jnitschke

Just to add... we're going to bring down a scapbook with prelaid mounting squares for people to place their cards into when they finished them... that way it'll save us the work of having to do it when we return home. We're also going to have a DIY photophooth using an IPAD, so I might the scrapbook pages set up with a space next the madlib card to place their photobooth pics.

I decided to do the madlib as our guest book too... actually I just finished designing them last night. We're getting them printed from vistaprint on their rack cards. Here's a sneak peek... I based it off of the same Wedding Madlib that was on pinterest... I love that site...

Nikki, I actually gave the site with your pics to the girl who's going to shoot for us. I liked them so much I told her "this is the same place and this is what I'd like"... she said it was really helpful.. Thanks for the extra pictures too. You've been super helpful.

I'm getting ready to draft my invites. I'm wondering what everyone put in them. Is anyone willing to share an invite or two with me? I think i'm ok on the actual wording, but the extras you're supposed to include are a bit uncertain to me, how to do travel costs without it seeming crass or tacky, registries, rsvp...etc. I'm also wondering how long before your booking due date did you make the RSVP for? Plus, the timing of when you send them out... I'm getting married in May... so November? hmmm... Input is very much welcome... Thanks everyone!

Heh... I was wondering what you found out about that... I found this great picture of sheers hanging from a palapa roof.... guess I'll write that off my list now... 3 grand... that's crazy.

Catherine you are the best! Mostly, I just would like to see pictures of the area around Gazebo 55... like where we might approach from, what the sand you have to walk in is like, and what else you might see from the location... also we're doing our reception at Tuscannes, so some daytime layout photos would be nice. ... also any of the bars that people recommended for doing a cocktail hour stop over at would be great. Any particular spots that would make for good pictures would be nice too.. my friend who is doing our photos looked at the map and was like "oh my god this place is huge, how will I know the best spots to do pictures at?" So, I told her I'd ask people to give us an idea of where to go to do those photos.. and see if we can scout out some pics of the places so she can see things like lighting conditions. Thanks again Catherine, I really appreciate it. We just found out that we can't go down for a trial trip.. so I'm kinda bumbed..

I know others have posted this before... but I can't seem to find it. Can someone put of the Spa prices for hair and make up- that sort of thing?... I know there was a pdf or a link on here at one point. Thanks.

Do the bars, like Guacamayas, Jo Jos, and the Beach Bar have food? That's my only concern, that people will be hungry and not want to wait for food. Every wedding I've ever been to, I was always hungry come cocktail hour- and sometimes disappointed by the selection and amount of food even. Also, were you able to ask them to do a "signature drink"? I really like this idea... or to ask them to have more of a certain amount of liquor to make one of their own drinks on hand? I've seen tons of really great cocktail hour ideas. Things like two color napkins, each with fun facts about the bride and groom on them... or coasters with the drink recipe on them... even seating done by putting the name and table number on a tag attached to a straw. But... in an all inclusive resort, I'm not sure it's worth it... especially.. and this will sound horrible and selfish.. but it's not like we'll be able to enjoy it-we'll be off shooting pictures somewhere. I saw the picture of you on the swing- adorable by the way- did you join your group for a bit before dinner?

Your guys, are they just wear regular dress shirts and pants?... this is something my fiance and I have been discussing a lot lately, since all the summer wear suits have been going on sale. We've looked at linen, but Todd doesn't like how it wrinkles as you wear it. And he's afraid of sweat marks and being uncomfortable in sweaty clothes. We've seen Jos A Bank sells wicking dress shirts and Stay Cool Suits, which are kind of like wicking. But the shirts only come in white, not so big a deal, and the suits only come in khaki and olive- He really wants to do grey. Plus we were thinking of doing a vest to make it a little more formal, without the added heat of a jacket. Does anyone have any input or suggestions on any of this?

