orionandmari072510

Bachata! That's fabulous!

Wow! Nicely done on the wedding welome booklet!!

I loved the scavenger hunt, I have heard of people doing that! How did it turn out in the end/ Did people partake?

I will be borrowing some of your ideas on there if you don't mind!!

I finally received some answers from my WC. Here are my questions/answers that I thought others might be interested in.

Q: How many roses are in the complimentary Bridal Bouquet and what colors are available?
A: About 20-25 roses and you decide the color of the roses. There are ivory, hot pink, light pink, yellow, orange, white, red.

Q: What is the cost for rose petals and how many are included per bag? What colors are available?
A: $35 USD and it will be good enough for 20-25 guests. There are ivory, hot pink, light pink, yellow, orange, white, red.

Q: Is the Mexican trio a singing group?
A: Yes, they sing and play 3 different kind of guitars

Q: Does the Mexican trio and/or the Mariachi Band play traditional songs during the processional, the walk down the aisle, etc.?
A: They can play the wedding march, but they usually play Mexican music.

Q: Do you have samples of their music?
A: I have a CD of the Mariachi, but no samples of the Mexican trio. You can listen to their CD during our meeting.

Q: What is the cost per umbrella (for shade at the cocktail hour)? And How many will be needed for a group around 30?
A: $25/umbrella. 3 or 4 umbrellas for that size group.

Q: Can we mingle in the wedding Gazebo during the cocktail hour after the wedding?
A: I'm afraid gazebos are only for ceremonies. The cocktail will be set up on the terrace. If you prefer we can set up the cocktail in a ballroom too.

Q: Can substitutions be made in the hors d’oeuvres menus?
A: We can not mix the menus. If you want I can only add one element from another menu to the menu you choose.

Q: Are there ballrooms available with windows?
A: The Aqua Ballroom is the only ballroom that has a window.

Q: If we choose one of the wedding packages, can we choose items (like bouquets or cakes) from different packages priced the same?
A: I am afraid we can not mix the items included with other wedding collections.

Q: Are plated meals available instead of buffet? What are the options there? Could each guest choose what they want off a pre-set menu?
A: I have attached the served dinner menu. Usually everybody eat the same. If you will choose different entrées you have to tell me in advance the exact number of entrée and make place card and mark them with colors so the waiters will know who is eating what.

Q: Can I get the layers of the cake in different flavors?
A: Yes.

First off, I'm super jealous that you are getting married on the Big Island!! I LOVE it there! Its actually where I got engaged but unfortunately its too far for our wedding.

Anywho- October is a great time to visit Hawaii. Its the hottest month (not that temps are tht different throughout the yr) and the chance of it raining especially on the Kona side are very slim. I was there for 10 days at the end of last October and it rained once. February-April is the rainy season in Hawaii, when I lived there it literally rained for about 4 weeks straight!

Along the Kohala Coast (North Kona) most of the resorts are quite pricey, however that is where you'll find the best beaches (unless you are willing to haul your guests off road down lava rock roads to the beautiful remote ones haha). One thing to know is that all beaches in Hawaii are public. Even if a resort claims it has a 'private' beach, it still has to allow access to the public. The Mauna Kea Beach Resort has a fantastic and beautiful beach (constantly voted one of the most beautiful in the world) and they limit public access to the public by only allowing 30 parking passes for the parking lot at a time. So although they are public beaches, resorts try to limit how much of the public can actually access them.

The Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel (Hawaii Hotels & Resorts | Prince Resorts Hawaii | Hawaiian Golf & Family Vacations & Packages) is absolutely georgeous, it's beach is quite private because the only access to it is from the hotel or by walking to it from the beach around the corner (lol). The beach next to it is a state beach park called Hapuna beach (another one often voted worlds best) and gets very crowded on the weekends, but I dont recall the Prince Hotel beach ever being terribly over crowded. They have beautiful gardens, a great pool and yummy drinks I'm not sure about the prices but it is a very nice hotel (I believe its cheaper than the Mauna Kea...) I've never been to the Hilton but I've heard its really great, since they have so many activites on site, but if you stay here, don't make it the only place you go on the island, you'll miss SO much!

Another option is to have the wedding down in Kona instead of North Kona or Kohala Coast. The Royal Kona resort is really nice (Royal Kona Resort | Oceanfront on Kailua Bay on Big Island Hawaii). Its ocean side and beautiful and they host a really fun Luau! It is right downtown Kona, within walking distance to all of the restaurants, shops, and other hotels along the port town. If you want any nightlife (there isn't much of it on the Big Island), Kona is pretty much your only option. Kona is prob about 30 mins from the Kohala Coast beaches but there are beaches in Kona, just not as nice (IMO, but its still a Hawaiian beach so none of them are bad!) One resort I personally would not recommend is the King Kamehameha Resort. It is literally next to the port where cruise ships come in, downtown Kona. It's a perfectly fine hotel but when I was in Kona this past October, it was totally empty and they appeard to be doing major renovations, and they have a tiny little beach that gets seriously overwhelmed by local teens, just fyi. Also, if there is any chance you are interested in a church wedding, the first Christian church in Hawaii is in downtown Kona and it is beautiful (and within walking distance to all the hotels) It is called Moku'aikaua Church.

