TealMarie

Hi ladies, we got married at ERC in November and had an amazing time. I will post my review (which is insanely long) after this. Everyone uses these forums for help but once people are married, not many people hang around afterwards (which makes sense, I don't plan to either), so it can be hard if you're asking for advice from past brides when it's only people planning their weddings who are reading. I would recommend for you guys to go through this entire thread. I know it sounds crazy, but I did it and had a pen and paper to jot down notes, tips, etc and by the end of it, I had almost every question I'd wondered about (and some I'd never thought of) answered for me. I thought I'd answer some of the recent questions you had, if I'm able to. Bethbazzel - We went through a travel agent, who wasn't that great in the end but I still would recommend for people to go through one. They can answer all of those nitpicky questions your guests have about the resort, the flights, what to bring, etc. Most travel agents will be able to get you some sort of deal, like if you book 20 guests, you get one trip free, or something like that. If you don't do a private dinner for your reception, it wouldn't be weird but I'm not sure how easy it would be to go to one of the restaurants. We noticed that if we had a table of more than 6 people for the restaurants, it caused a bit of a problem and we usually had to wait a long time for our table. You'd have to ask Gloria if they can reserve tables at one of the restaurants for you for a certain time. JessT - Ampanda used the in-house photographers and she loved them. Look back several pages in this thread, as she posted some photos from her July wedding. We won a mini photo shoot with them during our honeymoon, so we had a half hour photo shoot. He was excellent to work with and the photos turned out amazing. We used the Gold wedding package so a wedding video of the ceremony was included. They film the entire ceremony and cut it down to around 20 minutes, but it included every part of the ceremony. It wasn't the best quality (or the worst), but you can hear everything we're saying and it's great to relive it. We've shown it to people probably half a dozen times (on their request, as they missed the wedding) and everyone loves being able to see the ceremony. IrishRose - We were going to have our ceremony at 4pm, but our photographers begged us to move it earlier because of the time of the sunset. The only way it would have worked for photos is if you do photos before the ceremony (first look, etc) and then just do half an hour of photos afterwards. The sun starts setting around 4:30pm and it's dark by 5pm, if I remember correctly. We had our ceremony at 2pm, which lasted until 2:30pm, then everyone is congratulating you afterwards, so we didn't start photos until 3pm. After the family photos it felt like we had little time left for photos of us and the wedding party. Sounds crazy but the time goes by so quickly. If you're not too concerned about getting a lot of photos, I wouldn't worry about it, but if you are, consider moving your ceremony time. I'm not sure if the other packages charge different prices, but each extra guest (above the 20 guest limit) is $45/pp. cdespres - I got married in November and it was a fantastic time of year! The weather was beautiful, sunny and warm but not too warm (around 30C), it wasn't as busy and it wasn't too hot for the wedding day.

Well ladies, we're back! We had an absolutely wonderful wedding, so much fun with friends and family and then a really relaxing honeymoon. I'm going to compile some guest photos and a review for the resort thread so I'll be back with pictures. How'd it go for everyone else? Lydia, you looked really beautiful and so happy. I'm glad everything worked out for you, it looks like all of your planning paid off!

Well, we leave tomorrow for ERC. Thanks to everyone who helped me out along the way on this forum. It really is greatly appreciated. I'll be sure to come back and post my review as those helped me out so much during planning. We're getting married! Yay!!

Ladies, we leave tomorrow and are so so excited! I'm pretty much all packed, just last minute appointments and what not. Hope everyone has a wonderful wedding and let's all come back here and share our days. I can't wait to marry him!

Quote: Originally Posted by jypsejenny We are flying Air Transat as well, we fly at 7am on Sunday the 17th :-) maybe I will see you there, we have some wacky bride/groom shirts for all of us so we won't be hard to spot lol That is definitely our flight! We will be the super grumpy ones Okay, if I see some weird coordinating shirts I will approach the women and say 'jypsejenny"? haha It will be a super super fun trip. Glad to hear your wedding party is full of fun!

Quote: Originally Posted by Lydia1120 Wow, that's quite the mani/pedi party. Sounds fun! Have a fantastic trip, an awesome wedding and a very fun time with your FI and family/friends!

