Now Sapphire Weddings Formerly Paradisus Riviera

[KRP87]

@@Breanna2015 awesome pics! I love your hair, who did it? Also love the headband, where did you get that?

[Breanna2015]

@@Breanna2015 awesome pics! I love your hair, who did it? Also love the headband, where did you get that?

Thank you! The salon at the resort actually did my hair! It was a man, I forget his name but he's the only guy that works there. The headband I got at David's Bridal!

[KRP87]

My husband and I got married here about a month ago. Today, we received our photos from the photographer. One word, AMAZING. She's does amazing work and is an absolute gem to work with. If you are looking for a photographer, Susana Hidalgo from myadorablebridal is in my opinion the best in the area! Here is the link to our photos if you would like to see her work...

 

http://www.myadorablebridal.com/blog/breanna-sean

 

@@Breanna2015 Thank you! I just asked the photographer for their prices and wow they are great!! What did the resort charge to bring in an outside photographer? I was going to just go with Adventure to save money but her prices are great!

Edited May 27, 2015 by KRP87

[kyoung090]

Hi there! I'm wondering how everything went at the preferred pool? I think I'll be stuck with this venue, as the others are booked up on my date and as you and @@kyoung090 mentioned, there aren't many pictures of this location. I'm just curious how the lighting is, if they fit all the tables together in one area (rather then spacing them out around the pool) and if you were allowed to have the DJ? Any details you could provide would be a big help! Thanks!

Hi there! I am so sorry it took so long to reply. I am in recovery mode! My wedding was May 18th and I got home on May 24th. To answer you in some detail  but quickly I will tell you about my ceremony and reception, send you some pictures, then I will write a general post explaining more of my wedding day! Mine went really well, I did wake up sick. Not pukey but you can get the idea. Other than that I really have no complaints(just was pretty humid). I was worried a little about having the reception at the preferred pool initially, but I am SO glad we did now! First of all (and as I am writing this, I am not saying that anyone else's wedding choices were wrong, this is just how i feel so I am not trying to offend anyone!) I saw someone mention the ceremony is further down the beach past the beach bar which is correct. I was super happy with this because it was more secluded to me. Further away from the main pool, the restaurants, etc. It was between buildings 4 and 5 I believe. I will post pics of that. It turned out great! Ceremony was at 4, it was pretty hot and no matter where you get married on the beach its windy so keep that in mind. I did side pony for my hair and did it to the side where it wouldnt be blowing in my face. Ceremony was about 20 mins- wanted to keep it quick! We had the guitarist soloist play, and the resort set up a sound system for the guy marrying us. I had a song I wanted to walk down the aisle to, and Ramon had that taken care of. I am not sure if he used my Ipod or if they downloaded the song but it worked out perfect! We did pictures, cocktail hour at 6 at preferred pool, we came back and we we introduced along with our bridal party, dinner at 7. Now I am very pleased that I had a DJ. I am not sure how other people have done it with just their Ipod and speaker in the past, but We used DJ Mannia and they kept the party rolling. They were on track with Ramon our wedding coordinator, and he checked with us how things were going to go in order before he announced anything and luckily he did because there was one minor mix up but it was easy fixed! just had our first dance too close to the beginning of the reception somehow. We did dinner and partied and the preferred pool was amazing and sooo secluded and private. The one thing that was kinda rough was that the wind could not get through the trees. there was a small breeze but not enough to cool us down. Again, I was  not feeling good so the humidity made me worse but after we did our first dance and I stuck it out in my wedding dress for a while, i pulled that sucker off and put on a cocktail dress. that was a relief. Then the groomsmen had a fabulous Idea, they wanted to do a photo of them jumping in the pool. At first i didnt know what to think but as everyone danced, everyone was so hot and sweaty that i really didn't care. my husband, 3 groomsmen, and maid of honor jumped in the pool and the photographers captured great photos! then i decided  what the hell so my brother and husbands friend picked me up and jumped in the pool with me. It made it so much fun! I felt so much better after i was cooled down. I will say that the waiters were totally on top of everything, all the drinks, shots, hors d oeuvres, serving, picking up plates, etc. It all was perfect. I am pretty laid back but I laid out all of my details to Ramon, and he was really good at repeating them back to me so he knew we were on the same page. After the reception ended we went to the club and carried on. That was my night. I hope it makes you feel better. I, too wanted to have my ceremony over on the beach and tequila terrace as my reception, and I believe no matter what that is a beautiful choice, but I will add this. When we did our dinner on the beach, it was on the beach obviously, in front of bluewater grill. If I turned to the left, there was a reception on the tequila terrace, and if I turned right there was a reception on the beach terrace. I did enjoy my dinner and did not care, but it was almost like the DJs were battling. I am sure with the wind and if you were right there at the reception you couldn't hear the other but I was grateful mine was not in those locations. But those locations are really pretty though. The other thing that surprised me was that when we walked up to blue water grill and told them we were there for our beach dinner, they walked us through the reception at the beach terrace! I felt terrible walking through, I would have been a little upset that they did not have a different path to take if that were my reception. Just was weird. Both my husband and  I were really happy with the whole process and I don't really have any complaints! I hope that helps. Sorry so long but I want to make sure you feel good. We may not have the same likes or interests though so hopefully you aren't disappointed with this spot. As for before the wedding, we did a meet and greet the night before.  we made friends with a waitress down there in the Lobby Bar. Her name is Krystal, she was SO fun and amazing. What we did was we paid her out before(as a tip that is, which you don't have to but she was so good to us that she deserved it), told her to take care of us (we had a group of 40) and we also tipped out another waiter because we took all of his couches from his section and would't have anyone to serve since we took most of his section, and did that. We did not want to reserve anything and spend more money. If you have any other questions let me know! ill try to add some photos now. 

