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@@acw271011 thank you so much for the advice! I am on amols' site now and feel so much better about the prices!! Do you know if they offer to customize them so I can add our names and the wedding date? If not, then I will add that info on our shake me tags. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

@@pddcmc @@smileitseb thanks ladies!! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

@@pddcmc nice tumblers! Where did you get them and how much? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

@@smileitseb I love these! Where did you purchase?! Nice touch! Did you create your programs yet? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

@@Sheaka nice!! Have fun!! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

@@Lbrennan0 so my bridesmaids called me yesterday to tell me that conducting the bachelorette on NYC is cost prohibitive for some so I suggested we have it in Atlanta. I was super excited about NYC but I want to be everyone does not feel a cost brides when time to travel to Mexico Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk @@smileitseb which maracas design did you go with? I am corresponding with maracas Mexico and it turns out the design I love the most is $6.70... Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

@@fhk815 Does the chocolate rattan lounge set-up come with the cocktail tables and chandelier lights too as illustrated in the picture? @@pddcmc you were absolutely stunning!! Can't wait to see more pictures!! You confirmed that the hair and make-up artists may actually know what they are doing..hehe. I was really nervous about that. I feel alot better now. Glad to see the non-upgraded version of the bride's bouquet too. It was gorg! How many people were in your wedding party? Did you order extra bouquets for the ladies? @@smileitseb Oh no!! The cocktail hour would have been nice! But it is good to know that she was able to work out other things and add special touches in your package. So are you paying for your cocktail hour now? Or will you make it casual and have folks take over one of the bar areas?

@@smileitseb YOLO it is!! I am in the same boat with the budget - that's why i am loving everyone's DIY projects shared on this blog. I need to pull some things in and save where I can! LOL. yes...the survival guide is hot! I think it's a good idea to mail it too. How many mailers did you end up sending out? We did an e-save the date for the younger folks and printed some fun save the dates via walgreens and had our mothers distribute the hard copies to the folks who do not use email so frequently (we saved on postage that way)! We plan to mail out our invitations and the is potential to send out a final reminder a month before the wedding. However, I like our wedding site because it sends push notifications etc. so we may use that technology to provide updates, etc.

@@Lbrennan0 I just checked oout the Dancer Cruise - It looks like alot of fun!!! I never heard of it! To your point, we want to do something to show folks that we appreciate them traveling so far to attend our wedding! We were thinking about getting a party bus following our welcome cocktails party..but the company was trying to charge soooo much money!! Plus the bus only holds 30 people - so we there was huge potential that we would have to rent 2 - uggh. We do not have any excursions booked for our honeymoon yet. I am thinking we may start booking after the bachelorette party and bridal shower which are planned for the summer. I see you are planning for almost 70 guests! It's so funny, every time I tell people that we are planning for possibly 80 people for destination wedding, folks are shocked! They always assume there will be 20 - 25 guests in attendance. I guess we are all planning the right way!! Were you surprised to see that so many guests were on board to travel? That is so exciting!

@@calgarybride2015 Oh I See! i may have mixed you up with another bride. I'm still getting used to this blog...hehe Your pictures are spectacular and I appreciate you sharing your experience!! I am making a note to self to stress less about table decor - even though it is so hard not too!! LOL.

@@calgarybride2015 Oh my gosh! I didn't realize you were already married! Love your vibrant pictures!! How is the married life now? Are there things that you wish you could have done differently? I just realized I read your detailed review regarding your experience at Dreams etc. How was Excellence?

@@smileitseb Yes! Contact your TA to make get the 2 story room! It looks amazing on the website!! YOLO!! Do it big for your honeymoon...this is a chance of a lifetime! So you had the drama with people trying to make it a vacation too?!!! It was stressing me out...of course more than he was stressed!! My fiance was not as worried! - I'm like seriously?!! I was so irritated by the audacity of folks trying to make the wedding weekend about them instead of about us! I would never do that. I'm glad the rehearsal day / time worked out for you!! It is key to have everyone with you to practice..plus it can be such an emotional time as it makes all of your planning, etc. real!! So you want everyone to enjoy that intimate moment with you. So the wedding that day will have 175 guest?!!! WTH?!! Are they local?!! - they have to be!! probably equivalent to us having a wedding at a local hotel in the US. I can't imagine that many people traveling from a different country. Glad you reached out to your TA regarding the cocktail party! She needs to work harder! LOL. All they can say is no, but it is worth a try. Yeah, my TA is the bomb! hehe. The club is supposed to be awesome, so i hope you end up going. there are 2 videos on the club's site that gives you a view of what to expect. Oh thanks for the compliment regarding our timeline! I checked out your survival guide when i found the blog and thought it is so detailed and awesome! I am an IT project manager so I love details - that's partly why I am loving wedding planning too - it's my own little project! hehe. Did you email your timeline or mail it out? Oh - thanks for sending me the maracas mexico email - they responded right away!! @calgarybride2015 Kim love your maracas message!! I am so borrowing the verbiage! Love it..I may incorporate some verbiage for a send-off too similar to @@smileitseb idea. We have to get creative! @@Lbrennan0 Awesome!! You reached your 3 month mark?!!! Wow...are you getting nervous, excited..all of the above?! I love your list of wedding weekend events - especially Friday's Booze Cruise!! hehe..what do you have planned for this event? Will you really be on a boat in the water? Yes! we look like the Tres Amigos (@smileitseb and @@Lbrennan0) scouting out Excellence!! I hope you all enjoy the unlimited lobster on my behalf! I have to wait til September to get mine!! So they had a winter sale? Darn I think we booked too soon! We booked it back in October I think...but either way, we are super excited! @@fhk815 Your wedding sounds like it will be fun! I know you are contemplating renting a sound system - I guess you should consider what is most important to you. If music and dancing is important, then you may consider renting it and eating a couple of meals at home to save in the front-end. hehe. I despise that budget worksheet as well..things add up so quickly. I remember getting the package thinking the wedding would be super cheap! Then, considering the number of guests planning to travel, etc..that's when it gets super expensive. It's hard to keep everything together. ughh.

