nicdeb928

and the OOT bag contents:

I finally found the pictures I was looking for: here's pics of my bridesmaids bags and groomsmen bags:

Hey! We did the dances and speeches within the first 30 min of starting the reception, than we ate dinner...I didnt do the bouquet toss...an important question is, who is your photographer? b/c if they're professional they'll make sure that they get the important pictures...at one point my photographer asked me if I was ready to cut the cake and i said no b/c we were all dancing so he asked if me and hubby could pose and act like we were which we did so that he could get the shot and leave...well he wound up staying another hour until we really cut the cake and then he got those photos as well..my photographer, Juan Navarro, was hired for a 3 hr wedding photo shoot, then I added on another 3 additional hours...but in reality, he was there at 1pm and stayed till about 9 or 10 b/c it was important to him to catch everything...If I could give only 1 piece of advice to future brides...its dont skimp on your photographer...after that day is done your pictures are the ONLY thing you have...to me, thats priceless...out of all the money we spent on little things and big things, our photographer was the best spent money....just my opinion

I bought my girls matching earrings, rings and pocketbooks (all gold) for the wedding day (i like the way it looks in pics when they all match ...and they all bought their dresses from Davids Bridal $100 and their matching shoes from DSW $30...I bought the jewlery and pocketbooks in NY for good prices, the coach wristlets I got from a Coach outlet and some other stuff I ordered from vistaprint for them, the beach bags I got from Target...I had bought a pair of white flip flops from VS for myself to change into during the reception, my girls didnt think to do that....but..the funny thing is at the gift shop at ASP and ACP they have really cute sandals for about $30, so after the cocktail hour, my girls all hit the gift shop and bought themselves sandals to dance in for the night...so cute flip flops for them to wear at the reception would probably be appreciated I do have to admit that I bought a pair of the gift shop sandals also, on a different night FYI...I dont know if I said this or not, but after all the months of planning...as far as the resort goes, theres only two things that you really have to do ahead of time...and that is book your appts at the salon for your hair and makeup and book the places where you want your private events...these are important b/c based on how busy the resort is, you might miss out and not get what you want if you dont book ahead of time...besides these 2 things, basically everything else you can handle once you get there...

I bought my girls beach bags in hot pink, which they all used the entire week, and I put a bunch of stuff in them, some of the bigger things inside were a Coach wristlet and their jewelry for the wedding...all of my girls used their resort credit to get their hair/makeup done the day of the wedding and a manicure/pedicure...its hard to use all the resort credits so its worth it for them to use theirs instead of you paying cash for these things....

Hello! It takes about an hour to get through customs and pick up your bags, another hour to get to the resort if theres not alot of traffic...we used American Express transportation for all of our guests...it was private transportation, so we didnt have to stop at any other resorts, which would definitely have added alot of time on our trip...they were great to work with and I would recommend using them...Nicole

hey ladies!!!! where all the early november brides??? am I the only one who has returned already I cant wait to hear how everyone's weddings were...here's some of my pics already! my photographer was amazing http://www.juanphotos.com/blog/?p=4241

Hello Ladies!!! I hope everyones weddings were amazing, Im sure they were...its such a weird feeling to know its all over, I still cant believe it! Ive been home a week and havent had time to write up any reviews yet, but here is the link to my pictures, from my amazing photographer Juan Navarra! cant wait to see all your pics Nicole http://www.juanphotos.com/blog/?p=4241

its the same flower choices that she probably emailed you with the whole wedding packet (if you didnt get a wedding packet let me know, I probably have it saved on my computer), but they offer many colors of those flowers...its just one page of choices...I didnt bring them anything to go off of, I just picked my bouquet, the bridesmaids bouqets and the centerpieces the day I met with Yazmin and they were all really beautiful! Tell your fiance to definitely dish out the extra money for the lighting, it is absolutely worth it and changes the whole ambience of the night...the dj was working off of a laptop and I didnt bring my own music or provide a list, and now looking back I wish I had...they did theyre best, but alot of songs we requested they had to download right then so we had to wait...I would recommend giving them a list and on top of that bringing your ipod with a playlist made up of dance songs, one of dinner songs and one of love songs so they can refer to them...Its pretty funny, I never realized it, because we were dancing so much, but one of my friends said the next day, do you realize the only love song that played was the first dance...lol! oops...guess the slow dancing wasnt really important to us that night, we all just wanted to party

no problem.....i want to say playacar or something, I think it was in Playa del Carmen which was only about 10 miles away...

