snswedding2016

@@sassylouxx I would ask you WC about it. When we were there for the BDR a couple months before our wedding we asked to do the same thing. They allowed it and we didn't have to pay for a day pass but it definitely needs to be arranged through the wedding department. Reception is definitely strict about day passes. There are some beautiful locations for photos at Azul Fives. Ours were: First Look - Plaza Fives Bridal Party & Family photos - Pier Ceremony - Zky Terrace Bride & Groom photos - New Beach Front gazebo, Beach & Pier Reception - Garden I would have also loved to take photos in the Cantina if we had extra time. Love the look of it! Happy planning!

Can't believe it's been 1 month already...feels like it was just yesterday! I promise I'll finish my review soon! It's been busy at work and home (we're renovating) but I'll try and get it done by the end of this week!

It's $25/pp at Azul Fives, I imagine it would be the same for Sensatori. Although if you have it in writing that they said $10/pp you could definitely fight for it.

@@ashhtayy @@sassylouxx Sean did not use the salon on site - he just got it cut right before we left for Mexico. Surprisingly Fabio's hair is fairly low maintenance...it ends up just looking like that always lol! I did see a guy in the salon when I went in for my hair/make up trial, he seemed really happy with the final product. I would imagine they do a good job as my bridesmaids and I were happy with all of the services we got. It just might be a little pricey.

@@Berg999 I was at the BDR in Sept as well. My husband and I just got married at Azul Fives last month but we toured Maroma as well as Azul Fives. Wonder if we were there at the same time! Maroma is a beautiful resort! Let me know if you have any questions about dealing with Karisma or Miami. Happy planning!

@@ashhtayy I must have heard it from someone else...and they were probably over exaggerating, glad @@TinkerSofi was able to clear it up! It's nice not to have to spend more on lights (or anything for that matter) than you need to!

@@ashhtayy I'm so happy to help and pass on whatever tips I can!! This site was so helpful to me, I never would have thought of half of the things I did for my wedding. Let me know if there is anything else you need!

@@TinkerSofi It looks like you had such a great time at your reception in Argentina!! So fun to be able to continue the celebration a couple months later. My mother in law really wants to throw us a reception in PEI so we're trying to sort out dates to see if we can make it happen. Sorry to hear you got sick but glad it didn't stop you from having a great time at your party!

Here is an article from CBC. Apparently the risk is still considered low for travellers. http://www.cbc.ca/beta/news/world/zika-virus-what-canadians-travellers-need-to-know-1.3424064

@@TinkerSofi I love that Juan used the hotel notepad...that's awesome!! @@krystalball don't worry I cried over the generic ones too during our legal ceremony. We chose the most basic ones we could find and I was still a mess. haha! We were going to exchange notes the morning of but because we wrote our own vows we felt like they would be too similar so I think that's a great plan if you don't write your own vows. Sean loves our vows but thanks to mine he has some friends calling him "Sally" now...lol I had a feeling that might happen. It was just too funny of a realization when I was writing my vows not to include it. haha! Oh I'm never going to live it down...it's worth it though.

@ ok i'm bored at work...maybe I'll head over now!

@@deecol will do!

Thanks ladies!!! We definitely had an amazing week and I can't believe it's been 20 days since the wedding already. I really does feel like it was just the other day! @ I love that you could pick out Mr. Hugo Boss haha!! I cried through my vows too - it somehow got easier but that first sentence...oh man, I thought it was going to be a bad ugly crying scene. @@TinkerSofi I can't even imagine if Sean booked an excursion the rehearsal day!! I would have been so angry too!! I got over my sister in law not being there pretty quickly, it's just annoying when you tell people ahead of time. Luckily they were walking in pairs so we had someone just tell her what to do and where to go. Our rehearsal day felt stressful too with the kids meals getting all messed up and the fact that we forgot to make a seating plan --oops! BUT they do say in showbiz "bad dress rehearsal, GREAT opening night" and we did have an amazing wedding day just like you too!! The funny thing was at the end of the rehearsal dinner I was so wrapped up talking with my family about plans for the week I actually said "Let's go to the french restaurant tomorrow.... oh wait...nevermind we're busy" LOL! For a second I totally forgot about the wedding! We were definitely stressed about our vows because it felt like we had spent so much time planning and didn't leave any time to write the vows but in the end I'm so happy with how they turn out. I tear up just re-reading Sean's vows. Sometimes Sean catches me reading them at home and he's like "Are you reading them again??" haha! Yes! I want to go back right now and do it all again and I want all of my guests to stay for 2 weeks! We had so many families with us and everyone had their own favourite things to do, Sean and I were constantly running from place to place. Good thing we had a little honeymoon!

