becks1581

Quote: Originally Posted by anacj13 Hey girls have you guys gotten a menu of what they will serve during the cocktail hour? I never asked about this... Great question! On our site visit it sort of sounded like they would make whatever you wanted. Oscar seemed pretty cool about that. It would be great to see a choice of selections though.

Quote: Originally Posted by anacj13 I would talk to them about this. Not everyone will book through your travel agent. PM me if you'd like to see our contract. We ran into the same problem when they asked that all bookings be done through our outside wedding coordinator. This may be a TA issue not a resort issue as we found was the case for ours. We were able to negotiate this with them though because we know everyone has their own preferences when it comes down to booking. Thanks for your advice Ana, I talked to Jill, our TA and she def thought that the policy was crazy and is contacting Allibe to negotiate...esp since Tricey who is also working with Jill doesn't have the same thing in her contract!!! All--I'll post my budget this weekend. Unfortunately work has been crazy since I got back from vacation and I am sadly forum deficient ;-) We are planning to sign our group contract tomorrow though. We'll wait until everything is sorted out until signing with the resort. Can't wait until that is all done!!! Wings, Congrats on your dress. It is such a great feeling to have the purchase completed!! It makes it seem so real.

Quote: Originally Posted by Tricey628 Thanks for the input on the budget. It totally horrifies me~ I really thought I'd be saving more money having a DW! Considering your site visit and travel costs a "vacation" and not including it is a good idea! Or at least will help my brain get over it a little bit better. I think your budget sounds pretty similar to mine...Some things are hard to estimate! I really don't understand the full cost for reception thing, I would have a big problem with that if it were me. All of your guests will be staying at the hotel so what right do they have to require that they book with the group contract What if your guests have timeshares they book through, or have their own TAs they use? Or just find a better rate online? I think that's ridiculous too, my contract didn't say anything like that, and I would NOT want to pay full cost for a guest if they didn't book through the group rate. Is this something other resorts typically do to their wedding groups Let me know what you do... That's interesting that your event contract with Allibe didn't have the same stipulation about guests HAVING to book with the TA. Especially since we have the same TA!!! I emailed Jill last night to see what she thinks. I think it's really unacceptable but FI kind of just wants to sign the contract and get this all done and over with. We'd just have to really really stress to our guests the importance of booking with the TA (which makes me nervous). Would you mind emailing me your contract so I can compare. I'd be happy to do the same if you're interested. I'll PM you my address...

Thanks for posting your budget breakdown Tricey and you're right...it really is all of the small things that add on fast. We're trying to stay at $15k not including our travel and room expenses. That also doesn't include my dress which my parents bought for me or our site visit. FI's parents are helping out by paying for the welcome party which also helps us stay close to budget. It's all very much an estimate at this point though. All in all, your breakdown looks really similar to mine. Another question for you Tricey...I got my wedding event contract from Allibe today b/c we are doing the group contract via TA Jill. The contract says that anyone who doesn't book through Jill and the group contract will be charged the FULL cost (i.e. $80 plus bar) for the dinner reception. Isn't this RIDICULOUS?!? I emailed her to ask what the rationale is but I think it's just absurd!! Was this in your contract too?

Quote: Originally Posted by Tricey628 Sorry so late responding! Amongst other things, we are getting ready to move in about a month, and I'm filling out zillions of job applications online... ugh. Got the contract from Jill, asked a ton of questions, and she is negotiating now for some changes for me! All in all it looks good and we are seeing what kinds of perks I can (hopefully) get. She already got me one thing I was hoping for, so I have my fingers crossed. Will let you know once I hear back. I will be really happy to have all of it done, and the STD's out (I'm waiting on some stuff to arrive in the mail so we can make ours). I saw your boarding passes Becks, they look awesome! How are contract negotiations going for you? Ana~ I grew up in Poughkeepsie and got my bachelor's in Albany. For the last three years though, I've been living in Arizona, Korea, and as of next month, Texas. My hubby's in the Air Force. We actually got married here in Seoul, JP style, and the wedding we are planning is going to be the big event for our families. Where are you from in CT? I haven't spent much time there, other than a lot of shopping at Danbury Mall, haha. Jill also got back to us with rates and they looked really good. She is trying to get a few extra perks for us as well...lower deposit and fewer guests booked in order to get the free room. She's been really great and I'm very reassured. I just can't wait to get everything signed so that I can pass the TA info on to our friends and have them start booking. That is going to be the BEST feeling!!! I'm also going on a cruise to Key West and Cozumel with 7 of my college girlfriends this weekend so hopefully they will all be excited and planning for another trip/reunion to Mexico in 11 months or so !!!! Oh, I'm glad you liked the boarding passes. There were a lot of blood, sweat and paper cuts that went into them but we were really happy with the final product.

LOL...I didn't even read the second page of posts before commenting. See...I'm not the only one that thinks your bouquet was 'to die for' !!!

Wow, I love the look and feel of your wedding! I just bookmarked you wedding pictures :-) Your bouquet was to die for. Congratulations on a beautiful day and gorgeous photos!

