Pucca

I can imagine what a whirlwind things can be! Congrats on finding your dress! I thought that would be one of the hardest things considering there are so many beautiful dresses out there! Are you going to post your dress on one of the threads in the forum? There's one specifically for Cabo and one general. Well, I'm a bit OCD about minimizing stress for myself cuz I've already got enough of that to deal with. So we're trying our best to be on top of things. It's a good thing that my fiance likes to have things planned out (more than I do) so he is helping me with contacting vendors. It didn't take us long to figure out where to get married because prior to getting engaged, we always talked about DW. I told him how much I loved Los Cabos and on our way back from the trip where we got engaged, I was looking at a bridal magazine's travel section and they talked about how November was a beautiful time in Los Cabos. So I showed it to him and bingo! Decision made. And things just fell into place with the reception and ceremony venue, so we were fortunate! Plus one of my friends who just had a DW in Hawaii told me that it's better to do as much as you can up front so it's easier on you later. I'm definitely going along with that piece of advice!! I didn't realize there's just sooooo much to think about and plan for, yikes! But it's fun, most of the time. Have you decided on colors yet?

Hello ladies! Congratulations! I'm getting married 11/11/11 in Los Cabos! Not having my wedding at any of the popular resorts there; everything will be on the beach by the Coral Baja.

Thanks!! The planning is going well. I sent out the save-the-dates, set up an info blog for my guests, purchased my dress and shoes in December, have a ceremony and reception site reserved, found a photographer, and am working on getting a florist. Waiting on the menu for the reception and looking for someone to do our cake. Will begin working on my invites this month - a DIY project. Very excited!!

Those are really cute!

Two beautiful but very different dresses. Tough. I think you have to decide what look you're going for and how each one makes you feel. Also, without seeing how they look on you, it's difficult to say which one is better. With the current pictures I do like the first one best. Good luck in deciding!

