Any Grand Palladium brides?

[Marymack]

Nice pictures and I love the backgrounds of each!!

[MyTye2B]

Originally Posted by claire0701 

 

Hey Lauren, 

 

Your colour scheme sounds lovely and also love the idea of the hanging crystals, they'll glisten beautifully in the sunshine!  How did you get on with all your questions for Vanessa?  Hope you got all the answers you were looking for.

 

We have also chosen a 4pm ceremony time although we're in the church but will head to the beach for a few photos afterwards I'd imagine.

I'm not sure about the option of different chairs, we're quite happy with the white covers/bow option so didn't ask about that. Vanessa had mentioned to me that we could book any of the Karen Bussen packages and our date is just shortly before your so maybe ask her again about that.

 

It's nice to hear you liked Portofino as well and it seems both the options for your reception are lovely too!  The lights and linen hanging do look lovely, I'm sure I did read a price for those somewhere but can't remember now.  We have booked violinist for our ceremony rather than the mariachi band, I think they were $350 (if I remember correctly).  I asked about outside vendor fee (for photographer) and Vanessa said 'the cost per day is 85USD, but I recommend just pay for their dinner at 25USD' not sure if that means you would just be 25USD?

 

Your dress and bridesmaids dresses look really nice, have you decided on those now?  I've still to go dress shopping again, think I'll wait till after Christmas now though. 

 

How you getting on with Save the Dates?

 

Claire

Hi Claire!

 

You're just a month ahead of me!!    Sorry for my late response.  Over the holidays I was home in Ontario. While I was there I was able to shop with my mom and I found the same dress I had loved out here and I bought it!!  It is by Essence of Australia - D1266.  It's kind of a 2 in 1 dress - you can take off the lace a-line overlay and wear it as a mermaid style.  I really like the lace though.  I was so happy that they had it in Windsor where I was able to show my mom and get her opinion and just have her there when I made my decision.  Now that Christmas is over have you had a chance to look at dresses?  Do you have family and friends nearby who will be able to go with you?

 

My girls and I have decided on the Bari Jay bridesmaid dresses in turquoise.  Only my sister has ordered hers so far though.  All of my friends are onto trying for their 2nd babies but the process is hit or miss so I think they're holding out in hopes that they may need a bigger size! 

 

How did you decide on the resort and time for your ceremony?  How long will you be staying at the resort?  I think a 4pm ceremony will be so nice - hopefully not as hot as if it were earlier in the day.  Did you decide to go with one of the Karen Bussen packages?  I did ask Vanessa again (I'll say it again she is absolutely wonderful with her communications!) and she said that IF they become available by the time of our wedding we can certainly have it.  I have decided now that I am ok with what we've chosen and that it might be too much work to change things up last minute.  As for the chairs, I ordered some through an outside vendor - Weddings by Cancun?  Saku is the woman I've been dealing with and she is also wonderful.  At this time I don't know how many guests are coming so we are able to adjust the number closer to the date.  I also ordered the crystal backdrop and some bamboo sticks with flowers for the aisle.  There is no outside vendor fee at Grand Palladium which is amazing!  I have ordered a few other things as decorations.  I'm lucky to have a friend who lives in the US and lets me send things to her house because the fee to ship things to Canada is crazy!  I ordered turquoise Japanese lanterns which I think I'll have instead of the fabric and lights from the ceiling (cheaper) and some fans to put on the chairs for the guests at the ceremony.  The fans are a sand colour.  I also bought some bubbles since I asked about sparklers but they are very expensive.  The bubbles I bought with a coupon at Michael's for a very small amount.  I'm just tying some turquoise ribbon on them to make them prettier. 

 

My future sister-in-law will be our photographer.  Honestly I have not seen much of her work and I'd prefer to hire someone but I don't want to cause a family dispute already, haha!  I'm sure our pictures will turn out alright.  We will be doing our engagement pictures with her in a couple of weeks.  It's really nice that she has offered to take the pictures for us.  Since she is staying at the resort we do not have to pay a fee for her.  The $85 fee for your photographer seems very reasonable - especially if you're able to get it for just the $25!  That would be great!  Who is your photographer?

