MJKH

Our cake (which was supposed to be a three tier of vanilla, strawberry and chocolate) ended up being two tiers of vanilla and the middle tier was vanilla with small bits of fresh strawberries mixed into the vanilla frosting. The whole thing tasted a lot like the vanilla/white cake that often appeared at the buffets, so there wasn't really anything novel or unique about the taste experience. I think I mentioned in my review that if I had it to do all over again, I would ask if there is an option that is unique to weddings or a completely different flavour than the cakes/slices that appear at the buffets.

That's what we did...we had it all ready to go on our iPad...but he had other ideas I guess. Just make it very clear to your wedding planner that their DJ is being asked to play ONLY the songs on your playlist.

We did...it was a member of the entertainment crew from the resort who was brought in and he was HORRIBLE. If you've got a big/younger group in particular who is looking to really whoop it up, I would outsource!!! : )

Hi Chantel, Are you living in Saskatoon right now? We got married at the GS in Feb/12 and I have all kinds of photos/photobooks to share if you want to meet up for a coffee sometime. Just send me a PM, ok? We could sit down with the resort map and that might help you out.

Thanks ladies for all of your feedback...there are days I wish I could do it all over again! : ) I would say that, for our wedding 02/02/12, I started picking things up over the July 4th holiday in the states when there were lots of great deals on travel candles, balms, etc. at Bath and Body Works...collected feverishly over the summer as warm-weather items went on sale...and picked up the odd thing here and there between September and our departure the following February. So....about 6 - 7 months?

We had an outside photographer and simply paid for her and her assistant to spend the night at the resort. That allowed us to avoid paying the fee for an outside vendor plus they were then available the next day to do our sunrise TTD photos. Actually, it was in the contract with the photographer that we book a room for them the night of the wedding. A few weeks before the wedding, we received an e-mail from the on-site photographer at the GS with the details of their packages and whatnot. We promptly replied to them (cc'ing the wedding coordinator) that "as we will be bringing our own photographers, we will not be in need of their services and we kindly and respectfully ask that they not take video or photos of us or our group on our wedding day". No issues to report...all went well. Not sure if/how the policies there have changed since we were married in 2012.

I think you have to stick to and work with the budget you feel comfortable with. We paid for lounge furniture and cocktails (and brought baskets of our own nuts and other snacks for them to put out on the tables) while we were out taking photos in between the ceremony and reception (plus the pre-dinner mariachi trio). I think our wedding time was closer to 3:30 though, and so it was a long time for our guests otherwise to be in that beach area. I'm sure if you work with the coordinator to keep that time in between a little tighter...to be respectful of your budget...it can certainly be done. I kinda wish we had booked even more photography time pre-ceremony for additional "first look" photos in other locations around the resort when my hair and makeup was the freshest, rather than running all around the resort in between the ceremony and reception trying to cram everything in. I would have loved having more time with my honey pre-wedding to casually stroll around and do more photos then...those pics are definitely my favourite! I don't know if that helps...personally for us the stroll from our room to the palapa was a beautiful walk...if we had been guests at a wedding and had a couple of hours to kill in between, we would have walked back to our room to freshen up and/or gone to one of the bars for a drink or two!

I think you have to stick to and work with the budget you feel comfortable with. We paid for lounge furniture and cocktails (and brought baskets of our own nuts and other snacks for them to put out on the tables) while we were out taking photos in between the ceremony and reception (plus the pre-dinner mariachi trio). I think our wedding time was closer to 3:30 though, and so it was a long time for our guests otherwise to be in that beach area. I'm sure if you work with the coordinator to keep that time in between a little tighter...to be respectful of your budget...it can certainly be done. I kinda wish we had booked even more photography time pre-ceremony for additional "first look" photos in other locations around the resort when my hair and makeup was the freshest, rather than running all around the resort in between the ceremony and reception trying to cram everything in. I would have loved having more time with my honey pre-wedding to casually stroll around and do more photos then...those pics are definitely my favourite! I don't know if that helps...personally for us the stroll from our room to the palapa was a beautiful walk...if we had been guests at a wedding and had a couple of hours to kill in between, we would have walked back to our room to freshen up and/or gone to one of the bars for a drink or two!

We did a legal ceremony in Mexico Feb/12...neither of us had been married before. The day after we arrived we had to meet our 4 witnesses at the wedding office...all of us with our passports (no birth certificates needed, nothing needed to be translated)...they took down the information and sent it for processing at the civic level (which is why they require the three business day waiting period). The wedding office took care of everything else after that, including setting up our blood tests at the medical building on site the next day. The best thing to do is check in with the wedding office to find out the current requirements. Be sure to tell them if one or both of you have been married before.

Well, our wedding is now over...we're a couple of weeks away from our first anniversary actually! My, how time flies... We didn't take these bags with us...they were distributed at an open house we hosted about 8 weeks before the wedding. We did take three large rubbermaid totes with us full of wedding "stuff", including a few other treats we gave to guests at the welcome dinner, favours for the rehearsal dinner and wedding, decor, etc. We flew WestJet and the woman who checked us in (granted, we did arrive at the airport really early which I think helped our cause!) told us she would check them at no additional cost (she said "consider it an early wedding gift"). We totally lucked out there!

