thank you for all of the information! That was very helpful! Quote: Originally Posted by AmyG Hi Vanessa56, I also had the Divine package and so yes it did come with 24 pics, the photobook with 24 pics in it and the photographer for 1 hour. This is what I decided to do when I got there....since you only have the photographer for one hour as part of the package I decided to add him for an extra hour. He arrived in my room about 30 minutes prior to the ceremony to get shots of me and bridesmaids as we got ready, then he shot us going to the ceremony (meeting up with my dad), then the whole ceremony, then the group/family shots, then our couples shots (which we were alone with him) and then part of the cocktail hour...so in total we had him for 2 hours. I did not need him during the dinner & reception because my sister happens to be a photographer so she took great shots of all that. Plus, sooo many of my guests snapped pics that whole time so I got so many pics from them. A few days after the wedding I had a meeting with the photographer, he had gone through all of the photos he took (there were hundreds) he took out the bad ones (blinking eyes, bad lighting, etc.) and touched up the rest of them leaving approx. 240 photos. He had us look through every single photo so we could get an idea of his work...they were Awesome! He then told us that we could select 24 to have and for the photo book...at that time he showed us upgraded packages we could purchase...we went with the highest package which was to purchase every all of 240 photos on the cd and the upgraded photo book which had 80 photos in it....it cost $499.00. I can't remember if the online slideshow came with the wedding package or not but we got that too. I was so pleased with his photos so I knew I wanted all of them, plus he got shots that no one else got from different angles at the ceremony and then our couples shots which no guests or family were allowed to be there for. There were other packages that cost less...one was $299 and one was $399 I believe. I guess it all depends on how many pics you want and how many you get from other guests. As far as the sun setting....I believe that Day Light Savings in Mexico is on April 1st and the sun sets around 7:00pm, so basically your ceremony would fall at the same time of lighting that mine did....it was a beautiful time of night!! Towards the end of the photographer taking our shots, he got a little concerned with the lighting. We definitely got all the beach shots we wanted but we didnt get as many resort ones like in the beautiful lobby, near the fountains, etc. just because of the lower lighting. So if those shots are important to you then be sure to let him know that you want them so then he can be prepared and cut your beach ones a little shorter. Please let me know if you have any other questions and I woudd love to help you out....I know Joda will too!! Believe me I know the feeling going in and this forum really helped me a lot! Quote:

Mi FI also refuses to wear any type of sandal. He has decided that he will be wearing formal brown shoes with his suit.

Thanks for the feedback! Yes, the wedding is fast approaching. Before ordering, I will see if she can do expedited shipping.