TinkerSofi

@@november15 so true! We haven't gotten a lot of negative comments. Only a few complaints that our resort was too expensive so they're going somewhere else. I agree with you, it's usually about them and not us. They want to go to a party hotel and I guess ours doesn't fit the bill. It's not about the money, it's about what they envision our hotel will be like. On the other hand, friends that we honestly didn't think would go are coming. Three of them will have kids or small babies, all under the age of 3. It's great and that's exactly why we didn't choose a party hotel, or an adults only hotel. I guess you can't please everyone and people are so quick to judge, "you chose the most expensive hotel you could find", "you are so inconsiderate" and on and on. People will never understand how hard it is to choose a resort that you think will please you along with everyone else, who fits all your requirements and that hopefully it doesn't break the bank. They also don't understand how expensive a destination wedding still is for the bride and groom. In the end they end up being the inconsiderate ones but whatever. I'm trying to focus on all the people who are coming with us and having a good time with them

that's interesting that you mention that you'll be taking family photos. When looking around for photographers to do e-sessions it was ridiculous how some of them were like "family session" - $150, "engagement pictures" - $500. I guess you mention the word wedding and people want to suck you dry

Found it! I love your rings. They're so simple and elegant. Here are mine; Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

i'll do that right now! I really want to see yours

It sure is! You almost want to try them all on. Even the ridiculous ones that are like $30,000 haha. I still have no idea how in the world I chose one. I went with my dad to pick out a ring for my mom for their 25 anniversary and I chose one that is pretty similar to mine haha Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Mine was from spence too! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

haha well if anything I think it's the one thing that you should be spending money on, the ring. Like I said, it will be the only thing from the wedding that you will actually use forever. I personally had to pick the one that matched because it was so perfect haha. You could always blame it on him and say that he chose the e-ring to begin with hahaha. So far i think we will get 3 free people. 2 of which we will use for Juan's mom and one of his sisters because they're coming from Colombia and their trip will be around $3000 each . The other one I'll probably give to my parents because they're helping us out with a lot of costs so it should cover my brother's trip

That's pretty stressful too. I put together an info package in Spanish for my family because they don't speak English but it is stressful to act as liaison as well. It turns out no one can afford to come now but it would have been fun haha.

I feel the same way! I wasn't planning on buying mine so soon but I just loved it and it was the last one left because it had been discontinued. I would have hated it if I had walked away and then when I made up my mind it was gone. I love mine because even though I thought the classic chiffon destination wedding dress looked really nice, this one was what I wanted before I knew we would have a destination wedding. I still second guess myself every time some page on facebook posts a beautiful wedding dress. I stopped watching say yes to the dress too because I feel like it would make me second guess everything. I'm way too indecisive for my own good, and I'm already driving people nuts so I need to stop haha.

I told everyone our deadline is tomorrow but it's actually Aug 25th and I have a feeling that some will wait until then haha. Most of them booked over this weekend. One of my friends RSVP'd right before she went on vacation and she thought that goes to the travel agent but it doesn't, they have to fill out a form with credit card info, etc. When I tried to contact her she had already left for Mexico so she'll be cutting it close, coming back on the 24th. Yeah our costs are pretty much the same. We're spending about $4000 on our trips, insurance included and around $6000 on the wedding. Then adding on another $1300 for the photos and video so it's a bit over $7000. I find the little details are what adds up, the things we need to bring from here, etc. I bought my wedding band a while back and it was expensive, around $600 haha but I thought, "it's the one thing I'll wear forever" so I needed to buy the one that made the set with my E-ring. The costs are still much better than if we had done it at home and we can't compare the scenery so we're happy with our choice. We're expecting around 35-38 guests, less than our 50 that we originally thought but that's actually a nice number . It feels nice that our budget was actually enough.

