Mexican Extravaganza Price Reduction!

The Excellence Playa Mujeres rates have dropped for stays of 4 nights or longer!
If you have already booked a room with Laura, for a stay of 4 nights or longer at our host hotel, she is automatically rebooking your room under this promotion. If you are currently booked for only 3 nights, and would like to extend to 4+, please contact Laura before 4/30 to let her know.
The Mexico Extravaganza sale MUST be booked and deposit paid by 4/30.
Rates, totals for 2 people, for the entry level room category, the Jr. Suite Spa/Pool View Units are:
4 Nights: $1044
5 Nights: $1352
6 Nights: $1577
7 Nights: $1840
Roundtrip Airport Transfers remain $50/per person. This is less than taking a taxi because the hotel is about 45 minutes from the airport. Laura is able to add transfers on to all hotel packages.
All rates at the Excellence Playa Mujeres include:

*Room, tax, service charges and gratuities

* Special welcome cocktail and cool towel

* Full breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks daily

* Unlimited natural fruit juices and soft drinks

* Unlimited international premium and domestic alcoholic beverages

* 24-hour room service

* Mini bar in room stocked daily with water, juices, soft drinks, beer and snacks

* Pool and beach waiter service

* Non-motorized water sports (hobie cats, windsurfing, sea kayaking, snorkeling gear, introductory scuba lesson

* Daily activities and nightly entertainment

* Tennis clinics

* Aerobics, water aerobics, water polo, yoga, jogging, Spanish lessons, dancing lessons, cooking lessons,

theme nights, beach volleyball, beach football, tennis, basketball, bicycles, table tennis, darts, billiards, board

games, archery and air rifle shooting

* Electronic in-room safe (laptop size)

Call Laura Sangster with Caribbean Journey at 866-236-1924 or email her at Laura@caribbeanjourney.com!

We're Getting Married!

You got the golden ticket!

We are happy to announce that we are getting married! We want you, our loving family and friends, to join us for our wedding and reception (and more importantly vacation!) in Playa Mujeres, Mexico!

For the last five years we imagined of one day being engaged and having a beach wedding on a far-away island. After careful consideration for you, our guests, and while keeping our dream wedding in mind, we chose Playa Mujeres, Mexico as our wedding destination. Besides fulfilling our dream of being married at sunset on a beautiful, sandy beach, one of the great pluses of havi

ng a destination wedding is that much more time can be spent with our guests, compared to a "normal" wedding. We would love for you all to join us for as many days as possible during our wedding celebration, while we vacation together on the sandy shores of the Mayan Riviera!

The resort, Excellence Playa Mujeres, will be the site of both our wedding and reception; find more information on that topic by scrolling down to "Ceremony and Reception."

Check back regularly to view more information as we near our special day!

Engagement Photos

For more photos visit:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dustinandtheresa/sets/72157622856782748/

About Us

About Theresa

Theresa grew up in Illinois with her parents and four incredible siblings. She moved to Barcelona, Spain when she was 17 and had an adventurous year abroad before attending the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and graduating with a double major in Italian and Spanish. Theresa and Dustin spent the summer of 2006 exploring Italy, before Theresa's semester abroad at L'Universita' Cattolica in Milan where she studied Italian more in depth. When she returned from Milan, Dustin and Theresa moved to Austin, Texas where they presently live it up, Austin-style. Theresa is the Senior National Account Executive at Circa Texas, a destination management company on the East side of downtown Austin. She enjoys traveling, spending as much time with Dustin and Cuzco (their French Bulldog) as possible, exploring Austin and the nearby Hill Country and being with her awesome family and friends.

About Dustin

Dustin grew up in the Phoenix, Arizona with his wonderful parents and three great siblings. Having always been fascinated with art, Dustin attended a computer animation school in Vancouver, British Columbia which led him to the video game industry. He now produces the creation of video games at a local studio in Austin and most recently completed Ghostbusters and Cook or Be Cooked, A Food Network Game. Dustin loves to bike around Austin with Theresa and Cuzco in tow, explore restaurants across Austin (and the globe!), play games with his brother, Daniel, and spend time with Theresa and his family and friends.

