danak71

Originally Posted by MissBubbles205 

 

Are any ladies planning on attending this event?

I wish I had seen your post before!!! I attended this event! Were you there?

Lynn

Originally Posted by Kal520 

 

Have you all already purchased airfare? And if not when do you plan on it? I was thinking of waiting til sept/oct but it looks like rates are going up, not down, at least to cancun. I know there's no way of knowing what will happen just wanted to compare notes?

I haven't purchased yet because I emailed Airtran to find out when they would have their fares out for next May. The response was that they aren't publishing their fares for next May until sometime in September. I wanted to wait until their fares were out to do some comparison. Airtran and Delta both fly nonstop to Cancun from Atlanta so I'll probably choose between those 2.

Originally Posted by Jass7 

 

I have been getting a really really slow response from the coordinator. I assumed this was okay months away from the wedding, but two weeks away and still slow response? I'm really disappointed!

 

The minister and the spa response time is great! And I was wondering has anyone done their nails at the spa? I don't know if I should do it few days before I leave or on the day of. Hmmmm.

I'm planning to do my nails at the spa because I'm arriving in mexico a full week before the wedding. I know there's no way my nails will still look presentable by then! LOL

When I don't hear back from N within a couple of days, I start resending the same email to her every day but changing the subject to whatever the current date is that day. That way she can see just how long I've been emailing her. She usually responds pretty quickly then!

Originally Posted by ChocoTaco7568 

 

I'm not a maggie sottero bride, but I love seeing your photos pop up on threads on BDW. Del Sol was my number 1 pick for photography until I realized that I couldn't afford you... sigh

I agree with you Choco! They were my #1 pick as well...but for some reason they're not allowed at Excellence anymore...:-(

Originally Posted by heather1214 

 

 

I'm also wearing the Adorae!! Its soooooo beautiful!!   Did another bride post the aution to sell it?  I ordered mine in May and I'm hoping to have it in the fall!  They said 6-9 months though....

Yes, another bride sold it. She said she fell in love with another dress soon after she purchased the Adorae. I found several brides up there in that same position trying to sell that dress. There were actually 2 or 3 that had auctions up with it in my size.

Originally Posted by ChocoTaco7568 

 

Glad to see my May brides saying 'Yes to the Dress!' Congrats ladies.

 

Thanks Choco! I'm so excited I can't wait to get it!

Originally Posted by Dazeydawl 

 

I got the aiden. No havent recieved it yet. I just ordered it in may so i still have a couple more months to go, which is killing me.

Oooooohhhhh! You're going to look amazing in that dress! I love it! I know what you mean about the wait...even though I tried it on at the bridal salon, you couldn't take any pictures there so I'm anxious to get it and try it on and take pics in it! LOL

Originally Posted by Dazeydawl 

 

I looked it up and Its gorgeous!!!!!!  I have a love of maggie dresses so mine is a maggie as well

Thank you...I love it! Which Maggie dress did you get? Have you already received it?

Originally Posted by Dazeydawl 

 

Congrats!!!!! Gotta love ebay! what designer/dress? I bought my dress the conventional way through a bridal salon but i guess you can say i went unconventional because i have yet to try it on (eeekkkkkkkk) I just fell in love with one on line and no store in my city/province had a sample. So i decided to just go for it.

Maggie Sottero Adorae

Originally Posted by PuntaBride 

 

Do it So fun.  Definitely start looking soon.  They recommend going at least 8 months before.  A lot of dresses come from over seas.  If you need it altered that can take more time.  So give yourself lots of time in advance!

I went out dress shopping and fell in love with a dress that was $1500 - WAY more than what I wanted to spend on a dress I'd have on for a few hours. I found the SAME exact dress on ebay, same designer, right size, brand new, never worn, still with tags, for less than half the cost of the dress in the bridal salon. I bid on the dress Saturday and found out I won the auction tonight! I was the only one that bid on it. I'm UBER excited! Has anyone else purchased their dress through any non-conventional methods?

Originally Posted by MissBubbles205 

 

 I am soo ready to get back to the DIY projects and OOT bags!!  I can't wait til we get a good head count which seems like it will be forever from now. I guess as far as the paper DIY's we can go ahead and design those and then just print as many as we need when the time comes. )   What type of items do you plan to purchase while in Mexico? That is a great idea!

