ilovemypitbull

Hi Kristine and welcome to the forum! I suggest that you look through the "Wedding Reviews" sub-forum (in the "Share Your Wedding/Engagement Story" forum) for ideas. There are tons of very detailed reviews there, many with pictures, that will help you get ideas for locations. It was extremely helpful to me. Doing various searches and browsing around the entire site in general will uncover a lot of information that should also be very helpful. This forum has been my most valuable wedding planning resource, especially in choosing a location. Good luck! -Jen

I agree with pretty much all the other ladies ... pair #1 all the way! They look a lot more classy.

My favorite shoes are the red ones because they're super sexy!!! But they don't look so comfortable and you'll be standing a lot. Plus, your favorite color is purple so girl, definitely go with the dyeable purple! I love #2 and #3 but I'm not so sure they would go with the detail on your dress ... a little too much going on perhaps? I love the idea of wearing colored shoes with a wedding dress! Good call.

Wow, Sabrina, your wedding looked fantastic! Everyone looked like they were having a great time. Love your bouquet! I'm still searching for somewhere to have my wedding and after reading your review and looking at all your pictures, I am now going to look into Villa del Palmar. So THANK YOU!!! - Jen p.s. you're absolutely gorgeous!

Great question Mark! We're having a destination wedding mainly because we're both very casual and laid-back ... so much so, that we're kind of awkward in big, formal social situations. We do best (and are happiest) having a few close friends over for some beers as opposed to going out for a fancy night on the town. Therefore, a destination wedding was a no-brainer for us. Everyone we've told so far thinks it's absolutely perfect for us. We get to enjoy a week-long, casual vacation with our nearest and dearest instead of having to endure a stuffy, formal, awkward 4-hour event with random freeloaders. We're not even having an at-home reception. To us, it kind of defeats the purpose. The people who really matter will come to our wedding and we don't want to spend a whole night making small talk with people we barely know. It sounds harsh but both sets of parents completely agree that for us, it's the way to go. My sister did the big, formal, at-home wedding and honestly, I think my parents are actually really excited for a more mellow, laid-back affair. They almost seem intrigued by the idea. So basically, a destination wedding was much more in line with our personalities. That's really the bottom line. Of course, the gorgeous backdrop and price don't hurt either...

Quote: Originally Posted by Jacilynda OH I'm SO glad to see this thread again too since I now have my dress! Jen you look FANTASTIC!!!! I so know what you mean! I feel like everything in my life i have something set that I like but when I put it on..... not so great and something I wasn't fond of looks great on me. Thank you! You look amazing in your dress. It's perfect for your body! I was looking for something super simple and this dress has so much going on but when I put it on, it was perfect and it's like it was made for me. I kind of want to wear it every day but cruising into work in it would be slightly awkward. -Jen

Thanks guys! All you ladies look fabulous in your dresses =) I heart this thread! -Jen

This is me in my dress and another view (keep in mind that I'm literally a size --00 so everything is ginormous and ridiculous looking on me) and here's the model wearing it It's weird ... I saw this dress on the website before I went to the store and did not like it at all. But my stylist brought it into the fitting room and tried to make me put it on anyway, even though I had brought pictures of literally 15 or 20 other dresses that I liked. I initially refused but she told me to trust her, which I did (eventually), and as soon as she had it all clipped up the back, I was speechless. We walked out to my mom, my sister (MOH) and my bridesmaid and they all got tears in their eyes when they saw me in it. I think I've found my dress!!!

Wow, I had no idea that Cabo was so much more expensive than Puerto Vallarta. Definitely something to think about. The only thing is, we're not so much into huge resorts and are really hoping to find a venue that is smaller and more intimate with a lot of privacy. I did tons of research and I only found one place in Puerto Vallarta that seemed to offer what we're looking for (Playa Fiesta). I felt as though it was all either huge resorts or private villas and I don't want to deal with the extra hassle and expense that comes with a villa. So I started looking into Cabo and it seems as though there are a ton more options there, especially in the range of what we're looking for. If we do end up going the resort route, I'll probably take your advice Tammy and Jess and do PV if it's cheaper. However, since we're looking for a smaller venue, I feel as though Cabo has more to offer us. Thank you so much everyone for your advice!!! It's really appreciated, especially during this, the most important decision of our wedding! - Jen