 

I still haven't received the save the dates.    They were shipped on December 16th (my fault because I had to order extra so it put her behind) and with the holidays and shipping to Canada through customs it seems to be taking a loooong time!  Now that the holidays are ending I hope they're here soon.  In the meantime I've been working on a few things for my Out of Town Bags (which are turning out to be very expensive haha) and I am so happy I've decided NOT to make my own invitations.  The girls on this site are so crafty and creative but my door hangers for the OOT bags have been sooo stressful and disasterous to make I can just imagine what I would have done to my invitations had I tried haha. 

 

Have you chosen to register anywhere for a bridal shower?  My next issue is that my fiance and I registered at a store out here (Bed Bath and Beyond) where we had awesome service from Gillian who helped us - she was so knowledgeable - and the things were reasonable as opposed to some other places we looked (I can't bring myself to register for $600 cookware I'd much prefer $150 10 piece set haha) but there is no Bed Bath and Beyond in Windsor where my family and friends all live which is probably where I'll have my shower.  I don't think my fiances family will have a shower for me out here.  They are very casual people who don't really do things according to the rules.  Do you think it's tacky if my sister adds a note to the shower invitations saying that if guests choose to order online they can have the gifts shipped to my house or I can pick up in the store?  It's just that I can't really take a 4 hour flight with 15 suitcases full of shower gifts.  I just wonder how people will feel about ordering online.  A lot of older people aren't too into that!  

 

Well anyway, I hope you have a very happy new year and I look forward to hearing more of your planning soon. 

 

Lauren

[Mikeycelle]

Originally Posted by Marymack 

 

Nice pictures and I love the backgrounds of each!!

Thank you Marymack!

[Chrestena]

Hola!  First time writer on here, but am having so much fun reading through these posts...lots to read! We are from New York, and our wedding is booked for May 8th at Grand Palladium in the Mayan Riviera...are there any other brides around that time frame? Vanessa has been absolutely wonderful to work with, and for a really chill bride, I am starting to get nervous now that we are into January! We have been to this resort on vacation  before and this is why we chose it...so to any Palladium bride who has never visited it before...I promise you, it is really, really beautiful! We are pretty much done, except for the things that have to be done a few days earlier...(we are arriving 4 days prior, and staying for 8 days following). I am going to go back and read some more posts, and look at some more pictures...but I wish everyone a beautiful wedding!! 

 

Oh, and a question for everyone...we are trying to figure out the timeline that works best...any advice? Our reception is at 4 pm, and we have a Spanish Trio booked. Not sure if we should have champagne right there on site, while the Trio plays, or use them at the cocktail party in between. Either way, we will have them play a first dance for us, with romantic Spanish music, directly after the ceremony. Just wondering if it makes sense to stay by the beach for the 45 min we have them, and continue drinking champage, then our guests can go on to a cocktail party while we take photos. Our reception isn't until 7:30 pm....any suggestions?? Thank you!

[MyTye2B]

Hi Crestena!

 

Congratulations on your wedding!  I have also vacationed at Grand Palladium before (and it was for a wedding!) so I whole-heartedly agree with you that it is gorgeous!  Also omg you're right - Vanessa is so fantastic!  After reading a lot about the difficult communications with other places I feel so blessed to have her looking after us!  I did a lot in the first month after deciding on the resort but now I've stopped for a while because I feel like I can't do anything until we get a confirmed guest count. 

 

It sounds like we have a similar timeline.  My ceremony is at 4pm also.  Are you getting married on the beach?  I was kind of wondering what to do with the 3 hours between the ceremony and the reception with the guests.  How you set up a cocktail party for inbetween?  Did it cost extra and how long is the party for?  Where are you having it? 

 

I really like the idea of having the Spanish Trio playing your first dance right there after the ceremony!!  I think that would be perfect and I'm pretty sure you get the champagne right there at that time anyway.  It would just be a nice thing for your guests to see and be able to watch while they're enjoying their champagne.    Also I think like ours your reception only goes until 11 so you'd have a little more time for partying then.    If I remember correctly I loved everything about the wedding I went to at Grand Palladium but the dinner service was slllloooooow!  It was at Portofino restaurant and it was 5 years ago so things may have changed, but I still think you might as well have the Trio at the beach.  It would kind of be like a separate cocktail (champagne and music) party that you'd be able to enjoy.  And you'd still have over 2 hours for pictures. 

