jackobelle

I had some people who wanted to stay at a cheaper resort. I told them they were more than welcome to, as it is their vacation, but if they wanted to come on to our resort and hang out with everyone they would have to pay a day pass each time they came. (it wasn't in out budget to pay for day passes for people). It turned out that they didn't realize that you aren't just allowed to go spend some time at an AI resort that you are no staying at. They thought it was more like hotels in North America where you can just walk in anytime.

Quote: Originally Posted by pkitch ok,we have now sent about 10 emails to the blau and not had one reply,we have sent to sales,sales manager and reservations-has anyone had any success emailing them? Have you ever gotten an email from them? The WC (she is at the sales email address) was usually very quick at replying. Maye try sending one from a different email address. We did have a problem where her emails were not getting to my work email so I switched to hotmail and everything was fine after that.

Quote: Originally Posted by jax_the_beach_bride oh i almost forgot... jackobelle... what do you think about forwarding some of your moms pics to the photog for him to edit.. kind of like a good will gesture or something for you guys.. this way he can create truly amazing pics out of something you might have considered as mediocre before hand.. just a thought Thanks Jax - Yes our photog had already offered to do this for us. Other than this issue, we did enjoy the resort. It would have been nice if the hotel had let him take photos of our wedding, and then taken him to immigration to make sure he had the proper permit etc. But what will be will be. We still had an amazing wekk and wedding and have some great shots from friends & family!

They don't have a CD player or speakers on the beach. We wanted to use a microphone, but couldn't. They have a 3 person band you can hire. The price was 200 CUC for 30 minutes.

Brandy! You look beautiful! Those are great pics! Annoying about the coats and crown (WTF?) With such a big wedding party it must have been difficult to see what everyone was doing. I will try to figure out photobucket to post some pics this weekend.

Thanks for the comments! I am sure that puts future wedding couples bringing a photographer to Cuba more at ease!

Quote: Originally Posted by Hopelesslyblissful I am getting married at the Blau Costa Verde in Holguin in October and as soon as I read this thread I e-mailed my travel agent (and sent her the link to the thread) to find out if I was able to bring MY (possible) photographer. My photographer would be coming with my group and staying at the resort with us for the whole week, and my travel agent forwarded me the e-mail today saying from them saying it is fine as long as they are staying at the resort/one of my guests. You should be fine. Our photographer didn't stay on the resort with us, he was coming in on a day pass. Have a wonderful wedding!

I got my flowers from there too. I have to say that at first I was a little bit disappointed. Not all the flowers were real touch. They added some orchids that looked and felt really fake. The orchids even had rough, frayed like edges. The other flowers in my boquet were of varying quality. The calla lilly bouts we got were what I was expecting real touch to be, you couldn't even tell they weren't real, they were fabulous. They did do a beautiful job arranging the boquet though. And the bouts and corsages we got were also beautiful. It all worked out because in photos you can't tell they aren't real. I love how they look in the photos, (even close up ones) they just pop and I have gotten several compliments on them from people who have seen my photos. I would still recommend this company 100%. They are an absolute pleasure to deal with, and are great at responding quickly by email and phone. The prices also seemed very reasonable. My advice would be to go see the flowers they are going to use in person if possible, as the quality in mine varied quite a bit from flower type to flower type. If you are too far to go to the shop, just specify very clearly that you only want all real touch and absolutely no silk or other types.

I just heard from my photographer and since our wedding, he did 2 more weddings in Varadero with absolutely no problems. So future brides probably don't have to worry. It looks like the Blau is probably the only resort checking passports and enforcing this permit thing.

Quote: Originally Posted by sunstarsmoon this is a great site Photobook Canada | Custom made books from your digital photos That site looks awesome, thanks!

Thanks for the suggestions!

Tilly, you should be fine. I think if they are staying with you for the week and they don't do regular weddings in Cuba they for sure won't be on the 'black list' of those being watched. I think the people who need to be concerned and look into it further are those with weddings at the Blau (this was the only resort our photog had problems with) and those who use a "destination wedding photographer" who works more regularily in Cuba. In the case of wedding couples using photographers who have done a fair bit of work in Cuba would be to email the Cuban embassy and ask what the requiremnts would be and ensure your photographer follows suit.

