tygrrlily

@@colivia - Can you post on the quality of the different tumblers when you get them pls

Thought I'd pass this code on incase any of you were also planning on using them for your OOT bags! They have super cute totes - I've been waiting for this code for a while! Now to decide which design to get! Hmm

I am jealous of you ladies that have the plated option ! We have to pay something extra like $35pp if we want plated, so we're just sticking with buffet

I'd go with the beef tenderloin personally. We tend to associate chicken with cheaper too haha Can you ask your resort if you give them the numbers in advance, if you can have both? Then you can put the info on your invites and have people choose

For any of the Beach Palace brides that have gotten married already at the Sky Deck. Can I ask if they somehow "privatized" the reception area? When we were there it was VERY open and people could easily walk across. I was just wondering if they kind of blocked off or deterred in any way other guests from entering? I saw on some people's pics it looks like the buffet is set up on one side. How about the other? Also, did the music on the public sky deck side interfere at all with the music/events on the private side? Thanks!

My dress was actually my first thing haha. I went dress shopping the week after getting engaged, and bought my dress within 2 weeks - you can tell what I was excited for! I think next were our invitations. It was after that that it became "real" to me

Haha yes. Weddingbee is a whole different world. I read some threads and lurk sometimes, but it's a bit catty/crazy sometimes. Also, I find destination weddings are very particular, so I'm very grateful to have found this forum where everyone is so helpful! I think my FI is happy too because it means he has to hear less wedding chatter from me @@acw271011 - Have you finalized your dress choice yet? @@kmk2016 - I'm going w/ Cara Bridal for my replica but I haven't ordered it yet. Will prob do so sometime in July once I get measured properly. I liked her responses better than babydressonline (who never replied to me about sending production pictures)

@@acw271011 - Most of the Maggies I saw were under 2000 in Toronto. I tried on some at Ritche and Beckers, including 2 blush pink ones. Also you should sign up for email lists because some stores have trunk shows or other discounts where you can save 10% or so My budget was $2000 for a dress and I ended up buying a sample dress for under that! Luckily my best friend's mom is a dress maker and she is going to do all my alterations for me! My mom bought my dress for me, and the budget was firm. But she wants me to have a reception dress and I had to buy a Chinese dress for our engagement party too - so it will all add up to about $2200 I think @@kmk2016 - I can't wait to see how your Gemma turns out. I've been reading the weddingbee jasmine thread and the Gemmas look amazing! I love blush dresses

I'm definitely going to try and resell mine. It's a designer dress (Monique L'huillier) so I should be able to sell it for something hopefully

@@kcole123 - Kristy, I have mine already because I bought a sample! So it's in my closet. Good thing is that I can take it out every now and then and try it on and make sure it still fits

Thank you ladies! I'm happy with my dress now, and only sometimes look at the pic of the other one haha I went to about 7-8 stores in Toronto, I think, and none of them concealed the brands or names of the dresses. They were actually all really helpful in writing down style names and numbers along with the prices!

Our first TA steered us against Westjet too because they required higher deposits up front. We ended up going with who was cheapest for us which was Air Canada Vacations. We actually ended up putting down deposits for 10 rooms the way we would have with Westjet!

Hello ladies! We got back from our site visit last night and wanted to give an update! Overall we had a fantastic time. Beach Palace is a really nice hotel, and the service was definitely great. In terms of the actual Site Inspection, I honestly didn't find it that helpful. Maybe because I've done so much research and basically read this whole thread through twice haha, but I found I already knew a lot of the info. Suzette, one of the wedding coordinators there, took us for a walk through and she was very nice. It took about 45 minutes total, and while I already knew most of the info, I do think it was good for my FI to hear since basically I've been planning this whole thing! I'm also glad we got to see all of the spaces - I think it will make planning the wedding a lot easier. Our overall impression of the hotel is good and looks just like the pics . It's VERY clean! Good service overall. Some of the waiters and waitresses were so so good. We tipped generously and we had great service. We had a regular king size lagoon room and we were happy until we saw the ocean view rooms and saw the view haha. We got a tour of an ocean view room and a presidential suite, and we were pretty wowed. We're paying for an ocean view for sure - makes a huge difference - and we're hoping we get upgraded to the presidential suite!! That room is completely baller and apparently there are 24 (I think it was) so we're crossing our fingers. The beach is amazing. Perfect turquoise blue water and white sand. This was really important to us, so we were happy with that. No problems getting a chair or towel or anything. We also really liked the sky bar area. It's low season right now so it wasn't busy at all, and I think it'll actually be better when the hotel is a bit busier. There wasn't a lot of entertainment (we only had 1 real show while we were there), but we're hoping there will be a bit more going on in December. Our young guests will go out, but we don't want our parents and older people to be bored in the evenings. The weakest point to us was probably the food. We thought the breakfast and lunch buffets were very good, but the a la cartes at dinner didn't really impress us very much. The food wasn't bad, it just wasn't that great either. I'm a huge food person though, so maybe my expectations were too high. Of the 3 (Italian, Asian, Grill), I thought the Grill and Italian were best and Asian last. Oh and another weak point - the elevators are absolutely awful. Really slow, poorly calibrated and teeny tiny. So there were always line ups for the elevators, and it looked like clown cars every time the doors opened. But overall, everything else was good and it was these 2 smaller points we weren't happy with. On to the WEDDING stuff. The sky terrace is amazing. I can't wait to get married up there. It's going to be absolutely beautiful. I think she said it can fit up to 150 people or something like that. I also like how it's super private, but you get the gorgeous view of the ocean. Really really nice. We're doing our reception on the Sky deck and it is kind of small, but we're only expecting 40 or so so it should be perfect. Suzette suggested we do the cocktail on one side of the small pool overlooking the ocean, and have the reception on the other overlooking the lights of the lagoon. This is a perfect use of the space. I'm trying to figure out the "look" of it now and how we're going to have our lights and tables set up. We also saw the Palenque terrace which overlooks the lagoon on a lower floor. All of the lagoon rooms also have a view of the terrace as a fyi. This space would be great for a larger wedding. We also saw the ballroom which was depressing as heck and we are going to hope and pray for no rain so we don't have to have our reception there haha. The other private space is the Infinity Terrace and this space I'm unsure of. It's commonly used for welcome cocktails or rehearsal dinners. It's right in front of the pool where the beach showers are, and they can clear the chairs. It's not private at all though, and I'm not sure how it'd logistically work with all of the regular guests coming by, washing their feet off, etc. Also if people are in the pool (likely), then they're literally right on top/beside of you . There is another deck that overlooks the pool that is higher and a bit more private (beside the outdoor grill terraza restaurant) and I'm going to ask about using that one instead. The only other option is the beach which has a set up of $6 per person for cocktails and $12 for dinner which will add up quickly! Let me know if anyone has any specific questions. We didn't bother meeting the dj or photographers, etc. because we're hiring ours from outside! I have a bunch of pics I took too that I will upload later