Also, you could try vrbo.com if you are interested in vacation rentals.

Sorry this is a little long, but hopefully it will help you in your decision making. A few more quick suggestions of places you can't miss Volcanoes National Park...incredible, look up Lavaocean.com for boat tours if you want to get really close to the lava. Pu'uhonau o honaunau...a really beautiful national park with excellent snorkling next to it, tons of turtles! (this is where I got engaged but even before that it was my favorite place on the island!) Kayaking and snorkling at Kealakekua Bay, really fun, amazing fish! The farmers markets (Hilo's is best, but Kona's is good too) Beautiful, cheap flowers, yummy fresh produce and great Hawaiian crafts. South Point is cool and Punalu'u Black sand beach is beautiful. OK enough! Good luck with your planning and I hope your wedding is fantastic!!!

hey guys! I will post my full review later this week, but I had such an amazing time! I will wait to get all my pics together to give one huge review. One thing I wouldn't change was staying at the Grand section, it was so nice to have a huge room and it was easy to meet guests since they have a makeshift lobby and my room was literally 500 feet from it.

here's some teaser pics till then!

Here are some pictures from my site visit this past weekend. Hope it helps others!

alexmduran/Moon Palace Riviera Maya - Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting

Hey girls, I just made this for free at Scrapbooking, Free Ecards, Birthday and Greeting Cards at Smilebox.com, and wanted to share! I love love love it! It has been almost a year, and when I look at these pics it seems like yesterday! Enjoy!

Smilebox Playback

I was married August 2, 2008 at Moon Palace in Mexico. Here is my review and when I figure out how to post pics, I will post them as well.

First of all, let me start by saying that the Moon Palace is a beautiful resort. It is huge, so if you are looking for something that is not crowded and full of people all the time, then this definitely is not the place for you. But, if you are looking to have a good time, good food, and courteous people, all without leaving your resort, then you picked the right choice.

ARRIVAL

When we first arrived, we were handed a wet towel and a glass of mimosa, which I thought was awesome. While we were standing in line, a lady came by and gave me a flower and welcomed me to Moon Palace Sunrise. This is when the problem began. Originally, I was told that my guests and I were going to be booked on the Moon Grand side, so why am I at the Sunrise side. After 2 hours of speaking with numerous people and showing the email (I had a copy of every email that I had exchanged with Claudia, my WC) we finally were given a room on the Grand side, which to us was worth fighting for. The rooms over there are much bigger than the other rooms, and it was more peaceful, which my older guests appreciated. The only thing negative was the fact that all of the activities were elsewhere, so you had to catch a golf cart to get to the Nizuc side, and then a shuttle if you wanted to go to the Sunrise side. We never heard any complaints, so we didn’t find it to be a problem at all. Don’t want to drag my problems out, let’s just say that every time a guest of mine checked in, they were given a room on the Sunrise side, then I had to try and track them down so that they could be transferred to the Grand side, which was typed in the notes, but apparently, they are so busy, no one even read the notes. This took valuable time out of my day because when you are the bride, everything has to be PERFECT. The guests may not have had a problem with their rooms, but the mere fact that I knew they were suppose to be someplace else, caused me to react. At this point, I was questioning if I made the right choice, but James kept assuring me that the wedding will be great so just calm down.

MEETING

My meeting with Claudia went well. Every question that I had, she was ready to answer and made me feel confident that everything was going to be alright. She took notes the whole time and every time I started to seem doubtful, she made me aware that she had things under control. What I thought would be the most stressful time of the week, actually turned out to be the easiest.

SPA

James and I both received manicures and pedicures the day before the wedding. I had got my nails down prior to coming, so I just had my cuticles cleaned and a minor touch up. I really wanted to go and see the brides getting their hair done, so that I can know what to expect. Plus, this gave me time to look through some books and decide if it was a style that I may want.

WELCOME DINNER
Since we were having a private reception, we chose to use our free dinner for a welcome dinner. This was held in La Bugambilia, Italian restaurant in the Sunrise lobby. The food was good, but I didn’t really eat anything because I was mingling with guests and taking pictures. This was the first time that everyone had a chance to meet each other, so it was more talking going on than eating.

One thing about dining, I will not say that any of the food taste bad because I didn’t go there looking for 1st class dining. I knew that it was an AI resort, so the food may not be a black tie type dish, but as long as it was eatable and we didn’t get sick, it was alright to me. The food just coats your belly for the drinking that you can do. The service was always outstanding and there were times that we were angry because people didn’t leave a tip. These workers go out of their way to help you and to not leave them a tip just seem ridiculous, especially when in the States you tip for service that may not have been good at all, but it is expected of you and sometimes a must to do.