 

Who are you using as your photographer?  We're in a bit of a bind right now.  My future sister-in-law was supposed to do ours but she is pregnant and due a month before the wedding so won't be able to handle that.  So I really wanted my cousin to do it (she and her husband work in a team and are amazing) but she is pregnant too and due 2 weeks before the wedding!  Super happy for them but unfortunately they won't even be able to come to Mexico.  I'm having trouble accepting it's going to be upwards of 2 grand to hire someone, lol.   

 

Can I ask where your reception is being held and what meal you chose?  We are going with La Laguna and I believe the meal choice is #10 (although I really wanted #1 haha.) How many guests do you have coming?  At this time I have NO idea what we'll end up with lol. 

 

Well good luck with your last minute planning!  May is just around the corner!  I can't wait to hear how it went when you're back. 

 

Lauren  

[Chrestena]

Hi Lauren

 

Yes, Vanessa has been really wonderful...I was worried planning from so far away, but she is really good at getting back to me as soon as possible, and on the few occasions where she hasn't been able to, she had someone else let me know she was on vacation. Very nice!

 

Congratulations to you too!! Very happy for you and your fiance!!   We had the "lull' in between too, there was a flurry of activity when we became engaged a year and a half ago...then there was really nothing to do for all these months, besides order my dress and the bridesmaids dresses...now all of a sudden there is another flurry of things to get done. Favors ( fun maracas or luggage tags...I don't know!) , shoes, veil (or no veil!...flower??) , gifts for the bridal party, the actual invitations (we sent out save-the-dates months ago with our wedding website on The Knot), Welcome Bags, my fiance's suit, the sand ceremony jars, candles for the tables, the videographer, putting together our music playlist, photographs for our entrance table, our chair signs (Senor and Senora!), I am decorating our Champagne flutes with flowers, our vows, starfish for the chairs lining the aisle, a basket of cigars to pass out before directly before the ceremony for the gents, and hankies for the ladies, etc...ahhh! I thought I was pretty calm, but I think we are down to about 125 days now, and I can't believe it's that close! It seemed so far away for so long, lol!

 

I wanted to get married on the beach, but my fiance Michael, really liked the Punta Emilia wedding arch...we saw it on one of our walks on the beach, and he mentioned it then too. I think he just wants some cover from the sun! ha!  I love them both, so I'm fine either way- but I think because he really thinks the arch is beautiful, I will go that way. The good news is, they don't make you decide 'til you get there- the bad news is- I need to decide so I can have it printed on the itinerary that will be in our guests Welcome Bags. I think the arch it is  

 

As for the 2 1/2 hours in between (5 pm - 7:30 pm) I'm still debating exactly the locations... I dont know!! The wedding is at 4, the reception at 7:30 ( I asked Vanessa to push it a half hour later so it will be getting darker and I can use candles). We are only doing a 2 hour h'ors d'ouvre reception. We can still have a DJ by doing it this way. We are at La Laguna from 7:30 - 9:30...then we will move to the disco, or to Las Rocas...really anywhere. We opted to do this because we are having a cocktail hour after the reception, with food too. We just don't know where!  

 

I am SO GLAD you liked the idea of the Spanish Trio doing the first dance right there beachside...I love the idea too! Champagne, and a little bit of dancing with the Spanish music sounds so nice- with the sea right there. I love that idea. They play for 45 minutes, so Vanessa suggested using them as the music to walk down the aisle (15 min), then the remaining half hour at the cocktail hour, but I didn't really like the video she sent me of their music as "walking down the aisle" music! I love it, (when we were originally getting married in our homestate of New York, we hired a Spanish guitarist for the cocktail hour- we love that music- so romantic!) but I am not sure they will get it quite that way that I envisioned for walking down the aisle, so we figured we would have our music on iPod for the processional, then switch to a fun first dance song with the Trio. I don't know...:/ That actually seems really complicated so I may have Spanish-y music all the way. As long as it's soft, sexy, and romantic, and not, La Cucaracha or something...haha!

