CristiandJamie

Chrissy, nothing wrong with being practical. Actually I know it is weird but we dont really give presents to one another (like surprises). Now there has been many times like for an example we will go shopping for Christmas presents for others and just pick out what we want while we are shopping for ourselves. I know it is funny but when we got my engagement ring, he took me to Jared's and I pointed out what I wanted. I thought he was going to come back later to get the ring or think about it but he bought it right then and there! Now he didnt officially propose then but I definitely knew it was coming soon.

Quote: Originally Posted by autjo Just thought I would chime in too. My mom cried and cried when we told her we were not getting married in small town Texas. We fought for a good 3 months. After the DW she has gone around saying that she is eating every bad thing she said about getting married at a destination because it was so beautiful and fun. I actually did want to get married in my home town, but my mom and I would have killed each other so to compromise we did a BBQ reception at home and it really made the wedding feel complete. We also invited everyone to both the DW and AHR. 50 out of 200 made it to Mexico and these are our very best friends in the world and it was awesome to spend time with all of them. About 150 came to the AHR and I seriously think they were just there for the free food, but it made my parents happy... and food/drink only cost $7/person! The key point is that marriage is about compromise and I think weddings were created so you could practice working through stupid fights! Listen to your family and friends, but do what is right in your heart. And don't push your date back too far because people won't save... if they want to be there for you, they will regardless of 6 months or 24 months. I completely agree with you on the saving for the wedding part. There will always be something that comes up and people will find excuses even if you push it out 5 years! My friend got married in her hometown and still managed to make people mad (choice on cake, choice on venue, ya da ya da ya da...)

I'm in the same boat since my man has expensive taste in items (watches, etc..). Maybe you could do a couples massage or have a romantic intimate dinner after the wedding. Really at the end of the day your spending each others money since now you are married! Just IMO... maybe I'm cheap :-)

That is a very hard decision to make and you are definitely not alone! I agree with Roo66 but also agree that you might regret if she doesnt come. Has she been a great friend through out the years? Is she typically a dependable person? I would go with what your heart is telling you.. Good Luck! P.S. If you do pay for her to come, I wouldn't tell a soul. People can get mad and expect you to pay their way... it will be bad all around.

This is MY rule of thumb (but I guess anything can go)... If they are invited to the destination wedding then you can invite them to the shower. IMO which I could be wrong, I think it looks bad to invite someone to the shower but not the wedding. It's like saying give me a gift but you cant come to my wedding. As long as they are invited to the destination wedding then I feel it is okay to invite them to the shower.

Quote: Originally Posted by Jess3414 Thanks ladies! I wanted a fun font since its a beach wedding and I thought the colors and everything accented it nicely I am so glad to be done with them. Now on to the menu and welcome books! Thank you for sharing! What type of font did you use for the brochure?

This is great and thank you so much for sharing!

Quote: Originally Posted by Jackie22 I'm torn between bringing my Bose or renting the sound system/ i pod player with the speakers from the resort. I would be doing the same thing either way, playing my i pod, I'm just affraid that with my Bose out on the cove terrace that the sound will get lost. What to do, What to do Jackie, we are having our cocktail party on the Cove Terrace so if you do use your BOSE system let me know how it goes. How many people are you having at your wedding? sorry if I missed the post with the info..

Quote: Originally Posted by rach220 We only had 20 in our group and didn't want to go all out on a private event either. We had our dinner at Mundaca, and asked if they could set us up outside on the terrace (supposedly only for concierge level guests). One of my girlfriends schmoozed the manager and talked him into giving us half the terrace (I posted pics earlier in this thread). I don't remember hearing music, but maybe it was just because we were outside. We used the BOSE ipod dock and played our own songs throughout dinner (I made a playlist just in case and I'm so glad I did). Hope this helps! Thank you Rachel! We have a BOSE ipod dock as well... how was the sound quality and did you have any problem hearing the music, etc? I played it out in my backyard and it seems to be loud enough and should work...

Thank you for the wedding wand idea! Think I will go that route!

We have been sending our thank you cards as soon as we get a gift. I think that way you dont forget about it later or the details of the gift from each person. Plus if I sent out a wedding gift to someone and didnt receive a thank you note for a few months I think it looks bad... IMO. I had one friend that didnt send a thank you note to me for 8 weeks after her wedding and it just seemed weird to get it that late.

Awesome job with your OOT bag and favors! BTW... love your OOT bag from vista print... I ordered the same one for my OOT bags! :-)

Love the idea and think it makes it more personal!

Quote: Originally Posted by dolfinluck It looks pretty big to bring down to Jamica. I am planning on buying a Bose portable iPod dock. Its around $400 but figure i'll use it again at home once the wedding is done. Others have used it and said it was loud enough. I when to the store to listen and its very good quality plus its not to big to bring down with me. I would definitely go in person to see how big it is and the quality before you buy it. Thank you for this post! We have a portable Bose dock that we are thinking of taking with us vs. renting equipment and wondered if it would be loud enough. I played it outside and it seemed loud enough but didnt know with other noises (sound of ocean, other people at resort etc..) but that is good to know! Thank you!

