meganator22

Eeeeeepppp we just put a deposit down today for January 2014. So excited

Originally Posted by TauruSmith 

 

Chedck with your travel agent. It is probably different depending on their relationship with the resort! We put a deposit down for a certain numberof rooms in order to ensure availability.

 

Originally Posted by melnryluvco 

 

Hi meganator22,

Our guests had to put down a deposit of $250 per couple to 'lock' their price in and then their full amount is due 6 weeks before take off. We had this option through our TA/Apple Vacations. We are also flying out of a major city with a chartered flight so that had a lot to do with it. That's also how we're getting a 'kick back'/free room. I'd see what your TA can do for you all.

Best,

Melissa

Thank you! I asked her and she said for a group discount I would have to have at least 6 rooms, which I am sure we will have. Wow! I didn't know you get kickbacks from flights. That's awesome to know. Did all of your guests and yourself fly in the same plane? 

I see all you ladies saying you guys get a kick back for booking so many rooms. Should I ask our travel agent? Also did you guys have to choose from having people put down "deposits" or a "promo code (which apparently you don't get a locked down rate, you may or may not owe more) If that makes any sense at all. Thanks so much. 

I keep posting to the main thread by accident, and I have no idea how to erase it, so let me try this again lol I just got an email back from Anel and she gave me some updated packets, that have pictures of the venues, which I know some of your are interested to see, so if anyone would like that, feel free to leave me your email and I will get those to you! 

Ahhhh I posted this on the wrong board AGAIN. How do I erase this now? 

I just got an email from Anel with these things, they explain and show a lot of different things and the different places, so if anyone would like these packets, I will be happy to email you them..just message me or leave your email  

Originally Posted by amandab563 

 

Megan - my friend said they can charge you to decorate with your chair bows. My friend said her bridesmaids went and tied them and the staff helped and they did not get charged. She said it didn't take very long and they were very helpful.

Chairs- that was my question and Anel said Chairs are $5 per chair over 25 chairs but that includes a chair for dinner and the wedding so you are paying $5 per person over 25 ppl for dinner and wedding itself (the set) not $10 like it makes it seem. Silly I know...they get at anything they can but they have to make money.

Also I am bringing my own centerpieces. They are outrageous if you want anything decent. I know you can rent vases for $5 or $10 per vase and they have luminaries but if u want flowers or anything it's very expensive. I have quite figured out what I am doing but I my colors are aqua and orange with starfish. I am making patterned table runners in those colors to brighten up the white. I also got maracas for the place settings in our wedding colors personalized and I orders Chinese lanterns. There's no where to hang them on the beach terrace so I am going to just lay them around the grass and maybe a few from the hut things. I also bought 15 yards of tulle to dress up the arch thing in color and got aqua hanging crystal strands from hobby lobby. lT cost me $12. To rent fabric from them is like $150-200. I don't know how to put pictures on here from my phone but if you follow me on instagram I've made a few wedding collages with pics from the resort terrace and my ideas decorations. My username is abaumbach247

 

Honestly Ill be able to get all my decor in one or two suitcases and to me it's way worth it! And they have no problem with you bringing. I have an aunt who plans on decorating for me so it worked out.

 

Let me know if you have more questions!

wow thank you so much for answering these questions for me!! I noticed how expensive the centerpieces are. I really like the manzanita branches, but not for what they are charging!! YIKES! I will bring my own lol! Those are such awesome colors! I am pretty sure I am going to do red and aqua! Did you get dimensions of the tables? I guess I can't really start on any of the until I know how many people are coming, huh? I absolutely love the crystal strands, and haven't seen how much they charge, but I am sure it's outrageous! Good idea with the tulle!! Would you just give it to them and have them hang it up? I am not understanding why their tulle is so expensive to RENT lol maybe it's lined with 24k gold! I really want to do the maracas too...basically your whole wedding sounds amazing, and don't be mad if I copy some things lol I am going to follow you, my name on there is "annunziata22" for a heads up! What about hanging them from those pole things? you can put on the beach. I am sure they charge an arm and a leg for those as well lol Hopefully I can win the lotto between then and now to afford everything I want ;) You are lucky with your aunt, hopefully someone will help me lol maybe I can just borrow your aunt. LOL  

Wow!! how beautiful! you looked PERFECT! Thank you for the recommendation and beautiful pictures. I am trying to choose between him and MVP...it's a hard choice as I have seen reviews about both that have been wonderful! 