 

After the first dance at the ceremony site, Vanessa gave some suggestions for a "cocktail hour". One was the Sports Bar, which sounds terrible, but after looking through this thread, there is another couple that had the same fear, but had no choice but to book it (it was all that was left), and it looks really pretty. There is a fountain outside, and it looks nothing like a sports bar. I think it is near the church. They had their first dance there, with the Spanish Trio. This is $14 pp, hand passed apps and a bartender. It will be one hour only. The other alternative, is to not pay anything, and have guests go directly to the lobby bar or any of the other bars- there won't be food, but they could go anywhere on the resort really, and get food. I think I will do the actual cocktail hour with our own personal service. Seems a bit nicer for our guests to enjoy this while we are taking our photos.

 

The reception is going to be for 2 hours at La Laguna, beginning at 7:30 p.m. with hand passed h'ors d'ouvres that we were able to choose, and cocktails, music, and dancing and toasts. Guests will have time in between the cocktail hour and the reception to go for a walk on the beach, go back to their rooms and have a siesta, or continue cocktailing it!  We are having a sit down dinner at Portofino for our rehearsal dinner the night prior, which includes all of our approx 40 guests anyways.  My thinking was, for the rehearsal dinner, all of our guests, as they are from out of town, will be there, it will be more quiet, and probably be a slower service. We won't have music there, or dancing, but we can have toasts, and a nice longer dinner. For the reception, I want everyone up, dancing, grazing on food and cocktails, and having a party! Plus, it saved us money to not have a sit down dinner, so we can have the cocktail hour too! I hope I made the right decision! After the 2 hour reception, we will head to Las Rocas, or the dance club...really anywhere and continue

 

That is great news about your family members expanding their families, lots of beautiful babies! but yes- that does put the pressure on to find a photographer! We are actually flying in our photographer and her assistant from NY. She has done our engagement photos, and she is great. I really wanted her to come, and she finally agreed to, so we are footing the bill for her and her second photographer's  trip. In return, she is shooting us at the rehearsal dinner, the entire day of the wedding (one photog for Mike and the guys getting ready, one photog for us girls getting ready), the reception, and the next day's brunch. She is also doing the day after Trash The Dress shoot in the water on the beach, early morning. 

 

I am still, however, looking to book a videographer- I have looked at a few local ones. I have to pick one this week. I've been lazy about that!

 

We have invited 75 guests (and they may bring a guest),  but we know many of them won't attend. At this point, we have 30 confirmed, and we are guessing about another 10 for a total of around 40, so we have $14 pp for the cocktail hour, and another $14 pp for the reception. Not bad! We are paying $1,900 to fly in our photographer and her second shooter, but that is in lieu of the photography charge. There is no charge from the Palladium to have them shoot our wedding, as they are not really outside vendors, but our wedding guests who are staying for a week on the resort. Keep in mind, that the price of the actual "wedding", is only for, I think 8 guests (maybe 10? I can't remember). Any number of guests over that is an additional charge- kinda stinks- but I think it's $20 per additional person over the allocated 8. (this includes you and your groom and your wedding party). Also, the chair set up is an additional $4 to have the white chair covers- I like this look so we opted for it). I have heard that they really are good at the planning of the weddings, and the actual orchestration of the day. Good to know!! That way, brides can relax

 

The flowers we can pick when we have our meeting, and the table set up etc as well. I know Vanessa said we can arrange for golf cart transportation for the wedding events- we are having a Welcome Party at Las Rocas 2 days before the wedding, the rehearsal dinner at Portofino on the terrace the day before, Wedding Day, then a brunch the following morning. She said the golf carts can't pick up everyone individually, but if everyone meets at a central location (lobby etc), they will pick up and transport everyone. I think that is so nice!  

 

And now i just forgot I need a "Just Married" sign on the golf cart! 

 

Let me know the timeline of your wedding...maybe Im doing this all wrong! LOL Sorry so lengthy - I need help figuring this all out!

 

Sincerly,

 

Chrestena

[MyTye2B]

Crestena I love that this is so long, haha!!  You write like I do!  You've given me so much more to think about now which I appreciate because I probably would have forgotten half of it!  I seriously need to make some sort of time line out. 

 

I don't have much of a timeline worked out yet for our day since we're right at the beginning stages but I do really like your money saving idea of the cocktail party.  We're doing the dinner, but then I think we'll have to compromise having a welcome dinner or an after brunch.  I'd like to have one or the other.  Are you guys just making reservations at a restaurant (Portofino for your rehearsal dinner) or is there an extra charge to have a group get together somewhere like at some hotels?  I wish their website was a little more informative or easier to navigate so I could figure out where I'd like to have these dinners/brunch lol.  Is Las Rocas like a bar or is it a restaurant?