Congratulations Kimberly! I'm getting married in Cabo, with literally toes in the sand for ceremony and reception - a "shoes optional" affair! I'm obviously not an experienced bride as I'm planning my own DW for this November, but I just wanted to share what I've experienced thus far. In responding to your questions: As kiwibride mentioned, Los Cabos is safe, so there shouldn't be anxiety about that. All you can do is reassure people who are concerned that there are plenty of brides still happily planning their weddings for, and currently getting married in, the Los Cabos area; the final decision is theirs but it shouldn't hinder you from having your wedding somewhere beautiful and affordable as long as it's where you want it to be. I'm actually not getting married at a "resort" per se. I'm getting married on the beach where my timeshare is located. So it's not part of the resort package like Dreams or Riu or anything like that. For me it was the most affordable for both myself and the guests - I felt I couldn't possibly suggest all-inclusive resorts for my guests knowing that some of them are coming with their entire family and it would be very costly for them; on the other hand, I wasn't sure if I could afford all the extra charges that a resort asks for if the guests aren't staying on the premises. So this way the choice is up to them and I don't have to feel bad that people are obligated to spend a lot. So that was my decision. I suggest you take a look at the planning threads here on BDW to see if you like the resorts, go to the resort websites, do some research, and then figure out what you want. I would say though that having your wedding at these resorts does help you on the planning end since they have a designated coordinator to help you out, which means less stress and anxiety on your part. To keep costs low we are shopping around a lot and trying to keep things as simple as possible. I've got a couple of DIY projects lined up. I try to make sure I've got the big things covered and then the little things I can do without or do if I have extra money and time. This minimizes complications and stress too. Oh, and we don't have a wedding party so that helps as well. I'm sure you can bring party favors and decorations on the plane. I just read a planning thread today where a bride took plastic sand-castle buckets and a bunch of stuff for OOT bags! I'm amazed at how she packed everything! But she also said they had 5 or 6 suitcases total I think. But I'm sure there are things you can purchase there. We are purchasing party favors there that will be unique to Mexico so that we don't have to worry about taking them there, and then the guests have a souvenir without having to go shopping for one! And I'll probably ship a box of decorations prior to flying out, just so I don't have to stuff them in my bag and make it extra heavy. I can't answer this one because I'm still in the process. Maybe after November I can answer this. Same answer as #5. I've seen some other people's planning threads and having been to Los Cabos once, we've decided on a few group activities, taking into account the personalities of guests that are coming as well as things we personally would like to do. We will do a group surf lesson at the Cabo Surf School, a sailing-snorkeling trip, a meet-and-greet cocktail hour somewhere, a mani-pedi time with all the ladies (and those gentlemen who want one too), and a sight-seeing excursion. And we'll do a post-wedding brunch for those who want to hang out. I've read some of the reviews for resorts here and they lead me to believe that it is sufficient to use the resort's planning services. Most of the resorts have vendors that they work with, so I'm reading that most people just go with those vendors. I personally am still looking for some of those services. We've been trying to contact a few florists so I can tell you later what the outcome of all that is. Kiwibride actually suggested one of the florists that we are contacting. Still looking for cake. I don't remember who our photographer is because my fiance is taking care of that. All I know is that I really like his pictures and his rates! We're looking for a live band for the ceremony and transition to the reception. Otherwise, we'll probably play our iPod music through speakers for the reception and onwards. I'm not too fond of the whole DJ thing. If the band ends up being reasonable, we may just keep them for the whole affair. I can't remember much of the restaurants but I like the one that's catering our food for the reception! It's called Mama Mia, and they have various events going on throughout the week. I'll probably take some of our guests to my favorite local taco place - El Hangman. But other than that, I don't really have any idea about restaurants and will probably look through BDW threads for suggestions or ask around when I'm in Los Cabos. I'm not having an at-home-reception. We're getting married legally prior to the DW so that we don't have to worry about the requirements; so we'll probably have a small party with our closest friends who will be our witnesses. Personally, having a DW is definitely cutting costs for me. And it really cuts down on the guest list, as we're expecting 60 max which includes children. And I always knew I wanted a DW because I wanted it to be more intimate and one where I can spend more than 5 minutes interacting with my friends and family. Plus it enables us to invite only our close circle of friends and family -- people who have been through it all with us and will be through it all with us in the future. Final note: Thanks for making it to the end of this reply! I think that it's most important for you to figure out what you want and what you can and cannot deal with, whatever it may be - from stress to weather to location to mood. Then you can figure out your budget and go from there. I wish you all the best in planning your beautiful day!

Congratulations! I'm getting married in Cabo the day after you!

Thanks kiwibride! I'll take a look at the website and then contact her.

So creative!! Love it! Your wedding dress is beautiful!!

Thanks for sharing! Great job on the DIY stuff!! Congratulations!!

Congratulations!! Such a great job with all the planning, and remaining stress-free! Thanks for sharing!

We're doing favors -- something unique to Mexico so we'll shop for it when we're there. No OOT bags here.

I'm on the fence about a program. It would be nice not to do it but I know some of my OCD friends would like one....Hmmm... I'll have to think about that.

Something old = still pondering this..... Something new = dress, shoes, and other things to come I'm sure. Something borrowed = ring bowls from one of my closest friends who just got married recently Something blue = engagement ring is blue (sapphire), which I'll be wearing and I'll probably have some blue in my make-up and maybe the rest of my jewelry; plus, blue is one of the main colors of my wedding, so I guess there will be a lot of blue around! Plus the blue ocean will be the backdrop to the wedding!

I used to (and still do) think that other last names sound funny with my first name, other than my own. So I was hesitant about the whole name-changing topic. On the one hand I didn't want to change it; on the other hand, I thought it wouldn't be so bad. But, now with where I am in life, I've come to the point where I can't change my last name because it would be like career suicide in a sense. Hyphenating it might still be an option but my fiance says he's totally fine with me not changing my last name to his. So I guess I'm keeping my name.

