Jentwo

Hi Becky - your detail to the process once brides arrive is much appreciated. I have obtained my certified birth certificate copy and am waiting on the fiance to get his so we can have them translated (I was quoted $40 each here in Chicago). In addition I already know the location in Chicago to get the apostille done. Will you please elaborate on how many copies of your marriage certificate you received after the ceremony and how you've dealt with it once back in the states? For example, I think I read somewhere we have to get the marriage certificate translated back to English once you return. Have you tried any name changes with these documents? That's where I'm a little nervous.....

I agree that STDs would be the first step. Other than starting to save money, there's not much your guests to do besides that because flight schedules aren't available yet for May '09 and I doubt people have to put in vacation requests for over a year out! I'm getting married in Nov. and some of my guests are still waiting for airlines like Jet Blue to post their schedule/prices. I provided 9 months notice for my guests and I think that is plenty!

I am so glad I found this string of comments! I haven't searched "The Royal" for updates lately and this one is very helpful. I'm getting married at the Royal in November '08 and have booked most of my stuff. My info received from the resort is on par with what everyone has said in terms of rules, costs etc. The one question I have for Antonia specifically is food for the dinner. I too am expecting between 60 and 100 guests (the RSVPs are currently rolling in!) and my finace and I have concern over their policy of choosing a meal and only being allowed three exceptions. With 100 people, if we choose steak, there will be more than 3 that will want something different. I think you're supposed to only choose one entree too, so that eliminates the option of having two entrees like Chicken/Steak. Thoughts? As for my wedding details, here's what's booked so far: Ceremony at gazebo at 4pm Cocktails/maybe apps from 4-6pm at gazebo (I'll do pics at this time too) Dinner reception from 6 - 11pm I'm hiring the DJ that is recommended by the resort - just seems easier that way. I've been trying to reach Zulma recently to ask about extra decoration options and costs but have not heard back in over a month. I read from other reviews hear that other brides are having the same problem. I'm just hoping that since mine is 8 months off and she's really busy, I'm being put on the back burner....Glad to hear that Becky had such a wonderful experience this month! I've booked Claudia Rodriguez for the 8 hour time frame. That way we can do pics before the event, during the apps/cocktails and the reception. The other thought that came to mind to ask you ladies is to please respond if you had any rooom trouble for your guests at the Royal. I've been hearing feedback from friends that the Royal is notorious for overbooking (read on Tripadvisor)...and with 60-100 guests I could see my chances rising. On the other hand, I'm going in November which is not the high season so I'm hopeful that is will not occur. My hair and make-up is up in the air at this point but I'm leaning towards a friend helping with make-up (dry run in Chicago first) and then doing a dry run at the spa a few days before the ceremony for the hair. My goal is to find a good photo beforehand to help with showing my preferred style. Flowers - Becky, what's the process for picking out the flowers? When I was visiting on my site visit, Paty had a booklet with the options - did you just choose from there a few days before the ceremony? Also, was your ceremony legal? If so, how did that process go? I know how overwhelming the planning can be and I'd be happy to answer any questions for the newbies - so fire away! Jen

In case some of you want to use the actual PowerPoint template for the boarding pass - I've uploaded it now (before I just loaded the final pics). If your low on points just let me know and I can email it to you! BDW Forum Boarding Pass Template.ppt

Quote: Originally Posted by carly Cool, they look great. Thanks for posting sites as well. I am going to check out the raffia now. Did you include a return envelope for the rsvp card? If so, did it fit in the mailing envelope or did you have to fold it? I was thinking of buying envelopes that have the string tie closure for the extra room, but if yours fit an envelope inside an envelope, then I don't need to worry! I did not include a return envelope for the rsvp card. I originally planned for the dimensions to work for the post card (cheaper postage) but with the cutting on solid lines, that fell through. The post office said it would be ok if they mailed that last boarding pass to me for $0.41.