Thanks, everyone. I just wanted to give a "heads up" to other brides so this doesn't happen. I think that if you are bringing a photogapher from Canada or the UK and they are staying at the resort with you for the week as a guest and friend, you wouldn't run into this problem. (I hope!) It also seems like the Blau is enforcing this rule and other resorts are not. My photographer did 2 other wedding that month in Cuba with no problems. My advice would be to not even tell the hotel they are a photographer. The only reason we told he hotel "we needed a day pass for our photographer" was because at an earlier meeting they said we could bring an outside photographer. We did go off site with our photographer the following day for photos and did get some beautiful ones. We were planning to do this anyway for a TTD shoot. We ran out of light though before we could TTD unfortunately. My mom has a really good camera so we have some good photos of the wedding day with the family and wedding party, but they are not the same as professional. We took this situation in stride and didn't let it ruin our special day. My only reason for posting this is to let other wedding couples know what could happen, and for them to take precautions so it doesn't.

Quote: Originally Posted by Dmitri_Markine I read it and it made me smile a bit. Well us as the wedding couple who found out 1 hour before our ceremony that our photographer is not allowed to photograph our wedding were certainly not smiling. Maybe you are correct and our photographer should have known better, or maybe this is a new regulation they are trying to enforce (our photog never had problems before). Regardless of the reason, we didn't have a photographer on our one special day, and I find your comment a little insensitive.

This is a warning to those getting married in Cuba and to photographers: We found out the hard way that Cuba is cracking down on people using a tourist visa to take wedding photos in Cuba. Apparently they are going to check the passport of your photographer and check if they have any sort of photography website. Our hotel (Blau Varadero) did this to our photographer and didn't let him photograph our wedding. Our photographer said that he shot 2 weddings a week before ours in Cuba with no problems. The Blau seems to be one of the first hotels enforcing this new regulation, but our photographer was told that the government is going to ensure the rest start doing it too. They will be giving a large fine and will take away your photographer's equipment if they find a photography website with their name (easily done with a google search) or if they have been to Cuba several times which makes them think they are coming back often to work. We were really upset as because of this we found out about an hour before our ceremony that we had no photographer. What made us even more upset is that during our research trip last year we asked the WC at the Blau if we could bring an outside photographer and she said "yes, no problem" she then changed her mind after we booked over 40 guests. We, along with our photographer even tried telling them that he was a friend and guest of the wedding and they still wouldn't budge. We are not blaming our photographer at all. He felt just as bad as we did about the situation. He takes stunning photographs and I would recommend him for destination weddings in Mexico and other places he is allowed to work. Apparently there is going to be some sort of permit the photographer must buy well in advance in order to be able to take wedding photos. I don't know anything about it though. quote from photographer removed at request of poster.

Does anyone know of a good canadian website that does those photo albums that are like magazine pages, or even thicker pages? (sorry, I don't know the name)

ummm, ok so how do you post pics? I don't have a photobucket account, so can I still do it?

Quote: Originally Posted by pkitch Thanks for the info,my other half is asking if hair dryers and straighteners work ok out there? You need a converter, I believe. The voltage is different. Although some rooms seemed to be different. My friend said in the bathroom there is a switch on the plug to change the voltage. Another friend used a converter. There are hairdryers in the bathrooms but they are not very powerful.

I would say other than that issue, and them raising the price of the wedding package quite a bit AFTER we booked it was good. The resort was great for a group. In hindsight, I would have maybe booked somewhere else. The Blau doesn't seem to be as "wedding friendly" as some other Varadero resorts - they seem like one of the only resort who doesn't set up chairs on the beach. Which might have contributed to the following problem: There was a wedding a day after ours on the beach and the beachgoers were all crowded around the ceremony in their bathing suits trying to take pictures. There was a TON of them! There were even a bunch of people right beside the bride & groom between them and the ocean. So all the pictures would have a group of people in their bathing suits watching instead of the beautiful ocean backdrop. I think that this problem was increased due to the fact that the wedding set-up is right at the bottom of the only set of stairs to the beach. The busiest spot on the Blau's section of the beach. I think that having it off to the side with chairs set-up like many other resorts do (or even better if they have a gazebo) would have encouraged less people to crowd around. You might be able to ask them to set up the ceremony off to the side just past where the volleyball net is (to the right) as people aren't set up there in their beach chairs. It would be a bit of a walk for the bride though. If you really want a more private ceremony, I'd have it in the gardens then go to the beach for pictures. If you really want the beach, be prepared to be crowded by bathing suit people! (they were even asked to move, but they didn't - SO disrespectful!) We actually really lucked out on that issue though. It was raining lightly and was cool the day of our wedding....not beach weather at all. We decided to have it on the beach anyway. We got a little wet, but we had the entire beach to ourselves, it was beautiful! Everyone is going to send us a CD of the pictures they took, so I am sure we;ll get a few good ones, but it isn't the same as a professional. Hope this information helped, let me know if you have any more questions!

