mstigger

I sent you a facebook request!!! (Gail Shirley)

Can't wait to see your pics!!!

Originally Posted by chiquita8302 

Hey girls! I have SO many pictures I don't want to post them all on here, but if you want to find me on FB we can be friends!! :-) The new last name is Jameson! My profile pic is of our wedding,  so I should be easy to find ;-) I only have gotten 3 sneak peek pictures from our photog back so far, so everything on there right now are just whatever I've taken and my friends have. But there are a ton of the resort and stuff that should give you some good ideas of things! Feel free to ask if you have questions!

 

https://www.facebook.com/ChristineHarveyJameson#!/media/set/?set=a.10100585525319471.1073741825.11006545&type=3

 

Here's a link in case it lets you see them- but I'm not sure you can without being my friend! :-) When my photographer postes pictures, her Garone Photography site has a blog that she posts them all on, so I'll be able to share that link with you girls, too!!

 

Hope all is well with you girls! I'm ready to start thinking honeymoon!!!!!!! :-)

Sorry I missed this.....yes, I think they are great quality for the price. My MOH was going to make them, but even buying the cheapest thinnest material we could get our hands on, these were still cheaper and much better quality.

I hope they work for you, I was really pleased with them.....I even ordered a few more

Originally Posted by JSLM 

Thanks so much.. just looked at this website and I think I will order them. Would you say they are nice quality?

Well here it is.....the long awaited dress pictures!!! I sure hope that the photographer can do a better job than my mom, I am not so photgenic and feel like I look a bit frumpy in these pics but we are always our own worst critics aren't we?

So, the dress is short in the front and long in the back. It's hard to see, but I had her sew a starfish on to the bow....I will get a better pic of that later. The top is sheer with a drop waist. She had to put new bra cups in so I looked like I had a little something up top!!! As you can tell from the face forward shot we didn't get the back corseted quite tight enough but you get the general idea! I love it and think it's the perfect dress for a beach wedding!!! YAY!!

Girl you are not alone!!! I think at some point most if not all of us have had some sort of guest drama. I finally said the same thing you did, if they haven't told us they are coming by the time we make our final payment then no eats for them because I am going to spend my time  prepping for the best day of my life, not beating myself over the head to figure out who's going to show up!! 

My supposed "best friend" has waffled back and forth so many times and still hasn't even put in for a passport but still tells me not to count her out....I'm like WHAT?? So, whatever! My FI and I will be there and the 14 guests who are confirmed and paid - that's all I need to know.

Don't sweat it and just keep planning as if they are not attending. If they let you know too last minute and miss out on the goodies (dinner, OOT bags, etc) that's on them.

Take a deep breath, have a drink and just keep swimming

Originally Posted by LKocelko 

I need to vent. We put an RSVP on the wedding invites of 3/1/13 - last Friday. Naturally several of my FI's sibilings don't respond. Which, I find to be incredibly rude. We have been told this entire time one of his older brothers IS coming. I ask him to text him to confirm which meal choice he'll want, and now we are told "I'm still not sure if I'm coming or not." Seriously?! And his sister (who has been a total b**** about the whole wedding, another store) is the same way. How do you people not know if you're flying to Mexico in two months?! I lost it. I told Sam that if we don't know by Friday, then they aren't coming. And if they show up, then they won't have a meal. Maybe I was out of line, but this was just the icing on the cake. I just can't believe how rude people can be! Sorry, end rant.

I got sarongs from www.meritline.com for $3.19 or $3.99 each. They come from China, but totally worth it!!

Took about 2 weeks, but I had time!

I found the sarongs at www.meritline.com for like $3.99 a piece!! Just type sarong in the search bar and they will pop up. I ordered 8 different ones so we would all have something different. For some reason my leopard one got cancelled and I got a different one - somehow I did that - so I am reordering and hoping to find something on here for the men.....just can't decide what!!

Can't beat that price for sure!!