Originally Posted by amandab563 

 

Congratulations DinaQtobe and meganator22!! It's very exciting once you get that paperwork sent in. That seemed to be the most stressful part for me was trying to pick somewhere. I am very relieved after picking now and having a good friend who got married here in 2012 helps with advice and tips.

 

Advice: Anel is great at responding. It does take a few days but if you look at their calendar online she has a wedding almost everyday of the week so I know she will get to me when she can and is extremely busy so don't get frustrated.

 

Also you will find even you don't want everything in a package it def is more worth it to do one. Small stuff adds up when they send you the price sheet.

 

We are also using the resort photographer. My friends pictures turned out beautiful plus all of your guests will take pictures and my mom mother does photography on the side. So between all of them in sure we will capture what we want.

 

We have a big group going (50 as of right now) so our extra funds are being spent on dinner instead of outside vendor for photographer. We are doing the divine package but we have the option to use the eternity dinner instead since its a little cheaper for dinner if we choose to. Also we are using our cocktail hour on a different day for our wedding party only since we didn't want to also pay for 50 plus people for that.

 

Chair bows: anything you see in color is extra but they don't mind you bringing whatever you want. Chair bows are $5 per bow. I got mine off eBay for $59 for 100 bows. Great deal! I'm just taking an extra suitcase or two with stuff in it. At first I wasn't going to but if your on a budget your going to want to.

 

If anyone has questions I can share what I know so far from the resort and my friend. Happy wedding planning!

Thanks so much! I noticed that there's weddings every day, all day it seems!! I don't know how she does it. I would be so overwhelmed, as I am with planning only one wedding haha Thank you for the advice. I am definitely bringing my own sashes...$5 is ridiculous for wedding sashes. Do they charge set up with them? Do we have to pay for two set of chairs, one for the reception and the wedding? or is that included in just the divine package? I am sure I will get all of this information when I put down a deposit and start to correspond with one of the wedding planners there. Are you going with one of their centerpieces? or bringing your own? once again I apologize for the questions! thank you so much

Originally Posted by melnryluvco 

 

We are going with the resort photographer. We don't have the extra funds to put towards an outside photographer. My FI wasn't keen on the idea of the packages at first but with just the bare minimum things that I wanted it (ie. hair, makeup, bouquet, extra chairs for the guests, photographer, etc) it was like $1200 just for those things. Also, you will come to find out that if you chose to do you reception dinner outside of the package anywhere but the buffet they charge you for a "private" menu at $22 a person and if you want it in a "private" location in the restaurant it's another $500. So basically if you don't want to spend money on dinner or a location you have to head to the buffet. I wasn't too happy about getting married and then asking out guests to hurry off to get tables all together at the buffet. Also, the thought of walking around the buffet with a tray  in a wedding dress makes me shutter   But that's a matter of personal preference. I just knew my guests would all want to eat together after so one way or another we'd be paying because I wouldn't have asked my guests to shell out the $22 to eat together. Good luck and let us all know if you have questions!

I know exactly what you mean! The things add up fast, but I have to say that I have seen pictures of not elaborate weddings there and it seems beautiful! I really wish you could customize your own package and not have it be a billion dollars for everything. Wow! so a buffet is the reception dinner they talk about? They should be paying me for bringing all these guests down haahahaha not me paying them to eat at an all inclusive resort any way. So your wedding will take place, lets say at 4, and then your reception is right after? Or do they have cocktail hr or whatever first while you guys take pictures? then eating? lol I am a little confused, as you can tell! So you are going with eternity? right? I am leaning more and more towards that one...but with a reception...what do guests do after they have eaten? Is there any dancing or anything included? or do I have to get a dj for dancing? I am so sorry for all of these stupid questions! Thank you so much

Originally Posted by KWandCM 

 

 

Congrats on selecting a resort! I hope the rest of your planning goes smoothly and leads up to a beautiful, perfect day.

