AlisonDawn

Beautiful photos Sharon!! Congrats!! I hope your day was more than perfect!!

Hey Allie! You must be getting so excited!!! I was pretty unsure of tipping as well, but this is what we did: WC (Jackie): $100 Hair Stylist: $15 I think Calvin gave the waiters and bartender $10 each. Might have been $5 though, I'm not really sure We didn't tip the wedding judge, as there was a fee for her to do our wedding already. We also did not tip our photographer as they set their own fees and they are definitely not cheap! Honestly I wouldn't worry too much about it anyway! Just tip what you feel is comfortable for you. They are all so wonderful and don't expect a tip, so anything you give them is a bonus

Hey Katie, I added you back! Browse away! I have some other photos of the resort that family and friends took as well, but they are not on fb. If you want to see them just message me and I can email them to you!

My "add" apparently didn't work the first time!! You should be able to see me now!

Katoe, your BMs and GM are going to look fantastic!! Not as good as you will of course! As far as a photographer goes, it depends on how important it is to you. It was SO important to Calvin and I, so we hired out. We hired La Luna for the wedding and Del Sol for the Trash the Dress, but they are back to being the same company again. HIGHLY recommend them though if you can afford it. Amazing photos and they are such fun people! Again, decor depends on how important it is to you. We had the "dreams of love" package, so we got flowers put on the gazebo for us. Which Jacki then took off and used as our centerpieces since we did not want to pay extra. It worked great for what we wanted, but it depends on the look you are going for As for invitations, I just sent out online ones since we wanted fast responses, so I may not be much help here. Song requests is a neat idea though! But you may not have time to play them all. As for food, I thought about giving people the selections as well to see what the majority wanted, but then I knew I'd just feel bad for the people who didn't get what they wanted... so I decided ignorance was bliss and we just chose what we wanted . I just stayed away from seafood since there are always people who don't like it..(at least in my family) favors - the wedding guest guide is an awesome idea!! I know you're probably all stressed out about everything, but my advice: don't be!! Aside from picking out your dress and your photographers, Jacki takes care of everything for you. Are you doing a legal ceremony? I don't think many people do because of the extra steps and cost (and the blood test). But if you do, don't be nervous about that either. They do the blood the blood test while you go over your details with Jacki and its super quick and painless! lol

Thanks Marie!! I added you as a friend on fb!! Feel free to message me whenever you want, or even better, when I'm online!!

Ok ladies, I got some wedding photos sent to me a couple days ago! yay! I'll add some on here that show the resort etc. If you want to see all of them, you can add me on facebook! Just search "Alison Kirkwood", my network is "university of Lethbridge". Just leave me a message on there as well, so I know who you are.

Hey Julie! I'll try to be as helpful as I can with some of your questions! As for your wedding date, that's my dads bday so I'll definitely be thinking of you!! I'll cross my fingers that it doesn't rain! But if it does, my advice is get yourself a good photographer, because at least then you will have some BEAUTIFUL rain photos I orginally had my ceremony time set t 5pm, but my photographers told me to move it up to 4 so they had time for "sunset" photos of Calvin and I, and so it was still light for family photos right after the ceremony. Of course this was in February, so you miight want to double check what time the sun sets in August if you don't want to run out of light for your photos. Reception - we didnt choose our location until we got their either! Jacki told me that it was supposed to be nice all week, with no rain, so we chose the beach. She did have a backup plan though, so if it started raining, or LOOKED like it was about to rain before the reception, she would have moved everything indoors while guests were still enjoying the cocktail hour. So if you decide you would like the beach but are afraid of rain, just give it a shot anyway and Jacki will take care of you if the weather is miserable. I have been to Mexico in August in the past, and though it is a little hotter during the day, it still cools off quite a bit at night. El patio would be a nice indoor location though if you can get it! Center pieces - I didn't want to spend the extra money on center pieces, so Jacki took the gazebo decorative flowers and used them as center pieces. Not as nice as some of the other options out there, but it saved us money. They are still pretty, they just didnt completely match my colour scheme, not that big of a deal. I'll attach some photos after this post so you can see what they looked like. If you want your own centerpieces for cheap, my advice would be to make your own We didn't have a buffet dinner, but it would definitely save time!! After we ate and had speeches, we had almost no time to dance! Everyone moved over to the bar anyway and danced and mingled and drank there, but it is not with your chosen music so a buffet would definitely help you out there. Cake - we had 30 guests and went with the 20 person cake. I have no idea how this worked out in the end.. I think they just cut the pieces smaller? It was a pretty big cake, and I am pretty sure everyone got a piece. OOT bags - I didn't make any, but don't forget to put some Immodium in your bags!! lol Ruins - which ones are you planning on going to? The ruins in Chichen Itza should be done via tour company but keep in mind its a full day. And quite a long drive there, and it is so HOT!! And the ruins in Tulum are a quick taxi ride away I think.. Catamaran tour sounds nice, unfortunately I have no advice for you there Sky lanterns - if it was me I would want to ask first, but that's just because I'd be so nervous to do it in case I wasn't supposed to! lol You could browse around the forums and see if anyone else has done this. If it allowed on other resorts, I am sure it must be allowed at this one I would LOVE to see a pic of the wedding dress you are trying to get!!