@@deecol This is what has been floating around the Azul Fives Brides lately re: Zika Virus (not sure what the source of this is though): Zika virus hasn't been found in Quintana Roo (the state in which Riviera Maya and Cancun is located). More info: In Late 2015, 2 cases of “Zika Virus” infection were identified in the country of Mexico. The cases were found in a resident of Nuevo León, located over 2000 km (1,242 miles) away from Quintana Roo and in Chiapas, located over 1100km (683) away from Quintana Roo. We can confirm that there has not been any other case reported elsewhere in Mexico. Cancun, the Riviera Maya and the State of Quintana Roo remain free from the “Zika Virus”. All our hotels in Riviera Maya make every effort to eliminate and control the mosquito; we follow preventative measures set by the WHO and CDC as well as the local governing body. We have a full fumigation program that has been in place and proved successful for many years; this includes daily, weekly and monthly fumigation tasks in public areas of the hotel, guest rooms and facilities. In addition mosquito repellent is ready available throughout all restaurants and bars, and for our guest comfort and wellbeing all guests’ rooms are air conditioned as well as the many of the public areas and facilities within the resorts.

Ceremony After taking bridal party/family photos on the pier we all headed back to get ready for the ceremony. Everyone went upstairs and I waited with my wedding attendant in the lobby of the Sea Olive restaurant. She told me that they would let her know via walkie talkie when they were ready for us and we would go up in the elevator. Anxiously waiting to go upstairs! One of the WCs came down to ask me if it was ok if the bridesmaids wore sunglasses as they were facing the sun. I didn't care and said of course. My girls told me after that they were happy because it helped with conceal the tears We got the call to go up and the whole day my wedding attendant was asking me if I was nervous and I kept saying no I felt pretty calm but the nerves him me in the elevator ride up. She had me wait in the elevator until the timing was right and she said if I wanted to look through the crack of the door I could see the bridal party walking in. Bad idea...I started tearing up immediately see everyone walking in and hearing the music. My wedding attendant said "don't cry yet! It's too early" haha! I love looking at these moments in my photos because I missed all of this while I was waiting by myself downstairs. So happy to have had amazing photographers to capture beautiful moments like these! My cousin and his son (our little ring bearer) One of my maids of honour and my nieces (our flower girl and Jr. flower girl...yes I made up that title but really she is just too cute not to have her "walk" down the aisle) So I walked down the aisle (the terrace is an L shape) along the long side and when I reached at back of the aisle runner Sean walked to me and we walked to the alter together. This was really important to us to symbolize entering into our marriage as equal partners. Vows I realized I never posted our vows...well mainly because we were still finalizing them in Mexico! Mine: Sean, you came into my life when I no longer believed love like this existed. The kind that takes you by surprise, the kind you can't stop telling your friends about because you just can't get over how lucky you feel that you've found this person and by some crazy twist of fate...they feel the same way. I was nervous, a fish out of water, it felt completely foreign to me and you made it easy. Falling in love with you felt like finding my way home. For the longest time I didn’t think I even wanted to get married but then I met you...someone who always knows what to say to calm my nerves, someone who walks proudly beside me hand in hand, someone who will always dance with me when there isn’t even any music playing and then it hit me - I had the “When Harry Met Sally” moment. That moment when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with someone and you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible...You are my Sally. I can’t wait to continue to build a life together, travel the world and above all else always dream with you. You have this great ability to really savour epic moments like these and you always remind me to stop. breathe. and soak it all in. So here I am taking it all in, not wanting to forget one bit of it and I want to live in this memory forever. I love you. You make me stupidly happy! Sean: Stephanie, the story goes that I swept you off your feet on the dance floor. The truth is you've been sweeping me off of mine ever since I met you.Your sheer force of will, your patience, your spirit and your ability to calm my chaos, keep me in awe. Everyday you are more beautiful to me. I will save the world for you and still take out the garbage. I will do the dishes cause you make the best grilled cheese in the world, and as much as I love coffee, I will respect your green tea. From sleeping in the sawdust with me to only swearing a little when I brought that wheel barrel full of tools into the kitchen, you help take my crazy dreams into the real. I was always afraid of the future, always a little lost, but then you said yes in that treehouse, and the only dream that matters came true. I can't wait to be your husband. I can't wait to wrap my arms around you and call you my wife. This Peter Pan has found his Stephanie and I will love you always and forever. and then we danced our way down the aisle to a strings version of "Uptown Funk"

