katken

Quote: Originally Posted by Aneliese26 Thanks Katken, ill wait or Elizabeth to get back to me. Im not sure the hotel are going to allow her but im definately going to keep trying. Did you do your own hair and makeup or did you have them done in the spa? I love the lanterns, especially the little crytels on the end of them, did you buy these seperate? if so, where from? I think the hotel will allow her. Just make sure to get it in writing! I had the resort do my hair (I did a trial before and recommend that) and I did my own make-up. The make-up trial didn't go so well for me but I know other girls really liked the way their make-up turned out. I like to wear a lot of make-up and when she was done with the trial it was just too natural for me. I wore fake eyelashes too! I brought the lanterns. The ones with my crystals were from my bridal shower. One of my BM's made them for me. She is also responsible for "making" the LED lights too. She even started a site on Etsy selling them since she had so much fun doing it and they turned out great for my shower and wedding. You can see her site at LED Lights for Paper Lanterns by funforyou on Etsy

Thanks so much ladies!!!

Hi Everyone! Our slideshow is in and I'm playing it like five times a day! Elizabeth is awesome! Katherine and Jim

Quote: Originally Posted by Aneliese26 Wow!! Your photos are amazing!!! Congratulations!! Did you have any problems having Elizabeth Medina at the Sensatori? Can I be cheeky and ask how much your photos cost? I would be interested in exactly what you had. Thanks Anneliese No, no problems with Elizabeth at AZUL Sensatori. She is really nice and really easy to work with and she does a lot of weddings at Karisma properties. You do have to pay the $500 outside vendor fee. I got lucky and got out of that fee since she had a wedding at Sensatori the day after mine so she was staying for two nights and Fabio waived the $500. In my contract with EM, I did have to pay for a room for her and her assistant, so you'll want to factor that into the cost along with the $500 outside vendor fee. I would check with EM for pricing. She responds very quickly. There are a lot of different packages to choose from including the number of hours she shoots, if you add a TTD, if you want an album created, etc. You'll want to get the estimate from her. Obviously I'm very happy with my photos and would recommend her in a heartbeat!

Quote: Originally Posted by 27 desses Katherine did you have your reception at the new site? Yes, we had our reception at the Zavaz Plaza. It was PERFECT. We had 59 guests. Thanks for all of the nice compliments!

Quote: Originally Posted by Shandalier Katken, They are beautiful!! Your photographer did an amazing job! I sent it to my photog for her to get an idea of what we want. Did you do your TTD the day after the wedding at sunset? We are doing ours the day after but were scheduled during the day. After seeing yours, I am definitely rethinking that. Hi. we did the TTD at sunrise they day after the wedding. Literally it was 6 a.m. when we met EM at the beach. Totally worth it though!

We got our pics!!! Katherine and Jim

Azul Sensatori Wedding and TTD Photography, Katherine and Jim Mayan Riviera Destination Wedding 6-5-09 Elizabeth Medina Photography EEEEK! I'm so excited!

We've been blogged! Elizabeth Medina Photography

Quote: Originally Posted by Hoosierfan Hey ladies, Anyone have a good template for a "welcome to mexico/azul sensatori/etc" brochure? Katken - I know you found one on the forum to use, but I'm having trouble finding it. If anyone knows the right thread or can point me in the right direction - I'd appreciate it! OK, so I asked my mom again about this and here's what she said: Mac computer Pages Brochure Classic Brochure (has 'Vineyard Bed & Breakfast' as the title) I think she used a template from pages on her Mac. That probably doesn't help anyone with a PC. I thought she had used a template here but she said she tried and then switched to the Mac program. Hope that helps. Also, my pics should be here any day. This is the longest wait ever! I'll post the link as soon as I get them.

Quote: Originally Posted by MsZ Girl, you look GREAT!!!! You are so beautiful!! Everything looked great! I was in awe from your pictures, I can only IMAGINE what your pro pics are going to look like!! Your hair and makeup looked amazing!! Did you find inspiration pics on here?? So glad you had a wonderful time!!! Aw, thanks! You're so sweet and made my day! My hair inspiration got tossed out the window once I realized how windy the beach was (I had planned on half up half down) so I went with something the gal at the resort had a pic of. I also had to toss my makeup inspiration pick out the window too once I had the trial. I ended up doing my own makeup. Thanks for making me smile today! STILL waiting on pro-pics.

I forgot to answer the question about the plaza being gravel. It's not gravel. It's concrete. It's like regular sidewalk. I wouldn't go barefoot, but you can wear any shoes, heels, flip flops, etc. and you'll be fine.

Quote: Originally Posted by beckerba Thanks Katken, did you have to bring down string or ties for your hanging lanterns or did they provide those? Also, did you use lanterns for your tables? If so, how was the wind situation? One of my BM's totally helped me with this and she brought down fishing line. We gave it to the wedding coordinators, I have no idea if they used it or their own string. I used floral centerpieces from the hotel. A few of my lanterns were huge so they placed those around the palm trees and tables and they did not blow away. As you can tell from the photo of our reception it was VERY hot. Everyone was sweating and there was NO breeze in the plaza area beacause you are between buildings. I think you'd be ok using the lanterns as center pieces.

