Jennypert

Hello JMK and Congratulations! Your wedding sounds absolutely wonderful. Please post pictures soon. I am really interested to your bouquets and the decorations for your reception since we will be using Plaza Zavas also. I just have a couple of questions. Did the resort provide personnel to work the iPod during the ceremony? We have all our ceremony music planned on the iPod using the WeddingDJ app but I thought I might have to draft one of the guests. Also, which centerpiece arrangement did you buy from Lomas? I've been debating the cost of Lomas versus the hassle of bringing our own. Finally, a comment - I've been to Secrets Maroma although we have not stayed there. We thought it was fabulous. So, if you say Azul Sensatori is better then that is wonderful. :-)

That's great. The white chair covers and bows will look nice with the red silk flower pomanders I bought on Etsy. I only got 10 to loop over the chairs on the aisle. Thanks a lot.

I guess the airfares are running around $500 from Chicago to Cancun. We went ahead and booked since I don't believe they will be going down. Oh well - we'll just have to pay it.

Congratulations, Mrs. JMK! It all sounds wonderful and the pictures are beautiful.

Hi Lola, Christine sent the detail sheet and a lot of other info around mid-January. I had asked if all decisions had been made and she came back with the detail sheet and a list of everything else we need to do to finalize resort prep. My FI and I have had some fairly serious health issues lately so I haven't been focused on on getting a response to her. Jenny

Hi Lolita, My wedding is a couple of weeks before your wedding. I've already received a draft of my detail sheet listing the menus, estimated number of guests and prices for my 2 private events (Welcome Party and Reception); details of my wedding cake (flavors and decoration); flowers for the ceremony; menus for our "Honeymoon Breakfast" and "Romantic Dinner"; and estimated costs for reception decoration set up. It's helped a lot to see it all written up, including the total estimated costs. My WC is Christine and she has been outstanding! She also sent a listing of song suggestions from Mega DJ (eg. Bridal Party Entrance, Bouquet Toss, etc.) and a detailed sheet for us to list the songs we want Mega DJ to play at specific times. Or, we can just select certain categories of music (like Motown or 90s Hits) and they will play those. She's also asked about Spa visits/treatments and any other special requests for guests with allergies. I haven't had any correspondence from Caribe Photo but, if you ask, you should be able to request certain shots. I've had good luck corresponding with Christine via email. She always responds within a couple of days. You should ask your WC for a copy of the detail sheet as well as the Banquet and Spa menus. At this point, I feel like I've made most major decisions and everything is under control. You should be getting close to this. Jenny

Hello, I need 20 luggage tags and would like to buy them from you. I will send a PM with my email information. I can pay via PayPal once I have your information. Can you ship to Illinois? Thanks, Jenny

Hi Lola, Totally agree. I just can't afford the Memorable Moments packages. But, I priced out decorating the tables with paper luminary table numbers with LED tea lights and silk pomanders as the centerpiece, satin table runners, 4 small paper luminary tea lights plus some cute painted maracas as favors. For around $40-50/table, it will nice and for me, affordable. I've read about a lot of brides who bring most of their decorations so it is doable. Just keep looking and you will find many cheaper options. Jenny

Hi Lola, Murmel has posted pictures of Ocean Ballroom on her Gallery page. My reception is in Zavas Plaza and I am bringing most of the decorations also. My WC said they charge up to $5 per guest with the maximum being about $250. You can buy bolts of sheer organza fabric on Amazon for $20 and LED tea lights 60 for $40. Etsy has paper luminaries and silk flowers that are very reasonable and easy to pack. I agree the resort charges are crazy! Jenny

The pictures are awesome! Thank you for posting.

Hi Murmel, Did you get any pictures of the Sky Terrace? Thanks, Jenny

Great progress this week! My MOH does calligraphy and she just finished the first batch of invitations. She mixed her own ink to match the printed invitations and used a coordinating font for the addresses. They are very beautiful and elegant. I decided to wait until the end of February or early March to send them out since I don't expect to get any more acceptances. Has anyone checked out airfare and flights to Cancun? Last year, the prices were around $400 or a bit less round trip from Chicago. Have prices gone up this year?

Thanks!!!

Hello Alier1, I would like to purchase the 25 luggage tags. I need a total of 50 and would appreciate it if you could tell me where to get more. I can provide payment via PayPal. Thanks, JennyPert

One reason for my confusion about the invitation RSVP is that my TA/wedding planner told us last week that AS is sold out for the weekend of June 4-8. If people haven't already put a deposit down, then they probably won't be able to get a room. I have a contract for 15 rooms and we increased it to 18 rooms. If more people want to come, I don't know how we will accommodate. Of course, there are worse problems than having more people than expected want to attend your wedding.

My maid of honor has convinced me I don't need to ask for RSVP for the invitations since everyone who is coming has already booked their rooms. I'm confused!

Just got an email from my TA that the resort is officially sold out for the weekend of our wedding in June. Hard to believe they are filled up this early. I haven't even sent out my paper invitations yet. We are not too upset since we have 47 people booked and almost everyone we really wanted to attend has booked. Are you sending formal invitations and if so, when?

