essandpea

(Whoops, DaynaBee, I just saw that you've booked Del Sol, too! Excellent choice, obviously ;-). Sorry to suggest something you've probably already done!)

Hi DaynaBee, Check out this incredible slideshow library by our photographers, Del Sol. I used it a lot when we were researching venues (Aki'in was in our top three, too!). They've categorized by region, so you can click to Tulum and view all the Aki'in weddings and contact the couples... although now that I click myself, I see there's only one. I'm fairly sure they've shot other weddings there, so perhaps you could ask and they'd be willing to connect you? And I just did a quick search, and there was this user who got married at Aki'in on July 24 of this year! Good luck!

It's really beyond me -- it's one (still frustrating) thing to have people "undecided," and then there's - unbelievably - the category of people who have plain NOT responded, a month out! It might be the element of not wanting to say no, but incredibly inconsiderate on one end, and hurtful on the other. But I'll share a little trick that has virtually eliminated my stress about that :-) : I deleted them from our running guest list. I don't have to see their names to remind me that they've not once responded to RSVP, follow-up call, email, and text... instead of "pending," they're just a no. So now I can concentrate on the 115 people who ARE coming - and that's a lot of people!! Sorry I haven't been contributing much lately! I started a new job, fiance started a new role, our welcome party venue canceled on us (now resolved), etcetera etcetera... nothing compared to buying a new house and moving(!!), but anyway :-). Hope everyone's doing well.

Yes, they've gotten great reviews on the forum, too... thanks, I'll check 'em out!

Thanks, AllieH :-) Our RSVP deadline was yesterday, but there are at least two dozen people we're following up with. If things stay the same, we're at 115 adults, 8 kids under five! Anyone using a videographer? Our family wants us to add video...

Oh! You just reminded me - I forgot that in between all of that, we went to the courthouse and got married!! It was fun, but really felt like a rehearsal for the "real" thing :-). You're right, we got some great ideas from some of the weddings, so research it was :-) We wish :-). There were three we couldn't go to this year, so we totally understand not everyone being able to come to ours!

If it makes any of you all feel better, we just got back from FIVE back-to-back wedding (weekends), two internationally! So the only thing I've accomplished in the last month is regaining a bit of my sanity (priceless, of course). I'm happy to report that the *best* weddings seem to be comprised of: excellent attitudes + awesome friends & fam. Great music for the party part doesn't hurt :-). Of course, ask me again when I hit my two-month mark (in a few days) and I most likely will be freaking out.

Not tacky at all! I feel like a lot of paper things are becoming obsolete with technology, and if people have already booked, then they don't need anything extra printed! Woo-hoo for 60 friends and fam to celebrate you two!

These are nice! I was also considering something like this that we could put up: http://www.etsy.com/listing/83520935/quaker-marriage-print-grape-vines.

McLecker, we decided to only send invites to those who are definitely or most likely planning to attend. We included the main invite and a schedule of events (highlighting events that are hosted so guests can better plan). Of course, all of this information is also on our website, so the mailed invite was not entirely necessary... just a formality that a lot of people like and that some generations consider a must :-). If you can save money and not offend anyone, I say awesome!

Thanks, AllieH! Any excuse to make another trip to Paper Source is a good one :-). And yes, we'll have almost 150 guests, so we're leaning towards buying something in Mexico. Bambaleo, I love the luggage tags doubling as seating cards idea! Thanks - I'll have to look into this!

The three-month mark is making everything really REAL. Photographer, DJ, hair/makeup were booked earlier on, but: We're still working out the logistics of the pre-wedding events/activities, but formal invitations have been sent out! Still slowly collecting things for OOT bags Design of welcome booklet for OOT bags and ceremony program books are in progress Hindu ceremony content and length are being negotiated (we're Indian and Korean) :-) Ladies' outfits (saris) are being tailored but guys have not decided on outfits yet! We'll be coordinating airport-hotel-airport travel for our guests since we'll be 90 minutes away from the airport, but need final RSVPs and flight itineraries Haven't done a thing about decor Two things I'm researching but can't decide on are: Favors - due to transportation issues, we're thinking maybe Mexican edibles? Any ideas would be appreciated! Guest book alternative - my friend had aging whiskey casks marked 1, 5, 10 years, etc., and guests wrote notes to go along with those years. The couple plans to open the casks and the notes on those anniversaries! I love this idea, but again, worried about how much we're transporting (there and/or back). Any unique ideas would also be very appreciated! Hope everyone is doing well!

I bought these beautiful Kraft paper "Simpson" recycled envelopes (slightly smoother and more chocolate-y than regular Kraft paper - very elegant) before we chose a different invitation color scheme. They would look great with white ink handwriting/calligraphy! Would prefer to to sell all three together. Here's the link where I purchased them: http://www.jampaper.com/Envelopes/BrownEnvelopesPaper/SimpsonKraftRecycledEnvelopesPaper To see the approximate color/image, make sure to select the size A6 (4 3/4" x 6 1/2") from the drop down box. It's Item #30003. Happy planning!

