girlinthecity97

@@CnBWedding - oh cool re the monogram. Would you want to do something with the monogram in your color scheme? that could be VERY chic. By the way, apologies if you mentioned this but what is your color scheme? I like your thinking re simple but elegant. That's what I'm going for - resort chic with a touch of elegance. I don't want it to be stuffy but I don't want it to be too casual either. We are having a classic black & white wedding - which makes me giggle given the tropical destination. Since it was too late to have the team that did my invites do things like my welcome cards etc, I've become an pro at finding fonts that are close to what they used to recreate the look. Let me know if you need any help/ideas. @@lauralane - the boat tote came in today!!! The good: I think they look nice overall and guests will like them. They are also a nice size with lots of room. The "Hmmmm" (really my fault): I thought they were the heavy canvas but they aren't. I think I was so brain dead from the endless search for an affordable canvas boat tote style bag that I was blinded by the price when I found these. I thought they were "heaven sent" because the price was so reasonable compared to countless others I looked at. Now I know why..they are designed to look like the canvas but are more of a nylon like material that has what feels like a waterproof inside. Initially, I was a little bit disappointed because I thought I'd ordered canvas ones but they look really nice. DF likes the fact they are water-proof given guests will most likely put wet pool/beach items in them etc. Not sure how you feel about a non-canvas but I think they are a great and would order these again!

@@CnBWedding - absolutely! It is also a chance to taste the food - giving more comfort/confidence when making your food selections. UGH! I am starting to sound like I work for Karisma hahahaha. They will totally let you bring table numbers etc...for a nominal set up fee of course (LOL). On a random note, I like your avatar! Is that what you are using for your wedding suite? What type of invitations are you thinking about? @@lauralane - happy to provide a little morning humor! Thanks for the sanity check re writing novels as of late. I couldn't have said it more. Dear Fiance gets a bit annoyed when I try to get his vote on things etc and I tell him he has to tolerate this b/c I'm in it alone (family does not live nearby). So when I am not at work (my seat neighbor is awesome & a tremendous help), he's my captive audience. LOL YIKES re not booking a block and the resort getting booked up. It definitely smells like a convention. That period is known as a "shoulder" (gap between heavy booking periods) and they need to find ways to fill those rooms so I'm guessing that's totally what happened. ;( Thanks for sharing re the veil. It's too late for me. My mom was so excited she told the shop we'd take the veil i tried on with my dress and it was NOT $15. I did order the boat totes & customized them. They should be arriving today or tomorrow! I will definitely share pics! I basically took the approach of branding the wedding by trying to incorporate the palm trees that were on my invites into as much as I can. Rehearsal - the Azul Beach bride says this is nothing to worry about. She did a rehearsal with her flower girls for peace of mind but that was it. When you meet with the onsite wedding team to go over your selections etc. you will spend no less than 2 hours going over every detail down to who will go where and when for the day off. She said the day of WC was so on top of things and ensuring everyone was where the needed to be etc. it is a non-issue. I will try to let you guys know what happens when I get there next week. Do you have your headcount? I would add at least 5. I'm thankful I added a minimum of +5 because what I thought would be extras are quickly being claimed.

@@CnBWedding - Thanks and definitely will do! I am seriously thinking about doing either a planning thread or blog with pics of each item since everyday feels like xmas when each item arrives. Today the flower girl purses came in and they are ADORABLE!!!!!!!!!!! Even DF had to agree. Their bracelets also came. I just ordered handkerchiefs for the parents so hopefully those will arrive by the weekend. Linens - I wasn't sure what I wanted to do until we attended the Brides Dress Rehearsal. If you can swing it in your budget, I highly recommend it. Initially, I thought we would have our wedding at Azul Beach until staying there for the BDR (quickly realized it wasn't right for the "vision"). I also thought about doing the a la carte decor option until DF compared the pricing and confirmed we could tweak a Memorable Moments option for no extra charge (in most cases). Doing that is far cheaper than picking an a la carte. For Example: $540 a la carte selection (pretty basic) - I chose white or silver linen with glass vases w/ submerged orchids, floating candles & votives and a mirror underneath for the centerpiece, white, chiavari chairs and silver or glass plate chargers. $250 Memorable Moments - chose the Coastal Bliss (we agreed on this and Colonial but didn't like the brown garden chairs that came with Colonial) but are making tweaks like no chair covers, white linens instead of burlap, a champaign/ivory runner instead of the coral print, plain silver chargers instead of the shell one - no extra charges to make those changes. We would have been charged for the chair upgrade if we choose Colonial so DF said nope. The other thing I liked about attending the BDR was touring the properties. As mentioned, we camethinking Azul Beach all the way and chose that as our property to stay at. DF initially loved it (until seeing other properties), me not so much other than the roof deck (which was one of the main reasons I chose to stay theret). We scheduled tours for Azul Beach, Sensatori, Fives and then EDR and Generations (part of the BDR event). We fell in love instantly with EDR and were practically SOLD when we found out we could split our block between it and Generations (despite Generations still being in construction phase and not knowing what the sky deck would look like). Since we loved the onsite WC at Sensatori, and thought it was a good compromise for those with & without kids we kept it in the running. In the end, EDR/Generations won out - since most guests either do not have kids or wouldn't be bringing them, I felt that was the better option. When on vacay we don't want to be around kids so why shouldn't we give our guests the same option. Also, DF felt/wants guests to view our wedding as a nice long weekend break from the cold but also a nice "gift idea" for those guys in the group who want to do something different for Valentine's Day. If you decide to go, let me know and I will give you pointers.

