JenniferH114

@@saramatthews - I was thinking about doing that. I just hesitate because our photog will be coming at either 3pm or 3:30pm (still deciding). If I go at 2pm, I will have anxiety the whole time wondering if I'm going to be running late (even if they are super fast) and then not have a moment to breathe before pictures. At least if I go first, I can leave if I have to. I figure at least we have the appts locked in so if I want to switch it as it gets closer I can.

Our ceremony is at 5pm, so the spa made our hair & make-up appointments for 12:30pm (myself and MOH) and 2pm (MOB and future SIL). I think that will be good, though, because we want to take a lot of our pictures before the ceremony so that we aren't missing too much of the action.

@@upstatekj - I thought someone on this thread had said (a while ago) that Elias was leaving at some point. I don't remember when it was but I vaguely remember reading that. @@saramatthews - Your pictures are great! Thank you for sharing! We did a site visit back in November, so, having seen the resort, we are that much more excited for May to come!

@@smileitseb - I haven't ordered yet because I'm trying to hold out to see if a few "maybes" are coming. I'd rather avoid having to order too many extras for just in case. Maracas Mexico told me to order at least two months in advance and they said the sooner the better since wedding season starts to pick up around that time. I'm thinking I'll order by the end of February (unless I get some of the RSVPs back sooner). @@breezie - Maracas Mexico is a company that does personalization (colors, writing, names, pictures, etc.). They are located in Mexico so they ship right to your wedding coordinator at your resort with no hold-ups.

@@Everly - Our Mexican wedding date has special meaning to me. As others have mentioned, I just think of the civil ceremony as a formality and, of course, that's the date for any legal purposes, but it's really just a step in the process. Our wedding in Mexico is the celebration of our love and commitment in front of friends and family. That's the date that is important to us.

We sent fornal STDs in the mail in July, which including the date, location and wedding website. We sent out invitations in the mail in mid-December with an RSVP date of two months prior to our May 16th wedding.

I think it is proper etiquette to invite single guests with a plus one. Most of our guests are married, but there were a few singles and we addressed the invites as "Mr. John Smith and Guest." In my opinion, this is something you automatically include in your budgeting and if you can't afford a few plus ones, then narrow down your guest list. Truthfully, we have an extremely close group of friends so someone bringing a total random would not even be a concern for me, but I think it's tacky to start dictating who your guests can bring and/or then tell the guest to sit in the hotel room (or wherever) on the wedding night. Our guests are paying in the $2500-$3000 range for two people. We will gladly pay for their guest's plate, should they choose to bring one, and we will all have an amazing night celebrating together!

@@breezie - I believe your dress counts as your "small personal item" but I'm sure most airlines aren't going to say anything about it anyways. Then you could also be a small carry-on size suitcase. I hear some airlines will let you hang it in the captain's closet. I'll have to start buttering them up as soon as we get to the airport!!

We are also doing a symbolic ceremony in Mexico. Between the costs to have legal documents translated, the wait to even get your legal documents and have them apostilled, getting blood drawn at a local medical facility (UH DOUBLE NO THANKS!)... basically it was something we weren't interested in dealing with at all. We, too, are from Chicago, so we'll get our marriage license a couple of weeks before and then we plan to go into the courthouse the Saturday morning one week before our wedding. While we are inviting immediate family, we are not making it a big celebration. We will recognize our Mexican wedding date as our anniversary. As others have mentioned, be sure to read the laws and requirements in your state of citizenship! In most cases, just getting your marriage license does not mean you are legally married. You have to have an officiant (e.g. judge, justice of the peace, etc.) sign the license after a brief marriage ceremony.

@@lilumpkin - We are not requiring our guests to wear anything in particular. More of the guys have asked us what we would like them to wear, and we are fine with polos or short sleeve button-ups and a nice pair of shorts or pants. (Though I doubt many people would wear pants.) Ladies are easier because most will wear dresses. We want our guests to be comfortable. If they are happy, then we are happy.

@breezie - We will be using Maracas Mexico for custom maracas, paper fans and papel picado. They are located in Mexico and ship directly to the wedding coordinator at your resort. They have great reviews and have been quick to respond to me. www.maracasmexico.com/ Also, everything I have read has said DO NOT ship anything to your resort from out of the country. There is no guarantee it will make it there in time. Items often get held up in customs. I, personally, would never chance it. We plan on packing everything into suitcases. The heavier items will go into carry-on suitcases since those don't get weighed. If need be, we'll buy an extra (super inexpensive) suitcase or two and toss it in the garbage afterwards so we don't have to pay for it to come home.

