nylalany

I already posted a bunch of my friends' and family's photos in my reviews; now I have my pro pics to share! Elizabeth Medina posted our wedding slideshow here: Sarah and Clay The slideshow is about 3 1/2 (groovin') songs long - hopefully you'll have a chance to watch it all the way through to see the flow of our wedding and all her great shots!! If you don't, she also posted some of the amazing highlight photos of our wedding on her blog: Elizabeth Medina Photography

You can also have a reception for 100+ in a conference room - I did (for my rehearsal dinner). However, as I mention in my review, I wouldn't recommend it. I also agree about the beach party being only semi-private - as I mentioned, I witnessed it and was asked to crash, and I imagine there were actually people crashing it. I cannot recommend a wedding there - the only reason the score for Damarys wasn't lower is b/c she is overworked, and the only reason the score for the rehearsal dinner wasn't lower was b/c the food was good and we had a good time. But I should have probably given them both Ds. This is all besides the fact that the place isn't really my style in terms of a wedding space, but that is a matter of taste (I wanted something intimate, private, and rustic-chic, which I got at Al Cielo). HOWEVER, I disagree about the food - I thought it was on par with some of the other AI resorts I visited, such as Paradisus Riviera, and better than others, such as Grand Sirenis and Barcelo (from my POV), for an AI. The rooms were nicer than those at all of the other AI resorts I visited on my site-reviews last November (you can find that post somewhere) as well (in my opinion). It WAS very big, but I ran into pretty much everyone in my group a few times a day, and I saw the size as a payoff to the price. So if you are going to have your wedding off-property, but want a place for a large group to stay, it is a very reasonable choice - it allowed some of my friends and younger cousins who are not as well off to come to Mexico and celebrate with me, and to me, having my loved ones there was very important. If you are having your wedding off-property, I'd say spend the money you would have spent on a rehearsal dinner on a sunset cruise or a dinner in Playa del Carmen - probably better spent!

I live in Southern CA, and smoking laws are strict (no smoking in restaurants, bars, beach, and not even on some walking promenade areas. When I stayed at the Grand Riviera Princess in Riviera Maya, I noticed ashtrays outside at the lounge areas and on the beach palapa tables, but not in the restaurants - but I could have totally just not noticed. The whole time, I think I noticed 1 smoker, in the main courtyard area - and believe me, when I smell smoke, I need to move away. So that was a nice surprise, since I was worried too.

Ah Esencia is right next to Al Cielo! It is beautiful!

I'll ask Donaji about the names of the DJ and the Jazz Band. The DJ included his equipment, but not the speakers. 2 of the speakers we paid for as part of the wedding package at Al Cielo (you can find their prices and what the package includes online - it does not include dinner, open bar, the various rentals I mentioned in my review, nor a bunch of other things it turns out I needed, especially for my size wedding). The extra 2 speakers cost us: $150 each, so $300 The electric backup generator was: $450 The LED lighting around the dance floor was: $700 The dance floor itself was: $1000 (including set up/breakdown/shipping) I'm not sure if the DJ's cost was specific to Al Cielo due to a deal or not. The Jazz band's cost, if not part of the package, would have been a lot more than what we paid for the DJ, and they only played 2 45 minute sets. I'll try to find the quote but it was pricier, so it made sense to choose that as part of the package (which included either 2 sets of Jazz band or 4 hours of DJ).

A few more of my friends & family's photos: We had a bar in the palapa and a bar on the beach. This is the beach bar: Virgin drinks for some (hopefully): You'll see the white lounge area furniture photos in my professional photos, but this is an example of additional lounge area furniture set up Donaji and Al Cielo threw in for free: My photographer, Elizabeth, was trying to get us to do the jumping brides and bridesmaid shot. My friend with the great camera used the 5 click in a row to hijack Elizabeth's set up, and although I'll leave the real shots to her slideshow, I think this shot my friend got is really funny. Slam dunk!! Ok, and one more funny one with my pregnant sister 2 feet off the ground. I'm not so sure this was so safe... Grace, our guest photographer, was setting up some cool shots with the groom and groomsmen. One of my friends also hijacked that shoot, and I love this shot he got of my hubby: I love this photo of 2 of my bridesmaids with their babies: And I love this shot: A shot with my niece - I love her so much. And she's in love with my hubby!! You can also see the tiffany chairs we rented in this shot a bit. And since I'm probably overwhelming you, this is the end of the night -

Ok, so here are some of my friends and family photos. I hope you'll still be interested in my professional shots when I get them and post them (or at least my slideshow?) - but these are some good shots I believe, and hopefully not too much crossover. My cousins playing my wedding ceremony song - An interpretation of Dick Dale's surf guitar version of "Miserlou" (honoring my Greek-Jewish heritage, and our shared love of surfing & rock). 2 of my 4 bridesmaids (my cousins) with flame red tulip bouquets - My sister, barefoot and 6 month pregnant MOH - My 2 and 1/2 year old flower girl who was too scared to throw petals. Luckily there were petals already in the aisle (thanks Donaji), but she started picking them up instead! The groom's tall family (and my groom and officiant) waiting for the rest of us to come up the aisle - With my parents. You can see my bouquet well in this one - I forgot to switch my engagement ring from left to right hand! - We got 2 kisses during the ceremony - one after the ring, and one after the glass. We received a zillion kissing shots from friends and family too! My friend with the nice camera had that take 5 in a row type function and it looks like a movie when you click quickly. Here's just one - You can see how short I am, and how tall hubby is, in this photo - I'm wearing 3" wedges too! - A few more coming up...

Thanks Morgan! I think you'll be so pumped from the excitement of your wedding weekend that it won't wear you out. Plus, you won't be up until 4 AM a few nights before your wedding finishing your programs and placecards like I was, because you are so super prepared. And you'l have time to relax the day before your outing, you won't be signing your welcome booklets and putting the OOT bags together all afternoon either, because (hopefully) you'll have more time to deal with that before your guests arrive than I did. I mean, you're taking a break already! I was still picking my 1st dance song the night before my wedding! Ha ha!

