We just returned from my sister's wedding near Lake of the Woods in northern Minnesota, and on top of being completely exhausted, we are also so happy for Jami and Mike! It was a very fun event, lots of family and friends and good weather (until the day we left thankfully). Now I just have one more wedding this fall (a coworker's wedding that I am planning in Casper, WY on Thanksgiving weekend) and then our wedding next year - but who knows, hopefully I will get a few more planning gigs between now and then as well.
This weekend is my sister Jami's wedding in northern Minnesota. Christopher and I will be heading out tomorrow and returning Monday - a short trip, but just enough time to accomplish everything (I have been planning her wedding for 8 months now) and get back home to work again. If you are interested in checking out that happy couple, see their website at: www.mywedding.com/jamiandmichael. We're excited to attend and be part of the festivities! I will hopefully have some good photos to share when we get back.
Christopher sent me some fun links from Yahoo today, each having something to do with a list of things to do/not do when faced with a wedding. These crack me up, mainly because not only do you see them everyday (and at every wedding I have ever been in, planned, or attended), but they all seem so darn commonsense that no one understands why they continue to occur! Have a good chuckle and check it out.
1. White Is Not Right It seems obvious and yet so many guests seem to forget. Material that is mostly white with a small pattern is a no. White suits are a no. If there's a question...no. White garb is meant for one person only and that's the bride! Always. End of story.
2. Skip the Shorts Shorts at a wedding? It's just wrong; even if you dress them up with a blazer or a pair of sexy heels. Guys, no matter how preppy you make 'em, and, girls, no matter how stylish Charlize Theron looks in them, shorts just won't do at this affair.
3. Keep it Classy (San Diego? hee hee) Up-to-there miniskirts, shirts with more buttons undone than not, and bustier tops are best left for a night out with the girls (or that person you really want to wow). We know you're sexy, you know you're sexy, but a wedding isn't the place to show off. Play down the sassy and play up the classy.
The day two people exchange vows may not be your special day, but it's someone's special day, so be on your best behavior -- all the way from the I -do's to the obligatory Gloria Gaynor dance marathon...
1. Don't Produce Sound Effects While at a wedding and reception, turn off your Blackberries and cell phones, put them on vibrate, or better yet, don't even take them!
2. Don't Come Bearing Gifts Whether you're planning on gifting the happy couple a Cuisinart or cold hard cash, do them a huge favor and don't bring it on the wedding day. If you do, they have to keep track of it and haul it home at the end of the night. Send the gift ahead of time, or after the actual ceremony -- at a time when they can really relax and enjoy it.
3. Don't Steal the Show Wedding ceremonies take all forms -- from religious to poetic, musical, or humorous. Whatever the vibe, let the bride and groom set the tone and follow their lead. If you're normally a loud, life-of-the-party type, bring it down a notch and let the wedding couple stand out. If you're a weeper, bring tissues and sit where you can sob without disturbing the I Do's. If the ceremony includes religious rituals, find out what you should do (or not do) ahead of time.
4. Don't Drag Out Skeletons If the bride blushes, it should be from pride, joy, or sheer love. Not because someone just stood up and told a humiliating story about the loser she dated in high school! Ingratiate yourself to the lady and her groom by avoiding any potentially embarrassing or juvenile behavior -- no bawdy jokes, no tales about their dating habits or exploits, no overdrinking, and no overly sexy dancing. Have fun, but don't have it at anyone else's expense.
Check out the links on each title to see the full list for each one...the Yahoo Shine site system is pretty cool, with topics to interest everyone. Thanks Christopher for the fun!!
Here are some more great photos from last week - before the opening - but there are some views that you won't find in the ones I just posted. I could almost squeak with excitement.
That's right folks, just when you thought it might not happen...it did! Our wedding resort is officially open to guests! I hope the grass grows in before next year...hee hee.
So...it's been about 24 hours since we officially booked our wedding trip to Mexico. Today was a day of reflection, and anxiety, and excitement...did we pick the right place? Was Mexico a good choice at all? Will our guests think we are crazy for thinking they can come to this destination wedding in the middle of hurricane season!? That one really got me thinking. Particularly because I made the mistake of watching television tonight...something I do about once a week. I record all the goofy wedding shows (Whose Wedding is it Anyway?, Married Away, Rock the Reception, Say Yes to the Dress) so once a week I sit down with a bowl of popcorn and indulge in a show or two, no commercials attached thanks to our DVR. But - tonight I just happened to pick a show that was reviewing a wedding on Little Palm Island in the Florida Keys, and they were getting married in AUGUST, and a hurricane nearly forced them to cancel their nuptials. NEARLY. But it was enough to make me have a minor panic attack about our choice of month and locale.
Really, we chose August not because we enjoy the heat or needed a summer wedding, but because both of our mothers work in the school system, and August would be a reasonable month for them to get away (plus a few members of our bridal party too!!). And, being hurricane season, rates at a 5-star all-inclusive resort are lower than if we were going in say, February. *sigh* Still, at the end of the day, I feel good about our choice. I think it is going to be an amazingly fun time, and no matter what happens, as long as Christopher and I are married on August 8 (hurricane or no hurricane), we'll have accomplished our goal. (We would just rather have NO hurricane...I'm putting that order into the gods, and doing a rain dance, and I might check in with Buddha and Jesus too, just to be sure I have covered the bases...)