Originally Posted by jnitschke 

What a great idea!!!! since I only have 15 guests maybe I'll do this too!!!

Good morning ladies!!

I need help with something......I bought sarongs for all of the ladies attending and I am going to put them in their OOT bags. I wanted to come up with a cute little saying to put on the tag......any ideas???

I am also having a terrible time coming up with an idea of something to include for the men, so any ideas for that would be great as well!!

Ok and lastly I wanted to get some koozies, but since there are only going to be 16 of us I don't need 300 koozies. Any suggestion where I can get them in bulk but not that bulky

Thanks so much for all of your help!!!

Congratulations and welcome home!!!

I'm glad to hear everything went so well and I cannot wait to hear your review and see your pictures!!

I hope your friends wedding turns out great in spite of what's happened so far. Enjoy your next trip!!

Originally Posted by Feb2013 

Everything went prefect! Nothing was out of place and it was all great. I have no complaints. I am getting ready to leave again to head out to a friend's wedding in Punta Cana this weekend. Nothing like being gone for 15 days from work coming back for 3 and leaving again. LOL! I am a little worried b/c they were at our wedding and all our guest were blown away with how awesome the resort was and how prefect the wedding ceremony and reception were. The couple's wedding we are going to this weekend didn't get any perks like we get from El Dorado. I am not sure if they even really have a wedding coordinator. They were having difficulty getting the resort to contact them back to get things planned. At one point the bride told me she would just pick everything out on Friday (the day before their wedding). It should be interesting.  

 

I will give more details and review when I get back to normalcy. I will say one thing about the decorating fee they charge. I was simple on my decorations for the tables at the reception (which has a story all its own). I asked a couple guest if they mind helping put a couple table numbers up for me and votive candles. I didn't want to pay $150 set up fee for so few things for 6 tables. I read somewhere you could not go into the reception area until right before it was time. Well I figure all my friends would need is 5-10 minutes max. Well just a heads up I was told that we could go into the reception area anytime after 5:00 pm (the reception started at 6:00). So those of you that don't have a whole lot to set up and you have really nice guest that would not mind helping keep that in mind. I am sure if you had something more elaborate then a few items to set as a center piece they might frown about it. 

Wow, beautiful bride and great pictures!!! Thanks so much for sharing, they really turned out great!!

I love your dress too, it is so elegant!

Originally Posted by Goldielochs47 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We Caribe for our Vow Renewal. We got the cheapest package ($550) they had and then paid and additional $100 for re-touching.

I really wanted the BBQ buffet, but just could not justify paying for 30 people when there will only be a total of 16 of us. So we decided to go with steak and lobster

We are still not doing a cake, I can't understand why they want $85 to feed 6 people cake. No thank you!!!

Originally Posted by amanda50388 

We did the BBQ buffet which was really nice, people could go up for seconds and it came with a whole bunch of tiny desserts. It was perfect because we saved on not having to pay for a cake, plus people didnt eat alot of desserts. Which worked out awesome for our group.

These are great!!!

Thank you so much for sharing. I feel much better about my choice now and I did go with a bit larger package in order to have more time for my photo booth type pics and the donkey.

I am getting married at the same gazebo! YAY!!! You have really eased my mind. 8 weeks to go and I am SOOOO excited.

Originally Posted by ONEILL12 

 

We used Caribe and absolutely loved them! Our budget for photography wasn't very big so we only paid to have a photographer for an hour and a half. Like you, we only had 16 guests and the time we booked was plenty for our group. Caribe lets you choose when your session begins and we had them start from the beginning of the ceremony so we could be sure to get lots of pictures on the beach with everyone. I really wanted pre-ceremony photos of the bridal parties getting ready so we used my dad's Nikon and had a family member who takes good photos get those shots for us. After the ceremony, while the photographer was taking shots of of just my husband and I, my dad stood behind the photographer with his camera and took the same shots. Surprisingly, the photographer didn't say anything. Our photographer was Santos and he was so professional and funny. He was very creative with poses and was very open to doing shots I had found on Pinterest. It was so hot on our wedding day and he was dressed in nice kahki pants and a dress shirt. He had to have been miserably hot but he never once complained! Our wedding was on Saturday and on the following Thursday he had our photos ready. He offered to photoshop them and send them to us by mail for an additional cost but after seeing them in person we were happy with how they already were. The package we purchased came with so many prints of different sizes and we were so surprised to receive those prints in a beautiful wood photo album that looks hand made.