@@Naturalbeauti30 - Thank you! It was good! Let me post in the Beach Palace thread my review of the site visit. Your wedding is so soon - exciting!

I just came across your thread! You are super on top of things! I love the Pi day haha... very cute. You have so many great ideas Man, my wedding is a couple of months before yours and I'm nowhere near as organized. Need to get moving!

Thanks for all the advice, ladies! Here are some of our pics! Our photographer gave us a cd the day after taking pics so we'd have some pictures right away. He chose some to do a first edit, and he's going to give us a cd with all the pics fully edited in December. My FI and I looked at our pics yesterday and we had to literally lol at some of them. Some of the poses are MEGA cheesy and not us at all haha. But others are gorgeous! We're pleased overall, but I do have some dress regret and I hate the way I look in the "serious" pics haha. Our photographer is Juan Carlos Lancelotti. I haven't seen him mentioned much here on the boards, but I stumbled on his portfolio somewhere and liked his pics (and his prices are great!). He was really professional to work with, and my FI and I had a great time. I love his candid wedding pics, and we're looking forward to working with him for our wedding (but I might tell him to tone down some of the posed pics ).

Yes we were there for our site visit - so just 3 nights! Definitely too short but it was a great mini trip all the same. I'll post pics for sure once I get some!

I think we're doing maracas and hot sauce! The maracas well get from amols (cheapest) and well put one on each plate for colour with the "Shake for a kiss" tag. We just grabbed a bunch of different hot sauces to try from the mall nearby our hotel. We're going to try them out at home and then pick them up the week of our wedding if they're good and put thank you tags on them. We're going to get a variety and put them all on a table for our guests to pick up. And well get some fun Mexican toys for the kids

We went to Isla Mujeres and I'm so glad we did. The places were gorgeous. We went to this place called Playa Sur (I think) and it was amazing vistas and cliffs. I think the pics are going to be stunning. We also took pics around town in front of the colourful buildings. I'll post an update and review once I get some pics! Our trip was so short this time. Well have to make it to Playa del Carmen next time were here for our wedding in December!

Kristy I'm glad Nathan has stepped in to help you! It's definitely ridiculous that we have to do all of that, but f it will get your guests bonked then it's definitely worth it. Also did you ask Vanessa about what happens if ppl book after the deposit deadline? From what she's told me, she can request the same price and usually it's fine. She's doing this for us because we didn't have the 90 day hold. That way if you have a few stragglers, they can still lock in that same rate. Let me check my email for the price and I will PM it to you now. Hoping for the best!! Keep us updated

We've never been to either before so were totally up to suggestions! Maybe I'll see what our photographer thinks will be nicer. He sent me some pics he's done on Isla mujeres and it looks fun w the golf carts and cliffs

I think cotton tends not to be recommended in hot weather because once you sweat, you stay wet. I think chiffon is comfortable if it's silk chiffon and not polyester (doesn't breathe at all) I got my bridesmaid dresses from j crew! If you're not particular about exact styles, keep an eye on the sale section! I got mine for about 80 each

PDC is a good idea too! I love the vivid colours and street shot scenes. Hmm now to decide before tmr!

Hello ladies! My FI and I are going for our site visit tomorrow! I'll make sure to post back when we return. Let me know if there's anything you want me to find out

My FI and I are going to Cancun tmr for our site visit! We're meeting our photographer and doing our engagement pics as well while we're there. Any suggestions about where to take pics? I want to do something other than just pure beach because well have a lot of wedding pics like that. I'm thinking small villages, etc. Our photographer recommended Isla Mujeres - it looks gorgeous in pics. Any feedback? Also, this might end up happening in the rain (haha) so maybe something that would still look cool. Thanks for any suggestions! Are there any ruins that have public access and where we'd be allowed to take pics? I see some ppl do ones near Playacar Palace?