JCruz

We're getting married in a church for our parents. We're doing this the weekend before we leave, but I didn't want to take away from the ceremony on the beach so we're keeping it really small, only our parents, not even our wedding party.

Congratulations and welcome to the forum!

Honestly, with the resources out there at our disposal (like this forum) you could probably even do without the consultant. You already found the resort yourself AND you found out about the catholic/legal ceremony. There's so much research available out there that you could do on your own. When I first started planning, I thought I would get a WC, but seeing how many brides (especially on this forum) do very well without one I decided against it. I think it depends on your comfort level.

That's really tough and that would really upset me too. I'm facing the same thing to some degree myself (friends who are not as close to me as your cousin is to you) and to tell you truth, I haven't said anything even though it's upsetting me. You can't tell people how to spend their money and if they decide not to come that's their choice. I agree with Mandy and think you should try to talk to her. It sounds like the two of you are close and it would be a shame for this to come between you. You should tell her how you've been hurt by her decision so she understands what she's done and doesn't do something like flaunt her Europe trip in your face.

omg, hawaii is sooooo beautiful! congratulations and welcome to the fourm. happy planning

Great review! Thanks for the tip about getting MAC to put all the make up down on the paper for you. Congratulations

Beautiful dress and I LOVE the one-shoulder. You look amazing in it

I would say it depends on your dress. If it's really heavy and you think you'll get hot, it might be a good idea to think about it. I'm not buying a dress for the reception. I LOVE my dress and to me, wearing it for a day isn't long enough!

4 days for under $2000 is completely doable! I've been to a few all-inclusive destination weddings (always stayed for a week) and the only time I paid close to that was when I went to Sandals Bahamas. Even with that I paid just under $2000. Get quotes from a travel agent. The price will vary with the season, but I'm confident you'll find a resort for guests that will be less than $2000. Happy planning!

Thanks for the resource ladies! This option completely opens up my budget now

That's awful, but thank goodness they got to you in time. Thanks so much for the review.

I haven't had experience with either, but I would think that the organza bags would be easier since they require no assembly. Paper would probably work out to be cheaper though. I like the idea of the paper cone being able to toss all of the petals at once.

Great on you - there's a lot to learn about destination weddings and this forum is such a great resource.

Congratulations and welcome to the forum. Happy planning!

I think by including travel information on just the resort you are staying at, it will be implied that guests should be booking their travel there too. On our website, there are instructions on how to book their vacation with our travel agent and I don't even make mention of other options.

My sister got married at the Riu Palace Mayan Riviera (also in July) and it was just beautiful there. Picking the date and the resort is the hard part. All the other details are the fun stuff!

Congratulations and welcome to the forum! You'll find so much info on here

What a great idea, I've never seen that before. Awesome job!

They're beautiful, and they're gorgeous together. How exciting!

We're also going to do a sunset cruise for our guests that we're paying for. We're organizing it as a thank-you for coming all the way to Mexico with us. However, we're looking at organzing a couple of other excursions such as deep-sea fishing and snorkling which is optional and we are not paying for.

I love the slideshow idea. You could even use digital picture frames to load all of your pictures and just let them run in the background.

Great find! Thanks so much for sharing

You're a great friend for helping her out. This is an awesome site and you'll find tons of info to help plan her wedding. Welcome!

I don't know how festive these are, but Martha Stewart's tissue paper pom-pom balls are really cute (not to mention cheap) and can be done in whatever colours your theme is: Pom-Poms and Luminarias

That's awesome and great ideas. Thanks so much for sharing!