kellymenning

@@kellymenning Hi Kelly I'm hoping to rent as much as I can from Katy. Me and FH are having a hard time w/ the decorating vendor provided by the hotel. It feels like such a rip off! I guess we didn't realize how much all this would cost! Any help and tips would be great! I thought having a destination wedding would mean simple and beautiful but that cost more than  $3000! urgh

Hi! The vendor at the hotel is a complete rip off. I HIGHLY recommend renting decorations from Katy. My best tip is to join the Facebook Azul Fives Brides group because Katy is really active on there. There are also tons of pictures on there. I'd join that and reach out to Katy about using her decor. Her page on FB is Love and Lace Wedding Decor. Definitely contact her. She's super helpful. Good luck!

Incredible!!  Brilliant Job!!!  I know it's been a while since your wedding and this post but I'm curious about 3 things:

 

* The actual items you put in each bag (pics hard to see all the details :-) 

* The excel "documentation" that was created incase customs tried to stop you and charge you.  

* The Room key keeper?!?  Do you happen to have a link to where you got this and/or what it looks like?  

 

I'm JUST getting to the gift bag planning phase of our April 2016 wedding and would LOVE any tips, tricks, ideas you can share about your experience.

 

 A #GratefulBridetoBe 

Thank you so much!!  Let's see if I can answer your questions...

1) Items in each bag: 

San, Sun & Fun Kit - The Topper said "For Better or For Worse.... San, Sun & Fun Kit." The items in it were two insect repellent spray pens with our logo on them, a deck of cards with a bride and groom and our names and date, aloe vera gel, sunscreen, two chapsticks with our logo on them and crayons for a coloring book I included in the main tote bag.

So Fresh & So Clean - The Topper say "In Good Times and Bad....So Fresh and So Clean." The items were a lint roller, tic tacs with our logo on them, shout wipes, gum, hand sanitizer and tissues that say "Tears of Joy, Tears of Laughter, Tears for Happily Ever After. Kelly & Trent and the date".  

Wedding Weekend Survival Kit. The Topper Said "In Sickness and In Health...Wedding Weekend Survival Kit". Items in it were a Recovery Bag with alka seltzer, blowfish, advil, tylenol and pepto, and a Wedding Weekend Survival Kit with bandaids, gauze, etc. It's the Johnson & Johnson First Aid Kit. I made the labels that said "Too much booze, too much sun, too much food and too much fun" and it had the stick figures above those and our logo. 

Then in the main tote bag there was also a crossword puzzle that was about us, a koozie, the room key card holder that said "To Have and To Hold Your Room Key and Money" and our logo on one side and the other side had common words translated from English to Spanish. It also had a map of the resort with the areas where each event were, the coloring book and then the usual welcome letter, itineraries, social media info thing, Things to Do in Mexico thing. 

2) The excel document is somewhere on my old computer. I don't even know if I still have it. I basically just made a fake list of items and the cost. They didn't even check in my bags so I wouldn't worry about that. 

3) The room key holder I got from Amazon. The plastic holder part is here - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000J09IH2?ref_=cm_sw_r_awd_bA68vb7BAZZVV. And the coil for the wrist which I attached to them is here - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00443T6RC?ref_=cm_sw_r_awd_-A68vb0CJPEJW. Then I made the insert. 

Good luck!!! Let me know if you have any more questions.

This is possibly the CUTEST wedding video I have ever seen and I have seen a lot! You are both so clearly in love it nearly made me cry!!!

PS what package was this? Was it the pure glam package?

I'm so sorry I am just responding to this! I made up my own package! I only used their flowers. All other decorations I rented from Katy with Love and Lace wedding decor. She's awesome!!!

@@valmarie99 thank you so much! I loved all of it. You can email my photographer/videographer at mrderekcampbell@@gmail.com. All my decorations were from Katy with Love and Lace decorations. You can find her on Facebook. I got the flowers from the hotel though. If you aren't on the Azul Fives Brides Facebook page yet, I highly suggest joining that. Almost everyone on it is using Katy. She rocks. Feel free to email me if you have any questions - khmciver@@gmail.com. Happy wedding planning to you!!!

@@kellymenning how many lights and sheets did you use for your wall of lights? I Loveeee the look of it and its a great back drop. I want to have a photo booth area and this could be used as a backdrop!

