KJRAZZLE

Originally Posted by ironman 

 

If anyone's interested, here's a link to two videos I found from weddings at the Now Jade! I love these!

 

I can't figure out how to link them specifically, but on this page there's NJ videos for Kevin + Shannon and David + Kristy.

 

http://limelightstudios.ca/wedding-films/

This was great! I love the videos because you can see a little bit more of what the resort is like

Originally Posted by tccjem 

 

I am interesed in a webinar as well!  Thanks.

I'm also interested

Originally Posted by AandNJam 

 

what's the link to the website?

Joy Folie is the designer. There are some cute adult things on there, but it's mostly super cute kids clothes, shoes and accessories

https://joyfolie.worldsecuresystems.com/accessories

Originally Posted by AandNJam 

 

what's the link to the website?

Joy Folie is the designer. There are some cute adult things on there, but it's mostly super cute kids clothes, shoes and accessories

https://joyfolie.worldsecuresystems.com/accessories

I found this on a website for kids clothes, but I love it so much.

I found this on a website for kids clothes, but I love it so much.

Originally Posted by Retro Couple 

 

Met with Pilar today and she was very pleasant - Note: her office has been moved from the front lobby to next to the photography services on the main level of the spa building (sports bar upstairs).

 

Pilar was very visual, she took notes and drew up ideas on how we wanted our tables to look like which was nice.

 

No services were exchangeable (ie. photography for videography). Pilar said that this was due to them bring different companies, but was willing to credit us $150 for the photographer as we had hired our own. Prices were non negotiable, but she did forget to charge us for some of our services such as one of our Canopys (we wanted two) and she didn't charge us for one ($200) or to add flowers to them (unknown price). We also decided to reign in our budget and went with the Now toEternity and just pay for the Divine food upgrade, however she forgot to charge us for that as well ($240). We also were going to buy some cheap glass candle holders from the Cancun Walmart, however Pilar added 16 glass candle holders with candles free of charge. I don't know what our total savings would have been based on forgotten costs but I guesstimate around $500 - $600.

 

Just out of curiosity I asked how many Emails Pilar gets per day and she said around 150 - 200 each day, double that on Mondays as she is busy with weddings all weekend. I asked her how many days off she has had in the last 3 months and she said only 3! She said that if she takes a day off it doesn't matter anyway because when she comes back she has twice as much work to do, so if you are not getting responses right away it's not that she's ignoring you, she's simply swamped with workload (she even has 3 assistants).

 

As for the night life at the resort I can't say what it's like as we have been so wrapped up in final planning and running around that we've been ultra lame and in bed before 11:00 pm each night so far.

 

Chris

Congrats on the big day tomorrow! Can't wait to hear how everything went

Originally Posted by Retro Couple 

 

Met with Pilar today and she was very pleasant - Note: her office has been moved from the front lobby to next to the photography services on the main level of the spa building (sports bar upstairs).

 

Pilar was very visual, she took notes and drew up ideas on how we wanted our tables to look like which was nice.

 

No services were exchangeable (ie. photography for videography). Pilar said that this was due to them bring different companies, but was willing to credit us $150 for the photographer as we had hired our own. Prices were non negotiable, but she did forget to charge us for some of our services such as one of our Canopys (we wanted two) and she didn't charge us for one ($200) or to add flowers to them (unknown price). We also decided to reign in our budget and went with the Now toEternity and just pay for the Divine food upgrade, however she forgot to charge us for that as well ($240). We also were going to buy some cheap glass candle holders from the Cancun Walmart, however Pilar added 16 glass candle holders with candles free of charge. I don't know what our total savings would have been based on forgotten costs but I guesstimate around $500 - $600.

 

Just out of curiosity I asked how many Emails Pilar gets per day and she said around 150 - 200 each day, double that on Mondays as she is busy with weddings all weekend. I asked her how many days off she has had in the last 3 months and she said only 3! She said that if she takes a day off it doesn't matter anyway because when she comes back she has twice as much work to do, so if you are not getting responses right away it's not that she's ignoring you, she's simply swamped with workload (she even has 3 assistants).

 

As for the night life at the resort I can't say what it's like as we have been so wrapped up in final planning and running around that we've been ultra lame and in bed before 11:00 pm each night so far.

