cometgirl

Our wedding is at 4:30pm and I only have 2 girls standing with me. I have 3 friends coming (2 hairdressers and 1 make up), so I figure if we start at 11 or 12, we should be okay. My one bridesmaid is also good at make up, so between all of us we should be good to go!

I am wearing a veil! My MIL is making it for me. I will wear it for the ceremony and some pictures and I haven't decided about the reception yet. I originally thought I wouldn't but as I tried on dresses and had talks with my mom and MIL, I decided I want to. It really is a personal decision though as to what you want. I will probably have a flower for my hair for when I take the veil off.

Welcome @ ! So exciting planning a wedding to your best friend! One piece of advice, start another email account now that you will deal with all wedding stuff, keeps it out of your day to day. I have a gmail account that my FI and I share and both have to our phones so that we know both stay in the loop!

Welcome @@Shipwrecked2015 ! It is nice to know there are other groom's out there that want to be as involved as mine does! Perhaps I should give him the password to this account and you two can talk!

Legs should be fine! Have fun tomorrow!!!

Spreadsheets are my best friend right now as well as a wedding planning book with all creative ideas! I have Lilian as a planner for Barcelo and she has been so easy to deal with! I too am getting married at the Barcelo but the Beach Resort on May 21, 2015!!!

Having been to the Barcelo now, the beach that you can get the MOST privacy at is Playa Azul and it actually has the nicest beach and water (in my opinion). The beach in front of the Tropical and Palace has lots of rock etc, so if you like that then its good, but I like the look of all sand into teal blue water which is Playa Azul. It is slightly removed from the resort too so you dont have all the same passerby's like you would at the other locations. The only thing is there is not a lot of tree coverage, so it can get hot!

We sent out STD's in May/June as we were initially given 90 days to book our resort, but then our tour operator decided they weren't going to that resort anymore but a different one on that property. So we had a guaranteed lower price for 30 people for Sept 5th then they were going to requote everyone thereafter. So we got on people (family, wedding party etc) to make sure they got their deposits in by Sept 5th and everyone else is now getting requoted and there is no new 90 day price guarantee. I would definitely send out reminders as people dont notice websites on STD's (what we have been finding), so we just send texts or emails to remind people that have told us they want to come but have done nothing about it. We are currently at 40 booked with another 15 that are in talks with our travel agent. We will be sending our proper invites end of Oct/beg of Nov with an RSVP of March a couple weeks before final payments are due.

The hardest part is picking the resort and travel agent. Once that is done, this site helps with so many ideas, planning becomes easy!

We will be heading to the disco on our resort!

We are doing the legal at home after our DW on the day we are doing our AHR (my dad is ordained so he can officiate). We didn't want to have to get the blood work or have to get our marriage license translated and this way my dad can be father of the bride in Mexico and yet legally marry me at home! Because we are doing symbolic, our resort is letting us use our own officiant for the ceremony. There is no discount to our package for that, but we figured we may as well have someone we know do the ceremony!

I originally had found a song and showed my FI but he didn't like that it wasn't "us" and was too slow. I really didn't expect him to care, but he is really firm on it being more like us. So we found "Pets" by Deadmau5 that is a bit more upbeat (so it will be interesting to time my walk to) but that goes a bit more with a beachy casual theme.

We are booked through Sunwing for our package and most people have gone through our TA to book. A few are looking at alternative routes that are cheaper but involve a layover or two. We had a deal for the first 30 people and thereafter it is has been as people request they get a new quote. I haven't exactly been impressed with our TA but we are booked so nothing we can do about it now. Because a majority of us are all leaving from Vancouver, most people book through our TA as they all want to be on the flight with us as it will be a big party from the airport on! @@Dreamteam17 - As for the welcome bags, I definitely think everyone that comes should get one. We have a couple people flying out of different airports and some people flying on points that won't be with us, but they are still making the trek.

We did STD's in May with a deal that ended Sept 5th. We have had 40 people book and we will be sending out proper invitations in November for our May wedding with an RSVP date in March as that is when payment is due.

We are having an AHR as neither sets of my grandparents are able to make it and half of my extended family was not invited to Mexico, but it will be a super casual affair. Backyard BBQ at my parents house. We will supply a certain amount and type of booze but if you want something else, bring it yourself. And then we will have a bunch of appies etc. My dad is a pastor of a church, so he will legally marry us about half hour before the party starts with our immediate family and grandparents. Then during the party we will just have a slideshow.

May 21, 2015 also at the Barcelo in Rivieria Maya! Can't come soon enough!

I am with @@cfinkenbine on spreading out paying for things. I too already have my dress, and we have put down on a deposit on my ring (as soon as they get it in we will start payments for it) and our photographer. Next up is his ring and his outfit! We had to put a deposit down with our travel agent to get our tour operator manifest and once we sent that to Tania at the Barcelo she confirmed our wedding date (instead of having it on hold) and then put us in touch with our wedding coordinator Lilian. We too are doing the Mint Breeze package with our ceremony at Playa Azul and then our reception in one of the meeting rooms. Another suggestion if you havent done it already, is get an email address that is just for specific for your wedding. That is where all our communication with our travel agent, wedding coordinator and RSVP's will be directed to. This way you don't bog down your usual email account.

