pykx82

Hello Ladies! So I had previously posted about how we had booked our wedding for January 2016 at the Riu Jalisco in Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico. Since then, a number of our guests expressed concerns over how dangerous Mexico has gotten lately due to the surge in violence in and around the Puerto Vallarta area, and so we have decided to relocate the wedding to Cuba. I have to admit that I'm WAY more excited for the wedding now that it's in Cuba. I absolutely adore that country and cannot wait to get back there. We've decided on the Blau Varadero, based on photos and Trip Advisor reviews (as well as the glowing review from our travel agent). Has anyone had their wedding there? Any advice/stories/photos you would be willing to share?

I concur with everyone that you maybe do a simpler STD like a boarding pass or a luggage tag. I was going to do boarding pass STD/passport invite, but decided to scrap the STD and just send our invites super early. I'm using the boarding passes as the invites now. Saves us some money on fancy paper & printing, plus it saves me a pile of time. After spending hours and hours on the boarding pass, I realize it's no small feat doing DIY invites! We're getting married Jan 6, 2016, and we're hoping to have the invites ready to go out this weekend.

Congrats! I'm anxious to see the pictures and read your review as we're heading to PV for our wedding next Jan.

Hey ladies, I just wanted to let everyone know that you can get 10 free invitation samples at minted.com right now! Use the code 10FREE It says it's for a limited time, but doesn't say when the promo ends.

@@acw271011 I don't think it's too much at all! I was worried about that when I found my dress (http://www.maggiesottero.com/dress.aspx?style=5MS162&page=0&pageSize=36&keywordText=&keywordType=All) but the consultant at the store said that the old rules for destination wedding dresses don't seem to apply anymore. Evidently brides are just wearing what they like, which is great! One thing to consider is how hot you might be. I'm going to have some crinolines removed from mine so there's not so much business around my legs, and I'll probably get a short party dress for after dinner when we head to the disco. Other than that, you should wear whatever makes you feel amazing!

I did a reverse Google image search of one of the images you posted. Looks like it's Bonita by Kitty Chen: http://kittychencouture.com/bridal/2014ivoire/bonita.html

@@JenniferH114 Those look fantastic! So adorable. @@calgarybride2015 Hmmm, the month to month isn't a bad idea! I would only need it until I ordered my invites, and maybe the pre-travel mailer. You're a genius!

I like the "invite you to share with them..." part. Has such a nice, intimate feel to it. Were you able to purchase publisher separately? I have a student version of office that I bought while I was in law school, but it only has word, excel, onenote, and powerpoint, and I really don't feel like shelling out $500 for office pro, haha. If I could get it separately I would for sure go that route! Word is infuriating to try and do this type of stuff and Photoshop is just... too much.

Hey ladies! I have a wording dilemma. We recently booked our resort and I'm working on DIY Boarding Pass invitations. We've decided to scrap STDs because we've told most people either verbally or via email and STDs would be a little redundant. Instead I'm just going to send invitations nice and early and then do a follow up reminder mailer in a few months. The problem is I can't decide on wording! As background, this will be my second wedding and FI is not big on the typical wedding traditions, so we're paying for the whole thing ourselves, we aren't having a wedding party, neither of us are religious, we aren't doing bouquet/garter toss, and we're not doing a cake cutting, etc. The theme of the wedding is "stress-free" and we're keeping everything very relaxed and casual. With that said, I obviously don't want the typical "Mr. & Mrs. F invite you to the marriage of their daughter yadda yadda yadda" (we're also both in our thirties and have been living together for 6 years, so I think it would be a little strange for my parents to be giving me away now, lol). The draft STD just said "Pack a bag and save the date, Sarah and Rob are getting married!" and I'm wondering if that's too casual or tacky for the invitation. I was thinking of just changing it to "Pack a bag and get ready to celebrate" or "Pack a bag and meet us in paradise" or something to that effect. Thoughts? Has anyone else gone with casual wording? I would love some input or examples of what others have done! Also, am I the only psycho who is teaching herself photoshop for this endeavor? Haha

@@calgarybride2015 It's in Puerto Vallarta! Actually, I think it's technically Nuevo Vallarta, closer to Bucerias than actual downtown PV... but it's so much easier to tell people Puerto Vallarta, haha.

Everything looks absolutely gorgeous!! You looked simply flawless. Congratulations!

