KaelaMcD

First, you're not bugging me at all. :-) To answer both of your questions, yes, I had to pay a "service charge" for the things I brought, including the sheers for the gazebo. I think the $5 per guest is accurate, although, they told me (and I suppose it can always change) that they put at cap at $250 max, which I think is what I paid. I had almost 60 guests, so it would have been more had they actually charged $5 per guest. And, btw, that was the charge for ALL the extras I brought, so they didn't specify this much for the maracas, this much for the gazebo, this much for the place cards, etc. I gave them everything that I brought (it was a lot, see below!) and they gave me the flat $250 price which I thought was reasonable considering what I WOULD have paid had I gone through Lomas or an outside vendor for some of the stuff I brought. For example, the sheers were going to be upwards of $200 just to rent! What??? Then we'd still have to pay the "service charge" for all the other stuff anyway. So, for me, it was well worth the cost, and definitely saved money in the end. The $250 got me: -set up of the gazebo sheers -made sure all guests had programs (DIY project) -maracas at every place setting at reception -set out "place cards" which were names tied to starfish in a box of sand (another DIY project) -set out table cards at each table different tropical drinks (yet another DIY project) -set out 24+ blue glass votive candles (again, thank you Amazon) as a supplement to the floral centerpieces (bc they were $4 each on Lomas!), they of course decorated these ahead with the florist There is not an additional charge for two, very skilled, on-site wedding coordinators. I understand it's probably built into the cost of whatever package you purchase, but still, I didn't mind the exta "service charge" considering the amazing service they provided me and my guests. For example, everything was done exactly the way I wanted from my bridal luncheon (which required set-up that they didn't charge extra for) to the cocktail party, to the ceremony and reception. Everything ran so smoothly, and the resort threw in "extras" that were worth a lot to us, ie; upgrade to the honeymoon suite, names in the fountain in the lobby, every bartender catered to our guests and knew our names, to name a few... Hope that helps! Kaela

Melissa- First of all, don't apologize for all the questions! I don't mind at all. The "unknown" was the hardest part of my planning process, so whatever I can do to help others with that element, I'm willing to do! So keep 'em coming if you have them. :-) We had no trouble with the dress code. I've heard mixed reviews about this, though. We were there in October, which is technically low season where I think they may be a little more "lax" on the rules because there are many fewer people at the resort. From my memory, my guests dressed "appropriately" for dinner. You don't really have to "dress up" or get fancy, I just don't think they want people walking in wearing a wet bikini covered in sand for dinner. One of my Aunts' said that at Chil Lounge they asked her to put on shoes when she came in off the beach for lunch one day. But expecting shoes is pretty low expectations if you ask me! About two weeks before the wedding we sent out a snail mail letter to all of our confirmed guests with more specific details about the resort, the schedule, tips, etc. I think we reminded our guests about the dress code then. I can send you a copy of what we sent if you want to it for reference. Yes, we had an uneven wedding party. I don't know when people decided they have to be even? Who made that rule?! I only had my sister and cousin, and that's all I wanted. Bill had six groomsmen. We had all the groomsmen come down first, then parents and grandparents, then bridesmaids, FG and RB, then me and Dad. :-) We didn't have any of them actually "standing" (except my sis and his bro when we exchanged rings) so they didn't really serve an actual role in the ceremony. It was more just to honor them symbolically by giving them the groomsmen/bridesmaid title. And, a lot of them said they appreciated being able to sit because then they could actually see the ceremony! (Sometimes it's hard to see it from the side...) But there's not right/wrong way. Do whatever makes sense to you! :-)

We didn't have "trouble" but we did get stopped by their customs agents. Thankfully, I had my receipts to prove the values, because they did ask for them and were questioning why I had 60 tiny tubes of sunscreen (and aloe, and bug spray, and a number of other things!) The only things that need to be under that $300 mark are things that look like "merchandise." (so none of your personal items) I made sure we were under that mark, and if you're not, I would suggest maybe giving a friend/family member a few items to take so that the burden doesn't fall entirely on you (if that's possible for you). Honestly, the agents knew we were there for our wedding (as they literally opened and rifled through all seven of our bags...) and they were really understanding of the situation. And I'm sure they get that pretty often!

