KelDee

@MissFrench: I was told by several people not to wash my hair the day of because "dirty" hair will stay put better than "clean" hair. But I ignored them... I was concerned about my hair getting frizzy during the night (from the humidity and from tossing around on my pillow). If you have type 3A/3B curly hair like I do, then you probably have a lot of texture to your hair. For both my trial and the day of the wedding, I showered that morning, and the hair stylists had no problem working with my hair. And it stayed put all night. So that's what I'd suggest. What I did the morning of the wedding: in the shower that morning I used a TON of conditioner. I mean a TON! For my hair, which goes past my shoulder blades, I pretty much filled my entire palm with conditioner. And I just kept working it through my hair until all the tangles were gone and there were no rough spots. The key is to just barely over-saturate your hair... the more moisturized your hair is, the less it will need to pull from the air. So you want the conditioner to completely soak in, but at the end of working it through your hair you want a tiny bit left in your hands. I hope that makes sense, I probably didn't explain that very well Then, while my hair was still sopping wet, I applied the gel. At home, I normally use non-silicone based hair products. But they're just not effective down in the humid Cancun air. So I used the silicone-based Catwalk Curls Rock Amplifier. 4 pumps did it for me. Then I just let it air-dry. As it dried, my hair became really hard and crunchy. So before the stylist started working on it, I broke some of the crunch... I left some, thinking that as she was working with my hair she'd break they rest. As it was drying, I purposefully stayed indoors to prevent frizz, which meant that it took a really long time for my hair to dry. The stylist started working on my hair at about noon and it still wasn't dry (I showered at 9am), so she had to blow-dry it for about 15 minutes before she could start. So fyi. Sorry, that was a long-winded answer to your question . I was just trying to be helpful since I completely understand your concern! Here's another another photo of the side. The hair stylist was the one who suggested the flowers... she just grabbed them out of the bouquet!

When I was planning my destination wedding in Cancun (it was held in March 2015), the ONE thing I was concerned about was my hair! I have long, type 3A/3B hair. I can control it at home, where the humidity is 20% on average, but it gets frizzy and wild in high humidity. I talked to SO many vendors down in the Cancun area who said "oh yea, we've worked with curly hair before, it's no problem" but I didn't trust any of them... they didn't seem to understand MY hair. Seriously, my hair was my one source of stress during the wedding planning process. Well, it IS possible to tame crazy frizzy hair down in Mexico! The woman who did my hair (Esperanza from Styling Trio) went through every single one of my curls with a curling iron, which took forever but eliminated all of the frizz and made distinct, individual curls. Then she used Paul Mitchell hair mousse to hold it, pinned it up, and sprayed it with Paul Mitchell hair spray. A warning, though... I had my hair down but kind of tied together (not a braid, but the hair was folded over itself so it was in a mass). I wouldn't suggest using this technique and then wearing your hair completely down, because the wind will blow it all apart. So to all you curly-haired brides: don't fret!

I had the same question was I was planning my Cancun wedding! I remember MVP being cheaper, but I decided on Styling Trio and am glad I did. Looking through MVP's website and Facebook page, I really liked Melissa's work. But I couldn't meet her minimum booking requirements, so I would have had to book with "her team" and I just didn't like their work... they made the eyes way too dark. So I went with Styling Trio. They have such a huge team that looking through their work is somewhat misleading since you don't know who worked on the particular bride you're looking at. But I told the woman I was emailing with (Brenda) exactly what I wanted and she assigned me to the appropriate stylists. It all turned out well in the end.

I'm hoping to get advice from some curly girls out there. I've seen some posts in which people mention their wavy hair, but I'm hoping to talk about CURLY hair. I have type 3A/3B hair down to past my shoulder blades. I mentioned DevaCurl because that's the method I follow, but I guess it doesn't really matter. I've sent pictures of my hair to a couple of stylists in the Cancun area and they've all given me a generic "yeah, we can work with your hair" response. But I don't trust them. They're used to working with straight hair that they curl into place. They don't realize that as soon as you start touching curly hair like mine it just goes POOF and becomes unworkable, no matter what or how much product you use. And they don't realize that a "trial" is really just one shot... they can't take my hair out and try a different style because it'll just be a mess by that point. So have any curly brides dealt with this yet? I'm not sure if I should wash, style, and air dry my hair that morning and let them work on it. Or if they should work with it wet? It's strange, but my hair is THE most important thing to me on my wedding day. I've had too many occasions in my younger and more vulnerable years when my high hopes of looking and feeling beautiful were just not met all because the stylist didn't understand curly hair. I don't want to repeat that on my wedding day

So there are a couple of threads about the Beloved Hotel. Everyone seems to enjoy the hotel, and the reviews on Trip Advisor are stellar. I don't doubt that the hotel is a great place to spend a week, but I'm looking for some reassurance about the wedding aspect. When we decided on a destination wedding, I was thinking I'd just chose a wedding package with everything included and show up with my dress. But it seems like the Beloved doesn't have "packages," just the base package that you then add on to. And it doesn't seem like you get much in the base package... that most people pay extra for a prettier ceremony canopy, table centerpieces, and reception decorations. I'd rather not plan all these little details. I'm also not too thrilled about having to work with the WC at the hotel, then someone else for the decorations and flowers (Planner1 Events, I believe?), then a separate photographer (because I don't like the one they contract with). Plus all the additional charges! Am I getting the wrong impression about the hotel? Or am I overthinking things? I'd love to hear what other brides thought of the planning process.