JBean

Wow - you guys look fantastic! Question about the photographer - how long are you all having to wait for your pics? My photographer contract said 2 weeks, which I know is FAST so I'm trying not to be upset that he's 8 days overdue... but he shouldn't put 2 weeks in the contract if he can't deliver in 2 weeks. A bride gets her hopes up!!! lol.

Gorgeous Sarah!!! Our dresses were a similar style!

Beautiful Joanne! And you're so tanned!!

Ugh, I know what you mean! We were so spoiled for 2 weeks! Room service, beautiful weather, relaxation. We traded it in for snow and bathroom renos. lol. Congratulations everyone!! Sounds like everyone's day turned out wonderfully. On to the AHR!

You have a PM.

I got it at a local bridal shop. I have 2 for sale if anyone's interested (one was never used).

I can't remember exactly, but not long. Less than 3 weeks I think.

We just got married on November 10th, and our resort allowed the lanterns. We had to send them off in the plaza with fountains (which still seemed a little dangerous to me, because the area is surrounded by trees!). The first lantern was let go a little early, and we all held our breath as it headed straight for the trees, but at the last minute it lifted! The rest were fine. Many are not, even the ones that say they are. The only truly biodegradable lanterns are those that are wire-free. I looked long and hard and found a seller on Ebay "Sourcing4U Limited". The ring is bamboo, with flame-retarded string, and truly no metal or wire. I paid about $60 for 20 lanterns - they were pricier, but worth it for me.

We tipped our WC $100. They charged us a $300 vendor fee for an extra photographer and weren't willing to waive that. We had decided that if they cut that, the extra would go to the WC. We also gave each waiter $20 (they were also taking tables inside the restaurant).

That's mine too! I finally got to wear it on November 10th! Here's a shot (haven't got the professional photos yet)...

