starlitk

Thanks so much, everyone!

Quote: Originally Posted by lolosmama Can anyone provide any info on the transfers from the airport to DT? We have a transfer included with our package, but it isn't direct (we'll drop off other Apple Vacations passengers at resorts along the way). We can pay $30/person extra to have a private direct transfer. Any experience? Is this necessary, and what is the time saved do you think? Thanks for any advice! We also went through Apple and paid the additional $30 for the direct transfer. I would definitely recommend it! It took about an hour and 15 minutes to get straight to the resort. We did have to wait for a little while at the airport b/c the Apple shuttle doesn't leave until it's full (it holds about 8 people) and they have a list of the guests they are waiting for from incoming flights. A few of our guests (who also went through Apple) did the regular transfer and only stopped at one other resort. However, another couple who went through our TA to DT said it took them over 2 hours to get to DT from the airport b/c they stopped at a number of resorts. For me, it was worth the extra $15 each way to know I'd get there as soon as possible!

Quote: Originally Posted by BellaBeachBabe Hey everyone, I wanted to know how past brides have transported their wedding dresses on board of the plane? I heard from another blog that many airlines do not allow us to bring them on!! I was sure I could bring it with me and have them hang it in the closet... I definately don't want to have to pack it in a suitcase! Any input would be great! Thanks! We flew American Airlines. I carried my dress on in a garment bag and didn't have any problems. I would recommend calling your airline's customer service ahead of time and asking what your options are (that's what I did). Also, the DT staff will press your dress for you, so even if you had to put it in a suitcase, they will get it ready! I arranged this with Anabel when we met with her. Congrats on your successful day, Dee!

Quote: Originally Posted by northernflasher StarlitK Congratulations. Thanks so much for posting, your pictures are stunning I love them all. So much love and energy. You must be thrilled with them and the memories of your wonderful day. Just wondering if I could get your input... We are getting married on the same night the firedancers are performing. What time approx do they start? For how long do they perform? Do you think it would be possible to move our wedding celebration after our meal to watch the fire dance performance. There will only be 13 of us in total, we have planned a private meal on the beach and then just dancing in the sand to our ipod. Would love to hear everyones opinions of how or if you think this would work in terms of timing, logistics and ambience. Both as a bride and if you were the guest. Many thanks Thanks! I totally am thrilled with the pics! As for the fire dancers, I agree with Chanti - I think that you could move the celebration over to watch them and there would be seats. There were also a lot of people standing around to watch them too, which could work if worse came to worse. The fire dancers performed at the Caribbean party on Friday while we were there, but I'm not totally sure if that is always the case. We had originally requested to have the fire dancers at our wedding. Then, in the month or so before the wedding, the WC told us that they were scheduled to perform at the resort on our night, and that if we wanted them to, they would have performed their regularly scheduled show at the other end of the relax pool so that our party could see them (but we would not have to pay, as they would already be performing for the other resort guests, who would have also been by the relax pool, then). In the end, I told her that we didn't want to (b/c she had said it was an hour long show, and I was afraid it would have taken up our entire reception b/c we were getting a late start). Then, when we got to the resort, she said they moved the show to Friday since we didn't want them. I'm not sure if this was only an option b/c we were a larger party, but it is something to keep in mind and talk to the WC about.

Words cannot even describe how great these pictures are! You were stunning and happy - fantastic!

Quote: Originally Posted by Arcticpinkprincess Thanks for the very detailed review. I am very sorry to here about all of the troubles you had. We will be sure to keep everything you mentioned in mind for ours in February. I was also wondering what kind of packages Josh Stephenson offers? Thanks a bunch, Ashley We paid a flat fee, which included unlimited coverage the night before at our welcome dinner as well as our entire wedding day. We also covered his airfare from Mexico City. I am not sure what other kinds of packages he offers, but he was very quick when responding to our initial inquiry of him at [email protected]. I'll PM you more info on the pricing of our package, which was definitely worth it!

Quote: Originally Posted by BellaBeachBabe Beautiful pics! The one where you see eachother for the first time made me cry! So beautiful! Did the two of you walk down the aisle together? If so that's pretty cool! I never saw that before. Take care Oh, thanks! Yes, we did walk down the aisle together. It was great.

