KarenM

Hey everyone! We're back from PV and we had the best time of our lives!! The week was amazing and our wedding was perfect! I'm starting my review so hopefully I'll have it done soon. Jenn, we did welcome cocktails at Rendezvous on Wed & Thurs at 8. We figured people would be arriving at various times throughout the day so they'd probably want to eat earlier. It worked out really well. And we had 3 kids under the age of 7 with us & meeting in the bar wasn't a problem. It's not your typical bar - it's a large open-air space with lots of tables and you can pull several together to make your own area. Instead of a welcome/rehearsal dinner, we had a bonfire on the beach Fri night at 8:30. It's around $250 or $300 but that includes your own waiter for drinks and tons of huge marshmallows (we brought graham crackers from home and bought chocolate bars at Walmart to make s'mores). Fri nights are the Mexican Fiesta night by the pool and most people went there for dinner & then came over to the bonfire. The bonfire was seriously one of the best decisions we made and everyone loved it. m1984, I only worked with Rebeca so I'm not sure what Samantha's role in planning weddings is. But, I would get in touch with Rebeca again and let her know you've been communicating with Samantha but wondered if you should still be working with Rebeca. She has her own office - the wedding room - and she was the only person I ever saw there (& I walked by several times a day). My experience with Rebeca was wonderful. She was so helpful and detail-oriented. She added little touches to make what I brought even more special. We bought a talavera vase down there to use in our sand ceremony & I asked if we could just use sand from the hotel, which she said was fine. At the ceremony, she had two small clear vases of sand, one with beach sand & one with aqua sand for us to use. It was perfect. She carried out the vision I had for the wedding better than I had even imagined it. Since we got married on the beach, I can't speak to the gazebo's capacity, but, having seen it, 80 seems high to me. Autumn is the perfect person to answer that question. Autumn & Jess - thanks girls!! I kept thinking about you both - what a wonderful place to have in common! J - we went into Our Lady of Guadalupe and wow! What a gorgeous church! A - Rebeca has some of your cute OOT items on display in the wedding room! I saw them & told P - I know the girl who made those! Oh yeah, there were no upgrades (shocking, I know) & some of the room requests couldn't be honored (just bed size). When we checked in on Mon 5.24 the hotel was pretty empty but by Wed-Thurs it was at capacity. We didn't want an upgrade cuz we had a dreams suite in the preferred tower, but several of our guests got 2 double beds, including my parents & they had requested a king (no one complained to me, but I found out later). There weren't any rooms available to even change to which kind of sucked, but what can you do.

Yay Shannon! I was wondering when we'd get to see all of your planning! Everything is just perfect! I love your STD's and engagement session in the park! So great! And your invitations were pretty much exactly what I originally wanted, but I was too cheap to get them! They are gorgeous and perfect for a DW and how wonderful you had a friend make them! I love seeing pics from the wedding as part of your thread - you were gorgeous! Congrats lady!! xo

GIRLS!!!! We're back, married, and everything was perfecto!! Well, almost. We had a 26 hour layover in Houston from Wed-Thurs b/c the airport shut down and we were diverted to San Antonio for 2 hours, then back to Houston but had already missed our connection which was the last one that night. (Totally shoulda called Di!) So we grabbed a pair of underwear out of our checked bags, checked into a hotel, hung out at the Deerbrook (?) mall and saw a movie. Hey, extended honeymoon, right? Finally got back Fri at 2am, just a little exhausted. But, aside from that the entire week was beyond anything DH or I could've imagined. And Fer is just the most amazing, kind, genuine and ridiculously talented person ever. He was rushing from our TTD Sunday in PV to another in Riviera Maya and threw up a couple teasers while at the airport. Mexico Wedding Photographer Fer Juaristi So much to catch up on here, but wow! Everyone's pics are so gorgeous! Congratulations to all of us rockin May brides!!

Di!! You did an amazing job with everything!! Seriously love all of the details and love you poured into planning your big day! I have no doubt you were gorgeous and I can't wait to hear all about how perfect everything was! Congratulations date twin!! xo

Great planning! I love your & FI's rings! So unique and cool! Your guests are sure to love your OOT bags. And I absolutely love your burger cake topper! It's hilarious and so great that you're incorporating something you love with a "don't take yourself so seriously" feeling! Love it! Congrats - your big day is almost here!