Melissa- Here is the exact link of what I purchased off of Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005WYWE9Y/ref=oh_details_o04_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 It says it's unavailable now, but I'm sure you can find something similar. Like this for example, http://www.amazon.com/Ivory-Organza-Fabrics-Yards-Wholesale/dp/B005WZMOS4/ref=sr_1_13?s=arts-crafts&ie=UTF8&qid=1362551632&sr=1-13&keywords=organza+fabric It's the same thing I got, but ivory instead of white (which is so close when we're talking about sheer organza). I think it ended up costing me about $40 total. Huge savings compared to what it costs to rent them from Lomas! It was two bolts of organza fabric, both measuring 25 yards each, and it was more than enough. We gave them to the wedding planners, and the staff assembled them to the gazebo. Packing tip: I had to take the cardboard out of the bolts to make them much easier for packing, otherwise they won't fit in a standard suitcase. Yes, I did bring pictures of both hair and makeup that I was looking for. I would recommend this unless you're fluent in Spanish. The language barrier with the stylist was tough at times. I speak a little Spanish, but not enough to talk about specific hair and makeup terminology! Thanks for the compliment on my hair. :-) Overall, I was happy with it. I only had the flowers the actual day of the wedding, and yes they were real cymbidium orchids. My only complaint about my hair is that I'm not big on hairspray and they LOADED my hair with hairspray. I guess this can be expected with most up-do's, but I wanted it to look a little more "relaxed." On the other hand, it looked pretty much exactly the same from 2pm to midnight! My critique on the makeup is that I didn't really think it was worth the money. I did the trial, and didn't feel like I was getting $85 worth (or whatever it costs, I can't remember) of better makeup and application than I could do myself. I'm really into makeup and have nice products, and based on the trial, I just didn't feel like it would be worth the extra money so I did it myself. I know a few other brides have hired outside vendors, but then you run into that darn outside vendor fee! So, all that to say, I think they will do a good job (they will even use your own products if you want) with your makeup, I just didn't use them because I decided I could do it myself and save a few bucks. Glad you like the maraca idea! Our guests had a lot of fun shaking them all night. To make the tags I just used a microsoft word document, copied and pasted the line "Shake me for a kiss" in two columns, then printed it on white cardstock. I used a cutting board to cut each one out, then used a hole punch to put a hole in each of them. Last but not least, I tied them to the maracas using ribbon from a craft store. I waited to tie them on until we got to Mexico so they wouldn't get smushed in our bags. It sounds like a lot of steps, but it was easy and pretty cheap. I knocked it out in a couple hours on a Saturday.

girltravel77-Thank you so much for your kind words, I'm glad you enjoyed the photos! It really was an amazing day, and I really was super relaxed! How can you not be in such a beautiful place? Don't worry about asking me anything, I enjoy helping other Azul brides because it's hard to plan a wedding so far away! I welcomed all the help I could get, so I'm returning the favor! The flower petals were real. I added them to my contract, and you can specify what color you want. The wedding planners sprinkled them right before the ceremony started. They also gave some to the flower girl. I wanted very few ceremony decorations. It's such a beautiful setting, you don't need a lot of extra stuff. I brought the sheers for the gazebo (Ordered from Amazon for $40 and saved a lot of money!) and had the flower petals and that was it. The live band was the "Mexican Trio" off the Lomas website. Yes, it was for the cocktail hour, which was at the Wave Lounge. I thought they were great, and my guests loved them as well. I love live music, and this definitely gave the event an authentic flare! We had the Lomas DJ's for the reception, and they were great as well! Originally I had scheduled hair and makeup with the salon at the resort. You can do a run-through, which I did, for an additional cost. The day before the wedding I had a massage and did the trial hair and makeup. I wasn't happy with the makeup, so I canceled it for the next day, and ended up doing it mostly on my own with the help of my aunt. There's no way I could have done my own hair, so I kept that appointment. She came to my room, so I didn't have to go to the spa. I will say, the language barrier did make communication about what I wanted for my hair difficult. If I could go back, that mioght be the one tiny little thing I would change...but overall I was happy with the result. I didn't want a veil, so that's why I went with the flowers. They are cymbidium orchids. They were beautiful, and stayed in my hair all night! I brought the maracas as well. I ordered them from this site http://www.amols.com/catalog/yellow-maracas They ended up being about $2 each. I put the "Shake me for a kiss" tags on them once I got there. We gave them to the wedding planners and they set them out at each place setting. They were a hit with the guests too!