There have been many threads about this resort since it opened in December, but there is no listing for it under this appropriate section of the forum, and a zillion threads with the same title and not much info in the main rm section, so I figured I'd start this one (I hope that's ok?). I didn't get married at the resort, but I did have 100 guests stay there the first week of May 2008, used the salon services, and held a private rehearsal dinner there, so I figure my review could be informative to brides considering this resort (and it includes photos). http://bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/t22093 or search under Wedding Reviews for: Nylalany's Reviews Part 1 - Grand Riviera Princess resort and events (Riviera Maya) (or click the review in my siggy)

Yeah, I wouldn't trust a rehearsal dinner to Damarys or the management just yet...read my review of my reheasal dinner here (scroll down): http://bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/t22093 or search under Wedding Reviews for: Nylalany's Reviews Part 1 - Grand Riviera Princess resort and events (Riviera Maya) (or click the review in my siggy)

For those brides considering Al Cielo, especially since it now staying open, I just wanted to post the link to my very very positive Al Cielo Wedding Review here, so you can find it (as I assume double posting the actual review is bad forum etiquette?). http://bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/t22155 Or you can look under Wedding Reviews for: "Nylalany's Reviews Part 3 - Al Cielo Wedding - Vendors & Wedding (Riviera Maya)"

GROUP OUTING TO HIDDEN WORLDS AND TULUM In lieu of a day-after-wedding brunch or something like that, we treated our guests to an outing the day after our wedding. We wanted everyone who wanted to come to be able to come, which is why we did it the day after, rather than on Tuesday, which would have been better for my hubby and me, as we could have used a relaxing day at the beach. We didn’t do it on Saturday, the day before the wedding, b/c I feared being too stressed, and many people were still arriving on Friday, so that would have been too early. 41 people (including myself, my hubby, etc.) opted to join the fun. Everyone appreciated the treat and had a good time. Our schedule was at follows: 11 AM meet bus at Princess lobby 12 PM arrive at Hidden Worlds 2:45 PM board bus for Tulum 3 PM arrive at Tulum 3:30 PM enter Tulum 5 PM exit Tulum, board bus 6 PM return to Princess TRANSPORTATION Transportadora Volare SA de CV: A The representative at Hidden Worlds hired a 49 person bus for us. We sent our credit card payment to the Hidden Worlds rep, and he reserved the bus. He promised air conditioning, seat-belts, and a bathroom, but it only had air conditioning. However, it was in good condition. The bus showed up early, which was great. The driver, who didn’t speak English, didn’t know where Hidden Worlds was. Luckily, I had my map from my welcome booklet, so I was able to use my basic Spanish to communicate our needs. He got a kick out of the fact that I was the “tour guide†for the day, and encouraged me to use the microphone to keep people in order. He was very sweet and patient, and waited after dropping us off at Hidden Worlds, then took us to Tulum, and then back to our hotel. We had the bus from 11 AM until about 6 PM, and the total cost was $380 (not including tip). HIDDEN WORLDS Hidden Worlds Cenote Park: B- I negotiated a group price and tour with the representative at Hidden Worlds. The fee we paid was $20 per person, so about $840, for a snorkeling tour of the Tak-Be-Ha cenote. I asked in advance if it would be safe for babies and pregnant women, as we had both at our wedding, and the representative said yes. He described the trip as a jeep ride to the cenote, a snorkeling tour of the cenote, and a return jeep ride. We arrived at Hidden Worlds and it was a lot more rustic than the website implies. We found our way to the office, which looks like a shack, and paid for everyone. Then each person had to sign a waiver, get a wetsuit and snorkel (you get to keep the snorkel, which is great and sanitary!), and is told to throw one’s stuff back in our bus. When we’re all suited up, we are directed to the “Mexican Limosâ€, as one of the drivers jokingly described the cattle carts fronting as “Jeepsâ€. There was a wood one and a metal one, and the wood one I rode on was missing bolts in the joints so that there was nothing steady to hold on to while standing on a moving vehicle speeding down a dirt road into jungle brush for 15 minutes with 20 other people. The capacity of the vehicles, I learned later, was “6 personasâ€, yet we had 21 adults on one, and 20 on the other. The two mothers with one year olds were freaking, one silently, the other out loud. My pregnant just smiled graciously. Snorkeling in the cenote pretty much made up for it for most folks. It was difficult to keep so many people organized and on track, but we got everyone in the water and swimming around the cenote eventually. I thought it was very cool, though not as amazing as I thought it would be. Maybe the cenote wasn’t as great as others I’d see online, or maybe my expectations were too high. Most everyone else loved it though, so that was good. And we all look back on the ride as a bonding experience. TULUM Tulum Ruins: B+ Ok gals, all I can say is that I give props to tour guides, camp counselors, school teachers, and all the other people who have to move masses of people from one place to the next. Just getting everyone off the bus and down the 15 minute walk to the entrance was a feat. Some folks had to put on sunscreen. Others had to buy ice cream. Etc., etc. We finally made it to the entrance and bought 41 tickets at approximately $4.80 each (you have to pay in pesos), so around $197 total. I had thought about hiring a guide when we got there, but I’m glad I didn’t, as I had a feeling we’d all have different agendas. Basically ½ the group wandered around looking at ruins, and the other ½ headed straight for the stairwell to the beach, shed their clothing, and jumped in the water. My hubby just took a nap on the edge of the cliff overlooking the water, bridging the 2 groups. He was tired from our wedding; I was still on a high from our wedding. I’ve been to many ruins throughout South America, Europe, and the Middle East, and have seen numerous Maya ruins in Central America, and I have to say Tulum was not super impressive in that respect. HOWEVER, the setting was (is) gorgeous, and the water was perfect. It was so much fun swimming with everyone in paradise. You can guess pretty easily which group I was in! So… Although I was worn out and would have preferred to relax with everyone at the resort that day, it was neat to catch up with everyone about their experiences at the wedding while on the bus, and to have a sense of continuing our fun together during the day’s adventure, so it all felt worthwhile.

St. Lucia is so pretty! Are you hiking the Pitons? I didn't get the chance b/c my friend wasn't a hiker, but they are gorgeous!

We invited around 240, and ended up with 100 guests (not counting us, but counting a few young kids). If we had it somewhere in SoCal, we probably would have had closer to 175 (same goes for NY, as the people who didn't come were split btwn the 2).

