UMassRN007

Soooo sweet!!!! Congratulations!!! Please share more when you get them

Hey there!! We're getting married at the Now Jade Riviera Maya on Jan 18th....I wasn't sure what my resort had available for décor (aside from flowers), so I'm bringing a bunch of stuff with me. Burlap table runners Hanging paper lanterns Place cards w/ shell holders Table numbers Guestbook DIY photo booth stuff Peach napkins Starfish cookie favors Hope this all fits in one suitcase!!!

January 18th!!!! It sneaks up fast lol..... I agree, it's hard to estimate how many will actually come. We invited the same amount that we would if we had a Boston wedding. I was expecting 60ish...

Will send soon! Sorry, for some reason I havent been getting notifications for this thread.

Let the freak outs begin lol, only one month to go!!!!!

Hey there, welcome!! Those are my locations as well I ended up going with Castaways because we have a very large group (invited 160, there are 89 confirmed!) and I thought we could use the extra space....though i'm pretty sure you can have dancing at bamboo too! How many people are you expecting?

They look fabulous!!! I've had them done twice now, and I just love how much it quickens up my morning routine. I also feel like I can get away with a lot less makeup and still look bright eyed

Quote:Originally Posted by Nicole Graf 6 was a little empty, not majorly awkward but if you can, I thought 8 was perfect! So now, here we go, my back and married post because today I am having the post wedding blues because it is over and I am sad lol. It was beautiful. They are doing a really great job! There were a few minor issues but nothing that I would say "God, they really messed up". We met Pilar the day we arrived (Saturday). She knows what she is doing and when she saw how I had everything prepared, she asked if I wanted to move to Mexico, she would hire me lol. I had everything in labeled bags and pictures of how I wanted it to make it idiot proof. Yes, I am controlling hehe. Anyway, she saw my seating chart and asked if I really wanted to use Castaways or if I was open to switching to the Bamboo Room because it would work better for our group. So we walked over to both locations and she was right. The Bamboo Room is beautiful and it was an easy decision for us. As for the payment. I had called my bank and they told me they would charge 3% foreign transaction fee. I remember we had the discussion here, which made me look at our statement from the deposit where we didn't pay the fee. So in my mind, there had to be a way around it. So I asked Pilar if we could pay the way we payed for the deposit. She told me it would be a different compartment but she would ask. She did, we payed and voila, 90 bucks in our pocket. On Sunday we had our welcome party, where we planned trips. That day I had my hair and make up trial. Holy cow, was I glad I did it. They use SO much make up. I am only 30 and you could see the wrinkles around my eyes because the make up was so heavy. So the day of I knew I had to tell them only eye make up, I take care of the rest. The hair trial was great. She didn't use my extensions but I got the point how it would look which was what I wanted to get out of the trial. I forgot who I had but she was sweet. Unfortunately, she barely spoke English, so when I tried to tell her she could use the fake eye lashes because I had more of them, she didn't understand and kept telling me we would use those on Wednesday. Somehow I managed to tell her "Tengo mas para Wednesday" and THEN she understood. The eye make up was good but my husband didn't really like it, possibly because the rest of the make up was so heavy. The day of though he loved it. Due to our trips we had to do rehearsal dinner the day of our bach parties right beforehand. So rehearsal dinner wasn't right after but the night before the wedding. We had it arranged at the buffet (my husband didn't like the buffet but he thought the restaurant food was good - I am less picky and was fine with buffet lol) but when we got there it was closed. Uhm. Ok? So we had a group of 21 people and nowhere to go. We ended up at the show buffet but the show was terrible and we couldn't all sit together, so there went the rehearsal dinner. Oh well. The day of we woke up at around 10am, ordered room service, and then went to the pool for like half an hour to see if somebody else was there from our group. I had to leave at like 11:15am because I wanted to be at the Spa at 12:30pm. For some reason I had no motivation. The weather wasn't particularly nice, so I got coffee at Coco and sat a little on the balcony just to relax. Of course then I ran into time problems lol because I still had to iron my bridal robe and I had a bride application for a white top that I still had to iron on. Once that was done I had like 20 minutes left to shower and blow dry my hair. Oh, and of course I had forgotten to do my eye brows beforehand so that needed to be taken care of as well. Anyway, it all worked out. At 12:20 my one bridesmaid came to bring all the dresses, while another was getting the flowers from the hotel entrance (they turned out beautifully!!!). We all got ready and everyone was happy with their hair and my make up was amazing as well! I felt so pretty. We decided to check on the decorations and while we were walking towards the Bamboo Room, I heard someone yell "Nicole?" We turned around and Sascha Gluck took the first picture. HE IS SO INCREDIBLY AWESOME! He was there super early, and hands down, was probably the best decision we made. We got a teaser pic already and wowsa, it is amazing! So after we checked the room, we walked back to my room and some of the girls did their make up, while my one bridesmaid tried to cover up the bug bites my MOH had. Holy shit batman, she looked terrible! Make sure you use some kind of bug spray at night! She ended up having to go to a doctor and got a shot in her bum because it got so bad. We ordered room service while we were at the Spa, so it came shortly after we got to the room. Then Sascha arrived and everything becomes a blur. Time ran by so fast. All I remember is we took all pics I wanted (and trust me, the lit was quite comprehensive, poor guy!) and at some point I realized, damn it, I am not wearing my earrings yet lol. Quickly it turned 4:45pm and we walked downstairs. We wanted to take pics at the bar but one of my bridesmaids checked the lobby first and thank God she did. Everyone was still there. But I was able to hide. Phew. Once they were gone, we took a few pics, none at the bar, but that is more than ok. When the bridesmaids walked in, I realized they played the wrong song but oh so be it. They played the right song for me so I was like eff it. When I got to my husband he told me that I chose the most beautiful dress and that my make up looked perfectly. I love this man! After that we just cracked up, because the minister was TERRIBLE. All he had to do was read the script I had provided but apparently that was really difficult lol. It didn't matter to us - we thought it was so bad that it was just funny. We walked out to LMFAO with sunglasses on and that was FUN! After the ceremony the sky turned dark grey. I just looked at Sascha and asked him, "It is gonna rain isn't it?" But he told me that it wouldn't. I trusted his judgment and it didn't. They know how to read the weather! So we took all kinds of pics, and Sascha made sure he took all the pics he wanted (he had the list on his phone lol). I lost my veil all the time because people stepped on it or it got caught somewhere but on this day, nothing mattered. I was in 7th heaven. <3 We saw a few pics on Sascha's camera and even without retouching them, they looked phenomenal. Can't wait to receive them! Then it was reception time. I snuck into the room right beforehand to make sure everything was how I wanted it. It looked amazing. They did a great job! All I had to do was tell them the cake topper is missing and the memory candle needs to be lit. But that was it. The next 3 hours went by so quickly. The waiters were awesome. Nobody was ever without a drink. The food was eh ok. We had the shrimp and scallops with lime vinaigrette (wasn't great), then I don't remember the second course but the steak was fine. And boy, the wedding cake was amazing! We had the cake testing the day after we arrived and it was a close call but we were happy with the almond and raspberry filling. We had wedding cake for the rest of our time there hehe. At 10 we ended the night with "Don't Stop Believing" and it was just amazing. After that we went to the sports bar and had the after party. We changed clothes though because as much as I loved my dress, I got really hot. A piece of advice if you go for a princess gown: The petticoat was a life saver! All in all, I cannot wait to see the pics and video. It was truly one of the best days of our life and I will never forget it! If you have any doubts on your mind - don't! They know what they are doing! HAPPY PLANNING ladies! Congratulations!!!! So glad to hear everything went well...Your post got me super excited!! I'm also excited to hear how good Sascha was, he'll being doing our wedding in Jan!! I started freaking out a little bit last week that I was spending the extra money on an outside photographer, but now i'm sure about my decision again lol..