I have friends who have had the 'ring balls' placed and they haven't complained at all about them being uncomfortable. I've thought abut having them put on my ring to keep it from spinning since my knuckle is bigger than the rest of my finger.

They look fantastic! Your guests will love them!!

Can I just say that it's so comforting to talk to someone that's going through the exact same situation! It's really just too difficult to explain to other people!! I'm also concerned about some guests not booking through Jill. I really think that we'll get 10, but I'd REALLY love to have 25 rooms booked through her to get the free room...we'd use that for our photographer. Let me know what Allibe says about this and I'll keep you posted on my updates tomorrow as well.

Oh, by the way...the group contract actually had slightly lower per/night rates and she said that the 'perks' would be exactly the same. Unused rooms would have to be released 71 days prior to departure. The big difference seems to be that we would need to pay a deposit of about $100 per room in order to secure them. That money can later go toward paying for our stay, but it's a lot of money out of pocket now.

Quote: Originally Posted by Tricey628 OK, well at least I haven’t signed anything with anyone yet about my guests rooms, so I can hopefully secure some perks with that. I was wondering exactly what you said: what if some guests don’t choose to book through Jill? I just emailed Allibe to find out what happens. I wonder why Allibe’s contract didn’t include blocking rooms, must be because we’ve been working through Jill. Thanks for the good info! I’ll let you know when I hear back.. I agree...it's super confusing. I've been weighing the option of doing a group contract through Jill versus blocking through the resort while giving guests the option of booking individually through Jill if that suits them better. I'm still trying to sort out the details of the H3R contract, ie when rooms have to be released, etc but got an email from Allibe today saying that she talked to Jill, is going to send me a new contract with just wedding info and that the group contract will be booked through Jill's travel agency. (Also, I bet that's why your contract didn't have room info...b/c you're with Jill too) Honestly, I'm a little confused about what went on and will talk to both of them on the phone tomorrow but I just hope that there hasn't been any big misunderstanding. Jill said that Allibe was confused as to why I'd be trying to get rates from two different sources, but isn't that the natural thing to do...research all options to find the best match for you and your guests?? I just figured that was smart. Anywho...Jill's been awesome and I definitely plan to work with her. We'll just have to sort out the best way to do it. Sorry for the rant!

The contract that we were presented with kinda grouped wedding stuff and group contract stuff all into one document. We paid a $1000 deposit which will go toward our stay or wedding expenses but are not required to put any other money down in order to 'block' rooms. When you block rooms, you are taking them out of inventory and securing them for your guests. If you don't need all of the rooms, you just have to release them by a certain date and you don't have to pay a penalty. We also asked TA Jill to see what rate and perks she could get with a group contract through one of her travel vendors but haven't heard back yet. At this point we plan to block rooms with the resort to secure their price but give our guests the option to book with the TA if that is better or cheaper for them at the time. We're just waiting on a corrected contract from Allibe. Hope this makes sense and isn't too confusing!!!!

Quote: Originally Posted by Hinna77 Hi sorry if this has already been posted! I am very interested in having my wedding at HTR. Did you girls go through a TA to get your wedding date set up or HTR's website? Thank you for your help!! Welcome Hinna! If you already have a TA, you can definitely utilize her to contact the resort. Otherwise, I'd suggest emailing Allibe who is one of the wedding coordinators at H3R. She's really good at responding to emails. Her address is: [email protected]

Wow, they look fantastic and SO professional. I'm sure that your guests love them! Seeing yours makes me want to tackle passports for my invites.

Quote: Originally Posted by Tricey628 Have either of you gotten any guarantees about perks to go with the wedding, like turn down service? So far, Jill has said that usually they give you a room free for every 25 rooms, an upgrade for the wedding night, a guarantee of an ocean view and king size bed for the wedding couple, and a complimentary anniversary night. Are you making things like this part of the contract, or just going with the flow? LOL...We sent Jill our contract when we got back from our site visit so I have a feeling that Jill was quoting that when she was telling you about the perks. Those are pretty much the exact concessions that are included and yes, they are specifically written into the contract. We're hoping that we get at least 25 rooms so that we can use the free room for our photographer. Also, Luis said that all of your guests will count toward your block, regardless of how they book. So if 10 book through the resort, 5 through TA Jill and 5 through expedia...you'll still get credit for 25 rooms booked.

Quote: Originally Posted by anacj13 Hi girls! We just got back from Mexico - we went away for memorial day weekend and stayed at the Hacienda Tres Rios. I was upset before going because of the chapel issues. Let me just tell you everything went PERFECTLY! We are so happy we went. We found 2 beautiful chapels. Staying at the HTR made us so much more comfortable with our choice. WE love love love love the place and how accommodating they are about everything! Anyway - just wanted to share our happy thoughts:) YEEEAAAAAAHHHH!!!!!! I'm so glad that everything worked out so perfectly for you. I def don't think that you can go wrong at H3R and think it's such a great place to bring a wedding group. What chapel are you choosing?