Hi everyone! I recently got pictures back from our fantasitc photographer/videographer team at Playa Weddings. I'm including a link to our photo slide show, and a link to our highlight video. Enjoy! Kaela http://www.playaweddings.com/slideshows/kaela_bill/ http://vimeo.com/54975951

Here is a picture of our OOT bags. They were really simple. I put everything together once I got down there obviously. I ordered a lot of things from Amazon bc you can get sample sizes in bulk. All in all, it was a really cheap project. I taped a "schedule" for everyone on the outside of the bag so they would know when the big events were (opening night cocktail, bridal luncheon, rehearsal dinner, wedding) with a Thank You tag. Inside the bags I had sample/travel sizes of sunscreen, aloe, insect repellent, shout wipes, Advil, a Spanish-->English "cheat sheet," and we made custom drink koozies for everyone that had our name and the wedding date.

Candace-Yes, they offer a light up dance floor. If you look at the Lomas website http://www.weddingsbylomastravel.com/ and look under "Planning and Ideas" and then I think it's under furniture, it describes the different dance floors. I think it's a cool idea! Ashley-Yes, the Chil Terrace is pretty small so having actual escort cards might not be needed. I think the Coke bottles would look great at the place settings. The tag could have their name and say something like, "Our love is the real thing." Isn't that the Coke motto?? It's the real thing? :-) Just an idea! I'd also keep the caps on...as soon as the guests are seated the waiters will be right there to open them.

I posted a response yesterday...but it's not here, so sorry if it eventually gets posted and this is redundant. girltravel77-I was told 60 is the max in Blue Terrace as well. As far as a timeline goes, the on-site coordinators absolutely help you with that. Some of the events (ceremony, dinner, dancing etc.) is on your contract, but all the other day of details they will help you coordinate. When you have your meeting with them, they literally go over every single detail (like hair appt, photographer arrival, etc.). Part of their job is to keep everyone on schedule the day of the wedding, so they definitely help with the planning. They don't pre-set everything weeks in advance, but they go over the timeline with you, and offer advice and suggestions about what will work best. karyc-The lobby is actually a great place to have a meeting. It's beautiful, quiet and spacious with lots of little seating areas. Hopefully they'll let that go...the nickel and diming can be ridiculous... From my experience, it was a lot easier to work with the on-site coordinators, than trying to plan some of the more minor details with Lomas. That was incredibly hard for me, as I'm a bit of a control freak! They went above and beyond to make sure everything was perfect. For example, I asked Lomas for a mic stand for my cousin who was playing guitar for the ceremony. They said they charge would be $90. For a mic stand. For less than half an hour. Ridic! Because of the price, I said forget it, and did not add it to my contract. However, I asked the coordinator's on-site, and they said it was no problem at all and didn't charge me a dime. I think the communication is tough with planners in Miami, instead of the ones who are actually at the resort. So, just keep that in mind with some of the smaller details. :-)

