brownsugarbride

I was just doing a google search on more private wedding spots in Riviera Maya, and this hotel came up on the list. Any other thoughts on this property?

I bet you didn't pay attention from the looks of your gorgeous profile picture! You and your hubby look so happy!

I love Tuscany and your wedding sounds amazing! You sound much happier about this decision and that is really all that counts. I'm not sure if you've going to Florence, but there's a fabulous bike tour with wine tastings and lunch that I would highly recommend.

One of the reasons that I wrote off a destination wedding (at first) was because I always thought I'd have a vocalist at my wedding, and I figured that would be difficult in a place that I didn't know. Well, I'm thinking about it again and wondering if anyone has used a live soloist in your RM destination. They'd have to be GOOD, as I come from a musical family! I'm trying to think creatively (music schools, etc.). I wouldn't mind a song in Spanish (though everyone there doesn't speak it), though I'd prefer something in English. Some ideas for songs that I have to walk down the aisle to or have sung during the ceremony accompanied by acoustic guitar: Adele-Feel My Love (or the George Harrison version) Jennifer Hudson-You Pulled Me Through Glenn Jones-In You https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kTqbXjoM4E I'm open to other songs..but am I asking too much here? Is this even more than a remote possibility? If I could pull this off, that would really make this a dream event for me.

My uncle was saying the same thing...things look much more private than they are in reality. The fountain and seaside look more private than the beach, but maybe not?

Hi Tiarra: I think these are all great tips and a nice reminder of what is important. The biggest thing I think anyone can do is to trim the guest list.That's the biggest driver of costs, and what gets brides in the end. I'm really going to have to take a hard look at mine. I would also say that DIY can be fabulous, but a lot of brides get caught up in the excitement and possibilities and waste money on DIY that someone else can do for cheaper or start DIY before they choose their overall theme. Keeping this in mind, I too, am thinking carefully about what DIY will work for my wedding that won't have me spending more than I want. The last thing is invites and save the dates. I love all of the fabulous invitations that I see, but you can do great things and save lots of cash by going to Costco or if you have a graphic designer friend, getting them to help you with invites. On basic rooms...a lot of times, it sounds like you get good upgrades anyway---especially with a good travel agent! LOL I hope this helps and I can't wait to see your tips! P.S. I used to live in WI too!

I haven't thought as much about that part, but a really good place to get some ideas is the offbeat bride website. It's very inclusive of all brides, and has some really good members that think way outside the box (or even just a little).

Ha! My dad said the same thing to me about shoes! (Please note that he's from the Caribbean.)

Hilarious!

Is anyone choosing to get married off of the beach. NOW Jade appears to have some really nice off-beach options!

Another May 2014 bride here! I got engaged at the end of January, but I was thinking that I'd have the wedding either in our current city or in my hometown. After looking at prices in both places and realizing that I'd have to spend a lot more than I wanted/could to get the event that I wanted, I started to revisit the idea of a destination wedding. At first I thought: 'there's no way to get the personal touches that I want at a destination wedding'. However, this board completely blows that out of the water. I'm seeing lovely, personalized events at a variety of budgets---just what I'd like! Then came trying to decide on a place (see my introductory thread)! My dream is to have a Caribbean Carnaval type of wedding---complete with food, dancers and music. I was really loving the idea of St. Lucia, but I think price-wise, it's going to be a bit much for my guests---and there aren't as many direct flights. Also, there doesn't seem to be quite as much choice compared to my current top-runner, Riviera Maya. I haven't ruled out the Bahamas or Puerto Rico, but I really think Riviera Maya gives me the best of all worlds---good food, culture, and easily accessible by plane from the East Coast. Futurefiler87-We are in the same place. I really need a place that has great food, will allow outside vendors, has a modicum of privacy (LOL) and also allow me to stay on budget. One of my friends says that I will be dithering for months on this and I need to get moving. I already have some photographers in mind, and I don't want to miss out on them! Congratulations to all of the May 2014 brides!!!!

Great thread! Your budget tips are fantastic. I know that a whole lot of my budget will go to hiring a fabulous photographer, so any way to save is much appreciated.

I was looking at Azul Beach---are they charging a lot for outside vendors?

Thanks so much Lynda! There is so much to choose from, but I feel confident that I'll make a great decision with the help of my friends and the great participants on this forum. I'm so glad I found this place!

This is an amazing journal and beautiful wedding! Thank you for providing so many useful reviews and tips!