Thanks, everyone! Here is a link to our pro pic slideshow by Josh Stephenson of Leografia Weddings. I would definitely give the pictures an <b>A</b> and would highly recommend Leografia! I'm happy to talk more about how great he was if you have any questions - just PM me. Access our slideshow here: Tulum or here: Tulum

Hi everyone - I just wanted to share the link to a teaser slideshow of our professional photos from Josh Stephenson of Leografia Images. We love them and would highly recommend him to anyone! He was outstanding to work with, and the photos are just great! Quicktime: Tulum Flash version: Tulum FYI* Some of the music on the slideshow is a bit of the drumming he recorded from the firedancer show! So, he got pictures and sound from our welcome dinner at the Caribbean party - which is just so cool.

Thanks so much everyone! We just got the link to our professional photographer's teaser slideshow and I wanted to share it. I LOVE the pictures and would highly recommend him. Josh Stephenson of Leografia Images Tulum If you don't have Quicktime, try this one: Tulum

So glad to hear that everything worked out! Great review. Congratulations!

Quote: Originally Posted by Mixie23 ...HOWEVER, the poor girls at the salon were WAY over booked. There was another bride and her bridal party and her photographer at the salon at the same time as me making an already small space even more crowded (note to future brides at DT, perhaps leave the entourage in the room). My hair appointment was at 12pm (my wedding was at 6pm). I had a simple style, so no big deal. My maid of honors hair was supposed to be at 1pm, my mom and my fiance's daughter were at 1:30, and my grandmother at 2pm. These times were all arranged by Jennifer, their spa concierge, who I assume knows the # of staff, but seemed not to take this into consideration. Now, at 1pm I had a makeup appointment with Sol Tamargo's (of Del Sol Photography) sister Sara. I was out and back to my room in plenty of time. My MOH was scheduled for makeup at 2pm, an hour after her hair appointment. At 2:15, I sent her mom out to locate her, because I was getting a little nervous when she hadn't returned to my room for her makeup. She didn't even sit in the CHAIR until 2pm - an hour late!!! The other bride having her makeup done kept wanting it changed and redone, kept getting up to look at it in natural light, then back down in the chair for more changes, etc. Now, please understand that I totally understand you want your makeup to be perfect for your day. However the spa should have got someone else to take over (since she was clearly unhappy with the person she was supposed to work with) and fix her make up - not make my wedding party late and behind schedule! MOH finally got out of the spa at around 2:45. My mom got in the chair at 2:30, also an hour late. There was a guest of another wedding pacing around, telling my mom that she had a 2:30 appointment and essentially implying that my mom should get up and out of the chair and give her the appointment. My mom was like, uhh, well we have a wedding too, and I have been waiting an hour, so the best thing I can tell you is have a seat and wait. All of this could have been avoided if the spa had scheduled themselves either more staff, or not had so many appointments at the same time... I am the other bride that Mixie is talking about. So, I thought I would jump in to point out that the spa definitely double-booked our parties as a warning to future DT brides. My hair and makeup appointment was at noon. The spa told me that they allotted 2 hours for my two appointments, but after reading this review, it is clear that the spa booked my stylist/makeup artist to start one of her bridesmaids at 1pm (in reality, giving me just an hour for both). This explains why they were basically giving away my chair when I got up to check out the 80s style makeup that she gave me in natural light (and why this was so confusing to me at the time). As for the entourage, I had made manicure appointments for 4 of my friends, and can agree that it was a tight fit when they hung out after their appointments. It was probably comparable to most bridal parties who are all in there at the same time, but something to think about if you have a large bridal party for sure. This is one of the many reasons that this resort should not hold 3 weddings a day! Beautiful pics, Mixie! I'm glad it worked out!

Quote: Originally Posted by lolosmama Your pictures are beautiful!! Love the ones with the cake! Chantal, your pictures are terrific! Thanks for posting them!

Terrific photos! You look fantastic!

Great review. You looked absolutely beautiful! You beach aisle set-up was great. We also saw your reception set up at night and thought it looked beautiful and intimate. Congrats!

