talicea7812

@@KaraEbeth Marvin's company is called Maya Floral. Do some research online and find some pics of flowers you like. Send them in and he will respond with quotes. His prices are great to start with and I was able to get them even lower than his original quotes.

@@KaraEbeth that sucks about the photographer but don't sign with anyone you're not 100% comfortable with. The wedding pics are sooo important. you don't want your wedding day to roll around and have any bad feelings towards the guy. it will show in your pics. There are sooo many talented photographers in Mexico! Have you looked into playa weddings? they also do video if your interested I am also trying to plan a little something here at home. its not going to be anything big. just a get together at my father in laws. We're thinking Mexican food- tacos, dips, guacamole type food... then revealing our wedding photos (which no one has seen) and the video. We get our pics in 6-8 weeks and people keep asking to see them so before they get posted to social media we thought it would be a nice way to "show them off." At first we were thinking June but the video takes 10-12 weeks so that puts us into July. It really doesn't matter to me. More time to save bc I am going to have a photographer come out again (hopefully same as Mexico) and do the pics I missed out on thanks to the wedding planner. Then we can do some family photos too with the grandmom, cousins, etc. Not to mention its an excuse to put the dress on one more time. We'll see... Its going to be very informal- to the point we will just use facebook invites. I figure we spent enough in Mexico and my daughter bday is in July. We are actually thinking about doing a dual party... 1-1.5 hours for Mexican fiesta viewing party then an hour/hour and a half for Aubrey's "Tea for Two" bday. So people who come for the whole time will get dinner the first half and the tea party half will be cake & sweets. Everything is in early planning so we'll see how it all works out

here are some flower pics... they were taken in my room the day after the wedding with my phone. pics don't do them justice. hopefully the pro pics will do a better job of showcasing their beauty

FLOWERS.... Okay...so I must admit. I was definitely a little nervous towards the end about the flowers. Since I was using an outside vendor- Marvin with Maya Floral...if anything were to go wrong the resort wouldn't do anything about it. I had sent Marvin an email the week of the wedding just to confirm the order and delivery time. I received no response. When I got to Mexico I called the shop directly and was able to confirm everything. DELIVERY- The resort has 2 entrances. There is the main gate where the security people are. That gate allows you to travel down a long road and gain entrance to several other resorts. The second gate is the Jurassic Park looking gate. When I met with Paola and Omar we discussed the details of the flowers. They permitted the delivery to be made right up to the resort lobby! Awesome! All we had to do was pick them up and deliver them to the wedding coordinators office! THE ARRANGEMENTS- One of my FI's friends dropped the bouquets off to the room while we were getting ready. BTW everything was delivered earlier than anticipated. The Flowers were perfect. Everything that I had hoped/asked for. When I was getting quotes from Marvin I was able to find pics of exactly what I wanted. He copied those pics onto my invoice and when they were delivered were exactly as pictured!!! I expected them to be close but these were perfect copies. Later at the reception I saw the centerpieces...same. Exactly what I wanted. Everything was fresh and beautiful. After the reception I had the flowers brought back to our suite otherwise they would have been thrown away. At least I was able to enjoy them a bit longer. @@ng2015 I know you were considering using Marvin. Do it! Great work, Great prices, soooo happy with the way things turned out.

