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sylvia this is a great review! so helpful! Thanks for taking so much time to answer so many questions.

Quote: Originally Posted by maxandkatie I used the resort DJ. We reserved him for 2 hours. Our dinner started at 6:30 and we had him reserved from 7:30 - 9:30. When we showed up at the reception he was set up already and played casual muic through dinner. Then we danced after dinner about 8-8:30 and danced until after 10. We were only charged for 2 hours too! We sent a playlist ahead of time and he played most of the songs. We had our first dance on the beach, people gave toasts, it was great. We also had the mariachi band play at our cockatil hour that went from 5:30- 6:30. It was perfect! Our cocktail hour was at the lobby bar terrace. They played a special song for me and my now husband and we had to dance to it. It was really a great little piece of Mexico. Hope this helps! Katie Katie that was really helpful! Thanks for all the information. I am definitely gonig with the mariachi band during cocktail hour now...sounds wonderful! Your wedding looked wonderful! I am getting more and more excited as the date comes closer and closer

big update ladies----I found my dress!!!! I feel so much better now that I have ordered it! Lots of weight off my shoulders. My FI and i are also starting to work on our DIY invites---looking forward to that project--if you have any advice please pass it my way.

Hi Rachel! I have decided i love your bouquet and colors so much more than other options I am going with the same colors and flowers! Do you have additional pictures of the flowers?

Quote: Originally Posted by Blkatz we were going to do this and Landy let me know we could do it at Portofino if we had less than 40 people. The charge was $20/per person and she set it up for me. You have to do a set menu for it and she was going to allow me to pick 2 entrees. Here is the menu for the Portofino restaurant-we ate there one night and the food was so good! The Tiramsu for desert was AMAZING Beth thanks so much for this information! This is really helpful.

I have a couple of questions, did anyone use the resort DJ? We were originally just going to use an ipod but now we are thinking of having a DJ. if you did, how many hours did you reserve them and how was the resort DJ? Also, I plan on having mariachis---should i have them play for the cocktail hour or for the first hour during dinner?

your pictures are gorgeous! i also love your colors! Congratulations on your beautiful wedding!

Quote: Originally Posted by LSUangel25 Hi All! We are back from Playa del Carmen and I can't tell you how much this has been blown out of proportion. I think I saw maybe 2 people wearing masks. They are taking your temperature when you arrive and leave the Cancun airport to help stop the spread of the swine flu. As for the resorts, they are at about 20% capacity across the Riviera Maya and although some have closed due to nearly no one there, others are doing whatever they can to make the guests they do have happy. The Royal in Playa offered 50% off of all spa treatments and bottles of wine. All of the attractions are now open. We talked to our driver on the way to our resort on Wed 5/6 and he was so frustrated with how this is effecting Mexico. He said that the climate in Mexico City is totally different that the beach areas. Good luck to all of you leaving for Mexico for what I hope is a beautiful wedding in the coming weeks and months! Hopefully your travel is not still banned. But I will say that if you are considering canceling due to the swine flu...DON'T. We couldn't have asked for a better, more beautiful wedding! I am going to post my overall review of the wedding on the Royal Playa del Carmen forum. Feel free to ask any questions you may have! Michelle Michelle your words are very comforting! Thanks for your insight from your recent trip. I feel so bad for the resorts and those that work for them, it is only making it harder business wise for mexico.

okay everyone i have sent out STD put deposit on photographer put deposit for hotel booked flight created website looking at dresses friday and saturday!!! Hope to have one ordered this saturday! The only thing I am in need of doing is invitations. i ordered some samples to see how they would look if we make them and the cost in comparison. We are doing foldouts. Any ones have any thoughts?

