Vettiebean's Planning Thread - Small, informal, intimate wedding

[Vettiebean]

Hello, everyone! Like everyone has said before... it's finally my turn! This is super late and, to be honest, I didn't do a ton of planning. So, really this is probably best for a bride who is staying at Moon Palace, mostly concentrates on having fun and relaxing, doesn't care too much about the small details, but cares TONS about a few specific areas (photography, gifts for others...). We had no real agenda for the week and no itinerary other than the wedding -- You should know that before continuing to read this thread.... Oh also, almost nothing went according to plan, but we have hilarious and memorable stories because of it. However, if you're still reading... ENJOY! Hope you find something that helps!

 

Before I start getting to the details, a big thanks to the ladies on the forum for your thoughts, advice, and input. I've made some great connections and real friendships from this forum. However, biggest thanks for guidance and detailed reviews goes to PrettyPig.

 

How We Met:  You can actually read a detailed version of our love story on the Photos In Cancun TTD Love Story Giveaway! We were runners up and were given the amazing opportunity to do a TTD session with Lorena and Derek. Read our story here: http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/t/68488/free-ttd-make-up-package-give-away/10  (some unedited photos at the end).   Proposal: We were in Vancouver partly for my birthday and partly to visit Jake's parents. One night, we were just sitting in bed, talking about random things. Marriage somehow came up, and it wasn't a huge deal... we'd talked about marriage before, but just kept saying "in the future". Suddenly, there was a ... "Well... what are we waiting for?? Why don't we?" "Will you marry me?" "What?" "Will you marry me?" "YES!" And that was it! We celebrated quietly by going to sushi (our fave) and just spending time together.  

Website and STD: Made a website, never used it. Made an electronic STD - by then we already knew we were keeping it to a minimum.

  E-Shoot: We found a fantastic local photographer through a coupon/voucher type deal. She's really good and I love the results. We did photos out in Malibu and just goofed around the whole time. Here are a few pics from the session. If anyone wants her contact, let me know.   Resort/Location: Moon Palace in Cancun, Mexico (but not on the hotel zone). We knew we wanted to be somewhere on the beach, wanted it to be fun, stress-free, and as budget friendly but still nice as possible. It's been a rough year for us and many of our best friends economically, so we wanted everyone to be able to have fun without always having their wallets on their minds. The conclusion - All Inclusive. Hawaii was pricey, as were the other areas considered... so Mexico it was! Moon Palace had a great complimentary deal, was close to the airport, but not in the zone, ... seemed perfect - and it was!   Photography:  Sascha Gluck (Wedding) & Photos In Cancun (TTD Contest) Sascha -- After location and resort, photography was the most important and next thing we booked. I sifted through reviews on the forum and then came across Sascha Gluck's work and website. I loved many of Sascha's photos and liked him as soon as he responded to my query. He worked with me on customizing a package and has been very good. I don't have all the pics yet, but a few are posted on his blog. What I have seen, I LOVE. He's great and so is his work. I will do a full review after getting photos.   PIC -- amazing make up/hair/photography team! They are great. Some photos in this thread and UNEDITED. Imagine what they'd look like with hours of making us look good!!! hahaha Will do a full review once all photos can be posted. Be assured, you cannot go wrong with this team. They are genuine and down to earth, fun people with tons of talent.   Rings: 

Engagement Ring - My husband sure knows me... Diamonds are gorgeous, and any girl is lucky to receive one (one that isn't a conflict piece). But he wasn't marrying any girl.. pink is my favorite color and he knows it. For me, he chose a pink sapphire cushion cut ring on white gold with tiny side diamonds.    His Wedding Band - He actually has two. The first one was purchased at a tiny boutique in Monterey, CA. One of our favorite hideaway spots! It's a bit too big for him and after a couple scares, we decided to get another ring. Both rings look very similar. Essentially, they're both white gold with a line of yellow gold.    Hers Wedding Bands - I wear my E-ring on my right hand. On my left hand, I wear a set of 3 bands. The outer two are rose gold and pink sapphires (tiny thin bands). The last is my diamond eternity band.     Wedding Party: MoH is my BFF since I was 11. No other people in bridal party - husby couldn't pick. There were a couple reasons for not really having a wedding party. Mainly, we didn't want friends to feel pressured into having to go all the way to another country for our wedding and we also had a hard time picking between people. My BFF I knew I wanted to be my MoH, but I didn't ask her until she was definitely going to the wedding. That way, there was no pressure to go simply bc she was in the wedding. This is a BIG expense, so we made it very clear to everyone that we'd be fine if not another soul came along.   I surprised her on her birthday with a birthday package including a poem, letter, and starfish necklace. (Please excuse the horrible photos)     OOT Bags/Goodies/Trip Gifts: Nope. Didn't do OOT bags per se. Instead, girls got blue beach bags. Perfect - both of my girls forgot their bags. Guys... didn't need to bring anything out with them, so it was fine. Everyone got large reusable cups with lids and straws - HUGE HIT!
Gifts Included.... (sorry forgot to take pics and hoping someone else got photos of the watches and goods)
Boys - three boys came. They each got a nice watch from us as their "Thank You" gift. In addition, the husband took them out on a fishing excursion. Pricey - but worth it. Oh, and they went the day of the wedding, during the storm, and sorta got hosed at the end by the boat's captain. So, be wary of those captains who insist the fishes caught "have parasites, bad fish, cheap fish, etc"
Girls -- in addition to the beach bags, they all got personalized mani kits and TART convertible dresses (MoH got a few different dresses and a starfish necklace from when I asked her to be my MoH).
Husband -- I planned super in advance for gifts. He got a boudoir photo gift box with photos printed on thick stock (kind of like thick stock or something). He also got a watch, which I gave him when the boys got their watches. And, last but not least, I got him tickets to Michael Jackson Cirque show. This is the bag the girls used. I got myself one, too hehe!  

