ELAINENYC

1. I brought all of my own decorations, which was not a lot. I kept it simple. I was charged $150. I brought down gazebo sheers and chair sashes for the ceremony. For the reception, i brought down lanterns, candles, flower petals to scatter on the table, menus, guest mad libs, and more chair sashes for the chairs at the reception. The only i bought down there were maracas. 2. If you use an outside vendor, you can avoid the $800 vendor fee by having them stay for 3nights. I splurged in this dept by using Elizabeth Medina. I did not pay the $800 vendor fee since I told them she was staying for 3 nights. She actually was only able to stay for 2 nights so it was much cheaper than the $800 vendor fee. The Resort did not give me a problem with her only staying for the 2nights. 3. This is really all up to you. Honestly, almost anything looks romantic on the beach! I have seen so many different types of gowns and they all looked beautiful. I did not have a veil and i did not have a long train. I will post pics soon so you can see and then decided. 4. I totally agree in this dept. I am only 5ft tall and my husband is 5'10". So I definitely needed to be taller. I opted for platform wedge flip flops for the beach ceremony. Then I changed to heels for the reception. Since I splurged on my photographer, I purchased inexpensive shoes at http://www.bridalshoesus.com/home.php They charged no sales tax and free shipping. 5. I would suggest calling, esp for the older family members. I know its a pain and very time consuming but your family/friends would appreciate it a lot more than an email. Of course, I'm sure there are guests who would totally be ok with an email so those guests i would send an email to. Plus the holidays are coming up so you can bring it up then and see what feedback you get. 6. I did not do any live music. But I wish I hired the mariachi band for the smores bonfire. I did have a photo booth and cigar roller during my reception which was a hit! Hope this is helpful...

MK0386 - No worries. I also thought the same thing as you. I did not want to bump into another bride while I was getting married but you will not even notice. You and the other brides will be at different locations of the resort and the resort is big enough where the music will not clash. There were 2 other weddings going on the same day as mine. I had NO idea until after the fact. I did not see them at all.

Ladies - AGain i am soo sorry for the delay in my review. I am trying to catch up on the posts I have missed during work. Shh..don't tell my boss. LOL. And I am hoping my internet/cable will be up and runing when i get home tonight! Keep your fingers crossed! Will definitely write a detailed review! In the meantime, feel free to PM any specific questions as I still have the trip fresh in my mind. One thing I will say, I REALLY DID NOT LIKE my wedding coordinator on the resort. Her name is Janet! I will give specific examples of what happened in my review. I do NOT want to scare anyone... i HAD A LOT OF FUN, but i will just give you some tips on how to manage her.

One more thing to add.... it is NOT humid at all! I had perfect 80s degree weather from Nov 6 - Nov 15th! It rained for 10 min on nov 14th and rained from 5am -7am on Nov 15th. Other than that, perfect weather! It did get a bit chilly at night and very very windy! At night it will drop down to 60s so bring a light cardigan or shawl.

My wedding was on November 10, 2012. My ceremony was from 3:00-3:30. Then we took group pictures and bride/groom pictures and did not feel rushed at all. Sunset was around 5:10pm. If you plan on having your wedding in November, I would recommend 3:00. I also had the photo booth set up during the reception, which was a LOT OF FUN! They have amazing props! All kids and all adults had a blast! Hope this helps...

Megan, Yes, unfortunately, it is an absolute FACT. Whether you have a symbolic ceremony or a legl cereomy it is NOT legal in the US. Ladies - So my wedding was on 11/10/12. Had a blast and will post pics and write a review soon. I am so sorry i have been MIA from this forum but the last 2 weeks before I left to Mexico was awful. Not sure if you know (but I know Jenny knows this), Hurriance Sandy hit our NY/NJ area hard and a lot of my family friends lost power, heat and had extensive house damage. And on top of all of that, we had a low supply of gas so gas lines were about 3-4 hrs wait!!! It was really rough during the last week since I had no idea how to get in touch with the store that had my wedding gown, my hairstylist and my jeweler. They all lost power. Luckily, I somehow managed. Sorry this is short since today is my 1st day back at work. I would love to post pics tonight when I get home but I still have NO internet! So, please be patient with me and I will send pics and my review soon! Overall, everything went well and I really lucked out with the weather! There are a few things I am annoyed about and that I have learned about, which i will definitely share( both good things and bad things) !!!!!!

Hi! There is no wrong way or right way to handle. I know some brides who did not send save the dates. And some brides sent out the save the dates followed by invitations. I actually placed my save the dates along with the invitation. If you have sent out the save the dates, then who do you know who is coming or not? So I would suggest sending out the invitations to all guests. Unless you already know who is coming and in that case, I would just send to them. Hope this helps... Elaine

Hi! Check out Water Me Not. http://watermenot.com/ Her name is kelly and she is AMAZING!!

sorry you are going through this! But you are def not alone. I ended up texting and emailing people to get a response. It is def very very frustrating and even a bit insulting for not rsvping, but there is one thing i have learned throughout this process.....that is those who want to come will fight tooth and nail to be there!! To tell you the truth, my mother is not coming. i prefer not to go into the details but let's just say my parents have been divorce for almost 10 years and she still can't be in the same room as my dad. Hang in there! And try not to let this bother you too much!!! Your energy is better spent on the other fun stuff!!

