mich&adam

Quote: Originally Posted by amygirl1169 OMG, that is a GREAT idea! I had really liked the idea of Jamaica rum or Mexican tequila, but totally forgot about Dominican Mamajuana - which is strange because one of the groomsmen LOVES the stuff and constantly makes us drink it as his summer bbqs... I am totally going to do that. Thanks! Amy - we are date Twins, April 28, 2010 - YAY

Congratulations, that is soo special. No one needs to know your Island Beach wedding isn't anything but!!

Cute Idea!!! I went to the Domincan last year and we stayed at the Excellence Dom. Republic and one night they had an outside flea market & they were selling bottles of it very cheap,just a thought so you don't have to make it and travel with it, maybe your location will have a outside market night or something before your wedding, good luck!!

Congratulations & Happy Planning!

I too am using Ivan/Doremixx, he got great reviews and is a Vendor on this site, good luck with whomever you chose He was quick to respond, has a great playlist and/or choice of songs, ton's of fun props and even a lighted dance floor if you want!!! Can't wait to use him at my April 28, 2010 wedding!!!

Congrats & Welcome. I too am getting married in Riviera Maya, April 28, 2010! Any idea where yet?? Seems to me dates, times and locations fill up quickly, hope you find the place of your dreams

WOW, great job, they are beautiful, love the colors!

Quote: Originally Posted by tnewlove Hi, my name is Tracey and I am getting married to my wonderful fiance Calvin on February 20, 2010 in Sayulita, Mexico! Congrats & Welcome Tracey!! YAY for Mexico Weddings

Do you HAVE to invite her, absolutely not, but i personally don't see the big deal, but then again, my future MIL is so darn nice, i wouldn't mind either way. I ended up just bringing my mom, not knowing that i was going to end up buying and loving the 2nd dress i tried on. It would be a nice gesture on your part

Congrats & welcome to the Forum. There is a lot of great info. on here and many good resorts to choose from

Quote: Originally Posted by amerssnorts18 Have any of you used DJ Ivan Gomez with Doremixx or going to use them?? I want to make sure this is a good company. Thanks!! Hi...I actually just booked him last week & wired the money to him tonight....i'm getting married April 28, 2010 at the Excellence Riv. Maya & another bride I met on here just used him at her wedding in September 2009...seems pretty legit...contract, info. etc Michelle

Quote: Originally Posted by cruisebride0410 **How do you make a raffia fan? Done: - Booked coordinator in Bahamas - Have wedding dress and shoes (dyed to match) in my closet and they fit! - Have 50 guests booked on the Carnival Sensation cruise - Started designing passport invitations - Booked cocktail party for the first night on the cruise - Bridemaids have their dresses To Do - Find attire for groom, best man, father of the bride - Finalize and send invites - Put together OOT bags - I love collecting ideas though! - Tighten my ads! Maybe i should have wrote : Decorated my Raffia Fans - bought them at Oriental trading company and bought teal and brown ribbon at AC Moore and then ordered the wedding thank you tags at thefavormaker.com.

Hi Girls - I can't believe we are down to the 6month mark yet either, it actually made me nervous when it popped up this morning. So far i have: - Wedding Dress, shoes, veil - My something old, new, borrowed and blue - actually got my something old yesterday from my mom, an old embroidered hankerchief from her wedding, 39 years ago, i almost cried when I saw it, she had it in her wedding album ALL These years, ahhh... - First fitting scheduled for January 10, 2010 - Oot bags, need contents still - Made Raffia (spelling) fans with little hang tags that say, Thank you for being a part of our wedding day, Michelle & Adam 4-28-10 - Resort Booked, - Photographer, Booked - Menu Decided, as well as Cake - Ipod & docking station complete, just need to add the songs to the Playlist option on the ipod. STILL need to get/do - Oot bag contents - Decide on hair/makeup for the day to give to Spa at Resort - Rings - will get the Weekend of October 17th in Jewelers Row, Philadelphia - Fiance's Tux at Jos. A Bank - no biggie - His shoes - Already picked decorations for the Reception, just need to purchase them online. - Ummm..that should be it... Am i missing anything that you girls can think off?? Oh, last thing, just got the paperwork to complete for the at home (legal) ceremony we are doing, but that is a hush hush as our families think the Riviera Maya wedding they are attending is the REAL thing OMG, so exciting!!!!