Sorry ladies...didn't mean to leave u hanging. Between work and Easter weekend i''ve been pretty busy... SO TO CONTINUE... Paola escorted me through a back way to the lobby where the ceremony was being held. I chose the song "Marry Me" by train for the wedding party to walk to. My FI and the groomsmen were already up front while my girls walked first. Now here's the funny thing. As I'm sitting here writing this I realized...I don't know if the parents were asked to process down the aisle or just remained in their seats. Honestly its not a big deal to me...but definitely another reason Im very happy I got the video. My mom walked me down the aisle and it was a very sweet moment...seeing my handsome guy (and his best friends,,which I think are some of the most awesome people in the world) standing there waiting for me... All the planning and worrying went out the door at that moment. I can't even tell you what the room looked like. The song I walked to was Carrie Underwood's "Look at Me." I thought it was very fitting because after waiting a lifetime for this moment you just want him to look at you. THE GROOMS SURPRISE... Anyone who knows me knows that my dogs are my life and my world. the hardest part about going away was leaving them behind. I work in a kennel and could have boarded them for free but spent a small fortune for someone to come out to feed, walk, and spend time with them. I have 2 dogs. The boy is the mama's boy while the girl is the daddy's girl. Well at the top of the aisle my FI had printed and enlarged pictures of each dog. Cheeto (my boy) was on my side...while Stella was on the grooms side. Such a sweet touch. We had a table with pictures of deceased loved ones...why not honor our first kids? Loved it! ***MONEY SAVING TIP*** Originally we had opted to have a symbolic ceremony. We didn't want to pay the extra fees, have a blood test, and need everything translated. Well only a couple weeks before the trip my FI found out that we could go to the local courthouse and get whats called a "self uniting" marriage certificate. Instead of a minister signing we just needed two witnesses and could send the certificate in when we got home. Only cost $80? or not much more. While a symbolic ceremony would still have been nice we would have had to do something at home to make everything official. I think Omar and Paola were a little surprised when we told them we brought our own official certificate (kinda like an oh shit they found another way to get around our fees kinda thing) Anyway...it was a nice touch because we have it on video us signing our marriage certificate The ceremony... When it came to discussing this with our planners they really only asked...which do you prefer the minister to talk about love or religion. We chose love. The minister wasn't bad...I wouldn't say she was amazing either but that's not what really matters to me. the most important part was our vows. We wrote our own and recited the traditional I do's. The ceremony lasted 20 minutes tops. Our recessional was the Bruno Mars "marry you" song. I was going for something fun and upbeat. I am writing this at work but when I get home or tomorrow I will share my vows with you. True to form I am the ultimate procrastinator and wrote them the day of...but something like that is easy. for me anyway. I cried writing them and cried saying them. Also, I mentioned before that we were doing an unplugged wedding. I wrote out a message for the officiant to read before the wedding. She didn't read it until I had entered so people were snapping pics as I came down the aisle. We asked that no one post on social media and I my myself haven't seen any of the pics. No it doesn't bother me...it seems to be driving people on facebook a little nuts. Everyday I get a post asking if the pics yet. I did get this one pic of my daughter tho... She looks absolutely perfect. I can't wait to see the rest.

Ladies...it doesn't get any better. my wedding was april 12. I left for mexico on a Wednesday and sent my final payment in the day before. the Miami coordinator is awful right up until the end. its really a shame. I was at Azul beach and the resort was amazing. I would definitely vacation in one of their other resorts but would never recommend planning a wedding. Way too stressful right up until the last minute. While the onsite people are wonderful I was still left with a bitter taste in my mouth thanks to the Miami people. like u said they will let u know when they want to get paid. good luck and hope u have a beautiful wedding

In regards to the videographer... Depends on ur timeline of events. I had my videographer for 3 hours (I used Cancun wedding videos) filming started at 4pm for getting ready. 5:00 for ceremony 5:30-6:30 we had cocktail hour/ pictures. Our photo session was recorded 6:30- reception We were announced as mr and mrs then went into the first dance. That was all I cared to get. I didn't care about recording the speeches or other dances (however I believe our guy stayed a bit overtime and got some extras) so time frame depends on u. You make the schedule of events.

Hola Future Brides, Im back from Mexico and newly named Mrs. Lewis!!! I have so much to say about Azul but it would take forever sharing my experiences and reviews on the various threads. If you're interested in the details check out Tina's Peacock Wedding Planning Blog. I'm adding more info everyday! Now that its over im so jealous of all you guys! Im planning a small AHR/ picture & viewing party just so I can wear my dress again!

