sg1307

Alright, so its been a couple of weeks since we got married, so I may have forgotten some things..bare with me! Air Transat: B They were nothing special - we've flown with them twice before and usually had really great service. This time, it was if the flight attendants couldn't be bothered. They were so unfriendly and seemed liked they hated life! Okay, so they weren't that terrible, but still, I like it when they make your flight somewhat enjoyable..They did store my dress up front though. We had called ahead to make sure they would be able to do so, but they said DRESS ONLY...but we snuck in two suits and two pairs of shoes in the garment bag..I don't think they noticed or really would have cared. We had a slight delay on our stopover in Edmonton - some person fell while loading the baggage! They had an ambulance come and everything..strange, but I hope the person is alright! Hotel Check-in: A- We were all welcomed with a glass of champagne and a cold, wet towel (which was grrreatly appreciated since it was SOOO humid). Check-in went fairly smoothly with the exception of DH's dad and his girlfriend getting 2 double beds instead of a king - they were able to change the next day, no biggie. Also, we had the Ocean Scents package which meant we were to get VIP wristbands - the girl had no clue what we were talking about, so we just waited until we saw our WC the next day.. Wedding Coordinator - Xhail: A+ Loved her. She was so fantastic and accommodating to us. We weren't very picky with anything, and I think she appreciated that. We met with her the next day (Monday) and picked out our flowers (ordered 1 extra bout., and 2 bridesmaid bouquets). They have a binder of pictures and I chose the style I wanted and customized it with the colours of our choice (pink and orange). We then went over the menu, paid for the JOP's transportation ($50), booked all our spa stuff (mani/pedi, massage, hair and makeup), booked our honeymoon breakfast time, went over the wedding day schedule, picked songs for the violinist to play..and did the paper work. It took about 40 mins or so. So easy. We did the blood test a couple of days after at the clinic - $180USD, really quick and painless! Hotel: A What a beaaauuutiful hotel. It's not a 5* or anything, but its still amazing. The food at the buffet was awesome (everyone raved about it) and the a la cartes were great (OMG go to the seafood restaurant and have their buns..they have cream cheese inside and are slightly warm..I think that was hands down the favourite of the week! lol). However, I don't like having a limit on a la cartes and having to make reservations..but whatever. Oh, and its hard to book a big party in the a la cartes. Even only 12 people was kind of difficult and we had to be put into 2 tables of 6..not a big deal, but it would have been nice to be all together..You would think everyone would want to have their own time and do their own thing, but EVERYnight, everyone would ask where we were having dinner, and we all spent the whole day together at the pool and beach...it was awesome! Wedding Day: A+ to the power of infinity I couldn't have asked for a better day. We had a rain at 3pm the day before (which was a relief from the heat), so we were kind of worried it would rain on our day...well, there wasn't a cloud in the sky!! Which was awesome, but would have been nice to have some to cool us down! I had my hair and makeup done and the spa at 12pm. Isabel did both for me (and my pedicure the day before too!). She was soo great. I showed her pictures of what I wanted and she was able to re-create the look - we just customized colour, etc. I would def. recommend her. After I was done, I went back to my room to finish getting ready, the photographers came and took some getting ready shots and we just waited in the room until Xhail came to get us. She drove us to our location in a golf cart, and then it was ready for the show!lol Oh, I had actually called Xhail that morning to ask her if it was AT ALL possible to get pink and/or orange ribbon for the chairs instead of the salmon colour I had originally settled for. I had resisted at first because they were $3/chair and I realllly couldn't have been bothered, but then I saw the salmon and thought it just wouldn't go..she said she didn't know if she could because they have to pre-order it..but when I got to the ceremony location, there were fuschia and orange chair ties!! I was so extremely happy because it looked soooo beautiful! This is why I adore her! And she didn't charge me! score 1 for Sophia... Anyway, the ceremony was a blur! I know the JOP was great and I didn't notice ANYONE while I was standing there..apparently they were all crying, but I couldn't not look at Marc the whole..he was so handsome I'm glad her chose to wear a suit last minute. He and my brother looked so good! haha we actually looked liked we go together..so fancy and all Dinner: A For dinner we had: Sea scallop salad with lime vinaigrette - beautiful presentation Cream of Asparagus soup - FANTASTIC!! everyone is still craving it! Beef tenderloin and shrimp - so good...but sooo much of it! (ps, the shrimp is in a ring and wrapped in bacon) Creme brulee - phenomenal, so creamy..but again it was huuuge! Alejandro was the head waiter and was super nice. The whole wait staff and bartender were great! Xhail comes and goes to ensure everything is going as planned..I kept hugging her and telling her how much I loved everything. Paying the extra $1000 (we had a small wedding of 16 people) for the Ocean Scents package was the best thing I could have done. I don't have a single regret. Having our reception on the beach has been my dream, and they went above and beyond it...perfection.... Photographers - RF Productions: A++++++++++++ My friend owns a production company here in Vancouver, we had ask him to do our wedding, but he was in Greece for his cousin's wedding. He suggested we use Paul and Vincent - all we had to do was fly them down and put them up in the hotel. We booked them from the 15-20. What can I say, they were absolutely phenomenal. SO nice and sooo fun but so professional! They took stunning pictures. They had ideas of what they wanted to do as well as asked us what we wanted done. We also did a TTD with them on Saturday morning. What I loved most was being able to pay for a vacation for them because they enjoyed it SOO much! But really, they did me a huuuge favour by coming...HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! Okay, so much for me writing a quick and short review..I planned on writing maybe a paragraph or two. Oh well, I just want people to know what a great hotel this was! The WCs know what they're doing - don't freak and just trust them!! If you have any questions, please feel free to ask! Cheers, Sophia Wedding day teasers: Sophia & Marc [Teaser] RF Productions TTD teasers: Sophia & Marc [TTD] RF Productions

