talicea7812

Any ladies hiring a videographer? Who are you using? I don't know what to do... I really want a video. This is a momentous occasion and will go by so fast... but the approved vendors are no good and the $800 vendor fee is crushing. What are you doing? thoughts? I'm having an unplugged wedding so that website that pieces together guests videos is no good. I also don't want to look out at my small group and see their faces hidden by cameras, phones, and Ipads.

I've read somewhere on here about a bride asking for the same perks that the brides with karisma planners get. She was able get them. Doesn't hurt to ask

THE SHOES... Well the shoes have changed. They are similar to the blue peacock feather ones I originally posted...but instead they are Badgley Mischka. I saw them a while ago but with a $225 price tag, I just couldn't justify it. I miss the days of frivolous spending...but having a daughter and the hopes of a house after wedding...things change. Anyway, my FI's groomsmen knew I LOVED these shoes (thanks to his awesome girlfriend). Last week at the shower he gave us a check for $250 and said that it was to be spent on the shoes!!! Crazy generous and yes I cried They are my royal blue beauties. Ever since sex and the city I've wanted blue shoes... and its so perfect bc I am the last single girl in my group. I love them...and I also love musicals. If you've ever seen legally blonde the musical they sing this song "oh my god you guys." Well after ordering the shoes the song came to mind. I've only gotten that song stuck in my head one other time (no not with my wedding dress) but many years ago when I ordered a knockoff of the carrie dress from the sex in the city movie. The white one with the oversized gold flower. Years ago I ordered that dress, nervously anticipated its arrival...but when I tried it on it was perfect. fit perfect. looked perfect. And today, just ordering the shoe gave me that feeling again. They are my something blue...

THE FITTING!!!! Last night was my first dress fitting. My first reaction...the dress is heavier than I remember Second reaction...the healthy eating paid off and its being taken in a significant amount. I didn't diet or exercise. All I did was change my eating habits- meaning portion control and small in between meal snacking. I lost 10lbs just doing that! Insane to think I was eating that poorly that I lost 10lbs with no exercise. If I wasn't so lazy (aka. wake up early b4 work to exercise) imagine where I would be. I also got my daughters dress in the mail. Honestly, Im not thrilled with it. I thought it would be more full/puffy. So...this will be one of my projects. The tan sash is definitely coming off and will be replaced with a turquoise one. I will save the flower and make a little peacock feather/ flower belt embellishment. I also want to add a little tulle underneath to get the fullness I was hoping for. Easy changes. I ordered a headband...which I prob could have made myself but I'm getting lazy at this stage. Hopefully it will look better with the changes.

I am looking for one cenote in particular...and really hoping that one of the locals will come through and divulge the secret. I am getting married at Azul beach in april. the hotel has terrible outside vendor fees so I wasn't able to afford some of the best Mexico photographers! their prices coupled with the $800 outside vendor fee put them totally out of reach. I will be flying in my own photographer from home & hoping to do a TTD in a cenote. She is a good friend and while taking my wedding/TTD pics, hoping to build her portfolio! We have looked through many TTD session pics and are totally in love with the ones featuring this "cavelike" opening. Can anyone identify the area? Any help would be much appreciated!

@kaleighMCL do you have any idea which cenote you used? I am bringing my own photographer and doing a trash the dress session. If at all possible I would love to do it at a cenote. My photographer is amazing! so I need to find one of the amazing locations that the locals use! Any help would be appreciated

@@CDC-SRW They are very shady when it comes to the set up costs. They will not tell me an exact price...yet want me to send them a list of everything I intend to bring. I am disputing a charge...they have down on my wedding sheet that im bringing my flowers from a local florist & will give them to the hotel to arrange for a cost. The flowers are small centerpieces that will already be assembled. Soooo you're charging me to place a couple vases on the table? At this point I feel like its pointless to dispute these things with the FL coor. She has done nothing to benefit me. I think I have a better chance arguing charges with the onsite person. Also, I think I read on the Sensatori thread that the bride was charged the max $250 (which I think was about the $5 per person) and she didn't have that much... So I'm just assuming the max cost.

