AllieH

Chris - I'm so glad my posts are helping you!!! that was my whole intent. I think Lomas/Valeria can help you set up a catamaran trip - we did one through them with Marina Maroma, you'd have to ask about the rum punch though. we got water...and that was it! Gale, It's a wedding, you're allowed to be obsessive and crazy about it! lol Here's what I'd recommend for music playlists along with what we did: Guest seating - 2 songs - (Iz's mix of Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World, and Going to the Chapel by the Dixie Cups) Bridal party - 2-4 songs (depending on how big your bridal party is, if any) (none for us) Groom walk - 1 song (we didn't have one) Bride walk - 1 song (Silverstring Quartet's Just the Way You are - instrumental of Bruno Mars' song) Recessional - 1 song (Signed, Sealed, Delivered - Stevie Wonder) I would pick your songs, and create playlists on a separate iPod with just those 5 playlists. Our WC didn't tell us we could have a separate groom-walk song, so I didn't have one for him. OOPS! And we didn't have a bridal party, so we seated the mothers to the guest seating songs - fortunately they were pretty long. I have all of these songs as mp3 files, and can email them if you want.

Just FYI on the cakes - you can "buy up" to a red velvet, carrot, or 1 other flavor that I can't remember. I assume they'd be available in those flavors for the cupcakes too. You just may need to push a little.

They were $4.50 each for chocolate, vanilla or strawberry, all with cream cheese frosting. You do have to have a minimum - I think it was 24, but don't remember exactly.

I did corsages & bouts for the mothers & fathers. Ours were real touch flowers though. my MIL ended up wearing hers in her hair and my (now) husband forgot to give his father his bout. Oh well. I'd say don't stress about them - if you can do them, great, if not, don't worry.. You are getting so close!

No great cake here - we did cupcakes, and the upside is that they do cream cheese frosting on those, so they were somewhat tasty. But they were a waste - many weren't eaten because the dessert that came with dinner was amazing (we had the Tres Leches cake). In hindsight, I wish we'd done the small cake for cutting, and not worried about a big cake or cupcakes for everyone. cupcakes (we brought the stand rather than rent one for $25, also brought the toppers): tres leches dessert:

oh Gale - those are GORGEOUS!!!

hehe yeah - we liked to spend a little time on the beach beds after dinner and before we went to bed. So I am blaming my bug bites on that! You do have a lot going on. I will be thinking about your family as your son ships off to basic, and the college choices. With the wedding - don't let it stress you out. easy to say now that mine is done! but seriously, enjoy it. take a deep breath and remember why you're doing all of this. it'll all work out just fine when you're there.

I had quite a few bites on my legs - pretty sure they were from sand fleas, but could have been some mosquitos. They were itchy as hell too!! So yes, I'd take some sort of bug repellent for the evenings. We didn't really have problems during the day, but every morning I'd find new bites on my legs from the night before. The resort gave us some after-sun and bug-repellent for us, but I think off wipes would be a great idea for the bags. Better to be safe than sorry! Quote: Originally Posted by jnitschke I just read something in a DW book that said make sure you put bug spray on your legs before putting on your dress. Does anyone remember bugs being a problem at EDR? Never even thought of mosquitoes and the like being there, which I should have since we have those crazy black spotted African mosquitoes from hell here for half the year now. Still should I be preparing for something like insects? Should I put those OFF wipes in my OOT bags?

Hi! I got your PM and replied. Let's see if we can figure something out.

I just read another review where a bride suggested this: Have everyone with iPhones download HeyTell before they arrive- its a walkie talkie device that runs on wifi. it may be worth a try!!

I'm so sorry to hear about your FBIL. It's a lovely idea to make a donation vs. the favors!

You'd think they would understand and not ask! then again, I broke my own rule when asking a coworker when she's getting engaged lol

I PMd you for your email address. Yes, I did welcome bags, and I have a template of the letter. It's in word, and smaller b/c I had stationary I printed it on. I can email that to you along with the song. You got this girl, don't panic! It will all come together beautifully.

I think the only one who didn't appreciate the "fancy" food was my dad. Rumor has it he ate nachos and hamburgers the entire time LOL Really, there are plenty of options on the menus to please anyone - always a steak dish, chicken, shrimp, etc. My brother is a pretty simple eater, and his FI is a super picky eater - neither of them had complaints. If someone doesn't like the sauces or whatever, just tell them to ask if they can have it more plain. They'll do whatever someone wants if at all possible. The dress code was one of the weird things - some people really dressed up at night (guys in a tie, ladies in a cute little dress), and others wore jeans, capris and more casual. I was one of the more casual people, and we never, ever had any issues with the dress code being enforced or being asked to leave somewhere. I did follow the very basic dress code, but I ended up having to wear my flip flops most of the time too because some sandals caused blisters - that wasn't mentioned or questioned by any staff. So I'd say it's really up to you and your guests as to what they'll be comfortable in at dinner. I think Jojo's and La Isla are probably a little more casual for dinner, since they are both outdoors. At lunch though, make sure folks have shirts and shoes - my friend couldn't get into Jojo because she only had a bathing suit top on. she had to borrow a cover up. The pizza place is casual for lunch - bathing suits, whatever seems to be ok. That was true of the Las Olas corner in Casitas 31 too, and they have great lunches!

