*JillD*

Thanks girls! Yeah, I think it will really help me with figuring out how much I'm really burning, so that I'll know how much to eat. It's so frustrating that even not eating as much as I used to and working out I can still not be losing because I'm not eating enough! I'll report back

I really want to buy one. In case you don't know what it is, it's the arm band that you wear (the ones they wear on the biggest loser) and it tracks how many calories you burn and then you log all of your food on the website, so basically you'll know if you're burning enough, eating enough, eating too much, etc.... I've wanted one for awhile now. I've been dieting since January and lost a little over 20 lbs. January and February went great the weight was coming off at a decent rate, but then March has been awful. I attribute the horrible March to two things. One, I was definitely not as strict with myself as I was in January and February, but I still tracked my food and stuck to my points (ww) for the most part. Second, I have been working my butt off at the gym going 4-5 times a week and working hard. I think I may not have been eating enough because for the amount I was working out and what I was eating, I should have been dropping at least a few pounds a week and my weight just kept hovering right around the same amount. Very frustrating!! So, I've wanted this for awhile and my birthday is next week. My husband was going to get me a pandora bracelet (I've wanted one for awhile) but I think I might tell him that I want this instead. 24 hour fitness has $30 off right now and I found a $20 coupon, so I can get it for $199 with the 6 month online subscription. Now that I've completely gone off subject, I was just wondering if anyone had one or tried it and what you thought??

Quote: Originally Posted by silentderra Thanks BC!! I got a friend of mine to do my hair and I did my own make-up...don't wear much. My hair was pretty simple..just curled it and pin a bit up in the front. Jill, I have no idea how to do any of that pic stuff..What exactly is a photobucket?I will try again though! LOL LOL, that's okay! Photobucket is a photo hosting website. If you have your pictures in an online album such as kodak or snapfish you could also just post the link for people to look at. If you'd like, you can email me the pictures and I can post them for you.

Quote: Originally Posted by mummergirl wow you actually got a good amount of answers! LOL ... it's a sin how easily impressed we are! for anyone who had their reception on the tower terrace and had just one long table, where did bride & groom sit? in the middle? on one end? or did the two of you have a separate sweetheart table? did you have your coupled guests sit across from each other or next to each other? i'm so confused about how to do my seating chart! just went out to dinner with 16 people from tom's family over the weekend, and it felt so crowded sitting at a long table! i can't imagine what it will be like in a big wedding dress and with 30 people! I did the one long table, I liked it, we only had about 25 people so I wasn't sure how it would look with just 3 tables setup. I liked the long table, but they put so much stuff on it that it gets really crowded. I think each person has 3 glasses in the table setting and then if you order a drink you end up with 4, it was a little crazy! Also, by using the long table I was able to get away with just small centerpieces throughout the table, rather than having to haul something down or pay extra for something. The canopy thing is just one piece, but you might think it's more than one because of the pillars there are a lot of those.

Hi Shelley, glad to hear your wedding went so well! If you want to post your pictures, you have to first upload them to photobucket, on photobucket you can shrink them to a medium size. Photobucket assigns a code to the picture and you copy the IMG code and paste it into your post. It's really easy, if you need help let me know.

Hi Ladies, I was researching resorts for one of my brides and I came across Ocean Coral and I think it's absolutely beautiful!! I wasn't sure if they did weddings because I couldn't find any information on their website. I wanted to make a suggestion, as it will be helpful for future ocean brides. If any of you have information from the resort, such as packages, extras, pictures, etc... if you could post them in this thread I think it would be really helpful. I know sometimes it can be difficult to get back to everyone that asks you to email them the information, so I just thought it would be really helpful if the information was posted here. If you're unsure of how to post the information you can ask me or another mod for help. I appreciate the information that was here as it did help me with what I was looking for, good luck with your weddings!

Congratulations on your engagement and welcome to the forum! You'll find a ton of information here on the cancun/RM area, good luck with your planning!

awww Jenn I'm so sorry. I know exactly how you feel, I remember the day my mom called me and told me 6 of her friends that I didn't even know were coming. I wanted to choke her. BTW, I know exactly who you're talking about, he called me the other day, I thought it was odd that he was telling me there were 6-10 people possibly going, odd that you hadn't mentioned this large group, lol! Don't worry, everything will work out and you'll have a beautiful wedding day

Just an FYI, all of the resorts typically have the "little extras" that cost more. They give you basic packages and you can add stuff on from there if you'd like, or just use the package and you don't have other costs. Things like chair bows, sound system, lights under the tables, etc....those are considered extras. And yes, Dreams Cancun does allow outside vendors, but you should always check to see if the ones that you choose will be allowed. I think the only time anyone has had a problem, is when it is a lesser known vendor. Most of the popular photographers go there all the time and they have names of DJ's they can give you if that's what you want. As far as pricy, I guess it depends what you're comparing it to. It is all inclusive so you're going to see a difference right off the bat if you're comparing it to a non all inclusive.