You are too sweet. I really appreciate it! Looks like we are getting married the same month! Where are you getting married at? 

I finally picked. Thank you so much for your advice and good lucks. I appreciate it. I am going with NOW sapphire, I am sure :) 

Thanks so much!! It is feeling more real and it's a huge weight off of your shoulders to have one huge thing checked off the list. I have to remember to not get too stressed about things and to take it one day at a time now, I am so easily flustered when it comes to planning. Your wedding it looks like is coming up soon. Good luck to you and I wish you nothing but a beautiful life as husband and wife! 

I have done research upon research and every wedding at NOW that I have seen pictures of has been breathtaking. I don't know if I am pmsing or what, but some of the pictures literally made me cry at how emotional and beautiful they are! My travel agent just got back to me with prices and the price for the resort is MUCH more inexpensive for NOW, which I was leaning towards anyways than Dreams. Finally something has gone right for me in the last few months. I am thinking we are going to put a deposit on the resort tomorrow and confirming the wedding date. EEP!!!!!!! This is all setting in now lol Now for what package.....I am excited to be on this journey with you ladies!

 

 

oops I by accident posted this to the main page, I don't know how to delete it lol 

I have done research upon research and every wedding at NOW that I have seen pictures of has been breathtaking. I don't know if I am pmsing or what, but some of the pictures literally made me cry at how emotional and beautiful they are! My travel agent just got back to me with prices and the price for the resort is MUCH more inexpensive for NOW, which I was leaning towards anyways than Dreams. Finally something has gone right for me in the last few months. I am thinking we are going to put a deposit on the resort tomorrow and confirming the wedding date. EEP!!!!!!! This is all setting in now lol Now for what package.....I am excited to be on this journey with you ladies

I am just starting this process out, I am still torn between Now Sapphire or Dreams Riviera and would like to know if anyone knows or has gone to a place near these areas that do not charge an arm and a leg? I feel so overwhelmed at how many small costs add up, and am trying to stay in a budget. Thank you so much. 

Originally Posted by melnryluvco 

 

Hi Megan,

Congrats on deciding with a destination wedding...now good luck on deciding where to get married! After the hard decision to move our wedding from Maui to an AI resort we knew we wanted to make the most of our small budget. After much research we decided on the NOW resorts based of the fact that they allow 25 people vs 20 people in their packages. Dreams and Secrets are sister properties the package costs are the exact same as now. So why would I not want to have an additional 5 people that I could invite for the same price as the other resorts that only offer it for 20 people? As you can see from the pricing sheet it's super expensive per person outside the allotted amount. Also the resort is beautiful so it was a no brainer. As far as your dilemma goes between choosing between Puerto Vallarta and Cancun. They are both so different because one is east cost/gulf coast facing and one is west coast/pacific facing. Both are beautiful but different. Cancun has the turquoise blue waters while Puerto Vallarta has the plush jungle feel to the area. So it's a toss up!

Thanks so much!! You have been so sweet and helpful already. I really appreciate that. I am so bad at reading reviews and people's reviews that they have gotten sick because of the food scares the crap out of me! I know people can be such a holes sometimes too though. I am also nervous about all the add on prices that add up so friggen quickly!! I made a decision to get married in cancun, so now it's between NOW and Dreams riviera, one decision down lol millions to go. What photographer are you going with? I want to have an awesome photographer since you only have one wedding. I guess I am a little thrown off by the packages, because it would be silly of me to get the eternity package and pay 500 extra for a video when I could pay 500 extra and get a few more extra perks plus the video, does that make sense? I don't need the other things that come with the eternity package, but might as well if I will pay that extra for a video. Maybe I am reading it all wrong! Thank you again for everything!!! you are so sweet

Ahhh I can completely see where you are coming from, by reading all of these message boards. There's just so many options, and I think that almost makes it worse, because you get so overwhelmed as to what to pick or who to go through. I have also noticed how small things add up BIG time and people wind up spending soooo much more than expected. I guess, one of the most important things to me is that everyone has a great time, photography, and to try to stay in a budget. I see so many people bringing their own things and I am anxious to see if I can get a better price or deal haha Good luck to you! Your wedding is almost here eepppp that is so exciting. I want to see pictures! Where are you getting married at? 

