Hoosierfan

Hey ladies! I'm finally back from my wedding and 2 week Costa Rica honeymoon! The wedding was fantastic and I was able to meet 2 fellow BDW brides which was so fun. I'll post more when I have time this weekend, but the wedding was truly wonderful, the staff very helpful and our 70 guests had a great time. Don't 2nd guess your choice of a destination wedding or the hotel - it was the best decision we could have made! More to come!

Quote: Originally Posted by ~Nicole~ Keira, OMG..... On Wed we went to the cenote and chichen-Itza and it was pouring! I was so happy because everyone says that it never rains 2 days in a row... ever. So I thought perfect, my wedding day will be gorgeous! Ya ok... lol. It was raining in the morning and then off and on in the afternoon so we couldn't have the wedding on the beach like we were supposed to because of the sound equipment etc. The beach looked destroyed anyways... but we got married at 3pm and it cleared up early enough for us to take pics and get married in the semi-sun lol. It was seriously windy though, which is why I had to have my hair completely up, which wasn't what I had wanted, but it turned out! It was such a great time! Oh, and then everyone was joking about the fact that I picked the song November Rain for our document signing and how I "asked for it" lol. What time did you get married and how did your day go? Hey Nicole - I'm getting married next weekend at the Azul Sensatori! Let me know if you have any tips! I'm just glad it wasn't pouring for your wedding and so glad you had a wonderful time!

Quote: Originally Posted by daliax22 Hi guys, I'm new to this post and soon to have my wedding booked at Azul Sensatori.....can't wait. Any good advice? Welcome, welcome! My advice is take some time to go back through the posts. I learned a lot by starting from near the beginning of the thread and absorbing all the advice and experiences of brides who have already had their weddings at the AS. Granted I think a lot has changed at the hotel since you'll see posts from brides who were some of the first to get married at the hotel, but there are great tips - especially in the planning threads! Enjoy your planning!

Quote: Originally Posted by olsontco Congrats Keira and Mel!! Forgot to tell you earlier! It has been so fun thinking about who all was getting married the past couple of days. I'm on a 11 day count down till we leave!!! Can't wait! Hi ladies - I've been behind on my posts lately. We leave in a week and I'm already looking at the weather too. The first 2 days of our trip call for 60% chance of showers - boo! I'm hoping they are "caribbean" showers that come along at 3pm and are gone by 3:15! I had a guest cancel today too - over email as well. Such a bummer/disappointment, but what can you do? Enjoy those who are there, right?

What was with all the ladies being so nice and polite to each other during the reunion? Obviously, there is a lot more going on than they wanted to show. I caught lots of eye rolls, but Andy couldn't get them to dish on each other at all this time!

I made 5'7" cards with pictures of me and each bridesmaid and sent them the card and a set of travel bottles in a little case. Let's see if the attachment worked! (You may have to rotate it adobe - it seemed to save updside down.) I had a small meltdown last night when I started packing, then turned on the news to the Hurrican Ida update... BM invite.pdf

Hi ladies, Less than 2 weeks before we leave! I love all the diet tips going back and forth - I'm going to apply them as I try to tone up a bit more. I also find that when I incorporate eggs into my diet, I drop weight more easily and feel less likely to snack. A couple of poached eggs for breakfast with dry wheat toast - fills me up until lunch and provides good, lean protein. I'm reading all the posts for many of you who have months to go - the time has FLOWN! I just went in for my final fitting today and it's really starting to get real (got very real when I paid the hotel last week!). I'm finishing up my welcome brochure and have a few little to-dos on my list, but feeling fairly organized (knock on wood!). And a little public service announcement: if any of the AS brides the week of Nov. 22 - Nov. 28 are looking for glass votives for their centerpieces, I decided to buy mine and take them with me instead of paying the hotel $3/each. If anyone is interested in using them (as I would love to not have to take them home with me), feel free to PM me. They are clear glass and I'm using white votive candles. I paid less than a third of what the hotel is charging, so I feel like I saved some money, at least! Happy planning ladies!

wrinkles : NOOOOO!

Nicole - safe travels. I know it will all be great! Enjoy yourself!

Hey there- thanks! I found some for about 50 cents each - it's just the bringing them down to the resort and back (=hassle) that I wanted to avoid. I'm starting to freak out at all of the stuff we have to take down with us!

