amybermuda

Quote: Originally Posted by KittenHeart Ladies, I posted my planning thread and thought I'd share it with you all! I forgot a few things some some are on the 2nd and 3rd page in between some comments http://bestdestinationwedding.com/fo...-thread-58383/ F**K Amy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! this is awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I cant wait to add tons of stuff to my To Do list

OMG those are some good pix!!! Wendy - your back of that dress is HOT!!! I am only through the ceremony part now but had to comment! I have so much work to do today but its gonna have to wait

Quote: Originally Posted by amandamarieb Oh boo. 19 of my guests had booked their flights, non-stop from Baltimore to Cancun for a great price. Then today they get an email that the airline has changed their itinerary and they now leave like 4 hours earlier and on the way back they have a 5.5 hour lay-over in Atlanta. So not what they signed up for. Uggh, I can't believe that happened. Needless to say everyone is in a tizzy. My mom is stressed and it's become my problem the folks at AirTran don't have their stuff together. My mom has me researching the next best flights to book with a different airline and this is for 19 ppl many of which are leaving and coming on different days. Uggh so not fair. Like I don't have enough to do. Uggh. Sorry for the rant. I feel a little better now. Oh that is so annoying! I looked at Cancun area resorts b/c USA3000 flew there super cheap from BWI - then of course in December they stopped their service to Cancun! I really hope that Airtran can reimburse people. I think otherwise you can look at United direct from Dulles (which sucks w/ DC traffic) or there might be US Air direct out of Reagen. Do you have a TA that can do this work for you? Its not fair for people to pu it on the bride. We brides dont need any more stress!

Quote: Originally Posted by Mrs. Sands I just booked here for February 22, 2011!!! If you have any suggestions, helpful hints that would be great. I am wondering where to have my reception, dinner and dance there? Thanks! Welcome! Congrats on booking at Azul Sensatori! Judging by what some of the brides said, I would try to be indoors or at least more protected once the sun goes down as the Riviera Maya is windy and can be chilly in February. Start googling images of the AS and different locations options. And definitley read through and do searches on the AS wedding reviews and pictures. Look over the del Sol photos and Elizabeth Medina and Claudia Rodguiez's websites for AS pix. I also used You Tube. There are TONS of videos on there that will give you a 3 dimensional view of the restaurants, beachs, and plazas. My biggest suggestion is to book rooms through the hotel itself or get a very knowledgeable TA specializing in groups or DWs. Do not get some local business person you want to help. That does not work and it will cause you headaches massively. Good luck and read & ask away!

Quote: Originally Posted by renee1811 I know a lot of y'all are doing group excursions, and I'm trying to get one organized, but am having trouble! A lot of our guests are only staying three nights, so if we do an excursion, I want it to be interesting and appeal to a lot of different people. Thoughts?! I am looking at Edventure Tours--http://www.edventuretours.com.mx/home/tours.htm. I like it because people can add on with what they want, and it covers ziplines, snorkeling, Tulum ruins, and private transportation. Or I was also thinking about Xcaret or Xplor. Any thoughts either way on these ideas? Hi Renee, I am using a company that will take us zip lining, snorkeling in cenotes, and visiting the Tulum ruins. They pick us up at the hotels and it includes lunch as well. Its approx 6 hours and costs $93 per person. They are getting us at 9:30am and I think we get back to the hotel around 3pm. I suggest you use the lady I used - tell her I sent you - Susan Vincil from CancunAndRivieraMaya.com - email is [email protected] They use a lot of different tour companies - so all of your ideas she can price out for you. Its so much easier than contacting 3 different vendors yourself. Or, you could do a trip into Cancun one night or day. Susan lives down in that area so she can give you some other ideas. Good luck!

Quote: Originally Posted by renee1811 AmyB, do you have a template for those programs? That was the idea I was going for also, but I am having trouble creating it! Not really. I am only doing 1 piece of paper cut into 2 and another cut into 4 - so a long rectangle and a square on top. I just don't have that much material to put into a program since I already did a Whos Who booklet, Welcome letter, and schedule!

