Jump to content

diahr

Newbie
  • Posts

    114
  • Joined

  • Last visited

    Never

Everything posted by diahr

  1. Thanks for all of your sweet comments Ladies!!! I appreciate it. Everyone was great including the Royal and all of my vendors - Cecilia Dumas, Marvin, and Norma. I have to get around to doing the planning thread now. It sucks not being in Playa though, NJ is cold!
  2. Hi SweeLe - I had my hair half done at the resort. I had just got a sewn in wavy kind of hair weave before getting to Mexico. Once at the resort salon, I asked them to blow dry it straight first and then put tight curls in it. They did a great job, with no picture to boot! They did just as I asked and even left the curls up in bobby pins because they didn't want it to fall before the wedding. After, I got dressed, my girls simply took out the bobby pins and the curls fell beautifully. I couldn't believe it. They started to drop a little but lasted well though the reception. Since the curls were so tight to begin with, even when they fell, they fell into a loose wave curl which I loved just as much.
  3. Hey there - I absolutely paid the outside vendor fee for my photography. It was $350. It was easy to add my MUA Norma as a guest because she was in and out. It would have been much more difficult to do that with a photog and her assistant + all of the equipment. No way they would pass for a guest.
  4. Teaser Pics - from The FABULOUS Cecilia Dumas!!!! There are so many great shots!! I have to contain myself and not post all of them. Best of all, Ceci had the photos and the cd to me before we left Playa! Talk about efficient. Lastly, just an fyi...I didn't want pictures on the beach. It is my personal opinion that the beach can be anywhere. I wanted pictures in the beautiful Playa Del Carmen. I really wanted people to see my pictures and know that I got married in Mexico. Ceci captured my dream perfectly without breaking our bank!
  5. I'm back!!! So much to share. Norma's contact info is below: Norma Zurama nor_maccancun@hotmail.com She's great on email. For three of us, the price was under $300 which was fantastic to me for her expertise. The price may depend on how many girls you have in your party. My makeup was 2x that of my girls but still very affordable and Norma was so professional. She made us feel ultra glam! I am goin to post some teaser pics now. Cecilia Dumas did an excellent job and also very affordable! The pictures came out beautiful!
  6. Hola Brides! I am at PDC right now. You ladies are correct, there is no music at the pool or very little. Dont worry though, this place is AMAZING!!! My guests were so impressed as was I. The pools are awesome and there is butler service both at the pool and the beach. The food here is amazing. Just a few points for upcoming PDC brides.... I will post my full review when I get back Marvin - Flowers were amazing. He was easy to work with, affordable and we met him in front of the Royal to avoid the vendor fee. Just let your WC know that you will be getting your flowers off the resort and tell Marvin to meet you in front of the resort. MUA - I had Norma from MAC and she was AMAZING!!!!!! Words cannot describe how awesome she was. Ladies - HUGE tip here to avoid the vendor fee. I put Norma down as a guest for the day of the wedding. My WC told me I get 35 or 45% off of the day passes for the day of my wedding. So I made it seem like Norma was a family friend coming to help me get ready. I paid $45 or less for her day pass and she was done. She showed up the day of the wedding and was directed to my room number. No $350 fee!! I was very ambiguous about who she was and there were no problems. For all the Royal knows, her suitcase was just her clothes. This worked out perfectly. She did a GREAT job on the makeup for me and my girls. I cannot remember the exact fee, but it was beyond nominal in comparison to the vendor fee. Room - my first room was so fabulous! Seriously, for brides that are staying here for your honeymoon, do not waste your money on the upgrade. We upgraded into a swimout room for the second part of our stay. SO NOT WORTH IT. Had I known what I know now, I would have kept us in a royal junior suit and saved the money. We expressed our dissatisfaction with the room and the Royal will not do anything to accommodate us. The swimouts appear to be smaller than the junior suits so it is not worth the premium increase. Just my thoughts. Welcome Dinner at the Blue Parrot - Another awesome time. Paula was great to work with and my guests loved the food. The place turns into a great club at night with great music. Paula will have your guests compd if they want to come back for this part. EXCURSION - I booked a private tour to Xel-ha and Tulum through Brant Travel or they also go by Entertainment Plus. This was a HUGE hit with my guests. The drivers were beyond accommodating for my rowdy, always tardy group. They waited around for us and literally let us do whatever we wanted.. The food and drink was all inclusive at Xel-ha. We ate at the buffet and I am not a buffet person, but that food was yummy!!!! The cost was 103 per person but the price can change depending on how many people you have. We charged each guest 75 and we paid the difference. Everyone seemed to be okay with that. We paid a small deposit to Brant travel in advance and paid the rest in cash to the drivers. This company is so professional and courteous. I cannot say enough about them. They were so good that both of my groups took an offering on the buses to leave a tip for the drivers without my knowledge. We had two buses. Again, a great company. More details to come when I get back....
