MJKH

Ok, so I may be able to help with this, as one fine bride did for me a few months back when I needed the same help. If you drag an image into a google search box, it will work backwards for you and locate the possible source/designer. In your case, it looks like it was part of the Marchesa SS 2011 collection. It's beautiful!!! http://www.vogue.com.au/fashion+shows/brides/marchesa+2011,s4915

SHUTTT UPPP! That's crazy!!! I love it : )

Yes, people kind of looked at me crazy when a year before the wedding I was saying things like..."well, sunset that night is at 5:26, so..." But it sure helped with our planning! You guys will have almost two more hours of sun than we did when we got married from the looks of things!!!

A website like this is a good resource for determining sunrise and sunset times for that area: http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/astronomy.html?n=923

Janette...OMG...it looks awesome!!! I am so glad to hear everything went well and look forward to hearing more! Love all the little sparkly starfish touches and the bouquet was so pretty. You and I have been on here so long, I'm kinda sad that it's over now for us : ( Congratulations and all the best! Janelle

Hi...thanks a bunch! And congrats on your upcoming wedding!!! : ) The thank you cards worked well for us...everyone knew each other, we didn't really have a wedding party, and our service was pretty basic. Had we not used them at the ceremony, I would have incorporated a similar message on the wedding reception favor card I think. I would totally recommend a rehearsal dinner at an a la carte...there was just something kinda nice and extra special about getting the group of us together the night before in a more intimate setting...everyone dressed up a bit...it was really the only meal we all had together (besides the reception dinner) and it was great that Elizabeth was there to make sure the seating was correct/favors were out as they should have been. She just got the group's attention before dinner and spent a minute or two chatting...introduced herself and gave everyone the lowdown re: arrangements for the next day. Then she left. Just remember that your group will only have a two-hour sitting at an a la carte...we moved into one of the lobby bars after. As far as our centerpieces for the reception, we took the vases and Elizabeth got them to the florist with the inspiration photo. Ours were primarily roses, so they were a bit more expensive ($30/each)...but I'm sure they could do anything you wanted them to.

KELLY...you looked amazing and these photos are awesome...I don't know what you're talking about!!! Your skin, makeup, hair...everything just divine! : ) Does it sound too perv-y if I say your boobs look friggin' fantastic in that dress?!? Heehee...anywhoo, I think my favorite TTD shots are the close ups of you kissing (heads and camera just above water).

Oh, I'm so happy to hear you're feeling better about things...and good call on the a la carte booking for Sunday for the group. Honestly, the Asian night at the buffet (Sundays) was my least favourite night...I wish we would have done an a la carte booking for the group that first night as well. We were told their system isn't set up to book reservations more than a week in advance. It just would be nice to be told these things outright...like explain that "the reason you can't get back to me on that right now is that our system can only book the a la cartes a week in advance"...or whatever...rather than having all of these brides (including myself) stressing out over a large-group booking. Anyway...the ladies in the wedding office are awesome...I should clarify that the letter we were given the day we checked in said Elizabeth would be the primary coordinator for our wedding. Before that, we were never given a name. Once you're there and meet with them and see how they're set up and work together, you'll feel even better : ) Have an AWESOME time!!! Can't wait to hear back from you! : )

We had the same concerns...if you hit the link to our planning thread below, you'll see what we did. I think it's the last posting on the thread still at this point.

All of our cards/tags/pamphlets, etc. were created using Vistaprint. I've pulled these out of my portfolio... This was the brochure we gave out the first night (names have been removed). I brought a handful of fine sharpie pens to dinner that night for people to write the room numbers on the corresponding lines.

YAAAAY Janette...I'm so happy to hear that! Charcat...I was soooo where you were two weeks before our wedding. Pleeeaaase don't let it get you down/overwhelmed/upset...Araceli is the manager of the department and, in our case, she handled the correspondence leading up to the wedding and did the legal paperwork piece with us and our witnesses the week of the wedding. Elizabeth/Angelina handled everything else...and they all work very well together as a team. I was never told "so and so is assigned to be your wedding planner" at any point. I made sure to ask when they would be accessible in the office when I had things to drop off/pick up/talk about...and they were really good about letting us know when they were tied up with other weddings that week. When I called during the day from our room at the resort, Araceli always picked up the phone. Be prepared to take all of your decor, dress for steaming (if you want), pictures, visions, etc. to that first meeting...it's a productive one and as we were talking with Elizabeth that first day, Araceli was on the phone with vendors getting prices, making appointments at the spa, etc. for us. The night of the wedding, when Elizabeth was decorating our suite so beautifully, Angelina was handling everything with our group back at the reception. They all work together for you!!!