Quote: Originally Posted by katken Hi there! I had no luck negotiating on site. My husband tried and tried. They new exactly what the off site coordinators had quoted me and they stuck to it. That was just my experience, hopefully it is different for you! Grr! That's what I feared. Thanks for your input!

Hey past brides - Anyone have any luck negotiating with Lomas onsite at the hotel? I want to do votives for our reception, but they are quoting me $3 each - seems ridiculous as I could buy them for 1/3 of the price. My WC told me she didn't have lunch negotiating with them, but that I might have a chance when I'm onsite. We leave in 3 weeks for our wedding, and while I'd rather not add another thing to lug down there, I don't feel like paying $150 to rent little votive candles! Grrr! Any advice would be helpful! Thanks!

need one (i'm freezing!) : blanket

This is great - you did an awesome job. I hope you don't mind if I borrow some of your pre-brochure facts for our FAQs. The info on the airport will be great for our new-to-traveling internationally guests.

I love the designers this season - though I'm missing Michael Kors and Nina. I mean, Lindsay Lohan as a guest judge? Yuck. I really like Althea and Irina. I like Christopher, but he needs to tone down the tears a bit. Logan - adorable, but not sure that he's a frontrunner in my mind yet.

Really terrible - I read that they officially charged the suspect today and the guy's mugshot certainly looks like he was in quite a fight.

customs : fees

Hi ladies - Only 6 weeks until we leave! I finally feel like things are coming together - I've got the beach towels embroidered, napkins and giftbags with out logos and I'm getting waterproof wallets with our logo too. I also found a place that does personalized disposable cameras with our picture on them - so cute. I'll see if I can post some pics soon. I decided to order my own chair bows and table runners - saving about $125 doing it myself and hopefully I can sell them when done! We also just had our last round of showers this past weekend with my FI's family - so now it's just a countdown. We have 69 people confirmed! Can't wait to see the updates from the most recent brides!

Soon-to-be-weds and Already-weds, Does anyone have the ceremony order/template for legal weddings at the hotel? I'm trying to get the order to my printer and I'm not quite sure how to draft the program based upon what my WC sent me (the judge script). Anyone have other information?

ridiculous : the Kardashians

Quote: Originally Posted by Allisa Hi Ladies!!!!! First -thank you all so much for your lovely wishes on my wedding day -it was perfect! Second, sorry it has taken me so long to get back on the site.... it seems our flight home got switched to a red eye flight which got us home at 6:10am on Monday morning and we both had to fly into our work week.... I'm still a little groggy, but am trying to catch up! I will post 2 reviews -the first on the resort. The second on the wedding, and of course I will work on getting some photos up too! It may be a week long process however! I didn't read all the post since we've been gone (that would take a god day and a half!), but if any of you have pressing questions, I would be pleased to answer them. More to come!!! Oh, and Katie.... Cuba is a fantastic place, but the food is not great. My now-HUSBAND (giggle) and I were there 2 years ago and that was the main reason we didn't go back for our wedding -eating there was always a challenge! xo Allisa Congrats and welcome back Allisa! Anxious to hear about your day - hope it was fantastic!

You're never too old to appreciate teenage angst!

Quote: Originally Posted by mocashman Ladies, What's all this about a Pearl Package?? I thought there was only Free, Silver, and Gold? Am I missing something?? Also, curious as to when you guys are sending Save the Dates and invites. I'm sending out my STDs this week, but then how soon after should I send out invites? I know what wedding etiquette dictates but the destination wedding is unique. I want people to be able to book their travel early. Thoughts? What did all of you do?? Hi, You're right - there is no perfect etiquette for a DW on this! I sent STDs out in late January, invitations out in July. We are getting married Nov. 21 - so I had rsvp's due Sept. 15th. By the time I sent invitations, it was really just a formality as I knew 90% of the people who were coming. The STDs are key - I say the 9 months to a year out, at least, so people can book travel and plan/budget.

This is such a huge help. And, I couldn't agree more with packing 1/2 groom and 1/2 bride in one suitcase. I also always put a swimsuit and cover up in my carry on, just in case. Also, I'd add any medications to the carry on.

My understanding is that polaroid-esque film "goes bad", so once it's beyond the expiration date, your photos may not come out and the chemicals that cause instant-pics won't work correctly anymore. This is from the old school cameras, at least. I doubt the film has changed too much since people moved to digital cameras.