WEDDING DAY

Being an African-American, I was really worried about getting my hair done, but she got down!!!!!!. My hair was turned out beautiful. I didn’t find anything in those books, so I just told her to put the back up and sweep the front. She said okay and went to work. My photographer, personal paparazzi, was with me and kept telling me how it was looking because I was afraid to look. In the end, I was highly impressed. The same goes for my makeup. I did bring along my own makeup, so maybe that helped, but whatever the case may be, I was very pleased with their services.

We were married at the Bugambilia gazebo and had our reception on the terrace. I arrived by horse and carriage, which is an absolute MUST!!!! The guests were all smiles when I pulled up. My husband said that even know he knew that I was going to arrive like that, there was something about the clopping of the horse’s hooves that made the difference. Plus, the ride to the gazebo was so fun. We passed so many people waving and saying how beautiful I looked. Some of the workers who had asked when the wedding was were even along the road waving. It was such a great experience!!!!! The ceremony went error free and we had a ball at the reception. We brought our laptop and my God-brother was our deejay. We danced until they made us stop. We had people walking by that stopped and danced. We didn’t mind at all, because at this point, we were like the more the merrier. We had drinks, ate, had drinks, danced, and did I mention we had drinks. This truly was a DREAM DAY!!!!!!!!!!!

When the reception ended, we went to Andromeda disco, which is in the Sunrise lobby and danced, had more drinks, and danced some more.

NEXT NIGHT

The next day everyone did their own thing. We had some who went to Wet n’ Wild, some went shopping downtown, and others just went to the pool and hung out. The next night we decided to go on the Lobster Dinner cruise. This was really relaxing as well. The only negativity was we ate in the bottom of the boat, and it was hot down there. So we kind of ate quicker than normal, so that we can get back upstairs. But, it was really nice and the night breeze was wonderful.

DEPARTURE

The following morning we did our trash the dress pictures. This was when James proved to me that he was a romantic. He got in the ocean and pretty much guided me where he wanted me to be. This turned me on (too much information, let me get back on track). This made me see him in a different light. The whole time, it was whatever I wanted, but this day he had his way and I liked it. Afterwards, we showered, etc…, and then went around thanking all of our guests for coming and wishing them a safe return.

Soon, we were off to our honeymoon which was at Aventura Palace. Details about Aventura coming soon.

OVERVIEW

Everyone had a great time and there was no sickness in my group. Although it is hard to imagine now if you are going to be married there, everything will be alright. Although we had problems in the beginning, our main focus was the wedding and it was flawless. I brought my own photographer, which came as a guest so we didn’t have any problems. We did pay for the video, which I thought came out well. We brought our florist, who did all of the bridesmaids’ flowers, the boutonnieres, my flowers, the girls anklets and the hair combs. Plus, she did my flower girl’s basket and hair piece. Plus, we brought people who would not have cared if they stayed at the Motel 6; they were going to have a good time, so that helps.

When we began our planning, everyone had a lot of input as to where they felt that we should go, and how much they thought that they should spend. It started to get frustrating because I wanted to please everyone, and didn’t want to have anyone left out because of my decision. In the end, I had to realize that no matter what I chose, someone would have something negative to say. Decide where YOU want to be married and if they want to come, they will come. I gave people 11 months to pay on their trip, so if it was a will, I tried to make a way. Although we didn’t get as many people to go that said they were going, we got 34 people and that was more than we expected. Try and be understanding and remember that as long as you have your FI, you can have a wedding.

I tried to touch on everything. If I missed anything or if you have specific questions let me know and I will try and answer them. Hopefully, I helped someone and Congratulations to each and every one of you!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mrs. LaTasha Lewis

WEDDING COORDINATOR: A
Name: Cristina Suarez
Cristina was very helpful and responsive, when I met with her before the wedding, she remembered things I asked her that I forgot I even asked. She did mess up my centerpieces by not putting water in them (I had floating flowers that just sat on the bottom of the vase), but quickly fixed that once I told her. Everything was perfect, she followed the directions I gave her for decorations and just did an overall great job. We spent about 2 hours going over the order of the bridal party and all the small stuff I didn't even know existed, she was right on the ball.

A funny story, while we were taking pictures after the ceremony, our reception site was being set-up, we found out later that my WC drove a golf cart straight into our buffet table (there was no food on it yet). So we have a picture of that too.



HAIR / MAKE UP: A+++++++++++++++
Name: Alberto (dont know his last name) at the Sunrise Salon
Alberto was god. I watched him work on another bride while i got my nails done and he did an awesome job. I had pictures from magazines of what I wanted and he did such an awesome job, I looked just like the girl in the picture, it was perfect, could not be happier with both my hair and make-up.



PHOTOGRAPHER: A-
We used the hotel photographer and I think he did a great job. We upgraded to the next highest package (included ceremony, beach pictures and 2 hours of reception). He did an amazing job during the ceremony and the beach session, he was such a professional and the pictures turned out great (posted in a separate thread). My only problem is that he was supposed to do 2 hours of pictures during the reception, but most of the time he just stood there and watched. I thought there were so many great opportunities for photos, but we ended up with about 20, so not too happy with that, but he totally redeemed himself with the beach photo session.