Ugh - it really seems like I'm writing novels these days. Thanks ladies for enduring them!

@@ChiTiff & @@lauralane - glad to know I'm not the only one ready to pull my hair out with the seating chart! Thankfully, my angel coworker helped me put it to bed. There is one guest I'm not sure is coming (they booked outside the block) so we have a draft that includes her and one that does not. NOW my only task is to remember to make two sets of seating cards for the couple I will move if she's not there. LOL (@@ChiTiff, I couldn't agree with you more re organizing guests given they have the weekend to mingle & giving us a chance to have a moment, albeit brief by sitting separately). The interactive chart on WeddingWire.com is a pain when loading all your guests in but once you do, it really makes this painful process a breeze in terms of moving things around to figure out what works best. Thanks to my coworker's insights, I am keeping my sweetheart table!!!! She said we will want to laugh and/or comment at funny things we observed etc and can't do that if we were at a table with others. SUCH a relief to have that over with. You ladies are so on top of things. I WISH I could have done this earlier. I guess things work out the way they do for a reason - with the random late additions, I would have had to start from scratch. Rehearsal - I asked Marisol about this and she said most likely we'd have one but just not necessarily at the location (in our case, the sky deck) because it depends on if the onsite team & the space is available. I am checking with another bride who just got back from getting married at Azul Beach to see if they had a rehearsal. I'll let you know what I find out. On the chance we get down there and DO NOT have an official rehearsal, I'll let you ladies know what we ended up doing. We WILL have some type of rehearsal. We have to! @@lauralane - brace yourself. The sweetheart table costs $220. yes, $30 less than a regular table (assuming you are going the Memorable Moments decor route). I requested a plain small table for the photographer & his assistant. We'll see what THAT charge will be. I'd hope it's free since there's nothing going on there. other than plates, silverware and glasses. @@ChiTiff - I was quoted $250 to set up everything I am bringing which I'm ok with because it ends up being cheaper than the $5/person given my current headcount. She said it could go up if I decide to bring more than I listed. So far, I am bringing: Silver Frames for Table Numbers & Signage to tell guests to sign our wedding poster Mini Silver Framed escort cards - so guests could perhaps frame a picture from the trip/wedding. This is also now doubling as my favors given the OOT bags - which DF says are "DTM" (doin too much). Custom Wedding Poster for guests to sign. 8 forchid stems to go in vases at each table. 30-60 votives for the cocktail hour and reception. Since we aren't doing a photo booth (DF is against paying a fee for the company I want), I am thinking about putting selfie-sticks on each table so they can take selfies and share on either Facebook or Instagram. On a random note, @@lauralane - how do you get Marisol via chat? I had no idea!!! I haven't used the chat feature b/c I assumed you were connected to a random person and not your WC. I can't believe this time next week I'll be wrapping up my packing and preparing to fly to Mexico in the morning. Hopefully the rest of my OOT bag supplies arrive by the weekend so I can take a sample pic and post it.

@@CnBWedding - YAY! If she'd told you otherwise, I would be for you and raised a fuss! The wedding wire seating and list organizer etc is a GEM. Too bad I didn't think about using this before. Is anyone else having major issues with the seating chart? If i have us share a table with family then I'm ok. If we do a sweetheart table (which we planned for then I end up needing another table. I learned of 2 more guests today! so it's throwing the numbers off.