Quote: Originally Posted by Tricey628 Hi everyone, This thread is fantastic! I can't believe what a wealth of info there is on here. FI and I have been communicating with Allibe through our TA and just received our contract. We're planning a wedding for Jan 21, 2011- woohoo! It feels good to be at this point, decided on the resort, date held, and getting ready to send save-the-dates. Our TA has been amazing- actually, Becks, I think we might be working with the same person! It's been a process- we were originally planning on going with Paradisus Riviera Cancun until we saw that they had sold to another company. That just made me too nervous. Who knows how they might change things- for good or for worse. Thanks for posting the pics and information on pricing- it's really nice to be able to compare. We've been quoted pretty much the same as everyone else here. Too bad we missed out on that $350 ceremony. Are any of you having rehearsal dinners, welcome parties, dept. brunches, etc? I just heard back from Allibe about that, and it turns out they won't/can't do reservations at all in the restaurants unless we pay the 20/pp. That might add up- if you do 3-4 events?? What are you guys planning on doing? SO nice to meet you all! Patrice (and Eddie) Welcome and congrats on setting the date!! I agree that TA Jill is terrific. I think that we will probably block rooms with the resort and then give our guests the option of booking directly or going through Jill...whichever works better and is cheaper for them. We are definitely having a welcome party on Thurs night with the wedding on Saturday. If you have more than 50ppl you can do a buffet or barbeque which would be our preference if we end up with that many guests. We plan to do it on the beach where the volleyball net is usually set up (I can post a pic of that area if you're interested). The event can be up to 5 hours so we're going to just hook up the i-pod, eat, drink, dance and have a good time! If we have less than 50ppl, we'll just have to select off of the banquet menu and will probably do fajitas and guac or something like that. LOL, I get excited just typing about it! For brunch, I'm hoping to just get a few tables at the buffet but def don't plan to pay another $20pp. The buffet also connects to the Asian/Italian restaurant so I bet they would let our party sit in there and eat off the buffet. I figure we'll all be tired by then and we won't need anything overly formal or structured. Plus, I bet if you just ask when you get there, they'll do almost anything to make you happy!!

Quote: Originally Posted by Eadon216 So what food selections did you ultimately choose? We are choosing the Three Maria Salad for app and the cannelonni for dessert. We LOVED the macadamia nut crusted lamb and def want to have that but Allibe is going to check and see if we can do that and a chicken option b/c I'm afraid that everyone might not like lamb. We also have quite a few vegetarians and Oscar said that we can custom create a vegetarian menu for them. He also said that you can modify dishes and switch side dishes around as you please. They are VERY accommodating! Quote: Originally Posted by WingsofInnocence Well I do not think you are crazy, I think it is funny that you said anyone who knows you, expects nothing less! We actually used our weim, Ava as our Save the Date Magnet. I made a sign, and put it around her neck! and for Christmas, our christmas card that we sent out was of our dogs. (We have the weim, and an italian greyhound) both of which are like our children as well We're like dog twins...my sister has an Italian Greyhound! Your save the dates sound really cute!

Quote: Originally Posted by WingsofInnocence Hey Becks, This may be a strange question, I checked out your wedding website.. Is your dog a Weimaraner by chance? If so, that is so funny.. cuz we have one as well I have not finished reading your website as the dog threw me off a bit.. It looks good though, from what I read! YES! That's Burton, our 6yr old Weimaraner. He's such a good dog and is pretty much our kid, so I couldn't help but put him on the website. Everyone who knows us would expect nothing less! For Christmas, I actually had our wedding photographer do a doggie photoshoot and I gave it to FI as a Christmas present...the photo on the website is from that photoshoot. Crazy? Maybe ;-)

Quote: Originally Posted by Sheree10 “A picture is worth a thousand words… please share yours with us!†See reverse side for instructions Great idea! I really like the wording!

Oh! One more thing....I thought I'd share our website since it's pretty much finished now: www.beckyandtill.com I should probably put a few pics of the resort on it too!

Unfortunately no pictures of the wedding...it was in the ballroom. Here are a few pics for now. I have friends coming into town in a few hours so I wanted to put a few up before I get super busy. We're going to do a welcome party on the beach, ceremony at the point in the picture, cocktail hour at the martini terrace and the reception on the plaza...which is the last pic. Well, at least that's the plan :-) Next time I'm on, I'll post some pics of the food...and the beach beds :-)

We did our tasting at noon...it was perfect because we were SO stuffed afterward but were still able to enjoy a late dinner at the Asian restaurant (Kotori). By the time we left, I didn't think that I was ever going to be hungry again. I'm so excited for you...you're going to LOVE it! Your day is getting close too. Thanks for the info on the bookings. I think we are going to do exactly what you are, except we don't have an outside wedding coordinator. My goal for tonight is to get some of my site visit photos posted!!!

Like most BDW brides, I had never even heard about boarding pass invitations or STDs until joining this forum. By the time I finished mine and sent them out, I had forgotten how cool and unique they are. The positive feedback from guests is SO encouraging and really makes all of the hard work worth it. We keep getting emails and phone calls that they are the coolest things ever...I just hope that they stir up enough excitement to get people booking!!!! All in all, it was a fun project and a great activity to share with FI. Here they are (we attached a small Vistaprint magnet to the second page)