No problem! I love that its my chance to help the brides to be...I received so much help from this site so its my time to give back! 6 months is plenty of time and you will get everything done, promise you! As far as Yazmin, we just have to remember that they arent as stressed and crazy as us they move at a slower pace and to them theres nothing to worry about b/c they do hundreds of these every year without a problem...so try to relax, she will answer your questions, eventually also, if I can help with any thing please let me know...

You are so lucky to be able to visit the sites, it will put your mind at ease during all your planning...If I could do things again, I wouldve visited the resort and then I wouldnt have stressed about half the things I did As far as the golf goes, that option is available at Aventura...my husband and his groomsmen golfed the morning of our wedding...they come and pick you up at the resort and bring you back, the course is not far away and you can use resort credits to play...the beach is definitely a personal issue...and once you see the places you'll have to weigh how important it is for you...I personally didnt want sand b/c im only 5'2 and I wanted to wear heels good luck with everything, cant wait to hear what place you choose, either one will be beautiful!

Thanks so much! Unless its really important to you, I would not stress about decorating the gazebo at all...the background is gorgeous! and everyone is supposed to be looking at you anyway yes, the Coba gazebo has a red roof, here is the picture I took of it.....

They were $90 each...and they were on the table during the ceremony and then Yazmin moved them to the bride & groom table for the reception...I think they were fake, but they looked beautiful so I didnt care...theres certain things you cant control...Yes $90 is ridiculous for fake flowers, but you get good deals on everything else there, so I called it even I wanted it white, to keep the bridal theme...the centerpieces on everyone elses tables were gorgeous and very colorful, those flowers were real, you can see them in my pics...but if you want color theres definitely plenty of choices...flowers is something I wouldnt worry too much about...

Aventura! Aventura! Aventura! sooooo beautiful! I would recommend going to visit both places if you can swing it...it will make your decision so much easier if you saw both places and it would make your planning easier b/c you would be more relaxed after seeing the resort...

Im so excited for you! My strongest advice is to relax and enjoy it! My fiance and I fought more in the first 3 days there then we have the 3 years we've been dating...we were so worried about making everyone else happy, and we forgot that were the most important two to each other, and the bottom line is no matter how hard you try, someone will not be happy! so take care of yourselves and enjoy it! its so absolutely beautiful there and everyone that works there is amazing! do you have any last minute questions before you leave? You are going to love the Coba gazebo and the Maracas terrace, both great choices!

