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Hi ladies, I haven't read through all 198 pages. I'm so impressed by all of the helpful tips. Who are planning to tip? What percentage of their service charge? Your response is greatly appreciated. I need to order pesos this week and I want to figure out how much. May is right around the corner!!!

How are you planning to get your vintage decor to Mexico? I have been killing myself trying to figure out pricing from freight forwarding companies. It seems like a very expensive task. And my coordinator has none of those types of supplies. All I want is a vintage wedding. Am I asking too much? I have also looked into buying things from Mexican websites and having them shipped to my coordinator. Please help... How are you brides doing it?

Hi Brides, I am looking forward to having the lanterns at my Mexican wedding also. More importantly, I'm wondering if anyone has had trouble getting them through airport security. I'm also interested in sparklers. Same question about security. Thank you for the advice!

Hi Bride13, There are many beautiful places for a small boutique wedding. Here are some of the options I found: - Le Reve (beautiful hotel!) - There are many haciendas throughout Mexico that would provide a wonderful backdrop for a wedding. I loved this option, but many were too small for my large group. - Acanto boutique hotel - El Taj in Playa del Carmen - Casa china blanca (gorgeous house setting in Puerto Vallarta) - Vista del sol (large house on the island I'm getting married- Isla Mujeres) There is a place called Rockhouse, in Jamaica. Amazing! And good group prices. I am getting married on Isla Mujeres at a place called Zama Beach Club. I decided on this because the island is so small that we are essentially able to 'take it over.' However, there are restaurants and other things to do. If you have any other questions, feel free to ask. Happy planning!

@Lorena Jaimes- Thank you for the suggestions. The pictures above look like so much fun!

Hello all brides to be, Have any of you come across any ideas of where to hire either of these two things? I know Azul Sensatori offers the donkey for their very reasonable wedding prices! I hope I don't regret not getting married there. More importantly- any ideas? Please help an American searching for vendors in Cancun... Thank you

Great thread! Thank you so much for all the advice! I will be following up until my wedding day in May 2013!

Thank you Joyce!

I think his name is Father Loren. I'll have to double check.

Thank you for the ideas girls. I found some colored maracas at oriental trading and a few other sites, but I'm being a picky bride wanting them to be just their natural wood color. Danak71- do you know if the flea market has those and where is it in Cancun?

Ornxoxo, We are having the ceremony and reception both on Sunday. The ceremony will be in the Catholic church about 5 minutes from our venue, which is a beach club. Sorry I have been away from BDW. Any other questions, let me know!

Melig015- I hope you had a wonderful wedding last weekend! I am about to sign a contract for a venue on Isla Mujeres, and stumbled across Grand Coral. Oh my gosh- gorgeous. Can someone please share wedding costs, etc with me? [email protected]. I would appreciate it. Thank you

Dear fellow May 2013 brides, I am searching and searching for wooden maracas for our wedding. Does anyone have a vendor for them? Or should I take a chance and hope to purchase them in Cancun upon our arrival? Thank you

Hi Stacij, I'm in the final stages of planning a large wedding in Mexico also. We started with a guest list of 400 people, so a destination wedding was our only choice for natural list attrition. If you haven't already planned your venue, I would be happy to help with some ideas. We anticipate between 150-200 people for our May 2013 wedding. There are some wonderful places in Mexico. Both west and east. Happy planning!

Ladies- I need help! I am also an Isla Mujeres bride. Who used a wedding coordinator? And how much did she/they cost? Any information would be helpful. We are deciding whether or not to use them. I don't think I can do it without some help.

Hi ornxoxo, Good advice from Lydia! I'm also getting married at a Catholic Church in Mexico in May 2013. I contacted our church in the US to find out the requirements for a Catholic marriage. It is not easy. My fiancé has all of his sacraments completed, but I do not. So I have been attending CCD classes every week. It is a 13 week program, so its best to get started as soon as possible. Our church in Mexico requires that the documentation be sent 2 months prior to the wedding date. We decided not to do the 'legal' wedding in Mexico because of the cost. You have to be there 4-5 days in advance with 2 witnesses and it was going to be another $600 for a legal ceremony. We figured we would quietly go to City Hall the day before we leave and have our marriage certificate from the US. We are also doing a Sunday Catholic wedding in MX. They pulled some strings to make it happen because our venue choice was already reserved for the Saturday. The priest is bilingual, which is a relief for our American guests. Good luck!