We are not staying in the same room the night before either. I thought my fiance would want to but he said nope - he doesn't want to see me until I am walking down the aisle. So he will be staying with one of his best men and I will be having one of my good girlfriends staying with me. Then in the morning he will be off at another resort on the property until a certain time, so I can hang out by the pool for awhile. (wedding isnt until 430)

We each have 2 standing with us. We kept it small and I kept my side to family only (my cousin and his sister). I knew some friends would be shocked they weren't asked to be a part of the wedding so I am doing a ladies hang out pool side the morning of the wedding to just chill and have people feel included and welcomed. I am sure the boys will find a swim up bar somewhere that morning as well.

We too are looking at tungsten but there a few things to consider with it: 1) If you drop it onto a cold hard surface it can shatter or chip 2) It cannot be cut off a finger. Therefore depending on the FI's career, take into consideration if he is willing to lose a finger, or do more damage to a finger to get it off.

@@cfinkenbine - I think a fishing trip would be a great idea! As for a welcome party - yes we are. There was a special deal that if you have 50 people you get a 1 hour cocktail party on the beach with appetizers. We arrive on a Sunday, so we are planning to do that on the Monday at this point. As for rehearsal dinner - we are opting to do a dinner the night before the wedding with just our parents as a thank you. I am contemplating a brunch or dinner another night with the wedding party plus significant others but haven't decided when yet. Because we aren't getting married until 4:30, I am going to do a girls pooltime/hangout the morning of the wedding. The groom will be banished to other resorts so that I can enjoy some time with the girls/women that made the trip as a thank you as well. @@kimmyd2 - The renovations weren't done yet when we were there, but we saw some before and after shots of what has already been completed and some anticipated after shots of what is still being worked on. They are adding 3 new a la carte restaurants to the beach/carbie as well as an updated sports bar with bowling alley, a new pool, updated buffet, and a pirate ship with a surfing practice water park. The renovations for Beach/Caribe are supposed to be done Dec 15ish, 2014. There was talk when were there that the Tropical may be shut down in 2015 (I don't know when) to start doing renovations on it. So far all of our guests except 1 family are staying at the Beach resort. Depending on the carrier you use, they only have a certain allotment of rooms, so we are now having to ask on a one off basis for more standard rooms through Sunwing. The nice thing is, if we do "run out of room" they can always go to the Caribe. I would highly recommend using a travel agent and they can ensure that you and your guests are at the same resort.

@@cfinkenbine We didn't end up doing any this time. Honestly the snorkeling at the resort was amazing. So many cool fish and sea turtles. You can buy fish food (or take a banana) and feed the fish and the sea turtles will come right up to you and eat out of your hand. We are planning on buying our own snorkel gear for this next trip. Last time we were in the Mayan, we did the Coba Ruins tour which was a pretty neat day. You got to climb the Coba Ruins, go to a Mayan Village and swim in a cenote! Very different experience and very neat. When we go back in May, we will probably plan 1 night out as a mini stag/stagette and go to Coco Bongo in Playa.

@@GingerBride - We knew we wanted to do a destination wedding and one of the key things we wanted was a resort property that had more than 1 hotel. We had done the Riu's before and it can be quite fun to Riu bar hop just for a change of scenery. Our friend had gotten married at the Riu so we looked at other resorts like Barcelo, Grand Bahia and Iberostar. We are so happy with the Barcelo and we actually stayed at the Palace for our trip. The food was amazing and the property is beautiful. There are so many activities and with the renovations going on at the Beach Resort, it is only going to get better. I did notice your other post as well regarding packages/photographer etc. Packages: We are doing the Mint Breeze package as well as I like the idea of toes in sand for the ceremony and a somewhat formal reception inside! We are expecting about 50-60 people for ours, so it also gets quite costly on the beach. Photography: We opted for an outside photographer - Octavio Montes. We met with the resort photographer while we were there as well as Octavio and just found a better vibe with Octavio. The feeling we got from the resort photographer was that their packages are a bit more rigid and not as flexible (ie: you only get edited photos if you do the photobooks). Even with the outside vendor fee we are paying the equivalent to the resort packages and he is offering a 10% discount right now. If you want to check out his work: www.octaviomontes.com. Hair/Make-up: 2 of my friends do hair and make up, so I am fortunate to have them coming to the wedding! OOT bags: Yes we will be doing them, but I have not completely decided what is going in them yet. Ill keep you posted when I do figure it all out.

I am working on designing them right now and hoping to have them out by the end of the month, beginning of Nov. I wanted them out before Christmas.

If one of your guests is a photographer and is staying at the hotel then you don't have to pay the outside vendor fee. But if they are from outside of the resort then I agree with @@cfinkenbine as they do allow outside photographers for $500. Photos was one thing I insisted we spend more money on if necessary as that is the one thing we take away with us. We just did a vacation at our resort to check things out and met with both the resort photographer and an outside one. We booked with Octavio Montes (www.octaviomontes.com) as we figure he is worth the outside vendor fee. We were quite happy with his work and that there is 2 of them (a main photographer and assistant) to capture all the moments. He has a 10% deal off right now for brides which helps with the vendor fee! I know he does weddings in Playa del Carmen, Cancun and Riviera Maya.