@@calgarybride2015 It's true it is the little things that bother you looking back. The buttons didn't bug me so much. I do prefer Sean with a shirt not buttoned up all the way. At one point we considered a tie and it just didn't look as good. It felt too stuffy or something. If I could have found a shoe that would fit all the guys (one guy has super wide feet and very high arches...it takes him forever to find proper shoes that are comfortable) I would have picked all the same shoe for them and bought it as their gift.

@@ashhtayy thank you for your kind words! You're too sweet! @@ashhtayy @@calgarybride2015 Sean's dad's wife...yea I know...totally ridiculous. I'm actually shocked at how little it bothered me at the time. I think I was just so focused on me and Sean but let me tell you the next day when I started replaying it all and then my friends telling me more stories (some of which I didn't see) . It was the pushing of my flower girl that really got me. I've met her a couple times before and she's always been so nice but the wedding brought out this crazy paparazzi woman! ....oh and Mr. Hugo Boss - he's the fabio looking one who was in dire need of a hair elastic on the sea pier while we were doing photos LOL! He was giving my maid of honour a hard time about not doing tequila shots with him and she looked at him and said "You know...those are some really nice pants you have on right now" he was like "why you gotta be like that?? So mean! Steph told you didn't she?" hahahaha it was a good moment!

@@ashhtayy I'm so happy you're finding it helpful. Wedding planning can be stressful especially when you're planning a DW and you can't just drive over to the venues to check things out or meet the vendors in person. Us brides (past and present) gotta stick together!! answers are embedded in the body of the message... First, everything you have listed is in US $, correct? Yes, all numbers are in USD (I figured it would be easier to leave it that way since that's how it will show up on your wedding builder) Pre-Ceremony Semi-Private Dinner (included in the A&F package. Up to 40 people, set menu at Flavours. Kids not counted in numbers if they are ordering from the children's menu) FREE -Menu- smoked salmon, nut crusted chicken breast, apple crisp Rehearsal Ceremony (time and date TBD onsite - we did this the day before the wedding at 1pm) FREE *Did you use your semi-private dinner for your rehearsal dinner? Good to know kids ordering from the kids menu are not considered one of the 40 people (lol sounds bad, but helps with planning!) Because our group is larger than 40, I was thinking of inviting our wedding party, their significant others and our family. I feel bad about excluding non-wedding party guests but I think that’s what we will have to do. Food was delicious? We blended a few of the menu options with our favs. Hope its delicious! We did use our semi-private dinner for the rehearsal dinner. Oh yea, we totally depended on the kid's eating from the kid's menu (plus they wouldn't have liked the regular meal...all of our kids were under the age of 8 though). We opened up the invite to our entire group (secretly hoping some would back out). After we counted all the wedding party members, family and partners we didn't have many people left over so we just invited everyone. Luckily it worked out and we had 37 adults RSVP yes. I made it an event on our Facebook group page and asked everyone to RSVP by a certain date as we had to confirm numbers with the resort. The food was really good. Usually I don't love chicken for events (I find they are often too dry) but it was really good. We had one vegetarian and my WC in Miami originally said that she would have to eat from the buffet and I couldn't pre-select the menu. I decided to ask the onsite WCs about it and we were able to pick something so that she wouldn't be going to the buffet while everyone else had a plated meal. Cocktail Hour FREE Location - Zky Terrace/Bar (came with hor d'oeuvres, sparkling wine post ceremony and a signature drink. We had "Tequila Party". Cocktail tables with ribbon in our wedding colour) **We got lucky on this one...not sure how but we qualified for a free cocktail hour. If we didn't we would have just done an informal cocktail hour in the Zky Bar** *HOW? Did you plan to pay for it but they said it was complimentary when you had to pay your bill before your wedding? I want this! Our Miami WD said to do our cocktail hour on the Xky Terrace (as opposed to Sky Deck where C & R are) because it was cheaper but definitely not FREE. Also, ‘Tequila Party’ is not in my Private Events Banquet Kit? The only options are Asia Pacific ($38USD), Viva La Roma ($23USD), Mexican Fiesta Cocktail Party ($18USD), The Deluxe ($41USD), Mexican Donkey Bar (pay per item), and White Glove Cocktail Party (pay per item). Ok so this one is a bit of a mystery to me. When I see you tomorrow I'll give you some of my theories but really I can't explain this one...which I know isn't super helpful. My WC in Miami told me about this about 2 months before the wedding. Originally we were just going to not pay for a cocktail hour and just tell our guests that meet at the Zky Bar for drinks before the reception. They didn't tell me ahead of time what my hor d'oeuvres would be but I didn't really ask either since it was complimentary (I just made sure there was at least one veggie option). I didn't try any of it (we were taking pictures) but our guests said they were delicious! "Tequila Party" was the name of our signature drink. When we were there for the BDR in September, we did a menu tasting and they also asked us to pick a signature drink. At the time we didn't know we were going to get a cocktail party and we were also scheduled already on the Zky Terrace so I was kinda confused why they were asking about a signature drink but I didn't