Manda123

I brought in a photographer and did not have to pay any fees. It's probably best to send the ladies an email though!
 

Originally Posted by shannonlsmith 

Do you know if there is an outside vendor fee?

Hi Darya,

I booked Sascha for 5 hours, with an hour "break" in between since it was getting pretty dark and he was nice enough to agree to stay to take first dance photos. All in all, he was there for all of our getting ready photos, the ceremony, group and bridal party shots, speeches, cake cutting, first dance and the beginning our receptions. 

We didn't get a DJ. By the time speeches and dinner were done it was just after 9 and we moved on to the disco at 11, so it simply wasn't worth it for us to get a DJ for 2 hours. We had all the songs we wanted on an iPod and had a good friend in charge to fade in/fade out the music during dinner and simply hit "play" for our reception.

Originally Posted by DaryaB 

Hi Ladies!

I've been following this thread for a while and finally joined. I'm getting married at the GP on October 25, 2012. I just want to say thanks for all of the posts, I really have learned so much. To the newest brides: Manda and Jena, you girls looked beautiful, I can't wait to see pictures from all of the upcoming brides. I'm sorry to hear that some of you had trouble communicating with the WCs. I've been working with Vanessa and she is great, she usually replies within 24-48 hours. I'm getting married on the beach, I alway loved having my toes in the sand. I saw a lot of pictures in the beach gazebo, but does anyone have any beach pictures?

Manda, I booked Sascha for my photography, you gave him great recommendations. How many hours did you get him for? I just want to make sure I booked enough time.

Did the hotel provide transportation from the ceremony to cocktail party and then to reception?

We are doing the reception at La Laguna (we also had an option of El Gran Azul) but it was closer to our cocktail party and it seemed from the posts here that La Laguna was more popular.

Dancing is really important for us so we wanted a professional DJ. We booked DJ Doremixx because of their reviews in the area. Did anybody have personal experience with them?

 

Thanks!!!

 

Darya

Originally Posted by shannonlsmith 

Do you have to pay $20/person for ceremony?  Or is that only if you need xtra chairs?

We paid $20/pp for ceremony. The champagne was nice, but I don't know if it was really worth it. If you are looking for a place to save a little money, this might be worth cutting.

Originally Posted by DaryaB 

Shannon,

Wow, 100 guests! That's a great turnout for a destination wedding. Based on the photographer reviews on this forum I booked Sascha Gluck. He is very reasonable, I'm paying $2,600 for 8 hours for Sascha and his assistant. Our ceremony is at 4 and the sit down reception is at La Laguna from 7 til 11pm so we wanted to do a cocktail party for 2 hours to keep our group together and entertained. For the reception we booked DJ Doremixx (they had great reviews too). I thought it was a good deal: $800 for 5 hours. Music is important to us and my friends love dancing so we thought we'd get a professional for that. They have been great so far, sent me all kinds of song suggestions and they are open for suggestions.

 

Samantha,

I'm still debating about live music during the ceremony but that's a little pricey. Here's the price list for music I got from Vanessa:

Mariachi Band (8 men) $775 for 45 minutes

Trio Band (3 men) $350 for 45 minutes

Live Band - 3 musicians $625 for 1 hour

Live Band - 5 musicians $975 for 1 hour

 

As for the cake Vanessa said they can try and do anything you ask for but they do not work with fondant. I was thinking about getting white frosting and decorate it with fresh flowers to match my bouquet but I haven't picked the bouquet yet.

I got the pricing for the bridesmaids bouquets, boutonnieres, corsages, etc. if any of you need it.

The ladies included matchin flowers on our cake at no extra cost. We were really happy with our cake. It was simple but pretty. We had a very creative and personalized cake topper, so we really didn't need a lot of extras from the resort. If you are hoping that the resort is making it spectacular and you aren't bringing anything yourself to include on the cake, it might be best to send some photos down ahead of time to see if they are able to create what you'd like.

I hear ya, ladies! Who knew that wedding planning was so all-consuming! I have started training for a half-marathon in May. It has been good to have some other goal in mind and something to look forward to - or maybe I am just crazy! This run could be the death of me... lol!

Jena you looked soooo beautiful. I teared up watching your slideshow.... Loved the dress, hair, everything.

Can't wait to hear about your trip. Did you end up going to Coco Bongo or what?! 

Great idea, AquaCait! I wish I had thought of that... Or I was getting married after you! LOL! There was some definite mug mix-ups at my wedding. Remember to let everyone know about the sunscreen situation with those Factory 21 mugs! Sunscreen will smudge your lovely monograms/.

Everything has been sold.

Thanks for your interest!

Hmmm.. Not sure about sparklers. I inquired about having sky lanterns, and they didn't allow them (something to do with their environmental policies). Just send the ladies an email. You might not hear back for a while, though!
 