I checked all the time for a while and then didn't while I was away for my wedding, and guess what happens - a few people FINALLY bought us gifts off of our myregistry.com registry, but didn't mark the gifts as purchased (the pkgs were waiting for us when we got back). Well, other people also bought them and marked them off after the first people, and now we have duplicates. ARGH - beware of myregistry and your guests inability to read no matter how smart they are! Also, our William Sonoma registry is almost completed, yet I have tons of cheaper options and deals with no shipping/tax on myregistry, but nobody is taking the leap to buy from there. Maybe b/c William Sonoma is also listed at weddingchannel.com, and myregistry.com is only listed on my wedding website? Finally, people don't bother to look at my website to see where I'm registered, and instead buy me gifts from Tiffanys or Bloomingdales (which at least have gift receipts) or some weird things from who knows where, so sometimes I wonder what the point of a registry is anyhow haha. I guess I've done the same a few times, though usually it was when there was nothing left on the person's registry. Don't mean to complain - of course it is nice to get any gifts - though people's idea of an appropriate gift varies hugely.

Al Cielo reviews con't MUSIC Mexican Folk Trio from Al Cielo: A- The trio was included in the wedding package we paid for (the pkg itself was pretty pricey, but included some nice things, and would have been more if I did everything separately). So they were hired by Al Cielo. I can find out who they are and what their cost is if anyone is interested. I was so busy taking photos that I didn’t actually get to hear the mariachi trio. I just saw them – the trio included a harpist and 2 guitarists (or like instrument). They were supposed to play for 20 minutes before the ceremony and during the cocktail hour after the ceremony, but since we ran ½ hour late before the ceremony, and they played that whole time, they didn’t stay for the cocktail hour. Luckily, our DJ was there early (and stayed late!) However, everyone got a kick out of Mexican folk trio – they really set the vibe, and when I received photos from various guests, they all included pics of the trio! Here's one from my friend with the best camera (he got many amazing shots throughout the day): Acoustic Project - DJ hired through Al Cielo – Score: A or A+ My package included EITHER 4 hours of DJ or 2 45-minute sets of a Jazz band. I wanted both, especially since our wedding reception was going to last longer than 4 hours, so the more economical way to do it was to go with 2 sets of Jazz band, and pay extra for the DJ. I believe we paid $600 for 4 hours of DJ, including his services and equipment, and I swear he worked for more (he was there the whole time we were, though the Jazz band and Mariachi trio played during that time too). We fed him and tipped him well though. I should really find out his name from Donaji because he was excellent and WELL worth the cost. I had fretted about whether I should just bring an ipod and believe me, the party wouldn't have been groovin' the way it was with OUR ipods! The DJ played really perfect ambient lounge music during the cocktail hour (which I didn’t get to enjoy much since we ended up taking photos the whole time due to running late beforehand). He set the vibe SO well. I had asked the DJ in advance to play the Jewish Hora music and told him which tracks and which order, and he did not play the right 1st track, so while trying to manage a family photo and wanting to dance the hora (and wondering where my family was for the dancing, since we were all kind of scattered at this point), I ran up to him to correct him. Stressful! He ended up playing the right track 2x in a row instead of once, which was a bit much, but he got the other 2 songs correct. People had fun dancing I think, but this was a little bit of a stressful part of the evening for me, b/c it didn’t feel so smooth, and the only reason I lowered the score from an A+. Maybe it isn’t a fair reason and I should probably move it back up to A+? I told the DJ to play our 1st song after dinner, and he kindly waited until we walked down there to play it. Unfortunately, the other people already slow-dancing on the dance floor didn’t organically realize it was our first dance, and I didn’t actually announce that it was our first dance, even though he obviously faded out the prior song as we came onto the dance floor, so we weren’t alone on the dance floor. In fact, my uncle and aunt were making out on the dance floor beside us – lovely huh! My videographer said she got us in mostly close-up. I’m glad people were enjoying themselves, but I should have thought ahead and announced something so that we could have had better photo ops. So if you want a DJ who announces things (which I didn’t think I did, but now realize is a little helpful), you should plan ahead better than I did and have someone else announce. I didn’’t have a father daughter dance b/c I ran out of time and didn’t pick one – and the DJ didn't play many slow songs so I couldn't just improvise - so this is something you shouldn’t leave to the last minute! We finally settled on our 1st dance song the night before and picked a very depressing (but beautifully emotional) song, Jeff Buckley’s “Lover, You Should Have Come Over”, so that is what happens when you leave things to the last minute! Maybe that is why I’ve gone a little crazy with numerous music suggestions to my videographer and photographer now . After dessert the DJ played the Greek music per my request (I’m a rare Greek Jew), and then stopped when I told him I thought it was enough, so that was perfect. Otherwise, the music was SUPER great dance music. The DJ did not play anything on our do not play list, which is a rare quality in a DJ. We got lots of compliments on his music choices. In fact, everyone asked where we found such a great DJ and they all said he was awesome. My cousin (the guy I mentioned before) hypothesized that the DJ’s methodology to keep the party going strong was to play the beginnings and best parts of songs and then fade into the next song, so that no whole songs are played. I’ll have to go back a listen to the original footage and see if that is true! We had given him some cds with numerous dance tracks in case his music was bad, but he didn’t play anything from them, because he didn’t really need to! People danced all night, an hour past when our wedding was supposed to end, so I see that as a success. We even served cake on the dance floor so that people could dance and eat cake at the same time, since we didn’t want to break the mood! I was so psyched! I love my guests! Chivo Azul - Jazz Band hired through Al Cielo: A Donaji found this Jazz Band through a new music contact she made a few months before my wedding. I’ll try to find their name if anyone is interested. The Jazz Band plays in bars in Playa del Carmen, in addition to weddings, but they refused to send me a music sample. Luckily, Donaji put me in contact with a recent Al Cielo groom from Chicago who claimed to be a “music head” and vouched for the band. The Jazz Band played for 1.5 hours during dinner. I’m only giving them an A instead of an A+ because when I had asked in advance if they could play one Jewish hora song instead of us having to use a CD, they refused to play anything not in their “style”, so as not to ruin their reputation. They were talented enough that they totally could have played anything. They were really really good – people were dancing in the palapa and on the dance floor during dinner because the music was so good – and I got lots of compliments while they were playing. I didn’t actually see them because they were on the deck behind the bar and I was so scattered trying to talk to everyone and eat a little – crazy! I'll do one more post with some of my friends and family photos. I will be posting a Part 4 eventually, about our group outing that we treated our guests to the day after our wedding, but I'm going to take a little break now. I'll leave you with this - if you want a private, intimate, rustic-elegant, beautiful, fun, delicious, groovin', perfect wedding - get married at Al Cielo!

