Hanna20

Lol!! That sounds like a great plan!! Since it isn't the resort charging, it should be easy to avoid the Photography company... worth a shot anyway! If for some reason it doesn't work then I do have it in writing that the penalty is $300 so I could just bring that out if need be. Quick question for you... How did you ensure that they would let the photographers into the resort? Did you have to provide their names or meet them at the entrance? I know about having to buy the guest passes but I just wasn't sure about actually getting them in. So if I'm in my room getting ready I don't want them to be stuck at the gate or anything!!!

That is completely INSANE!!! Especially for those of us who have already booked photographers long before the new company comes into the resort. If I were you I would email your coordinator and get them to honor the previous agreement of $300 based on the fact that you already hired an external photographer with that in mind, and that you booked your wedding long before the new company started so their rules should only affect those who book AFTER Feb 1. I have sent an email to my coordinator asking her about the new company and mentioning my reasons from above. I will let you know what she says once she replies. Asking for $500 (plus $100 for guest passes) so a total of $600 for absolutely NOTHING is so completely unfair!

I am not 100% sure about the Lindo but I know that Beach/Del Mar charge $300 for external photographers and you have to buy a day pass for the photographer and assistant for $50 each.... so $400 total.

Hi Hannah, I have spent a good portion of my day emailing a number of photographers for their availability and pricing. If you are interested I can send along some of their responses. The ones I have received back so far have been pretty good about working out some sort of a "deal".... It all really depends on your budget and what you're willing to spend (ours is not very big). I'm sure you have also received some quotes already so is anyone standing out so far???

Welcome back!!! I'm so glad to hear everything went well! I would love to see those photos that you mentioned..... We actually just had a photograpger crisis this morning! My photographer bailed on me!!! She has a family matter that she will be out of town for during our wedding. So now with just over 2 months to go I am forced to find a new photographer:( I am so disappointed but I hope that it will all work out and I am able to find someone on short notice.... fingers crossed!!!

Hi there, I am also from Canada (BC to be exact) and we also went with a group rate through Air Canada vacations. Our wedding is April 6th and my travel agent started requesting quotes from different companies back in October. Our group rate ended up being about $400 less per person than the price that was advertised on Air Canada's web site. Expedia's prices also were not much different either.... the thing with Expedia is also that you must pay in full at the time of booking and since your wedding is not until Nov I would be hesitant to have to pay in full thi fa in advance but that is just my opinion. With our group rate we also had the option that if Air Canada's price went down between the time we had to pay our deposits and when the final payment was due, we would get a price adjustment to the lower price. So we really couldn't lose with that! As of right now the price has not gone down any lower (in fact it has gone up). I really struggled with deciding between doing the group rate and letting everyone book on their own but after talking with many of our friends and family they all agreed that they wanted to be on the same flight, have rooms close together etc. So we then decided that the group rate was the way to go for us. I don't know if this helped you at all but good luck!

I know what you mean!! People just can't seem to understand why.... part of the reason is also that since all of these people are spending the money to come that they should all feel special and not just the 4-5 who would get to stand up with us!! Glad to see someone else sees where I am coming from!

You could always just phone the people who rsvp'd yes and give them the two options and see what they pick.... My flowers are going to be fuschia, lime green and peach (I know it sounds weird but it actually looks really nice in the photo). If you do a google images search for "white and green bouquets" it should bring up lots of options.... We actually are not doing a cocktail hour we are going to be taking pictures with everyone in between the ceremony and the reception instead. Our ceremony will be at 4:15pm on the beach and then dinner at 6:30pm. As for welcome bags I am not sure what I am doing yet.... I don't really want to have to transport a ton of stuff down with me so I am trying to figure out something "smaller" to give to our guests. None of them would be expecting it anyway as I am sure this is probably the first destinatuon wedding that they are going to!

OMG!!! I am so sorry to hear about the death in the family and also about the best man:( How can someone bail ou with only a few days left? Wouldn't he have had to already pay for his trip??? Anyway, that's not the important thing.... the important thing is that your time has FINALLY come and after all the planning and all the stress you will have an amazing wedding!!! No doubt in my mind! How can it not be amazing???? You are getting married in Mexico with almost 60 people joining you! Rain or no rain this will be the BEST day of your life and you don't need to spend any time worrying about anything else. Enjoy every moment because it will go by so fast and then you will regret it if you don't take it all in and make the best of it. Remember that you only get to do this ONCE so make it as good as can be and everything will all work out! I am so excited for you and I can inly imagine how you must be feeling right now!! Have a fantastic time and be sure to let us know how it all went once you get back. All the best!!!! Congratulations, you're almost a MRS!!!!!