question it. We wanted something that had tequila in it, we asked about some of cocktails from the cantina but they couldn't do it so the food and beverage manager went away and came back with "Tequila Party". It is tequila, amaretto and sour mix...basically an amaretto sour with tequila in it. haha! It's really good!! Reception Location - Garden - FREE Decor - we brought our own and then asked for all of the flowers from the HC08 arrangements to be divided among the tables to add to the centrepieces Set Up Fee - $250 (this included candles, books, vases, signs, favours and string lights) Menu - Set Menu 2 (Beef Carpaccio, Pork Rib Eye, Creme Brulee - No wedding cake) Originally $20/pp ...somehow we qualified for a discount and paid $14.40/pp (x50) Kids FREE (if ordering from children's menu) *Set-Up Fee: I know we won’t know the décor set-up fee until we arrive but how was your experience with this? What it a negotiation or did they just say $5 x 50 adult guests = $250? This is the one I was most nervous about as it seems to really fluctuate wedding to wedding. At our onsite meeting I asked how much it would be and they said they would have to see all of our items we brought from home and they would determine the cost. The day I dropped it off, I ran into one of the WCs and she told me it would be $250. I was expecting that they would count kids in the numbers and that it would be anywhere form $5-7 per person. It was a lot less than I expected so we just paid it and didn't negotiate this one. *Menu: WOW again with the discount. Was this something your Miami WD told you when you made your selection? According to our listing that would be $20USD pp. So this one we did book it at $20 pp and then when we got the cocktail hour we also got a discount for the food. They said we qualified for a promotion....I was so shocked that I just didn't question it. I was so nervous that it would suddenly go away which is why I waited until after the wedding to post about it. So we did know ahead of time but we only found out about the discount 2 months before the wedding. Sound Equipment - Amplifier and microphone $250 (for 4 hours. We brought our own playlist and plugged it in - no DJ) *I remember you saying you were meeting with a friend to teach them how to use the Wedding DJ App. Did you set them near the amplifier or were they able to sit them at their regular table and control it from the iPad/iPhone from there? I had a friend that has said if we decide to use the app he’d be happy to control it I just don’t want to have to segregate him for too long! We actually didn't use the Wedding DJ app we used a program called QLAB instead. It's a program that allows you to build in sound cues with the music you load into the program. So with the press of a space bar you can pre program how slowly you want your processional song to fade in and out for example. This allowed us to not worry about the transition between songs - this program was more helpful for the ceremony which was I was more concerned about. The amp and mic were set up at a table close to our sweetheart table and dance floor but our friend did have to go to the table to control it as our laptop was plugged in over there. Our friend who helped with the music was also our MC so we just went over the timeline of when he needed to bring down the music for speeches and he would just walk over. It worked out well because we timed each speech after a course. We only had a maid of honour (after appetizer), best man (after main course) and a thank you (after dessert) speech. For the dance portion he really just hit play and every so often went over to adjust volume or skip to a different track. @ will definitely be more helpful to explain how the app works...it is totally foreign to me. Misc Outside Vendor Fee - $800 (photographers) 2 for 1 massages (A&F package) - transferred to our honeymoon at El Dorado Casitas Royale (they gave us 2 for FREE) Honeymoon Breakfast in Bed (A&F package) FREE Candlelight Dinner on the beach - transferred to El Dorado as well FREE *Massages: Okay, wow again. Are you and Sean the best negotiators ever or was there some serious luck on your side? Was this a resort mistake or a kind gesture? Again, did you coordinate ahead of time with Miami WD or was this done on site? haha! I know I thought the same thing...I think that because we transferred it over to their sister resort that maybe El Dorado has a different honeymoon package and maybe we lucked out and got them both for free that way? They also had this really nice hydrotherapy room that we used...kind of like body blitz for any Toronto gals who have been. We let our Miami WC know we wanted to use it at El Dorado and she put it in the builder. We picked the day and time of the massages on site at El Dorado with our personal concierge. *Honeymoon Breakfast in Bed: We made our selection for this as well. YAY! We chose the morning after all our guests’ leave (we are staying for a total of 2 weeks – the last 5 days will be just us at AF). When did you do yours? Since we transferred all of our honeymoon stuff to El Dorado we decided to do the breakfast in bed the day after the wedding. We thought we would need recovery time anyway post wedding. The funny thing was that we ordered it for 11am (this was scheduled on site) thinking we would be really tired and hung over and we were up and ready at 8:30am- lol! go figure! *Candlelight Dinner on the Beach: We picked this one too! Couldn’t justify paying for the pier or the Sky Deck option. Neither could we although it does work differently at El Dorado. They have a "candlelight beach restaurant" essentially they have all these little palapas along the beach and they can have multiple candlelight dinners every night and the weather doesn't really matter because you're covered. The dinner was really romantic by the ocean!

