AllieH

my girls were asking the (male) staff how to say "penis" in spanish. they couldn't tell them..all they would say was the "deek! deek!" lol hence the pointing & laughing that followed...

do you mean for the ceremony? or for the reception? for the ceremony, my husband brought that iPod with him to the ceremony (per our WC's instructions). they gave it back to him immediately after the ceremony, so it wasn't in their hands long. We didn't use it for the reception, but I'd guess the WC would take it from the ceremony to the reception site. you should be able to use that app on the iPod as well as the iPhone - usually those are the same apps (iPad has different apps due to the screen size).

holy crap, that would be seriously SCARY!!! my girls brought a huge blow up penis for my bachelorette. they kidnapped me from one of the bars that night - and the rest of the weekend the staff pointed and laughed them, saying "deek! deek!" yes, memories. or..fuzzy memories!!!!

Nikki - somehow you've been the only recent bride who's been able to accomplish that. It's usually set the day after your arrival. We got in Wednesday morning, and met with the onsite WC at 1pm on Thursday.

it's the same strategy I use when we go to flea markets or garage sales! Only have what you're willing to pay in cash set aside, then it's an easy negotiation tactic. "Oh, that item is $15? I only have $10. will you take $10?" nevermind that I have $50 tucked away elsewhere..

ahh ok. chalk it up as a memory...right? I came home with about half of the striped straws I took with me. why the bartenders didn't pass them all out - cuz I know my group was drinking a LOT - beats me.. lol Mexico memories. that's what I'm calling them.

oh Shan, they are GORGEOUS!!!!!!! I love your bouquet, and your dress is beautiful, love your jewelry too. you look so happy! I can't wait to see more

just for the set up fee! I think they would have taken a credit card if needed, but I'd heard they prefer cash (obviously..who doesn't...). Plus you don't have any transaction fees on your credit cards from international purchases, or exchange fees/rates. you'll pay for everything else on the wedding spreadsheet ahead of your arrival. unless you have adjustments to it last minute like we did. the spreadsheet had the wrong entree choice for us, and I didn't realize it until we got onsite. there was a price difference between what I had paid (spreadsheet) and the choice we wanted. no problem, they did the adjustment, then we paid them for the difference (in cash, it was easier).

We had a number of individual OTC medications for our OOT bags (advil, tylenol, immodium, etc), and didn't have any issues with them going into Mexico. They were pre-packaged in weekend survival kits, not bulk bags of each med, so maybe that helped.

That was the issue I had too. I'm 5'3", and wanted to wear wedges for the ceremony, but didn't want the dress to drag (more) on the ground when I switched to flats. That's why I went ahead and had the dress hemmed for flats. I've also heard that some girls have been able to get some sort of adjustable hem, so it can be shortened for flats after the ceremony. I thought about that, but didn't want to pay the extra $$ for it. It was easier just to do the hem.

I think we took about $500 down in cash, but I only took about $250 with me to my meeting with the onsite WC - that's all I wanted to pay, and I figured it was a good bargaining place if they quoted higher. I'm sly like that...

welcome back Mrs!!! I'm so glad your wedding was amazing. I can't wait to hear how it all went. and tell your friends to get on the ball....hehe

