brownsugarbride

Yeah, as my friend reminds me, I have awfully expensive tastes! LOL

My big splurges are on photography and food/drink so I'm trying to cut back in other areas.

Another April 2014 bride here! We are getting married at the Blue Venado Beach Club in Playa del Carmen on April 25th. I can't wait!

I will stay on board then and have the best of both worlds!

ETA: I DID buy one thing other than my dress+deposits, a necklace at 65% off from J. Crew, but I'm not so sure I can wear it with my dress anymore. I'll just wear it for the engagement photos.

*bowing down to thriftiest and most budget savvy bride* People were excited to get my save the dates (especially the ones who didn't know I was getting married--LOL) but I too, wish I didn't have to pay for invitations. The ones I like are way out of my budget, and I'm not about to splurge on something that people are likely going to throw away. I was excited to DIY with my friend, but now all I can think of is the work! LOL

Well, my budget is a bit more $10K, but I still claim the title of second thriftiest bride on this thread! I promise you that in spite of being engaged since the end of January, I have not bought a single bridal favor, decoration, or gift! The only thing I've purchased (other than vendor deposits) is one or two magazines and entry to one bridal show. I got my friend to design my STDs and printed them out at Staples (paid for with a visa gift card). I hope to get a relative to do the invitations! LOL My wedding dress was a sample from the bridal store and I won a bridal headpiece. If I do a veil, my mom will either make it or I'll buy it from Light in the Box. I'm purposely being cheap because I am scared I'll start buying stuff and then have to throw it away if it doesn't fit in with my theme (which is still kinda up in the air).

Uh huh...no expensive at home reception for me! We're talking hors d'oeuvres at the most---no fancy sit down dinner.

One of my family members is throwing me a bridal shower. Since I plan to have an at home reception for those people who can't attend my wedding (or those that I couldn't invite), I think it'll be okay. I totally get where you're coming from, but I just want to celebrate with loved ones as much as possible. It's possible that I'll be eating those words by the end of this though!

Thanks to everyone for your great advice and input. Just to give everyone an update on what I decided: I will definitely be getting married off-resort, as I feel that is the best option for being able to have the flexibility and privacy that is important to me and my FH. We will be getting married at the Blue Venado Beach Club, and I am SO excited! We have also decided to book rooms for our guests at the Now Jade. It is about 30-35 minutes away, but I wanted my guests to have a quality, reasonably priced resort with lots of amenities. I'm excited that we will be able to bus them in for a special, private event. It makes it feel a little exclusive!

Your wedding looks fabulous!

Congratulations on your upcoming wedding! You may not have gotten any responses here because this is not the Riviera Maya section of the forums. Have you tried posting this question there? Your best bet is to contact a good travel agent with tons of destination wedding experience who can help you set things up with Riu or other resort that fits your criteria. I hope this is helpful!

You are welcome! I would check out the Riviera Maya boards in general, as you will get great feedback on vendors in the area. (If I recall correctly, Moon Palace is pretty restrictive about outside vendors, but I think there are ways to get around that, such as paying for a hotel stay for your photographer.) Also check out the reviews, as they can give you insight into what things to watch out for and even pictures of the different ceremony/reception sites. I am getting married on April 25th of next year and I am so excited!

Thanks for the information! I have found what seems to be a great service, but it's always good for my guests to have options!

Welcome and congratulations! I am not a Moon Palace bride, but there is a WEALTH of knowledge on these boards about the Moon Palace. Here are some great thread to get you started. First, the Moon Palace 2014 thread: http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/t/83792/moon-palace-2014 and then coconoir's famous planning thread and her review: http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/t/78847/coconoirs-planning-thread-pgs-1-8-final-review-templates-pgs-18-19 http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/products/moon-palace-golf-spa-resort-all-inclusive/reviews/5964

This cake is gorgeous! I love the silver accents!

Another idea for something old: incorporating a vintage item into your trousseau! There are some fabulous vintage stores around here with jewelry, bags, gloves, garters and more that would be great for brides to be.

Here is the link to the new thread for all Blue Venado brides: http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/t/87047/blue-venado-brides-post-here Please join us!

I soooo wish I could have done a villa wedding, but it was not in the budget. I would love to see more information in villas so that more brides are made aware of this fantastic option!

We already have our date and venue (Blue Venado Beach Club) set for our wedding---I am so excited! However, we don't want to stay at our AI, Now Jade for our honeymoon. So far, my top choices are Le Reve, El Dorado Royale, and Secrets Maroma. My criteria are great food, adults-only, romantic properties that will allow us both to relax! I don't need to stay in an AI. In fact, I would actually like staying somewhere that allows us to get into town and travel to various sites during the week. I'd love to hear from anyone that has honeymooned at these places. Also, I'm worried about not getting Le Reve because most people seem to buy it out for weddings. Also, does anyone know of specials that they are running for next year?

I would love to see your website and how your planning is coming along! I agree that guests waiting to book is super stressful. What some brides have done is to send out a reminder postcard to remind people of deadlines for passport applications, hotel booking, etc. You could do it through VistaPrint (as you note above) to cut down on costs. A friendly reminder email also works. There's also the option of calling and reminding folks to get on the ball!! As for me, a few things have changed since I last posted. I decided to get married for sure off-resort at the Grand Coral Beach Club. I was so excited until my planner told me that they instituted a new $2000 site fee! My fiancé was not amused, and we ended up going with the Blue Venado Beach Club just outside of Playa. We are really psyched. Although there are some great hotels in Playa, we knew our family and friends would prefer an all-inclusive option, so we reserved some rooms at the Now Jade in Puerto Morelos. Also, due in part to Blue Venado's growing popularity, the May dates I wanted were booked up.. So we ended up going with a date at the end of April. (I hope I can still post here!) So far, we have selected our planner (Dream Weddings), our photographer, our housing, and our venue. We also sent out save the dates to many guests. I also have my dress purchased. The big things left to take care of are the invites (a friend is designing them), the bridal party attire, the dj, the makeup artist, and the entertainment.

Ha! I hear you! However, don't feel bad, as I don't have any wedding credit cards either! LOL We are putting just about everything on debit cards so that we do have some recourse from the bank if something goes wrong, but still are debt free by our honeymoon. (Some things have to be paid with wire transfers, no getting around it.) I found a great local bank that not only has good customer service, it allows you to collect rewards for transactions.

I feel the same way. I don't want so many wedding contest I want all of my activity show up my friends' timelines. I don't think Facebook allows one person to have multiple personal accounts, but you can set up a business page or fan page under the same account. http://thewriteconversation.blogspot.com/2013/02/social-media-mondaycan-i-have-multiple.html

I'm not sure what package you got, but since Dreams is an AMR resort, you should be getting refunds based on the number of rooms (buy 5 get 1 free).

What are special sale seats? Are the just the normal specials that airlines run periodically?