@@Sabes44 - I'm going to assume no, which means coughing up $90 for the two of them. We'll see though... I'm really hoping to negotiate something with Jessica, whether lowering the outside vendor fee, free meals for them or Las Olas lights for free. Something has got to give! I've heard many resorts are worse in terms of charging for every little thing, but lately it seems like we are getting the run around!

@@Sabes44 @@Giocivs88 - I was told he brings an assistant with him. Just a random tip, but don't forget you have to include your photog and assistant in your head count for the reception meal. I haven't gotten to that detail with Jessica yet. I read that some people were able to negotiate and get those meals included (if you are over your max. package head count) but I haven't asked yet.

@@upstatekj - We are getting married May 16th. We booked Juan for six hours. I haven't communicated with him since we sent our deposit last summer. I actually sent him an email last week to "check in" and haven't heard back, so I sent a follow-up email this morning. I'm hoping to hear back soon or else I'm going to get nervous!!! I'm thinking 3:30pm - 9:30pm (ceremony is at 5pm). That time frame will cover all aspects of the day. We plan to do our first look before the ceremony so that we can get some pictures out of the way early. We really want to be able to enjoy as much of the celebration with our guests as possible. We love what we've seen of his work, so I'm planning to just let him do his thing. I think the TTD sessions look amazing, but we don't have plans to do one right now. I think we are going to skip it. We do plan to visit some cenotes at some point during our trip, though.

We are arriving on Wednesday and the wedding is on Saturday. We are staying for ten nights total, but we definitely wanted more time after the wedding so we could relax and enjoy. Almost all of our guests are coming on Wednesday or Thursday. Just be sure to check with your resort regarding how far in advance you have to be there. Even for a symbolic wedding most resorts require two days and some require three.

@TA Wendy - We did not book a swim-up room, but we are in the Excellence Club. We had a swim-up room on our recent trip to Cozumel and we literally only used it once the whole week. We tend to be beach bums on vacation, but I'm sure we'll inquire about room upgrade options when we arrive (as we usually do). @@SusanMarie813 - We'll be using Juan Navarro. After reading through this thread, reading other reviews and looking at their work, we decided we did not want to use Beach Wedding Studio as our primary photographer. We will probably use that part of our package for our welcome party instead of the wedding.

@@Sabes44 The ombré designs are from Evermine.com and the fiesta is from someone on Etsy. Evermine was great and super fast.

@jeffandrobyn - I sent ours out in mid-December with an RSVP date of March 16th (two months before our wedding). We have gotten about half of them back. They come in very sporadically. We might get three and then nothing for another week. The funny thing is that some people who have already booked haven't even sent theirs yet. One friend said, "Well, you already know I'm going, so why do I have to send it?!" I don't think it can get much lazier than that considering we put stamps on the return envelopes!! ha!

@@starbx123 Thanks! Yes, I have a long dress with a train. I based the hemming on the shoes because the ceremony is only about 15-20 minutes. Also, the dress would look silly if I hemmed it too short for the rest of the night. The shoes aren't sky high, so the dress isn't crazy-long without them on anyways.

Here's what some of our "paper" goods look like. I just thought I'd share. The wedding is a beach theme with turquoise and a pink as the colors. The welcome party is a colorful fiesta theme. We are also ordering custom maracas, fans and papel picado from Maracas Mexico. They will be delivered straight to the resort since they are located in Mexico, too. http://www.maracasmexico.com/ Thank you cards for OOT bags... Reception menu... Coasters for reception table... Welcome party menu... Tissue paper flowers for Welcome Fiesta...

@travelgal78 - I think your bags sounds great, too! Here's what we are doing... Tote bags Thank you cards Do Not Disturb signs Tumblers (custom) Flip Flop Bottle Openers Hangover Kit Bags (purple, green and blue) Mini Aloe Mini Sunscreen Lip Balm Thank you sand jars (being made by my Mom... mini bottle with sand, mini seashells and "thank you" and starfish charms) Gatorade Sticks Individial Packets of... Ibuprofen, Pepto Bismol & Tums... for inside hangover kits We are also putting a custom maraca on each plate at the reception and custom fans at each chair for the ceremony, so guests will keep those, too.