claire0701

Jen the photo booth sounds like lots of fun! I haven't heard or seen anything about having one abroad but I'm sure you'll find some good ideas and photos online to help

Hi girls, Bre - the white party was cancelled because of the weather although we did not know this until we arrived everything was in darkness, then the rain started. It wasn't held on another night to make up, but we just went to following week. Chrestena - thank you for your kind words, I keep saying the wrong name like this morning I made a hair appointment and said my maiden name then burst out laughing, I had to explain to the girl she was lovely and congratulated us though. Lauren - how exciting it's so close for you now! Don't worry about your dress, it will be just perfect, and I'm glad to hear you got bathing suits finally, I also struggle to find suits to fit as I need a bigger top than bottoms and they usually end up costing like £50! Luckily I managed to find a few shops selling separates so I could choose the right size for each. I was a little worried about the red light at the airport as I had so many drugs in my bags (paracetamol etc.) and also had lots of sparklers, but luckily I got green. It sounds like you are very well organised and have lots of paperwork so I wouldn't worry one bit about the receipts. It's clear you are travelling for a wedding and not to sell goods. You're so lucky you can take so much luggage Lauren, we were allowed just one case each which had to be under 20kg. We were also allowed 5kg hand luggage, but every kg extra we are charged £20 for so it would cost lots! Norma, We were in Mayan Suite in Kantenah, room number 3404 and that's where the ladies got ready so you can see some photos a few pages back which I posted a few days ago. And yes, the white party is every Monday starting with dancing and games like limbo at 9pm, with the fire show around 11. The party went on I think until 1am.

Hey Bre, That was the cake which was included. I was also surprised at how big it was! Everyone got a huge slice after we cut it and it was just delicious, light and fluffy and lots of yummy yummy icing! We had 32 guests in total, I'm sure they make the cake size to fit the number of guests, but I did think it was very big, far bigger than I expected

Hi Liz, thanks for your nice comments. I had the bridesmaids dresses made as I knew exactly what I was looking for and didn't think I'd find them in the shops. I actually saw one I liked but they cost more than my wedding dress so were out of the question! Thanks Lauren for your nice words as well x

I forgot to include some 'getting ready' photos so here are a few... My mum having her hair done (You can see the outdoor shower in the background) My wedding jewellery