Hello lovely brides! I wanted to post some info that I thought might help future brides. I recently returned from my wedding at Azul Fives this month. The thing my husband and I keep thinking about is how happy we are with where we put our money into. We were a couple on a budget but of course wanted a beautiful wedding. For those just starting out in their planning process, I know how daunting it feels hunting for the perfect resort. The number crunching is stressful and it starts to feel like it is all adding up way too quickly. This is just my experience and how we went about it and I'm sure there are a lot of other brides who have other tips and tricks we didn't think of. Hopefully this thread starts a dialogue and we can help the future upcoming brides save some money! Karisma properties are gorgeous but with an a la carte type of wedding the bill can really add without you realizing it. As my TA warned me "just be careful they will woo you but if you keep an eye on what your adding to your wedding you can still have a beautiful wedding on a budget". She was totally right! General Tips *prioritize what areas you want to focus on -Choose free locations (I love the sky deck but it just didn't fit in our budget based on where we were putting our money for other areas of the wedding) --Choose a set menu (it was cheaper than family style. they were good portions, no one was hungry, they will still accommodate dietary restrictions) -Make your own playlist (consider apps like DJ app or QLAB) -Consider skipping the wedding cake or maybe just getting one tier to do a ceremonial cutting of the cake -want to broadcast your wedding for those that can't make it? Looking into apps like Zoom that allow you to have multiple people on one link and all you need is wifi (keep in mind prices are in USD as that is how your Karisma bill will appear and this only includes resort costs. I wish my entire wedding cost this much! haha!) The Numbers Total Resort Bill $3375.00 Karisma Bill (paid in advance) $2990.00 Onsite Set up fee (paid in cash) $250.00 Spa (paid onsite cash or credit) $135.00 # of Guests 50 adults & 9 kids (including bride and groom) Cost Breakdown Always and Forever Package (everyone has to start off with this basic package) $950.00 Spa GIVC Perk (free hair & make up with trials for both, mani/pedi PLUS mani/pedi for a friend. You do have to pay for the tax and tip) $135.00 Pre-Ceremony Semi-Private Dinner (included in the A&F package. Up to 40 people, set menu at Flavours. Kids not counted in numbers if they are ordering from the children's menu) FREE -Menu- smoked salmon, nut crusted chicken breast, apple crisp Rehearsal Ceremony (time and date TBD onsite - we did this the day before the wedding at 1pm) FREE Ceremony Location - Zky Terrace - FREE (one level below the Sky Deck, smaller but still private. It fit our size of group very comfortably) Flowers - HC08 (floral vase, tall vase) x2 $80 (each) - BC14 (table floral arrangement) $70 (*seeing the size I probably would have not added this or maybe would have added another HC08 for the price) Aisle Runner $40 Cocktail Hour FREE Location - Zky Terrace/Bar (came with hor d'oeuvres, sparkling wine post ceremony and a signature drink. We had "Tequila Party". Cocktail tables with ribbon in our wedding colour) **We got lucky on this one...not sure how but we qualified for a free cocktail hour. If we didn't we would have just done an informal cocktail hour in the Zky Bar** Reception Location - Garden - FREE Decor - we brought our own and then asked for all of the flowers from the HC08 arrangements to be divided among the tables to add to the centrepieces Set Up Fee - $250 (this included candles, books, vases, signs, favours and string lights) Menu - Set Menu 2 (Beef Carpaccio, Pork Rib Eye, Creme Brulee - No wedding cake) Originally $20/pp ...somehow we qualified for a discount and paid $14.40/pp (x50) Kids FREE (if ordering from children's menu) Sound Equipment - Amplifier and microphone $250 (for 4 hours. We brought our own playlist and plugged it in - no DJ) Misc Outside Vendor Fee - $800 (photographers) 2 for 1 massages (A&F package) - transferred to our honeymoon at El Dorado Casitas Royale (they gave us 2 for FREE) Honeymoon Breakfast in Bed (A&F package) FREE Candlelight Dinner on the beach - transferred to El Dorado as well FREE It really is possible to do it on a budget and we have absolutely no regrets or feel like we missed out on something. Let me know if there are any questions!! Happy planning!