 

Chris

Congrats on the big day tomorrow! Can't wait to hear how everything went

This is such a great question. I love reading everyone's reasons for having a DW FutureMrsNamysl I wish you and your FI the best in his recovery, you are a strong woman.

My FI and I decided to have a DW for a bunch of reasons.

- We knew we both wanted a DW so that we could create a memorable week or weekend with our closest families and friends, and had been looking into renting a large vacation home where we could just hold a wedding on the property. A friend of ours recommended having at an all inclsive resort instead and we were instantly sold. It allowed us to create all of the fun memories with everyone but without the stress of food, wedding planning, setup, etc.

- My FI met online. I am from Southern California and he is from Ottawa, Canada so our families are spread out all over the two countries. No matter where we hold our wedding people will have to travel to attend. We love to travel so we decided why not have everyone go someplace different, so it could be a vacation for us and all of our guests.

- As harsh as it sounds, we each have a lot of family members we have to invite out of obligation, but don't really want attending. We want to have a wedding with people we really love and care about, and who want to be there for us not for free food and booze, or because they feel obligated to attend.

- We also knew that we would be able to get more for our money. Since we are paying for our wedding for ourselves and don't want to put it all on credit that was key for us. We each have had a lot of cousins getting married recently who are spending 50K plus on weddings that are only for a few hours. Whereas we knew we could have a DW and spend 7 nights with our favorite people for half of the price.

This is such a great question. I love reading everyone's reasons for having a DW FutureMrsNamysl I wish you and your FI the best in his recovery, you are a strong woman.

My FI and I decided to have a DW for a bunch of reasons.

- We knew we both wanted a DW so that we could create a memorable week or weekend with our closest families and friends, and had been looking into renting a large vacation home where we could just hold a wedding on the property. A friend of ours recommended having at an all inclsive resort instead and we were instantly sold. It allowed us to create all of the fun memories with everyone but without the stress of food, wedding planning, setup, etc.

- My FI met online. I am from Southern California and he is from Ottawa, Canada so our families are spread out all over the two countries. No matter where we hold our wedding people will have to travel to attend. We love to travel so we decided why not have everyone go someplace different, so it could be a vacation for us and all of our guests.

- As harsh as it sounds, we each have a lot of family members we have to invite out of obligation, but don't really want attending. We want to have a wedding with people we really love and care about, and who want to be there for us not for free food and booze, or because they feel obligated to attend.

- We also knew that we would be able to get more for our money. Since we are paying for our wedding for ourselves and don't want to put it all on credit that was key for us. We each have had a lot of cousins getting married recently who are spending 50K plus on weddings that are only for a few hours. Whereas we knew we could have a DW and spend 7 nights with our favorite people for half of the price.

Originally Posted by UMassRN007 

 

 

From what I have read from other brides on this forum, you will only be charged a vendor fee if you have the florist come on to the resort and do the set up of your flowers..therefore, if you have someone meet the florist just outside the resort, and bring the flowers in yourself, then you wont be charged a fee.

 

I'm still waiting to here whether YOU then set the flowers on the tables, or if you give them to the planner and they do it?! 

Once you get the flowers from the florist outside the resort or in the lobby, how do you get them set-up? Are you supposed to take them to the wedding coordinator, how does it work? What do you tell the coordinator when you're meeting with them to go over the wedding day set-up?

Also of interest: MISCELLANEOUS / DECORATION (PRICES PLUS 11%TAX)  Dance Floor for Reception (2-50 pax) $800.00  Dance Floor for Reception (50-100 pax) $1200.00  Paper Luminaries $5.00  Tikki torches decoration (6 pieces per event) $150.00  Tiffany Chairs $10.00 (Available in white, gold, silver, brown) (I thought i had seen this was $7 elsewhere... Perhaps that was an old price?) Bamboo Chairs $10.00  Versalles Chairs Available only in dark brown $10.00  Avant-garde chairs available only in white $15.00  Regular Ribbons for chairs $5.00  (Red,brown, yellow, freen, pink, ivory, white, purple, contact your wedding coordinator for  special request)  Linen (per table) $18.00 to $25 usd ( This depending of the color and texture selected) Table Overlay (per table) $18.00 to $25 usd  ( This depending of the color and texture selected) Special Color napkin (per pax) $4.00  Fans ( * Castaways restaurant ) $150 usd (so Castaways is likely not air conditioned if they're renting these out....) Light Packages $350 usd

Originally Posted by EmmA1025 

 

KJRAZZLE

  i was in the same boat as you! I think my post was right before yours on here about the price lol I also have set a budget of 10-12k max. We already hired an outside photographer so im hoping that we will still be ok with everything. Its all the add-ons that hike the final cost up so much! The actual packages arent bad is flowers, centerpeices, dj that add up. Does anyone on here know about the dj situation? Like since i wont be needing the photographer from the package can i have dj time insteaD?