I also used silk flowers so I can't help you there either, but I'll bet if you check under "vendors" there are probably some flower reviews for the area Regarding the cocktail hour, my guests really loved that they had something to do while we had our photos taken. It gave the two sides of the family time to mingle and meet each other. Plus they said they had an excellent time drinking while watching me attempt to not fall over on the rocks with my heels on, since they are right next to the bar. haha (The photographers insisted on this.. it better have been worth the pain!) Sarah - Regarding the DJ guest fee, I think it is $55 but maybe Jacki can do something for you. Since we used outside photographers, we asked if we could get the money back for NOT using the resort photographerss included in our package, and Jacki was awesome and waved the guest fees for them, which saved us $110. So don't hesitate to ask her what she can do for you!

Amanda your wedding details sound EXACTLY like mine!! Jacki really does take care of everything!! We also only had about 20 - 30mins of dance music before everything was wrapped up and moved over to the bar, which was probably more fun anyway!! Doing shots with friends and family is such a fun time!! lol For our centerprieces, Jacki also used the wedding flowers and I am SO happy I didn't spend extra money for something else. These were free and they were beautiful! I think the best advice I can offer future brides (especially since MrsRobinson's wedding went down almost EXACTLY like mine) is that if you really want dancing at your reception, ask Jacki for a longer reception. Even just an extra 30 mins would give you about an hour of dancing. Aside from that, trust in Jacki, she is amazing

Hey ladies! I am back from my honeymoon which was AMAZING!!! So if anyone has any questions about the wedding or resort, feel free to ask! I'll be able to answer now! Also, we should be getting the "photographer's favourites" photos soon for both the wedding and TTD! So I will post the links as soon as I get them! I can't wait!

Hey Ladies!!! Just thought I would pop in while I have a chance!! We are just in LA right now, waiting until 10pm for our flight to Bora Bora!! YAY! Our wedding was on Wednesday and everything was fantastic! Just want you all to know not to worry about a thing, because Jacki really takes care of you! It was a little windy on our day, but honestly, no one cared and neither will you, especially when you are looking into the eyes of your husband. You won't even notice the wind! I promise! Despite the wind, we had our reception on the beach anyway, and when it came time to eat, Jacki asked us once more if we were still ok with it out there. So if you change your mind, she will have everything moved indoors for you, so that is not a problem either Luckily for us, it was still a very warm evening, and the wind was actually quite refreshing, and the temperature for eating was perfect. And to hear the ocean in the background while you eat is amazing. So it's safe to say I'd recommend a beach reception if weather permits! For our menu we had the bruschetta and something else.. I can't believe I forgot what the other one was. lol. both very good though. Then we had the caesar salad followed by the potato bacon soup. Again, both very good. For our main we had the pork tenderloin which was a little overcooked to our tastes, but still good. Everyone ate ALL of it, so i don't think there were many complaints. And for dessert we chose tirimasu, which was very yummy. I actually didn't end up choosing any centerpieces, because somehow I forgot once we got to mexico, so I wasn't sure what I would end up with. But she used the flowers on the gazebo for all the centerpieces, which turned out quite nice. Also, someone was wondering earlier if they needed 2 songs for the processional or just 1. I decided to have 2. My girls all walked out to 1 song, and I chose a song for myself. You might be able to do everything in one song though, I'm honestly not sure how long everything took. I was too excited and nervous to tell. My dad told me later that he was trying to slow me down.. I guess I was walking too fast. hahaha Only one piece of advice I have for you all is to take a moment after your wedding (maybe after your photographer is done taking pictures of just the 2 of you) to just be with each other. The whole day goes by SO fast, and it is just so nice to have a moment of your own together. A family friend told us this advice, and we took it, and so glad we did. We snuck off for about 15 mins to be alone and take in the moment. Very romantic, and sooo nice to not have everyone stare at you for just a few minutes! lol Anyway, hubby wants the computer now, and we check out of our hotel in a couple hours, so I likely won't be able to go on the internet until we get to Bora Bora. I just wanted to let all you ladies know that you have nothing to worry about! Your weddings will all be perfect!