How we met

Dustin and Theresa met at Bacaro, an Italian restaurant and wine bar in Champaign, Illinois. Dustin worked at Volition, a video game studio in downtown Champaign, and Theresa worked as a bartender at Bacaro while attending the University of Illinois. After several visits by Dustin, Theresa invited him to come to a party where they spent some time chatting and getting to know each other. From that point on they were inseparable, spending all of their time together, traveling as much as they could and just loving each other!

Ceremony and Celebration

The wedding will take place on October 10th 2010 (10.10.10!!!) which is a Sunday. We picked October because that’s the best time of year to be in Mexico, plus, it is off-season so airfare will be the most reasonable!

We will have a cocktail party on Saturday (10.9.10) so that all of our family and friends can mingle and get to know each other and really just party!

Our wedding will be on Sunday around 6:30pm, at sunset, with dinner following. The celebration will go through the night. We would LOVE it if EVERYONE wore white for the wedding: white linen, white dresses, shorts, whatever it is you want to wear.

You can stay as long as you like at the resort, before or after our wedding celebration. Please think of this as a vacation, an opportunity for everyone to spend quality time together!

The Resort: Excellence Playa Mujeres

At Excellence Playa Mujeres, an adults-only resort, all inclusive luxury surrounds you in a setting of lush Caribbean beauty. The newest luxury resort destination in the Cancun region, Playa Mujeres is situated on an untouched 20-mile peninsula, secluded and serene but conveniently only 25 minutes north of Cancun International Airport.

Excellence Playa Mujeres is an adults-only romantic resort nestled on two miles of powdery white sand beach, in a resort community that boasts an inland marina, world-class spa, and a spectacular Greg Norman signature golf course right on the Caribbean. This all inclusive jewel of Cancun offers spacious rooms and suites furnished in elegant contemporary decor and outfitted with the latest amenities. Here, everything is taken care of and nothing is left out. So you are free to create those moments you dream of and memories you’ll have forever.

Visit the resort's website here:

http://www.excellence-resorts.com/all-inclusive-resorts/playa-mujeres-mexico/playa-overview.htm

All Inclusive!

At Excellence Playa Mujeres, the premier Caribbean resort and spa of tranquil northern Cancun, our all inclusive format means that we surround you with luxury. From our comprehensive services and facilities to dining and drinks, we make sure that all your needs are accounted for, so your time here is entirely your own. The all inclusive program at Excellence Playa Mujeres includes:

• Special Welcome Cocktail and cool towel
• Full breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks each day
• 8 à la carte dining options
• 2 à la carte lunch options (Grill & Deli)
• 1 buffet restaurant for breakfast & lunch
• Spa cuisine available for breakfast, lunch and dinner
• 11 bars
• Unlimited natural fruit juices and soft drinks
• Unlimited international premium and domestic alcoholic beverages
• 24-hour room service
• Mini-bar in room stocked daily with water, juices, soft drinks, beer and snacks
• Coffee/tea maker in room, complete with coffee, tea, sugar and cream??Pool and beach waiter service
• 7 swimming pools (4 heated in winter, 2 of them in the Excellence Club area), with a total of 55,500 sq.feet
• 4 outdoor hot water Jacuzzis (2 of them in Excellence Club section) 5 pool-integrated whirlpools
• Non-motorized water sports (Hobie Cats, windsurfing, sea kayaking, snorkeling gear, introductory scuba lesson)
• Daily activities and nightly entertainment
• Tennis clinics
• Game room
• Library
• Fully equipped fitness center with state-of-the-art equipment
• Aerobics, water aerobics, water polo, yoga, jogging, Spanish lessons, dancing lessons, cooking lessons, theme nights, beach volleyball, beach football, tennis, basketball, bicycles, table tennis, darts, billiards, board games, archery, air rifle shooting
• Electronic in-room safe (Laptop size)
• All taxes and gratuities

***There is a required dress code of "casual elegance" in the restaurants on property. This means that during the day, guests will be fine in jeans, however in the evening guests must wear proper attire in the restaurants (dress pants, button down shirts, etc). Also, you may dine at the pool "Grille" with a swimsuit cover-up.

