CanadianLindsey

Sorry I can't help you, mine was just ok, wouldn't recommend her

We sent out invites 9 months before the wedding and asked for RSVP's and a deposit of $300 due back 7 months before the wedding(final payment was due 1month before wedding). Most people have to book off work and arrange for saving money and dog/house sitters so 7 months seemed reasonable. This time frame worked well for us and was required by our TA because of a group booking package. We still had some people not RSVP and had to call them but they were all not coming and just didn't bother to reply.

We were at our resort for 3 days prior to our wedding so I just limited the amount of food I ate at each meal(our resort didn't have buffets, but it did serve 5 course meals, so I would skipped the appi and dessert for the days before the wedding) and upping the water intake was really necessary with the heat and all the rich food we ate. If you do have buffets at your resort, be wary of any meats or dairy that has been sitting out for awhile on the buffet. Getting sick for your wedding day is worse than gaining a few pounds! My brother missed our whole reception after eating a hamburger poolside the day before!!

Take your time picking your resort because it really is the biggest decision. If you can find a resort in your price range that has good wedding services it will save you a ton of stress. Some resorts just seem to be better dealing with weddings than others, making it feel personal, special and unique, while others are like wedding factories and pump out multiple weddings daily. What is it you like about the Gran Bahia principe? Maybe if you list your needs/wants we can help and be your sounding board!

ambularose I LOVE the first one! The colour looks amazing with your hair and skin tone too! The shape it gives you is much more flattering than the second one. Don't worry, I second guessed my dress up until the day of and ended up loving it once it was on with the hair and jewelry. And seeing my photos made me love it more!! Once you have picked one just go with it and enjoy it(unlike me!) because no one else will ever know the difference! Let us know which one you choose...I love the look on your face too!!

We got ours at Le Chateau. They had some light weight fabric suits and good colour selection for shirts and ties. Our GM wore black pants and vests with a turquoise dress shirt all from there.

And I thought SunWing was bad because they screwed up our guests transfers, flight meals and room categories/beds, but at least we were lucky enough not to have flight problems. I do think that all of these vacation package companies are shady and have very poor customer service. It is pretty sad that most of the people they screw over are couples trying to plan weddings. If I did it again I would book my flights, rooms and transfers separate so my guests wouldn't have had to deal with cranky flight attendants, constant pestering by the Sunwing rep at the hotel and unreliable ground transfers! The one guest we had from overseas booked his room and ground transfers directly through our resort and had awesome service.

Yes, my/are bags are already packed!! No, but have a drink for me/us!

Our travel agent had us bumped up so when I got my travel documents the week before we found out we were able to bring the extra luggage. It sucks that they are so strict with weight in Canada, when you leave Mexico they just randomly weigh bags!!

My dress was corset style and I had the panel behind it taken out so a bra was not an option. My dress was too big on top, but to have it altered would have been pricey because I had beading on the bust. I had to have cups sewn in and then also had to add extra padding(swimsuit inserts actually worked awesome!) because I am not very big in that area! Once my dress was laced up nice and tight, nothing moved and I forgot I even had the padding in. It looked pretty natural too. Air Transat should bump you to their elite package if your booking as a group and then you get extra luggage weight for free. We had 22 people fly with us so they bumped us and another couple to elite plus and we didn't have to pay anything for our heavy bags(and mine was so big it had to go in the oversized area!) Also you could give out your bags to guests that live in your city before you go to minimize your weight or get a friend who packs light to take some down for you. I had my Dad be my pack mule and got him to add my candles, programs, shoes, etc to his almost empty suitcase!! He also took our projector and lap top(for our slide show) as his carry on. What a good guy!!!

Alberta is the same as BC. You have to hire a marriage commissioner, you can't just go to City hall or a court house to get married. It does take a bit more research and effort, but in the end, I'm glad we couldn't just go down to City hall, because we got to have our legal ceremony in our own home with our puppy and our two witnesses. It was a simple, quick and legal only because our Mexican wedding was the real deal for us, but it is pretty unique and special to have had that moment in our first house! We paid $80 for the paperwork and $175 for the marriage commissioner and we didn't tip her...I honestly never thought of it!

