mich999

Ashrose - I have a couple thoughts, for what it's worth: 1. My DH has 3 sisters and I didn't give any of them a special role. His neice and nephew were the flower girl/ring bearer but the sisters had no official role. I completely agree with you - why would someone want to be a bridesmaid if they don't have a special relationship with the bride. I had my 5 friends that were always going to me BMs and it was not an option to add 3 more IMO. Perhaps they were upset, who knows, I talked about it with DH but he was fine with them being guests only - the day was about us not them and if they care abut you and your FI, they should realize that too. 2. That being said, I know you want to include them and it is an all or nothing proposition. I don't think giving them responsibility before the ceremony works, because that just seems like you're getting help from them but not honoring them at the ceremony itself. If you are determined to include all 3, I would have 3 readings, instead of 2 and have each do one- they don't have to be long, but it lets each have a moment in the spotlight during the ceremony and gives them a special place on the program. Another option is to have each bring one of the components of the sand ceremony up to you at the approriate time and also acknowledge it on the program. If you are set on this, I think the key is to offer them something to do during the ceremony, anything else could be interpreted as a slight - I'm not saying it should be - I'm just painting a worst case scenario for people who are obviously disposed towards unjustifiably thinking the worst of you. Like others said, I probably wouldn't bother with them, but I understand your need to still try. Good luck!

Awesome pictures - love the ones with the clouds and the sky near the end. Everyone looks so happy!

We brought our real rings - never considered otherwise. We wore our wedding band son the plane there, though, so someone couldn't steal them out of our luggage or purse and put the bands in the hotel safe when we got there, along with our passports.

Congrats!! Welcome back!!

I don't have mine yet, but will post when I get it. Good luck, the La Estancia sounds great and it's nice that your guests will have the option of AI or no AI!

Quote: Originally Posted by kstinson1503 We did ours at our parent's farm, so it was a totally relaxed gigantic cookout, so we did not follow any reception "traditions." We greeted everyone as they arrived & just mingled all night. We did do a first dance, but other than that it was just one big party!!! That was the one tradition we did repeat too - the first dances for us, mother-son and father daughter, and everyone loved that! In retrospect, I think I wish we would have said a couple words to everyone too and/or had our best man/maid of honor give a toast (not their whole speech but maybe say a little something), but we probably would have needed a Mr. Microphone or something because the yard was really big and it's tough to pick a time when people are always coming and going and it's more of a regular party.

Megan- the Hilton does not offer an all-inclusive, though most of my guests booked a 90 day advance bed and breakfast package that included the breakfast buffett every day, which ended up being a great deal for them, though that was not through our wedding rate, just a general offer that coincided with our wedding (the bed/breakfast offer is constant, the price isn't). We actually picked a non-all inclusive to try to keep costs down for our guests, since only about half were big drinkers and we arranged dinner for Friday and Saturday (obviously), so many guests only had to come up with snacks and dinner for Thursday or another day or two if they came earlier. We also did a costco run for beer, wine and snacks for the week. But who knows if my rationale was correct because I was the opposite of you and wanted a non-all-inclusive for our wedding, so I didn't really research the AIs. I fell in love with the HIlton after my research, and that was that! Dreams was only a little ways down from the Hilton and looked beautiful and there are tons of Dreams brides on this site. Now that you've decided on Cabo (yeah!), as you saw from my review, I have to put my plug in for Juan Carlos Tapia as photographer - he'll make sure the sand and sea are the right color!! Here are a few advance pro pics from my wedding, the last one being the Whale Watching Terrace at the Hilton where we had our reception http://bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/t46511 And here's the most recent JC slide show from Ana's wedding (hi Ana!), which is just amazing!! http://bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/t46420

We just mingled with everyone as they came in. I don't think it would have worked to wait because people arrived over the course of 45 minutes to an hour, just like a regular party as opposed to a wedding. That being said, you could always mingle and once everyone is there, have a formal introduction/entrance of you and/or your bridal party just like you do at a reception.

I got married in Cabo 2 months ago at the Hilton (so in the Corridor between Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo) and the water looked gorgeous every day. I have never been to Cancun/Riviera Maya but my guests who have been to both universally said that they thought Cabo is prettier, for what it's worth. The sand is not white sand, it's regular sand, but I don't think it looks yucky - but everyone has their own opinion and if white sand is important to you, Cabo probably isn't the right place. If it helps, you can see some pictures of the sand and water on page 2 of my wedding review http://bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/t43913 There are lots of reviews and pictures of weddings in Cabo on the forum - I know Ana has an amazing number of beautiful pictures posted of her wedding at Dreams earlier this year. I can honestly say I've never seen pictures of Cabo the way you described it, but I pretty much just looked at professional pictures of weddings there and pictures here on the form. In my opinion, Cabo is one of the most beautiful places for a wedding -- and it almost never rains.