Hi girls, So we have been home a week now and after a mini-moon to Paris (which was fabulous!) it's finally sinking in that we are officially married! We had the most amazing day and as all the previous brides promised us, Vanessa was wonderful. She was so organised, on the ball and considerate. We met her the day after we arrived and finalised flower choices, menu options and locations (church, Portofino, Las Rocas) She also checked about our photographer who was an outside vendor and put our minds at ease with everything. I brought sparklers to be given out for our first dance and Vanessa made these all up with the little cards I had made before coming - they said 'let love shine' and had our names and the date. We hadn't mentioned to Vanessa about having lighters available because we just assumed guests would use their own lighters and pass on the flame, but when we arrived Vanessa had small fire pits set up for everyone to light their sparklers from - so thoughtful! A few days after we arrived we were heading for the white party at Las Rocas but when we got there it was terribly windy. It then began raining crazy Mexico rain and peter and I got soaked trying to get back to the lobby. We panicked a bit because we thought you could never enjoy an evening there with such wild weather, and if the heavens opened everyone would get so wet they would probably just want to go back to their rooms. The next day we spoke to Vanessa and she told us we could change the location of our cocktail party, but she could wait until after the wedding for us to make our decision which meant we could check the weather more. Thankfully the weather was far better on our wedding day and we could stick to our original plans - which worked out perfectly. Vanessa was very reassuring and I'm glad I didn't change the location now. We had a rehersal in the Church on the Saturday which was good to make sure everyone knew where to sit, and also the little differences in the service, like how communion is administered. Peter and I e-mailed the resort a week before we travelled using the template from palladiumaddict and received a complimentary room upgrade to a Mayan Suite in Kantennah which I was absolutely delighted with. It was a beautiful room and the outdoor shower was fab for washing my dress after the wedding and the trash the dress. The day of the wedding went very smoothly. Vanessa arranged for Peter and his ushers to be picked up at his room half an hour before the 4pm ceremony, and for me and my maids and parents to be collected 15 minutes before. When we arrived the bridesmaids got out a little way back from the church and walked along the path. This meant the guests couldn't see me when they looked back to see the bridesmaids coming up the aisle. The car then drove me right to the door where Vanessa greeted me and told me 'no crying! because I was starting to well up hearing the beautiful music being played. We hired a violinist recommended by Vanessa for $200. She played along to a backing track. We didn't choose music as we thought we would let her play what she felt was suitable and I did burst into tears when I realised she was playing 'tale as old as time' as I walked up the aisle. Beauty and the beast holds special memories for Peter and I so it was just lovely. We opted to go without the red carpet and asked Vanessa to use rose petals instead. These were lovely but VERY slippery, my maid of honour almost fell walking up the aisle, and I almost fell walking down. I would advise in the church, to either have the red carpet, or leave the floor plain. Before my dad and I entered the church, the priest gave us a blessing. This was a really lovely touch and I felt it helped me calm down and compose myself a little. The mass was lovely, not too long and not too warm either. I especially liked the Mexican tradition of giving an offering to Our Lady, Vanessa told us about this and we decided to do it. The bride and groom, after they are married go to an altar for Mary and they offer a flower from the bride's bouquet and ask Our Lady to bless their marriage. It was a lovely moment which I will cherish. After the ceremony, we were greeted with champagne and got our group photos. Vanessa then took the guests to the White Sands lobby on a little cart and we went with our ushers and bridesmaids to have photos taken. This was the quickest hour and a half ever but I cant wait to see the photos! We got some round the back of the church, on the beach at Punta Emelia and on the rocks at Las Rocas (I'm most excited about these ones!) We then had a little car take us to Portofino. we were dropped off on the other side of the large wooden bridge that crosses the lake and it was lovely crossing over because all our guests saw us fro Portofino and were standing and cheering for us. They got some gorgeous photos of us waving from the bridge as well. Our meal was delicious (carprese salad, minestrone soup, Portobello steak, ice cream and wedding cake) We had our speeches before dinner and then enjoyed dinner and chatting till 9. Vanessa then took us all to the lobby where she had a long train to take us all to Las Rocas. When we arrived it looked amazing, I had brought lanterns which Vanessa had hung with lights, and they had tied little covers on the chairs and tables. It looked just perfect. We brought our own music on an iPod which got wet and broke but luckily we had backed the playlist up on another phone. The sound system was good, at first it was a bit crackly with some songs, but Vanessa got right on it and changed the audio jac which sorted it right out. We had our sparkler lit first dance and then partied the night away. My MOH ordered 32 shots when we arrived - one for every guest and from then on the bar staff had lots of fun making us up their own concoctions, without us even asking. They were super. We danced all night, including at some points on the chairs/tables and beds. Vanessa said she and the bar staff enjoyed working because we were having such fun. After midnight Vanessa transported us all to the disco where the dancing and fun continued. The music in the disco was right up our street and we had so much fun dancing with the few other people who were there. When the disco closed at 2am we stayed on having a sing song and dance for a little then most people called it a night. Some of the guests went to the 24 hour bar, but we headed back to the room. My dress was a MESS! My sisters had brought confetti but forgot to bring it to the church so they brought it for our first dance instead. It was lovely but by then we were very