May12

Hi Ladies! Finally got the uploading to work...here are some pics of the flowers we had, Monica. Also, those of you having the ceremony at the Gazebo, I wanted to show you the "aisle", and some other shots that show the area... This is the starting point. The building on the left is bldg 9 where you'll probably be staying if you're in an Excellence Club room, and the building on the right is Tuscana-the Italian restaurant (also the breakfast buffet) and the underside of the deck you see is the Spice Terrace. This is the "aisle" on the way to the Gazebo. Where you see the last bridesmaid is a sidewalk to the left of the photo...That is where you will be waiting at the starting point area. This is a bit of a hike! The building you are seeing behind the girls is the CECO Terrace. Once you get to the Gazebo from down the path, you then go AROUND the Gazebo before you walk down the real aisle where everyone stands and you see your Hubby to be. Everyone will see you walking down the path except the groomsmen and your Fiance...make sure he doesn't turn around and look! BTW, it's about a 3 and 1/2 minute walk give or take...was for us and I'm 5'8" with no shoes...Make sure you time your music accordingly. Once you're at the Gazebo, this is the view your guest will have. I only have a few pics where my veil is not in my face! Wind was crazy so keep that in mind, just in case! Behind us is Nayeli on the right, officiating, and the Judge on the left. For a legal ceremony the Judge must be there to observe, and there is signing by you AND your 4 witnesses, along with thumbprints.(If you want to see those pics, let me know) You'll also have photographers on all sides and a videographer (if you chose to have a video, or have the gold package) behind the alter next to Nayeli. And yes....my veil was tucked into the back of my dress and had to tuck my hair behind my ear...damn wind! After the ceremony they had our celebratory tequila waiting for us with a waiter and a cart! A shot of one of the tables...wind was a major factor. Candles were supposed to be floating at the top of the vases with the flower floating in them and river rocks at the bottom. Orange and burgundy rose petals were to be on the table- none of that could work so rose petals ended up in the vases and the water level had to be WAY low. Would have had double sided tape for the runners had I known they'd be blowing around. Again, after EVERY scenario possible I could have and did think through, I NEVER thought of wind...Have a back up plan Ladies! All in all, we had a blast and in the end it didn't matter, but what I can do is pass it forward! We purchased ALL of our pictures so I have some not so perfect shots, but pics where I can show you different views of the areas. Let me know if anyone is looking for something specific. Happy planning everyone! -Sheryl

Hi Kristen! Congrats! The in-house DJ- DJ Mannia was fantastic....perfect for the CECO Terrace. They have an MC and lighting and will do anything you ask. We were worried because most of their example playlist was just about everything we did not want to hear! Once we talked with them, they put us a bit more at ease. We like mainly Indie / Alternative music and were worried about their library. Well....after discussing with them, we converted my entire iTunes to MP3, put it on an external hard drive and gave it to them at a meeting earlier in the week to firm up details. (they returned the hard drive to us the next day) We had the best music-for us! Our group loved it and it worked out perfectly! So much so, that we wanted to extend the reception for another hour, but we didn't get the heads up that it was over until they were prompting us for the last song. If anyone is thinking of extending the reception, you need to let them know an hour and 15 minutes ahead of time...make sure you tell them ahead of time- at the "firm up details meeting" and before the reception to the DJ AND the Captain, to have them ask you at that point in the evening. -Sheryl

