bryteyedbride

We threw a 2 hour cocktail party before our private reception. Ivan and Mike took us to various locations around the resort for those 2 hours taking pics and video, we just did not have enough time on the beach. There are a lot of cool places around the resort though. If you are going to have a 2 hour cocktail party before your reception, it is a good idea to ask your wedding coordinator to have someone bring you some horse devours from your cocktail hour. We did not think of this and we were starving by the time we got to the reception. We had Cancun Wedding Video for 4 hours and Ivan Luckie for 5 or 6 (I think it was 6). Because our events were from 3:30p to 10p we did some things really early at the reception to make sure we had video and pictures. Upon our entrance we went right into our first dance. My husband and I went from the first dance straight to the father/daughter and mother/son dance, and we did it at the same time to Celene Dion's Because You Loved Me as that saved time and moved things along too. We also did the cake cutting, bouquet and garter toss earlier than the norm because we wanted pics of those events. Honestly, I don't think we had any photography the last hour or so of the reception, but we were ok with that.

You are welcome! I remember 2 weeks out. So much to do, but so exciting! I didn't meet with Ivan prior to the wedding, but it was still the busy season at that time. I met him when he showed up at our room to take pictures. I really did not request a style because I like his "style." Through the emails, he learned that I was a very sentimental and emotional person, and I really feel he captured the sentiment and emotions of not only us, but all of our guests. The only thing I would suggest is making sure there is enough time to get photos with you and your wedding party on the beach if that is important to you. My bridal twin, Shani, got married 2 hours after we did, so we had to get out of the way so they could set up for her wedding. There are no individual pics with me and each of my bridesmaids on the beach. f. We also do not have a large group picture with everyone that attended the wedding. We had that shot for our welcome party, and I liked it a lot. Just some thoughts. Like I said before though, Ivan is a very nice man, and I am sure he will make all of your dreams come true. You are going to have a great wedding and best wishes for a wonderful life together.

Welcome ElaineNYC! We got married at Azul Sensatori on 05/28/11. We used Mike Cantarell of Cancun Wedding Video, and he was actually a preferred vendor for the resort but did not show up on the preffered vendor list. Ask your WC if they are still preferred, as we paid no outside vendor fee. Mike was great. Our highlights video link was ready within a couple weeks. You can view it at the bottom of my post. It had 2 songs, one that is sentimental for us, and the other is an upbeat Michael Jackson song. Within the month our dvd arrived. It had several segments: getting ready, the ceremony, video session on the beach and around the resort, first dance, father/daugher and mother son dance, family speeches/toasts, and then the party at the reception. Mike sent these to us via FEDEX. He was awesome! We used Ivan Luckie Photography for our pictures. Ivan and Mike worked very well together. Ivan hurt his knee after our wedding and had to get surgery, so it took a long time for us to get the link to our wedding pics (just over 4 months). It was hard waiting that long, but he is a very nice person, and injuries happen. Ivan is a very kind person. We are waiting for our thumbdrive to arrive via UPS. Both vendors respond quickly to emails. Here are some pics from Ivan: Quote: Originally Posted by ELAINENYC Hi! Ladies - Like some of you I have also been reading your posts for sometime and would like to finally introduce myself to the group. I am getting married at Azul Sensatori on Nov 10, 2012 and just put my deposit down. Are there any brides from NY? I know I do have time, but I would really like to nail down my photographer/videographer. I don't mean to ask a dumb question as I am sooo new to this stuff, but does a photographer normally bring a videographer? Or is the videographer completely separate? I feel this is one of the most important parts of the wedding and I am willing to pay a little more and save on other stuff. Does anyone have any suggestions? Thank you in advance for your help and guidance!! And congrats to EVERYONE!!!! One last thing, not sure if anyone is having a cigar roller, but this is very important to my fiance. I believe it is $400 for 2 hours (?). They only roll Cuban cigars for 1/2 the time. But my fiance wants all Cuban. I have asked how much this would be and I am waiting on an answer. Once I know, I will post that info.

