JHarwood2Be

Quote: Originally Posted by Soon2beTWells That is my point that I have with Fabio, and he said that the choice goes to the person that booked first. I have a HUGE problem with that since I was not told in advance that there was another wedding that day. I would have been willing to do it the day before or after or even a week later....I am just annoyed right now and want to get things set in stone, so that I can send out update letters to my guest. There is another wedding on my same day and we both started at 5:00, so I asked to change mine and the only choice I had was 6:00....I really wanted a cocktail recpetion and I am talking to Fabio about this. I should be allowed to have my private event until 12 since they book two weddings at the same exact time. Quote: Originally Posted by Polina So if we can't have it at the restaurant. What are our options besides the beach, terrace and that center outdoor location? If there are two weddings the same day and both have a private reception that only leaves a choice of 1 out of 2 for the second bride. That doesn't seem fair at all. I think this is my biggest frustration and concern right now. And who knows if you pick your selection first, if you'll really truly get it. Gosh, I have no faith!!! I'm pretty sure the resort is small enough that you will come across the other wedding at least once!

Quote: Originally Posted by mexicanbridewithquestions For those of you who have done a site visit. When you were in the "plaza" area. Was it really windy? Would you be able to keep candles lit? I remember being there, and it wasn't windy. But not sure I don't recall it being windy either, but you you will probably be safer with a hurricane vase vs a votive. Just because it is outside. Hopefully the wedding pics keep pouring in!

It's gorgeous! Happy fittings....bring lots of pics back with you!

Quote: Originally Posted by lenka14 Thanks! Since we are having around 70 ppl and this restaurant can accommodate up to 80, I think this may be our only restaurant option for the reception. I think once it's decorated for the wedding, it will look really nice! It reminds me of the restaurant at Azul Beach that most receptions are held at (except Zocalo is much bigger). Oh can you have your reception inside the restaurant? I was under the impression that the outside terrace was available for use. I didn't think that they would close the restaurant for a private dinner. Hmmm.

Quote: Originally Posted by Soon2beTWells This first question I asked again, because you guys have been saying that they only have two weddings a day a few hours apart. When my wedding was set for the same exact time on the same exact day as one of the brides on here. I am starting to get a little annoyed with this resort...I switched my time and delayed it one hour in hopes that it helps. How many weddings do you hold in one day, and how many onsite WC's do you have to ensure that each bride feels like they are the only ones having a wedding that day? What is the new bridal suite, and if you have more than one bride getting married on the same day how do you ensure that all parties have access to this particular suite? What is the time frame for Lomas to send a quote on a custom table set up not offered on their website? What are the chair choices for ceremony, and reception and cost? (ie: chiavari, wooden, ect…) How much is it per bow for the chairs? Can we have them premade and bring them with us, and how much would it cost for you to add them? Is there a DJ at the hotel that would speak English? I read somewhere that they guest could not take a piece of cake back to their room with them. This is one thing that I really wanted to do and have boxes already made for it. If we paid for the cost of the cake and it is all inclusive why is there this policy? Is it possible to have a canopy for the reception on the beach as well as the one for the ceremony? Where can you find the linen color choices for the tables, and canopies? How far in advance can you reserve your location for ceremony, cocktail hour, and reception? Great questions-these have been some that concern me too! I am also concerned about more than one wedding per day. Honestly I don't feel the resort is large enough the handle more than one wedding at a time. It is not like it is Moon Palace or EDR, huge. In fact on here, we have had 3 different people report that they are booked for the same day. When I asked on my visit, I was assured that the weddings would be spaced out and that we would receive the individual attention that we deserve. I sure hope the coordinators in Miami are on the same page while booking. Good point about the bridal suite. Who wants to share getting ready with another wedding party?! If anyone has seen it or any pictures, I would love details. We were not given a tour of the spa when we were there. Great questions about Lomas and decor. I was assured that Fabio would handle all those details. They are doing themselves a large disservice by not having more details on their wedding amenities page. I was told they can pretty much do whatever we'd like as long as we send pictures. How long does it take for a quote, no idea? That is ridiculous regarding the cake. When is the last time that you heard of someone getting food poisoning from wedding cake? Everyone knows that you are usually too caught up in everything or too full to have cake. That would make a perfect treat before bed or in the morning. I believe that they will be able to quote you on a covered reception-do you mean like a tent or fabric? Great question about fabrics. I would love to have some swatches so that everything would coordinate. I have heavily contemplated bringing my own linens/chair bows. Fabio or you coordinator is supposed to be arranging linens as well. I'm not sure how far in advance you can request locations. If anyone has any insight on these questions-it is greatly appreciated. I'm sorry if I sound negative, I just get annoyed with how they do things. But pictures of every wedding I have seen have been beautiful!

Quote: Originally Posted by Polina Is anyone getting married at 6 pm and also having a cocktail hour? My concern is that I have read somewhere that the resort does not allow receptions to last past 11pm. If the ceremony lasts 30-45 mins and the cocktail hour 1 hour then the reception would go until around 12am. All of the food/music options are for 4 hours? Will the resort cut the reception short or will they allow it to run the full 4 hours until 12am? You may want to consider moving your ceremony to 5 pm, or forgoing the cocktail hour and adding an extra hour or so on to your private reception. They are pretty strict with the 11pm cut off time.