Wedding Day Where to begin describing this day…it was more than I could have dreamed of. It was everything I hope for with a few surprises of course and some funny stories! Sean and I have been living together for 3 ½ years now so we didn’t need to spend the night before our wedding apart. We of course got ready separately but it was important for us to be together the night before as well. We did final touches on our vows and drank champagne and just tried to savour it all. Ok well maybe Sean took a nap after our rehearsal dinner and then we did our vows and drank champagne The day of we woke up early and ordered room service and drank our mimosas on the balcony. We had to do some last minute pick ups and drop offs to the WCs. After our rehearsal dinner I realized that centerpiece napkins I brought and dropped off to the WCs were not ironed and had major creases in them. I panicked and told Sean we had to get them first thing in the morning and iron them and drop them back off! Haha! He told me not to worry and to leave it to him and he would take care of it. So we went and picked them up, came back to our suite and I packed up for my spa appointments. On my way to the spa I spotted these Disney Princesses – I was trying to take pics for my niece who loves all of them! I think they were coming back from the kids club. Too funny to see Belle, Cinderella and Elsa walking around! I said my “see you soon” to Sean, we had a lovely moment filled with butterflies and excitement and then I yelled out as I was leaving “Don’t forget the napkins!!!” lol Sean was like “Really?? Is that the last thing you want to say to me before our wedding” hahaha oops I totally ruined the moment. We laughed and had a little romantic moment before parting ways for the afternoon. Off I went to the spa and found my Maids of Honour finishing breakfast right in front of the spa….EARLY for their appointments! Trust me when I say I’m surrounded by friends who are perpetually late. I was super impressed! I used my free Hair and Make up perk from my TA (FYI for future brides you still have to pay for tip and tax….still a great deal but it isn’t totally free) and that included a mani/pedi for myself as well as a mani/pedi for a friend. Since I had two maids of honour I was able to change it to two manicures for both girls. I opted out of the bridal suite and decided to just use the spa and then get ready back at my suite. It was really nice to have time with my girls while we all got pampered. Halfway through Maribel (one of my Wcs) came in to give me the weather report. She showed me the chance of rain from two different sites and the time frame we were looking at and then let me know my options. Basically if you choose not to go with the back up location and it rains, they will move you inside but won’t move any of your décor. Maribel said it is always safer to just choose the back up location just in case. It showed a range of 5-20% rain between the hours of 4-10pm. It seemed low to me but I felt a lot of pressure to make the right decision. The only back up option was the ballroom. I’ll go into this more in my full review of the resort but this was the one thing I absolutely did not want. I know some ladies have had their receptions in there and loved it but it was just not appealing to me or Sean. I had even requested any restaurant back ups but I found out they only reserve a restaurant as a back up if there is more than one wedding that day. On top of that Maribel said I had to make the decision by 12pm…I think it was around 11/11:15am when she asked me. I got one my girls to text Sean to come to the spa – I needed to run this by him. I told them to tell him to come to the spa and turn around to face the wall to speak to me…haha! While we waited for him I talked it over with the girls and I felt like the chance of rain was fairly low right at the time of dinner when I think it is the most crucial (it was only 15%) plus at the time the skies were completely clear. I felt that if it rained during the dancing portion we would just move up to the Sky Bar or just get wet and