Quote: Originally Posted by marise Katherine, everything looked wonderful! Your dress is gorgous! Thank you! We had so much fun!

Quote: Originally Posted by bcbride Your dress is so pretty Katken!!! Thank you so much! I wish I could wear it every day!

Quote: Originally Posted by Anon101 Katken, what is your thought on the new plaza in terms of size of dance floor/palapa? From the picture you have posted, it looks as if the area under the palapa (which I assume to be the "dance floor") is on the small side (as in, good for a group of 35-40, but maybe a bit small for a group of 80+ for dancing). Is this right? Thanks! The plaza was a perfect size for our 59 guests. It could even accomodate more. The middle area was the dance floor - see pic below. Based on the available options when I was there, I think the Zavaz Plaza (what they're calling the new plaza) was the best location for a reception. I hope that helps.

Quote: Originally Posted by Shandalier How many lanterns did you have and what size? Do you have any pictures yet? I want to get an idea of what we need. We bought some from Garden Ridge but I think we got the wrong color so we will be returning them. Also, did you do the battery operated or just plug them in? We are getting so close! It feels like it is just sneaking up on us! I think I purchased 10 mediums, 5 large and 5 small. Here is a pic. I STILL don't have my professional pics back yet, but hopefully there are some better pics of the set up. I'll let you know. We did the battery operated. One of my BM's is a major DIY'er and home with her triplets during the day, so she offered to take on the project of the lighting for me. They worked out great but I don't have all of the details on what she did. Sorry!

Quote: Originally Posted by nbulldog19 kateken.. I love your dress...which maggie is it? You looked gorgeous xoxo Thanks girls! It's the Florence. It's an old model, I think from 2007, but I just loved it once I had it on. I think it looks different on the model. Florence - by Maggie Sottero

Quote: Originally Posted by aimee&ted okay, don't kill me... but did anybody "trash" their maggie? i'm considering it. mine (dallas marie) was about $650 - the lower end of the MS scale i think, and i have a ttd dress in the closet, but it's HUGE & i would have to get it taken in, and put it in a vacuum bag to get it to mexico. it's feeling to me like bringing the extra huge dress would be such a pain. and i might as well live it up in the dress i looooove, right? opinions please. I trashed my Maggie, and I'm so happy I did! Literally, it's like new and I could even sell it. The ocean did nothing to hurt it, it seriously cleaned the dress. There was a lot of sand in it, but I just rinsed it out for a long time in the shower and then let it dry. Once it was dry I shook out the rest of the sand. It's like new. I really liked my dress and couldn't imagine taking pics in another alternate one. I don't have my pro pics back yet, I'll post them when I do, but here's a pic of us in the ocean!

Quote: Originally Posted by Shandalier Tiffany told me that if it was easy set-up there would be no charge but they will make that decision when you sit down with them once you get there. I am also bringing a lot of my own stuff so I hope the set up isn't too much! The set up fee thing is random. We had to pay $50 in cash.We had lanterns to hang and I think it takes them a while. We did not babysit them at all and it was close to perfect. I don't think you'll want to babysit once your down there. And you really don't need to.

Quote: Originally Posted by Meesh How much money are people bringing to tip with? We leave in 1 week and I am trying to get everything organized, but I am not sure how much cash to have on hand. Does anyone have an idea of how much to bring? We were there for a week and easily went through our $100 in ones. We also tipped out bar tenders and DJ with larger bills. I underestimated how much I would need in tip money, so I would bring more than you think and don't forget to bring $1 and $5 as it is sometimes hard to get change at the lobby.

Quote: Originally Posted by s_katrese I had a question about your room (presidential suite) what room did you start with originally? I'm sure the room was great, I was wondering what qualified you for the up grade?TIA We started with a Honeymoon suite so we could get the free wedding package. I think we were upgraded since the resort wasn't at full capacity because of the swine flu. I hope that helps!

Quote: Originally Posted by alkoch Love it! everything looks great! Where did you get your aloe Vera gel from? Thanks! Hi! Thanks so much! I got the aloe vera gel from SungZ USA. They don't sell direct, you have to go through a distributor. I work in the promotional products industry, so it was easier for me to get things with my logo on it. Good luck!

Quote: Originally Posted by beckerba Hello! For any bride who has already been married at Azul, can you tell me if you felt there were too many weddings at the resort at the same time or during the same week as yours? Hello. There was another wedding on my day and I never saw the other bride, her bridal party or anything. It was really amazing. The coordinators made me feel like I was the only wedding hapenning the whole week! They were great. One thing I forgot to mention in my review is that I stayed in the Premium section and got married on the beach by the Family section. The coordinator escorts you from your room to the ceremony site and tries to make it as private as possible. But this was a pretty far walk for us and regular hotel guests that did see me and the bridesmaids clapped and cheered as we walked by. I didn't mind at all, it made me laugh and smile and it was fun to have the attention, but just a head's up for girls looking for a very private experience.

Quote: Originally Posted by Hoosierfan Great report - I have chills looking through your pics! I have a few questions for you on your OOT bags, centerpieces and the Q&A form that the Sensatori provides. Can I PM you? Sure, of course! I'm happy to help!