Quote: Originally Posted by aprilmay Thanks for sharing Karen! Can't wait to read your review once you return! Love your hair & make-up inspiration pics. Are you going to get that done at the Dreams salon?? How much is the lounge furniture for the cocktail hour? It looks great! Yep, definitely getting the hair/makeup done at the spa. We start Sat at 2 with hair, followed by makeup, and my 3 bridesmaids are also having hair and/or makeup done too. (Our ceremony starts at 6). I'll bring those pics to show them what I'd like & will let ya know how it goes. The lounge furniture is an extra $500 but it's up for the whole night. We figured some people won't want to dance the whole time and would like a nice place to sit so hopefully it'll be worth it! We leave in an hour! I can't wait!!! Thanks again peeps! Appreciate all the kind words! ¡Salud!

Congratulations Christine!! Have a wonderful wedding and honeymoon! Can't wait to hear all about it!

Hey everyone! We leave in an hour for PV! I can't wait! I doubt there will be upgrades, but I'll let ya know if I'm wrong.

Thanks so much girls!! We leave tomorrow at 5 am and we cannot wait!! Thank you each soooooo much for all of the support & kindness. Where else could we all vent about all things wedding and have someone actually care?! You all have been invaluable and I thank you dearly! Congrats to everyone who just got married! MRhoades0219 21-May, Moon Palace, Cancun Christine & Kelly - Happy Wedding Day tomorrow!!! Hope you both have a fabulous time! cristinimartini (Christine) 24-May Dreams, Punta Cana Kelly1214 (Kelly) 24-May, Turks & Caicos Di!! Have a wonderful amazing wedding and honeymoon, date twin! I know you will be absolutely stunning and I can't wait to hear all about your adventures! xo Lady Di (Diana) 29-May Royal Playa Del Carmen Jen & Christina - Congratulations! Our last May brides! Wishing you perfect days! Jenjbug (Jen) 30-May Ocho Rios, Jamaica ChristinaP (Christina) Lots of love & hugs

We leave tomorrow to get married Sat! We'll be using the Bose system for our ceremony, which is on the beach. Hopefully it'll work just fine, but I'm a little concerned it won't be loud enough. I'll report back in a couple weeks to let people know how it worked!

Thanks, Danielle! You're such a sweetheart! I was really happy with the book & I'm pretty confident DH will love it. Your big day will be here before you know it!

I went with an 8x8 book with leather cut-out cover from Shutterfly.com. It has 47 pics and 28 pages. here's the outside cover and inside Then the inside title page has a love letter to FI. We leave tomorrow for PV and I'll be having the book delivered to him on our wedding day while I'm getting ready. I'd sort of love to see his face when he opens it, but I'm a big fan of suspense so I think it'll be perfect for him to receive it when he can't see me and then have to wait! I'm an evil little girl

