bigboponthebeach

Quote: Originally Posted by vlynnw Alright ladies as promised here is a list of all our May 2011 brides with date and location. If I missed anyone please let me know so I can add you to the list! May 2011 Bride List Tris – Gran Bahia Principe Runaway Bay Jamaica, May 2 Katelynn – Gran Bahia Principe Runaway Bay, May 3 Mellyrox – Grand Palladium Jamaica, May 4 Vlynnw – Dreams Tulum, May 6 vaughnhollidaynuptials – May 6 vmelendez319 – Paradisus Palma Real, May 6 Nicyx – Riu Palace Riviera Maya, May 6 Claire83 – The Royal Cancun, May 6 Becks1581 – Playa del Carmen, May 7 Nikki O – Azul Sensatori, May 7 Kurlyks – Playacar Palace, May 7 Shay – Las Vegas, May 7 Jenngene2011 – Dreams La Romana, May 7 FutureMrsRobart – Dreams Riviera Cancun, May 8 MediPea – Majestic Colonial DR, May 10 Fillandspill – Dreams Tulum, May 10 Pineapplebride – Dreams Tulum, May 10 Ahollo02 – Valentin Imperial Maya, May 10 WestBacaniWedding – Dreams Riviera Cancun, May 10 JNic – Dreams Palm Beach, May 11 *Lyndsey* - Azul Sensatori, May 12? Lolita29 – Riu Palace Los Cabos, May 14 KB&JC – Dreams Cancun, May 14 SarahE786 – The Royal Playa del Carmen, May 15 Msredd3129 – Moon Palace, May 15 Mbarnes04 – Omni Cancun, May 16 RaychelRae – Playa del Carmen, May 20 Penaalba1 – Riu Ocho Rios Jamaica, May 21 Eddieandsheila – Riu Ocho Rios, May 21 Kendall – Beaches T&C, May 21 Rosieposie – Royal Playa del Carmen, May 22 Tgallo – Paradisus Palma Real, May 22 Beaz2be – Azul Sensatori, May 27 SuperKate – Gran Porto Real Playa del Carmen, May 28 Bigboponthebeach – Azul Sensatori, May 28 IrishgirlinNY – Riu Ochos Rios, May 28 Mrs. Williams – Dreams La Romana, May 28 MaggieandJay – Azul Sensatori, May 30 JoanneIreland – Riviera Maya Thanks so much for compiling this list vlynn! Not only is it helpful, but it is gerat to be able to see brides marrying on the same day!!! Thank you!

Quote: Originally Posted by KittenHeart HAHA, don't you mean you don't have the yearS, paranoia and Type A obsession like me? Lucky you I'm embarrassed to say, much to my DH's confusion I brought back everything I could possible bring which was a lot. BTW, if you want to keep things like your cake topper etc. They threw mine away which devistated me... it was custom made and I had her paint our wedding date on the bottom specifically to keep So just have someone make sure to grab stuff after the wedding before they clean up. Thanks Amy....as always you are a wealth of info or a great source of things to keep in mind!

Quote: Originally Posted by jazz04 Has anyone used octovio montes photography out of mexico? Not I, jazz. I haven't heard of him/them either and I just completed all of my photog research and made a selection. Have you done a search on this forum to see what you could fine. You might also search wedding wire and the knot as well prior to making a selection. Out of all three, this site has by far been the best for my DW photog search.