Finally....my boarding passes are done! I must have looked at over ten versions of the boarding passes on this forum for ideas - thank you to everyone for sharing! A lot of the questions/solutions I had while creating my invites were sometimes tough to find so I'm going to try and paraphrase all of the details that crossed my mind! Tools: Paper cutter (bought add'l blade for perforator) - $38 + $10 blade = $48 (Office Depot) Doublesided tape (used for boarding pass envelope) - double package for $5.50 (Staples) X-acto knife - $5.50 (Staples) Corner cutter - $5 (Target) Paper for boarding pass - white card stock (provided by work where I had them made) Paper for boarding pass envelope - colored card stock from Staples (I ended up using orange and green because a multi-pack was available and then I didn't have to choose one color!) - $12 Raffia ribbon - Raffia Twisters - Pearlescent - Premier Packaging - $4.95 x 2 = $10 - I bought the Green and Citrus colors Mailing Envelopes - $7 for 50 and I need over 150 - $28 total - I bought the White Linen A10 envelopes at Office Max Stamps $0.58 for invite, $0.41 for each reply card - Total invites 160 (postcard stamps couldn't be used for reply card because my paper wasn't within 3.5 x 5") Total cost per invite ~ $2 each (160 qty) I was fortunate enough to have my company print each boarding pass page for $0.10 a page (3 to a page) in color on white stock paper (the RSVP cards were $.20 because they were double sided). Very cheap compared to places like Kinkos! I also created a newsletter (in color) to send with the invitation and that was $0.067 per page. I started off using the Word templates from this website but grew way too frustrated with moving text and pictures around so switched to PowerPoint immediately. When ready for printing I had three passes per page and the last page (pass D) was double-sided so I could use it as a reply card. I perforated the left side by the website and then perforated the right side by the bar code. I printed the envelopes on my work computer / printer and the return address on the back of the envelope....saved some time/money. Key lessons learned! 1) Use PowerPoint for creating your template vs. Word (assuming you have access and knowledge of software!) 2) Do not use fonts that are not normally in the Microsoft Word / PowerPoint package. You'll eventually need your document in PDF and when asking others to PDF it, if you have these 'alternative' fonts, it becomes a big pain. It's easiest to have your invites in a PDF format to also ensure that the font and spacing doesn't get messed up and it's frozen exactly where you want it. If you were to send your Microsoft Word/PP document to an outside place, and they didn't have your font, your invite will not appear how you want it! 3) As I said above, if an outside place is printing your invite, make sure it's in PDF. When I tried to have my company duplicating center make mine (even with ok fonts) - the spacing was messed up unless I used PDF. Finding someone with the ability to 'write' PDF is not easy so start asking around early! 4) Be precise with your boarding pass reply card if that's the route you choose - check with the post office in person to ensure your card stock is thick enough and the size is ok. Somewhere along the process of changing my template and having the passes trimmed to get rid of black lines, my reply card became too small and I have to now pay $0.41 vs. $0.26 per card. 5) Do not buy stamps for invites until you're at the post office with your invitations. I bought the RSVP stamps in advance and thought, why not buy all of them. The first time the post office weighed my invite the $0.41 stamp was ok, but now they are saying it's $0.58!! Very frustrating. That's all I can think of now...hopefully this helps the new brides! Boarding Pass for BDW Forum.ppt

Nov 10, 2008.

Has anyone used the DJ at the Royal in PDC? If so - how was his service? I'm also curious if anyone has a strong recommendation for a DJ in the PDC area. Why was he/she good? What music was played or did you supply your own? Costs for 4-5 hours? I've been searching the forum fiercely but finding DJ recommendations has been tough so far! Any help would be great!

I bought a paper cutter from Office Max and a separate blade that perforates. I plan on having Kinko's do the cutting though since I have ~125 invitations! Since I'm making boarding pass invites with ticket sleeves I also bought an exact knife to do the "fine" cutting manually.