That's funny because we chose April 6th due to the fact that spring break would be over by then! Guess it is at different times depending on where you live. For the menu options, Karla had sent me the choices and I didn't really like any of them so I asked her if there were any other possibilities. She then said we could go with the Steakhouse menu instead and then sent me the menu from there. That menu had 3 options and I chose 2 of them and gave my guests the choices. I did that by incorporating the meal options under the rsvp section of our web site. As I mentioned before, we have to make a seating chart which shows where each person will be sitting and also what entree they selected. We also ave to do place cards with names on one side and entree choice on the other side. We actually got a much better deal by doing the group rate than we would have by booking on our own. It was about $400 less per person than the prices that are currently posted online. As for the flowers, Karla had sent me some photos of sample bouquets, bouteniers, corsages etc. Once again they were not what I wanted so I did some searching online to find a photo of what I had in mind. I then emailed that photo to Karla and asked her if they could do it. She said they could get it very close but if I wanted cala lillies (they were in the photo) then that would be an extra charge as calla lillies are one of the flowers that are not included in the wedding package. She also gave me suggestions about what we could substitute so that it wouldn't cost extra and we agreed on an alternative. I am also doing the same type of flowers on the archway which will then be moved to the tables at the reception and will be used as centerpieces. Hope this helps and let me know if you have any other questions.

Hello, We are on April 6th at Beach! So far we have 34 people booked (travel arrangements have been the most stressful part of this all)! Our details are as follows: Dress: has been ordered and is in now but needs to be altered (Iam waiting a bit as I am hoping to get in better shape before altering) Wedding party: we decided not to have one Photographer: Vanessa Vargas Ceremony: On the beach Reception: Don Alfredo (2 entrees, Karla said we would have to do a seating chart and indictae who ishaving which entree as well as place crads with their entree choice on the back) Have you started on your travel arrangements? Are you going with a group rate or is everyone booking on their own?

We are getting married at the Iberostar Paraiso Beach! 1 lb per week is pretty much my goal too.... I am trying to eat 5 times per day (small healthy meals) instead of just three, drinking TONS of water and going to the gym 3 times a week.... can't say anything about results yet as its only been a week but I am hoping that it will be enought to get me looking good in a bikini!

Hi girls! I am also an April 2011 bride (April 6th) to be exact and I am wondering what everyone is doing in terms of diets/workouts now that we are down to the 3 month mark? I know that I said after new years it would be "crunch time" and now I am just trying to decide on the best method. I know I have to eat healthy and work out but hearing about what is working for others is always helpful! Can't wait to hear from you all!

I was reading your post and everything you said is me to a T!!!! I'm also pretty small but same as you I want to lok good in a bikini.... in front of all out friends! Cellulite... check! Pasta and potato lover... check! So therefore the 6lbs is sounding pretty good right now! If ypou could send me the plan I would be very grateful. My email is [email protected]. Thanks again!

Since many of us are getting close to our dates (myself included) I am wondering what everyone is doing in terms of diets and workout plans? Does anyone have something that has been really working for them? My goal is 10lbs (I know it's not that much but it will really make a difference) and I have 3 months to achieve this!!! Trying my best to eat right and go to the gym..... fingers crossed it will work in time! Would love to hear from anyone that may have any suggestions....

Hello girls!!! Happy New Year! Well today is an exciting day for me cuz it is exactly 3 months till our big day! And now that I think about it, that time is going to fly by really fast! As for the "thank-you excursion" it sounds like a really cool idea but definitely WAY out of our budget! I looked on their web site and I am sure your guests will love it! Erin --- I'm sorry to hear about the bridesmaid situation If it makes you feel better, listen to this one.... originally we were going to have 5 bridesmaids and 5 groomsman. THEN.... my FI's sister got pregnant and can't come (down to 4 BMs).... then one of my oldest friends said she probably can't afford it (down to 3BMs) and my FI still had 5 on his list so now we are going with no bridal party at all because I didn't want the numbers to be uneven:(..... he is actually pretty disappointed about that but is willing to do it!

Hi again, I don't really know much about the shopping centre/convention centre. From the very beginning they told me that if we wanted a private dinner/reception then there is only one restaurant that we can rent for that. Which resort are you at again? I think you had said either the Maya or Lindo but I'm not sure.... anyway you would have a different restaurant then because the one we are using is only available for the Beach and Del Mar resorts. To answer your question, yes you do stay in the restaurant for the whole 4 hours. Karla had sent me a photo a while back of the restaurant and it was all set up for a private reception. There were round tables that surround a dance floor area, just like a reception at home would have. Not sure if this helps you or just confuses you more As for welcome bags I think you would be better off just looking around in your local stores for the various items rather than trying to order pre-made ones online. If you do a search on the forum for welcome bag ideas I am sure there will be lots of results that come up and that you can use for inspiration.