I can’t believe I’m writing the review and it’s all over! I found all the reviews so helpful, and I hope other brides will as well! We stayed 2 weeks for our wedding/honeymoon combined, and though I was ready to come home, I was sad to leave. TRAVEL & CHECK-IN: A- Our trip to Mexico was very smooth. We had 4 large suitcases in total, and 2 carry-ons, plus my dress. I had prepared receipts for all our wedding stuff (decorations, OOT bags) in advance, but we had no issues. We were practically the last ones to customs and light went green, and they let us through. Transport to the Valentin was included in our wedding package, but since we were traveling with Fi’s mom, we asked to bring her with us. They charged us $80 USD just to put her in the van with us, which is ridiculous considering a cab is only $35. Check-in was smooth - they met us with cool towels and champagne, and we were carted to our room with the bags. ROOM: B+ We were in building 7 and were upgraded to a Gold suite, free of charge. The room was very nice, with a nice view. The bathroom is kind of open concept, which is kind of uncomfortable and unromantic, so Fi and I worked out a system of leaving each other to have “private timeâ€. I wasn’t thrilled with the housekeeping staff. The rooms were clean, but we never had any personal touches (ie: the towel swans and rose petals I’d seen). Fi went the the front desk the last night and requested it as a surprise for me. Fi’s mom (who was traveling alone), however, received a “Happy Anniversary†set-up and also a “Congratulations on your wedding†set-up with champagne on 2 different occasions - an obvious mix-up. Another couple commented that they hadn’t had their room cleaned in 3 days, and had to call to have someone come. They did a great job of putting all of our guests fairly close together. GROUNDS: A+ Beautiful, lush, very well kept. I’d heard that this resort was very big, so I was a little worried because our mom’s have some trouble getting around, but front desk will send a cart to pick you up any time you need. I didn’t really find the resort that big at all, but I’ve never been to an all-inclusive to compare it to. We learned our way around after a day or two. All our guests kept commenting that it was the nicest resort they’d been to. View from our room: RESTAURANTS: A- The French, Italian, Asian and Indonesian restaurants were our favourite. Some of the meals were amazing, truly gourmet, others were just ok. The staff is always amazing though, and you always feel like you’re eating at a high-end restaurant. The buffet in the “Le Marche†is the best I’ve seen. I never felt worried about food safety or quality, and no one in our group ever got sick. Dress up for dinner (most people do). They usually send men away if they don’t have a collared shirt, but I saw one or 2 slip through the cracks. Highlights: Wild Mushroom risotto and Ricotta stuffed chicken (Italian), French onion soup and Chateaubriand (French). STAFF: A+ One of the highlights is the staff. Everyone from the bell boy to the pool boy is friendly, helpful and smiling. It really made it feel like a warm place to be. WEDDING: A- Veronica was our coordinator. She was always quick to respond to emails and helpful the whole way through. She called us on Monday and we saw her on Tuesday to go over details for the wedding on Thursday. I brought her a suitcase of decorations and pictures of how I envisioned the set-up. She confirmed our selections, and I left feeling very confident that she would handle things wonderfully, and she did! I only have 2 complaints about the whole wedding process and this is one: the spa booked all 3 bridesmaids in for hair and make-up between 1-3pm. I needed to be at the room by 3pm for the photographer, and the wedding was to start at 4pm. Itzel did my hair and make-up was amazing! I can't sing her praises enough!! We did a trial the day before and it was great. Unfortunately, the other person on the wedding day (doing my BM’s hair) was not so competent, and didn’t speak english. Itzel had to keep stopping my hair to translate and show the other hair dresser what to do for the BM. Neither of my BM’s were really happy with their hair, and I ended up being 20 minutes late to the room. This pushed the entire wedding back 20 minutes and was the only time I was freaking out. The wedding starting late wasn’t the issue, it was the fact that the daylight was running out, and we didn’t have much time for photos. We were literally running from spot to spot to get photos before the sun went down. SO - I would recommend leaving a good 3 hours for hair and make-up. Also, it might have been better to start the wedding at 3:30pm. I was worried it would be too hot that early, but it would have been fine. I gave Veronica my iPhone with playlists, and she handled the music perfectly. The ceremony was beautiful. The minister had kind eyes that put me at ease. Then we rushed through photos and made it to the last half of the cocktail hour. I didn’t get to try the food, but everyone said it was good. The mosquitos hadn’t been bad at all before the wedding, but that night they were AWFUL! My dad ran and got some bug spray, but I was covered in bites from walking to and from the beach. At 6pm we went to the Mexican terrace for dinner. My brother manned the sound system and music. From that point on everything rushed by so quickly, I felt like we were only there an hour or two. We ate, had the first dance, speeches, cut the cake, and danced a bit. The best meal BY FAR for me was the surf and turf. We’d had the steak at the Steak House the first night, and it was terrible so I was a little worried. But the wedding meal was a completely different cut and quality, and was one of the best meals I’ve had ever. Everyone was impressed. I heard the chicken was good too. When people started to get antsy, we went out to the big plaza to light the sky lanterns (around 9:30pm). This was a huge hit! For anyone who cares, I made sure to get the 100% wire-free ones so it doesn’t hurt the wildlife (they use bamboo and string instead of wire). After this, we went to the plaza and danced and it was so fun! We had a blast! SPA: A+ Aside from the issue mentioned above, we also had an issue with a credit we got from Expedia. We had a “$250 Spa Credit†from Expedia, so I booked nails and hair, thinking I would use that. When we got there, they told us we could only use the credit for massages, because the salon and spa were separate entities. We were not happy with this, but the Valentin said it was Expedia’s fault for not wording the deal properly, and we’d have to take it up with them. They gave us 30% off the services, instead of the normal 20%, for the hassle, which was nice. Again, Itzel was amazing. We did get the massages, plus the other massages that came with our wedding package, and both were nice. PHOTOGRAPHER This is my only other complaint about the whole week. Blue Lens came with our package. I’m really picky with photography, and I wasn’t 100% in love with their style, so we hired Juan Navarro for 3 hours for the ceremony and pictures, and had to pay a $300 vendor fee to have him come in even though we were still using Blue Lens for the reception. Fi knew how important photos were to me, so he agreed, but he was very unhappy with the vendor fee. Sometimes I felt guilty that a photographer was already included in our package, and we were paying an extra $1000 for another one. But, with our package, only 36 photos are included from Blue Lens. So to get all the photos, you end up paying $1000 anyway! I am happy we went with Juan, because it would have been the same price with Blue Lens in the end, and I just don’t feel (personally) the quality is worth that price. We had Ashley at Blue Lens take photos of the reception (I felt she was the best at Blue Lens), and she did take a lot of great photos. We met with her in the lobby to pick our 36 photos, but it was awkward because we felt pressure to buy the photos. By this time, we had already spent $1500 for photography and fees, and we weren’t going to pay more. She sat there as we went through 500 photos to pick the 36. When we had it narrowed down to 60 photos I think she got frustrated with us and just burnt us a CD with the remaining 60. Had I known about the vendor fee when we were choosing resorts, I may have chose a different resort with a better photographer to avoid that vendor fee. In the end, I’m glad I hired Juan (a separate review of him to come). Bottom line: This resort is amazing! The wedding coordinators are fantastic! You will have a great time, and your guests will as well. If you have any issues, the staff is VERY quick to rectify things and make sure you’re happy. They had us fill out a 3 page survey on our experiences to get feedback, and even had a Manager’s Cocktail Reception to get feedback from guests. This resort really cares that you have a good experience. Overall I would give the entire experience a A-. I would highly recommend the resort, and I hope Fi and I can return one year for our anniversary. A couple photos (haven't got Juan's back yet): At the plaza:

Aw, thanks!