Great! Thank you so much. Some people are very particulate about their booze. My sister only drinks Crown Royal and a friend's husband only drinks Dewar's scotch (yuk!). We like good tequila and will be disappointed if we can only find Jose Cuervo in Mexico.

Hi Murmel, We were planning to have personalized shot glasses on the reception tables as wedding favors (yes - my family and friends will definitely use them!). I had assumed we could get the waiters to pour tequila shots for the toasts during the reception. I had also assumed we could specify certain brands of tequila such as Patron and get a bottle for the table. Maybe I'm assuming too much. Do you think this will be a problem? Should I make this a 'special request' on the detail sheet with the wedding coordinator? JennyPert Hi JMK923, I was not going to do any decorations for the Welcome Cocktail Party on Zocalo Terrace except for some paper napkins we ordered in our wedding colors. But, if the small centerpieces are only $85 for 8, I'll order some. Where did you see them on the Lomas website? The cheapest I saw were $25 for a small vase with 2 roses. JennyPert

Hi Vanessav53, I ordered several tote bag samples from Discountmugs.com and decided on the one on the attached photo. They cost about $5.50 each with a logo printed. Not very cheap but they are very sturdy and I'm hoping people will be able to use them later as a souvenir since my logo is fairly simple and not personalized. There are other websites to check out including eBay. I haven't ordered the final bags yet since I'm waiting for a sale and/or better discount. JennyPert I got an email from the DJ with a request to list the songs for the wedding reception. So, I've started thinking about music. I am also planning to send out paper invitation by the end of month. My maid of honor does professional calligraphy and she is addressing them now.

Hello Ylan, We are going to the Skokie Courthouse next Wednesday to get the license. You have to wait at least 1 day after the license to sign the papers. The marriage ceremony is done at the suburban courthouses by appointment only. We will make the appointment when we go next week. We are not too particular about the date but don't want to take too much time away from work since we are planning almost 2 weeks in Riviera Maya for the real wedding ceremony and honeymoon. Here's the link to the Cook County Clerk's office where you can find all of the details. Congratulations! http://www.cookcountyclerk.com/vitalrecords/marriagelicenses/Pages/default.aspx

Hi Lolita2014, It may be difficult to have makeup done by someone outside of Azul Sensatori. They are pretty strict about enforcing the $800 outside vendor fee to bring someone into AS. If you leave the resort, I am sure you can find someone in Cancun or Playa Del Carmen. We have stayed at Secrets Silversands for the last 3 years. It is right next door to AS and I know it is expensive to get to Playa Del Carmen (about $100 round trip) and takes almost an hour. I have seen an ad on another forum for makeup artists in Cancun. I' m home recovering from minor surgery for a couple of days so I'll spend some time looking for it. Jenny

Hi Everyone, Our wedding is June 6, 2014 at Azul Sensatori. We have 47 people confirmed so far and a couple who are on the 'tentative' list. We've reserved the DJ and photographer. We are having a Welcome Cocktail Party on the terrace of the resort's Mexican restaurant with a Mexican Fiesta Taco Party menu. The wedding will be on the Sky Terrace overlooking the beach with the reception by one of the pools. Menu and wedding cake are set. We're not doing a lot for the OOT bags. I've selected a nice canvas tote bag, personalized playing cards, matches, a sea shell bottle opener plus an 'I survived a Mexican Wedding' kit. I found the idea and a template on the OOT bag forum. It will be a small plastic Baggie with insect repellant bands, hand sanitizer, Tylenol, Advil and Pepto Bismol packets. I have bought about half of the stuff. My biggest concern are decorations. The resort charges an exorbitant amount for flowers, centerpieces, chair sashes, table runners, etc. What are you planning? Jenny

Hi Lolita2014, We also chose to go with Mega DJ for the reception. They are less expensive than DJ All Music since they only include the DJ and do not include an MC. My wedding planner recommended the iPod with speakers since that's what she used for her daughter's wedding. She said it was acceptable sound but, I don't want to have to depend on one of the guests to operate it during the entire reception. So, I agree with M8Chow. We are picking a lot of songs. Probably not enough to last the entire evening but as long as he sticks to the genres we've chosen it should be OK (R&B, Smooth Jazz, 80s-90s POP, etc. - OK so we're old!! ). I've read good and not-so-good reviews for DJ All Music but nothing really about Mega DJ. For the ceremony, I have programmed the iPod using the Wedding DJ app and will use the resorts speakers. I recommend checking out the app. You may like it. A lot of brides are very particular about using a certain DJ but I am not so picky. If you decide you want someone other than the 2 choices on the Lomas website, make sure AS will accept them. I've heard there are some local DJs that AS will not allow even if you pay the $800 outside vendor fee. JennyPert

Hi Murmel, Can you please find out if chair covers are standard for the Sky Terrace option? Also, I bought 60 inch x 25 yard bolts of organza fabric for the old gazebo. Can you find out if these will still work? Pictures of the new gazebo and set up at Zavas Plaza will also be appreciated. Thanks. Have fun in the warm weather in January!! Jenny