Hi Erin, Don't let yourself get overwhelmed!! It isn't worth it the stress, I promise. The reality is the setting is so beautiful, you don't need a whole lot of set up or extras. If you don't want to bring all the stuff, then don't. It's 100% up to you, and what you want for your wedding. Don't feel the peer pressure because of what someone else chose or did or brought or what you saw on the amazeballs wedding blog. That was their/our weddings, and this is yours. One of my best friends had a total no-frills wedding, just a group dinner after the ceremony, 12 guests, and it was amazing! It's more about the company and the reason for the gathering. The headcount is important only to ensure the area around the gazebo has enough room for your guests (some are fairly small), and if you are hosting a private reception, ensuring that venue works for your party size. Have you talked to your guests to get a feel of how many are planning to go yet? We're here...we'll help ya through it! Quote: Originally Posted by erin 1 I am so enjoying reading all of your posts, but I am SO OVERWHELMED with all of the planning that I still need to do. food (private event or not), sashes, table runners, table decor, photography, flowers, etc. OY! where to start?? I just paid our airfare and am starting to pay for our room - and that's all I've done so far. LOL.. I don't even know how many people will be joining us, as nobody else has booked with our TA yet. I guess I need to get an approx headcount before planning much? I'm nervous!! I want to keep things as simple as possible. the thought of lugging a bunch of things down to mexico has me tired just thinking about it. what's the simplest, yet nicest set up anyone else has done? like maybe just some lights, and lanterns? I'll probably have a look at some of the websites you guys linked, so that I can get some ideas. I am so BAD at this planning stuff. ;-)

I tried to tell my Lomas WC what I was bringing ahead of time, and that's when I got the crazy fee quote (not even the $5 per person!!). This was mid-way through the planning process (probably sometime this past August, but I don't remember exactly). I quit asking, and just brought everything with me and hoped for the best. and I've failed at taking pics tonight, and counting the lanterns. we had a bit of an off-kilter night, so I promise to get those things done by the weekend. sorry to keep y'all in suspense!!

hehe Lindsey beat me to it!! Make sure you guys have enough chair sashes for the ceremony AND the reception. They'll want you to have 2x the number you need. The set up for the reception is pretty much done after they set up the ceremony, not in between. She totally offered the $150. I was prepared to be pushy if needed, and was THRILLED when I didn't have to. She started off by reviewing the list of stuff I'd brought, and then said "normally we'd charge $150 for the lanterns, and $5 per person for the set up." I took a deep breath, and she continued on with the "we'll set it all up for the $150". I exhaled and forked over the cash in a big hurry. lol can I join you guys? I'm so ready to go back to EDR!!

Yes, they only charged me the $150 to set up everything - the ceremony site, and Tucanes as well. This included hanging all of the lanterns. She told me during our onsite meeting that they would normally charge $5 per person for the set up, but they would include everything in the $150. Quote: Originally Posted by Shannon Burgess I wish we were using the same colors as you, if so I would totally buy your stuff!! Love the way you decorated!! Did you say they only charged you $150 for everything in the set up? Thanks for the website & all the information. Hi MsTigger: 1. I bought them from another BDW bride, so they were a bargain. I've seen them on a couple of websites for around $0.40 each though. I'll hunt around tonight and post the links for you. 2. All of the set up (excluding the paper lanterns) would have been included in the $5pp. So menus on the tables, centerpieces, cake table, guest book table, place cards, chair sashes at both sites, menus for the reception, etc. would have been in the $5pp, if they had charged me that. The paper lanterns are $150 to hang because of the work involved, and would have been in addition the $5pp. Instead they just charged me the $150. 3. I haven't sold the shells or starfish yet. I have a variety of sizes of both shells and starfish. The picture of the centerpieces will give you and idea of the variety that I have. I can try to take some pics tonight so you can see the volume.

We didn't declare our rings or my dress - those are all personal belongings, not gifts per se. 

I agree with Nikki & Miriam - we tipped bartenders (usually every other round), room service, some of our waitstaff, the concierge we worked with most of the time and our housekeeper because everyone was so wonderful to us. I admit I was a horrible bride and didn't tip the DJ or the wedding coordinators - I completely didn't think about this ahead of time. It didn't occur to me until we got back that we should have (I know, I know!!!!! shame on me). I've tried to make up for it by giving them both lots of positive feedback on FB and their websites.

There are so many happy pics to choose from, though I think all of my friends agree with how much they love this one:

I love all the bling!!! Mine are being soldered together right now, and can't wait to get them back this afternoon. Here's a shot from our photographer of our rings:

my bouquet was one of my favorite things, and none of our guests could believe they weren't real!!