prettypigpig

that is great idea! magnets at the back! I wanna use sand dollars as seating cards too

The thing is for Spring-Summer 2011, most of the airlines will not have their flight schedule til Sept 2010, unless ur wedding coordinator works for an airline...otherwise s/he can't do pretty much about it, for over 300 guests, u can rent the whole plane, so no problemo of booking way in advanced. therefore I think I will do my site visit, book the wedding package and photographers and videographer...and get the travel package later.... Based on my obervations (60+ months of experience, maybe because I am a portfolio analyst, sometimes I plot charts to show it to my fiancé! He got used to my over-analytical mind.)most of the the travel package will go down in price 2 months before the travel date, as the wholesellers are trying to sell as much as they can...and then price will firm up during the last month, because they know u wanna go there (don't wait for last minute deals)! With some exception like extreme bad weather in Canada that made everyone wanna goto mexico to get some sun one year.

Quote: Originally Posted by fsuambs Bonnie, it must feel great to be done. Congrats! My diamond is a blue diamond. My dad gave it to my mom, and Josh had it reset in the micropave band. My wedding band is exactly the same. I can't to get married so I can wear it! Thanks Linhy! Nicola, thanks for the warm welcome. We will be visiting other resorts as well as Riu Palace Las Americas. I just e-mailed my TA this morning for suggestions. I'll be sure to let you girls know. Peterpanpixiedust, congrats on your contract for Dreams. Josh proposed to me at a Dreams in Nuevo Vallarta and it was wonderful. As far as surviving graduate school while working, chairing a committee in Junior League, and planning a wedding. Well, it's tough but I love everything I'm doing. When things get difficult, try to stay positive and remind yourself that there is a reason for doing all of it. When I'm sleep deprived which is often, I remind myself I can sleep when I'm dead. It will all be worth it! If you ever need to vent, I'm here! I also figured having a destination would be less stressful. It is to a certain extent but I'm a little bit of a "control freak," and we plan on doing a lot of things on our own like invitations. Get well soon! fsuambs, Your ring is gorgeous!! and I really like the antique micropavé style. I am very happy to be OVER with my studies as in no more sleepness nights and no more 8 hours exams. However, I am thinking about going to teach part time soon ( I guess I miss school...lol)

MexiBride, Lucky you! My FI gave me the full discreation and planning of our wedding! Grad years go by very fast! I 've been there and came out just fine. I wish I can have my dog and cats in the pics, but my dog is a bit too old to travel, he will be 13 yrs old chow next year, and I don't want to stress him too much. As for my cats, they don't like to travel neither. FutureMRsYak, Good trick, I should cc my emails too, maybe I won't have to wait in from of my laptop like a mad online gambler anymore! heehee As for which hotel and price...I decided to go down to Mexico for a site visit in June (after my FI did his CFA exam), then we will set the date and the location.

Well, we have check the price of their wedding package too! It is nice to have a nice location without spend a fortune. In addition, we have to consider our guests' budget too. Paradisus does look nice...I wonder how much are their wedding packages?

Bethbride 1, I will haggle as much as I can! I see you are booked at the Barcelo, how long in advanced u need to hold a date in July, and is July 4 a popular date for wedding at the Barcelo?

Amynjoe, Congrats! Thx. I will try to be patient then.. Do you know if July 4 is a popular date? and how early in advance should u hold a date? which package did u went with? and how was the beach overall? were there a lot of kids around?

Yes Jan 11 is a good date according to the Chinese "TONG SHING" aka the chinese calendar for events. My FI doesn't wanna get married in January, and snow storms can be a risk given we are from Montreal. I will book the whole package, plane-transfer-hotel, it is much easier this way. Plus, there are always reps of the package vendor at the resort to nag and complain in case smth went wrong.

Azul Sensatori is the top pick of my TA for family resort. Paradisus is an adult only..so..no kids and little monsters... I am looking at the Barcelo Maya Palace and OCEAN TURQUESA...so far ....can't make a decision!

Yeah 1-11-2011 is a good day according to the chinese calendar!

So far, Excellence and Royal Playa Del Carmen are adults only! Royal PDC, is next to Gran Porto, its sister resort, which can take kids. Dreams Tulum is nice, except they can have 3 weddings at the same day and it is 2.5 hours away from the airport...so it takes for ever to get there. As for the beach...it is the only place u cannot be sure, because they usually put new sands on the beach every year..and hurricanes sometimes help, otherwise, there is always erosion on the Mayan Riviera beach.

I will buy the organza gift bags here, print the tags..and buy the tequila at PDC.

svetayasofiya, u are from Montreal as well? did u went with the Air Transat package? I can't wait for ur review!