sweaty so it just stuck everywhere! I has pink and purple dots all over my stomach for days after! My dress did get dyed at parts from the confetti as well, especially all around the bottom, which was totally pink by the end of the night. Because Las Rocas is sandy, myself and the bridesmaids ended up covered in sand. With the long dresses they were just lifting sand all the time. We all had sand right up to our thighs by the end of the night. When I got back the room I stood in the shower with the dress on the start getting all the sand off and then my new husband and I spent an hour cleaning it as best we could. We did a pretty good job in the end. The next day I washed it in the bath again, using a body puffer to rub the soap in. We managed to get almost all of the stains and marks out - yippeeee! The next day we popped in to see Vanessa and she gave us our wedding certificate and one of each DIY thing I had asked her to give out to guests (fans, menu cards etc) This was really thoughtful of her to keep for us, because we had totally forgot! We have put them in our wedding memory box now The only down side was that I found out I'm allergic to mosquito bites. On the day of the wedding I came out in the most terrible swollen lumps all over my arm, back and legs. It was so uncomfortable but did not ruin my day at all. I just hope they don't show up too clearly in the photos. I visited the doctor the next day who gave me 2 days of jags and a week worth of pills to take throughout the day and I was fighting fit within a few days. I did spend 2 days sleeping because of the jags which was a shame. When I got better Peter came down with sunstroke so we were glad of our trip to Paris when we got home! We did our trash the dress shoot as well and loved every minute. It was a great way to spend a day together and we got so many lovely comments from people we met out and about. Our photographer was Gonzalo Nunez and we loved working with him. We went to the cenotes which were amazing but very busy with tourists. Going under the water was strange but easy to adapt to. My dress was really heavy and tangled my legs up so I had to tread water using just my arms. It was hard at first but I soon got the hang of it. We ended up being there for 3 hours because it was so busy, and by the end we were freezing! After that Gonzalo took us to a traditional Mexican food place at the side of the road and had delicious Mexican food for lunch. We then went to some more hippy style hotels which looked so relaxed and wonderful, we would definitely stay somewhere like that next time, even just for a few days. We got photos around the hotel and then at the beach and in the sea. In the sea was definitely the hardest for me because my dress was so heavy and the sand and netting was scratching all up my legs like sandpaper. I was glad we did this at the end! My one and only complaint is that I felt the hotel was not able to cope very well with the number of guests. The buffet lines were always very long, for example for an omelette I had to wait every morning for about 10 minutes in line, and similar for pasta at lunch time. The a la carte restaurants were delicious, but we had major problems trying to eat there. Many nights we went from restaurant to restaurant to be told they could not take us, or there would be a 2 hour wait. If you eat before 7 you are fine, but any time after 7, you may not eat until nearly 10. One night we went down at 8.30, waited in line at El Dorado for 30 minutes to be told they cannot take us. We then went to Sumptori who said it was an hour wait so we took a buzzer and waited at the little sofa in the restaurant reception. Our niece who is only 1 was with us and in her pram. It was almost 10.30 when our buzzer went and my sister in law was right outside the restaurant walking the baby up and down to settle her to sleep, but the man said we would loose our table because she was not there right that second. He was really very rude to us. We finally got our meal at around 11 which is way too late for me to eat. We ended up leaving most of it because we had lost our appetite. Most of our guests had this problem. When we are on holiday I don't really like to eat before 7 because I like to get a nap before having a shower and getting ready for the evening out. To do all of this before 7 would mean leaving the pool/beach around 4.30 which is way to early for me. We are on holiday after all, we should be able to eat when we like. Several nights we ended up in the buffet a little annoyed because we would rather a la carte. I wish they would introduce a booking system, at least then you could reserve a time and stick to it. I did speak to Guest Services about my frustrations but the girl simply said 'It's high season' I was annoyed because we actually pay more because it's high season! Also the little trains were not often enough. On holiday I am happy to walk or stroll most everywhere but our room was a good 20 minute walk to Kantennah lobby and only 1 night out of 14 did a train pass and pick us up. We called for a car on the morning of our trash the dress shoot because I was wearing my wedding dress and Peter his suit, and we had bags with towels, clothes etc, but we were told we did not have privileges to be collected. We ended up walking and were both very sweaty and uncomfortable by the time we arrived. I wish we had arranged that through Vanessa. Overall, the wedding was amazing. Vanessa and her team were wonderful. We are also very grateful for our complimentary upgrade and thought the grounds were stunning and impeccably well kept - a true paradise. Maybe it's because they were busy, but I felt the hotel staff in general were not very helpful or accommodating. We were quite frustrated with the restaurant situation and were offered no help when we brought it to guest services, and we did feel the trains were not well enough staffed. There were always several trains not running, only one lobby train at night time so it could take 20-30 minutes wait, by then there would be so many people waiting you had to fight to get on, or just give up and walk. We had the perfect day for our wedding and in general a lovely holiday as well. Here are some photos Outside our room, waiting for our car Outside our room again It's official! The new Mr & Mrs Our gorgeous niece and flowergirl, her dress was all sparkly under the tulle as well, it's hard to see in this photo. Arriving for dinner Portofino all set up Cutting the cake - it was delicious! Las Rocas from the bar First dance All the confetti Dancing the night away with my sisters

