MJKH

Ohhhh...those are some nice finds Natalie! I also hit up all 3 Wal-Marts last night to find the bracelets and now have enough. But I need help...I want the transparent vertical badge holders that have a zipper at the top and are completely sealable - but the only ones I can find have a red zipper at the top, and I'd rather it just be clear.

So, as expected, pretty much all of the Old Navy flip flops (including the metallic line which I've only seen available online and I prefer to their basics) are $1.50 a pair today and the availability of sizes is great. Shipping is free for orders over $50, and if you sign up for their e-mails (oldnavy.ca and you enter your e-mail address twice at the bottom of the page), you immediately get a "save $10 on a $50 purchase" e-mailed to you. I had my FI sign up as I had already used mine, and I was able to use his code for my order. They're getting cheaper and cheaper!

Ahhhh...very interesting! I've never heard of such a thing...well, that is stunning : )

Just wondering if anyone has ever talked to the WC about reserving spaces for a large group at one of the a la carts (well in advance of course) for a "welcome dinner"...which I guess would mean that you would be using one of the a la carts from each guests' allotment.

P.S. Can I just say that I can't wait to go back! And I can't believe that we will be getting married there...lucky me...and lucky ALL of us! : )

@amjohnson I didn't have any luck today with the key & money holder thing-ies at Dollarama...they had lots of lanyards but none of the coil-y/stretchy bracelets. I noticed you're getting married at Dreams Tulum...we were there in January and loved it! Are you getting married in the little chapel?

Is that a peony in the top row centre? Wow, that is beautiful : )

LOOOOVE your inspiration folder...and I think those fresh green orchids are fantastic. I kinda agree with your mom about the calla lililes...the peonies are STUNNING...but I wonder too how easy they will be to get and how quickly they will go limp. Anyone know how well they hold up in heat/humidity? Oh, and as far as the flip-flop basket goes...I still haven't decided if I'll put them in the OOT bags or have them at the reception. The part of the resort we are getting married/having the reception at is too far to simply walk back to the rooms if you need/forget something, and you'd have to wait for a shuttle golf cart to go back and forth. Which is why part of me wants to just have them in a basket at the reception for tired feet!

@JacksonGrl 402 Our wedding is at the GS and I think the meet & greet sounds like a great idea! We've been trying to decide what to do as well...FI's daughter turns 17 the day we arrive, and his cousin (my BFF) is turning 30 that same day...so we'd like to celebrate those milestones as well (I'm hoping the WC will help us secure a birthday cake of some sort). We could have everyone up to our suite, but at some point that first night we need to slip away and finish off our OOT bags and get them to the bellman for delivery. So we decided against hosting something in our room... It's been about a year and a half since I was at the GS, but I'm thinking the only place that might work to do something like that would be one of the lobby bars (marked "C" and "D" on the map below). They are GRAND open spaces...you can walk up to the bar to order or a waitress will come around. Be sure to ask for some popcorn with your bevies (hopefully they still serve it there! They don't advertise that they have it though.). Every night they have a table at the front of the lobby bar with a drink special for the night...like one night might be a martini night...and you can always have champagne (hopefully that is still the case as well!)...as well as everything else the bartender can serve up. One of the reasons we decided to have our wedding back at the GS is because of their lobby bars and how much easier it would be to have a large group mingle together for a lengthy period of time. Every night they had music in the lobbies as well...jazz trumpet, mariachi...you name it! It was amazing : ) We preferred the Mezcal side...but you just need to realize that, as far as I know, you are unable to reserve tables for any size groups...but just start pulling chairs together as they become available. Hope that helps! Here are some pics to give you a feel for the "vibe" in the lobby bars:

FI's been wearing the linen shorts from Old Navy all summer...and I'm impressed with how well they wash and how nice they still look. I was there today and the ladies basic flip-flops were 2 pair for $3.

Tori...did you see the passport covers at Michaels for $1.50 that coordinate with the colours of the sewing kits? I was looking at them today, but just couldn't decide if I should get them. I probably, at the very least, should have bought a pink one for myself...my passport always seems to disappear in the black cavern that is my bag!

Oh...J and G...you reminded me that I still need to work on the key card/tip money holder situation. We have been looking for waterproof "safes"...little boxes on a cord that you can stick stuff in and wear them in the pool if you absolutely need to...and we found them at CAA for $3.25 each I think. But I like the idea (and price!) of the clear plastic badge holder that seals at the top with a zipper, on one of those plastic bungy bracelets.

