Sehausle

I would disagree - if you wear a crazy funky gown you may want to do your hair more neutrally - too much of something ends up looking like you took the wrong pills in the morning if you know what I mean hahah
 

Originally Posted by Sehausle 

 

 

We are having our reception privately in their open-aired spanish-style chapel  then we'll have our reception  in their wine cellar but Dreams Tulum offers private functions I believe...not sure about beach because we live near the ocean so I wanted to do something a little bit different.

oops I mean ceremony* in chapel

Originally Posted by astaats83 

 

This is awesome! I have a 10k budget. Are any of your resort weddings have a private reception or ceremony? I want private and can't seem to find a result that offers a private wedding. I have about 30ppl.

We are having our reception privately in their open-aired spanish-style chapel  then we'll have our reception  in their wine cellar but Dreams Tulum offers private functions I believe...not sure about beach because we live near the ocean so I wanted to do something a little bit different.

Originally Posted by mrsbrowntobe 

 

I love this thread. I am doing whatever it takes to stay around 6,000-7,000 dollars. I chose an off peak time in Jamaica and I am going with the free package. Not sure what I plan on bringing for decorates (aisle, dinner, chairs) but I want to keep it minimal. After all, the reasons for destination for me were stress-free (as possible), less planning, cheaper and I get to have a holiday with my family and friends since we live in a different province.

 

I created my own luggage tags for STDs on Word and am going to print them on card stock, attach a polka dot ribbon, and viola. I have decided to send out STD with our wedding date & time, resort, and "for further details and to RSVP visit our wedding website..." I know that some people see invitations as being very important, and that's fine, but I personally see them as a waste of time and money. The website will have all the information that my potential guests will require. I know people worry about pleasing relatives who won't be able to attend. I am sending my STDs to EVERYONE and on our welcome page on our site, I included a blurb about the guests who can't make it. We will take a moment on our special day to reflect on all of the important relationships in our lives, and I want you all to know that you will be in our thoughts. Something along those lines.

 

I want to go super casual for my boys and will probably get their outfits from Old Navy, as a friend of mine did who married in Cuba last year. She waited until the end of the season sale to order the shirts and sandals. I want to rider my dress and BM dresses from one of those China Made online dress sites, but am a little nervous. Did anyone else do this?

 

Any more tips would be awesome. Happy budget wise planning!

I'd be wary of getting a dress online. There were big differences in the quality when I looked even at places like David's Bridal vs regular Bridal shops. What I did was find a dress I loved..then looked on re-sell websites to see if others were able to sell the same size/design and what price they were getting. I found I had a popular size/design so I am going to sell my dress after and will end up spending only $100-300 ultimately on my originally priced $1300 dress. You just have to keep it in good shape, and obviously you can't make too many alterations (I am just adding cups and a bustle) . A good resell site preownedweddingdresses.com or tradesy.com . While it won't work for all brides, it may work for some. Also, you could find the dress and size you need then scope out the above sites to nab a deal!

I have found a few budget saving tricks as well, thought i'd share:

1) Forget the linens. White is elegant and classic...and included! You think that bright orange looks great now, but it doesn't stand the test of time and will most likely look dated when you look back at photos. Save your $$$ and let your sorroundings speak for itself.

2) Vista-Print! Seriously I was able to do 100 invites/envelopes/address stickers, and 25 seals I custom designed to say thank you Brad & Shauna Mexico 2013 for about $60 including shipping - just use retailmenot.com for a coupon code ( I am re-purposing envelope seal stickers to go on cake boxes I bought for $5 off Amazon that could easily double as a favor but I am just using them so guests can bring a piece of cake with them back to their hotel room since my package includes dessert also)

3) skip OOT bags if you're at an all-inclusive in lieu of a cheaper weekend wedding survival kit. I did 24 of them for $80 ...shop around for deals! Who needs bottles of water or snacks when you're at a resort and can eat and drink for free! I think it's nice to offer a thank-you or welcome gift but this is a fairly new concept so if it's not in your budget don't stress. Speaking of favors...shop around! Again, I used retailmenot.com and was able to afford the more expensive favor because of it (we did starfish wine stoppers since were having our reception in a wine cellar) . Many places offered discounts but eventually one was cheap enough so that I was able to do 24 favors and tags for $80- that's $160 for all my favors combined, not too shabby.

4) Ask for an off-the-rack price...and call price/compare when it comes to your dress: It worked for me..called several stores that carried the Allure line and saved over $200 off of my dress, the worst they can say is no.