Hola chicas! We got married just over a week ago at the Barcelo Maya Colonial - BEST WEEK EVERRRRR!!! hahah ANYway...here are a few teaser pics. We used a local company (Vancouver, BC) that my friend owns - Realistically Fictional Productions. Our photographers were Paul and Vincent. I HIGHLY recommend them. They were super fun but always professional. I talk to much, so enjoy!! blog.rfproductions.ca

haha okay, so I can pretty much copy and paste your review for mine because I pretty much agree with everything! Except I had Xhail and I absolutely adored her, and I didn't have any outside vendors except photographer... You're pictures are BEAUTIFUL! You were a stunning bride!!

I got that exact email from Xhail less than two weeks before my wedding...so not fair! Does it count if my photographer is a guest at the resort??

petals, you look stunning!!

I love my bare minerals..I have the Get Started kit also. I read somewhere that mineral makeup doesn't photograph as well as regular makeup..does anyone know anything about that? Cuz I would love to use for my wedding day!

Quote: Originally Posted by CaraW Hello Barcelo Colonial brides!! I am wondering if you would be able to help me out... my FI and I originally fell in love with the Barcelo Maya Palace, but the prices came back pretty high... so I started to look around but really nothing else struck my attention like the Barcelo did.. so I looked into the other Barcelo's. I think the Colonial is very nice, but I need some help making my mind up. (And some reasons to give my FI for why we should choose this instead of the Palace lol) Can you tell me what made you choose the Barcelo Colonial over the Palace? Was it the price? Or something else? Does anyone know if there's any other options for the ceremony other than the beach? (My dad is in a wheelchair so the gazebo at the Palace was what grabbed our attention). Also, I can't seem to find many good photos of the Colonial, do any of you have any good photos you wouldn't mind sharing? Thanks so much! Cara Hey Cara My FI fell in the love with the Palace also, but after doing a lot of research, we ended booking at the Colonial (price-wise, it was more in our price range). I've read that MANY people were more than happy with the Colonial/Tropical and that it was more fun. Apparently the Palace can be a tad on the stuffy side. I definitely recommend checking out UNOFFICIAL BARCELO MAYA | Your unofficial guide to Beach | Caribe | Tropical | Colonial | Palace this site has all the information you need about the Barcelo and their forum has tonnes of questions regarding which one to stay at. Also keep in mind that the beach in front of the Beach/Caribe is supposed to be the best - may be important to you, I know it is to me! As for wedding locations, I'm not 100% sure what else they have, but I'm sure you can find it on the unofficial site. Anyway, I hope that helps..if I made any sense as to why we chose Colonial! Also check out tripadvisor for traveler's photos - I find those to be the best ones! Sophia

