Maura

tami, i made tea length invitations for someone else, i could just substitute the seashell graphic for a pineapple one and email it to you if you want. all youd have to do it fill in their personal info PM me your email if you want me to send it to you - its on my home computer though so i wont be able to send it until around 6 pm CST

great photos manda, i cant wait for you guys to get back so you can post all the details! you looked gorgeous!

rachel, would you mind posting where you got that book from?

im not having any luck finding them - i think they are an older style

Quote: Originally Posted by blinkgrl119 Amy those 2 pictures you have are amazing! truely!! Cannot wait to see the rest of them! I do have one question though - I know you were going to try do the guestbook where the guests write a message on the whiteboard - how did that work out for you? I realise you won't have had time to put it together yet, but did it go down well with guests? I'm itching to see the end result of this - because this is what I plan on doing too! Anyhoo - congrats lady - even with the slight problems....YOUR MARRIED!! woooo hooooooooooo xxxxxxxxxx i spoke with amy last night - she's been having issues with posting photos - she did email me the photos of some of the guestbook pics of them writing on the boards and some of them were really hilarious! she said it went great. amy, if you want me to, i can post the pics you sent me, just let me know.

i moved your post into the appropriate forum. please be conscious of where you are posting things. if it's hotel specific, put it there, if it's not, then its ok to post in the general sub-forums.

jackie do you remember how recently you saw the photos? that might help. did you go through the wedding reviews section and look at each one going 2 months back?

p.s. jenny- i love how you put your name on all your photos - that way if someone saves it and cant remember where they got it from, they can look and see your username! very clever. i wish more people did this!

Quote: Originally Posted by can't wait! We had a thread about this last week. I spoke with Sandra at DT and she assured me they are not at risk. The only thing the govt asked them to do was relocate a volleyball net/court (not sure why). The resorts shut down are very small, have bungalows as rooms and apparently were too close to the ruins. For those of us who have been to DT....we know the resort isn't too near the archaelogical site. In fact, you can't even see it from their grounds. No need to worry. Quote: Originally Posted by MelanieS Excellent info, Maura. This is why BDW is such a great forum - it keeps the brides informed of everything, good or bad. The reason why the mods decided to post about this is that we had a spammer scaring some girls saying that DT was possibly going to be part of the hotel closures. In fact, as far as they know right now, DT is NOT going to be a part of it. And yes, for those of you who have been to DT you know that the resort isnt too near the archaeological site or are even able to see it from their grounds. That is not the issue. It isn't JUST the archaeological site. It also encompasses other land nearby that is government owned that is being encroached upon by a few properties. I am sure that not every single DT bride has ever been to DT before their wedding, and thus would not know the proximity to any government owned land. Dreams Tulum is not affected by the hotel closures or investigation as of today. The whole reason we put this out there was to dispell any rumors floating around that the spammer started. We have been aware of the issues with the hotel closures going on down there since late last week, but only decided to post something because of the person relaying false information to all of you. We wanted you all to have the most correct information possible. If you do see anyone posting information that seems incorrect, please let a moderator know so we can look into it. Thanks!

our moderator amyh just did this for her wedding a few weeks ago. it turned out great. look for her planning thread for details. it's called something like amyh's planning galore

I HIGHLY recommend that nobody else contact them - if they get inundated with phone calls and emails it will take them forever to respond to each and every one of you - so just sit tight for now and wait.

Please browse the Etiquette, Traditions, to dos forum.

Ladies, please read this thread. http://bestdestinationwedding.com/fo...380#post468168 Keep the hysteria down. If all of you contact your WC at Dreams Tulum, they are going to be completely overwhelmed and not be able to handle you all. At this point, Dreams Tulum remains open, and any speculation about them being shut down is PURELY SPECULATION. As of right now, they are not affected by any of the hotel closures going on in Tulum.