VIDEOGRAPHER:A (I think)
We received our DVD right before we left and have not had a chance to watch it, but the videographer was very attentive and seemed to be doing a great job of capturing the ceremony.

FLOWERS: B
I had a lot of issues trying to get the flowers I wanted. I wanted orchids but they were not included in my free bouquet and they would not budge on the very high price. In the end, I decided on roses and cala lillies (alcatraz in Mexico) and think the bouquet turned out great. It was so incredibly heavy, I felt bad tossing it to the girls. The only reason for the bad grade is the price of the flowers, they were outrageously expensive. The simple cala lilly bouquet i wanted for my BMs was $120 each. So my mom, who is a florist, bought one of the hotel's centerpices of long stemmed calla lillies (the centerpiece had 12 flowers), split it into 4 bouquets of 3 flowers each and tied it with ribbon we brought from home. They turned out beautiful and cost us all of $70. Yay mom.



HORSE CARRIAGE: A+++
This was the best part of the entire wedding. Some of the guests did not know about it and as the carriage rounded the corner i heard everyone go "AHHH" it was just perfect, wouldn't trade that for anything.



CEREMONY: A
Our ceremony was originally scheduled for the Tucan Terrace at 4 pm. The night before the wedding my WC asked me if we wanted to move it to the Bugambilia Terrace as it was on the Sunrise side (Tucan is in Nizuc) and much closer to the Lake Terrace where the reception would be. We agreed to do it and it was a great choice, the two gazebos are pretty much the same, except Tucan has a much longer walk up to it.

The ceremony was great, the JOP did a beautiful job reading some Mexican wedding thing (I have not clue, I was so nervous I did not hear a thing, but everyone else loved it). He also read our sand ceremony for us, which we were not sure he could do becuase the hotel said he could not, so just keep pushing your WC until they agree. We did the champagne toast after the ceremony and cut the cake, it was nice to get pictures of that.



RECEPTION: A
Our reception was on the Lake Terrace at 6pm. The reception was perfect, we brought all our own decorations, napkins, favors and centerpieces. We got a free cake and they decorated it using a picture we gave them, it was not the most professional looking cake ever, but it looked like the picture and was good. We had the Carribean buffet and the food was amazing, everyone commented on how great the food was. The waiters did a great job and the bartender was great. We rented umbrellas for the tables, i would totally recommend doing that ($25 a piece) to keep the sun off the guests.



DJ: A+++++
We did not do a DJ for the wedding, we just rented the equipment from J&S Audiovisual Mexico, the company recommended by the hotel. We used an IPhone for music and had a friend do the MCing. The equipment came with a "technician" who actually spoke great English, knew all the wedding traditions and walked our MC through the entire process, he was just amazing. They also had colored lights that came with the equipment (we did not realize they did, so it was a wonderful bonus) and everyone loved them. These guys just did an amazing job.



Overall the wedding was wonderful, there were a few small things that went wrong, like the centerpieces not having water and our Best Man showing up in the wrong colored shirt, but in the big picture, the wedding went wondefully, the hotel staff knew exactly what they were doing and made my time so much more enjoyable.

The Cake - B
Ah, the cake. We chose a 3 tier cake from the resort’s catalogue. The top tier was sugar free chocolate (no extra charge for this), middle tier was regular chocolate, and bottom was vanilla with fruit. I would definitely say chocolate is the way to go. It was delicious. Most people finished their cake! The only negative was that when they brought the cake out, it was leaning. It was still beautiful and tasted good, so I give it a B.


I thought it was going to tip over!!!

Since this forum saved me from insanity while planning my wedding, and I wanted to return the favor and post my review. Please let me know if you have questions on anything! I tried to include a picture of everything, cake, flowers, bouquet, dress etc.

My wedding review – Sept 15th, 2007 at the One and Only Palmilla

The O&O Palmilla – A + (times a million)
Words cannot describe how unbelievably amazing this resort is. The service is unparalleled to any resort – from your personal butler, to complimentary tequila, water and snacks in your room, to the pool service, food, staff, spa, property etc…the list goes on. We had the welcome party, rehearsal dinner, wedding dinner, the cake and day after brunch - all at the Palmilla. I am grateful and glad I picked this resort. It is beautiful. I was afraid I was going to make my guests bankrupt after staying here, but they said it was worth it. (And I found out that the pool food is the same price as the Hilton in Cabo!!) My coordinator at the Palmilla, Katia Unger is a saint!! I am convinced she is the hardest working woman in Mexico. I was not nervous or stressed at all!! She is a brides’ dream coordinator. If you can swing the prices at the Palmilla – do it!!