I see beer pong for the pool in my future!

That's the most fantastic thing I've ever seen! The calories is one reason I avoid drinking. The bad part is they don't ship to MA

I stopped taking it awhile ago, not for any particular reason. I still have some left and have thought about taking it, since I am dieting and exercising anyway, it would probably help a little.

Quote: Originally Posted by laycj18 I used to take One-A-Day weight smart....but oddly it made me very nauseous! I've been meaning to check out other ones so I'm eager to hear suggestions also. I used to take those too and they made me very sick!! I used to start sweating really bad and sometimes throw up. It would pass after a few minutes, but it was horrible! I actually have that problem with a lot of vitamins, so I tend to not take any. Which I know is not good. I think I might check out the packets from GNC.

When we did our legal ceremony, we just did it at the town hall, it was over in about 5 minutes, nothing crazy, and I honestly don't even remember what the date was, sometime in July. our wedding anniversary is the day we got married in mexico and we actually did tell some people, but to us October 19th is when we got married, we wrote the whole ceremony ourselves and it was much more meaningful than our "legal" ceremony. But do whatever is best for you. At first I wouldn't have even thought of doing just a symbolic ceremony because I thought it would take away from the day, but it was so much simpler and it didn't make our wedding day any less important.

Quote: Originally Posted by bbpacco Hi Jill, quick question, for the '4 witnesses' who sign, are they going to be my guest/parents, or provided by Dreams?? Thanks Jen for answering for me! Yes, that's correct, it's whomever you choose. Unless as mummergirl said(I'm sorry I don't remember your first name!) you are having a legal ceremony, then it will be your "real" witnesses for the ceremony, whether you are having dreams provide them or bringing your own.

Quote: Originally Posted by CanadaBride We are thinking symbolic is easier. We don't have to prove that we are married or anything do we? We were thinking of lying to the family and saying we were getting married, not telling them it was symbolic, and doing the legal stuff when we get back, but I am worried that the resort might need something given they call it a vow renewal. Does anyone know anything about this? You don't have to give them anything to prove that you're married and you're family and friends won't know the difference. They still have you have 4 "witnesses" sign it and you get a certificate. You would never know it's not a "real" ceremony.

Reading through some of the recent posts it really frustrates me that there are so many inconsistencies coming from Claudia and Gaby. I was thinking that maybe it would be helpful if I put together a list of questions that have come up recently and sent it over to them, along with another reminder that we all belong to a large destination wedding forum and talk to each other frequently. I would love input and questions from all of you, for instance, what is the outside photographer policy? Is there a day pass fee for the photographer? etc... you know where I'm going with this. anyway, if you'd like to help with compiling a list, I would appreciate the help and once I hear back I can post the information here for everyone. Just send me a pm if you have a question to add to the list.

Quote: Originally Posted by Michelle613 heyy everyone!! I'm having my wedding at Dreams June 12, 2010. Does anyone know how it works if its more than 40 ppl? Like is there a bigger variety of food in a buffet or is there one appetizer, one entree, and everyone has to pour themselves soup? I'm really scared that it wont be as elegant and theres no way to cut the list down...my mom is inviting EVERYONE! Can someone please give me some feedback? you can pick several options for the buffet

Hi! TA maureen is our Jamaica specialist and was married at ROR.

Quote: Originally Posted by destination I am a little concerned by "staff" What does that mean? Will the pool cleaners be doing my video and photography?! LOL! I talked to my TA and she is actually going to go down there in February to knock on Claudia's door. Don't think we'll need to bridezilla on anyone after that! I may fly down a friend/photog who will do my pics for free, or I may enlist cancun studios. Have to see how things work out. I didn't even think of five months until you said that, WOW. We get to Cancun on the 8th(not sure what time), we should meet for drinks. When do you get in? Are you bringing decorations or anything for tables. I've decided against bringing anything beyond gift bags for the guests. It is so pretty there I doubt anyone will notice missing decorations. Getting Excited! "Staff" would mean the same as a lot of other photography studios. For example, I used Claudia Rodriguez's studio, but not her, I used one of her "staff" as my photographer. It's the same thing with the photography and videography that the hotel uses, they have a group of people that work for them. Honestly, most days they have more than one wedding and that wouldn't really work if they didn't have the staff to provide for their weddings. Did your TA ever hear back from Claudia? Just interested to hear if she received the same answer.