karyc-Trust me, I REALLY feel you pain about the nickel and diming...it can be a little ridiculous. A couple things that might make you feel better are A.) if they do let you meet with your DJ in the lobby, it's beautiful, comfortable, quiet, lots of little seating areas, actually a great place for a meeting and B.) the on-site coordinators are extremely accommodating, and I'm sure they will work that out with you. From my experience, Lomas Travel and Azul Beach are operating independently and there is very little communication between the two. So for some of the details, I would hear from Lomas, "We can do that, but it will be an additional $100" or something like that. Lomas is collecting the payment for the contract, so I'm sure they want to add on a charge for every additional request. I ended up not adding a few things to my contract thinking I would ask the staff on-site when we got to the resort and hope for the best, and that was clearly the way to go! For example, my cousin played guitar for the ceremony, so I asked for a mic stand to place in front of his guitar. Lomas told me it would be a $90 charge. For a mic stand. Seriously?! I did not add it to my contract, but asked the on-site coordinators. They didn't charge a dime, and the mic stand, chair, music stand, and everything else was set-up an hour before the ceremony. girltravel77-I was also told 60 was the max for Blue Terrace. As far as your timeline goes, the onsite coordinators do take care of that (to an extent). Some of the times (like ceremony, cocktails, reception) will be on your contract, but they will also go over the entire day with you. In my meeting with them, we talked extensively about every single detail, including the timeline. They don't set it for you weeks in advance, but part of their job is to keep you on schedule. So in your meeting with them, they will help you with a timeline.

Hey girls, Just thought I'd add my experience with the tables at Blue Terrace since there are lots of questions about them (and believe me, I had lots of questions too when I was planning). We got married on October 14th, last year. We were close in size to most of you, we had 57 guests. I understand their maximum policy because with 57 guests, it would have been hard to fit another table of 8 people and still have a dance floor. Yes, they line the tables of 8 basically around the perimeter of the restaurant, leaving a "dance floor" in the center of the room. Yes, the tables are 3x3, but in my case they put four 3x3 tables together, forming a 6x6 square seating 8 people (confusing, I know!). At the head table, they put 6 3x3 tables to form a rectangle (3 people on each side, 2 on the end), but that was only at our table, and I believe they did that so that no one at our table would ever have their back to the dance floor. All the other tables, though, were four 3x3 tables pushed together to make a square. Having been in the space, I would recommend that as opposed to the rectangle set-up to save space. Also, the tables are big (because one is normally for four people) so when/if you push six together, the table feels huge. Azul Terrace is in a rectangle (or oval) shape itself, so our one long table (the 6 3x3 tables) was at one end, and the DJ with all his equipment was at the other end. I posted my flickr account so you can see some more pics of Azul Terrace, and also posted my highlight wedding video where you can kinda see at the end the way the tables are arranged. Hope that helps, let me know if you have any questions. Have so much fun planning! http://vimeo.com/54975951 http://www.flickr.com/photos/kaelamcdougall/

Whitney- I got married at Azul Beach this past October, and it was PERFECT. You won't talk to the on-site coordinator's until you are actually on-site. You have a meeting with them prior to the wedding to go over every last detail. At this time, some adjustments can be made to your contract (add stuff, take stuff away). Once you actually book, you will receive a contract form that outlines all the details of your events (wedding, cocktail party, rehearsal dinner, etc.). Azul Beach contracts with the travel agency Lomas Travel, who will then assign you a wedding coordinator. They are based out of an office in Miami, and that is the person you will work with to plan all the many details. You work from the Lomas Travel website http://www.weddingsbylomastravel.com/ for many of the details, and use the Azul Beach "Private Events" web page to plan your menu(s) http://karismahotels.com/Portals/0/Files/Weddings/WeddingBanquetKit_0.pdf Hope this helps! Let me know if you have any other questions.

Feel free to browse my flickr account for pictures of where they do the weddings on the beach. I think those are at the very end. The beach is small, so if you're wanting a really wide beach area, far away from the resort, Azul is probably not the best choice. Our wedding was FANTASTIC, and I have no complaints about Azul Beach, so I certainly give it my endorsement! http://www.flickr.com/photos/kaelamcdougall/

I had my hair done at the resort, I replied to your earlier post above about my experience. You can also see my hair in the video that Playa Weddings posted at the top of this page. I brought pictures of what I wanted it to look like, which I recommend, because the language barrier was challenging at times (unless you speak Spanish!). :-)

