mllek1986

Hi ladies, So it's time to clean out the spare room and get rid of all my extra destination wedding items. I hope they are useful for you! Just FYI, I live in Canada so shipping will be cheapest this way. You will be responsible for cost of shipping. $175 for all or you can purchase separately If you would like more pictures of any items or further information please email me. The Everything Groom Book $5 Groom Book 'Don't Screw Up Your Bride's Wedding: A Grooms Guide to Surviving the Most Important Day of Your Wife's Life' $5 The Knot Guide to Destination Wedding Book $10 24 Raffia Fans for ceremony to keep your guests cool (range from 8-11") $15 15 Out of town (OOT) cooler bags to fill with goodies for your guests - also great for lunch bags $3 each or $40 takes all 18 Whistles/wrist bands $2 ~200 Luggage tag inserts for Puerto Vallarta Mexico $2 Waterproof badge holders/luggage tag holders $5 Assorted Bottle opener key chains $5 - sea creatures, paw print, motorcycle etc. Shoes Optional Sign (Purple & White), 8 Paint brushes 4 of them have tags that say "To wipe the sand from your feet" and a purple wicker basket $10 Mini bottles with corks for message in a bottle seating $5 Bride & Groom floating duckies $3 16 Maracas (8 Purple & 8 Green) hand painted - says Mexico on them $5/set of 2 or $30 for all 14 Pink & white detached fake orchid blooms (could use for your cake) $2 Guestbook - gorgeous custom made Photo Guestbook with beige starfish/shell print $25 Senor & Senora Chair Signs with purple ribbon (can change ribbon colour easily) to hang on the backs of your chairs at your rehearsal dinner, wedding, or reception $20 Metal table numbers (1-3) $10 - custom made standing metal guest table numbers. The metal is not flawless as it is was welded by hand, however if you would like a cleaner look you could spray paint them. 'M' Cake Monogram $5 Cheers!

About a week or so in advance I spoke with her over the phone, she generally does skype though. We went over the entire questionnaire and I sent her a diagram of the reception layout so she knew where to set-up etc on the day of. I'm sure she will be good for you guys as long as the speakers are fixed. Enjoy your last couple weeks of planning!!

We booked ours a few months minimum in advance but I think even a week or two should be plenty for them. The sooner the better

Try this, maybe it will work: http://s1107.photobucket.com/albums/h398/katherinecolin2012/Wedding%20Day/?action=view&current=405ef3c5.pbw let me know if it doesn't and I will remove the password. You can also look at the one Cristheell put up for us: http://012412katherinecolin.drepvphoto.adventurephotos.com.mx/#/slideshow-1/ Staci was nice but we did have quite a few problems with her equipment. She didn't check her equipment beforehand and one of her main speakers were blown so all of our dinner music and first dances sounded terrible. She apparently had lent it out to someone else to use for a gig before our wedding and they must have blown it. We had one of our groomsmen who knows a lot about audio equipment try to figure out how to fix it. After quite a bit of struggling she finally got it to work by around 9:30pm then we only had an hour of good sounding music left. Also, her wireless microphones died on us 3 separate times and had to get replaced, they kept cutting in and out too. She also did not do the dance instruction for us because she's pregnant and not feeling too well (not to be rude but she blamed everything that went wrong on her being pregnant- like not checking her equipment and mentioned it at least 4 times over the microphone). I understand when people are pregnant and you're going through a rough time but maybe ask someone else to do the gig for you and when you're paying them $1,000 you'd think they would check their equipment beforehand. Other than those issues with her she played a great selection of music (we gave her a list of must plays etc beforehand) and kept us on track when we went a bit late on speeches and were running out of time to do things like the cake cutting and bouquet/garter toss. If we hadn't had issues with her equipment (which is a pretty vital part of being a DJ) I would have recommended her. I'm sure she would have gotten it all fixed by the time your wedding comes around but maybe just mention that she should double check everything.