@@CnBWedding - I would "encourage" your TA to look into that. Our block is split between Generations & EDR (with the majority staying at EDR) and we received all of our eligible perks (except the $1000 credit on Memorable Moments Ceremony Decor - I am not using one of those packages for the ceremony). As for guests, trust me, you will be surprised, especially the closer it gets to needing to close out your block. People I thought sure would be there (either based on closeness or the fact they said they were coming) aren't and I have a lot of "surprises" (people who I didn't think would come for various reasons who are). The most serious will put down a deposit quickly once you announce the booking info. Does anyone happen to know the measurements for the pier? I figured I would check here first since it will take a while for the WC to get back to me. I'm trying to do an interactive seating chart over at weddingwire.com

@@elmekies - I am only doing the Coastal Bliss package for the reception. For the ceremony, I am keeping it simple & only doing white sheers draping the gazebo, white aisle runner 4 of the Coastal Bliss tall ceremony lanterns (2 at the beginning & end of the aisle). Also, I am tweaking the reception set up because it was cheaper to go that route than ala carte.

@@lauralane - no thanks needed! I hear you regarding searching high and low for bags. I too went on that journey only to end up where I started. Now that things have started arriving, I'll be sure to post my bags & contents with deets on where I got everything. Doing all of this has made me consider opening an Etsy shop to help other brides find affordable but quality items for their weddings. Looks like we have the same WC!!!! I too ended up doing the family style. She said it was "very nice" and my TA confirmed it is a TON of food. This took a lot of stress off of the menu selection. We had a majority select the fish icon on the RSVP and my personal rain cloud of reality (AKA fiance) was making things more complicated/crazy with his feedback.LOL Thanks so much for the well wish and support. I'm running purely on adrenaline and excitement these days. Since I didn't get confirmation from the resort about the changed ceremony time, I think I have to design & print my welcome notes and itinerary cards myself. I was SO hoping to have the people who did my invites handle this b/c my job, like yours, keeps interrupting. @@CnBWedding - I am sure your TA will come up with some great alternatives for people to stay at. Not sure how you feel about paying for guest passes but if guests are coming to the wedding, you don't have to pay for passes b/c they are coming to attend a private dinner event. If they want to come outside of that then you/they will have to purchase passes.

What a beautiful story! Thanks for sharing. CONGRATS & HAPPY PLANNING.

@@CnBWedding - yes, yes, and yes some more! I never thought I would be getting married without people like my Gran, godmother, aunts and uncles and some of my cousins etc. there but they aren't. My own mom was very vocal about how she felt doing this was so unfair and "just not right! Not everyone has money to travel like you" in response to some of the complaints she received from some of her friends and relatives who expressed wanting to be there but couldn't due to cost. I asked my fiance on quite a few occasions if we really were doing the right thing and maybe we should either: a) back out (which clearly we didn't do) or try to do an AHR to appease some of the grumblings (we also aren't doing). He reminded me that this is about us and that we have done everything possible to enable anyone who wants to come to be able to do so. Those who are meant to be will be with the exception of my 97 year old Gran who has bad knees and early stages of alzheimers. We will send her a photobook. While I still feel badly (especially given how expensive some people's flights are) he is right. We did everything we could from locking in over a year in advance to secure the grand opening rates etc. since Generations was in its final construction phase to splitting our block between Generations and EDR so guests not bringing kids (the majority of our group) could have a less expensive & kid-free option, to letting everyone know a year out and posting fare sale info periodically on our wedding website and Facebook page since I knew decent flights could be limited since it is a popular long weekend. Now that the big day is fast approaching, I am glad we are doing things our way and he is right - those who are our true friends and loved ones are going to be there or have shown and extended their love and support in other ways. I am happy/proud of myself for having the courage to compromise with and trust/listen to him on going the destination route as opposed to the big hometown shindig I previously always envisioned. If this year plus long journey has taught me nothing else, it has shown that less is truly more (quite frankly it feels perfect now) & who our true friends and loved ones are (it WILL surprise you). While hearing price complaints can be hard if not painful, remember why you guys chose this route and take comfort in the fact you have done/are doing whatever you can to make it accessible, then focus on making the day/weekend the special moment you guys envision!

@@AllieH @@rtscent - Thanks for saving me from myself! Mini frames it will be! My mom said the same thing as you ladies. I love what you did Allie and are making Rtscent. That sounds so cool. I cannot wait to see pics! So they just confirmed the DJ will be Mega DJ. I will be sure to let you know if this was worth it or not and if we really could have gotten away with the ipod speaker situation instead. As for moving my ceremony time due to the time zone change, they would only do 4pm. Not the exact time requested but will take it. My welcome and reception dresses arrived yesterday!!! Hopefully they fit! My custom poster I plan to use as a guest book also arrived as did my travel size spray bottles. Needless to say I will be busy this weekend.

