hanna

I flew with my cat from California to Florida - 6 hours. She was more confused than anything. It took her a few days after to get used to a new environment, but she did a lot better than I expected. She was under my seat though, not in cargo. Its hard not to worry, but as long as you do your research, you can be confident they will do great!

All of the advice given above is great. Also, check out TripAdvisor for lots of honest reviews. You have to take them with a grain of salt, as someone will complain even about the most amazing place, but it is still a good resource. There are lots of traveller photos also to get a true idea of the resort, not the glossy photos the resort posts. A lot of the resort websites has their wedding packages posted, or you can easily request them. Picking the resort is def #1, then the rest sort of falls in place based on what is allowed at that resort. We are getting married at the Grand Palladium, Riviera Maya, about 80 minutes south of the Cancun Airport. We are allowed to bring in our own photographer, which is nice. There are 5 resorts included in the one resort, so it is very large. Happy planning and let us know if there is anything we can do to help! THis forum is an AMAZING resource!!!

Ya, I kept waiting for it to get good. Everyone was mis pronouncing stuff, mics were in their faces, performances were soso, Brit gave the same speach twice, host was annoying... not impressed, it seemed so disorganized!

Ya, Rocio can be a little hit or miss on the discounts. I think she is pressured from management to be able to discount certain things and not others. For example, we are being charged the extra $20 pp over 8 ppl, and I tried to get that reduced or waived with no luck. She only said that we could only have chairs, cake and champagne for 8 ppl and not pay extra. We didnt want to have our guests stand, so that option wasnt for us. My best suggestion is just to email Rocio and see what she says. She offered the $250 discount as we are bringing our own officiant, it is probably something she frequently discounts. The GP doesn't have any free wedding options, like some resorts offer. We aren't having an AHR, so we felt like the expense was worth it.

Hi ladies, nice to hear from more GP brides! I am waiting for Rocio to fax me the signed wedding contract, so then I will be set for the resort reservations. We did a block of rooms through Olga and I wrote up a contract for that. We got a really great rate of $85 pp/pn, but we have to pay the hotel everything directly, meaning guests cannot call in and pay with their own cc to get this rate. It is a group rate block, so it is a little inconvenient making people send us a check for their rooms, but we just did it mostly for immediate family and bridal party to ensure we got them an affordable rate. Most of the advertised rates for this hotel are more around $150 pp/pn. We are having our guests stay at the Colonial, I just thought it was best as it is most central to the resort. Our ceremony is on Friday, June 5, 2009 at 5:00pm on the Kantenah beach. Private Reception at La Laguna from 7pm-11pm. We have to pay $45-55 per person to have the private reception, but preferred it to the non-private dinners at the a la cartes. Also, we have to choose one menu item for everyone to have, but there is one that has salmon and steak, so we figure there should be something for everyone. Also, if you are thinking about getting married there, try to make sure you get the 2008 rates for the ceremonies, as the 2009 rates are much more expensive. I think if you talk to Rocio about it and reserve your date now, you can get it. I think 2009 is like $500-1000 more, depending on the package you choose. Also, we are brining our own officiant, one of our good friends does it, so she is taking $250 off our package since we won't need the minister included. So, it has been a really fun experience planning it at the GP, and we have been able to make things happen within our budget. Since we are paying for our wedding on our own, we really don't want to bust the budget. Let me know if you have any q's, pm me or feel free to email me at [email protected]

Wow, that website is really cool, and super easy to use!

FYI - I got the frame in and I love the way it looks. We are going to have to figure out a cute but clever way to get the sand in because the opening between sheets of glass is only about a quarter of an inch. Also, where is a good place to get the colored sand?

I am really liking the photos by Mexican Wedding Photos. Has anyone actually used them?

We originally planned to get married in Playa, but moved further south to the Grand Palladium Resort due to the sandbags. I don't think it is a big deal, I just prefered not to be at a resort that had them. A lot of the beaches have to control the errosion. The Grand Palladium is set in a bay, so the errosion is not a problem.

