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Quote: Originally Posted by daniepps Sorry to hear about your friend. I know people always say this but at least she is not suffering or in pain anymore. I'm having over 50 people at my wedding (54 to be exact) and the reception is in the Plaza Zavaz and no one has ever mentioned the group number being a problem. I say DO NOT waste your money sending invitations to people who you know aren't coming. I've never heard any etiquette rules that say you have to send someone an invitation. Maybe instead of sending all the information in the invitation you can send a newsletter to everyone who booked with all information they need in it. BTW I'm in New Orleans now! I love this place!!!!! Thanks Dani, I totally agree because she was suffering and it was hard to watch all of that. I'm glad they're not giving you a problem with 54. I figured it would be a small # over 50 and would have been pissed if we had to move for something like 5-6 people. And I'm not sure who wrote the rules of etiquette anyway, so I do agree with you. I guess people will get offended any way it goes. How long will you be in N.O.? I'm glad you like it. I'm just begining to fall in love with my city all over again, lol!!

Quote: Originally Posted by meghan Hey Meredith...sorry to hear about your friend. I actually just went to see a family friend yesterday in the hospital who is dying from pancreatic cancer, and it totally puts things into perspective. About the invitations....I sent out save the dates almost 2 years in advance, and sent out my formal invites in February of this year. I did not send invites to people who had already told me they were not coming. I thought they might actually be a bit annoyed if I sent them a formal invite after they had already said no. I sent invites to people who had said yes or who had not responded/decided yet. Thanks Meghan, I'm sorry to hear about your friend. I will pray for strength for his family and friends and him. Cancer SUCKS!! The lady that passed initially had colon cancer. A year after that she was diagnosed with lung cancer that spread to her brain. She was just one of those people that you could never talk bad about because she was a genuinely great person. Then to get 3 types of cancer?! WTF!! Anyway, I felt the same way about sending invites to people who already turned me down. Especially those who kinda wrote it off like it was an inconvenience or just not that important, i.e. "Oh, we already made other plans." Whatever! Better for me though. At least I'm not paying for you if you don't REALLY want to be there!

Quote: Originally Posted by chong I am sorry to hear about your friend. I hope you find some comfort that you got to know her (you still have her) and was able to inspire you and got a chance to be a good friend. Now.. about the wedding. If it makes you feel any better, I am all over the place with my wedding plan. I thought I will be more organized and follow the check list but honestly I do things that comes to my mind at that time. So you are in MUCH better shape than I am Wow.. 50 guests! That is really impressive. You should be happy about having an AWESOME wedding with so many close friends and family at the beautiful location. Something will work out for you. Just talk to your WC and TA and put pressure on both of them. I found my TA to be amazing at pushing buttons and working stuff in the background with the resort. I have made few complaints and my TA took care of it. Use the people who suppose to work out the details for you. For invitations... I think you have to decide what's important. Amy's passport stuff is awesome. I wish I had the money to actually do it. But I am OK with not doing it. I don't think you need RSVP for people who already made the reservation. I refuse to spend money on something it's already taken care of. I just read something on the BDT about the invitations... if you already know who is coming and who is not coming.. maybe you can consider sending out "announcements" rather than invitations. Saying.. we are getting married here... look for updates at our website or something like that. Or you can send it out after the wedding. I am still debating on what's to do with my invitation or announcement too. You are way ahead of me!!! We are going this weekend to look at my FI's clothes and groomsmen clothes. We haven't even start looking at the ring yet. We might have to do that this weekend too. I hope this helps! Hope you feel better. happy thoughts Chong Thanks Chong, I appreciate your response to my ranting and complaining! I may actually take your idea about announcements into consideration. The minimum possible order for the invites I REALLY want is 75, so maybe I can just buy 50 cheapies to cut cost. And, I actually feel better for now. I spent time with the family yesterday and everyone was in good spirits so that made it more bearable.