Hi Ladies! so this planning thread and wedding review writing requires a lil more time than I thought, and for some reason I seem to be just as busy now as I was before the wedding?!?! so I decided to break it up so I wont feel stressed to get it all perfect for you guys...Im going to start with the most import day....the Wedding Day! Here is my review of my wedding day at ASP: My fiance (at that time) decided to spend the night apart before our big day, so he slept in the room with his dad and I stayed by myself in our room. This was a decision that I recommend to all of you. It was such an amazing feeling to wake up in our room by myself, and know that I wasnt going to see him until I was walking down the aisle....I was so tired from the days before the wedding but that morning I woke up at 7am, with no alarm, and I just had this wonderful feeling of excitement. I called and placed an order for room service for myself for breakfast, turned on some music and started packing up my bag of what I needed for the day. My breakfast came, I ate, and finished gathering everything I needed. I left on the bed for him a pair of black socks that said groom on them and a lil note that said "To My Future Husband, In Case You Get Cold Feet" and his wedding gift (a boudoir album that I knew was going to blow his mind . I got to the spa at 8:30 and met up with my bridesmaids in the hydrotherapy room...all the girls had made appts for 9:30 for different treatments so we met an hour before to hang and relax together in the hydrotherapy room (again I highly recommend this), I was so happy, excited and stress free...At 9:30 I had an acupressure appt which was amazing, I then showered in the spa area and walked over to the salon (right across the hall) with my hair wet....I had an 11:00 hair appt and 12:30 makeup appt with Hugolina, who was absolutely amazing!!!! she did not speak any English and I forgot to bring a picture so she showed me some books and I picked what I wanted, there are girls in the salon who can speak English though, and all 5 of my bridesmaids were very happy with their hair and makeup, so it seems that they are all wonderful...While I was being worked on, one of my bridesmaids ran my ring down to the jewelry store in the lobby to get it cleaned and another bridesmaid ran out to the pool bar and brought me back a cheeseburger and french fries (which I appreciated it so much and once again recommend!) I got a quick polish change on my toenails and ran out the door. I had previously asked Yazmin if it was possible for me to have access to one of the suites to get ready in b/c I had 5 bridesmaids and my mom plus me and photographers wouldve been a tight squeeze in my room...and to my surprise, the resort said yes that I could use one from noon to 3 the day of the wedding...so while I was in the salon my bridesmaids got the key from the front desk, brought all their stuff there and my wedding gown and ordered room service for all of us to be delivered there (did I mention I have the best bridesmaids in the world!) so once I was done at the salon, I went out the front lobby and asked if one of the guys could drive me on the golf cart to my new room ( I didnt want to risk running into my groom to be) I got dropped off at the room around 1:45 and there was my photographers waiting for me (Juan Navarra and his assistant Daniel-AMAZING photographers, will review them more later) if you saw the pics on his blog, there is one of them catching me running up to them...I was excited, nervous and a lil scared we were running late, but they were instantly awesome, calmed me down and began doing there thing...all my bridesmaids were dressed at this point with their hair and makeup done...I was in my white zip up Bride hoodie and only needed to put my dress on....the room service came and brought us champagne and quesedillas and burgers, we all devoured them...my mom got there and put her dress on and then everyone was ready to dress me Yazmin (who turned out to be absolutely wonderful, I will write more about her later) delivered my flowers and they were amazing! I had chosen the R-5 bouquet with white roses and Calla lilies and they were beautiful. I ordered 5 bridesmaids bouquets and they were R-9 with yellow roses, orange Calla lilies and hot pink (dont know how to say that one). I was really very pleasantly surprised with the flowers, I hadnt brought any pics of what I wanted and just ordered them once I got there. My flowers were free and I paid $65 each for the girls flowers...the grooms was free and we didnt get the guys or mothers any, didnt feel it was needed and after seeing the pics I still feel the same.... Around 2:45 Yazmin told my girls it was time for them to go and then about 5 minutes later she came for me and my brother....the horse and carriage were waiting outside for us....the moment I saw the horse, it all hit me, the time had come and I just felt so happy...I took a deep breath and slowed down b/c I didnt want to rush anything, I knew that the next few hours of my life were very special and I wanted to appreciate and remember every moment...I got married in the Coba gazebo so the carriage dropped us off at the top of the stairs, dont worry about not being seen, I had one of my gf, who was not in the wedding, keep an eye out for me and the second she saw me she told everyone to stand, which they did and everyone saw me....Its a nice long walk down to the gazebo and it gives you a few minutes to take it all in. I remember hearing the harpist play and just feeling like everything was perfect. (everyone raved about the horse & carriage and the harpist so I definitely recommend both) The harpist played Ava Maria, & Over the Rainbow while the guests were arriving, Canon in D while my bridesmaids were walking down and the Bridal March when I came in....he played the Wedding March when we left the gazebo. I had given Yazmin previously my sand ceremony