MrsSheppardToBe

My website is from TheKnot.com

@@nattiegams325 I would book at least 1 year in advance! That way all your friends and family can start saving money for the trip and also book time off work if they need to!

Hi!! Sorry to hear about the stress you're dealing with. From reading this thread, it's not uncommon to not get a reply for 2 weeks, but I totally get that you need a response now since your wedding is only 2 weeks away! If it helps, I'm sure that most decisions can be made once you get to the resort. Have you booked the resort's DJ, Nick Canos? I just cancelled him too... took over a month to do that. Vanessa emailed me saying that she'll cancel him for me, and then Ana messaged me asking if I have heard back from the DJ. I then asked her to cancel him for me, which she said she'd do. I have emails from both Vanessa and Ana saying that they cancelled him for me so I hope there's no confusion once I get there! If you're needing a response before you leave, I would either send another email or just call them. Otherwise, if it's something that you can deal with in person once you get there, I'd just wait. Honestly I think the most important thing right now is for you to be as calm and relaxed as possible before your big day. Don't sweat the small stuff I know that's VERY hard to do when you're a bride... I'm having trouble staying stress-free too.

It's so frustrating how you can't open the attachments unless you have 150.... thinking of just paying!

You really can never go wrong with Jimmy Buffett at the reception, or during cocktail hour! Especially at a tropical destination wedding

My bridal party is walking down to a traditional processional, "Canon in D". I will be walking down the aisle to "Bless the Broken Road" by Rascall Flatts.

There are 2 terraces - there is the rooftop terrace (which is where ceremonies are done) and the lobby terrace (where they hold receptions). I do have quite a few pictures of both terraces, which I can definitely email you! Just send me a message with your email address and I'll send the pics over And I'm not sure who my wedding coordinator is - My emails have been replied to by Cynthia, Pamela, Ana, and Vanessa! Lol

Welcome and congrats!! I think it took me about 6 months or so to book the resort. I exhausted my travel agent, getting rates from almost every resort (and finding something wrong with almost all of them). Once I found this resort I knew this was the one. And I am getting married on the rooftop terrace which I think is a gorgeous setting for a wedding ceremony. I'm very happy with my decision, and I wish you all the best with the big decisions you will be making! Don't worry, once you've picked a resort and have the deposits paid for your block of rooms it all gets SO much easier!

I know, I'm the same! It's so hard to focus at work with 'wedding brain', lol!

Cynthia was my original coordinator, however I also haven't heard from her in months! All my emails are being replied to by either Pamela, Ana, and more recently, Vanessa. I'm not sure that Cynthia is there anymore, but all my emails are being replied to in a week or 2 by one of the other coordinators. What I'm also doing is printing all the emails just in case there is any confusion when I get there. Wow!! Coming up so fast! You must be so excited! Can't wait to see pictures when you get back

I'm using the lobby terrace for my reception. I just didn't see the point in going all the way to Mexico just to have my wedding reception in a ballroom. I think the outdoor reception gives it that little something extra and showcases the destination wedding more.

I'm in the same boat.... I chose my sister as my MOH and am very disappointed. Whenever I try to talk about my bridal shower or stagette, I get an "I don't really care" response. She also doesn't want to come to any pre-wedding appointments - getting her to come BM dress shopping was like pulling teeth! Luckily my Mom is willing to step in if she drops the ball. Really don't understand why she's being like this... she's not married, so when she does need a MOH she'll understand how much it sucks if you have a MOH who's not into it. Also, when I went dress shopping she showed up to the appointment hungover, and I could hear her in the waiting area complaining about how long my appointment was taking. UGH.... as if being a bride isn't stressful enough, eh?

Yeah I think I will save that cost.... $700 is a lot of money, and based on the reviews I've read on the resort's DJ I don't think I'm missing out on a lot. The sound system is included with my package so why not take advantage of that?!

Ugh! Still haven't heard back from the resort's DJ to confirm that he will be at my wedding. HOWEVER - With all this extra time I've had, I've been thinking more about whether I even need a DJ. My wedding reception will be 3 hours, from 7-10pm. Half of that time will be our dinner, which leaves only 1.5 hours for dancing. With the romantic package, I do believe it includes Ipod hookup and speakers, right? So maybe I don't need a DJ at all. I can just show up with a playlist of all the songs I'd like to play, and let the Ipod do the work of the DJ. That will save me $700 right there. Is anyone else doing this? Let me know what your opinions are!