Bre, your engagement photos are lovley I decided against having out hair and make up done at the spa. I'm pretty fussy and even at home prefer to do these things myself so they can be 'just the way I want' haha. I do think the prices are very steep though. It's a good idea to look into the outside vendors being recommended as well, it would be nice to have hair and make up done in your room rather than having to go down to the spa and possibly bumping into guests en route or in there. Carlota, I'm so pleased to hear Thomas is making a recovery and will be fighting for for the wedding! You seem to be really well planned for the big day, the next few weeks will fly in believe me! We leave for Mexico tomorrow and the wedding is in a week and 2 days. I have been pack, pack, packing for the last few days. I am struggling with our luggage allowance which is only 20kg each. I have managed to get my sisters to carry some of the OOT bags for me so that has helped but I am still a little over the weight. Peter is a little under so hopefully that will be okay. We weren't able to pre book our seats because the others in our group didn't want to and it had to be everyone on the booking. We're just going to get to the airport super early tomorrow morning and I'm sure we will be fine. I did not hear back from Vanessa until several days after I first emailed her and she said she STILL did not know for sure if our paperwork was in place. I had a minor breakdown yesterday when I called to see if I could carry a copy of the paperwork from our Diocese and they said 'no'. I have emailed Vanessa again this morning with the address the paperwork was sent to and I guess I just need to leave it be and hope everything will work out okay over the next few days. Good question about the fingerprint book as well Carlota, I would agree with Lauren and say appoint someone the job of taking it back to the room after La Laguna, on their way to Las Rocas. Maybe your maid of honour? I think we are going to keep ours at home for our AHR because of our luggage restrictions and we don't want it getting all crumpled. All of our guests will be at the AHR as well so we will catch them all there a few weeks after we return. I have just realised our AHR is the same day as you get married Carlota - we will raise a glass to you Lauren, I'm glad to hear you had a fun weekend in Vegas, and it's also so exciting to have your dress fitting as well. I haven't actually tried mine on since I picked it up last week because all I have done this last week is eat eat eat! I have been trying to catch up with everyone before we leave so have been out for dinner lots! I'm not worrying about it though, I'm just going to go easy on the carbs when we arrive and cross my fingers - everything will be fine. Well girls, I don't think I'll be back on here until after the wedding when come back to give you all a review. I hope I manage to do that before Lauren and Carlota leave, but if I don't - GOOD LUCK girls! Enjoy every minute and I'm sure you will look amazing. I can't wait to see your photos when you get back xxxx