We stuck to our no shower, no gifts and no registry policy, but still ended up getting lots of post wedding gifts of money and gift cards. It was so appreciated and so nice of our friends and family! Makes me feel guilty, but love them all even more for being so generous and thoughtful!!

Ask to see all the ceremony sites and reception sites that are available for your wedding day and time. Gazebo 55 is the favorite(I had my wedding there!) since it is tucked away on the edge of the resort and very private. For reception sites, Tucannes is great since it has a pool, bar, dance floor area and covered area in case of rain(Ask about usual weather and sun set time for the time of year you'll be there. Our bad weather back up plan was a huge issue for us, but it ended up not raining durning the ceremony so we didn't have to use it). Also the white Gazebo by the salt water pool is a common beach reception area, we saw 3 while there, but be sure to check it out in person because when we were there it smelled like a fish tank! Be sure to ask about any decor you may want, almost everything is extra, regardless of your package because the packages only come with standard items(eg: red aisle runner is included, other colours cost more) If you need real photos of anything I can post some for you. Just let me know what you want to see. Hope this helps you a bit!

I like this assmonkey term everyone is using! he he!! Did you give everyone a date that they must book by? We had told our guests and wedding party the resort needed final numbers 4 months before to secure us our price quotes on reception and ceremony items/food. It was true, but I fibbed the timeline a bit because I wanted everyone booked early enough to give us time to pair up singles(to avoid that extra charge for single occupancy) buy and order favors, wedding party gifts, BM dresses, OOT bags, etc. It also forced everyone to book through the group rate with our TA since it was too early to get last minute deals online. You could try this to to get her to book sooner. It is really selfish of her to expect you to just wait it out with her until the price drops...it may never drop, mine didn't! Just a thought...

Yes but it would be more like bungee pushing since I wouldn't have the nerve to jump! Would you ever go on the Bachelor(if you were single of course!)?

We had our guests put deposits down in April ($300 to hold the price quoted by our TA)for our December wedding in Cancun, then paid in full in October. We weren't able to get quotes until 9 months before our departure dates due to the flight schedules. And we went with a package deal since it was way cheaper than booking separately, even with seat sales, but I am from Canada, so everything is pricier here!

I am so sad that December 2010 has come and gone. everyone's photos are amazing and it seems like everything went smoothly for all! Here are some of my photos from my photogas blog. http://citlallirico.com/blog/?p=2761 We loved her and our resort, it was the funniest, best 2 weeks ever! We may even go back for our one year anniversary!! Fingers crossed! Happy Valentine's Day to all you newlyweds!

These were my wedding shoes...Chinese Laundry from Winners, got a great deal, and I loved them! And I can were them again and again!

For your ceremony music question, the resort has a complimentry ipod stereo you use and you bring your own ipod, pre loaded with the songs in order, and they will play them for you. They did a great job on the timing at ours. As for your after party, we tried to extend our private party past 11pm but the staff would not budge for any amount of cash. I can understand why though, because there are rooms close to every party location and the sound of the music really travels. We headed to the disco after 11pm and had a great time there too! I think by 1 or 2am we were all in bed because it was such a long day! I am pretty sure the only drink service after 11pm is at the disco, beach drink service ends at 5pm once they start setting up for "candlelight dinner on the beach" and we were told no fireworks or bonfires were allowed on the resort, but check with your WC.

Their WC email resposnses are very sporadic until you get close to your wedding day. Try emailing them and be very persistent! Good Luck!!

We paid for attire and a gift for each of our BM and GM plus some little things along the way. I would never pay for their travel unless it was a dire situation. Can you imagine the cost! My wedding party knew it was a DW and had paid deposits before we even asked them to be in our wedding. That way no one felt like they had to come(had they agreed to be in the wedding before knowing it was a DW) if they couldn't for financial reasons.

I where heels all the time to work so I had no problem with the shoes, even on the sand. I wore them till the bitter end!! The platform really helps!

I am in Canada and my 21 day orders always come early, regardless of what I ordered. Last time it took 15 days only!

I really wanted to buy mine from there, Angel was so nice! But I eneded up finding my dress at Bridal Debut. I have a feeling the customer service would have been much better at Novelle!

You've got a good sister there!!!