NotSoWitty

Thanks Kim, you too.

Thank you! I assumed they only came to you rather than you going to them! I'll give them a shout.

I'm getting married in January 2015. We're staying in Playacar (Riu Tequila) but will be getting married on the public beach so staying away from the resort packages. I need to get my hair and makeup done and, as it's just me, I plan on going to the MUA/hairdresser rather than paying a vendor fee for them to come to me. Can anyone suggest anywhere to go? Playacar would be handy but I'd be happy to go into Playa del Carmen. I pathetically have zero Spanish so I need people who can speak English. Preferably I'd have someone who can also do shellac for my nails and apply lashes. I don't normally wear much makeup so someone who won't go into overdrive would be great! Finally, budget is a concern so I don't want to be spending a fortune. Thanks in advance!

I really love the idea of a unity candle but with a beach wedding all my research seems to shout that it's a big no-no, even with hurricane jars which was my original idea. And I'm not a big fan of sand pouring ceremonies (sorry, I get where it comes from but it just isn't really me, maybe because I've never seen it in real life) So, I've been looking around and came across the idea of using sand wax, or wax crystals or wax granules. You pour them into a jar like you would for the sand ceremony, then add a wick and light your candle. I like that it still incorporates the flame (with all the implications of being each other's light in the dark and all that cheese-tastic stuff!) whilst being a bit more resistant to the wind as it'll only be lit for a few minutes. Has anyone any experience of this? And does anyone know where I can get the sand crystals in the UK? I'm going to check my local art shops at the weekend, but it doesn't look that common.

Hi Carol, have you tried weddingsonline.ie or mrs2be.ie? Where about are you thinking of getting married? I guess you aren't living in Ireland at the moment - will you be back before the wedding? Are you thinking of doing the big Irish wedding or just a small one? There's a few fantastic planners if you want to go down that route. I'm Irish, living in England, planning a tiny elopement in Mexico! But I pretty much had my big Irish wedding planned to a T before we decided to just run away and get wed so happy to help in any way! Congratulations by the way!

I'm planning on wrapping a blue set of rosary beads around my bouquet (old and blue) and borrowing a miraculous medal from my Mum. We aren't having a Catholic ceremony so I like that I'll have that touch. My dress will be new! I don't think I'll do the sixpence - doesn't that feel uncomfortable?

Thanks for sharing this. I've contacted several officiants in the last week or so and haven't even had a courtesy 'I've received your email and will respond shortly' response from any of them! I'll try Petra!

Thanks for sharing this. I'm hoping to have a sign at our RAH requesting people to use our hashtag, it will be a real informal party so I'm hoping for some great candids!

I'd love to know this too, especially any that do shellac!

Amazon seem to have some. I've also heard that Avon Skin So Soft oil is amazing as a repellant, I'm planning on taking some with me to try for the first day or so and move to stronger stuff if I have to. I know you can't get Avon any more in Ireland, but I think different people that used to rep have addresses in the North that they get their stuff posted to. If that isn't an option but you want to try it, give me a pm and I'll see if I can get some over to you

I'm planning on having a carry-on case with everything I NEED so my dress, headpiece and bouquet. I'm thinking of putting my bouquet in a shoebox in my case, however I haven't even started to make it so I have no idea whether that's practical! I've also just changed my mind about my dress and am considering bringing one that will be much harder to pack so it could be fun in a few months! Hopefully you'll get a few more sensible ideas than mine!

Hi, Sort of related, but does anyone know if any of the chapels will bless a wedding even if it doesn't fulfill the requirements for a full Catholic ceremony? It will be really hard for us to get all the required forms without raising a lot of suspicion at home so I was thinking either a blessing in a chapel (Our Lady of Guadalupe or Our Lady of Carmen both look stunning) or convincing my future husband to have a short trip to Rome in 2016 for a papal blessing. Also - does anyone know which chapel/parish the Irish priest is connected to?

Thanks guys, you're making me feel loads better!I'm sure I'll be on here a good bit in the months to come.

Thanks guys. It doesn't really seem real yet, but once we book the trip and the photographer (and start spending the money!) I know it will sink in. I can't believe that I'll have my new surname in just a few months!

We've been engaged for four years but haven't gotten round to setting a date (or coming anywhere near being able to afford a big Irish wedding) and the weekend before last the Mr suggests going on holiday... then he suggests Mexico... then he says 'sure why don't we get married while we are there?' It solves a lot of problems (seriously, every time we look at having a small wedding the numbers and costs just spiral) but it would just be the two of us and we want to keep it secret until we are there, which causes some of it's own - not least that the sooner we go the easier it will be not to blab, but the earliest we can afford to go is probably the start of next year! We want to get married in Mexico, on the Caribbean coast, at the end of January/start of February. Are we crazy? The only real things we think we'll need is venue, celebrant, flowers, makeup/hair and photographer. We're going to get married at home in the UK a day or so before we fly so it's a symbolic ceremony rather than a civil one.