Our ceremony time is 4-5pm so we have time for some photots afterwards before the sun starts to go down and then dinner is at 6:30. For us, this suits perfectly because there won't be several hours between wedding and dinner, but we will still have time to get photos while our guests have a few drinks. We sent out 'save the dates' about 18months in advance saying that we planned to book in about 6 months (we couldn't book sooner because flights weren't out till then) and we would be booking to travel in July. It gave people the chance to have a good think about it so that when we booked almost everyone had already decided if they were coming or not. It was all quite easy because everyone had so much notice. Have a chat with your family and friends they will tell you what would be helpful for them as well. I hope that helps a little.

Congratulations Carlota!! I tried to win too but was not so lucky. I'm please to see you won though Bre, yes I made the bags myself, I drew on outline first with black felt tipped pen then painted with fabric paints before sewing the embelishments on (the glue does not always hold so well). The hangers were pretty easy although it id take me two attempts. I would suggest printing out each name first so you have a guideline for the wire. I also used pliers for the really tight bends, The most difficult bit was joining the capital initial letter to the rest of the name. Because I chose a cursive font the other letters already had the joins in place. I would definitely give it a try though, just buy a fairly flexible wire (I bought florists wire) so it is easy to bend but will still hold the shape. Like Liana, we have also went for cufflinks as gifts for the groomsmen. I guess the other alternative is a hipflask which you could have engraved with a message and the date? Thanks for your reassurances Carlota, I have e-mailed again just now but you are probably right that Vanessa is waiting to hear back from someone else. I'm sure all will be fine. I must go to bed now, it's almost 1am - I started making a 'hliday calendar' to give everyone and got totally carried away!

Lauren, your bridesmaids dresses are beautiful, I love the colour and style. Carlota, It’s lovely that you could replace the lost earring from your grandma to wear on your special day. They are beautiful. I’m also glad to hear Thomas is starting to feel better as well. Liana, your shoes are awesome and very unique, I’m sure they photos will be fab! Lauren, it’s great to hear we can decide on going ahead if there is a little rain as well. Thanks for sharing that info with us. I think I should be okay because we are in the Church though. As far as decoration goes, I am planning on bringing some Chinese lanterns; I wasn’t sure how many to bring but think I’ll go with Laurens suggestion of around 10. On the tables I will have only menus for each guest and a place card with the name of each guest. I will also bring lanterns for Las Rocas, Vanessa said we can bring our own and they will attach to the lights. If we hire them there it is $5 each when I can buy 3 here for £3! I have sparklers for when we arrive (also an idea stolen from pintrest) and that’s about it decoration-wise for me. I’m going to let the resort be all my decoration ïŠ Lauren, I hope you have a fantastic time in Vegas, it sounds great! Carlota, the message in a bottle idea is great, I did those for my Save the date’s and everyone loved them so much. I would say remember to tie some string round the paper and leave it hanging out of the bottle so guests can pull the paper out instead of tipping the bottle upside down and getting sand everywhere. Alyn, welcome to the forum. I’m sorry to hear you are feeling a little frustrated. All I can say is if you read all the reviews from previous brides they all say the same thing – you should not worry at all beforehand. The wedding coordinators focus on the weddings happening in the near future and will give your wedding the same attention when the times comes round. I would try to push for confirmation of the restaurant and location though as you don’t want to miss out on the exact places you wish for. I'm feeling a little nervous now as we have not had confirmation from Vanessa that the Church in RM has received our paperwork from the church here. We cannot get married without it. I emailed her yesterday morning to ask but haven't heard back yet. Hopefully I will hear soon. I don't have very long to organise the paperwork if it has not been received. Well girls, keep your fingers crossed for me

Sorry for all the typos, I'm on my phone

Oh forgot to say, lauren, I got my bridesmaids rings to wear on the day and packaged them up with a card saying 'thanks for helping me tie the knot' I I also bought then each a bracelet and friendship ceramic heart with a nice poem on which we will Gove then during the speeches. I don't think it is too much to ask for them to pay the deposit to you, that's a lot of money and you have many other expenses now so um sure they will be understanding.

Thank you so much for your reply and reassurances Chrestena, I think I'll take the risk and then follow your 'rinse rinse rinse' regime That is such a sweet story about your hubby rescuing the dog, and Carlota your picture is wevery cute as well. Here is our 'baby' Carlotta I'm glad your dad called Bout the wine and you don't need to worry about it now , try to relax and enjoy the last bits of planning. Lauren, I'm so glad you liked your bridesmaids dressrs and I also agree, when they don't fit it is an added excitement to see them all completed. I had my bridesmaids dresses made, and my dress and flowergirls dress totally customised so it was like a new dress every time I went to the dressmakers - very exciting!

My finished bridesmaids bags, and below the hangers for their dresses (the glue is not quite dry one one for the date)