Hi Everyone! I'm back from Mexico and now Mrs. Lewis!! If you are interested in hearing about how it went please check out "Tinas Peacock Wedding Planning Blog" It would take forever to discuss everything in various threads...so find all the details in one place

Hi Everyone!!! I am back and now Mrs. Lewis!!! So much to tell everyone! If you are interested in my experiences at Azul Beach please check out my planning blog. Search "tina's peacock wedding planning blog." I have so much to say about the place that it would take forever to go from thread to thread with all the details! I am adding more details everyday

THE BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT... Hair and make up took a really long time. I blame myself because I have a lot of hair and its a lot of work. We were running late (which is normal for me) However, Paola (the other wedding coordinator) was not happy about it. I wanted to get my daughter dressed before I got ready. She wasn't herself that day and wouldn't let me put her down so it wasn't going to work if I asked someone else to do it. While I'm getting Aubrey ready Paola is rushing my girls to get dressed and rushing me! We were only able to get a couple quick pics in the robes and had to get dresses. I feel bad bc I really didn't get a chance to properly thank Micheal and Martina...I pretty much paid them and ran off. My daughter was clearly upset but that didn't seem to phase Paola. Her main concern was that we were late and needed to be ready. She had asked if there was anything she could do so I sent her to grab the grandparents...there was no way I was going to be able to finish with Aubrey so upset. I was hurried into my dress and almost forgot my jewelry as the BMs were being nearly pushed out the door. As I finished my hands were shaking!!! I was so stressed and upset. I paid so much money to fly in my photographer and missed the opportunity for so many pictures I had been hoping for. I had several mom/daughter pics in mind that I didn't get & I will never have that moment again. hurt. crushed. disappointed. All of this moments before I meet my future husband...

THE BIG DAY... Well the day didn't start off so pleasant. I was up early and went to breakfast with my mom and daughter. Afterwards my FI and I tried to keep in touch in order to avoid seeing each other. At 12pm I was to meet with Omar, one of the wedding coordinators. He was to show me the weather report for the day and I had to make a decision to keep the ceremony on the beach or go indoors to the lobby. Close to noon my daughter started getting very cranky but would not go down for a nap and I was unable to get in touch with her grandpop who was supposed to be taking her...and my bridesmaids were no where to be found. Oh wait...let me back track. I was keeping my dress in my mom's room so that it could be taken out of the bag. When I brought it back to the room I happened to look out the window and there was my monster in law wading around in our swim up pool looking in the window!!! Seriously!!! She had been at the resort for days and never once did I see her walk by but today here she is (when she knows I don't want anyone seeing ahead of time) I yanked the curtain closed and texted with fury. The groomsmen came by to drop something off at the room and there she was again stalking slowly by!!! WTF!!! so back to my daughter being cranky... the FI sends his mother to grab her (knowing I want her no where near the room). I was pissed. Anyway, Omar came by and there was a chance of rain. I actually loved the lobby and decided to just move it inside. Getting married on the beach was not a breaking point & wasn't a big deal. The lobby wouldn't be windy and I would have a better chance of my hair holding up longer. My bridesmaids finally showed up just as hair and makeup arrived. I was definitely upset with them. One got very sick the day before (drank too much) and the other went off to care for her. They arrived to the rehearsal dinner late and when I went to talk to them I was hoping they would come back to the room with me...nope. "oh you should get some rest." Thanks ladies. At least the FI has awesome friends. I know he had a great night before and day of with the guys. They are hysterical and truly great friends. HAIR AND MAKEUP- BY BESO BRIDES... MICHEAL AND MARTINA First off...there doesn't seem to be a lot of info on this forum about these two and I really can't understand why! They were seriously awesome! They are a husband and wife duo that originally lived in Ireland and moved to Mexico. I really can't say enough nice things about them! Right from the moment they arrived, they made me feel at ease (I am generally awkward & uncomfortable around people I don't know) Micheal does hair while Martina does the makeup. I have to say...I do not have an easy head of hair to deal with. I have A LOT!!! Micheal was great. He spent a ton of time curling it, then working it and reworking it until it looked the way I wanted. I showed him several pictures and told him I wanted something close to any of them. He did a gorgeous half up do that looked awesome. I wanted the girls opposite of me so they had their hair in all up do's. Martina was great with makeup. She does airbrush which definitely paid off... it was a very humid first half of the day. I again showed her a picture and she worked her magic. Martina was great and so patient. My daughter came back to the room after a nap but was very clingy and probably nervous about all the commotion in the room. She insisted on sitting on my lap while I was pampers. Martina patiently worked around her, making everyone happy. I was very happy with the total package and feel like I didn't really have a chance to express that to them. The girls chose their own make up styles and looked beautiful. If you are thinking about using an outside hair and makeup vendor...please consider Beso Brides. They not only did a great job but they were fun to hang out with during those prep hours. I also thought they were very affordable in comparison to other companies I contacted. Please Please Please check these guys out!!! they're on facebook under Beso Brides!

