MarieSamSanchezPhoto

I love the idea of a scavenger hunt!!!

BUMP BUMP BUMP!!!     

Send us your wedding details ladies -- we'd love to feature you on the forum and you could win a $250 giftcard just for sharing your wedding experience with us 

I've used Paper Lantern store -- they have good products and great prices and often have online coupons you can use Hope that helps!!!    www.paperlanternstore.com - that's the link to the site!

ATTENTION ALL PAST AND PRESENT BRIDES & GROOMS   -- we would love to interview you and feature you and your wedding on BDW!  

In order to qualify, we need you to thoroughly answer our questions as well as provide as much planning and wedding pics as you can.

We would love to feature 2 weddings/brides a month.

If you are interested in participating, please let me know here by commenting on this thread.

*** At the end of the year (from the date of this post), we will chose 1 bride that was featured and give them a $250 (either in the form of a giftcard or paypal!) ***

This is open to all BDW members (vendors, mods included!) -- so spread the word to other brides!!!

This interview and feature will be posted here on BDW and may be sent out in the newsletter!

Jessica @ Aventura Cove

Miriam @ Azul Sensatori

Rashedah @ Iberostar Rose Hall

Shawn @ Gran Bahia Principe

Stephanie @ Missions De San Jose del Cabo Anuniti

Cortney @ Paradisus Punta Cana

Stephanie @ Atlantis Paradise Island

Erica @ Carnival Liberty Eastern  Caribbean Cruise

Janette @ Grand Sirenis Akumal

For photos, you can upload to Shutterfly.com through a sharesite -- that will allow you to upload all your photos and share them with your family.

For video, the options I can think of are YouTube (although I'm not sure you can upload a 40-minute video) and Vimeo -- I believe both options have limits on how big a file size you can upload, so you will have to check on that!

Hope that helps

Congrats Wright Travel!!! That's awesome 

Definitely check out the vendor reviews section here in the forum! Also, things to consider when you're looking for a photographer/videographer:

-- Figure out what style of photography/videography you are drawn to

-- Set aside a budget range that you're willing to invest in photos/videos (you may need to adjust this accordingly as you start to look into teams you are drawn to)

-- Decide whether you want to hire someone local to your destination area OR do you want to hire a team that may be local to where you live and fly them out? (I did this and it worked out great!)

Also make sure to contact your resort/wedding venue and check and see if you're allowed to bring in outside vendors. Some places will either require that you use their specific set of recommended vendors or they'll require that you pay an outside vendor fee -- definitely something to consider when you figure out your budget!

Hope that helps (I should write a blog post about this!!! LOL) 

I actually posted a BDW blog on a great alternative for bridesmaid gowns Check out the post here: 

Both are super cute! But as a wedding  photographer, it's always kinda cool when the bride's dress and bridesmaid/flower girl dresses all kind of mesh together and compliment one another. Can you post a photo of your dress?

What a dreamy location for a wedding -- I went to Rome about 8 years ago and ahhhh it's just so amazing there! Rome gives me life   Shooting a wedding in Italy is on my bucket list!!! 

I guess with the distance of the ceremony and reception being so far, it would be good to try and arrange transportation of some sort for your guests. Definitely utilize the search function up top for "Rome wedding" to see if there are any other brides that have experienced planning a wedding there. Advice from other brides who've had their wedding in your same region is always so useful! Also might be a good idea to see if you can actually find a planner who can help you out there as his/her expertise would likely be of great use to you as far as getting from site to site. Another option is turning to advice from your vendors. Can your reception venue give you any assistance? Or perhaps you can turn to your photographer for advice, if you're utilizing a local photographer. Wedding vendors are great resources for info and can often times lead you in the right direction -- all you have to do is ask!

Hope that helps and best of luck! 

I fortunately got married before the airlines began charging for check-in luggage -- which is good because I literally brought 15 bags to my destination wedding LOL 

But we only were able to do that because we were traveling with 20 other relatives and I checked in at least 1 bag under each person's name -- back then each person could bring 2 free bags (the good ol' days!!!). Since you're traveling internationally, there may be some airlines that allow 1 or more free bags and if so, it may be good to start asking close friends or family if they'd be willing to bring one of your bags

I actually had a real-touch flower bouquet made by a local vendor here in Southern California and then flew with them, and then a family friend made our centerpieces for the wedding reception. Everything traveled extremely well, it's a matter of packing your florals correctly with enough cushion so they don't get flattened out. And then also the willingness to "fluff" them and fix them should you need to once you arrive to your destination. It's totally a great idea if your destination is a place that either doesn't carry the flowers you want or if they're simply too pricey. Also a good option if you want your flowers to look exactly how you envisioned. Surprisingly for me, having my flowers made was actually much more affordable and now I have wonderful keepsakes as well

Here's a photo of my bouquet ...