I know that another person had said their candles all kept blowing out. Did anyone else who has been there before have success with using real candles, vs. the LED kind? I really wanted to use real candles, but I thought for sure they wouldn't stay lit. What did your candle holders look like? Did you have your votives in any kind of hurricane? Quote: Originally Posted by TheWolferts Allie- We had votive candles at our rehearsal dinner at Tucanes and they held up fine. I dont recall any blowing out and it was nice to have a little extra light since the ceilings are so tall, thus their light fixtures are pretty far away. Martini bar is nice for a cocktail hour since it is in the a/c but it is located at the main lobby, so depending on where your wedding is, it might be a hike. Also, if you choose here, make sure the resort is aware of how many people you expect so they can adequately staff the bar. My cousin ended up having her cocktail hour at Guacamayas because it was her rain location. It si the main bar for nightly entertainment so depending on how late your cocktail hour would be, it might be crowded. That being said, no one was at Guacamayas at my cousins cocktail hour and the space seemed really large adn empty with only the wedding group, and she had 55 people. If it were me, I would opt for the Martini Bar. It's elegant, cool (temperature wise and decor wise) and a good size to host cocktail hour.

I have to gush to you ladies, so pardon me a moment-as I am so excited!!!! I bought my wedding dress!. I'm so excited. It's a light shimmer chiffon and covered in beading and crystals. It's going to glitter in the sunlight, and I can't wait. It's light weight, yet fitted in just the right spots, I think it'll be perfect on warm sunny day in May. I love the way it swishes when I walk. It even looks good sitting down. I was able to factime my MIL at the salon, which made it extra real, I cried-then she cried. My MOH cried three times while I had it on, and she's a complete "non-romatic: I don't believe in marriage" type. I'm putting in some pictures of me in it at the salon, but they don't come close to doing it justice. I ordered it yesterday and by sheer luck managed to find someone who was selling their sample, at half price. It's a Disney gown, so the chances of finding it on sale were slim... making this an extra good find. I'm hiding the pictures from my friends, so it's nice to have some people to gush to about it. Of course I'll never tell them it's the Princess Jasmine dress, the "Whole New World" jokes would never end. I can't wait for it to arrive in the mail... not that I'll ever be able to try it on, on my own... all those laces... impossible to do sans help. The last bit that I want to add to it is a dyed crinoline. I think having an awesome purple or teal pop of color underneath would be just be the perfect "me" icing on this cake. - Thanks for letting me gush! -Jen

Oh my god Nikki, these are amazing.. I'm so in love with them that I just sent the link to my student who is going to be shooting our photos... said something like "These are gorgeous, we want to aim for this."... Congrats again, you look so happy.

I've got a question for you ladies who are now a Mrs. ... how did you handle gifts? Did you get a lot mailed to your house, or did people just give you cards? Did people actually fly gifts down there? I was thinking about just doing a honeymoon registry instead or a proper registry. How did this all work for you guys?

We had issues at first with my MIL and not doing the legal ceremony, but when I explained to her the headache, the fact that it's not legal til you get back and get it ratified in MD and that the ceremony would have to be in spanish for it to be legal she caved. I told her that it's just like filing the paperwork before the ceremony when you do it at home, that we wouldn't be doing any kind of mini-ceremony at the courthouse, that it literally would be sign here and here... and that was it. That, the wedding wasn't back here in the states, but rather in Mexico. That might help. I believe I told her that "When I exchange vows with my husband, I want it to be in a place as large and as gorgeous as our love. When we agree to spend our lives together, I want it to be from that moment until death do us part. Not, from the moment we find the time to get that paperwork finalized until death do us part."...The only way that I would achieve that was to handle every detail before we left. She was pretty moved by the way I said it, and she agreed.. I think it's all about the way you pitch the idea, of course at first she wasn't sold on the whole destination idea at all... she kept sending me wedding sites in PA... now, who do you think won't stop sending me beach wedding photos.. sigh... I do love her though... think I lucked out on that one.

