Azul Sensatori Brides - POST HERE!

Has anyone done the Family Dinner Option? I think that's what we are leaning towards for our reception. Pick & Choose Dinner Option sounds great but there are more choices on the Family Dinner Option. Any thoughts?

Chong

Hey everyone! Lurker here - back and married! Just missed Wendy by ONE DAY at the Azul Beach!!! And thank you for the sweet note - it made my day!

Wedding was wonderful - I really do love the resort and it was absolutely perfect for my family (we only had 16 guests - all immediate family) - it was their first AI experience and well, you really can do nothing better than the service at AB, in part due to its size. My Mom was so in awe that she could just sit on the beach and someone would bring her glass after glass of champagne. I just wish that the Lomas people in Miami were not so frustrating to work with - we had a big issue with our reception location (which was finally fixed after MUCH fighting by my TA) where I would have moved the wedding - despite the fact that I loved the resort (we did a site visit in October, which is when we fell in love with the resort).

To answer lots of questions that have come up in the last few days - yup, there's a free kids menu for the reception. I just assumed that it was free and dealt with Tiffany in that way - my niece is 3 and two others were both 5, so their rate to stay was minimal, so I wasn't randomly paying for them to have dinner. The people there are also amazing. We had the flan as the dessert, which none of the kids were too excited about, so they brought them all brownies and ice cream and brought my niece who doesn't like chocolate something completely different - without being asked or prompted, they just did. (and I will echo Wendy's comment about the cake - it was REALLY good - and I figured it was worth the fight to bring it to the room - damn, I would have!)

Photographer issue - I agree, it's super annoying, but I also understand a bit where they are coming from and I think even charging people the $500 fee was not helping in trying to maintain their relationships with their preferred vendors. I know that some places (I think some of the Sandals, but I could be wrong) do not allow ANY outside vendors, so you have to pay a game that they are part of your family, which would make me very uncomfortable. We flew someone in who rocked, but she's a little expensive. There are some photogs that have fairly reasonable rates and do not charge much more than the cost of having them come down. I am more active on theknot destination weddings board and I know that several recent brides used Jaye Reilly (Jaye Reilly Photography San Diego, Minnesota, and Destination Wedding, Boudoir, Birth Photographer) who is a former destination wedding bride herself and I think she is reasonable. You may also want to pop over there and look at people's planning bios for names of other photographers that they are flying in from the U.S. to various destinations for weddings to see your options. I really do think you can do it for $2000.

Oh - our pics in case you want to see a small AB wedding - just some teasers are at Leah Stafford Photography

Oh and for the person having 90 people, they can do it, but I would check on the location of the actual ceremony. We got married on a Tuesday and there were weddings on Thursday, Friday and Saturday (so of course, we left to the honeymoon resort on Thursday and missed them all!) but Mayra, the on-site person mentioned that one of them was for 80 people and the ceremony was in the Blue Terrace.

Okay, that was just WAY too long! Just happy that I finally have time to get to check in with you guys!

You do need to be careful, I wouldn't recommend just picking anyone from anywhere off of the internet, this is why I researched the photographers in my home town and met with them in person and had a full written contract about the agreement beforehand. Better be safe than sorry, I even had our photographer pay for travel insurance, that way if there is any reason he cannot go, I am not out the price of his trip.

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Originally Posted by GroomsArePeopleToo Valid points and that may be the case sometimes, but with anything buyer beware. Be careful with someone who is willing to do it on the cheap for a "free vacation". It will likely be fine, but you never know. Not trying to hate on anyone or scare anyone.   I am one of those photographers trying to break into the specific area around Puerto Morelos. I am a full time photographer for the past 6 years and shoot 25+ weddings a year. I have a handful of DWs and hope to do more soon. While I am "working with" my first few clients on pricing, I am also sensitive to my peers in the area and those coming down to do the same work. There is no point in undercutting the locals and having them not happy with us. With that in mind I have taken the time to meet with one local team while down on vacation. I think communication among peers is important. I want to have someone I can possibly turn to in the event of an emergency. We are guests on their turf and should act accordingly.     While I enjoy coming down to paradise to do what I love to do, I am also a full time photographer and traveling for weddings is still work. I also think it is important to be legit with the authorities and the resorts. I have heard of plenty of photographers that fly under the radar as another "guest". That may work almost every time, but I'd hate to see what happens if something goes wrong. I listened to my peers and took the time to get my FM3, it was very easy and worth the peace of mind for me and my clients. My intention is to book in Mexico where my family has a home, during the slow season here in Cleveland, November to April.   Speaking of breaking into the area, I want to thank Wendy for giving me my first MX DW and I am looking forward to photographing Merideth's wedding in November.   Please excuse any perceived harsh tone or negativity, it is not intended at all. I LOVE what I get to do! I am just laying out my personal opinions. Sometimes tone can not come across in writing.   Congratulations and Best Wishes! I hope to get to work with more of you soon.

Hi Suzanne! Thanks for the review! I cant wait to check out your teaser pics! Congrats Welcome back!!! Where did you honeymoon?

btw, I just saw that someone posted a couple pics of Amy's wedding on facebook! She looks gorgeous and looks like they had a beautiful blue sky!