Hi Ladies, Gonna post for some inspiration/motivation.... I have not been doing anything lately. Kinda depressed actually because someone I know is in her last stages of life. Her health has declined quickly and it kinda caught me by surprise. She's not related to me or anything, but I highly respect and admire her. Not trying to be a Debbie Downer, but because of that I've kinda lost the pep in my step! Naturally I got on the to-do-list band wagon as soon as Amy F "graduated" from doing it, lol. But I can say it really helped. I actually completed every task on my list at the time besides buying his ring and that's because the jeweler says his finger should be measured in the summer to account for swelling. Anyway, my next big decision is invites but I have no clue what to put on/in them! I am leaning toward doing a boarding pass type invite, but I'll need to include a lot of info and adding pages will of course increase the price. So, then there's a pocketfold invite with inserts but I'm not sure what to include. Do we really need an RSVP? I'm sure it would be helpful to include info about the resort, airport transfers, TA, cocktail party, ceremony and reception info...am I missing anything? Sad part is some of that may change because my WC says that if my party goes above 50, we'll have to move from Plaza Zavaz (which is booked for both the party and reception). And go where is my question? Plus I have FI's cousin helping me with things and she says it's not proper etiquette to not send invites to those who we know aren't coming (esp since on the STD it said "formal invitation to follow"). Ok, I get this, but am I crazy to think that if people were interested in coming we would know about it? I mean who plans to come to a DW and not ask questions or express interest to the bride/groom or TA for that matter? Not to mention the fact that we are now @ 47 people coming (2 groomsmen still haven't booked not sure if they're bringing dates) and we only budgeted for 50! So basically I'll be buying 125 invites to send to people who have already made up their minds not to come or will change their minds and come at the last minute (which won't help matters much). I feel like I'm at a standstill because everytime I inquire about guest list with my TA it has changed. Last time I checked in with her it was 37. 10 people booked in less than a month and after the rsvp date mind you. OMG! As I'm typing this I get the call that the lady I was talking about just died. I guess all I just typed seems unimportant now.

Quote: Originally Posted by KittenHeart I had heard past brides rave about the Hazelnut flavored cake (which isn't a listed option) and so I just emailed my WC and told her what size cake I wanted and that I wanted hazelnut with fresh strawberries and she said ok and put it on my details sheet. I found that asking if something is ok doesn't get you anywhere. So I just told her what I wanted and didn't really get turned down. . I second that!! I don't ask anymore for stuff I really want....I just tell her I want it!

Quote: Originally Posted by ~Katie~ Thanks amy hey girlies....missed you all!! We are back, and I am still mega-tired and jet-lagged at the moment. For those wanting to see pics, here is the link to my brothers' shots he got - JD Photographs - Kate and Chris' Wedding once I've uploaded our proper photogs pics, I'll post the link too (we have about 1400 photos on 2 CDs!!) Meghan - have just quickly skimmed through the posts and seen you've been having some major stresses...I got the impression it's all worked out now, but I hope it all is and sending you big hugs. xx Great pics! You were beautiful and looked like you were definitely enjoying yourself. Congrats MRS!!

Amy F, I'm glad you had a great time. I'm not your friend on Facebook so I'm DYING to see pics!!! CONGRATULATIONS again MRS!!

Quote: Originally Posted by amybermuda Ladies, I am seriously balling my eyes out right now everything seems to be working out so perfectly. My coworker thought something was wrong but they are tears of joy. My step mom speaks Spanish so she called the hotel about babysitters, etc. She said she spoke to each one individually and was very impressed by all of them. They said the hotel was not filled with kids the week of our wedding (next week) so everyone will get the cribs and strollers they need and they can get babysitters or play time any time they want during the week. She also said they knew about our group and are all expecting our arrival!!! Then she also called a restaurant the hotel recommended in Cancun and made the reservation for 28 of us for the Thursday clubbing tour we are doing. They are going to put us in the best spot by the band and dancers and will have pitchers of margaritas and munchies for us when we arrive. She said they were pleased our hotel recommended them and they will do everything they can to accommodate us and make sure we have a great time. SERIOUSLY - how can i NOT cry with all of this? I am crying just typing it! Who knew weddings were so emotional??!! Awww! I aspire to be in your shoes when I'm days out! That's soooooo wonderful and you deserve it after all the unecessary stress.

Quote: Originally Posted by renee1811 aah, I am getting married in 14 days!!! I have SOOO much I need/want to do before then! sorry, the realization of this just hit me, lol Congratulations!!!

Quote: Originally Posted by taylorwd Okay AB brides, my review is up! http://bestdestinationwedding.com/fo...3/#post1293269 Meredith, I also wrote a review on Andrew: http://bestdestinationwedding.com/fo...9/#post1293228 Wendy, great review and thanks for the "Andrew" review! It seems like everything for the most part went great aside from the cake, lol! I think I would have cried (because I'm really big on cakes) but I must admit, submitting it to cake wrecks is laughable. I'm glad the little glitches didn't ruin your day.