@@smileitseb OMG!! How is this even possible?!!! This is absolutely insane - My travel agent was bragging about Excellence saying they have unlimited lobster! I'm like sign us up!! LOL. What room did you get? We decided to get the 2 story terrace. You have to share your experience with me..please don't forget this blog after you tie the knot!! Oh my goodness:) Thanks for the compliment regarding our wedding site! It was fun creating it and we love the fact that the site has an app! It also creates push notifications, etc. So we will use it for wedding updates, etc. There are about 4 kids in total (including his son). I was sooo annoyed though because some people are trying to make our wedding a vacation - so some folks were trying to RSVP for more than their plus 1 saying they want to bring their kids to play with David's son. We eventually told folks that they can bring everyone they want, however, they are still limited to their plus 1 at our wedding and weekend events (crazy right?!! weddings are expensive!) I think your travel agent needs to try to negotiate something! You are bringing a ton of people! I think I found a deal on this blog where it is showing that AM Resorts are running a special on weddings booked 1 year in advance - however, it only applies to new weddings. Here is what they offer: Terms & Conditions The Save Your Date promotion is valid on all new wedding bookings made a minimum of one year in advance of the wedding date at participating Zoëtry Wellness & Spa Resorts, Breathless, Secrets, Dreams, Now and Sunscape Resorts & Spas (participating list below). With this offer, new bookings will receive a complimentary Welcome Cocktail Party for up to 50 guests. we going to see if we can leverage this as I booked exactly one year in advance when this offer was non-existent - however there should be some comp they can do since this is being offered to new brides. It's not fair if you spend all of this money and they don't do anything for you. You need to ask your agent what deals she can negotiate. That goes for a wedding that is held in your hometown - things should be added and discounted to a certain degree. She needs to fight for you given the number of guests you have coming. We did not schedule our rehearsal yet. We plan to schedule in the next week or so. As a matter of fact, I will ask my TA to do it now! LOL. I didn't realize that there could be a potential conflict. We need to have rehearsal when everyone is there. Thanks for the tip! Yes - check out the club! My TA told me it has a MIami vibe and is not touristy like Cancun. It should be fun!! I know you are super excited!

@@smileitseb I sent an email to maracas mexico through their contact page. I will contact them through the email you provided- thanks!! Your friend hooked you up! Your guests will definitely appreciate the sentimental touches that you are incorporating. You make each item functional and a keepsake at the same time!! I will definitely copy your guest pics idea. We spent alot of time creating our wedding website, so it only makes sense to add that touch as well! (weddinginparadise.appycouple.com) I attached our draft timeline to be included in the welcome bag. We will also create a welcome tag/letter that will be attached to the bags. We are also thinking of grabbing some tourist brochures so guests can learn about some ziplining activities, etc. Do you have any kids coming? David and I never visited Mexico but we love Mexican food and really had no choice but to plan a destination wedding. We just bought and renovated our home a year ago - proposed at our housewarming. So we knew having a wedding with at least 350+ guests would kill us. So instead, we invited the same 350+ people with the expectation that everyone would not show up - at least folks do not feel left out. To our surprise 80 people are planning to come - so our budget is a little off. But it will work out. I have 5 bridesmaids and David has 6 groomsmen (including his 12 year-old son) - Two of his groomsmen could not make it so he decided to replace 1. My oldest brother will walk me down the aisle and his oldest sister will read a poem etc. They are both officially in the wedding party but are not designated as a bridesmaid or groomsmen- instead they are honorary attendants. They both will light our unity candles after our parents as well. Considering the fact that you have almost 60 people attending your wedding, you should try to negotiate a welcome party with the resort! We are going to try that! But you will see in the our wedding timeline that we have some events planned: 1.) Friday - welcome party then we want to travel to Coco Maya Night Club in Playa Del Carmen for a fun night!! Apparently it is on the beach and is open all night!! http://www.cocomayaplaya.com/. Oh we researched getting a party bus...after we got prices back we just laughed and said seriously??!!! So we may just take cabs from the hotel, etc. LOL 2.) Saturday - Ladies spa day (for the bridal party) during the day. Rehearsal, then rehearsal dinner (with wedding party and immediate family). Then following the dinner we will have a "Night Before Soiree" which we hope to congregate in the Desires night club at the resort - something low key, but people can get together and have fun 3.) Sunday Wedding day 4. Monday, Adios Amigos Brunch (Labor Day). we plan to say goodbye to our guests. After that, we will travel to Playa Mujeres for our honeymoon. It is at Excellence Resort. @@smileitseb Oh...I can only imagine how excited you are!! I can't focus either but at least your wedding is around the corner! I will be jacked up for another 4.5 months!! My bachelorette party is in July in NYC..so I need to wrap my head around that too! timeline_Draft.zip

