mochamakes3

We are having trouble organizing a date for a GTA get together. Please select a date that would work out best for you to attend. We have decided that Square One is the most convenient gathering spot. You can select more than one answer. I think it's safe to say that it will probably be best for an evening meeting.

This was the first dress I ordered from Monica Bridal. I decided to order a different dress, so this one was never worn. I just want to recoup some of my costs. It is well made and has great detailing and beading. It was made to fit my measurements, but it is approximately a size 6. It can be adjusted as it has a corset closure. I did not have the hem adjusted, it was still long with 4" heels and I am 5'6". Please make me an offer so I can start clearing out my wedding closet.

Friday's are not great for me... sorry.

My Palace Memories is the photo packages that anyone can purchase. My parents used $650 palace dollars for us to do a family photo shoot. But you can't use it for your wedding. Did you book through a TA or a Palace membership? Also, are you doing the comp package?

We booked our resort and flight separately, so I checked flights from Toronto, Hamilton and Buffalo. They were all really close. Even though the taxes are a lot lower flying from Buffalo, there is few direct flights to Cancun. For us, it wasn't worth the minimal price difference to spend more time traveling. What resorts are you considering?

I had no problem with bringing freeze dried. I split them amongst our group so that even if one got checked and confiscated we would still have lots. I think the only issue is bringing live plants and fresh cut flowers. p.s. I snuck hubby's boutonierre back and it was a rose.

For sure, it's a great thing to have any time a child is traveling without both parents whether it's within their own country or crossing borders. I know my sister and brother-in-law always make sure they have notes from each other when only one is traveling. To put it into perspective, I've even been asked to show rabies identification when crossing the border with my dog. It's all about security.

Erin, that's great news. Can't wait to see more from your wedding. I think that anytime you have just enough seats you should assigned seating. Otherwise, you might end up with gaps in the tables and people with nowhere to sit.

Finally, I can do my list: What to do again: Join this forum and have an amazing support group of fellow brides. Book through palace resorts to guarantee an amazing vacation and also the great group benefits. Order a second ceremony dress because I wasn't completely happy with the first one. Have a short reception dress for comfort. Have my hair and makeup done at the resort. They were able to cover up my horrible peeling skin, I would never have been capable enough. Plus, I never would have anticipated getting so dark. Upgrade our room to be closer to the lobby and some of our other guests. Hire fabulous photographers from home, they turned out to be great people and hopefully new friends. Not stress throughout the week and trust that everything would work out. Purchase our decor to save a ton of money and just pay a minimal set up fee. Plan a day trip for the day before our wedding to relax and forget about little details. Make my own veil. I don't think there was a huge difference looking at it, but it only cost $20. Not worried about packing my dress in a small carry on. For $36, I had it pressed at the resort and it looked great. And I didn't have to worry about where to store it on the plane. Stay a few days after the wedding to relax. Although it wasn't as exciting as when all our friends were there, it was nice to go places without having to call 8 other rooms to arrange meeting times. DIY our real touch flowers. They turned out great in pictures, were exactly what I wanted, and didn't cost a fortune. Choose tangerine for BM dresses, they both looked great in the color even with different skin tones, and it was great for a tropical feel. Take a few days off after we got back to unpack and relax at home. What to reconsider/should have done: Not been away from home and hubby for 90% of our engagement and throughout our planning. I really would have appreciated a hug and kiss from him most days. Forced my MoH to cancel her reservation and book through our group. It saved her $200, but I would have gladly paid twice that to have her included with our group. It basically cost us $1500 to not have her included and that still keeps me up at night. Arranged our luggage a few days before leaving, I was borrowing luggage from friends at midnight before a 5 am departure. Asked BM that actually have time in their lives to help me plan. One of my really good friends came to our wedding, but I felt guilty asking her to replace my prego BF. She was a great support and I felt like I should have included her in the wedding party. Made a playlist for cocktail hour and reception Made a list for getting ready on the day of, I forgot my garter, my starfish bouquet pin, the boutonnieres for my dad and ring bearer Tried harder to find shoes that I loved. I wasn't completely pleased with my shoe selection, but I also ended up borrowing flip flops that were 3 sizes too large and wore them dancing. Made the time to go proper dress shopping and find a dress that I absolutely loved. I kept delaying it and when I tried to go shopping there just wasn't anything fabulous. I picked all my dresses from pictures. I could probably over analyze every aspect of the whole process, but theses are the things that stood out for me.

I suggest booking in Sunrise. That's where most of the restaurants are located, and the nightlife options are better (Swing Bar, larger Lobby Bar and disco). There's also more entertainment during the day and more variety for activities. Don't forget the huge kids play area at Sunrise. We only walked through Nizuc section a couple of times and noticed it is definitely more low key. Plus, we enjoyed our balcony hammock almost every night, and they are only guaranteed in Sunrise section.