Hey Lynn!! I just saw your engagement pics and they are just awesome!!! You guys are so good together...such chemistry! If you have your songs pulled together in playlists, in order and labeled Ceremony1- guest arrival, ceremony2-Mom, ceremony3- bride, ceremony 4- Godsitter, etc, etc...They will play it in order...just make it easy for them to understand, and you can also have your DJ "overseeing" and Que-ing him, just in case...we had someone doing this. We had a song for everything as well including our signing and sand ceremony, and leaving the ceremony....It was timed perfectly and went off without a hitch! No worries about picking my brain....we did a ton of legwork before the wedding and learned a lot so feel free to ask...I'm happy to help! -Sheryl Quote: Originally Posted by danak71 Hey there Mrs. Napolitano!!!! Thank you so much!!! I don't think we had talked about it and I've picked your brain SO much since you've gotten married I was trying to give you a break! LOL I probably just need to talk to Nayeli about it because there are several different songs I want played during the ceremony. Certain songs I want played during the prelude as guests are seated, then a different song when they seat my mom and the wedding begins, a different song when the bridal party starts walking and then my Godsister is singing yet another song live when I walk. That's a lot! But our DJ is willing to make that part happen with the right equipment. As far as the reception, I don't think the BOSE will work for us. We definitely are bringing half of Atlanta AND Boston! LOL And they are a rowdy bunch unfortunately! But since our friend is going I'd much rather have him DJ because he knows us and knows exactly what to play and when. However, to rent the sound system is $500 and it just includes a speaker and a cordless mic. Mark and I are thinking it might be better for us to bring a speaker (if we can find one small enough with enough power) and our own mic. I'll try and see if I can get in touch with their A/V folks and find out how many watts is the speaker that they rent and go from there. Planning is going really well. Just got my invitations out a few weeks ago and I absolutely love them! Started getting the RSVP cards in the mail which made it all feel official! :-) We're in the process of doing the rest of the graphic design pieces (door hanger, favor tags, etc.) The girls just ordered their dresses last week. We had our engagement shoot about a month ago. We actually shot on 2 different days because it started raining on the 1st day and cut our shoot short. Here's a link to our photographer's blog if you're interested in seeing some of our pics: http://mwsphotoblog.com/atlanta-botanical-gardens-lenox-park-engagement-session-lynn-marcus/ Hope the rest of you ladies are enjoying your planning! I'm so excited to be only 6 months away!

Hi Monica! They do not hand out bags as guests check in, they deliver them to their rooms at turn down service- $4.50 per room. The reason they do it this way is because many times people change rooms so they cannot do it ahead of check in. Also, they cannot have a ton of bags behind the counter "waiting" when guests check in a different times and days, and there are many weddings during week-too easy to get confusing. We had this dilemma. Half of our guests were checking in the Thursday before the wedding (which was on Sat). The rest of us were on an excursion to Tulum and were not getting back until most of them would have already checked in. That night at 9pm we were having our Welcome Cocktails. Soooo, if all of the info was in their OOT bags, they probably would be out to dinner while the bags were delivered hence not knowing to meet us, or where. We made a "check-in card" that the front desk put into their Guest Guide, along with their room key, resort newsletter, etc. This way we told them where/when to meet us and to expect their OOT bags....Here's what they looked like.... We had name tags made for them with their name on one side and our "logo" on the other in a lucite luggage tag holder, and attached these to their OOT bags. This way it was easier for the bellmen to ensure it was going to the correct room, and easier for us to include extras for the bridesmaids/groomsmen/parents, their thank you cards we gave them for being in the wedding party, etc. In the OOT bags we had a Welcome letter rolled up with ribbon, a second page rolled with it for the wedding party detailing their activities, and a time line card for everyone. Here's the time line card proof..... OK...now what we did for the OOT bags. As I was throwing everything into bags, I realized it looked just that...like I threw it in there. So in an attempted to pull it together a bit, I found little burgundy organza bags at AC Moore. Each bag had 3 bags filled with "like" items. 1 was filled with travel sized sunscreen, aloe and spf lip balm. (the "SUN" kit) The 2nd had a packet of Tums, small bottle of ibuprofen, and a packet of Emergen-C. (the "hangover" kit) The 3rd had 5 hour energy, a tin of Starbucks mints, and decorative nail file. ( the "pull it together" kit) In addition to these we had: A flip flop bottle opener (I believe we found these at Michael's) Custom do not disturb sign Mexican blanket (We purchased these down there) Mini bottles of Don Julio (purchased down there) Recipe cards for our favorite tequila recipes attached to the tequila bottles All of these things were put into tote bags that we purchased down there (with the exception of nicer bags for the bridesmaids, and backpacks for the groomsmen.) As for bringing tequila, I'm not sure if you can bring too much without having to pay a surcharge tax...they DO go through all of your suitcases if you have a lot of them, which you probably will. One of the reasons we purchased a lot of things while we were there....AND it's way less expensive. It is super easy to hire a cab driver for a few hours or day to run errands-you can do this from the lobby bellmen. There is Mercado 28 downtown which is set up like a flea market with just about everything there, and also where we found the best prices for maracas, blankets, and such, was at a place on the 1st floor in the back of Plaza Caracol in the Hotel Zone. It's across from Plaza La Fiesta-which has an "outlet" in it. We got a bunch of 4 packs of mini Don Julio bottles with blanco, reposado, anjeo and cream tequila- $24 each. They have some others as well. There is a good tequila store in Plaza Kulkukan on the top floor-they have about everything there. There is also a flea market type of place in the Hotel Zone, but the prices are better at Mercado 28, which is downtown. If you forget anything, there is a Walmart close to the hotel in a quick cab ride! We do not have pictures of the contents of the OOT Bags..I CANNOT believe we forgot to take those pics! Here is the do no disturb sign, and I have some others, but I STILL cannot upload photos other than what I already posted. Is anyone else having this issue??? I also had an EMERGENCY KIT to put in the bathroom at the reception, and for guests if they needed anything vs including EVERYTHING in their OOT bags. All kinds of hair stuff-including flatiron and curling iron, safety pins, sewing kit, tide stick, lint roller, Imodium AD, Zantac, Bactine Spray (this REALLY came in handy for the really sunburned folks), and Nayeli provided the aerosol deodorant being that I couldn't find any at home! Hope this helps!! Quote: Originally Posted by Momoarc83 Hey everyone, I am currently working on ideas for our OOT (out of town) bags for guests. I plan on doing plain paper bags with a cute tag attached. Does anyone know if the front desk will hand these out to the guests as they arrive? If not, then I guess I can hand them out at the "Welcome Reception" we are having. I'm curious as to what you ladies did or are planning on putting in your OOT bags? Any ideas would be appreciated! These are a few ideas of gifts I want to include: spf chapstick advil shout wipe magnet (either customized saying our names and date of wedding) or just a Mexico magnet Mexico postcard Welcome Letter mini tequila bottles (Patron)...can we bring this in from U.S.? Thanks ladies! -Monica

