Ania

Quote: Originally Posted by Tracy_S I am so excited for you Amy!! Can't wait to see the pics!!! Hey question... I have been talking with Luis Perez.. has anyone else worked with her?? She says she is out of a Florida office.. but her name never comes up when you talk about your wedding coordinators... How would I get in touch with this Fabio fellow and or anyone else. Luis's answers to some of my questions leave me wanting more... like she doesn't give exact answers... can anyone help me out?? That would be greatly appreciated! Thanks! We are working with Luis as well. (It's a guy btw lol). I haven't started any communications with him though, so we'll find out as we go along. Could anyone confirm whether outside guests with day pass can they be part of the private dinner? It says on the contract with Azul that they can't participate in private events... ? EDIT: I just looked it up, it's worded funny, but it really means you pay extra for the day pass but it does not include the food from private event dinner. So you pay for the guest again for their food.

Woo hoo! We are confirmed! October 2008 November 2008 jennrenn23-November 3, 2008 andrea110808 - Nov 11, 2008 amysteele444 Nov 14, 2008 December 2008 Magda&Neil - December 22,2008 January 2009 winwinbride - Jan 10, 2009 candj08 - Jan 17, 2009 McBradley - Jan 21, 2009 February 2009 tsashamia - February 7, 2009 shannonmarie09 – February 28, 2009 March 2009 saavy - March 7, 2009 manders757 – March 14, 2009 April 2009 Lucky1 – April 8, 2009 jhawkev - April 11, 2009 lilmisssunshine - April 16, 2009 mitchell.johanna - April 18, 2009 miro2be - April 19, 2009 jhoyle - April 22, 2009 JHarwood2Be – April 25, 2009 Polly….Prince – April 26, 2009 teethdh – April 26, 2009 May 2009 trayce2222- May 3, 2009 MGP - May 5, 2009 milejilo – May 8, 2009 weddingchick – May 9, 2009 Sensatori Bride - May 14, 2009 Polina - May 15, 2009 jennik13 - May 17, 2009 moore.vj1 -May 17, 2009 heather hunder - May 20, 2009 kddsmj - May 21, 2009 khoyle - May 22, 2009 pepper55 – May 24, 2009 June 2009 katken - June 5, 2009 Jenkatherine - June 12, 2009 Soon2beTWells -June 12, 2009 SolidShan83 - June 26, 2009 July 2009 August 2009 September 2009 October 2009 selina - October 1, 2009 Wendi80 - October 24, 2009 November 2009 mexicanbridewithquestions - November 6, 2009 Ania - November 12, 2009 lenka14 – November 14, 2009 heather0618 - November 21, 2009 rtswan – November 26, 2009 December 2009

Congratulations on your engagement! We are also November 2009 although earlier in the month. In terms of tips on hotels, it really depends on what you are looking for. For instance, I would not recommend Dreams Tulum: it seems to be having some problems. Azuls are beautiful, but it depends if you're looking for a night life, your budget, size of hotel, type of wedding package etc. ... ?

Quote: Originally Posted by PammyP Ok, me again...I wake up too early these days and can't get back to sleep as my mind starts buzzing with questions & ideas! Have any Canadian brides come across the 'book a honeymoon suite and your wedding package is free' deal? If so, how did you book it? I think Signature is the only tour company that is offering the Sensatori so far. Pammy, I've been told by my TA that because Canadians have a better rate than U.S. on the hotels, we do not get a "free wedding package" option. amysteele444: Of course I cannot be 100% certain as I was not personally on site and have not had the opportunity to review the hotel, however, by reviewing Abby's photos from early October visit and as I'm in architecture, I wouldn't be too worried about the construction progress. I'd hazard a guess that they are in their deficiency stage by now. The pics were posted on the 6th, and now we're 2 weeks later. If they have a right amount of crew, they can easily be done by Nov. They were pretty much finished boarding (gypsum ceilings in the main lobby); a lot of electrical wiring was hanging - mostly for light fixtures; the flooring was under way -mostly completed. I'd imagine that most spaces can be easily occupied. The beach looks a wreck but I'm sure they'll clean up the seaweed and dump some fresh sand. The one pic with tennis courts in the background, you can tell with the scaffolding that they are painting the buildings. Painting is one of the last items that contractors do. Quiet frankly, all they are missing really is a proper clean up, some inspections if all the electrical/ mechanical (air conditioning etc) work, if it's up to code, if everything is as per architect's design, especially fire safety and then the owner can start moving in with furniture in restaurants. You'd be surprised how fast they move. Really, try not to worry about something in the end you have so little power over.