Quote: Originally Posted by KittenHeart I'm using a DJ for dinner reception, iPod for cocktail hour. I was trying to figure out who I could give the all important task of maning the iPod or changing a song when needed etc. I didn't feel it was fair and I know once drinks start flowing, someone will forget, or be in the bathroom and I didn't want to have to worry about it. Besides I wanted announcing done, comes with a microphone and the DJ said he could play whatever we wanted, even if he didn't have it he said to just hand him the iPod the song is on and no problem I agree, I did not want to give the music task to someone. I am concerned about the DJ not speaking English, so I am going to get my brother to be the MC - just announce the speeches, cake, first dances, and our entrance!

Quote: Originally Posted by ~Katie~ but mega happy today - FI phoned me this morning and he's soooo excited it's great and we can now say that we leave THIS WEEK!! and we get married NEXT WEEK!! Oh. my. God!!!!!!!!! haha Oh wow Katie, you are getting me so excited Congrats on getting so much done over the weekend. I leave in 4 weeks from today!!! woooo hoooooo I did nothing over the weekend b/c I had guests visiting and last week I had clients in so this week is work time. Today I just finished my program. It will be 1/2 sheet of thick card stock paper - 1st page welcome with date, 2nd page with family & wedding party names, then 1/4 sheet of paper with the ceremony outline. I am going to cut a hole in the bottom and tie with a ribbon to the sides of the ceremony chairs. Here is my inspiration I got from the Knot.

Thanks Wendy - I love how you say you are not a DIYer and yet so much stuff you did Cant wait to see your review, its gonna be awesome!!!!!

Quote: Originally Posted by rkf1046 I am curious if everyone else registered. I of course don't expect that everyone will get us gifts especially those who are coming but I also know that people who aren't coming or understand the logistics of a destination wedding may want to buy us a gift. What has everyone else done? I didn't want to register b/c ppl coming to Meixco was a gift itself but then I was told to register by my family & friends - people WANT to buy you gifts for your wedding and by not registering, you make it harder for them. It does not obligate anyone to get you a gift if you are registered. The etiquette here says to register! Quote: Originally Posted by chong Hi. My name is Chong. My fiance Darryl and I are getting marry at Azul Sensatori on October 10, 2010!!! I need some help planning the wedding. I have no idea where to start setup, music, photographer, reception, welcoming bags... there is just too much. anyone would like to share some pointers? Hi Chong! Congrats on your engagment! I would start with the budget. How much the trip is, the ceremony, the reception, the dress, the cocktail hour, the excursion, the welcome bags, etc, and decide what you can afford. Then go into the details. Quote: Originally Posted by linzappa Hi - I looked through this thread and didn't see any reviews of the Azuls. If some exist, could someone direct me to them? If not, could someone post something? The smaller of the two Azuls appeals to me more I think. Hi Linzappa, the smaller Azul is Azul Beach, but us AS and AB brides (and some others) all congregate on this thread! B/c its all Karisma and the same WCs, it mkes sense. You can also gauge whats going on for the El Dorado resorts. I think they have different sets of WCs, but still all Karisma. Quote: Originally Posted by taylorwd I'm back and we had the MOST AMAZING time!!!! BUT, somebody was looking out for us because we went to bed the night before the wedding to pouring rain and woke up to blue skies on wedding day!!!!!! The clouds rolled in around ceremony time but the first drop didn't fall until the final blessing. Perfect timing if you're going to have rain on your wedding day! WElcome back Mrs and congratulations! I saw the weather looked OK for your wedding day. Sucky about the rain at first. Where did you all hang out while it was raining? In people's rooms? I cant wait to hear all about your wedding, once you settle back in, and have time to type it up of course!! Quote: Originally Posted by taylorwd OMG the cake the cake!!! Seriously amazing. The resort kindly honored our request for buttercream instead of fondant (we hate fondant) and the combined finish product was so good that our guests ate ALL the cake! Super sweet! We are doing vanilla with buttercream. I am so excited about the cake now I still need to designate a friend to be the one to save the top tier for us by slipping the staff a $20 or sneak it out some how :-) Glad you guys got everything you wanted and your set menu was delish. You must be so relieved!