Quote: Originally Posted by leogurl I need some advice in figuring out when we should arrive at the resort. Our wedding is on a Friday, and originally we planned to be there on a Wednesday and have the ceremony on Saturday (it's a symbolic ceremony, we'll get married here in the US before we go). I was thinking about going on a Tuesday to be there one day early, but then I felt like it would be kind of lame to go to work just one day on Monday and then leave Tuesday. We plan to have some activities for guests planned Wed-Sun, but maybe we should change the travel days to Tuesday-Saturday. Any thoughts? I say just take Monday through friday off from work and travel on Mon-sat...why not enjoy your wedding week to the fullest?

beth i am so glad your wedding happened even with the swine flu craziness! the important part is that you are married to your husband now and you did have the DW, even though it was smaller scale. Congratulations!!!!

welcome clo3877! I think most people's interaction with the wc are few and far between....hopefully you can feel at ease reading everyone's experiences with the DW.

i love nuremburg and ansbach had beautiful areas---munich was nice but I really loved Nuremburg.

your wedding is great!!! where did you get your bridemaid dresses? they are gorgeous!

i agree with everyone. You should have your FI talk to her, he can probably explain it to her calmly and get it done. You don't want to be the one to say it, it might cause too many issues.

Quote: Originally Posted by LSUangel25 From the WHO: WHO | Influenza A(H1N1) - update 10 "Mexico has reported 397 confirmed human cases of infection, including 16 deaths. The higher number of cases from Mexico in the past 48 hours reflects ongoing testing of previously collected specimens. The United States Government has reported 160 laboratory confirmed human cases, including one death." From Mexico's confirmed cases of A/H1N1 flu rise to 443_English_Xinhua: MEXICO CITY, May 2 (Xinhua) -- "Mexican Health Minister Jose Angel Cordova said on Saturday that until Friday night there have been 1,105 tests to detect the influenza A/H1N1, among which 443 in the country were positive. Out of the positive cases 427 patients are alive, while 16 died. Among the total of the deaths, 12 were women..." FYI...this means that approximately 38% of people that are suspected of having swine flu (or H1N1 as they want us to call it ) actually have it! I'm so over this! BTW...I officially had my first breakdown today. Don't know how I waited this long. Since we're leaving on Wednesday this was the weekend that people were going to cancel if they aren't going. Count today: 18 people have canceled including my dad, my brother (who is a GM), my MOH and 2 other GM. I'm so bummed... I am so sorry to hear that!!! Keep in mind you were doing this just for the two of you, maybe someone will reconsider! you will have a beautiful wedding no matter what though!

Quote: Originally Posted by WindsorBride HI there!! My fiance and I are getting married at Dreams Tulum on Dec. 11th, 2009! Maybe we will bump into each other !!! Dont worry about your dress..you have plenty of time! Are you getting married on the beach or using the chapel? Happy planning! Thats great! I am going to get married on the beach---haven't decided on the reception yet, might go inside for that. Ironically my wedding day is also my birthday! I am sure we will definitely bump into each other, did you just recently book the date? How many people are coming to your wedding?

Quote: Originally Posted by tylersgirl Hey girls! Just wanted to update yall! We were going to reschedule our wedding to Jamaica, but Tyler and I decided that swine flu and less guests-we don't care we are still going to Mexico and having our dream wedding. We still have 3 months and alot can change in that amount of time! XOXO I am so happy for you!!!! I think thats the right decision, do what is best for the two of you and your family who do want to be part of it. I hope everything works out great!!!! I will keep my fingers crossed for you.