Quote: Originally Posted by PammyP I am booking the package through a tour operator and the wedding through the hotel...how does Lomas come into play? I've been looking at all their extras online, and is this who I would book them through, such as the bouquet? Or is this only reserved for couples that book their travel plans through Lomas? Or is it Lomas who I will be booking the wedding package through? AHHH! I am so confused!!! Please if someone could clear up my confusion I would be grateful! Pammy, We are getting our November 2009 date confirmed too. Our TA (the wedding holiday), had told us, that you will speak with Nancy or Fabio and hmm, I guess you can note all these requests (whatever you see on Lomas through with them). (... ok, I don't think I'm being very useful here= I'll have to confirm that with my TA).

Congratulations!!! What helped us, was really narrowing down the area we wanted to get married in. We were looking for beautiful beaches, with tour options to see pyramids - cultural and environment. We both like snorkling and we love cooking so Azuls were one of the best answers for us!

Again Thank you everyone!

Thanks Pammy! about dj's... my fiance has just told me that now there is on sale a Sony surround system that you can hook up to your laptop, it has 5 speakers, a subwoofer and a box (that looks a size of a dvd player) and the cost is $200.

I'm curious how long are you all staying for: 7 nights, 10 (to include the extra 3 working days) or 2 weeks?

in respose to your qustion: We are not having a private reception. We are having a big reception when we get home. My thoughts are that its silly to pay for food and drinks when everything is supposed to be all inclusive. Its not that I'm being cheap or even that we have a budget for our wedding its just that we thought we could all just do the free dinner at one of the restuarants and then go to one of the bars after for drinks and dancing. But my friends and family are very fun and easy to please and can find the fun in almost any situation. That may not work for others. The bars all look so fun and beatiful. If anything we may decide to do an appetizers and drinks immediatly following so guests have passed apps, champaign or pina colatas to sip on while we do photos. I think that is one polite way to do it. Maybe I am missing something, my fiance and I talked about it and it came down to this: Whats the difference between the private reception and just having the included drinks and dinner? Walking about 10 feet to the bar and about $10,000 dollars. I absolutely agree! It's really a penalty that someone has over 40 guests! However, that is the policy of the hotel, that for the mere fact of having over 40 guests (even if they are staying for the full 7 days and have purchased an all inclusive vacation), in order to sit together and enjoy at least one dinner together, you are forced to pay for a private dinner. Trust me, I even told my TA that we'd ok having reception dinner in a restaurant with other hotel guests, as long as our group was together for at least that one night. The answer was NO, YOU HAVE TO HAVE A PRIVATE DINNER IF OVER 40 GUESTS ARE PLANNING TO SIT TOGETHER. Then again, I can also see, how it is more intimate to have a space just booked for your close ones, and they can all feel free to do whatever people do at more traditional receptions (speeches, calling for the couple to kiss, having a band playing just for your group)... and in the end, you'd be disrupting other hotel guests in their dinner, if your wedding group is partying hard