Josephine - Love your pic!!! Thank you for sharing! You have such an amazing smile!! Can't wait to see more!! tkuzma - Thank you for the compliment! I have been trying to lose these last 5 lbs....sooooo hard to get rid of!!!! Jenny - I just reached out to the vendor on etsy.com, looks like I will be able to get the extra sashes on time. Can't believe I almost messed up!! As for table decorations, I am just bringing down candles and lavender petals to throw on the table. We will also pick up maracas when we arrive in mexico. I am bringing down 60 pairs of personalized flip flops which is taking up sooo much room! On top of that I am bringing down 32 hand painted frames so my guests can place the photo taken at the photo booth in it. Then I have to bring down the groomsmen gift which is also taking up a lot of room. I think I might give these out before Mexico. Your thoughts? Do you plan on giving the wedding party gifts in mexico or beforehand? As for my flowers, I went with silk flowers, which I will hold in my hand. I am also giving each bridesmaid and my MOH, their bouquet to hold. As for my shoes, I am actually wearing personalized platform flip flops (about 3") for the beach ceremony. I am afraid if i wear heels i might trip walking on the plank. After the ceremony, I will quickly change into my heels,which is about 3 1/2 ". I am only 5ft tall so platform flip flops and heels are extremely important!!! lol. I bought my heels from the website below. It was free shipping and no sales tax. The shoes were inexpensive and I really could not spend much in this dept since I had already spent so much on other things. How amazing you can design your own shoes!!! Can't wait to see them!! Please make sure you share a picture!! Would love to see it!!! http://www.bridalshoesus.com/home.php

Hi Jen - Congratulations! And welcome to this amazing forum!!! Looks like we will be sharing an anniversary!! Definitely post any questions and/or comments at anytime! Happy Planning!!

tkuzma - sorry not much help here. We are going to Tahiti but we are going next year. My FI is graduating next year so we decided to wait until he is done with school.

Laura - What a beautiful picture!!!!!!! Can't wait to see more pics and read your review. Your hair and flowers are gorgeous!! Gina - I will be having my hairstyle done by them. From the reviews that I have read from past brides, not one bride complained. Actually all the past brides raved and loved their hair and makeup so I am really not worried about this. I think as long as you bring a pic of what hairstyle you like, they can duplicate it.

SO i am freaking out a bit. Just read from another bride that we should bring enough chair sashes for the ceremony and reception. I thought they would be able to move the sashes from the ceremony right to the reception. Now, I am not sure what to do.... use them for the ceremony or reception. Also, to those brides who used DJ Doremixx. Did you give him a list of the music you want? Or did he just played what was appropriate to get all guests on the dance floor? I have about 50 songs that I want but can't think of anymore. Is this enough? Any advice would be great! I am going to start packing the decoration this weekend. Hope I can fit into 1 suitcase.... I'm leaving tues, 11/6.... OMG!!! Just had my bachelorette party this past weekend in AC. Had a blast but now the next 2 weekends is trying to pull everything together! Breathe..breathe... lol

Jenna - Simply stunning!!!! Love your pics and love your dress! You look amazing! Congratulations!!!!!!!! Hope everything went smoothly for you!

Yippey!!! Congrats! Are you going with Azul Sensatori? or Azul Beaches? We set up our wedding page through www.mywedding.com. Super easy and free. There are a few other good sites, some being free and some costing a fee. I would shop around and see the sample pages. There might be a sample that jumps out at you. Happy Planning!!!!

Jessie - thanks! Big help. I asked my WC but still waiting on an answer. What a surprise...lol. hope you sense my sarcasm. Quote: Originally Posted by Jessie They are round tables of 8. I think at one time my WC said they possibly had different table sizes, but I don't know if that is actually true or not. I would plan on tables of 8, if at all possible. We had 7 round tables of 8, and then one table with 9 (same size table, just crammed one more in due to an odd number), and then our sweetheart table. It all fit nicely in a circle around the gazebo.

OMG! Can't believe your big day is right around the corner!!! super excited for you!!!

Thanks!! I am having my reception at Zava Plazas. Does anyone know how many people to a table?

Hi! My big date is in November so I will report back on the cake. But based on the reviews from past brides, my Fi and I are expecting it to be bad. We hope if we set our standards low we will be pleasantly surprised. Sorry to disappoint you....

jamilaimani - Thanks for reporting back. I can't believe they are now charging $25 pp for Le Chique. I just told my FI and both of us are FURIOUS! We have been telling our guests all about it since last year and many are really looking forward to it since they are such foodies person. Now to learn you have to pay $25 on top of the room rate on top of the airfare is NOT someone we were expecting at all! All of them are already making such sacrificies and now to tell them to cough up more money! Its not like $25 will break the bank but its the principal that my FI and I were never aware of this hike! Sorry i am just venting..... soooo upset! As for your upgrade to the swim up, do you remember what room #? Were you in the Premier section? I'm curious which rooms is located near the sewer... thanks! elaine

Wow! I had no idea the set up fee needs to be paid in cash! Good to know. Anything else that needs to be paid in cash? I assumed they would just tack onto bill and then you can just pay at the end when you leave. I guess I shoud not assume... lol My cocktail hour is for 2 hours but I requested for it to be 1.5 hr and the other 1/2 hour is being tacked onto my reception. So my reception will be 4.5 hrs. The cocktail hour is from 3:30-5:00. Then pictures b/w 5:00-6:30. And then the reception is 6:30-11:00. I can have the photo booth set up from 6:00-8:00. Since I am sure group pictures will not last 1.5 hrs. As for the Guest Mad Libs...hum... i guess I can have them hand these out during the cocktail hour by 4:30? That gives guests 1/2 hr to fill out. I am having the reception at Plaza Zavaz. Did you have a break b/w your cocktail hour and reception? Or was the reception right after cocktail hr. I think i am driving myself crazy..... I am normally pretty decisive but for some reason can't seem to make up my mind on this... . I think I am having a hard time figuring out how long will people eat for during the cocktail hour and how long will group shots be... I have 58 guests so i would imagine it would not be quick...