That's what I'm doing now is having my graphic design person design all the pieces and then once I get a firm number I can send them to the printer; since I don't need most of these items until we're ready to assemble the OOT bags.

We're planning to purchase the actual bags there (we have 50 people that have booked with the travel agent and another 10 we're expecting to) so I think it will be cheaper to haggle with the folks at the flea markets down there as opposed to buying off Discountmugs.com or killing myself searching around for affordable bags! LOL I'd like to get bags people might actually use again and the ones that I've seen here that I liked were more than I wanted to pay for 60 of them. I'm hoping to get some bags that say "Cancun" or "Mexico" on them.

We're also wanting to get some small bottles of tequila that folks can have in their rooms (we might do one per couple, not each bag), throw in a little recipe book with tequila drink recipes, and then any other items that are representative of Mexico...not really sure yet will just depend on what we see. We're going down about a week before the wedding and staying at a hotel in the Hotel Zone (non all-inclusive) for 4 nights and then we're going to check into the Excellence 3 days before the wedding. There are like 3 different flea markets not far from the Hotel Zone that I've heard brides have gotten great things from for their bags.

My fiance, mom, one of my bridesmaids and one of my hostesses are all coming with me when I go early...that way we can shop for things to put in the bags and then assemble the bags down there.

Originally Posted by MissBubbles205 

 

 I sent our Save the Dates at the end of June.. I've noticed many ladies have already mailed their invites, so I started feeling behind. I'm hoping to get mine printed and in the mail by no later than the middle of September with my RSVP return date of February 28th.

I sent our Save the Dates at the beginning of May, pretty quickly after we got engaged. I was trying to give people as close to a year as possible for planning and saving. My brother got married at Excellence Resort in Punta Cana a couple of years ago and saving for that trip with the 6 months notice we got was a challenge! LOL

My passport invitations and boarding pass RSVP card are being designed now and should be finished by next week. My goal is to send the invitations out by the end of August with an RSVP date being the end of January. That should give me enough time to get the remaining items in the Wedding suite designed (door hangers, menus, wedding timeline, welcome letter, welcome card, favor tags, etc.) Although many of the items for the OOT bags will be bought when we get to Mexico, there are still several things I'm planning to purchase here from Amazon, Dollar Tree, etc. and need a more firm head count.

Good morning Ladies,

Sounds like you've all been busy while I've been offline! It's been awhile since I've posted! I got so much done in April when we first got engaged that then I had nothing left to do for a while! LOL

But I'm so excited because we started out planning to use an outside photographer in Mexico, then decided on the resort photographer because it was cheaper although we didn't like his work as well, and now I'm happy to say as of yesterday we've been able to negotiate with a photographer here in Atlanta for her and an assistant to come with us and shoot not just the wedding day but also the Welcome Reception, Catamaran Excursion, and our Recovery Brunch the day after! She did my girlfriend's wedding in September and her work is amazing! She was doing our engagement pics so we really wanted the same person that did our engagement session to shoot the wedding.

We're in the process of doing our invitations now. I don't know if it's necessarily needed since we sent our STD's in May and about 50 people have already booked their rooms, but for the family members that can't come I think it will be something nice for them outside of anything online they've received.

We're doing passport invitations with a boarding pass RSVP card. My girlfriend (an amazing graphics design person) is in the process of working on them as well as the rest of the the wedding suite (welcome letter, welcome card, weekend timeline, door hanger, programs, etc.) I'll post pics when she's finished.

We haven't booked airfare yet because we're waiting on Airtran to post their fares in September. My plan is to purchase our seats on Airtran and then check in 24 hours before and upgrade us to Business Class for like $99. Much cheaper than booking a Biz Class seat to begin with. Hopefully that works! LOL

I just started buying stuff for our OOT bags so that's been exciting seeing all the packages come in...even if they are only Advil and Shout! LOL

Well, back to work I go...happy planning ladies! By the way, anyone getting married at EPM weekend of May 4, 2013?

Originally Posted by Coko 

 

Hi! I'm getting married May 2013 at EPM and I'm so happy that I found you all!!!

What date in May? I'm May 4, 2013! Congratulations, you picked an awesome resort and a terrific forum!

