bmelko

If any of you ladies are interested in this, it's good for the next 4 days: http://www.groupon.com/deals/vista-print-detroit-1 It is $70 worth from vistaprint for only $17. I got this same deal a month or so ago to get my OOT bags for my guests. I got some really, really cute ones for only $2 each - and they are $13 or something each originally. I also got my magnets from here. I'm really happy with everything I've gotten from them. Anything to save us money, eh? Happy planning!

Your pictures turned out super cute! You looked amazing.

We are going to use a DJ rather than an iPod. We all like to dance and I like the idea of a DJ playing music rather than create a, very lengthy, playlist for the reception. I'm going to come up with a loose playlist for the DJ, though, requesting what songs I don't want played and what kind of music to play during dinner, etc. I'm also using the resort DJ (DJ Doremixx, preferably, as I've heard great things).

Hahaha Shannon! Yeah, I feel the same way.

We are getting married in November, too - the 16th. I am sending my STDs around the 1st of December and my invitations probably early August so I have plenty of time to get my final guest count. I think I have my RSVP date as 09/01 or something like that. Most people will know whether or not they are going when they get the STD. I am including a pre-RSVP return postcard with them so I can get an idea of who is going to go early on and plan accordingly. It has an explanation of why we would like to know this far in advance and a yes, no, maybe type of thing... also we put that a formal invitation will follow with a final RSVP. We don't want people to commit for sure (or not) that early. As for the additional hour for the reception, that's what I understand it to be - $15 per person for the additional hour.

That's smart. I want to have it in writing from them before I will adhere to it. I will ask them as well so I'm not surprised as our wedding nears. I will also find out any other (new) restrictions that I should be aware of, even though they are inconsistent. I'm going to take what they tell me as as being true until I find out otherwise from them. It's the only way to really be sure and I would much rather take them at their word and be happily surprised. Haha. Thanks for the info!

I read in the wedding guides for several resorts that 80% of your guests must stay at the resort, but I didn't read it in the Now Jade guide and I didn't see it in any of the paperwork sent over by the resort. If that is true, which was not made clear by Pilar or Deisy, I'm may have another issue on my hands. I also have some people wanting to stay in their timeshares or specific resorts they prefer.. I hope it's less than 80%.

P.S. The centerpiece idea above is super cute.

I'm bringing the fillers with me - the submersible lights, clear rocks/beads/whatever they are, silk/real touch, etc. - so all I have to do is rent the empty vases. I hope it isn't $60/vase. If so, I will have to rethink my options.. but they cannot possibly be that expensive per vase. My guess is that they give you a set amount for the $60, whatever they may be.

I haven't asked to get a quote, I just went off of what other girls said. Haha. I guess I should find out for sure before I make my decision. I don't want to deal with buying stuff for the reception when I get down there either. The only other option that I haven't completely discarded is to ship them directly to the resort. I think you are supposed to ship them like six months in advance or something like that to make sure they get there since customs can take quite some time. Funny how something so small can cause such grief, right? Haha. I will keep you posted on what I find out and any other ideas I have for getting the things down there.

I am leaning toward renting them just for the convenience. I know it's a lot of money to rent, but it saves me the hassle of dragging them down there and, more importantly, getting them there in one piece. I really wanted to bring my own (I'm doing three per table and having 4-5 tables) but I worry that they won't make it intact. I know there is a Walmart in Cancun, but there's no guarantee they will have what I want. If they did, I would just buy them while I was down there. I am still looking into that as a possibility, but I'm guessing I'll end up renting them.

I'm not having music for my cocktail hour. People will be chatting and mingling, there doesn't seem to be a need for it. I look at it as a matter of preference. Now that I think about it, I don't recall being at any weddings where there was music during the cocktail hour either.

I think all of your concerns are valid. It also appears that you're not alone, as I've read similar things on here from lots and lots of brides... it's a natural reaction to all of this, so I don't see it as you overreacting. It seems like a destination wedding is so easy to plan, but in reality it's seemingly more difficult. There's a lot of things you have to leave in the hands of people you've never met. I'm not going through a travel company or wedding planner (aside from the resort) so I can't relate to the frustrations there. My advice would be to relax as much as possible. Everything I have read from past brides was positive and while it sucks not having great communication, the closer your wedding day gets, the more frequent and helpful the communication will be. If you would feel better about contacting Pilar yourself, do just that. You're the bride, you have that right. Also, something else I've read hundreds of times on here - most of the planning will be done when you get there, which sounds completely dumb, I know. I saw one bride post that her wedding could have been planned in three days. Make sure you bring everything with you, pictures, lists, etc. so when you meet with Pilar you can give her everything and go over all the details. Your wedding is going to be amazing... for you, for your FI, and for all of your guests. I look forward to seeing your pictures!