thank you!! Yours will be amazing too. Remember that the onsite wedding team are professionals, and dream weddings is what they do. Don't hesitate to ask if there's something that will make your stress less or your stay/wedding easier while you're there. I think EDR's unofficial motto is "Anything is possible in Mexico" - so many of the staff members told us that during our stay. We were blown away by many of the little things the staff did that we didn't expect. Noone said "no, can't make that happen".

Do you have Skype or FaceTime? using either of those on wifi would be the best way to communicate via voice or video conference with folks back home w/out an international plan. depending on your carrier/phone, international plans may not be available. as far as communicating while we're there - we used Facebook since we all had wifi lol and we'd just call between the rooms. you can get texts w/out having an international data plan. depending on your carrier of course - incoming texts were like 10 cents, outgoing were like 50 cents each. we turned off the cell service and just used wifi while we were there. we could also email back home to check on our dogs and such. Quote: Originally Posted by Shannon Burgess Thanks AllieH, I'm working on my list right now!! Was I supposed to tell them ahead of time if I needed a table set up for Wedding Favors? I LOVED your umbrella idea and I remembered seeing a pink and a green on at Hobby Lobby, went by yesterday only to find them ripped...Where did you get yours? May I ask what you walked down the aisle to? I have been looking for days and just can't seem to find that perfect song!! If I see Victor, I will tell him you two said Hello. Did you tip as suggested? I think my husband (still very strange using that word) went to the bank and got $100 in ones, do you think that will be enough for 11 days? How many days were you there before your wedding? Were you able to scope out Tucanes and suggest how you wanted it set up? I'm taking some random docorations that I'm hoping I can fit in somewhere. So much to do, so little time!! Must remember your advice....Enjoy every moment!!! Oh no, you don't have to tell them ahead of time. When we did our meeting with the onsite WC team, she asked what other tables we would need, what we had, etc. So they provided the tables for the cake, the favors/place cards and the guest book - no problem at all. They drew up the layout while we were sitting there - I honestly didn't care about that and trusted them to put tables where they would work the best. And they did for the most part. Our table was right front and center, his mother's close by, but my family was towards the back. Oh well - that's what I get for not being specific. lol We didn't take the time to scope out Tucanes, but we could/should have!! I walked to Vitamin String Quartet's cover of Bruno Mars' "Just the Way You Are". Unconventional, but fun and totally "me". If you like it, let me know and I can email you the file. We were there 5 days before our wedding. I'd take $200 in $1, but that's just me. We tipped room service, bellman, bartenders and some of the waiters daily. We tipped housekeeping at the end of our stay, and our concierge too. I ordered the parasols from lunabazaar.com - my husband ripped 1 of them right after the ceremony when he tripped over it (BOYS!!). I loved that the WC staff moved them to Tucanes for us, and then set them up to hide the big rip. We didn't ask to have them moved, they just did it.

Doncha love it?? How many times have you guys been asked the following questions: 1) do you feel different being married? (yes, it feels more settled, but in a very good way) and 2) when are you having kids? (PLEASE people..) He's a great husband, and we're coming up on our 2 month here in a few days. It's hard to believe that was all 2 months ago... it still seems like yesterday!

oh yes Gale, I totally understand the labor of love! There were many nights where I sat cutting out starfish and shells and other shapes while watching TV. It's all worth it though!!

they are gorgeous!!! I love them! you have been busy

no - sorry! We didn't look at anything except all inclusive resorts.

I highly, highly recommend going with a Travel Agent, and one who specialized in destination weddings. It'll take a lot of stress off your plate. Even better that they can help you narrow down your options and find the perfect location for your wedding. Happy planning!!

I don't! I'm sorry. I originally asked for 2.5" tall by 3" wide, that come 9 to a sheet. We went back and forth via email, and I downsized. But I didn't keep the email chain that verified the final size. The size I ended up with were 14 to a sheet, so I think I went to a 2" or 2.5" wide size. I will measure one and let you know for sure (we have gobs left over! I'm looking for stuff to slap them on lol)

We did one for the day-of that went into our welcome bags: And the onsite coordinators also put one together for everyone and had the front desk provide them to our guests when they checked in. It included our welcome dinner time/location. That was a nice surprise!!

Have you considered El Dorado Generations Maroma? It's brand new... and designed for family events. Adults (over 16) can also use/visit El Dorado Maroma next door. http://karismahotels.com/HotelsResorts/ForEveryone/ElDoradoGenerationsMaroma I'm completely biased towards the El Dorado resorts though. You may want to also consider the Azul properties which are family friendly.