Quote:Originally Posted by chi city Where are you having your reception with that many people? My wedding is not till June and we already have 52 ppl booked... I'm starting to freak out! We were estimating 40! We are doing castaways for our reception...I hear ya, I was not planning on that many people being able to come either lol...I'm sure its going to be a blast though...almost there!!!!!!!!! How's the planning coming along?

oooo i have never tried the mink!! do you have any pictures?

For those of you who have had or are having round tables, are you planning on doing 8 or 10 to a table?? darn seating assignment is driving me nuts. we have 84 confirmed guests!!

Quote:Originally Posted by Brandi Kohler Hi everyone! We got back on Thursday from our wedding which was on Saturday! It was amazing. The resort is beautiful. We were never once asked about the timeshare, plus they gave us our vouchers for wine and stuff. Once we got there, they took us to the preferred side, gave us the benefits but put us in a regular room. We called down to the preferred concierge and within 5 minutes moved us to a beautiful preferred room at no cost. We had the Divine package, which worked great for us. The only thing was that the romantic breakfast in bed we could have done without. It was better in the buffet. Also, we were having so much fun with our family and friends that we gifted our massage to my inlaws. The restaurants were some of the best food I have ever had, so we cancelled our romantic dinner also that way we could have dinner in a restaurant instead. Isela is great at her job. The only problem that we had was that instead of the mahi mahi with scallops, they gave us grouper. We didn't realize it until afterward. And they didn't label the appetizers so my allergic to seafood guest ended up eating a seafood appetizer by accident. I had Erica for my hair and she was great. It was exactly like my picture. All of my bridal party, plus hair for mothers, none of them liked their hair. We used the DJ from the resort and they were perfect. We also used Adventure photography. They were pretty good. Price was great. I would have liked "less posed" photographs. Some of them were horribly cheesy. But the ones from the reception were fun. Also, bring water shoes for the pools. The tiles are bad in some spots and my husband sliced his foot up pretty good! If anyone has any questions, feel free to ask! Welcome back, and congratulations!!!!!! Glad to hear things went well....send some pictures our way when you can!!