Quote: Originally Posted by tylersgirl I am so mad right now!!! I am upset/furious! First of all I found out that about 8 people had backed out of my RM wedding in 3 months because of the swine or whatever its called flu (we don't have that many going as is). Three months away!!!! Not only that, one of the guests is my only brother and his bitch of a wife that I can't stand. I really want my brother and cousin to be there and all of the ones that canceled said that if I move it somewhere else that is safe from the swine flu, they will come. Soooo after crying, constantly staying on the computer searching, FI and I decided to change our wedding to Jamaica. While I was on the phone with my TA this morning telling her about our possible switch and getting rates I said don't worry about my best friend and her husband-that I will talk to them about everything today and let them know about the switch myself instead of letting the TA call them. Well, the TA then informed me that my friend and her husband have called and talked to her, but NEVER BOOKED. Not even $1. These are friends that have LIED to us. They said that they booked months ago and I never checked up on it because I believed them. They called Tyler and I the day they "booked" and said that they were soooo excited and they had just dropped off the money and fully paid. They lied to us. I am so sad. I was wondering why my friend hadn't called me freaked out yet (she is a panic type person)-it is because they never booked. I am speechless. Okay getting back to my brother and wife and close cousin and her husband....they said that they would go ANYWHERE-but just not Mexico. I spent all that time and energy and tears and decided on Jamaica and my mom called and told them the good news and my SIL said that they are NOT GOING AT ALL. That Jamaica is "dirty" and "she has never heard anything good about it" -her words not mine. I am beyond pissed. She told my mom that if we move it to Florida that they will go (they aren't from Florida, i guess that is just where she picked for me to have my own wedding). WTF!!! She also stupidly said that Jamaica "will be hit by a hurricane along with Cuba" WTF? Where does she think Florida is? Does she think its immune from hurricanes! Whoever gave her two degrees is retarded. So them. I don't even care anymore. My wonderful parents, sister, and Tyler's wonderful parents and brother are going to Jamaica in all our glory!! I don't care who is there! Screw the liars and negative Nancy's! Thanks for listening. My eyes are red from tears and it feels so good to vent to y'all. I am going to echo everyone else...you see people in a different light with DW...shocking actually! I say worry about your familys and you. Forgot the naysayers---they would have found anything to complain about. I think we have all had to deal with people who we thought would be 100% behind us and then did a 180. Keep your head up! Karma always bites back!

Quote: Originally Posted by sgbrown Well, I'm sad to announce that it looks like our wedding is now postponed. We will be heading to Jamaica instead at the end of May. SIGH. Over a year's hard work in planning my dream wedding at Dreams Tulum and it's not going to happen. We've been scrambling to find a new resort. I think we have one picked out but we're just making sure that the price is comparable. We have a non-refundable honeymoon booked in Europe starting on May 11th so we're actually going to go on our honeymoon BEFORE our wedding... funny, I know, but what can you do? My heart goes out to any of the other DT brides who are affected by the swine flu. It really doesn't seem fair. Thanks for everyone's advice over the last year. It was so helpful and I just know that there's no way I'm going to find another community of women on this forum that were as helpful as you guys. I am so sorry you have to change your plans! I know from the forum that you have done so much for your wedding! The most important part is also that they will have other options for you. Hopefully everyone who this affects has some sort of options and not left with nothing.

okay, i know i am worrying about nothing. My wedding is in december, but should i be worried? How are people for November/December dealing with this?

Quote: Originally Posted by Blkatz thanks ladies-I just posted another link that most of our guests have canceled their plans to come down. this is probably the worst feeling I am so sorry to hear this! At least you are looking at for your loved ones. I can only imagine how I would feel. Let us know what happens.

after reading all these comments I agree that you don't want to just jump back into things. Money isn't anything in the long run, neither is pride. You should always feel wonderful when you are with the person you marry. I am not saying there aren't good times, but it really bothers me that he was embarrassed by you. That is a horrible thing to ever say to someone. I think you need to truly decide if you want to keep going through this situation for the rest of your life, it will happen again.

Quote: Originally Posted by MajikDreams HI! I just got home last night and I'm going to write a full review, but i just wanted to answer your question really quickly. We had the reception in the convention center (42 guests total). It was FRIGGIN awesome. I mean, REALLY awesome. We had the DJ set up on stage, the BIG room was cut in 1/2 and it was perfect for the amount of people we had. The convention center is beautiful, but very plain inside. My only advice is if you're doing it in there, bring decorations, because there aren't really any. Not even paintings on the wall. Once I get all my info together, I'll post a youtube video of it. We are VERY happy we had it there for a number of reasons. #1, the wind on the beach is unpredictable. #2, we had a big fat greek wedding, so if we had it near the pool, one of our guests would have definitely wound up in it #3, we wanted to be able to be loud and party like animals (which we did). #4 we wanted our party to run late if people we movin and grovin, which EVERYONE was =) It was friggin awesome. Hope that helped. Thanks for getting back to me so quickly! You gave me great things to think about. I am definitely seriously thinking of having the reception indoors! I can't wait to read your review!

