Hi everyone! We came home on Saturday and between unpacking and getting back to work it has been crazy!
First and foremost our wedding was the most wonderful day of my life, it exceeded my wildest dreams. Weather was perfect too. I am so glad I picked the Azul Beach Hotel, it was EXACTLY what I was looking for. I would not change a THING about our day!! I will try to be as organized and as honest as possible in reviews, but if you have any questions, please feel free to email me at
jmoss50@hotmail.com.
Pre-wedding vendors:
Nancy Finn with Island Getaways: C
Unfortnately I cannot give Nancy a great review. I found Nancy's name listed on the knot by a bunch of brides who said she was fantastic. To give her some credit, I think at one point she was, but maybe is just too busy now and is not organized. Many of my guests complained to me that she would get things incorrect, or they had to call her multiple times to make reservations, and it would be a while before a return call. She also expected me to do things like remind my guests of when their final payments were due, which in my opinion is job. She has an outgoing personality but needs more help.
Fabio Orjuela at Karisma Resorts (wedding coordinator): B
Everything with Fabio was done via email, and I have to say he did get back to me with questions within a day or so. However there were a few shady things done. Fabio convinced my parents and I that a DJ was a must, even though I would be using all of my own music, the DJ would help coordinate and be the MC for the night. When we had our on-site meeting the day before the wedding, they informed us that their DJ's do not speak english and I would need to get someone else to be the MC. So essentially, we paid 1300.00 for a guy to press play on my computer. There were a few things that were changed on the final spreadsheet of what we owed such as additional chairs, a difference in amount of DJ time, and the amount for the rehearsal dinner. Luckily I noticed the "mistakes" before we paid it. Fabio also told me a week before the wedding they did not have my bouquet (cream calalillies), but then the day before we left he said great news we got them! Again, once I got down there they said they were still not sure if they could get them. Good news though....I got my flowers!! (and they were beautiful).
Dress: Priscilla of Boston A++++++++
I loved my dress, and the store could not have been more wonderful to me. Evrytime I went in they just treated me like absolute royalty. I can't say enough. For those of you in the Philly area, it is in Wynnewood.
Bridemaid dresses: A++++++++
They were Jasmine B2 spring 08 collection B1039 in Petunia. They looked great on every girl. Long, very flowy chiffon which gave them a real beachy look. I bought them from Irma's Bridal in Marlton New Jersey. They came in pretty fast (like 10 weeks). They were 165.00, and I paid for half.
Invitations: More than Words in Pittsburgh A++++
My mom took care of the Save the Dates and the invitations with the store, and had great things to say, and I think they were INCREDIBLE. People were talking about them for months!!
Wedding time:
Azul Beach Hotel: A
If you want a smaller hotel, more boutique with a great beach, then THIS is the place for you! There are 98 rooms only (all inclusive), and was exactly what a wanted. We had 57 guests, and one of the reasons we had a destination wedding was to spend a couple days with friends and family, versus a few hours. This hotel allowed us to do that. The beach is awesome, there are beautiful beach beds, with butlers constantly coming around getting you whatever you need, and they are sooo gracious and happy to help. I can't say enough about the service. If you are a big pool person, you may be a let down, there are 3 pools, the main has the beach bar, and the other two are very small. I am not a pool person so I didn't care. A big point for me also was that they only have ONE wedding a day, and that was important to me as well. The rooms are not super fancy, but I have done a TON of traveling, and the most important thing to me is that it is clean. The rooms were fine, again a bit basic but I didn;t need a super fancy room. I also believe the are renovating in August. There are activities every night, such as magic shows, dancers, and games, but it does get quiet in the evening. There are 3 restaurants, my favorite was the asian, but everything was good.
Karisma Hotels on site coordinator Patricia : B+
Partricia was very nice and soft spoken, and took care of things both at the rehearsal and wedding day, but she did upset my mom a few times by pulling her aside and trying to add charges to things that she shouldn't have. Other than that she was fine. Just stand your ground to the Karisma folks and have all of your paperwork with you in case there are any issues you have documentation.
Rehearsal Dinner: BBQ on the Beach A++++++++++++++
This was amazing, if you getting married at Azul Beach, get this! The set up was phenomanal, beautiful white chairs and tables, tiki torches, just breath taking. Also, my MIL surprised us with a slide show of us growing up and dating, and she said they were great at working with her to set up a big projector to show it on. The food was delicious! Every kind of meat you could imagine, and the service again was awesome.
Wedding Day: A+++++
Wr had the civil cermony on the beach with the judge. Everything looked beautiful and went surprisingly smooth. The judge was very nice, and did read a few poems as well which I thought was nice. Fred and I said our own vows too and did the sand cermony with our moms. Oh, the blood test the day before was SUPER easy too, they come right to your oom and it takes 2 minutes) The location of the reception was the private terrace, which they did an incredible job of decorating. The centerpieces were exactly how I asked them to be. Food was good, however, the chicken dish was supposed to be stuffed with shrimp and it was not, but it was still good.
DJ: C
Not much to say, he used my computer, and didn't speak any english. I told him what songs to play. I give myself an A+ on the music, and he did stay an hour longer (for 100.00) becaue we were having so much fun.
Photography: Elizabeth Medina A+++++++++++++++++++
I was so excited to meet her, she was sooo friendly when we spoke via email I just new she would be wonderful. She just did her thing, never got in the way, and was so great with my hubby as he was getting annoyed with the sun being in his eyes! Everytime I would see something funny happen at the reception she was right there snapping away. I haven't seen any photos yet, but I have NO DOUBT they will be beautiful.
Videography: Paul Shrank A+++++++++++++++++++++
This was a surprise from my parents! The night before the wedding they told us they had hired him for the wedding day, and it was a perfect gift! He just did his thing, and was very nice. I can't wait to see the video!
Day after Catamaran: Cancuncatamarans.com A
We paid for a private catamaran for our guests (40 went on the boat) and used cancuncatamarans.com, and worked with Robert Sommers. He was super friendly and VER helpful. They charged us 1350.00 for transportation from hotel to the dock, the boat, open bar (beer, vodka, gin, rum punch), "dry snacks", AND snorkeling The bus was a very nice big tour bus and he even had beer on it for us. He was there to meet me at the hotel which I thought was a very nice touch. The weather was perfect, and our guests has an awesome time. We picked the time and I picked 11-3. my only problem which is why I am not giving them an A+, is becuase they did not put the dry snacks on the boat, but the guys on the boat pulled into a dock and ran into a store and bought some chips and salsa and other snacks for us. I highly recommend them though our guests RAVED about the day.
We Honeymooned the next week at El Dorado Royale and had a great time!
That is about it. I will add more photos when I get them from Elizabeth!!
Thanks again everyone for all of your help/idea over the last year! To those of you who haven't had your BIG DAY yet, enjoy every second, it goes by so fast, and don't sweat the small stuff!
We're Back! Azul Beach Hotel 6-6-08 wedding review! Teaser pics! 
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