What I would and wouldn't do again...

[edevine]

One more thing.  We did a homemade guest book, I got a fugifilm camera, bought this guestbook on etsy... http://www.etsy.com/listing/55968446/fujifilm-instax-200-wide-format-photo, and brought down a bunch of funny props, it was one of the best things we did!

[Mufin1785]

Originally Posted by MJKH 

 

Hi - we flew with Westjet and used roughly the 72L (no name, non see-thru) containers that often go on sale for dirt cheap at Home Depot...like around $4 - 5, making sure that the dimensions of the bins did not exceed the maximum dimensions allowed for luggage/suitcases. We called the airline twice to confirm that these bins would be allowed and that it was okay for us to tape them shut. We fully expected to have to pay excess baggage costs, but lucked out with our airline and didn't have to pay. We were asked to take the bins to the screening area where oversize/odd size baggage is screened next to the ticket counter. The customs agent did not open any of the bins, just pointed to an area on the x-ray for confirmation of what was at the bottom of one of the bins (tins of nuts). When he heard that, he sent them thru. Had the bins been opened by customs/security, we probably would have regretted not having a roll of packing tape in our carry-on luggage to seal them up again.

 

When we arrived in Mexico and our bags went thru the x-ray machine again in Cancun, the customs official flagged the same bin and this time insisted that it be opened to examine what was at the bottom. No big deal, we just quickly repacked it and we were on our way. That was our experience...

Thanks! I purchased my containers this week!  We did splurge on the the heavy duty one $14.99 at Lowe's but still cheaper than an extra large suitcase. We are flying American Airlines. 

[LiveLoveLaugh]

Great thread!  Thank you so much for all the advice!  I will be following up until my wedding day in May 2013!

[AllieH]

We recently were married at El Dorado Royale, in Riviera Maya, Mexico. Here's what I would and wouldn't do again: 

 

What'd I'd do all over again: 

--a destination wedding. It was AWESOME. Our friends and family all enjoyed the getaway. It was great to have more time with our guests. The ceremony & reception really flew by, and I can't imagine that as the only time to celebrate this event. Instead, we had a long weekend! 

--pick EDR and Mexico as our destination. the resort was AMAZING. I can't say enough good things! 

--DIY. our guests all complimented the small details that I had DIY'd. I can't wait to see the photos of the details! 

--wear the dress I fell in love with. yeah, it was hot. yep, I was a sweaty mess by the end of the night. but damn, I looked good! (hehe)

--have a friend help with my make up, and let the salon do my hair. 

--hire a professional photographer. these memories will be priceless.

--wear wedges for our ceremony in the sand; surprisingly I got a lot of comments on my shoes. part of this is also because of the next item: 

--I had my dress hemmed for flats. I knew I would kick off the wedges and end up in flats, and had seen other brides at their receptions holding up their dresses and trying to dance, because the dress was hemmed for heels. So yes, during the ceremony, my wedges showed a little more, but ultimately it all worked out. 

--marry the love of my life. of course!! 

--do the legal part here at home, and symbolic in MX

--write our own ceremony - it was so meaningful and "us". we wrote our own vows too, and my husband surprised me with his. it was priceless

--not have a bridal party - we felt that all of our guests were our party. we didn't want anyone to have to buy a special dress or suit, given that they were spending so much to be there for us.

--host a private dinner/reception - it was a GREAT party! 

--everything else!  

 

 

Some things I'd do differently (but none of these took away from how special our day was!): 

--hold the welcome dinner the same day everyone arrived - they were all tired, and crashed as soon as dinner was over. we expected to party a little more with them that night

--4pm ceremony time in November was a little too late; we lost light really fast after the ceremony. I would totally move it back to 3:30 if I had it to do over again

--spring for (or bring) the sheers for the gazebo. My husband was a human shade, because the sun was right in my eyes.

--schedule my hair appointment earlier. we had it at noon , with the first look scheduled at 2:30, and 4pm ceremony. the rehearsal hair appt only took an hour, so I thought we'd be fine on the day of the wedding. day of took 90 minutes, so at 2:25 we were rushing to finish my make up (we had to eat lunch after our hair appointments!)

