elissae

Hi Maggiemay1330 - Welcome! You are getting married right before me. I am April 2, 2013. We arrive on Wed., 3/27. How long will you be at the Riu for? Maybe we will cross paths!!! When you get some time, read through this RPRM Thread from beginning to end, you will see there are 2 options indicated for receptions, Chili's Steakhouse which is an indoor/outdoor restaurant & The Brazilian Restaurant, Bota Fogo. There are pictures that were posted. I saved the Bota Fogo ones and attached for you. Chili's, I did not save since I ave been to the resort before & have a good recollection of it. Chili's is where we plan to have our reception. Bota Fogo: Private Open Bar Set Up Table Close Up Table Setting You definitely can do beach ceremony as well as reception. Although there is additional fees (as there are for everything it seems!) :-) Best of luck with your planning - we are here for you if you need us!!! I prefer group booking beacuse then you know the rooms are BOOKED & HELD. So when people are ready to make their arrangements there is only one point of contact to make. No worry about availability by the time people decide to reserve their space. I only had one couple decide to book elsewhere through BOOKIT and thought they got a great deal. I did not see much of a savings, who am I? Well, 2 weeks later my TA contacted me and our group rates dropped significantly....I did not have the heart to let that couple know - that they lost money in the long run.

They turned out great & I actually have 40 people booked already! Thank you for asking!!! =)

Thanks so mouch - they were fun to do! I think it will be a nice surprise for our guests!

Survival kits were a success. That's all we did last night. Here are some pics of the loot & the final product. 1st SIDE VIEW OPPOSITE SIDE VIEW

Shay - I think these are perfect & the meaning and origin of them are priceless. How many will you put on each table? Will you alternate colors? They do not take away at all from your main theme - I think they look "destination" to me and will flow smoothly with what you have in mind. This makes me think...what will you do for linens? Will you stick with white or possibly bring some of your own? All I know what I will do so far is see if I can bring my chair sashes to the tables from the ceremony.... Centerpieces...that will be my next project! I will need guidance! Thanks Em! I need it! LOL! I will be sure to drink some wine in the process! I am hoping to get all my keycard holder/badges completed tonight, too. They are printed and "some" are cut, so I'd like to stuff the badges of at least theones who have booked so far. Once I get this done I can start on centerpiece ideas, finding my FI a shirt & shoes, my jewelry, etc.....blah blah blah (big raspberry!) Wow! Now that I think of it - I will be the 1st bride to wed out of all of us RPRM Brides next year (so far). I will definitely share everything with you girls!!! xoxo I am happy to hear the MIL is back on board. OMG that would have kinda pissed me off, too. Although it's a relief because that could have totally been a pain in the butt for you the next 9 months!!! I will FB you ladies my website....it's kind of OVERKILL, but so am I! JK! I will not be offended if you tell me so! I just wanted peeps to have a ONE STOP place to get all the information & they can also call us with any additional questions. I started it right after I got engaged & joined this site. I had to wait to confirm my date so this gave me something to do.

Hi Ladies, I am a Paloma Blanca Bride too! Love love love my dress. #4115 in Natural. I ordered in January. Cannot wait until it comes in!

LOVE IT CINNAGIRL! You look gorgeous!! It looks like it was made for you!! Quote: Originally Posted by cinnagirl My dress finally came in!! I picked it up on Sunday. It's a Vera Wang White from David's Bridal in Scarborough. I love love love the dress. I'm so glad I went the distance to try it on in the first place. My experience at David's Bridal was crappy though so I won't be going there for anything else.

Heather - this looks freaking awesome!!!! Great job! I love the phrasing, "We've anchored a date to celebrate!" You know you can probably "borrow/steal" that anchor design from Vistaprint and use it for your monogram for all your DIY stuff. I did it with the other anchor Vistaprint has....it's on my survival kit labels, chapstick labels, keycard holder badges.....

