shannonmarie

http://www.weddinglinensdirect.com/ http://www.bbcrafts.com/ http://www.tableclothsfactory.com/default.asp http://www.cvlinens.com/index.php

Here's what I have from the wedding guide: Linen (per table)1 $18 to $25 Overlay (per table)1 $18 to $25 Special colored napkins (per person) $4 Bows for chairs (different colors) (per chair) $5 Online will be much cheaper. I've found chair sashes starting at just .60 cents. And table runners for under $2.

I know! :-( The cost makes me sick to my stomach when I think about it.. Although it is cheaper than a wedding at home, it's still becoming more than I originally imagined this would be! My dad's shocked. When I mentioned a destination wedding, he envisioned it would be us and maybe a few family members, possibly about 10 people TOTAL... I kept telling him more people would come but he didn't believe me... I guess I can understand, out of 50 people coming, only 10 are from our side! The rest are me and my FI's friends and his side of the family!

You're not kidding! We were originally only expecting 40 people max, but now it's looking like we may have over 50! I was hoping that wasn't going to happen, don't get me wrong, I'm delighted that so many people are coming, but the cost just gets insane! I'm surprised you only get 4 additional meals in exchange for not having cocktail hour! That's stinks! So will you have your guest just go to the lobby or beach bar after the ceremony, before the reception?

I feel the same way about the dessert! No need for wedding cake AND dessert. We are opting for 2 more apps during cocktail hour in place of the dessert.

Did anyone read this article? The average cost of a wedding in 2012 was $28,427! That is insane! $76,687 if you live in NYC! Makes me so happy we chose to go another route! http://finance.yahoo.com/news/theknot-com-weddingchannel-com-reveal-141000109.html;_ylt=AwrNUbBozzhRqEUALuDQtDMD

I don't think we are adding extra d'oeuvers for cocktail hour either. Or wedding cake. I've heard from past brides that it's really plenty. So do you think a bouquet like this will be included in the Divine since it's just roses and callas?

I agree. You should be fine with the mens shirts!

Not at all! I think that's a fabulous idea!

That's pretty set up, but I still vote for a round table set up! Let us know which you decide!

Do a search on the forum, you'll find tons of brides who can give you information on the benefits of using a TA

I just used a travel agent for the convenience of directing my guest to one place to book. Some booked on their own through expedia, etc but for me it was nice to be able to direct everyone that had questions or who don't travel often to book through Wendy. As for prices, a travel agent can get you discounts or perks offered through the resort if you do a room block. We did not do a room block so I am not sure what discounts they are. We had to block a minimum of 10 rooms and we had to pay out of pocket then and we just didn't have it and at the time I had NO clue how many guest we would have and I was worried we wouldn't meet the minimum room requirement.

Just my opinion but I'm not a fan of head tables. I've been to so many weddings that my FI was in and we couldn't sit together. I just didn't like it. Although since this is a DW, your BM's girlfriend will probably meet people and make friends throughout the trip, but she may still like to eat dinner next to her boyfriend. I'd like to see a pic of the 3 long tables your talking about. I can't picture it. If everyone is facing each other, that would be nice. Sometimes the long tables are soooo long, it's kind of awkward if you have so many people at one table. It's hard to talk to everyone! We aren't in the Bamboo Room, we are in Castaways, but we are opting for a sweetheart table (just bride and groom) and the rest round tables. I'm sure whatever you decide will look just fine!

I would definitely contact Wright Travel Agency. Tammy is the owner and also runs this website. I am using Wendy Hicks with Wright Travel and she's been awesome helping my guest. I have had a few guest who insist on booking on their own, but for the guest who have used her, they all say such great things! She is VERY knowledgeable about Cancun and Destination Weddings! I recommend contacting them! Here's Wendy's email address if you'd like to contact her: [email protected]

I have also read that the terrace is too narrow for round tables.

Here's 2 medicine label templates in case anyone would like to use them! Advil Labels.doc Immodium.doc

I found them on Ebay.. Cheap too! http://www.ebay.com/itm/140585900846?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649 How many do you need? I have about 70 or so I can send to you.

Ibo I ordered a future mrs. shirt from Vistaprint a few months ago an I was very unimpressed with the fit. It was oddly shaped & I didn't like it at all. I can be fairly picky with the fit of my shirts though so maybe you'll have better luck than me!

