rkf1046

For some reason 'multi-quotes' freeze up my computer SO thanks to everyone for the feedback on registering!!! We took everyone's advice and said to hell with it and registered yesterday...it was a blast!!!!

Quote: Originally Posted by taylorwd Hiya ladies!!!!!!!!!! I'm back and we had the MOST AMAZING time!!!! AB could not have been more perfect for our wedding. I can't wait til I get my pictures and can share with you. Oddly enough, being a bride I didn't carry around my camera that day so I'm at the mercy of our families and my photog, LOL. Unfortunately, it rained and rained and rained our first 3 days there. Not just sprinkles or mist but full on side-blowing rain. We had to cancel the sailing trip (no worries for all you gals that have booked with Paradise Catamarans...full refund with no problems) and ended up renting vans to take our guests into town for dinner instead. They were getting a bit stir-crazy with the rain. BUT, somebody was looking out for us because we went to bed the night before the wedding to pouring rain and woke up to blue skies on wedding day!!!!!! The clouds rolled in around ceremony time but the first drop didn't fall until the final blessing. Perfect timing if you're going to have rain on your wedding day! I'll write a full review later with all the details but I just wanted to pop in and say that the whole experience at AB could not have been any better. Superb everything: food, staff, beaches, onsite team. Absolutely perfect! Now I've got a lot of catching up to do!!! Welcome back!!! Can't wait to hear about all the details!! SOOOO glad the rain stopped before your wedding day!!! Congrats again!

Quote: Originally Posted by Magdalena78 Hey everyone! My name is Magdalena and I'm just starting to plan my Spring 2011 wedding in Jamaica. Any recommendations are welcome!! Thanks!! Welcome and happy planning!

Quote: Originally Posted by andretti Hi all, I'm trying to figure out where is the best place to get married in Playa. Have been to a huge all inclusive there but really want something more intimate. Nothing less than a four star but not too pricey either. Looking to have about 30 to 40 guests and most places say they accommodate 10 for the wedding? We really need help as people are understandably on us about a date and a place as they need to plan. This is my second marriage but my fiance has never been married, we are in our 40's and a want a nice, simple but beautiful wedding with the emphasis on the party after! Any suggestions will be gratefully received! Thanks. Welcome!! Definitely check out the Riviera Maya section on this site - it is so informative! Also weddingsmexico.com helped me out a lot too. It gave a lot of information that you couldn't find out from hotel websites unless you reached out to the coordinator. Hope this helps! Happy planning!

Quote: Originally Posted by bbelair Hello. Im a newbie! I love this site. It's been so helpful so far in the begining stages. Currently we are waiting for my to be husband (I know there is something else to call him like DH or FH? but I haven't mastered the lingo yet!) Anyways we are waiting on him to get his schedule so we can set a date! We still have to wait about 5 months just for that!! I feel like it's taking forever! But I've gotten so many great ideas from this site so far. I can't wait to get down to the dirty details and planning! Wecome and happy planning!

OK, so I am a little unsure of myself now...I had a conversation with a co-worker about why would I register for gifts if I am not inviting everyone to the wedding. We are having about 25-30 people hopefully and I am inviting few work friends and not much of the our extended families. I am curious if everyone else registered. I of course don't expect that everyone will get us gifts especially those who are coming but I also know that people who aren't coming or understand the logistics of a destination wedding may want to buy us a gift. What has everyone else done? I don't see the big deal if you don't want to buy a gift than don't. The conversation just made me start second guessing our decision...I am pretty sure I read some postings about this before, but of course I can't find them.

Quote: Originally Posted by cjb0arder13 I have never seen my FI so excited as when I mentioned we could do a donkey cocktail hour. I swear, he perked right up. I have a feeling we'll be doing the donkey cocktail hour no matter what... I think all the FI's are like that...I, too, read the part about the donkey and I am pretty sure that is the ONLY part my FI heard of my story. He is very intrigued by that and insisted we have the donkey cocktail hour so donkey cocktail hour it is. I am hoping the donkey doesn't do his business while cocktailing but I figure it is what it is...