I'm having a DW for a lot of the same reasons that have been mentioned in this thread. I have always wanted to get married on the beach and so I'm getting what I wanted! Furthermore, I, like many others, have been to a ton of weddings and I honestly can't remember much about most of them other than the fact that I know I went. I wanted something different, and I wanted to have a wedding where the guests feel like they really enjoyed themselves and got to interact with the bride and groom for more than just a few minutes; this meant a small wedding and other fun activities. So I just think DWs are more fun and memorable all around!

What a fun dress!!!

I hear you because as much as I love being barefoot I also love wearing heels; however, I'm just worried I'll trip in the sand using heels or walk down the aisle staring down at my feet! Ha ha. That would be a bad video and photograph. But I guess in the end it's whatever makes you happy at your wedding! Good luck with the decisions!

I love this mat idea!! I'm going to have to steal it too! I think everyone has their preference and it's always fun to complete the wedding dress-up with shoes, but I'm having a "shoes optional" affair. My fiance and I will be barefoot for the whole thing since both the ceremony and reception will take place on the sand. I did buy some heels for the pre-wedding photos but only for those pictures. I'm guessing most of my guests will toss aside their shoes and those who don't want to can at least be prepared and wear comfy shoes. Oh, and I'm not worried about the sand being too hot either since my wedding begin at 4 p.m. and sunset should be around 5:30; so most of the heat should be gone by then.

I love this! Blue is my favorite color; thus the center picture of the ceremony canopy and seating was my inspiration. I had originally chosen blue and silver with splashes of yellow and red, but now it's turning out to be mostly blue, yellow and white with splashes of silver and red.

I'm surprised but maybe it's because your weddings are not on real "popular" days? I was told that if my flower budget was less than $1500, they would not work with me since 11/11/11 was a very busy day for them. Considering our wedding is going to be late afternoon and the reception will extend into the night, I was more concerned about candles and vases as center pieces rather than a lot of flowers; thus my flower budget was not, and will not be, $1500..... I had emailed her a list of things that I needed with pictures and such as well as some questions I had, and the response I got was the budget cut-off. Maybe she has her reasons and that's fine with me but that still leaves me searching for a florist. :-/

Quote: Originally Posted by Lizzdee I did ask and he is cool with whatever i want ! But everyone else i talked to (friends & fam) say dont bring him. Everytime i show him a pic of a dres he replies with, "I'd have to see it on you". So i may show him some pics to get a general idea of what he likes (long, short, poufy,not poufy) , but go shopping with a close friend and (eeek) my mother. I think that's a good compromise. I wanted to bring my fiance with me but he absolutely refused. He said that it was bad luck for him to see me prior to the wedding day. So, I got some ideas of what he liked and didn't like by showing him some pictures of things I liked, and then went shopping with one of my friends. I actually found my dress on a random bridal salon visit by myself a few days later. My mother lives too far away for dress shopping and our tastes kinda clash....and my closest friends weren't able to come at the time I went dress shopping. But I guess for me I didn't mind shopping on my own. Less opinions to distract me. I shared pics with my closest girlfriends after I ordered the dress and it was a unanimous "love it!" vote, so that made me feel good, since the previous shopping day my friends were all over the board as to which dress they liked. Later I ended up showing my fiance all the pictures of the dresses I tried on but didn't buy and was relieved to know that he didn't like any of them just like me. So I know he will like the dress I did end up purchasing. Good luck with your shopping! Hope you find/have found your dress!

Thank you JBean and starrysim!

I like #1 but I think #2 goes with your dress better. Beautiful.

So many beautiful dresses!!! I'd love to comment on all of them but I'd be here all week! Here's a link to my dress: http://www.brides.com/wedding-dresses-style/wedding-dresses/gallery/dresses/vendor/designer/demetriosillusions/detail/186631?docPos=48&designer=demetriosillusions& It's funny how the dress looks so different on the model than it does on me. I will have to get a picture when the dress comes in. Hopefully it'll be here in the spring, since I ordered it early December.