Quote: Originally Posted by mitchell.johanna I just received this photo from Fabio - it is one of the reception areas available at the resort and I think will look stunning for an evening reception with proper lighting. It is a much larger space than it seems in other photos (ones that don't have tables) as even in this photo it looks a little underwhelming with just 7 tables. I'm having about 120 guests and I think this space can still accommodate the 15 tables plus dance floor/DJ set up, cake table, etc. Wow! It does look lovely! ok, as for answers I've been getting from my TA's (answers are from 2 people): (some probably you already know) RECEPTION DINNER : "it is all inclusive however when you are having a reception at a resort, they are not charging you additional for the meal, they are in essence charging additional so they can have more manpower to cater your guests. I know that if I was a bride, I would want x amount of staff to be looking after my group and not the other hotels guests in between.It is basically their way of being able to pay the additional salaries to the staff required to look after your group. They will charge a flat per person rate regardless of whether they are booked as a double or single. " "The dinner issue is pretty standard across most companies if you all want to sit as a group, together and eat at the sam time. The rest of the time would be smaller groups so therefore not needing extra staff etc. It is still reasonable though as it means it is private just for you and you can dance after with plenty of space and it is all yours. It does include chairs and covers, linens, set up, private bar tender and waiters just for your group. " Also there would be a private bartender and servers just for your group. The price will be about $50. per person, depending on the menu you choose. HONEYMOON PACKAGE: The honeymoon package can be taken at anytime during the week. AIRLINE - BEING ABLE TO BRING A DRESS ONBOARD: The airline is Sky Service. Yes, you can carry your dress with you. (This is info for all of the brides booking through the wedding holiday) WEDDING DAY SCHEDULE: Typical wedding day will vary depending on the time of day you get married. We always recommend doing is as late in the day as possible to avoid the extreme heat. A sunset wedding is always quite nice. Perhaps half an hour to an hour for the ceremony, the same for photos, a toast and then of to your reception. There really isn’t a set timeline as all weddings are different. HOWEVER (from moi:) knowing a little about photography, the time just around sunset is not the best in terms of lighting, unless you are using flash. SKY PACKAGE: The sky wedding is basically an open air ceremony. It is at the top of the hotel and is encased in glass but is open air. This area is only for the ceremony and for photos. They do not serve food or do any dancing up there as it would be a bit windy. LENGTH OF STAY: Shorter durations and 10 night durations are not very cost effective as you have to use scheduled flights Do any of you know how long the reception can go on for? Is there a time limit (noise limit)? I happen to have a family that is party crazy and I'm fully expecting my mom-in-law-to-be to be dancing salsa past my energy levels!

I've read your thorough discussion about photography and a little about dj's and employing them and bringing them to the resort. However, does anyone know if guests with professional cameras will be considered "professional photographers"? What I'm trying to ask, is that my fiance and my brother both have really good cameras and they both enjoy photography but it's only part of their hobbies. In fact now digital cameras are so popular that the specs on my camera (which is tiny in size) are better than a full out slr of my fiance. Where this is leading is another question, one of our guests is a dj (also by hobby) and another plays cello. Would anyone know if their gifts to us (ie. spinning music and playing for a little during reception) are most likely going to cause problems w/ the resort? Also, since I haven't yet booked the holidays nor the wedding, which do I do first? Should I confirm the date with Fabio (and his gang) or do I confirm the week with my TA? The more I read, the more sceptical I'm becoming. In the packages, it describes: "Decoration of wedding location including wooden plank aisle runner, chairs for 12 people and table with white linen". Does it include a gazebo decorated with flowers? (I've realized I've been associating the hotel's (Azul Beach) beautiful pics of gazebo with shears and thinking that it is included as part of the package. But now I wonder... ? In sky wedding package, the coctails are similar to what the banquet kit 2009 describes on page 16 (online on azul website) or do they mean mixed drinks? Because, (I know there was a bit of discussion as to what is exactly included in the sky package), then that would really be worth the package... I mean, we'll have around 70 guests, only 12 guests can sit (per silver package) so 58 guests x $12 (per chair as per banquet kit) = 696. Now, if the coctails are as they describe, 25$ x 70 people = 1750. ... Something tells me this is only a drink :S Thanks so much, in the next response I'll post all of the info so far I got from my TA's...

andrea110808: I'm sure they'll go out of their way to make it up to you! They just have to now! Ask if it's possible if you can get something out of it and let them know that you're disappointed... Perhaps you can ask if you can get a free wedding and a spa package ... for the whole group I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you, but I'm certain that regardless it's going to turn out really beautiful!

Thank you everyone for such a sweet welcome!

Hello ladies! I'm brand new on here, and we are leaning towards Sensatori to book our wedding in November 09. I'm trying to catch up with the thread, so I don't repeat any questions you have already posted. I do have to say though, you guys are honestly a blessing and a curse in disguise! None of my friends understand how stressed out I am about going about our wedding in a 'non-traditional way' etc and pretty much everyone is writing it off as easy. It's a relief to know I'm not the only one that is going through this and is finding it a lot harder than advertised 'stress-free - planning". However, it's a pain to find out that everyone is having similar problems regarding answers from the hotel on the packages etc. I was hoping I'll find out from one of you some miraculous way of planning without loosing sleep over it. talk with you all soon!

Hello everyone! I'm Ania and our tentative wedding date is November 2009, in Riviera Maya. We are leaning towards Azuls and Azul Sensatori is most likely going to be the final choice. I have been reading some of the forums and you guys are a blessing. I'm so glad to have found a group of people who are going through a similar experiences as I am. ~Ania