Amy, I have seen pictures onlibne w/ seating arrangements at Azul Sensatori. How many tables are you having? I have 5 tables of 8 people at each. Being that small, I dont care where they put the table #s that I have - I figure we should all be pretty close to each other. (I have no head table)

Quote: Originally Posted by dstinationdrmr Just got finished catching up. Wanted to let you all know that I found my dress !!! We went all the way to Atlanta to find it (there are only 2 retailers in the entire south). The whole way there I just kept hoping the trip would be productive. Could you imagine driving 7 hours only to go back home and buy a dress?! The best part of it all was my mom paid for it!! She initially told me all she could contribute was $500 and the dress was much more than that so it was all totally unexpected and greatly appreciated. Congrats on finding the dress! Sounds like a great weekend. I googled bloom boxes and all that came up were fuel cells. Quote: Originally Posted by thefuturemrslutz 7) Lose 5 lbs! DONE but need to lose 5 more DONE!!!! LOST 10 LBS!!! CONGRATS Lindz! And you are already in great shape so 10 pounds is amazing!!! Quote: Originally Posted by thefuturemrslutz You're definitely not alone girl! I think EVERYONE has had to deal with stuff like this throughout the whole process. It's amazing how contracts and agreements and wording all of a sudden changes meaning!!!! My TA explained today that these resorts have a crazy way of wording things when it comes to the rooms. I just want to tell everyone - that I paid my Bill and got NO SURPRISES! They honored my discount (which was only 1,000 off from my promtion its all about that bride, so not great) and honnored the Blue Terrace - unlike how they tried to make Wedny move. I am so relieved! (after all that and then I stupidly give my dress to a seamstress here who was so lax regarding timeline. I am pretty sure I'll have to stalk her to get it in time - LOL)

The donkey is named Filemon and he has barrels of beer on his back - however they are really more like buckets and not barrels. I had to have him! Amy F and I have the same cocktail hour & dinner though I added a Mexican Cesar Salad (which the ceasar salad was invited in mexico fyi) for a 2nd course - so we have 4 courses for dinner. Amy, my dinner is from 7-11pm and I was thinking about waiting to do the cake until 9:30 or 10pm as a snack after some dancing. I hope they can serve coffee too - I love cake & coffee at weddings! What are you doing?

I have a 3.13 min song. I am going to have them start playing it and then have the first BM walk down about 30 seconds after the song starts. I will walk down to the same song - thats the only way I could figure it working!!! I don't mind the song not finishing - I figure the WC will turn down the volume slowly once I have made it down the aisle and we are ready to start the ceremony.

Amy, Love the hair!!! I love those pinned curls. They look awesome and will totally go with your theme. Katie, saw the news today. Looks like things are getting back to normal with travel in the UK. Amy, re your list - what else are you planning on doing in Mexico besides going to Costco? I am trying to stay away from doing much of anything while there so I can really enjoy my time with family & friends. I know some details will need to be taken care of, but my sister had my mom and I working like crazy the 3 days leading up to her wedding and I was exhausted!

Quote: Originally Posted by KittenHeart LOL Amy! This crossed my mind too but it's Khloe who's married to Lamar and Kourtney who just had the baby! I'm ashamed I even know this but that show is totally a guilty pleasure Ohhhh I always get them confused. I only know who Kim is for sure! I love that show

