Paradisus Riviera Brides - POST HERE!

kimkeathley · April 2, 2008

I did contact him directly... his contract was for a total of $2,368.85 (Really? where does the $0.85 come in!?!?)

At any rate, that's waaaay too much!! You can get a great band in The States for about that much! I remember reading someone else's post about getting a DJ for $800 or so? Thats more like it, even if you do have to pay the $450 to the resort... anyone else have any other suggestions?

Kim

kimkeathley · April 2, 2008

I thought I would tell you all this now, so if I reference it later, you won't be like, "huh?" ... My Mom passed away last April, and Jonathan (my FI)'s dad passed away just three weeks before that. (We just had his 1 year anniv.) With that being said, that is the main reason why we decided to have a destination wedding! We are so excited to be getting married in Mexico, on the beach!

I am telling y'all this now because I read a post about favors...we are doing in-room guest bags (which the hotel charges $3-$4/ room to deliver) so, like someone else said, no need to give our guests anything else to lug around...however, in lieu of "favors" we are making donations to The American Heart Association and The Lupus Foundation, in our parents names.

I am also trying to think of other ways to honor our parents... so far, I have had a panel with their names sewn in blue made to put inside my dress, and will be carrying a locket around the base of my boquet, with a picture of both of them. I would like to do something to honor them during the ceremony... I read somewhere about placing or throwing roses out to sea, and then a moment of silence... any suggestions?

Wow... who knew that I would open up to a group of girls (practically strangers!!) so quickly... I guess knowing that we're all going through the same thing (planning a wedding in Mexico!!) together helps...

Happy Tuesday, girls!!

Kim

TATrisha · April 2, 2008

First things first I'm so sorry to hear about this!! But, I haven't heard much of the throwing of roses out to sea, but I know a lot of brides put a single rose on the chair where they would be sitting. Or light a candle (in a hurricane vase of course) so that it burns through your ceremony.

The only concern I would have with throwing roses out to sea is that with the waves and tide, they'd come back and get washed up on shore rather quickly. Otherwise, it'd be beautiful!!!

becks · April 2, 2008

Hi Kim! It's so good to have another Paradisus bride!!

Check with the hotel re: throwing roses in the sea. It sounds like a beautiful tribute, but the reef off-shore is a national park and they may not let you do it.

I like the idea of a rose on the chair, too.

On another topic, how many hours were you wanting Swank for? I think I was quoted $1700 for four hours. Maybe with taxes or something it comes to more.

I still haven't had any luck getting Mannia in - the insurance requirements were obviously written to stop anyone else from coming in. And Carlos (from Mannia) has been calling Swank, but they won't return his calls. We've asked Elisa to intercede.

kimkeathley · April 2, 2008

Hi!

Thanks so much for the kind words... great thoughts about the roses... I think we'll probably place them on the chairs, because you're right about the tossing them to sea...

I am going to try to attach the contract that SWANK sent me, but it's for 4 hours... this is just insane!! I'll keep reading to see what you find out about Mannia... I also have some other contacts out there that are checking some other DJ's... i'll let you know what I find out!

06-21-08-IHO Kim Keathly-775PC Reception 1.0.pdf

nenamono · April 2, 2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by jhof

Well ladies, I am leaving in the morning and I have a terrible cold...hopefully the warm sunny weather will make me feel better quickly.

I do not have the email to the florist. Elisa forwarded me the photos of the vases from the florist.

I had not seen a detail sheet as of yesterday so I used Missy's as a guide and inserted all my information and sent it to Elisa to review. She seemed really shocked and asked me where I got this form to use!

I will check in when I return.

Have a wonderful trip J and feel better soon, Im sure the warmth will wipe it all away.
Too funny about Elisa's reaction to the detail sheet. Maybe now they understand we all talk and compare quotes and ideas etc so they need to stick to the same budget list!!! I didnt even realize they came directly from the hotel I made up my own form based off of it (looks almost the same) with my crazy formulas (all I do is update the number of guests as they book at the top so it recalculates the total you may have to change some other hard key numbers as they pertain to your guest count/package). Im attaching it now if anyone is interested.

Quote:

Originally Posted by kimkeathley

I thought I would tell you all this now, so if I reference it later, you won't be like, "huh?" ... My Mom passed away last April, and Jonathan (my FI)'s dad passed away just three weeks before that. (We just had his 1 year anniv.) With that being said, that is the main reason why we decided to have a destination wedding! We are so excited to be getting married in Mexico, on the beach!

I am telling y'all this now because I read a post about favors...we are doing in-room guest bags (which the hotel charges $3-$4/ room to deliver) so, like someone else said, no need to give our guests anything else to lug around...however, in lieu of "favors" we are making donations to The American Heart Association and The Lupus Foundation, in our parents names.

I am also trying to think of other ways to honor our parents... so far, I have had a panel with their names sewn in blue made to put inside my dress, and will be carrying a locket around the base of my boquet, with a picture of both of them. I would like to do something to honor them during the ceremony... I read somewhere about placing or throwing roses out to sea, and then a moment of silence... any suggestions?

Wow... who knew that I would open up to a group of girls (practically strangers!!) so quickly... I guess knowing that we're all going through the same thing (planning a wedding in Mexico!!) together helps...

Happy Tuesday, girls!!

Kim

Welcome Kim. So glad to have another PD bride with us.
Your story is very touching and its so nice that you want to honor both of them during. I agree with everyone and think putting a rose in the chair will be a wonderful honor. You can also put photos of them on a table with candles to have them as part of the reception as well as the ceremony.

Santiago.Donado_Budget_.xls

JHarwood2Be · April 2, 2008

Sometimes I am "attachment challenged", but I can't get your spreadsheet to open. Has anyone else had difficulty with it? I find them really helpful to see the pricing broken down. Thanks for posting it.

JHarwood2Be · April 2, 2008

Nevermind, I got it

becks · April 2, 2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by kimkeathley

I am going to try to attach the contract that SWANK sent me, but it's for 4 hours... this is just insane!! I'll keep reading to see what you find out about Mannia... I also have some other contacts out there that are checking some other DJ's... i'll let you know what I find out!

I just looked at your contract - a couple of things jumped out at me. First, I think the difference between what you're being quoted and what the rest of us have heard/seen is the lighting, which amounts to about $635. Did you ask for that specifically? Also, the set up and break down fee - why is it .7 days? If a day is 8 hours, and this is just for set up and break down why, then, do they need him there for 5.6 hours?

Also, before you agree to anything, call him back and ask him to explain everything on the contract to you and how you can get the costs down. Perla specifically told me it would be around $1700 for four hours. You can always tell him that he's just too expensive and you're probably not going to have any choice except to use your iPod and see if he won't come down in price.

MissyR · April 2, 2008

Here's my quote again for 4 hours (the original quote) - it's about $1600 bucks... and these are his 2008 rates..

Michelle thanks for the spreadsheet - wondering about the linens and tables and chairs - did Perla or ELisa send you pictures for any of this stuff? Perla told me it was $30 per table for the overlays - WTF?

11-27-08-IHO_Mellisa_Radolli-775PC-DJ_Service_4_hours[1].pdf