JenniferM

This is an awesome list! Thank you so much!

Are you guys bringing your engagement rings? People have been telling me to leave mine at home and just bring the band. 

No it was just the only one available lol

I love your labels for the fans! I'm having very similar fans but the labels never occurred to me Thanks!

2ppl 3 nights in Playa del Carmen about $1400 (includes transportation and food/drinks, 5 star)

Flights about $500-$650 per person.

I don't think so. I know you can have that friend get certified online in about 30 minutes. But I'm not sure how that would hold up out of country.  Anyone know the ins and outs of marriage laws?

Thanks Allie!

Does anyone know if you give them a plan, will they set up the tables to match the map for the reception?

@@rednlovinit21 Who is the seller on Etsy? I love these bags! and if you don't mind me asking how much are they?

I havent bought them yet, but I plan to get one of these for each of my bridesmaids..

 

made by: jovanavianney

 

or these

 

made by: grinsandgigglebaby1

Do you guys suggest making the appointment for the hair and makeup ahead of time or after I arrive at the resort? I'm arriving on Monday and the wedding is on Saturday. 

Try Wix

Wanted a free website that plays music. Was going to use weddingwire.com, but the "upgraded" their site, and now it doesn't play music anymore. Does anyone have any other suggestions?

I'm checking Michaels and Hobby Lobby

Slowly but surely we will get there.

Haha I did the same. If only I would have started posting at the time I would have been done long ago.

I've been lurking for months soaking in knowledge from so many brides ... oh why did I wait to start posting so long. Thanks for starting this to help us get to our goal!

Yoga all the way.

What will your gift to the maid of honor/best man be?

Great timeline! I might end up stealing it 

I had a hard time deciding my reception timeline at first. We are not very traditional and want it to be casual and not dragged out with speeches and traditional elements of a reception (especially since we only have 3 hours for the reception!) Here is what I have so far:

 

7:00-7:15- Bride & Groom entrance & greetings (no wedding party entrance)

7:15-8:15- 4 course served dinner *speeches/toasts in between courses (very short and minimal)

8:15- First dance

8:20- Father/daughter dance

8:25- Mother/son dance

8:30- Tribute song to parents

8:35-9:00- Dancing & fun!

9:00-9:10- Cut cake

9:10-10:00- More dancing & fun!

So I'm rather behind in my planning. I hadn't realized how far behind I was until I was finally able to go dress shopping last week. The wedding is 4/19/2014, so less than three months. Turns out it usually takes 6-8 months to get a dress. Surprise! 

The dress shops I went to we're giving me limited selections to try on as they wouldn't be able to order them in time and the selection wasn't all that great. I had a general idea of what I was looking for and they didn't have it. Everyone says you know the dress when you put it on but I wasn't getting that. I had originally fallen in love with the Justin Alexander 9552 

But the only shop nearby that carried it gave me the runaround for months. So I gave up 

Let's just say I began to get slightly worried. So I went to a shop that I had been trying to get to for about 6 months and the first dress I saw, I fell in love! It was everything I wanted! Turned out they just received the dress as it is the 2014 line and they can have it in by the beginning of March! Hooorrraaayyy!We were meant to be   I don't have any pics on here of me trying it on but here's from the website. 

http://www.allurebridals.com/products/2701

Thanks Lydia1120  this is a huge help to find out what were the big hits and what wasn't. I'm starting to get my bags together and was hoping you could help a little.

For your travel mugs, were they the insulated type with the straw? Where did you get them?

Where did you get the luggage tags and room key/tip holders?

Did you ask everyone what their flip flop sizes were?

Did you make the passport book? 

Prolly a very silly question but what is R.Y.F.K.M?

Thanks!

