omg have been on here for 5 months i dont know where to begin....

[cessyboston]

lol...lol..lol... i think i needed friends more then beeing married because i feel likkem i didnt learn a thing......lol..........

 

o.k. so i we have our site visit so thats good have tthe husband now good....lol....we may be meeting with juan... have a wedding website.... just so confused on the budget i know there are a lot of threads we have 8,000 but we still have 13 months till we think we want our date so how do we make a budget it we dont know yet?hmmmm so is this where i am supposed to be ? thanks girls....

[PaulaV]

FI... check!

Site ... check! (Hardest part almost done)

Date ... nail one down soon... (this was the next hardest for me)

Budget... decide if you are going to pay for it, or if parents will help. Decide on a round number - write it down and all expenses as you go.

Next is the dress. A dress can take a while, so start looking!

Next are colours and all that good stuff...

I have a sheet I have been going by. (

(I can post it later, I have a half hour until I have to go to an all day meeting).

 

Let us know how else we can help!

[starchild]

Well first of all time is on your side so be thankful for that! Some of us (me for sure) gave ourselves less than a year to start planning. I would say start by making a list of your desires and separate them into categories - won't have my wedding without, really would like but can live without, etc. Then start looking around for prices on what you need and you'll get an idea of how much to budget. I'm the worst budgeter I don't believe I just gave someone advice...DH would crack up if he read this LOL. There are a lot of people here who can do math and stuff (not me) so I know you'll get help )

 

Perhaps this will help you get a feel for what others have done budget-wise:

http://bestdestinationwedding.com/fo...33-budget.html

[TammyB]

It sounds like you have a really good start, if your already talking to Juan then at least you can work with him on dates he has open. IMO I would narrow down a few dates, then confirm both Juan and the resort have that date open. Once that is done, you will have time to just relax and enjoy your engagement longer. I was so excited to look for dresses, so that's something you can always do. Budget is another big one if you and Donnie are paying for it yourself. write of list of EVERYTHING you need and then set an amount for each, then once you wake up from passing out at the total the buget came to, look at it again to see if their is anything you can cut back on.. :-)

[kiki]

ERICA! congrat's!!!

 

Where are you getting married

[TATrisha]

I would work on your budget a little bit before you go to Cabo. That way you will know how much you can allot to each item. You can start with things that the price WON'T change on based on season. So, write down how much you want to spend on your wedding dress, your invitations (don't forget postage), your photography budget. If you know you are having your wedding at dreams, then you can already account for the spa prices (hair, nails, etc.)

By adding all of these things up, you'll start to realize how much money you'll have for the wedding itself and for transportation and lodging. This could help narrow down dates for you.

[~Melissa~]

I thought your web site was wonderful and you're off to a good start. That's what i did first, then came the date and place, then save the date post cards, then the dress (which I still flip flop about to this day... good thing it comes next week ).

 

Good luck!

[cessyboston]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kiki ERICA! congrat's!!! Where are you getting married

hi kiki where thinking dreams in loscabos....

[JulieG]

Erica, everyone on here is giving you such good advice and I would listen to them. I just want you to also know that I have no budget, FH might, but I don't. I just spend money that I have on things and I am not charging anything (well, I charged my dress, but that is paid off now). We are making sure our credit cards are at 0 and we will use those to pay for the wedding when we have to pay for the things and then drop our savings and our line of credit on the cards after to pay them down.

 

So, do not stress, it can happen without a budget, but you might spend a lot more. For us, its easier cause everything at our resort is included, except for a few extra's that I want, and we don't pay till we get there. So, I have not had to put down deposits or anything like that. (I also had no job till a month ago, so that helped with the spending )

[SusanK]

Sorry, I can't be much help with this. I've done, un-done, re-done just about everything, except the location, that I was set on before we were even officially engaged. I still have lots of details that I need to get in order and I'm down to two months... I think that's just part of a DW though. So you definitely have to be able to put a lot of trust and faith in others.

 

On the other hand, I think a site visit in SUCH an advantage. We were at Dreams Cancun, but before we were planning a wedding, so we never did an official site visit. Everytime you think of something you want to ask the WC, write it down and bring the list with you! You will forget some things if you don't.

-Take a look at their chair/table linens and maybe get a feel for what colors you'd like. Maybe you can even get a little swatch to take back with you so you can coordinate when it comes to invites, BM dresses, etc.

-Look into all the "hidden" fees, if Cabo is anything like Cancun, there are lots of them (especially if you have over 20 guests). For cocktail hour and dinner we are spending over $60 per person, and that doesn't include linens. All decorations cost extra, sound systems, dance floors, centerpieces, bouquets, boutenieres.... I am lucky and extremely fortunate in that my parents are able and willing to foot the bill, but otherwise, I'd say a budget is essential...otherwise it would be VERY easy to get out of control. Also when budgeting, make sure to overestimate the number of guests that will be attending. We were guessing 50, maybe 60, at the most. Now we have 100...that about doubles the budget. So better to overstimate that underestimate!

-Seems, like you are going to your site visit at about the same time of year you plan on having your wedding. I think that's very helpful too, because you can get a general idea of how the weather will be. That should really help when planning too.

Remember, we are here for you and will help you every step of the way! There are lots of Cabo brides that have been there, done that, ... that's the best advantage you can get!