Quote: Originally Posted by Jess if anyone comes across any adorable yellow flats - send them my way! I just did a search on zappos. This is what they've got: Women's Dress: Dress Flats - Free Shipping hth!

Quote: Originally Posted by jmb0902 Well I bought them!!! I found them at Neiman Marcus, they didn't have my size but they shipped them to me for free... they are currently in hiding from my FH just in case he remembers how much they are (he was there the first time I tried them on) oh my goodness. those are gorgeous!! once FI sees those and sees how hot you look in them, he won't even care about the price!!

Quote: Originally Posted by AprilandPatrick My girls decided to go with the Victoria's Secret Convertible Dress and they (we) love it! My girls are wearing black with chunky turquoise necklaces. Can't wait! My gals are wearing the same dress in paradise pink - they love them! I want it black for myself too!

Wow, everything looks beautiful, especially you! My fave is the one of you walking down the aisle by the band!

oooh Rhonda I love those! They look so delicate and beautiful... Nice pick!

cancunbride - those are cuute!

These are the shoes I'm thinking of. Our wedding colours are fuschia and orange, and I don't want no plain shoe! I heart them.

^ oh my. those are fabulous!

asara, I WISH our price was $1700something... we're paying $1900+. anything under $2000 was our goal though, so we're content about that!

thanks Jojo for sending me the package details! So, if I wanted to go with the Under the Stars package and I have about 30 guests attending, I have to pay for the 20 extra ppl? Its going to be $1200+ extra

I'm in Edmonton!! But come May, I'm back to BC

So after confirming my date at Dreams PA - I am now a Barcelo Bride! The price at Dreams jumped $400+ pp, so, my FI and I had to reconsider. Luckily I looked into the Barcelo, because their wedding packages are pretty good! We're getting married July 16. Less than 6 months away! yay.

scratch that - I WON'T be getting married at DPA rates went up $400+! That's just a little too much for us and our guests. I hope you ladies all the best in your planning though!

Did you ladies email the WC? I've been trying to contact them to request a date in July, but haven't heard from them! I need to know so I can decide on a resort!

Does anyone know if the deposits are refundable? If so, how far in advanced do you have to cancel? Looks like we have to wait on new rates - in order to get the original rates which allowed us to decide on DPA specifically, EVERYONE had to pay in full by today! We hope it stays within everyone's budget.. happy new year to all!

AlliMay - that is awesome! I'm hoping to get invites done over the break, too. Key word being 'hoping'.

Okay, so after about...hmm..4-5 months of deliberating, and researching, we finally reserved a date at DPA! We're getting married on July 16, 2009...so not too much time to plan. I'm sooo excited!!! We just need to pay the $500 deposit...kinda tough when its Christmas time..and after converting its $610 CDN. Oh well, good thing I saved for it now..what to do from here..

Quote: Originally Posted by MsSunshine The TA I was working with told me for a vow renewal, I need to be in Mexico 2 days prior to the wedding. It does vary for each resort. The best thing to do is contact the resort of your choice and ask them. They do perform the ceremony in spanish but the WC can translate it to english. This is what I heard too. The wedding date we wanted isn't available, and my fiancee doesn't want to do the legal thing here first instead. I'm trying to convince him that it would be easier (and cheaper!) to do it here then pick pretty much any other day to have the ceremony there.