have fun with it. I joked that at least the Azul Fives umbrellas were in my wedding colours! By the time Sean came I felt confident in that decision but wanted to make sure he was ok with it too! He completely agreed and we went ahead with the garden reception and I signed the waiver. As soon as I did that Maribel said “Don’t worry, I think you’ll be fine”. I know they can’t really give their opinion before you sign it but it was just funny. Now onto some of the drama…lol it actually wasn’t that bad and it is pretty funny looking back. So Sean’s biological father came to the wedding with his wife (Sean only met him 12 years ago). His father lives in China where he met his wife who doesn’t really speak English. To give you an idea, her English is like my Spanish. Unfortunately my Chinese side of the family doesn’t speak the same dialect so she could only really communicate with Sean’s dad. So she told Sean that she really wanted to see me get ready the day of the wedding. Keep in mind neither my mom or Sean’s mom were there and I really only wanted my bridesmaids with me but I felt like I didn’t have the option to say no. Instead I said should could come but requested that she would arrive half an hour before the photographers got there. I figured that would give me some time with my girls but she wouldn’t miss me getting into my dress. Well half an hour before we she was supposed to be at my suite we get a frantic call from Sean saying she’s in the lobby pissed off and feeling offended. Thankfully one of my bridesmaids took care of it and went to go get her. Once she got to my suite and realized I wasn’t dressed and we hadn’t even had lunch she calmed down but then this is when the craziness started. As soon as my photographer arrived and we started doing getting ready pics she started snapping photos like she was the paparazzi…to the point where she swatted one of my MOH’s dress that was hanging in front of the balcony with all of the other dresses, it fell on the floor and then she crumpled it up and tossed it aside!!! Luckily my cousin’s wife who was dropping something off was there and saw it and immediately put it back on the hanger. This just continued all day ….she was getting in the way of our professional photographers, she kept moving all over during the ceremony (which thankfully I didn’t notice at the time) and even pushed aside my flower girl to get a photo. Somehow I felt really calm for most of the day and didn’t let it bother me. It wasn’t until I was leaving to go to our first look and was already late when she let us know that she needed to go back to her room to change and we needed to arrange for a golf cart to take her back. First of all why would you show up to a brides room while she got ready, not dressed and ready to go yourself?? Secondly this was so not something I felt I should have been dealing with on that day. So I just looked at her and my bridesmaids and said “can someone please figure this out, I’m late, Sean’s waiting for me” – My girls were great and totally jumped on it! I wasn’t upset with them at all but just a bit annoyed that Sean’s dad’s wife was being difficult. (these are still the raw images from my photographers) First Look I’m so so glad we did a first look. It was so special and I loved that we had that moment together before the ceremony. It was also one of the very few times Sean was there waiting for me and I was running late. Only on my wedding day! Our photographers were great at executing this as well. For those who have been or who are going – we took our first look pics in Plaza Fives by the thai restaurant and the cantina. The golf cart picked me up at my suite with my bridal attendant (more about her in my resort review – she was so awesome!) and photographer and we drove to the lobby where we met our other photographer (who was with Sean getting ready). He explained how it would work and left me in the Gin Bar with the A/C while they set up the shot and would get me when they were ready. I really appreciated all the A/C I could get leading up to the ceremony that day! My heart was pounding