Here is the link to my full Dreams review. PM me if you any questions. http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/products/dreams-puerto-vallarta-resort-spa-all-inclusive/reviews/5629

Our photographer was Cristheell, here is the link to my photobucket slideshow: http://s1107.photobucket.com/albums/h398/katherinecolin2012/Wedding%20Day/?albumview=slideshow

Hi ladies! We got back on Friday and had the time of our lives. Everything went so smoothly it was such a perfect day! Here's a link to my photobucket page with most of our professional pics (there's about 150 of them so its fairly long): http://s1107.photobucket.com/albums/h398/katherinecolin2012/Wedding%20Day/?albumview=slideshow Congrats to all the new wifeys on here!

Hi ladies I just got back on Friday from my wedding at Dreams. It was absolutely amazing!! Fatima did such an amazing job with everything. I will post a review within the week for all of you to read. I was in the same position as all of you for the welcome dinner and cocktails, this is what we did (with 49 guests): We arrived on Friday and had previously reserved tables at the Mexican Fiesta night on the beach for 7pm, I just spoke with Roman Garcia who reserved the spots for us for free ([email protected]). We had asked our guests to meet us at the Rendez Vous (lobby) bar for predrinks, we did not reserve tables, we just showed up right at 5:30 and pulled a bunch of tables together, they did not mind at all. So all in all we payed nothing for our welcome cocktails and dinner. The night before the wedding we had the bonfire as our informal rehearsal with a big pinata (sooo much fun!) a few speeches and we just all got to hang out, have a few drinks and relax the night before the wedding. I would totally recommend this to anyone as their welcome cocktails or rehearsal event. I think we payed around $500 for this so it is a fairly cheap option if you're wanting privacy and your own bartender etc. Most restaurants open at 6:30pm. The largest one is the World Cafe buffet, Oceana I think would be 2nd largest then El Patio, Seaside and finally Portofino. Hope this helps!

Wowza, to all the drama. that sucks the big one! Glad you are staying positive though! Congrats to all you lovely brides who just got married and safe travels/good luck to everyone leaving in the next couple of days! Kya101, I'm sure you will have a beautiful sunny day on the 25th! I will be thinking of you while I do my TTD session that day. I leave in 2 days and I am soooooo excited!!! I keep trying to post my planning thread but it never works and I've wasted probably 4 hours trying to do it so will do it when I get back I think.... sigh.... If I don't get a chance to post in the next 2 days, I will update you upon my return! thanks for all the love and support my January brides!! Kate

hahahah nicely done!! that did make me laugh. Hope you're not hurt

I am giving a copy of the schedule to the main people (parents, groom, bridesmaids, groomsmen, wc, photographer, dj and videographer). up until the ceremony part it is everyone dealing with their own schedule then it will be Fatima our WC organizing the ceremony, the ushers will take people from one location to the next, the DJ will MC most of the evening and keep it on track.

