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RE: DW

SunBride — Fri, 09 May 2008 17:38:11 GMT

1. Where did you get married?

Dreams Tulum, Mayan Riviera, Mexico

2. Formal or informal?

Very informal. It was just our parents and sisters, so there was no real reception, just dinner. And we didn't dance afterwards - we went to the disco but it was crappy so we just left right away and went to bed! We'll be doing the first dance and speeches at our AHRs (yes, more than one of them!)

3 Why did you choose it?

Chose a DW b/c ...

We went to our friend's destination wedding and thought it was beautiful. Our families are in N.B. and MB. would have had to travel to Ottawa, and our immediate families wouldn't be in town here to help us with the wedding stuff for an Ottawa wedding. Also I knew I would get really stressed out with the planning because I am a perfectionist, and it would cause me to fight with my husband, and I knew a DW would avoid a lot of that. Also in hopes that the cost would be cheaper.

Chose Mayan Riviera b/c...

Lots of stuff to do off the resort, heard lots of good things about the area from other travellers, average price

Chose Dreams Tulum b/c...

Reasonably priced 5 star resort, free wedding package, better beach than lots of other resorts in the Mayan Riviera (in the end I was disappointed with this aspect) lots of other great amenities (i.e. 6 restaurants and no limit to the number of times you can eat a-la-carte)

4. did you upgrade anything?

No, just used the free package and didn't do any upgrades through the resort but brought our own photographer, hired an outside videographer, and brought my own flowers from Angel's Accents

5. was it worth it?

YES!

6. what was worth your time and effort?

Brining our own photographer (got LOTS of pictures) and hiring an outside videographer. Bringing tulle to get them to decorate the gazebo differently than how they normally do it. Getting flowers from Angel's Accents. Matching t-shirts for everyone. Parasols.

7. what was not worth your time and effort?

Palm fans (was very windy on the beach) and bubbles (forgot to use them and probably not enough people there to have looked good anyways). Personalized mugs (nobody used them because there was good drink service on the beach and drinks came in nice tall glasses)

8. Change anything??

would maybe change resorts/location because the beach wasn't very good and because the hotel was far from cancun / playa del carmen, so there was no place to go shopping (which people would have enjoyed doing when they were too sunburned to go to the beach). Would also have been better to do it in January when it's less hot than end of March (there were reasons we coudln't have made it work, but just as advice for others)

Maybe done speeches - I don't know. Dinner was a bit anti-climatic. I didn't want to have to ask the parents to do speeches or a nice toast (it's like saying "hey, can you say nice things about me"). I had thought they might think of it on their own (at least a toast!) but they didn't.

Wish we had done a first dance by the pool. It looks so beautiful in the evening the way it's lit up.

9. favorite thing??

Having a wonderful vacation with our families

One thing that went badly (but didn't fit with any of the questions) is that several people got really badly sunburned the first day, even though they put on lots of sunscreen. Pale people should only go in the sun for like an hour the first couple days and seek out shade the rest of the day. Because they were burnt, and also because it was hot, they didn't want to go to the beach or do anything (i.e. go touring off the resort) for the next several days. My husband and I were really disappointed (and annoyed) about this. We hated that our parents were spending so much time hanging out in their rooms! And we chose the mayan riviera over some other locations (like punta cana) because there is so much you can do on your own off the resort (i.e. XCaret and Xel-Ha eco-parks, ruins, etc) and then felt that they didn't take advantage of it.

RE: DW

jmhein — Fri, 09 May 2008 12:42:03 GMT

Great idea! I'll play!

1. Where did you get married? Riu Ocho Rios, Jamaica

2. Formal or informal? Ummm... I'll call it semi-formal! We had a fairly casual dinner with some people making some impromptu speeches when the urge (and the wine) hit them.. and then we went to the disco after dinner where we did have our first dance, and a mother/son, father/daughter dance, then it was party time!

3 Why did you choose it? We initially chose a DW because my dh is from NB and all my family is spread over BC and AB so it would have cost our guests as much to travel across Canada as it did to attend a DW in the tropics! And this way everyone got a week-long vacation out of it!