I agonized over photographers in the very beginning of planning. I wasn't happy with either approved photographer. Be careful if you use Caribe. I forget which packages but the lower priced ones don't include retouched photos...so basically unless you spend over a certain amount all shots are point and click. I found Matias cano to be pricey with mediocre pictures. For amount of hours...Do you want getting ready pictures? I would leave an hour just for that. Max 30 minutes for ceremony. Cocktail hour and Pictures Then reception Depending on your timeline for reception you may not need 6 hours. You can do your dances during the salad/soup course & cut the cake early (doesn't have to be done at the very end)

DECORATIONS ORDERED... So after weighing the cost of renting items from Lomas or bringing my own... I've decided to bring my own. I will be bringing chair sashes (2 kinds- organza for ceremony, satin for reception) Fabric Bolts to decorate the wedding arch, table runners & napkins. All of the items were purchased at TableClothsFactory.com for $110 including shipping. According to Azul the set up fee is up to $5 per person. So I'm estimating $120 for setup. Price Comparisons-Lomas Chair Sashes- $150 2 Sheers for wedding Arch- $300 Rosette Runners- $45 Napkins- ? Total= $500+ Items brought by me: See attached pic Total= $230 (and we'll say $50 for the suitcase to bring it) and the opportunity to try and resell

we're flying out of philly...stop in Chicago for 1.5hrs. then on to cancun It was all luck. the very next day those flights were gone.

NOW FOR THE DETAILS... Purchased these awesome reception items on Etsy today

I paid $235 round trip, one stop, out of philly. I was crazy about checking flights. I downloaded the skyscanner app and checked it everyday...most days I checked 2-3 times. Just lucked out one day that I found the $235. I really didn't want to have a stop but I couldn't pass on the price. plus we also booked a seat for our daughter...so all 3 of us are flying for under $1000. More recently I booked my photographers flight. She was $438 non stop which I thought was awesome. Prior to booking her I was finding flights for $650.

@@KaraEbeth she is still terrible. I got a lot of my issues sorted out after waiting about 2 weeks to get a response from the WC superviser. However, they are in total denial over the florida coordinators. When I said im on my 3rd person and info wasn't transferred from one to the other he told me that was a special case. I've been all over this forum and im not alone in being shifted from one coordinator to another. He didn't even address my issues with Carol. I write a blog on here...Tina's Peacock Wedding. If you want to know how everything panned out with that situation, its all on there- from my complaints to how they were handled. Anyway...even after all the fighting and talking about how bad planning has been going... we are right back to where we started. I've sent several questions to Carol and she picks and chooses what she wants to answer. I don't think im asking anything too crazy?!?! Fox example: What size table cloths are used? What size sheers are used on the gazebo? how many are recommended? I can't be the first person to bring this kind of stuff? or ask these questions? It shouldn't take 2weeks & several emails to get back to me. So at this point I think I've covered all my bases with planning. As far as I can think of, I've booked or decided on all the major stuff. Now its just little things- vacation clothes, finding luggage, printing things for OOT bags.

Well I think all the BIG decisions are done!!!! Dress/veil/shoes/accessories Flower girl dress & headband Mom Flowers Decorations- ceremony & reception Music- just an ipod dock/speaker set up Dinner choices submitted Cake OOT Bags Room & Air paid Rings Photographer I think I'm now just down to the little details- draft a welcome letter for OOT Bags, programs (which I have no idea the order of events or how it works) music list. I dunno? what else is there. Unfortunately I think we are going to forgo the videographer. Really sucks. I was hoping that since my mom and finance's dad had contributed to the wedding...that his mother would contribute as a shower gift. Well I was wrong. I wouldn't be mad about her not helping but she is paying his sisters entire trip! hotel and air! she's a 30 year old woman, living at home with a full time job...so its not like she couldn't afford it. I digress... Anyway...Im relieved the major stuff is at least decided. Of course im still waiting for answers from the coordinator. She continues to be awful.

MOM... I thought my mom would be one of the toughest parts of the process... She doesn't like anything. She went to the dress shop with a laundry list of what she didn't want and really didn't leave much that she did want. My mom is a very tiny person and the MOH dresses are in size whale. she tried on a couple and couldn't get a clear picture of what they would look like in her size bc they were so enormous. she had been favoring a picture online and the shop lady had something similar in the bridesmaid section (where dresses are a normal size). she tried it on and BOOM! we found the dress. Not only was it easy the dress way affordable! Most MOH dresses were around $300! Her dress was $170. The dress in the picture isn't the right blue. She ordered in Navy and picked it up this week. It looks great in the Navy! I would like to buy her some type of sparkly brooch for the waistband area- haven't picked that out yet. I also came across this cute wrist corsage. My mom isn't a fan of the wrist corsages bc she says her wrists are so small and it moves all over. I'm thinking double sided tape? We'll see. I think im going to order it. If she doesn't like it, i'll give it to the fi's step mom.