Video and photos of the resort: http://www.excellence-resorts.com/all-inclusive-resorts/playa-mujeres-mexico/playa-resort-photos.htm

Reservation and Travel Information

We chose the Mayan Riviera as our wedding destination due to the fact that the majority of our guests will be able to fly directly into Cancun to reach the wedding. We want you all to come join us in our vacation and celebration and figured since most everyone will have to fly anyhow, why not all go somewhere amazing! Our goal is to be able to enjoy a vacation with our friends and family. We want to spend some quality time with all of you. We hope you can stay for additional days so that we can spend the time together.

We have spent a lot of time researching resorts in the Mayan Riviera area and really feel like Excellence Playa Mujeres offers a great value with beautiful accommodations. A wonderful Destination Wedding Planner has been assisting us and has negotiated a room rate of $174.00 per person per night in a "junior suite spaview" (remember this includes ALL your food, beverages, alcohol, activities, tax and more: no additional charges). We are NOT holding space at the hotel. Rooms are booked on a first come, first serve basis and this rate is not guaranteed after December 21st 2009 when I will update the website with new rates. However, the resort could possibly sell out before then. Please book ASAP to ensure you are able to take advantage of t his great rate.

You will need to book through our travel agent to take advantage of this reduced rate, and put down a $150.00 per person deposit. Final Payment is not due until 45 days prior to your arrival at the hotel.

Note- if the rate drops between time of deposit and the final payment due date, we will rebook your trip at the new lower rate!

Other rates are here, valid until DECEMBER 21st 2009. (I will update with new rates after that date.)

3 or 5 nights at Excellence Playa Mujeres, per person and includes taxes and service fees:

Jr. Suite Spa View: $174 per person/night

Jr. Suite Swim-up: $198 per person/night

Excellence Club Jr. Suite: $239 per person/night

2 Story Terrace: $249 per person/night

Excellence Club Jr. Suite Swim-up: $258 per person/night

Excellence Club 2 Story: $324 per person/night

Roundtrip airport transfers are $50/per person extra. This cost is based on roundtrip with at least 2 people sharing the same vehicle.

Even though we are currently around one year away from our wedding date, the resort (via our travel agent) needs to start holding your reservation. Booking early, please! In the coming months we will need each of your to confirm your room and put a deposit down. The travel agent's information is below, so contact her with any questions that you may have. She can assist you with all of your travel needs, including flights.

Her information is here:

Laura R. Sangster, Caribbean Journey

Phone: 866-236-1924

Laura@caribbeanjourney.com

www.CaribbeanJourney.com

Passport required!

Don’t forget to check if your passport needs to be renewed by 2010; passports are required to travel to Mexico so make sure you plan for this early.

We truly hope that all of you can come and celebrate with us; however, we completely understand if you are unable to attend because this is a destination wedding.

Things to do in the Mayan Riviera

• Tulum: Tour this archaeological site located by the sea and swim in the private, secluded beach below.
• Coba: Visit the cenote and archaeological site.
• Ak-tun Chen: Explore the mystery of a Mayan cave.
• Playa del Carmen: Stroll along "La Quinta Avenida" for great shopping during the day or enjoy its lively nightlife at its wide variety of bars and restaurants.
• Cancun: The best shopping and nightlife.
• Kanché: Live an authentic experience in local communities while contributing to the improvement of their life quality and the conservation of their culture and nature.
• Río Secreto: A guided walking and swimming tour along an amazing underground river route.
• Isla Mujeres: Enjoy the charming and tranquil atmosphere of this small fishing village.
• Cozumel: The best scuba diving adventure.
• Xel-Há: Snorkel in the largest natural aquarium in the world.
• Xcaret: Spend a day of amazement interacting with Mexican culture in one of the most spectacular theme parks in the world.
• Sian Ka’an: Visit the third largest protected area in México; this biosphere reserve is a World Heritage site.
• The Great Mayan Reef Barrier: Discover the underwater world at the largest reef barrier on the northern hemisphere... snorkeling and diving.

Registry

We want to thank our family and friends for all the love and support you have given us throughout the years. Thank you also for joining us for our wedding in Mexico, it means so much to us how many of you are coming from so far away. Please do not feel obligated to send us any gifts; your presence at our wedding will be our gift! However, if you would like to, please make a small donation towards our honeymoon and future travel fund.