 

OOT Bags

I admit that I went a bit over board with the OOT Bags.  I spent just under $1,500 to fill these up.  My budget was $500 but my group kept getting bigger and bigger, oh well, I enjoy giving so it was my obsession, lol.    Here is a list of what was included in the bags and the cost:

 

 

·                Bridal Entourage T-shirts $145.00

·                Flip flops $237.00

·                Luggage Tags/Neon Coils $23.01

·                Room Key/Tip Case Holder $11.01

·                Passport with Information $46.45

·                Playing Cards/Bags/Coils $99.63

·                Kleenex $12

·                Buttons – R.Y.F.K.M $55.24

·                Travel Mugs $90.00

·                Water Bottle $5.00

·                Mini rum bottle $36.00

·                Do Not Disturb Sign DIY

·                Note Pad/Pen $30.00

·                Colouring Book/Crayons  $6.00

·                Activity Book DIY

·                English/Spanish Dictionary DIY

·                Weekly Survival Kit $77.00

·                First Aid kit

·                Lip Balm

·                Mini Sunblock

·                Mini Shampoo

·                Nail File

·                Mini Conditioner

·                Purell $25.99

·                Watches  $23.99

o      “I Love You Til The End of Time”

·                Toy Rings $7.25

o       “He liked it, So he Put a Ring on it”

·                Candy Bag $75

o      “How Sweet It Is To Be Loved By You” 

·                Fans $37.60

·                Newsletter DIY

·                Bus Schedule/Rehearsal DIY

·                Laynards $13.62

·                Wine Charms $25.56

·                Face Clothes - $17.50

·                Make Up Bags for girls - $52.86

·                Can Covers - $20.89

·                Key chain Maracas $40.00

·                Paper/Ink for DIY: $125.00

·                Extra flip flops $12.00

·                Extra T-shirts $38.00

·                Extra Mugs $50.67

·                Beach Fun Items $56.82

Total Cost: $1,478.09

 

What were the big hits: 

Luggage Tags (made it very easy to spot our luggage at the airport)

Key/Tip Holder with Laynard (EVERYONE USED IT)

Personalized Travel Mugs

Flip Flops

Passport Book with all the information on Travel, Cuba and the resort (people referred to this as their                     “Bible” for the week, lol

R.Y.F.K.M Buttons (again glad I brought extra, this was a huge hit)

Entourage T-shirts…everyone wore them on flight and the catamaran excursion. It was pretty awesome! 

Wine charms   

 

We're going the ipod route as well even though we might be having a larger group we couldn't justify a couple grand for a dj. I think we'll be using spotify as well and download the songs to our ipod or we will be using the mixer app someone else talked about that will group songs according to beat and then fade from one to the next. 

I saw someone else who used yellow for their beach wedding and it looked amazing! It's going to look so good with the tan

@@AllieH I know I marked your post somewhere but I'm not sure where it is now with the new site. Would you be able to tell how many string lights you used and what they charged you to set up? I would really like to have lights around the posts as well as lanterns but I wasn't sure if it is worth the savings to bring my own and how many to bring. 

I have a few other questions if anyone could help out.

Do you also know the table sizes (at Tucanes) and are they always round or are there some rectangles as well?

If I make a seating plan will they place the tables accordingly?

I'm sure I have more but I can't think of them now. 

Thanks!

Oh I forgot to ask, does anyone know of a dairy free or Jewish bakery in the area where I could pick up a small cake just for me and my fiance. Also, since it is an allergy, do you think the resort will charge us an outside vendor fee for such a small item? 

If you don't have time to make the 150 posts but still want access, I think you can purchase the rights for somewhere around $30. 

Thanks for the info. Yes the date has come and gone but they still have a month before payment is due in full. I'll look at the discussions you suggested for some ideas. Thanks!

@@JenniferM - oh no! i'm planning for 2015 so i haven't crossed that bridge yet. could you send them a "gentle reminder" to register/book if they haven't already done so? i'm guessing the deadline has already come and gone.  it seems like others in similar situations sent emails.  for my sister's wedding, my mom made phone calls because unfortunately, we have relatives who assume you know they are coming.  I found the following discussions containing suggestions for how others have dealt with this issue - hope it helps:

 

http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/topic/71498-how-to-remind-guests-to-book-their-room/page-14

 

http://www.weddingwire.com/wedding-forums/destination-wedding-do-send-an-email-reminder-to-guests-who-havent-booked-their-rooms/20286a793385cb33.html

My fiance wouldn't let me use the magnets for the std booo but I'll figure out how to use them for something

ugh I am way behind on my planning. To Work!

Does 105 count? lol