We're also getting legally married at home beforehand. In fact, even though we're not getting married until next May or June (2010) we're going to get it done legally before the end of this year because it will save us $6000 in taxes. We're both very practical people and having our ceremony be legal is not worth $6000 to us that we could put to very good use. I don't know your financial situation but it's worth looking into... In our hearts, the day of our ceremony will be the day we're officially married, regardless of what some piece of paper says. Our parents think it's a very smart decision but we're only telling immediate family. Whatever you decide to do, it's your wedding day and it will be fabulous and emotional and meaningful no matter what. - Jen

Wow, guys, thank you so much for the warm welcome and all the input! Quote: Originally Posted by jenniebey Hi Jen! First, congrats on your engagement. I too live in SF. Here is how I decided. I knew I wanted to do Mexico and figured it should be on the pacific side b/c its' so much closer for our guests (mostly from CA and WA). I had been to both PV and Cabo and although both are fantastic, I wanted more of a tropical feel. Cabo is more desert. So I decided on PV. To be honest, I was worried that I made the wrong decision b/c there seemed to be so many more options in Cabo than PV. But then we did our site visit and not only were all the locations awesome, but we fell in love with Playa Fiesta where we're going to be married. Good luck. I did a lot of research on locations in PV, so if you have any questions, feel free to PM me. This is exactly what I've been thinking and it's funny because the one place I found in PV from all my research that looked like somewhere we'd like to get married was Playa Fiesta! After adding everything up from the pricing sheets he sent me, it seems a little pricey to me. Plus, it was the ONLY place in PV I found that I loved. So that's why I'm thinking Cabo now. Quote: Originally Posted by Jeremy Herman PhotoVideo Hello Jen the pit bull lover ! It is actually pretty hot in May and June in Cabo, it will be a nice break from the SF spring chill. Cabo is a desertic climate, and PV is more tropical, so it is less humid in Cabo, but definetely not colder. Good luck with your planning! What temperature does it get down to at night? I know that seems unimportant but I'm always cold and to me there's something magical about a place where you can walk around in shorts and a tank top at 3 in the morning like you can in Cancun, and in places like Palm Springs and Vegas in the summer. One other factor that I must consider is that in PV the chance of rain each day from June onward is almost 100%! I don't really want to have to worry about the rain so, even though it's not tropical, perhaps Cabo really is the best choice... Are you guys happy with the decision you made? Does anyone regret the location they picked? Thanks again! - Jen

Hi, I'm new here although I've been lurking for a few months now. My fiance Matt and I are pretty sure we want to get married in Mexico but we're having a REALLY hard time deciding where. Originally, we thought Cancun or Riviera Maya because we LOVE the tropical climate but since we're from San Francisco, we thought it may be better and easier to do Cabo or Puerto Vallarta because they're so much closer. We're still not sure though because we really want those balmy evenings that come with a tropical climate and we're not sure Cabo or PV would be warm enough. I love how Cabo is only about 2.5 hours away though, and it has SOOOOOOO many options compared to PV. I would love your insight! How did you all pick Cabo for your wedding location? Did you have a hard time deciding between Cabo and somewhere else? If so, what were your other options and what were your priorities? Oh yeah and for those of you who have been to Cabo, how cold does it get at night in May/June? We need to narrow it down to an area soon since we would like to get married next May or June so I'm really looking forward to hearing about your experiences! -Jen

Thank you so much everyone for the warm welcome!!! We were originally considering Riviera Maya (more specifically, Isla Mujeres) because I really, really want a tropical climate, or at least somewhere that's balmy in the evenings because warm nights are my favorite thing. However, after much thought, we're leaning more toward somewhere closer to California because we don't want to make our guests travel that far. My sister suggested Puerto Vallarta so we're thinking about that. We would love to find somewhere that's fairly close yet still has a tropical-ish climate ... we're going to have to strike a compromise between those two parameters. What do you guys think? Any locations not super far from California that still have those warm, balmy nights I'm obsessed with? - Jen

Hi everyone, My name is Jen and though I've been lurking for a few months now, I just joined the community. My fiance Matt and I really want a destination wedding, most likely in Mexico due to its budget friendliness and proximity (we live in California's Bay Area). However, we're having a hard time finding locations because it seems as though everything is either a huge, all-inclusive resort (not so much our style) or very expensive. We're thinking of getting married sometime next May or June and I really look forward to sharing ideas with you all! - Jen