Hey Ladies...pics are coming, but we won't have any pro pics from the wedding day due to the issues we had at the hotel. Will post later this week!

Hey ladies! We're back! We had an amazing time, and I did feel beautiful! ....but we didn't get to do a TTD afterall We had to use the TTD day with our photog to do ALL of our wedding photos so we ran out of light by the time we got to the TTD part. See my post in the "Blau Varadero" thread in the Cuba section to explain why. We had BIG problems with the hotel on our wedding day.

We had a great time at the Blau. We did have a HUGE problem on our wedding day though. When we met with the WC March 2009 on our planning/scouting trip, they told us we could have an outside photographer we wrote this down with our notes about the Blau & wedding package. So we booked a photographer and the Blau. They then told us a few weeks before the wedding (many months later and after we paid a 50% deposit on our photog) that we could only use the resort photog. We were not at all happy! They then said that if the photographer was our friend on a day pass he would be allowed in. We had no other choice than to say he was and he said he would also say he was our friend. Otherwise we would have lost a lot of money and it would have been too late to find a new photographer we liked. The day of the wedding, the Blau's WC would not let our photographer in! So I find out about an hour before my wedding as I am getting in my dress that we have no photographer. We were not happy with the WC. The day before our wedding, people at the front desk had told my husband and I that as long as he brought his passport the day of the wedding he would be allowed in no problem. But apparenly the WC had other plans. Apparently the Cuban government is cracking down on people coming to Cuba on a tourist visa and taking wedding photos, but it seems like the Blau is the only one enforcing this right now. (our photog did a wedding the previous week in Cuba with no problems) So I recommend the Blau for a vacation, but would not recommend it for a wedding, especially if you are not using the resort photographer. The WC really didn't seem to care that because she was "out to get" our photographer she was greatly effecting our wedding day. In my opinion, the WC should do all they can to make the wedding couple happy on their big day. Proessional photos were very important to us and now we have none of our wedding day thanks to her. She could have easily looked the other way and let him in on a day pass as our friend as the front desk was willing to do and told us it would be fine. But instead she made a big deal out of it and went out of her way to not let him in.

Thanks Lisa & Kelly for you encouragement! I actually went for another fitting and te dress is looking better. She is also going to take it in a bit now and hopefully that will improve further. Kelly your TTD photos are beautiful! I got some good ideas for poses, thank you! I can't believe I only have 1 week until we leave! Yikes!

Hi my beautiful curvy Ladies, I am having a pre-wedding mini meltdown! I am super worried about my photos & how I'll look in my dress. I am just undergoing my last few fittings and I am not completely happy. The seamstress and my mom can tell I am not the typical "excited" bride about my dress. When I tried it on to buy it was about 4 sizes smaller than the one I ordered based on my measurements. When I tried the smaller one on the sales lady laced it up super tight and it gave me a nice curvy hourglass shape. When my larger dress came in, it doesn't nearly do the same. I think it is actually a bit too big and we can't tie it very tight so the hourglass shape is not as pronounced. How tight should you tie a corset back? Did any of you have a similar situation? The seamstress doesn't think that taking it in will make much of a difference. My other worry is the wedding pictures, and specifically the TTD. I look pretty good in my dress (considering the above problem) form the front but I am not a fan of the side view as I think I look wide. I am going to share this concern with my photog and ask him to try to get my more flattering angles. My main worry is the TTD. Most of the great TTD photos are of the couple lying in the waves, but I think I'll look like a beached whale! I don't think lying down will be flattering at all. I would love to get some sexy amazing TTD shots, so I am asking for advice on poses. Any ideas? Did any of you do a TTD and do you have a good pose you wouldn't mind posting or telling me about? Sorry so long, but I am seriously fretting over this. And everytime I mention it to my FI or friends, they just say "don't worry you'll look beautiful". (Easy for them to say!) I know you ladies know where I am coming from, and many have had the same worries as me. I would greatly appreciate any thoughts or advice.

My flowers are going to be shipped on Thursday or Friday! I can't wait to see them...the pics they have sent me look great so far! I will try to post pics of the final product once I get them (and if I can figure out how to post photos)