autjo

OTC = Oriental Trading Company And they still sell them! http://www.orientaltrading.com/diy-wood-maracas-a2-57_1020.fltr?Ntt=maraca To paint the base, I marked them off with painters tape, then stuck them in a cardboard box and spray painted. I just used paint pens to wrtie on them. They last a long time too... my 2 year old is now playing with them, 6 years later!

Thanks! Las Caletas is just beautiful and yay for being wedding date twins The best thing about the pashminas is that I like favors that are practical. It rained on our wedding so it was a little chilly and the pashminas came in handy. And today, my girlfriends still wear them. It is a nice reminder of a great day!

Thanks! Here is the template: http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/t/59470/autumn-s-oot-welcome-booklet

Thanks Best wishes on your wedding!

Congrats Aimee!! You looked amazing, those pictures turned out awesome.

I'm more with Lauren... engaged in January, picked a place in April, sent Save the Dates in May, sent Invites in September, asked for RSVP 1 month before wedding, got married in December. We had so many people from all over the US that it didn't make sense to set up room blocks. We gave out our TA info, some people used them, some didn't. 50 people showed up and everyone still comments about how much fun they had and want to know when and where we are renewing our vows

Hi destie brides, I just saw this article saying that I Do I Do and Twirl bridal boutiques have closed in Phoenix. I hope no one in the area has ordered from them! If you did there are several local shops offering help in the comments section of the article. Or feel free to contact me as I have a veil, slip and accessories that I'd be willing to lend out. http://www.kpho.com/valleynews/28189425/detail.html

Love it! You're guests are going to be so impressed! DH would have been so happy if he got to drink our invitations.

Everything looks fabulous - so luvin' your monogram and colors! Yay for checking them off the list over a month before your wedding! And don't fret over the tequila... there will be plenty in Mexico

Lauren already answered, but they also told me to come with clean, dry hair.

As for the salon, it was pretty small. There is a room for 3 hair and makeup stations and then a smaller room for pedicures. I was the only one getting hair and makeup, but my un-bridesmaids did join in the fun. We went directly from brunch so we didn't have food there, but they did have mimosas. One of my girlfriends left a little early, stopped at the lobby bar and ordered champagne and some trays of food to be delivered to the room. The timing was perfect. Excuse the awful pictures, but I pulled out the ones from the salon: https://picasaweb.google.com/AutumnAndBrett09/DreamsPVSalon?authkey=Gv1sRgCKTtkKHakrjbRw&feat=directlink

I put some toiletries in the bathroom near Las Palmas. It is open to the public, but I noticed that not many people use the bathrooms at the restaurants at night so I wouldn't worry about random people taking them. It was a nice touch that several of my guests commented on. Here are some pics. If you have room in your budget and luggage then go for it

It was so worth it! This past Christmas we had several people send us pictures of the ornament on their tree. It was really random, but so nice to hear from our friends and fam that live far away.

I would post on their facebook about the bars and clubs. We made friends with the activity coordinators and they came and found us every night to see if we wanted them to take us out in the town (for like $20/person). PV is not as touristy as Cancun or Cabo so most of the clubs are not dance on the tables crazy, especially if you go on a night when there is no cruise ship docked. We enjoyed Mandala, but no idea if it is still popular. While we were there the Sports Bar was always empty. So we enjoyed closing down the Lobby Bar and then the people still partying would head over to the Sports Bar. And really it's not a Sports Bar, it just has a dance floor with sound system, a couple of tables, a bar and a big screen that wasn't always on. IMHO I would not bring decorations or anything for after the wedding, you are going to be exhausted and who knows... you might not even make it to the after party Maybe try the concierge or their info email: info.drepv@dreamsresorts.com

Hi girlies! This deal is available again today. Read the fine print as there are tons of restrictions, but it might be worth your while. Happy shopping http://livingsocial.com/deals/32273-50-to-spend-on-office-supplies

We loved the jacuzzi. It is basically just a bathtub on the balcony, but it was fun. We had everyone meet in our room several times and someone always ended up in the jacuzzi. The pictures that I have is where we are using it as a place to sit on the balcony And then the night that DH and I did the romantic dinner on the beach, they filled the jacuzzi with scented oil and flower petals then lit candles on the balcony. It was worth the money for us.