I love Portland too! My sister used to live in Portland, but they bought a house a few years ago so they moved a little further south, I think. Portland is a really fun place to hang out. Alyssa, I was going to post some of the pictures I took at my sisters wedding, but I realized when I looked through them that I didn't take very many because I was in it! So I found the website for the place that she had it and they have a wedding gallery, I thought that would be more helpful for you and they do a lobster bake as well. Here's the website: Kennebunkport Maine Photo Albums Wedding Receptions My sisters husband and his groomsmen got to arrive to the ceremony on a really large sailboat(I think it was a sailboat) It was really cool watching them pull up at the ceremony location. I'll ask my sister too if she has any suggestions.

I'm not from Maine, but my sister lives there. She got married in Kennebunk at the Nonantum, which was really nice. I can show you some pics if you'd like I would suggest Ogunquit, that's a really nice area. Let me know if you want me to ask my sister for more information if you have an idea of where you're looking, because I know they looked at a lot of places when they were looking.

Quote: Originally Posted by jcoop Ah, thanks for clarifying the weekend question. I guess that still leaves me needing a symbollic ceremony though. That'll be less stress anyways! Jessica, it's definitely less stress to just go symbolic, you don't have to worry about sending all of your paperwork down, getting there a specific amount of time early, and no bloodtests when you get there!

Quote: Originally Posted by PhillyBride09 Ok....So i have 2 questions...for those of ou who have used o had contact with Cecilia Dumas, About how long did it take her to get back to you?? It's only been a couple days, but I feel like i'm on pins and needles waiting. If she doesn't have my date available, I need to find someone in the same price range o just use Juan Navarro. my 2nd question is...For those who had their reception on the terrace area..Is there a way I can hang lighted paper lanterns over there? I would really like to hang some around the "Dancing" area, from that awning thing that's there...But I;m not sure if that is possible since I haven't really seen it. Have you seen this done? I may just buy them and if I can't use them after I can always sell them on here. :-) Jenn, I had wanted to do these tissue paper flower ball things, from the martha stewart collection, and I had asked claudia if I would be able to hang them. She told me yes, but I never ended up doing them. So, I'm not sure that they would have worked, but they are okay with you doing it as far as I have heard. Quote: Originally Posted by destination Jen, Any word from Dreams or Jill yet? My TA and I have both emailed Claudia, but of course, no response yet. I have some ideas to help her out with the photog prob, but I am going to need a videog. and if I have to pay to bring people in, she better be crediting me for something!! I was hoping to bring in my own photog and upgrade the video. I hope they have a backup to call on for video. I did speak to Claudia and she told me that they photographer and videographer have staff as well and it isn't a problem if there is more than one wedding on the same day, they will have coverage.

Just to clarify you can have a legal wedding on Saturdays, it's Sundays that you can not. Quote: Originally Posted by leasauceda Hi Brides! I'm hoping to get married 11/7/09 but we haven't booked it yet. I got an email from Gaby w/prices and we're going over those details now. She hasn't mentioned that date is taken so I think it will be less crowded that time of year. We're kind of doing this at the last minute so I'm hoping everything will work out OK. We just want a simple ceremony and dinner & drinks. We're debating a DJ and definitely getting a photographer, the centerpieces I think I will bring myself. We want the free wedding so we're booking 7 nights in the honeymoon suite, but I read that Palace Resorts doesn't honor this if you book through a travel agent, does anyone know if that's true for Dreams Cancun too?? CONGRATS EVERYONE! I'm so glad I joined this site and now have a community of other ladies to go through all this with CHEERS! ~Lea From the list of available dates I got from Claudia a week or two ago, November 7th is not available. These are the November dates that were available when she sent me the list, but I know a few have been taken already. Sometimes though they will let you have the wedding the same day as someone else as long as yours is at a different time. But I would definitely ask Gaby if that date is available and not assume. Here's the dates: For November 2009 I have available: 1,2,3,5,8,15,16,17,18,19,20,23,24,29 And as far as November being less busy, it's actually the first month after hurricane season ends, so it's actually when it starts to get busy again.