My BDW email alerts aren't working! Glad I checked back in myself. Welcome, McLecker! Whenever we get stressed out about how many people are coming (we're at 131 adults + kids!), we try to remind ourselves how lucky we are to have so many people willing to make such a big trip for us. Not that Los Cabos or Tulum are rough places to go ;-). Of course, our RSVP deadline isn't until late September, so we'll see how I feel if/when people change their minds after that date! Our OOT bags: a welcome packet (itinerary for the few days we're together, local to do/to eat, maps, etc.), an emergency kit (bandaids, Advil, Pepto tablets, Alka Seltzer tablets), and some toiletries (wet wipes, insect repellant wipes, sunscreen wipes, Kleenex). We are thinking of adding bottled water and some snacks since the ride to Tulum from the airport is 90 minutes. I've been scouring dollar stores for the bags and have gotten pretty much everything else on Amazon or Minimus.biz, a website recommended a lot on this forum. Also check out La Fresh's sales for some nice eco-friendly products. Oh, and we're also getting a bunch of hats (bucket hats, visors, straw hats, cowboy hats, etc.) from dollar stores. Total for each bag will probably come to about $8. It's a lot when you add it up, but we thought it was important to do this since people are coming from so far away and spending so much money themselves to come!

We're having a Hindu ceremony, so groom is wearing a "suit" called a sherwani. Think formal bling-y long coat with billowy pants -- which he can't wait to shed for a light linen suit (or maybe just linen pants and button-up), Western style, for the reception. We've gotten the sherwani, but not the linen suit yet!

Yes, templates are really helpful. I think the hard part is the sometimes "political" decisionmaking while assigning the seats :-). Thanks for sharing the link!

I know, I know... sigh :-). With 3+ months to go, I'm definitely looking for ways to make things easier for myself! But making things easier for 150 guests should probably be the priority ;-).

We're doing a buffet-style dinner, too, and I *really* wanted to avoid doing a seating chart and placecards. But since we're having 150 guests, our coordinator highly recommends one, so that people find their seats quickly. I think she might be right. Welcome, FranksJewel!

Oh wow, we're in the same boat then with a really big group in Tulum! Yes, I think you'll be fine going without an extra coordinator for now, and I'll be able to help a lot more after we finalize things in November :-). It's been really challenging trying to find places with the capacity to host 100+ people for pre-wedding dinners and parties at a reasonable rate. And transportation (we're doing a day trip to the ruins in the morning and a cenote in the afternoon) has proven to be really expensive as well. We also considered Ana y Jose - in fact, we were negotiating a contract with them at one point, as they offered a really nice, affordable dinner and did not have an exorbitant site fee. But we got really nervous when we didn't hear from them when trying to get a countersigned contract, so went back to our first choice of Las Ranitas. (Please don't let this deter you from considering Ana y Jose; when we did communicate with them they were very professional and gracious.) I completely understand guests and their A/C needs (many of ours are worried about that as well), but we're hoping that the milder weather in November won't require A/C. Plus we hoped that the extra holidays around Thanksgiving would make it easier for folks to travel. Feel free to send any questions my way -- it's nice to have another Tulum couple on here! Love your photo, by the way! Reminds me of the gorgeous redwoods just north of here in San Francisco.

Wowie!! You are on top of things, AllieH! What is your RSVP deadline? Ours is 9/24, two months before. Hope that leaves enough time to do all of this!! What are you giving out as favors (sorry if I missed this discussed already!)? The only thing we've thought of is to ask our floral designer to make the ceremony flowers reusable as reception decor. Crossing my fingers that turns out okay.

Hi Truchis, Hooray for you two and Las Ranitas! Akiin and Las Ranitas were on our short list, too, and we're getting married at Las Ranitas in November. I still remember the feeling I had when I first stepped foot onto their palapa... Whenever I get stressed, I try to channel that feeling :-). I can't speak for communication with Akiin, but if you go with Las Ranitas, you don't need an additional wedding coordinator. Angelina is on site, knows Tulum very well, and has relationships with people in Tulum. She would be both a planner and a day-of coordinator. I should share though that we do have an additional person, though - someone Angie brought in when we did our site visits in other cities along the Riviera Maya. But we are having 150 guests and many pre-wedding events and activities and needed a lot more attention/coordination throughout the planning process than the average couple, so having a second person has been helpful. But other folks on the forum have worked solely with Angie and had no problems. Hope this helps!

either way, phew! it's nice to be not alone :-)

loving the positive energy flowing out of here... i need to come up with a better response (than the truth - i'm stressed!) to "so how's the wedding planning going?"!! invites are at the printer - hooray! where are you all in the decor phase of things? our venue and decor folks haven't worked out how to best configure tables and chairs for dinner/reception, so we haven't done a thing for table decor, flowers, menus, namecards, etc. am i really behind?