Cassie South

Hello StefRN Congratulations on your engagement! What an exciting time this is going to be for you. & DR at that, you are right about the awesome beaches and good value! I personally have enjoyed Punta Cana every time I have vistited. The number one thing you have to keep in mind when you are picking a resort is to take Tripadvisor with a grain of salt. While it can be a very useful tool, it can also be confusing and inaccurate. You must always remember that the reviews on Tripadvisor are people's opinions and that those people may have very different likes and dislikes then you or the people in your group. With bigger resorts you will rarely find one that has not 1 poor review. Some people are more picky or sensitive to things that might not bother you at all. The best way to be sure that you are picking a resort that is well suited to you, your FI & your guests, is to go through a travel agent. I highly recommend that you consider finding a professional in destination weddings to assist you. Given that you find the right agent/agency, they will be able to get to know you and gauge their suggestions based on what your vision is for your wedding! They will have the best connections, lots of knowledge about various resorts and the ability to take care of all the details that you may be too busy or stressed to deal with. If they have not visited the specific resort you end up choosing, chances are they know lots of people who have, or have sent clients there before and will be able to ensure that you pick a place that will meet your expectations! Happy Planning!! Kielah Blue Petal Destination Weddings

Hello Shaneandalana Congratulations on your engagement and on your decision to start considering a destination wedding. Typically couples find that compared to having a wedding in their home towns, destination weddings are more affordable. This is obviously not always the case depending on how many guests you have, where you go, where you stay, and what exactly you want for your wedding day. The most affordable way to have a destination wedding is to get a group contract and once you have filled a certain amount of seats you may qualify for a "free" wedding package. These are usually very basic and you can add what you want at cost. DWs start to get expensive when you start adding private dinner and reception parties. There are so many options as far as destinations and resorts go. If you need help my best advice would be to come up with a budget and an approximate number of guests. If you are not paying for your guests (which lots of people don't), you should decide on a budget that you would feel comfortable asking your guests to pay for their packages. Then, I would highly recommend finding a travel agent who specializes in groups and weddings to help you. They will be able to help you match a resort/destination to exactly what you envision for your wedding and your guests. If you find the right person, they will be able to guide you through every step of the process and negotiate a group contract that fits you. DWs are lots of work and many brides enjoy the experience more when they have a professional on their side! Good Luck with all your planning! Kielah Blue Petal Destination Weddings

Hello Krypto You can book directly with the resort if you choose, but you will have to be extremely careful when trying to negotiate group bookings directly! If you do not read the contracts very carefully sometimes you can be on the hook for money in the event that guests start cancelling or booking through another source. It can become complicated and very stressful if things aren't handled well. My recommendation is to use a travel agent. They will be able to help with a lot more than just the travel arrangements and you know that you will be safe when it comes to contracts and negotiating group rates. You can use an agency that deals specifically with wedding groups and this way your guests will have the option to book through them too. You may not get a "discount" per say, but often travel agents are able to negotiate really reasonable group rates. Also it sometimes happens that if you book enough people under your groups you could quailfy for promotions such as free seats or rooms and then you could use this to disburse a discount to your entire group, or use it for yourself. Travel professionals will have insite that you cannot be expected to have and should be able to provide guidance and peace of mind! Good luck!! Kielah Blue Petal Destination Weddings

Hello Mrsbruff2be I actually met with our Palace Resorts sales rep just yesterday. I saw your question and had kept it in the back of my head until I saw him. I figured who better to ask then someone who has seen them all multiple times! He said in his opinion Beach Palace and Cancun Palace have the best beaches, but if he were asked to choose he said Beach Palace! Hope this helps, & happy planning!! Kielah Blue Petal Destination Weddings

Hello Paula Congratulations on your engagement. Considering your families are scattered all over the place, I think it is a very wise decision to hold a wedding in the middle and accommodate them all. I am sure your family and friends appreciate it! Don't feel badly that you are a little lost at this point. That is so common!! Even narrowing down your destination to Mexico leaves a lot to be decided- Where in Mexico? Resort vs. Villa? All Inclusive or not? Wedding at the resort or off site? Instead of feeling like there is a long list of decisions to be made, just look at it as a wide open world and you can literally have anything you want, you just need to decide what is most important. If you are having a lot of trouble finding resorts the best advice I can offer is that you look into hiring a wedding groups travel agent to assist you! They will have industry insite and could open you up to a world of possibilities you may not have even been aware of. They will learn about you and base their recommendations off of what you envision for your wedding. Also if you have a travel agent on your side, they will be able to negotiate group rates, deal with your guests and liaise with the onsites at the resort on your behalf. You will really be able to enjoy the planning process and it will be fun instead of stressful. Whatever way you decide to go, I hope your wedding is all you've ever dreamed and more! Happy Planning. Kielah Blue Petal Destination Weddings