SITE Al Cielo: A A few things keeping it from an A+ are: 1) The bathrooms (which I didn’t actually go to during the wedding, but remember from the site visit) are a little odd in that the toilets are pretty low. 2) There is a large extra site fee for Sunday, in addition to an increase of the service charge from the normal 10% to a Sunday 15% on pretty much everything, which seems like double billing to me. However, on the day of, they let the open bar go an hour longer than we paid for, and let us stay at the site an hour longer than planned, so I guess that made up for it somewhat – they were flexible and generous in that respect! And they threw in some things for free, as I mentioned previously, here and there, which also made up for it. Additionally the employees all seemed very happy to be working and were all super nice and attentive and friendly. The managers even checked in on me a few times to make sure everything was going ok. 3) We had to rent a lot of stuff separately, largely because I was having a wedding over 50 guests, and also because they simply lacked in all the necessary things you need for a wedding – the tables, chairs, linens, white mod lounge furniture, dance floor, exterior lighting (LEDs), extra speakers, electric generator back-up. When picking the place, I wasn’t immediately made aware of any of these needs besides the tables and chairs, so it got a little frustrating to keep spending and spending as the months went on. However, the rentals were all handled through Al Cielo, the wedding coordinator there, and their recommendations (which were generally great). Also, some things made up for it…The perfect location, which felt like you were really getting away from the world on this mostly private-seeming beach, the way the extra rentals perfected the vibe of the wedding, and the little things Al Cielo included in the wedding package price – turquoise and white palapa hangings, turquoise seat covers at the bar, new globe candles on the tables, new bamboo napkin ring, the bamboo ceremony chairs, winding aisle of rose petals, ketubah area, etc. that were perfect. My guests raved about what a perfect spot it was. I loved that it was a perfect rustic-elegant mix. FOOD Al Cielo’s Restaurant: A All the guests raved about the food – really, both at the wedding, and for the days afterwards, the still talked about.. I had done a tasting in November and was pleased with the food, which is part of the reason I picked the venue. Unfortunately, my hubby and I missed the cocktail hour b/c we were taking photos – brides-to-be - don’t forget to ask someone to make you a plate! People are still raving about the goat-cheese filled roasted peppers, so I’m pretty sad I missed them at the actual wedding. Our Hors d'oeuvres were: Goat-Cheese filled Peppers Coconut Crusted Prawns Duck Mini-Quesadillas in Black Mole Sauce Mushroom and Caramelized Onion Empanadas Mexican Chicken Brochetas. We came up with the empanada option, which they accommodated, and the peppers were moved from the 1st course option to the hors d’oeuvres, so they were very flexible with the menu. Plus we had the duck without cheese for the pseudo-kosher folks (the shrimp was our one exception, for my hubby, who never got to try them, sadly). We had a sit down dinner. For 1st course, we served Vegetable Ceviche with a Squash Tamale. The main course options were: Seared Tuna with Sesame Seeds and Orange-Soy Sake Sauce Angus New York steak with non-dairy pepper sauce Vegetarian Paella. Seared Tuna: Kids meals were fish sticks (which according to the parents were delicious, guess they stole some bites!) with veggies, and ice cream. Dessert was Tropical Fruit Brochetas drizzled in Dark Chocolate. I thought the orange-soy-sake sauce for the fish was a little on the salty side and not complex enough (didn't taste the orange), but everyone else loved it and I liked it a lot. I’m just a food snob! The fish itself was delicious. Oh, and we loved the bread (I think we were starving by that point). Cake - from Walter Lubcke ( not open to public) - but very good, just too much of it!: B+ I didn’t really care too much about the cake (had to give up control somewhere!), so I just said fine order whatever you usually order, as Al Cielo orders from Walter Lubcke, a local cake operation. I picked coconut as the flavor. I looked like a big version of the photo she sent, but I can’t totally remember – it was white, with white pearl icing dot décor, and red flower petals I think? You can check it out at the end of Elizabeth Medina's slideshow of my wedding (link in siggy), but I don't have any digital photos to upload here, since my guests stopped clicking shortly after dinner. It was square or rectangle with some layers, and it was really, really huge. It tasted good, like light yummy fluffy cake with a light frosting, nothing spectacular, but definitely yummy, which is saying a lot for wedding cake! Very good. Brides, my advice to you is to order for less people than you are having attending. We had way too much cake, which really was overpriced and a huge chunk of money, and what did we do? We forgot to bring back the leftovers to the resort. My hubby was so sad, as he loves cake and would have spent the rest of the week eating it. Maybe if you are having a wedding at home, it is different, but at a destination wedding, when maybe everyone won’t have a piece, it seems silly. The pieces were huge, and I’m pretty sure we had leftovers that didn’t get eaten. The best part of my cake is that it was served ON the dance floor. Donaji, the sweetie, didn’t want to stop the flow of my party, and since everyone was having a ton of fun dancing, she somehow got the cake across the sand onto the dance floor, where we did the obligatory cut and smoosh the cake into each other’s face deal (of course, I got smooshed, and he opened wide enough). Then, everyone continued dancing with plates of cake in their hands!!! BAR Al Cielo’ Bar: A+ Our guests made full use of the bars. We had one on the beach and one in the palapa. The wine was very very good (someone asked me to find out what it was so they could buy some in the future) – which is saying a lot, as most of the Mexican resorts I tried wine at had pretty undrinkable wine. We tasted it during the tasting and that helped seal the deal a little – I think I got buzzed after trying the red and the white haha. Champagne was extra (and very overpriced), in addition to the open bar fees, so we just ordered enough bottles for demi-glass toasts, although for some reason people were able to order it at the bar all night with no problem? Odd. There was top shelf tequila which everyone enjoyed for shots, and other top shelf liquor, and lots of mixed drinks, frozen drinks, etc. The open bar was supposed to close around 10:30 or 10:45 and they kept it open until we left around 12 without charging us, which was SO nice (of course, less people were drinking at the end, but still so nice of them!) More coming (music) in a little bit...