Safe travels and wishing you all an AWESOME wedding day! Krysta lee ann...I can't wait to read your review of Riu Ocho Rios...we're thinking of going there for our 1st anniversary next year!!! : )

Sorry, I just need clarification on your question...what does the end of your thread title say? Which resorts in the RM are most ____?

Hi Prometida! How are things going with your plans at the GS...I hope moving forward? J~

I will keep my fingers crossed for you!! Hopefully she has the shipping part down to a fine science...those flowers are beautiful. Did you leave the trailing orchids on? Anyway, not that you want to spend more money...but IF it happens they don't show up, I know the ladies in the wedding office at the GS will pull something really lovely together for you! Keep us posted!

Everything looks sooooo amazing...what a great job you've done!!! This is one of my favourite projects...I might try something like this for our AHR. Did you just stamp the "HE" and "SHE" over the printing? P.S. My husband ALWAYS orders and gets the better meal off a menu...no matter where we are in the world...it drives me CRAZY!!! ; )

Ok, so just when I thought I was finished... I wanted to share the name of the wholesaler we worked with to purchase the rectangular sinamay envelopes we used for the ceremony, the pink sinamay bags we used in some of the wedding week survival kits, the sinamay pouches we used for the kids to collect their pinata candy, the sinamay baskets that held the toiletries in the palapa washrooms and the turquoise collapsable paper trays we used at the reception (they're based in Washington state and there were no issues sending these to Canada). If I had it to do all over again, I would have created a wedding invitation to fit in the square sinamay envelopes as well! http://www.packageit.net/old/published_website_files/Page497.htm The sign we placed in a frame on the photo guest book table couldn't be read in the photo...sorry about that. Here's what we came up with for that... Also, I'm very sentimental and wanted to try to bring a few things back from the wedding that we might repurpose often in the coming years. I found this engraved silver charger (in the placemat section) at Pier 1 and took it to use for our wedding cake. It was thick and sturdy but super light. Unsure if it was food safe, I simply asked the WP to have the chef put the bottom tier on cardboard. I love that we have it to use again in some way.

I just found another one! Happy by Secrets in Stereo

I'd like to try and kick-start this thread again, as we're just in the process of working on our DVD of wedding photos and are looking for some more unique music for the "soundtrack". We don't want anything vulgar or suggestive...it's a more conservative crowd we're playing it for...just really pretty/different songs about being in love/getting married. I have scoured everyone's playlists to no avail... Here's what I have so far: Songbird by Eva Cassidy Better Together by Jack Johnson (the Rhythms del Mundo Cuba version)

So, that's the story of our wedding in paradise. Did everything go as planned? Ummm...not exactly...but pretty darn close. And we had the time of our lives...I married my best friend and true love...(insert big happy sigh here!!!). Best of luck to you all and may your destination wedding dreams become a reality! : ) J & T ~The End~

As I mentioned earlier, we opted to distribute our wedding week survival bags (aka "oot bags") at our open house a couple of months before we all departed for Mexico. I would have loved to take them down with us...but we had TOO MUCH luggage as it was and hopefully this saved our guests from having to run around and pick up a lot of the items themselves. As a compromise, the day we arrived at the resort, we distributed snack packs, travel candles and wooden matches in cellophane bags tied with ribbon, wedding week information pamphlets and stretchy wrist bands with waterproof room key/money holders (it was a good thing we had extra because the kids all wanted one too). I noticed the key card holders were used A LOT by our guests! The (business) card inserts were from Vistaprint:

PHOTOGRAPHY I found out about and fell in love with Elizabeth Medina's work here on BDW. She lives in Merida, Mexico (is originally from the U.S.) and travelled to the GSRM to shoot our wedding. We will always be grateful to Elizabeth and Lindsey for giving us such wonderful photographs and memories of our wedding day. http://elizabethmedina.com/

Pashminas were rolled and tags attached (Vistaprint glossy business cards with a solid colour back cut in half).

Using leftover oot bag supplies and free samples I had been collecting, I created toiletry baskets for the washrooms at the palapa. Our guests were out at the ceremony/reception site from 1:30 pm until 11 pm, so the items hopefully came in handy for a few folks. We included scissors in each basket for those guests who wanted to remove the resort wrist bands. We wanted very much for the kids to feel special (and stay occupied!) during the rehearsal dinner and the wedding reception dinner. We purchased these very inexpensive but fun kits from Michaels and Dollarama and included them in little gift bags for the kids. As part of her "thank you" gift, I purchased a very inexpensive terry towel cover-up for my niece at Target, and had a local woman embroider it:

The pinata I purchased in Playa Del Carmen at this party store and the resort's WP filled it with candy we purchased in PDC at Wal-Mart. I would have LOVED a wedding cake shaped pinata, but sadly there were none to be had! http://intheroo.com/view/chiquifiesta