Quote: Originally Posted by rkf1046 First of all I just want to say a big thank you for everyone on here as I've been MIA awhile myself due to a ton of work - VERY STRESSFUL! But while I was dealing with all the work issues my aunts and grandparents decided to share with a friend of mine at a crawfish boil that we had at OUR house that they weren't coming to Mexico. The worst part was they still haven't told me!!!! That was 4 weeks ago!! First of all who tells a random person they just met they aren't coming to the wedding without first telling the bride? Keep in mind I am an only child and only grandchild and we are all pretty close. My mom has even had several discussions with them about letting me know and it still hasn't happened. I know having a destination wedding is a risk and that everyone may not come, including my family, but really? I've been playing catch up with the posts and have seen that I am not alone in dealing with bad behavior displayed by people whom we've considered close at it relates to their wedding. It's helped me calm down considerably...not that I am glad any of you have to deal with this either...but the advice and support here is AMAZING!!! As though it couldn't get worse, my grandparents are now calling my mom asking why I"m okay with them not coming and why am I so willing to sacrifice them being present at my wedding? HELLO! You haven't even told me yet you weren't coming!!!!!! Not to mention we planned our date to coincide with their date, are using them as our witnesses at our legal JOP wedding and using their champagne glasses from their wedding at our wedding for the toasts. What the hell? Anyway...it's good to vent! Congrats on those whose weddings are coming up!!! Looking forward to hearing all about it! I'm sorry to hear this, rkf1046. It sucks when people don't have the balls to rsvp, especially when you see and talk to them frequently. I too have been battling with a few family issues pertaining to our DW so I might not be of much help at this point......but I would like to encourage you to stay focused on the goal and what you and your FI want for YOUR day. It sounds like your grandparents and aunts might have had exactly what they wanted for their special day and you have the right to set your own expectations for YOUR own day and wedding. As much as I'm sure you love and respect them, if they cannot understand that, they are caught up in their own selfishness. Maybe you can make them a big part of your at home vows, which it sounds like you intended to do. Other than that, let your choice for a DW wedding be something you are proud of and excited about! As long as FI is in, that's all that matters. Don't let people, even loved one's, steal your shine. I know it is easier said than done and I too am working on it......but in the end you are marrying your FI and not your grandparents or your aunts. It's all about the two of you and any considerations you make for others are a bonus!

Quote: Originally Posted by daniepps I just looked at my wedding ticker and saw that it's 1 month, 1 week and 1 day til the wedding. I'm still waiting for the "excited bride" feeling to kick in. We're having a pre-wedding meet and greet this weekend so I'm sure I'll get the feeling then. Time is flying. I'll be in Mexico sooner than I think! Congrats to you as you wind up for the big day four weeks away! I slightly envy you and wish we could just get this over with!!! I'm ready to hit Mexico already and live it up with FI already! :-) Go you! Quote: Originally Posted by amybermuda Yup, we used Paradise Catamarans. We booked 3 months in advance b/c we did a Friday night and it was Memorial Day weekend - so did not want to leave it to chance. I highly recommend. We did open bar and the food option and everything was very high quality. I think it was about $2500 for 40 people including transport, alcohol, and food. It was 6 hours total - an hour each down and back and 4 hours on the boat. Thanks for this info, Amy! How did you work out the rsvp options for this with your guests? Did you wait until you were there in Mexico and ask them interested/tell them they were invited or did you get the word out to them about this itenerary plan early? Quote: Originally Posted by KittenHeart There are no dumb questions my friend! No they will not charge you, they may charge you a setup fee. Just to give you an idea, I brought SO much stuff with me, all my flowers, paper lanterns, string lights, votives, menu's programs, you name it I brought it. They charged me a total of $180 to set it all up which was worth it. I gave them A LOT. I also mentioned to her, "there has got to be a bride that brought more than this with her right?" to which she responded, "ummm, no, you win" <--- oops The outlet's are standard US outlets, you're good! Thanks Amy! I have a "hot tools" bag for my hair issues so I need to be sure they were welcome at the resort as well! LOL Also, thanks for the info on the set-up. I don't think I have half the planning skills that you do to even get close to your set-up. :-) I just didn't want to be charged for every little thing I brought from home. Did you carry that all back home with you as well

That's hilarious! I actually visualized him spitting at the computer screen as he went nuts over this site! LOL! The saddest thing of all is that he/she has ruined their reputation here and none of us B2B that frequent this site and read this will use their services. Looks like Tammy got the last laugh as their profits are reduced due to lack of anger managment. LOL!