Gosh I don't know...Katy from Love and Lace just took care of it for me so I don't know how many. It was great though!!

@@kellymenning OMG i saw those hanging bottles somewhere and love them! So did you rent those and the mason jars for the aisles from her too? I love that. I was wondering about the lights too. What resort did you get married at, because I think that my resort will charge to hang up the lights (like 500$) even if I get them cheaper. So you said you renting like pretty much everything from Katy? It sounds great. Do you mind me asking about how much everything cost to rent from her? I am totally stressing about everything I will have to bring down, it would be so nice to not have to worry about it probably. How much were the chair bows and did she just happen to have the color you wanted? I have emailed her and she sent me her drop box, but I am not sure how to go about deciding what to rent etc. There are so many, too many good ideas!! Thanks so much for your help.

I did rent the mason jars for the aisles and the bottles for the gazebo. I rented everything from her except for flowers. She even rents out the gazebo sheers which is awesome. 

I got married at the Azul Fives Hotel. They did charge me $5.00/person for a decorating fee for all of my decorations, and a $300 light fee because I had so many lights. I did a light wall too (see pic below). So with all of the decorations and lights, it was $800 total. I still saved a lot.

I did rent basically everything from her. I included a list of everything I rented. The hotel wanted to charge me just $2000 for the lights so I saved so much money. Oh, the decorating fee also included my decorations for the rehearsal dinner and welcome cocktail party. I forgot to mention that. So the rentals below include decorations for all events. I put some more pics below so you can see what all we did. She even did my entire sweetheart table, welcome table, etc. Also keep in mind I had 100 people. 

The chair bows were rented from her. I wanted my wedding to be an "elegant rustic" theme so I did the burlap. I don't know if she has bows in other colors. She might! And if she doesn't, she's really nice about offering to get things she doesn't have. She's great to work with. Hope this helps!

So I rented... Mason Green Jars, Mismatched Bottles, Green/Blue Bottles, Gold Chargers, Burlap Runners, Rose Petal Cones, Bottle Backdrops, Hanging Mason Jars, Sandy Toes Bucket with paint brushes (to wipe sand off feet after pictures on beach), Welcome Sign, Parasols, Burlap Sashes, Portable Sound System, Vintage Suitcases, Black Lanterns, Wooden Crates, Sparklers, Gold Lanterns, White Lanterns, LED Tealights, Bombillos with brass buckets, LED Taper candles, Silver & Gold Mercury Glass Votives, Small Bottles, Medium Bottles, Large Bottles, Burlap Table Runners, Lace Table Runners, Burlap Sashes, Custom "The Mennings" Banner, Jelly beans (for favors), Thank You card for plates, White Votive Bags, Globe Bulb String Lighting, LED Pillar Candles, Paper Lanterns, LED Lights for Paper Lanterns, Christmas Lights for Light Wall, Christmas Lights for Wrapping around Poles, Lace for Light Wall. My grand total was $2900 (which includes transportation for them to get everything to me in town). 

It was a GREAT deal! I rented a LOT because I wanted stuff everywhere. I'm a freak.

Oh and for the pics below. The pics during the day time with the white cocktail tables were for our welcome cocktail party. The pics with the mint green jars were for the rehearsal dinner.  

 Your picutres are amazing!!!! Your wedding was complete perfection!!

Thank you!!!!! That's so sweet of you!

Thank you so much for your detailed review, and photos! I'll see how much Palace charges for setting up decor and do a cost analysis. My fiancé is completely against us bringing so much luggage back and forth so we've had to go through the resort vendors for a lot of the decor. He says it's worth the money but this way, I can still save money!

 

Sorry to be a bother but I just had a few questions (may not be the last)

1) Was it quite easy to pack everything after and return the decor?

2) how much were the sparklers?

3) did the resort set up everything for you, including the lights?

 

Thank you so much

You're so welcome! I'm glad to help! 

I literally brought 10 suitcases down to Mexico with my welcome bag stuff. Then I had about 10 more suitcases from Katy that I got in town. The resort thought it was funny. To answer your questions....

1) The hotel actually packed everything for me after the wedding which was great! I had brought my TA with me to Mexico so she actually went through everything the next day in the suitcases to make sure it was all there before we returned it. The hotel made it very easy. I think they're used to people bringing in their own stuff. 

