Less is more

Yeah May Ladies! I am so sad to have been away for so long but had to come take a visit! I hope all the May brides have a wonderful time and the wedding of their dreams. I did so I know you all will too. Can't wait to see your pics!

Hey ladies, So sorry I have been MIA but once the wedding is over everything that you put off till later comes crashing back. So I'm now officially caught up and should have my review posted here soon. One thing that I did that I've shared with Jaime was I packed a suitcase with everything I needed fro the wedding and ceremony set up. So when I got there, as many of you will read later in my review, i had tons of things to take care of! So it was wonderful that I had planned ahead and paid the extra $30 to check an extra bag! When I went to the onsite meeting I took the one suitcase and showed them everything inside and how I wanted it. I then gave them the suitcase and didn't worry about it anymore. If the sashes and runners needed ironing, they must have taken care of it, because they were perfect and got no complaints from my mother!!! ( the lady that irons bed sheets!) Even better after the wedding they stayed late and packed EVERYTHING back into the suitcase NEATLY!!! So all I had to do was take it back home!! So spending the extra money was sooooo worth it! Ladies wanting the ribbons on the bouquets....I would wait until your down there and tell the coordinators!!! Seriously the MIAMI crew nickel and dime you. If you wait they may do it for free if not you steal have $10 to pay but trust me it is worth as shot!! My Husband was in and out of the meeting because we were getting rooms arranged but I had to laugh because every time he came back in he added more LOL! Some how he added, with no extra cost, shrimp to the rehearsal dinner, extra bottles of champagne, and dance lights for the reception. So, I say all this that extras do come once you get down there at a much cheaper if not free rate. We were an exception due to our situation but they do try HARD to please you!!

I did do the clip ins and they worked perfectly for what i needed. I wanted it to be natural looking and the resort did a good job making my messy bun! The hair clips worked also for my TTD too. For my TTD I just did the ponytail which looked good with the wavy indian hair. My sister-in-law suggested to place the clips more on the side of the bun and have them clipped in so the hair flowed into the direction of the bun if that makes sense. So instead of going horizontal we took the tracks vertically concentrating on the right side being fuller. So my project worked and hope that helps! Thanks for the ideas and tips ladies!

FYI ladies. Just got back a few weeks ago and the pashminas were a HIT!!!! I was worried that the blue didn't totally match my wedding colors but everyone was so grateful and they wore them both nights. I handed them out the night before at the rehearsal dinner and left it up to everyone if they wanted to bring them to the wedding......just in case those who love to match had an option. But to my surprise all the ladies had them on and thought they were the best gift ever!! SO, i say all that to say no matter what color you pick everyone will love them. Besides you can't go wrong with awesome colors like orange or purple speedy130.

My advice is to talk with Ivan Luckie!!! He was my photographer and he truly was working hard for me and giving us all the attention we needed. I didn't have to coach him or wonder if he was catching every moment. He was all over everything between him and his assistant. I am his #1 fan without even having my pics back yet. He stayed until the very end of my reception which was like 1 am without even questioning it ( he arrived on time at 1pm and stayed til 1am). He was so sweet and you can tell he was very dedicated. My entire family and friends were raving about him. He prices were way better than LOMAS and I can guarantee he is definitely worth talking to! Our TTD was awesome too. www.luckiephotography.com

I agree. We had our wedding at 5 and scheduled for the reception to start at 6:30 and that was still not enough time. we didn't get alot of the traditional photos that i thought I would want because daylight was gone by 7pm. I felt like the coordinators was rushing us to get things going. I am thankful for a great photographer. I told him I wanted candid shots so I am sure he got them all. So plan for 5-7 and you'll be better off! Provide drinks and everyone is happy.

I just put one together on snapfish! so far so good. I am waiting for my uncle to upload the video if the wedding. I just asked that they label their ablums with their name so i knew who to thank!!!