Quote: Originally Posted by lenka14 Thanks for posting these! The hotel looks great These pictures completely exceeded my expectations! Does anyone know if this is Zocalo? Yes it is!

Some pics of EDR and the casita section..... Tons of beach beds for casita guests Each casita section has a private pool with swim up bar (bar tender included) View from my pool lounger Our private porch Where I took naps (with loads of bug spray applied)

Zavaz Restaurant Random pics I wish I could have taken more, but we were a bit rushed and it was also discouraged....grrrr.

FI and I went to check out the resort over the weekend. We were originally booked to stay there for 3 nights. But since they pushed back the opening, our TA managed to book us in a Casita at El Dorado Royale. We had a very nice stay there, but I am disappointed that we did not get to experience the resort. We arrived at Azul Sensatori about an hour late due to confusion from the tour company that was in charge of our transportation. Carolina and Gilberto (from Lomas) were waiting on us. We basically had a quick tour of the resort and optional wedding sites. The first guests were there for the wedding on 11/1/08. They had a section of rooms open for them, one pool fully operational and 1-2 restaurants fully ready. They were completing finishing touches to the common areas, however it looked like the rooms still had a ways to go. I'm sure they are moving very fast though. They were in the process of building the arch for the sky wedding. They had all the glass up and the walls to cover the AC units. It looked really nice up there. We were able to eat lunch at the Zocalo Resturant. They had a preset menu of 4 courses. The food was amazing. FI and I started off alone in there, until other guests came in. I think we may have been the first to eat there though! I feel like our visit was rushed due to being late. I was hoping to nail down some planning, but we were referred to Fabio for all the details. I think we are wanting to do the beach ceremony. They had just placed the arch. They said they had some palm trees to move to make more room. I'll be honest the space did look really cramped. Hopefully they will work something out. To me the beach looked sandy, but I didn't go down and walk along the water. I know there was some concern that the beach was rocky. I will say though that the water looked very brown and agitated. Hopefully that is just from excavation and it will settle down. Looking further out, it was a very beautiful color. They showed us a structure on the beach that would be used primarily by the activities instructors for yoga, etc. It is a great area for a small dinner or standing cocktail. I think we might go with that as opposed to a poolside cocktail hour (many options are available). Lastly we are trying to decide between the outside area of Zocalo or the courtyard in the middle for our private dinner reception. It depends on a number of things for us, # of guests, dj vs. ipod, buffet vs. plated dinner. I will say this is one thing that I am disappointed in is the lack of options for the reception. I don't prefer to be on the beach all night, Zocalo may be too small, courtyard way too big for possibly 30-40 guests. I'm sure one of you will come up with the perfect solution for that. So that was my visit. Please let me know if you have any questions or if you would like to see larger pics. I can send them to you. The next post will be just some other pics from the resort. I was only allowed to take pics of "finished areas".

I'm in a suburb of Dallas. I walked in, no wait and was done in about 5 minutes. Touch screens. It was super easy. Then I stopped for donuts....it just felt like the right thing to do! My sticker says "my vote counted"

Thank you for posting!!!!!

I don't know if this exact question has been asked before. FI and I have lived together for many years. I can't decide what is the best way to address the return envelopes for RSVPs. I'm sure there are many more of you in the exact situation and I am just curious as to how you have done it. Thanks!

I can't make it. Please let me know how it goes!

That's a good idea to have your cocktail party at Zocalo. I don't know why I was thinking to stay on the beach. But I bet the guests would like the option to not be in the sun (partially) for awhile.

Very nice! You did an awesome job!

It's gorgeous!

Thanks. I bookmarked it and will take a look when I have a lot of time!

Hi there! Take a deep breath....good. Have fun on your site visits. Take it all in, take lots of pics, look at photos from previous weddings and try to imagine your wedding there and all of your guests. Do you have an idea on a date? If you have time, focus on nailing down the resort first. After you decide on a resort, then contact some TA's to get pricing for your guests. Usually the resort you choose has their own wedding coordinators, so you really don't need an independent one. Your TA should be able to help your guests arrange travel and also be a point of contact. It is also helpful to choose a TA who has worked with your location and coordinators before, so they can step in to speak on your behalf if necessary. Try not to stress and enjoy this time. Enjoy the Paradisus. I loved that resort and their weddings!

Awesome pics! Congratulations on a wonderful wedding!

I was worried that Amy Poehler was going to put herself into labor!

Ok, copy it and go to quick links in the upper right hand corner, edit signature and paste it there. The click save signature. That should work.

Tracy, Go to Free Event Tickers or Graphical Tickers and Trackers: Weight Loss, Trying To Conceive, Pregnancy... That is where I got mine.

In hindsight I guess we should of placed deposits for everyone early on. I just didn't want to deal with reminding everyone to pay up. Maybe I'm naive, but I really didn't expect it to fill up this fast. I was getting so excited about the wedding and the planning. Now I just feel a little defeated. I just need to keep remembering that no one is as excited about the wedding as we are. That we should be grateful for the ones that will be there and that I will be marrying my best friend!

Those look dangerous! But I'm not much of a heel girl.