Quote: Originally Posted by Future Mrs. Kt Ellis Our wedding is in exactly 2 weeks and I still don't have shoes! I don't know what to do, I've been to countless shoe stores and searched online(not sure I even have time to order now and if I do what if it doesn't fit?). Mom, fmil and I even braved the mall on a Saturday and no luck What doesn't help anything is that I need ivory or olive(or emerald)green shoes with a 1-1 1/2 in. heel. That REALLY narrows my options. Help! I never thought shoes would be the thing driving me crazy at the last minute. I love shoes, why is this so hard? OK, lady, you've got some serious shoe fairies at your disposal here. I can totally relate - this was waaay harder than finding the dress and took me months & months. Did a search on Endless & Zappos - both places have free shipping AND free return shipping and you'll have your shoes in like 2 days!! Great customer service & I've used them a TON. I would try ordering several and then just returning what you don't want. Not sure what kind of feel you're going for (elegant, casual, beachy, etc), but here's what I've found: Ann Marino Pixie Thong Sandal - Free Overnight Shipping on New Styles, Free Return Shipping: Endless.com Matiko Maya 7021-60 - Free Overnight Shipping on New Styles, Free Return Shipping: Endless.com Fly Flot Florita Thong Sandal - Free Overnight Shipping on New Styles, Free Return Shipping: Endless.com Via Spiga Bliss Wedge Sandal - Free Overnight Shipping on New Styles, Free Return Shipping: Endless.com Annie Shoes Aliza Slingback - Free Overnight Shipping on New Styles, Free Return Shipping: Endless.com Yellow Box Favorite Thong Sandal - Free Overnight Shipping on New Styles, Free Return Shipping: Endless.com Franco Sarto Tonga Low Heel Sandal - Free Overnight Shipping on New Styles, Free Return Shipping: Endless.com Annie Shoes Allison Slingback - Free Overnight Shipping on New Styles, Free Return Shipping: Endless.com Athena Alexander Lasso Sandal - Free Overnight Shipping on New Styles, Free Return Shipping: Endless.com Annie Shoes Evelyn Sling Sandal - Free Overnight Shipping on New Styles, Free Return Shipping: Endless.com Miss Me Molly-13 T-Strap Wedge - Free Overnight Shipping on New Styles, Free Return Shipping: Endless.com Miss Me Dita-9 Thong Sandal - Free Overnight Shipping on New Styles, Free Return Shipping: Endless.com Bridal by Butter Flamingo Kitten-Heel Pump - Free Overnight Shipping on New Styles, Free Return Shipping: Endless.com AK Anne Klein Zanetto at Zappos.com rsvp Gyselle at Zappos.com I've used shoes.com too and they have good service as well. Flojos Green Women's Flaunt Shoe KORS MICHAEL KORS Green Women's Chic Shoe The other option is just buying ivory/white and having them dyed. I think you'd have to move on that pretty quickly though. Good luck finding the perfect shoe!!

What a super fun day! Congrats on getting so much done!

Yay! Congrats on getting those done so far in advance! Your guests will love everything!!

You did a great job with those!! Congrats!

Gorgeous!!! Woot! Jen does it again!! FI will love them!

Amy, what an amazing gift for your friends to throw your AHR! I would seriously just relax & let them take over. You've been planning a ton and still have to think about the details for your Vegas wedding so this is a total gift! Sit back, relax & just enjoy it!! Sounds like a great idea to bring some personal touches like pics though!!

Hiya girls!! Well, we're official! Yesterday was a fabulous day! We met up with the parents and 2 great friends at 1:00 at the NYC City Clerk's office (AKA the marriage bureau) at Worth & Centre St's. We waited about an hour, had a couple lines to wait in & took some pics, and we were married by 2! Then we went to the Church Lounge (apropos, no?) in the Tribeca Grand Hotel for champagne & appetizers and then to dinner at this crazy romantic restaurant in the W Village - One if By Land, Two if By Sea. What a crazy feeling! I really had looked at this whole legal day thing as just paperwork & it took a really long time to wrap my head around doing the 2 ceremonies separately, but now that we're officially Mr & Mrs it feels really great! I definitely feel different, in an awesome way that I didn't anticipate feeling until next weekend. But, while yesterday was an incredible day it just made me even more excited for our actual wedding! I seriously cannot wait! Here are a few pics Thanks so much for all of the love, girls!! And thanks, S, for the bling!!

Today's our Legal Day!! WooHoo!!!

Danielle!!! You are GORGEOUS and I'm so so so glad you went for it! Your man is going to die (in the best possible way!).

Congratulations Jess & great review!! So glad everything went so well for you two!

Great job Brooke!! I love the color combo & the graphics! Congrats on getting them done!

Congratulations Amy! So glad everything worked out despite the winds. The pics are great!

Thanks girls!! I will ignore weather.com! You're all the best Just got back from a nice spa pedicure & manicure (& wax). aaaahhh, so nice! tomorrow's the legal day! P's parents, my mom and 2 of our good friends out here will be with us at the marriage bureau down in city centre. I wish my dad could make it, but he's already closing his office next week so he couldn't do it for tomorrow too. ah well, super excited nonetheless! Di, glad your throat is better!