2mckee

Hi everyone, We just got back to the states from Thailand! I'll post a few pics that my sister took (professional ones wont be ready to view for 2 more weeks- bleck) and a review soon!! Hope planning is going well- Blaine

Hey Girls, Thanks so much for all of the sweet words about the dress debacle. It has been a freakin frustrating pre-wedding week. I DID find someone to fix the monstrosity that was my dress though after driving around to several shops over the entire state on Maryland on Monday!!! Picked it up this am and it is about 100 times better!!! Anyway, we are leaving on Tues early am, but I am slammed with work (good timing, right?) today, tom, Sunday AND Monday so just wanted to say THANK YOU to all of you in case I dont get a chance to log back on before we leave. I got so much useful info and couldn't have done it without you guys! We are headed to Thailand for the honeymoon fun (the good part, not the scary travel warning places that we have all benn seeing) so I'll post the review, planning thread, etc when we get home mid-July. Everyone leaving before then, have wonderful weddings!!! I'll have a mojito AND a margarita for each of you!

Kendra, beautiful pictures!!

Quote: Originally Posted by jesmcan OMG! can the seamstress not tell that she butchered it? she should have to fix it or give you the money to get another dress. I cannot imagine but not to worry I know it seems crazy right now but it will work out. Thanks, I hope it will. No, she thought it looked fine. I honestly think she thought I wanted to show too much skin. She did the opposite of what I wanted her to do to take the bodice in and its heaved up around my underarms, which pulled the entire dress all the way up....Definitely not the pretty look any of us are going for and pretty dang uncomfortable to boot. (Imagine your relatively normal arms looking a bit like snausages (yes, as in the doggie treat) sticking out of your once beautiful dress.)The dress looks like a completely different dress. Anyway, going to look far and wide for a seamstress down by where we live that can perform a miracle in the next week and pray that it works out. My FI is military and we have been here less than a year, so a bit harder than if we were in TX or CA, where we are from and know people.

Sooooo, trying not to freak out too much but its not working so figured I would tell you guys since you will probably sympathize. (HOPEFULLY it wont have happened to anyone else). Just got my dress back from the seamstress since we leave in 8 days and its totally BUTCHERED. Horribly. I am looking everywhere for someone that can perform a miracle in the next week..... Got it at a sample sale at Kleinfelds in NY and it doesnt even look like the same dress I bought....Boo.

Quote: Originally Posted by duprk452 So... we leave first thing tomorrow morning for Mexico! BUT.. in the last few days we have both been fighting off the stomach flu.. Fiance' is doing better, but since I caught it later than him... I'm stil recovering. Wish us luck.. nothing would be worse than puking all the way there on the plane, because I AM getting on that plane one way or another. Any last minute suggestions or advice? That BLOWS.... So sorry to hear that. I hate being sick. Maybe pack lots of sprite and pepto?? GOOD LUCK!!

Quote: Originally Posted by RunningBride24 Could you PM me the contact information for Maya Diseno? Thanks so much! Figured I would just post for everyone! Its: [email protected] REALLY great prices and he will do whatever you want. Depending on how busy he is, he may take a few days to get back to you, but he always will.

Quote: Originally Posted by Lisa DSO are you picking up the flowers to avoid a vendor fee, or how does that work? No, we had to pay the vendor fee, but even with that $100, it was still way cheaper to go with him for everything. (and he is giving me what I want, which is bouquets with green cymbidium orchids, white cymbidium orchids, white dahlias and green hypercinum berries) I wonder if you COULD just pick them up and avoid the fee? We have already paid, but maybe for the rest of you? I think Jesmcan had a great suggestion for a florist as well awhile back?

Quote: Originally Posted by giraffexx As usual with the Royal...you can't upgrade your bouquet and pay the difference. At least that's what I was told. However, my WC did tell me that I can give the bouquet included in the luxury package to a bridesmaid. I was told the same. We are using an outside florist, Maya Diseno, (prices are EXCELLENT- Thanks to Lady Di for that suggestion) but I still got the bouquet in our colors- figured we can use it on as guest book table decor or something!!

Quote: Originally Posted by dianep it's not really ceremony at all, but that's what they call it (whoever "they" are!). you hold hands and the officiant reads some beautiful words. i'm totally gonna butcher it, but it talks about these being the hands that love and comfort you now, the hands that will hold you family (and your children), the ones that reach for you and hold you now and that they will be the hands that do all of these things when you're old. the real one brings a tear to my eye, but i can't remember it all right now. check out the "post your ceremony" script and there are lots of people there who have incorporated this into their weddings. i haven't posted my script, but a lot of others have. plus, this thread was SUPER helpful when trying to come up with my ceremony. i took bits and pieces from a LOT of the postings, added some of my own stuff and came up with a ceremony that i absolutely loved (and that made our guests cry. a lot). Super helpful- thanks!!

Hi Girls, Everyones photos look amazing and exactly like what we are all hoping for- a wonderful, relaxing, memorable wedding! We are leaving in 2 and a half weeks! Woo! Did any of you recent brides ship anything down beforehand? I'm not sure if we have time, but we have a TON to bring with us and if it can get there on time, I think we need to ship at least one box.