Hair and Make Up Inspiration:

Natural, neutral make up with tons of lashes. Btw ya'll... my lashes FELL OFF in the middle of the ceremony. There are some seriously jakked up photos of me and during the ceremony, while the officiant was speaking, husband and I had a conversation that consisted of: "Was that my eyelash???..." "Baby.. baby! You're gorgeous, I love you!" ".... was that my eyelash?!?!?" "Baby, you're still beautiful!" LOL All I could do was laugh, then rip off the other one as soon as the ceremony was over. I had them put on professionally, but I guess my waterworks were on full blast??? I use fake lashes all the time, all different types, and I've never had them fall off so quickly before.

With hair, I had planned on it all being down and in big curls. However, the weather wasn't gonna have any of that. So I ended up having it curled but all pinned back. It took 1:45 to curl my entire head!!!

For photos - http://cancunphotosblog.com/yvette-jake-moon-place-cancun/

  Husband's Suit: I wanted cream on the beach. He wanted black. We compromised with grey. Love this suit!!!   Dresses: I had more than one dress made, and actually ended up wearing two of them. Here they are in their glory lol... Originally, we were supposed to get married on the beach at sunset... Hurricane Rina and the storms which followed sort of demolished that idea. So the dress I wore for the TTD was actually my wedding dress. The dress I wore on my wedding day I was actually planning on wearing to a formal AHR back in Texas which is now canceled! I already had the dress so I figured I'd just bring both dresses with me "just in case" (some TTD photos)   Clothes and Bathing Suits: I happen to HATE tan lines in wedding photos, so personally I thought it best for myself to wear only bandeau tops all weekend. Here are some of the outfits, clothes, etc that I brought with me.

I packed far too much clothes and not nearly enough bug repellent. Keep that in mind. Whatever people say about bugs is true - bring bug spray!!!   Bring a variety of stuff, but comfortable stuff. Once you're there, the stress melts away. Don't worry.   Following are photos of everything - HAVE FUN MARRYING YOUR LOVE! That's the most important thing to remember.   **If you want pics of the bathing suits and outfits, let me know by PM              

     

[Vettiebean]

Arrrg... I thought I posted everything from my draft, but I missed a section.

 

Dresses (Continued):

My dresses were cheeeeeap. You'd be surprised what you can purchase for $150 I also had a cocktail dress which I didn't even wear because time didn't permit any changing. Make sure you search around before buying a dress. You might end up saving a lot of money. Trunk shows, used, knock off... whatever.

 

Thanks!

[MichCraw]

Great thread, LOVE and I mean LOVEEEEEEEEEEEEEE your e-ring and those diamond bands! Wow, those leave an impression.. I went back to look at them twice! You looked beautiful and your hubby was very handsome in his suit! Congrats... love your TTD picutres, especially the one half in and half out of the water!! That dress is amazing!!

[Allie2012]

I love, love, love both of your dresses, so pretty!!!! And you looked beautiful

[JayKay]

Thanks for sharing!  Your dresses are both stunning!!

[ShellyCarter]

i love both of you dress

[Vettiebean]

Hi Everyone!

 

 

Rings:

MichCraw - Thank you sooo much! I've gotta tell my hubbs that you like his picks! lol He admittedly does a great job with jewelry. Most people have diamond e-rings and they're beautiful! But I love the unique set that I have. And I won't fib, I appreciate that they match everything i wear. Can't go wrong with two-toned gear. I have skinny fingers, but not necessarily small hands. One bit of advice I'd give is to make sure you don't pick something just far too outlandish for your hands. Mine still looks okay because the outter bands are so thin and my hands are relatively large albeit skinny. But, toooooo big and it may not flatter you like you think it would.

 

Dresses Continued:

Thanks so much for the compliments on the dresses. Both dresses are custom-made. I took inspiration from several different dresses, but because I didn't 100% fall in love with any ONE dress, I commissioned someone overseas to actually make them for me. Each dress was about $150! I find that to be a steal. If I weren't proud of my frugal nature and declared its cheap cost to anyone who would listen, everyone would have thought it was much more expensive. For the wedding dress, the layers of lace and beading are stunning in person. The pictures don't do them justice (at least the photos I have so far... waiting for Sascha's). The line of "buttons" (read as: zippered  beading) down the back was very nicely done - evenly spaced, very pretty.

