CanadianLindsey

We did the same thing with our ipod and it was great! Had 24 people too! Do you and your FI know that men have to wear long pants for dinners at the resorts? I don't think he will be allowed to wear shorts at your reception

Gazebo 55 is the best spot on the whole resort! You will love it!! And you saw my crazy high heels, and I did fine on the sand! We had a fabric aisle runner that was a bit tricky for all us girls in heels because the spikes poked through it, but we just used the guys help to get down the aisle! I had lots of sand in my shoes and did sink a bit during our vows but it was fine, I'd wear my shoes again on the beach in a heart beat!! The wooden runner was too pricey for me and I loved the look of our teal fabric runner, I think no matter what it's hard to walk on sand. One of the best moments of the day came from those shoes...when my Dad walked me down the aisle and I said to him, "Ah, it's kind of hard to walk in the sand"...."Good" he said, "then we can walk slow and you can enjoy this moment and take it all in!" Great fatherly advice that I thought of all throughout my wedding day PS Post a picture of your shoes!

We did one bag per room and then just doubled up some items(like sunscreen, hand sanitizer, luggage tags, etc) in the bags for non couples.

I heard of this too before I went to Cancun last November, but then I totally forgot to get my receipts in order. Good news is they only checked a few of our guests bags and they didn't have a problem with any of our decor items or anything at all really(I had split things among my family members for the luggage weight issue). I think they are looking for people bringing in big quantities of items to resell in Mexico illegally so wedding groups aren't really their targets! Hope this helps you

Welcome temporary Canuck!! What brings you to Montreal for so long? Hopefully you can get some of your friends or family back home to do some shopping for you too as you'll find everything in Canada is more expensive...or at least it seems that way!

My husband and GM just wore black linen pants, dress shirts and vests to stay cool (no suit jackets) they looked very good and we bought them at Le Chateau at the end of summer for a great price!

You use your maiden name since you cannot legally change your name until you have your marriage certificate(which takes a few weeks/days to be processed after your ceremony)

I used mine and my BM bouquets as centerpieces in vases(with no water) and they were beautiful...they actually lasted for a few days after the wedding too!!

More ammodium and some cold meds. Our group ended up going through ammodium like candy and my husband had to buy cold meds from the gift shop for an outrageous amount and then try and get the directions translated!! Also those battery operated tea lights for the reception since it is so windy near the beach, our candles just kept blowing out

Corset back was the one thing my FI requested of my dress, and I am so glad he did! Although it was hard to find corset back dresses, in the end I loved my Maggie Sottero(Denise), so comfortable and the back was stunning!! When else can you where a corset back dress but on your wedding day?!

I quoted our resorts dress code from their website on our invitation by saying..."dress code is in effect for all dinners including the wedding reception(insert dress code here). It helped because then it made it seem like it was the resort that required fancier clothing, not me and my FI!

That is why I said maybe too...for me, I didn't even think about "outside vendors" until I found this website! I just assumed resorts gave you an "all in" package or packages with add on's, so I was quite happy to have a list of photographers, dj's, etc to choose from. The policy change is the biggest issue I think...resorts tend to do this often with little things and then once you get there, your kind of at their mercy, very sneaky and unprofessional! That bride should get her deposit back or at least be allowed an exception. On a side note, I found that having a photographer who does tons of weddings at my resort really helped cut down on the time it took her to do our photos and find locations, and therefore gave us exactly the photos we wanted in a timely manner so we could join our guests at cocktail hour to get some candid shots.

No I didn't get video, but I kind of wish I did. The day goes by in such a fast blur it would have been nice to see it all and remember our ceremony! Lol! Here are some of my photos, good luck deciding!! http://citlallirico.com/blog/?p=2761

Congratulations on your engagement Stina9562! I used ClaudiaPhoto and had Citalli Rico as my photographer. We cannot say enough about how amazing her photographs are and how much fun she was to work with! I still check out her blog to see her newest wedding pics and she has been really helpful with some Spanish questions I had. Highly recommend her and if you can afford to, get her for your whole ceremony and reception, we wish we had her longer than the 3 hours! PS EDR was an amazing resort too! If you get lost in all the posts, just throw out a question and there are a few of us recent EDR brides out there that would love to help!!

I just left La Senza and they have %75 off their lotions and hand sanitizers! Great for OOT bags or BM/ Mom gifts...I got the hand sanitizer for $0.63 and it smells like cupcakes

Was your photographer's name Susan? I think she was the photographer for a wedding I was in! She was really nice and the pictures were great! I used Amsterdam tailor downtown and she did a good job. She was really honest with me about how pricey it would be to take in the bust(it was covered in beadwork) rather than just doing it and sticking me with a huge bill. Wonder if you could use your train fabric for your sleeves?! Or maybe have a garter made!!