set, bubbles, fans and ceremony programs to set out and I assigned another girlfriend responsible to get down there before the guests and make sure everything looked good, which it all did...Yazmin did a great job taking care of everything...I didnt order a wedding package and Im glad I didnt,I loved the simple look of the gazebo...the only thing I got extra was up by the table I paid for an arrangement of Calla lilies in a glass jar for either end of the ceremony table...My taste/thoughts are that the bride and ceremony are supposed to be elegant looking, which to me is simple, white and subtle...now when I look at my pictures Im very happy with the choices I made b/c it suits my taste...everyone is different though...I loved the bright color of my girls dresses and their flowers but loved the simplicity of mine and the look of the gazebo during our ceremony... The ceremony lasted about 30 minutes, then we had a champagne toast, then my photographer asked everyone to get together for a group shot (which came out amazing) and then all our guests except parents and the bridal party were instructed to head to cocktail hour which was at the Cove Terrace from 4:30 to 5:30. We did a bunch of pics with our photographer and then joined everyone for the last 15 minutes at the cocktail hour...We had the Mexican Trio playing and our guests loved that touch too! It turned out that there were a lot of bugs for some reason during the time of our cocktail hour out on the terrace so Yazmin made the decision to move it inside, which was fine by me...she handled it wonderfully and all our guests were happy...we had the Mexican hors d overs as the appetizers and everyone said it was delicious...the spot we had move to was in the Cove lobby, upstairs, right inside from the Cove Terrace, right outside of the arcade and across from the disco...our guests had a great time, the food was good, the music was great and everyone was in/out of the arcade playing games if you saw my pics thats where the ones were taken of me and my sis on the dance video game and me on the motorcycle...it wound up making for some great pics... It was now time for our reception which was on the Maracas Terrace from 6pm to 10pm...We had 6 tables of 10 plus the bride/groom table, the food was the Italian Buffet and I cant even explain how delicious everything was...we were a lil nervous b/c were all from New Jersey and to be honest we have some damn good Italian food here, but the resort did a great job and everyone was raving about the food...for the centerpieces I chose #3 from the Diamond Collection, but I asked Yazmin to do the same arrangement as my girls bouquets (again, i did not decide anything to do with flowers, cake or centerpieces until I was in Mexico and met with Yazmin) the centerpieces were gorgeous and everyone was commenting how pretty they were (I paid $65 per table and feel it was worth it); I bought maracas for centerpieces from the gift shop at the resort, we bought about 55 of them and I want to say it cost around $75, i think it was 4 for $5, something like that...the Maracas Terrace was set up great and it wound up being an awesome spot to have our reception...it was outside, yet private b/c its surrounded by palm trees and rocks, so theres not people walking past or through your party...its on concrete, a few steps up from the beach also on the Cove side...the cake I chose was C-1 from the Upgraded cake lists (this cost $220)...the top layer was cheesecake, the middle was carrot cake and the bottom was vanilla with fruit...again, everyone raved how good it was...I personally tried the cheesecake part and it was delicious, different than we make it here at home, but still very good.... I hired J&S for my DJ and lighting and they did a very good job...He played DJ Got Us Falling in Love while he introduced my bridal party and us and then Sade-By Your Side as our first dance...I then danced with my mom to Celine Dion-Because you loved me and husband danced with his mom to Rascal Flatts-My Wish...our cake cutting song was Grow Old With You from the Wedding Singer Soundtrack...besides the DJ and audio system, I also purchased a lighting package from J&S, I bought about 18 extra LED lights, which were placed under each table and all around us and under the palm trees, if you can afford to I would definitely recommend this, it adds a beautiful, romantic, fun ambiance to the night...the lights were an extra $25 each, and to me, worth it.... Yazmin had laid out our place cards at the entrance with everyones name and table # (bought these on vistaprint), our cake topper & knife & cake server and the maracas with a card that said to shake that to see us kiss (also purchased through vistaprint). My cousin brought my flip-flops for me and I put them on right after my mother and I danced, I was so happy to have them and danced all night long (white sequin ones from VS with a wedge). We also brought glow in the dark necklaces and glasses from Oriental trading and these were a huge hit with our guests, as you can see from pics As soon as the mother dances were over, we told everyone to eat, so by around 7:30 everyone had ate and we spent the next 2.5 hours non-stop dancing...At 10pm when the wedding was over we all walked up to the disco together to continue the fun.... Well, thats my wedding day review...hope you enjoyed it, I actually got a little teary eyed writing it b/c I felt I was reliving the day. I cant explain to you guys how much you are going to love your wedding day. ASP does an amazing job with weddings...If I could go back and re-do anything it would be to not stress about the little stuff I stressed about...Planning is definitely important but there are other things that you definitely do NOT need to worry about, im going to include in my full review a Would Do and Would Not Do Again list b/c I think it will help you ladies...okay Im off to bed...more to follow...nicole