No, I don't think there's a chance to convince them. We tried but they keep saying that they want to pay around $1300 and that our resort is not what they're looking for. We tried to explain that it was tough to find a resort where we could have a private reception for so many people and we tried to choose out of those, the least expensive one. Unfortunately, for a budget of $1300, that means the hotel needs to be around $900 to be able to add the taxes that are almost $400. We couldn't find anything in that price range that met our requirements and that had a wedding department that was well established. They said they would probably wait a bit more to book. One of the 4 friends I actually know that he would have a tough time paying so i'm not upset about that. He's living on his own and going to school full time so it can be tough. I'm trying to find roommates for people as much as I can haha, the difference between the single and double booking is huge for our hotel! There's not a lot of singles in our guests and so far everything is working out

I agree, at least I would go to whatever hotel the couple chose, unless I really couldn't afford it. It might not be my cup of tea, but they chose it and it's their wedding, it's not about me. They also really bugged us for months for us to let them bring a plus one, despite the fact that they're so unstable with their girlfriends, and that really upsets me because we made the effort for them and they're still doing whatever they want. Ugh people are so out of place sometimes and they are really clueless.

is everyone already booked? We were running numbers today and since a lot of people said they would not come, our wedding will actually be cheaper than we thought ahaha. We also wanted to have 0 debt at the end of it but we might have to put a few things on my line of credit. We're almost done paying for the trips but actually considering staying 2 or 3 more days after everyone leaves as our honeymoon.

I was really sad when I found out my grandma couldn't come. I would love for her to be there but she's coming from Argentina and the economic situation over there right now is precarious to say the least. She's afraid that with the dollar raising every day she won't be able to afford even the flight by the time the wedding comes around. I was sad but at the same time I completely understand and I wouldn't want her to go into major debt for just a week. An update on the guys who couldn't come due to "financial reasons". They have now convinced 2 other people to do the same . They told my fiance that the hotel we choose (or, quoting them here "the hotel your girlfriend chose") is too "honeymoonish" and too expensive. They were under the impression that it would be around $1300 rather than $1700 (taxes included). Now most of my fiance's friends will be at another hotel. He says he doesn't care and he could always go visit them at their hotel a couple of days. I'm totally not cool with that because it is sort of our honeymoon and it totally misses the point of the whole trip if he's hanging out with his friends in one hotel and I'm with mine in another. If anything, I think they should suck it up and pay for a day pass at our hotel. I know I need to let go of the anger and resentment but it's hard. I tend to hold grudges much easier than my fiance haha, and that's not good at all. Anyway, on a positive note, our family, all my friends and our common friends are pretty much booked and excited to join us. It's been stressful following up with people and making sure everything is clear on how to book (apparently no one reads all the info I put on the website, I even made it point form! hahaha) and just making sure no one misses the deadline but we're almost there!

These are the ones I got for the bridesmaids at Michael's Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I totally want one! half our guests are all hispanic so we all love this stuff because it takes us back to our childhood haha. I also think it would be something fun and different to do. I totally want the traditional mexican donkey pinata, it would be hilarious! I'm also wondering where we could get it over there. I searched around and Playa apparently has one party supply store so I'm guessing they need to have pinatas!

they are so long aren't they?! It didn't fit in my tiny closet so i put it in my mom's haha. It still touches the floor but once it gets hemmed that thing will fit in a carry on size suitcase hahah.

Yeah I think the resort is pretty big. My whole life when I went to the ocean we always rented apartments that were a few blocks from the beach so we got used to bringing everything with us so I don't think it's a big deal. I think I got a bit lazy when the ocean was right there and end up going back and forth 100 times haha but that's really a waste of time . My fiance wasn't going to have any groomsmen, but these two guys really wanted to be part of the bridal party so he caved in. That's also another reason why it makes me even angrier. I'm kind of over it today, I just hope that at least they show up to the wedding and that they don't convince anyone else to do the same as them.