Time to pay it forward! So it’s my turn to start my planning thread! I cannot believe it’s actually almost my time! ;-) First of all, thank you ladies (and Tammy!!!) for contributing to this board. I don’t think I could have done this without you! We had a 17 month long engagement. Got engaged Thanksgiving of 2011 and needed to do a summer wedding due to my future father in law’s job so that left us with Summer 2013! It felt like forever but toward the end, it's all going by so fast! I’ll start with choosing a location… I always knew I wanted a destination wedding. We have been to a dozen weddings and as much as I enjoyed them, it just wasn’t me. Also, both of our families are scattered around the US and would have to travel to attend our wedding anyways, so why not choose a tropical location! I honestly think my FI would have preferred a local wedding at first, BUT he knows that a destination wedding is my dream and he’s totally on board with it! It was between Jamaica, DR, and Cancun. FI didn’t seem too excited about Jamaica for some reason so we narrowed it down to DR & Cancun and I’m not sure exactly how it happened but we ended up with Cancun. We have never been to Cancun, or an all inclusive resort for that matter. Its a little nerve racking asking so many people to go somewhere with us when we’ve never even experienced it ourselves! But from what I hear, you really cannot go wrong! We have been on multiple cruises but never to an all inclusive! Choosing the resort Thankful to these boards, I read about sooooo many fabulous resorts! We ended up narrowing it down to Now Jade Rivera Cancun and Dreams Cancun. What sold me was the Pergola ceremony location at Now Jade. I loved it immediately. I loved that I could wear heels and still have that beautiful back drop of the beach. Dreams Cancun did have a beautiful gazebo, but the Pergola at Jade was just more “meâ€. Also, Jade’s package included 25 guest while Dreams was 20, every little bit helps! Save the Dates & Invitations I am very frugal. I hate spending a lot of money on something that I know the majority of people will end up throwing into the trash. I could not justify spending hundreds of dollars on. We needed 150 save the dates and invitations and rsvp cards. Some websites were absolutely ridiculous. I turned to VistaPrint for both. I order Save the Date postcards. I had to order 200 since they only come in quantities of 100 and I needed 150. Total price: $32.80 for 200 postcards. I think they were having a sale or 50% off. I can’t remember exactly but I do know that I placed 2 diff orders. Here’s what they looked like. We sent them all out in June 2012. Then it was time to order the invites. Again, I needed 150. As much as I love love love the passport invites, it just wasn’t in our budget. I’d rather have a DJ or use the money towards something like that. So I went back to good ole vistaprint. I ordered 150 invites and postcards for RSVP’s (saves on an extra envelope and a cheaper stamp!).. $75.33 for 150 invitations & postcards (ordered 200). I used a Groupon for this one! I put our travel agent info on the back of the invite. We sent our invites out late January 2013. So I paid a total of $183.46 for 150 Save the Dates, Invitations, and RSVP’s! Again, they were nothing fancy, but they did the job! Post Card RSVP Front: Back: Next I started making Luggage Tags to send to guest with a thank you for booking note. Our first guest didn’t book until January so girls, don’t worry! I started to panic because we were 6 months out and still had NO clue how many guest we’d have. I was so sad that not one person booked, besides immediate family! Right now it is March, we are 3 months out and we have 30 people booked with about 10-15 people getting ready to book. About 10 of those people that we were absolutely surprised with. It’s true when they say the people you least expect will come and those you expect to come, won’t. True Story. I was hoping for no more than 30ish (it gets expensive!) but it looks like we’ll exceed that number. I’m honestly so honored that so many people are paying to come share in our special day! Anyways, when I get confirmation that they booked, either from our travel agent or by text (1/2 used our travel agent, ½ booked on their own) we send out the thank you for booking note and luggage tags. I ordered luggage tags from Amazon. I ordered my first batch from http://www.clearenvelopes.com/2-3-4-x-4-1-8-clr-vinyl-luggage-tags.html i just started with a batch of 10. I liked these best but needed about 30 more so I ordered more from Amazon, it turned out cheaper. You can get a larger quantity from Clearbags.com but I didn’t need 100. However; I really liked the quality of the clear envelope/clear bags tags better than the Amazon ones. But the Amazon ones ended up being cheaper and they did the job. I used a template that I found on BDW: I'm sorry, I don't remember which bride this came from: And I just tied ribbon to them… OOT Bags: I didn’t start on my OOT bags till the end of February because I still was unsure on our guest count, I still don’t know exact but I’ve been kinda estimating. I got most of our things from the dollar store. I am going to do the Weekend Survival Kit (the clear zip lock baggie with the survival topper), Filled with Aloe, Advil, Tums, Nail File, EmergenC, personalized Chapstick, pack of tissue, Hand sanitizer, Band-Aids, Cough Drops. I will also add Slim Jims, a deck of cards, Crystal Light Packs, and Gum. Oh, and a Koozie. We are doing one bag per room, of course adding 2 chapsticks, Koozies, etc, (the things you cannot share). Here’s the breakdown: Aloe – Travel Section at Target - $1 each Tums – Travel Section at Walmart $1.78 for 3 Advil – Haven’t bought yet but will buy a big bottle from Costco and put in small zip lock bags (2x2) with label. Got bags from Ebay 100 bags for $4 Nail File – Dollar Store EmergenC – Walmart $9 for 30- Got 2 boxes Chapstick – https://www.bulkapothecary.com/ Made my own labels printed on 5163 Avery Shipping labels Tissue – Dollar Tree – 8 for $1 Band-Aids – Dollar Tree Hand Sanitizer – Dollar Tree - 3 for $1 Cough Drops – Dollar Tree Deck of Cards – Dollar Tree 2 for $1 Koozies - http://www.totallyweddingkoozies.com/store/home.html Haven’t ordered yet... But it’s been the best prices I’ve found. Bags: Just regular disposable party bags from dollar tree 2 for $1, White with pink tissue paper. Also, some free rack cards from VistaPrint: Do Not Disturb Door Hangers: Back Front: Rack Cards (Vista Print) Cancun Fun Facts: Rack Cards - Resort Info: Back: Front: Hand Sanitizer: Tissues: Chapstick: That's all for now! I'll come back in a few weeks and give some updates! luggage tags.docx