2012mrstobe The number one thing to remember is that this is your day! If you are in love with the idea of barefoot sandals for you and your sisters, then that is what you should wear. The purpose of a destination wedding is to have a laid back feel to your day, so why not just do it your way?! Besides you are still going to be in a beach setting, taking beach pictures. I don't think it will look silly at all to wear barefoot sandals on the grass, who doesn't like cool blades of grass between their toes anyways? Do what makes you happy! & good luck with the planning. Kielah Blue Petal Destination Weddings

Hi Maureen Congratulations on your engagement!! You have definitely come to the right place for assistance in planning your DW. If you and Trevor find yourselves absolutely stuck on finding a destination for your wedding, I would highly recommend trying to find a travel agent that can assist you in the process. You will find many great options on this forum, but seeing as it is so big, it could get a little overwhelming without some guidance. Since you will want to negotiate a cost effective group rate, you will probably find the help of a professional. Best of luck with your wedding and your marriage! Kielah @ Blue Petal Weddings

Hi Kymish Happy engagement to you and your Mister! Don't be discouraged that you have not heard from the resorts yet. Slow turn around is very common when it comes to correspondance with resorts and onsite wedding coordinators. You must keep in mind that they are very busy and not necessarily ignoring you! Take it from someone who liaises with onsites on a daily basis-most Mexican and Caribbean resorts are very busy all year round and they don't always respond as quickly as we'd like them to. Good luck with your planning! Kielah @Blue Petal Destination Weddings

Hey ladies, I get asked the tipping question all the time and every resort in the world will have a different tipping policy. It's really up to management so there isn't one blanket answer to whether or not it's acceptable to tip. If it's something your concerned about, I would recommend just directly asking the individual, if they aren't allowed to have tips at least you've acknowledged the fact that they deserve one, which to some people is just as nice! Ginger

Hi Cassidy, My word of advice is to find a TA that you like personally and is going to be there when you need them. You will be speaking with that individual so much over the next six months, year, whatever that from my experience (and I manage an agency that only does Destination Weddings) is that over the course of planning your wedding the cheapest suddenly won't be the best if you aren't getting the help you need. Hope that helps... Ginger ~ Blue Petal Weddings

Hi there Canadian brides! If you guys have any Canadian bride travel questions, feel free to post them and we'll do our best to reply. Most of the travel talk on the forum is about US departures and their travel industry works completely different then ours. Obviously your TA is the best person to ask because every wedding is unique and has different restrictions and rules, but for those of you who braved it on your own or just need some friendly advice, my team at Blue Petal Weddings is more then happy to give that to you. It can be very overwhelming at times, even for a TA! Happy planning Ginger @ Blue Petal

Hi CarStar Usually Sandals will offer an excpetion to wedding parties. Typically they will allow single occupancy for a small percentage of your guests. This can sometimes work out to 1-2 people. If you were sure that your soon-to-be mother-in-law will be the only single, you may still be able to have your DW at a Sandals resort! I would suggest talking to your Travel Agent and asking them to arrange this, because it is not guaranteed all the time. We have managed to work out this situation with some of our brides through our Sandals Rep. I would ask your TA to talk to their Rep and see what can be done before you cross Sandals off enitrely. Also, in the case that they won't budge for you on this, there is always Beaches Resorts. Beaches is the family version of Sandals, so mostly everything that you love about Sandals will be included in a vacation at a Beaches resort. Hope this has helped, and Good Luck!! Kielah Blue Petal Destination Weddings

Hi JBean I absolutely LOVE this idea. I think it is so funny and unique, your guests are bound to love it! I hope these translations can help you... I didn’t steal that donkey, it followed me home- Yo no robé ese asno. Me siguió en casa Do you remember how I got this tattoo- Hágale recuerda cómo conseguí este tatuaje I lost my husband- Perdí a mi marido I lost my wife- Perdí a mi esposa She said she was 18- Dijo que fue dieciocho Kielah- Blue Petal Destination Weddings