So glad to hear your fiancé is recovering well! It sounds like a DW is the way to go Something beautiful with just your closest family and friends surrounding you is ALWAYS a wonderful idea -- as a wedding photographer, I absolutely LOVE small intimate affairs because they are much more personal and they are fueled with so much emotion and love for the couple. My husband and I actually got married on the 10th anniversary of our first date, so I know what it means to have to wait LOL. But remember, good things come to those who wait -- I think your celebration is going to be amazing. Wishing you both the very best as your journey toward your Big Day 

Congrats on getting your plans set!! DR is a beautiful place -- romantic and beautiful and the perfect setting for a destination wedding

Congrats!!! You looked amazing and your photos are beautiful   Looks like you had an incredible celebration!!!!

Hello.

I need to order a wedding cake and can't seem to find a direct email for a bakery in Playa.  I have seen some facebook pages and names, but I haven't had luck reaching anyone. 

If anyone could help, I would greatly appreciate it. 

 

Thanks!

There is Turtle Bay Cafe in Akumal, which is about 25 minutes south of Playa -- I know they deliver to PDC and their wedding cakes, cupcakes and desserts are all awesome! Their bakery caters to brides/grooms -- here's their website: www.turtlebaycafe.com

Hope that helps!! 

Congrats! The Riviera Maya is my happy place

You have come to the right place -- BDW is full of incredible insight, advice and information from current and past brides as well as wonderful vendors!

Those flowers look great and I think they will be fine for using on your cake, plus everyone will only be worried about eating the cake hahaahahah -- and what a steal of a deal at Michael's!!! Make sure to share photos of the final product come your wedding day  

I love your fun idea! And since you know this couple, you would know best if they'd like a fun gift like that or not  I also think things like giftcards to a favorite restaurant or gifting them a couple's massage to somewhere would be a great idea. After 10 years of marriage, it's time for them to celebrate love and romance and keep the passion alive! We just celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary, but collectively we have been together for 16 years now ~ so trust me, when you start to get into the long stretch of the relationship, it's all about "dating" each other again and finding ways to keep the romance alive 

Congrats! Sounds fantastic Though I'm already married, I am in love with the idea of dreamy destination elopements! I am hoping one day I will actually get to photograph a destination elopement, it sounds so wonderfully romantic and incredible Can't wait to see your photos!!!!! 

What a great deal for BDW couples!!!

I was planning on writing a blog post on this very topic! I had to go through this dilemma myself and I can honestly say, it doesn't take away from the DW at all. To be honest, I don't even really remember the date we did our legal ceremony hahaha  The DW is the day that we recognize because it was in front of all our family and friends and of course included all the bells and whistles that we planned so long for. Great post!!!

CONGRATS!!! MAke sure to post pics when you return and Happy Wedding Day!!!!! 

Hi Ladies - I don't have a planning thread (drat) so I am posting a new topic and hoping I can get your thoughts on what you'd do. We leave for Jamaica for our wedding in 8 days and our wedding is in 12! Of course we booked our photographer last July and at the time I saw other brides say that she takes a long time to return pictures (like 12 weeks), and I figured I was okay with that if her style was what I liked the best.

 

But ever since I've seen bride after bride after bride complain about how the photographer is completely unresponsive despite any attempts to contact her via email, Facebook or phone. She just does not respond at all. And many brides are waiting 5-6 months to get any of their pictures back, well beyond the maximum 12 weeks it states in the contract. They aren't even getting "sneak peak" photos to use for thank you cards before that. In fact, a bride on this forum today who got married in January hasn't heard a thing from the photographer! Now, every bride also says they love their photos and how they are worth the wait, and that they liked her on their wedding day, but I am MAJORLY regretting my decision to hire her

 

I emailed her on May 8th to touch base and ask her about our timeline and what to expect on our wedding day. I haven't heard back. According to our contract, our final payment was due to her yesterday (2 weeks before our wedding) but I haven't heard from her. Another bride with a wedding a few days before mine DID (finally) hear from her, so I know she is alive! My fiancé tried calling her today and left a voicemail. I just don't think not contacting your client - or responding to their friendly email - in the month before their wedding is acceptable and I don't want to send her our $2,000 payment on a hope and a prayer. If she doesn't deliver my photos by the 12 weeks, she has my money so what am I going to do about it? This doesn't seem to be an issue with any other Jamaican photographers, and this issue is abundant and consistent among brides who have used her, so I just really regret giving her my money. She has a $720 deposit from us already. 