Quote: Originally Posted by DinaQtobe Not even one week now! (til we leave anyway, a little over a week until the day of the wedding). I am doing a lot better this week. We got a lot of little things wrapped up, and packing is 95% finished. Huge relief to have that done. I just can't wait to be on that plane down to Mexico with my soon-to-be husband! (Hope the weather forecast improves for the Mayan Riviera - right now lots of rain for the week we are there! ) We're down there at the same time as you guys are, so I noticed the weather as well. I was hoping it meant light sprinkles everyday. Quote: Originally Posted by jypsejenny We fly out of Vancouver BC on Nov 17, so excited. Where are you flying from? I wish I was as organized as you lol I haven't even started to pack yet We're flying out of Van on Nov 17th as well. What airline? Ours is Air Transat. You still have time to pack, it'll get done. Quote: Originally Posted by MrsHK Don't fret too much about the weather! I've lived here for two years and it is almost always wrong. It has been sunny here for three days now, with just a little bit of rain at night that only last for about 20 minutes. For example, right now it says it is mostly cloudy but I don't see a cloud anywhere. Here's a webcam, where you can see what the weather actually is: http://www.webcams.travel/webcam/1306626123-Weather-Playa-del-Carmen-Playacar-Palace-Beach-Playa-del-Carmen I think there's a few different webcams on there for different areas along the coast. You are such a relief to let us know about the weather and earlier in the thread about customs, etc. Thanks so much for the reassurance. It's greatly appreciated!

We leave in a week and we're still deciding on songs for our ceremony. Oh lawd help me! lol. Or more like: Procrastinators unite!!....tomorrow. That's us. We have an eclectic mix of music in the ceremony so far: Cranberries, Sigur Ros, Beatles, Bob Marley. Just need an upbeat recessional song! MelB (I keep imagining you're a badass Spice Girl) - hope you're having fun in Jamaica and that you got everything packed! I feel like I'm nervous but I'm not sure what to be nervous about? When I think about it, all the important parts are sorted out. We got my FI a white shirt and dress shoes yesterday, despite his protestations that he would go shirtless under his suit as it'll be hot there! hahaha. I love him. We're finishing up our music playlist and that'll be the last item.

Quote: Originally Posted by ktie17 Teal Marie-- do you have a link to your photos yet? I am so torn between the hotel photographer or Juan Navarro?!?! Also, what did people select/recommend for the dinner meals for the reception? Thanks! Did you mean me or someone else? We haven't left for MX yet and we're using Victor Herrera photography.

Quote: Originally Posted by flo628 Has anyone found or know where to get cheap crossword puzzle/sudoku books? I was going to put mini ones in the OOT bags. PS- my 150th post!!!!!! I'm expecting confetti to fall from above and bells to ring as soon as I hit "submit". I found some at Michael's for $1 and at Dollar Tree for $1.

Quote: Originally Posted by karijean Well it's official ladies! My fiance and I are all booked for June 12th, 2014!! I am soooo ready for it to be here NOW! I just sent Gloria an email full of questions regarding questions about the bouquets, centerpieces, locations, menu, etc. (she already sent me the options to choose from) but I wanted to ask a few questions on here to see if you all knew! 1. Does anyone know how much DJ Mania costs? I read that that company is on that list of approved DJ's so there is no $500 fee correct? We aren't having a reception at home so I want it to be a fun time! 2. What is the name of the company of in-house photographer? I think Gloria sent it to me but I can't find it anywhere. I wanted to research them some. 3. I'm also curious about the groom's room night before the wedding, this would be very helpful. 4. Anyone know if you can have a slideshow played at the reception? TealMarie your day is coming so fast! I'm excited to see how it turns out! Thanks everyone! Congrats! From everything I've heard from past brides, you'll be so happy you booked there. I'll be sure to come back and post my reviews as well. I think I can answer some of these questions. 1. I believe he costs $1200 for the 4 hour reception. He's their 'in house' DJ so there is no $500 fee. 2. I don't remember. 3. I've asked about this and it's based on if there's a room available. I tried to book it beforehand but she said they'd look into when we arrive, so I'm not worrying about it. If we don't get it, he'll stay in his buddy's room. 4. Yes you can. It's $300 for the projector and $145 for the screen rental.

