sstryker

I wasn't clear in my previous post - the $130USD is to set up the tulle i.e. if you bring your own...

hmlicos - The only decorations that are included are the white chair/table/arch cover (as stated in the guide). if you want tulle around the arch that is an extra $130 USD. To be honest we brought all of our own decorations. It was a bit of a hassle, but what the resort wants to charge you to rent theirs is far more expensive than you could find online. The decoration set up fee is much cheaper than renting table overlays for $18/table, or $4/napkin. I've attached a pic of the resort setting up our reception, the table center-pieces haven't been set up yet, but you get the idea. The extra colour does add something, but it is entirely up to you!

I'm bringing down a picture matting to be signed by all our guests. Luckily FIs suitcase is large enough to fit it!

L&A2010, well I'm glad it's not just me! The exclaimer was an excellent idea. I wasn't planning on doing programs, but maybe I will... We are writing our own vows, hopefully people will forget what came before!

Thanks L&A2010 for posting the civil ceremony. There are parts that are a little harsh & seem a bit strange to me...perhaps something was lost in translation. “ marriage “, it says is the only legal and moral way to found a Family, to preserve mankind and avoid imperfections of the human being who are only able to obtain the perfection of the human race,

AmyBoerema - how long are you at Dreams Tulum for? We arrive on the first as well! Our date is the 8th, & we leave on the 11th.

I love the maracas! Such a cute idea (& definitely cheaper than luggage tags, which I'm doing...). I think I'm all done! Whoo! Well, I'm taking my dress in on Monday to have it taken in a bit, & I need to buy another bikini...but other than that! Congrats everybody!

Congrats to both of you! So exciting!

I hope everyone is ready! It'll be here before we know it! Finally got my planning form from the resort, things are starting to feel "official." Still need to get my dress taken in, luckily the "regular" wedding season is over! Good luck everyone! And CONGRATS!

Congrats, & welcome! Don't sweat the small stuff, it will all fall into place

Congrats LeNell, your pictures look awesome! Love your earrings!

Boo - I made my own hair fascinator & it was totally easy using beads, feathers & 2 gardenia's from Michaels. Sorry not sure why the pic is sideways, but you get the idea!

Ashleyciv,  Our original goal was $5000 too...oh well! Luckily my FI understands that even though we're still shelling out a good chunk of change, it is cheaper there than here. He's talked to a few friends who've gotten married and found out how much they've spent, and he can't believe it! And really in the end, even though you've got to consider travel costs on top of it all, we'll still get a week with friends and family not just one day   mimi73 - Don't feel obligated to tip, but in my experience tipping always gets you better service! We are going to tip our WC as well I'm going to make up one of my oot bags and give it to her. We will tip all the reception servers at least $20 each, and the WC $40 - $50.

Ashleyciv, Â I guess you're right. I should try to get something for it...we are wanting to extend our reception by an hour instead of the cocktail hour maybe I can negotiate for this. Hmmmm...I wonder if I could have the cocktail hour at the reception site? It'll cost about the same to extend my reception as pay for the cocktail hour, but I'll get food with the cocktail hour... Â My total is about $6100USD, but I decided to splurge on some things because we received some unexpected help from our parents. About $8k total once I consider the stuff I've purchased to bring with us (including my dress, and his outfit...). Â I just keep telling myself that what I'm getting down there would cost me at least $25k up here. So it is still cheaper in the end.

Ashelyciv  I don't know if they'd let you have the cocktail hour and not order extra snacks/booze for the extra people. I don't think so though, how do you tell people only 20 of them are allowed drinks? I don't think there would be any way to monitor that...  I don't know if i'd recommend leaving it till you get there, do you really want to have to deal with the stress while on vacation?  Aurora is suppose to be contacting me next month to really get down to the planning, & I want all of this stuff dealt with before we get there. All I want to do when we arrive is pass over my box of decorations, pick which bouquet I want and then relax by the pool! Oh ya, and get blood tests.

Hey Ladies, Â I'm pretty sure that the $20 dinner option is only if you don't have a private event. So it's like you're going for a regular dinner out, hence the no DJ because it isn't private. I also think there are restrictions on the number of people. Not sure if this is in the guide or I read it on here somewhere... Â We are getting the Ultimate Pkg, & not having the cocktail hour (there is no credit for this...), but it is still cheaper, considering what is included, vs paying piece meal for stuff. I'd recommend doing an excel spreadsheet to compare the packages vs what you actually want.

My FI has a JBL speaker & stand. It will be cheaper for us to pay the overweight fee and haul it down there ourselves than pay for their sound system...a lot cheaper! Â He thinks it's such a good idea now, but I'm sure there will be a lot of cursing while he's hauling that thing around...

Wow Clinicalgal thank-you for such a detailed review! You looked gorgeous in your dress, and the pics turned out great! Sorry to hear about your fall, that must have been really stressful so close to the wedding. Â We're gonna put our LEDs for our lanterns together ahead of time so we get the number we want in each one. Sounds like they're jacking up the price for the sound system... Not sure what we're gonna do there... Â Thanks Clinicalgal

Sorry ladies...I hope you're having a good time at Melrose. My Realtor just left a few minutes ago, and I'm exhausted! I really could use a Caesar though... Â See you next month!

Hey Ladies, Â My Realtor has pushed our appointment back to 4pm today (yes we're listing our house...eek!). I will get there as soon as I can. I'm not sure how long it will take. He's taking pics of our house to list.

Thursday the 26th sounds like fun. Count me in!

Hi Ladies! Â Another Calgary bride here! I did not know this thread existed. Â We're getting married Dec 8, 2010 at Dreams Tulum. Â Sounds like you all have been very busy. Congrats!

Also, if this helps anybody..., I did a little excel spreadsheet for myself comparing paying for everything piece meal with the Free package, or going with the Ultimate package (I want the Mexican trio, the champagne toast, Gold dinner menu etc.) it worked out to be about the same price, but you get extra stuff with the Ultimate such as 50 pics, a video, the spa treatments, hair/makeup.

White covers for the chairs and tables are included with both the Dreams Ultimate & Dreams of Love packages; I think they are also included in the free package, but don't quote me on that one... If you read the very first page of this thread Sunbride has a very detailed review of what is included with each package. Chair sashes etc are extra. If your coordinator hasn't sent you a guide yet, she should be sending you one soon.

Hi Ashleyciv, Aurora quoted me $150 for the lanterns, but I've also been quoted a $3/person decoration set up fee...so not too sure if I'm being charged twice...? Our wedding is not until December, so I figured I'd wait till October (when she told me she would contact me to start planning) to find out.