Now Sapphire Weddings Formerly Paradisus Riviera

[JaxBchKay 41]

 

What order are you doing things at your reception? For example dinner first, then party or dancing mixed in between courses? something else? With only 3 hours, I feel like I really have to be productive with my time. Juan Carlos suggested all of the meal upfront and then all dancing (besides first dance) afterwards, but I feel like that will then take forever until guests can actually do anything. Here's what we were thinking:

 

Entrance

First Dance

Two dance songs for everyone

Serve appetizer

father/daughter dance

Serve salad

mother/son dance 

toast

Serve dinner

cake cutting 

dancing 

 

The dinner goes fast, at least it did for us.  I think it would have been worse having dances in between where people had to wait to eat the next course because they felt obligated to stop and watch, it also means dinner takes longer and you don't get to eat things until they are cold.  We skipped all the other dances except our first dance - the flow was nice.  It was dinner - dessert and then immediately cake cutting then immediately first dance then the dance floor opened to everyone (actually we had the DJ invite everyone to join us half way through our first dance song).  It worked out great! If you are stuck on doing all the traditional dances could you condense and maybe do the mother/son and father/daughter at the same time immediately after the first dance?

[kechandal 0]

@@DinaQtobe We are paying $600 for the DJ. But I forgot about the vendor fee which is $300 that the resort charges. So $900 total. Still cheaper than the resort's DJ though. 

Hi there! We're looking at hiring a DJ as well. Do you mind saying which DJ you are using?

 

Thanks

[jeffandrobyn 82]

@@kechandal we are using disco Movil

 

 

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[kechandal 0]

@@kechandal we are using disco Movil

 

 

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Thanks! I've read great things about them.

[kcm2516 1]

Hey Everyone!

I am getting married at NOW Sapphire in January and am so excited to have found this forum!  It is so helpful to read everyone's comments.  I want to let you know if anyone is searching for a photographer I recommend Octavio Montes... I have booked him for my wedding and he has been so helpful throughout the entire process.  His portfolio on his website is amazing (www.octaviomontes.com) all of the photos are beautiful and he seems to capture such great moments.  He was very prompt in responding to all my questions which I really appreciated.  Also he is very affordable and is even running a special- 10% off for all brides.  I'm not going to lie I started to freak out a little when I saw how expensive photographers were... so I am thankful to have found Octavio whose work looks fantastic and is very reasonable with pricing.  Good luck to all! 

[KRP87 9]

Does anyone know if there is WIFI everywhere on the resort or just in the rooms? I was planning on using the iHeart radio app to stream music for our dinner on the Tequilla Terrace.

[DinaQtobe 64]

Does anyone know if there is WIFI everywhere on the resort or just in the rooms? I was planning on using the iHeart radio app to stream music for our dinner on the Tequilla Terrace.

It's all over, but when I was there it wasn't the greatest quality.  It was kind of hit or miss.  Can any recent brides comment if the wifi has gotten better?

[ashlynm88 13]

Hi Now Sapphire Brides (past, present, future)!

I just received confirmation of my wedding to be held on May 3, 2016 on the beach and then the Beach terrace, and I'm so excited to get things in motion in regards to the planning. I have been a bit unorganized/indecisive at this point, trying to narrow down a place, dates, guest list. I am working with Wendy as the travel agent for me and my guests and just getting things started in that aspect. She has been so helpful!

I think I have read through this thread multiple times already, but I know now to take notes when I go back to read through it again to help with planning and staying a little more organized. I know that I want an outside photographer for sure (any budget-friendly photographers?), but I'm not sure about DJ (due to the number of guests we are expecting and our budget). I was also wondering since we are having quite a few guests who have stated they are definitely in so far, if the dinner and making our rounds of thank yours and whatnot would kinda run into the dancing portion of the reception since we only have 3 hours. I am thinking of bringing bose speakers we have to use for relaxing/smooth dinner/speech/cake cutting music and of course our first dance, but I'm also not sure if it would be loud enough for our group and the location we have? Then we could just use it for some dancing at the end before taking the party to the "night club/disco/bar area"? Any suggestions on this or budget friendly options other brides have used would be greatly appreciated!