Quote: Originally Posted by jerzygirl85 Congratulations Chanti!! Can't wait to read your review. I have a stupid question...do the tables for the reception come standard with white linens or do we actually need to pay for them? FI just asked me about it and it got me thinking Also, are only hor d’oeuvres and champagne included in the cocktail hour? I would definitely want more than champagne to be served but don't want to pay extra for it. Thanks! White linens are standard, and included. If you want any colored linens, those are extra. When we got to our cocktail hour, there were bottles of champagne set up, so it seemed to be champagne only. However, there was one waiter who brought a few of our guests other drinks when they were requested. I don't know if any of any other guests asked for anything else, though. No waiters asked me if I wanted anything else, so I just assumed it was champagne only. This is a great question.

Quote: Originally Posted by Chanti Hi everyone, I just got back from DT on Sunday July 6th. We had a great two weeks there! I will be posting a review, will try to do this weekend but ideally was waiting until my pro photos came in. We had a few minor glitches (and I mean really REALLY minor) and were overall very pleased with the wedding and the entire experience. I am really sorry to hear that not everyone had the same experience as we did. I am wondering if the size of the wedding increases the possibility of issues? We were only 13 (including a 1 year old baby) and our 2 photographers (as a side note - I'm sad to see that there is a change in the 2010 guide RE:outside photographers, we LOVED them!)... I'll do my best to write my review ASAP!!! Chantal Great news! Congrats and welcome back!

Quote: Originally Posted by msmoodyr I love how everything turned out ... did the LED lights give you enough light in the paper lanterns? I think they did when we tested them, but it did seem like they could have used more lights that night. I never checked how many LED lights the WC had put in them that night, so I'm not sure (they were supposed to put in three). The nice thing about the using the LEDs is that you can put as many LEDs on one battery as you like. So, if you go with this method, you can always increase the number of LEDs - especially b/c they are so cheap (which I might have done in hindsight).

Quote: Originally Posted by merocket59 OMG I'm in love with your OOT bag and 1st aide kit sayings! You are so smart! Can I borrow them? Definitely! Please do! I'm happy to share the templates if you want them - just PM me your email address. They are in MS Publisher.

Quote: Originally Posted by angruck Hi Michelle, I agree with you totally. Sunbride since you were the one that started the forum, do you have any advice how to do this? I think it would be better for someone who already had their wedding to bring this to the attention so that we don't have to worry about retaliation with less attention to a wedding coming up. Does anyone else feel this way? Would anyone be willing to do this? I definitely expressed my displeasure to Landy and Anabel when we met with them prior to the wedding (about having no options, and being unhappy about 3 weddings/day). After the wedding, I really only told Anabel about the things that went wrong and she apologized. I have been internally debating whether to contact the resort or AMResorts to let them know about the things that went wrong, but had decided against it so far because I had felt like I'd spoken my peace. What did you guys have in mind?

Thanks everyone!

Quote: Originally Posted by Denise L Hey Starlitk! Welcome back to you and all of the recent brides! Wishing your experience was better but it really is like a wedding factory sometimes from what we observed too! We were fortunate in the sense that our wedding was the only one that day. You looked beautiful and you haif looked great...did you end up using some of the sample pics I sent you?? Thanks Denise! I definitely did use the sample pics that you shared with me and they were incredibly helpful! My hair is much shorter than yours, but she was able to do something similar that I really liked. Thanks so much again for sharing those! I love your thank you card in your signature! So cute!

Quote: Originally Posted by sdtooley What type of flowers did you ask for for your hair?! I love them!!! Anabel kept calling them small orchids. I think they might be G007 from the wedding flowers pdf they give out. She made it seem like they were in season and inexpensive. I, too, have heard that orchids are very expensive at DT, but that might be a different kind - probably the ones in my BDW avatar (which are my favorite and were not available).

Thanks so much for all the kind words, everyone! It is so good to hear after all the hard work!

Quote: Originally Posted by courtney_b00 Hey just wanted to ask real quick about the sandalwood fans. I love the look of them and was curious how well they held up? It's hard to tell the quality of things just off the internet so I wanted to see what you personally thought of them. Thanks! We were really happy with the quality - especially for the price. They were under $1usd each. The pieces of wood are held together with thin clear thread, but they really did seem pretty durable. As far as I know, no one's broke. We found the same fans at Michael's (for more $), so you could check there to see them in person.