Dear ladies (and any gents) getting married in Riviera Maya in the coming weeks/months: I am posting this to AVOID any kind of mass hysteria so you have the FACTS about what is going on in the Tulum and Cancun areas right now with the government shutting down some hotels. Before you get into reading the article below (which is from a national newswire, and a valid source, the Associated Press), please recognize that there are only 5 hotels which have been closed in Tulum at this point. The hotels in question are mostly small, eco-friendly resorts with anywhere from 10 to 30 rooms, many of them using alternate energy sources. There are rumors and speculation that one of the large mega resorts in Tulum closest to the ruins (which would be Dreams Tulum) is destined for demolition as well, but there is no official confirmation of this report. The 5 hotels that have been closed so far are: El hotel Cabañas, Mezanine, El Diamante K, El Ibera and Alternature (which is still under construction) Any information I post here will be verified by multiple news sources so you can be assured that it is correct. I will be reading the Mexican newspapers and keeping an eye out in English-speaking media as well to provide you with any info updates that I am able to find. The Mexican Government has indicated that Cancun hotels and resorts will also be subject to inspection of business licenses and property lines to make sure that they are not encroaching on any federally owned land within the coming weeks. AGAIN, PLEASE DO NOT FLIP OUT ABOUT THIS - I will provide you with every piece of accurate information that I can give you (which I will be collecting from both English and Spanish-language media sources). Please feel free to post your questions here, and I will do my best to answer what I am able to. Mexico launches battle for Tulum beach By TRACI CARL The Associated Press Thursday, July 10, 2008; 6:00 PM MEXICO CITY -- The soldiers seemed out of place in paradise. They stood guard at the sandy entrances to the exclusive, beachside hotels, holding their guns while inspectors took careful measurements and studied documents. Tourists from around the world sauntered by on their way to spa treatments or sunned themselves on private decks overlooking the Mexican Caribbean's blue-green waters, puzzled but mostly unconcerned. Until Monday, when the soldiers returned with federal officials who slapped "closed" signs across the hotel entrances and said they would be back on Friday to start clearing out guests. The federal government's closure of five small, exclusive hotels on Tulum's breathtaking stretch of white-sand beaches has created an uproar over who has the title to one of the few still-to-be-fully-developed coastlines left along the exclusive Riviera Maya. At least five other developments near Tulum's seaside Mayan ruins are also under investigation. The actions carried into Thursday, when the federal Environmental Department announced it had shut down construction of an Acapulco development that didn't meet environmental standards. Visitors driving south from Cancun find most of the coast has been divided up and sold off to hotel chains. There are monster, all-inclusive resorts boasting hundreds of rooms and a maze of swimming pools, as well as sprawling communities of vacation villas and beach clubs. Then there is Tulum, a tiny hippy-style town that started as a backpacker retreat. Most hotels were a collection of primitive thatched huts stuck into the sand and surrounded by beachside jungle. But it has recently transformed itself into a chic eco-resort, one where travelers pay up to US$500 a night to practice yoga on the beach and stay in minimalist Mayan suites where flatscreen televisions and iPod docking stations are powered by solar energy. Title disputes have haunted the Tulum beach for decades. At the heart of this dispute, however, is whether the hotels were built in a federal park. Federal environmental prosecutor Patricio Patron says the land is protected and the government wants to eventually demolish the buildings and leave the area untouched. But he says bulldozers won't arrive for a year or more as the cases work their way through Mexican courts. John Kendall, owner of Mezzanine, a 10-room resort featuring a beachside restaurant and bar, says the federal government just wants to take back land that is worth millions of dollars. "The pretext is totally fabricated," he said. Ari Kantrowitz, a New York City graduate student, said he and his girlfriend were in the pool Monday when two bureaucrats walked up, carrying clipboards and signs that said "closed" in Spanish. "Suddenly, walking behind them were four guys in full fatigues, helmets and carrying M16 rifles. It was somewhat surreal," he said. "We sort of just sat in the pool ... After a bit, I assumed it was the Mexican government and not some rogue militia." Kendall has held nightly meetings with his guests, assuring them that he will find alternative lodging if they are forcibly evicted on Friday. But guest Richard Beaver and his wife aren't waiting to find out what happens. The couple from New Zealand plan to check out first thing Friday. They drove up Monday as soldiers and government officials were posting the closed signs. "There were guys walking around with big guns, and my wife didn't want to stay," he said. "We thought we had come to a really nice place, but to look at that was pretty intimidating." Patron says officials will let guests stay until they are scheduled to leave, even if it means they stay past Friday. But he warned the hotels against taking on new clients. He says the developments have yet to show adequate titles, are too close to the Mayan ruins and are built in an area for protected plant and animal species, including the towering chit palm. "We are forced to comply with the law," he said. Hotel owners argue they've been there for up to two decades without problems, and their businesses are built around protecting the environment. Roberto Palazuelos, a Mexican soap opera actor and president of the Tulum Hotel Owners Association, says the federal government's paperwork to create the protected area in the 1980s was never done correctly. His Hotel Diamante K is among the five that have been closed. "I think they want to take away the land and divide it between themselves," he said. The state government issued the land titles and says they are valid. Tourism officials have been visiting the hotels this week and supporting their fight to keep their land. In the meantime, urban refugees seeking peace and quiet in Mexico's jungle squeeze in one last spa treatment and wonder when the soldiers will return. _____ On the Net: mezzanine | tulum, mexico http://www.diamantek.com/ Hotel Paraiso Tulum, Habitaciones, Club de Playa, Restaurant Bar © 2008 The Associated Press