Hi Hannah, The 4 hour private dinner IS your reception (they just don't call it that). So during that 4 hours you can have speeches, cake cutting, dancing etc just like you would at any other reception. I think that when they say "reception" the are referring to a "cocktail reception" which would take place after the ceremony but before the dinner..... I am not 100% sure exactly what is included in the dream package but this is how I understood it when I was reviewing the package options.

Hi there, I actually had a really good experience so far with the photographer we chose. She definitely negotiated with us and gave us an amazing deal. Before I decided on her I contacted a number of photographers for quotes and some were willing to negotiate a bit and some were not willing at all. That is one of the reasons we chose who we did because she gave us a great deal, always answered my emails and is totally flexible to what we want. We are using Vanessa Vargas Photography in case you want to check her out.

Hi Hannah, We are also doing a private reception but since we are getting married at Beach (not Lindo) we have a different restaurant choice then you do. But same goes for us and we can only have a private reception in that one restaurant (I think it is the Italian one). The package we chose didnt include a private reception so we have to pay $800 to rent the restaurant and then $20 per person (only 10 are included in the package). In the end it still works out to be less than the "mac daddy" package! Glad to see that you finally got some answers about your date.... waiting is the most frustrating part! Have you found your dress yet?

So we are officially at 27 people booked!!!!! I am so excited by this you guys don't even understand (or maybe you do because you are/were in my shoes)!! The travel arrangements were proving to be fairly difficult at first until I found Becky (BDW Travel Agent). She has been great and as a result we are well on our way. Now I am just waiting for all those people who are procrastinators to come to me and ask if they can still get in on the group rate Lucky for them I am going to be paying for some extra spots so that we can squeeze a few more people in down the road. How are everyone else's travel arrangements coming along?

Yes I did have to put a deposit down... I think it was 20% of the wedding package price. They wouldn't confirm my wedding date until they had the deposit. Once they received the money (via my credit card) they reserved the date for us and sent me a confirmation by email. The deposit was actually taken by Reyna who is the wedding sales manager (I think thats her title) then once the deposit was done she introduced me to Karla (the wedding coordinator) who took over.... I would be very cautious if I were you about not paying a deposit because to me they were very adament that the date was not mine until the depost was paid.

Hi Hannah! My name is Hanna too and we are getting married on April 6, 2011 (exactly one month apart from you)!! We are getting married at the Beach thoguh so we have a different wedding coordinator than you do (her name is Karla). I have been in contact with Karla MANY MANY times.... we have emailed each other back and forth about tons of things. We already have our ceremony location, ceremony time, reception location all booked. The smaller details such as flowers, food, etc have not been finalized yet. I would suggest you email your wedding coordinator and ask her for menus, flower options, decoration options and any other questions you may have. It usually takes Karla a day or two to respond but when she does she provides detailed answers to all of my questions. As for the private excursion, I really don't have any advice to offer there! Let me know if you have any other questions!

Our group rate is $1460/person (inlcuding tax). This is departing from Vancouver.... We also have the option of a one-time price adjustment if the prices go down between now and 45 days prior to departure. We thought that was a great deal (our goal was to be under $1500/person). As soon as we confirmed that rate we had 18 people give deposits and there are more to come. Our travel agent said that booking as a group meant that we would all be able to travel together, have our rooms close together and also reduce the chances of the hotel or airline trying to "bump" us in case their are any issues. She said they always keep the groups together.... Plus this way our guests can relax and ensure that their spots are reserved. I too was pretty frustrated with the group booking process at first but now it has all come together.... finally!!! I don't know when your wedding is but you can still ask your travel agent to request a group rate to see what it comes back at.... you never know it could end up being good. You only need 10 people for a group rate so if you still have people who have yet to book they may be able to take advantage of any good offers that could come out of it.

So I am very excited to say that we have finally nailed down our group rate and we now have 18 people with deposits paid!!!!! This is a very big step as I am sure you all know how hard it is to get people to put money down. We couldn't have done it without Becky who is a BDW travel agent! She is great to work with and she got us a fantastic deal with Air Canada vacations. My dress is in, our photographer is booked and now guests are tsrating to book too.... things are looking good!