WIDE OPEN Bar....in fact, you can request certain cocktails to be served (in addition to whatever your guests order themselves) for any of the events you have going on...welcome cocktails, rehearsal-even at the gazebo, before your ceremony as guests are waiting, at your cocktail hour, and obviously the reception. We did certain drinks that matched our colors... had bottles of champagne at our welcome cocktails on the X-Lounge, tequila sunrises at the rehearsal while we were figuring things out, tequila sunrises and champagne at the ceremony, shots of tequila in champagne glasses for the wedding party RIGHT after we all walked away from the gazebo after the ceremony, kir royale and tequila sunrises at the cocktail hour, and margaritas poured in glasses at the table, along with red/white wine and champagne-depending on what they wanted. There is a full bar at the reception as well as the cocktail hour as well. Just ask and they will make it happen!

Hi Monica! We had a full on Mariachi Band at the cocktail hour when we thought we were having a trio (They were a blast!), but I'm 99.999% sure you can have a soloist at the ceremony (or anywhere else for that matter) instead of the trio. We were quoted $550 for the guitarist at the ceremony if we wanted to have him in addition to the Mariachis at the cocktail hour. I think it's TOTALLY fine to have the bridesmaids bouquets as centerpieces. They're not exactly holding them all night and they can't bring them home anyway. (Vegetation cannot be brought back into the US) Our centerpieces didn't exactly work as planned because of all of the wind and in hindsight would have done something different. We had a really full hotel while we were there but Frank still was able to get his own room the night before. It actually worked out well because he was in the pool area suites and I was in our room in Bldg 9. Far enough away that we could do our own things that day and not see each other until I was walking down the aisle. It was really special! I have been trying to upload some pics for you but the site is being uncooperative right now...I will try again later. -Sheryl

