Mlite83

Beautiful! I love the ruffles and gathering in the top!

Our quote is thru Air Transat and we booked with Robert Q travel (locate agent). We put down our deposit which held 15 rooms for 90 days starting May 1 (our immediate family and wedding party booked prior to that). For 1 week at Now Jade in early February we are paying around $1400/pp all in. Compared to other quotes we were satisfied with that. When we first starting pricing (in February I believe) our quotes were coming in closer to $2000 pp (or more for different resorts).

Electronic is also more reliable than good old Canada Post -- whenever I have to send real mail I'm amazed at how much mail they can lose!

I'm also in education and I am taking a week off (unpaid) in February for our trip -- my principal is super and was all for it, heck he will probably try to figure out a way to get me paid while I'm away. We thought that a winter vacation would be more appealing for some guests and we also got a great price so for us it made sense. I can tell you that March break will definitely be pricey and busy in the airport and resort. If you do decide to go at that time definitely look for adult-only resorts (or ones that kids don't stay free) otherwise the resort will be full of children also on March break

I love this one - definitely borrowing it!

Excellent thread -- thanks for sharing your ideas everyone! Makes me want to start my letters now, even if the wedding isn't until February!

We sent out actualy STDs but I am leaning towards electronic for pretty much everything else -- real invites are nice but they are costly and usually just end up in the garabage so I definitely think electronic is valid and smart (in this digital age)!

We are doing our legal ceremony at home -- haven't 100% decided when (before or after, how many days etc) but I think it will be less of a headache and cheaper than dealing with the medical and translation required to do a legal ceremony in Mexico. We are only letting a few people know that we won't be legally married in Mexico (mostly the friends who are close enough to know that a legal ceremony in Mexico requires blood test etc since I was on the fence about this for a while so they heard my pro/con arguments).

We dated for over 12 years before getting engaged and it will be just over 13 years when we get married. People would ask us all the time when we were going to get married (heck my father even made a joke about it during his speech when my older brother got married 2 summers ago) but my answer (jokingly) was usually that i wanted to keep my options open or i wasn't really sure yet - I found that shut people up pretty quickly

I'll do my best to answer your questions I did not have our flight info yet either so I simply put TBD/unknown at this time but listed who we booked through (airline) and that was fine with Pilar. Closer to the wedding (ie 60 days out or so) you send in more detailed information including number of guests, date of arrival etc so no worries for now. As for the reception items - those are not included in the package but you can purchase them from the additonal or ala carte services listed in the wedding package book that Pilar would have included in your email. I have also read that some brides have been able to switch out the 45 min instrument music for DJ services...that would be something you can negotiate with Pilar directly. The decor items included in the package (chair covers, centerpiece on judge's table etc) will be moved over to the reception area too. As for group rates -- I had my TA negotiate that as part of our 7 days AI through Air Transat so I can't speak to what the hotel can offer if you wish to book rooms directly with them. Hope this helped!!

We also did a postcard STD for friends and family recognizing that many will not be able to attend...I borrowed some words from different STDs I saw online and came up with this for wording, feel free to use as you'd like:) DEAR FRIENDS & FAMILY We are getting married! The wedding festivities will be at Now Jade in sunny Riviera Maya, Mexico, on Saturday, February 9, 2013. We realize that due to distance and cost, some of you may not be able to attend. While we would be delighted to have you all come celebrate with us, we understand and respect your decision if you cannot make it. After our return, we will host an at-home reception - formal invitations will follow at a later date. Visit our wedding website à for more information regarding travel arrangements and to RSVP if you are interested in joining us. We are extremely excited and look forward to sharing our special day with you! * We used the wedding website address vertically to separate the info from the address section on the back of our postcard that's why there is an arrow (it points to the website address).

Thanks for sharing your experience -- we were thinking of doing the same, glad to know it can be done

We are getting married in February 2013 and our deposits are due to the TA by end of July 2012...that was part of the deal I got when booking...guests can still book after that date but we can't guarantee the price will remain the same as what we reserved. For our deal final payment is due at the end of September.

Beautiful! I love the little touches of starfish!!

Thanks for sharing -- I can definitely see the advantage of doing it in one go, especially for some older relatives who may only go on the website once because they aren't very computer savy (or addicted to facebook, pinterest etc

Thanks for the tips on making barefoot jewelry -- you have no doubt saved me some time and frustration, haha! Everything looks great! You must be getting excited!!

Pilar (the WC) is no doubt very busy right now, April - June is peak season for them. I found the easiest way to get ahold of her when I booked my date was to call her directly. From there she was able to look up my email (while I was on the phone) and reply to it with the appropriate paperwork for me to fill out right then and there. I know the Now Jade website also has a wedding date request form but it is different from what Pilar sends you directly (more specific details, fine print etc). My advice is once you have a date (or two) in mind call the resort and speak to Pilar so she can confirm availability and send the paperwork to you....

Wow - it is stunning! Good luck and be sure to post a photo when you get it and let us know how it turns out for you!!

Congrats! Glad to hear it was everything you wanted! You photos are beautiful!!

I am also having guests select entrees on our website -- but I am still trying to figure out when to open that option up? FI thinks we should do it now but I am concerned that people may RSVP yes and select their menu but end up changing their mind (about going or about their menu selection) between now and February 2013....when are you ladies giving guests the option for entree choices??

During the webinair Pilar confirmed that you can select entrees from the Devine or Eternite menu (and there is no extra fee is you already have the Devine package, if not you simply pay the "upgrade" fee per meal). She did say she would require advance notice on how many of each entree items ie how many beef, how many tuna, etc. I am not sure how much advance notice is required tho?

These are awesome - I'm also looking for something flat and with a bit of embellishment. Definitely be able to wear them again in the future too!

Wow - I love it!! And the price doesn't hurt either!!

I love the colour combination of the dresses and necklaces - looks awesome!!

Have you looked at Studio Suits online (studiosuits.com)? There is an entire thread devoted to them (on BDW) and most people are very pleased with their product and pricing! They have a great deal for linen suits.