 

The dress for the TTD was such a flowy, light, casual but girlie dress. I had to have my bit of pink in there, and figured a sash was the way to do it. Nothing over the top, but so definitely me. And I know everyone has different taste in dresses, so this is just what I like for my body type.

 

Both dresses fit perfectly and needed no alterations. Turnkey 150 figure is PERFECT in my opinion.

 

However, be warned... when I cannon-balled into the cenote, I nearly drowned. The dress became about 30 lbs heavier (had to have the additional layers, huh?), and it went over my head and kind of trapped me underneath. I had straps sewn into the dress as an option in case I danced the night away, but I don't particularly like the look of straps... (notice they aren't in every pic), but THANK GOODNESS I had them for the TTD. That thing would have been down to my waste if I hadn't had straps to keep it up. The dress was so heavy that the straps were digging into my shoulders!! I should also mention that I'm fairly busty, so it's not like the dress didn't have anything to cling onto... it was just seriously that heavy!

 

Complimentary Wedding Package Planning:

A few notes on this. Check to see if your resort has a free wedding package. We opted for that, plus a few extras. One of the extras was a horse carriage. I ended up taking a golf cart because it was storming. Eh... Cinderella had a pumpkin, and she turned out fine, right? hahaha

 

But the complimentary package was great. Just what we needed for a budget and small wedding. Also, note the bouquet as large as my bust in the photo - that was included at no extra cost. They did an amazing job and even had a little blue pin for my "something blue" - didn't ask, they just did it.

 

Other Considerations:

Yes, you are at an all inclusive and tips are included. However, it wouldn't kill you to bring 150-200 extra in small bills for one week to tip those who really appreciate it and stand out. When you see how hard everyone works at MP, you'll want to tip everyone, i promise. We even tipped the guy raking the sand!

 

You don't NEED 10 pairs of shoes. I packed so much extra stuff that was just a hassle to pack/unpack. Don't bother, pack your wedding stuff, a bikini, and flip flops. Beyond that... ehhhh... a convertible dress or two fixes everything. Better idea. Instead of packing all those dresses, pack extra bikinis! Now that's what you should bring plenty of!

 

Buy throughout the planning process. We aren't rich by any means, and boy, do we have serious bills to pay. But, we wanted to give our guests really nice "thank you's" that they'll truly value. So, we saved and saved and bought in bits and looked for sales. I am a bargain girl! I may have LV bags in the closet, but I also have $10 Target totes. When you spread the expenses over time, it's really not as bad. I bought my husband's gifts starting over a year in advance because I knew I was on a budget.

 

Stalk voucher and deal websites like a psycho ex in a bush. I got a lot of goodies through there - including clothes, watches, my e-photo shoot and boudoir session.

 

[Vettiebean]

 

 

Originally Posted by MichCraw 

 

Great thread, LOVE and I mean LOVEEEEEEEEEEEEEE your e-ring and those diamond bands! Wow, those leave an impression.. I went back to look at them twice! You looked beautiful and your hubby was very handsome in his suit! Congrats... love your TTD picutres, especially the one half in and half out of the water!! That dress is amazing!!

 

Aww. thank you so much! There are a ton of brides/bride to be's with gorgeous rings. I'll have to tell the hubs he looked good in his suit. I tell him all the time, but it's different when someone else notices, too! lol He'll appreciate the love. Flowy, soft materials are amazing under water.

 

 

Originally Posted by Allie2012 

 

I love, love, love both of your dresses, so pretty!!!! And you looked beautiful

Thank you! I am so happy I took both dresses, just in case!

 

 

 

Originally Posted by JayKay 

 

Thanks for sharing!  Your dresses are both stunning!!

Thanks darlin! Both super cheap, too! lol Just goes to show... $150 or $3000, you can have a beautiful dress.

 

 

 

Originally Posted by ShellyCarter 

 

i love both of you dress

Thank you! I am so happy I got to wear both.

 

 

[Jamie5280]

AWW!  Loved both dresses!  You were a beautiful bride!  I am feel like my planning is pretty leisurely too, so good to know you were that way as well!   Congrats!

[Vettiebean]

Thank you!! Yeah, I know a lot of brides who get really into it. And I think that's great. It just wasn't for me. Not to say I didn't care (which I'm sure can relate)... I do care about a lot of it but didn't want it to control my life for a year lol I just wanted to show that you can do little planning, fight a hurricane, storms, buy a mix of cheap and nice things for yourself and guests and still have an amazing time without spending tons of cash and stressing out.

 

I tried to lose weight and the stress of wanting to look good and lose weight actually made me gain weight! hahaha I took it as a sign and just stopped stressing. Did whatever I want, ate whatever I want, and ended up looking better than before!
 

Originally Posted by Jamie5280 

AWW!  Loved both dresses!  You were a beautiful bride!  I am feel like my planning is pretty leisurely too, so good to know you were that way as well!   Congrats!