Acw271011 So This Is Not A Planning Thread.... But

[acw271011]

@ Thanks Perian! Your chalkboard got front and centre on the cake table - I can't wait to see Sam's photos. I asked Doug why he didn't get a shot of it when he did the cake topper and of course being a guy I get "Well I'll see it all the time at home and Sam will have pictures." Yeah ok. lol Everybody loved it and said how beautiful it is (of course I completely agreed!) The chair signs were a hit too!

[acw271011]

By the way, just as an FYI. My dress was satin. It was all steamed and ready when I picked it up. The store had put it in a clear plastic bag and I bought a cloth bag that I put over the top so it was double bagged. I folded it in half once and put it in the overhead bin on the plane. It stayed in the closet in our room until the morning of our anniversary and I took it out after Doug left in the morning, fully expecting to have to steam it. I was stunned that it didn't need anything at all. It looked just as nice as when I picked it up. We just took it out of the bag and let it hang for about 2 hours, train down, and it was fine. Just thought that might help for anyone really worried about transporting their dress.

[TinkerSofi]

I'm just catching up on your thread. I've been so busy lately that not much time on the computer at all. Life is definitely different when you're married and have your own house, but I love it. 

You looked absolutely stunning. I loved your dress and it all came together so nicely with your hair and makeup. Doug looked pretty handsome too! I agree that the suit and the turquoise looked very nice together.

Congratulations to you and Doug. I know how much this trip meant to you both and I'm so happy for you that you could make it happen. I'm sorry to read about your son but it was good that you were able to put it behind you and enjoy your trip anyway. 

[acw271011]

@TinkerSofi  Hey!!!!!!!!!!!! You came back!! You MUST be telepathic! lol I have been thinking about you the last couple of days and wondering how you were! How is the new house? Getting settled in ok? How is married life??? What date do you leave for Argentina? I never got to see your wedding pictures. Stephanie told me about them and said they're gorgeous! I can't wait to see ours. The time is going to drag!

[MrsCtoB]

Beautiful photos!! Can't wait to see more. SO happy we got to meet...just sad that our trips didn't overlap all too much. I felt like I had known you for awhile though (hence the showing of the blood shot eye and horror flight story)  . So happy for you and Doug. I'll be checking in to hear more soon xo 

[RivieraBride15]

You looked absolutely beautiful!!!!!

 

We just got back so I am trying to catch up on all of the threads.  Hope it was everything you had hoped for!

[kcole123]

@@acw271011

 

Oooooooh I love your pictures what you have up so far. Your dress your hair, everything looks amazing. I can't wait to see more pictures. Congratulations to you and your husband on your renewal.

[acw271011]

@kcole123  @RivieraBride15  @MrsCtoB  Thanks ladies! i got 2 teasers from our photographer so I'm anxious to see more! lol I've been sooooo MIA since we got back.

 

Kristy - I'm so happy you stopped by! I wish you ladies would stop in and update on how you're settling in to married life! lol

 

We had Samuel Luna as our photographer and he works with an assistant who is also his girlfriend Karla. I'll do a proper review but right now I'll say they are fabulous to work with - easy going, professional. We loved working with them both! These two links are from Karla.

 

https://www.facebook.com/karladelarosaphotography/photos/a.135953013103932.16302.105248279507739/1076393832393174/?type=3&theater

 

https://www.facebook.com/karladelarosaphotography/photos/a.135953013103932.16302.105248279507739/1075961782436379/?type=3&theater

 

 

[acw271011]

So the story of the travelling Wally bag continues..... It started with Tygrlily and the torch passed to me.... I've now passed it to @Meandhim  It was a wonderful travelling companion.... Now the next bride will take the Wally bag on her journey and hopefully have a wonderful experience too....  JK  couldn't resist a bit of silliness.

[acw271011]

I think most of you know the journey Doug and I have been on since we got married. Getting to finally do something special for our wedding anniversary and celebrate that we made it was a big deal. It feels weird to do a review since it isn't our wedding but there are a couple of really good things we got out of the trip and if this makes something easy for someone else, then I'll have done my job.

 

Air Transat

 

We had no hesitation booking with this company. It's who we flew to Jamaica with as well as another vacation and it just works for us. We booked the upgrade again this trip which gives us prebooked seats, priority checkin, priority boarding and extra luggage weight. Just that alone for this trip was worth it. Doug was starting to freak out a bit over the amount of stuff going with us so the extra allowance came in handy. It's nice because with the priority boarding we got to get onboard before everyone else and snag an overhead bin for my dress and Doug's suit, then stand guard over it so nobody else could get near it!

