kitkat863

We tipped Pilar, Deisy, the judge/minister, the waiters from dinner, the DJs, and Darius (bartender at the beach bar) I'm sure you don't have to tip everyone but we did.

You have to do what you want to do! My family was not happy about us having a destination wedding but I said that this is what we wanted and if they didn't want to come, they didn't have to. We only had 15 others come (all immediate family) but afterwards most of them said that they had a blast! My sister and brother in law are hard to please and since it wasn't what they did for their wedding they thought I was crazy. The rest of the family had no complaints after the wedding. You just have to remember that this is your day and you have to do what will make you happy! You could always compromise and have a reception back home. That's what I had to do to make my parents happy. People need to look at like this: they aren't just spending the money to go to a wedding, they are getting a really nice vacation out of it!

Yea they are pretty used to it! Even my photographer said that most of the brides do that. I hate that my family has no idea but I just knew that they wouldn't be very accepting of it. I also didn't want a big deal made about it!

We got legally married about a month and a half before our wedding in Mexico. We would have only done it about 1 week before we left but my husband needed my health benefits! His mom and stepdad knew about it but I didn't tell anyone in my family, and I never will. My family was not very accepting of the whole destination wedding idea and they had already said that they thought it was stupid for someone to get legally married here before the wedding in Mexico. My husband and I don't view our legal ceremony as anything; our wedding day was the day we said our vows in Mexico. It was basically just paperwork that needed completed. My resort was able to do everything to make it look legal and my family never thought twice about it. They gave us bandaids to put on our arms to make it look like we had our bloodwork done and had us sign a certificate during the ceremony. They said this happens a lot. I hate that we had to lie about it but it was for the best.

I also lined the aisle on the beach with them. I thinkthe pictures look great because of the pop of color from the lanterns.

There was 17 of us total. We had one long table but you can definitely more than 17 on one side with seperate tables. I also brought paper lanterns; I believe I brought 30. They were a mix of all different sizes.

We had our reception at Castaways and I didn't have a problem with the layout because our group was small. We were all on one side with the dancing in the middle. It was also somewhat private which was nice. I wouldn't worry about it! I can see why Shannon didn't like it because her group was separated but if you have a small group it will work out perfect!

Even if you don't get upgraded to a room on the preferred side you will still have all of the perks of being preferred. We had booked an ocean front room and when we arrived they put us in an ocean front room on the regular side but told us we had all of the perks of being preferred. Honestly, the preferred side and the perks weren't anything great in my opinion. Don't stress about it too much; they always seem to give the bride and groom the upgrade.

This website was so helpful for me since we weren't able to make a trip down to the resort before the wedding. I like being able to help out other brides because I know how stressful it can be!

Thank you so much!

The fountain, I think, might be the least private just because it is right near the lobby entrance and you would get a lot of people walking down. Plus everyone walking by the restaurants would be looking. I think everyone spot has some downfalls and you can't really get a spot that is so private that you won't have onlookers. I honestly didn't pay attention during our ceremony and have no idea if we had people watching or not. I'm sure we did, but in that moment I really wasn't paying attention to that!

I had my wedding on the beach and everyone took their shoes off right at the end of the sidewalk and just left them there until the end of the ceremony. There are places by the pool that you can wash your feet but the sand didn't really stick to anyone's feet since they weren't wet. I really didn't have a lot of people walking around during our ceremony. There were some people that watched but for the most part everyone kept their distance. It is better if they set it up right by the beach bar instead of in front of the pool. I actually saw a lot of people watching weddings on the pergola and saw quite a few people just stand in the back to watch ceremonies (which I think is weird and kind of rude!) Any of the locations will get on lookers so it is all in what your preference is.

I highly recommend contacting Gonzalo. I don't think you would have a problem doing both the wedding and trash the dress within that budget. I had originally just booked the wedding and he suggested a trash the dress session. I told him that we couldn't afford it but he went above and beyond to make it so that we could fit it into the budget. He was so amazing to work with!

Glad you went with Gonzalo! I absolutely love my wedding photos and he is so wonderful to work with. I hope you have a great experience with him!

I used Gonzalo Nunez and he was absolutely amazing!! Let me know if you have any questions regarding him or his work...he was the best decision I made regarding the wedding!

I used Gonzalo Nunez and he was absolutely amazing!! Let me know if you have any questions regarding him or his work...he was the best decision I made regarding the wedding!

We had 15 with us and had a DJ...I was worried it would be weird but it wasn't at all. I think it would have been boring without one.

I didn't

I had 15 people and did a long table. I used maraca's as our favors and I just had them sitting at each seat. I didn't do assigned seating since it was so small but you could put their names on the cards attached to the maracas and people can just look and find there seat. You can also put a little mark on the escort cards as a way to distinguish what each person ordered.

Yes, the sports bar turns into a night club later in the evening.

When you meet with Pilar you go over everything and she breaks down everything and gives you a total amount. I know we paid before the wedding but I can't remember if we paid the day of the meeting or we just went into her office another day to pay. We paid with a credit card so I would assume that you could use 2 different cards. I had my hair done at the spa and I did not have them wash it. I washed it early that morning. Depending on your hair type, you might be able to get away with not washing it that day but my hair gets very oily so I washed it the day of the wedding. You will probably want to put root lifter or something in your hair if you wash it the day of so that it holds a curl better (holds better if hair is dirtier.)

1. I had my ceremony on the beach and was so happy that I did! My suggestion - do the set up right by the beach bar closer to the preferred side. I have seen some set up right in front of the main pool and I hated it! The people just sit in the pool and watch and then they are in your pics. Ours was closer the beach bar (which was closed for our cocktail hour) so no one was really there. There will always be on lookers no matter where you have the ceremony but the beach was great. I honestly think that it would be windy on the pergola too since you are still right by the ocean. Our wedding day wasn't super windy so it was fine! 3. I actually wasn't charged for a lot of things that I was supposed to be charged for. I was pleasantly surprised and had no hidden fees for anything for our wedding. As long as you are keeping track of what you are supposed to be charged for you should be fine. Pilar broke everything down for us and I even asked about something that she told me I would be charged for and wasn't. She just shook her head and told me not worry about it! Hope that helps!

I used the flower medallions on the table at the reception and they looked great!

I believe his name was Alex.

I wouldn't worry about paying extra for a bartender. The waiters always made sure that our drinks were full and they kept them coming all night long! I highly recommend getting a DJ so you don't have to worry about making sure the music is playing all night. I also used the resort's DJ.