What I would and wouldnt do again

[JayKay]

Thanks for all the advice!  Definately gives me lots of think about!

[PurpleUnicorn]

thanks for posting this! especially the part about the make up trial since i am going to MAC today but wondering if i should go or not and buy the makeup....

[traceysteve]

that was great advice...thank you so much for taking the time to share.

[bride3183]

Great advice, thanks so much for posting!

[kkimi88]

Thanks for sharing, this was SO helpful. Hope you had the most perfect day and trip

[MJKH]

I really enjoyed reading this...thanks...it gave us great food for thought!  We were at Dreams Tulum in January this year and I LOVED it...loved the little chapel...loved our room with a view...loved the Seaside Grill (and the tomato soup!)...just the intimacy of the resort overall was fantastic.  Had we got married there, the one "note to self" that I made was to ask if it was possible for the resort to NOT hold a tequila tasting in the bar right next to where/at the same time as the wedding party was lining up and getting ready to make their way into the chapel.  The bride we saw just seemed to roll with it though! ; )

 

We decided against having our DW there only because of the cost to our guests.  

 

I had no interest in wearing a veil for the wedding...just my hair up with a flower.  But now I'm thinking I should pick up a veil and take it out just for some great shots after the ceremony.

[hatfiehm]

Such a great thread! Thanks for taking the time, it's so appreciated

[traceysteve]

I loved this so much, I found it all useful, here is mine:

 

THINGS I WOULDN'T CHANGE

- 6 month engagement

- OOT bags, as much as I got caught up in buying stuff for the bags (actually obsessed) everybody loved them, the Bubbas were handy, nobody at the resort had them, and in Aruba, it's soo windy that everyone's plastic cups kept blowing into the pool. The extra sunscreen definitely came in handy.

- we delivered most of the bags the week before we left, very impromptu drop ins, this alleviated the stress of me trying to figure out how I was going to transport things.

- staying at the RIU, and having the wedding at the Westin...I love the Westin.

- not upgrading my room, ours was fantastic, and because I have 2 boys from a previous marriage, we were on the ground floor, close to the pool.

- I decided last minute to have my hair done and I wanted it off of my face, it was sprayed and super sprayed, did not budge in the wind.

- opted against the veil, especially for aruba.

- parasols and sandlewood fans were amazing, the pics with the parasols look sooooo good.

- we bought post cards and used those as a guest book, my original intent was to self address them and stamp them and ask our guests to mail them, but I forgot my address labels. The Westin provided a plain white wooden box and had the postcards in a tray with some pens, and everyone knew to sign and put them in the box. We grabbed them and read them the next morning.

- having the wedding at the Westin, meant having more control because we were paying for everything, pretty much anything we wanted, they made happen. Dinner was great, best steak of my life, and the dessert was to die for.

- I loved my Kate Spade MR & MRS cake knife and server that I had personalized...it looked fantastic.

- I tied the rings together with some purple ribbon that I had so that they wouldn't get lost (more so mine wouldn't get lost, it's tiny) the photographer loved it took pics of it.

- glad I didn't get too involved with DIY projects, because the last 2 weeks before we left was so ridiculously crazy busy, that I barely found time to pack.

- I used the urban decay eye primer and make up setter...make up stayed put all night, and I have super greasy eyelids so that is THE primer to use.

- the Burberry tie, as expensive as it was, looked so great.

- small wedding party, having only a best man and maid of honor, and my two boys at the altar, great, easy to organize.

- getting married a couple of days after being there ensured that I had a great tan going on, made sure to wear strapless bikinis until after the wedding to avoid tan lines, and sunscreened myself, especially my face, to avoid burning.

- once we arrived, was not stressed about annnnyyything, didn't care if at all, was all zen.

- didn't plan any excursions for ourselves, but managed to send the kids off on one.It was so great hanging out on the beach or by the pool, I didn't want to do anything, I didn't even want to shop!

- paid for the sound system to hook up my ipod.

- finally figured out how to use the wedding dj app..duhhhh

- we only used the bottom layer of the cake, but there are 9 of us that are 40 this year, so we had a little birthday party with the top.

 

THINGS I WOULD HAVE DONE DIFFERENTLY

- duh. forgot to pack myself a OOT bag, which meant the extra sunscreen would have been handy for us as well, but I had put mini bath and bodyworks candles in them, they would have come in handy in the room, it was just a bit musty in that climate.

- not have dinner on the beach..too windy, sand was everywhere, stuck to you, in your drinks, food, etc. nice thought though.

- wish I had done a basket with flip flops for some of the guests, wouldn't have done for everyone, but some of the women showed up in heels, thought I told everyone that flip flops were mandatory, maybe I would have even put that on the invite.

- forgot my thank you cards that I was going to use for the wedding planner, etc.

- actually pretty much forgot all of the stuff I had ordered from Vistaprint really early on.

- last of all....wish I didn't have to come back

 

[kristinalilly]

Thanks so much!
This was super useful for me as I had been going back and forth on a few of the things you listed.

[QuintanaV]

Thanks for the post! This is really useful information. Now I know I shouldn't worry to much about how the reception/ceremony looks. The guests will just be there and ready to party!