amy706

very helpful. Thank you! they look great!

I LOVE THEM. Gorgeous!

My fiance and i went there a few years ago. Its awesome! so much fun. there's a great surf school if you want to try it. We had the best time deep sea fisihing one day. we caught so much fish we fed the entire bed and breakfast we stayed at and then some! Costa rica is AWESOME. i recommend going to Arenal (the volcano) and hte amazing hot springs over that way. Its honestly one of my favorite places. great mix of relaxation and adventure! congrats!

Karla, I am getting married exactly one week after you on Friday 12/5. we were planning on using someone from Claudia Rodriguez group. how would splitting a photographer work?

what is a "tiffany" chair?!?!? hmm... sounds interesting!

Okay i just got my 'confirmation' email back from Sandra - i wrote her confirmign the details we discussed when we met. here's what she said: Also- just to confirm you said that the ultimate package will include the beach reception as a private event. no further charges for this. THE ULTIMATE COVER THE DINNER WITH NO EXTRA FEE , BUT PLEASE REMEMBER THAT OVER 20 PEOPLE THE FEE IS $55 USD PER PERSON , AND THE RIBBONS WITH SPECIAL COLOR ARE EXTRA $3.00 USD PER CHAIR the ultimate package includes the set up we discussed - ribbons, tables, chairs, white linens/sheets to decorate the pergola (no seperate privat event fee) YES CORRECT , WELL THE ONLY THING THAT IS NOT INCLUDED ARE THE RIBBONS THIS ARE $3.00 USD PER CHAIR AND YOU SHOULD TELL ME THE COLOR THAT YOU WOULD LIKE . THIS IS THE ONLY EXTRA FEE THE REST IS INCLUDED

Thanks everyone! it was the room rate fluctuation that got me. I hadn't even asked her to price the airlines this go around. i just couldn't understand how room rates could change so much. This all helps. THANKS. I dont see why we can't get those rates in the 240s if you all did. THANK YOU!

So my TA gave me some estimates on room pricing when we decided to do this whole thing and they were reasonable- at least LIVABLE. I just asked her to give me final numbers so we could post them on our website as we send out STDs. The rate is almost DOUBLE what she gave me before that we based our decision on!!!! HELP- what kind of rates are you guys getting from your TA or otherwise for a room?? Garden view, ocean view? how many days? including transfer? flight? I dont know what I'm going to do! I'm pissed. I'm broken hearted. I... uhh... help me figure out if she was crazy on the back end or if she's wrong now!!!

Other questions I asked Sandra and her answers: Can we customize the wedding- write our own vows, do readings? YES how many people per table at the reception? 8-10 she said we can decide if we prefer 8 or 10. could we reserve things like volleyball court, soccer, etc for certain times for a scheduled bridal party competition? YES, she said just let her know. We'd just need to make sure it didn't overlap with the hotel's regularly scheduled activities. Cocktails/appetizers are NOT passed during cocktail hour. they are set up at a table. Payment schedule- it is due when you get there. I thought it was weird there wasn't a deposit... DJ has cords for Ipods. She recommends bringing CDs- easier for the DJ. Also don't expect the DJ to emcee the event. he just switches CDs basically. He does have a microphone for speeches though or if you want someone else to jump in and announce the cake cutting,etc She does a pseduo rehearsal the day before- eithe rin the morning or afternoon. I got the feeling this was quick. She said she would look into the price of fire dancers and/or releasing butterflies or doves after the ceremony (totally all my fiance's idea) I doubt we will do it but we had to ask:)

I only ate at the buffet for breakfast and it was great. all the normal breakfast stuff- plus beans and tortillas of course! They make fresh fruit smoothies right there. YUM. The decor in that room wasn't anything special. I would probably plan on bringing in some color through linens and/or flowers, centerpieces. I specifically asked Sandra about extra fees and she said no so I'm holding her to it! I wrote her a 'thank you' email and confirming the details we discussed so gave her a chance to reneg if we miscommunicated but I asked her clear as day. As for the arch thing on the beach by the seaside grill. I think it needs a little something otherwise it just looks like bamboo sticks in the sand. there was a pic of just the plain arch in that original word doc in this thread! let me know if you have more questions!