Quote: Originally Posted by MarieSam Aww Ayita, damn them, I am pissed for you!!! It is so unacceptable that they are doing this to you especially so close to your wedding day and I don't blame you for wanting to take your business elsewhere. I'm cursing them to hell and flippin the bird for you. First, as much as you want to strangle these people, take a deep breath and stay confident that everything will work out ok. Being part of BDW is probably the best thing because there are so many girls on here with lots of resources and ideas to fall back on. Now if I remember correctly you've got family coming from Paris right? So how many guests are we talking here? I did a lot of searching for non-resort venues during my inital planning stages so there are a couple places that come to mind. Let me preface this by saying, I did not want to spend a crapload of money so I was looking for something beautiful, private but affordable that would still be customized to my needs. Here are some suggestions I think of off the top of my head that won't break the bank since you will already be losing your deposit because of those dumb $hits: 1) My wedding venue -- the CEA Center in Akumal catered by Turtle Bay Cafe. Here's my link with pics and details: http://bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/t31355 -- Pros: you can totally customize your menu and they have EXCELLENT food at very reasonable prices and also have their own baker for cakes, venue is totally private with no time limits on length of reception, gorgeous beach, no outside vendor fees, location fee is is $500 donation to the Ecological program so its for a great cause, reasonable rates for decor/table/chair rentals, you can provide your own alcohol (save tons by buying in bulk at Costco, Sams Club, etc.) and hire their bartenders at $75/each plus glassware and ice charge of $5/per person (trust me this saves you tons of money on an open bar option), gorgeous candle wall that makes for exquisite pics -- Cons: no air-conditioning as it is an open-air building with wooden shutters but does have huge ceiling fans and lots of ocean breeze, when you see the place from the outside it looks "simple/ghetto" lol but believe me it is so authentic and beautiful once decorated (my family would talk so much $hit if we picked a place that was less than impressive). This location is about 30 minutes from Playa del Carmen so you will need to bring your guests over -- PM me if you want some info on a GREAT transportation company that offers shuttle/bus service (we are friends with the owner and I can see if he'll cut a deal for you). 2) Blue Parrot in Playa del Carmen -- I think there a couple brides on here that have used this venue and have had good things to say. This definitely would be a contender had I not found my place. Here's a link to those threads: http://bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/t26580 http://bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/t4212 3) Rent a villa -- there are so many fabulous places to hold your wedding. Some may come with a price tag, but you will certainly have a private venue all your own. I would check into locations in Akumal, which tend to be cheaper because Akumal is a smaller, quiet town but no doubt beautiful. We are staying at Casa Romero, which I know host weddings but unfortunately it looks like they are already booked on your date. There is also another bride on here getting married at Villa Sol y Luna, which looks incredible. She is using Turtle Bay Cafe for her caterers, so I know they allow outside vendors. Here's a link to their website: Villa Sol y Luna 4) Lol Ha Restaurant in Akumal -- there is at least one other bride on here getting married in Akumal and having their reception at Lol Ha (Jacilynda), which is Akumal's most popular restaurant. I've never eaten here but all their reviews are fabulous. You can have a private reception at their palapa hut and they do allow outside vendors. Here's a page with a little bit of details and the contact person for that venue: Weddings in Akumal - Hotel Akumal Caribe I hope some of these will at least get you on the road to looking at some options. And again, I have full confidence that everything will fall into place. Please let us know if there's anything else we can help you with, no bride should be put under such pressure so close to their wedding. So we BDW brides are here to help wow marie sam!!! that is so great you know so much about the area! You are an awesome resource!