Hey ladies! So I just started packing the other day and so far have on extra large bag packed with fans and OOT bags, another large bag filled with wedding day decor and I have my bridesmaids coming over on Saturday with extra luggage to put the rest of the OOT bags and all my DIY crafts in. I am thinking there will be 5 wedding bags in total plus FI and my clothes... wowza! I am going on a MIL rant here so beware: We had our legal ceremony last weekend and it was a bit of a gong show... We had originally only invited my MOH and Colin's BM (plus spouses as BM lives out of town), then my brother was unable to come to our Mexico wedding and we are close so I invited him and my SIL. Well that night my MOH (sister) shows up with gifts in hand, beautiful cupcakes and cards from MIL and she explains how upset she is that she wasn't invited, even though we told her a million times that we didn't invite any of them because we are not considering it anything but legalities etc. She didn't get that at all and considered it our wedding and was p*ssed to not be invited. Colin and I knew this was the biggest guilt trip ever (I asked MOH if MIL was all dressed up and she said yes, I knew she would play this card....) so at the last minute we just decided to invite her or else we'd hear about it for the rest of our lives. Then, I figured, well if she's coming then my parents are certainly coming (they were very understanding and respectful of our wishes in the first place), so I called them about half an hour before the ceremony was about to begin and of course they are out at the farm 45 minutes away about to head in (they were flying back to Arizona at 3am that night so were staying at my sisters that night). When MIL arrived she immediately says "Oh, I thought this was supposed to be all casual and it wasn't important!?" in a snarky manner (I was wearing a white cocktail dress and colin jeans and a button up linen shirt). She immediately starts taking control of the entire situation, pretty much playing hostess. She threw our dogs in the room so they wouldn't be out (the main reason why we had it at our house was so our animals could be there) then she just kept hugging us and saying how proud she was of us and how important today was. I kept saying "this is NOT our wedding day, its legalities", to which her and husband replied, "nope this is it!". I was sooooo annoyed... so the wine kept flowing. We ended up having the ceremony about 25 minutes late (and a $50 tip to the EXTREMELY impatient officiant). I had my back to everyone throughout the ceremony and thank goodness because when I turned around she'd been crying the entire time. Oh, and I definitely let the dogs out for the ceremony, my one younger one was panting and so excited through the entire thing that some people had a hard time hearing us (he's too cute!). After that we had made supper for 8 of us (the original four plus Colin and I and two of Colin's friends we invited for supper as we don't see them often) and ended up having to feed 12 people, luckily we made lots! THEN we went to go watch Colin's brothers band play that night at a local bar and she kept running around and saying it was our wedding night (she even told the bouncer!). Everyone was hugging us and saying congrats. Some people were saying congrats before she had even saw them that night, she said she told a "few people" about it that day. The next day all I could do was laugh about the ridiculousness of it all. All in all we ended up having a fun night but we were annoyed that they didn't respect our wishes and pretty much bombed our night. I think in the end it did make us realize that anything with the W word in it is important for family (even sometimes more than you) and just take the punches as they come with a smile on your face. Here are some pics of that night: When we got home that night, BM and his wife were staying over so we had him try on his outfit from studiosuits and it didn't fit at all! It was sooooo short, I'm talking belly-shirt style, if he lifted his arms it went up to his chest. The pants were fine but the shirt had clearly been either measured wrong (front length) or entered onto the site wrong. Luckily he is the best man so he does not need to match the other groomsmen so we are going to try to find him a shirt in Mexico to either match Colin or different. It's sooo hard to find linen shirts up here this time of year so Mexico is our best bet. The next day we got all of the groomsmen to try theirs on to make sure they fit, everyone's was fine except Colin's brothers who's was also short (still manageable I think) so he is taking it to a seamstress and making it as long as possible but I'd imagine it will still be much shorter than the rest of the guys. His pants were also too long so he is getting them hemmed. Other than these couple of things everything has been going well and we are just about ready to leave in 9 days!! eeek! I had my extensions put in on Saturday and they look amazing! I have a pedi on saturday with my MOH and then the girls are coming over to help pack and to make fun outfits for the plane ride! Happy planning all!

HAPPY WEDDING DAY!!! Hope it is everything you ever imagined it to be!