If you were legally married before and changed your name, all of the stuff ($600 worth) can be in the same bag. If you aren't, they must be in separate bags. Just wanted to be clear.

The receipts are so you don't have to fill out the forms and pay taxes on them; it's very helpful having your own proof of purchase/cost. I think the limit is $300 - anything beyond that will be taxed. Some girls, from what I've read, split their OOT bag contents, decorations, etc. among their friends and family, too, to keep under the $300/person.

I'm getting married November 16th. I felt like I was all over the place, but it got much better. There's still a lot to do but I don't feel so overwhelmed. We picked the beach ceremony and bamboo room for the reception. I'm hoping that the weather holds up, but I'm not stressing about it. It's going to be amazing regardless. I'm bringing my own decorations, too, and as long as you have the receipts, I believe you won't have any problems with explaining to them why you're bringing them with you. I believe that as long as you are under $300 per person on goods you will be fine on the duties, which is why you need receipts, but make sure you look into it. Congratulations!

I'm skipping the sand ceremony. We really aren't that into it and, like you, I don't want to drag the vase to and from Mexico. We will have plenty of pictures and I'm using real touch flowers, so that's another keepsake for me from the wedding. We're doing a speedy ceremony.. well, as speedy as it can be with all the signing you have to do during it.

That's a really good questionnaire for your wedding.. it covers a lot of information. I'm curious to see what Pilar tells you regarding some of the answers you've provided. NOW WEDDING PLANNING FORM.doc

I'm bringing my own flowers... sooo much cheaper. I hate the idea of spending a ton of money on the flowers. This way I can have the bouquets look they way I want them to down to the smallest detail. They're around $10/bouquet. Mine will probably be slightly more money, though.

I bought mine from http://weddinglinensdirect.com and I love them. I got the organza ones, not the crystal organza (those are a little rougher in texture). They tie really nicely and the colors are true to what they show online. They're also very cheap, at about 0.56 apiece. Truthfully, once I looked there and got some samples, I didn't look anywhere else.

You can get them from afloral.com but they don't sell individual flowers; they only sell premade bouquets. They will customize them if you send them pictures. I bought mine at Joann Fabric and Hobby Lobby. I also checked out Michaels, but I wasn't really thrilled with the selection at that particular store. They are pretty cheap, too, and are a rubbery texture so they feel real. I bought all the stuff to make my bouquet and it will be less than $20. I used white and pink/coral calla, and line green baby's breath for my bouquet. I bought the ribbon in the ribbon section. I will probably buy a different flower, maybe orchids, for the girls' bouquets. I think the calla lilies were $1.99 each, but I got them on sale. The only downside I've found is that there are a select variety of flowers available in the real touch. I really wanted gerber daisies for my girls, but they don't make the real touch in that flower variety... which is why I will probably go with orchids. If you're in Canada, there's bloombridal.com for the real touch flowers.

You can rent them from the resort but I think it's fairly expensive to do so. You can always get blume boxes to take with you. They lay flat and you just pop them open, then you can put the bouquets in them. http://www.blumebox.com/index.shtml

Lol! I'm sure they are use to all the questions. The photographer might use a flash during the ceremony??! Can you see about switching your time to make it at 4pm instead? It shouldn't be a problem to change it if you want.

I don't think that's tacky at al. I've seen a lot of brides do that - use their bouquets for centerpieces. It's all in what you prefer. I'm buying the real touch flowers and making my own bouquets and bringing them down with me. Otherwise I will spend all that money on flowers just to throw them away. The real touch are cheaper and look amazing. I'm bringing extra for our centerpieces.

Ours is the following Saturday, 11/16. Congrats to you, too! I picked 4:00pm for our ceremony because I was worried about losing the daylight. I hear the sun sets really fast... but other brides have gotten married at 5pm and haven't had any problems, so I don't think it will affect your photos. In fact, you will probably have some amazing ones with the sunset. If you have any questions or anything else, PM me. We can be wedding buddies. Haha.