laurammx

Thanks for the sympathy and wise words! I ended up making a complete 180 and backed out. I did finally receive the info for making a deposit, but by that time my fiancé and I were already talking about exchanging the expensive Mexican wedding for a long weekend in Europe + building a house this year instead. I found an amazing small villa hotel in Tuscany to buy out for our wedding party and I think I might be even more excited about it than I ever was of Mexico! Plus we just scrapped like half of our budget now that we don't have the travel expenses to MX. Yay! So I'm out, happy planning ladies and enjoy your dream weddings in Riviera Maya! They will be amazing. P.S. Edygiselle, I'll be back in a year to check out how your photos turned out, I'm just a bit bummed we won't be able to book Hideki now

Ugh. Just wanted to vent that I'm getting really frustrated waiting for Ana y Jose to get back to me! I know it's peak wedding season but come on I'm paranoid about securing a photographer (we're going with Button Up as well if they're still available! I compromised) for our date but I'm too cautious to do it before we've put down a deposit for the wedding. It's been 8 days since I asked them about the deposit and said I'd love to confirm.. Wish there was an equally good option we could consider switching to

Haha what a coincidence, I received a quote from Hideki just a few days back! He is one of the five photographers/studios that I contacted and someone that I'm seriously considering So excited for you!! The pictures are going to be amazing for sure! And what a sigh of relief to have that confirmed and done. Yay!

Congrats KateMonkeyy and Futurefiler87! When is the right time to find/book a photographer? For me photography is one of the most important things, but my fiancé actually said he wouldn't mind if we didn't have one at all. I've already requested quotes as the best ones are getting snapped up as we speak, right? I feel like such a bridezilla whenever I discuss the whole photographer thing with my FI. He says he wants to give me the wedding of my dreams but I can see he really doesn't want to spend the money on photography that I do.. if it were anything else I'd be happy to compromise but I'm just not finding any "budget" photogs with the style I'm looking for. Oh well, here's hoping he just doesn't have the heart to say no in the end. (Oh, the guilt!) About the venue and why it's "the one": I have a million gorgeous wedding visions that I could have happily gone with, so when picking our destination and the venue I kept going back to my extremely laid back fiancé in my head and thinking about where he'd be the most comfortable and enjoy himself. Once we'd picked Tulum, I just made a list of all even remotely possible options and started crossing them off my list. Ana y José ended up meeting the most of our requirements (even though they're getting increasingly bad reviews on TripAdvisor now..). If my fiancé was as much of a wedding freak as I am, we would have gotten totally and absolutely overwhelmed with choice.

Great, thanks!

My wedding is still a year away but I haven't been able to help myself.. I've already done tons of research and know what I want. These are my inspiration pics, the first one is my favorite (and probably not too difficult to do?). I'm really not big on elaborate cakes and my fiancé doesn't even care if we have one or not.

We're actually from Scandinavia so we're flying in with 15 people max, and wanted a small place with character and privacy instead of a big resort. I checked out Le Reve and Esencia, Villa Amor in Sayulita and a big bunch of places in Tulum. My favorite was a place called Ahau Tulum because of the great hippie vibe (we're doing the whole casual barefoot thing), but they would have required us to buy out the entire hotel for min 3 nights and we're not quite enough people to afford that. I narrowed it down to El Pez, Encantada (which we would have been able to rent for ourselves, that would have been great) and Ana y Jose in Tulum, which we're now trying to book. AC ended up being a deal breaker.

Hey Edygiselle and congrats on the great venue! Our wedding date is April 28th so will definitely be lurking in the back of your thread along the way. I haven't done pretty much anything yet, our venue/hotel has written us in on their calendar but I'm having the worst time getting answers to my questions about paying the deposit.. I find that a bit weird as you'd think they want our money Anyhow, good luck with the planning! Hope to join you as soon as we've signed on the dotted line. How big is your wedding? Would love to hear more about your plans! We also looked into Le Reve but unfortunately it wasn't a possibility for us.

Anyone else planning to get married at Ana y Jose hotel or beach club in Tulum? The hotel is holding 28.4.2014 for us and it would be great to hear how and what other brides are planning! We're Scandinavian so we're just having a really small, casual wedding with our nearest and dearest because of the big bucks it takes to make the trip. Also we hate the idea of a big wedding and this is a great way to avoid having to invite people, haha. I really wanted to avoid any stress with wedding planning (I'm familiar with doing events so figured it would be a breeze) but I obviously need to adjust to how slowly everything progresses! Also if there's previous AyJ brides active on the forum I'd love to hear from you

Hey! I've been searching for a wedding destination for what feels like ages now, and have narrowed my choices down to Tulum and Sayulita. I found some Sayulita brides on the forum from a few years back but not really much info on Villa Amor. So, anyone else looking into Villa Amor as a venue? Or maybe had their wedding there? Come and share! I e-mailed them a few days ago but no answer yet. I'm super interested in the venue as they seem to have a perfect little beach for the ceremony and the villa looks amazing!

