karyc

I'm using Photos in Cancun. Their pictures are great, and they're very professional and quick to respond to emails/questions!

Yes, shaecollins, love the dress!! who makes it?

yeah i'm doing the same. have you guys decided on colors or anything? i had been thinking bright orange and hot pink, but am in love with that bright reddish-orange color that's everywhere lately how long do you think it takes before you get promoted out of newbie territory and able to download all of the templates people have uploaded onto this site?

Also, I agree, Doremixx's reviews are great so I just sent Ivan an email and booked that...I'm glad to be getting some of the bigger decisions out of the way!

omg, i just saw the pics of the "mexican dove" -- seriously that is hilarious. i almost want to do it just to be funny. i just got rates from DJ doremixx, and he only charges $800 for 1-5 hours, which definitely seems like a good deal compared to the resort's DJ! i'm not sure about the dance floor question...i will look into this!

agree, these are amazing. i especially love the passport welcome book!

Rachel, I would totally just try to switch. I actually just basically claimed Elizabeth Riff as mine before we even got assigned one because I'd heard how good and responsive she was...

Yeah, I agree with Elaine, that way it feels more personal and you can make the tone more about wanting to make sure that they can still make it, how excited you are that they're coming, etc...

It seems like the rate to have a photographer or DJ stay at the hotel for 3 nights is just about the same as the outside vendor fee...? or maybe i got horrible group rates in my block! we were quoted 727/pp for 3 nights...

Ha, I know! I started at page 1200 of that thread because I keep reading about how helpful it is, but I don't think I can go back more than that - it's crazy! Yeah, I didn't think the pics for Caribephotos looked that good, not that I had that much to go on. I actually just booked Derek and Lorena from Photos in Cancun today (and they were willing to split the 800 vendor fee with me). They seem great and I think their photos are gorgeous. I think we-re going to do the rehearsal dinner bbq on beach and a s'mores bonfire afterwards on beach too -- we're inviting ~120 people and i'm really hoping that we don't randomly get a 90% acceptance rate, because i don't want to be in the ballroom for the reception....all of the pics from blue terrace look great. where are you planning to do the reception? have you guys started thinking about how much stuff you're going to bring down with you? every time i read that azul sensatori site I feel like my to-do list gets longer!!

Awesome, congratulations!!! How many guests are you expecting? Have you already done a group block (or plan to)?

Ha, tarynm and mrsp2be, I am also a mrs. p to be!!

Hi Amanda! We're getting married at Azul Beach on March 2, 2013, and we just finalized the group contract. Sounds like we're in the same boat as you, now trying to figure out photographer, music, venues, etc. How big is your wedding? have you made any decisions yet?

June 2012 Kristen & Greg (kristen6212)-June 2, 2012-Punta Cana, Dominican Republic Julie & Steve (julietisurs) - June 2, 2012 - Gran Porto Real, Playa del Carmen, Mexico Shannon & Kostya (ssapper) - June 9, 2012 - Dreams Riviera Cancun Kristin & Dan (krs398) - June 26, 2012 - Puerto Vallarta, Mexico August 2012 Cathy and Charles - August 2012 Adrienne & Adam - August 11, 2012 - Punta Cana, Dominican Republic Sheryllyn & A - August 11, 2012 - Punta Cana, DR Majestic Colonial Kristina & Blair - August 31, 2012 - Secrets Maroma Beach, Riviera Maya September 2012 Casey & Eric (KCDawn) - September 29, 2012 - Secrets Maroma Beach, Riviera Maya Mexico October 2012 Chelsea & Eric (DWBride615) - October 13, 2012 - Rome, Italy (Odescalchi Castle) Lara & Jay (larazach) - October 3, 2012 - Azul Sensatori, Riviera Maya Jeanne & Orren (Oct2012Bride) October 15, 2012 Punta Cana, Barcelo Bavaro Palace Deluxe , Dominican Republic November 2012 Maribel & Jaime (MariDR2012) - November 9, 2012 - Paradisus Punta Cana, Punta Cana Dominican Republic Meghan & David (mmb1117) - November 17, 2012 Negril, Jamaica Danielle & Steven (dmccamey)- November 3, 2012-The Beloved Hotel, Playa Mujeres, Mexico December 2012 Caitlin & Andrew (Speckles121) - December 1, 2012 - Moon Palace, Cancun Mexico February 2013 Tamara & Chris (tkuzma)- February 7, 2013 - Azul Sensatori, Riviera Maya Miranda & Colin (mlite83) - February 9, 2013 - Now Jade, Riviera Cancun Fabi & Brian (FabiLara)- February 12, 2013 - Le Kliff, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico Kiel & Kayla (kkeeve01)- February 26, 2013 - Sandos Caracol Eco Resort, Playa del carmen March 2013 Kary and Phil (karyc) - March 2, 2013, Azul Beach Hotel, Riviera Maya APRIL 2013 Erica & Brian (airica26)- April 10, 2013, Moon Palace, Cancun, Mexico Faith & Michael (LTLFAITHY) - April 27, 2013 Now Sapphire Riviera Cancun MAY 2013 Tova & Justin (ChocoTaco7568) - May 18, 2013. Now Jade Riviera Cancun Resort & Spa Tamara & Edgard (trivera5521) - May 18, 2013 - Barcelo Bavaro Palace Deluxe, Punta Cana DR Krista & Pat (cinnagirl) - May 28, 2013 Dreams Palm Beach, Punta Cana, DR JUNE 2013 Kirstin & Ian (claruickie) Thursday 20 June 2013 ~ Gran Bahia Principe Akumal, Mayan Riveria Shannon & Keenan (Shannonmarie) June 14, 2013 - Now Jade Rivera Cancun Resort & Spa Kisha & Ben (kisha311) - June 22, 2013 Beaches Turks & Caicos JULY 2013 AUGUST 2013 SEPTEMBER 2013 Taryn & Stephen (tarynm) | Sunday, September 1, 2013 @ Azul Beach, Puerto Morelos, Riviera Maya, Mexico OCTOBER 2013 NOVEMBER 2013 Paisley & Philip (2bmrstremblay) | Sunday, November 3, 2013 Aboard the Carnival Magic, Galveston Texas, 7 Day Caribbean Cruise DECEMBER 2013 Alexis & Alexander (islandsunrise)~ Saturday, December 14th, 2013~Atlantis Resort~ Paradise Island~(Nassau, Bahamas)

We booked Azul Beach for March 2, 2013 and just finished working out the group block contract! Next up, wedding planning -- it's a little daunting! Is anyone in the process? It'd be great to get a 2013 (or late 2012!) thread going, because some of the threads from a few years ago look like they were really helpful! I'm currently stumped with: (i) what to do for a rehearsal dinner, given that we have a pretty large party (80-90) and we don't want to use a ballroom nor the same place as we're going to use for the reception, (ii) what to do for music (make our own playlist for a DJ?), and (iii) what to do for photographer -- we were going to just go with caribe photo, but someone posted a sample album from them that they were less-than-happy with, and, i have to agree, the photos just didn't look professional. some people were very happy with javier from caribe, but caribe won't guarantee a particular photographer.