Oh...and Ifound out the opening of Secrets Maroma Beach has been pushed back yet again to August 8, 2008. Wonder how many brides planned their 08-08-08 wedding there??? Honestly, after all of the reading I have done, it seems pointless to book at any Mexico resort within 1 month or so of it's scheduled opening...just never seems to go as planned. But - one perk for those who did book there - I have heard that people are being given free 7-night stays at the resort next year if they are unable to stay there this week. We should have signed up for that!!
Maybe the new opening date will work out, and be a good sign that by NEXT August 8, the resort will be open and functional. Maybe. Crossing fingers (and toes).
Christopher and I will be married at the Secrets Maroma Beach Resort just south of Cancun, Mexico on August 8th, 2009.
We booked our travel today throughRoads Less Taken(http://roadslesstaken.com/) and are SO EXCITED!
Beau has promised to get me the rate chart for our guests (for 3, 4, 5, and 7-night stays) and I just can't thank him enough for helping methrough the process ofchoosingthe resort, and then finding the absolute best prices anywhere.The agency is so knowledgeable, and Beau's wife Carol will help me in handling all of the wedding details with the on-sitewedding coordinator(her name is Cecilia Reyes, and she was just hired this week). The resort opened officially today, after some start-up issues withelectricity (which all of the people who had booked stays there for this week were VERY angry about). Let's hope that by giving them a year, we'll have very few 'growing pains' to deal with when we are there!!
Christopher and I will be staying at the resort to chill and party with all of our family and friends from August 5 to August 9, and then will be departing for our honeymoon...just up the road, at the Le Blanc Spa resort. Click here to check out this ultra modern resort
Aaah! We can't wait!(Christopher doesn't say 'aaah!', but Mindy does. Just making that clear.)
So...I think everyone knows that I research things...and generally this is a good thing. However, sometimes things you'd rather not know should remain...unknown. *you wonder, where is this going?*
Well, the time has come for us to choose a resort at which we will host our Mexico wedding. We've established a number of different requirements (both Christopher and I have our list of 'must-haves') and attempted to hold various resorts against these to see who would fall out, and who would remain a possibility. Needless to say, there weren't many resorts left after we finished that process!
The resort 'chains', if you will, that hung around were Secrets Resorts, Excellence Resorts, and the Le Blanc Spa in Cancun. We have determined that because the Le Blanc Spa is a bit more subdued and chill, we will be spending our 4-night honeymoon there following our wedding at one of the other resorts (or...we might book a cruise if we can, but this is just a thought at this point). So we are down to Secrets and Excellence.
The Secrets Resort line actually owned Excellence up until last year, so it wasn't too surprising that both resorts fared well in our choice matrix. The Secrets line has branched out, building and opening two new resorts in the area (Secrets Silversands, and Secrets Maroma Beach). ALL are 4.5-5 star, all-adults, all-inclusive properties in the Riviera Maya region (south of Cancun). All contain at least 6 ala carte restaurants, and have at least 6 bars of differing types (swim-up bars, beach bars, night clubs/bars, piano lounges, cigar bars, spa bars, oh my!). All have nightly entertainment on-site, and a variety of activities included in the daily room price (including kayaking, snorkeling, sailing, water aerobics, beach volleyball, archery lessons, tennis lessons...). All provide 24-hour room service...included as well.
So, now it is on to examine their actual wedding packages. Because these resorts were all influenced by the same presence at one point in time or another, the packages between Secrets and Excellence are pretty similar. One of my "must-haves" was the inclusion of some type of additional food and drink IN the wedding package that the resort offers (so, a cocktail reception or dinner reception included in the package price). I found this to be the crux of the wedding package debate - and the reason that most of the other very-nice properties did not make our list (e.g., El Dorado Royale, Le Blanc Spa, etc.). Both Secrets and Excellence include a wedding reception AND wedding dinner in their silver and gold level packages - for up to 20 people. After 20, you pay by the head. I feel pretty good about this kind of deal, mainly because at all of the other resorts, you pay per head after just 1 person! The other 'very cool element' to each resorts' packages is that the groom is given a separate room the night before the wedding...we thought this was very sweet and would add to the wedding experience.
But how to differentiate between Excellence and Secrets? Two of the properties are established (Secrets Capri and Excellence Riviera), and two are brand new, just opening in August 2008 (Secrets Silversands and Secrets Maroma Beach). Maybe price? We definitely included price in our matrix, mainly because we want this to be a possible trip for everyone on our guest list! But after speaking with a travel agent, AND working up prices all over the internet, it doesn't seem likely that price will help us decide. They are all just too similar.
Stay tuned for the next chapter in the saga, where I attempt to come up with more seemingly nonexistent differences...and maybe we'll make a choice!! SOON!
Aah!! The first pre-anniversary of our August 2009 wedding is creeping toward us...and I finally decided to try blogging. I anticipate that this blog will be a venue through which family and friends can read about the "Misadventures of Mindy and Christopher." In the future, we'll add stories about our "potential-family-members" (aka, children), and stories about our crazy dogs, I'm sure. The next major event for our family is, of course, our wedding in Mexico. Stay tuned for more information about the resorts we are considering, the wedding packages that come with these resorts, and all of the finer details that go into planning a wedding from 2000 miles away!
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