We ordered it from island importer.......www.islandimporter.com It was the custom linen monaco suit. He absolutely loved his suit and the grooms loved their pants and shirts that we ordered for them. I would order a swatch it was very helpful in choosing the right color because the colors are hard to see on the computer. He went to a mens suit shop and got measured for a custom suit and everything came out perfect.

More to come later ladies these are just a few that a friend sent us. I hope to post pics of villa corola soon!

It will all look beautiful and the colors will flow amazingly. I hope the dress works out but if it is a little loose no worries. I swear after being down there 3 days before the wedding i put on drinking weight and of course food weight. everything was delicious and i really don't think i had huge meals but the meals had more substance than what i was eating previously lol!! And lots of drinking so do sweat to much if it is loose a little. I was trying so hard to coordinate colors of the grooms with the dads, and the moms with the bridesmaids that i finally just gave up!! It all worked out. My father-in-law bless his heart ended up wearing a white tux, pale yellow shirt with mismatching blue bow tie and cumerbun!!! WOW is all i can say! I freaked out at first when he told me about his outfit.....someone in florida told him it was perfect ....NOT.....but in the end it doesn't matter. We all had a great time.

Thanks for the wonderful wishes they did come through and everything was beautiful. Did you know about the villa before your wedding? The funny thing was that my husband and i during the planning process did a webinar with karisma and they showed us all the options. I had to work late so he got on the webinar before i got home and kept talking about this villa. But being a man he had written down minimal notes and i had no idea what he was talking about. He said it was sweet and should do it there but it was too small. So i wrote it off the list and thought nothing more of it. He talked about it the whole night but couldn't remember the whole name. It was not until the next morning after the wedding that it dawned on me that this is the villa he was talking about. When i reminded him of it he was blown away how everything came full circle. So i can't wait to see our pics. The photographer said two months because he had so many weddings back to back.

I was really worried about centerpieces at the reception and went down there with ideas but nothing concrete. What I had already planned was table names and not numbers since i had 7 tables. The names were of places we traveled together. I made 8x10 photo posters on snapfish for cheap that had the table name at the top and then a collage of photos from that trip. Everyone loved it and wanted one to take home. It did turn out cool since we incorporated pictures of the guest at that table that traveled with us. So i had that already planned but wanted flowers or something else. The vase with lemons would have been fine but once down there they informed me that their lemons are green and not yellow so i passed on that idea. The coordinator suggested i use the bridesmaids bouquets. I only had two so we put them in vase for two tables and i purchased a floral set of 3 different arrangements and that was enough for my tables. The BM bouquets were larger than i expected and worked out beautifully. I also use the the hanging bouquets from the ceremony to decorate cake table and welcome table. I hope this helps still waiting for pics and working on planning thread but I hope this helps stir up some ideas!!

