Lia33

That's definitely frustrating when people say they won't be able to come due to finances! My own mother tried that on me but stopped when she realized that wasn't going to fly with me - my own mother! Luckily I think paying little by little through a TA will help and I offered to assist also (if she lets me). My biggest frustration right now is that my only grandmother will most likely not go. She says she doesn't have the energy to travel to Mexico (I don't think she's ever left the country). For her age she is in pretty good shape, always out and about, walks everywhere, and lives alone. She just does NOT like traveling. I'm feeling really guilty about it but at the same time, if I wasn't doing a DW, it would just be city hall (way too expensive to throw a traditional wedding in NY!). She will be present for our legal ceremony but I know she's still disappointed about missing the more elaborate wedding festivities. Looking into possible accommodations that may convince her to come. Will Mexico in July be too hot for her? Anyone ever deal with this with an elderly relative? Do they ever actually go to destination weddings?

@@SuchALady777 Having my wedding at the Valentin Imperial Maya in Mexico!

I like the idea of a convertible dress! I was in a wedding last year for my friend who was in Japan, therefore left us to choose our dresses. We had some trouble agreeing but eventually fell in love with a dress. We sent her pictures of our options and she ended up loving it too. Two of my bridesmaid are far away. I've decided the color, fabric, and length. I will be looking this weekend with my other 2 bridesmaids as I have picked out styles as well. I will let them each choose a dress cut that they feel suits them best as long as fabric, color, and length are the same. They will be from Davids bridal to ensure the shades don't vary. The prices aren't bad either!

@@calgarybride2015 @@xxalex18 Good to know! Excited about my appointment this weekend! Debating whether or not to buy cheaper dress for TTD, or just use me actual dress. Since I'm doing it legally in NY after the DW, I'll be getting a simpler white dress also for city hall, so I need 2 dresses! Didn't want to do this originally but doing it more for my grandmother who won't be coming to the DW. The things we do for family!

I purchased a binder to organize all my wedding planning stuff! So glad I did...organization is calming

Barefoot sandals for ceremony! If you need the height, definitely wedges. Why risk falling on your face or walking funny down the aisle? With me I would probably trip on the runner if there is one. I'm not big on heels and want to be comfy on my big day, I will totally look into wedges, or some blinged out white sandals :-)

Congrats!! July 2015 bride here! Happy planning :-)

@@TheBHolders hopefully this wasn't specific to you! I have heard some stories where guests have turned destination wedding into family vacations without giving a heads up to the bride and groom -leading to last minute expenses for the couple since they have wanted to be included in wedding festivities. Maybe this was what they are trying to avoid? Hopefully they aren't trying to exclude you as a spouse, that would be crazy!

Hey @@Mangosong! If you decide to make it a legal ceremony - look into what the requirements are for the country you choose - this may help elimination process. Research some resorts in a couple of the locations your interested in! Maybe once you see some resorts you love that meet your needs, may help you decide on a location! Ruling out some locations before you start looking may make looking at resorts less overwhelming (there's still many to choose from once you decide your destination!). I'm still in the early stages of planning and will be getting married in Mexico so I cant help with your options. Best of luck!

Anyone know of places for cheap wine stoppers with a seashell or starfish top?

@@ritchellrodd I'm still fairly new on here and have found this site to be super helpful! Happy planning :-)

I made my first appointment for this weekend to try on styles since I'm not sure what I'm looking for exactly. I will not likely make any final decisions in my first appointment. But if it may take several months to possibly get the dress into the store and I find a dress I love, then I may not want to risk postponing it!

I definitely plan on doing a TTD session and love how other bride's pics have come out! I'm debating on whether or not to just go online and buy a cheaper dress to use for the session or to just go with my actual dress from the ceremony.

I have a three stone engagement ring as well. We are going back to the original jeweler and may have a double piece band to get fitted to it - one to sit on the bottom of the engagement ring and one on top so it ends up being a 3 piece set. Only problem with this is I don't think I would ever be able to just wear the band since it all fits together only, but this shouldn't really be an issue

Glad I found this thread, I wasn't sure when to start looking! I'll start looking asap since I'm a little less than a year away. What about bridesmaids dresses? Guess I should start looking into that now also right?

@ Sounds good! Thanks :-)

@@bkprettygirl I was thinking about that too, whether or not we should leave to another country completely, that would REALLY give it that honeymoon feel! But I know the easiest and less expensive way to go would be to go to another resort. Either way, as long as you have some alone time with the new hubby it'll be good!

@ I'll definitely stick with Blue Lens and I'm planning on speaking with a TA early this week :-) Have you heard anything about VIM's house DJ? I believe its RLS Audiovisual, DJ Party Rod? I checked their Facebook page but there's no video and no one has any reviews. I'll most likely still just stick with them for the sake of not having outside vendors but it would be comforting to know if anyone has ever worked with them lol

This is the DJ company used for the Valentin Imperial Maya - any feedback about them?

I definitely plan on using Blue Lens in July 2015! Glad to hear great things about them ;-)

@@IvanLuckiePhotography - thank you for your feedback! @@jeffandrobyn - Thanks for explaining this to me! For someone that has no idea how this all works in can be confusing in the beginning lol I'll wait to send out my save the dates next week when I know for sure whether or not I will work with this particular TA or another. I wasn't sure how soon after to send the invites but it makes sense to wait a little so people can actually start booking and invite rsvps will give me a better count of where people are. Thanks for all of your feedback!

@@IvanLuckiePhotography I would appreciate that! Who would you recommend?

@@jeffandrobyn I will definitely ask her that! I know the earlier rooms are blocked or reserved the better, but how early? I'm down to 11 months, STD's will be going out this week and official invites I'm thinking of sending in September so I have a better finalized idea of who will be attending. Do TAs block based on our estimate or RSVPs?

Hello there!, I'm booked for Valentin Imperial for July 18, 2015. I'm trying to find out more about the services included in the resort - hoping they are good so I don't have to book an outside person! The DJ they work with here is DJ Party Rod - anyone heard of or have used this DJ? Feedback would be helpful! Thanks ;-)

I haven't started looking yet but will likely go with 2 of my bridesmaids (2 live away) and would like to bring my mother... Although she doesn't seem super thrilled about the whole destination wedding in general - making it difficult for me to want to include her but maybe taking her dress shopping will get her more into the spirit.