2) The sparklers were $3.00/sparkler unless you order over 75...then they're $2.25/sparkler. Still a steal in my mind. I REALLY wanted sparklers, but the resort was charging me $8.00/sparkler!!!! And I just love the pics they create with them. 

3) The resort did set up everything for me. They were awesome. I did have to pay a $5 decorating fee per person for bringing all my decorations and a $300 lighting fee. So I paid $800 total for all of my decoration and light set up. Still saved me so much money. 

Let me know if you have any more questions!

Thank you so much for this info!! These pictures are amazing!!! I love the handing bottles its gorg! Did she do those for you as well? THe flowers you have hanging from the gazebo are those from Love and Lace ? or did the resort set this up for you ? I have NEVER seen this and Im so in love with it!

Thank you!! I really appreciate it! I LOVED the hanging bottles too. Katy did the hanging bottles. It was perfect! I still had to order my flowers from the hotel which were a FORTUNE!!! If I were to do it again, I would have considered buying silk flowers for my decorations. No one would have noticed because I've seen some really pretty ones! All flowers for my wedding were from the hotel so they did the flowers on the gazebo, the roses in the bottles, the babies breath in the mason jars that were on the aisle chairs and the flower petals on the runner. It was beautiful! 

Thanks for the quick reply @! I really loved your photos, they looked like the ones I first saw when I was looking up destination weddings and convinced me that was the way to go. Basically, yours could be used for ads lol

 

How did you get out of having to pay the vendor fee? My wedding is at moon palace and they have vendor fees for so many things. They even have an electricity fee ($250) for outside DJs, on top of the $800 outside vendor fee!

You're so sweet!! That's really so nice of you. Thank you!! 

I met Katy in town a few days before the wedding and she gave me all of the decorations in suitcases so when I took them back to the hotel, they thought they were mine. That way I didn't have to pay the outside vendor fee which was awesome. I cannot believe you have to pay an electricity fee!! Yikes!!

Oh, they did charge me a decorating fee, but it was $5/person and it still saved me a whole lot of money. It's just absurd how much they want to charge for everything!!

@ your wedding photos are amazing! You looked so beautiful in your dress and I love the decor. Did you bring most of those down or did you have the resort provide decor?

Thank you so much! I really appreciate it! I actually rented all of my decorations from Love & Lace Wedding Decor. I just posted a post about it in the wedding decorations section. I'll try to find it. I used Love & Lace for all my decorations. SO MUCH CHEAPER. And I didn't have to pay an outside vendor fee. So the deal is this girl Katy got married in Tulum and now lives in Playa. She was so annoyed with how much they charge for everything. She started a business where she rents out the decorations, lighting, sheers, etc. It's awesome. I saved a ton of money using her and I didn't have to haul anything down there. She rocks. Feel free to ask me any more questions. I'll go find the post I just did. Thanks!

Thanks for the recommendation! I am going to check her out for my October wedding

Can you clarify if you and the wedding party set up the decorations or did your vendor or resort set them up?  Was this an additional cost? 

Hey! The resort decorated everything for me. I did have to pay $5/guest, but it was worth it because it was still a lot cheaper. 

I currently am helping my friend with her upcoming wedding at Dreams Riveria Maya this Sept. While also slowly planning my Riveria Maya wedding for next Fall. We've been looking at photographers and nothing is working into our budget. Everyone is stating 3K and up. Anyone know of great photographers to hire for much lower budget who can still give us great pictures ?

I used Derek Campbell with Photos In Cancun. Www.photosincancun.com. He was AWESOME. He charged me $2100. It was supposed to be $2500, but he lowered it to $2100 so the outside vendor fee didn't hurt so much. ha! He and Lorena were wonderful. Best pictures at such a reasonable cost. He also gave me all of my pictures on a flash drive the day after our wedding. I highly suggest him. 

Here is a link so you can see pics.