Quote: Originally Posted by amybermuda They are max of 2 hours (which is what I am doing while FI and I take pictures). They dont provide seating per se, but you can try to have it in a location that offers seating. Or you can have your guests go to a bar and all mingle there without offering the canapaes. I mean, it is an all inclsuive, they should be able to fend for themselves OK!!! I chose the donkey cocktail hour with 5 of the food selections. I hope people are not full! I think I remember hearing, food is served for 1 hour and drinks are for 2 hours. Oh, not sure anyone else has children attending their wedding, but they offer a children's menu and they don't charge you for the kids' meals. Thanks for mentioning that about the kids. My WC and I went back and forth the other day because they are trying to charge me half price for my 4 yr old flower girl to eat at the wedding. If we do the surf and turf that will be $14 for her and she'll be fine with chicken nuggets and fries. Ugh! Once again something that I wasn't offered.

Quote: Originally Posted by GroomsArePeopleToo Merideth, Thank you again for booking me, I am looking forward to November! I will likely be down a few days before and after if anyone else is interested during that week. Thank you again for working it all out with me!! That was definitely a weight lifted.

Quote: Originally Posted by Afrommert Well, actually we had to send some of the guys tuxs back with guest that didn't stay more than 4days. And then they actually fd up the grooms package so we didn't even bother to care when we returned his tux because it was that or them refunding a sh*t load of money for our group. Long story short we got to mexico and it wasn't until a few days after when one of our groomsmen showed up with the grooms pants, WE DIDNT EVEN REALIZE HIS PANTS WEREN"T IN OUR PACKAGE. Thank god they contacted a person in our group that had not yet left for mexico to come pick up the grooms pants and bring them to us We're renting from Men's Wearhouse and they are actually reasonable. We told them we're doing a DW and they are allowing us to have the tuxs out for 6 days for no extra charge. Just tell them what's going on.

Quote: Originally Posted by amandamarieb I am flying in a friend who is professional photog and shooting for me. I am putting her up for 3 nights and do not have to pay the $500 fee. (It is almost the same because I think the 3 night room rate is like $469 or something like that.) But Tiffany is my WC and she's fine with that. Already marked it on my detail sheet and everything. Sometimes I wonder how much Tiffany and the other much hate this forum. I find out such useful information on it and armed with that info I often go back to her and push the issue. She's got to know I am referring to the girls on this forum when I say I "talked" to other brides and they were approved for XY and Z. Ha. Sometimes I wonder if they come on here and see what we are posting. Ha. I doubt it...too busy with all the weddings I suppose but funny to think about.Oh well. Strength in numbers!! Lol. I say the same thing to my WC Cecile and she is sometimes caught by surprise, but when she looks deeper into things she's like...ok, you were right, we do offer that! I love it because they're so busy nickle and diming us and they sometimes try to get away with too much. Since Chong is looking for a photog maybe the two of you can share the cost of the one you're bringing? Just a suggestion since I have no clue what times you are getting married, etc.

Quote: Originally Posted by chong I love sands!!! We are sooo excited about wearing sandals and let it loose We are also excited about lot of candles at night on the beach. sounds romantic and fun!!! Hmm... promotion for free private cocktail party. I will look for that email. Thanks for the info. I have Gayle Hirsch as my WC. She was also WC for Amy. I am in Oil & Gas business... I have been traveling a lot to NO since my project is in NO. So I am guessing you already found your dress? I have my dress and bridesmaid dress all figured out. Started to look for my future hubby's clothes - all white. This is going to be challenging. Let me know if you know a place. We're actually still having a pretty traditional wedding (as far as attire goes)although it's a destination wedding. I traveled all the way to Atlanta for my dress, it's by Eugenia Couture. My girls' dresses are from Mori Lee (style #266) and the guys are renting tuxedos from Men's Wearhouse who by the way have been very helpful with making the tuxs original. If you find dresses you like just look for their authorized retailers and see what's close to where you'll be.

Quote: Originally Posted by meghan So we have a new wedding date...July 1st....could I have my date changed on the list Nicole, please Our travel agent has been working on getting everything sorted out for us. We can't use Claudia as our photographer anymore, but they got someone else from her team...still not pleased, but can't do much and at least we like her team. We still don't know if we can have the same location for our ceremony and reception...when I talked to my TA yesterday her response was...."we are working on it and will let you know monday". Now I'm having to deal with many of my guests calling and asking what is going on and complaining about all of this. People are telling me to demand a full refund and cancel the whole thing! They don't understand that we have planned this wedding for 2 years and we will be out money if we cancel and book somewhere else...some people are even saying to cancel and do a wedding in toronto!! I really don't want to listen to other people's complaints about this right now. I think I'm gonna have Matt call our TA today and tell them that they need to give us some more info and they need to start contacting our guests to let them know what's going on. I am so sorry you had to change your date. I know to the outside world (non-brides) it seems trivial, but For something that dramatic to happen when you've been planning for 2 yrs, I just can't even imagine. You have to follow your heart though. Now that you've been set on Azul for 2 yrs can you really just turn that off?! I've only been planning there for 2 months and I can't imagine changing now. Don't stress about what everyone else thinks. I do feel like you are entitled to some serious compensation, but to change it all could turn out to be extremely stressful.