Hi Lynn! I don't know if we talked about this, but I'll go ahead and write what I do know, for all to see.... For the ceremony, the system they use is loud enough. We went back and forth on ipod vs. guitarist for months. At the last minute, we ALMOST had our friend who is a violinist come down to play for the ceremony. When I asked Nayeli about if this would work, him needing an amp, microphone or other equipment etc, she said it can work, and we can talk to their audio department to set it up and they can do sound checks ahead of time. Well, it ended up that he was pulled out on tour last minute so we didn't get him, and then just went with the ipod option....they have someone work it for you and I could hear the music all the way from the "pre-walk-down-the-aisle" area. It worked out great, if anyone was wondering. Now as for the reception on the CECO Terrace....It is remote enough to get as loud as you want. We did hire a DJ which was perfect for us. My thought is this, if your friend the DJ can email/chat with someone from their A/V department to see if it could work, then you'd know for sure. I'm afraid with a rowdy group, a Bose would get lost out there, especially with the fountains going. If you're going with a small, quieter group, it may work. (But I think you've got half of Atlanta going down, right??) Hope all the planning is going well!! -Sheryl

I did ask for them as well as tiki torches and white flags down the path leading to the CECO Terrace. We had this planned out a year ago and at that time it was all included. I would double check to see if it is still included in your package, but it looked awesome and might be worth it to do even if it's not. y Posted by Amanda Gardner Did you have to ask for them to add the white curtains to define space?

They usually put the dance floor area under the pergola on the Terrace, and you can flank it with white curtains to define the space. The round tables are not huge. They do fit 10 people but cramped. We had 6 guests at each table at it was very comfortable for everyone. You can easily do a sweetheart table and 3 tables of 6 around you, a sweetheart table with 2 rectangular tables on either side of you, or just 1 big table. They'll make the space work for you. You'll also have a table for your cake, possibly your bar outside, and a signing table if you have that...no worries, they'll fill it up. How much time you spend with your WC will depend on how much you have planned and set up to do, and also, how much you've already gone over. We spent a few hours going through every detail soup to nuts, and the rain back-up plan. We also had a ton of things dropped off for her so even after our "meeting" we were going back and forth with questions and she was taking pics of our things and wanted to double check to make sure we were on the same page. It doesn't sound like you're doing a civil ceremony so you won't need to meet with her for those things, but you will have a rehearsal the night before at some point as well. Time will go by SOOOOOO fast once you get there! Suggestion...do as much as you can ahead of time before you go down there. We had raffia fans and made them all up with ribbon and flowers a month before we left. If you have bows on things like your favors or tying your welcome letter together, either make/tie them before, or cut the ribbon length and label them in a ziplock-easy to pack and easy to hand off to your WC if you have anything for her. If you have "stuff" sunscreen, aloe, advil, tums, etc, make sure to take the out of the packaging. (It will also help going through customs too) We found sheer favor bags at AC Moore and put them all together ahead of time as "kits". Hangover kit-Advil, Tums, EmergenC...Sun kit-Sunscreen, Aloe, spf lip balm...Pull it together kit-5 Hour energy and starbucks mints. It looked great in the OOT bags and made it so much easier to put everything together. We also grabbed a couple of our wedding party who were down ahead of time to help. Just remember to take a ton of pics during this part and enjoy every second! Quote: Originally Posted by KlazNov17 Hi Ladies! A few questions for past and future brides... Are any of you doing one big rectangle table for the reception? We are having a small group of about 20 and the reception is outsite on the CECO Terrace and I don't know if one table will look funny with the dance floor. But if I do round tables it will only be 2-3 of them which may also look funny. Or I am totally reading into this too much. Also, how much time did the past brides spend with the WC to go over and finalize everything? I am only going down 2 days before the wedding date and will need time to get the OOT bags and favors ready as well as see the incoming guests.

We had the same dilemma, but decided on doing it all right there...legally. I'm so glad we did because it was really a special moment and doing all of the signing at the ceremony REALLY made it feel real! If you do symbolic, you won't need anyone to sign anything at EPM because you'll technically be married already. You will have to get married at a court in the US, and your wedding date will be different. If you do a civil ceremony at EPM, you need to fill out a simple form ahead of time, do your blood tests and get your witnesses info in a few days before the wedding while you are in Mexico. You'll only need your form that you sent your WC ahead of time, your passports and tourist cards that you will get at the airport. Everything is VERY VERY VERY easy and 100% legal and recognized in the USA. Feel free to PM me and I can email you he form if you like so you'll know what I'm talking about. -Sheryl Quote: Originally Posted by Jenna26 I'm so confused!!! We are planning a wedding at EPM in October and don't know if we should do a civil or a symbolic ceremony. If we do the symbolic do we just bring our marriage license and have it signed by our witnesses at the ceremony? Will the symbolic qualify as a official marriage in the USA or would we still have to do a civil wedding in the US? It takes ages for my coordinator to reply back so any help would very much appreciated!!!!