 

I like luggage tags as favours but that may be personal since I work for an airline, haha - maracas could be a lot more fun - and a way for people to get you to kiss - I have to think about that too!  I'm doing no veil too.  There was a gorgeous veil that matched perfectly with my dress but I couldn't bring myself to buy it for an extra $250 knowing I'd wear it for a half hour tops and I have heard it can get pretty crazy with the wind on the beach.  I think I'll do a flower too.  I was wondering what to do with my hair.  I think my sister is going to do it, I just want it wavy, half up/half down.  I would LOVE to get some clip in extensions just to wear for that day but need to talk to my hair stylist about where to get them, have them dyed to my colour, and I'm sure that will be expensive too! 

 

What are you putting in your welcome bags?  I so far have sudoku books I bought at Dollarama, the little 10 tubes of extra strength Tylenol, Tums mini packages, I'm going to make a welcome book with some phrases and week events, SPF chapstick which I'm putting personalized labels on, I made door hangers with our colours, playing cards, a few bandaids, a pack of gum, and I'd like to get those OFF wipes (August in Mexico, yuck!) and a couple of water bottles, oh and I don't know what else!

 

I haven't even started thinking about the suits for the guys!  We'll probably just do linen shirts and pants.  I forget the name right now but I know there's some cheap website going around on here for guys stuff.  My problem is finding ties in our turquoise colour and differentiating the groom from the groomsmen in some way.  He will have a boutonniere but I will need something else I think.  Any suggestions?

 

Candles and pictures for the tables I've started thinking about.  The music playlist is going to be HUGE!  Oh I'm scared to start thinking about that.  We're not getting a DJ so we'll have make sure we have good versions on our iPod and I'm going to drill his cousin into playing it correctly, lol.  How are they doing your music for the actual ceremony?  I also have to think about our vows.  Are you guys writing your own whole ceremony or just the vows?  I have a few little things I'd like read but other than that I am going to have them do their thing.  I am nervous to write our own vows.  Lol, I talk to so much and Tye talks so little I don't know!  Maybe we could work on them together but then I don't know if he's not supposed to hear them until that day, haha.  Oh and the wedding I was at before was at the Punta Emilia and it was just beautiful!! 

 

I love that you're having Senior and Seniora on your chairs!!  I may steal that idea it is SO cute!  I also love the idea of the cigars to pass out at the ceremony!  We're putting fans and bubble tubes on the chairs as our favour at the ceremony.  I've ordered a few from Paper Lantern Store.com but not a whole bunch yet since I don't have an exact guest count and won't for a while.  I also ordered turquoise and beige lanterns, they came sooo fast!  I was able to pick them up at Christmas time from my friend.  My family is in Windsor, Ontario (just south of Detroit funny enough) and I have a bridesmaid who lives in Michigan which has been a Godsend since most places don't ship to Canada and the ones that do cost 3x as much to get them here!  I just ship everything to her house. 

 

That's awesome you have a photographer you love!  Pictures are so important to me but holy the expense is crazy.  I've decided to go with someone who is fairly new - been in the business about 3 years.  I know her from back home and when she was just starting out she asked if she could do a free memorial shoot with me and took some pics of me holding angel wings and things in the woods that I thought were really creative and turned out well.  She is very passionate and works her butt off which I like.  She is still charging more than I'd like but I trust her so that's ok.  Prices seem to be a bit better in the US.  If I do both the TTD and have her as a photographer we're looking at $2600 total.  I want to do a TTD too, but I think I'm going to go with Cancun Wedding Photo.  They don't charge too much and they can take us out to a cenote.  The question I have is this - would you buy a cheapy TTD dress off fishinthesky.com for $200?  I don't want to ruin my actual dress, although I get that it will probably be ruined from the sand anyway haha.  I just watched an Inside Edition on buying those cheapo dresses online, but I only want it to jump in the water in.  I don't expect it to be nice at all haha, I just have trouble taking the website seriously when it says 'Dresses for Brideses' hahaha.  It's kind of a unique perk of a DW to get to do TTD. 