I basically am VERY indecisive and don't know where to go from here. I guess you can say I am overwhelmed as well. Our travel agent has narrowed it down to Now Sapphire (cancun), Dreams Riviera Cancun and Dreams Puerto Vallarta. Please help me to choose! 

Hello! I am so indecisive and having to pick between Now Sapphire, Dreams Riviera, and Dreams Puerto Vallarta is proving to be a lot more difficult than I though. Please help me to choose. I want to have a decision by Monday, knowing me, I will change it a million times by then lol Any advice? Thanks so much ladies. I have read through a lot of these posts, as well as the other boards and am so relieved at how many sweet ladies are willing to take time out to give advice and what not. It's awesome! Thank you

I am the most indecisive person on this planet, I am pretty sure. It's so annoying lol Our travel agent narrowed it down to Dreams Riviera Cancun, Now Sapphire, and Dreams Puerto Vallarta! Ahhhh now I need help to decide between the three! Any help would be wonderful! They all seem so beautiful! I am close to drawing out of a hat haha I am more leaning towards Dreams Riviera Cancun and Now Sapphire, but ahhhhh I don't know lol I have read through so many of this message board and the others and the perfect, and amazing pictures of all you beautiful brides don't help with choosing a location haha. Thanks for any help in advanced! 

Thank u!!! Congrats 2 u as well! I have been searching non-stop since we got engaged on Sunday! Haha I think I am going 2 go with Carnival. I am from NJ n I love that u can leave from Baltimore or NY so that will save my guests lots. This is a 2nd marriage for both so having a wedding this way just seemed so much more special in my opinion. Plus I wouldn't have 2 have all the stress/cost planning a wedding at a hall n what not. I was also thinking of getting married at a port while on the cruise but that scares the daylights out of me bc god for bid something happens n the ship can't get 2 port?! Then what! That would happen 2 us. N I'd be a nervous wreak the whole time. Hope I didn't just make u nervous! :-/ Anywho, I can't wait n I really like it here so far. Just wish there was more info for cruise weddings.

Awww that's awesome! I completely agree with you about it being more special, it's just completely unpractical of us to spend so much money for people to drink and eat, and then the place where we wanted to get married (and put a deposit, which we probably won't get back now :/) has no hotels or places nearby to stay so that was also a huge problem! I am so nervous about the not porting thing as well, but my mind was eased when I read that they've been doing this 8 years with over 300 weddings a year and that has happened only 5 times....and said if that happens you basically get your money back except for the cake..but I hear you lol I have terrible friggen luck. Honestly though Janelle at island bliss has been so accommodating, sweet and replies very fast and very much detailed and I haven't paid her anything yet lol which tells me a lot. There's a lot of packages, some under 1000 (with A LOT of things included) and are all customizable lol I sound like I'm selling something haha but really I can't be any more pleased! Any idea where you want to go yet? I'm excited for you!!!

awww yay! Congrats!! I have been looking for so long, I am so indecisive what cruise line to book, but I did find an amazing lady through here, named Janelle that is from island bliss weddings on St. Thomas. She is absolutely wonderful and much cheaper to plan a wedding off the cruise ship with an outsider it seems than on it. The bad reviews from the cruise line wedding planners scare me, as I have the worst luck lol 

Your pictures are BEAUTIFUL! this makes me so excited, because it's been so hard to find any reviews with pictures!! It sounds like you had a perfect wedding! Congrats!! thanks for all of the amazing information!! 

I would love the same thing. Finding anyones experience on any cruise line seems so hard to find.