Flowers: Elema Damy A –
This was the only think I wish I could have done differently. I have no idea why I spent the money I did on flowers – when no one really cares!! I could have done with out the flowers on the tables during dinner. It was dark outside, and no one could see them. Oh well. However, I loved the arch she did at my ceremony and my bouquet. She and Carlos are great to work with. I suggest providing ton of pictures of what you want. There was some confusion on a few details, but that’s because I was limited on what flowers I could get in Cabo in Sept. Oh yeah, and she is pricey – but open to negotiation!!
Elena Damy | Contemporary Floral Design

Ballroom Furniture: Oxten A+
We set up the ballroom like a lounge, and this was my favorite part of the wedding! It was worth the money. The room looked transformed into a lounge/club. Cost: $3500
OXTEN

DJ: Ricardo Patino A+
I am so happy I chose Ricardo as our DJ. He really kept our party going. Our guests said it was the best wedding music ever! He is professional, and very responsive to emails. The best part about Ricardo, is that he will only play what you want at your wedding. We provided a list of songs, and he stuck to it. He can improvise too. He also wants to know what not to play during the party. His equipment is also state of the art. Cost: about $1000 for 4 ½ hours.
DJ System - disc jockey entertainment in Mexico - dj services for your party in Mexico

Bachelorette Party Dinner: Baja Cantina Dockside C
I did not like this restaurant. I wanted a place that was low key, and had good Mexican food. The food was mediocre, and they gave way too little of it. The website is also deceiving!! The restaurant looks so different on their website, I thought we were in the wrong restaurant! I passed by Mi Casa, and wished we went there.

Wedding Dress: Reem Acra A +
I loved my wedding dress!! I think I might have to wear it once a month for a day, because I love it so much.

Photograpy: Juan Carlos Tapia N/A
I haven’t seen photos yet, but I really liked working with him. The man knows what he’s doing. Cost: about $2800 for 5 hours.

Airport Transportation: Transcabo A+
To help alleviate with traveling costs, we paid for airport transportation for our guests. This company is great! I read a lot of good reviews on them, so I felt confident using them. I did everything over email. Even with all the changes with flight itineraries, they were on top of everything. Punctual, courteous service, and great to work with even over email.

Because some of the reviews are less that stellar I want to point out that my grades are based off my personal experience with each vendor and is only my opinion. Overall I had a really good time. The only thing was that I was totally not able to relax. People had us pulled in all directions and my DH is the type that can’t say no. Plus we had a scare when his dad ended up in the hospital so we had to take care of that as well. I need a vacation to recover from this trip for sure!

Flights – Southwest – A

I love Southwest. I call them the “bus of the skies†for their lack of a seat assignment, but they really are great. We were able to check 2 bags each for free and we both had laptop bags that we carried on and I had a purse and my dress and DH had a garment bag with his suits and no one gave us a problem. They lack a closet to hang the dress in but because I got my dress at the Running of the Brides, it came wrinkled so I never had my alterations lady steam it so I wasn’t worried about new wrinkles. We put it in an overhead with the suits and it didn’t really get any new wrinkles. They also gave us snacks and came around with free beverages 3 times. The big thing that helped was that we had to change our flights 3 TIMES. However, because Southwest doesn’t charge a change fee, and the price of flights actually went DOWN, it saved us money which we put toward getting my mom a ticket.

Rental Car – Alamo – B

I highly recommend renting a car while in Vegas. Our course, I know my way around since I live here but it’s not hard to figure out at all, especially with a GPS. I was able to find a coupon that gave us 9 days in a mid-size SUV for only $241. They were also running a special for only $10/day if you were renting any time Thursday – Monday. When you factor in $15 each way from the airport and other trips around the strip, at that rate, it comes out much cheaper. I like Alamo because they allow you to use a debit card if you need to and they only hold the amount of the rental, not some arbitrary higher number. Our first hiccup happened upon arrival. There were no cars anywhere! We asked what was going on and a manager said that they didn’t have enough man power to bring them from the return area to the rental area so it would be a wait. We stood in a line of people waiting for their cars for about 15 minutes. When it was our turn they upgraded us to a full-size SUV because of the wait. This turned out to be great since we ended up carting around people who didn’t have rentals and were tired up paying for taxis. Our problem came in when I got pulled over for not having a plate! In Nevada they just give you this little 4x4 square paper for your temporary plate that goes in your window when you are waiting for a plate so it’s common for police to pull you over to check it out. However, I found out after I had been pulled over that the paper was EXPIRED! The police let me go but I called Alamo and COMPLAINED! We had already been upgraded to the largest size vehicle they have and they were all out of luxury SUVs so they gave us a new Tahoe and a $50 rental credit, which was about 2 free days. I’d use Alamo again, but next time I’ll be sure to check the tags.

Dress Alterations – Julliane’s Bridal – Olmstead Falls, OH - A

DH lives in Cleveland so I’m back and forth between there. Since I purchased the dress out there, I decided to get the work done there as well. It turned out great since she was able to take the dress from a 12 to a street size 2, hem it, and add a custom bustle for only $150.