Okay ladies who have already married at AS, I have two dumb questions for you: 1) If I bring my own real touch flowers, will AS still charge me anything and consider that an "outside vendor" choice? 2) Are the electric outlets in the hotel the same adapter as the US? I'm already making hair plans and need to make sure that there are no adapter conversion issues for my flat iron like Europe. :-)

Quote: Originally Posted by amybermuda Thank you! I always go with different stuff and so I wanted my BMs to wear all different colors and styles. You're welcome! If you don't mind me asking, where did you order the long BM's dresses from? I was looking for something flowly and long like that for my BM's as well. I LOVE them!

Quote: Originally Posted by MaggieandJay Ladies, I am on this webinar for Azul Sensatori and I just got in writing that the Donkey is still available at Azul Sensatori so if you need it I have it! Maggie, would you mind forwarding this info to me in writing, please? I really wanted to get the donkey and cigar gentleman for FI as a surprise. He got all excited about the donkey when we first booked and when I told him the donkey was no more he looked somewhat boyishly sad. ;-) If you could send this to me, I'd really appreciate it!

Quote: Originally Posted by MaggieandJay Ladies forgive me if we have already talked about this but for the newer folks Here is the link to Azul Sensatori specifically's Facebook Login | Facebook Thanks for this link, I didn't even know ASA had a FB link! NICE! I can also share this with my friends who are on FB so they can become a little more familiar with AS. Thanks a bunch!

Quote: Originally Posted by amybermuda Hi girls, I am waiting to do my final wedding review until I get my pro pics back, but wanted to post my flower pictures for everyone. I googled a lot of flowers and also used the sticky note link regarding what flowers were in season in Mexico. I was very happy with the flowers; they were a superb quality and for the cost, I thought a great deal! Bridal bouquet: Orange & Pink lilies & roses - $50 additional (b/c size was 16" diameter) Bridesmaids Bouquets - $50 for each - yellow, purple, orange & pink lilies and daises (they added tons of yellow roses too which were pretty) Centerpieces - $50 each Inspiration Picture given was: Aisle decor - Tall glass vases of Gladiolas - $43 each - moved from canopy to in front of the DJ table Groom boutonniere - $25 - option was shown to us from Lomas in their binder at our pre wedding meeting. Sorry I dont have a close up of his flower really - but he loved it and thought it was worth $25. Imagine a guy saying that!! hehe it was cute. Hope this helps! I think they did a great job of recreating what I sent them. Your flowers are beautiful and I absolutely LOVE your BM's colors!!! Those long and flowy dresses really caught my eye! Beautiful!

Absolutely adorable and so detailed! I love the Xbox controller!!!

Cool idea! Thanks for sharing!

They look great! I like the one with the starfish!

Quote: Originally Posted by dstinationdrmr So, for my "I don't care about your wedding cause it's too expensive story" I have a good friend who (I did bullets cause it was wayyyy too long): - took my original wedding date - asked me to be in her wedding - refused my request when I asked her to be in mine - told me that since mine is a month after hers, she has to "see if they have money left" after theirs is over to come to mine - chose a dress and shoes for us that total almost $500 - chose a honeymoon location that required plane tix that were $4000 (just airfare) - cancelled that honeymoon because she needed more money to spend on the wedding (although everything was already planned and money was already alotted) - called and asked for my TA's info NOT for info on how much travel was for our wedding, but for recommendations on placed to go for her honeymoon - just got her mortgage reduced over $1k/month (approx cost for her and her FI to come to my wedding = $1600) - and constantly says she's poor!! And that sounds nothing like a friend to me. Don't know how long you've known her, but it sounds like a lop sided friendship to me. :-(

Quote: Originally Posted by meghan I am paying $2000 for Erik Rodriguez, but that is only for 4 hours. I don't know how others compare. I think he is pretty good quality, and photographers I looked at to fly down with comparable quality were a lot more expensive. Wendy and Amy had good photographers who they flew down, but I don't know how much they paid.... Meghan, I just noticed you are 10 days away from your big day!!!!!! Are you excited, or are you excited?!?!?!?