THIRD DAY (WEDDING EVE) The rest of the guests arrived on Friday. It was just another low key day filled with drinks, friends and good times. My favorite spot at the resort was definitely the Aquanox bar! Part of it was swim up while the other side served people on dry land. The area was surrounded with tables and swinging beds. It was an awesome spot to hang out. At night we had dinner at the Blue International restaurant. We dubbed this our "rehearsal dinner" even tho we did not rehearse. It was a semi private event so the tables were set up in a U shape. There was a pre-set menu. Soup and Salad were the same for everyone...2 entrée selections (chicken or fish) and the same desert. Again...my picky eaterness (I know its not a word) came into play. I didn't like the soup or salad. I requested the garlic cream soup that was on the regular blue menu and it was awesome!!! im a big fan of garlic so it was perfect. Dinner as usual was really good. I wish I could remember exactly what the dish was called. That night my FI and I decided to sleep apart and not see each other until I was walking down the aisle. I went to bed early with my daughter and he stayed out and had a guys night at the Tequila Lounge. The bar there is very dark...red, with an ice top bar. Its the bar open the latest on the resort, SOMETHING ELSE WORTH MENTIONING... I chose a child friendly resort bc several of our friends have kids. Unfortunately, none of them came so my daughter was alone with the adults for the week. Azul has a childrens playroom called "azulitos." The room was seriously amazing! My girl loved it and spent a lot of time in there. The room is sponsored by Fisher Price and is filled with toys from baby on up. There's a classroom looking area where the older kids were led with arts and crafts projects. they had a tv/video game area and a physical area with a slide, climbing area, trampoline, and balance beam. Children 4 and up could be left with the employees. I can't say enough nice things about this place. It was really a great energy outlet for my very physical child. Her favorite activity...climbing up the slide

SNEAK PEEKS FROM JENNY We had a no camera policy at the wedding. Of course there were some pics snapped as I came down the aisle but after that everyone was asked to put the devices away and be truly present. I haven't see any pics yet. I think its kinda exciting waiting for them from Jenny. After the wedding you need something to look forward to. Anyway, here are some sneak peeks she posted on her website. They are from the TTD session the day after the wedding.

DAY 2- MAJORITY OF OUR GUESTS ARRIVE I was up bright an early...definitely not interested in sleeping in. Azul beach has only one location for breakfast- Blue Restaurant. You can order off the menu or there is a buffet spread available. As with all buffet style food...depending on when you get to it the better the food. Recently filled = hot and delicious. Bottom of container- warm to cold and okay. I ordered a bagel that had sausage, bacon, eggs, and chipotle cream cheese. Loved it! Even ordered it the next morning. I chose items from the buffet for my daughter. Standard breakfast food- scrambled eggs, tater tots, French toast, fruits. She loved it all (she isn't the picky eater that I am) My FI ordered the huevos rancheros- ate every bit of it. Salsa lessons by the pool were a lot of fun. Some other guests in my party seemed to also enjoy it At night after the all the guests arrived we went to Roma- the Italian restaurant. OH MY GOD!!! I had the saltimbocca!!! amazing, melts in your mouth kinda dinner! My father in law had the same and couldn't agree more. As for everyone else...couldn't tell you what they ate. LOL. I was drinking all day! but no one said a bad word about dinner! delicious

