Our Wedding week review:

Monday:
Flight to Mexico was good and uneventful.
Arrival through customs was long, especially for people travelling with children. Advise guests to check their paperwork for errors.
Check in went well as there were only 8 of us arriving together. Our arriving group was basically in the same building except for one couple who travelled with their baby (their playpen got lost during the flight, but managed to arrive a few days later). Several of our guests who flew through United States lost their luggage because of the VERY short layover. Welcome dinner at Aledita was very good despite the chaotic arrival of our guests. (If your guests are arriving throughout the day, consider scheduling the welcome dinner for the next night instead, due to late arrivals, lost luggage, the time change, etc, etc)

Tuesday:
Resort is large! Finding things can be tricky without a map.
The beach is perfect! Lots of beds, and shade. The ocean was wonderful for the fish in our group. We actually hung out down by Punta Emilia because of its huge number of chairs and palms, close proximity to the bar, and the reef with fishes. (For the budget contentious guests who may not be able to afford to spend a day at Xel-ha, there were LOTS of fish in these reefs, maybe even more than at Xel-ha for the snorkelers in your group). Our meeting with Grace went well, she was very good and organized. Her English is very good but be patient with her or any of the WC ladies who work at the resort. It is NOT her first language and some things don't translate easy. The paper work for a legal ceremony: if you need/want parents’ names on the wedding certificate then bring the long birth certificate otherwise passport/tourist card is all you need.
The paramedic was very nice and pleasant and Jason and I both had no complaints.
The Colonial and Rivieria lobbies are the busiest lobbies, with the White Sands and Kantenah providing more quiet opportunities to gather with your guests.

Friday:
OUR WEDDING!!!!
I woke up early and had breakfast with my matron of honour and her mother. We went to the spa then to get our hair done. My bridal party had no issues but my mother and mother in law did not like their hair....The spa girls are much better with long hair styles. My sister did our makeup in my Suite which was perfect. Matias and Jason from Indigo video showed up and were quite nice. The ceremony was EVERYTHING I imagined and more. I LOVED IT ALL!!!! The Spanish speaking judge was kind and funny and Grace did a wonderful job translating. Prior to the exchange of rings Jason's sister performed the handfasting ceremony which was beautiful. Sherry read a reading from the bible at the end after our vows. And we were done!

After the ceremony we had drinks then went to the chapel so that my daddy could do a blessing and share a prayer he wrote for Jason and I's wedding... Therefore incorporating the Scottish and catholic sides of our history/culture. Following the blessings we did family pictures in the chapel before running to the sports bar for drinks again.

After our ceremony we had booked cocktails at the Sports Bar from 3 to 5 which was a great idea… I was worried initially about this choice because it WAS SO HOT for our wedding, however, our guests were allowed to go inside the sports bar where it was wonderfully air condition and relax with a few drinks, or even play pool. We basically had the whole bar to ourselves.

Elsa was Grace's partner for our wedding and she was kind and helpful especially when 5 minutes turned into 10 or 20, haha. Our bridal party did lots of pictures at the flamingo pond and Las Rocas. After that Jenn, Jason and I took more photos before joining everyone at the colonial lobby to get our transportation to Laguna.

Laguna was wonderful, it was small, decorated beautifully and the food was awesome.  We had our first dance, then I had my father and daughter dance which was the moment I wanted with my father the whole time. And even Jason had his moment with his mother. Caution for Laguna... If it is windy candles are not a good idea. The side who enjoyed the breeze were unable to enjoy the candles but the side who melted got to look even more beautiful because they had the candles lit.
At 9pm we did the cake cut, bouquet toss and garter throw. After feeding our guests the cake we let them run to their rooms to change into lighter clothes for Las Rocas before regrouping at 10:30 in the white sands lobby)...

We ended up with only an hour and a half at Las Rocas which was fine by me. I had changed into my second dress and cut the second cake with our James Bond cake topper. At midnight we called it a night and took the cart back to the lobbies for our guests... We had to stop twice because Jason and the groomsmen dropped something off the train... So make sure you know how to say STOP IN SPANISH if necessary as you might not have a super cute little boy in your party willing to retrieve said items from a dozen meters away.

Saturday:
Recovery, Jason and I slept in.
Trash the dress at 4:30 is AN ABSOLUTE MUST DO!!!

Sunday:
Excursion to Xel-ha

Monday:
Our departure from the resort was a little late, but generally the experience went well.

Issues/comments/suggestions for future brides:

1. Bring lots of Usd cash.... We had lots of issues trying to pay with credit cards at smaller vendors on and off the resort. The resort lobby and souvenir shop seemed to be the only places who accepted our cards without problems.

1. When I made our reservations I booked a Suite at the White Sands instead of the Mayan suite or in the Royal section based on the experiences of previous brides and pictures I saw on the websites. I recommend this option if you have a large wedding group or in my case want some privacy as your trying to climb into your dress while EVERYONE else besides your Maid and Matron waits in the sitting area. LOL

1. The Godsent, I don’t know how many destination wedding resorts have it, but the Grand Palladium in the Riviera has the greatest group of brides past, present and future working together, sharing ideas and experiences to make our dream weddings a reality at BDW Grand Palladium Riviera Maya. If you have facebook I strongly recommend taking a look.

All in all our wedding was a dream come true, and even the little flaws that happened during the wedding will become cute stories that Jason and I will be able to smile and laugh at for years to come.Relax, you are in good hands. Most of all remember it’s your wedding, to breathe and savor the moment, whatever happens.

Liana & Jason