5) Don't get too caught up in personalizing...chap stick, water bottles etc. it may be cute but it's really only THAT exciting to you so don't waste money on the little things that aren't all that important. If it's cheap or free to personalize it-go for it but otherwise no one (I promise) really cares that it has your name on it. Also, doing tags may be cheaper than engraving or stickers. We found a bunch of cute favor tags on ebay for $7!

6) Re-use decor...splurging for fresh flowers for your pews or chairs ? Have someone transfer it to your tables to double as centerpieces. You get the luxury of having fresh flowers at your ceremony and reception for only half the cost.

May not be for everyone...but we also decided not to have a wedding party. We only have 24 in our group so were going to keep it to our parents. It cut down on cost and didn't make me pick favorites between an already small group of my best-friends/family. If you're worried about not having a shower or bachlorette party ...don't! I had SEVERAL people ask to do this, many of whom couldn't be at my wedding but wanted to do something special for us.

Originally Posted by AllieH 

 

I love shiny things! what are your plans for your hair - do you have a blingy headpiece, long veil? are you planning on a necklace at all? if not, I'd probably go with a bigger earring than the posts below. But I'm totally biased - I prefer bigger earrings! 

 

 

 

I am wearing my hair up (it's wet in the picture so it will look softer and a bit fuller) but I am also going to have a little fresh flower in the side and then a cathedral length veil so I do have  a lot going on. I initially thought bigger earrings too but I am not a huge gold fan and am hindered by the fact that my family heirloom is gold and that every pair of long gold earrings just seems tacky to me lol If you see any online that you think would match and are cute let me know : ) Thanks for the input

Originally Posted by AfricanVenus 

 

Well ladies, here's the final report. After putting in a claim w/ PayPal, Hugo proceeded to threaten me by making veiled threats about coming to the hotel and if I don't remove the PayPal dispute I won't have a "perfect wedding". See the red print:

 

You have this week to take care of the paypal claim you agreed with the contract before sending the money

and im just saying you will have the perfect unforgettable wedding trip

thats all.

 

Hugo Lopez

 

After talking w/ my FI, I just decided to drop the dispute. While I don't want him thinking that his threats were what prompted my decision, I don't want to have to deal with a crazy person. It's enough to post here and everywhere how absolutely disgusting this behavior is from a "professional". I will pray for him and that's the extent of it. So, if you hear his name, I wouldn't sign on the dotted line. Over and out. ~~Your Canary in the Mine Shaft

What a monster that is scary... thanks for the warning!  Hope you have better luck with everything else.

Ladies, I need your help. The bottom piece is a family heirloom that has been past down from generation to generation so I definitely want to wear it. My dress has a lot going on so I changed it over to a bracelet (put it on a shorter chain). I just bought these inexpensive earrings on a whim, do you think they go? I am still unsure ...I have included the dress and jewelery so you can get an idea of whether you think I should keep looking or stick with what I have (suggestions or recommendations appreciated- thanks!)

So excited I just finished my "Survival Kits" this past weekend... I was able to do the entire project for under $4 per bag and they came out really nice since I am not much of a DIY person:

Inside: Immodium, Pepto, alka seltzer, gum, chapstick, snapple energy to-gos, earplugs, Advil, Sunscreen, Disposable Razor,  Mini Lint Roller, hand sanitizer, band-aids, alcohol prep pads, tissues, and I think that's about it. My dad works at a printing company so I asked him to donate some leftover cardstock and I just used that in my regular at-home printer, cut it out and stapled it to the bag (just a quart size ziplock). I couldn't get a template on this website so I just made my own- it took a few tries to get the size right but I work in powerpoint all of the time so it wasn't too difficult.

I am going to do these kits in lieu of an out of town bag and just hand them out myself at an informal cocktail hour I am holding myself (for free) at the Sugar Reef Bar the night before. I will then have wine stopper favors (with personalized tags- I've included all three images) at the reception for our actual favors..I also bought boxes and personalized them on vista print so that people could take their cake to-go if they wanted to since our package includes dessert too.

All in all I spent $130 on 24 favors between bags and wine stoppers- pretty budget friendly I think!

Originally Posted by somertime 

 

I thought I knew how to upload a pic but its not showing

Up

I see you posted it - think the dress looks quite beautiful -you could have it bustled or take it up and pair with heels....just be careful but overall the dress is gorgeous and you're going to be so happy when you look back at photos !

Originally Posted by fiddlefuller 

 

****REVIEW****

Ladies, rest assured, your wedding will be perfect! Anabel is exceptional, everything was wonderful. We had the Ultimate package, we added nothing except rose petals for the flower girl to throw. We used the resort photographer and we are happy we did. If you want something more photojournalistic bring your own photographer, these are more functional, but still beautiful. Our memories are beautifully preserved. Teo was our photographer, very sweet guy.