Quote: Originally Posted by bondgirl0072010 Hello! Did ERC say that centerpieces were $100/each? I had no idea? Hi Bondgirl - Depending on what wedding package you go with, a centerpiece or two is including, anything additional is in upwards of $100 +, as you can imagine,they charge you for everything and anything. Did you decide on a date yet? Are you definetly getting married at ERC? Michelle

Quote: Originally Posted by Dimenzi We are having a LEGAL ceremony. We'll be there for 2 weeks so the needing to be in Mexico at least 4 days prior to the wedding wont be difficult for us and all the other requirements such as birth certificates and a blood test don't seem too difficult at all. I don't think many countries (other than your own) would be easier to marry than in Mexico. We have had friends get married in other countries other than their own and the paper work seems to be a lot greater than for Mexico. I'm sure it isn't a huge deal, but my soon to by husband is in the medical profession and has to have credits for his medical license and things of that nature and sometimes they can frown upon foreign countries/marriage's, so for us, it's just easier.

Quote: Originally Posted by tlp73 I just returned from getting married at ERC. It was awesome!! I can't help with some of your questions about welcome dinners or receptions because hubby and I went alone. But, I did have my hair and makeup done at the spa. I loved how my hair turned out....the makeup not so much. Everything was brown...eyeliner, eye shadow, lipstick & blush were even nearly brown. So, when i got back to my room, I added some color to my eyes, cheeks, and lips and it looked great. I would definitely recommend taking pictures to show them what you're wanting. Congrats on your recent wedding. Glad you loved your hair (did you have a picture?) I read on another post a lot of girls went to the Mac counter and bought makeup and got tips for applying wedding day makeup, i'm hoping to do that, just in case for backup.

Quote: Originally Posted by beachgirl@heart We are actually planning to have our reception in the courtyard, with the fountain in the middle. It's part of the Agave restaurant. Hopefully, the weather will agree with us. If not, we'll improvise. I'm not worried about it. I emailed her my preference for this reception location and she said she'd note this and other preferences in our file. I mentioned that I wanted to be sure we got this location, hence the early request. She said it wasn't a problem. She didn't say anything about not confirming this until a month before - just that we don't have to make choices until then re: menu, flowers, etc. I am planning to have my hair and makeup done, especially since it's part of the package. I may consult with them ahead of time, first, to make sure I get what I want. Veronica said appts for the spa definitely need to be booked in advance, as they do get busy and fill up. We'll probably do this a month or so before. We did the legal thing on Aug 1 and only a few people (family) were present as our witnesses. We, too, are keeping it quiet for now. So your having your reception at Grimaldi Square, I'm pretty sure that's where the fountain/agave restaurant is. I didn't think telling her now to note in my file would be a problem either, that's why I emailed her my preference. I really liked pics from Lindsay/Nicolas wedding here in the posts and I loved the open foyer area with views of the ocean, hence my email to Veronica requesting that space and she said she would make note of it, but can't confirm any location space until 1 month prior. Now on an earlier email, a few months back she said she would contact me 2 months prior to go over the menu, flowers, cake ? I guess i will have to keep my fingers crossed i get the space i want if not, i will improvise as well. P.S. Congrats on your legal wedding

Quote: Originally Posted by Treenbean2011 It sounds like everyone is doing a symbolic ceremony. I was wondering why? Is the legal ceremony that much of a hassle? My fiance and I are still deciding which way to go. I am afraid that a legal ceremony at home will make the whole celebration in Mexico pointless or less special. Though, I kind of like the idea of exchanging the traditional vows and then later exchanging our own at a symbolic ceremony. My fiance is a little weirded out by the requirements of a legal ceremony in Mexico. Any input from you all would be helpful. Thank you!! Hi Treenbean - We are doing the legal thing here, with just us and one/two witnesses, depending on what our state (nj) requires. My fiance is in the healthcare field and while i'm sure everything with the blood work is fine in Mexico, we just don't want to risk it. Plus don't want to be bothered with it when we get back to NJ, translation of documents, etc. etc. Just thought it would be easier to have the marriage license from our own town & state. Our parents, relatives and close friends who are attending have no idea and we plan to keep it that way. We are doing it about 1 month prior, but will consider our wedding date, April 28, 2010 in Mexico our anniversay wedding date. It's really your own preference and no one has to know but you, fiance and witness if required in your state, hope this helps.