Originally Posted by Mikeycelle 

Beautiful pictures! I can't wait to see more wedding pics posted!

Congratulations to JND2012! 

Does anyone know if they allow sparklers? I'd love everyone to carry sparklers after the ceremony to the cocktail area. I thought It'd be a pretty cool idea to light after sunset.

 

 

 

Our MC and his fiancee are getting married over the Christmas holidays next year in the Dominican. We've already put down our deposit. Some of the same people are going from our wedding, so it will be another good time I think! I'm looking forward to ATTENDING a DW, instead of running around meeting with people, making sure I spend time with everyone. I think everyone needs to start thinking about planning a nice honeymoon. We all need something to look forward to!
 

Originally Posted by Avens 

My friends have all mentioned this to.  I think we need to plan another trip so we have something to look forward too!
 

 

It's very easy to change your name in Ontario. I can't imagine it's much different in Alta. I'm changing my last name. I'm a teacher, and it's becoming "official" next week for the start of semester 2. It's going to be weird hearing a different name. It will take some getting used to! I like the idea of combining your maiden name with your new name!

 

Originally Posted by Avens 

Hey Ladies,

 

I know a couple of you are from Alberta - and I'm wondering if you are changing your name - what what steps you have to start with to do it?

 

In general - are any of you changing your name?  Initially I wasn't, and hubby was cool.  Now that we're "officially" married, I get the feeling he really wants me to.  I like his last name, and it wasn't ever out of the question, moreso for convenience that I wouldn't change it, and I really like my name.  It reflects my heritage, and I just like it.

 

For professional purposes, I would like to stay Jaimee "Smith", but legally be Jaimee "Jones".  Has anyone ever thought of making their maiden name a middle name? 

 

So my new name would be Jaimee Anne Smith Jones. For all intents and purposes I would be Jaimee Jones legally, but then Smith is still a part of my name.  (PS. I made up middle and last names)

 

What are your thoughts January ladies? What are you doing?

The outlets are the same as ours. No need for a converter.
 

Originally Posted by rachelw29 

I cant remember from my last trip there, do we need to take a power converter or do our plugs for electical devices fit the plug ins there?

 

 

That bouquet is amazing!!

I was just married in Mexico, and I can say that I felt quite safe. We left the resort a few times - visited the Tulum ruins and a club in Playa Del Carmen. I think that people are really over-reacting about the violence. People can get hurt anywhere; travellers just need to be sure they are vigilent. Use common sense and you will be fine. It is really a shame that some people can be so close-minded. It is often the people who have never been to Mexico that are making these comments, too. I had a "discussion" with a few girls at work about this on Friday. They were really quite rude and said that they would NEVER travel to Mexico and how they couldn't understand why people would go there, considering the violence. I was pretty insulted by this - felt it was an attack on my own judgement for planning a wedding there and bringing with me 70 of my families and friends. So ignorant! The Mexicans I met were some of the sweetest people I've ever met - I would hate to think that their livlihood might be threatened by a lack of tourism that may result from the negative PR. 

Thanks for sharing the article. 
 

Originally Posted by Bree82 

I'm in as well! I'm getting married (hopefully) Feb 20th, 2013 in Playa Del Carmen.

 

I have one question for all you girls though. Have any of your guests expressed concern going to Mexico considering all the violence that has occurred against Canadians in last little while? I know they haven't happened in this part of the country, but there have been many targeted attacks on tourists, and I don't want this location to dissuade anyone from RSVPing.

 

Send me your thoughts. 

 

Thanks,

Breanne

Originally Posted by aquamaniac 

Thanks for posting this article, I feel the same way. We're getting married in Mexico this May, and none of our guests have had any issues with the destination. We've traveled to Mexico before, and many other places in the world; and as long as you are a smart traveller nothing horrific should happen. Usually media likes to blow these rare events out of proportion, and often we do not know the full details that led to such events. And yes, there are cities in Canada that can be more dangerous then cities in Mexico. Considering how many thousands of tourists flock to Mexico annually, and although the events are tragic, the numbers are not that alarming.

 

 

A quick warning about the Dollarama sewing kits - I didn't include sewing kits in my OOTs, but I did purchase this one for myself to bring down there - just in case. It fell apart really quickly. The black cover that snaps together broke into two pieces when I tried to snap it shut. For those of you thinking of buying these, I would maybe wait until the ones at Michaels are in stock. 
 

Originally Posted by Pappy 

I wasn't able to find travel sewing kits at Michaels but Dollarama has black sewing kits for a dollar.  

Yes, we did. We also had our photographer for 5 hours. He ended up staying a little later and catching the first dances and some of the reception because he stayed for dinner. I am not sure if he and his assistant ate, though!

