BusyBee280

This is a good idea! I know that my FI's mother would appreciate it, I just have no clue what she is wearing, nor my mother! lol- I'm totally stumped on my father and my FI's father- both of them have always been incredibly difficult to shop for!

I didn't pay very much for my dress. I ended up ordering it from a shop in China that custom did it for 100 dollars after shipping and everything! The dress came out perfect, I just have no desire to truck it back to the states. Were thinking of either trashing it in a photo shoot, or using the fabric to make gifts for the parents (wedding album)

I've been blessed with a few good friends- it has been a rough road so far though. There have been a couple of people that have just backed out, my opinion of them has changed a bit... You would think people would want to go to Mexico, ya know?! I think havinga small circle of family and friends would be best anyways, an intimate wedding is what we wanted after all

I just have my MoH, we are having a small wedding though. It seems silly to have a large wedding party when we have a total of 15 people, including us! Lol

My mother would kill me- but I'm thinking about doing it.... I'm not sure if I would rather the beach, or there is a tour that we are going on through an underground river in the riviera maya.. "Rio secreto ". Is anyone else doing a trash the dress? Where are you planning it? How long are you planning for the session to be? Anyone know if I might be able to pull it off at the underground river?

Those came out great! The bows are a nice touch!!

I've been called selfish for having one as well. It's never pleasant to hear- I guess I'm selfish for wanting all my friends and family to have a blast in Mexico? We're starting to notice who really does want to be there though, and we told those people that we would help them get there however we could. The process has a way of weeding out people who don't care enough to go to begin with. The more I think about it, I wouldn't want them there anyways.

So far only family has reserved. Which would work even if no one else booked we invited 20, and have a total of 15 now We only have two other people who really are working hard to come up with the money to go- one friend has their flight, and one hasn't booked anything yet (she's a total procrastinator) we decided if worse comes to worse we will offer to split the bill with them as we have been friends with them for years. The whole reason we wanted the destination wedding was our small circle, mixed with our family in Mexico having a blast. I know it's going a bit overboard helping them pay like that, but we kindof planned on it being that way- not a whole lot of our friends have the money to do something like this. my best friend is working 2 jobs while living alone, and in school- his brother is getting married a few months away from us, so their money is being dumped into that. We said if needed we would take the extra money we would have spent on a wedding at home, and make sure all of the right people make it to Mexico I definitely need to see someone TRY before I help them though-

My parents booked a few weeks after my FI and I (1 month after choosing resort) We ended up paying for my brother and his wife to go, so we booked them when we booked ours (my mother had a lot to do with that one) My FI's mother, father, brother, sister, grandmother, and two other people all booked together (I guess they take major trips all the time, and always book that way) and that was a few weeks ago (2 months after choosing the resort) We only have two people left, a friend of ours (who came to us about issues with money) so we may end up fronting some of huge cost to get him booked. (His flight is booked though) And my MOH- she has not booked anything yet, but works full time with school- so I can kindof understand why. We still have 5 months left so I'm not too worried.

We looked at the requirements for legal weddings and they weren't that bad- Sending some paperwork to your coordinator (name, birthdays, addresses etc) the packet that we got was 5 pages. The forms would need to be completed to be sent to town hall where we would be getting married. They said we would need to be there 4 business days before the wedding- have a blood test done (I think it was around 200 per person at the resort we are at), Witness information She mentioned that there would be more paperwork to send in once we hit the 2 month mark, but we decided against a legal ceremony already.

I think there will always be some people that don't see why its rude to do something like that. We were actually called rude for "insisting that we make them go on a vacation filled with couples, and not let them bring anyone with them"- We are at a point now- where they can bring whoever they want, but additional guests will need to find alternative activities while we are at our dinners/ceremony/reception. The majority of our activities are scheduled with family directly, and are included in the itinerary (no +1's allowed), and the rest is plans for my hubby and I. So I guess it's not too big of a deal (even though this particular friend that he wants to bring is kindof a shady character, so it makes it even more uncomfortable) I guess we will see what happens lol

Thanks for the review- I'm currently planning a wedding in this location, and the more I hear good things, the more excited I get. I became really discouraged when the coordinator was difficult to get ahold of; but things continue to cruise right along, and we are actually ahead of our planning curve now! Your wedding came out beautiful! I'm glad you had a positive experience. Thanks for sharing

I'm now worried that if I get legally married before we leave for our trip, it may cause complications down the road with my last name changing, or my status of being legally married. What is everyone else doing?