@@smileitseb Love love love!! I was originally thinking I would customize the maracas color too! Now if there is an additional charge then I may skip that idea all together. I like how the bride kept the variety in colors to make the favors more authentic to Mexico. How long did it take for the maracas mexico people to get back to you? I sent an email earlier this week and still have not received a response. I love your wedding guest book..it is sooo unique!! I may try to do something like that as well! We took so much time on our wedding site that it would only make sense to create a book that is similar. How did you create the book? Did you hire someone to print and bind it? We created a wedding timeline which will likely be a 5x7 size. Did you send out official invitations? I should get mine next week - they look like boarding passes. Do you have a large wedding party? I can't believe how close your wedding is..are you super nervous? My fiancé and I never visited Mexico, so we have no clue what to expect...but it makes it exciting!

@@smileitseb That is actually a really good idea!! What color are your maracas? Do you have pics of your tags too?

@@smileitseb I would so meet up with you for drinks too! I hope you don't drop us after your wedding..you have awesome tips! No thoughts for the send off yet. I was on the maracas mexico siteand saw that they create shake me tags (I will probably create my own DIY tags) but I think it would be cool to ask our guests to shake them when they want us to kiss instead of hitting their glasses. I think the maracas will be cool for the send-off..it will force the guests to remember to keep them instead of leave them! hehe Does it take a while for maracas mexico to get back to you? I sent an email a couple of days ago inquiring about their services, and I still did not hear back. Also, is everyone shipping their maracas to the resort or do you plan to ship them home?

@@smileitseb @@smileitseb oh my gosh! We decided to do that a couple of months ago!! We figure the momentum and pictures will be at the beginning of the wedding! So that will be our grand entrance!! I think we may be soul sisters!

@yuniedo I recommend Elite Travel, Katie Levent 770-695-0404 / email: elitetravelkatie@@gmail.com. She functions as a wedding consultant and travel agent. She is actually traveling with me to the resort. She is absolutely amazing and super responsive. What I love the most is that she is literally accessible 24 hours a day. The first time I called the agency, the team answered the phone at midnight! She has helped tons of brides plan awesome weddings at dreams and other destinations - her company has also won several awards consistently every year. You should check her out and tell her Phaedra referred you! Good luck! @smileitseb It will work out!! Just note that you can only focus on the things you can control...and based on your previous responses, your wedding will be absolutely amazing! And either way, your guests will have a blast.

@@smileitseb Don't fret. I heard that the rain in Mexico is sporadic - kinda like Florida rain. So it may rain briefly and the sun will come out to make it the best day ever! Plus you may get lucky and get a rainbow in your pics! Stay positive and know that it is actually good luck to have rain on your wedding day - but in this case, we will pray that the rain occurs before your wedding. What time is your wedding?

@@Sheaka@@Sheaka @@Sheaka @@calgarybride2015 what sites are you referencing? Is it safer to confirm with our travel agents?

@@Sheaka your logo is so cute! My last name will start with a W too! It's a good letter for logos and cake toppers..hehe

@@smileitseb Tell me about it!! It is sooooo hard not seeing, touching and feeling the venue...Sometimes I lose sleep thinking about things going wrong or not looking the way I dreamed. Honestly, I found this blog because of one of those sleepless nights. LOL. Oh is there a particular site you used for your welcome bags? I am still contemplating doing metallic paper bags with logos or look for cheap beach bags...Unfortunately, I have found no cheap beach bags at this point:(

@@smileitseb Can you share the Coordinators' IG mentions? I would love to start viewing their work. Also, you have me thinking I should reevaluate our wedding package and save the money for an additional hour for the wedding! I will talk to my fiance about it. @@Sheaka Thank you!!!

@@smileitseb That is good to know!! Can you share the vendors that you used? Are you renting or buying your decor items? Yes..I was going to hold out on my robe too..but I wanted our robes to compliment one another so figured i would order my own...I like the fact that robes are long too. they should be fun. Also, was dreams able to confirm that they have the sweetheart chair you displayed in your pic? I hope they have some good accent pillow choices too. Sorry for all of the questions..I'm just happy to find you ladies. I am trying to get it in before you get married and go missing..hehe. @@Sheaka Where did you get your linens and other decor? I guess I need to start looking for myself...If you all are saying it's cheaper then I'm on it! We are traveling Southwest airlines so they do not charge for the first 2 bags for all passengers. So that will be a relief. I'm just curious about how much these bags will weigh. ugghh