mich999

I agree that they don't go out of their way to give people a hard time (at least when I went through), but the law is no more than $300 pp in goods can be brought in (to avoid people brings stuff in and resellign them without paying taxes). We divvied up things among family members and we carried a lot on ourselves. One of our suitcases was searched and along with clothes for vacation, we had about 30 disposable underwater cameras in it as well as our welcome bags, but once I said I had receipts and showed them the value, they waved us through. The link I posted above gives tips on bringing your receipts or even creating receipts if you don't have them. I also followed the tip to put paper in our suitcase in spanish saying items were for a wedding. I think it's better to be a little paranoid and prepared - you never know when you'll run into that person having a bad day! Having the receipts gave me a lot of comfort.

Hi ladies - please review this thread, it is extremely helpful. Following these tips I had no problems bringing all my welcome bag items and other decorations into Cabo. http://bestdestinationwedding.com/fo...-thread-41422/

Congrats Erika - everything is beautiful and you deserve an amazing wedding. Your strength and humor after your accident was amazing and your photos - wow - you do heal fast!! You are going to be a stunning bride.

Welcome. I got married at the Hilton with 44 guests and loved it - I have a review of hotel and vendors on the forum and happy to answer any questions. I used this forum to decide on all my vendors. Happy planning!

What a great deal! If we are there for our 1st anniversay, I may have to give you a call for some pics!

We didn't see each other until the ceremony and did separate groomsmen/bridesmaid photos before ceremony and an hour of us alone photos while our guests were at a cocktail hour. It's just a personal preference and there's no wrong answer - I think most people do photos before the ceremony now and do a private see each other for the first time moment. But even though I would have loved to have been at the cocktail hour, I wouldn't trade seeing DW and his emotion for the first time as I walked down the aisle just before we said our vows and hearing the stories of how nervous he was as our wedding hour approached. I know many members have spoken of similar experiences in the first moment stage that jerseykitten mentions, but for us we wanted to have that moment right before we exchanged vows. Whatever you choose will be the right decision for you, though! I can't think of anyone who regretted either way they went, as long as you realize that if you do photos after, you will likely miss a little of the celebration.

I got legally married at the Hilton and they had a set fee for bloodwork, paperwork and the judge to marry you. I would imagine the RIU has a similar deal. Note that the legal ceremony cannot be changed and is in spanish. Since we didn't want our ceremony to be so short we also had Rev. Marco who performed a spiritual ceremony as well and served as the translator for the legal portion of our ceremony. We were very happy with this decision, but it does cost more.

Heather - everything looks fabulous. Have an amazing time in Cabo and Hawaii!

Hang in there Lauren - I think it will still be worth it, but I understand that doesn't help at the moment. Our friends and family constantly harass us too! Please let us know when you get your pics.

Hi Lauren - I got married a week after you and am still awaiting photos from Juan Carlos as well. However, we were prepared for this wait as his contracts says it will be 3 1/2 -4 months before you get pics and I had read on the forum that he often takes longer than others. I can appreciate your frustration, we are anxious to get pics too, but like I said, we expected that we'd get pics in the 4-5 month range from him. Of course, 5 months is only two weeks away for us too : ) I got an update from him last week - has Juan Carlos at least given you an estimated time frame? He's usually very responsive to emails.

Quote: Originally Posted by Jamaica0619 To keep everyone happy - everyone who was invited to the AHR was also invited to the DW - even though we knew a lot of people would not be able to make/come to the DW. We wanted them to feel welcome to both. So, we included two invitations in the same - one for the DW and one for the AHR. We did the exact same thing. Then on the rsvp, there were separate lines for yes/no to DW and yes/no to AHR. It worked out well and there was no connfusion by our guests. Our AHR was 6 weeks after the DW.

Great review - it looks amazing!!

Thanks for sharing your review - I'm sure it will help many brides. Congrats!!

Wow - I certainly would go up the chain of command and challenge this decision. If they want to change the rule for future brides booking after September 29, 2009, that's fair, but that's it. People book photographers a year in advance often with large nonrefundable deposits, for them not to honor that and make the rule effective immediately even for those that booked whwn you were allowed to bring in vendors is just wrong and I would argue they can't do it. Good luck to you in trying to resolve this.