Quote: Originally Posted by lastminbride Hi Dina, Great to hear you are under $300 and that you'll take the receipts. You'll be covered then. I have not had a bad experience, but I know well how the customs officials work in Latin America. Also, goods are sometimes more expensive there than that we find online here, and so they don't believe the price of things (specially those that come from the $ star). If they see people with lots of baggage, they don't do the random check system (red/green light button - you'll see when you're there), they just pass you to inspection directly because it's likely you are brining in more than $300. Without the receipts, they can assign any amount they want to your merchandise. Anyway, good luck with the packing. The list sounds like a great idea! Sending good juju your way Dina! H What items are they focusing on? I'm assuming it doesn't include clothing, or else all of our wedding dresses would be over. Same goes for shoes, jewelry, accessories. I have receipts for the stuff we got for the OOT bags, except for now I see I may have lost a few dollar store receipts!

Quote: Originally Posted by jolene028 I had some major issues when I originally booked so me it wasn't so much negotiating but yelling until they have me something... I have read on their website that wedding dresses are no problem for carry on, but they don't have a closet so you will have to lay it flat in the overhead... my dress is huge once I put it in no one will be able to get anything else in there! LOL I am going tanning, I know that it isn't good for you, but a) I spent all summer in the shade to make sure that I didn't have stupid tan lines, and I figure a base tan before I go is better than a burn when I get there, because no matter what if I don't have at least a base I always burn... and I think that burning is worse then a few minutes in a tanning bed, or at least that is what I am telling myself... I totally understand going tanning just for a special event. I definitely didn't mean it as putting down anyone who is doing it, just explaining why I'm not getting a base tan when in a lot of ways it would be smart to. Burning is definitely the worst and I hope that I slather on enough sunscreen to avoid it. Quote: Originally Posted by Lydia1120 Do you know how long the spray tan lasts? We arrive Saturday and I get married on the Wednesday. Also, won't swimming in the pool and ocean take it off? That's part of the reason for the trial this week. I want to see how long it lasts. I've had some before that have lasted 8 days and I'm going to a place where they airbrush it so it lasts longer, instead of just the stand up automated spritzing. (that always makes me think of Ross in Friends getting his orange spray tan on one side) We have a similar schedule to you, arriving on Sunday and wedding on Thursday. Swimming in the pool and ocean definitely will make it fade but the lady I'm going to says you can use this extender lotion? I'm not sure, but I'm willing to try it to see how it works. So all in all, a spray tan is probably not the best idea and using a tanning bed would last longer. I'll let you know how my trial goes

Quote: Originally Posted by Lydia1120 It's funny you say the "bride charm" until I read your post, I thought that I would just pull it out at the airport and they would probably let me by...good thing I read it..lol. I got the Option Plus as well....we also got free seat selection for all our guests after we booked 70 people on the same flight...albeit I had to make a fuss to get it. I'm not very good at negotiating. It goes something like this, "It'd be wonderful if we could have an extra piece of luggage since we're the bride and groom and have helped book all these guests on Air Transat flights." Travel agent "I'll see how much first class will cost you." Me in a small voice, "nevermind...." Nice that you got your guests free seat selection! We didn't have nearly as many guests, so we didn't get anything additional unfortunately. Option plus sounds good though. I don't think they'll care that much at the airport that we're on our way to our wedding because I imagine there will be 7 other couples on our same flight that are as well. I do however think they will help me out with my dress. I've heard they have a special bride closet on the planes, but even if they don't I've shoved it in a pretty small overhead bin already with not much of a problem. Quote: Originally Posted by Lydia1120 Any of you ladies going to a tanning bed now before we leave? I'm reading all about that and thinking that maybe I should go...hmmmm thoughts? I'm getting a spray tan and then using tanning lotion to extend that until the wedding. I promised my Mom a long time ago to stop going to tanning beds. Depending on how soon your wedding is after you leave, a spray tan could look really phenomenal! I'm doing my trial tan in two days to make sure it's not orange.

Quote: Originally Posted by Lydia1120 Good thing you mentioned that $15 /kg....I will make sure to ak more carefully now and ask family to take stuff for me. Did Transat offer you extra weight? We have an extra 10 lbs each Glad to help if I can. I did try to bride charm an extra luggage out of our travel agent but she is a bit useless (although nice). We purchased 'Option Plus' which gives you an extra 10kg per person, as well as seat selection, some alcoholic drinks, snacks and meals on the flight, priority boarding and check-in.

