AllieH

My friends who couldn't/didn't go to the DW threw my shower. Even though they weren't going, they wanted all of the details, to hear about the planning, etc. I really think in general people won't be offended, but you know your friends & family best.

Yes, I can send you the spreadsheet, and the music list they sent me too. I'll PM you for your email address!

Lindsey - the organza should be just fine on the gazebo. They'll secure it to the poles. And I love your menu, and the logo!!! Gale - LOVE those shoes. so sassy and sparkly!!!

We didn't. Like you, it was one of those things we just didn't have a budget to do. One of our guests did video with his phone, and then stitched it together and sent it to us on a DVD. It's a little shaky for the ceremony, but I've only watched a little bit of it. I can't get my fiance to sit through it! lol

The sashes have been spoken for. The turquoise/light blue paper lanterns & raffia are available after the sale fell through. I've also added a collection of shells: Items remaining: 7 orange pintuck table runners - $20 1 Steel Drum Wedding songs CD - $5 3 orange & white twine spools - GOBS of twine on each spool - $3 each 4 LED flicker battery operated lights - $2 for all 4 1 orange star paper parasol - $7 23 orange paper fans - $23 turquoise raffia ribbon, 47 yards, $4 light blue & orange stationary (5x8), 400 sheets, will break into lots of approximately 100 if needed - $6 per 100, or $20 for all Paper Source “Pool” double faced satin ribbon, 10 yards, $3 50 paper/wood envelopes – these would be cute for holding the fans or a note - $10 for all Misc. shells: 1 gallon ziploc full of medium sized shells, 1 quart ziploc, 1/2 full, smaller shells. $10 for all Orange paper lanterns - 10 tiny (used as aisle markers), 5 small, 15 medium, 2 large - $40 for all Turquoise - 13 small, 15 medium, 2 large - $30 for all Shell collection (note I'm keeping onto the partially full gallon bag in the upper left corner):

the sashes are currently in one of the space saver/vacuum bags in the photos attached to the first post. here's what they looked like for our ceremony set up. they are standard organza chair sashes.

Most people used their phones for the time. There are clocks in the rooms - ours was set at the wrong time and we never managed to figure out how to correct it (in 10 days! HA). We would also ask the bartenders what time it was fairly often... most times they would tell us the truth ("time for a tequila shot" was not considered an accurate answer...). The onsite WC also gave guests a timeline/reminder letter of the events when they checked in - they asked at our meeting if we wanted this, and then created it for everyone. I also asked them to create one for us, since we had several appointments with the spa, and they did this for me. Super nice touch! Bride & Groom should get free wifi - we had to ask our concierge for the user ID & Password, but it was no big deal. The wifi worked pretty well in our rooms, by the pool, even on the beach beds near the casitas. We were on our iPads quite a bit when we were relaxing around the resort. Quote: Originally Posted by nbateman Allie, what did everyone do about the time, did people use their phones, were their clocks? I'm remembering when I was on a cruise, it was so important to always have a watch since we couldn't use our phones. Did you and your guests have this issue or did you use your phone? Also, while I'm asking, is there WiFi that you connected to? Just curious...

I only had my hair done there, and I did a rehearsal. If I was going to do make up also, I think I would skip the hair rehearsal (to save $$). My hair rehearsal went great, and she did exactly what I wanted - a low up-do, off to the side. The only thing I asked her to change for the wedding day was to hide my headband a little more (it had ribbon-covered parts, and bling-covered parts, I only wanted the bling to show). On the day of, she did my hair in the middle, vs. off to the side like she did for my rehearsal. It looked gorgeous, and we were out of time so I didn't have her redo it. The rehearsal was for my own peace of mind - knowing what I do now, I'm not sure I'd do a rehearsal again. But then, I am a control freak, so maybe I would! If you have pictures of what you want for your hair & make up, I'm pretty sure they replicate both perfectly.