Hi There It's completely understandable that you want to know what is going on during your own wedding ceremony and the prospect of it being held in a language you don't speak would be terrifying! Please don't worry you have a few different options. The Playacar Palace offers 2 types of weddings, Civil and Symbolic. I'm not sure which ceremony you have chosen, but in case you don't know the difference, a civil ceremony would be the legal one and would be recognized when you come home. A Symbolic service would be for you and your guests, but would not apply legally. As for your resort the Civil Ceremony would be held in Spanish unfortunately, there is no option to change this. However, they do provide a translator so you would basically have both languages being spoken throughout- maybe a nice authentic touch since you are getting married in Mexico? If you don't like the idea of having the Spanish at all and would like your ceremony to be held only in English you would be able to have a Symbolic Ceremony. There would be no Spanish involved in this one, then when you come home (or even before you leave), you and your Fiance could sign the papers at home for a small fee, and be legally married! Hopefully one of these options makes it easier for you to make your decision and you don't feel like your only option is to start shopping for a different resort. Good Luck and Enjoy Kielah- Blue Petal Destination Weddings

Hi Jamie To answer your question regarding the marriage requirments in Jamaica, you do indeed need the long form of your birth certificate. In order to get married in Jamaica you must provide proof of citizenship in the form of a certified copy of your birth certificate which includes your father's name. Unfortunately the wallet sized birth certificates most people carry around don't have their father's names on them at all. On a positive note, when getting married in Jamaica you DO NOT need to get a blood test as you would if you were marrying in Mexico or many other parts of the Caribbean. So while it may be a little more of a hassle to get your long form birth certificate just remember the other hassles you have avoided by choosing the location you did! Hope this helps, goodluck with everything. Kielah- Blue Petal Destination Weddings

Hi TulumBrideKel Congratulations on your wedding. It is coming up so fast you must be very excited! I love your idea to make welcome bags for your guests, and what useful items while on vacation! To address your questions about what you are allowed to bring into Mexico... All the items on your list should be fine to bring down with you, as long as you put them in checked luggage. All the food items will be fine as long as they are packaged (not home made) and also don't try to bring any fruit, I know it's not on your list but in case you wanted to throw something like that in there last minute. The only slight issue I could see might be with the seashells. If they are purchased/packaged seashells it shouldn't be an issue as they have most likely been shipped around the world already. However, if they are shells you've gathered from home or other parts of the world on your own there may be an issue. I would advise against bringing your own shells all together just to be safe, but purchased ones should be fine, and remember to put all items in your checked luggage. I hope that helps answer your question. Goodluck with everything and I'm sure your wedding will turn out splendidly! Kielah- Blue Petal Destination Weddings

Hi There!! In terms of your inserts, it would depend on if you wanted to have something fun and useful such as a customized information sheet on your hotel listing activities or a list of things to bring to destination. If you are travelling to a destination where they speak another language, you could include funny phrases translated from English to whichever language. If you want to make the inserts to tell guests about two receptions, you could have separate inserts with a complimentary theme such as; night and day depending on when your receptions will be taking place, possibly location if they will be in different settings (beach luxury vs. indoor luxury). If you tell me more specifically what information you would like to include on the inserts I can probably come up with a few more ideas. As for the RSVP online, please don't worry that it will come across tacky- it won't. It is much more convenient for you and probably will be for most of your guests as well. This is getting more popular and very common with destination weddings. Since you already have a wedding website that guests are going to in order to get information it shouldn't be any trouble to RSVP on the same site. Most importantly, it's your wedding, do it your way Goodluck with everything Kielah- Blue Petal Destination Weddings

Hi JQLong, The contracts are one of the reasons it's good to have a TA. Get your TA to sign as many contracts on your behalf as they possibly can so that you personally aren't on the hook. One of my current brides signed a contract directly while with the property while she was in Mexico and even though she's made every effort to include us in it since then, legally she's on the hook for over $60,000 and she has no way to process her guests payments. I'm surprised the property encouraged her to sign it! Obviously we are going to help her but in the eyes of the law there is no reason we should. I feel so sorry for her... Things are really different in the Canadian travel industry but here we can usually get quotes 12 - 18 months out. The turnaround time on a quote would depend on who we are getting it from. Two weeks is about average but some of our supplers get them back as fast as 48 hours. If you requested multiple properties and have lots of different gateways (or cities) which your guests are flying out of, it often takes a little longer. Just send your TA a friendly reminder email that you are excited and waiting. Sometimes we need to send multiple reminders to our suppliers that we are still waiting for quotes to try an expedite things... Don't be afraid to do the same Ginger

Sunquest vacations has a fantastic groups department... Your aunt has done well! One thing to keep in mind with free rooms that a lot of brides get confused about is that is never applied until time of final payment... Clearly they need to figure out how many people are going before they start dishing out free rooms. Often the "free room" people still need to pay for their airfare and taxes, which is also a common misunderstanding. A "free room" is not a "free package". I agree, finding a good TA that you trust is so important. Planning a destination wedding is stressful, you need to have someone who understands the industry to make sense of it all!