@@jessiker05 I will post pics as soon as I can figure out how I might need to have to get some help cause I am confused!

[vancouverpetunia]

@@kyoung090 Thanks for posting! I'm glad you had a great time. Congrats! 

[jessiker05]

@@kyoung090 thank you so much for this information!  Glad your day turned out great, minus the sickness.. Well, I just found out that they switched me back to the tequila terrace because the couple who had it booked moved their day! I wasn't sure if I was happy or not happy when this happened.. after looking at some pics of the preferred pool - the idea was starting to grow on me! lol. I also read by another poster about the battle of the DJs - this is a bit concerning to me. Hopefully it turns out ok! I can't wait to see your pictures! Thanks again for posting!

[kyoung090]

@@jessiker05 Thats great! I think the tequila terrace is far enough away and like i said, i think the wind and distance will make a difference so i bet it will be perfect! that was the only thing that i noticed so i bet the rest will be just fine. ill still post pics in case other people want to see the preferred pool and the ceremony site.

[jessiker05]

@@kyoung090 thanks for sharing your pictures - they're great! I like your colors! Did you bring any of that decor, like the lanterns and flower puffs, or was it all provided by the resort?

[Breanna2015]

@@Breanna2015 Thank you! I just asked the photographer for their prices and wow they are great!! What did the resort charge to bring in an outside photographer? I was going to just go with Adventure to save money but her prices are great!

The resort doesn't charge an outside vendor fee for photographers, they only charge for a day pass which is $65. So you definitely save a ton of money going with her!

[SoozeCruise]

For past brides, how far out in advance did you book your hair/makeup appointments at the resort spa? Is it nuts to worry about reserving my spot when I'm 5 months out?

@@erobin223 I'm so sorry you were so disappointed by some of the experiences you had  We all go into this with high expectations and stars in our eyes picturing the beautiful atmosphere, amazing memories, etc. and hopefully the actual day of your ceremony and reception still captures that feeling for you in spite of the issues you encountered!