Quote: Originally Posted by TonyandTricia Honeymoon – Excellence Playa Mujeres B- Just a word about our honeymoon spot…it was absolutely beautiful!! But also very expensive ($700/night!), food wasn’t as good as moon palace, slow service, and far away from things if you wanted to do any excursions. We enjoyed our time there, but won’t go back. Overall, we are sooo happy with how everything turned out. It was definitely the wedding of our dreams!! Congratulations!!! You looked amazing!! Looks like a wonderful day!

Quote: Originally Posted by KittenHeart Ok girls, finally updated some pix of my hair trial... excuse the cheese smile in the last one and my nose looks huge... anyways, here's the rough idea: Looks awesome!

Quote: Originally Posted by kortneysmith Hello Ladies, My name is Kortney and I just confirmed for 5:00 on October 23, 2010 at Azul Sensatory. I have been reading some of your post and think it is awesome how you have all become sort of a little "family". I have so many questions and so little time. I noticed that there were a few post regarding fees for bringing your own things to decorate with. Did anyone get the final word on that? Cecile is my WP. Has anyone worked with her? Also, I am thinking of doing the pearl package and just adding on. I tink that might be the cheapest way to go. I have also debated doing the silver ir gold but just do not know if they are worth the extra money. You girls seem much more informed than I. Hope you do not mind all the questions. Thanks in advance, Kortney Welcome Kortney! Everyone is awesome here and if you have free time (probably not) I would try and go back and read the older posts. They are very informative and it helps you think of things you might not otherwise have thought of. Just having booked not too long ago the posts have helped me formulate my questions to my WC too!

Quote: Originally Posted by *lyndsey* Hi all, We are hopefully booking our wedding next week at Sensatori (can't wait!!!). This thread has been so helpful but I have a few questions so if anyone can help that would be great. Which wedding package have you selected and have you and for any extras? Do any of the bars stay open past 1am? Everything i read states that the bars close at 1am. Thanks, Lyndsey Welcome!!! This forum is great and you will learn alot from all the girls here. I just booked a few weeks ago and decided on the Pearl package as we are customizing most of the wedding but that's about as far as I have gotten! If you like the convenience of everything being done for you then the other packages may be better. I haven't heard anything about the bars as of yet, but if I do I will let you know. Again welcome!!

Quote: Originally Posted by KittenHeart Alright girls, so I just made my final wedding payment today!!! Amy did you pay yours too? Surprisingly this felt like a huge relief, so nice to have this done! A few things I found out... sooo the dress pressing pricing was sent to me on like dry cleaning brochure and it said 75,00.... which I was confused about because it's a comma and so I asked if it was pesos and it is. So my dress pressing is $7.50, LOL! I was warned by my WC that the onsite coordinators (although raved about) are in fact the dreaded Lomas. Sooo she told me to expect set up fees depending on what I brought. So just be warned. Also, I wanted to give all you future brides that are just starting this process with your coordinator that they are very busy. My coordinator, Kiara, said she currently has 176 brides that just she takes care of. That's just crazy! She's also training a new person who will help alleviate some of the load but still. Be patient and be polite, that is how I really got through this VERY easily with my coordinator. Last but not least, I bought FI a car today, it's totally under my name but it's the first thing we have that we really share and it feels crazy and wonderful and made me realize I'm sharing every aspect of my life with this man, so nuts! I hope you all have a wonderful weekend Thanks for sharing about the extra costs once we start working with the onsite WC's. I was wondering how that works (i.e. do they charge for putting out the placecards, etc.) I am curious how much. Also thanks for the heads up with Kiara - she is my coordinator too. Very nice, but at least it helps set an expectation. I had a feeling it was bad (176) but I didn't realize it was that many! Have a great weekend and thanks again for sharing all the great info...it's very helpful!

Quote: Originally Posted by amandamarieb I did it! Well, I finally ordered my invites anyway. Ha. Ha. After taxes and a couple of extras I added on, I went a little above budget but what else is new? Oh well. On to the next tasks: photog and bridesmaids dresses! Wish me luck. Congrats! It's always nice to get something accomplished! I just selected our save the dates and am waiting on a mock-up! So exciting!

Looks like everything came together so well! Congrats and can't wait to hear about the big day!!!!