I'm so glad that a lot of us were able to use vacation dollars for the video. I would have been so mad if we paid $500 for that video. It was good and we'll watch it again, but way overpriced. Our videographer took off pretty quick, it would have been nice to have some video of the cocktail hour. We also should have had our first dance then to get it included in the pro video.

We're figuring on about 70 people, so we will definitely need assigned seating as well. I wanted to show our wedding video but since I posted it on fb, I think most people have seen it. I'm also having a hard time keeping our photos secret. MIL knows we have seen them, and has been asking where she can. Ummm.... you were at the wedding, you know what happened, wait. I don't want her to know anything about our AHR, because she will tell everyone and no one will be surprised. I would love to be able to set a slideshow to music, but I will wait to see if we have access to all them. For now, I think I will just try to set up some mosaic photo frames. I'm sure that not everyone wants to pour over our pictures.

seasidebride - We were reassigned to Valeria because our original WC had an emergency. She was amazing, so kind and wonderful to deal with. She made sure that everything I had arranged with the original WC went as planned and provided great input for the outstanding decisions. She was available throughout the week for us to bring decorations and make minor changes. Valeria was so helpful throughout the ceremony and directed our guests between the cocktail hour and the dinner reception. She made sure there was a hospitality room nearby the reception location. She stayed with us all day long, even helping to pack up decorations at the end of the night. I don't think I have any complaints about the service from the MP wedding office. I wish the Miami office had a fraction of their customer service skills.

We did the legal ceremony. We considered doing the symbolic and then a legal ceremony at home, but it would have been more expensive to have a legal ceremony at home. The $300 fee includes all the blood work, paperwork and translation of documents. We paid an additional $14 for a second copy of our marriage certificate. We brought our certified copies of birth certificates, which MP photocopied and immediately returned. They also took copies of passports and tourist cards for us and our 4 witnesses. The blood test was quick and we met a few other couples in the waiting room, so that was nice. We got our marriage certificates by courier about 3 weeks after our wedding. I haven't gone to change my name yet, so I don't know how that works. I figured that it probably wouldn't be too different having a foreign marriage cert, and we could always renew our vows locally if it becomes an issue.

I'm still undecided about table numbers. I was sick most of the long weekend, so I didn't even finish our AHR invites. They are pretty basic and simple. But I still feel like I have to make them a little prettier. I also have to figure out which photos to show off and how.

Laura, those look great. We have cards included with our photo package, so I don't know when we will get them. I hope that makes you feel better Meggers. We also just got access to our photos yesterday. Hubby hasn't even had the time to see them yet Question, what is everyone doing with their TTD photos. How do we display them? A separate book?

Thank ladies! My dress is Madeira by La Sposa. Yes, our photographers stayed 5 nights. When I told Claudia that our friends were taking our pictures, she just asked if they were staying there. She never asked anything else. I'm so glad we found them, they are an amazing couple. I can't wait to use them for all our future celebrations.

lesee - That's a great idea to send photo books. I think I might look into that.

Now that I have a good selection of our pro pics, I'm going to try to start work on my review today or tomorrow. It might be pretty long as I have a lot of comments. I will be adding lots of pics, but I also have some posted in the April 2011 forum. Here is a link to our photographers blog with our photos: http://lightscapephotography.wordpress.com/2011/05/16/destination-wedding-sherri-brian/

Brandy - I was wondering where you have been the last week. You have up to a year to send thank you cards. But it is advised to do ASAP so people aren't offended that you accepted their gifts without notice. Especially if the gift was received by mail, you want them to know it arrived safely.

Greys - How much candy did you buy? I'm not sure how much is too much, or even how many different sorts. It is amazing having people to talk to that are going through the same phases in life. And sometimes I think it helps that we don't know each other personally, so we can provide honest opinions and get truthful responses. It's a good thing no one is preggers yet, or the hormones might make us cry.

Yes, the light is still how they decide who to search. You should be fine but it might be a good idea to split things between you and FI. I think you're only allowed to bring $300 worth of gifts. It was pretty easy getting in the carriage. But the steps are super small so getting out is tricky. I did trip a little and you can see it in the video. I think you should ask to be assigned to someone else. She'll probably be running from your wedding to the next one, so at least yours is first. She will be able to handle both, but I'm surprised they are so close. Your ceremony will be just ending at the time she is supposed to go to the other bride. And yes, she will only show up 15-20 minutes before your ceremony. Don't worry, you will get to your wedding on time.