 

About the extra wedding cost, I'll need to get a bit more clarification from Vanessa on that.  We're just  having a symbolic ceremony.  We'll be getting married somewhere in Canada a week before we go.  We haven't decided where yet, but we both can fly wherever we want so we're thinking either back to the place in BC where we got engaged or somewhere we've never been before.  I think the base cost of our wedding is $1550 and then you're right I think it's only for 8-10 people.  We're doing the sit down dinner so we're paying $50-$60 a person to have the guests eat so I'm hoping it's not an additional $20 each on top of that!  Oh I also love your idea of the 'Just Married' sign for the golf cart!  How adorable!  It is so great that they'll pick everyone up from one location.  I am really liking our resort choice! 

 

It all adds up but it is so much fun!  Keep me posted on how you're doing!

 

Lauren

[Chrestena]

Hi Lauren!

 

So glad you didn't mind the lengthy post! Yes, we made reservations for the rehearsal dinner with Vanessa. There was no charge for this, as it is in one of the resorts restaurants, and we are under 44 people. I think if you are more than 40, you must have these at one of the buffets. (if I remember correctly- I booked this so long ago!)

 

We think we will be coming in between 30-40 people, including our wedding party (we have 5 children between us, haha, so we are like the Brady Bunch- almost!) and my brother and sister, and my fiance's sister are in the wedding too. 

 

If you want to see how I broke it all down, you can go on our wedding website- it is www.christinaandmichaelswedding.com (has to go in the browser, not Google). I have some photos of the resort that we took on our vacation as well

 

We scheduled the cocktail party and the brunch with Vanessa as well. No charge for either!  (yeah!) Las Rocas is on the beach, at the saltwater pool, near the rocky part of the beach (White Sands and Riviera side). I have photos of this on my wedding website as well- the pic with the outdoor beds with the white flowing linens and another photo with white lights winding around the trees- so pretty (and kind of sexy!). There is no food here, only drinks, but I wanted the adults to have a chance to have a few cocktails after getting settled upon arrival. The Grand Palladiums White Party will be going on as it is a Monday night-(meaning, according to Vanessa, everynoe has to wear white, and there is music). I thought- hey- even better! It's like a party for my guests that I don't have to plan Doing it this way seemed more  thought out (the resort will also pick up everyone at the main foyer via golf cart or train, and bring them here together!) instead of just going somewhere on the fly. Plus, Las Rocas will be expecting our group. Same thing with the brunch- we have 40 booked for one of the buffets at 9:30 am the morning after the wedding. It just seems nicer to all have it all set up with table/s all together, and ready for us when we get there. 

 

I just really, really tried to utilize the "all inclusive" as much as possible! Believe me...it's very expensive to go with us, our 5 children, (teenagers- so they are adult rates), and our photographers. I want to make sure everything is beautiful, and everyone has a great time, but...I need to be smart!

 

The luggage tags is a great idea if you are in the industry!! I love it! Mike and I travel so much that we thought it was fitting as well...but I ended up (again, trying to save money- AND- be festive) going on a website called Amols, and found these amazing 8" hand painted wooden maracas for $1.95 per pair. This means I can get one for every place setting for $40. I was stunned! They really are pretty too- they come in beautiful tropical colors, and have the word "Mexico" hand painted on them. I am getting an assortment of colors (coral, blue, yellow etc) and tying ribbon with message cards on them. (I am writing phrases of love in Spanish on cards I made). Yes, I said $40!! I was allocating about $300 for favors, so this was really great. I still have to find a beach bag for the Welcome bags. I want plain sail cloth, because I have a rubber stamp of the Yucatan Penninsula and want to stamp them with that. I don't want our guests to have a bag with our wedding date or names on them...I want them to use the beach bags as if they bought them for themselves. I love all the stuff you are putting in yours! Especially the welcome book with phrases! That's awesome! We're putting mini Tequila bottles, fresh limes and salt, with a funky margarita glass per person (Im doing one bag per couple- but 2 tequila shots and 2 glasses per bag if it's a couple), flip flops for the ladies, Tylenol, Mexican candies, and sunscreen. It sounds kinda boring, now that I write it! Maybe I'll work on that, haha. Oh, there is an Itinerary I'm sticking in there too. 

