MrsSheppardToBe

Sure thing, I'll send you a picture tonight when I get home from work. The resort's salon staff was amazing... did 3 of us for hair and makeup within 2 hours and we all looked amazing!

Because the weather wasn't very nice during my wedding week, we downgraded to the romantic package for $3100, and then we spent $1800 on the photo/video package

The basic setup was white chair covers, fuschia chair bows (my color was pink, so I'm not too sure what all their choices were but I do think they have orange) and they decorated the rooftop terrace with white linen and there was a pretty floral centrepiece on the table where the ceremony was. You can bring your own decor and they will put it up for you at no extra charge. Honestly, they do a great job and need little to no instruction. The whole destination wedding thing is really casual and laid back.. you will realize this once you are there! I though that I was going to be so picky and everything but the day of the wedding I was lounging by the pool with my fiance without a care in the world! I was a bride who was really into the whole wedding planning process, but 99% of the wedding planning will really be done at the resort 3 days before the big day. I felt a little disappointed that I didn't have a ton of planning to do, but in the end it was nice that I didn't have to coordinate a bunch of vendors and everything. I feel like if my wedding was at home it would have cost at least $10,000, but my bill at the end (including photo/video) was less than $5000. Married life is amazing! People say that nothing really changes, but I really do feel different. Just wish people would stop asking me when the babies will start coming!!!! Haha

And just a heads up - they have a MASSIVE pile of decorations left over from previous brides. If you don't bring your own decorations, you can probably look through their huge stash.

Hi Everyone, Just wondering if there are any Canadians out there who know the process for changing your name and legalizing your marriage once you recieve the Apostile Seal from Mexico?

Thank you! I pretty much just winged it during the reception. We just did a few speeches as people were finishing up each course during dinner - we could usually get 2-3 speeches done between courses before the next course was brought out. I had my Uncle MC the reception and he did a great job! The first dance/father-daughter dance was done after the dinner was finished, and I did the bouquet/garter tosses halfway through the dancing part of the reception. Thank you!! I made a playlist on my Ipod called "Ceremony Music" and edited the title of each song so they knew which song was for what. For example - "Bride's Entrance - Bless the Broken Road". They needed very little instruction and did a great job!

Hi Everyone! I am back from OCT and am officially a MRS! Let me tell you that this resort is amazing!! I am so happy with my decision to get married there, everything was better than I dreamed and my big day could not have been any more special. The weather was okay... when we landed it was raining, and it rained the entire next day. I had my 3-hour meeting with the WC (Areli... she was so sweet) and we went over EVERYTHING! She showed me the unpromising weather forecast for my wedding day, and showed me all the Plan B wedding venues in the event of rain. To be honest I wasn't overly impressed with the banquet rooms at first, because I was so disappointed that I wouldn't get the outdoor reception I've been dreaming of. However, the room turned out to be very nice and my reception was awesome! The ceremony was held on the rooftop terrace of building 17. It was a beautiful ceremony, they covered all the chairs in white linen and fushcia chair bows. I brought my own fake flower petals from Michaels and they spread them along the floor where I would be walking down the aisle. They also draped white and pink fabric along the arch where my ceremony took place. They played all the music for my ceremony, and even played one of their own songs (A Thousand Years) during my sand ceremony, since I didn't choose my own song for that. After the ceremony, there was a waiter handing out champagne to everyone and we did some group photos. I chose the hotel's photographer (Photopro) and trust me, they did a FABULOUS job! I know the reviews on this site for them aren't that good, but I had a really tough time narrowing down which photos I wanted to keep because there were so many good ones. They put together a nice photobook for me and my husband and made 2 smaller ones for our parents. I also had their videographer film my ceremony and he put together an awesome DVD for me! So impressed! I would definitely recommend the hotel's photography services for your wedding. Also, the hair and makeup team was AWESOME!!! They did hair/makeup for me, my mom, and my sister and we were all amazed at how talented they are. It was $145 each for hair and makeup and they made sure we were all very happy with our looks before we left, and we were all SO happy! Also, I would highly recommend them as well Our photo shoot ended just MINUTES before a big downpour of rain! We were so lucky!!! The entire wedding day was overcast, and I told my groom to decide whether to do an outside or inside ceremony. He had to decide by 1pm which was 4 hours before the start of our ceremony. He chose outdoor, because that's what I wanted. The judge was also 25 minutes late because she was late coming back from a wedding in Cancun because it was already raining there. I was SO nervous! My reception was really nice - I ordered the Feta and Balsamic salad, Champagne sherbet, Surf and Turf, and Creme brulee. The presentation and taste of the food was amazing. Everyone said it was the best meal of the entire week, and I agree. I didn't have a DJ, I just brought my ipod with all my songs on it and a guy from the resort played it. He was hard to find sometimes when I wanted to change the song for the bouquet toss, garter toss, etc. However once a waiter saw that I was looking for him, he appeared within minutes. My reception was from 7-10 pm. The waiters at the reception were right on the ball all the time, very attentive and provided efficient service. All in all, my wedding was everything I dreamed of! If I could give you brides any advice, it's DON'T STRESS about the small stuff. Yes, the WCs take weeks to reply to emails but they are SO attentive when you are actually there, and that's when all the decisions are made anyways. You really don't have to worry about planning details with the WC beforehand, other than choosing the venues for your wedding events. Everything else can be left until you arrive. Also, as detail-oriented as you are now, you won't be on your wedding day. I was so stressed about absolutely everything leading up to my wedding but when I actually got there, I was like "I don't care about anything! My wedding will be perfect no matter what happens!!" And it was, it really wasn't the flowers, the venue or the music that made my wedding special. It was sharing my special day with my family and starting a new life with my husband. Everything else was just the icing on the cake. If anyone has any questions for me, please don't hesitate to ask! XOXO Mrs. Sheppard

