queenoftheu

I know exactly how you feel... We actually decided to have my fiance's brother perform our ceremony. Since it's symbolic anyway, we would rather have someone who knows us well and has been around for our entire relationship marry us, rather than forking over the money to have a stranger do it. We were both just attendants in our friends' wedding, and they had a close friend marry them. He did an amazing job, and it was both poignant and humorous at the right times. If you have someone that is close to you and would be comfortable speaking in front of a large crowd, it can be wonderful!

I just got a quote back from Wicky, and this is not included. For premium alcohol, it's $30 for the first hour and then $24 an hour per person... I know my family likes to drink, so we're keeping it at Royal

Hi, Desiree! I used to work in travel, so I hope I can give you some insight! The most expensive time to travel to Mexico is January-March because everyone wants to get out of the cold. That is probably how April and May got to be so popular! And then you do have the hurricane/hot season from July-October. If you don't want to do April-May, you might want to consider November-December. You might also be able to do June before it gets to be too scorching! Congratulations!

Oh, that is awesome! I absolutely LOVE Secrets Maroma! We took our first vacation together there... The only reason we're not getting married there is because I have a 16 year old brother. You will have an amazing wedding!

Hi, Ladies! I'm getting married on May 19th at The Royal Playa del Carmen! As for what we have done so far, we sent out save the dates back in May. I had the Aurora photobooks from Minted.com for our close family and friends, and I did postcards from Postcards.com of my favorite engagement picture (see profile pic) for the list of everyone we've ever met that our mothers made Minted has designs that have won design competitions, but they don't necessarily have a suite that matches. Luckily, they do custom work for only $25, so I'm in the process of ordering those now! We're sending out our formal invites in November with save the dates for our AHRs. We're actually having two AHRs!!! I'm originally from Chicago, my fiance is from California, and most of our family is strewn across the country. We thought a destination wedding was the perfect way to go, but our mothers have both insisted that we have something local. So, we will fly to Mexico May 15th, we'll get married May 19th, we'll switch to Secrets Maroma for our honeymoon for 5 days, and then we'll fly directly to Chicago for our reception there the weekend after! Whew! Luckily, my mother is planning that one... It keeps her out of my hair for our real wedding! We'll have our California reception at my mother-in-law's the month after our wedding. We're giving everyone a RSVP date of February 1st, so I'll start shopping for OOT bags, favors, etc. after I have a head count. That will also determine if we're springing for a DJ. We've booked our photographer, and my dress already came in (I was in my first dress appointment less than a week after we were engaged ). It's all so exciting! I just can't wait! Time feels like it is flying by!!!

Thank you! And that picture ended up being a super cheap way to do some beautiful STDs! I kept searching for the ones I wanted, and in the end, that picture just said it all! I ended up ordering postcards on Postcards.com with that picture as the front and our info on the back. People loved them!

Hi, Ladies! It is pretty slow moving right now, but I am trying to enjoy the 8 months I have left until our wedding! We just booked our photographer yesterday, and we decided to fly our engagement shoot photographer down with us. I feel like a Kardashian saying that After comparing prices, it wasn't that much more to bring him with us, especially since we're saving the vendor fee. Plus, he wants to expand his portfolio, so he'll end up photographing our welcome dinner, wedding, and TTD for the same price he charges for 6 hours of photography here! I'm also getting invitations to match my photobook STDs, and I'm hoping to send those out in November with an RSVP date of February 1st. I'm going to pick up my dress, too! I can't wait to see it! I also got a great deal on a boudoir photoshoot, so I'm doing that November 20th (the coupon expires at the end of November). I hope everyone's planning is going well!

Oh my God, do I covet your flowers! Like, change my color scheme to incorporate those pink, orange, and yellow flowers! Wow! They were definitely showstoppers!

Jozee84- June 15, 2011 JHarris - June 17, 2011 Sweetle- June 24, 2011 JenniferKuhr- July 1, 2011 Prettypigpig- July 4, 2011 DeniDen - April 20, 2012 queenoftheu- May 19, 2012 Kate112 - June 5, 2012