This is absolutely exquisite! I would bet that none of your friends has seen anything like this before!!

I love this thread! You ladies have some fabulous stuff! My big issues with Etsy is trying to wade through all of the offerings. Some of these items I wouldn't have thought to search for, but would potentially be great additions to my decor. I suppose this is why Etsy started their weddings page, but the small vendors were in an uproar over the whole thing. Any tips on navigating Etsy for wedding items?

Absolutely not! From what I've been reading, not only is the hotel markup on vendors often ludicrous, but the quality is often mediocre in comparison. (To be fair, some brides have gotten great work from their resort vendors.) I personally have a particular vision for my photography that a resort vendor isn't likely going to be able to carry out. Thus, I'll be going to a venue that values my business enough to work with me on bringing in outside vendors.

Hi all: I was talking with one of my friends about flying down to RM/Cancun to scout out wedding locations. We're trying to save money, so we would have to do everything in one trip. My concern is that by going down to scout out places, that wouldn't leave any opportunity to have a tasting. Since the food is one of our top priorities, this would NOT be good. On the other hand, I'm a little nervous about picking a hotel/AI site unseen, especially given comments about some hotels being much nicer than they appear in photos (or visa versa). I would appreciate any thoughts, previous experiences, or other comments on this one!

Hi Tracy! I too, am a 2014 bride. I've been to Jamaica many times, but one half of my family is from there, so it would be hard to recommend resorts. My advice, for what it's worth, is to pick a place that will take advantage of the wonderful ingredients available in Jamaica, rather than do an 'Americanized' type of cuisine. (I'm biased, but Jamaican food really is some of the best around.)

I am sorry that I missed all of these great-looking webinars! I hope that you will be doing some more very soon, as I am having trouble narrowing down my options.

Hi all: I've been reading this forum for a couple of weeks. There is such fantastic information on here and I am so grateful! A little about me: my wonderful hubby to be asked me to marry him at the end of January. We hope to marry in May of 2014. We thought about marrying in my hometown or our current city, but we're likely opting out of them for different reasons (the biggest one being cost)! We are strongly leaning toward a destination wedding, but my sweet man is begging me to narrow it down to a country! LOL We are both of Caribbean heritage, and it's important for us to have that reflected in our wedding. I also think that a destination wedding will allow us to share our love of travel with family and friends, and also cut down on the guest list (I don't care what anyone says about budget weddings, guest count is where the costs really start adding up)! Also, May is the shoulder season for the Caribbean, and it would allow me to get married outside and save on some of the costs. It's also warm, and I do NOT like the cold! Here is my dilemma: where do I choose?? Jamaica is a no-go for us. I would love, love, love to do St. Lucia and there appear to be a couple of well-regarded wedding planning services (e.g. Dreamy Weddings and Awesome Caribbean Weddings) that would allow me to have a beautiful, personalized wedding at a fraction of the cost that it would be in the United States. However, the ticket costs seem like they could be really exorbitant for our guests and the flight would be long. Also, it seems that the choice of resorts in various price points is a bit more limited. On the other hand, Riviera Maya seems like a nice alternative---Caribbean Sea, a variety of properties, and we both love Mexico. On the other hand, I worry about having a cookie-cutter wedding with little privacy and hassle about bringing in my photographer (for example). We LOVE good food, and I haven't been reading the best things about AI resorts and their food. I also would want a DJ that would keep the party going with fun line dances, salsa, and soul music. I fear that getting what I want would end up being very pricey, and I don't have the time to plan a wedding piece by piece. Another huge issue is my makeup and hair. I'm African American and I have locs, and worry that no one would be able to handle my hair at a Mexican resort. I don't know---perhaps the Bahamas would be a better compromise (though those tickets seem crazy expensive sometimes too)! Well, I'm sure that I sound all over the place, but I've found that sometimes getting a new perspective can really help clarify things. At the end of the day, I'll be married to the love of my life! And isn't that all that really counts?

I know this thread is more than seven months old, and hopefully you've found some resources. We are considering St. Lucia ourselves, and there are two resources online that may be helpful, as they are both wedding planning companies that arrange weddings offsite from the major resorts. The first is Dreamy Weddings, a company recommended to me by a personal friend: www.dreamyweddings.com. They do weddings on a number of Caribbean islands, including St. Lucia. The second is Awesome Caribbean Weddings at awesomecaribbeanweddings.com. They specialize in weddings on St. Lucia exclusively. They appear to have some great options for wedding and reception sites that won't break the budget.