brownsugarbride

Where are you having your wedding? Fire dancers aren't cheap, but resorts tend to charge an arm and a leg for just a few minutes. I think I'm paying somewhere around $750 for a 25 minute show with four dancers and four percussionists at my off resort location.

I take my ring off before I go to bed, or when I get in the house to relax (and mine is surely not as weighty as yours)! LOL..my mom is like: "You take your ring off???"

Definitely send everyone you plan to invite an invitation, whether they have planned to book or not! I think you can just send the same thing---don't drive yourself crazy! LOL

I have been thinking a bit about my honeymoon, and I'm pretty sure that I would like to stay at a non-AI so that I can enjoy great food in the area and get out and do more exploring than I would otherwise. I have heard so many good things about the service, food and accommodations at Le Reve! It was one of my top choices for my honeymoon after my wedding in Playa del Carmen, but unfortunately, they only have a 4 day window after my wedding for me to enjoy the hotel---and I'd still have to wait 2 days to go. Can anyone suggest a hotel that is like Le Reve (good food, nice but not over the top accommodations, and relatively quiet and private)?

You are right, Groupon has some excellent deals, both for AIs and non-AIs. I am thinking of going to a non-AI just so I can try some of the fabulous restaurants, whether I stay in PDC or go to Belize.

We are having a churro cart as a surprise for the guests, and I am so excited! My wedding planner assures me that it will be a huge hit, and I have no reason to doubt her! The one thing I am worried about is having a cake AND churros. I would rather not spend a whole lot on cake, when somebody is going to be frying up churros for half the night. What was your experience?

I am getting married in Riviera Maya, but the advice, tips and beautiful weddings here are so helpful to see! Pamela, your wedding really does look like a gorgeous dream! I am a colors girl (my wedding colors are shades of purple, aqua, and silver with pops of rust) and I LOVE what you did with your colors, and those necklaces are amazing! May I ask how arranged your cenote pictures? I would love to do something like that!

Le Reve is booked up already around the time of my wedding! *sigh* I wonder if I should drop them a line so that they can let me know if any rooms will be freed up (e.g. wedding room block isn't filled up).

Have you decided how you're going to get to Belize? I read about one bride who used a transportation service that took her and her hubby to the border, and then they took a water taxi to Belize. I don't know much about the country, but it sounds wonderful..

Free stuff thread: http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/t/87258/a-ton-of-wedding-freebies

Welcome back Rayn! By the way, I just posted a thread on free stuff for your wedding. You can register at a number of stores and get free things, even if no one buys anything off yor registry.

I am seriously thinking about Le Reve. It might be a bit challenging, given that people tend to rent the whole hotel out for weddings, but it looks so relaxing and the food is supposed to be fabulous! (My other option is Belize, but it's not clear that FH wants to do any more traveling during our weddingmoon.) Here is a great review of Le Reve from a wedding planner who recommends it as a honeymoon spot: http://runawaybridedestinations.blogspot.com/2012/10/dream-location-in-playa-del-carmen.html

I LOVE finding free stuff for weddings, and while doing a google search, I came across this great link: http://freebies.about.com/od/weddingfreebies/tp/free-wedding-stuff.htm In addition to the usual templates, the link has fantastic information on how you can get free gifts through store registries.

Congratulations on your engagement! Mexico has some very reasonable AIs. However, I checked out Mexican marriage laws, and it looks like there are no legal weddings in Mexico on Sundays. http://marriage.about.com/od/international/p/mexico.htm Have you tried getting in touch with a wedding planner in Jamaica? Or Turks and Caicos? They might have some good ideas about what possibilities are available.

I'm glad you and FH are on the same page! We are also paying for the wedding ourselves, which is why I feel perfectly comfortable doing things my way. For example, I am the only one who has access to any of the save the dates or invitations. My fiancé heard from his mom that Ms. such and such didn't get her save the date card. Of course, this person was not supposed to receive a save the date card in the first place! (We are waiting to see what the response to our save the dates is before we send out more invites.) At the end of the day, it's not just the money, although that's important. I want my wedding to have the people we care about around us, not just some folks that are there because they know our parents.

Postable has worked pretty well for me so far. Unfortunately, FH did not follow my instructions to send a link to each of his guests, but what can you do?

First of all, PLEASE don't apologize for venting. That's what we are all here for. Second, my sympathies are completely with you! Our dads are from Jamaica, and in addition to some personal reasons for not having it there (my parents are divorced), I knew that my FH's parents would try to invite half the earth!

Just spend a week on this thread---you'll be well on your way!

I want to come to your wedding!

I think that makes plenty of sense if you'll only be doing an hour! I should have mentioned above in my response to Tiarra that whether or not you want to have a dj depends on the length of your event as well. Our reception is going to be at least 5 hours, for example.

I am definitely getting a DJ. For me, it's important to have someone that knows what s/he is doing when it comes to music, responding to crowd dynamics, etc. Plus, by the time I searched out and downloaded all of the music that I wanted and rented speakers and other equipment, it would end up costing way more for me to have a DJ in terms of wasted time and the price of the music. We are also planning to have about 60 people at our wedding, which makes a difference. That said, many people have used their iPods for weddings with great success. Here's an article with some tips (don't forget to check out the comments: http://apracticalwedding.com/2009/09/djing-your-wedding-with-ipod/ There's also an app for iPods to help you dj as well. One thing I would advise is that you assign someone to man the iPod so you don't have to worry about it, and also have cds for backup just in case. I hope this helps!

Wonderful news! Blue Venado is really one of the more cost-effective off-resort options!

I got the impression that she stays in Playa del Carmen during the summer. That would be great if you could avoid travel expenses.

Mia- A mehendi sounds wonderful! I can't give you a recommendation from a personal experience, but here is an henna artist that has a portfolio of her work on her website: http://hennalounge.com/destination-henna/ I hope this helps!

My mom had suggested that we do it at our home. Now all we have to do is buy the house! LOL