SparkyM

@MichelleFawn CONGRATS ON YOUR UPCOMING WEDDING!! We'll be right ahead of you :-) We're getting married at the Ocean Coral & Turquesa in March 2017. Listen, I TOTALLY 1000% get your concern about sending money randomly down there... in hopes that the photographer/company doesn't A)fail is a scam or C)leaves town with your cash. Totally understandable. I definitely had a similar concern. So this is what I'll say about it.... TRUST and VERIFY Trust your instincts and Verify their credibility. My fiancé and I went down this past April to check out the place, but also went for it and did an underwater engagement/wedding shoot with Sebi Messina. http://www.sebimessinaphotography.com. I was trepidatious. We talked to him on the phone via Skype prior to me signing the agreement and I KNEW he was the one! Super professional! Went above and beyond to make our photos incredible and does Extraordinary Work!!! I did A LOT of research beforehand because, well, lets be honest... it a Big financial commitment, last thing you want to be worrying about on your wedding day is "did the photographer show up?" and, when it comes to wedding photos, there is no do-overs...hopefully . LOL! I don't know who you're thinking of going with (there's a lot of amazing choices down there for sure). But coming from someone who is a working professional in show business; who knows what quality production, experience and photography is like. In my opinion, you'd be hard pressed to find a better, more honest, genuine, super talented, artistic, thoughtful, caring with loads of integrity photographer down there. His pictures truly tell a stories. So that's my 2 cents. Yes I have become partial to the talents of Sebi and No I'm not getting paid to say this. Haha! He really is amazing and I cannot wait to have him shoot our wedding in April. I know I'm in amazing hands and that's important. If you have any questions at all, feel free to PM me. I get your concerns and acknowledge you for being a 'smart shopper' when it comes to making this big decision. All the best to you and your fiancé!

Welcome Savanaray! Sorry to hear you're in a pickle with choosing the best venue for the wedding. I second everything that Moments that Matter said, and would add one tiny reminder. It's YOUR Wedding!!! Everyone is going to have an opinion about it all. The important thing is that you do what your heart wants and the people who really matter will figure out a way to be there! Plus you're giving them plenty of time to save, plan and budget for it! Good luck & all the best! Happy collaborating and planning ???? Also I'm originally from Breckenridge. If you do end up having it in Colorado, Check out the amphitheater in Dillon (right on the lake... gorgeous!!) or the top of Swan Mountain road. A beautiful pathway that goes and overlooks the lake & 10mile range. Food for thought :-) Last thought: May, end of May and the beginning of June are far less busy in resort towns. You may look at moving your date to then to save some $$$ and get more bang for your buck :-)

#thingsIknowNowandWishIhadKnownBefore :-( I'm NOW working with Babs so I know all will be well. We got leads on 2 properties today. Fingers crossed.... THANK YOU SO MUCH @@TammyWright for creating this Brilliant site!!! I only wish I had found it sooner. Thank you Joyce at @@dreamweddings ! I'm working with Babs NOW so fingers crossed it all works out in the end. In the meantime, cheers to beers & wine-ing :-) p.s. LOVE your website and your amazing 'energy' & intention! Totally shines through your site. It's evident that you're all about Love & Contribution <3

Today felt like a horrible nightmare that I keep hoping I'm going to wake up from. We've had our wedding booked for April 9th at the Ocean Coral & Turquesa for past last 4 months. We've been beyond excited.. created cool website with pics... printed invites & save the dates.. Just really fell in love with the property (sans seaweed issues :-) But found out today that the travel agent we've been working with didn't hold the rooms (and didn't inform us on how important and urgent it was to put them on hold) and now the entire hotel is full. No Vacancy. Sold out until the day after our wedding. I'm not typically a "drama mama" but today, I'm Totally Freaking Out! We need to find another 3.5 to 5star all-inclusive venue in PDC, with a similar price point, that's available on April 9th (or worse case senario, the 10th). And can also accommodate 40-60 rooms for our guests. Help! Fellow Brides & wedding angels... I need a Miracle✨????????✨ Milagro :-) Any suggestions or quick tips you can offer are warmly welcomed!