MORE ON DAY ONE: The Beach: the beach was beautiful. Short with lots of the cabana beds. I didn't use one but several people in our party got them. They go by a first come first serve basis. You stand in line the day before to reserve the beds. the beach butlers are an awesome touch. So nice to have someone to keep the drinks flowing. Beach ceremonies: One thing I did find a little disappointing. While it is a beach and I realize there will be people around watching the wedding...the pictures online don't show you just how close the wedding gazebo is to the cabana beds. Its a tight space. So for brides considering this resort...be warned. In my head I thought it would be an area decently set apart from the beds but it is not. Latino restaurant- Amazing service. Good food. I ordered some kind of pork dish. It was good...probably great for people who enjoy grill marked food. My father in law loved it so it all depends on your taste. For me...I am a very picky eater. No fruits, no veggies, no seafood. However, more specifically...I love strawberries but wont eat an actual strawberry. Put it in a smoothie and yummm....so take what I say about the food very lightly. My taste buds are far from refined. The first day was very low key. It was nice bc we arrived ahead of everyone. We were able to get some quality family time in before the guests arrived.

I'M BACK!!!! and so depressed! We had a beautiful week in Mexico! the weather was warm and amazing. We flew into Chicago- O'Hare airport and were greeted with 30 degree temps, rain, and sadness. What a shock back to reality. I have so much to say about my week! It's probably going to take several sessions here on the computer... but I want to give u every little detail! (for those of you interested in Karisma/Azul resorts) and for those of you who have been following me all along! DAY 1- OUR ARRIVAL Azul beach is only about 20 minutes from the airport. We were shuttled by Amstar (no complaints) nice guys, ended up with a private shuttle and got us where we needed to go. Azul Beach- For those of you who have even seen Jurassic Park the front gates into the resort are very reminiscent of that (large wooden structures- very impressive) The driveway and front entrance are beautiful! The check in process was different from others that I've had. Instead of waiting at the desk while everything is worked out, we were asked to have a seat, given blue champagne, a chocolate milk for my daughter, and cold towels. My initial reaction to the lobby- beautiful, sooo quiet and peaceful, relaxing music & the smell was amazing! I don't know what they spray in there but I want a bottle to keep forever!!! lol. For those of you who have followed my blog you know my planning process was downright awful. Several employees acknowledged the issues and promised to make it a memorable stay. I believe his name was David? Very friendly, courteous stayed with us while we were checked in. We chose our pillows (memory foam for me, la plume for the FI) we also chose pillow scents (chamomile for both) and a room spray (cant remember the name) When I booked the room we were supposed to stay in a Deluxe room the first 3 days and switch over to a Family swim up for the remainder of the trip (we did this 1. to save money & 2. to give us more space the day of the wedding for getting ready) David informed us that we had been upgraded to a swim up suite. We were in Villa 7 room 707. THE ROOM- Swim up is definitely the way to go! and our room location was perfect- right between chil and blue. We had the swim up pools and right across from that another pool. The swim ups are great. They even have steps around the edge so that you and several people can just sit on the edge and hang out. After checking out the Azul website I matched our suite to be a wedding swim up. Fancy Great room. Stocked fridge ( Sol, Tecate, Coors lite, Heineken) Big Jacuzzi tub. Rain style shower. Lots of closet space. Also since my daughter was staying with us the room was already equipped with baby items. I just figured we would request what we wanted once at the resort. Nope. They are perfect at anticipating guest needs. We were given a crib (so cute...all made up with a baby size pillow and covers) a changing table that doubles as a baby bath, bottle warmer, bottle sanitizer, & baby monitors. The shape of the room was great bc there was a perfect little corner spot where they put the crib...most was outta site so if we opened the curtains the sunlight wouldn't wake her up. Sorry the pictures aren't the best. These are taken with my phone. haven't had a chance to unpack my digital camera and cords to load everything on the computer. Sorry the pictures aren't the best. These are taken with my phone. haven't had a chance to unpack my digital camera and cords to load everything on the computer.