Hi ladies!! I am here in the beautiful Mayan- just wanted to pop in and see what´s been happening. Everyone who is back and posted pics looks amazing!! With regards to the weather, it has been cloudy/rainy most days here, but only for a few hours. We were lucky it didn´t rain on the big day, but it threatened and did rain on 11/11/11 (the next day). The good thing is that it usually comes and goes quickly, and it hasn,t been too hot (I was 100% comfortable in my big dress). All the best to those still to get married!

Thanks ladies. I don't think I want anyone to try to even it out... then they would both be way too thin. I'm just going to hope the one side grows in a bit. I *think* my eyebrows grow fast! Or, I also thought my bangs might hide the bad one. lol. Fi swears it's not that bad and he didn't notice until I pointed it out... but he's a guy. Oh well! What's done is done! Bonidie2Be - that's so exciting about the baby's heart beat! I would think that would make the wedding just that much more special. Well, I'm just tidying up the house for the house-sitter, and then we're watching a movie and going to bed early and we're up at 4:30am to go!! I can't believe it's here. Seems like I've been planning this trip for years - and I have! lol. To all of you who will be gone when I get back, I hope you have an amazing time and I can't wait to all share pics!!! If you post in another thread, please post links here so I can find them! WHOO HOO!!

Ladies, my worst nightmare has happened! I went and got my eyebrows waxed this morning, and they're AWFUL!! One side is fine, but the other is WAY too think and arched. I didn't notice at the salon because my eyebrows get so red and inflamed, but once it came down it's so noticeable! I want to cry!!!

Imadore - thanks for trying! The story placed 2nd.

Good luck Courtney and Leigh!! Whoo hoo! I'm happy to say I am finally getting excited. Our secret legal ceremony was last night. It was over in 2 minutes, literally. It was very surreal and I don't feel any different. It just doesn't feel real without the dress and the guests! lol. But even going through the motions last night made me excited for the real thing. Unfortunately, I finally came down with Fi's cold last night. It hit me like a ton of bricks. Thankfully I have a full week until the actual wedding, but I don't want to be sick when we leave on Saturday!! If I could, I would stay in bed for 3 days straight and sleep it off, but that's not an option with so much to do!! My last bit of advice would be - don't leave anything until the last minute (if at all possible)!! I left a few things and now I wish I had just gotten them out of the way so I could relax and sleep!

Omigosh you're moving tomorrow?! You brave woman! All the best for your move!

Don't worry. No kittens were harmed. lol.

Glad to hear you got your band Joanne!! I agree - I think this board is helping me keep my sanity, knowing that it's normal for the weeks up to the wedding to be stressful and less than "happy".

That's mine too! Seems to be a few brides on this site with that dress. I love it! ANd it looks gorgeous on you!

Omigosh, it sounds like everyone has something to bring them down this last week. So sorry to hear about all your stresses Joanne! MeBonidie2be - I hope you feel better soon!!! Sleep as much as you can (if that's possible!) I am totally in the same boat - I am not excited AT ALL and I wish I were. My to do list for each day is about 8 items long (plus work, working out, tanning). I am MAJOR pms'ing (I am so bitchy I could probably punch a kitten today), there's construction going on 7 days a week in our building that sounds like jack hammers all day long, and Fi and I haven't been able to spend a weekend alone together in weeks. Whoo! Thanks for letting me rant ladies!

This has nothing to do with weddings so I thought I'd post it in random thoughts and hopefully you can help out. My mom entered this "Share you Story" contest with Tim Horton's (a Canadian coffee shop chain). She wrote a lovely story about my grandpa, and how he found a home there for years after my grandma died after 53 years of marriage. The story was #1 for weeks and mom my was so excited, but has dropped to #2 in the last couple of days. If you have a minute to sign up and vote, that would be fantastic. I would really appreciate the support!! This means so much to my mom. Anyway, here's the link: http://everycup.ca/mediadetail/4974667 Thank you!!

Something similar happened with my BM/good friend, she gave me about 5 weeks notice. It's impossible for this not to change the friendship I think.

Thank you. Oh, less than $300 each for Fi and me? So less than $600 total? Hmmm, I'm sure they are but I better add up to be sure. I will make some printed receipts - thanks for the idea! What about DIY items, like cds in DIY cases? Sorry for all the questions!