Well, for two people who had no plans to do OOT bags, we've tried to stay focused on buying things that our guests will use up while they're in Mexico, or find the items so handy and easy to pack, they don't want to leave them behind. The last thing I want is for people to look in the bag and think "ughhh...I have no use for this!" Each of our bags might look a little bit different, which is why we DON'T want to present them at a larger group function...instead, we'll write the guests' name(s) and room number on the bag of the tag, and have a bellman deliver them. I plan to do three slightly larger "emergency" kits...one for us to keep in the bridal suite and take out on excursions, and one for each of our mothers to keep. Our guests will know that, should they run out of any supplies in their personal kit, they should check in with one of our mothers. I've been to this resort before and know how crazy expensive OTC medications, sunscreen, aloe, etc. are, if you can find them at all! I did grab 5 decks of playing cards today at Dollarama...three regular decks (which will stay in the larger "emergency" kits)...one deck of Transformers playing cards for my nephews and one deck of Littlest Pet Shop cards for my nieces...all for $1. I'm thinking I'll look online for a little "cheat sheet" of things to do/games to play with a deck of cards and attach that to each box. We just kept thinking back to things we wished we had taken with us on previous trips to Mexico...laundry soap, wipes, aloe, mini shower sponges...and on our last trip, every night I wished I had brought a pashmina with me...so I've ordered one for each of the ladies as a wedding favour...but am thinking I should almost give them out in the welcome bags, so they get lots of use out of them.

Luvmoo, We felt like we hit the lottery this spring...Todd HATES shopping, but was up one afternoon for looking around the men's stores to see what we could find for his wedding outfit. The first place we went to was The Bay (of all places!)...but we found him the most amazing white Tommy Bahama linen shirt (Guayabera style) with beautiful but very subtle white embroidery down the front panels (I think the shirt was called "Groom with a View") and some sandy-coloured Tommy Bahama linen pants. He'll wear a pair of dark brown leather sandals which he had custom made in Italy a couple of years ago when we were in Positano. Perfect for him!

Hi girls, Thought I'd better join this forum as well as I have a whole lot more chatting to do before I can access all of your great attachments! A couple of weekends ago my cousin got married during one of the heat waves to hit the province this summer. Her now-husband was so cute...the boys were all dying in their suits...one was turning red and we thought he'd pass out before the ceremony was over. But, all I could think of while the groom kept repeatedly mopping his forehead with his hand (sometimes wiping it on his pants, sometimes just reaching back out for my cousin's hands), was "ughhhh...note to self, get Todd a small cotton handkerchief to tuck into his pocket for the ceremony"! Does this seem reasonable to you ladies?

If there's anyone buying multiples of Imodium (in Canada, excluding Quebec), this might help save some $: http://www.imodium.ca/en/coupon.asp

We bought the Tide sink packs at Wal-Mart, and a 10 pack of Woolite at CAA for $4.60 (member's price). There are no laundry facilities at our resort, so it might be a good idea to check if that's available. Plus sometimes it's just way more convenient to let something soak quick in the bathroom sink. I wish I could find dish detergent like they sell the laundry soap...in tear-off pouches.

Not sure if anyone is still looking for flip-flops (they're getting harder and harder to find at this point), but I ordered mine from Old Navy. I don't know that it's the best deal in town, but I'm really happy with the metallic pearl, silver and bronze ones that I bought for the ladies...they are $3 a pair less another 20% until the end of the day today. And their men's flip flops are $1.50 plus another 20% off. I'm going to watch the website carefully over the next couple of weeks though, as I feel there could be a really big blowout of them soon. http://oldnavy.gapcanada.ca/browse/product.do?cid=66197&vid=1&pid=522932&scid=522932013

Oh, p.s. Tori... That Poly to Go is a steal...great find...I'll have to see if it's made it here yet. And I've definitely seen that rasp lemonade blast recently...had I know it was going to be a vacation for my lips, I would have bought a basketfull! ; )

I am all for adding laundry soap + dish soap to the bags! I wish Dollarama had smaller bottles of dish soap (the ones they did have were waaaay too big)...but I love your idea of the little clear containers. I would have killed for some laundry soap on our last trip to Mexico. With the humidity, the swimsuits just never seemed to dry and by the end of the week they were smelling pretty swampy.

Yes Tori...these OOT bags of mine have taken on a life of their own...we're close to having almost everything bought now...and will post some pics. But you're WAAAAY ahead of us with compiling things and your printed materials. I'll post some pics but I don't want to clog up your site. Should I start another or post them somewhere else?

Tori...pair #3 is from Aldo. I just ordered them this week so they should be easy to find.

Well, here are my shoes...and the plan is as follows: Pair #1 = ceremony Pair #2 = reception party Pair #3 = if/when I can't take wearing a heel anymore

TORI! Just when I thought my OOT bag shopping was finished, I saw your post last night and rushed over to Michaels in Saskatoon for those cute sewing kits. They were $1.50 each here...I cleaned out the shelf and I managed to get 21 orange, green and pink kits which was perfect. The funny thing was that the clerk said they've had them for at least a month already, which meant that I've probably walked passed them 4 or 5 times on my shopping trips there! Thanks for the inspiration : ) I'm glad I started shopping as early as I did...my favourite find so far are these jute bags from Dollarama I'll be using for our OOT bags in Mexico. I'll be attaching a tag to the bag with our "logo". Just waiting for my first shipment of freebies from Vistaprint to see how that works out in the end.

janette34 - the easiest thing to do is go to a conversion site...like xe.com...where you enter the amount and the currency...then enter which currency you want it converted to that will give you an up-to-the-minute rate