Quote: Originally Posted by kortneysmith Hello Ladies, My name is Kortney and I just confirmed for 5:00 on October 23, 2010 at Azul Sensatory. I have been reading some of your post and think it is awesome how you have all become sort of a little "family". I have so many questions and so little time. I noticed that there were a few post regarding fees for bringing your own things to decorate with. Did anyone get the final word on that? Cecile is my WP. Has anyone worked with her? Also, I am thinking of doing the pearl package and just adding on. I tink that might be the cheapest way to go. I have also debated doing the silver ir gold but just do not know if they are worth the extra money. You girls seem much more informed than I. Hope you do not mind all the questions. Thanks in advance, Kortney Hi Kortney! I thought you were already married to Lamar Odom... Hahah bad joke I echo Amy's thoughts. I would have been so lost without everyone on this thread. I also would have killed the TAs and WCs and BMs and guests - its much better to vent here and know everyone has similar struggles. I would definitely choose the cheaper packages if you are not using their photographer especially. Plus a lot of that stuff is fluff! Do you have a TA yet? Choose someone who has multiple people your guests can contact in case your person is out and one with lots of experience with Karisma. The tour operators will so NOTHING for you. So although your TA might book through Travel Impressions or Fun Jet - they need to talk to the hotel directly to get you your deals. My TA is/was awful and my guests constantly complain about her. It would have been so much easier on me personally if I had a better TA. Congrats on picking your date!!!! Look forward to helping you plan :-)

Quote: Originally Posted by ~Katie~ OMG Amy, yours is sneaking up fast girl!!! I hadn't even realised you were so close behind me and Amy! are you next on here after us? I don't know about you but the closer we get the less head space I seem to have to function!! I keep getting forgetful and clumsy and tired...it's just as well we're getting married so soon or I might end up having a breakdown! atm I'm only managing on average 5 and a half hours sleep a night....and that includes the weekends as we're so busy. so apologies if I seem a bit doolally! haha Quote: Originally Posted by KittenHeart So sorry! You know that final days loopy, no sleep forgetful state you're in? Me too Yeah I leave in less than 5 weeks! whoa!!!! I have been SOOOOO forgetful lately also!!! I have to write everything down. Thing is, I have like 4 different notebooks flying around with all these notes in them. I need to organize but I feel like I have no time to do it. Work is definitely suffering - I am very forgetful here especially. I am sleepless too - I spend hours on the computer doing wedding stuff when I get home and I shut it off around 1030 and dont get to sleep til midnight. Katie - I saw that the worst is most likely over! woo hoo. stupid volcanoes! I have 2 guests traveling from the UK to my wedding and my Mom was like "what about carol" and I said I don't have the energy to worry about something as uncontrollable as a volcano!!! Heres to our memories getting back to normal in June

Quote: Originally Posted by mexbride83 Hi Tracy, I just wanted to give you a heads up that Azul Beach won't do weddings for more than 50 people. I know because that was actually our first choice, but we are expecting 70-80 guests. I talked with their WC directly and she said they cannot accommodate more than 50 people for a ceremony OR a reception. However, if you are planning to do your wedding off-site, then it may be an option for you! We ended up choosing Ceiba del Mar... I'm excited to hear how your site visit goes. Take lots of pictures! Quote: Originally Posted by tracy.clements Thanks MexBride! It is so strange...because I keep hearing conflicting information. I am working with a TA who specializes in the El Dorado and Azul properties and she said they can host 100 people if we got married on the beach? I am going to take a TON of pics and promise to post them! Tracy Quote: Originally Posted by mexbride83 Tracy - your TA isn't destinationweddings.com is it? Because they told me I could, and then I contacted Karisma and they told me I couldn't! But this was back in January as well, so things may have changed. Regardless, you'll get to meet them in person, so you'll get all the info straight from them! I'm very jealous of that:) We're hoping to do a site visit to Ceiba del Mar in the fall. Azul Beach can now do more than 50 guests. In fact, they are trying to move any current bride from the Blue Terrace with less than capacity for the venue. Catch 22 is that capacity is 80 ppl - so when we all booked we had to have less than 50 guests so none of us have even close to 80. Cheeky bastards! Look out for my review in 6 weeks!!!!

Amy - I love the new picture! I cant wait to see you in your dress!!! It's going to be AMAZING!!!

Quote: Originally Posted by renee1811 These past few months have been rough. I'm not trying to sound selfish in any way, but with one of my BM's fiance's passing away, and my other BM just informed me she is getting a divorce, I have felt so guilty about being happy for my own wedding. I just wasn't feeling excited about it, but my mom has been keeping me pumped about it. Both of my BM have tried to help, but I feel too guilty to talk about my wedding with them. That is why you girls are here, lol. Oh wow Renee that is tough on you. You want to be surrounded by people happy that you are making such a great decision and excited for your wedding. I hope these girls' own issues are not affecting their excitement for your wedding. What they are both going through must be awful - and then that does take away from your support net - but I think your Mom is right in keeping you pumped up. Please try not to feel guilty - this is YOUR ONE TIME to shine - and you really deserve it!

