artistique

We are SO excited that we booked TWO couples today for April 2011 weddings, both at Barcelo Maya Palace!!!! We will be shooting both Ashley and Greg on April 15th (ashfrylund) and Vanessa and Patrick (Nessa682) on April 25th. Both are going to be fabulous and we can't wait!!!!!! Michelle

Quote: Originally Posted by BethBride1 Thank you! I wonder if they can do square cakes?? The pictures I posted a few posts back that you commented on is their version of square. Kind of has rounded corners, but it is a square cake. Michelle

Bob and Tina! I bet you the wait for the perfect wedding will be well worth it! Plus having your kids there too will be a blast! Have fun planning... Michelle

BethAnn! January will be here before you know it! Michelle

Angela! It is never to early to start planning! That way, you get your first choice of hotels, dates, and vendors. Have fun... Michelle

Rachel and Chris! That is awesome! January too, you are going to escape that chilly NY weather! Michelle

Quote: Originally Posted by princessCJones Hello Ladies.. Projected date is sometime between Feb 2011 and Aug 2011 I must research rates and weather before settling LaToya! Be careful planning June, July and August. Although rates are great it is SOOO hot and hurricane season to boot. March is spring break (beware Cancun!) but Feb, April and May are awesome months generally, weather-wise and price wise pretty good too! Have fun planning! Michelle

Caroline!! There is so much great info on here to help you plan!! Michelle

Megan!! There is so much great info on here! Michelle

to the forum!! Have fun with all your wedding plans.. Michelle

Quote: Originally Posted by randi.renstrom i'm in the process of talking to this company on a quote ::::::::::CATAMAYA::::::::::::::: i believe some people on the board used them and enjoyed them. after i got a quote back from them i was going to ask more about it. we are hoping to do a lunch/snorkel trip with about 50 or so people. Catamaya is AWESOME! Allison&Kevin used them for their rehearsal. Totally amazing experience and the crew made it SO much fun. It was a real party! They did the sunset cruise which was beautiful and snorkeled as well. Here is a shot from their cruise. Michelle

Quote: Originally Posted by BethBride1 Hey girls- how were the wedding cakes?? I already had a tasting when we were down there & showed Claudia a picture of what I wanted & she said it was no problem.....but I never actually saw one of their cakes (we just had small ones). Are they decorated nicely? ...or should I stick to a simple design? Here are a couple of shots of Roxy and John's cake. Not super fancy but SO delicious! Michelle

Just don't let you grandma down there and see the military with the huge machine guns hanging out on the side of the road. That will REALLY confirm her opinion!! LOL! Michelle

Nikki! Either way will be awesome! Symbolic definitely less hassle and less to worry about for sure. Michelle

Cindy! Have you checked out the Riviera Maya instead of the Bahamas? Things do tend to be a lot cheaper and i think there are something like 69 AI's within an hour or so of Cancun airport. SO many to choose from. If you haven't hooked up with a TA, you might want to try that too as they should be able to give you some good advise if you are sold on the Bahamas (or even if you are not!) Michelle

:wecome: to the forum!! January in the Caribbean will be awesome! Michelle

Megan. DW can still be a little stressful, but you will find lots of support here! Michelle

Brandi!! Isla is going to be amazing! We're going there for the first time when we are down in November and can't wait. Good luck with all your planning! Michelle

Denise! There are SO many fabulous resorts to choose from. I would go through some of the individual resort threads and see what the girls are saying. Also, check out the reviews which is super helpful too. Have fun with all of your planning! Michelle

Miss Simone! Congrats on your wedding! Michelle

Quote: Originally Posted by ashfrylund just wondering if anyone did the trash the dress the next day wished that they wouldnt have. did you feel rushed? did you wear your dress and how was if afterwards when you got home? Can anyone recommend good photographers that they used at the barcelo? i want to go with the resort but im definitely iffy on it and dont want only 150 pictures... :S thanks!!!! Ashley, Regarding the TTD, if you are worried about your dress, just get a long white sundress and wear that instead. It is the interaction between you and your new husband that is the main focus. Regarding feeling rushed, just make sure you have a photographer that will give you a good amount of time to do it, and schedule for the afternoon so you can sleep in and chat with any guests who are leaving that day. The BIGGEST thing about preserving your dress if you do decide to wear it for your TTD session is to soak it in the bathtub as soon as you get back to the resort. Soak, let the water go, fill it again, etc. The worst thing for the dress is the salt water, so just make sure to get that out before you get home. Barcelo has those handy cloths dryers on the decks and balconies, so you should be able to get it dried out on that no problem. A good drycleaner should be able to take care of any stains and honestly, when are you going to need it again? I know some girls are sentimental and want it for their daughters or whatever, but did you want to wear your mom's dress?? Mine is squished in our spare room closet! Regarding photographers, lots of girls have posted on this (very long!) thread and don't forget to check out the vendor marketplace. People can post their packages on there, some with the amount of images you receive. Michelle

Quote: Originally Posted by bigboponthebeach Afternoon my "forum friends!" ;-) I was just popping in to vent and whine for a tad. We sent our STD's out on Monday and we've officially got the buzz going for our wedding. I'm amazed at how many family members have been so critical. Mature adults (or so I thought) have made every comment ranging from "Those rooms are too small' to "Why isn't flight included in the rate" to "Kinda selfish to make everyone fly just to see you marry." I know I shouldn't be so sensitive, and I'm usually not, and I know from reading all the earlier posts that many of you ladies were met with similar negativity. But I'm trying to be a gracious and polite bride and instead I feel like telling people to Shut the F**K up and just stay home if they feel burdened. I'm so tired of responding to people, "Well I'm sorry but just know that we are NOT offended if you cannot make it and we totally understand." I feel like people don't realize that this is an optional attendance and no gun is being placed to their head for them to fly to beautiful Mexico to attend our wedding. Anywho, I know I should suck it up and drive on......but I'm just sick of all the complaining and commentary and know that there are a few more to come. I had to vent because I feel like you chicks are the only ones who get it. I'm thankful for this space to do that from time to time......:-) This is sad to say, but many people attend "at home" weddings just to be polite and get a free meal. I can't even tell you how many weddings we go to where the guests eat and leave! So rude, and in such poor taste. The good thing is that for your DW, the ones who are there, are the ones that care. Hey! and less people to feed too! Michelle

Here are some pics from BreeAnn and Dustin's pool TTD session!

Michelle! I second Tammy's suggestion, Barcelo Maya is awesome! Probably one of the wedding dinners I have had in 22 years of shooting weddings. There are SO many fabulous places to shoot there. Just a gorgeous property. Also, don't know if you guys snorkel, but there are beautiful reefs right off the beach! We swam with turtles there every night last time we were there. The pools are amazing too and probably some of the biggest I have seen at any of the resorts. Another bonus, the beach is totally private for the guests of Barcelo. You can't beat the ceremony location either! Michelle