I don't know how you girls are staying so cool. I'm losing my mother freaking mind here. Granted, I was cool up until yesterday when I realized it was 3 weeks until we leave. WhaaAAaa?! I'm starting to make last minute decisions like: We need a welcome dinner; NO slideshow - ain't nobody got time for that; and we NEED a wedding video! So yeah, going bride crazy here. I'm finding it simultaneously entertaining though as in reality I'm really prepared and I know I'm just working myself up because I'm anxious to get married. No card box here and there'd be no room for it. We'll go with the good old fashioned, place your cards on a table. Our luggage weight limits are so restrictive and the penalty is really high (FYI if you're flying Air Transat, look up the weight limits. It's 44lbs/person with a $15/kg penalty!), so I'm trying to be really choosy of what we bring. Plus I'm getting other people to bring stuff for me in a way. Like I asked my SIL to bring hairspray since I knew she would and I only need it for W day. I also have 2-3 days of straight up beauty appointments before we leave. It takes a lot of work to look as good as we ladies do, amirite? lol Jenn - I hope you get everything done on time. You sound like an organized person, so I'm sure you will. I really hope everyone can come back and give a quick recap of their day and vacation, even if it's without photos. It'd just be nice to hear how things went for everyone as I feel partially invested in all of your weddings and I hope they go wonderfully!

Quote: Originally Posted by HNeal I'm glad to hear Gloria has been great! We already have our date booked and I pretty much know what details I want so maybe I will just get it settled now. TealMarie you may have already posted this earlier but what are the details of your day? Our ceremony is at 2pm at the beach gazebo. The cocktail hour will be at Las Olas and the reception in the Foyer. I know a lot of people have said the Foyer is incredibly hot but from what I can tell they had their weddings in the summer, so I'm hoping it's a bit cooler in there. I have no problems answering any other questions you might have. I've read through this thread and I feel like I've asked Gloria about everything you could think of, so I'm happy to share

Quote: Originally Posted by HNeal TrishaJ34- You look amazing! Your sunset photos are amazing! We decided on keeping our wedding date and having the 1pm ceremony. You are correct about the wedding being unpredictable so I am just gonna go with it. TealMarie- You must be beside yourself with excitement! How far in advance did you choose your ceremony and reception location? Gloria told me that I did not need to decide until a month before the date but I am worried that the options would become more limited if they get picked by another bride before me. As soon as we decided on this resort and wedding date, I emailed Gloria with our choices for ceremony, cocktail hour and reception locations. I think you need a hotel reservation number to actually reserve it. You probably can wait until a month before but I didn't see the point in waiting and I like having things organized. By the way, Gloria is awesome to deal with. Hope you have fun planning!

Quote: Originally Posted by CdnBrideJoanne I've also found the individual packets crazy expensive. Dollarama sells medication bags (like ziploc bags but much smaller), so I am making labels for those and just dispensing them once I get to the resort. You need to travel with the medication in the original packaging... I'm going to do Tums, Tylenol, Advil and Immodium. This is what I was thinking of doing, but I wasn't sure what to put them in. Thanks for the tip on bags at Dollarama!

Quote: Originally Posted by TrishaJ34 Hi there! I got married at 5pm. Some of the best pictures we got were at sunset during/after the reception. We played in the ocean that day until about noon for me/1pm for other people. Then we got ready and enjoyed the reception, then closed out the 'disco'. It was really hot mid-day and then it clouded over and the breeze picked up for the ceremony. We didn't need sunglasses and it was not too hot. Our ceremony was 7/12. I still think it would have been fine at 1pm, but I'm glad I had the 5pm slot. You are still so far in advance, I would think you'd be able to change it without too much disruption. I guess the weather is unpredictable and you never know what you'll get. You'll have so much on your mind leading up to the wedding, pick the option that that will ease your mind the most. Good Luck! (A few of our sunset pics below). Amazing sunset photo! You look stunning. Thanks for sharing. We're less than a month away and getting so excited!