We chose Jamaica because we had both always dreamt of going there and were so excited when we found out it was actually affordable! It's also great for DW's because they speak English and there is no translation of documents required, no medical tests required, and very simple marriage requirements!

We chose the Riu resort because it was newer, affordable, had something for everyone, looked absolutely beautiful, and offered free weddings and wedding packages! Also, my DH really wanted it because of the free in-room liquor dispensers!! :P

4. did you upgrade anything? Yes! I started with the basic/free wedding package and added on upgraded wedding gazebo decorations, aisle runner, floral aisle markers, hired a steel drum band to play, and booked the disco.

5. was it worth it? ABSOLUTELY!! Although, I dont know if the aisle markers were necessary, I just thought I had to get them with that particular decor package... but oh well, it was lovely!

6. what was worth your time and effort? Very glad I did small gift bags up for the guests that included their travel mugs (Everyone loved them!). Also very glad I did so much research on this forum and others as I gained so much great information about what to expect.

Oh, and we are SO glad we spent a 2nd week. The first week with everyone went by SO fast and we really didnt have a moment to ourselves. The 2nd week was just what we needed, relaxing, romantic, and gave us a chance to let the whole experience sink in.

7. what was not worth your time and effort? Ditto on the WORRYING!! As brides I dont think we can help it but I really could have gone having NOTHING prepared and still have had a dream wedding! Also not worth it were the fans and bubbles I brought along with me as no one really used them.

8. Change anything?? I am very happy with the way everything went, but one thing I definitely would change is not stressing the whole week about trying to spend time with everyone. I was really disappointed that everyone split off into different groups and we felt really stretched trying to spend time with each group. In retrospect I wish we would have just done what WE wanted to... but we did feel obligated to try to entertain everyone! I definitely shouldnt have worried so much about pleasing everyone. (this is why our 2nd week there was so wonderful - US time!!)

Other small things I could have done - a seating chart for dinner would have eliminated a bit of small confusion at the beginning of dinner.

I would have liked to have a welcome group brunch the day after everyone arrived which might have helped the group stick together a bit more. I had planned to do this but the plans fell through.

I think I should have prepared a bit more of a speech, I did get up and thank everyone for coming but I was a bit tipsy and it was a bit rambl-y, hee hee. I should have gotten more into thanking my parents for all they did for us, etc, but I was terrified of breaking into tears!

9. favorite thing?? Sooo many wonderful moments! Seeing the AMAZING jacuzzi suite we were upgraded to when we first arrived, The wedding day was magical, hearing my dh say "Wow!" as I walked down the aisle, how much fun we all had all day, .... it was definitely the most amazing week we have ever had!

RE: DW

paradise83 — Fri, 09 May 2008 12:33:22 GMT

Here are my answers:

[quote][b]smurf993 (5/9/2008)[/b][hr]

Where did you get married? Riu Paradise island (Bahamas)

2. Formal or informal? Pretty informal... a few short speeches, dancing at a night club

3 Why did you choose it? always wanted to get married out of the country (dream wedding was Greece, but I like the ease of a carribean all-inclusive) english ceremony with little hassle, preferably where no one in the guest list had been before (more memorable that way). In the Bahamas all you need is to be there for at least one day and have gov't issued photo i.d.

4. did you upgrade anything? Had the royal package with extra flowers for the wedding party. An extra tier of cake. An extra hour of photography. Upgraded to a suite.

5. was it worth it? Very worth it! Our balcony in our room was amazing!

6. what was worth your time and effort? .Beach bags & newsletters.. my guests loved them. The guest book.

7. what was not worth your time and effort? worrying about what other people thought. My veil....it was way too windy to wear it.

8. Change anything?? I would have put my dress on later....waiting all dressed up was when I was most anxious...and the ceremony was supposed to start at 5pm, which in Carribean time means they start setting up at 5:01pm....there was a lot of pacing back and forth on my part.