FANTASTIC!!!! They look amazing @@autjo :-) I'm super, jaw-droppingly impressed right now. I was going to try to hire a company in Mexico to do them for me but after seeing yours... may reconsider. Would you mind sharing where you ordered the marachas from and what kind of paint(s) you used? And/or stencil?

Thank you so much for your response :-) I'm having a small panic attack because the rooms for our wedding week have suddenly disappeared off ALL discount websites We've got approx 6 rooms already booked and need to book about 40 more!! It sounds like Barbara may have a strong connection with the hotel & distributors; I'll reach out to her. Do you happen to know what time zone she's in? Again, thank you so much for your response... gonna keep on breathing and keeping the faith.... #IthoughtDestinationWeddingsweresupposedtoBeLessStressful LOL! Thanks so much for the costco tip @@Christie77 ! Great idea :-) I love how generous you and all the other amazing brides on this site are with sharing their golden information! So helpful <3 Thank you! I promise to pay it forward to other brides-to-be

This is Beyond Fantastic!!! You Rock :-) Thank you thank you thank you

CONGRATS!!! I'll be sure to loop you in on what I learn after ours :-) And yes, you're comments are Super Helpful! Thank you!! Is Wright travel located in the US? Brilliant @@Christie77! Thank You! Love the lead on "Babs" and the Facebook Groups. You Rock! Occidental is one of the places we're thinking of honeymooning (changing hotels after the wedding and staying an extra week). Would love to hear more about it. And CONGRATS! When's you're date?

Thanks SO MUCH @@jill16!! Super helpful! I promise to pay-it-forward to other Brides :-) Hey OCT Brides! I'm looking for info on Childcare at the hotel. We have a lot of guests bringing their awesome little ones... (4 under 8 months old!!). Would love to hear from you if the hotel allows outside nannies to come in? Or are they staffed to handle a large quantity of toddlers & infants at one time? What are their fees to do so? Any thoughts on this would be Most Helpful & Appreciated :-)

@@jill16 Can you let me know where you ended up getting your sparklers? And how long they were? I too am committed to having this for our wedding in April :-) THANKS SO MUCH!!

I would love to see pics from Samuel Luna. Our wedding is April 2016. Trying to decide if we want to use outside photographer/videographer or the one(s) on site at OC&T. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated :-)

Incredible!! Brilliant Job!!! I know it's been a while since your wedding and this post but I'm curious about 3 things: * The actual items you put in each bag (pics hard to see all the details :-) * The excel "documentation" that was created incase customs tried to stop you and charge you. * The Room key keeper?!? Do you happen to have a link to where you got this and/or what it looks like? I'm JUST getting to the gift bag planning phase of our April 2016 wedding and would LOVE any tips, tricks, ideas you can share about your experience. A #GratefulBridetoBe

I'm a newbie to this forum and have never 'blogged' before (is that even what this is called?!?) Anyway, we're excited to be getting married in April 2016 at Ocean Coral & Turquesa in Riviera Maya! And of course, would like as much info as possible to help guide the way! Any info from former brides, grooms, guests, etc. at the OC&T is warmly welcomed & much appreciated!! Specific current questions are: * Anyone have a travel agent who you love who does/did a great job booking 30-50 rooms at this resort? At a competitive rate? * Several of our guests are bringing babies & young children. Any words of wisdom on childcare and how to go about managing having nannies? Possibly from off property? * Still deciding on whether or not to bring our own photographers & videographer. Definitely want to do a trash the dress session the week after the wedding. Any recommendations? * Anyone brought your own decorations, decor to this resort? Did you bring it on the plane or have it sent ahead? What would you recommend? Any thoughts, tips, tricks on ANY of these questions (or other info you think is important) will be received with MUCH GRATITUDE <3! Thanks so much ~