beckys98

I don't, unfortunately. We booked it from one of the vendors at the hotel! We were staying at Riu Palace Riviera Maya. Depending on where your hotel is, as @@TinkerSofi says, Coba is a lot closer than Tulum or Chitchen Itza so it was a 1/2 day outing versus a whole day, which we liked. I can't commit to missing a WHOLE day of beach time

While visiting Playa Del Carmen my fiance and I did a trip to the ruins in Coba, which had a bit of a tour and then you could rent a bike for like $2 and ride around the old town and check things out for an hour or two. Then they took us to a Mayan village for a traditional meal and then we went swimming in a cenote. That was super cool!! Definitely a one of a kind experience!

Hi @@Victoriabride! Boy that is a tough one. First of all, I wouldn't worry about what your future in-laws think. Ultimately, it doesn't affect them and every family is different in how they operate in ALL aspects, money included. I have different, but similar, challenges with money and my dad. Too complicated to explain. Fortunately my sister got married first and we had ZERO expectations that he would contribute even $1. She planned to just flat out ask him if he planned to or not, at least so she could plan accordingly. However, on his own he offered to pay for her welcome reception and contribute $3,000 to the wedding. We were SHOCKED! He is doing the same now for me and I am extremely grateful. If I were you, I would frame it the same way versus asking for help with a specific item. Just nicely ask if they plan to contribute so you can plan accordingly. Some people find meaning in different things, so maybe they don't find sentiment in the PHOTOGRAPHER, but would love to buy your dress. Or something like that. My dad really wanted us to have the welcome events and it made him feel good to "sponsor" it. So even if your parents are only willing/able to help a little bit, they could do it in a way that you all feel good about. But I think you (and your fiance, really) should be prepared to not hold a grudge if they don't help. In my experience, most couples assume they are footing the bill themselves and any help they get is a bonus! Good luck!

I think you should do WHATEVER you want! The fun thing about destination weddings is you can pick and choose what rules to follow We aren't even doing anything via mail! We did an electronic STD directing to our website and let people know we wouldn't be sending a mailed invitation. We had people RSVP on the website, which I cross-referenced with my TA booking list. We are 83 days out from our wedding with just about everyone confirmed and if people are thinking that not getting snail mail is weird they sure haven't said anything. We figure we're spending that money on our guests in other ways in Jamaica so everybody wins. But, my point is not to forgo it. That is just what worked for us. My point is there are no rules so you can make your own

I'm getting married in Jamaica! I think it is pretty common for the package to include only 10-20 people with an extra per person charge over that. Ours is $20 per person over 10 people and we have 70 people! The $20 is for set up, champagne toast and the cake pretty much. However, many resorts also give you a credit based on the number of rooms/guests you book, which makes up for some of the "extra" charges. So be sure to ask about that when you're researching! Jamaica has A LOT of adults only resorts, which limited our options quite a bit since our siblings are bringing their kids. But we decided on Iberostar Rose Hall Suites and haven't second guessed our decision at all! They don't cap the number of guests. Good luck!

@@CaroV! First of all, congrats on your engagement! So...now begins all the fun and not so fun parts. This, in particular, being one of the not so fun parts. I wish I could say this is a unique story, but most of us on here have similar stories! In my case, I'm 34 and most of my friends got married 3-5 years ago and are all having babies. Literally none of them seem to care one ounce about my wedding. It is like weddings are SUCH old news. There have been MULTIPLE instances were I went to brunch or dinner with my friends and we spent 100% of the time talking about pregnancy, breast feeding, etc. and not once did anyone ask me how the wedding planning was going. I can't lie, it is hurtful because I bent over backwards to support them in their wedding planning and was nothing but excited for them. I don't think it is intentional, but still hurtful. The worst is my sister. She also had a destination wedding 2 years ago and I did EVERYTHING for her from setting up her website to planning and paying for her bridal shower and bachelorette party all by myself. Until recently the only thing I heard from her about it was how much it was going to cost her to go, which I have no sympathy for since I traveled to Mexico for hers and spent thousands on her shower/bach party. I refuse to have a shower or bachelorette party so I'm saving her all of that fuss! She booked a month AFTER our booking deadline only because I forced her. Oh and we live a few miles apart and talk almost every day...just not about my wedding. Then I have a whole other set of friends I invited that haven't even acknowledged the invitation or responded to ANY of my communications. At this point I get that they aren't coming, but why can't you just say so and congratulate me?! My fiance has NOT had this problem with his side of the invite list, so it stings even more that it is my crappy "friends." Okay, now I'm just ranting! ALL THAT SAID, we are 84 days out from our wedding and we're focusing on those who are coming and who are excited about it. All that really matters in the end is that we get married and have some fun while we're at it. That I'm confident is exactly what will happen. It has damaged (or ended) some of my friendships, but I've inherited an amazing group of friends from my fiance that I know will be there for us the rest of our lives. Try to stay focused on the positive things, brush off what you can, confront people on their B.S. when it is warranted...and happy planning