I think my hair makeup was about the same price (maybe a little less, when I was there a few months ago). I also did the trial run the day before, just to make sure I was going to be happy with the results, and I'm glad I did. I'm pretty sure the cost of each was exactly half of the cost that it was for the actual day (so in your case it would probably be around $47ish for each). I ended up using them for my hair, but did my own makeup after being REALLY unimpressed by my makeup trial. No way (in my opinion) was the job worth almost $100! There was nothing special about the products, and there was really nothing impressive about the application. The makeup artist was one of my ONLY complaints about the entire experience. Just wasn't impressed! They did not penalize/charge me for canceling the makeup artist the day before the wedding. Also, they did not charge extra to come to my room the day of the wedding. I did the trial at the spa.

Ashley, From what I remember, that was pretty much the extent of the "cocktail area." My guess is that if they have a larger party, maybe they open up the area where the actual ceremonies are performed? It's adjacent to that area in the picture. But that's just a guess. That to say, I don't think it would look too empty with a smaller party in that area. You'll also have tables and service staff that also take up some "space." I will say, the view is beautiful up there. BUT, it's pretty windy and there's absolutely no shade. So, keep that in mind depending on what time of day you were thinking.

Ashley, I made a flickr account with pictures of the resort. I did take some of the sky terrace. You can check it out here. http://www.flickr.com/photos/kaelamcdougall/ I don't know if you'll be able to tell from the pictures, but the area where they do the cocktails is like one level lower than where they do the weddings. If I'm remembering right, it was too small for my group (55 people), but it was definitely a neat spot. Kaela

TarynM-The trio was $600 for basically an hour. We used it for the cocktail between the ceremony and reception. They did a great job. Originally I wanted the mariachi band, but the cost got me in the end!

truitt2002- I agree, choosing a resort is very daunting (and tough since you have to go off pictures and other people's advice)! I walk you through my process! Once we decided on a destination wedding, we needed a destination. We chose Mexico because of the cost (more bang for your buck than other Caribbean spots) and its proximity to the state/ease to travel there. Once we chose Mexico we met with a Travel Agent for some advice. We went with Legacy Travel because they specialize in destination weddings (and they have an office in Chicago where we're from). If you don't have an agent, I highly recommend it, as they take care of ALL the booking of your guests and make sure all their travel arrangements are taken care of, so YOU don't have to worry about it. When we sat down with our agent, we told her what was important to us and she recommended a handful. She told us the pros and cons of each, and also the cost of each. Honestly, I can't remember the name of the others we were looking at (I think one was a REAL resort??). We ultimately decided on Azul Beach for the following reasons: -Size (It's very small, and this was perfect! It meant we were able to spend time with all our guests, and we were all running into each other the entire weekend. You can walk from one end of the property to the other in less than five minutes. This was also important to us for our elderly guests, including a 92-year-old grandmother.) -Accommodations for kids (We knew we would have guests with small children, and the service for the children is outstanding, and something that sets them apart in my opinion. They have a great Kids Club, where two of our guests' kids LOVED and cried everytime they had to leave! They have everything parents needs for small children from strollers, to toys, to baby Gerber food, to high chairs, to bottle warmers, everything!) -One wedding a day (I had read some horror stories about the larger resorts that do lots of weddings in one day. This appealed to us, as it means the staff is only concentrating on you and your guests on your day. :-)) -Proximity to the Cancun airport (We weren't interested in anything too far from Cancun as alot of our guests had to take multiple flights already to get there, but we also didn't want to be right in the "craziness" that can be Cancun. It's no lie that Azul Beach is only 20 minutes away. From the time we left the airport, to the time we pulled up to the resort, it was about 20 minutes, maybe less.) -Beyond that, our agent RAVED about it as she had been there many times. After reading about Azul Beach and the other spots she recommended, it was the clear winner based on other brides, and just other hotel guests. Take a look at the Trip Advisor reviews. I will say, if you want a "party place" this is not for you. It's a very quiet, peaceful place both during the day and at night. All the entertainment is usually over by 11pm, and only one bar stays open late (1am). It was the perfect little paradise for us, and all of our guests loved it and had nothing negative to say. Hope this helps!