Quote: Originally Posted by KittenHeart Well, this all depends on what you are looking for. I found my dress and purchased after looking for 3 weeks straight mid August 2009. My dress came in at the end of February and after 3 fittings finally had my dress with me at home mid -April for my May 8th wedding. Just to give you an idea of the typical timeline. If you end up buying a dress off the rack, you're golden, you can wait until next year to purchase a dress. Just keep in mind, if you don't know what you want it can be a process to find you dress, it was for me, to me the dress was most important, I'm big into fashion so yeah Also like Wendy said, you still have awhile to drop the weight since your alterations won't be until right before your wedding. sharon nagassar designs, Silk bridal bouquets, silk weddings, Custom orders, Latex, Real Touch, Natural Touch & Floramatique Silk Wedding Flowers Has the most gorgeous real touch flowers ever. She has anything you could possibly want and if not, she'll dye them. I had magenta tulips in my bridesmaid bouquets. She could always dye white tulips for you. I suggest you contact her if you are doing real touch, all my flowers are real touch and I was blown away by how unbelievable they looked. Oh Amy, I forgot to thank you for the real flowers link! I went over there and checked out her stuff and it looks great!!! Thanks for the suggestion as well! Do you mind me asking how long it took for her to produce your order from the time you submitted it? Also, how did the travel/transport to AS from Cali go for your flowers and how did you pack them?

Quote: Originally Posted by taylorwd I think I bought my book on amazon, but most major bookstores carry it. I can definitely understand about wanting to look your best while trying on dresses! Wedding dress shopping is such a fun and unique experience that you don't want it tainted in any way! Just remember, if you're ordering a dress and not buying off the rack, you're getting a custom fit. Your actual fittings won't start until months later when your actual dress comes in. If you've lost a lot of weight between when you purchased and your fittings, they can take the dress in as much as needed. Ask the girls on here, lots of them kept getting more and more inches taken off their dresses. Thanks Wendy! I will go and pick it up this week!!! I will also get started on looking for the dress, thanks to you and Amy's recommendation! Looks like I have a new task! ;-) Quote: Originally Posted by KittenHeart Well, this all depends on what you are looking for. I found my dress and purchased after looking for 3 weeks straight mid August 2009. My dress came in at the end of February and after 3 fittings finally had my dress with me at home mid -April for my May 8th wedding. Just to give you an idea of the typical timeline. If you end up buying a dress off the rack, you're golden, you can wait until next year to purchase a dress. Just keep in mind, if you don't know what you want it can be a process to find you dress, it was for me, to me the dress was most important, I'm big into fashion so yeah Also like Wendy said, you still have awhile to drop the weight since your alterations won't be until right before your wedding. sharon nagassar designs, Silk bridal bouquets, silk weddings, Custom orders, Latex, Real Touch, Natural Touch & Floramatique Silk Wedding Flowers Has the most gorgeous real touch flowers ever. She has anything you could possibly want and if not, she'll dye them. I had magenta tulips in my bridesmaid bouquets. She could always dye white tulips for you. I suggest you contact her if you are doing real touch, all my flowers are real touch and I was blown away by how unbelievable they looked. Okay, Amy......thanks a bunch, I will start looking for that dress! As long as they can take it in, I'm golden! I am dedicated to dropping some poundage asap! Quote: Originally Posted by jazz04 Hi I was wondering what extras some of you have added onto your packages at AS that are not included to make the day even more special! Also I love the photos Elizabeth Medina has done does anyone know her round about price or have any other suggestions for photog? I hear that the sky is the limit. You can pretty much upgrade everything from your chairs, to your reception dinner selection, to your flowers. It all adds up and I hear that anything you've ever dreamed of.....AS can make happen for a price. Email Elizabeth Medina and request that she send you her package information. It all depends on what you want and how long you'd like her services for your special day. Good luck! Quote: Originally Posted by amcferron So, for those of you who brought your own photogs, do you mind me asking a ballpark price that you payed?? I have priced two and it just seems crazy, but then again, I have never had quotes for photographers to fly to another country either..... I agree with what one of the other ladies has said.....your photog is all a matter of personal preference. I think it depends where they fly in from and also if there are two of them (photog and assistant) versus one. We looked at photogs ranging from Mexico to Nova Scotia to Texas. We saw prices from $2K to $8K. It all dependso your photog personal style. Best of luck to you....the photog was my most important option and it consumed more of my time than the resort selection. FI said I became obsessed. LOL

Great thread! I'll be back with any info I find!

