MrsVaughn2B

I just realized I never sent you girls a picture of my dress. Here is the website, I hope it works. Saison Blanche Couture

Lilly, Welcome to the best forum on the net. Its so helpful and all of the girls are awesome. Its really making planning more fun. Don't hesitate to ask any questions.

Ash, Your dress is very pretty, it will look so stunning on the beach. Well done!

Quote: Originally Posted by Afrommert Can anyone give me inside scoop about the azul sensatori resort? Likes/dislikes? Is there a wedding coordinater at the resort? I need some good tips Thanks anyone?? Congratulation and welcome to the forum. Being a destination bride is a lot more work than expected. Remember to be patient as sometimes it can be a bumpy ride. I chose AS because they are part of Karisma chain and are a GI resort. My travel agent helped us with research and gave us some personal recommendations. AS also allows kids and also has an adult only area and we felt that was important. Many of brides have said the food is great and the overall service is excellent. The down side is there are a lot of extras you might want and that can become pricey. Be prepared to pay additional if you want to have a private reception or cocktail party. Also be prepared to pay a lot for flowers and any other extras like chair bows, covers, center pieces, canopy sheets, etc... The resort does want you to use their photographers, but from what I have heard from the ladies on the forum the choices are limited. We are bring our photographers with us and we have told the resort and travel agent they are personal friends. They are also staying for 3 nights and that will get us out of the $500 vendor fee. Make sure you stay on top of your Lomas WC. Make sure you get all your pricing in writing via email and if you make a change or update, make sure they provides that update to you in your spreadsheet. I caught mistakes in my WC's math in my spreadsheet and made sure she added the additional items to the total. I don't want any surprises when its time to pay up. Over all the experience has been memorable to say the least. Its really all what you make of it. Just keep in mind that you are dealing with lots of different people and at times can get painful and tiring. Good Luck!!

Nicole, You are going to have a wonderful wedding no matter how many people are there. Lots of postive thoughts!

Shannon, Did you get your make or hair done at the resort? What did you think of the services? Any recommendations. Thanks in advance, Andrea-

Quote: Originally Posted by KittenHeart Good suggestion Allisa!! Man 2 weeks I might have to be taking some serious sleeping pills or muscle relaxers I already dream wedding stuff non-stop! I'm sitting next to FI's BM who's doing our monogram with my direction, I'm going a different route so hopefully it turns out well! I have wedding dreams all the time. My FI thinks I'm nuts. Plus I am addicted to this website and it dirves him batty.

Nicole, Welcome back! Sounds like you had a great time on vacation. I am sure it was nice to get away for a little while.

We are sending formal invites for our religious blessing and reception in Kansas City but not for the actual wedding at AS. Since these 2 local events will have seperate invites, I didn't want to tackle another invite in the mix.

Meghan, You have to have a magic touch. I sent my save the dates out in June and we are telling people to book my Sept. 7th. The only people who are booked so far in our group is my FI and I and maybe like 6 other people. The funny thing is lots of people have bought their plane tickets already just not made their deposit to the travel agent. We sent another email out today, so I hope reminds people to hurry and book.

katken, Thank you soo much for the review. It's nice to hear the positive things. I know the planning can be painful but I know to keep a open mind and remember its all about us and what we make of it.

Quote: Originally Posted by katken Hi Girls, A while back someone had asked about menus. I'm sorry it has taken me so long to reply. I think it may have even been a PM but I thought I would just post here for everyone. We did the BBQ Deluxe option for our menu. To be honest, I have no idea if it was good as I only had a roll all night long! It looked delicious and all of my guests seemed to enjoy it. The reason I chose the buffet BBQ Deluxe is because I wanted people to have access to food quickly. I didn't want a big formal sit down dinner, we wanted more time for music, dancing, and the DJ. Hope that helps! katken, Over all how was the food at the resort? Was there anything you fell in love with or anything you don't recommend?

Ladies, thank you for the encouragement. It really helps to know that I am not the only one feeling like this. I am going to try really hard to make them more involved in everything, it certainly can't hurt. You girls are really awesome!

Quote: Originally Posted by Katie_2010 woooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo I bought my dress on Saturday ) Even got pics (but not putting them on here as FI logs on from time to time!!) but I'm soooooooooooo happy! can't stop looking through my them! now for the hard work - dieting. ah crap...that's what I'm hopeless with - hate veg, don't like fruit or salad and I crave all the stuff you're supposed to avoid like the plague! Katie. Congrats! Can't wait for the pictures.

I am having a future in law's issue. I can't get over how little they want to be involved in our wedding. They told us months ago, when we decided on a destination wedding that this wasn't the ideal way they saw us getting married. They have complained about the traveling and now have only decide to stay for as little time as possible, just to see the wedding. My feelings are really hurt that they can't get past their personal feeling and be happy for us. My parents and friends tell me not to worry about it, and the people who love us and really want to be with us will be there. I know need to get over it but just can't seem to. Am I being a bridezilla?