@@ebigge - thank you so much for this post and sharing pics!! We are getting married at Generations but I also lurk on this site to get insights and ideas because the bulk of our guests are staying at EDR. CONGRATS & ALL THE BEST!

@@TinkerSofi - thanks! I didn't realize that. Maybe I will get boxes after all.

@@AllieH - many thanks again. We pulled the trigger and are getting a DJ. Waiting to find out which one. Dear Fiance still has the side eye regarding choice based on the playlist i downloaded so we are having our dj download her mix to a thumb drive (thanks for the suggestion) and will just give it to them to play. She said it will have to be in 4 files so hopefully they will transition into each nicely. You are so right regarding DWs being worth it in the end. We came in way under what we budgeted or would be paying if we did it in my hometown like I initially wanted. Guests also would not be getting the type of welcome bags they are getting. Now to turn my case of the spazzies to the tiny details that are like pebbles in a shoe. Lolol Did you do favors? Fellow planners are you doing them? Dear Fiance says no to any because of the OOT totes and place cards will be in mini silver frames. I still feel some type of way about no favors.

@@TinkerSofi - initially I was going to go with a cake that size but we are scaling back since the dinner comes with several desserts. Check with the vets who already had their wedding at Fives before you buy boxes. I too thought about doing them but read somewhere on here they won't let you do that for food safety liability reasons. I will be beyond irked and heated if I buy boxes and can't use them so I nixed the idea for self and resort preservation lol. @@linaco80 - I hear you on scaling back. We are doing the same and getting a smaller cake just for pics. My mom ordered a small cake to top the cupcake display at my shower so I froze it to have as our 1st anniversary wedding cake lol. @@calgarybride2015 - that is hilarious!! Lololol

@@AllieH - Thanks (as always) for the awesome feedback! Dear Fiance thinks we should ditch paying our DJ person to make a mix and just go with a Lomas person - loading them down with songs OR and a USB of those they don't have, so something tells me that is ultimately where we will land. This makes me a bit sad though b/c I was REAALLY looking forward to the dope mix. My sister had an AMAZING DJ at her wedding. Between the food and great job the DJ did - making it a non-stop party has people STILL talking about her wedding 11 years later! Thanks also for the idea of going mini- LED candlese instead of real! I will definitely look into those. I am really (and quite frankly FINALLY starting to get excited....the only thing is resolving this DJ dilemma .

@@linaco80 - the dressed up starfish on top are too cute! @@LisaAnthonyPoppy - OMG I didn't even think about filling! Thanks for the idea to think about that... @@TinkerSofi - that sounds really yummy. Are you ladies thinking of going multi-tiered? I'm torn (but think we are ultimately going that route) given the meal comes with so many desserts.

Hi All: In reading numerous Karisma threads on here, one common question noticed (and I have even posed) was around wedding cakes - specifically which flavors taste the best. As I finalize my own wedding, I thought it might be helpful to create a cake flavor "one stop shop" thread - especially since this info often gets lost in the much bigger threads (e.g., Azul Beach Brides, Generations Brides, EDR Brides etc..) where so many useful tips & details are being engaged. To kick it off, I will share what flavors we are considering - based on the samples we tried at the BDR: Lemon Carrot Cake Vanilla Rum Hopefully others will find this useful and chime in with their picks! Happy Planning!

@@rtscent - BEYOND! She said for that many people the music will not be loud enough. I asked my TA and she thinks I should trust what the WC is saying - her (TA's) other couples who rented the speakers were smaller groups and using an smaller and in some cases indoor space like one of the restaurants. We have a conference call so hopefully that will shed some light. The TA said the DJs offered are both great but just don't get enough reviews. Given the equipment is just as much if not MORE than one of the Lomas DJs, I'm wondering if we should just hire the cheaper of the 2 and provide him with the mix my person is making. I checked out the playlists and they don't have certain artists we want as part of the mix. One bright spot is we seem to be way under what we budgeted for the ceremony/reception so I think we can swing it. It is just the principle & being so close to the wedding date to learn this! I would have figured something out months ago if this was the case. While I feel stress/anxiety creeping in....I am going to stay positive - loose ends are being tied, OOT bag supplies have been shipped & are enroute....list items are being crossed off!

Hi Again - Is anyone doing candles? I hear it can be windy so it was suggested I use LEDs but I'd really prefer actual candles. What are you ladies doing?

I agree with @@calgarybride2015 & @LisaAnthonyPoppy - my mom (in her excitement) called SouthWest airlines and they don't have a closet. They told her dresses have to go in an overhead if available.