DECOR... Getting a clear picture in my head of what I would like this wedding to look like has been tough. I've googled and pinned my heart out on peacock weddings...but most are too extravagant. the clock is ticking and the big day is quickly approaching. Its time to make some decisions. Originally we were thinking of doing the beach palapa...the stock photos online are beautiful, but when you get to everyday pics...its not so impressive. Kinda shabby looking. So back to the beach I guess. I came across this beach set up. I love the sheers on the gazebo. I feel like I can stop looking. Keep the colors the same and on the side poles attach a small hanging corsage with white flowers. Tables & flowers- Sent out the final flower choices today. I am doing long tables of 10 people each. I would like one main centerpiece and 2 small (one on each side) also love the peacock frames- either a table number or just a pic of us Im just going to stick with the basic white table cloth. It seems to be like brain surgery for my coordinator to tell me what size table cloths are used. I will just use turquoise runners which don't have to be exact. I've chosen blue chair sashes and purple napkins that will hold the menu and a peacock feather.

@@csho... love the idea of doing the destination bach party. I thought about it but my bridesmaids aren't flying in til the day before...so I didn't want to get wasted the night before the wedding. Oh well. @@girlinthecity97... even with all the issues and the back and forth with my coordinator then the supervisor... I'm still having issues. I sent a list of questions that hit the 5 day mark today. I sent another email and she responded, but as usual did not have the answers! Are my questions that difficult? some things I asked- - How many tables will we have set up at the cocktail hour? - How many tables will we have at the reception? - Do you do the separate sweetheart table? - What are the table measurements? I would like to order linens. 5 days and she couldn't answer those questions. PS...thanks for the kind words about my daughter. she is my most favorite little person in this world! and such a ham. loves to smile for the camera

Im on the fence with the MOB flowers. I think my mom wants a bouquet...but at the same time I would prefer to save the money and do a corsage or something. She's def not the clutch type...but that is a cute idea

BACHELORETTE & SHOWER... Well ladies...its all over. Bach party and shower came and went in the blink of an eye. I can't believe its over and now the next step is marriage!!! Friday- I went to the salon to have a hair & makeup trial. I figured the day of the bach party would be a good time to do it so I was all done up to go out. Well my hair came out nothing like the picture. It ended up just being a half up hair do with a poofy front. Not what I was looking for. Same with the makeup. I wanted kinda a shimmery smokey eye...but the girl used too much silver! It was pretty intense and definitely not a good wedding look. I hate telling someone I don't like it and it was getting late and I needed to get ready to go...so I just stuck with it. For the bach party we did painting with a twist. It was a lot of fun and definitely something I would do again. Afterwards we hit a couple local bars and I surprisingly lasted til almost 2! The Shower turned out beautifully! My girlfriends really did an awesome job. The centerpieces were glittery spray painted wine bottles with peacock feathers and balloons. I brought the bottles and everything home bc im hoping they hold up to take to Mexico with me. I would love to use them during cocktail hour! Anyway, I am flying high and happy. I was a great weekend surrounded by friends and family. Its so rare that we get to see most of the people let alone have them all in one place. Some reviews: Used rent the runway for my bach party dress. It was delivered Wednesday and came beautifully packaged and with a back up size. The dress colors were beautiful and totally fit the peacock theme. Wasn't 100% on the fit but it was good enough. I also ordered a Versace that was supposed to be delivered Friday night. several other packages were left on my doorstep that night...but not the most important!!! and worst of all UPS doesn't deliver on the weekends!!! I didn't realize this til 6pm Saturday night...so I had to run out and find something else. The back up dress actually looked nice...but I was still disappointed bc I had this whole Audrey Hepburn look in my head. HoneymoonWishes.Com- we used this instead of a traditional registry. Out of all the people invited/came to the shower, only 3 actually used it. Everyone else brought cards with checks. I guess people didn't want to show up with out something? I dunno...either way we got what we needed- money to put towards the wedding & I feel like we did it in a nice way.