Hello ladies, We are back and have tons to tell you. Most of you if not all know about the drama that took place four days before we left for our wedding. Long story short we booked AS in 2009 and had paid in full and had 34 guest traveling and they call me the Friday before we left ( we flew out on wed.) and told us the resort was over booked and sold out. We talked with karisma, destination weddings, and our TA for the next 3 days trying to figure everything out. The bottom line was they were moving us whether we liked it or not. Highly upset, tears for days but i put on the happy face and headed to Mexico. We arrive at AB on Wednesday afternoon and 4 couples arrived an hour ahead of us. They resort is nice but ladies they sat me down and told me they had to move me and some of my group again and immediately busted into tears and they were so sweet but boy was i devastated. They consoled me and promised me that everything was for the better and that now that i was at the resort they would do everything to make this the wedding event of my dreams. The AB has updated rooms which were fabulous and every room had an awesome view. The updates were so modern and clean lined and we were happy with our swim-up suite the first night we were there. So the next morning we meet the managers and wedding coordinators. They were wonderful ladies (LOMAS) and they took me through the entire wedding details step by step. Long story short.......Everything was beautiful. The resort moved me and 5 other guest rooms into Azul Villa Carola. It was AMAZING!!!!!! We moved family over to the villa that was there for the longest stay. We were worried about privacy but we had all the privacy we needed. The villa had huge master suits with private out door and indoor Jacuzzis, The bath room was almost as big as the regular junior suite at AS ( one couple was not moved to AB so they gave us entry into AS whenever we wanted during our stay to visit with them). The villa had two floors each fully equipped with full kitchens and living room plus one master suite and two bedrooms each with a private bathroom and patio space. The villa had its own main butler( MANUEL the sweetest guy ever) that handled everything! We had private 24 hr. security and maid service, room service and so much more. We lived like kings and queens. If you want an intimate and private event this is the place. The wedding ceremony was on the beach in front of the villa. The beach was ten times better than AS at this spot. We had the reception on the back lawn of the villa. We had the areas to dance and party all night long. Without interfering with the other guest of the resort. we partied until 2 am. The bar staff stayed late, the head chef prepared the food on site in the main downstairs kitchen. The food was amazing! I just can go on and on but ladies they really did make my wedding everything i wanted and ten times more than i could have ever imagined. The photographer was so sweet and wonderful. MANY MANY thanks to Ivan Luckie! It was a fairy tale ending! As soon as I have pics I will post them. Thank you for your prayers and support ladies. It did all turn out to be better than i could have ever planned. My husbands daughter now my daughter.... AWWW had a ball. We were laughing and talking last night about how wonderful her private pool was and the tasty chocolate milkshakes Manuel brought her everyday at lunch!! we need to all go on a diet. I was very grateful and blessed. I did the diamond massage bridal package at AS because the spa at AB was not fully updated yet but it was amazing highly suggest that service. AS spa was superb. OH.... i call it a blessing because AS had 16 weddings during my stay. The Spa was on overloaded with brides and bridesmaids and grooms. So being moved to AB made my wedding very personal. We were the only wedding during our entire weeks stay. They put a private message in the front lobby for me and Ozzie everyday and AB put our wedding events on the resort itinerary so guest knew ahead of time which restaurants would be closed for private events and where to watch the wedding. So the entire resort was applauding and looked for us everyday. OK once i have pics i will explain more. Azul Beach and Azul Carola is an A++++++++++ in my book!

Thank you soooo much Melissa. I just PM you my email address. If you could send me info and photos that you have that would be wonderful. I have had a drink, put in my eye drops and now i need to get it together and organized again. Plus prepare to call everyone tomorrow with the news. It's bad enough they were already concerned about whether or not it was safe to travel. Thanks for everything!

Thanks ladies......my eyes are swollen and i have this massive headache but your advice is right. For everyone who have weeks were booking is full or close to it please please call and verify that your stay is accommodated. I have been on the phone all day and yet to receive a valid reason why this has happened. A smaller resort offers less amenities that we were looking forward to especially after the awesome reviews of past brides. The end result is that they are working ......( don't believe that)....to make sure rooms are available for my guests and that the wedding plans transfer. I know you all can appreciate all the coordination, time, effort and planning that goes into these weddings. We put our trust and money and SIGN CONTRACTS with assurance that what we paid for is what we will get. Now instead of 6 restaurant choices we have 3, instead of mojitos we have tequila bar. The point is if that's what i wanted that's what i would have paid for in the beginning. The bottom line is that it is NOT WHAT I WANTED. Now i have to change my maps staring the locations of my events to guest, i don't know where my welcome party will be, itinerary and wedding location different, programs have wrong locations and resort name.......just work down the drain. Not the best results from Karisma or DW but picking myself up. If ladies that chose to be at AB could fill me in on the best locations or pics of suggestions from your coordinator that would help me try to piece some of this back together. We paid a lot in events, honeymoon suit for 8 days, private events. I just can't believe this is happening! I have 4 days......