Courthouse Wedding

I know I am a bit delayed in posting anything lately, but now that we've been home for a few days, I can finally take the time to upload everything.  Yes, I will get to the Cabo wedding, but I want to first start off with the Courthouse wedding.  In case you didn't know, there are many laws to legally get married in Mexico, including being there for 4 days prior to the wedding, getting blood tests, and also X-rays.  After the wedding, it can take up to 4 months to get the wedding certificate back, which then must be translated before we could legally be considered "married" in the United States.  We obviously didn't want to bother with all that, so we decided to get married here beforehand (with a "symbolic" wedding in Cabo), so the Monday before we left, we took care of that!  Since my Grandma Liske was in town to watch Kodi while my parents in Cabo, and since Shaun was not working this week, they joined us along with our parents at the Rochester Hills Courthouse.

Our wedding "appointment" was for 11am, but after a 30 minute wait, we walked in the courtroom and within 2 minutes we were husband and wife -- yeah seriously, it took less than 2 minutes.  Here's the video (it is pretty quiet, so you might need to turn up the volume on your computer all the way, to hear it)...

An important note about credit/debit cards

For those of you planning to use your credit/debit card for anything in Mexico -- please read...

Shortly after I used my debit card to reserve the spa and ATV tour, I received a phone call from my bank.  They were calling because of the charges since they were made out of the country, and there were asking if I would approve of them.  Obviously I said yes, but since most of you won't have phone access in Mexico, you won't want to have to worry about your card being declined because you are out of the country (the bank was worried about fraudulent charges).  So, when I went to the bank today, I asked what could be done so that they wouldn't have to call me every time I used it to approve the charges and they said that they would just put a note on my account that I would be in the Cabo area from 7/14-7/21, which would mean they wouldn't have to call me every time.  Also, I got an international phone number from them that I could call at any time (without charge), in case something happens where my card is rejected.  If you plan on using your debit card or credit card, I would suggest you call your bank and credit card company so they can put a note on your account and you won't have to worry about anything being declined when you are there!  

See you soon!  

Other little details..

I had another question about dress code..(I know...no one wants to be shut down at a restaurant when it is all-inclusive, right?).  For the formal dress code, it says "dress shoes" for women.  The question was whether or not we could wear sandals, and the wedding coordinator said that we can't wear flip-flops, but dressy sandals were okay.

One question I'm not sure if anyone else had, but the resort does use the same plug outlets as we do...no need for an adapter...

Also, regarding computer usage.  The resort does have wireless internet, but you have to purchase an access card to use it on your own laptop, or you can use a computer in the business center they have.  I am not sure if anyone planned on taking a laptop, or if you will need to check your email, but thats the scoop.

Zipline and some other info...

I know Troy and some of the guys will be going fishing in Mexico on Friday.  I'm not sure yet myself how I'm going to want to spend that day...whether laying by the pool (I probably won't have much time until that day to do that) or if I want to go out and about..  I have been eyeing the zipline that they have in downtown Cabo, but I'm not sure enough about it to reserve it now.  So, I am not sure if anyone else would be interested or not, but its something to think about.  We can reserve it at the resort if any of us decide to do it, but as an FYI, it costs about $85 and they require you to wear longer shorts (capris are good for girls) and close-toed shoes.  Again, I'm still up in the air, but since the girls might not be planning on bringing close-toed shoes, you might want to, if this seems to interest you.  

Another FYI is that Troy talked to the man he booked the charter with yesterday, and when Troy was asking him about playing in dollars or pesos, the man said that there is no problem paying for excursions in dollars (and cash is better than credit because of the surcharge from your credit card company, of course), but if you have to get a cab/bus to go somewhere, it will be MUCH better to use pesos so you get a better exchange rate (and those drivers might try to rip you off if you use dollars).  So, I don't know who plans on leaving the resort by bus/cab (most excursions you take that you set up at the hotel have roundtrip transportation included, so you don't need your own way to Cabo--but if you want to go just to walk around and see whats there, you need your own transportation), but you have a few choices.  You could exchange money at the airport or at the resort.  The exchange rate might not be the best at the resort (a little lower than the airport), but if you only plan to change some over for cab rides (about $25 one way to Cabo), it won't be a big deal, unless you want to exchange a lot of money over.  Hope this makes sense...let me know if you have any questions about this...

Dissecting the dress code

A good question came up about the dress code that I just want to elaborate on.  It says for all the restaurants "no sleeveless shirts".  For casual, it specifies that there can be no sleeveless shirts for men, but for casual elegance, it didn't specify men or women.  So, I emailed our wedding coordinator and she confirmed that it is only the men that can not wear sleeveless shirts at any restaurant.  Girls, no need to worry about those dresses that have spaghetti straps, are sleeveless, or even strapless...they are okay to wear.  

Some final touches

What a successful day!  As Troy spent the weekend with the guys fishing, golfing, and who knows what else (Caseville strippers?  who knows...), I spent the day with my mom, sister, and Morgan, finishing up last minute details regarding the "girlie" stuff for the wedding day.  My sister is doing my hair and makeup, so we did a trial run with that.  I'd have to say that it worked out quite well considering neither my sister nor I knew exactly how the finished product was going to look at first -- would it be up, down, straight, curly? -- but the first attempt worked out very well.  With my hair and makeup done, we then went to try on the dress for my last dress fitting.  Not much had to be done to it besides the bustle and a little help up on top, but it was nice to see it on again with my hair and makeup done like it would be on the wedding day!  How fun!  

Hopefully those of you going got something in the mail from us with last minute reminders, but I want to add some additional information that I found out after I mailed those out (go figure...)

1)  ATV information -- We decided to go with a different company for the ATV rides for the guys.  This new company was recommended by the concierge of the resort as "the best in Cabo", so hopefully it is!  After I made the reservation, I asked him about what the guys would have to bring and he just suggested sunscreen and a camera.  I asked if they'd have to wear long pants like the other company suggested and he said no!  Apparently you'll be riding Honda 420 semi-automatic ATV's which have covered engines, so there is no risk to getting burned, thus you don't have to wear pants.  If you'd rather have a fully automatic 350 Yamaha ATV (usually given to the ladies though for easier riding and less power) then you'd have to wear long pants because the engine is not covered.  

2)  Spa information - As I spoke to you last week, everything was taken care of with the spa and I spoke to Suzanne and we are good to go with the services you told me last week.  One addition is that along with the services, they also bring a massage chair for you to sit in and get a massage while you are waiting for your services.  This is additional and not required by anyone but she said some people like to get a little back massage while they wait, so they just "throw it in" to the package.  The massage costs $1/minute if you'd like to participate and that is collected by the "therapist" after the massage. 

If you have any "last minute" questions, PLEASE do not hesitate to ask either by commenting on here, or emailing/calling either one of us.  Also, periodically check the blog the next two weeks in case there are other random things I want to keep you abreast of.  

See you all soon!

1 year ago today....3 weeks from today

What were you doing 1 year ago today?  Well, around 9am, we were standing at Artist Point and Troy was proposing!  Yup, we've officially been engaged for one year.  Here we are standing at Artist Point just before he proposed...

What is happening in 3 weeks?  In exactly 3 weeks from today, we will be beginning a new chapter in our lives as husband and wife.  We can't wait and I hope all of you that are joining us in Mexico are just as excited as we are for the upcoming trip!