Hope you had fun at your bachelorette party Alyssa!!!! I sent everyone who emailed me a link to all my albums on snapfish, hope you enjoyed..sorry there's so many of them...im known by my friends to be the paparazzi also, my photographer, Juan Navarro has a bunch of my wedding pics on his facebook page, you dont have to be his friend to see them...

okay ladies I have more pics....i have 6 different albums on snapfish...email me your email address at [email protected] and I will send you the link to see my pictures from the rehearsal dinner, welcome dinner, ziplining, and wedding...im still working on the planning thread and review...ttys...nicole

Hi Ladies! Im back! I have so much to tell everyone, and its all good...Im at work and still sick (i got really sick the day we left and im still trying to get better) I think it was all the stress and running around from the last few weeks...but I will write up a planning thread and a review of ASP for all of you within the next few days...here is the link to my pictures to give you a little something for now (i know all of you are dying to see recent pics of weddings at ASP) my photographer, Juan Navarra was absolutley amazing...ill ttys...Nicole http://www.juanphotos.com/blog/?p=4241

leaving in 4 hrs for ASP......kinda disappointed to not see any well wishes/good lucks/congrats on here...guess you ladies forgot about me im overwhelmed, stressed but most importantly excited...cant wait to spend a week celebrating with my friends and family and marrying the most important one of all......Mexico.here comes Jersey...all 52 of us...be prepared....

Hey ladies! wow..havent been on here in awhile...it seems like i lost the last month somewhere....havent been to the gym, havent been on here...well i leave sat morning...1 more day! i cant wait!!!! im so excited...i was nervous about the weather, but i checked today and it seems to be better, now looks like sun starting this wknd..ill keep my fingers crossed im getting married next friday, november 5th at Aventura Spa Palace...we have 52 ppl coming with us...woo hoo! Nicole

Yeahhhhh! Congratulations Mystea! on the baby boy and the wedding! I hope you are enjoying yourself tremendously right now I leave sat morning! 1 more day...omg! i cant believe how its here....almost done packing, lists all over the place...its so scary to forget anything....i have all my pics ready for my planning thread, i just need the time to actaully sit and write it....if work gives me some breathing room tmr, i might get it done congratulations and good luck ladies! our time to shine is finally here....im stressed, tired and need a vacation more than ever....i promised my fiance that the second the plane takes off my list goes out the window...

Sara why are you paying your total balance already? I thought the policy was final payment due 6 weeks before...our wasnt due till 9/19...thats why we already knew we had the 75 rooms booked...

I thought we were going to have to pay uprfont and then be reimbursed later too, but when my TA sent me the final payment, I realized we only had to pay the difference in upgrade cost from the basic room and 1 full night, b/c we are staying 8...so we dont have to wait to be reiumbursed b/c we didnt have to pay to begin with....pretty sweet right!