Dress Steaming – Jennaleigh’s Bridal (J. Bridal) – F

I had initially planned to have Debi from Fit for a Bride steam my dress but I ran out of time to get it to her so I found J. Bridal last minute. On their site they advertise dress steaming starting at $35 for non-silk dress and $60 and up for silk. I called and she said to bring my dress in for a quote. Naturally when I got there she looked at the label on my dress and said that it stated my dress was not silk but a “silk like fiber†that should be handled like silk and quoted me a price of $85. That was just too much for me so I decided to pass. However, while putting the dress back in the bag she said to “make sure that it wasn’t steamed because it will cause spots all over the dress.†She said that it needed to be dry ironed only. I thought that was strange since my dress is satin, not silk satin, regular satin. To be sure, when I got back to the hotel and I checked the tag that she supposedly go this info about it being a “silk-like fiber†from and that it needed to be dry ironed and it said NOTHING about any of that! If fact, the tag said that the dress should be professionally WET CLEANED only and made no mention of what material it is made out of. This leads me to believe that she completely made up the “silk-like†fiber business and added in the extra about making sure not to get it steamed to scare me into using her service! I know we are in a recession and all but this is just beyond poor business ethics. Never would I have expected this from anyone who calls themselves a professional. I wanted to share this story with other brides so that they aren’t taken by the same scheme.

Because of my time crunch, I ended up ironing and STEAMING my dress myself and it came out perfect. No wrinkles and not a spot on it.

Stay & Ceremony – The Flamingo Hotel – A-

We were married on the West Lawn at the Flamingo Hotel so we decided to stay here was well. DH is a member’s of their player’s club so we were able to get our stay comped. We arrived on 15th and left on the 20th so 5 days comped was more than we expected. However, they only do comps for the regular, unrenovated deluxe room but we were able to upgrade to a GO room for $25/day more prior to arriving. However, I think if we would have waited until we got there, we may have been upgraded for free but since the Floyd Mayweather fight was that weekend some of our guests that did not initially book a GO room were unable to upgrade because they were all sold out and I didn’t want to take that chance.

I was able to meet with Kris, our coordinator, to go over things that Wednesday. She said that they do a scheduled rehearsal for $450 which is almost half what the actual ceremony cost so I didn’t think it was worth it. However, she said I could just call and Friday and see when she was available and do it impromptu for free so that’s what I chose and it turned out fine. The ceremony was a 4pm on Saturday. They had a ceremony right before ours and one right after so we had to be on time. They also charge you $200 if you run over your slot so we were sure not to! We started at about 4:15 since a bridesmaid left her bouquet in the room and a groomsman left his tie & hanky as well. The ceremony went smoothly except for when my dad stepped on my dress! He also stepped on my sister’s dress at her wedding so that made it even funnier. The minus is for the ceremony music. They have a keyboardist playing, but honestly, he really could’ve been playing anything, you really couldn’t make it out. Even when I watched the DVD afterward you could barely tell he was playing the songs we selected. I took a lot of time to select the songs so I wish people would have been able to tell what they were. I think they just think it was random piano music. It was also about 90 degrees when we started the ceremony but because of where the sun was when we started, the hotel cast a nice shadow over our spot so it wasn’t too hot.


Officiant – Donald Clay - A

We paid an extra $75 to be sure we had Reverend Clay. Kris had a watch ceremonies performed by the ministers they normally have available on Saturdays and Rev. Clay seemed to be the best fit. The Flamingo normally just sends whoever is there to do your ceremony and that didn’t make any sense at all to me. I was also able to email him a script of what I wanted to for the ceremony and he did a great job sticking to it and adding his own flair as well.

Photographer – Cashman - A

The package at the Flamingo includes a photographer from Cashman. We had Mark H. Since we were a little late starting, we only had about 5 minutes after the ceremony to take extra photos. We had an appointment on Sunday to review the photos and he was able to get some nice shots. We only took the 12 photos that came with the package but in the future we will probably purchase more.

Photographer – 40ThreeStudios – Ransom Rockwood – A

Ransom is a friend of mine so we flew him out to do some “getting ready†pics, shoot the wedding party at the LV sign and shoot the reception. He was able to get some nice angles and perspectives on his shots but since we’ve shot a ton before, I was expecting that. I’ll be posting some of the things he was able to capture.

Hair/Make-Up – GlamSquad – Hair – Ester, Make-Up – James – A-

I requested James since he has the most experience working with African-American brides. I actually didn’t know that Ester was doing my hair until she called and said that she was on her way to my room. I had clip-in hair pieces and I had them curled all over. Ester worked really fast and was able to pull off the look I wanted without much direction.

Ester working & Me being… me


James was a little late arriving but once he came he got to work right away. I only told him that I wanted “a little drama†and that my colors were blue & orange and he created the look from there. I had him put falsh lashes because I wear them all the time and I love the look.

James at work


Nails – Royal Nails - 1155 E Twain Ave, Las Vegas, NV – A+

This is local spot I always go to. They have reasonable prices ($25 for an acrylic full set, $30 for pedicure) and they do good work. When I told them I was getting married, she upgraded me to gel nails for free. They also put a coat of polish on my niece’s nails and toes for only $13. If you are able to get away from the strip (and strip prices) I’d recommend going here. It’s about a 5-10 minute drive from the strip.