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10100809953124424.1073741834.18310150&type=1&l=581de87d2f

@@racht33

I used Love & Lace and she was AWESOME. It all started because I really wanted those lights that are the bulbs on the string. There has to be a better way for me to explain that. Anyway, the hotel was going to charge me $200 for a strand of lights. They told me I needed at least 10 strands. That's when I read about Katy on this site somewhere. She charged like $15 per strand. Clearly so much cheaper. I literally rented almost everything she has. You name it, I rented it..lights, chargers, vases, burlap runners, lace runners, chair sashes, candles, paper bags to line the pool...the list goes on and one. I rented everything and it was awesome. It looked absolutely stunning. She's great to work with too. She's very responsive and so organized. She arranged a time for me to meet her in town and get everything from her. Then I didn't have to pay an outside vendor fee. She even got sparklers for me which was great! I really wanted sparklers and the hotel was going to charge me $8/sparkler!!! She even bought matches for me. Of course, I paid her...but she's the best. I HIGHLY recommend using her. She saved me on cost a lot. A LOT. I was already bringing so many suitcases with everything welcome bag oriented so I didn't have room for decorations. I even rented sheers and a "light wall" from her. It was beautiful.  You can always email me at khmciver@@gmail.com and I'm happy to answer more questions. I'll find some pics to post. 

@@racht33 Here are some pictures. @@lornj29 I would check Container Store for a tray or target. I saw white lacquer trays at both of those recently.

@@LisaAnthonyPoppy - You didn't come across cross at all!! I spent WAY more money on our wedding than I should have, but like you said...I just remembered it's our wedding and (hopefully) I'll only have one. Haha! It was a lot of guests so it added up for sure. I miss it though! It was so fun planning! Good luck with your wedding! I'm sure it will be beautiful!!

@LisaAnthonyPoppy@calgarybride2015

I love the flower girl basket! So pretty!

Yep, I spent a lot on decorations because I really wanted it to look a certain way. The hotel was going to charge me $2000 just for 10 strands of bulbs for lighting, so I feel like I came out ahead. Plus, having 120 people at a wedding just makes everything cost more. It was worth every penny!

@@yasminea84

I believe it was about $2500 because I think I rented everything she had. Haha!

@@Teg07

I just saw this. Sorry!! They used MAC which was great!!

@@SteeleTheSpotlight

I got so lucky!!! All 10 suitcases made it! I did take a fake excel spreadsheet with made up prices. Ha! But I got the green light and just kept walking. They didn't even look. I won't lie. I was so nervous!!! But I think they really don't care bc they know there are so many weddings.

@@Teg07

Thanks!! It really was such a great wedding!!!

I got my make-up done at the hotel. Flor did my make-up. I did do a trial with her, which I highly suggest. Their make up artists were really good and I'm super high maintenance about my make-up. They did my bridesmaids make-up too. Well most of them. I'd recommend them though!

I did get my flowers from Lomas. I probably could have bought a very nice car with what I paid for all of my flowers. I would totally do silk flowers. No one would notice the difference!!

I just want to say enjoy your wedding planning! I miss it so much. Our wedding at Azul Fives was PERFECT! You all will love it. I posted a link to the pics in case anyone is new and wants to see pictures from a wedding there. Have fun! And if anyone has any questions, feel free to ask. I'm happy to answer them!!

https://www.facebook.com/khmciver/media_set?set=a.10100809953124424.1073741834.18310150&type=3

Congrats! Your pics are stunning and I love the colours!! Very cool!

 

I noticed you have some shots out on the pier - do you know with a very small group if you can have an actual ceremony out there? Is there a cost and if so do you know what it is? I'm struggling with getting a resort. Really struggling in fact. We're a really small group just for a renewal and I know I'm being really picky. I've gone around a few times over Azul Fives and originally it was because it's a family resort. I wanted adults only very close to Playa but the price points are just too high.

You can get married on the pier! I don't know the cost, but I know they have weddings out there. 

@@rachelia160

You will LOVE him and Lorena! They're amazing!!

Hey any feed back on if your guests used their key card holders? I just ordered mine and hope people will use them! lol

Everyone used them. They loved them. They were so nice to have. And everyone used the tote bags too. And the medicines. Of course.

@@kjb123

Haha! I'm such an idiot. We did them when we left the reception for our "exit". Loved it!!

@@LisaAnthonyPoppy

Yep, the Azul fives is a hotel but it's smaller than most. It only had about 300 rooms. It was great though. Good luck with your wedding and congrats!!!