Oh gee...I see what you mean. This looks nothing like what we were working with a year ago. Can you just tell them that you find the paperwork a bit confusing and that you'd like to go thru it when you arrive? We had steak and lobster, salmon for those who did not want red meat, and pasta for the kids and vegetarians, but I know even that many options required some negotiating back and forth. Obviously, they like to keep the options to a minimum to ensure consistency in cooking and the best results off the grill. I know that the pasta was the least well received entree as far as our group was concerned (cold and undercooked). Everything else was a BIG hit!

Thanks for asking! Click on the link below (in my signature line) for the overview...

Hi - we flew with Westjet and used roughly the 72L (no name, non see-thru) containers that often go on sale for dirt cheap at Home Depot...like around $4 - 5, making sure that the dimensions of the bins did not exceed the maximum dimensions allowed for luggage/suitcases. We called the airline twice to confirm that these bins would be allowed and that it was okay for us to tape them shut. We fully expected to have to pay excess baggage costs, but lucked out with our airline and didn't have to pay. We were asked to take the bins to the screening area where oversize/odd size baggage is screened next to the ticket counter. The customs agent did not open any of the bins, just pointed to an area on the x-ray for confirmation of what was at the bottom of one of the bins (tins of nuts). When he heard that, he sent them thru. Had the bins been opened by customs/security, we probably would have regretted not having a roll of packing tape in our carry-on luggage to seal them up again. When we arrived in Mexico and our bags went thru the x-ray machine again in Cancun, the customs official flagged the same bin and this time insisted that it be opened to examine what was at the bottom. No big deal, we just quickly repacked it and we were on our way. That was our experience...

That's ok...I can send you the GS wedding option powerpoints and pricelists I was given last December if you want. Just PM me with your e-mail address : )

Sorry...who were you asking for pricelists? I offered a while back, but mine are likely quite out of date now and I think there are other brides with more recent information from the resort. We just went with the resort flowers...but I'll totally throw this out there as an option. The Wal-Mart in PDC had really beautiful potted orchids and cut fresh flowers for crazy cheap prices. It would mean way more work on your part (or someone in your party) to pull that all together, and there would be no guarantees what you would get/what would be available to purchase the week of your wedding. But if you have someone in your group who's good with stuff like that and you're quite flexible, that could be a way cheaper option. Or, you just go with a non-fresh floral centerpiece like lots of BDW brides have done. Search this site and google images for lots of inspiration.

I love this idea...I didn't even know those scratch off stickers existed...brilliant!

We had 32 guests in Mexico...some gave a gift before we left for the wedding, but most waited until our AHR. So no, we did not send thank yous in between our wedding week and our AHR. I bought one of the Groupons currently running (from My Own Labels in the US), and plan to use it for personalized photo thank you cards. My goal is to get them out...my last wedding "to do"...in the next 8 weeks!

Love, love, love...a most excellent choice! : )

The tip to help slimming the arms is so, sooooo true! If only my AHR photographer had caught the fact that my bra was sticking out from under my dress every time she asked me to do this! : (

That's a great tip, thanks! I just ordered one of the Groupons and decided to do our final set of thank you cards with them.

I think I may have said this already somewhere, but your dress is one of my all-time BDW favourites!!! I love the pic during the ceremony...your face close up, looking intense, your honey's hand on the side of your face...stunning! : )

I know...they do have some really nice items on their site...makes me wish I could get married all over again! ; ) I was thinking maybe of getting our photo thank you cards done by them, but price wise I think I'm better off with Vistaprint. That is a super interesting tip though about shipping...so if you buy the US $80 Groupon for CDN $35...is there an option on their site to purchase a company gift card...or do you call/e-mail them and request that they send a gift card??? I couldn't find a gift card purchase option...I must be missing it!

Here's a Groupon link for customized labels...for wine and water bottles, hanging tags, etc. http://www.groupon.com/deals/my-own-labels-saskatoon?c=title&division=saskatoon&pt=&sid=11225296&s=body&utm_source=newsletter&date=20120729&utm_medium=email&utm_content=all-deals_saskatoon&p=1&utm_campaign=my-own-labels-saskatoon&user=aeb2312905f732b84b26a6b976d096a2da8aa08f86550466ce6a2e54ea507c94

Hi Norma...we've always just done our own set-up with Photobook Canada...using some of their page templates...creating some of our own...selecting our own backgrounds, etc. If you have the luxury to do so, before attacking your pro wedding book, I would do a simpler one...like from another vacation, or use your pro photos and do an album to give as a gift. We learned a lot from doing and seeing our first book...we made a few mistakes...I wish I had gone thru photobookgirl's blogs before I started. She's got some great tips and ideas.