Looks like you all had a great time in NO! Time is really going to fly. Good luck with finalizing everything! Hello Melissa, my wedding triplet! Shani and I married the men of our dreams at AS the same day that you married the man of your dreams at AB. You looked stunning and your video is beautiful. The water was much bluer at your resort than at ours! I used Cancun Wedding Video because they were a preferred vendor at our resort. Playa Weddings did a great job at yours. Were they a preferred vendor?

This is the $40 Lomas sand ceremony. I think you cab get nicer ones from some place like Michaels or an online wedding store. It served it's purpose, but I don't think it was worth $40 unless you are paying for convenience. It is closed with a piece of cork, and a seashell is put on the cork with a hot glue gun. Sorry no proffessional pics yet from our photographer. If you look in this forum around June of this year, Shani has a very nice one that she brought to Mexico. I think there was an msgillis about 8 months ago who had some nice sand ceremony articles that she brought from the US too. The $40 one sufficed for us, I just think there are nicer ones you can probably bring with you. BTW, our sand got all mixed together on the flight home. It's all pink now!

Congrats Michelle! You were a beautiful bride! Lovely pics! Hi Mwise. I understand your being upset. I doubt that many people will know the difference in the two ceremonies unless they know the legal requirements in Mexico. We had the legal ceremony. They drew our blood the morning after our arrival in the wedding coordinators office and we never saw the judge until we arrived at the gazebo. As for the legal ceremony, all of the legal parts are in the beginning. You both give your fingerprints, then the witnesses sign, the sand ceremony, and the vows. You could "design" a marriage ceremony certificate and incorporate it into a symbolic wedding. I seriously doubt they wouldn't let you do that, as you can pretty much do what you want for a symbolic ceremony. Also, if you go to vimeo.com and then put in "Azul Sensatori" under the search part, you can see the differences in legal vs. symbolic ceremonies. Keep your head up! Everything will work out fine!

Hi Rachael, They finally sent our translated docs via fedex. We were never given a "heads up" that they were on their way, just a door tag on Tuesday that we needed to sign for a letter. They arrived in the States 08/09/11, and I picked them up Wednesday 08/10/11. I would suggest that if you don't receive yours around the 45 day mark to contact your coordinator at LOMAS, as my destinationweddings.com rep never responded at all. I'm a happy bryteyedbride again! Best wishes for your big day!

WARNING: BRIDES SEEKING A LEGAL CEREMONY WITH AZUL SENSATORI AND LOMAS BEWARE...OVER TWO MONTHS AND THEY HAVE NOT DELIVERED THE NECESSARY PAPERWORK TRANSLATED TO ENGLISH AS PROMISED. Be sure to keep a hard copy paper trail of everything you purchase and the email exchanges. I'm going to have to send them to the BBB. Ladies my husband and I paid for the gold package $3500, and a judge $500 for a legal ceremony. We gave both of these business a lot of money as we had 38 guests, and also paid for 2 private events for 38 guests, (the BBQ Deluxe for our welcome party, and the Filet Mignon and Lobster for our wedding). We were married on 05/28/11 and part of what we paid for was for them to translate our legal documents from Spanish to English and fedex them to us within 30-60 days so that we could have them filed at a court house in the US and be legally married here. To date, we still have nothing. I sent an email to my coordinator at Lomas travel in the States and to my travel agent through destinationweddings.com on 05/26/11 because I was getting nervous. Change of life events for insurance etc. closes after 60 days with my job. 60d days is gone. My husband has been unable to make any changes. One email from LOMAS checking into it in May by sending an email to LOMAS in Mexico along with my detail sheet. It has been over a week, and nothing from destinationweddings.com. and I have not heard anything back from LOMAS. I even went on thedw.com website this week and and sent my problem to the manager via the website, and nothing. I guess it is time to go to the Better Business Bureau and file a complaint for services not delivered. VERY, VERY, VERY disappointing that after over 2 months in the US we are still NOT legally married here because we have nothing to file at the courthouse. SHAME ON BESTDESTINATIONWEDDINGS.COM and LOMAS Travel. What a shame it is to have had the most beautiful wedding we could imagine tainted by their dropping the ball and not seeming to care enough that we have not received an answer to this problem since bringing it to their attention on 05/26/11. Just a warning to anyone considering the legal ceremony.