Quote: Originally Posted by svetayasofiya I just got back from my wedding at the Beach (I know not the Palace) but it's all the same staff that takes care of everything... let me just tell you that they work so hard for you when you are there that your wedding will be nothing short of perfect. Don't stress over lack of email communication like I did, because these guys are pros and everything gets sorted out in person. I had Gabriela and I can not do anything but praise her. I will post my review shortly, but if you have any specific questions PM me and I'll do everything I can to help you guys out. February was a really busy month for them, there were nothing but weddings constantly. Gabriela told me March is a little slower so maybe you'll hear more from them then, but keep in mind these girls work 6 days a week for over 12 hours a day most days. They live on the property, so give them a break. I was fortunate to have met all of them and no matter who you have you'll be well taken care of. That is what I think as well. All previous brides seemed so happy with the WC and the staffs...and all the ones waiting next to their PC/laptop were like talking to a wall. I guess I will try to be patient...

wow, only 20 hours away, I felt like I left the forum for 1 week! Tifuhhknee: Stunning ring again! I like the style. So far, we want to get married in June, after the CFA exam (yes, my fiancé decided to torture himself for 3 yrs) and the school year finish usually in the late June (for guests with kids or guests who are teachers)...but then I heard that June is the rainy season...hmmmm...

Quote: Originally Posted by fsuambs Hey Ladies, Congrats to all the 2011 brides to be! I had made a couple of posts when this thread first started, however, things have been crazy busy for me being a graduate student, working almost full time, and to top it off I've had this horrible cold for pretty much the entire month of February. Anyways, I'm back! We are really excited because the resort, Riu Palace Las Americas, just accepted Jan. 15th, 2011 as our wedding date! We haven't signed any agreements yet because I have "convinced" Josh on taking a mini-vacation to visit some resorts in April. I'm actually shopping for rates this weekend. Well, I'm glad to be back! Welcome back! I totally understand! I was doing my MBA, CFA, FRM and working full time for the past 3 yrs. I am glad that I am over with that and I have my life back! Oh...is it a blue diamond? I love ur micropavé band.

I know the resort is nice. But the service of their wedding dept so far...so bad....

Diana, You are welcome! A lot of people thinks Mexico is an under-developped country like Cuba, my best friend was all surprised when she saw a Burger King, Sam's Club...and Starbucks in PDC!

Nicola, all we can hope for is good bull market in 2010, and a fat bonus to pay for a good TTD session + honeymoon! LOL! After years of doing the CFA, sometimes I wonder if it is worth all those endless study days and nights. Mischaka, you are so lucky! I wish I can get a 110% confirmation from my god brother and he can be my photographer.

I am sure you still have plenty of time to sort this Saturday or no Saturday issue out!

hmm...I guess it is not too early then. I would prefer more artsy style. I am an amateur photographer and I can photoshop too. Therefore, I am more picky on photo. My god brother is a pro photographer too, but he is also getting married in 2011 at Hong Kong, so he isn't sure if he can come. Therefore, I am looking at plan B now.

Quote: Originally Posted by RaychelRae I don't think it's too early at all! In fact, I've had mine booked for a couple months now. Mainly because photos are very important to me and photographers seem to change their prices and package quite often so I wanted to be sure to lock in to them. Raychel, Which one did u book? are u going to take a TTD session too? I remember u have an excel file with all the price...but I need to get to JUNIOR in order to download it! So far Elizabeth is 2X the price of Cecilia, but she offers 2X of editing plus other things.

OK I know it is still very early...but did anyone start to look for a good photographer and a good videographer? So far, I get the price of Cecilia Dumas and Elizabeth Medina. I will ask for Sascha Gluck too...but so far...they aren't cheap, but pics are so important! I feel like spurge a bit, but at the same time I wanna stay reasonable too. Elizabeth Medina said it is not to early to book for 2011, May and June are popular months!!

Thanks Michelle! I won't line the enveloppes like those in the pic, I will get those vintage airmail enveloppes with red&blue strips on the borders from a website.

Nicola, I guess we are on the same boat! Finance chicks doing all the forecast models, research into every single details, limiting the VaR and unintented exposures, maximize the Alpha! LOL Michelle, all ur ring need is a rodium dip, then ur ring will look like new! the ring irritation can be caused by nickel allergy, even it is a 18K, sometimes it contains some nickel in it, and some people have allergy. I have seen others who got itchy patches at the ring finger, and all they wear is a simple band. For my STDs, I picked the DIY paper airplane on Martha Stewart's wedding website. I used Adobe Photoshop to add the text on the template.