prettypigpig

Michelle, Yeah great reviews on the Barcelo Palace. The gazebo is nice, the surf-turf menu seems to be yummy as well. I am sure you will have a blast there! Did you sort out the Saturday wedding issue with the WC? Air Transat is offering great wedding packages at Barcelo, except, this is the first year, and the hotel doesn't coordinate well with Air Transat (not yet).

Quote: Originally Posted by Linhy Is any of you brides having a gift registry on your website? Since its not a typical wedding since its destination. I really want too but my fiance doesn't because he feels bad for the people that is already paying for their tickets to fly down to FL. I don't know... what's everyone's thoughts ? Linhy, I am registered at 3 different places, and will update my site with the other 2 places. The reason is that we are going to have a party (not as formal as a reception) at Montreal after the wedding for people who can't goto Mexico, and for "not so close" friends and family. The other thing is usually stores offer great discount for couples who registered with them, so u can buy items that you need at deep discount up to 1 yr after your wedding date (i.e. I put a set of Cuisinart pots on my registery, it cost $699 at regular price, but if I buy it for myself, the store will charge me $269).

Yeah, I love the gazebo at Michelle's resort, and almost went with that resort too! If I could pay a deposit to secure the date and if their WCs were more responsive, I would love to get married at the Barcelo Palace. Since it is like a huge 5 resorts complexe (Palace, Beach..and other resorts), chance of getting sold out is very low, on the other hand, it is also harder to keep everyone staying at the same resort. The problem is that I am very impatient and very used to getting my answers FAST. The chance of myself turning into "nasty bitchy" mode, scream at the WCs or getting a heart attack is very high with the Barcelo, therefore, I picked the Royal PDC. Nicola, Just keep a guest list on paper with columns like invites sent, will come or not or maybe, and booked, and do a final check 3-4 months before your wedding, you should be fine. No need to panic.

Quote: Originally Posted by Nicyx Hey ladies just been reading aother thread on here about group booking etc. Im just wondering when are you sending out Invitations? and what is the time scale you have/are setting for the RSVP? I was thinking sending out in May when we book our wedding and having the RSVP for Oct which gives 5 months to reply (this is AGES now ive said it out loud to myself) & leaves 7 months to go for the wedding but now im thinking of just sending out invites only (no RSVP) and putting somethng into say let us know ASAP because of room availability and then getting them to book when they have said yes? Our resort has a policy that 80% of wedding guests have to say at our hotel, and im scared that if guests leave it too late the hotel will get booked and because they not staying at our hotel they wont be able to come to our wedding!!! I dont know what to do now and i dont know how to go about this and i dont know if it will work... Im panicking now big time... Does this make sense.... Dont know what to do... Argh, 1st proper panic ive had....HELP!!! What is everyone else doing? Thank you oxoxox Nicola, I keep an excel spreadsheet with the names of my invites, # of potential guest that they are bringing, so I can keep track of who is coming, who is not, and how many people are coming. That will also help for the budgeting of the wedding. I plan to send out the STDs 1 yr in advanced, so everyone who wants to come can start saving $$, allocation their vacation days...etc and will send out the invites without RSVP 6 months before the wedding, the guests will RSVP via my website. On my website, I also instruct my guests to book at my resort and the sister resort next door ONLY, and also remind them that the resort may sold out quickly, so do not wait for last minute deals. 2-3 months before the wedding, I will do a finally count on how many people booked.

Quote: Originally Posted by Julie2011 We will not be paying for anybody's trip...that would be so costly and I figure there on their own vacation and our wedding is such a small part of the week. That resort looks beautiful prettypigpig, we will be looking into that one =) If any of you are flying Air Transat have you notice how little you can check?? its 44lbs a person!!! I was shocked and horrified all at once... Were going to need double that...ahh not sure what to do. Yes Julie, Unless you upgrade to "Club" class (similar to first class) or you bought their wedding package, with Air Transat, you need to travel light! or else you pay extra per each exceeded Kg/lb, and they don't let you pass for free unlike some Air Canada crew would just ignore it if you go over a bit. Last year, I went to Mexico with my bestfriend for a girls trip (not wedding), and we were on the limit, and we stuffed a lot into our carry-ons!

WOW a lot of FIs are stock brokers here. Mine is also an investment advisor/stock broker, I used to be an equity and options trader on the trade desk before I moved to the institutional buyside. Since my FI is studying for his CFA (and I am done with my CFA, FRM, MBA...thx god that I don't need to study on weekends anymore), I will be the one who does all the planning/booking...and his duties will be to assemble his boys, show up and pay....heehee....