Quote: Originally Posted by JenK Hi everyone! I joined today and I'm excited to be planning my wedding. I have lots of time to plan, our tentative date would be December 2011. I am trying to decide on a location, although I'm leaning towards Costa Rica (we have been). We want a location that has lots of activities. I'm also trying to decide on all inclusive versus boutique hotel. My fiance and I are more backpackers so boutique hotel is more our style, but I'm wondering if it would be easier to go to an all inclusive (although we would want a smaller resort). Any input would be appreciated, I'm excited to start my research! Welcome! Although not planning our DW in Costa Rica (we are actually getting married at Azul Sensatori in Riviera Maya) we are honeymooning in Costa Rica. The Paradisus Playa Conchal Costa Rica is one of the tops resorts on our list. Not sure if this meets your needs, but it is a beautiful resort and our TA (before I told her we were interested in this one) said that it is by far the best AI in Costa Rica. Anyway, happy planning!

Quote: Originally Posted by Karen972 Hello! A newbie here, wanting to get married at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church PV and have a reception at Dreams Puerto Vallarta, July 2011. Any general tips? Thanks so much, can't wait! Congrats! The forum has lots of great info for all of us brides! Try to find the Dreams Puerto Vallarta link (if there is one) and it should have loads of info about girls who are planning and/or planned their wedding there. Good Luck!

Quote: Originally Posted by anniebabes hi, i am planning our wedding for april next year. dress all ordered and booked the wedding and hotel. we are staying in mexico!! whoop whoop :-) excited! Congrats and welcome to the forum! Lots of good info here!

Quote: Originally Posted by ~Nicole~ I've added rkf1046 to the list! April 2010 daifje - April 10, 2010 taylorwd – April 17, 2010 – Azul Beach Aneliese26 – April 19, 2010 sunkissed bride - April 22, 2010 May 2010 27 dresses - May 5, 2010 LivandScot - May 7, 2010 KittenHeart - May 8, 2010 Mocashman – May 10, 2010 Erinandbrent2010 – May 14, 2010 Sammyhawk – May 19, 2010 Renee1811 - May 28, 2010 Amybermuda – May 29, 2010 June 2010 July 2010 meghan - July 2, 2010 Meesh – July 10, 2009 momichele – July 24, 2010 Daniepps – July 31, 2010 August 2010 September 2010 Lecreatifbride - Sept 4, 2010 October 2010 amandamarieb – October 10, 2010 November 2010 ~Crista-Lee~ - November 10, 2010 dstinationdrmr – November 12, 2010 – 4pm dirtymartini – November 13, 2010 – Azul Beach December 2010 mzgillis316 - December 3, 2010 jaimeburns – December 10, 2010 rkf1046 – December 11, 2010 January 2011 cjb0arder13 – January 31, 2011 – Azul Beach February 2011 Less is More – February 19, 2011 March 2011 April 2011 May 2011 JaimeTalis – May 7, 2011 Thanks for adding me

Quote: Originally Posted by KittenHeart I too had to fire my TA that was literally screwing up everything, so I feel ya! Kiara is my WC too, I love her, she's been great through this whole process but I know what you mean, as of late it's far between the responses she sends me. She told me they finally hired another coordinator and she was training them and in the same week her computer died like 3 times. So just know that, she's such a sweetheart! I agree with the emails, evidence! You better believe I'm printing out a grip of 'em to bring with Thanks!! I decided on a Sparkling White "Swangria" Sangria but I have a bird theme and this makes me laugh I am also doing a sparking limeaid for my ceremony welcome drink. Can you tell I like all things bubbly? They do, I asked Kiara about this and she gave me the price which was around $100+. I bought a portable steamer off amazon that is compact and like $20 to bring with me. I plan to carry on my dress so I'm hoping it doesn't get too wrinkled. "Swangria" how funny! Gave me a good chuckle...nice play on words! I too was looking at doing a white wine sangria, but have yet to think of a good name. I don't have much of a theme yet either... Great idea about the travel steamer. This beats $100!!!