  7. Thanks JHarris! This is my last weekend to get all my stuff done. So stressed. I just have to put the programs together. I am doing fan programs. Amazon had a DIY kit for $20 that I bought. I have the writing all ready, just need to print. I also have to do the script, but I need to do it at the right time when my FI and I are both feeling mushy - lol! Other than that, packing, and trying to have separtion anxiety over leaving my precious maltese - Missy for the first time eva - Yaaaaaay!!
  8. YOWSA Speedy! I love the black and white!! It's hot yet sophisticated. Your FI is going to love them. I love the one with the hat. I'm a hat girl myself.
  9. Hello! I think 9 to 10 people is fine. That's what my WC advised. I don't have that many people going so I have to cut mine's down a bit.
  10. Hey Bride2B22 - yeah the wedding is next week!! I have mostly everything. I need to work on the seating plan, programs, and the ceremony script asap. There's a GREAT forum on here for the ceremony scripts though so I plan on doing lots of borrowing!
  11. My FI and I were legally married last week (we are doing a symbolic ceremony in Mexico). The process was so easy. We simply filled out a marriage license with the office of vital stats.. I walked downstairs and put us on the judge's calendar. Meanwhile, we had to wait 3 days for the marriage license to be official. After that, we went to court and got it done.. I am not really even acknowledging that "it" happened because I don't want to take away from our real wedding day when we say our vows to each other. I didn't tell a soul! We used my FI's distant friend (that is not coming to the weddding) and his friend's sister (that I have never even met before) as witnesses. There was no exchange of rings or celebration either. This was just business. The best part, the whole thing only costs $28 (the cost for the marriage license). The municipal judge (in NJ) did it for free! The only thing that sucked was the privacy factor. The judge would have done it for us in his chambers before traffic court, but my FI missed his train. Soooo we had to do it in traffic court, but the judge waited until he cleared out 98% of the courtroom to take care of us. It's okay though, the people got a little surprise with their traffic fines! LOL!! We will most likely never see them again anyway so it didn't bother us at all.
  12. One more thing - Shhhh! My FI and I were legally married last week (we are doing a symbolic ceremony). The process was so easy. We simply filled out a marriage license with the office of vital stats.. I walked downstairs and put us on the judge's calendar. Meanwhile, we had to wait 3 days for the marriage license to be official. After that, we went to court and got it done.. I am not really even acknowledging that "it" happened because I don't want to take away from our real wedding day when we say our vows to each other. I didn't tell a soul! Just you ladies here on the forum know. We used my FI's distant friend (that is not coming to the weddding) and his friend's sister (that I have never even met before) as witnesses. There was no exchange of rings or celebration either. This was just business. The best part, the whole thing only costs $28 (the cost for the marriage license). The municipal judge (in NJ) did it for free! The only thing that sucked was the privacy factor. The judge would have done it for us in his chambers before traffic court, but my FI missed his train. Soooo we had to do it in traffic court, but the judge waited until he cleared out 98% of the courtroom to take care of us. It's okay though, the people got a little surprise with their traffic fines! LOL!! We will most likely never see them again anyway so it didn't bother us at all.
  13. Here's a question for everyone --- Are you ladies doing a different dress for the reception? I love my wedding gown but I feel like it may be too heavy for the reception. I almost feel like I am cheating on the dress if I switch into something different. Also, I don't want to spend a fortune on a reception dress that I will only wear for a few hours at best.. Any suggestions?
  14. Hey rosieposie / JHarris - Sorry about all the family drama. All of us destination brides have been there at some point in time or are still dealing with the drama. I have had so much of that crap, but now I am just over it. We leave next Wednesday and I am ready to parrrrtaaay!!!! There is so much to do! JHarris - Your pics came out fab!!! Love your dress and your makeup! I had my makeup trial at MAC over the weekend and it came out GREAT! I am just hoping now that Norma from MAC in Cancun can duplicate the look. I am going to send her over the colors that were used on us tomorrow.
  15. So So Jealous rosieposie & bride2bb!!!! I mentioned Vegas and my FI nearly fell out!! Couldn't do it to him, I need him to be alive for us to get married. I am waiting until after the wedding to tell him that I am going to Vegas for my MOH's bachelorette party. I am her MOH too so I have to be present.. We'll see how that news goes over Have fun for all us Royal brides in Vegas!!!!
  16. I am getting married in two weeks. Our wedding is at 5pm so I'll let you know how the light works out. FYI...I asked like 3 photographers before I settled on this time and paid the extra fee for it.
  17. Hey There! The Royal has different color wrist bands than the Porto and other resorts. I have heard on the forum they are very strict about the timing as far as the wedding goes for Non Royal guests.