As far as decor goes, I would like for it to be fairly simple since I would like the background/location be the main part of the decor. I think I will stick with simple ceremony decor. The colors will come from my maids' dresses (teal/jade) and our bouquets mostly (magenta and orange), and I have thought about the maracas as favors for guests. For the reception I'm thinking use the maids' bouquets as center pieces and have a few battery-operated tea lights with some shells scattered on the tables. Anyone know what the lighting is like on the beach terrace after the sun goes down and it gets dark? I do like the lights I have seen hung above the terrace, but I'm sure that has a pretty price tag on it as well.

I'm a bit of a scatter brain right now and thinking so many things at once. Thanks in advance!

[vancouverpetunia 756]

@@ashlynm88 Congrats on booking your wedding! I am about a month before you on April 7. We are on the tequila terrace. I have a few ideas for you...

 

Photography: If you want to PM me with your email address, I can send you a spreadsheet with my photography research.

 

DJ: We aren't using a DJ. We are renting a portable sound system from Love & Lace Wedding Decor (find her on Facebook). It's under $100 and includes a microphone: http://www.ionaudio.com/products/details/block-rocker-2010-model. I'm a little worried it might not be loud enough but it seems that others have used portable speaker systems there, so I hope it will be okay. How big is your group? We are about 40.

 

Lighting: Who is your WC? I have Juan Carlos. He sent me a photo that showed the included lighting on the tequila terrace. Perhaps you can get the same for the beach terrace. To get the fancy lights hung over the terrace, I believe they have to put up poles and I think they charge $400 per pole, which I don't even think includes the lights!

 

Where are you getting your BM dresses? I also want teal but haven't made any decisions yet.

 

 

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[ashlynm88 13]

@@ashlynm88 Congrats on booking your wedding! I am about a month before you on April 7. We are on the tequila terrace. I have a few ideas for you...

 

Photography: If you want to PM me with your email address, I can send you a spreadsheet with my photography research.

 

DJ: We aren't using a DJ. We are renting a portable sound system from Love & Lace Wedding Decor (find her on Facebook). It's under $100 and includes a microphone: http://www.ionaudio.com/products/details/block-rocker-2010-model. I'm a little worried it might not be loud enough but it seems that others have used portable speaker systems there, so I hope it will be okay. How big is your group? We are about 40.

 

Lighting: Who is your WC? I have Juan Carlos. He sent me a photo that showed the included lighting on the tequila terrace. Perhaps you can get the same for the beach terrace. To get the fancy lights hung over the terrace, I believe they have to put up poles and I think they charge $400 per pole, which I don't even think includes the lights!

 

Where are you getting your BM dresses? I also want teal but haven't made any decisions yet.

 

 

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Hi @vancourverpetunia,

I just sent you PM with my email.

Currently we have around 65 guests who have told us that they are definitely coming. We are thinking 75 max will be there (hoping for not too much more haha at this point). We both were thinking not a lot of people would be in, but much to our surprise there have been a lot of Yes's so far. I guess things may change within the next year too, so maybe we will end up near the 60 mark which is what we were thinking to begin with. Who knows!?!?!

I was assigned Juan Carlos as well, so I will be sure to ask him about the lighting situation at the beach terrace.

I am searching high and low for bridesmaids dresses all over the internet. I'm not sure I want to get "actual" bridesmaids dresses if I don't have to. They just seem too expensive and most likely can only be worn once. I'm looking more at sun dress types so they can be worn over again by the girls...and will most likely be cheaper. I really like this Alfred Angelo style, but the price tag seems really high for the way that it looks and part of me feels like I could possibly find a similar looking dress for cheaper.