Quote:Originally Posted by remykion Arrrrggggghhhh fly out tomorrow! So excited xxx Wooohoooo soooo exciting!! Best wishes to you

Quote: Originally Posted by Deltabelle8 Congrats to all of the 2014 brides! I am getting married Jan. 18, 2014 in Jamaica at Sunset Beach Resort and Spa in Mo' Bay. Would love to hear how things are going for you all. I know I am starting to stress about the little things, but my excitement takes over and I just remember it won't be long until I am the new Mrs., which for me has been 2 years in the making (we woke up about a month ago and said lets go to Jamaica so I am definitely way behind!). But good luck to you all. Woohoooo congrats!!! Great time to start planning, I'm January 18th too!! I honestly would've been a nervous wreck planning a wedding in Mexico if it weren't for all the helpful tips from this site....as far as OOT bags, if you put OOT bags into the search bar you can find a TON of links to OOT bags that people have done, and usually they give great money saving tips on where to buy stuff Keep us updated on your planning!!

Quote:Originally Posted by meganator22 What's all of your ladies grooms and groomsmen wearing? You guys doing any unique cake toppers, decorations? How is that all coming along? What kind of shoes do you all plan on wearing? Hair up, hair down? Lol clearly I'm full of questions. Hahaha I'm excited for all of us...ad getting anxious Hello! You're right, it is creeping up fast! I guess I'm starting to get a little nervous that I haven't figured out all the little details yet. I think my groomsmen will just wear white linen shirts, khakis, and either sandals or sperrys. Found a cake topper on etsy that I might get that is made out of wire and says "we do". As far as other decor goes, I have burlap table runners and peach napkins, we're going to do white flower centerpieces. I think I may also do shell place card holders and possibly some paper lanterns. Still have no idea what to do with my hair!!! I Wanted to wear it down, but i'm freaking out a bit thinking about the wind/humidity....Maybe I could wear it down for the ceremony and sweep it into a low casual bun for the reception?? What details have you pinned down so far??!!

Okay gang, I finally got my eyelash extensions last week and I'm totally addicted!!!!! I figured I wanted to try them out while its still hot/humid, and when I'd be going swimming etc to see how long they would last. I got a groupon for B,Boutique (near boston), and after reading a bunch of yelp reviews I decided to give them a try. So, out of using latisse, falsies, and extensions, I would have to say I like the extensions the best. What do you think? Latisse Falsies Extensions

Thanks Shaylaj! The first week was rough, but its getting a little bit better!!!

Congratulations!!!! So sorry to hear about how sick you were Your pictures looked absolutely beautiful though, thanks for sharing your review!! Hope newlywed life is treating you well

Quote:Originally Posted by normas09 Hey guys! I've been off this website for a while since I was studying for my boards--- but now that I passed. I am back in wedding mode while I job hunt It's so nice to see so many of us New England ladies on here. UMassRN007- Time does fly.. next thing you know it will be January. It sounds like you do have a pretty good chunk of things organized and you are right you can't do much to a certain point until you get an accurate number of people going. The site with multiple stores for a gift registry is a great idea. Not sure if we are going to have one...but we are so far from even thinking about it. RaynDrop- St. Lucia is gorgeous! I went there year and loved it. It's going to be a beautiful wedding. Where did you get your OOT bags? I am in search of reasonably priced canvas bags but am not having much luck and I'm scared to order online without seeing how they look/feel. pongyang2001 - completely understand but just like UMassRN007stay positive and don’t try to take it personally. You will have a great wedding in the end. As for me ladies...I picked my date May 10, 2014 and location Grand Palladium Riviera Maya, MX, getting married at St. Francis Assisi in Xcaret. Finished sending out STD dvd's w/magnets in July. Have my wedding website up. Colors for my wedding will be fuschia/hot pink & royal blue ...I have an "hacienda" theme for the wedding. We have 7 BM and GM! UMassRN007- we had the same scenario I have a list of DIY and looking into things that I can get done without knowing how many people are coming...photographer, dj etc. Congratulations on passing your boards!! Such exciting news!! I'm dreading finishing wedding planning mid semester, but i'm just gonna push through and hope it all works out Best wishes with your job hunt!

Right now, just Bed Bath and Beyond....probably going to do Macy's and then maybe Pottery Barn too...I dunno, I wanted to pick somewhere where they have sales or coupons that people can use...I also wanted to give people more options. Any thought on Myregistry.com??? I heard you can tie a few registries into one site.... but then again, I dont want people to think I'm going overboard..

Is there a way to get zumba online?? I would love to throw a day or two of it into my cardio routine, but I dont want to join a gym...