Reception – Planet Hollywood Panorama Suite – A

We were planning to have a separate reception at rumjungle at Mandalay Bay and then just do an after party at the Panorama Suite but decided to scale it back to just the in-suite reception at Panorama Suite. The room was excellent and the view was awesome. We used an iPod for the music with our own speaker system and that was fine except it would randomly skip to songs that I knew weren’t next in the playlist but I’m sure no one noticed. We had about 50 people so it was tight but no one really complained about it. We filled the bathtub with ice and put the drinks in it since it opens up to the main living room. We served the food from the wet bar and placed a cake on the table where the phone usually is.

Catering – Big Mama’s Soul Food – B

I hate to give Big Mama’s a B since they really worked with us on the price and making sure the food tasted how we wanted but the were almost an hour late to the reception. The food managed to still be hot but how can you not find Planet Hollywood? It’s a giant hotel in the middle of the strip. I was really confused as to how they managed to get “lost.†It lead to a few grumpy guests which I definitely didn’t want. I know how it feels to be a starving guest so I absolutely did not want that but somehow it happened anyway and that was really my only big request. The food did taste great and people actually took plates with them so we had plenty.

Cake – Creations Bakery – B

I had to book Creations last minute (ie. the Wednesday before the wedding!) since we changed plans for the reception. I gave the B since Susie was really hard to contact. I let her know that I wanted to book her to make the cake on Friday and she said she would contact me Saturday to confirm and she did not. She is closed on Sunday & Monday so I was then expecting to hear from her Tuesday. When I didn’t I emailed and called several times with no response. At this point I was going to book with someone else but she called me Wednesday and she had the best price and said she could make the cake I wanted so we went with her. We requested a Cleveland style cassata cake which is like the regular Italian style but it has a little variation. What she delivered did taste good but it wasn’t exactly what we were looking for. She also was able recreate the design we wanted from a photo using buttercream instead of fondant. I don’t have a good photo of the cake but this will have to do.



Mini-Moon – M Resort – A+

I wish I had more to say about the M but we really didn’t get to do anything! On our first night’s stay we were woken up at 6am by DH’s daughter saying that her grandfather passed out in the airport! Needless to say, we rushed there and he was in an ambulance. His heart rate was really low so they wanted to take him to a hospital before the airline would let him fly. They kept him overnight for observation and ran a serious of tests but couldn’t find anything seriously wrong. His blood pressure was a bit high so they gave him a prescription for that and let him go. Because of that, we just slept at the M and spent most of our time at the hospital. The room was lovely though and we had a $25/day resort credit from the special rate I found so we had room service and that was good. The staff was very friendly and accommodating. They have really nice chairs for the slot machines too. I didn’t actually get to use any, but they looked nice! I really want to stay at the M again and get the full experience.

I’ll have more pics later but for now… Viva Las Vegas!

More specifically...10 Things Every DW Bride Planning a Wedding at an AI resort in the Caribbean or Mexico Should Know:
Please note these are generalizations and of course there are exceptions to the rule from time to time. This list is written by someone who has been a DW bride, been on a DW forum for almost 3 years, and has been working with DW brides for years.

1. Contact with your resort WC and any on site vendors months/years in advance of your wedding date will be S-L-O-W!!! (I mean 2 weeks for an email response for weddings months in advance and possibly no response for those more than a year out, slow! They prioritize by wedding date).

2. If you need to have every detail mapped out in advance from the timeline of the ceremony to the cutting of the cake then you are going to give yourself an aneurysm. Try to focus on the big picture and remember why you wanted a DW to begin with.

3. PRIVATE EVENTS ARE NOT INCLUDED IN THE ALL INCLUSIVE PACKAGES AT RESORTS!!!! YOU WILL HAVE TO PAY FOR YOUR RECEPTION. YES, EVEN THOUGH FOOD AND DRINKS ARE NORMALLY INCLUDED AT AN AI, PRIVATE WEDDING RECEPTIONS ARE NOT!

4. Your dress could get folded in half and placed in the overhead compartment on your flight! Yes, it's true most flight attenendants will try to hang it in a closet or on a hook elsewhere but that is based on the individual aircraft and how full the flight is. Also those closets and hooks are not high enough to keep the bottom of your garment bag from touching the floor. So essentially your dress will eventually be folded/bent in some way shape or form on your flight.

5. At least one but most likely more of your friends/family members will end up not going to your DW and giving you a bogus excuse.

6. People will complain about the fact that you are planning a DW. Some will do it behind your back. Others to your face. You decide which is worse.

7. If you ship wedding items to Mexico or the Caribean they will likely get stuck in customs.

8. Airlines SUCK! There will be some issue along the way whether you can't find cheap flights, flight cancellation, flight delays, schedule changes, baggage fees, etc.

9. Your resort WC is NOT the same as a wedding planner that you would hire and pay for for say a wedding in the US. For the most part they do NOT hold your hand every step of the way. They take in basic info, answer basic, questions, and then the day of do their best to make sure you have everything you want/need.