I know exactly what you mean! Dividing up your time while still enjoying yourself can be hard to do, so less is more! I'm so happy for you that it all turned out!

We had an ipod wedding with great success! We rented the resort's stereo system ($250) mostly because it came with a microphone(which we used for speeches) and so we wouldn't have to worry about packing a docking station that may or may not have been loud enough. For the difference in price compared to a DJ, I can't understand why you wouldn't use your ipod! Now whenever songs from our reception play on my ipod, it brings back the best memories!

Seasides was one of my top 3 choices and I'd love to hear your thoughts on it once your all home. I would still like to vaction there one day! 3kitties, we had a 3pm ceremony on Dec 1 and by the time our quick ceremony was over and we started to take pictures we were losing light fast! So you may be ok with the 3:30 ceremony, but google sunset times for the Mayan in August, that's what I did! JenFL I was married at a Karisma resort too and if you just don't mention that one of your guests is also your photographer, you'll be fine. My Uncle was up the whole ceremony taking photos and videos for us and the WC never said anything. Getting a day pass for a photographer would be when you have to pay the outside vendor fee. We didn't buy much from the Lomas site, just flowers and rented the table runners, vases and aisle runner. In the end it turned out to be about the same price I would have been charged here at home for those things and it saved me from having to purchase and haul stuff down myself. Try to keep in mind that you need minimal decor stuff, it is really beautiful and lush already since your in Mexico and at a 5 star resort. A few candles(battery operated b/c of wind!) or lanterns, some flowers or favors on the tables and it looks amazing!! Enjoy girls, I loved my El Dorado experience! Mmmmm...free room service!!!

Showers are always such a touchy subject...although I have been to and hosted a lot of them, I still don't like the underlying notion of having a party just to get gifts. Some traditions should be left in the past! Lol!

I would budget anywhere from $1500 and up depending on how important photography is for you. You can get packages for less but the quality and quantity is not always good. We paid $1850 for 3 hours with 2 photographers and got all photos editied, on a disc, as well as 150 printed photos. Make sure your photographer will give you a digital copy of all of your photos so you can print out more for your family and yourself.

Why has your resort banned some photograhers? We used Citlalli of ClaudiaPhoto and loved her and her team! Our pictures were very artistic and natural, which we loved! I'm not one for all the posed, typical wedding shots! Here is the link to my photos on her blog...http://citlallirico.com/blog/?p=2761 and my review on this site complete with photos http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/products/claudiaphoto-wedding-photography/reviews/4212 Good Luck in your search!

As a side note; keep in mind that an All Inclusive resort doesn't have to mean "spring break" atmosphere or that they do tons of weddings a day. There are lots of small or boutique feeling resorts that have AI plans or even big resorts that have a private feel. I know our AI resort was the perfect fit for us because it was a higher end "Gourmet All Inclusive" resort so the food was amazing and we were treated like royalty everyday, including our wedding day, without pulling out our wallet everytime we turned around! It also kept our guests together all week since no one had to worry about sticking to a budget for meals or activities once we got there.

Do people really think it's ok to just show up to your wedding with out telling you? DW or hometown wedding, that is just strange and inconsiderate! They must think they are really special poeple! LOL! My motto...no rsvp=not a wedding guest! And only wedding guests get chairs, dinner, programs and favors!(because my resort needed to know our #'s months in advance so they could bring in chairs for the ceremony and so I could lock in the prices for dinner and cocktail hour) I would love to know what your note or your website said! Quote: Originally Posted by bmadzia1 Sorry, but I must agree with all the ladies. It does sound a bit rude, or a bit pushy. We all know how you feel as most of us went or are going through it. We have set up a website on which I have provided all details and then once a week a do an update. If there are particular people I want to come, I've already talked to them; they know all the details. You can't really make people rsvp, especially for a DW. This is the harsh part of DW. Keep in mind that a lot of people will wait till last minute to book hoping they'll get a 'last minute' sell out. Some of my invited guests have told me they might 'surprise' us and just show up. I've included a note about element of surprise for a wedding on my website. Politely saying that I have to notify the resort's WC about number of people for my wedding etc etc. (I'm not a fan of surprises for something I'm putting a lot of effort planning). Don't stress over the RSVP. When people are ready to book they will. Some people will not even tell you they are not coming. My wedding is in Sept. I sent out the invites in January. I didn't even bother with RSVP cards (I thought it was a huge waste of money and stamps). Since I did passport invites, I dedicated a whole page to Reservations and RSVP. Asked to be notified by phone, email, via website or in person by July 1st if they are coming. Gave my self 2 months to order more favours etc.

Sorry I didn't see your post until now! Our wedding at EDR was amazing, we still can't stop talking about it with our friends and family that came! I highly recommend it for a wedding, beautiful ceremony locations and your guests are treated like royalty!! I posted a review on EDR too if you want to see the whole story.