coppergoddess13

I booked with Tamm's Photos- she does a fantastic job, and her rates are really reasonable! She is actually based in the US, but she does so many weddings in Mexico that she basically is a local photographer down there. Good luck in your search!

Hey Kelly! The biggest thing to remember is that its your wedding- it should be YOUR vision, not your families. That said, my FI made sure that our VIPs could make it (parents and siblings), and then anyone else that comes is a bonus! I highly recommend doing that, b/c I'd have been heartbroken without my dad there, but I can do without several of my aunts and cousins. Plus, we are having an informal AHR, so everyone will get to celebrate! Definitely check out the palladiumaddict.net info, including the forum. The food comes very well recommended for an AI resort- it probably won't always be gourmet, but everyone says it is tasty and has a good variety. To have a private reception is $45+ per person extra, and there are several different menu options that you can pick from. I think Rocio might be able to let you personalize them a bit, as well. There are so many restaurants and buffets available that you should be able to please everyone, at least with regards to food! We aren't planning on that many people, so we are just going to have them set aside a part of the Portofino restaurant. I would also use the wide variety of included water and resort activities, and the proximity to some of the Riviera Mayas most fantastic ecological and historical landmarks. That is part of what sold us on the resort!

Wow! Those look great! It looks like you had a fantastic wedding day (and TTD shoot!).

Wow- your pictures are fantastic! Where did you get your veil- it is almost exactly what I've been looking for!

Right now I make substantially more than FI (he is a grad student and not working). I still consult him on any major purchases, and we treat it as 'our' money because we live together already- we are already sharing our lives, so money had to be part of it. I'm so sorry you had to find out about that so suddenly- like the other ladies said- this might be a great chance to step back and evaluate things with each other. Hopefully you'll come out with a better understanding between yourselves on financial issues- its important for the rest of your marriage, not just the wedding!

I'm in the same boat! My hair is so fine that a half-up do has almost nothing in it, so the entire look doesn't always come across well. I love the look from that Jim Hjelm pic, but I don't know if it would last on me. I'm going to try finding a good stylist around here who can show me a couple nice styles, and then hopefully the person at the resort will be able to reconstruct them. I need to learn to use hair products too- I'm sure that would help!

I'm terrified that this will happen to me. I know what my back-up would be (there are a few dresses from Davids Bridal that fit me perfect, just need a hem), but yeah... I don't want to mess with that!

Its great to see more brides joining us at the Grand Palladium! When I first joined this site, it didn't seem like there were any of us around, but now we have a great resource to help each other out here!

I'm going to wear mine again. We are having 2 AHRs, one for my family and our college friends in IA and one for his family in TX, and as long as I don't destroy it during our TTD session, I'm planning to wear my dress to both. I spent a lot of money on it, I may as well get some mileage from it!

The pictures look great!

I'm not much help- my photographer is going to do ours as a part of our wedding package. However, I know that Cecilia Dumas, Vanessa Vargas, Lidya Solemidt and several other local Mexican photogs to TTD sessions, and I think the most expensive I was quoted was $500 for a separate TTD session of 1.5 hours (a couple were lower than that). I think it just depends on how much time you want, and how crazy you want to get and how many locations you want to get to. We are just going to do the beach and a couple gorgeous local areas that are close by, and that will be it. Good luck deciding!

We ended up booking our photog for about 5 hours (she said that if something is about to start right at 5 hours, she'll stick around and not charge extra), plus a 2 hour TTD shoot the next day. Also, she has a VERY reasonable extra charge per hour if we decide we want her to stay later the day of, so I'm not too worried about accidentally going over on time. I figured that 5 hours was the MINIMUM we could do with, and it worked out well with our photographer's pricing.

Thanks for the posts! I'm really wanting to do this, but our photographer is not local for us (she is coming to Mexico from Missouri, and we are in Texas), so... she probably won't be doing them! Thanks!

I was wondering if any of you have heard from Rocio about some of the different options she might have for centerpieces, flowers and other decor? I don't really want to bring any of that down with me, but I'm afraid there won't be anything on her list of options that I like that will be affordable!

VanSunBride- I've spent so much time on that site already! Its a great resource for vacation needs for the GP!

Hah- my e-ring was $1K and my band that looks great with the ring is $360 (1/4 carat). I'm not a big fan of jewelry, and we figured we'd spend the money on a house downpayment instead of rings. FI wants a titanium and platinum (possibly) band, which will run us around $350, so neither of us is particularly big on high end jewelry! I'm sure your ring will be gorgeous- I hope your FI decides the price is worth it!

Congratulations! Enjoy your wedding day!

From what I've heard, EDR really is a nice place to get married (I knew a girl who got married there last month), as long as you are ok with their outside vendor policies. I don't know if those have changed, but its mostly the photographer thing that gets people. Good luck- there are tons of resources on this board to help you decide!

Well... I'll be honest, in this situation, I'd have just laughed REALLY hard with each other, made certain our accessories were different, and worn the dress I loved. You are different people, you'd both look completely different in it, and it would be 'you' no matter what. If she is open to wearing the same dress, and was afraid you'd be upset, you might suggest she really keep the dress she loves, unless it really matters to you. Either way, its a dress, not the end of the world- if she has to find another one, I'm sure she'll find something else she loves just as much (just might take some more time!). Good luck!

We ended up booking a junior suite- it cost us an extra $80 for the week, and I'm REALLY hoping it will get us upgraded to a Mayan suite. We ended up just sticking with lodgings over in the Kantenah section because our parents wanted to be close (not next door, but close) to us, and most of our guests (us included) can't really afford the additional cost of the Royal Suites. I've read that the Kantenah section is great, so I'm excited to stay there!

Rosie- glad to help! I was really hoping it would work out- I'm not a red carpet kinda girl, but flower petals- I'm all over that:)

I'm really wanting to do B-pics, and those are the 3 cities closest to me. I'm hoping for an affordable and friendly photographer who has a bit of experience, and I'd really appreciate some suggestions from you ladies!

I was originally going to be doing this, and then it didn't work out with the photographer. The main disadvantage I had was that he made the offer, and then he began getting more and more DWs, and eventually the emails made it seem like he was regretting it, but would follow through to keep his word. I got the contract, and it had been pared down to just the basics (I would have had to pay another $400 to actually GET my pictures on CD, for instance), and it ended up making me uncomfortable. I would just make sure they are really happy to be doing it 'at cost'. Also, I'd be really clear in setting out how much coverage you are getting. Do you get a couple extra shoots (for TTD, e-pics, family pics, etc) if you want them, when will they start shooting on the wedding day, when will they stop shooting. Make sure its in the contract!

Also, for those of you who are interested, Rocio is more than willing to exchange the red carpet walkway for scattering rose petals. I asked about it and she said that she normally puts a few rose petals anyway, but that if I don't want to use the red carpet, she'll scatter a few extra to make it look pretty:). I was happy about that!

I don't know about anywhere on the beach, but I do know that the option where you are actually ON the beach that she presented to me was down at the Kantenah end. I think you basically walk out the doors of the Mayan suites, and right there is the on the beach location that they offer. Its supposed to be gorgeous and really quiet!