10. No matter what destination you choose a family member or friend will find a negative news report regarding it (drug lords, swine flu, Natalee Holloway, drug dealers on the beach, political uprisings). Be prepared with a list of all the great things about the destination to counteract.

What you can do to minimize the negative during the planning process:
1. Retain the services of a travel agent that knows both your destination and how to handle DW's. Refer ALL of your guests to the TA. Then your DW TA becomes your liason between you and your guests and you and your resort and airline or tour oeprator. This minimizes stress for you.

2. Even great TA's that specialize in DW's are first and foremost TA's. They can assist with wedding details and try to track down the elusive resort WC's for you, but they usually do not book outside vendors for you or actually plan your wedding ceremony/reception details. If you think you need someone to research and hire outside vendors and coordiante them on the wedding day then you may need to hire an outside WC or WP.

3. Try to find a balance between remembering it's your day so you should have what you want without having a total disregard for your family and friends.

4. You do NOT have to plan every detail in advance. These resorts have designed packages so that most details can be finalized either 1-2 months before your wedding or at your onsite meeting days before your wedding. If that thought makes your stomach turn try to pick 3 things that are most important to you and focus on that. Then allow smaller details to get planned on site if that's the way your resort works.

5. There are great DIY ideas on this forum but if you are not able to do DIY don't worry there are also great vendors on this forum from invitations to how to videos, you can find those vendors here.

Whoa, why bother with a DW then? Well because they are awesome! When you and the guests that actually make it to your wedding are on the beach sipping a margarita a few hours before your wedding starts they will tell you it's the best wedding they have ever been to!!!!

You will actually miss the planning process after your wedding is over so try to enjoy it !!!

You should go through reviews and then, most of the brides have already posted pics cause everyone loves to share their pro pics!

One of my friends just told me that I inspired her to have a DW which is great because I was inspired by one of my cousins who had one and I learned a ton from her! My friend was asking me for advice and asked what the biggest stress factor has been in planning my DW.

I told her my #1 tip was to join this forum:) This place has really been a life saver and made it a much smoother process than it would have otherwise been.

So, I told her the biggest stress for me has been the wedding party. A DW is much smaller and intimate so 7 BM & 7 GM could really be overkill in a wedding where there's only 50 ppl. That means 14 out of the 50 guests would be in the bridal party. A smaller bridal party also means excluding a lot of ppl and potentially creating resentment and hurt feelings.

I overcame it by just breaking a lot of traditions - i.e. No maid of honor, more GM than BM's...and with all the great advice on this forum.

So, what has been YOUR BIGGEST stressor in planning a DW and if someone else was going through the same thing as you, what would be your advice to them?

yea, go to

www.weddingindr.shutterfly.com

there's 2 albums there the big one is the photographer pics, the smaller one at the bottom is some pictures the guests took, the guest pics have some great views of the resort.

I think its silly to buy another dress just to trash....I mean the point is to trash it!! lol!!

a few more -

The Ceremony
Our ceremony setup looked like this:



Our ceremony was set to start at 4pm – therefore, we sent everyone to the ceremony location at 3:30. At 3:45, Valeria picked me and my dad up for the horse and carriage ride. They took us on a 5 minute ride through the resort, and everyone was waving and taking pictures of us. It was a special daughter and dad moment. They stopped the carriage around the corner (out of view from our guests) until the bridesmaids had walked down the aisle. Then we made our entrance. You can hear everyone gasp in our videos once they spotted the horse and carriage!



Music
Originally we thought we’d just use the songs on a CD, but were worried about the songs not being long enough or having gaps in between the songs. So, at our meeting with Valeria, we decided to use the harpist. We had absolutely no idea what songs we wanted. We just knew we didn’t want it to all be classical, we wanted something our guests would recognize.

I was pleasantly surprised by the selection of music! The bridal party walked down to “Wonderful Tonight†by Eric Clapton, and I walked down to “Canon in Dâ€. He played songs through our sand ceremony and as we walked back down the aisle as husband and wife. The harp was a beautiful instrument for the beach, and no one had trouble hearing him. There were no awkward silences, no songs ending too early…. I’m definitely glad I chose live music.

Officiant and Vows
This was the area I was MOST worried about. I spent hours on the forum putting together our ceremony wording, but then started to worry that it wouldn’t sound right if the officiant wasn’t familiar with the words. So, at our meeting, we gave up all control and used their wording (they also have one for sand ceremonies).

Our officiant, Gino, did a fantastic job. He spoke with emotion, in very clear English, and the words were not very different from those I had picked out. He did the reading of the hands first, then the “Love is patient love is kind†reading, then our vows, ring ceremony, and sand ceremony. It was beautiful. I was surprised that for a symbolic wedding they also have a keepsake certificate that you sign before you kiss. This was cool – it made things look “official†although we had already been married in the U.S.!

Immediately after he pronounced us man and wife we had a champagne toast (which is included in the free package). Valeria’s assistant came by with a basket of rose pedals for each guest, and they were thrown at us as we walked back down the aisle. I was happy we did this, and can’t wait to see the pictures!

OMG that cake is HUGE!!! Yummy