Oh ladies, isn't being a bride fun? This made me smile Busy Bee! Final payment days are crazy in our office because so many people do just this... Try to change dates, room types, name changes, everything 10 minutes before final payment is due... Believe me, many brides go through this so take great comfort in the fact that you are not alone

Good luck talking to them! Wedding party or no wedding party, you will have an amazing day in Jamaica with the one who really loves and supports you Keep us updated and remember how amazing the final result of all this work is going to be!!! Ginger

I'm not an expert in relationships but I read your post and felt the need to write a few words of encouragement. My MOH decided he (yes he ha ha) couldn't afford to come to my wedding. I was very upset cause I had given him more than a years notice. I decided I just wasn't the type of bride that needed a MOH. My husband decided he didn't need a best man, so we planned our wedding without the support of those people. After reading your post, I think it was a good idea! About a month before our wedding we looked at who had RSVP'd yes. I called one of my childhood friends who RSVP'd yes but I never expected her to make it (since she was living in Turkey and I was getting married in Australia). I asked her a month before the wedding to be my maid of honour. She was thrilled, especially when I told her that her only responsibility was to feed me champagne if I was getting bridzilla tendancies! My husband did the same... He looked at who had RSVP'd yes and decided a month before the wedding his brother would be the best man. We did everything (except plan the travel) on our own and it worked out just fine. When I read your post, I think the most encouraging part is that the one person you can count on is your future husband Part of getting married is going through all that stress together and supporting each other when you have people from both sides getting involved. When all these other people are driving you mad, find strength and shelter in him... If these people are causing you more grief then good, fire them. It's your wedding, your day, do it your way. Good luck! Ginger

Hi there! We spend all day negotiating room blocks and group contracts around here. It is a daunting task and results in much hair being pulled out! Lots of little heads being slammed against brick walls too!!! Unfortunately you will probably find every bride on the forum will have a different answer to your questions as every resort is different. Every resort has a different time line when things must be firmed up, every resort has different rules with deposits and room blocks, and every resort will charge a different amount. Fun eh? All I can suggest is try to negotiate with them, you'll be surprised what they are flexible with (although this varies with resorts as well). Most resorts will allow you to add rooms to your block if they have them available. I can pretty much guarantee your guests will find a price cheaper online then what the resort quotes you, because internet sell off rates for two and group rates are never the same. You cannot confirm a group and hold that space months in advance on an internet sell off rate... Especially if they are offering a free wedding or free room nights as these are funded by the group. January to March the rates probably won't vary much in Mexico as it's all peak season. You may do slightly better when it's not a large holiday in North America (like spring break) but to really see a rate reduction you need to travel in the off season (or hurricane season). I hope that was somewhat helpful... Good luck, you can do it!!! Ginger @ Blue Petal

Great Wendy, let me know how it goes

Hi Wendy, Wow, what an exotic destination! Fun I have worked with this company in the past and they were fantastic. They aren't a boat company, but an "inbound tour operator" that has all sorts of local connections. It wouldn't hurt to try anyway! They tend to cater to the higher end so just be clear about your budget from the beginning and if they have a good match they will offer. P & A Sullivan Travel Office Address: 162, Level 1, Ta’ Xbiex Seafront, Gzira GZR 1025, Malta Telephone: (356) 21331313 / 27345050 Fax: (356) 21334490 Email: [email protected] Reservation Phone: Reservation Fax: Reservation Email: Website: + 356 21331313 + 356 334490 [email protected] www.pasullivan.com.mt Reservation Phone: Reservation Fax: Reservation Email: Website: + 356 21331313 + 356 334490 [email protected] www.pasullivan.com.mt Hope that helps! Ginger @ Blue Petal Weddings Reservation Phone: Reservation Fax: Reservation Email: Website: + 356 21331313 + 356 334490 [email protected] www.pasullivan.com.mt