Quote: Originally Posted by TonyandTricia I was about to respond to Sarah and then realized that post was from 2006!! I'm sure she's figured it out by now....but to anyone else who may be curious....we had 30 people at our reception and we danced, danced, danced. We had a blast, even those of us who are not exactly talented at it! I've never been to a wedding without dancing either. I would probably be on the edge of my seat all night waiting for it to start. LOL! I was going to do the same thing but thank you for posting what you did... I'm trying to figure out what to do but think we will play some music and if people want to dance they can..

For those that had used the dinner reservations for after the wedding... did they put you off to the side in a semi private area? We only have 20 to 25 people attending and not sure if I want to go all out on a private event with dancing, etc... but I do want to have our dinner to be somewhat private. Also did you any of you play music during the dinner reservation or is there back ground music that the restaurant plays? We are going to have a cocktail reception in which we will bring our Ipod but not sure what to do about dinner... also for those brides that havent gotten married yet what do you plan to do? Thank you!

Does your resort offer a disco for everyone to go to dance after dinner? I'm thinking about making a playlist for just the cocktail hour and dinner (2.5 to 3 hours worth of music) so there isnt any silence. Then going to the disco afterwards for the dancing... something you can think about since your group is small like mine... If there were 50 people or so coming to the wedding then I would spend the $800 on a DJ... otherwise use that money for your guests (comes out to $40 per guest with 20 people). That could be used for a spa day or a tour, etc... I think people would enjoy that vs. having a DJ and it's not guaranteed that they are any good. Just my thought...

Thank you for the post! Got to love Ebay :-)

NaM - that is good to know and I will definitely fight for it. Now we have until mid April until the deadline to book through our TA so we might end up having 10 rooms but I always like to be prepared just in case we don't hit the 10 room minimum. I talked to the coordinator in Miami, Melissa Gomez, and she said they go by the room nights vs. just the number of rooms. She told this to me over the phone so I dont have it in writing... It sounds like Dulce is very accommodating so hopefully we will be good to go when we meet up with her in person. It is harder to just communication via email vs. phone but it should all work out in the end! :-)

This question is to past brides of Palace resorts.... I have a contract with 9 rooms booked so far through my TA and a total of 42 rooms at the ASP resort. We have 2 other couples that are booking through Orbitz, etc which will put us over 10 rooms and a total of 54 nights (technically). On our contract through our TA it states 10 rooms at 30 nights or more which we have more than 30 nights under our contract. I see that other brides were able to negotiate to get a free cocktail reception but wanted to know if there were any others out there that were in the same situation as myself and were not successful in getting the free cocktail reception I guess it depends on your WC but if I have too I will breakout the calculate and show them that we are bring them more money alone than if we were to do the minimum of 3 nights and 10 rooms... by 10k to 12k more! Since Moon and ASP are sisters I figured that you guys might be able to help answer my question.

NaM or any other past brides... I have a question for you. I have 9 rooms booked through my contract so far with 42 room nights and we have two others that are booking another method totaling another 12 nights = total 54 nights... We will have more than 10 rooms booked but not through our contract. Since I dont have 10 rooms through my agreement but have well over the amount of room nights... shouldn't I be qualified for the free cocktail reception? I've asked Dulce she just mentioned the number of rooms and not the nights (wasnt very clear)... dont you think I should be able to negotiate that when I get there $600 isnt too bad but think I should qualify since our group is bringing in more money just with the room nights than if folks did the minimum of three nights and only having 10 rooms.... (10 rooms; 3 nights = $11k in profit for them with 2 people where as we are bring in $5k alone with just me and my FI not including anyone else.. we are staying 10 nights in concierge level room). Just my thought...

Quote: Originally Posted by nicdeb928 thank you so much! you did a great job explaining Glad I could help! :-)

Quote: Originally Posted by nicdeb928 lol! i just realized when i sent you the message Cristi that my wedding countdown came up i still think i did it wrong though bc it has the url next to it...still no pic either To insert picture you can go to Quick Links then click on edit signature. When you scroll down there should be an option to insert signature picture. As for the url, I had the same issue at first and just went to the signature and deleted the extra letters that are showing up. Hope that makes sense... I'm better at showing vs. telling :-)

Thanks for sharing! I bought the same sand ceremony set as you... on Ebay!

Quote: Originally Posted by Jackie22 Hello, Here is Dulce's answer to the carriage. Horse Drawn Carriage: $136 How long are we in the carriage if we are staying on the adult side but getting married on the family side? [Dulce Oliva Pazos Hernandez] the carriage is waiting for you in the room , so, when I will pick you up there, the carriage take you around the resort and finally get to the wedding gazebo. NAM: I'm getting married in the same gazebo as you, do you think the guest could see me arrive in the carriage from where the gazebo is and where the stairs are and the carriage would have to drop me off? I don't want to get the carriage and no one sees me in it. Thanks! Cristi: hahah, don't feel bad I email Dulce weekly too, I was just telling my fiance...this lady is going to hate me by the time I get down there. Jackie, I'm with you on that.... why spend the money on a carriage ride if no one sees you arrive I guess the only other reason I would get it is to ride with my dad and it would be special. My dad raised me and I'm definitely a daddy's girl :-) ... I guess two reasons: would be great for pictures...