 

Our arrival in Cancun was a NIGHTMARE!!  That's a word of warning to you brides out there that are flying soon. There were 4 flights that landed within a short time of ours and we were 2 hours just getting through customs! And there is no air conditioning!! I was almost in tears from the pain of standing so long. With the arthritis in my back I can't stand for any length of time so by the time we got to the counter I was about ready to pass out. Doug said next time we'll make sure we do the wheelchair route if it looks like it's going to be more than 15 minutes. The Cancun airport is under construction and in the several times we've been to Mexico I've never seen it as bad as it was the day we arrived. Just wall to wall people. If you have anyone that can't stand and there are several other flights arriving the same time as yours be loud about them needing assistance to get through. The thing is even when you get through the first line to get access to the country, then you have the second line of getting bags xrayed. That was another 30 minutes plus. We landed, on time, at 3:35 and did not arrive at our resort until 7pm. By then it was dark and we were starving.

 

Coming home wasn't much better. Our flight was delayed along with almost every other flight scheduled so there must have been 2000 people in the departure lounges again with no AC. I think I looked and there were about 8 flights all going within about an hour of each other. We hit the jackpot with the international flights going too so it was mad chaos! Get something to drink once you're through security. You'll need it. That was the other nightmare again. The line ups for security. With the construction, there is limited space and sadly NEXUS didn't do us any good at that end.

 

Valentin Imperial Maya

 

I cannot say enough about our resort. It is spectacular! Doug decided he wanted adults only after our fiasco with Azul Fives and we are so totally happy we did. We wanted spoiled, pampered and no kids and that's exactly what we got. We had a "partial oceanview" and unfortunately that's what it was - partial lol But you don't spend a lot of time in your room anyway. We were in Bldg 1 so really close to everything we wanted, especially on the day of our anniversary. I didn't have to walk too far in my heels! There are several shuttles that cruise around but I didn't have far to go. With the exception of one night, which was really our own fault, we didn't have a single bad meal the entire week. The food is fantastic - even breakfast and lunch. Not a single complaint on our part or our friends. We loved it. There is a quieter area with its own pool but we stayed in the more noisy area just for the activity. They have loungers to float around the pool on if you can get one. The only thing that really irritates me is this business with snagging lounge beds early in the morning. Some of it is just so unfair, especially the people that snag one and then just never show up! But thank goodness I have an early rising husband!!  I have pictures from the resort but Doug has a new camera and the mb of the pics are too large to upload. The only thing we didn't like at the resort was the bed!! Go figure! It was so overly firm that we both had major aches and pains waking up in the morning that we still haven't recovered from coming home to our own bed!

 

Our checkin was fairly quick. The lobby is huge and they have all kinds of seating so you get to relax while you're waiting for your turn to check in and they bring you a nice cold drink and a wet towel while you're waiting. They're super organized with your luggage too. We were taken by shuttle to our room and our luggage miraculously found it's way onto the shuttle with us. We unpacked and then went searching for food. It had started to rain as we were landing at Cancun airport and it pretty much continued to rain off and on all evening and all night. Then when we woke up in the morning it was still raining. In fact it had rained so hard through the night that they were cleaning up some minor flooding along the gardens and sidewalks when we went looking for breakfast in the morning, which immediately got me worried!!

 

Joyce at Dream Weddings

 

I knew after the fiasco with Azul Fives and the fact that we were a really small group that I needed help with organizing something for our anniversary. We didn't have enough people to have a private dinner at any resort but I didn't want a semi-private deal either . We had that for our wedding in Jamaica and I wanted something private for this trip. I reached out to Joyce at Dream Weddings last year just after I came out of the hospital but with everything that went wrong I couldn't commit to anything until after test results were in and we knew if we were even going to be able to celebrate this year or not. Joyce was absolutely super about it all. She was pretty quick with email responses even when I got to be a total worry wart over things. Her ideas and suggestions were perfect for the group size that we had. I knew what I wanted and Joyce helped me get it. We had a miscommunication over day passes with the resort which is what caused the tears the morning of, but it all worked out in the end. I would definitely recommend Joyce if you're looking at something off-site from a resort, which we were.

 

 

So I'll leave it at that for tonight. I've been so tired since we got back, hubby too. We're both having a hard time getting back into routine. I'll continue this tomorrow.