@@okiebride I ended up just staying on the resort. Transportation is pretty expensive down there. I was looking into off resort stuff to save money so bussing the guests just wouldn't have paid off. For example: I stayed in riveria maya (Azul beach) my hubs and I wanted to go into playa for a day to shop, etc. It was btwn a 20-30 minute ride and would have cost us $80. I shopped around for quotes and my TA actually had the best price...but even so we decided against it. Best of luck!

THE DAY HAS COME... Well I'm taking a break from all the running around and packing. Im exhausted...but I leave tomorrow. In less than 12 hours I will be on a plane on my way. I was able to get all the decorations into one suitcase (under 40lbs) Altogether we are doing great on the packing front. I was able to get 98% of my daughters stuff (diapers included) into a medium size carryon suitcase. After this little break I have to get back to packing. My clothes are all done. I just need to add in the gift and OOT bag stuff and weigh the bag. We may get away with only needing the 2 large suitcases. We'll see. My FI has set up an international phone plan for the week. If possible I will keep you updated. If not, i'll be sure to post everything when I get back! This is it!!! The dress is here and only hours til we leave for the airport!

GROOMS GIFT My pictures from the boudoir shoot turned out beautifully. The photographer was able to provide me with a digital image that I was able to print from the local walgreens. My FI and I really didn't discuss gifts but I wanted to do something little for him. I know many ladies buy watches...but he already has one that he loves. A while ago I picked up some peacock colored socks and created a label for them (taken from pinterest) Since then he has purchased matching socks for him and the groomsmen...but its still cute. He doesn't have to wear them the day of. His gifts are set and ready to go!

I thought about buying Mr. & Mrs. signs off etsy...but why spent the money for one time? So I decided to make my own. I used picture frames from the wedding shower and printed them from home. I found a picture of peacock feathers and added them to the background using the "watermark" option. That way is faded in the back. Then I glittered over the Mr/Mrs.

Picked up a flower girl basket this week. I highly doubt my daughter will actually throw the flowers...but they will be there just in case. In order to dress up the basket I glued some peacock feathers and a rhinestone embellishment together. it looks just like the hair clips I made for my bridesmaids. My daughter will also be wearing a headband. I put the feathers together but im not going to glue them on until we are down there. (same with the basket) I think everything will travel better separately. Left to right: feather for basket, bridesmaid hair clips, feathers for flower girl headband Also...for a special touch- mixed in with the flower petal will be peacock eyes

PLACECARDS & HOLDERS Little frames were purchases from oriental trading. They came in black. I spray painted them with spray glitter then added the sealant clear coat on top. Names are printed in different colors- according to their dinner choice. They turned out really pretty. The sparkles don't show up as much in the picture.

A WEEK OF DIY... I decided not to do beach bag style oot bags. My friend has already done it. Found my gift bags on oriental trading. Picked them bc there's a picture pocket. Designed a little insert and Voila' I have a personalized bag. At this point I'm getting pretty lazy and copied a welcome letter from one of the forums. I also typed up a "tentative" itinerary just to give people a heads up. Nothing to detailed but just an idea of where to find us...should they want to.

TTD Dress...Finally Many weeks ago I ordered a dress off amazon for a TTD session. It was a $60 strapless dress. When I got it, it was too big. Since it was strapless I wanted it to be very tight bc once it gets wet I want it to stay put. So I returned it for a one strap $60 dress. It was the same brand so I ordered a size smaller. When it came in...too small So in a last ditch effort I ordered a 3rd dress. Same brand, 2 straps, but got it in 2 sizes. The dresses came in and one fits! There will be a TTD session Best part...it only cost $45 and since all the dresses came from Amazon, free shipping and returns!