My fiance and I are both teachers too. It's so nice to have summer coming up to get some real planning done. To avoid the headache of all the legal fees and hoops we're getting our certificate back here in the states at the local court house. It will save time, money, and effort... since you have to get your Mexican certificate signed off on back here anyway for it to be recognized, or at least in MD you do. Plus, not sure I'm too crazy about having my blood drawn in Mexico. To us the legal side of things is not what a wedding is about, so it's not a big deal for us to do the paperwork before hand and the ceremony later in Mexico. Just an idea... but we are going to save a ton of money since the courthouse paperwork only costs us about $30.00, 75 if we want a little ceremony outside in the garden. Quote: Originally Posted by asmithpoulin Thanks for the welcomes ! We are piecing things together slowly but surely. As for a dress, I'm actually in love with one that is $198!! Haven't purchased just yet since I'm still looking around but I'm confident I can stay under $500. We are doing a 6 nights stay, in the regular part of the resort, forfeiting the "free wedding". I am a teacher so I can't take more then a week off in the middle of the school year With the silver package being $950, that certainly ups the budget a bit.. I'm wondering if that includes the paperwork/ legalities/ translation. I know it is another $500 for the judge as well as the blood work fee... Any tips about how you've found ways to save a little here or there would be appreciated! Valeria is our on-site coordinator, I have not been in touch with her yet. A little overwhelmed with the school year ending and trying to get everything into it's place. As for photographers? Has anyone been able to find a quality deal? It's looking like an avg. of $1000 or so..

Jill, you have every right to deny him the privilege of attending your wedding. I imagine that you chose her to be your maid of honor because you are close and trust her. If you are honest with her about how you feel, she'll probably be mad either way... but hopefully she will understand. I would think that she equally trusts you. If you tell her and then give it a few days to boil over, she may understand and even be sympathetic to your request. All in all it's your wedding, and she has to realize that it's not about her. Plus, maybe being honest with her now will help her to realize how strongly you don't approve of him as a match for her.

how about a cruise? I just got this deal in my email this morning, also... try Travelzoo... they find good deals too. http://www.cruisesonly.com/?cm_mmc=WTH_Email-_-CONLY-Weekly_Send-_-20120611-180-_-Personalization&cptmc=4362619&ecmp=51148&telemid=2&linknum=2&segid=180

July is smack in the middle of hurricane season, and the temps are high, so they're probably low balling the price to get the place up to capacity.

I believe that the knot and martha stewert weddings have signature coctails by color...here's a few sites that I have bookmarked. http://weddings.theknot.com/Real-Weddings/35685/view.aspx?type=1&id=35685 http://www.brides.com/wedding-ideas/wedding-meals-drinks/editorial-pick/2009/10/signature-drinks#slide=1 http://www.marthastewart.com/274402/signature-cocktails/@center/276959/cocktail-hour http://cocktailsdetails.com/2011/03/signature-drinks-for-your-wedding-by-color-purple/

Welcome!.. it's nice to hear from someone as far out as I am... we're in pretty much the same place. I'm booked, and my save the dates and wedding website are up.... but that's about it. The nice thing about planning this far out was that we were able to use our money from this past years tax return to pay our deposit, and put some money back for decor and clothes... then next year's tax return will pay for the final bill... the following year it'll pay for our 1st anniversary/honeymoon trip. I'm interested to learn what other people are paying for their packages too. Anyone mind sharing their price sheet, plus whatever they spent on extras?

Also, what about some of the vacation package deals offered from Living Social or Groupon... or perhaps a different beach location other than the Caribbean that won't be overly hot in July. Maybe somewhere in the south Pacific or Northern Europe? I found this nifty site that has a by month chart of the best places to travel each month, for various different reasons. Check it out. http://www.journeymart.com/holidays-ideas/july-travel.aspx

So beautiful!!!!.. these are my fav out of them all... I love love love love your ring "shot"

Ok... here's the pics I was talking about... hopefully this one will work.

=sorry not exactly sure why it posted more than once, and without images in all of them.... Quote: Originally Posted by jnitschke I have a couple of ideas to throw at you ladies... especially those of you who have done this already and know the locations... I'm looking at Gazebo 55. Based on what I've been hearing from brides about the wind, I've been thinking of ways to maybe incorporate it. I was thinking of doing ribbon streamers as my aisle decorations, something of a combination of these two pictures: