brownsugarbride

Are all four people in the same household?

Sofia: This is super helpful! Thank you so much!

Not at all! LOL I do have a smaller budget, but I think it's up to ME to massage that budget. And by massage, I mean deep tissue, ROLF and pound to figure out how to fit him in! LOL

An update: I told my mom about the situation with the off-resort wedding, and from the little that I told her, she seemed to think that it was a great idea! The thing that I have to figure out now is whether I want to travel a little further (30 minutes away) and save a lot of money or stay 5 minutes away (nearly double the cost!!)

Ladies, I truly appreciate your support! I think I'm lucky in that my family and friends have honestly been quite supportive, but I've been running around trying to figure out how to please everyone (even those who don't even know I'm GETTING married) that I'm starting not to enjoy the process. I'm getting to marry the man I love! As I may have said earlier, a friend told me that she realized early on that she could not please everyone and she and her husband decided to stop trying. Cherina-I cannot WAIT to see the pictures from your wedding. Jamaica is beautiful and I have a feeling that your wedding is going to be the party of the decade!

I've been comparing online prices of resorts in PDC and Puerto Morelos, and it seems like the resorts in PDC are a lot more expensive! I'm hoping to have my wedding offsite in Playa, but the prices, even of the more reasonable resorts like Playacar Palace may be a real obstacle!

Absolutely! It had never even occurred to me NOT to pay transportation costs for the guest to the hotel! Thank you for the advice, even if I got it too late! LOL LOL

I'm feeling a little bummed today. While my family has been very supportive of a DW, I got some pushback from a family member about having a destination wedding offsite. As in: "why are you making everyone pay for an expensive resort if you're having a wedding outside of the resort? Why go to Mexico then?" Another friend told me it it was going to be a lot of trouble to do an offsite wedding. Don't get me wrong, I DO think a resort wedding is generally a bit cheaper, but you also can get nickeled and dimed there with outside vendor fees, etc and can have less flexibility in having the wedding that you want. There are tradeoffs either way, no? I've been trying to find the most cost-effective resort possible, but it made me feel like I was being selfish for wanting to have a more private event and give people a different experience. The plan is to do a fun rehearsal dinner at the resort and then the wedding offsite. I've got a great and knowledgeable planner who is helping me pull things together, and I really feel like this is the right way to go for me. Add to that that I made the mistake of sharing the (very high!) prices of my preferred photographer and I really think I need to keep things to myself for awhile! LOL

I hear you on the cocktail hour costs! I'm going to be having my wedding off-site, and I really don't want to pay for a 5-hour open bar, especially given that a decent minority of folks won't be drinking in the first place!

Has anyone had Grand Coral provide their cake? Was it any good?

Great ideas!

simpsondunn-Absolutely gorgeous!!!

It looks like I may be having my wedding at the end of April in Riviera Maya. Can anyone tell me about typical weather patterns during the time? I really like warm weather, and I'm hoping it will be warm, even in the evenings!

Are you paying for a private bartender or just to have drinks? If I recall correctly, the former is much more pricey than just having the waiters run to the bar to get drinks for you.

I'm glad you cleared that up and that your FH apologized to you. All is well that ends well!

I am *this* close to picking my final wedding venue in Riviera Maya (yay!) and I really want to create a sense of excitement when my guests receive their invitations. Many of them don't even know that I'm engaged (tee hee!) so I know that my STD will definitely create a little excitement anyway. I really want to start letting them know that they are in for a wonderful experience and that their presence is greatly appreciated. I would love any ideas that BDW brides and grooms have regarding creating some excitement with my STDs! Some ideas I have are: 1) Writing our name in the sand (or doing this on the computer) with the date and location. Send this as either a card or a postcard. 2) Sending a luggage tag with #1 or a Mexican-themed design/background 3) Including an RSVP card with options to pick their favorite song that we'll play during the weekend.

You are welcome---I hope one of them works out for you!

That sucks! Keep us updated on your progress!

Jade: Congratulations on your engagement---ow exciting! Please see this thread for recommendations about excursions, including a lobster dinner. That would be so cool and different to have your wedding and then a sunset boat tour! Welcome to BDW!

When I was talking to wedding planners here in the U.S., they really emphasized the importance of bringing in an outside photographer. I'm not sure if you're going with a resort or not, but they said that every bride that used a resort photographer tends to be really disappointed. Each planner suggested flying in your own photographer that you feel comfortable with. I get the sense that there are proportionately more good wedding photographers in Mexico compared to some of the Caribbean islands, but I'm sure you can find someone down there that is great if you do your research. Who are you thinking about using?

They are definitely one of my top contenders! We will see who is available and who I can afford after we secure a venue!

Yeah, I would have been giving them all the O___o for that one! LOL

Grand Coral Beach Club is in Riviera Maya, Mexico. I think it's such a beautiful location! Here are some pictures from Del Sol---although let's be honest, they seem be able to make any venue look amazing! LOL

This wedding looks awesome! I always get great ideas from every planning thread, and I KNOW I'll be borrowing some ideas from this one! I especially love the idea about having the all white party for the rehearsal dinner or welcome party. I was thinking about doing it during the wedding, but this sounds even better. This is why destination weddings rock---it really helps you think outside of the box and come up with great new twists on different ideas.

Wait---hold up! I don't mean to start anything, but I reread your post. You mean this woman didn't ask you to be in her wedding, but she assumes that she's going to be in yours? Color me confused!