Good morning Ladies,

Sounds like you've all been busy while I've been offline! It's been awhile since I've posted! I got so much done in April when we first got engaged that then I had nothing left to do for a while! LOL

But I'm so excited because we started out planning to use an outside photographer in Mexico, then decided on the resort photographer because it was cheaper although we didn't like his work as well, and now I'm happy to say as of yesterday we've been able to negotiate with a photographer here in Atlanta for her and an assistant to come with us and shoot not just the wedding day but also the Welcome Reception, Catamaran Excursion, and our Recovery Brunch the day after for less than what I would have paid the resort photographer! She did my girlfriend's wedding in September and her work is amazing! She was doing our engagement pics so we really wanted the same person that did our engagement session to shoot the wedding.

We're doing invitations as well. I don't know if it's necessarily needed since we sent our STD's in May and about 50 people have already booked their rooms, but for the family members that can't come I think it will be something nice for them outside of anything online they've received.

We're doing passport invitations with a boarding pass RSVP card. My girlfriend (an amazing graphics design person) is in the process of working on them as well as the rest of the the wedding suite (welcome letter, welcome card, weekend timeline, door hanger, programs, etc.) I'll post pics when she's finished.

We haven't booked airfare yet because we're waiting on Airtran to post their fares in September. My plan is to purchase our seats on Airtran and then check in 24 hours before and upgrade us to Business Class for like $99. Much cheaper than booking a Biz Class seat to begin with. Hopefully that works! LOL

I just started buying stuff for our OOT bags so that's been exciting seeing all the packages come in...even if they are only Advil and Shout! LOL

Well, back to work I go...happy planning ladies! By the way, anyone getting married at Excellence Playa Mujeres weekend of May 4, 2013?

Originally Posted by Amanda Gardner 

 

Where is everyone having there cocktail hour and reception? Are you having a DJ? Which package are you doing?

I'm planning to have the cocktail hour at the X-Lounge and the reception at CECO Terrace...we haven't decided on dj yet.

Originally Posted by ExcellenceBride 

 

Thank you so much for the response! I finally got my response back confirming the date as she had it 'on hold' and i wasn't sure what that meant. But I will excercise patience. So hard because I have so many questions but this website has been a life savor. Can't wait to see your pics from your wedding...where are you having your reception?

 

Best of luck - so exciting!! Kim

We're having ours at CECO Terrace...we're expecting about 60 people and my group can get a bit rowdy so we wanted something a little more private so as not to disturb as many people. LOL

Lynn

Is the spice terrace and ceco terrace different?

Dreams Punta Cana, their website says no room available.... :-(

Originally Posted by Jass7 

 

I'm not able to see these.

Jass PM your email address to me

Ballroom inside CECO Terrace Pics

Spice Terrace Pics

Originally Posted by ExcellenceBride 

 

Hi everyone! I'm getting married in March 2013 - YAY! Is anyone else experiencing the anxiety of Nayeli not responding to emails? I actually call her now (sucks for my cell phone rates) but it's the only way to get an answer. Did anyone else experience this?

 

Also, did anyone have a rehearsal dinner?

 

Appreciate any insight to possibly ease my worries.

 

Best, Kim

Hey Kim,

I know it's frustrating sometimes trying to get hold of Nayeli, but it's great that you're planning so far out. My wedding is in May and I'm trying to make most of my decisions now (menu, flowers, decorations, etc.) I'll send her an email with ALL my questions and she answers them all in a different color. If I have additional questions, I'll respond in yet a different color. We keep going until all those questions are answered. When I have a bunch more I'll send her another and we'll start all over. Because I still have plenty of time, it doesn't bother me when she takes a while to respond since I know she's the coordinator for 3 properties there and sometimes has 30 weddings in a week that she's handling! I would much rather her give the current brides the extra attention they deserve and get to me as she can. I know when it's my turn I want her undivided attention! LOL

I have used Skype to call her (either from my laptop or my cell phone) when I've needed to reach her right away and the rate was better than what I got on my cell phone (typically it was only $.10/minute) and I don't need to talk to her long so the calls are never that expensive.

I'm planning to have a rehearsal dinner. Depending on how many people you're expecting to have, she can set you up in one of the restaurants (semi-private) for no charge or if you want a private event, she can do that for $22 per person. We don't want to pay for another "wedding reception" so we're going with semi-private.

Hope this helps!

Lynn

Originally Posted by cinnagirl 

 

I think we're doing a "wish bowl." We'll read the wishes on our first anniversary. 

 

I Love that idea! I don't know if I'd have the discipline to wait a year to read them though. LOL