 

I know what you mean about the wind...I remember when we were there, every pic on the beach I looked like I was in a tornado.  I wanted a veil, but I think I won't bother- just like you said- it's such an expense for something Im just going to take off. I like my hair down, and so does Mike, but i think if it's whipping around, I might be better off with it pulled back- I don't know. This is actually the thing giving me my only anxiety! My stupid hair- go figure. 

 

Yes, we are writing our own vows, and reading them. I am Russian, so I asked Vanessa if we can have a symbolic Russian Hand Tying incorporated into our ceremony and she said that's fine (my mother will "tie" our hands together with a Russian rushnyk (hand embroidered cloth) to symbolize unity. I'm glad they will let us do this, if not- we would have done it at our reception. Mike is Italian, so for him, we will just eat a lot of good food! (ha ha). You and Tye sound like Mike and I! I talk, and he is quiet! ( I even wrote that on our website) He is nervous to say them out loud, but it is so beautiful when I go to a wedding and they are personal vows! My mother told us to write a love letter to each other, and instead of giving each other the letter...use that as the basis for the vows you end up writing, since the letter is written to that person and from the heart. I thought that was a beautiful idea

 

We didn't go for a DJ either...I am just enlisting my 3 teenage daughters to create the playlist- and one of them will work it. Im not too worried about that- we are all dancers and will dance to anything- We'll just use any current music we like and we'll be good to go.

 

The Senor and Senora signs are on Etsy!!  Very cute!! And, is the website you are referring to for the men's clothing, Island Importer? To differentiate your groomsmen, they could wear ties in the solid Turquoise, and your fiance could wear a striped one or vice versa. Or, he could wear a jacket. The groomsmen could wear colored bouttionere's and your fiance could wear a vibrant colored one to match your flowers- or he could be the only one with the bouttionere. Mike wants to wear a sand suit and a pale, pale lilac colored linen long sleeve shirt. (his mother recently passed, and lilac is her favorite color). The rest of the men will be wearing the same pants and shirt, only the shirt will be white. Our girls are wearing a coral short chiffon strapless dresses (my daughters, and Mike's daughter- 4 girls!) so with my flowers being tropical corals, whites and purples- I think the coral, lilac, and white dressing will work...God, I hope, lol! It sounds very bright, but- I want him wearing the lilac for his Mom too

 

The TTD is great! I think you're right, when you go Destination, these pictures are just so gorgeous! I am not getting another dress for the TTD. This is it- I'm wearing it, and most likely ruining it - but the truth is...I was married before (very young- age 20) and never, ever, ever, even tried my wedding dress on again. It is STILL in my closet. To have these pictures on the beach, in this beautiful location- Im not even worried about ruining my dress. It is the day after my wedding, and my bridal salon actually said- if I let it air dry, it might not be totally ruined- and if it is, that's ok too... it's a $2000 dress, and I honestly just want to roll around with Mike, on the beach, in it! You only live once!! The cenote sounds amazing too- If you go with the Brideses Dresses (I cracked up too!) site- you're probably ok- the Cenote pictures are mostly underwater and the dress is so manipulated by the water, I don't think you could possibly even realize it is an inexpensive dress- no worries!

 

I still don't have a videographer- do you have one? Any suggestions?? Help!

 

No, I don't think the additional $20 is for the reception...if you are paying for a sit down dinner at $50- $60 p/p that is your cost. The additional $20 p/p was for the wedding ceremony. They need the additional money for a larger cake, more champagne after the ceremony, more chair set up, more table set up, linens, service people etc. 

 

This is getting scary- I just logged on the Knot, and it told me I'm down to 119 days. Yikes!  And ask Vanessa about picking up guests in the golf carts for specific events, especially the ceremony! She said as long as they all meet in the lobby at a specific time, she will send over carts to get them. I love that idea

 

Let me know how it's coming! And if you see any cute beach bags, let me know! What are you using??

 

Chrestena

[MikeCantarellFilms]

Hi Chrestena!

 

Congratulations for your upcoming wedding, We have been part of great weddings at Palladium, you may take a look at this video, if you have any doubt, please contact me.

 

Happy planning!

 

[WeddingCancun]

Hello all!

Congratulations to all brides that are getting married at this beautiful resort. It has this colonial arquitecture style next to the gorgeous mexican caribbean, perfect for a dream wedding.