@@calgarybride2015 the resort is actually set up so it has like a corridor down to the beach, they have tennis courts and things like that along the way and apparently I've read somewhere that they have golf carts to go back and forth during the day if you really need it. I never thought it was a big deal because after all you eat so much on an all inclusive that a bit of a walk really won't hurt anyone. The only downside is that you can't go back and forth to the room 100 times during the day but that's ok. I was looking at some other hotels and the cheapest thing right now for that week is $1500, for a lesser quality hotel. My fiance explained that we're getting married and that's why we didn't chose something for $1300. It might be awesome for a vacation, but not really wedding material. Also, if they're thinking of paying for day passes 2 days that $160 already, so I mean, you might as well book with the group. We're not paying for their day passes and my fiance made that very clear to them. It's enough that we have to pay for them to attend the wedding while not getting any perks. They're really not helping us in numbers to get a free cocktail hour or other free events (i know this sounds super selfish haha but it's only because I know that they could easily afford to go). The only plus side is that because we're having a private reception the day pass for the wedding day is free. @@NJBride2014 I would also be extremely mad that he's trying to convince others to do the same. I have friends who are students and they're coming to our hotel and these guys who are graduated in a profession where they make good money are saying they can't go. We explained to them that they can pay per month, but apparently even $200 a month is too much. Grr, I'm super upset. My fiance said that it's not a big deal to him but I could tell from his tone of voice that he was pretty hurt.

Maybe, I think the packages are the same so I guess the gazebo is just different. I won't mention it to her, if they made a mistake too bad for them, they're already ripping me off left right and centre haha. Although I do feel bad for my WC because she's so sweet

Maybe that's a good idea. According to them they're living paycheque to paycheque and it's too expensive for them. Plus the fact that they don't want to have to walk to make it to the beach (since the beach at azul fives is not right on the hotel). I honestly thought they would be the first ones to book since they are in the best financial situation out of all of our friends, but I guess people surprise you sometimes. My fiance and I decided that we're going to try and not make a big deal out of it and as long as they're there the day of the wedding they can do whatever they want. It still leaves you with a bit of a bitter taste but oh well.

I asked my WC because i also wanted to know how much was the chandelier I saw on some of the videos. The chandelier is $250 but she said that the table is actually part of the gazebo so it's included. "The Chandelier is $250 and the stone and the stone altar table is a fixed item with the gazebo- so no extra cost J"

I just got off the phone with my fiance and we're both so disappointed. His two really good friends just told him that they might go to a different hotel because the one we chose is too expensive and there's a 10 min walk from the hotel to the beach (within the same resort). These are guys who spend their money on the stupidest things ever and now they're saying that they can't pay that much. It makes me feel guilty that I chose that hotel and disappointed. They can spend $1000 on drinks for some bimbos on a weekend but they can't go to his friend's wedding for $1700. They said they would pay to get into the hotel for 2 or 3 days to hang out with us but I have a feeling they might back out altogether . I just feel really bad for my fiance because a lot of his friends are backing out, or they just won't respond to his calls to check if they got the invitation. that's awesome that you're getting so many people to go! I'm sure everything will sort itself out, although I hope it means that no one has to be downgraded. Your friends are so organized haha, unlike mine

I don't have pictures but one of the members here posted a website with videos. Here is the website http://www.ustream.tv/search?q=azul+fives it can give you a pretty good idea as to what it looks like. I know that at the sky deck we get the nice stone and glass table, rather than the table with the skirt on it, for free and the white wooden chairs (which are fine by me). From the videos I found that less was more up there so we're also going with the free package rather than spending 3k on top of the 1700 to any girls who have done the bride's dress rehearsal, how far is the beach from the hotel? How much do you have to walk?

Welcome! Our wedding is about 40-50 people as well for August 2015. I would recommend that you go through a travel agent. They take care of all the traveling arrangements which is something off your plate. Shop around, some don't charge you anything because the hotels are the ones paying them for booking so many people with them. It's good that you already know which hotel you want to go with, it makes it way easier so just find a GI certified agent and you're good to go. In terms of costs it can really go overboard if you want to but you can also keep the costs down if needed. We're at around $17,000 for everything (including attire, hair and make up, rings, trips, etc. and the wedding itself). The wedding itself is going to cost us about $7000-$8000. Mind you we upgraded a few things such as the ceremony and reception location and the decor for tables. We also got an outside photographer and videographer so they charge $800 to let them into the resort. We're still going with the free wedding package and you can too as long as you have a minimum amount of guests (just our immediate family was enough) and if you're from North America.