I did not have a beach wedding, but everyone does take pics on the beach. I loved the way my veil looked, BUT, it had to be tucked into the back of my dress for the ceremony even at the gazebo and most of the pics where it wasn't, I had to face the wind to keep it from being in my face. Worth it, yes but still a pain in the butt. Luckily I didn't have a low cut back dress or I would have had to take it off. The one thing you can't bank on is the weather, so whatever you decide, have a back-up plan! Quote: Originally Posted by Jass7 For the past brides who had a beach ceremony, did you wear a veil? I am debating and I'm so not sure. The wind is my biggest factor.

Congrats Carley! The price had us wavering about the venue at first, but it really is worth it. Most other AI resorts get you on up-charges and it ends up being more than you expected to pay anyway. The way we worked it was by telling our guests to stay at EPM from Thursday through Sunday-we had our travel agent working with us on a block rate and "advising" everyone to stay there for at least this amount of time. If they wanted to stay longer, great, if not, we recommended extending their stay at the Marriott Casa Magna in the Hotel Zone in Cancun (not an all inclusive). Several guests stayed at Casa Magna earlier in the week and then met the rest of us at EPM on Thursday am for an excursion. (16 of us went to Tulum and Playa Del Carmen) The other half of our guests who were only staying a few days just checked into EPM on Thursday and we all met for welcome cocktails on Thursday night. This way, everyone was there for the events of the wedding weekend but if they didn't want to spend the extra money to stay there longer than 3 nights, they could save a little by going somewhere else first. It worked out in the end perfect for everyone, but EVERY single guest who left on Sunday made the comment about wishing they had stayed at least till Monday and were very jealous of the group that stayed a little longer. We had the legal ceremony and only needed our passports and tourist cards given at the airport. We didn't need to send anything ahead of time other than a sheet of paper to fill out with our and our witnesses info....no birth certificate, divorce papers, etc. needed. It is a legal binding document recognized in 64(?-if I remember correctly) countries. Every state in Mexico is different but this was the most current in Quntana Roo. Your witnesses who you choose(4 of them) need to be there by the afternoon on Wednesday for a Saturday wedding to give their passport and tourist card info to your wedding coordinator. These will be the same people you put on the form, and they will be a part of your actual ceremony to sign the documents at that point. You literally give your thumbprint, sign 4 pages of documents and then your witnesses will need to sign each of the 4 pages. If you have music you're playing, you'll need 2 3 to 4 minute songs to play during this. The blood taking is really not bad...we did it on the Tuesday before the wedding and had to pay the Dr. $200 cash in USD. The Judge who was at the ceremony did not officiate the wedding, but watched and signed the documents. Nayeli, our WC actually officiated the ceremony (in English) and it was beautiful! When we came home, our court did not need a copy to register, they said it was a legal binding document. My Husband is retired from the Air Force so we needed to get me in the "system" with the government as his wife...we went to the Air Force base with the legal document-IN SPANISH, and it was not a problem. She put me in and made me an ID card on the spot! SUPER easy! Now, we are from the US, so for us, this is what we needed to do. I would double check with your wedding coordinator and then your courts at home to see what they will need as well. Everything went so smooth, we thought "there must be more to this!" but there really wasn't. Quote: Originally Posted by carleyUK Hi Ladies, First off let me say how beautiful all of you look in the photos ive seen so far!! amazing. Im looking to get married with my partner here in April 2013...got a few hesitations/queries though. 1.Symbolic or civil ? im so worried about messing up all the paperwork and the translations and blood work etc? do you think its easier to marry before and just have the "proper" party/ceremony there. is the symbolic ceremony much different to the civil ? 2.A few of my guests are complaining about the prices to stay here, is it possible to bring guests that arent on site to the wedding and does anyone know the cost implications of this ? The resort is just so fantastic that i really dont want to change because of my guests but on the other hand i would like my nearest and dearest with me on my special day. Any help/comments would be greatly appreciated thank you x