Hi ornxoxo, Good advice from Lydia! I'm also getting married at a Catholic Church in Mexico in May 2013. I contacted our church in the US to find out the requirements for a Catholic marriage. It is not easy. My fiancé has all of his sacraments completed, but I do not. So I have been attending CCD classes every week. It is a 13 week program, so its best to get started as soon as possible. Our church in Mexico requires that the documentation be sent 2 months prior to the wedding date. We decided not to do the 'legal' wedding in Mexico because of the cost. You have to be there 4-5 days in advance with 2 witnesses and it was going to be another $600 for a legal ceremony. We figured we would quietly go to City Hall the day before we leave and have our marriage certificate from the US. We are also doing a Sunday Catholic wedding in MX. They pulled some strings to make it happen because our venue choice was already reserved for the Saturday. The priest is bilingual, which is a relief for our American guests. Good luck!

Missb0308, thanks for posting. It is so refreshing to hear about the island from a real bride. It is always a little nerve wrecking to pick a wedding destination without ever stepping foot on the property. We were looking to have our wedding in March, but due to the size of the event we are planning, we decided on the first weekend in May. I hope the weather will be nice for our wedding. It sounds like your wedding will be lovely. An intimate gathering with those closest to you! I look forward to hearing all about it. In my crazy search for all things Mexico, and now Isla Mujeres, I came across a chef that seems amazing. Her name is Lolo Lorena. I saw another event that used her for their small wedding. Thank you for your suggestion for the garrafon. We were thinking of doing that as one of our wedding events.

I'm a newbie to this site, but have been using all the suggestions to help plan my destination wedding. Thank you to everyone who posts! We have finally decided on our place. Isla Mujeres, MX. We are planning to get married at Zama Beach Club and have the bulk of our guests stay on the north end of the island. The two hotels we are looking at are Aluxes and Ixchel. Does anyone have other suggestions? I am also looking to find out what events other brides have planned while staying on Isla. I don't want my guests to have "island fever." Also, any recommended photographers in the area?

Photography is like a storybook. You open the pages to see the details. The cover captures emotion, creativity and leaves you wanting to open the book to read more. It has an opening, a middle and a conclusion. Photography is also art to me. You stare at a picture and see the colors, your eye flows through the photograph, then finally meets the subject. Good wedding photography captures moments as they happen naturally. I want my pictures to communicate emotion with the audience. As a bride, we put so much pressure on everything being perfect when a wedding is simply material. It looks nice during that day, but then... the flowers die, the dress goes in a box, the decorations are given away or sold, the extra food is hopefully given to the homeless, the music is forgotten... but pictures are forever. This is why wedding photography is the most important decision for a bride to make. It is the only visual memory from your special day. Wedding photography is my 'storybook' to be shared.

I have found a website that can help others looking for the same idea as me. http://www.hotelesboutique.com/en/ It helps with boutique hotels around Mexico. I am currently using it for my search for the perfect wedding venue.

Wow, El Taj looks gorgeous. I am going to their website right now! Thank you for your fabulous idea!

Hello everyone, I am so happy to have found this website searching for venues around the Mexico. We are interested in having our wedding in Mexico. At this point, I am feeling so overwhelmed with the search for venues. I am pretty sure there are a thousand places to get married in Mexico. I write 10 emails a day requesting information and pricing, but only hear back from 4. Frustrating! I just want to find the right place and price. Please help. We are looking for: - Intimate venue that we can buyout for the weekend, but affordable for our guests to pay per night - Large enough space for a reception of 150-200 people - Other hotels nearby for the overflow of guests to stay - Reasonably priced food for the reception - Enough privacy to keep a party going if we have the hotel to ourselves. I know I am asking for a lot, but there has to be something out there. Please help! Thank you.

Hello everyone, I am so happy to have found this website searching for venues around the Caribbean. We are interested in having our wedding in the Bahamas. There are so many choices, it has been difficult to find the right place. We are looking for: - Intimate venue that we can buyout for the weekend, but affordable for our guests to pay per night - Large enough space for a reception of 150-200 people - Other hotels nearby for the overflow of guests to stay - Not too complicated to get to from one of the larger airports - Reasonably priced food for the reception I know I am asking for a lot, but there has to be something out there. Please help! Thank you.

Great suggestions. I will look at both of those. Thank you!