Thanks a lot for your input! And the gorgeous photos La Reve was high on my list up until I realized they're adults only. I doubt we'll get their "special permission" as there will also be an infant under 1yrs old in the wedding party But we'll definitely look into Al Cielo (a bit uncertain of the wow-factor of the rooms based on their website though) and Esencia! Too bad about the lousy surf for my hubby, he'll just have to concentrate on me instead if we do go with Mexico.

Hello ladies! I'm a new bride looking for a resort in or near Playa del Carmen that fits the following requirements: - Has a beach venue (or at least an outdoor venue with a view) for the wedding that is private. No other tourists or passersby gawking or taking pictures. - Kids allowed, as our daughter will be around 2 yrs old at the time of the wedding. Nanny service is a plus! - At least a 4 star We would like a relaxed but elegant occasion for a wedding party of only 15 people or so. I'm thinking sunset, lots of candles, fairy lights, all white flowers, bare feet and cold champagne. Hubby-to-be is thinking pre-wedding day of surfing and Coronas. We haven't set a date or a budget yet, as want to first see what our options are and consider accordingly. I would also be interested in beach clubs or similar venues, but don't want to hire a wedding planner as I have a feeling costs will spiral out of control if I do and don't want to be overwhelmed with choice when it comes to vendors. Working with the wedding coordinator of a resort seems like an ideal way to go. Any ideas, tips or help will be greatly appreciated! Thanks, Laura

Hello ladies! I'm a new bride looking for a resort in or near Playa del Carmen that fits the following requirements: - Has a beach venue (or at least an outdoor venue with a view) for the wedding that is private. No other tourists or passersby gawking or taking pictures. - Kids allowed, as our daughter will be around 2 yrs old at the time of the wedding. Nanny service is a plus! - At least a 4 star We would like a relaxed but elegant occasion for a wedding party of only 15 people or so. I'm thinking sunset, lots of candles, fairy lights, all white flowers, bare feet and cold champagne. Hubby-to-be is thinking pre-wedding day of surfing and Coronas. We haven't set a date or a budget yet, as want to first see what our options are and consider accordingly. I would also be interested in beach clubs or similar venues, but don't want to hire a wedding planner as I have a feeling costs will spiral out of control if I do and don't want to be overwhelmed with choice when it comes to vendors. Working with the wedding coordinator of a resort seems like an ideal way to go. Any ideas, tips or help will be greatly appreciated! Thanks, Laura

Hello ladies! I'm a new bride looking for a resort in or near Playa del Carmen that fits the following requirements: - Has a beach venue (or at least an outdoor venue with a view) for the wedding that is private. No other tourists or passersby gawking or taking pictures. - Kids allowed, as our daughter will be around 2 yrs old at the time of the wedding. Nanny service is a plus! - At least a 4 star We would like a relaxed but elegant occasion for a wedding party of only 15 people or so. I'm thinking sunset, lots of candles, fairy lights, all white flowers, bare feet and cold champagne. Hubby-to-be is thinking pre-wedding day of surfing and Coronas. We haven't set a date or a budget yet, as want to first see what our options are and consider accordingly. I would also be interested in beach clubs or similar venues, but don't want to hire a wedding planner as I have a feeling costs will spiral out of control if I do and don't want to be overwhelmed with choice when it comes to vendors. Working with the wedding coordinator of a resort seems like an ideal way to go. Any ideas, tips or help will be greatly appreciated! Thanks, Laura

Hello ladies! I'm a new bride looking for a resort in or near Playa del Carmen that fits the following requirements: - Has a beach venue (or at least an outdoor venue with a view) for the wedding that is private. No other tourists or passersby gawking or taking pictures. - Kids allowed, as our daughter will be around 2 yrs old at the time of the wedding. Nanny service is a plus! - At least a 4 star We would like a relaxed but elegant occasion for a wedding party of only 15 people or so. I'm thinking sunset, lots of candles, fairy lights, all white flowers, bare feet and cold champagne. Hubby-to-be is thinking pre-wedding day of surfing and Coronas. We haven't set a date or a budget yet, as want to first see what our options are and consider accordingly. I would also be interested in beach clubs or similar venues, but don't want to hire a wedding planner as I have a feeling costs will spiral out of control if I do and don't want to be overwhelmed with choice when it comes to vendors. Working with the wedding coordinator of a resort seems like an ideal way to go. Any ideas, tips or help will be greatly appreciated! Thanks, Laura