My flowers were gorgeous, I loved them. Instead of one large centerpiece we had 2 smaller ones, also gorgeous. We had a total of 20 people, we sat at one long table on the beach and it was incredible. Here is a warning- we had initially planned on a poolside reception by the small pool. My husband found out the afternoon of the wedding that there was a huge Mexican fiesta at El Patio, right next to the pool. So we changed our plans to have the reception on the beach and we are so glad we did. It would have been really loud over by the pool. So check on what other activities are going on around your chosen venue. Our wedding was in the chapel and it was so gorgeous, I can't even tell you. The minister forgot to have us exchange rings and pronounced us husband and wife, and we corrected him, makes a funny story. I was disappointed because we asked him to do a family blessing as DH has a daughter, and he forgot to do that. He rambled on for quite a while with his sermon, but that's ok. You get what you get with this kind of thing. 

My one warning, and great disappointment was that about half of my guests and I got a nasty GI bug. It seemed to hit after our welcome dinner at the World Cafe. Since we all ate different things, my best guess is the non- bottled water served at the restaurant. It hit different people with different strengths- I was pretty sick for most of the wedding day and couldn't eat any of our dinner at our reception, but everyone said it was good. No doctor's visits but lots of Pepto and Immodium was purchased. Just be careful and bring drugs. 

Have a great wedding!!!

How did the hair/makeup go?

Were staying a week for our wedding  but waiting 6mos and doing two weeks in Europe! I would love 6wks but my employer wouldn't be very happy with me lol

I would say definitely wear earrings but if you do a necklace do something classic (i.e pearls) or very dainty (a thin locket style necklace) but keep it dainty since your dress is the main show...you could even do small studs but I think no earrings just looks like you forgot to put them on! lol
 

I'm usually a simple is better person but I vote belt too - it really gives you a nicer shape and it's very elegant.

Originally Posted by lizzieqball 

Here's my dress without alterations.  I'm hoping that if I lose a bit around the midsection I'll be able to get away with NOT having alterations!  The went to the store by myself and the bridal consultant convinced me to buy the rhinestone belt.  I wasn't too sure about it, but most people I show the pictures to insist on me wearing it.  What do you think?  SO excited :)

 

Allure style. 8800 in ivory cafe

Thank you so much!
 

 

Wow I am so impressed - your flowers look VERY real and you look absolutely stunning! (great dress!!!)

 

 

Originally Posted by MrsHK 

 

Here's my bouquet! I went with a real touch bouquet because I wanted peonies, large bloom garden roses and succulents and those are either not available or are insanely expensive in the Mayan Riviera, Mexico. Its also nice to have a memento to keep after the wedding. We don't have our professional photos yet, but we're lucky enough to have lots of talented friends taking some extra photos on our wedding day.

 

The first photo is actually by someone who does wedding photography down here in the Mayan Riviera. Her name is Susana Hidalgo and you can see more of her photos at www.myadorablebridal.com if you are looking for an affordable photographer here in Mexico.

 

I designed my own bouquet and ordered it from Alexis Grace Designs on Etsy. Make sure you get your order for your real touch bouquet in early if you plan on going that route! Most companies require you to order 6-8 months ahead of time. - http://www.etsy.com/shop/alexisgracedesigns

 

 

 

 

 

oops meant to put this here ..still needs alterations but here is me in my dress which finally came in yesterday : )

I am an asthmatic so the idea of a cigar roller sounds downright awful...plus they smell terrible to me. Remember just because you might like them to be considerate to your guests. I would be put off....but then again if you're outside it might not be so bad.

Were doing weekend survival kits ( advil, lint rollers, gum, sunscreen etc) in lieu of OOT bag since waterbottles and snacks already are free for an all inclusive. Were handing those out at a night before cocktail hour then day of we bought these cute wine toppers and I bought these tags in ivory on ebay that I will tie to each one and provide those to our guests at the reception. We decided to have our reception in the wine cellar so it ties in to beach and wine theme well.

I LOVE these- and agree I am much more of a romantic color fan...tropical colors are a little too bold for me

these are the ones I like...but I liked yours too so I may switch hahah
 

I have straight very long fine hair (including a photo) so you can see. I have a very low backed dress and would like to wear my hair up - here are some of my favorites- which do you think would look best ?? (you can refer by letter if that's easier : ) )

The dress finally came in- still need some alterations ( she didn't button all the buttons either) but here it is on me with all its glory haha

Gorgeous - you look wonderful in it and the color is perfect!
 

you can never start too early! I bought my dress in March and it still hasn't come in...it's making me nervous haha
 

OOps sorry I thought I was posting this in the Dreams Tulum thread