TropicLover

If you're buying luggage another tip I heard somewhere on here is to look for suitcases/bags that can all fit into one when empty. That way you'll be saving a bit of extra baggage money on the way home.

So much creativity out there ladies! It all looks so good! Here's my bouquet inspiration piece. It's mainly Calla Lillis and Orchids. I'm just waiting to hear back from the hotel to see if it's doable. Fingers crossed! BTW this company has a lot of stunning flower pictures. They're based out of Ontario and if I could take them to Mexico with me I would! You can view their blog at: http://www.mimosaflowers.com/wedding/blog

Ohhhhh haha okay that explains it! Thanks!

Thanks Jamie5280! I'm actually leaning towards your idea, I'm just stuck on these hydrangeas. My FMIL says they aren't too good for the sun and heat. She's probably totally right, but our ceremony is at 5:00pm and the sunset that day says 7:15pm. So we'll have sun, but it shouldn't be too strong (at least that's what I hope, lol).

Hiya StephM! Welcome and congrats on the wedding date! I'm assuming you meant March 2012 ;-) Photography was a big thing for me too so I booked an external photographer. Unfortunately, I couldn't get around the vendor fee either, ugh. For me I think I was so happy they would even let me bring in my own photographer because there are some hotels that don't bend that rule. I haven't heard of anyone getting it knocked off, but if you do please let us know ;-) I'm booked with Sascha Gluck! Love him! Which photographer are you thinking of going with?

Good point on the heat Peach! I'll need to do a little research on that. My FMIL is headed to our place this weekend and she's a flower expert! I'm totally going to ask her how she thinks the hydrangeas would last.

Wow that's stunning! Thanks so much for the idea!

Thanks ladies! I really like the idea of tall vases to help create an "entrance" and I could probably do something similar at the "alter" area - maybe have low vases on the floor with tall greenery and branches coming out? Lol it's difficult to explain. Sllefebvr, it's funny you should mention hydrangeas because I'm wanting to use them for our reception tables...using them would help tie it in nicely. What about the aisle? Does it need a runner? Or maybe something to hang off the chairs?

One more question....how does it work for the wedding party? Do the bm's walk up with a bouquet and shell/stone? I wonder if you could have a table upfront where they pick one up for the blessing? Hmmm any suggestions?

So beautiful! I think I'm going to steal this idea ;-) Do you think it would still work if there was a stone sitting on each chair holding down the programs? Or would guests end up throwing them in the sand. Lol it might be funny to see how the guests react when the minister says, "When you entered today, you received a stone on your chair." I could see a bunch of people scrambling trying to find it ;-)

Good deal! I've been receiving a tonn of emails from Vistaprint, but I haven't done anything about it. So far it's "one free pen" and "one free note pad".....and we're also trying to nail down our monogram so I would like to to ensure everything follows the same idea instead of looking like I just threw a bunch of stuff together. As as side note what's a "rack card"?

Great ideas! I've always wanted to do the first look photos, but I truly want it to be a private bride and groom moment (with the photographer of course, haha). My best friend who go married 2 years ago did the first look photo BUT it was right outside her condo before we were getting into the limo so the entire wedding party was standing right there! Lol yes very awkward for us and you could tell the bride and groom didn't feel very comfortable either. So when it comes to my big day I'm making a point to only have the photographer and my FI. I think this will help capture the best moments.

Wow just heard of this magic powder! I'm super interested to hear how it works after the gym!

Hey ladies! Long time no talk, how are the wedding plans coming along? I'm starting to get more into the decorating and personalization details and I wanted to ask you about candles. Are any of you using candels on your reception tables? Are you going through the hotel or bringing your own?

Hi ArbuaBrideEM! I'm in the same boat as you...looking around but nothing has been purchased. J and G is right, you really shouldn't ship your items ahead of time. If you do end up packing everything you may want to check to see what Aruba's customs procedure is like. I know with Mexico there's a $300 limit per bag and I need to have ALL my receipts available per bag. Kind of annoying, but rules are rules. As for distributing the bags I originally wanted to have them waiting in everyones room, but since we're arriving the same date as the guests it can't be done. Instead I'll distribute them throughout our welcome cocktail event on the first day.

Haha omg I just realized you are the same person who posted the pre-travel packs! Wow you're so ahead of the game with your thank you cards ready to go!

Nice! It turned out great! I love the picture of you two on the railway tracks :-) So did you do this through VistaPrint? I've set up an account through them, but have yet to do anything through them.

We've needed to pair up a few people too. In fact my future sister inlaw is bunking with my FI's good friend who happens to be in the wedding party. We asked both of them first if they would feel comfortable sharing and they both agreed so it's done. It's a little strange, but if it means saving a bunch of money they people are usually up for it.

Oh my! Another wedding website to become addicted too ;-)

Looks great! I'd love so see the detail of each item...like the pre-travel brochure...is there anyway you could post individual pictures?

Those are really cute! I love the fiber texture and how it exactly matches your invited! Great job!

Hey ladies! My FI and I have been together for 7 years! Lol long I know. We always knew we were going to get married and wanted to something different than the usual rent-a-hall-type....so we though let's get married somewhere hot! This also worked out well because we live in Vancouver, BC but are originally from Toronto, ON so one side of the family would need to travel anyway. As for the location ideally we wanted something like Costa Rica or St. Lucia, but when it came down to it the travel costs for our guests would be too much. With that said we opted for Mexico because of the proximity and affordability. Hope this helps!

Hey ladies! Hopefully my thread title makes sense. I’m getting married May 11, 2012 and a destination wedding has always been in the picture. Yay! The funny thing is that as much as I love the beach and tropical location I’m not a big fan of walking down the aisle through sand ;-) So I’ve opted to get married on the Ocean View Terrace instead. Here’s a picture...ignore the chairs as I’m not a big fan of chair covers or bows so I will most likely go with a white wooden chair or gold tiffany. Now that you’ve seen the location I’m hoping some of you have ideas on ceremony decorations. There won't be too many of us, somewhere between 33 - 40 people. What do you ladies think? I don’t want to over decorate and jeopardize the ocean view, but at the same time I feel like I need to do something to make the area feel like a wedding. Should I add a table to make it look like an alter, some sort of huppa thingy, hmmm I really don’t know. All of your ideas are much appreciated! Thank you!

Such great ideas out there! You're project turned out beautifully! Lol I'm having such a dilemma on what to do now...haha everyone on here has given me so many ideas.

Wow I love these! It sounds like a huge job, but totally worth it in the end. I saw somewhere on here a bride using mini messages in a bottle for the escort cards....I love all the ideas ;-)