Quote: Originally Posted by Patti Mich999, what flavor cake/filling/icing did you have? Cake details are in my wedding review: http://bestdestinationwedding.com/fo...ew-long-43913/

Quote: Originally Posted by Patti The cakes look beautiful. I'm getting married at the Hilton and they said they have a wonderful pastry chef, but want to charge us $200 ($250 with tax) for a one tier cake (for 15). We wanted our cake to look more like a wedding cake and was wondering about different bakeries, so thanks for your input. NOW, I'm wondering if the Hilton would even let me bring in my own cake? Patti - unless the Hilton has changed since I was there in May, cakes for the Hilton are made by Jennifer Hatton - Cabo Dessert Diva. Our cake was $10 pp, including tax, and was a set fee based upon amount of people and type of cake (and was the least expensive pp option). We did not have fondant and combined design elements from two other cake pictures we saw on her website, so was pretty straightforward. We loved our cake - looked and tasted beautiful. Not sure why your base cake is so expensive- maybe they have a miniumum? But I would ask the Hilton and I would also contact Jennifer directly - she responded within a few day sto our emails and could work with you on design - don't see why she couldn't do a small two tier cake.

Quote: Originally Posted by classadiva Also....does anyone feel that once folks know that there will be an AHR that they try less hard to make it to the destination wedding? Glad you are finding this thread helpful! I definitely feel as if a few of my cousins who I had on the "maybe" list for the DW, did not try as hard to come once they heard there was an AHR. But that was only a couple of people and the odds of them coming regardless was probably 50/50 due to cost, etc. At the end of the day I wouldn't let that impact your decision because the people who feel it is important (and are able) to be at your wedding will come to the DW regardless of whether you have an AHR. And for those people who may not try as hard to come to DW if you do have an AHR? - you won't miss them the day of your DW.

Quote: Originally Posted by YaelM Aww bummer - but i think in the end the location is more important that the date and if Grand Palladium is perfect for you guys I think you should stick with it. Now you can have a new date that will be memorable I completely agree Yael!!

I went to Edith's with a group of 10 in May and LOVED it. That was the best dinner we had all week aside from our wedding dinner. Also sent another group of guests from our wedding there later in the week and they couldn't stop raving about it. We sat in the unroofed area, but our friends when they went sat in a private wine room which they loved too, so that might be an option for a welcome dinner for 11. I just loved Ediths for the food, ambiance, etc. I think your guests will feel very special.

I don't really understand your WC's reaction. Having a rehearsal dinner is tying loose ends together by making sure your guests know what's happeneing the next day and having fun together - what else is there to do? We had a rehearsal and rehearsal night before our wedding and it was a blast. If you want to do it, don't let your WC's face affect your decision.

Quote: Originally Posted by keni03 your dress was beautiful...who was it by? :-) Alvina Valenta. She has so many beautiful dresses that I think are perfect for an elegant beach wedding. Have fun shopping!

Sorry to hear about your experience. I've run into several vendors where "backordered" seems to be code for we're going to give you a date you might get it, but we really have no idea. I ordered votives and personalized silk fans from theknot.com store and was very happy with the price, quality and shipping. But those items weren't backordered.

Quote: Originally Posted by thefuturemrslutz I see you are getting married at the Hilton Los Cabos...how do you like it? Is anything included in the price or is it pretty reasonable? THANKS SP MUCH AGAIN GIRLS! I actually got married there this past May. You can check out my review http://bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/t43913 and let me know if you have any questions. We loved everything about the Hilton and can't wait ot go back, but that's true for lots of brides and their resorts on here : )

Sorry Ann - I wasn't trying to attack anyone, especially anyone using Bittersweet now - who could possibly expect this.

Quote: Originally Posted by mwcfarms We tentatively asked our closest friends and family members if they would be able to and want to come. As soon as we had that answered we booked. Now we sent out STD's to the rest of the people we are inviting and if they come great. If they cant because of finances so be it. Thats what AHR's are for. Good luck, plan your day, dont feel guilty. HUGS. That's exactly what we did. We took an informal poll of sorts and gauged people's reaction. If a significant number of people who we felt had to be at the wedding couldn't make it, we would have changed our plans, but it worked out. It's all about what you want and you have to decide who you really need to be there - you'll be surprised I think at the list you come up with - mine was a lot smaller than I anticipated and anyone else who could come was just a huge bonus.