JenniferH114

@@hapykat - Oh my gosh. That's horrible. Did she claim 2015 price increases or something?!

@@hapykat - Are you sure they are the exact same vases and not a larger set? I have seen some that are much larger than what I'm getting. The biggest one I'm getting is probably only 10 inches high. Not making excuses for the price difference... Just asking. That does seem crazy.

@@Cablelove11 - I completely understand! You definitely have some time still. Just keep looking around and exploring possibilities. Maybe you will end up sticking with the Hard Rock or maybe something new with catch your eye. Hard Rock hotels are awesome, but they are definitely unique in terms of room style, etc. You might have a difficult time finding something comparable if that's what you have your heart set on. There are TONS of amazing resorts out there, though, so it's worth giving it a little more time. I'm not sure if adults-only would work for you but I have heard great things about the new Breathless Punta Cana. It's under a year old and has a very modern style to it. Some friends went there for a honeymoon and loved it. Just one idea that I could think of that might somewhat compare to the Hard Rock.

@@Cablelove11 - Congratulations! I think choosing a location/resort is definitely one of the more difficult and important decisions you will have to make. When we were deciding we knew we wanted an all-inclusive, adults-only resort in a destination that everyone could get to on a non-stop flight (from Chicago). The more amenities the better (e.g. restaurants, 24 hr room service, pool options, etc.). We didn't have a specific price range in mind, but we knew what we thought was too much to ask people to pay as we went along. I also read review after review after review. (We travel quite a bit, so I'm used to this kind of research!) Another thing to look at ahead of time is what kind of wedding packages are offered and what's included vs. extra costs. From there you can see what works for your wants and needs vs. your budget. Generally speaking, I think Mexico and Punta Cana tend to have more options in a wider range of prices. Sorry I don't really have specific recommendations, but everyone has different preferences and budgets.

I remember someone (or a couple of you) mentioned doing a piñata. What are you putting inside... candy? I'm trying to think of something fun to do during our welcome party. I was thinking about getting a mariachi band, but that's $1100+. I don't care for cigars (or cigar smoke), so the cigar roller would not work well for us. I just emailed Jessica to see if she has any recommendations. I asked about a tequila tasting or the piñata option. Maybe she'll come back with another idea. Anyone else have any ideas or know of other options?

@yasminea84 - We are doing a private welcome party with a four course meal and open bar two nights before the wedding. The resort is all-inclusive but there's a $25pp fee for having the event private, and it's in a different area of the resort (not a restaurant). Our theme for the party is just a fun, colorful fiesta. We will be decorating with things like bright tissue paper flowers and papel picado that we have ordered. We made candy roll-ups for each place setting with colored tissue paper and custom labels. We will also be handing out our OOT bags at this time.

The vases weren't on the invoice Jessica gave me, so I reminded her and mentioned that she had told me $4 each and she didn't even question it and added them to the invoice.

@@hapykat - I'm sure that's what it is. I just find the constant changes irritating, and then when we hear on this thread that people are being told different things I start to question.

@@hapykat - So how much did she tell you?! This is really getting ridiculous with every single price increasing. It's not even about budget at this point; it's about the principal of the matter. I am starting to get really irked. Nowhere in that email that I forwarded you did she mention a possible price increase for 2015 and she knew my wedding date.

@@hapykat - I'll forward it when I'm at a computer in the morning. Now I'm worried she'll come back and tell me they don't actuslly have them! Ugh!! @@hapykat - I found it and forwarded it.

@@AliciaW - I completely agree with @@nattiegams325. Also be sure to gather as much information as you can about the types of wedding packages offered and that includes what kinds of things cost extra. While you should always be prepared for a few unexpected expenses, I have read on here that some resorts have charged extra for things like chairs for the ceremony and then charged another fee for moving those same chairs to the reception location! (That seems absurd to me, by the way.) Everyone has a different budget and expectations, so knowing more of this info in advance will help planning go more smoothly.