You would probably be better off booking the Romantic Package (that's good for 30 guests I believe). There are more perks - like a private reception (3 hours). They do charge for every extra thing you add on to your wedding, so you're probably better off booking a wedding package that includes more. With the sunset package, there probably wouldn't be a reception afterwards - I think you would just go to the restaurant for dinner and that's it. I also have approx 30 guests - and my wedding will cost around $4100. I'm doing the romantic package, but upgrading to all the perks of the paradise package. The reason I'm not booking the paradise package is because it is good for 40 guests and I only have 25. Doing it the way I am is saving me a few hundred $$.

Hey fellow Canadian brides! Just wondering if anyone knows the procedure on what to do once you get your marriage certificate from Mexico. My resort will be sending the Apostille Seal 3 months after my wedding.. but I'm not sure what to do from there in order to legally change my name and marital status. Help!

What's everyone doing for their at-home reception? I'm doing a brunch at a local golf course - we'll show the wedding video and slideshow of all the photos, people can do speeches, and we'll have a mimosa toast.

Thank you! Just sent him an email

I went through a destination weddings specialist.. we went over lots of resorts until I found the perfect one for me! The whole process took about 4 months lol! After I booked my wedding at Ocean Turquesa, they sent me photos of the different wedding venues, cakes, flowers... honestly it wasn't a big deal for me to see all this beforehand. It is the Caribbean after all, and ANY 4.5 star resort will be amazing and beautiful! My wedding package includes 30 guests, but they do have a package that includes 40 guests. I have 25, so I'm not in danger of going over 30. All resorts charge a different fee per person after you reach the amount of complimentary guests in the package... it's usually somewhere between $30-60. Don't worry about asking a lot of questions! It's overwhelming when you first start the whole process but it gets easier! Start off by making a list of people you think will come to your wedding so you have a rough guest count... figure out the budget for the trip for your guests. $1600-1700 will get you a beautiful 4.5-5 star resort. Once you've narrowed down a budget, it's time to start checking out resorts! Using a destination wedding travel specialist is good because they can help you find resorts that fit your needs and budget. They also deal with all the guests as far as making the reservations and taking the payment for the deposits. The hardest part for me was making the reservation... once you choose a resort you need 10 guests to place deposits in order to secure a room block/plane seats for your party. Once you've got all your deposits in and your reservation is made all the fun stuff can be arranged! Let me know if you have any other questions!

Hi! I'm a Vancouver bride also, and am getting married on June 5, 2014 in Mexico! My wedding is at the Ocean Coral and Turquesa, and my guests are paying $1659 per person for their package (we used Transat Holidays). There are lots of resorts in the "under $2000" range - Ocean Coral & Turquesa, Riu Resorts, Bahia Principe, etc. When I first got engaged I was looking at Excellence, Secrets, Dreams, Now, Sandals, etc but my Mom told me that no one would attend my wedding since the rates were so expensive. Let me know if you need any help!

Yes, absolutely! This is what I'm doing also.

Just wondering if anyone has had experience with the resort's DJ or if anyone has booked him for your wedding? I've been waiting for 2 months for an email back from him to confirm his availability for my wedding.. but no response. Starting to get worried.

My wedding is in exactly 4 months from today! At this very moment I will be busy getting ready as my ceremony will be starting in less than 1 hour... time is flying by now. Anyone else notice that the closer the date gets, the faster time seems to go by? So crazy!! But loving every second of the anticipation.

My words of advice are to just think about how many bad wedding reviews you've read on this site... NONE! They all say that email responses are slow but once you get there everything magically falls into place. Just relax and know that they will give you the wedding of you dreams once you get there! Good luck I know waiting is hard... when I'm waiting for an email back I probably check my emails every 5 minutes looking for a reply. We're all crazy brides on here, but the ladies at OCT know what they're doing.

I've heard back from Pamela and YES you can mix and match from the different menus. She said that we need to choose one appetizer, main course and dessert for EVERYONE.. however they will make an exception for vegetarians and people with food allergies.