What is everyone doing for the parents? We wanted to do something special for them since they are forking over so much money to go on the trip with us. Is anyone doing something special for your parents/inlaws as far as OOT bags or gifts afterwards? Trying to come up with creative ideas that wont cost a fortune--

I want to do something like this for my guests but I'm worried it will just be money out the window- and that my guests won't end up using most of it. I wanted to add an itinerary of the trip, a welcome letter, a menu to the restaurant we will be going the night before the wedding, a map with locations on it, and a rainshaker made by a local shop in Puerto Vallarta. I'm still trying to find that something extra to add in and make it special for them though- for afterwards, I was considering using some of the lace from my wedding dress/veil to make picture frames for our portraits to give to family.

Since we are getting married in Mexico we are getting all of the groomsmen a cigar from one of the local shops, and my FI will be taking them out for drinks/cigar right before the wedding- For my ladies, I paid for the reservations at the spa to have hair and makeup done, a bridal spa shower, and satin robes to match the color of the MOH dress. I understand how much time and money they are taking to come on this trip with us, and it makes me feel like I can't do enough lol p.s I found the robes on Amazon- they were a little over $10 each

Thanks guys! The more people who drop out of coming to the wedding, the more I'm opted to do something like this for everyone who can't attend. We were thinking of making a video of the whole weekend and sharing it at the party somehow.

We are going through this as well... It's disappointing but at the same time out was what we wanted to begin with- people who really do want to come, will. We even payed for our friends flight because he came to us worried about money. If someone drops out without an actual excuse *pregnancy *loss of a job and doesn't want to work out something with us (there are three guests that we have payed for everything for) then I'm assuming they don't really want to be there

I'm worried about driving up the cost of doing something like this. Anyone have any budgeting tips? Or creative ways of throwing something like this?

I think one of the toughest thing so far is people not being able to accomidate the time and money to come for a few of our friends, we have helped with monetary arrangements so we could ensure that they came. One of my closest friends just told me she wouldn't be able to come, because she was put on acidemic probation, and is worried about missing the time. I know that the story is b.s- because my wedding is 6 months away! Regardless- I understand, because it's a lot of money and time to come all the way to Mexico just to hang out and watch us get married. So far this is the only person we have lost from our guest list, but I've heard its not uncommon for people to drop like flies when it comes time to book. How many people have you lost so far? for what reasons?

Thanks for the advise everyone!! I've been looking for good ideas on how to wear my hair- I don't look very good with updo's because I have such a thin frame. Maybe Something to the side- Thanks again! this site has been so supportive.

I've been debating a TTD session- I want to (my dress only cost us 100 dollars) so It wouldn't be a big deal- but my mother is FREAKING OUT about it lol. Thanks for the advise

I too am worried about this,. I have incredibly stubborn hair, that is thin and doesn't cooperate. I have a dream vision in my head of wearing my hair down, with my dress and flowers in my hair. However I'm worried about the wind. I'm thinking maybe a but load of product in my hair will help it stay still?

I ordered a fake white orchid from amazon for a couple of dollars just to see how it would look, and I love it- My mother nearly kicked my can when she found out that I even thought about using fake flowers, but I'm still thinking about using it. Real flowers have a tendency to wilt throughout time- especially when they are right next to your face! (at least that is what I have been told)

I'm ordering rain stick shakers for my guests- I was originally going to add them to the welcome bag and have it put in the rooms for them before they arrive.. However, I don't think it would be a great idea to give my guests a tool to summons rain right before my wedding...