Quote: Originally Posted by taylorwd Who'd you end up going with for your photog? For a checklist, I used the ones in the book The Knot's Guide to Destination Weddings. There are pages of checklists starting from a year or so out taking you to your wedding day. This was my lifesaver, especially when I was just starting out and had no idea what I should be doing. It kept me focused on things that needed doing instead of jumping the gun. The checklists in this book do assume you have to find all your own vendors (which we don't , but it's easy to skip past those. Hm, 11 months out... You have your website done, as I recall. Have you registered? Do you have your dress? I'd be thinking about things that don't involve the resort since it's too early to really do any details with them. Overall, just enjoy that you're 11 months out and you can relax a bit! Okay, so I didn't even know The Knot had a guide to DW's! Where did you pick that up at? I will take care of that tomorrow because it sounds handy to keep me in line! I don't have my dress and haven't even window shopped yet because I wanted to lose some weight first! I was going to wait until August to start looking because by then I figured I would have dropped at least 10 pounds. I've been really unhappy with my weight lately and didn't want to become depressed while having fittings. Do you think waiting is a bad idea? And the photographer thing was SOOOO stressful! We looked at more than 60 sites and narrowed it down to 20 one week, 10 the next, 5 a few days later, and 2 up until last week. I'm going to inbox you for a bunch of reasons, I'll explain in your inbox. Quote: Originally Posted by taylorwd Sooooo, let's see that monogram! It should be attached below, I hope! ;-) I'm still learning this whole multi-quote and attachment thing with this forum. I need a tutorial for this forum some days, I swear! LOL Quote: Originally Posted by Boam2be Hello everyone, Im a newbie from the uk and just wanted to say thankyou. Ive read this forum, right from the beginning, starting a couple of weeks ago and have been hooked, ever since. The advice and support that you give on this forum is great. I plan to get married there September 2011. Ive booked the hotel but im still undecided which wedding package to choose (silver or gold) so havent got my wedding day yet. Is the gold package worth the extra money, or should i just go for the silver and add extras? Thanks Natalie Welcome Natalie!!! This thread is one of the best things I have come across since planning! I too read from page one until present and these ladies are a resource worth their weight in gold! The free package was not an option for us, we were told only at Azul Beach. We went with the cheapest and figured we'd add on as needed. Best of luck to you planning! Quote: Originally Posted by KittenHeart Love hearing this I know how you feel, love you all too, you all are wonderful women I feel fortunate to be a part of our little thread You are on the right track! Right now I'd be doing the big staple stuff, avoid details until later. I would absolutely start looking for your dress, if you get a dress that has to be made it takes 8 months and you want time for alterations etc. It's a big decision and you don't want to be rushed. Then I would start looking into flowers, decide what you want to do, resort flowers, real touch etc. If you want anything custom made do that early too. Sometimes it can take awhile. Also deciding the theme and colors of your wedding now is a good idea so everything looks coordinated etc. Good luck! I would LOVE to try on dresses but I'm being really vain right now and don't want to try them on until I lose some weight. I was giving myself until August to drop the initial pounds for a proper fitting. Do you think this is a bad idea? I've decided to do real touch flowers, but I really want orange tulips and have not been able to find tulips PERIOD online. Has anyone seen any? I've decided our colors will be burnt orange, khaki brown, and white. I'm going for the whole burnt orange, starfish, and raffia theme. I LOVE raffia for some strange reason! LOL