I never thought I would change my name and my fiance does not care at all what I do, but I am going to. I am going to change my middle name officially to my maiden name (I never cared for my middle name so...good riddance!) And if we have children their middle name will be my maiden name. I can't let go of my name completely! Fortunately his last name is phonetic, 2 syllables and moves me up in the alphabet from S to H. Haha. We work for the same company though so I may keep my maiden name at work. We work with some of the same people occasionally and I'd rather they see me as an individual professional.

That looks so great! Love that dress and so cute with the shoes! And you definitely do not look like arm fat is going to be an issue...

Have a great time!! Can't wait to see the results!

I've stayed at both Dreams Riviera Cancun and RIU Palace Riviera Maya - the beach at the RIU (in Playa Del Carmen) was big and perfect. Dreams was also lovely and not rocky, but had more seaweed. The beach front in Playa Del Carmen washes away when big storms come through so they import sand to build it back up, which is why it is so smooth.

Ha - I was totally leaning on the "no" side of the fence on OOT bags but we finalized this weekend that we ARE doing them. We're doing personalized (collapsible) koozies that we'll put a Red Stripe beer in, a hangover kit and then some local Jamaican food/candy items. My fiance is Jamaican so this seems appropriate. We'll just stop at the store when we arrive and stock up. Plus our letter and itinerary, of course. I keep wanting to add things (I originally wanted to do the room key wrist coils and fans) but when I see my budget spreadsheet go up and up and up...I brings me back down to earth Also, you're story about the suit is so cute! We are less than 3 months away and my fiance has given no consideration to what he is going to wear. *sigh*

That looks really pretty! Is that a burlap table runner? I was thinking of doing that but can't find any that won't break the budget! For some reason all the ones I saw were over $10 each and that isn't worth it to me since I need at least 8.

Yeah - I definitely don't plan to carry my phone around with me! My sister got married in Mexico and it wasn't too much trouble. Pretty much everyone was around the swim up bar at all times, so it was easy to pick out the group! We have people arriving on every day from Sunday through Thursday and while I am keeping track of who arrives on which day, I think it'll be hard to personally welcome everyone. I think your idea of texting everyone your room number is good! We have a Facebook group for our guests so we could post it there. I did also wanted to try to get a room list for everyone and share so they could call each others rooms, but with everyone arriving on different days by the time I got a complete list it wouldn't be that helpful any ;( Like I said, it seemed to work out fine at my sister's wedding so this one I'm trying to dial down my control freak and assume it'll be okay! Ha.

We are doing one at our resort for our welcome party! Sorry, I don't have any pictures though. I think they string up lights from the volleyball poles! It is $350 per hour, which includes the bar for 15 people. But we have like 65 so we'll have to pay the extra per person per hour charge for the bar for 50. Not exactly cheap, but we hope it is worth it!

@@lornj29 I'm in the exact same boat as you right now, and my wedding is June 11 so don't feel bad. I know everyone says we CAN bring down the vases, but I'm really not sure I want to. Sounds like a major pain to me We were just talking about it last night and may do flowers for half the tables and vases/candles for the other half. So that helps with floral costs but we don't have to bring as much down. (We'll have 8 tables.) But I was also thinking of just ONE vase/candle, plus a framed table number plus some starfish and shells on the table and a nice colorful menu card. For the one vase I was going to wrap it in a blue ribbon with a starfish on it. So maybe you could get away with one vase per table?