 

Hopefully my fiancé can get ahold of her and talk about our concerns (he is more assertive than I am) and if he isn't getting a bad feeling maybe ask for our deposit back? It seems unlikely she would return it. We may be able to find another photographer available at the last minute (or use the so-so resort photog), but then we'd be out the $720. I just picture her showing up on my wedding day and already having a negative feeling about her and it just stinks. Everyone says your rapport with your photographer is important and she is going to be hanging around us all day! 

 

I really do not want to send her the money and hope for the best...any other thoughts? Am I making too big of a deal out of this and I should just trust that it will be fine?  

Gosh this is a tough spot to be in since your wedding is just around the corner and you're getting no communication from your photographer. I am going to give you my perspective as both a former destination wedding bride as as a current destination wedding photographer.

When your wedding is around the corner, there will always be unforeseen predicaments that come up. Not sure why, I guess it's just the way things work out LOL. And it sucks!  But the best advice I can give is to keep calm and stay focused -- it's your wedding and it's going to be amazing regardless of what happens.

I honestly could not imagine not hearing from my photographer so close to the wedding, that would freak me out too -- I am guessing she's based in Jamaica? If you know for sure from other brides that she has been in communication with them recently, then it's a good sign that she will in fact hold true to her word and be there for your Wedding Day. If you love her work and you have a solid signed contract with her, you are in good shape. The fact of the matter is, some wedding vendors -- especially when it comes to DW vendors in another country -- just don't have a sense of urgency when it comes to responding to their brides. Yes, this totally sucks, I went through it myself when getting married in Mexico and it drove me batty. But rest assure, everything worked out fine.

As for her slow turnaround time with photos -- is it stated in your contract how long it takes for her to produce your images? If she's slow to turn images around with other brides, it's likely she will do the same with you. As a photographer, I can tell you, I have it clearly stated in my contracts with our couples that images will be produced within 4 to 6 weeks from the Wedding Day, but I always post teasers on my FB business page usually the night of the wedding or the day after and I always try to go above and beyond meeting my deadline and try to finish editing the images a lot earlier because I know how excited and anxious our couples get. For a bride to wait 6 months for her photos is crazy long and with no explanation really bad business practice. But I can only guess she is extremely overwhelmed and busy with her business, or perhaps she has a personal issue she's dealing with that has set her back. It's always worth asking, and maybe even ask her on your Wedding Day if you could get a few teasers in advance to use for thank you cards. 

As for paying the remainder of your balance, the one thing you have to consider is that even if you don't pay her for lack of communication -- you could still be contractually liable for the remaining balance because your wedding is so close. If you really love her work, I would really continue to try and contact her -- email, phone, Facebook message, maybe even comment on one of your facebook images "hey this is your bride, can you please contact me?"-- try every method you can think of and stress to her that you want to speak to her to make final payment. The money factor always seems to get people to move faster!

Is it important to have a good connection with your photographer? In my opinion, absolutely. I love the fact that many of our couples turn out to be our friends. For us, having a good connection and rapport with our couples is so important and we stress this during our consult because we will be around them so much during the Wedding Day. It just makes it so much easier when you have a good relationship with the people documenting one of the most important days of your life.

All that said, it would be ideal for you to speak to her ahead of time and get all this cleared out so that come the Big Day you can feel at ease and not so anxious and worried. But if for some reason, you can't get a hold of her -- don't let it bother you. Don't let your ill feelings towards your photographer ruin your day -- it's your Wedding Day and it's going to be fabulous!!! Stay positive no matter what and keep us posted!!! 

I think it fake cake could work, but it seems like you would still have to decorate it right? Or if it's pre-decorated, bringing it to your destination without worrying about it getting damaged, might be a hassle. If the cake options at your resort aren't up to your taste - can you ask them to do something simpler and maybe give them some inspiration photos? Perhaps just decorating it simply with just flowers?

Or, how about cake alternatives?!? Check out this article I posted here on the forum a few weeks ago -- cake doesn't have to be the only option : http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/wedding-tips/c/planning/5-wedding-cake-alternatives-you-your-gues-r2248

Hope that helps!! Let us know what you decide