viajerajulie

Hello brides! I need some advice. Hubby and I are pretty much in love with the Gran Caribe chapel for our destination renewal of vows. But this summer has not treated us well financially (I'm a teacher) and it looks like we don't have the money for a site inspection! Have any of you ladies planned and done your DW without a site inspection? Any experiences or advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks! VJ

The Mr. and I are hoping to check out 2-3 locations in the Cancun area this August: Casa Magna Moon Palace and Gran Caribe (my favorite chapel so far!) I've seen pics of weddings in both of the bottom two chapels, but none in the Casa Magna chapel. Anyone have any to share?! Thanks!

Thank you! I'm really excited about this but also a little nervous. I just hope this one FINALLY works out!!!

That's so true, KR. I'm going to have to keep looking...my original BM's were going to be my best friend, Sam, who is getting married in July 2012 and financially probably can't swing a DW in Cancun for us (I asked her to be MOH right after we got engaged and she's stuck by me through the two canceled weddings!!), a good friend Izaskun who is from Spain and probably can't make it, two close friends, Marisa and Bern, who, due to finances may not be able to make it, and my sister who has a 7 month old...probably won't be able to make it! I guess we'll see...

Wow, that hairpiece is absolutely gorgeous. I'm going to have to talk to the Mr. and see what his vision is of the wedding in Cancun. See...your girls look so amazing...it makes me kind of wish I had bridesmaids but I'm almost sure several won't be able to make it. I love Del Sol's pictures!!! *swoon* You were a beautiful bride, I must say!!!! Love the fuschia, too!

Thanks! To you, too!

Hi there! Yeah, I kind of feel like I'm in a predicament with that too. I mean, people know we are married...so how do I do this? We weren't planning on inviting everyone to this one, just close family and friends, then invite everyone to the at home reception after. But like, do we still send invitations? How do we word this? We'll have to chat about this...it's an interesting situation.

Sorry if this double-posts! We never had a chance to do engagement photos...money was too tight with immigration. So I count our civil wedding pics as 'engagement pics'! Here are my three faves!!

We didn't have the money to do engagement pics (due to saving for immigration) so I count my civil wedding pics as 'engagement pics'! Here are a few of my favorites!

I hope this isn't a totally stupid question, but is there any possibility of salvaging your dress after a TTD shoot? Like, my hubby is super into the whole 'keeping it for the grandkids' concept, but I'd love some beautiful, sexy pictures like the ones pictured here! Any thoughts?

I could be too new to do this but...any 'second wedding' brides out there? Maybe you're renewing vows or maybe, like us, your first wedding was not all you dreamed of due to financial or other concerns... Anyone planning a second-wedding destination wedding? I'd love to hear your stories and plans!!!

Thanks, ladies. Yes, it has not been easy but I think that's why I'm so excited to finally REALLY celebrate with people. I'm hoping the end of our wedding story is awesome enough to overshadow all the drama that led to it!

Hi ladies!! We are hoping to have our second (church) wedding somewhere in Cancun sometime in Summer 2012! I'd like to get it as close to our anniversary date (6.25) as possible. As far as planning, well, I've already planned and canceled two traditional church weddings so I have the dress...I have bridesmaids, but not sure how many can actually make it to Cancun...no theme really except teal. Honestly, after planning two traditional weddings, one thing I'm looking forward to is keeping this one simple and focused - it's about celebrating our love after all we've been through, surrounded by the people that mean the most to us, in a beautiful, amazing place where everyone can relax and enjoy themselves. Glad to be here girls! Hope to announce our date soon! Going for site visits in August. We know we're visiting Gran Caribe - any other suggestions for a Catholic Cancun wedding?

Thanks for the welcome, everyone! Wow, those photos were amazing. I was actually thinking of flying down our own photographer. She is my mom's best friend's daughter. She did our civil wedding photos (a few of which are in my albums). Our budget is pretty limited still, but Del Sol is sooo tempting...amazing work! Also, I was really thinking I wanted something simple - like, no bridesmaids or anything...but after seeing how gorgeous the bridesmaids looked...ugh...what to do, what to do?! I think I'm also coming at things from a slightly different perspective, having already been married for a year. I kind of have a 'don't sweat the small stuff' attitude...but the small stuff is also sometimes the fun stuff. I don't know. Finally, when we planned our first wedding, we were doing a 1940's vintage theme with a peacock color scheme. Definitely changing the look for our Cancun wedding!! I know we want to keep the teal color in there, but I don't know if I want to go tropical with bright colors or keep it low-key and elegant with white flowers, like callas or whatever.... So much to decide!! =) So glad to be here!!

Hoping for Summer 2012 in Cancun!!!

Well, you said you wanted the juicy details...so against my better judgement: I met my hubby in 2006. I knew he was from Mexico and since I'm a Spanish teacher, things worked out great. I was 22 and he was 24...after about a month of dating, I was diagnosed with a brain tumor. I told him I would understand if he wanted to break it off, since we barely knew each other - in short, he refused. He actually took really great care of me through a lot of drama - huge weight gain, lots of doctor appointments, MRI's and meds...five years later, I'm fine and we are married. Four months into the relationship, after all his dedication and help with my medical issues, he confessed to me that he was not in the country legally. We would have to jump through a lot of hoops to get his status fixed, should we decide to stay together. He proposed in 2008. My sister called me that October and let slip that he had bought me a ring...I kinda let slip that I knew and he was devastated! I told him it was no big deal...we had been together for a while and if he wanted to just ask on the couch or whatever, I wouldn't mind. He said, 'No, I'll surprise you.' So, naturally, every time we went out, I was lookin' good...and every time, I was disappointed. So one weekend in December, we went out both Friday and Saturday night and nothing...then Sunday morning we got up and went to church and after church, he said, "Do you mind if I stay and pray for a few minutes?" and I'm like, "Sure, of course." So then I started thinking, "What if something is wrong, I'm a jerk for not even asking...!" So I asked, "Is everything okay? What are you praying for?" and he said, "Oh nothing in particular, just everything...I just think it's the right time..." and I kind of looked off into space and thought, "It's the right time...to pray...for everything?" and when I turned back to look at him, he was down on one knee right there in the church with the red velvet box! It was exactly what I always wanted - vintage-y and with an emerald-cut diamond! I couldn't believe he proposed in church!!! He later said, "I told you I'd surprise you!" Well - he totally did. We planned an August 2010 wedding at the church where he proposed with the reception in a local restaurant. From there, we started saving for wedding and immigration. In January 2010, we flew to Cancun together and after four days there, we parted ways - me back to the US and him to be with his family in his hometown. We knew we were facing a 10 year ban due to his illegal presence. There was a waiver, but it was based on 'proving extreme hardship to the US citizen'. In March 2010, he submitted the petition for the waiver and we were approved on March 31st, 2010. After that, some drama went down, some extremely difficult financial and emotional drama...but end of story, he came back May 24th - but by then our wedding money was gone. So, knowing that we love each other and wanted to be married - we decided to do the courthouse thing and on June 25th, 2010 we became husband and wife!!! I was always a little upset that we didn't have our 'church wedding' so now that we are getting stable financially, we've decided to plan our dream wedding for 2012! We're hoping that doing it in Cancun will allow his family and friends to attend!! So excited to be part of this forum and to know other DW brides!! Sorry so long and thanks for reading!!!