Um...yep. My wedding is 3 months from today and I know it'll be so fun when we get there, but planning mostly feels like a series of chores at worst and an unpaid part-time job at best! I feel so ungrateful saying that, but I'm among friends here right?! Getting people to make their plans, and then tell us what their plans are, has been the worst. And with everyone arriving and departing on different days we'll only have ONE day where everyone is there at the same time. I'm so envious of the Canadian brides whose guests fly down at the same time and all stay a week together!

We aren't doing a bridal party for a few reasons. First, we did not want to add extra costs to our guests when they are already coming to Jamaica. Dress, shoes, jewelry, hair, makeup, bouquets, etc. etc. etc. just seems like way too much and way too much for me to coordinate! Also, it just became way too complicated to choose who we would include and would would be left out. He has a close group of friends and like 4 of them are female. So do they stand up for him? Or on my side and I have like 9 girls and he has 4 guys? He wouldn't agree to just siblings, so we're basically just nixing it. But I'm also not having my dad walk me down the aisle (we're walking out together) so I'm having my dad be my witness so he isn't sad. I kind of wish my sister was standing up, but if we did my sister and his brother then that would leave my brother out! See...too complicated I'm still having my girls hang out with me on the wedding day while we get ready and everything. They just don't have to wear a specific dress. And I may still find a special role for my sister in the ceremony so she is included. But we also knew no one would be offended! Good luck with your decisions!

I've been doing some research today. In Your Face Beauty Bar gave me a great quote, it is just the vendor fee for her and her other stylist that gives me pause. That adds another $200 and all these little costs just keep adding up! And the spa at my resort gets GREAT reviews from real brides...so I just can't decide.

Haha. Well, I actually handled the contract for the WEDDING part myself and my TA handles the group rate and room booking. My TA did have the conversations with the resort on wedding date availability but once we got to the contract I just went straight to the wedding coordinators and cc'ed my TA. But it can take the resort a few days to get back about dates. I'll definitely share details post wedding. We leave 3 months from tomorrow!

Oh, mine too! In fact, every single time WE get a thank you card in the mail he HAS to comment about how unnecessary they are. I'm sure I'll just do them and not even involve him. Maybe I'll never even tell him I did them

@@Paolah - Congrats! It's not really that far off! We booked the resort in July 2014 for our June 2015 wedding. We wanted to get our guests the information ASAP so they could start to save and book their travel. We leave for Jamaica in almost exactly 3 months!

HAHA! Maybe we should add a "My Quotable Fiance" thread and add all the ridiculous things our fiances say and want! I love these comments.

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU! I love this menu card. So beachy and pretty, and I was looking for an Etsy vendor. Guess I know what I'm scoping out tonight

@@kcole123 - Good point, but it is a different kind of fear at least! Haha! I'm mostly worried about them looking bad or killing my actual lashes and having bald eyelids at my wedding Yes, I have had 2 different kinds of wax. I have NO CLUE what the technical terms for them are. One where they put the wax one, apply a strip and pull. The other where they apply the wax, it hardens, and then the just pull the wax. To be honest, I think the pain was the same with both. I think some people say the kind without the strip is better. Just make sure you have enough growth (much better to be too long than too short). And take some ibuprofen before you go!

HI! We've been to Mexico a handful of times and I've always eaten lettuce and vegetables. I mean, by the end of the trip my stomach isn't quite right but I chalk that up to drinking every day, being in the sun, and just generally eating what I normally don't. I mean, one time I ate nachos and cheese every afternoon. Safe to say that is NOT my normal diet That said, my fiance got EXTREMELY sick last time we went and the ONLY thing that he ate that I didn't was fruit. (I just don't eat a lot of fruit but he does.) I think the offender was some papaya. But we were also at a more "budget friendly" resort than were we normally stay. Personally, I wouldn't change my menu because I don't think the risk is that high. But if you're worried (or think your guests will be really worried) and it is easy to swap it with something else then why not?