--anchor my veil in my hair with gobs of pins - it flew out three times, and fortunately I was fine letting it go (even though my WC kept trying to put it back in, hilarious)

--there was no need to pay for cupcakes for all of our guests (in lieu of a wedding cake); the dessert served with our meal was phenomenal! we would have been fine with a small cutting cake for the photos/tradition part of it. 

 

[TauruSmith]

Loving the advice on this thread!

[Zoe Nguyen]

Thank you for all the advices, this is a great thread.

I have decided to cut down in decoration, and have a smaller cake just for pictures, keeping the desert (we thought that we didn't want desert and having wedding cake instead). 

Book earlier hair appoinment, and stay with my FI the night before the wedding. Definitely will do the Ipod, and will make a separate list for each.  

[Cherina]

I have read all #737 posts here and they realness and honesty was more helpful then all 40 bride/wedding exc magazines and books that I own. I can't wait until I can give back.

[TauruSmith]

I agree. Who needs a wedding magazine when you have brides who have actually lived through planning, hosting, and enjoying a destination wedding?!

[Cherina]

I won't be buying another because I have BDW Brides!!!!

[Labebita911]

Great thread !!!!.. Especially for those who go into this without any clue of what to expect. I got married 07/14/2012 with 18 Guest.

 

Things I would do ..again

1. By far the best decision I ever made was getting married in Cancun. MX… WOW Words cannot describe the feeling of not only Our Wedding but having our close family and friends there with us that otherwise wouldn’t have traveled to Cancun or internationally.
2. Arranged private transfers for me and my guest. This was a way to say thank you and don’t worry about getting to and from the airport. We arrived before everyone so it gave us time to greet them as they arrived. )
3. Organization.. Knowing everyone’s flight information, room numbers, etc..
4. Ask guest to stay at the resort. We had 16 guest stay at the resort plus us and 2 people stayed elsewhere. This kind of sucked because we didn’t get to hang out with them other than the wedding night.
5. Definitely have a play list or list of song/genre that you would like so that the DJ has some direction.. My guest and I did not stop dancing!!!!
6. Definitely invest in a light up floor. I was apprehensive about spending the extra cash.. but wow am I glad I did!!!! We got married outside on the beach and it was amazing once those lights started lighting as we danced the night away.
7. Spent time with everyone!!!!
8. We all arrived the same day but we stayed an extra day after everyone left. I thought I would have wanted more time with my Husband and we almost booked more days but after our friends/family left we missed them and were ready to go.
9. Kept it simple and brought down with me most of the things for the wedding.  )

 

Things I wouldn’t do!

1. Stress over whose coming!!!!! I overly stressed this but you just can’t predict what’s going to happen 2 days before we flew out the Best Man and the maid of honor cancelled!!!!! Due to private matters.
2. Not let things bother you or let people make you feel selfish. This was OUR wedding and this is how WE chose to get married. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion but at the end of the day Its about Our day and those who went had an awesome time and those that didn’t missed out. Plain and simple… . Believe me this event/experience will teach you a lot about yourself and those around you. You will learn that there are a lot of phony people in your life. I was disheartened at some people’s reaction and actions. But what doesn’t break you makes you stronger.
3. Rain…. I stressed about it raining.. but you cant fight against mother nature. Thankfully It didn’t rain but even if it would’ve there is always a plan b.
4. Hair and makeup.. I went into the spa with no pictures or ideas on makeup of what I wanted , thankfully everything turned our great but do your research.  ALso ... having more time to get hair and makeup done. I rescheduled my appt to a later time thinking i was ok but then i ended up being rushed thru getting ready!! which bring up another point..
5. Be on time.. and spend some quality time with your mom/grandmother etc.. while getting ready . I was rushed and missed out on spending some really good time with them because they were rushing geting me ready and g
6. Just plain and simply Stress!!! I stressed about things that didn’t need stressing.. There is nothing to stress about. Everything turned out better than I ever dreamed or imagine.. It was really the best day of our lives.. Wished we can go back to that day and relive it ) you just have to trust that no matter what happens you are marrying the man of your dreams and that in itself is enough..