Quote: Originally Posted by Allisa Congrats on finding your dress Katie! That is super cool! I think my OOT bags are done as far as what is going in them.... I hope so, the due date is coming up! I got some Emergen-C -thanks for the idea, it will be perfect for the hangover bags! Heading off to my second dress fitting -wee! I would love to know what you have decided for your bags.

Quote: Originally Posted by KittenHeart MrsVaughn - It is OOT I'm in this mode now of OOT bag stuff, I just found flip flops for my bridal party @ JCrew on sale for $6.40 each - 20% off sale items and free shipping! You can't beat that OMG! I am so glad you told me that, I was really confused. My brain is on wedding overload most days.

Quote: Originally Posted by meghan What is the difference between favours and oot bags? ....and what does OOT stand for? Im sure its a dumb question but i have no idea lol OTT stands for Out of Town bags. Not really sure why its OTT and not OOT. haha! Favors are what people usually do at their reception. Like mini picture frames, or cookie cutters with a little a note attached with the bride and grooms wedding date. A friend of mine did hot coco mix as her wedding favor people could grab on the way out.

Quote: Originally Posted by AshManahan Our wedding is November 27th, 2009. I can't figure out how to get it to appear in my info. This website needs to hire a useability specialist! My list of stuff so far has things like cards, pool floats, sunscreen, immodium , hangover pills, breathmints, pashminas, etc. I feel like I am missing some cute ideas. I'm having beach bags printed up that on one side say "Thirsty" and the other say "Do Not Disturb". I haven't figured out what kind of designs to put on them yet. OMG! I love what the bags are going to say. I am totally going to take some of your ideas, I hope you don't mind. I was thinking shout wipes would be good to have. I better start getting the sunscreen and beach stuff now, that stuff will be no where in sight in January and February. Thank you for the ideas.

Quote: Originally Posted by AshManahan I decided to go with the lower rates. My guest are extending their reservations lot and I just didn't feel good about passing higher rates on to them. We decided to change most of our rooms to premiums. They are only $304 a night now for 2 people. My reservation person at Karisma is Catherine, but she can't do anything. However....the manager that makes all of the decisions is Alberto Fernandez. I would give your TA his name. Your TA may be hesitant to make the changes though because she will lose her 10% commission I bet. So, let's start a new happy discussion! Who is working on welcome bags for their guests, and what are you putting in them? I've got a list of about 15 things so far but need to narrow them down and get a move on! Ash, When is your wedding again? I really want to do welcome bags but not really sure what to put in them. I have a few ideas but would love to see what everyone else is thinking too.

Quote: Originally Posted by KittenHeart MrsVaughn2B -3 or 4 days in the Jr. Swim up Suite I am in the swim up swim next to my guests for 4 nights and then move to the Honeymoon suite on my wedding day for 3 nights and for the two of us I am paying $2,000 which includes tax and transfers. For 3 nights in the Jr. Swim Up suite we were quoted $887 for 3 nights and $1170 for 4 nights. We are going during high season in Feb. so we expected rates to be a little higher. For the Jr. Jacuzzi suite ( no swim up) we are quoted $775 for 3 nights and $1010 for 4 nights. My FI and I decided to stay in the Premium Jacuzzi Swim up Suite and it came out to be $2125 per person for 7 days. All taxes and transfers are included in all the prices as well.

Quote: Originally Posted by KittenHeart Does anyone mind sharing the room rates they got from their TA compared to the rates on the Karisma website? I'm almost afraid to ask but if you don't mind I'd love to compare and make sure I don't have to freak out on my travel agent. =) How many days are you looking at and which room?

Quote: Originally Posted by Shandalier I have a pretty random question for all of you about the actual ceremony. We are planning for a friend, who was ordained on the internet, to marry us so we are not paying for the civil ceremony or blood test stuff in Mexico. We just want it to be more personalized by having a very close friend perform the ceremony. We also do not want to get married before or after at a JP. We were just planning to apply for and file the marriage license here in Travis county with the date of the ceremony we have in Mexico. Is that legit? I mean, will it be a legal marriage as far as the state of Texas is concerned? Shandalier, I would double check with your TA and WC if this will be legal. Have you asked if you will receive a marriage license without a civil ceremony? From all of the information I have gathered from my TA and looking at the legalities between the USA and Mexico, its only legal if you have a judge marry.

Quote: Originally Posted by KittenHeart Heather, you're wedding was $335? Everything? Getting married in Cuba would be really cool but the travel would be insane for us girls in the Sates. It is awesome you got to get such a great deal Heather!

Quote: Originally Posted by Shandalier KittenHeart, Did your contact at the resort say anything about having over 40 people for your Spoon restaurant dinner? I noticed it says 46 booked on your signature. I think we will have closer to 50 and I am hoping they will still let us use that. Otherwise, we lose the whole thing!! How ridiculous is that? I asked Tiffany what happens if we have more than 40 people and she told me it is $25 for each additional person. If there is more than 50 people,she will have to request special permission from the resort. I am sure they will work something out for you.