We got a travel agent... I used to work for a travel wholesaler called Classic Vacations, and there was no way I was doing this without a TA. The main reason we did that is because when a hotel is oversold, those that booked online through Expedia, Orbitz, Cheap Caribbean, etc. are the first to be relocated to different hotels. When a TA makes a booking with a wholesaler (in our case, she's booking through AMEX Vacations because Classic doesn't sell this hotel), they have contracts with their hotel vendors to never relocate their guests. I let all of my guests know that in the hopes that they'll contact her to make their bookings. I also wanted a TA to make my life easier. They BCC me on all correspondence with my guests, and they send me a weekly spreadsheet with their arrival and departure dates and room categories. My family is spread all over the country, so my TA does the bulk of her work over email and the phone with them. Since they already know where they are going and when, it's not a long consultation process with the TA. I've included her business card with all of my Save the Dates, and I let everyone know to contact her even if they find a lower price elsewhere. Oftentimes, they can get it price matched if someone out there shows a lower price. I talked to a couple of them before making a decision on who to go with, and I would recommend that if you decide to get one, make sure it's someone you feel like you can trust and have a good rapport with. They'll be your advocate in case of any issues, so you want to make sure you feel confident that they'll take care of you.

My wedding is one year from today! Yahoo! I wished my fiance a -1st Anniversary today The review was wonderful, and you looked beautiful! I can't wait to go!

Congrats! Can't wait to see!

I used to work for a travel wholesale company owned by Expedia, and I actually sold destination weddings for a living... You may want to think about doing it a different time of year. January through spring break is the most popular time of year to travel to Mexico, and therefore, it is also the most expensive. We chose to get married in May because the prices drop significantly by then, and they drop even more so for July-October.

Thanks! I love them!

It really was a wonderful day! And kya101, I would advise you to check out any sort of Groupon or Living Social program in your area. There's even a daily deal from Wedding Channel. A LOT of those coupons end up being photography sessions, so if you keep track, you could end up finding a way to get them done for less than $100! For me, my fiance and I are just so forgetful of taking pictures, so we only had maybe 3 good pictures of the 2 of us together. We really wanted to take some special pictures to commemorate the occasion. In other news, we have 4 hotel rooms booked for our wedding! Woo hoo! I know it's silly, but that's what makes me feel like this is actually happening

We're not having a legal ceremony... It really is a lot to deal with. We're going to have a quick legal ceremony the day before we leave, but we're not going to tell anyone. We're also going to have my future brother-in-law officiate in Mexico, which is so much more personal and saves us the officiant fee. I just figure that my Mexico wedding will be the day I wear my dress, say the vows I write, and exchange rings with my fiance. It will always be my true wedding in my heart, regardless of when I signed the paperwork in the US.

Thanks! And Coconoir, yours are beautiful, too!

My fiance and I recently got engaged in Napa, and we decided to take our engagement pictures there this past weekend! I really wanted to tie in both Napa and Mexico, so I had all sorts of props, and I was calling the photo shoot Operation: Classy Sombrero. We had so much fun, and the pictures turned out beautiful! Here's a link to our photographer's blog with a lot of pictures and my personal favorite! http://blog.colsongriffith.com/2011/04/leslie-and-mike-napa-valley-engagement-session/

You can see more on the photographer's blog here: http://blog.colsongriffith.com/2011/04/leslie-and-mike-napa-valley-engagement-session/

We got our engagement pictures back, and they turned out amazing! Operation: Classy Sombrero was a success!

Thanks! We are so happy with how they turned out!

Let's try this again!

I just got my engagement pictures back, and they are amazing! Operation: Classy Sombrero was a success!

Awww... How sweet! Congratulations!

I have no idea how I missed this forum! I'm a 2012 bride! I used to work for a travel wholesaler booking destination weddings, so I was pretty sure I wanted to have one myself when the time came. My FI and I took a trip to Secrets Maroma after we'd been dating 6 weeks in December '09, and that's where we fell in love. We immediately started talking about getting married in the Riviera Maya, especially since our family is spread out from the East Coast to California. While we wanted to do Secrets Maroma, it's adults only, and I have a 16 year old little brother. I started looking around at different resorts. I saw pictures from a friend's honeymoon on Facebook last summer, but I wasn't familiar with the hotel. It turned out to be the Royal PDC, which is adults only for 16 and over! I didn't sell this hotel, but the more I researched it, the more I realized it was exactly what we were looking for! And this way, we get to go back to Secrets for our honeymoon My FI proposed this February in Napa, and we are officially booked for May 19, 2012! As for my dress, we got engaged on a Friday, and I was in my first dress appointment by that Wednesday! I was so excited! My mom lives in Chicago and I live in California, so I went to a couple of stores to narrow it down before she came out here to shop. She's coming next weekend, and I've narrowed it down to 3 dresses to show her. Of course, I have a favorite, when I emailed the styles to her, it's her favorite, too! I can't wait to finally buy it! I have also made the executive decision to do some cake tasting locally... We should not be deprived of this experience just because we're getting married in Mexico! I'm having the best time being a bride, and I hope you all are, too!