ugh that sucks! i hate HR people to begin with (at least everywhere ive ever worked anyway) so that sucks he's your boss. im glad to hear your FI is doing okay with it though!

wow, leia how fun! i am jealous of all your recent travels haha - cant wait to see pics when you get back!

i had photos from our civil ceremony printed at target earlier this week, and i was not happy with the quality because apparently on their machines there is some auto resize/crop option that is the default, and if you dont know to change it to turn the default off, people's heads will get cut off in a lot of photos like mine did. i am so ticked, that i am going back to target to ask for a refund. when i looked at the photos after getting them back on monday, over half of them had bad cropping issues. and its not like the people who work at target's photo dept are especially knowledgable about photo printing IMHO. when i get photos printed from the wedding next month, i'll probably get them from mpix.com. it's slightly more expensive, but worth it.

did you read the weather report carefully? it says "isolated" showers --- that means it will likely rain for just a small amount of time, not all day. and yes, it's getting close to the rainy season (which technically starts at middle-end of august).

omg amy i am in tears. i LOVE your video! it made me feel like i was there with you!

fabulous news lizz! congratulations to you and your DH! are you going to find out the sex when you can, or do you want it to be a surprise?

jenny, i was wondering what the dimensions are of your passport invitations (they are super cute by the way) and if you used a template from the forum to do them. how did you print them, at home or someplace like kinkos? and how did you make the little holes for attaching the ribbon?

wow christina, that is so horrible!!! i am so sorry to hear this - really this is just terrible. big hug to you and your friends, what a sad event to go through. I absolutely think it would be appropriate - but if I were you I would run it by your friend first and see how they feel about it. If it would make them at all uneasy or uncomfortable then leave it out, but if they give you the go ahead, I think it would be a nice little tribute.

how many at home pregnancy tests have you taken?

wow amy how shady about the stuff that happened at the melia... and bummer about the rain. but in those teasers you look amazing - i cant wait to hear more! how did your dry erase guestbook go? ive been dying for you to get back so we can hear all the little details.

Quote: Originally Posted by BarefootBride I think that could be the bad luck part.... miscarriage... But what does that KWIM mean? KWIM = Know What I Mean how late are you? have you taken a blood test with your doc yet to confirm?