AllieH

cute!!!! timeline.pdf

I agree with Janette - having a TA has lessened the stress of getting everyone to book, and then to make their final payments. I've only had minimal involvement, when she's asked me for additional information. It really depends on how many people you have, or think you'll have going with you. If it's only a few friends & family, you can probably handle it on your own. Any more than that, I'd highly recommend a TA. Shop around for the TA's if you don't already have someone in mind. They have different procedures, sometimes different perks or deals they can offer. My TA handled all the payments from our guests, and to the resort, she is setting up the shuttle transportation from the airport to the resort (included in our group rate, and everyone sends her their flight info), she's sent out final travel documents, and handled any special requests. She helped guests find & book airfare if they wanted her assistance with that too. And my favorite perk is that she gave us an upgrade to a swim up suite. If all of your folks are coming from say 1-3 airports, you may get a better deal by waiting to book an air + land vacation rate vs. purchasing them separately. Our guests are almost all coming from different airports, so we could not take advantage of a bundled rate. We booked our resort in late January, for a November wedding. Most of our guests booked airfare in July-August. Hope that helps! Good luck with all of your planning.

thank you!!! Yes, those are my (our?!) 3 pugs. thank you!! I'm so in love with it!!! and going to keep it a secret from the FI if I can...

OMG. Keren from mudcards just sent me my pics of the cake topper: Yes, we're doing cupcakes, but I will set this on the table. She replicated my dress exactly (except my dress has a train, and I didn't want to mess with that).

Natalia sent me the link to their DJ videos if you want to check them out: http://www.weddingsbylomastravel.com/gallery/video.php?category_video=Dj_Music I believe these are DJ All Music with all the lights and such...

my FI found salt & vinegar pork rinds at the gas station today. now that's LOVE. I've been cracking up since he showed them to me (and had them with my no-carb protein & veg dinner!). lordy...

I can't wait to see what you come up with!! There were a ton of other things to add in there, but we juggled them to make it fit for us. here's the original I saw (most likely from a BDW bride, so I apologize for not giving credit!):

The only template I have is the PDF that my designer created for me, which is what I posted previously. Sorry!!!

ok, take a deep breath!! it'll all work out... we talked to most of our guests about a year out from our wedding. we sent out electronic STDs and make your deposits about 11 months prior to our date - it wasn't ideal, as we only had a short window to get those deposits down and hold the room block for the discounts we got. But it worked and we got everyone booked. The initial deposit was $50pp, non refundable. We have a website which has all of the details on cost, travel agent, resort info, etc. We put the website on the STD, and directed everyone there for more info. Formal invites weren't absolutely necessary, but I wanted them b/c I had to do an electronic STD. we also needed to get everyone's entree selection for the private dinner/reception, and RSVPs for the welcome dinner at Cocotal. I sent these out in late July, with a September 1 due date (and got most of them back from our "yes" guests, and a few back from our "no" invitees). make lists, and start checking things off. prioritize the things that matter most to you, and let go of some of the small things. No matter what, your wedding will be amazing!! oh yeah, and take another deep breath! Quote: Originally Posted by mstigger This is how I feel right now.....like I have so many decisions to make and things that need to be done and I just don't know where to begin. I think I asked this before of all of you, but how far in advance are you sending out invites and are you sending out a reminder after that or is the invite it? I'm a hot mess right now!!!

we aren't doing video, but I've heard that Mike Cantrell from Cancun Wedding Video does good work. I sent his link to my photog and she was impressed with his samples. http://cancunweddingvideo.com/

this is gorgeous!!! you did a great job!

Oh I'm so glad to hear that it exceeded your expectations. I can't wait to hear more about what you decided.

We received some information about the differences between the two DJ packages from our WC: The difference between DJ All Music and Mega DJ is basically that DJ All Music includes more lights, the bubble & fog machine and the Master of Ceremony. The MC is basically responsible for ensuring the various events that take place during the wedding reception run smoothly and also to animate your event. We're planning to go with DJ All Music, as my FI wants the MC. Fine..whatev! Your room is included in the 15 room count - you have a double occupancy room, and you're paying for it, so it counts!

welcome home Mrs! I can't wait to hear more about your wedding and your time at EDR. your photos are absolutely GORGEOUS. you are a beautiful bride!!

thank you!! and yeah - zero carbs. I KNOW. blew my mind. Donna, they are fried pork skins. A southern US treat for sure. They have all sorts of different flavors - BBQ, chili lime, and plain. not low-fat, for sure, just zero carbs. and yes, MEN. I swear. hey, at least he'll look hot at the beach, right? lol thank you for your kind words of support.