walking up to Sean and tapping him on the shoulder. His face when he turned around was the reason I wanted to do the first look. He cried, I cried….we were a mess! Lol! Bridal Party/Family Photos We only booked our photographers for 4 hours so we decided to do all of our bridal party and family pics before the ceremony. Since I was late for the first look, we were a bit late starting the photos on the pier. Our photographers (Derek and Lorena) were amazing though. They kept is moving and we almost got through my entire list. On our way down to the pier we ran into a groomsmen…remember Mr. Hugo Boss?? The one who put up a fight about the pants? Well he showed up with a tequila bottle. Sean’s groom’s room (that the resort gives you) comes with food for the guys and 4 full bottles of alcohol (tequila, rum, vodka, baileys). They got into the tequila while getting ready…as I expected them to. The guys loved their collapsible shot glasses! I just wanted to make sure Sean only had a couple before the ceremony. So we get to the beach and Mr. Hugo Boss pours Sean a shot - fine, then he tries to pour him another and I said no. I told him that he could get drunk as long as he was able to walk down the aisle and stand up for the ceremony but that Sean would actually like to remember the ceremony. Sean backed me up which was good. By the time we started taking group photos the bottle was pretty much done. Our photographer couldn’t believe it, he had just left them 20 min earlier and it was more than half full. I really don’t know how those guys were standing in the heat like that. I had one mimosa at breakfast and then another one at the spa with the girls but that was it. I just drank water until the ceremony was done and then I went to town! Haha! Somehow we got through most of our shot list despite Mr. Hugo Boss not focusing and being too chatty. One of my maids of honour kept getting her heel stuck in the slats of the pier (Mr. Hugo Boss had to pull her shoe out 3 time haha) and the other maid of honour was cursing my name the whole time on the sea pier (she has bad depth perception, you combine that with a pier with no railing and moving water…she was clinging on for dear life. She does love me a lot!). The only photo we missed before the ceremony was a photo with my cousins and we did that at the beginning of our cocktail hour. The infamous tequila bottle...this was how the boys afternoon went Stay tuned for the ceremony, cocktail hour and reception…

@@KirstenChrisDW2016 I did a website and a facebook group and I agree with @@Barcelo2016 the website was a big waste of time...no one looked at it. My facebook group on the other hand was really popular and a huge hit. I updated it every time I had some news or for a reminder about final payments and passport renewals. I also posted pics of the the resort where we got married and after our site visit I posted another album with a little review. I also featured my bridal party members on there to introduce them to the rest of the group. Now that the wedding is over I've asked everyone to post their photos on there. It is really cool because we can see everyone's trip from their perspective. I also used it a lot when we were in Mexico to let people know where we were, reservations, excursion ideas etc. For those not on facebook we used paperless post. We used it originally for our invitations and then was able to message everyone in a big group with updates.

@@ashhtayy not at all! That's what us past brides are here for...plus it helps with the post-wedding blues. I can plan vicariously through you guys!

Perfect! I should be there pretty close to 5:30pm! Can't wait to see you all - I'll bring pics!! @ I want to see more of your pics too!!

@@Kjmenden are you from the US? I think the online specials are more geared towards the US brides/guests. Rarely is there an online deal that beats the Canadian packages with the flight included. I checked them...a lot hahaha trying to find any other specials I could use.

Me too! What time and where again? Sorry I think the details were posted when I was in Mexico.