Hey @@CDC-SRW Yeah...I heard the max is $5 pp up to $250 total. I'm still trying to sort that out with Fabio (wedding coordinator supervisor) I can't seem to get a definite answer. I've been trying to avoid the fee bc the items im bringing are the same things that are included in the wedding package-included items are white linens, napkins, etc. I just wanna bring my own in color. I don't know why cut and paste doesn't work on here but ive attached part of the email from him as a picture. Hopefully you can read it. He doesn't say flat out...we will not charge for table cloths, sashes, etc. I'm trying to get a definitive answer so I can print these emails and take them with me the day of the wedding. Also, since I have 24 people...I would assume they can't charge me the full $250. I'm trying to get that answer too. The max for my group would be $120. I'm also trying to get this in writing. I can't believe that I have to stress out over these little things. Its really annoying. I will keep you posted and let you know how it goes. I post everything on my blog bc I want to help other brides with this stuff too.

I agree with csho...don't send announcements bc ppl may think that means they are getting invited. I sent out save the dates as soon as we booked the resort and date- which was about 15 months in advance. My motto is the sooner you let ppl know the better. I have attended several destination weddings so once I got the STD I started saving. If you are trying to save money...my TA provided free postcard STD. Im not sure how common that is but its a bonus. As for invites... We knew several family members couldn't make it due to various health issues. We sent them invites anyway just as a kind gesture. We didn't want to hurt anyones feelings if they saw an invitation at another family members house or whatever. You never know what might offend one person. Plus, for someone like my FI's grandmom...its a keepsake.

BRIDESMAID DRESSES ARE IN!!!! Here they are & they look so much better than the beige sample they tried on. My one bridesmaid could have taken problem maids teal dress...but I chose the purple. such a shame bc the 3 together woulda been hot!! I also attached the jewelry I purchased. Not the most amazing but I like that it will tie in the black lace. ...and their flowers

please post pics!

@@csho They are so in denial there. My email to Fabio discussed in detail all the problems ive had with my Fl coordinator and how she is my third. He said that mine was a unique situation...but read the forums on here and so many brides have complained of the same thing. She has given me so much false information & he didn't even acknowledge it. I guess that's why I ended up with the comped wedding package. Anyway, the main thing is the wedding is going to come out to a cost that I am comfortable with and I hope to be able to give my guests an awesome experience.

Decorating Charges- I have emailed Fabio back with further questions on this one. We are supposed to have the Pearl package for the wedding which includes the setup of white linens, chair sashes, etc. I told Fabio I couldn't understand how the resort could justify charging us a set up fee if we were bringing the same items they would already be setting up only they would be in our wedding colors. I told him I could understand if they were doing extras such as hanging lanterns or draping the walls. He responded saying I was correct...the décor charge is for things like the aforementioned. Soooo does that mean I don't have to pay for you to set up my chair sashes? table cloths? napkins? because if that's the case, my Florida coordinator has been giving me the wrong information. NOW THE BEST PART.... Due to all the issues I've had with the resort...and that I was looking into doing the reception elsewhere, Azul has offered me the following comps- Always & Forever Complimentary Wedding Package- We did not qualify for the complimentary wedding bc we are only staying 6 nights. Fabio has offered this package to us which now saves us the $950 that the Pearl package costs. Honestly the few extras that the Pearl Package has over the free wedding just isn't worth it. This suits us much better and we can direct the savings into contouring the wedding our way with our florist. The Cake- As I've mentioned...Azul quoted me $300 for a basic cake for 25 people. I sent out several emails to canucn vendors and the cake prices ranged from $100-$150 for the same cake (+delivery) Fabio has offered to include the cake at no cost. AND THERE YOU HAVE IT... Persistence pays off. Ladies, if you feel like something isn't right- question it. And stick to your guns if you feel like they are trying to rip you off. If Fabio didn't comp the cake I was going to order from an outside vendor and have it delivered at the same time as the flowers. I'm still waiting to hear back about the Videographer. Caribe and Matias Cano do not offer the Cinematic style video & that's what im interested in. I've looked at the work of Mike Cantrelli and would love to hire him. I'm hoping to avoid the outside vendor fee since the approved ones can not deliver this type of video. Same with the decorations. It wouldn't be the end of the world to pay the $5 per person...but if I can get away with not paying it...that's $125 that I can put towards something else. So we'll see what happens from here on out. And yes, I finally feel like things are coming together. I am totally decided on my bouquet & bridesmaids. Now I just have to make the final call on centerpieces so the florist can draw up the contract & send me some mock ups! I can't wait! Im totally obsessed with the blue orchids now