AL CIELO The breakdown below for more details: WEDDING COORDINATOR Donaji: A+ Donaji is Al Cielo's wedding coordinator, so you can hire her through them and she works exclusively for them I first met Donaji in late November during my site visits with my mom. We went for a tasting, and she sat down to discuss possibilities for the wedding. While driving down the unpaved dirt road to Al Cielo, my mom said, “There is no way we are bringing our guests here.” The minute we walked through the path to the beach and main palapa, she said, “Ok, this is the place.” – pretty much at the same time as I said, “This is it, I love it.” However, one of the major elements that helped cement the decision was Donaji. She is the sweetest, warmest, most genuine, nicest, loveliest person. I would want her as my friend. She felt and still feels like family. She is very, very patient. She has good taste. Best of all, she understood my taste and was able to work with my vision as well. We communicated constantly over email between December and May, and she always wrote back detailed emails, often initiating discussions when she’d find something new I might like to use for the wedding, and she was always very warm and wonderful in the emails. She makes you feel special and like a real person with a relationship with her, rather than just another bride with a contract. Ok some examples of Donaji’s work: When I expressed my interest in a live band, Donaji held out until she found one that she felt was good enough to be worthwhile. We only had them for dinner – I’ll explain why later – but she was right – they were worthwhile! Donaji researched and found out that it was going to be a new moon (no moon) on my wedding night, so she suggested and handled renting lights for the dance floor to supplement the candles, tiki torches, and Al Cielo’s palapa lighting. She researched and found 3 different options, crane lighting, LED lighting, and large globe lighting. I went with the LED, as it was the in-between option price wise, but she definitely pushed me towards that because of the better look and vibe it would create over the crane, and she was right. When I was struggling with the options Al Cielo had with flowers, Donaji went out and contacted a few different florists in search of turquoise vases for me and emailed me photos. None of them ended up being what I wanted, but she encouraged me to use an outside florist, rather than her florist options, to get what I wanted, and she did make an effort. Knowing that I was having a big wedding (for a destination wedding), and that Al Cielo had only so many loungers that could be used as lounge furniture on the beach, and thinking ahead that some guests might to get out of the palapa and sit next to the dance floor after dinner (and also during cocktail hour), Donaji suggested and handled renting this inexpensive mod white lounge furniture.. Closer to the wedding, Al Cielo bought some more on the ground Indian style lounge mats that she offered as a cheaper (free) option, but I stuck to her original vision, and she actually managed to incorporate both well. At the last minute, way after I was trying to decide btwn brown tiffany chairs, which would look better for dinner with the tables, and bamboo chairs, which would look better for the ceremony, and I had decided on the tiffany, Donaji got me the bamboo chairs complimentary (just sharing in shipping costs), in addition to the tiffany chairs, because she convinced the rental company to let them keep them from the wedding the day before for one more day. She also bought new bamboo napkin rings and cool globe candles in the few weeks before my wedding, which she included as part of my original package pricing, instead of using their older less cool tea lights in glass voltives and no napkin rings. I had dropped off all my home-made stuff on Friday, and gave her some quick instructions. When I arrived on Sunday, Donaji had found great solutions for everything: Donaji put the fans in alternating colors on the chairs, per my request: Donaji put my programs in a basket for my ushers to hold when handing them out: Donaji had created a separate area for our Ketubah signing last minute, which was great since I hadn’t thought of this (I was going to just go into a corner somewhere and do it): (that’s my mom) Donaji arranged the sand dollars on a tray of sand near the entrance to the palapa, as I asked her to, and she put the pashminas in a basket on the ground near the entrance to the palapa. It was getting dark as people went in, so not everyone noticed them, yet other people 2 one of each color (some men and kids took them too) - so brides you may want to bring some extras in case people are greedy! There were a few VERY MINOR details that weren’t perfect, hardly worth mentioning, but just so you don’t think she’s a infallible: Donaji had a chuppah built to be taller than my hubby (who is 6’6”), per my request. I had asked for flowy fabric on the top, and it wasn’t exactly flowy, but maybe she had our best interest in mind, thinking of sound and the wind? She added a floral type lace covering to the table under the chuppah which isn’t exactly my style: As I said, super minor! More (Food, Music, Site, Cake, etc.) later…

mickcu - I emailed them a while back and this is the info [email protected] wrote me, which includes links to Hacienda del Secreto (if you scroll down) and various emails and contact numbers. I edited it down to important info: To start, I have attached a printable PDF file listing information and rates on our Villas and Suites. Listed below is our villa availability for the dates that you requested. -- I have these if you PM me with your email address I'll fwd them to you Special Discounts Offered: (Only One Discount May Apply To Your Reservation) I think you need to email them to get these discounts? * We are offering a 10% discount off of the standard rates if you make your online reservation thru our website within 48 hours of receipt of this email. * If your online reservation is reserved more than 6 months in advance of your arrival date we can offer you a 15% discount. * 10% discount off of the Holiday Rates. We only host wedding to guests that have reserved Casa Umaki-Ha (5BD) for a week reservation. We offer a 10% discount for multiple villa reservations (3 or more villas required for the discount) Ms Doy Cooper handles all weddings at Playa Secreto. You can view further information regarding our wedding packages at Weddings Playa del Secreto Mexico You may contact Ms. Cooper at [email protected] she will be happy to assist you with additional information on your destination wedding. If you wish to reserve one of our villas, please contact me, Cher Ralston, at [email protected] or toll free 1-877-724-8451 Please let me know if you have a preferred month of travel and I will forward you our availability for your requested time period. Playa Secreto is a perfect location for a quiet Caribbean getaway. Here, you can enjoy a relaxing vacation away from hotels, vendors and hordes of tourists, yet close enough to get into the local culture. Our villas are located between Cancun and Playa Del Carmen. The closest airport is the Cancun Airport, which is app. 20 minutes from Playa Secreto. Playa Del Carmen is app. 15 minutes away and is the latest hot spot of the Mayan Riviera. There are many restaurants, shopping, local entertainment and much more. You can catch the ferry in Playa Del Carmen to spend the day in Cozumel. Puerto Morelos is a small authentic Mexican village located app. 5 minutes away. Puerto Morelos has some great restaurants and a small grocery store. You can spend the evening watching the local fisherman pull into the pier on their fishing boats with their catch for the day and buy their fresh fish right off the dock. Our ocean front villas of Hacienda Del Secreto and Casa Del Secreto are spectacular with breath taking ocean views surrounding our vacation paradise and our full staff will insure you a fabulous vacation at Playa Secreto. Although, at this time we are experiencing a phenomenon that only Mother Nature can remedy. Ten Years ago Playa Secreto experienced a beach erosion that took many months to recover to the beautiful white sand paradise that our guest have enjoyed for many years. A few months ago the winter currents changed our shoreline as it did back in 1997. From our 12 years of experience with the changes of the beach from week to week, we are looking forward to the summer currents to bring our beach back in front of our villas. Until then, we feel we need to let our guest know that the photos of the beach on our websites do not represent the actual appearances of the beach. We recently added a photo to our website that will give you an accurate view of our existing beach and be assured that we will keep you updated on the beach improvements as the summer currents bring back the beach. Within 100yds of our villas, the beach of Playa Secreto is still beautiful and can be enjoyed by our beach lovers. Next to our villas we have a sandy beach lot available to our guests, with lounge chairs, umbrellas, beach volleyball along with a staircase going down to the ocean. Villa's are reserved from a Fri. to Fri. or a Sat. to Sat., unless we have last minute availability. There is an additional charge for a mid-week reservation, due to the loss of a week reservation. Our villas generally stay reserved with back to back weekly reservations. You may visit our private web sites for information and photos of our private luxury villas and suites at: Hacienda del Secreto Beachfront Vacation Rentals on Playa del Secreto Near Cancun and Playa del Carmen Mexico Casa del Secreto Vacation Home Rental Villa on the Beach near Cancun and Playa del Carmen Mexico Playa del Secreto Caribbean beachfront vacation home rentals and real estates near Cancun and Playa del Carmen Mexico Before making your online reservations, to verify that the villa of your choice is still available or if you would just like to speak to someone in person, you may contact me, Stateside Representative, Cher Ralston at 1-877-724-8451, Just A Few Of Our Services Provided: Meal Service: Provisioning of Villa: Vehicle Rental Airport Transfer: Activities Arranged: Please visit our Menu in the web site Menu and Meal Plan Casa del Secreto Vacation Home Rental Villa on the Beach near Cancun and Playa del Carmen Mexico for more information on rates, menus and hours of service.