They are plastic and came from Target. I think they were $3-$5. That's why they needed an LED candle instead of a real one

Thanks y'all! The K and Eiffel from our cake topper are now on my desk in my studio and they just make me smile and remember all the good memories of the wedding.

We showed up to the Fiesta night as soon as soon as it started (we did this a lot... show up as soon as the events started and no one else is there, so you and your group can take over a space, although WC had saved 50 seats for us at the Fiesta). They did have vendors set up which is really nice if you don't have time to venture out into town. There was a music and dancing show, and 2 of guys participated in the audience part of the show. We left as soon as that part was over to head to the bonfire. I honestly can't remember how long we had the bonfire, but everybody hung out until it died out and then went to the Rend bar and then the Sports bar. I was just in Old Navy last night and saw all of the bags! Totes steal! And yay for finding your FI's outfit at such a great price I think Karen mentioned that she didn't have any problems with the candles staying lit and I don't remember it being too windy. It did start to rain about 10 minutes after we jumped in the pool... not to scare you, but just know it does rain in PV regardless of what everybody else says.

It is funny that I just ran across your post... I banned myself from looking at most of the sites like SMP. There are a ton of weddings that are just photo shoots on blogs and completely nonsensical to pull off for a real wedding. And I am soooooo tired of the vintage antique wedding... maybe because that's not my style? I am bold and bright and a little nutty and seriously who rides a vintage bike... all of you SMP viewers know what I'm talking about! I started my little Etsy shop because I needed an outlet after months of planning and I truly enjoy making stuff that makes people happy. I went to the social media to seek inspiration and instantly started gushing over these wedding blogs. Started thinking that my shop didn't fit into what they claimed was the "in" thing and completely stopped being productive. Then I got to the point where I was being down on myself because my wedding didn't look like something they featured. It was the happiest day of my life and most of our friends are still talking about it, so why was I depressed?! So I took a step back, stopped the blog oogling and got back to real life. My Persimmon and Lime wedding where we jumped into the pool at the end of the night will never be featured on SMP... but the pictures, favours and amazeballs memories are featured all over our house, our parents' houses and even snippets at our friends houses. And my hubby still talks about Puerto Vallarta to anyone that will listen, and I smile when one of our guy (yes guy) friends pulls out and uses the chapstick from our OOT bags, and it made me all warm inside when my girlfriend wore her pashmina from the wedding to dinner last week. So are you/did you have a wedding that made you and your partner happy? Then honestly that is all that matters in the end

Congrats hulagirl! Wish I was going back in 3 months

And my $0.02 about tables, napkins, chair covers, flowers... Don't spend a lot on this, they do look nice in pics but not worth breaking the bank. 1) Agreed about buying some fabric or tulle and taking it with you for the table runners. I used ribbon from the discount bin at Michaels ($3/table). 2) I brought heavy duty napkins from Party City. Got them on sale after Halloween 3) The white ones from Dreams looked really nice. Granted they tied the bows like 2 year olds, but oh well. 4) We reused all of the flowers that came with the Ultimate package: The ceremony and table flower arrangements were identical and used on the guest tables, then my bouquet went into a vase on the head table. ** The picture boxes were supposed to go inside the flower arrangements along with the LED tea lights. Then the real votives were supposed to go on the table. But they jacked that up and I was the only one who noticed.

The house wine at Dreams was pretty decent compared to other AIs where we have stayed. I did request top shelf tequila and whiskey for the reception and they didn't charge us extra. I did make it very clear to the WC and head waiter that I did not want them serving ANYTHING that cost extra. That happened to my BIL at Dreams Cancun with the wine and they had to pay like $500 more. Lauren!!! He is too adorable! You are a riot... is that a bottle of wine?!?!? LMAO! Congrats! The WC reserved seats for us at the Fiesta one night, otherwise we just met as a group about 15 minutes before a restaurant would open for dinner and they would seat us at tables that were close to each other. Several of the brides have done private bonfires and raved about it. Personally it was well worth the $ to have some privacy, personal service and it let our guests get to know each other.

Thanks ladies! The sign totally kept people off of the chairs because it looked "official". Here's a pic of it at the resort

Why thank you (; What a nice compliment! Here are some more pics. We even hung a pair on our Christmas tree as an ornament this year (;