Hello ladies! I'm a new bride looking for a resort in or near Playa del Carmen that fits the following requirements: - Has a beach venue (or at least an outdoor venue with a view) for the wedding that is private. No other tourists or passersby gawking or taking pictures. - Kids allowed, as our daughter will be around 2 yrs old at the time of the wedding. Nanny service is a plus! - At least a 4 star We would like a relaxed but elegant occasion for a wedding party of only 15 people or so. I'm thinking sunset, lots of candles, fairy lights, all white flowers, bare feet and cold champagne. Hubby-to-be is thinking pre-wedding day of surfing and Coronas. We haven't set a date or a budget yet, as want to first see what our options are and consider accordingly. I would also be interested in beach clubs or similar venues, but don't want to hire a wedding planner as I have a feeling costs will spiral out of control if I do and don't want to be overwhelmed with choice when it comes to vendors. Working with the wedding coordinator of a resort seems like an ideal way to go. Any ideas, tips or help will be greatly appreciated! Thanks, Laura P.S. We'll be flying in from Scandinavia so no possibility to pop over to Mexico to go venue-hunting before we book.. but hey, we're adventurous

Hello ladies! I'm a new bride looking for a resort in or near Playa del Carmen that fits the following requirements: - Has a beach venue (or at least an outdoor venue with a view) for the wedding that is private. No other tourists or passersby gawking or taking pictures. - Kids allowed, as our daughter will be around 2 yrs old at the time of the wedding. Nanny service is a plus! - At least a 4 star We would like a relaxed but elegant occasion for a wedding party of only 15 people or so. I'm thinking sunset, lots of candles, fairy lights, all white flowers, bare feet and cold champagne. Hubby-to-be is thinking pre-wedding day of surfing and Coronas. We haven't set a date or a budget yet, as want to first see what our options are and consider accordingly. I would also be interested in beach clubs or similar venues, but don't want to hire a wedding planner as I have a feeling costs will spiral out of control if I do and don't want to be overwhelmed with choice when it comes to vendors. Working with the wedding coordinator of a resort seems like an ideal way to go. Any ideas, tips or help will be greatly appreciated! Thanks, Laura P.S. We'll be flying in from Scandinavia so no possibility to pop over to Mexico to go venue-hunting before we book.. but hey, we're adventurous

Hello ladies! I'm a new bride looking for a resort in or near Playa del Carmen that fits the following requirements: - Has a beach venue (or at least an outdoor venue with a view) for the wedding that is private. No other tourists or passersby gawking or taking pictures. - Kids allowed, as our daughter will be around 2 yrs old at the time of the wedding. Nanny service is a plus! - At least a 4 star We would like a relaxed but elegant occasion for a wedding party of only 15 people or so. I'm thinking sunset, lots of candles, fairy lights, all white flowers, bare feet and cold champagne. Hubby-to-be is thinking pre-wedding day of surfing and Coronas. We haven't set a date or a budget yet, as want to first see what our options are and consider accordingly. I would also be interested in beach clubs or similar venues, but don't want to hire a wedding planner as I have a feeling costs will spiral out of control if I do and don't want to be overwhelmed with choice when it comes to vendors. Working with the wedding coordinator of a resort seems like an ideal way to go. Any ideas, tips or help will be greatly appreciated! Thanks, Laura P.S. We'll be flying in from Scandinavia so no possibility to pop over to Mexico to go venue-hunting before we book.. but hey, we're adventurous

Hello ladies! I'm a new bride looking for a resort in or near Playa del Carmen that fits the following requirements: - Has a beach venue (or at least an outdoor venue with a view) for the wedding that is private. No other tourists or passersby gawking or taking pictures. - Kids allowed, as our daughter will be around 2 yrs old at the time of the wedding. Nanny service is a plus! - At least a 4 star We would like a relaxed but elegant occasion for a wedding party of only 15 people or so. I'm thinking sunset, lots of candles, fairy lights, all white flowers, bare feet and cold champagne. Hubby-to-be is thinking pre-wedding day of surfing and Coronas. We haven't set a date or a budget yet, as want to first see what our options are and consider accordingly. I would also be interested in beach clubs or similar venues, but don't want to hire a wedding planner as I have a feeling costs will spiral out of control if I do and don't want to be overwhelmed with choice when it comes to vendors. Working with the wedding coordinator of a resort seems like an ideal way to go. Any ideas, tips or help will be greatly appreciated! Thanks, Laura P.S. We'll be flying in from Scandinavia so no possibility to pop over to Mexico to go venue-hunting before we book.. but hey, we're adventurous