In 48 hours I will be at OCT!!!!! OMG! I can't believe the time is finally here. Just trying to get through this final day of work before I become a Mrs... I seriously cannot focus one bit. Daniel emailed me to confirm my spa appointments and he let me know that my maracas have arrived!! Oooh I can't wait!!!!!

One week from today I will be married!!!!! OMG!

My experience was a bit different... I went through my TA, who originally contacted the resort WC and got the ball rolling for me. I was cc'd on their emails, and sent my credit card deposit to the OCT WC myself, and the WC sent me a confirmation of my wedding date within days.

Welcome @@HwesleyE and congratulations!! I'm glad you're finding this thread helpful.. it definitely has been a huge help for me. The planning time seriously goes by SO fast! It's crazy. Good luck with everything! It really helps to stay active on these boards.. you can learn alot.

Hi @@aborgesbride My timeline is pretty vague right now..... I know the ceremony is short, like 15-20 min. I don't see the champagne toast being too long... I would think just 15 min or so but I have nothing to go on. My ceremony is at 5pm, and my reception will start at 7pm. I'm only doing a 3 hour reception. They told me that it costs $500 per extra hour which I thought was crazy so I'm not doing that. I figure that after 10pm most of my guests will be going to bed, and so will we. We've planned a busy honeymoon day at the resort - we're doing the Delphinus couples dream swim with dolphins! Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I'm using the resort photographer.... www.photo-pro.com.mx Their packages are very reasonable... I'm paying $1100 for a photo/video package, and they can live stream your wedding online for anyone to watch. I've just decided to make everything really easy for myself by not using any outside vendors. It saves a lot of $ and it's less hassle because everything is at the resort.

Yay @@BeeJewell you must be excited! Congrats and good luck with all your planning! It'll start to feel more real for you now that you have a confirmed date! Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

That's awesome! Were those your colors before or after you picked the resort?

Yay!!! I'm sure you will get your email tonight. Ana is pretty dependable. I think I'm just gonna let my issue go, and if I don't hear back by the time I leave for the airport I will just book my hair and makeup appointment when I get there. I'm sure they have my emails...I sent 2 or 3 emails requesting my spa appointments, and I'm sure everything is ok and that they are just going to discuss this with me when I get there. Things are finally starting to sink it and my wedding is starting to feel real! OCT posted a few pics on their Facebook page of a hot pink/orange wedding they did today and those are my colors so it's nice to be able to visualize my own wedding which will take place in 13 DAYS!!!! OMG! I'm just gonna stay calm for the next 9 days until I leave and trust that my wedding will be perfect and magical just as I've always dreamed. No stress here! Let us know when you get your confirmation @@BeeJewell

@@Brides2behelper Thanks.... just out of curiosity what is your relationship with OCT?

@@Brides2behelper Thank you! I'm just nervous that I will get to the resort and they won't be able to get me in for hair and makeup on my wedding day. I just want confirmation that my appointments are set.

I'm glad Ana is still there! She is so good at what she does and she's got some awesome feedback on here. Right now I'm a little nervous because I emailed them 3 weeks ago to book my hair and makeup for my wedding and I still haven't heard back. I emailed again the other day too! Just want to have my appointments all lined up before I go..... Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

NO LAPTOPS ON YOUR WEDDING!!!! Haha let your work deal with whatever comes their way... this is your vacation and your wedding! No work allowed, lol. And YAY you just made 150 posts Now you can open attachments lol

@@BeeJewell ugh that's frustrating!!! Honestly I wish I could help but I'm not sure what to recommend, other than get your TA involved? Here are the phone #s I have for them: Tel. 52 (998) 287 2100 | Ext 2004 Fax. 52 (998) 287 2101

I hope you do get your confirmation soon, I remember being so stressed not knowing if I was going to get the date/venues that I wanted! What venues did you choose for your ceremony and reception? And yes I am getting my hair and makeup done at the resort salon. I'm not using any outside vendors so I'll save a lot of $ on vendor fees and I feel like it's much less stress since everything is at the resort.

Yeah I know! Sometimes I'll get an email from them at like 8pm my time, and I'm 3 hours behind them... so it's like 11pm their time! Crazy! Kinda shocked that Ana and Vanessa are no longer there... they were my main contact people! But I will not freak out and I will listen to Leslie and trust that my wedding will still be AMAZING.

Why is there a problem bringing wedding stuff through customs?? @vanessav53@Jennypert

It was pretty much right away, like within days!