Quote: Originally Posted by jesmcan Thanks smckinney22, ya I ended up going with the white paper paddle fans. Hopefully there won't be any size issues with these lol. White Paper Paddle Fan I went with Luna Baazar for these. Lady Di- I know it only just occurred to me So I decided to just to one for every other seat. Its funny we pretty much have an equal amount of guys versus girls. Also does anyone know by any chance how many chairs per row for the ceremony? In pictures I have seen, 4, 5, 6 is this something we get to choose or no? Hey everyone- its been a couple weeks. So excited for all of you that had your weddings mid-month. The pictures are all amazing. jesmcan- They let you choose the way you want it. I just submitted it with my final paperwork. Hope that helps!!

Absolutely AMAZING!!

Quote: Originally Posted by Lady_Di If you are talking about DJ Ivan...i emailed him last week and he said he only accepts cash or pesos. Total bummer. I wanted to pay him travelers checks...we DO not feel comfortable walking around with large sum of cash. Oh well. Hmmm. We sent the 50% deposit via Western Union online and paid with a cc. I wonder if we all could do the same the day before you leave?

Does anyone know how the online checkin actually works? Can you upgrade if available? Thanks!

Quote: Originally Posted by dianep we're all keeping our fingers crossed for good weather. good news is that the rain usually passes through quite quickly, so let's hope for at least good timing, even if it does end up raining on our days! thanks so much for that link. i'm planning on bringing my laptop, which has a camera. it's a work computer, and i think the camera might be disabled, but i'll check into my options. thank you! Will you girls please let us know how that works?? My grandmother isnt able to come and that would be very cool for her to see it all......

Quote: Originally Posted by kimmy44 Oh, also none of the appointments for hair, nails or makeup that Angie was supposed to book for me were booked (surprise, surprise) So I would check with the spa as soon as you get there, we were able to make all the appointments except one, no problem. Also 2 of my bridesmaids ended up with the WORST hair styles ever, they looked like people from star trek, so hilarious, luckily my brother's GF is a hairdresser, she did my hair and fixed theirs. But 3 of my BM's had great hair. So make sure you bring lots of pics to be clear and if you have anyone that speaks spanish to translate that would definitely help! Thanks for letting us know about everything! So glad you still had a wonderful time!

Quote: Originally Posted by LynnieS For all of you that haven't paid bills yet, I have been in contact with Michel and she says it is completely fine to pay your bill when you get there. However, I would still ask for an invoice to see if everything is correct. just an FYI. Although sometimes I think it would just be easier to get it done now but for some reason they seem hesitant to send any invoices over email (in my experience). Hmmm. Michel said they would absolutely not cancel my wedding for this, phew!! Any way, off to my flight for chicago (its not Mexico but it will do, despite the rain!!) yay! Sorry that all of you are having such a terrible time paying your bill! I mentioned this to FI (we have to pay soon) and said we could always pay when we get down there. He definitely wants to pay beforehand to avoid crazy international exchange fees..... Just something to think about! We will save money paying beforehand.

Quote: Originally Posted by beachbum1285 I have the luxury package too but was told he or she is still considered an outside vendor/guest and I still have to pay the fee. I just emailed my onsite WC to have her clarify this so hopefully she'll get back with me soon. I'd love to bypass this if I can! Let me know what she says. Kind of curious as to why we all get different answers to the same questions!

Quote: Originally Posted by jesmcan Hi girls, as you can see I am a vendor now as well as a member here on BDW I started my own blog ( Destination Inspirations) specifically for inspiring those planning a destination wedding. I wanted to personally thank you girls because it was you guys that really helped me come up with this idea. You guys help inspire me daily and I can't wait to see all your amazing weddings So thank you again Awesome site! I personally am using several vendors that you recommended so I think this is a perfect fit for you! Congratulations and best of luck with it!

Quote: Originally Posted by beachbum1285 My ONSITE coordinator is telling me I still have to pay for this. Grrr!! Did a Michigan WC tell you you didn't have to pay? I may just have to ask her about this again. Yep, Autumn, standing in for Carole told me that as long as we count the makeup person as a member of our bridal party, (and why wouldnt you?) they can come in 3 hours earlyto help us get ready for the wedding. My question was posed as "Why would I need to pay a vendor fee for something that I would not be buying from The Royal in the first place. (We have the luxury package and makeup/hair is included.)

Quote: Originally Posted by Lady_Di That's great news but what about day pass? Do we have to pay anything for a makeup artist to come to the room? I was told "No." He just has to be considered part of the bridal party, no day pass required and he can come to the room 3 hours prior. We have to give the front desk his name beforehand.

Quote: Originally Posted by jesmcan Hi Beachbum - I am using Fernando for hair and makeup, he is in Cancun and travels to PDC and also brings a hair person with him. Here is his e-mail [email protected]. His work is awsome but he is on the pricer side. Here is an exmaple of his work - 11.21.09 Natalia + Justin | Wedding at Aventura Spa Palace | Photos by Sol and Vincent This bride was from this forum and said he was awsome to work with. And here's his website for more examples of this work the-makeup-pros Thanks for the tip! Contacted him and he is going to do my hair and makeup! I was told that he could come up to the room 3 hours before without paying a vendor fee! YAY-