I have purchased SOOOO many things on Etsy. I love it and have only had an awesome experience on the site. Some of the many things I have purchased: Mongrammed bracelet for my bridesmaids: https://www.etsy.com/ca/transaction/106685909?ref=fb2_tnx_title Succulent boutonnieres from Lulus Awesome Blossoms with a different bout for each guy. https://www.etsy.com/ca/listing/159901408/succulent-boutonnieres?ref=shop_home_active Hubby to be's tungsten carbide ring: https://www.etsy.com/ca/transaction/146010409?ref=fb2_tnx_title Locket for my Mom: https://www.etsy.com/ca/transaction/147305741?ref=fb2_tnx_title Flower for my hair. She even incorporated lace from dress into the flower! https://www.etsy.com/ca/listing/62847858/champagne-brunch-small-bridal-hair?ref=shop_home_active Custom cufflinks for my Dad with picture of us and special quote: https://www.etsy.com/ca/transaction/148777228?ref=fb2_tnx_title Infographic wedding programs! She will customize anything for you. https://www.etsy.com/ca/transaction/153756111?ref=fb2_tnx_title Handkerchiefs for our parents: https://www.etsy.com/ca/transaction/153765956?ref=fb2_tnx_title Bracelet for my MIL https://www.etsy.com/ca/transaction/156631703?ref=fb2_tnx_title Earrings for wedding day: https://www.etsy.com/ca/transaction/156633593?ref=fb2_tnx_title

We leave in one month today! Oh.my.goodness. I'm so excited!

Quote: Originally Posted by sharmer struggling to find the individual packs of things (pepto, advil etc.,) in canada, can anyone help a canuck out?? I'm having the same problem. I looked at Costco, but they didn't have anything individually wrapped. Now I'm thinking of getting those small, round pill containers and just putting all the different pills for each couple in those with an attached info sheet. (ie: pink tablets - pepto bismal, directions; brown tablets - advil, directions and medicine content, etc)

Quote: Originally Posted by Jenn963 TEALMARIE!! You couldn't have said it better.....I needed to read this lol....i think i've become so super stressed and bridezilla ish with this wedding...i'm 24 days away from departure.....i have things like "oh my god i have to cut my aisle runner down from 100ft to 30 ft!!" running through my brain at like 2am...and i immediately get up and write it in my iphone as a reminder so i wont forget...lol. we chose a destination wedding BECAUSE it was supposed to NOT be stressful...but i'm such a control freak that i've made an obsession out of this wedding! I have guests that say they're coming and have YET to book...which irritates the crap out of me because I don't want to bring too many OOT bags (if they dont show) and i also don't want to not have an OOT bag for them (if they decide to come last minute). Awww, I'm glad I could help you feel better. Remember that if you don't get something done, no one will notice it's not there but you and you'll be too busy to notice anyways. I would stop buying stuff for your OOT bags and bring enough for the people you know of now. Tell the other guests (if they do end up making it) that you're sorry you don't have one for them because you finished making them a month ago. Oh well, too bad for them and in the end not a big deal. When do you have to give your caterer final numbers for the wedding? That's what I'd be annoyed about with the possible show/no shows. All that being said, I'm waiting for my meltdown as well. I like what Jolene said, we're doing these destination weddings for less stress and more fun so let's start that now!

Quote: Originally Posted by hezmshaw Do you think confetti/sparklers/whatever are necessary for a beach wedding?? I can't decide. What about a cake knife? That seems a little unnecessary, one of those little details that just doesn't matter that much... I'm clearly mid-panic attack, 29 days until we leave lol... I didn't sleep more than a few hours.. been up since 3 thinking about what i still need to do. What's an escort card?? I'm googling wedding checklists and it keeps coming up. I seem to be reconsidering things I've dismissed before.. aisle decor, for example, I was happy with chairs with sashes and a nice canopy, maybe that would be plain? I don't know! AAH! Wedding is tooo close! This is happening to me too. I keep wondering if I "need" this or that. After reading a lot of forums, tips and advice from past brides, most of them wish they hadn't purchased cake knives and unnecessary things like that. You won't remember it and more than likely your resort has one or two floating around that you can use. I talked myself out of aisle decor a long time ago. What I liked the most is the view of the beach and the water, it's already beautiful enough. No sense stressing yourself out and lugging more stuff down there. Just try and think of what's most important for the day: you, the groom, the marriage licence, officiant, vows, guests, food, drinks and good music. These are the things I remember from other people's weddings and just the general vibe from the wedding. I was in my brother's wedding last summer and the day after I couldn't even remember if they a cake at all! I had an absolute blast at it though. Your guests are there for you, not for elaborate decor, so don't stress over it.