9. favorite thing?? Feeling my nerves calm as I made it to the end of the aisle and finally was with DH.[/quote]

RE: DW

sunshine4 — Fri, 09 May 2008 10:00:57 GMT

I have changed to my replies :)

[quote][b]smurf993 (5/9/2008)[/b][hr]I thought that i might be neat to have us DW ladies all answer a few questions about our weddings so that newbies would be able to see who got married where and what they thought

so here goes.. ladies copy and paste in your answers!!!

1. Where did you get married? Majestic Colonial Punta Cana

2. Formal or informal? ... Fairly formal, full private reception on the balcony of the presidential suite with a DJ, speeches, slide show, open bar and dancing (we had 70 guests)

3 Why did you choose it? Why did I choose a destination wedding? Because I could not fathom spending $25 000 on one day, and I could not wait to spend a whole week with my family and friends........I would much rather spend that type of money for a weeks vacation :) Why did I chose the Majestic and the Formal wedding? Majestic is beautiful and I had seen it in person, I wanted to give my 70 guest a night to remember for spending the time and money to come all the way down there..........

4. did you upgrade anything? Hmmmmmmm, I guess you could say pretty much everything? I did not have to pay for the wedding package because I had 30 plus rooms booked, and they upgraded our room for free, but I "upgraded" the private reception, brought fans, bubble wands, favours, seating charts, place cards......

5. was it worth it? C...Was worth every minute, every cent, every memory....... The best week/ day of my life............Seriously undescribable :)

6. what was worth your time and effort? .... Specifically, getting my silk flowers ahead of time, doing a seating chart (the staff thanked me) Having all of the speeches, doing the private reception and #1 Bringing my own photographer. The trash the dress photoshoot was so much fun :)

7. what was not worth your time and effort? worrying... about the set up, the resort in itself is set up enough.........I never stressed when I got there.........I was very worried about everyone having a good time.........Dont be, it is not worth it :)

8. Change anything?? not really, I would have went with just a cheap pair of flip flops, i was bare foot for most of the time.......... .

9. favorite thing?? The photos from the trash the dress shoot, we used the whole bridal party and we were in the ocean and the pool in our wedding attire...it was so much fun! .[/quote]

RE: DW

cstauber — Fri, 09 May 2008 09:05:14 GMT

Such a great idea! You ladies will be helping us a lot. So many things you would never think of....

Can wait to see your posts ladies, keep them coming!

DW

smurf993 — Fri, 09 May 2008 01:28:50 GMT

I thought that i might be neat to have us DW ladies all answer a few questions about our weddings so that newbies would be able to see who got married where and what they thought

so here goes.. ladies copy and paste in your answers!!!

1. Where did you get married? Riu Ocho Rios

2. Formal or informal? Very informal... no speeches, no dance (expect for us being hauled on stage by two drunk ladies from New jersey!!

3 Why did you choose it? wanted less common spot and english ceremony and i always dreamed of a Jamaican wedding.

4. did you upgrade anything? Had the royal package with extra wine, petals and runner. offered the room upgrade the day before the wedding... but never took it. for the sake of three nights it was too much hassal. we were happy where we were.

5. was it worth it? Could have went with the free package and been just as happy.. but i loved the breakfast in bed!!! it was amazing!! and we were in no mood to venture out of the room.

6. what was worth your time and effort? having the huge train removed from my dress, favors... my guest loved them. DH gifts.. he loved his pics and his knife.

7. what was not worth your time and effort? worrying... about the set up, flowers, meal choices, etc... worrying about dates that people wanted to go... worrying about the people that were going. buying flip flops... i never wore them... barefoot all night!!!

8. Change anything?? not really..but I would have gotten my BM to bring lunch to the spa when she offered rather then going to the buffet after. so that i could have spent more time with my girls getting ready. i have no pics of me getting dressed... i was in such a rush i forgot!!!

I might have said a speech... maybe i would have been nice to thank my parents, my sister etc.. but we did do a small informal thank you. however it was hard to hear us with 33 people sitting at one long table.

9. favorite thing?? swimming at night with our friends... just us on the beach. One night we were all walking down the beach and saw an amazing shooting star!! it was paradise!! laying in the loungers till the wee hours of the morning... with DH by my side.