Hey ladies! I am off to Mexico tomorrow morning! YAY! I'll try to get back on here as soon as I can to let you all know how it went Also, make sure you guys keep your passports in a spot where water can't get on it. I managed to get mine went and had to get an emergency passport made. I only just picked it up this afternoon. I don't think I have ever been so stressed out in my life! Talk to you all later!

Ohh CONGRATS! I am so happy everything went well for you! Enjoy your honeymoon!

Hey Ashley! Our deal was pretty well the same as Allie's. Each guest paid about $1500 for everything and after we filled 10 rooms, we got one free trip. We had planned on using it for ourselves as we are paying for everything and it really would have helped, but my bridesmaid couldn't afford it and I need her there, so we gave her the free trip instead.

Hey 604! I have been reading the same thing about weather... It seems like there is more rain than shine there for some reason.. BUT it will still be warm so don't worry about it! Plus it is Mexico, so you will get some sun no matter what!! If it rains on your big day, you can always just have the ceremony inside. I think they do it El Patio, which I believe is pretty nice. Or I was thinking if it rains on my day, I'll do it in the gazebo anyway! And just buy an umbrella! Rain or shine, don't let anything spoil your day!!! It will be amazing! Also, I have seen wedding pictures of couples in the rain, and they are GORGEOUS!

MsWalters - Welcome to the forum!!! It really is a big help!! And don't worry about not being organized... I leave in 2.5 weeks and I'm not even close to organized! Lol Amanda - OMG I LOVE that guestbook!! I think I just may have to steal your idea! Hope you don't mind! That is exactly what I was looking for :-) How long would that take to get to me though? Do you know?? 604 - You must be SO excited! Have a wonderful time! And I can't wait to hear all about it when you get back! Glad to hear your FI's suit fits him well, that must be such a huge relief! Ashley - congrats on booking your date! Would be happy to help you with anything you need (if I know the answers of course) Are any of you doing a bachelorette party while you are there?? My MoH reaallllyyyy wants me to have one, but my overprotective parents and fiance don't want just us girls leaving the resort. So, we are thinking of having the girls AND guys all go out to Coco Bongo's together one night, and then us girls will have a beach day around the resort somewhere. Maybe just play drinking games by the pool or something. Coco Bongo's is an absolute BLAST by the way, if any of you have never been there! Best to reserve a table though, otherwise you are shit outta luck!

Hey Allison, unfortunately she didn't send me a file with all the prices. Really would have been helpful though. I am trying to get prices to just rent vases, but instead of just answering me, she keeps asking other questions... like what kind of flowers I'm bringing etc., so that she knows what size of vase I need. I know she's just trying to be helpful, but I just wanted prices for small, medium, and large vases so I could have a basic idea of cost. arrgg

Thanks Aliie! Nine West always make such nice shoes!! And yes I am getting sooooo excited!!! Are any of you ladies bringing a guest book for people to sign? I mentioned it to my FI and it thought it would be a nice idea, but I'm not really sure where to get one, any ideas? For my bouquet, I decided to just order from wedideas.com. I ordered from the "ready to go" items because I procrastinated until the very last minute, and they actually aren't even here yet, hahaha. They have been shipped though, so they should be here within the week. I'll post pictures when they come in. I decided to do this for 2 reasons! a) I also didn't like the resort flowers, they just weren't bright enough for me and They won't wilt, so I am using the BMs bouquets as centerpieces after! Since 8-10 people can be seated per table, we will only need 3 guest tables, not including the head table, so I'll just reuse their bouquets, and bring some candles or something. Oh! I also have a file Jacki sent me of all the centrepieces the resort offers! The one I liked was $150.. so it was a little steep for me, but some of them may not be as expensive. If you want me to email it to you, just let me know!

Your pics are gorgeous!! Your FI is going to LOVE them!

Bride 2012, I'd love to see them too if you don't mind!! I'm still waiting on mine.. nervously!