u/cincofx

Hey everyone,

My fiancé and I are looking to plan a destination wedding for either July 2027 or Spring 2028. Just for context, we’re actually getting legally married back home first, so this trip is purely a massive celebration and party for our closest friends and family.
We’re trying to figure out if our budget is realistic or if we need a major reality check.

The Details:
Guest Count: Expecting anywhere between 40 to 60 guests max.
The Vibe: It's a mix of adults and kids (including our own), so we absolutely need a family-friendly resort. Ideally, somewhere with a good balance so the adults can still have their own space to relax and party.
Locations: We are looking strictly at Punta Cana or the Cancun / Tulum area.

Resorts we're eyeing:
Right now we've been looking into Sandos Caracol Eco Resort in Cancun and Dreams Flora in Punta Cana. We like the family stuff at Sandos, but we're definitely leaning toward the more modern, upscale vibe of the Dreams brand.

Our Budget Dilemma:
We want to keep the actual wedding events/package around $12,000 to $15,000 max (not including our own flights/room). We just got a baseline quote for Sandos that sits right around $12k for our guest count, but I know how fast hidden fees, private reception upgrades, and decor add-ons can rack up.
Would love to hear from anyone who has gotten married at either of these properties or done a similar size wedding in these areas:

1. Is $12k-$15k actually doable for 50-ish people at these types of resorts, or am I being naive and need to bump up our budget expectation?
2. If you used Sandos or a Dreams resort, what did your final invoice actually look like after all the upgrades?
3. Any other resort recommendations that fit this vibe but won't completely blow past a $15k event budget?
   Appreciate any advice or resort recs you guys have!

Our son is almost 4 months old. He was born with fetal growth restriction (FGR) and weighed 6 lb 3.1 oz at birth. Since then he’s had excellent catch-up growth. At his most recent appointment he weighed 15 lb 4 oz and is in the 64th percentile for weight and the 87th percentile for height. Our pediatrician has been very happy with his growth.

We recently did a 2-week trial of Nutramigen because our pediatrician wanted to see if he had a cow’s milk protein allergy.

While he was on Nutramigen:
His poop became much more pasty.
But he ate less, was much fussier, slept worse, and spit up more.
Our pediatrician felt it was okay to switch him back to Kendamil Organic.

Since going back to Kendamil:
He’s drinking 4–5 oz bottles really well during the day.
Sleeps 6–8 hour stretches at night again.
Much happier.
No blood in his stool.
No diaper rash.
No significant spit-up.
Continues gaining weight and following his growth curve.

The only issue is that his stools are very loose/liquid (what a lot of parents call “Kendamil poop”). They’ve been like this for about a month, but despite that he’s growing and acting great.
I’m torn because:

Part of me thinks, “If he’s thriving, don’t fix what isn’t broken.”
Another part of me wonders if we should try a partially hydrolyzed gentle formula (like Bobbie Gentle, Kirkland ProCare Gentle, or Enfamil Gentlease) to see if his stools become more formed.

Has anyone had a baby who had very loose stools on Kendamil but otherwise thrived? Did you stay on it, or did you switch? If you switched to a gentle formula, did it actually improve anything besides the poop?
We’re planning to discuss it with our pediatrician in his next appointment , but I’d really appreciate hearing real experiences from other parents.