Hi Rachael, I am so sorry that you are having this experience. Unfortunately, in times like this, people will disappoint you. The brides that did not get disappointed by anyone that they love and care about are truly the lucky ones. This is YOUR DAY and YOUR FIANCE'S DAY, and YOUR CHILDREN'S day. My advice would be: Do not let ANYONE rain on your parade. Savor every happy moment that you can. I paid for the room of a person that did not show up but plans to go on vacation in a few months, had a cousin come up with some bogus excuse about not being able to reschedule her flight until the day after my wedding (thus another no show), and a friend that said she could not afford to come while showing me 3 coats that she bought. I say this to say that some people will just disappoint you. Some people may not truly be happy for you. Some people may be happy for you but are miserable with their own life and take it out on you. I think that if your mother shows up, embrace it. If she doesn't this is YOUR TIME and don't let anyone ruin it. Stay strong! You will pull through this, and it sounds like you are gaining a wonderful mother-in-law. Remember, the most important thing is the new life you are building with your fiance. It is going to be a great day!!

Jaime these are great. I LOVE the one you both on the bar! Beautiful pics! Hello my bridal twin! Your pics are stunning, just like you were on 05/28! Also, check your personal email...I sent you some pics! Hi Amylou, We had the legal ceremony. We did not have a script, but our judge performed our ceremony in English. We have it on DVD, but I don't know how to put it on the computer for you to see. It started with the signing of the documents, fingerprints and witnesses. One of my sister's sang Ave Maria while we were doing that part. After that, he talked about our two lives becoming one, and then we did the sand ceremony. After that he talked about effective communication, then we did the rings, the kiss and it was over. I want to say it was about 20 minutes. The only way that we personalized it was with our own music for the ipod, with my sister singing, and adding my step-son to the sand ceremony. It was a little weird in the beginning because there was about a minute of silence, and I remember saying "What are we waiting for?" I thought the judge did a good job, and I was so pleased that he performed it in English so we did not have to go through translation. The only negative thing I can say about the legal ceremony is that we still have not received our translated marriage certificate to file here in the States to make it legal. They said they would have it federal expressed to us in 31-60 days, and the 60 day deadline is rapidly approaching. For the $500 we paid for a 20 minute legal ceremony you would think they would move faster so we can legalize things in the States. Life changing events for employment, insurance, etc. are for 60 days at my job. Fortunately, they let me make changes with the Spanish documents and I have to just give them the English ones when they come. It is not the same for my husband's job, and he cannot make any changes until we have our translated documents. We got married 05/28 so we are waiting patiently. Best wishes for your upcoming wedding!

Our highlights video from Mike Cantarell of Cancun Wedding Video is up. http://vimeo.com/25172426 Note the big bruise on my arm...that's from the blood test for the legal ceremony. Sheesh! If I had known it was going to be that rough I would have bought some tattoo make up to cover it!

Maggie I love both of these! Absolutely beautiful! Thanks. I used Cancun Wedding Video. We just got our highlights video today, and our regular video is on the way. I loved Cancun Wedding Video, and they were a preferred vendor when I had my wedding. Email Mike Cantarell and see if they are still preferred and just not showing up on the preferred list. Mike captured so much in the highlights video that I am anxiously awaiting the 60-90 minute video. I knew that no one except for us and probably our parents would be interested in the long one, that is why I got the highlights too. I just did a review on bdw.com on Cancun Wedding Video. Check them out! Really! You can't go wrong with them. We only used Caribe for photography at the Welcome Party. They were very friendly and the handmade album had 40 pics plus 2 Cd's. I don't know how they are with video, so speaking from my personal experience, if you can work Cancun Wedding Video into your budget it is worth it. My highlights video is http://vimeo.com/25172426

Thanks for all of the compliments ladies! Mike from Cancun Wedding Video said the link for the highlights video will be up in a day or two!