Ok, before I start part 3, I just want to say I LOVE LOVE LOVED my wedding at Al Cielo. It was everything I dreamed of and more, and I’m a highly critical person so that is saying a lot. I thought it was more beautiful than I had hoped for, and more fun! I had worried about keeping my guests captive at Al Cielo from 4:30 to 11 PM, because we were shuttling them there, and feared they’d get bored, but the party lasted past 12 PM (an hour longer than scheduled! My guests kept telling me repeatedly during and after the wedding how it was the most amazing wedding they’d ever been to. I've been to a zillion weddings and have said many nice things, but I don't usually say that unless I mean it, right? Many said it was the best. Some said it was the most fun. Others, the most “coolâ€. One of my cousins, who treats me like a sister (meaning, he treats me like crap and expects me to still love him), told me, while at the wedding, that it was better than his own wedding (which is saying a lot). I kept thanking my wedding coordinator, Donaji, for helping make everything perfect, but she just told me, its all about your people – which is largely true – I had great guests. That, coupled with a couple in love, is supposedly the key to success – though the beautiful setting, great food, plentiful alcohol, and rockin’ music didn’t hurt. I had SO much fun at my own wedding, and that, I believe, is an accomplishment. I think part of it was that I wasn’t that stressed out about spending time with people, because we had already spent time together, and would continue to spend time together afterwards, due to the wonders of a destination wedding. I’m not trying to boast about my wedding, I’m just trying to tell you guys that if you choose a great venue and vendors after doing your research, and of course with the help of BDW, add some unique (to your guests) touches, inspired by the BDW gals, and invite your favorite people, your wedding will be amazing, and you’ll have the best time ever too! Ok, onwards. This was kind of how the day worked out: 3:15 (was supposed to be 2:45) Wedding Party shuttle to Al Cielo 3:45 Guest Shuttle to Al Cielo, 2 more shuttles at 4:15 3:50-4:50 Rehearsal and Photos 4:50-5:10 Sign Ketubah 4:30-5:15 Welcome lemonades with Live Mexican Folk Trio 5:25-5:55 Ceremony 5:55-6:40 Cocktail Hour with DJ Lounge Music, More Photos 6:40-6:55 Jewish Hora Dancing to CD 6:55-7 Take Seats in Palapa 7-8:30 Dinner with Live Jazz Band, FOB toast 8:35 First Dance 8:40-9:35 Dancing to DJ 9:30 Early Shuttle w/some parents w/babies leaves 9:40 Dessert, MOH and BM toasts 9:50 Greek Dancing 10 -12 Dancing to DJ, Cake served on dance floor at 10:30ish WEDDING TRANSPORTATION Paradise Transport and Tours: A Lyrebard – Thanks for recommending this company to me! Stuart, who is maybe Australian something, not sure, offered me significantly lower rates than the company Al Cielo planned on using for transportation from the Grand Riviera Princess to Al Cielo. He had 2 early shuttles waiting at the lobby on time for the wedding party, did not make a fuss when we stuffed 30 people into 28 seats, and the drivers were safe and patient with our crowd. There were supposed to be 6 vans to get the remaining guests, and 2 of the 6 were late because they were the early shuttles that dropped the wedding party off, and the wedding party left late. Since we had to wait for the last 2 shuttles of wedding guests, the whole wedding started ½ hour late.. I lowered the score from A+ to A b/c if I paid for 8 shuttles total, they should have had 6 vans available that weren’t dependent on the earlier vans, or they should have simply let us use 3 for the early shuttles, since we had to sit on laps with the 2. However, some claim that the later start time was good because it cooled down a bit, and we did get more photos while we waited. On the return, he had the 1 early shuttle departing at 9:30 as planned, and the rest ready to leave around 11:15. Many of us didn’t leave until after 12 (the wedding was fun!!) and there were no complaints from the shuttles, which waited patiently. PHOTOGRAPHER Elizabeth Medina (+ her daughter Lindsay, and guest photographer Grace Kim) No score or elaborate review yet as I haven’t seen the photos, but I can give a preliminary A+ for Elizabeth being so super sweet, enthusiastic, genuine, flexible and generous with her time, and so on. Elizabeth checked into the Princess and went above and beyond our agreement by coming straight to my room for some “getting ready†shots (I waited to put my dress on until she got there). Ok, so this was why we left ½ hour late, but hopefully it was worth it. Also, Elizabeth brought a guest photographer, Grace Kim, along to shoot my wedding with her. What an amazing treat for me to get 2 perspectives (3 if you also count Lindsay's of course)! I'm so excited for the photos!! VIDEOGRAPHER Jennifer Anne Video No score or elaborate review yet as I haven’t seen the video. Jennifer Anne is videographer from SoCal (Orange County I believe?), and I paid for her and an assistant to fly down, stay a few nights, and shoot in HD for 6 hours, and she’ll provide me with an edited video and the original HD tapes (in case I hate her version and want to re-edit later haha). This was still cheaper – NOT CHEAP – but cheaper, than hiring the few local videographers who shoot in HD in Mexico to shoot my wedding. Ok, I would have paid more for Paul Shrank, but he was getting married on the same day as me, so I was out of luck! Maybe I’m dumb to go for HD, but oh well, weddings are a money-suck, right? I watched my parents silent black and white wedding film several times, and I edited my sister’s video (my family told me to go into the biz) and I feel the videos help the viewer really remember the day, so I’m hoping her video will be good! Jennifer arrived a little early (before us at least), to get some set-up shots, and left at 10 PM sharp, right after the Greek dancing. So no cake cutting on the video. FLORIST Euforia Flowers: A+ After trying to decide between bringing my own materials and centerpieces down, which seemed difficult for a wedding my size, working with the choices Al Cielo offered, that were limited and not my taste, and working with other florists, who didn’t quite get my vision, I was referred to Euforia Flowers in Cancun, by another florist, Vanessa Jaimes, who was too busy for my business herself. I explained my vision of turquoise vases and flame red flowers to Hector at Euforia. I sent over my photo of the turquoise vase with red pincushion proteas, which are unfortunately unavailable in the area, and told him I wanted something modern, but also soft-beachy-organic. Hector emailed regularly and even called me in the US to discuss my needs. Hector graciously offered to do a mock-up arrangement inspired by my inspiration, using turquoise water and red tulips, and his vision was amazing. My inspiration photo (NOT AT WEDDING): Hector’s mockup (NOT AT WEDDING): Although Euforia was quite pricey, I felt that if I was going to pay for a florist, paying for complicated and beautiful arrangements that I could not make myself, which took my vision to a whole new level, made it worth it. When I arrived at Al Cielo on my wedding day, I found the arrangements were much larger than what my mom and I had imagined from the original photo Hector sent. My only regret is not asking for some sort of lighting inside the vase so that the turquoise water would still appear turquoise after it got dark (when people were eating). The actual arrangements (YES AT WEDDING): We paid for 13 table arrangements, 1 sweetheart table arrangement (which we just left up to him to create, and it turned out great), And 2 bar arrangements, 2 lounge table arrangements, 5 bridesmaid bouquets (flame red tulips), and 1 bridal bouquet. Well, apparently the flowers we discussed using for my bridal bouquet were no longer available, so Hector went ahead and upgrade my bouquet to red peonies. The red wasn’t exactly the same red as the tulips – it was more of a dark pinkish-red. However, the flowers were beautiful, and the darker pinkish-red probably went better with my dress, and in many photographs, they actually look more red than they did in real life, more like the red I actually love, so it turned out well. He wrapped them beautifully in a natural mesh material over turquoise ribbon, per our discussion about it. You can kind of see it in my Part 2 review with the photo of my hubby & I going down the aisle. I assume my photographer will have better photos of it than I do, but maybe you’ll see it later in my review in more photos. Hector, because he felt bad about the bouquet, also threw in arrangements for the bathrooms (which I didn’t get to see b/c I never went – my endorphins put my bladder on hold!), as well as for the table under the chuppah. I was so happy with the arrangements under the chuppah, as it added the splash of color I wanted without taking away from the setting, and was really perfect. Ok, I am SO late for work...I'll continue with this later!