@@hapykat - We are renting 12 vases total…three sets of three different sizes for centerpieces that we are putting together. Below is the picture that Jessica sent me to show me what they have. As you can see, there are three different sizes. She quoted me at $4 per vase, so we should be looking at $36 total. Of course, I'm hoping that she doesn't come back and tell me otherwise. I should be getting a current invoice from her soon to double check where we are at with everything so far. I actually sent her a follow-up email this morning about it.

@racht33 - Good luck with your decision! I agree with @nattiegams325 that choosing the resort is probably one of the most difficult decisions in regards to a destination wedding. I am big on research, so I spent a lot of time picking apart the resorts we were interested in. Also, as was previously mentioned, many resorts charge a per person fee because only a certain number of guests are covered in the initial wedding package (usually 20-25). In general (just from my own non-wedding related travel & planning), I think you will find Punta Cana and Mexico have a wider variety of resort options and more less expensive options that might fit your budget. Aruba is one of my favorite places, but it is pricey. Turks & Caicos is also more expensive.

@@hapykat - Hi! We are not planning to do many of the "traditional" wedding things, such as entrances, speeches, bouquet/garter toss, etc. The only thing we might do is a first dance, but we are still thinking about it. Jessica had suggested the fire show either right before or right after dinner. The reason we chose before is because we also have the DJ and having the fire show after dinner would cut into our DJ/dancing time more. Having the show before dinner will allow us to have the DJ from 7-11pm, so that should leave at least two hours of dancing/party time after dinner. Jessica assured me that the sun would be setting around the time of our fire show, which we are happy with.

@pykx82 - We went with informal and loved how our STDs and invites turned out. We ordered them through CourtneyJonesDesign on Etsy. https://www.etsy.com/shop/CourtneyJonesDesign

@@LisaAnthonyPoppy - We are having about the same number of guests as you. We are at 25 booked with a few more maybes. The WC actually mentioned the brief break for photos between the ceremony and cocktail hour, so that was nice. I wouldn't have even thought about it. I think it'll be just enough without people standing around wondering what's next. Overall, I'm very happy with our (rough) timeline. I'm sure after the dancing/DJ, people will head to one of the resort's late night bars.

@@LisaAnthonyPoppy - Here is our rough timeline: 5pm - Ceremony (about 15-20 minutes) 5:20 - Break for some photos 5:45 - 6:45pm - Cocktail hour 6:45pm - 7:30pm - Fire & percussion show 7:30 - 9pm - Dinner (WC told me to plan for 1.5 hours for the five course meal which is longer than I'd prefer but oh well) 9 - 11pm - Dancing We booked our photog for six hours. We plan to take a lot of photos before the ceremony, including getting ready, the first look and some more standard bride/groom shots because we really want to enjoy as much of the day with our guests as possible. We don't plan on doing any speeches or introductions. We are having a welcome party (private dinner & bar) the Thursday before the wedding, so that's when we will say our thank yous and pass out the OOT bags.

@DestoWeddingers - PS: I just saw the chest x-ray part. I haven't come across that requirement before, but definitely the blood test.

@@upstatekj @@Giocivs88 - I thought her photos looked really great, but her prices were really high. We weren't looking to skimp on pictures but $5000+ is over double what other photogs we liked were charging., Plus we knew we wanting the six hour shoot to capture the whole day.

@@Giocivs88 - We are renting three sets of the vases in the last photo you posted (or the equivalent) and Jessica said it'd only be $12 per set ($4 per vase). We are making our own centerpieces though, so we are literally just renting the empty vases. Here's what we are doing:

@@cassie06 They are from weddingchicks.com! They have tons of options!

@DestoWeddingers - First, let me say that a symbolic vs. a legal ceremony is really a matter of personal preference. That aside, I can only speak to what I know about Mexico, which is where we are getting married. Most people choose a symbolic ceremony and get legally married at home either before or after their trip. Getting legally married in Mexico requires the things you listed above. It is rather costly because documents have to be legally translated and sometimes apostilled. There can also be a lengthy waiting period before you receive your legal documents. I have read many times that even the wedding coordinators at the resorts do not recommend a legal ceremony. Again, this is all a matter of preference. Some people are fine with the process. We are doing a symbolic ceremony and getting married at the courthouse the weekend before our wedding. We will use our Mexican wedding date as our anniversary date.