LAST WEEKAmyBermuda’s to do’s: 1.Reception Songs: Intro/1st dance/Cake Cutting - DONE 2.Print Pix for Table #s and Mount them - Whoops - still need to do this one with the escort cards too 3.Finish Who's who booklet - DONE - only need to print 4.Start Welcome Letter - Yeah I "started"... 5.Make appts for makeup, hair, and podiatrist - DONE woo hoo Here are my new ones - AmyBermuda’s to do’s: 1. Finish Menu Cards assembly 2. Print & Assemble Programs 3. Order Whos Who and Welcome letters to be printed from FedEx Kinkos in Boston 4. Table # Cards - printed and assembled 5. Escort Cards - printed & assembled 6. Get dress altered I will be 3 weeks away once this is completed so last few things only (hopefully)

Quote: Originally Posted by ~Katie~ soooo....just because I clearly wasn't stressed out enough already, an Icelandic volcano decides to erupt and ground all UK flights into and out of the UK. all UK airports are shut and have been for the past 3 days, and still will be tomorrow when they look again at the problem. if that's not bad enough, they're worried the volcano next to it may erupt any time soon and then it all starts all over again. I'm trying not to panic as 2 weeks (that's how long it us until we fly out) is a long way away for something that's being reassessed daily, but we spent half of today going through our options for just about every different scenario. I feel more prepared for whatever happens. Now it's just a case of wait and see..... WATCH THIS SPACE! lol oh what fun! Katie - I know that volcano has stranded a lot of people worldwide. I think early this week they are supposed to start flying again. I feel for you girl. When does everyone in your group leave? 2 weeks from today? I think its going to clear up but you are smart to have a backup plan -- not that I think you'll need to use it -- but so you are able to sleep and stop worrying! who would have thought a VOLCANO!!!

Quote: Originally Posted by KittenHeart Alright girls, so I just made my final wedding payment today!!! Amy did you pay yours too? Surprisingly this felt like a huge relief, so nice to have this done! A few things I found out... sooo the dress pressing pricing was sent to me on like dry cleaning brochure and it said 75,00.... which I was confused about because it's a comma and so I asked if it was pesos and it is. So my dress pressing is $7.50, LOL! I was warned by my WC that the onsite coordinators (although raved about) are in fact the dreaded Lomas. Sooo she told me to expect set up fees depending on what I brought. So just be warned. Also, I wanted to give all you future brides that are just starting this process with your coordinator that they are very busy. My coordinator, Kiara, said she currently has 176 brides that just she takes care of. That's just crazy! She's also training a new person who will help alleviate some of the load but still. Be patient and be polite, that is how I really got through this VERY easily with my coordinator. Last but not least, I bought FI a car today, it's totally under my name but it's the first thing we have that we really share and it feels crazy and wonderful and made me realize I'm sharing every aspect of my life with this man, so nuts! I hope you all have a wonderful weekend Thanks Amy - good tips/points. Is there an idea of what is extra and what is standard decor? Like I am bringing name cards, table #s, menus, and favors. That doesn't seem out of the ordinary so I am not expecting to pay anything. What do you think after your convo w/ Ciara? An seriously - they are so over worked if that is how many brides they are assigned! How sad. I would seriously be looking for another job if that was me. Wow - its fun moving ahead and having this joint financial life, isn't it? I bought FI a plane ticket and he keeps wanted to pay me back - I was like "whats the difference? I think I can buy my hubby a plane ticket" and he still feels like he should pay for it. Of course anytime I say I'll take him to dinner... now thats a different story hahaha

Happy Wedding Day Wendy!!!!!! I see it still says 40% chance of rain, so hope those showers are for the early morning or late evening and you get your perfect day on the beach. I know you are going to be a gorgeous bride and your hubby is one lucky man!!!