(you can see the white more up close than in photos I guess)

Yes, I bought a Fiskars large round n round hole punch. I printed my logo on white label paper, and then hole punched them out. HOWEVER, I would recommend doing a white logo like cheese_diva (check out her planning review) rather than a colored one like mine, b/c the hole punch left a little bit of uneven white edge around my label by tearing off the ink or something. I also did the labels for my candle tins the same way.

STUFF FOR WEDDING I brought all the wedding stuff I lugged down with me from LA to Mexico to Al Cielo on Friday afternoon before the wedding, per my wedding coordinator, Donaji’s request. Donaji is the wedding coordinator we hired through Al Cielo and she works exclusively with Al Cielo. She was surprised and impressed by all I did – and believe me, I’m not sure I would have done it all without BDW inspiration! Raffia Fans - 9 packages of a dozen 10†raffia fans from ziggosluau.com (cheapest deal I found) – I wrapped 100 raffia fan handles with either red or turquoise ribbon. People, it takes a long time to do 100 basically by yourself (one bridesmaid did 10). These great BDW projects may be aimed towards smaller weddings, but my guests appreciated the fans, which they used for shading their eyes mostly. I think they added some wonderful color to the ceremony setting, which I’ll show in part 3 of my review. Welcome Programs - I hand-made 100 4-page (5.5x11) wedding programs for the wedding. As you may remember from my panic a couple days before I left, I started them a couple days before I left. Part of the reason for this is that my officiant, hubby, and I hadn’t finalized the ceremony until a few days before we left, and the other reason is that I kept waiting for Michaels to get the brown raffia string back in stock so that my idea of what I would make could be realized, but really, I should have at least done the layout earlier. I used a 250 ct. pkg of off white card stock, 2 pkgs of Martha Stewart blue gem stickers (which inspired me to think of my design in the first place, randomly at Michaels), and a couple pkgs of raffia string. I used the Beau Rivage font in brown that matched my invitation font thanks to the amazing come-to-the-rescue Sarah for sending it to me in time for me to print the programs the day before I left! Since the holes drilling in the programs wasn’t done until 8 PM on Wednesday, my hubby and I stayed up until 3 AM in our hotel room on Thursday night, our first night in Mexico, collating, tying ribbon, and sticking gems on the programs. It was worth it – they looked better than I expected! Sand Dollar Placecards – Ok, yet another fiasco. I ordered 100 3†sand dollars. I printed, using the lovely Beau Rivage font, the names and table number of each individual guest, per Al Cielo’s request, on off-white labels, but figured I’d put the labels on the dark brown business cards on the flight down, and then tie them with red, turquoise, or brown ribbon (depending on meal choice), when I got down there, so that I transport the shells carefully. Problem 1 – I printed on the wrong side of the label paper. Yes, I’m an idiot. So my friend was nice enough to stay up with us while we were doing the programs and use my brown pen (which I had luckily brought down to sign the welcome booklets personally, like PaulaV did, again, last minute) to write everyone’s name and table number on the correct side of the label. Problem 2 – Tying ribbon between a sand dollar and a business card (which we had hole punched at home) takes a freaking long time. My hubby stayed up with me until 3 AM on Thursday, and then I stayed up until 4 AM finishing b/c I had too much anxiety to leave it til the next day. Result, they were beautiful and I was happy (they would have been nicer printed, but oh well). Pashminas – Ok, so Tlseege & Carly rock for dealing with the horrible FashionUnic folks, and I must give props to Angela aka cheese_diva for the To Have & To Hold, To Keep You From Cold logo/ribbon idea, which I completely stole. I wrapped 60 some brown and aqua pashminas with the opposite color ribbon and used 2 logo-stickers to seal them. Ketubah – Newketubah.com: A We ordered 1 personalized secular ketubah. It is pretty pricey for a pretty simple design, but the design is refreshingly simple, modern, and pretty, and the wording was perfect for my and my hubby. We paid the rush fee and were able to get the Ketubah personalized and made in less than 3 weeks. Tsilli was very sweet and easy to work with when I wanted some spacing changes for the layout of the English wording. Lyrebard - thanks a ton! for giving me the heads up about newketubah or else I may have gone without a ketubah altogether. My videographer, who already is married and has a traditional ketubah, loved my ketubah so much that she bought another ketubah from Tsilli for her anniversary. A compliment if I’ve ever heard one!