Here you go: 8:30am Yoga on the beach with bridesmaids 9:30am Breakfast with Parents Colin to provide Jon with Tip Money for Wait Staff/Bartender ($20 per server (4-5 Servers) + extra for outstanding service)/DJ/Videographer/Photographer 10:45pm Spa: Hair (11:00am) – wear zip up/button up shirt 11:30am Photographer arrives for Bride getting ready in spa 12:00pm Spa: Make-up Application 1:00pm Meet with bridesmaids at room to finish getting ready Order room service for lunch with Bridesmaids Groom(smen) start getting ready 1:45pm Pre-wedding photography with groom(smen) (20 minutes) 2:15pm Videographers arrive for Bride and Groom getting ready Pre-wedding photography of Bride(smaids) getting ready (30 minutes) DJ arrives (possibly before – 90 minutes) Final walk through of ceremony and reception set-up (Lois) 2:45pm Bride gets dressed Photography of Bride(smaids) and parents 3:00pm Photography of Groom(smen) and parents 3:15pm Guests arrive DJ begins pre-ceremony music Processional parties gather 3:30pm Ceremony starts (25 min) Grooms Processional Bridal Party Processional Bride/Father Processional 4:00pm Photography with immediate family (20 min) Photography with wedding party (20 min) Guests go to Rendez-Vous bar to relax for half an hour or can watch pictures 4:30pm/4:45pm Cocktail Hour begins (Location: Las Palmas) 5:30pm Group Photo (20 min) Bride/Groom Pictures (40min) Video Guests go to Rendez-Vous Bar for half an hour 6:25pm Guests take their place at Reception (Location: Seaside Beach) 6:30pm Bridal Party Entrance Bride/Groom Grand Entrance Reception begins 6:40pm Welcome to Guests, Blessing/Grace from Bride’s Father and Mother Dinner is served (6:45pm) 6:46pm SUNSET SCHEDULED to occur – picture op 7:15pm Toasts (Lois/Glen/Cam Welcome to Family Kate, Marg/Aurele Welcome to Family Colin, Maid/Matron of Honour, Best Man, Groom, Bride/Groom Thanks) 8:00pm Cake Cutting 8:15pm Special Dances (Bride/Groom, Father/Daughter, Mother/Son, Bridal Party/Parents) 9:15pm Bouquet toss Garter Removal/Toss 9:30pm Videographer is scheduled to leave 10:30pm Photographer is scheduled to leave Official end of reception per Dreams outdoor policy Celebration continues on to Desires Music Lounge Quote: Originally Posted by BrideFeb132012 Thanks Ladies! Fatima said the reason my reception would be from 6 to 8 is because I am going with the paradise package and it only includes 2hrs of bar service, if I was to upgrade packages I would get 3hrs. But my sister is our photographer therefore, it is cheaper for us not to upgrade because my other extras including paying for addtional guests for the reception only adds up to $900 instead of paying $2199.00 for the upgraded package. If they let us stay on the terrace until 10:30 I would be happy as long as a bar is close to get drinks after the 2hrs. But paying for only 2hrs seems like a waste. I asked Fatima what we would do when the reception ends she said we could have a bonfire or go to the sports bar. Mllek I am not able to see your timeline it wont open for me:( Most of our guests will be involved with the pictures and the rest can go to a bar or do whatever until the reception. I am hoping that we can just extend the time when we are there but if we cant then not sure if I want to go ahead with the reception.. stressing me out a little lol What did you do for music at your reception and did you rent their sound system at the ceremony? Are extra lights for the reception necessary? Thanks again for your comments and help!!

Hi Heather, Here is our day of timeline, hope it helps: For the reception: I also find it weird that Fatima quoted you only 2 hours, it should be 3 I thought. I doubt they would kick you out after the two hours but you never know. I would ask Fatima and if she says you're ok until 10:30 then I would print off that email and stash it in your wedding day purse for that day so you have proof if anyone tries to kick your group out. We are paying for an extra hour of bar service ($15 per person) so we can stay until 10:30 as well, it is a lot of money but we figured what the heck! For the cake: We are spending extra on the cake because we wanted a different flavour and a certain look, I think the total to upgrade to our cake from Charme Reposteria (the baker they use outside of Dreams) was $150 and we chose to have an almond cake with amaretto filling. Fatima also advised that when they take the cake away you can either have it sent to your room or to the kitchen and they will serve it to you and your guests throughout the week at whichever restaurant, you just have to ask for it. For the champagne: We have the ultimate package so have champagne for 20 ppl included. Our wedding party is large (14 ppl) so we decided to just have the champagne for the head table then the rest of the guests can toast with wine or our signature martini that will be passed around right before speeches. I personally think $6 a glass is way too much and I know a lot of my friends don't even really enjoy champagne anyways so this was the smarter choice for us. Wedding Day Timeline.doc

Awesome playlist! Thanks! I am working on my planning thread right now, its soooo long lol. I have it in a word doc and am going to transfer it all this morning onto a thread. I'll post the link when I'm all done.

Thanks, you too! We're all sooo excited and in our final weeks of planning. It's crunch time and I couldn't be happier. I will join in your happy dance

Hey ladies, just wanted to share this with you. Make sure all your guests check the quality of their passports... water damage or tears could get you turned away http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/TopStories/20111223/mexico-passports-111223/