Quote: Originally Posted by beachgirl@heart Michelle, We are planning to have our reception in the open courtyard, outside Agave (that's one of the closed restaurants on Friday, other than the Lobster place). I am planning to do battery operated votives, too. The "real" ones just don't have much burn life to them. After talking about it, I think we may use the bridesmaid bouquets at centerpieces OR do votive centerpieces. I found a website that shows some interesting variations for this sort of thing (some are tacky but there are some nice, elegant options). Surroundings - Floating Candle Centerpieces and Floating Candles for Weddings, Corporate Events, Banquets and Parties. is the website if you are interested. I don't have my shoes or that stuff yet. I do have my veil though. I wasn't going to do one, but I tried it on and that was it. I've been shopping online for a while, looking for shoes, I'm very indecisive but I have plenty of time to figure that out. As for your tiara, you could always post it on ebay or one of the other threads on this forum to try to sell it. I'm sure someone would snatch it up - just an option if you're having second thoughts about it. Also, re: the cake topper, we also want to do our initial - with a little bling and/or color. Did you get yours online? I've found several websites, but haven't settled on one yet. My mom already got us a knife/server that she's having engraved for us. Nice touch. Are you doing the legal or civil ceremony? We already got legally married here (on the beach- I live on the NC coast, that was an easy decision). We didn't want to deal with the Mexico requirements, including arrival times. Hi Beachgirl - So your planning on having your reception in the "open" foyer area? When I emailed Veronica last week, she also told me that you cannot pick your location until one month prior and if it's open and available, we can do that, but she can't guarantee that yet I then emailed her back asking how is that determined since we booked our wedding first for Wed. April 28, 2010, i would think it's first come first serve, but i'm still waiting for an answer back from her, so while i'm planning on the foyer area, i'm keeping my fingers crossed we get it ? We too are getting married here in NJ, we are planning on doing it about a month before we leave but only telling our witness, our families think this is it, so we wouldn't want to spoil it for them. I bought the Initial cake topper at AC Moore, with a 40% off coupon, it was only $8.00 and i wanted to add bling to it, but my fiance likes the cursive shiny silver look about it, so that was simple. They have a lot online as well, with the swarkoski crystals, but they were pricey for my budget, $150ish. Did you decide on having the spa do your hair and makeup yet? I saw another post from you with concerns..?? I would like to and my hair is medium length so i will probably do some sort of loose updo with the veil and possibly tiara, especially since my fiance loves the tiara, so i guess i am wearing it, Lol.

Quote: Originally Posted by beachgirl@heart We were told it was $12/pp. It's our understanding, and I think there are earlier posts about this, that Agave is a restaurant that will accommodate a "party" seating. But, if you want a private party/welcome dinner, you do have to pay for it. Uggg...see this is what upsets me about this whole process, when you go back and look at other posts, Veronica tells one bride something and another bride something else. She told me we could have ours in one of the open restaurants, Agave or Barcelona, but if we want to do it in the closed restaurant for Tuesday, whichis Toscana, the Italian restaurant it is $18 per person and yet she told you $12? Wonder if the price changes based on restaurant.....? ? I guess I will probably do with Agave since we don't want to have to pay for a private dinner, just not worth it to me, plus i'm such a people person/watcher, i think it would be more fun, the more the merrier

Quote: Originally Posted by endlesslove No, it's free. You do need to have a set menu before and have menu choices picked to give to Veronica. We're having ours at Toscana Just wondering - I emailed Veronica last week and she said if you have the welcome dinner in one of the open restaurants it's free, BUT if you have it in the closed restaturant of the evening, it is $18per person....?? Michelle