Yeah we're bringing our own photographer (my BFF is a professional photographer), so that is covered for us also. I'm nervous about the cost of flowers too, we're thinking of trying an outside vendor for that. I've seen a few posts on here that there are some good cheap florists who will deliver to the hotel, fingers crossed that will help. I'm not sure about the dj time though.

Originally Posted by shannonmarie 

 

 

Our wedding isn't until June, but I've made a very detailed budget spreadsheet. We are expecting 65 guest and right now, this is just my estimate, including tax.... For the Divine Package, with all the add-ons, such as centerpieces through the resort, a DJ, extra food for reception, an hour extension for reception, extra photography time, I am estimating $9,500. Again, this is only my estimate. It def could be more or less once we actually get to the resort & talk to Pilar. Who knows what it will really be! It's more than we expected but still cheaper than a wedding at home...destination weddings aren't as cheap as people think! All the extra prices for everything are ridiculous! But I've come to terms with it, & I'm tired of complaining about it! Lol, I guess it is what it is :-) I'll be happy to share what our actually price is when we return...

 

Oh, and the price above does not include our travel for a week. Travel was about $1,400 per person.

Thanks so much shannonmarie It would be great if you could share the final prices after your wedding. Yeah, it definitely isn't as inexpensive as we initially thought it was going to be, but so much better than having a wedding here. I feel a bit relieved from what you wrote, that falls in line with what we were thinking. I was starting to get nervous that I was underestimating the additional costs, whew!

I don't know if this is too personal, but I was wondering if some past NJ brides would be interested in sharing their TOTAL wedding cost (including everything: hotel costs, airfare, wedding dress, alterations, clothing, jewelry, gift bags, decor, etc.). My FI and I have set a budget for the entire wedding all the way down to the kennel for our dog for a week, and I am just wondering if the amount we came up with is reasonable. Everyone on here talks about how things keep adding up and it makes me a bit nervous. We are anticipating 50-60 guests. If you don't feel comfortable posting it but could send me a personal message that would be fine too. Thanks for any help/reassurance.

Are there any Ottawa area brides out there who would be interested in getting together for coffee to share wedding ideas? I'm from So. California my FI is from Ottawa. Most of the planning is being done from here in Canada on my visits to see him. I don't really know anyone else here, and I think I'm officially driving him nuts with all of the wedding talk, lol. We're planning a Riviera Maya wedding sometime in 2014 (date TBD).

Originally Posted by Lizrmt 

 

The most amazing place I've ever been would have to be Disney world! I haven't done much traveling but I doubt anything could ever beat Mickey!

 

Question: how many kids do you have/plan to have?

We plan to have 2

Is there something you really wanted, but had to give up because you are having/had a destination wedding?

This is our little old man Stanley the love of our lives. I rescued him about 3 years ago, and it was the best decision I've ever made. He truly is the love of our lives He's the laziest little guy ever, but that makes for the best napping partner ever

Hey Everyone! I thought I posted earlier but I can't seem to find it? I wonder if it's because I am new? I just joined the site today, seems like a great place for info. I am getting married at the NJ January 19th 2014! Kari

Originally Posted by remykion 

 

 

Hi kal520. My groomsmen will be wearing just the shirts, nothing underneath xxxx

Hey kal520 Mine will be wearing the tank undershirts I think.

The pictures didn't show up, let me try this again

My FI and I don't like frosting very much so these are the inspiration for our cake. Hopefully the resort can do something like this for us.

Thanks Kal520 That stinks but I guess it's better than having to pay double for the chairs.
 

I'm not a fan of the white chair covers either. I want to do something like this, but figure out a way to make it easier for the hotel staff to implement. Maybe attach them all to one ribbon that could just be tied to each side of the chair.

Do you know do they charge you twice for the Tiffany chairs, for the ceremony and for the reception?