So I do not forget all my "2 cents" I thought I'd tag all the posts I wanted to respond to. Quote: Originally Posted by Shay4966 ladies what were you thinking of your first dance, at the cocktail hour or reception? Both FI and I are salsa dancers so we want to start with a slow dance and end up doing a salsa dance towards the end. I was trying to get an idea how this would work out. Shay - good question - I have not thought about that - perhaps I will wait until the reception since we will have the resort DJ there. Although, I am still unsure whether we will go with the mariachi band for cocktail hour...since you salsa dance - you should do it at cocktail hour with the Mariachi Band! That would be romantic, sexy & HOT! Your guests would love it...especially starting slow & then stepping it up! Hey Em - I just sent Nancy an email with a few questions...she was good with answering them. Gave me an idea about menu costs etc. Sad to say they do not allow the Sky Lanterns. Oh well, one less thing to buy and lug down there! haha Congrats on booking your flights - one less thing to worry about! Do not worry about what other people think or say. It's YOUR Wedding and you cannot make everyone happy. I am sorry to hear your MIL is not a happy camper...has she come around at all?? As far as some of your guests saying something about you picking a top rate hotel, would they rather you pick a dive? COME ON! If they do the math - where else can you stay at that rate per day? It's not only a place to sleep/shower - it's ALL-INCLUSIVE - FOOD 24 HOURS A DAY & ALL YOUR DRINKS (a lot of top shelf booze, too!) It may just be sticker shock. People will come around! Nothing too much to report except I am now up to 40 peeps booked (this includes Bill, Jake & myself)! We are super excited. We have at least another 10-16 people who have told us they are planning on coming, they just have not booked yet. I am glad we sent our invitations early - just got them out of the way! We knew it would motivate people to either Book right away/decline right away/ or at least think about it & see if they can make it work. My BFF & I are going to put together my Survival Kits tomorrow night. I think I have everything I want to put in them. I will post pics when done. Do not stress over people booking - they will! It just takes a few to start the process and then it spreads like wild fire. I was the same way at first...my close friends booked right away & then it caught on. I think because our dates are next year, some people think they have time. I bet once fall comes, people will start booking. They are starting summer, not thinking about next year's vacation. Did you do a wedding website? Maybe get them motivated with that? I did...and as people book - I posted a picture of them! It's kind of like our FB page of who's coming to Mexico! Great news on narrowing down a dress...do you have pics you'd want to share with us to get some feedback?

I saw those wine picture frame charms at Michael's...maybe I will buy them instead of special ordering a bouquet charm. Thanks for sharing. :-)

These are great bags! I love them! $1.00 is great - they look like better material! I would love to see the RSVP cards once you get them!!! I started with Starfish (my invitations have them), but when starting my OOT bags - I loved all the nautical anchor stuff. Plus we have a boat on Lake George & so do a lot of our friends so it seemed more appropriate. Our colors are navy, emerald green & white.

Oh HKdolphingirl! Would love to see what you found at Old Navy!!! I will take some pictures this week of my Vista Print stuff and share with you...here's a few things I had pics of so far... I made luggage tags (business cards): Welcome Tags for my bags (Gift tags): I made these OOT bags special for FI & my family members (small tote): Kleenex Stickers: I am working on my Survuval Kits this week so I will be sure to take more pics of what I have, Vistaprint can be overwhelming at first, but you get the hang of it. Happy to hear someone else is doing anchors!!!!

Thank you soo sooo soo much!!! I am 5'10...(Alice the Goon if I wear heals! LOL)

The belt did it for me Cinnagirl!!!! It was separate form the dress. I just pulled out my receipt from the Bridal Shop and all it says is Belt Pron B-307 (off white). Retail was $240. A little nuts for the price, but I decided I would not sew it into the dress and use it for other dresses/outfits in the future...What the Heck, right? I see that a lot of Bridal sites have these belts....I will try to find out in the meantime who makes it.

Be sure to check out Riu Palace Riviera Maya in Playa del Carmen! That is where I am getting married April 2, 2013.

Hi Krysta, May I ask where you got your hair flower from? It's the first I've seen that have caught my eye...I am still unsure whether I want to try a real flower or a silk. Thanks!

Sorry - you do have to scroll until you find Riu Palace Riviera Maya - it has a great video!