Amy - your invites look awesome! I love the raffia final touch. Can you please tell me where you bought it and if online, how did you know how many bags to buy? Thanks!

You'd think after being invited to 25 weddings I'd have kept one of the envelopes they came in.... Does anyone know what the etiquette is for the outer envelope in terms of do I need to include a return address in the top left corner or do most people put pre-printed stickers on the back? Or not at all? I figure you'd have to put it somewhere in case the invitation is not deliverable....

I think it would look great just plain - the white gazebo looks elegant and the surroundings are all the decorations you need!

I went back and forth on this a ton....what it came down to is I really wanted the "I Do" to be the moment the marriage was official. Playa Del Carmen Mexico is different from other parts of Mexico and Punta Cana probably but here's the gist of what I need to get together for everything to be legal: - copy of birth certificate ($13 obtained from Sec. of State) - translate the birth certificate ($40 fee from a local place in Chicago) - Apostille certification from Sec. of State ($2) - then after the wedding in Mexico I'll eventually have to get marriage certificate translated back to English...(maybe another $40?) All of this shouldn't take more than 2 hours in terms of getting to the places and waiting in a line. To me that extra 2 hours and $100 was worth it. It's a personal call though...hope this helps.

Welcome JoAnn! Your event is right around the corner! I'm sure you'll find other useful info to help with the final touches though

Awesome job. I'm so jealous that you're done and they look so good! Quick question - did you use a perforator at all? I couldn't tell from the pictures. That's my big dilemma right now - if I do use a perforator, do I perforate on the right portion only or the left part too where there's a skinny strip?

Ugh, I'm out of points to view it but I think I've seen it before and saved it somewhere. I'm thinking of a postcard that can literally be sent in the mail. So the front would have my address and the stamp and the back is where our guests would fill in their response and names. Does that make sense?

I love the boarding passes and am now attempting to gather the tools and materials. I haven't been successful finding any RSVP postcard templates. Has anyone done a postcard? How did you make the front and back? I'm thinking Word or Powerpoint will work but am also tempted to just call Kinkos to see how they would print it two sided - and find out the cost. Any info would be much appreciated!

Welcome to the forum! Happy planning!

This may be aggressive for some but I've had great success with competing in triathlons (sprint distance). Many think they can't do this but by having an event to work towards, you'd be amazed at the motivation. For those that can't afford trainers/coaches, there are tons of great books out there that outline how you can get started. Many cities even have triathlon clubs to help you and keep you motivated! Eating healthy is a given, but exercise will help burn those calories!

I have yet to determine what to do about OOT bags...but one thing for others to consider is shipping with a large company if you have access? For example, my company is huge and has great negotiated rates with UPS. If I were to ship my stuff I would use their rates before going to a stand alone mail place (or the post office!). Prices can be twice as expensive.

Congrats on the engagement and welcome to the forum! I have found planning exhausting but this site is so helpful!

I agree with Jen. Besides, they may think you're even being silly by asking for a mailed reply when you already know!

Welcome! This site has been so helpful to me...don't know where I'd be in the planning process without it! Good luck with your planning!

Ok, I've done a ton of research and have read the threads but I'm still curious on if I have a full understanding to get legally married in Playa Del Carmen. I'm getting married in November at the Royal and the WC does not translate the birth certificates. Here are my next steps (on my own): - obtain certified copies of the birth certificates - get birth certificates translated (I was told by the Chicago folks at the SOS that I need it to be signed by the translator and notarized by someone other than the translator). - I will then bring these signed certificates to another building where someone will provide certification (aka apostille). Then I bring all of the above to Mexico (along with my passport, tourist card) My questions are - 1) do I have this right? 2) for those that have had to translate their birth certificates, do they recommend a specific place or website? What was the cost? Please help! Thanks!

I too have gotten the blank screen error with searching. I think the website has problems sometimes. One remedy that often works is if you do an advanced search vs. basic search.