Quote: Originally Posted by beachgirl@heart Hi Michelle! That's awesome! We are arriving on the 27th, so we may have to take a sneak peak We are going with the Trio - our reasoning is that there will be mariachi throughout the resort and restaurants so we wanted something a little different for the cocktail hour. You can't go wrong with steel drums in a beach setting Our colors are latte and soft pink; my bridesmaids will be in latte (dress of their choosing) and I'll probably have them carry pink flowers as the accent color. As for flowers, we are going to use whatever comes with the (gold) package but are probably going to check into local vendors to see if we can get a better deal on centerpieces. $100/per centerpiece just seems like a lot. A good friend of mine (and bridesmaid) is an event planner/designer and she recommended we at least look into it b/c flowers on the islands, in the caribbean tend to be reasonable if not cheap. As for the photog, we are using what the hotel provides, probably for the reception, but we've also hired an external photog (Sascha Gluck) for most of the pics and a TTD session the following day. His pricing is very reasonable and his work is very nice. Veronica did mention that they have votives for reception decoration. I'm also going to get some lotus flower votive holders to place around the reception and in the fountain. I found a good website to order from and it's not that bad ($ wise). We're not going overboard, just trying to add a few extra touches to keep it simple yet elegant. I ordered my dress in June and it was scheduled to ship this past Tuesday, so I should have it by the end of the month. SOOOOO excited! I was going to do a reception dress, too, but decided not too - I only get to wear this dress once so I'm going to keep it on for as long as I can and enjoy the moment We have 4 groomsmen and 5 bridesmaids. Our invitation list is much longer than those who will actually attend, but we are anticipating 30-40 guests. A few people have already booked! We are having an AHR for those who can't come to Mexico and we're thinking of doing a Mexican theme for that (my fiance loves Mexican food - lol). We are working with a local travel agent, and just sent out our save the date magnets with guest information cards. I have a great website for those, too. We are registered, and have our invitations picked out. I just ordered my fiance's wedding band. We have our reservations and flights reserved, too. We're in pretty good shape, I think ~Jennifer WOW Jennifer - You definetly sound like you have everything under control. Good thinking on the Caribbean Trio, I think I might go with them as well after your suggestion. I emailed Veronica yesterday asking/fonfirming the reception location. I want to have it in the upstairs open foyer which overlooks the ocean, but I just want to double check with her that she has it booked for us, or whatever she needs to do. I bought and have my dress, shoes, veil and tiara. Although, now i wish i bought Teal shoes as my something blue and to go with my theme colors, so i may get another pair and now i wish i didn't get the tiara, it has the swarkoski crystals and it was kind of expensive and I think it's kind of unnecesary, but oh well, already bought it and I don't think they take returns. I am wearing my dress all day and night too, i love it, i feel and look like a princess in it and I don't see spending the money for a "reception" dress too, just seems silly to me. Also, good to know about the votives, I will ask her about them, although i've read that the candles don't stay lite because of the wind..So i'm thinking i'm going to need the battery operated ones. I bought my cake topper yesterday, we went with just the Monogram Initial of our last name. And yes, i completely agree, $100 for floral arrangements seems silly, especially if it's only for 3 or 4 hours. Next up for us is rings, hopefully in the next few weeks we will do that. My fiance is wearing a tux, we really wanted "traditional" photo's together as a bride and groom and since we don't want a AHR, this seems to work best for us, especially since our parents, siblings and close friends are attending, this IS our wedding. Still need the tux though, but with Mens Wearhouse and Jos. A. Bank, that should also be an easy task. Oh yes, we have our invitations, already did save the dates and our hotel/flights are booked and paid for too - Woohoo Sounds like we are both very ready and on top of things, YAY!!! So exciting

Quote: Originally Posted by beachgirl@heart I recently received a response from Veronica regarding the extension of our reception. She said Dinner usually takes about an hour, which leaves 2 hours for the rest of the reception. To extend, it's $12/pp. That, of course, is in addition to the $45/pp over 20 that you'd already be paying for the cocktail hour and reception (dinner). Our wedding is at 5pm, so we're going to start the cocktail hour at 6pm (to give our guests time to return to their rooms and us time for pictures). We really want to be at the cocktail hour to see everyone and to enjoy the Caribbean trio. Dinner will start at 7, and from there I think we will just use the allotted 3 hours, instead of paying extra, and transition to another area afterwards if we want to keep the party going On an additional note, she (Veronica) mentioned that there are iPod docs in the rooms if you choose to use an iPod for your music. We are going with this option, but will probably bring our own Bose dock for better sound output. I'm also planning to have a playlist for when the guests are arriving to the ceremony (about 20 min. worth). Just thought I'd share Hi BeachGirl! I am actually getting married at Excellence 2 days prior to you, April 28, 2010. So one small advantage you may have is seeing my wedding on the 28th. I plan on doing the same set up as you, with the cocktail hour times, etc. We are getting married at 5pp, cocktail hour from 6-7, reception from 7-10 and for ever wants, the bars and even club at the hotel is still open, so we can really all still hang out, just not at the actual reception. Did you decide on the Trio or Miarachi band? That is one thing i still haven't decided on. Also, what are your colors? I am doing teal(turqoise) and brown and will have 20 chair bows, 6 paper teal lanterns, candles etc. ARe you going with the hotel flowers and photographer? We are, we are using Juan, his work seems good enough for me and really just having us getting married on the beach with close friends and family, is exactly what we want Did you get your dress yet? Are you having bridesmaids, big wedding? We are having 20-25 guests, including us! Michelle

Quote: Originally Posted by 00lindsey00 here are my pictures! 03.13.09 Lindsey and Nicholas | Excellence Riviera | Photography by Vincent Lindsay - I love your wedding pics,dress,decor. Congrats to both of you! Im getting married at ERC on April 28, 2010 and i'm thinking i want to do the same decor, those paper lanters, where did you get them and what size are they?? I wasnt sure about decor i wanted until I saw your set up, now i'm set on those mini lanters.... Thanks in advance!!

OMG - Just saw this unfolding on CNN. I too am getting a lot of grief from my mom and fiance's mom & sister about a destinaton wedding and especially in Mexico, this definetly isn't going to go over well. YIKES....good luck upcoming Destination Brides!!!!