Not sure if this part is more of a planning type review, but this is stuff relating to the wedding day, so I figured I'd continue with this as it is relevant to my experience. Maybe I’ll post a more detailed post about the individual aspects of some of these things (like the stuff I made) in other sections of the forum eventually, but I figured this is a good start. ATTIRE FOR WEDDING DAY: Wedding Dress - Cymbeline Paris "Akio" design Purchased from The Montclair Collection (Santa Monica, CA) I had a love-hate relationship with the dress after I picked it, as I loved it for its uniqueness and amazing design and quality, but it wasn’t what I had pictured getting in my mind (and I felt pressured to buy it due to having less than 6 mo. till my wedding) Well, when it finally arrived, and I had the under-layer A-line tailored (by the in-store tailor) to be more fitted against me, I love love loved it, and I got a zillion compliments at the wedding. People kept asking how I managed to find a couture dress, was it really a wedding dress, did I get it at a bridal store, etc., and told me I looked like I belonged at a magazine shoot (which is probably an exaggeration, but nice to hear). They also expected a lot from me (since I used to be more daring fashion wise) and they felt I found something that reflected me well. You’ll see more photos of me in the dress when I get my professional photos I’m sure. Sorry to be so gleeful about it, but after feeling so ambivalent, I was happy with my change of heart and guest response. Best of all, my hubby, who is so not into dresses and lace and fashion and all that (he likes me in jeans best) liked the dress and thought I looked beautiful in it, which for him is saying a lot (in terms of the dress part – he claims I always look beautiful even when I’m in glasses and nasty sweats haha, the liar). Note to Mexicana Air passengers: I had to stuff it in the overhead baggage compartment b/c Mexicana Air claimed they don't have anywhere to hang anything, and I never got around to getting it steamed or pressed, but it seemed fine as it was! Note to Brides wearing wedges the sand: I had my dress hemmed on the bottom while wearing my wedges, and I still was tripping over it because the wedges sank in the soft fluffy sand – so if you are going with wedges, get your dress trimmed a bit shorter than usual. Shoes - Wedges from Steve Madden, which were uncharacteristically comfortable! Jewelry - Bought my mini-sea-pearl drop cluster earrings from an amazing and sweet jewelery designer next door to Montclair Bridal. If you live in the area, go check his stuff out! (the earrings look better on – you can’t really see the gold, it just makes the pearls pop a little) Wedding Ring - Well I had a hard time finding something to go with the engagement ring we had designed for me based on an art deco design: So 1 week before the wedding, I was in for a last minute wedding dress fitting, and walked down Montana Ave. to yet another jewelery store and found these really cool modern-organic hammered white gold stackable rings with champagne diamonds and decided I should wear rings that I like for the rest of my life. Maybe it doesn't quite go with the platinum engagement ring, but oh well, that's why I have 2 hands! Anyhow, here they are: We used just one of the plain ones for the ceremony, per Jewish tradition. bra – I’d like to recommend NuBra, my new favorite undergarment! Groom’s Suit – My hubby splurged on a designer suit and shirt since he is so freaking tall and the nice employees of Barney’s were so helpful… A glimpse of the bride and groom outfits: Ok, but I’m skipping ahead. Back on track – MOH dress - I fell in love with this BCBG dress - that apparently Sarah Jessica Parker will be wearing in the Sex in the City movie while running around town- when looking for bridesmaids dresses back in January. At the time it was $350 and since we planned on buying the bridesmaids dresses for them, it seemed kind of steep. Additionally, all the bridesmaids have large breasts except one and complained that they wouldn’t be able to wear a bra with it. So a month before the wedding I found it on sale for $150 and wanted it for my rehearsal dinner but my breasts aren’t big enough to look good in it (I didn’t know about NuBra yet!). Then I figured, since it is stretchy jersey it would be perfect for my sister (MOH), who at the time of the wedding was 6 months pregnant with her 2nd child (. She hemmed it shorter to kind of go with the bridesmaids, though we agree maybe that was a mistake. Still, it looks good, and she didn’t complain about the bra issue (she wore an NuBra type thing too). Bridesmaids’ Dresses - JCREW Sophia Silk Chiffon in Espresso – I gave the gals a choice of any dress in that fabric and color and they all picked the same one b/c it was the most flattering. I told them to wear brown sandals but they all went barefoot. Bridesmaids’ Necklaces – In addition to the dresses, my gift to the - appetite stone, matches the MOH dress. Groomsmen’s Outfits – As our gift to them, we got them white linen Banana Republic shirts, and wheat/beige (not tan) colored Nautica linen button front pants. We told them to wear brown sandals, which they did. I don’t have any great group shots of the bridesmaids and groomsmen – I’m sure there will be some in the professional photos though, when they are ready, or I’ll add some later. Flowergirl accessory – My close friend/cousin-in-law-by-marriage’s daughter was my flower girl. I got this little gift wrap pin flower to pin on her dress to match the color scheme.

Oh no no no - my wedding was amazing - I haven't gotten to that part of the review yet!