Quote: Originally Posted by dirtymartini I fired him. He made a mess of everything. I found a TA that does destination wedding bookings & experience with Azul, so she is working out the plans as we speak. Sent yet another email to Kiara with questions. She never responds and I am getting sick of it. I know I should just call her but email is so much easier for me, that way I have a physical copy of the conversation so I can use it for notes! Anyone else use her as you WC? I'm finding that all of the documents (that I have to search for to find myself) conflict with each other. WTH? I just recently confirmed my date and Kiara is the WC I have been working with. I was concerned because she gave me 48 hours to give my deposit to confirm my date but had the WRONG time!!! I was somewhat freaking out because it took me escalating through my TA and calling her to get a response after waiting a week and a half for her to respond! But once I had her on the phone she was very helpful but I did ask her if she had a preference with how she preferred to be contacted given her response time seemed slower and what sort of expectation should I have and she said email. Since we had that talk, I have no problems with her responding to me via email. Maybe it was just me flat out asking her that! Hopefully it stays that way!

Quote: Originally Posted by ~Nicole~ Sorry, I haven't completely caught up.... I did manage to catch that Wendy had her legal day - woot!!! Congrats!!! And I added dirtymartini to the list. I know there was someone else to be added but I can't find it now.... pm me please! Sorry April 2010 daifje - April 10, 2010 taylorwd – April 17, 2010 – Azul Beach Aneliese26 – April 19, 2010 sunkissed bride - April 22, 2010 May 2010 27 dresses - May 5, 2010 LivandScot - May 7, 2010 KittenHeart - May 8, 2010 Mocashman – May 10, 2010 Erinandbrent2010 – May 14, 2010 Sammyhawk – May 19, 2010 Renee1811 - May 28, 2010 Amybermuda – May 29, 2010 June 2010 July 2010 meghan - July 2, 2010 Meesh – July 10, 2009 momichele – July 24, 2010 Daniepps – July 31, 2010 August 2010 September 2010 Lecreatifbride - Sept 4, 2010 October 2010 amandamarieb – October 10, 2010 November 2010 ~Crista-Lee~ - November 10, 2010 dstinationdrmr – November 12, 2010 – 4pm dirtymartini – November 13, 2010 – Azul Beach December 2010 mzgillis316 - December 3, 2010 jaimeburns – December 10, 2010 January 2011 cjb0arder13 – January 31, 2011 – Azul Beach February 2011 Less is More – February 19, 2011 March 2011 April 2011 May 2011 JaimeTalis – May 7, 2011 Add me please - 12/11/10! thanks!

Quote: Originally Posted by KittenHeart You're welcome! I am having 3 vases per table and got quoted... $20 per vase... yep, I know, I know but I refuse to bring 21 vases with me that I will just leave there. $20 bucks a vase is crazy talk, but like you I don't want to haul a ton of vases with me! They have to be making a ton off us brides...Love the stylish glasses!

Quote: Originally Posted by mzgillis316 Hii just received a pdf file from my WC Cecile and it says that the sky wedding is a add-on to the pearl, silver, and gold ...just thought id let you know... Thanks for passing along! I just noticed our weddings are just over a week apart!!

Quote: Originally Posted by taylorwd YES!!!! This time two weeks from now we'll be on the beaches of Mexico!! So excited for you!!! I am ready for the beach...but I have 8 more months!!!

Quote: Originally Posted by KittenHeart Sorry to jump in on Wendy's question here, I also have a signature cocktail and I just asked my coordinator if I could have one and just give her the recipe. She checked and got the approval from onsite. I then made a girls evening out of it and made 3 different pitchers of cocktails and we tried them all and picked our favorite, then I sent my WC the recipe. I also have a signature drink for the Sky Deck I created as well for the welcome cocktail. Quote: Originally Posted by KittenHeart I have the Sweet Free Wedding Package and the Sky Deck. I've been planning my wedding for over 2 years now and was looking into AS before it was even built, LOL! That package is no longer available but the Pearl seems most comprable to the Free as in I decided to build mine from the ground up. I am brining real touch flower for my centerpieces since they are submerged orchid stems with a floating candle on top and I am renting the vases from them. They quoted be $400 per table for 3 orchid stems and vases so I opted to bring my own orchids, much cheaper. Thanks for the info on the package. I just started researching the real touch flowers - they look like a GREAT alternative...How much did it cost to rent the vases? Are you having multiple vases per table or one per table?