Quote: Originally Posted by Speckles121 hows the quality of them? and whats the ounces they hold?? Speckles - they are 16oz, and the quality is as good as any I've received from promos (vendors, etc.). there may be a few scratches here and there - we just covered them up with the stickers! (strategic placement). I went to check our Dollar Tree so I could get a couple more, and they were completely sold out. here's how mine turned out:

awww well thank you!! I've had a lot of fun (and a few tears!) with all of the planning. I can't wait to see it all come together. At least my photographer will capture all of the details for us - I'm pretty sure it will all be a blur for me. Mrs Nova, I think I went with the 2x3 inch ovals. She said she can do pretty much any shape and size, the cost will just vary based on how many fit on a sheet. She's great to work with, as long as you can tell her exactly what size you want.

sweet score!!!!

thanks ladies!! I appreciate the encouragement and support. I love this fake-out iced coffee recipe - I use it with peppermint mocha creamer, and a caramel creamer and both are delish. I do it with a french vanilla flavor at work, and that works too. So I really think you can swap it out with your favorite flavors. and as for the guys..YES. those rats. my FI keeps saying "I'm only 5 lbs from my goal" and "I'm only 2 lbs from my beach weight". I want to smack him sometimes. another random: did you guys know that pork rinds are zero carbs? a good crunchy treat. my FI discovered this one - one of my favorite quotes from my New-York-City-boy "I need to go to the gas station for pork rinds and beer". I've been calling him a redneck ever since....

oh, I see Mega DJ now - I missed that before. Will look into that closer.. thanks!!!

I'm doing the low carb thing as well, but am 6 weeks out from our wedding day. I hopped on the scale the other day and was surprised to see I'm down 13lbs. Consider how big I am (size 22!), 13 doesn't seem like much, but for me it was a happy surprise. I can only lose about 7 more before it'll greatly impact my dress, so I'm pretty happy with where I am overall. And considering I'm not really working out..just changing my eating habits, wow. Don't worry..after the wedding I'm planning on a gym routine to keep the lbs coming off. I am a coffee addict like you wouldn't believe. Starbucks is my poison. I have a make at home recipe for an ice coffee that is about 100 calories. Way, way better than the 400+ from Starbucks iced coffee or the McD's versions. 4oz brewed coffee (I have a keurig, and it makes it soo easy to brew a strong small amount) 1-2 tsp flavored non-dairy creamer (if you can get the sugar free kind, it's even less calories!) 3-4oz unsweetened vanilla almond milk ice I use my Starbucks iced drink tumbler with the lines to measure out the liquid before adding ice, and it is super easy. I'm sure you could toss it all into a blender and make a frappaccino version.

did EDR quote you $1000 for Mega DJ? Or you got that quote on your own and still have to pay the outside vendor fee? Sorry - just wanted to be sure I understand the options! even though we aren't paying for it, no reason to pay more if she doesn't have to... (and what would we do without this forum?!?) the 15 rooms is based on double occupancy only; so if you have 15 rooms, but 3 of them are singles, then you have 12 double rooms, and you don't get the free room credit for the 16th room. we even asked if we had 4 single rooms if those would count as 2 double rooms, but they said no, it has to be 15 double rooms. we worked the rooming list to get to the 15 double rooms. our TA is actually going to EDR for an event right before our wedding, and was going to stay over for our wedding too. her promo rate for the 3 nights in our package was $400 lower than our rate. so in order to ensure we got the free room credit, we moved her into our room block and paid the $400 difference. We still come out ahead since our total credit was roughly $900. it would have been nice to have the whole amount, but $500 still helps! and of course the credit is for the lowest-level room (regular EDR suite). the credit was applied after all of our guests made their final payments, and before we made ours, so it was applied to our room cost by our TA. hope that helps!! and yes, I will be getting married 6 weeks from today! I remember when we were over a year out... and time was just crawling by. Now it's flying by - my calendar is chock full of appointments and such for the next 6 weeks.