Papersandmore arrived pretty fast for me, I know whatever time they quoted, it got here in that period. I am doing 8.5x5.5 half sheet invites to cut (which paperandmore cut) which made it easy. I am doing a cardstock with a vellum overlay

I think what you have planned is great. Would be cute to come up with a cute name for your signature drink, some sort of a play on your names. That way it is more special. I think on white and red is fine, and chardonnay and merlot are good choices are they are really popular.

Sorry for the stressful situation! I hope everyone's flights work out ok. At least it looks like the storm is taking a turn for the east and heading more towards Florida. I hope your guests make their flights

Congratulations and welcome! I am so happy my FI and I both have always dreamed of a DW. It has been so much easier to keep a grip on our budget. Going AI is the way to go!! And, your guests are going to have SO much fun! Happy Planning!

I am so sorry to hear about your experience. I really appreciate you posting though as it is a great learning experience for me. I was going to mail a box, but now will bring in luggage instead. I hope everything works out ok.

I was thinking about adding a blue table runner, but that might end up being a lot of fabric to lug down there, so I think I will just do accent 1'x1' blue squares for under the candles and flowers. Trying to keep it simple with hurricane candle holder and some shells, sand and flower petals. I can't see how I can get all this stuff down there.

ooh...tempting! I am going to show these to my FI.. he's in charge of cups. Thanks!!! If there is anyone around Gainesville FL that is looking to get these too, we can share shipping.

heres some info I found online... great for me since I bought thick vellum...uugh. Avoid the thicker vellum when you are creating a layout. The thicker vellum is meant for cards or packaging of gifts. Vellum in not absorbent. This is where the problem begins when wishing to print directly onto it. In addition, Vellum has different types of finished on it, depending on the type you have purchased. I know it often seems like wax is on my vellum, which is all dandy, but it makes the surface practically waterproof. Once you print on to the Vellum you will have to allow it to dry for a fair bit. It needs to absorb into the paper and this is difficult with the Vellum because of the above mentioned reasons. When you do print onto your Vellum, set the setting on your printer for Draft printing, Economy Printing, Fastest Printing, whatever it's called. You want the poorest quality ink because it is the least amount of ink, keeping the paper from not drying. Also keep in mind that the thinner lines on the font, the better your output will be. Those thick lined fonts use a lot of ink, creating more drying and a greater chance at smearing. Another way to use the Vellum is to take a grocery bag or paper lunch bag and crumple it up. Lightly "sand" the vellum with the crumpled bag. Doing this before you try to print on it will help to break down the coating on the surface to allow the ink to penetrate and dry.

hmm, I am having a similar problem. I also printed my color monogram on it and is got transferred partially to part of the paper. I noticed it smuges for a couple of days... and then still it rubs off. I think you have to keep the ink minimal, no bold letters or lots of ink cause I don't think it absorbs the same as paper.. hmm, I will need to do some research

I was stuck on the same thing. I think I am going to do Navy Blue and for the flowers just keep it classic with white and maybe a touch of green. For the tables I was going to make some blue runners for the tables... but after logically thinking about it, I think that is going to be too bulky and heavy to take down there. Now I think I am going to just do blue squares of fabric under the hurricane candle holder the resort provides and scatter rose petals and shells.. that is the plan for now.. but this forum is always so full of great ideas, so we shall see

lol... happy hunting... I had a horrible time finding one. Online somewhere is probably your best bet..... sorry I can't be more help.

Congratulations!! So exciting! What a super romantic guy, you guys are a really cute couple. Happy planning, this forum is incredible.

I would be super interested in them. I will PM you my info.

At Michaels they have different colors of rafia - might be able to incorporate some of your colors by using colored rafia instead or with the tan

Thanks for your input! We are having a wedding party - MOH and one bridesmaid... but we don't want them to have to sit away from their significant others, but is that weird to have them sit at the head table?? I was thinking about a U, but with people sitting in the inside just on the sides, not across from us, so that it is easy??

We are doing a private reception and I need some ideas on how to set up the tables. I am pondering between: 1: the traditional head table and 7-person rounds 2: all rounds and no "head table" 3: U-Shape formation ( I am leaning towards this one..) - but then the question is do people only sit on the outside of the U, or also on the inside? We will probably have around 30-40ppl... Suggestions.. ideas... ? Thanks!