Ashley- There are a handful of chandelier's at Blue Terrace. They all look the same, and yes, they look great and are very pretty on their own. I have a few pictures of the Terrace on my flickr account. Feel free to take a look. http://www.flickr.com/photos/kaelamcdougall/

TarynM- I used Playa Weddings for both photography and videography based on their work I had seen (and many at Azul Beach). I haven't seen the work yet (since the wedding was 10/14) but I was very pleased with them overall. It's a husband and wife team. Rachel does the photography, and she's very friendly and was shooting non-stop. Paul does the videography, and after about an hour, I didn't even notice he was there (and he was there from 3pm-9pm)! They both have an assistant as well shooting photo/video so you get multiple angles. Because they are one vendor, I only had to pay the fee once, and they were gracious enough to work with me to bring the cost down. I'll post some pics when I get them. Let me know if you have questions!

Hi All- Just had my wedding at Azul Beach on October 14th, and it was FANTASTIC. A big review is in the works. In the meantime, I wanted to respond to all of your comments about Lynda. I had her as well, and had the same experience. She took FOREVER to respond to me, about anything, and often didn't really have definitive answers. It was very frustrating. If I have anything to complain about with the experience, it was working with her/Lomas WC's. I think they must be understaffed... I definitely recommend getting important things in writing (via email, like prices, and confirmations, etc.) but if you have other somewhat insignificant questions/concerns, it was often much easier to call her with a list of questions and knock them out all at once! Even still, bring a copy of EVERYTHING (that's important, for example, your contract) with you to Azul Beach, and make sure you have documents ready when you meet with the planners. The planners on-site are wonderful, and you can change/add things once you're there (and I found that sometimes they quoted me a cheaper price than Lynda/Lomas had...for example, I asked for a mic stand for my guitar player during our ceremony, Lynda said it would be $100, for a mic stand, redic! I did not put it in my contract, but then asked for it once I got there, they only charged me $10...I have a few examples like that...). Thank goodness I had brought a copy of my contract, because Lynda had not sent them the DJ list of songs/schedule for our reception! That took a LOT of work, and there's no way I could have done it again once I got there. I gave my copy to the on-site planners, and they made sure the DJ had it before the reception, and they did a super professional job with little to no notice ahead of time. I will also say, she seemed to get a little better the closer we got to the wedding (especially after we still hadn't paid the contract past the due date because she still hadn't confirmed things...). I'm sure they make the closest wedding their priority, which is understandable. She told me once, that every day she gets into the office and is greeted with hundreds of email from all of us asking about centerpieces, music, food, etc. Like I said, I suspect they are understaffed, and its difficult to get to all of them... In any case, although that was really frustrating, I knew it was to be expected (at least a little) in planning a destination wedding. There will always be the element of the "unknown!" However, once you are there, I assure you, the staff at Azul Beach is OUTSTANDING and everything will be perfect. So rest easy, you are in good hands, and will have a beautiful wedding! Let me know if you have questions!

Hi Azul Beach Brides- I started a flickr account with photos from Azul Beach. These are not from my actual wedding, just photos of the property. Let me know if you have any questions. Kaela http://www.flickr.com/photos/kaelamcdougall/

karyc- I'm working on a flickr account with pics of the property so I'll share the link as soon as it's finished. I'm not sure how flexible they are on the number of guests in the Terrace. According to my Lomas planner (Lynda) she informed me they were not flexible at all (had to be between 45-60). Before we knew our final number, we were going over all the different options based on 65 as our max number of guests, and she told me we could not be in the Terrace if we were over 60. And, now that I've seen the space, I understand why that "rule" is in place. Honestly, you might be able to seat 70 people, but you'd have no room at all for a dance floor. We had 55 total, and we pretty much utilized all the space along the perimeter of the room, leaving a dance floor in the middle that was probably around 15ft x 10ft (again, rough estimate!).