  18. Hey Ladies - I had my bachelorhood party this weekend in Atlantic City! Me and 9 of my friends got a limo and club hopped til 6am.. Now no wedding event is without drama so here it is - before we left the hotel room for the party, my older single sister decided to show me what dress she was going to wear for the wedding (she is not in the wedding party, you'll see why in a sec).. This bi*** had the nerve to show me a MINI dress from BCBG!! Guess what color the dress is - WHITE and black!!! And I don't mean a little white. The dress is a skunk!! Black on the sides and a HUGE WIDE white stripe down the middle and back!! What do I do? Am I being a bridezilla here? I told her she is not wearing the dress and that I was done with the conversation and then I walked out of the room. But she is just nuts enough to do it!! Her excuse is that she doesn't have money to buy a dress (she drives a white BMW) and she can't wear "cheap shi*." Okay seriously, dresses are not that expensive. I told her to go to Marshall's, JCPenny or something. Her response was that she doesn't want to fight for clothes.. WTF?! Seriously, people at Marshalls are not savages.. I can't even... The fact that this chick even thought it was okay / appropriate to wear a short, tight, black and white dress to my wedding... And my sister isn't small! What to do?! We leave in 2 weeks!! How do I tell this chic this upsets me without causin awkwardness or getting into a fight?
  19. Good Stuff Bride2B22!!! Speedy130 - Now that all of my guests have booked (at 3 different resorts of course), I sent out my proposal to like 3 different vendors for the Xel-Ha / Tulum private tour. The prices all seem similar but I just wanted to be sure. I'll let you know who the final pic is.
  20. Blue Parrot is a close place from the resort and I heard that they have a great fire show. We are doing our rehersal dinner there. When is your wedding date? If it's after mine's, I'll let you know how it is. They don't require that much advance notice and they can reserve a private table for your group right in front of the show. That's what they are doing for us.
  21. My WC said the 3 entrees were cool as long as I told her the number of each in advance (I gave the final count last week). I guess it depends on which you choose though.. I didn't push my luck and look at the luxury menu lol!! You also get the vegan option as well. I just hunted people down to get them to tell me what they wanted. I did pay extra to have to side dishes though. I think it was like $2 USD per extra side ($40 for my group). Each entree comes with one side already but me and my family are serious foodies! We need extra always..
  22. Hey Speedy - I was going to do a menu also! I am thinking about using Vistaprint since they are usually pretty cheap or just making the menus on my own using Microsoft Publisher and doing the printing at Kinkos or something. For pre-maritial classes, we took an 8 week (sundays only) session at our non denominational church. The classes were great! Can't say enough about them. The good thing was that anyone could attend the classes (they were group sessions) regardless of if you went to the church or not and the whole thing was completely FREE!!! The sessions included an Introduction, Finance, Affair Proofing, His Needs / Her Needs, Communications 1, Communications 2, Intimacy, and I forget the other topic. Maybe you can find a church near you that does the same thing??? I haven't booked the excursion yet but I have been in constant contact with the operator - Cancun Discounts. If you google them, they will pop right up. I had to wait until people finished booking, which was like yesterday (seriously!)...For private tours, the pricing is based off of how many people you have.
  23. Hey ladies - I leave in 3 WEEKS!!!! So anxious... Anywho, I keep hearing people mention a checklist from the Royal WCs. I have not gotten any such thing nor has my WC even mentioned it. The only thing that I can think of is that we have mostly everything done at this point so we don't need a checklist. I dunno. Should I be alarmed ladies? Does anyone have a copy of the checklist that they can share so I can see what's on it? I just got my favors in yesterday, I will post a pic later since I am at work now. Below are the things that we have done so far. Can you ladies take a look and let me know if I am missing anything? This can be very overwhelming and it doesn't help that I don't really know anyone close that has ever gotten married b4. Pre Marital Class - LOL! We needed it √ FI Suit √ Airport Transfer - Cancun Transfers √ My Dress √ PENDING Wedding Bands √ Shoes √ Jewelry – PENDING MOH Dress √ BM Suit √ Hair Appt @ SpaZul √ Makeup - Norma from MAC √ Photo - Cecilia Dumas √ Chair Sashes √ OOT Bags - IN PROGRESS Programs - NOT STARTED Reception Centerpieces - Royal √ Video - DIY (I know, I know...budget!) √ Wedding Party Flowers / Wedding Decorations - Marvin √ Favors - Brushed Nickel Picture Frames & Personalized Matchbooks √ Cake - Tres Leches / Chocolate √ (Are you ladies getting cake toppers? For the cost, I am not sure if it's worth it) Reception Menu - Goat Cheese Spring Salad / Salmon, Beef or Shrimp Dish / Chocolate Pear Tart or something - lol! √ Music: Ipod - Couldn't justify the cost of a DJ for 20 people, most of which are women (only like 6 men including my FI)√ Excursion - Private Tour to Xel Ha & Tulum (guests will pay $75, we pay the rest and it's optional to come) √ Sorry for the long post!
×
×
  • Create New...