We registered at 3 places. 4 seems like too many, but I don't have a reason why!

I think it would not be right to specify that you want cash on an invite. I have always read that it is inappropriate reference gifts on the invite because that presumes that's the purpose of the party. Also, many people do not like to gift money as a gift, especially for a shower. Think about registering somewhere for things you'd maybe like to replace (new sheets or towels) or some other things that would be fun to have but you'd never buy them yourself.

Our cruise was from 5:45 - 8:15 pm because we had our rehearsal at the hotel at 4 pm prior to the cruise and sunset was around 7:50. Generally I thought they ran cruises at 5:30, but I know it depends on the time of year too. Mario stated we could start the cruise whenever we wanted since it was private, so I would check the time of sunset and plan accoridngly so you dock about 30 minutes after sunset.

I am a little confused by the flower list. Both peonies and hydrangeas are listed as not available in Mexico and I had both in Cabo. In fact, hydrangeas (centerpieces), peonies and roses (bouquets) were my only flowers. Of course, flower availability depends on the season, for example, I think peonies would only be available in spring/early summer. My understanding is that almost all the flowers in Mexico are imported and a good florist can get you any flower you want in Mexico, it's just a matter of cost. In talking to my florist, I did not get the impression that peonies were one of the more expensive flowers, but maybe that's because they were in season at the time of my wedding. Good luck everyone!

Quote: Originally Posted by Brenda&Jeff09 Keria... I love your 1st pick... VERY cute!! mich999... good point! I was thinking it might be nice to wear the dress too, for the guests that can't make it to Mexico. The AHR site is putting up a big video screen so we can play a video of the wedding at the beginning of the reception... that way people who weren't there can see it... but I think maybe I should wear the dress too. Brenda - literally the first thing almost everyone said to me (well, the ladies : ), was, I'm so excited/glad you wore you're dress!! I posted this in my thoughts on my AHR in the AHR forum, but what I really ralized afterwards is that while you don't think of the AHR as your wedding (nor is it), those who couldn't attend pretty much view the AHR as the wedding and wearing your wedding attire so they can feel like they saw you on your big day makes it really special for them. We had pictures everywhere of our wedding, but that couldn't make up for seeing me in person in the dress - I highly recommend it, even if you decide to change later.

We had a cocktail party in a friend's backyard - I wore my dress the whole night and all my guests who couldn't make it to our wedding were so excited that I did.

Excellent article - it should open a lot of people's eyes. The one resounding thing I kept hearing while planning my wedding from others who had already gone through it - don't skimp on your photographer - that's the one thing people will regret.

Congrats - welcome to the forum! You will find lots of help info in your searches here.

Congrats - welcome to the forum!

Congrats - welcome to the forum!

How exciting! Congrats - welcome to the forum!

Congrats - welcome to the forum!

Congrats - welcome to the forum!

I think this really comes down to the wedding coordinator and resort - that's a completely unacceptable answer. While anything can happen, she can triple check that the judge knows when to be there and confirm the day before. You may just have to harass the WC on this issue in the weeks leading up to your wedding - I must have asked my WC to confirm with the judge at least 3 separate times. Of you could even ask for the judge's phone number to confirm directly!! The judge may still be late, but that's true of anyone. We had both a minister and a judge to make it legal on our actual wedding day - it was very important to us to have it all be on thw same day - so if it's important to you, go for it!

While I know that some parents still do pay for their kids' weddings, I don't know that it's the norm. We paid for our entire wedding ourselves, with small contributions from both parents, but we certianly did not expect that. That being said, you have every right to vent about FMIL who is not contributing but wants to invite lots of people and has an opinion on everything. All I can say is you're not alone - this pretty much happens to almost everyone and it sounds like you are doing the right thing - limiting her guest list and venting here! My only other suggestion would be that if she continues to complain to remind her that you are paying for alot of this yourself and that's all you can afford and if she wants to invite more people, she can always pay for them.

You wear your engagement ring on the ring finger of your right hand. As far as I know there is no ceremony for slipping your engagement ring back onto your right hand. After the ceremony is done I just slipped my engagement ring back onto my left hand next to your wedding band and wa la - you're ready for pictures Mrs.!