We were able to put our keys and a few bucks in ours quite easily

Originally Posted by pask454 

thanks for the tip. What are you putting in the plastic holders? How much stuff do you think the plastic piece can hold? Is it big enough to hold room key and a few dollars?

Hi Norma,

Here is the link:

http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/t/77704/lot-of-oot-stuff-riviera-maya-theme

Let me know if that doesn't work
 

Originally Posted by Butterfly67 

Hi Manda123

 

Can you direct me to where exactly you posted your items.  I've been searching but not having much luck.

 

Thanks

Norma
 

 

Just saw these on his blog! You are now the post on top of my pictures from him! Beautiful. He's great, eh?!

Originally Posted by Avens 

Some of my pro pictures from Sascha Gluck!

http://cancunphotosblog.com/jaimee-ryan-barcelo-maya-palace/

 

I love most of them, there's a few I'm making silly faces though. 

Beautiful pictures, ladies!!! Everyone looks amazing and happy!

I posted some leftover OOT stuff in the for sale conference if anyone is interested! Bags, lanyards and keycard holders. Would prefer to sell to a Canadian bride... Maybe I can help someone save on shipping and duty

I just posted some leftover OOT items for sale in the classified section, if anyone is interested Bags, postcards, keycard holders, lanyards. 

I have the following OOT items leftover from my wedding. $50 Canadian takes the lot! You pay shipping. I am located in Ottawa.

21 white/royal blue totes from Oriental Trading. These were a big hit. The quality is quite good.

37 postcards

9 survival kit toppers

12 waterproof keycard holders. I used these for both keycards and luggage tags. Huge hit!

40 lanyards for keycards. Assorted colours.

Hi Allie,

I can speak to this since I just went through it! We had OOT bags for 70 people. Our OOTs had travel mugs, pashminas, sunglasses, decks of cards, survival kits, key tag holders, and some other things. Packing was a fairly big stress! We didn't want to have to pay for extra luggage. Here is what I suggest you do:

First, see if you are allotted any extra luggage space as bride and groom. If you don't see anything in your contract, ASK someone! I had to ask, and found out that we were allotted 10kg extra luggage - with Transat. YOur TA might not tell you unless you ask. SO, that 10kg went towards our 70 travel mugs. We packed those in cardboard boxes and checked them at oversized luggage. That way we could just toss the boxes when we got there

I put the survival kits together before we left, but that was it. Everything else was assembled when we got there. I used seven carry-on bags and one suitcase to pack the rest - one of my BMs was kind enough to share one suitcase with her husband (he packs light!). Two of those carry-onsbelonged to me and my husband, but the other 5 belonged to friends and family. Start asking now if you can have anyone's carry-ons. Some of our couple friends only packed one carry-on for two people and gave us their carry-ons, some didn't need a carry-on - they packed what they wanted to pack for the plane in their "personal". The personal luggage is key! Each person gets a personal and lots of people don't take advantage of that. You can fit as much in a personal as a carry-on! The key is to start planning it all now, or else you are going to get killed with extra costs at the airport. I think Transat charged 15 per extra kg.

Good luck

Originally Posted by Allie2012 

Hey Torilynn, I have a question as to how you packed your OOT bags. We also got the 18oz Bubba tumblers, so about 40 in total, and they do take up tons of space. My wedding is not until May, so I haven't actually assembled any of the OOT bags. So I was thinking that when it comes time to pack, I might try to stuff as much stuff as I can into the Bubba kegs (like the survival kit stuff), to save space and then assemble to bags once in Mexico. Are you doing that? Or are you OOT bags going to be put together and you are packing them as is? Just wondering how much luggage space you are dedicating to your OOT bags!

 

Thanks for the kind words about the photos!

The BM dresses are Ravon convertible dresses. I bought them for the girls off Beyond the Rack in the summer. I haven't seen them on there again since the fall, but I think you can buy them online at regular price throughout the year. The girls each changed style a couple of times during the night. They really liked them!
 

Originally Posted by Krysta lee ann 

wow those are beautiful!!  where did your girls get their BM dresses?
 

 

Originally Posted by amjohnson 

Beautiful photos Amanda! You got married just down the beach from us and one day after. It looks like you had an amazing day! I can't wait for our photographer to add some of our photos on his blog. We are still picking the 250 photos we get edited in our package.

 

Don't you wish you were back there now? This weather, =at least in the west is making me want to take another hot vacation SOON!!

 

Originally Posted by AD2012 

Great photo's!! Everything looked perfect!!!
 

 

Hi ladies,

Our photog just posted some pics on his blog. Check em out if you'd like! Anyone looking for a photog in the Mayan, I highly recommend Sascha.

http://cancunphotosblog.com/amanda-dylan/