We recently were married at El Dorado Royale, in Riviera Maya, Mexico. Here's what I would and wouldn't do again: What'd I'd do all over again: --a destination wedding. It was AWESOME. Our friends and family all enjoyed the getaway. It was great to have more time with our guests. The ceremony & reception really flew by, and I can't imagine that as the only time to celebrate this event. Instead, we had a long weekend! --pick EDR and Mexico as our destination. the resort was AMAZING. I can't say enough good things! --DIY. our guests all complimented the small details that I had DIY'd. I can't wait to see the photos of the details! --wear the dress I fell in love with. yeah, it was hot. yep, I was a sweaty mess by the end of the night. but damn, I looked good! (hehe) --have a friend help with my make up, and let the salon do my hair. --hire a professional photographer. these memories will be priceless. --wear wedges for our ceremony in the sand; surprisingly I got a lot of comments on my shoes. part of this is also because of the next item: --I had my dress hemmed for flats. I knew I would kick off the wedges and end up in flats, and had seen other brides at their receptions holding up their dresses and trying to dance, because the dress was hemmed for heels. So yes, during the ceremony, my wedges showed a little more, but ultimately it all worked out. --marry the love of my life. of course!! --do the legal part here at home, and symbolic in MX --write our own ceremony - it was so meaningful and "us". we wrote our own vows too, and my husband surprised me with his. it was priceless --not have a bridal party - we felt that all of our guests were our party. we didn't want anyone to have to buy a special dress or suit, given that they were spending so much to be there for us. --host a private dinner/reception - it was a GREAT party! --everything else! Some things I'd do differently (but none of these took away from how special our day was!): --hold the welcome dinner the same day everyone arrived - they were all tired, and crashed as soon as dinner was over. we expected to party a little more with them that night --4pm ceremony time in November was a little too late; we lost light really fast after the ceremony. I would totally move it back to 3:30 if I had it to do over again --spring for (or bring) the sheers for the gazebo. My husband was a human shade, because the sun was right in my eyes. --schedule my hair appointment earlier. we had it at noon , with the first look scheduled at 2:30, and 4pm ceremony. the rehearsal hair appt only took an hour, so I thought we'd be fine on the day of the wedding. day of took 90 minutes, so at 2:25 we were rushing to finish my make up (we had to eat lunch after our hair appointments!) --anchor my veil in my hair with gobs of pins - it flew out three times, and fortunately I was fine letting it go (even though my WC kept trying to put it back in, hilarious) --there was no need to pay for cupcakes for all of our guests (in lieu of a wedding cake); the dessert served with our meal was phenomenal! we would have been fine with a small cutting cake for the photos/tradition part of it.

Items remaining: 100 orange organza chair sashes - $25 7 orange pintuck table runners - $20 1 Steel Drum Wedding songs CD - $5 3 orange & white twine spools - GOBS of twine on each spool - $3 each 4 LED flicker battery operated lights - $2 for all 4 1 orange star paper parasol - $7 23 orange paper fans - $23 light blue & orange stationary (5x8), 400 sheets, will break into lots of approximately 100 if needed - $6 per 100, or $20 for all Paper Source “Pool” double faced satin ribbon, 10 yards, $3 50 paper/wood envelopes – these would be cute for holding the fans or a note - $10 for all Orange paper lanterns - 10 tiny (used as aisle markers), 5 small, 15 medium, 2 large - $40 for all

If you like 50, read The Angel, The Gift and The Prince by Tiffany Reisz. more smut is anything by Maya Banks, Julie Ann Walker (Black Knight Series) or Sierra Cartwright. I also like the Crossfire Series by Sylvia Day. in the non-smut category, I love Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series, The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins, Michael Connolly's Harry Bosche series, Donovan Creed series by John Locke, anything by John Grisham, and a lot of James Patterson's Alex Cross books (before he started co-authoring them with others..). yes, wide variety!!! I'm a voracious reader.

More items have sold - here's what I still have available! 100 orange organza chair sashes - $25 7 orange pintuck table runners - $20 15 turquoise organza table runners - $25 1 Steel Drum Wedding songs CD - $5 3 orange & white twine spools - GOBS of twine on each spool - $3 each 4 LED flicker battery operated lights - $2 for all 4 1 orange star paper parasol - $7 20 orange paper fans light blue & orange stationary (5x8), 400 sheets, will break into lots of approximately 100 if needed - $6 per 100, or $20 for all Paper Source “Pool” double faced satin ribbon, 10 yards, $3 50 paper/wood envelopes – these would be cute for holding the fans or a note - $10 for all Orange paper lanterns - 10 tiny (used as aisle markers), 5 small, 15 medium, 2 large - $40 for all

I'm sorry - they did sell quite a while ago. I should have closed the listing.

much prettier on you!!!!!!

Several items pending sale. Here's what is still available: 100 orange organza chair sashes - $25 7 orange pintuck table runners - $20 15 turquoise organza table runners - $25 8 ikea white frames - used as table numbers/guest book info/place card info. I have #'s 1 - 6, you can have them if you'd like. $5 for all frames 1 orange basket w/ orange & white striped liner - used to gather guest book/mad libs - $10 50 blue/white and orange/white striped paper straws w/ banners - $7 (bartenders failed to supply these to guests! ugh) 1 Steel Drum Wedding songs CD - $5 30 wooden shells/starfish - silver glitter (used as part of centerpieces) - $15 3 orange & white twine spools - GOBS of twine on each spool - $3 each 4 LED flicker battery operated lights - $2 for all 4 2 rolls turquoise burlap sparkly runners - I'm guessing 10' long each - $5 each 1 orange star paper parasol - $7 23 orange paper fans - $23 40 small white organza bags - $5 for all light blue & orange stationary (5x8), 400 sheets, will break into lots of approximately 100 if needed - $6 per 100, or $20 for all Paper Source “Pool” double faced satin ribbon, 10 yards, $3 Light blue organza ribbon – never used, I think it’s 5 yards - $1 50 paper/wood envelopes – these would be cute for holding the fans or a note - $10 for all Orange paper lanterns - 10 tiny (used as aisle markers), 5 small, 15 medium, 2 large - $40 for all