LOVE your bright colors. where are your BM dresses from?

Oooh!! I didn't realize that. Very nice! that's fun. the Mayan dancing was in the plaza section between the chapel and the sugar reef bar on Saturday night, I believe. That would be AWESOME if they hired a 3rd. Its crazy how many weddings they do!

Oh the wedding we watched was at 4pm. It actually started a few minutes late. There were definitely still people on the beach at this time (Including us). they moved the chairs over slightly but there were a lot of spectators. i decided that i would ask my groomsmen to make sure all of the sunbathers are moved even further than the resort had moved them prior to 'launch' time! There were also people walkign up the beach. But when you have a wedding on the beach- you cant stop everyone from enjoying their vacation too. just hope everyone is respectful!!! It was livable in my opinion.

That was my thing too- I wasn't thrilled. there are 3 weddings in total on our wedding day! But that seems to be the norm there and they manage it?!?! I didn't notice any musty smell when we toured the 2 hacienda rooms. the only smell we noticed the whole time was by this fountain in between the sugar reef outside bar and the Patio. you cannot smell it from the bar or the Patio restaurant but the walk in between is a sewage/rotten egg smell briefly. i was concerned about the distance as well but it didn't really bother me. On the way in you're so excited and lookign around (plus the driver stopped and we got beer!) so it flew by. It would be a bit harder for the families with kids after 2 flights and customs (we have a few of those coming to our wedding!) but theyll get over it:)

I had a million questions- I'll check my list when I get home from work. She said with the ultimate package that if we use an outside photographer we could subsitute longer use of the videographer since we wont be using the photographer that comes wth the package. With the ultiamte package, you can pick food from either the silver menu or the gold menu. She told us that tthe ultimate package includes the set up we discussed - ribbons, tables, chairs, and that there are no seperate privateevent fees for having it on the beach.

My fiance adn I did a site visit the last weekend in January to meet sandra, view the grounds and confirm this is where we want our most imoprtant day. Overall the stay was wonderful!! The service was great. The grounds and the rooms were beautiful. The food was decent. The drink sizes and strength were pretty good for an all inclusive. I especially enjoyed the mango daiquiris and mojitos! We ate at the sushi bar (okay- not the best but not the worst), the French restaurant the Bordeaux (very nice ambiance, the food was quite good- GREAT presentation) and the Asian restaurant (this food was VERY VERY good- I was quite impressed). We met with Sandra on Saturday to answer some questions. We toured the grounds a bit and then she answered all of my questions. She is very accommodating and will try to make whatever you want happen. We also went to the Tulum ruins one afternoon. YOU HAVE TO GO THERE. It is absolutely beautiful! Great activity to treat your guests to. Only 5 minutes away and 7 dollar cab ride. Pictures and more information attached in word- sorry I dont know how to use photbucket! DreamsTulum.doc

Definitely the first one!

Michael and Amy December 5, 2008

I just got back from a site visit (will post review soon) but its more like a disco. we went one night and they had a live band. Was a lot of fun! I would definintely say teh atmosphere was more disco than sports bar. i didn't see any sports reference anywhere to be honest.

So cute! GREAT price. can't wait to see the finished product!

Your pictures are gorgeous! I LOVE LOVE LOVE the starfish on the chairs and love even more the paper lanterns. I also love the set up for the ceremony - the sheets blowing in the wind. MAGICAL!! Did you post a review and/or your planning info somewhere?!? I absolutely love all of the details of your wedding! Congrats. Gorgeous.

VERY COOL IDEA! I love it. What a keepsake- even if the sand is jumbled!

GOOD for you. not god for you

Lately i have been into low fat VANILLA OR CHOCOLATE soy milk. The chocolate is amazing. THe vanilla is VERY good in cereal and coffee. Its def a littel sweeter than cow's milk but it is YUM! And god for you.

Welcome to the forum! You'll find a ton of info here! that rectangle pool is the 'adults only' pool. there is anotehr one with a swim up bar that is more tropical looking! I am getting married thre in Dec and goign on a site visit in the morning! I will post tons of DT pics when i get back!