We booked our resort this weekend and I'm bursting-at-the-seams excited!! Just waiting for the final confirmation from the resort that they can do the date we want, but barring any major catastrophes, we'll be getting married at the Riu Jalisco on January 6, 2016!! 01/06/16 baby! (so many exclamation points!)

@@Meandhim I'm using it! username is pykx

@@kimmyd2 I gave up on Laura at Journeys and also called Isabel last week! So far she's been way better. She responds to my emails right away and called me back within 10 minutes of my initial email to her. I'm waiting on quotes, but it's only been 3 days and she had the wedding show in there so I'm not worried. I did stop by the wedding show to wander around. I checked out the fashion show (nothing blew me away) and stopped by the Algonquin booth to introduce myself. Isabel was so nice and friendly and gave me a big hug, so that was reassuring. She seems genuinely excited to do weddings. In other news, I chatted with the fella from Rygiel Photography and was instantly turned off. He asked me if I had my dress yet and when I said that I'd found it but hadn't ordered it yet, he immediately launched into the hard sell for Stella's (which he evidently now owns). I've had bad experiences previously at Stella's so it really left a bad taste in my mouth when he went on and on about how much better they are than everyone else, how 7th Avenue is too small and not nearly as good as Stella's, etc. I personally would choose 7th Avenue a thousand times over Stella's. They're just so wonderful to deal with. I first went there 8 years ago while shopping for my first wedding and they still remember me every time I go in there. Anyway, that's just my little rant, haha.

I think a small note somewhere on the invite is totally fine. I've received numerous invitations that say something like "presentation preferred" or the like, so I don't see a problem with a note along the lines "gifts aren't necessary, but if you insist, we're registered here". This will also be my second marriage so we've been spreading the "no gifts" message for a while, but like your family, most of mine are scoffing at the idea of not getting us something so I'll likely be in the same boat as you.

I used mywedding.com. It's reasonably user friendly and likes with the Wedding Party free app so people can share pictures right to your website, which is kind of neat. It also has an option to password protect your site, which I really like. For a free website, it seems to have quite a bit of functionality and customization options.

Congrats on the engagement!! We're doing Mexico as well, likely the Puerto/Nuevo Vallarta area, but there seems to be quite a few people going to Riviera Maya so I'm sure you'll find tons of helpful advice. Happy planning!

@@TinkerSofi Those look so great! I really want tumblers, but maybe I have to do both...

@@kimmyd2 I'm a Winnipeg bride! @@Smellsey We're also looking at getting married on January 6th, 2016! Likely Riu Jalisco or Dreams Villamagna in Puerto Vallarta. We went to see Laura at Journeys Travel Centre a couple weeks ago and so far I haven't heard anything from her about pricing or packages. She said last week she was waiting for resorts to get back to her. Did anyone else have to wait long to get info, or is she just blowing smoke? @@calgarybride2015 5 sleeps?!? You must be so excited!! I'm excited for you

@@marinah84 everything looks amazing! Your attention to detail is incredible. And I LOVE the boudoir book. I'm totally planning on making one for my fella as a wedding gift. Question for you: did you print the invites yourself?

@@TinkerSofi Yeah, I think I'm going to have the conversation with my friends so they understand that we just can't afford to invite everyone and their dogs to the actual wedding. If they want to join us for the rest of the time, that's totally fine. I just can't afford to buy them all dinner or make them a welcome bag, haha. That's horrifying that someone would just SHOW UP and not say anything ahead of time. I would be beside myself.

@ Wow, great find! Thanks for sharing!

@@nadiakat17 Omg that sounds horrible! I'm so sorry you're going through this from people who are supposed to be your loved ones. I haven't gotten anywhere near RSVP stage yet, but the issue we're having to deal with is guests inviting their entire extended families. I've told a few of my close friends to save the date and they've gotten back to me a few weeks later saying their parents, aunts, siblings, etc. are also coming for the week of the wedding. Now I'm stuck deciding if I'm obligated to invite all these extra people to the wedding. I think the real problem is lots of people just don't think about how their actions are affecting other people.

@ Haha, I know the looks you're talking about. I was getting the same ones when I was buying 60 little things of hand sanitizer from Dollarama.

@@palmtree99 I'm planning on sending our invites out about 6-8 months in advance and then only sending pre-travel mailers to those guests who book (probably a month or two before we actually leave).