 

Here are some of our pictures from Caribe -

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well, mine's not ready

The bra cups came in and they were nude, not white and the top of my dress is sheer so they need to be white. New ones should be in tomorrow, but I'll be out of town until Monday so next week it is.....I hope!!!

Totally bummed, but at least I still have 2 months.

Originally Posted by AllieH 

WOOHOOO ladies!!!!!!! Can't wait to see how they look on both of you. Lindsey - you will be GORGEOUS. don't sweat it.

 

YAY!!!! I will keep my fingers crossed, when are you going to pick it up??

Originally Posted by LKocelko 

I just got a call mine came in Sunday! A month early! I'm so excited to go get it, but also nervous it won't fit. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Picking up my dress tomorrow!!!

Pictures to follow!!!!

Thank you sooooo much!!!

These are great and they don't look to be retouched, so I think I'm good other than deciding if I want more time or not. With only 16 of us don't think we need a ton of time, but just worry that with 3 hours we might miss some of the good stuff!!

Originally Posted by murmel 

Yes, take all your stuff to your meeting with the WC. They will take care of putting everything out, and then taking it down. Usually you go back a day or two after the wedding and pick your stuff up. (just be warned if there is something you really don't want to lose, you may want to take it yourself after your wedding-ie. an engraved cake cutter, cake topper, guest book, etc.) As careful as they might be, it is quite common for some brides to be missing a few things. And don't expect them to pack stuff up as well as you did. I know I was missing a few paper lanterns, and some were torn...but to me that was not a huge deal.

I know there are a few Sensatori brides that have used them....let me search a little and see if I can find you some of the photos!

http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/t/23412/azul-sensatori-brides-post-here/13890#post_1658552

http://maggieandjaywedding.shutterfly.com/

http://weddingsbylegacytravel.blogspot.ca/2010/10/angela-hawk-wedding-at-azul-sensatori.html

http://weddingsbylegacytravel.blogspot.ca/2010/07/meghand-jason-wedding-at-azul-sensatori.html

Has anyone else used Caribe as their photographer? I was just hoping to see some photos of others who have used them. I just so can't decide what I want to do about pictures.

No, I actually only have a MOH and he has a best man.

We are only having 16 guests, very small!! But we are still doing the private dinner at the health bar with a sit down dinner and a visit from the donkey

They do have some longer packages available from Caribe, I just don't know if we need more than 3 hours. 3 hours = 350 unedited pics......that's also a concern. If I go with a larger package I get some retouched photos......I just don't know which way to go  but I appreciate the input!

Originally Posted by Darcy 

I am using Sarani I have booked for 5.5 hours do you have a big wedding party?  I have 7 bridesmaids and 5 groomsmen and she said that 3-4 hour packages are for small weddings with almost no guests and only dinner party unless we didn't really want a lot of pictures with the group and just wanted to focus on bride and groom and and the parents.  We wanted lots of pictures with everyone so we went with the longer package and we are also getting video.

No, I'm not really interested in the getting ready pictures and we are nto doing the first look so the 3 hours starts when the ceremony starts.

Originally Posted by LKocelko 

Will you want any "getting ready" pictures beforehand? Or a first look?

Ok, I have Caribe booked for a 3 hour package and have them starting at the ceremony.

Is that enough, too much, not enough.......I'm just not sure how long we should have them.

That's awesome. Caribe has really done nothing for me. In fact I haven't even contacted them directly.

I did ask for a mixed package and they were not willing to do anything special.