....

Thank you kkeeve01! I love the belt - I added it...it needed a little KICK! haha I know what you mean about that RED CARPET/GALA feeling. You are going to find that dress soon! I can feel it - don't lose faith. You will know. xoxo

I am grateful for my 15 month engagement - I am just like you - ahead of the curve. A good feeling huh? xoxo

Thanks Sweets! YOU ARE THE BEST!!!! How is your planning coming?

Absolutely breathtaking dress! You two make a beautiful couple!

Thanks, Mrs Wright! - Yes, I am using this anchor throughout a lot of my projects. I ended up making it bigger & stretching it out a bit. I was hoping to make it a little more personalized by adding our names somewhere, I am not that good with designing! I am okay with the end result. I've personalized many other things. I went and bought the clear labels and they work SO MUCH BETTER!!!! I got them cheap at Walmart. I then took your advice and got the shrink wrap seals. I got 100 for $6.00 with S&H. I did not want the ink to smudge on the label. Especially if using them on the beach or by the pool with wet/suntan lotion hands!! I only tested one shrink-wrap so far - AMAZING! Thanks so much for the tip. Here are some updated pics. These are without the shrink wrap. I also included a pic of my anchor I am using in my projects - when it's bigger you can see the detail. Thank you Shannonmarie! You are sweet. Was Mrs. Wright able to help you on this?

I agree with ChocoTaco7568. One bride's moment is different from another, I did not pick out my dress to try on. My mother did. I even mouthed to my BF, I do not want mermaid!!! She mouthed back just try it on with all these others! Well, I did not have that O-M-G, O-M-G, O-M-G jumping up & down experience when I realized THE ONE. Although I became very emotional in the dress that my mom picked, perhaps it was the first one that made me FEEL like a bride. It was like it hit me and I was like, "I am getting married." That is when my eyes began to water because as I looked in the mirror, I could see myself in the moment in this dress...it was so beautiful....and I did not want to take it off right away! Ironically, it was nothing I originally had in mind, So ladies - BE OPEN, TRY EVERYTHING ON - because YOU NEVER KNOW!!!! I love my dress - I am bad, but will share it again, I always do when I get the chance.

Thanks, Emily - I am starting to feel that it is finally coming together - it only took me 6 months! Thank goodness for this website and all the wonderful ideas! Jess - which package is that? I spoke with Nancy this week & confirmed that the Royal Package covers 20 people for 2013 & the Caprice Package covers 40 people for 2013. Although I have over 40 people, they will allow me to stay at the Royal Package and not upgrade to Caprice. It's still cheaper for me per person to stay at Royal Package then upgrading. The package you purchase includes everything it lists as well as a semi-private dinner for the allotted # of people it indicates. If you go over the allotted # - they charge you the $20 per person rate for the additional people - which covers the wine/cake and the actual semi-private dinner. So even though it's a all inclusive resort - you are still playing a price per plate once you go over your allotted group. Also note - if you stay at the semi-private dinner route for your reception - and you have over 30 people - you will have to go to the later seating which is 8:45 pm. We booked the jacuzzi suite for a few reasons: 1. We've been to this resort before & stayed in a Junior Suite so this time we wanted to stay oceanfront 2. It's our wedding/honeymoon - not having a AHR - we work hard - why not? 3. Bill's son, Jake who will be 16 when we go will be staying with us the first nights at the resort so we want space & some privacy. He will move into his grandmother's room when she arrives. 4. We figure we can entertain there - happy hours/night caps/ family & friends can enjoy the oceanview 5. We will have all my OOT stuff to put together before guests come/decor / my dress, etc. Hey Girl - We stayed there April 2010. It's all a matter of preference. I know of 2 spots they offer the cocktail hour. Both are semi-private. One is outside and the other is inside. Lirico is outside in the courtyard to the right when you come out of the main resort lobby into the the grounds. They can set aside some tables there for you. Or there is La Habana which is the lobby bar which is beautiful & air conditioned! They have tables across from the bar that they can set up/reserve for you. Good question for Nancy though - they may have some other options!