Since I am getting married in July, I don't think suits are very comfy option. Even linen suits can be too much when it is like 30-35C. I came across this picture from the Unofficial Barcelo forum, and find the matching short-sleeve shirts can be a comfy option for the men and boys. Michelle, I am getting married under a gazebo too. But the Barcelo Palace gazebo is much nicer than the Royal PDC's wood gazebo.

yeah Linhy don't worry about it too much. Michelle is right, your FSIL is old enough to save $$ and pay for her trip. My baby brother, who is 16 yrs old, has already save enough to pay for his trip.

Quote: Originally Posted by Linhy Bonnie! I am doing not a beach style wedding! Most of all my are very elegant looking. I am not even having my reception on the beach just because I want to be able to wear heels. So we are having it on the poolside. LOL! for me, the whole purpose of getting married in Mexico is to have a beach reception. Again, I am a Canuck, we don't have nice beach here, compared to Florida. Not to mention the-40 C / 0 F winter...

Quote: Originally Posted by Linhy See I would love to pay for everyone but then it's not fair to all the other siblings you know? And besides she is the step-sister of my fiance. If I were to pay I would at least pay for my brother.. I don't know I am about fairness I know exactly what u are going thru! my parents have this strange idea that when u are inviting someone ..u have to cover for their trip! I guess it is an Asian mentality!

I will get my sisters their BM dresses and color matching flipflops (heels are not very beach friendly). As for their hair..I will see what they wanna do.

Michelle, You are right about men and their knowledge on wedding details. My fiancé thinks he just have to buy a pair of shoes, a linen suit...and just show up. My friend who is getting married in July this year, her fiancé didn't get his suit yet..and has no clue what his buddies are going to wear.

WOW! What a story! I dunno how I would react if this happened to me. I would probably drive or fly to Michigan..or call the HQ of the resort and send in a nasty complaint. Maybe to CNN, website and other newspapers. I am happy for you that now..you are in good hands. So far my WC, Aja, is very good. One time, the coat check at the London NYC Hotel lost my trench coat, that chick was like...you know you are a size 0, not that many people would take ur coat...like as if I was delusional or invented a story that I checked in a coat that didn't exist at the first place. I was so upset! and almost chew her off alive (I think I insulted her verbally and sacarstically that she wished she was never born), and my FI and the hotel manager trying to calm me down so badly. Yes, I had pictures on my camera that I had my coat at the lobby to prove that I wasn't crazy. If she apologizes, I would be just..like..oh well sux to be me. But ..implying I was delusional/lying..That was not acceptable!

Quote: Originally Posted by Diva ok so I guess I am giving him a gift if you want to count the BD photos. I never thought about the kids finding the photos mexbride, now I am rethinking the situation. I know if I ever found pics like that of my mom I would be HORRIFIED!!!! LOL Diva... if ur children or grand children found the pics, just say what that old chick in the movie...Titanic....the chick in the pic is ME...Mouhahahah....and then check out their facial expression!!!

Quote: Originally Posted by Julie2011 We are still trying to decide on a honeymoon resort though (for the second week) my future hubby is really set on Cozumel so we will most likely go there- any suggestions?? We are open to not all inclusive as well, since we will be coming from a week of all inclusive it might be night to get out and try different restaurants in the city. Julie, The Grand Occidental at Cozumel is very nice with its private beach (the beach is not rocky and the sea isn't very wavy), and better than the Allegro next door. As for restaurants, you will have much better price and choices on the Playa Del Carmen side, since Cozumel targets cruise folks, they usually charge more when the cruise ships are docking there.

Quote: Originally Posted by mexbride83 Question.... are any of you girls getting your fiances wedding gifts? And if so, do you have any ideas yet as to what you are going to get them? I like practical gifts, so I will gift him a white gold bracelet or Burberry cufflinks, it will depend on my budget and bonus! heehee

Mrs.G2B, My parents are on the same boat as ur parents, and they think we should pay for the guests to get down to Mexico....WTF...WTF...I told them NO! then I guess if it is what they expect, then just don't come!

Michelle, All of us are 2011, so...still more than 6 months to go at least. I can't stress everyday for my wedding, of course I would talk about smth else to relax a bit. In life there are known knowns (which we all try to manage like make sure the date we want is available, put a deposit to secured it), known unknowns (the weather can be bad or can be nice...it is known fact that the weather on our day is an unknown), unknown knows (something like..we know there are muzzies, but we just don't know if they will eat us or not) and the unknown unknowns ( a.k.a Black Swan in financial term, which we have no clue what they are...so..there is nothing we can do to prepare for it). Heehee I thought of 11-11-11 as well, but it isn't really a good day in chinese calendar, and not convenient for people with kids in school. As for budget of the guests, beside my grannies who my parents want to pay for them 110%, I picked the Royal Playa Del Carmen, so people will kids and budget limits can stay at the Gran Porto Real ( which is very nice and great value), and they can come over on my day without paying a day pass.