I may need to look at changing if this is the case.

Originally Posted by Darcy 

I am going with Sarani.  She is a little bit more on the expensive side however she has been really responsive to any questions I have and was willing to work with me to make it affordable.

Have you guys noticed that none of the recent emails have free items? Do you think they did away with the free items?

I really need brochures, but hate to pay for them knowing I got the first set free.

Guess I shouldn't complain, but hard to justify $30 after paying nothing.

I tried to get Sarani for my wedding, but she was already booked when I started looking back in July. We actually met with Caribe when we did our site visit in September and I really liked the photographer and the sample books they brought were of un-retouched photos and they were better than what I expected. I want pics, but I didn't want to spend a fortune so I liked the photographer and the price was great so win-win for me. If you don't like what they have on their website though I would try someone else. Amanda had Sarani and her photos are amazing so you def get your $$ worth if you can get her.

My wedding is in April, so not sure how soon you want to pick but I will have our photos before we even return and can make sure you see them.

Hope that helps a little!

Originally Posted by chelsRN 

So ladies which photography did you go with? I was having a family friend coming with us to take our pictures but he backed out. I really like Sarani photography but they are expensive. Caribe is the most inexpensive but I did not like their photography. Who did you have and what did you like most about them or what did you not like?

It is probably because they already have Gazebo 55 booked, but if that's the one you wanted I would ask.

We are getting married at D'Italia Casita because it is right on the beach and we only have 14 guests. It is right across from the Italian restaurant but it is on the very far end of the Casitas, so not set back like the others but a beautiful location. We are then having our reception at the Health Bar. There are just so many options and all great options, so just pick what feels right for you. The Health Bar is also down on the Casitas end and not secluded from guests, but we did a site visit and it was our favorite location right across from the beach.

Hope this helps a bit and I would still ask your WC about 55.

Originally Posted by chelsRN 

I received an e-mail from our WC saying the options for the ceremony were the Presidential gazebo, D' Italia Casitas, of White Gazebo. I have been looking at pictures and I wanted to have my ceremony at Gazebo 55. Did she just not give us that option or did they switch the name of the gazebo. I want a more private feel to our ceremony. I don't want there to be random people on the beach near us, if that makes sense. Which gazebo did you pick and why? Is it private? I am not into the white gazebo considering it is above our guests and we want our feet in the sand as we say our vows. ANY recommendations would be great!

Woooohoooo!!!

So exciting!!!

Have a wonderful trip, enjoy every minute!!

Looking forward to your pictures!!

Originally Posted by Feb2013 

We leave this Sunday!!! Feb 11th through the 17th we are on the Royale side, all our guest have to leave on the 17th (they didn't have to go home but they couldn't stay at El Royale!) and we move to the Casita side for the second week for our honeymoon. We head home on the 24th. 

 

 

Fingers crossed that our East coast family and friends continue to stay out of the line of the blizzard! Most of our wedding guest will get to EDR on Wed Feb 13 so we should be good. We have about 3 other couples joining us on Sunday when we head down and 2 more couples come in on Tuesday. Wednesday we have about 12 more couples coming! So Goldieloch47 you might see a crazy group on Thursday I apologies in advance!  

 

The only tip I have is keep list... I have had my stuff I needed to take for the wedding in one pile on our guest room for months. But I think I have about 20 different list going right now with things to remember! 

YAY!!!!!!! Have a wonderful time and hope your wedding is FABULOUS!!!!

Can't wait to see the pictures!!

Originally Posted by Feb2013 

Well I am 4 days away from leaving for my wedding and honeymoon 2 week vacation! I can not wait to spend a week with friends and family to hang out and celebrate our big day and then have a second week in the Casitias with my new husband. 

 

Of course right now my FI is the king procurator especially when he is anxious or stressed... So everything on his to do list that I asked him to help with I am now doing! UGH! I knew that this was likely to happen so I should have been prepared. Either way it just means I will really be ready for the vacation! LOL!