Quote: Originally Posted by chong Thanks for the advice!!! I am a very organized person but I am having a log of trouble with the wedding. What I can't see...hard to make the decisions. I started to make some moves... I am struggling with the location too. I am set on the beach wedding and beach reception... but I also saw some wedding receptions done on the terrace and looks very nice. I am not sure what I want to do... Did you pick a photographer yet? I see many suggestions but I am not sure what to do. I decided to downgrade my Silver Package to Pearl Package. We really wanted Silver package for the non-private dinner reservation but I decided to have a private cocktail party instead of dinner reservation for "rehearsal dinner". Just an opportunity to mingle and meet everyone... I see that you are in New Orleans. I am in Houston. I do travel to New Orleans often for my work. Thanks for the help and keep in touch! Chong No problem. I got engaged in December, but I joined BDW and only really started planning like 2 months ago and I have gotten MUCH more accomplished since I started keeping up with the posts. Just look at pics of other weddings there and go with what you like. I, personally, don't like the way sand gets everywhere, plus I found really hot wedding shoes, so getting married on the beach was out for me. It's just all about your taste and your vision for your wedding. I chose Andrew Jordan for my photographer. He just did Wendy's (taylorwd) wedding and he's really easy to work with so far. So look into him if you want to bring someone with you. I wasn't really going to use a lot of the stuff offered with the Silver pkg so I went with the Pearl pkg too. Also, if you're doing a private cocktail party try to get it free (of you haven't already). Someone posted a link for a promotion that offers a free private cocktail party for 50 and they actually honored it for me, so it's worth a try. I deleted it, but I posted it a few weeks ago. Maybe you can go back and find it, send it to your coordinator and see what happens. Are you working with a travel agent? Yeah, I'm in N.O., born and raised. What do you do that you travel here?

Lindz, Did you only take BD pics? I don't know why I thought you were coming to take engagement pics!! Did you think I was some kind of voyeur when I recommended you take those pics in public! LMAO!!!

Quote: Originally Posted by thefuturemrslutz Thanks for checking in on me!! We had SO SO much fun!!!!! We didn't really see much rain...it was crazy cause it looked as if the sky was going to fall out every second of the day. I got there Thursday, which of course was gorgeous weather...of course it would happen that way...beautiful the day BEFORE our engagement pics. ha But i went and got my hair and makeup done and all that. The had my BD pictures for 3 hours!!! She took over 500 pics, so hopefully, I can find 10 or so that I like. We did them at The Roosevelt hotel. I had maybe 5 outfits I think. If you have never been to that hotel, you need to go!! What a cool hotel! That night we just ate dinner at his brother's house and got up bright and early for our engagement pics. We went all up and down Bourbon, throughout the French Quarter, and up to Uptown. They went from about 9 to 2! SO MUCH FUN!! However, it was SUPER SUPER SUPER humid, so my hair was a DISASTER!! oh well, it will just have to look bad in the pics. It sprinkled for about 15 minutes and that was the only rain we encountered. whew! That night we ate at Martinique. Then Saturday, we went to Jazz Fest allllll day. The weather was actually great that day because it was cloudy, so not too hot, but we didn't see a single rain drop. We ate at Dominica that night and went out. Then we left Sunday morning...so glad cause I heard it was a torrential downpour all day. If anyone is looking for a fun weekend getaway, I highly recommend New Orleans. We go about 10 times a year. Super cheap flights on Southwest and sooooo much to do!!! My photographer was in heaven taking pictures with all the cool buildings and lights and colors and all. I will keep you guys posted on when I get to see the pictures!! My photographer is Lauren Harris Photography. Sorry for the novel! Ok, glad to hear you didn't get the rain the entire time. We went to Jazz Fest Sunday and it rained almost the entire time. You're right it did help the fact that otherwise it would have been hot as hell but I didn't really need to be walking thru all that mud! Definitely going to invest in some rain boots! Lol. I'm glad ya'll had such a good time too. Funny how I've never been all of the places you've mentioned but I've lived here all my life. Weird. I guess I just kinda get stuck in my ways I guess. My cousin actually just started working @ The Roosevelt but I haven't been there since it was The Fairmont. I'm trying to venture out tho in my old age. Lol. Were those restaurants any good? Oh, and I'm sure you'll fins plenty of pics you want to use. Let us know how they turn out!

Lutz, How did your BD shoot and trip to my neck of the woods go? I was worried about you since it rained so much. Did you get to go to Jazz Fest?