Quote: Originally Posted by mexbride83 Bonnie - Can you not hire a petsitter to watch your dog as well? I think we'll be boarding our boys, but they're both young, and my baby (the doberman) goes to daycare a couple of times a week, so I'm not too worried about them staying at the kennel. Though I really really hate it Here's a pic of the boys... Conan doesn't realize that he's not a little puppy anymore and still sleeps on top of Murphy! LOL...so cute! I always thought Dobermans are aggressive dogs, I guess I was wrong. My Chow hates strangers, especially male strangers...and he is a spoiled dog, we never left him in a kennel or daycare, and he spent like 3-4 hours alone everyday at home, the rest of the time, there is always someone home with him. I will consult my vet to see what I can do...

Quote: Originally Posted by mexbride83 Oh! And we had a DNA test done on our mutt, and he is part chow! He has the black tongue, I love it:) LOL! I've seen so many Partial Chow Chows! Even my dog, he got so much attention from other dogs, I got a lab, a golden retriever and..one time..a tiny Shizhu were trying to "hump" on him (yes, my dog is a boy, and he is not gay). Actually I don't know what I should do with him during my wedding week, because he HATES strangers. Since he is old, I don't wanna stress him by bring him to Mexico too. For my fishes, I already have a timed feeder to feed them twice a day For my other 2 boys, Yoda and Mojo, I will hire a petsitter to come to my place and feed them.

Quote: Originally Posted by Linhy Here is my welcome letter card finishing touched. Still working on the back but that is going to be later since we won't know the schedule of everything yet. But I tell you.. Martha Stewart really inspires me hahaha. It'll look even better once everything is glued and stay put. She inspired me for my paper airplane STDs too! I love her show and wedding magazines so much. She has several chow chows too. Plus, she is a finance chick (used to be a Merrill Lynch Broker)!

Mexbride, Yes, most Canadian TA would prefer the "Package route", because it is much easier and much cheaper ( I tried the math, unless u catch a airplane tix sales with a hotel room sale, otherwise it is always cheaper to go with the package route) In addition, we can have the same hotel offered by many tour operators, so if Air Canada's package is sold out, they can go with WestJet or AirTransat packages with the same resort. Unless you want to stay at a hotel that is not offered by tour operators, I would say 99% of Canucks would go with a package. Not to mention that the tour operators usually has a rep who would sit at the resort 2 hours per day, so u can nag/complaint or ask questions...they also sell you excursions. One time, I went to Cozumel, and my luggage were lost...I nagged the Air Canada rep like everyday, he did an amazing job..calling and checking with the airport and I finally got my suitcase at Day 2 (it went from Toronto to Mexico City then to Cancun and from Cancun to Cozumel by boat). Imagine, if I went without the package, how many phone calls I would have to go thru in order to get my suitcase within 48 hours.

Quote: Originally Posted by mexbride83 There is definitely nothing wrong with it, it's just pureed food. So if eating banana baby food is easier for you than eating a banana (which for some it is because produce goes bad so quickly, they don't want to buy it and have it go to waste!), then by all means, do it. I feed baby food sweet potatoes to my dog, it's his favorite treat:) Really? Does he digest it well? I have a 11 yrs old chow chow, and he farts whenever he eats starchy food like beef casserole with potatoes, chinese BBQ pork congee. My parents spoil him constantly...with not so healthy but very tasty treats

Quote: Originally Posted by Riri09 Hi everyone! I haven't been so great about posting since we returned from Mexico (catching up on work has been nuts!) but I'm just so excited I have to share...I just spoke with my WC (Gelena from Weddings Riviera Maya-they are all so great!) and I have my reception booked for Kool Beach Club on May 28,2011! So I guess we have an official date! It seems soooo far away, but I know it will be here before we know it. Sorry, just had to share. This is the first "offical" thing we have done - other than ordering bridesmaids dresses! Congrats Riri09! I googled Kool Beach Blub, and wow...what a cool place! I have order any BM dresses yet. Last weekend I bought my 2 sisters to dress shopping, they are both size 00 or 00P, none of the dresses fit them (some actually looked very..weird on them). I guess I will have to order custom made ones from CHINA.

The alternative to fix the traveling cost issue is get an AHR after the wedding (which is GREAT, because I can wear the dress again!), but it will be extra cost and planning..plus it still doesn't solve the problem for international guests. I agree with Mexbride, our FI love the way we are, there is no need to change. Like every bride, I want to look good and toned in my dress, and have super long hair on my pics! (I know I know..I sound like crazy) but I always picture myself with super long hair on my wedding day. Mexbride, I read an article on Globe and Mail about adults eat baby food as snack and desert... Do u think this is a good alternative?