Quote: Originally Posted by taylorwd Who'd you end up going with for your photog? For a checklist, I used the ones in the book The Knot's Guide to Destination Weddings. There are pages of checklists starting from a year or so out taking you to your wedding day. This was my lifesaver, especially when I was just starting out and had no idea what I should be doing. It kept me focused on things that needed doing instead of jumping the gun. The checklists in this book do assume you have to find all your own vendors (which we don't , but it's easy to skip past those. Hm, 11 months out... You have your website done, as I recall. Have you registered? Do you have your dress? I'd be thinking about things that don't involve the resort since it's too early to really do any details with them. Overall, just enjoy that you're 11 months out and you can relax a bit! Okay, so I didn'eve even know The Knot had a guide to DW's. Where did you pick that up at? I will take care of that tomorrow because it sounds handy to keep me in line! I don't have my dress because I wanted to lose some weight first! I was going to wait until August to start looking because by then I figured I would have dropped at least 10 pounds. I've been really unhappy with my weight lately and didn't want to become depressed while having fittings. And the photographer thing was SOOOO stressful! We looked at more than 60 sites and narrowed it down to 20 one week, 10 the next, 5 a few days later, and 2 up until last week. I'm going to inbox you for a bunch of reasons, I'll explain in your inbox. Quote: Originally Posted by taylorwd Sooooo, let's see that monogram! It should be attached below, I hope! ;-) Quote: Originally Posted by Boam2be Hello everyone, Im a newbie from the uk and just wanted to say thankyou. Ive read this forum, right from the beginning, starting a couple of weeks ago and have been hooked, ever since. The advice and support that you give on this forum is great. I plan to get married there September 2011. Ive booked the hotel but im still undecided which wedding package to choose (silver or gold) so havent got my wedding day yet. Is the gold package worth the extra money, or should i just go for the silver and add extras? Thanks Natalie You are on the right track! Right now I'd be doing the big staple stuff, avoid details until later. I would absolutely start looking for your dress, if you get a dress that has to be made it takes 8 months and you want time for alterations etc. It's a big decision and you don't want to be rushed. Then I would start looking into flowers, decide what you want to do, resort flowers, real touch etc. If you want anything custom made do that early too. Sometimes it can take awhile. Also deciding the theme and colors of your wedding now is a good idea so everything looks coordinated etc. Good luck! I would LOVE to try on dresses but I'm being really vain right now and don't want to try them on until I lose some weight. I was giving myself until August to drop the initial pounds for a proper fitting. Do you think this is a bad idea? I've decided to do real touch flowers, but I really want orange tulips and have not been able to find tulips PERIOD online. Has anyone seen any? I've decided our colors will be burnt orange, khaki brown, and white. I'm going for the whole burnt orange, starfish, and raffia theme. I LOVE raffia for some strange reason! LOL

Oh and I totally forgot.... 3 - Ordered and received $4 .jpeg hi-res monogram from ETSY.

Before I headed to bed, I just had to say how much I LOVE this freakin' thread! We all seemed to come together, drop a few F-Bomb smilies, encourage one another, and log out of here with our pep back in our step about our DW planning or experiences. I appreciate all of you and your support! All of you had the most honest and genuine advice and it helped me get out of my temporary DW pity funk. Upwards and Onward! So I haven't been good at the whole to-do's list thingy, so I'm going to ask you more senior or advanced brides what I should be doing with my time as far as planning and preparation right now. I've done the following and I keep feeling like I have all the time in the world, but I know 11 months will sneak up on me and I'll wish I completed more tasks. 1- Sent out STD email and ordered STD magnets from ETSY. 2- Booked photog and paid deposit. What's next Does anyone have a DW checklist or know of where I can find one on here?

Hey, hey, hey now! I am sooooooo excited to have fallen across this forum! I too am a chocolate bride and I JUST began growing my hair out in December! I am struggling because I have had relaxers ever since I was in High school. I got tired of the texture of my hair, how brittle it was, and just how "un" natural I felt if that makes any sense. I have a little girl and I started thinking about the images I was imprinting in her brain and it made me uncomfortable enough to give up the creamy crack. lol I've been using Carol's Daughter, as I do on my daughter's hair.....but some days the transition is just HARD! Anywho, I am getting married in Riviera Maya in May of next year and I have been fretting about my hair! Yesterday, it even crossed my mind to wonder if the electrical outlets in Mexico would work with my flat iron! LOL It's that serious!!! Anyway, I'm happy to be here and looking forward to sharing hair highs and lows with you ladies!!!!

Thank you for this tip!