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@KaraEbeth I LOVE YOUR BRIDESMAIDS DRESS!!!! So chic and cheap!!!!! I'm trying to figure out a way to not have my girls pay so much so that's a great option!! I was thinking of using rent the runway to get their dresses but since their stock is always changing, I'll have to continue to check them out. LOVE LOVE LOVE your bags!!! I have to figure out a rough number of bags that I'm gonna need because the voucher expires on July 21st. I'm going to do the bienvenidos as well, but the one that looks like a typewriter print. I really wanted the Hola Amigos but the fiance liked that one better so i'll give it him As for decor, the starfish are great! I think it's amazing that you're making them with your mom. I'm pretty sure you can pick and choose things from the packages, so in my head everything is glammy and glitzy (but he definitely hates all that so I have to restrain myself lol) so in real life, I might do the table runner and some votives and a few flowers here and there. Not sure yet about it all, I go back and forth on design. One minute I want to do fancy, then I think, well, it's a beautiful backdrop so don't go crazy. I want to conserve money though, that was our whole point in doing a destination wedding. My brain is frying just thinking about it lol

@@KaraEbeth So your guests have booked without you even sending out invites? Pretty impressive!! I love the wedding chicks free invites...I think you'll definitely get more responses that way. As for the gilt city voucher and the 40% off, you can't combine them I found that out after trying lol but if you want to get something else from there, you could probably do a separate transaction in order to get that discount. I personally like that "wifey" sweatshirt. As far as ceremony decorations go, I may do an a la carte from the memorable moments...I reeeealy love the look of the pure glamour gazebo cover with the chandelier and flowers. I don't know how much that would cost....I have to see if I can justify it since we're already paying extra to have the ceremony and coctail at the Sky wedding. The reception, I'm still up in the air with. I was thinking of gold sequins table runners and clear votive candles. Maybe they can reuse the flowers from the gazebo on the tables. What about you? I can't seem to upload the picture of the runner so here is the link to the picture. http://www.stylemepretty.com/gallery/picture/834311/

Did anyone get flip flops for their OOT bags? If so, did you buy generic sizes or make sure to get everyone's size ahead of time?

Hello lovely ladies!! It's been a while since I've posted anything on here but just wanted to update you all...sent out the invites and have started getting RSVPs back. SO EXCITING! Honestly, I posted earlier that I had issues with my first invite vendor that I found on etsy but after getting refunded, I was able to get different invites from a website that has an actual store and I'm kinda obsessed with my invites! I got them from papersnaps.com, I did the all-in-one invite which is different then the typical invite and for 100 invites with my return address AND guest addresses printed on them, I paid $420. If I can figure out how to post pics on here I'll do that Also, for any ladies looking to get anything from Wedding Chicks, they're running a 40% sale on their entire website (excluding invitations)...Since that's where i'm buying my OOT bags from, this is a major score!! Sale lasts through July 4th though. Enter SUMMERSALE at checkout. Hope everyone is well...Happy summer!!

Hi ladies...don't know if anyone is interested but zazzle is having a flash sale on all tote bags, 40% off. Use code flash4totes2 It's only through midnight tonight.

@@KaraEbeth I think Chill is a great option too!! I understand your apprehension about just the Ipod but maybe you can designate an upbeat friend to do all the announcements and coax people to dance. As for your new wedding coordinator, taking a page out of talicea's book, make sure to ask for your wedding worksheet just to make sure that they have everything that you've asked for.

@KaraEbeth DJ Doremixx is not a Lomas vendor so we have to pay the outside vendor fee, however, the way we looked at it was that he's still $400 cheaper than the more expensive Lomas DJ (DJ All Music) even with the outside fee. Also, we booked playaweddings for photo/video so since they are also an outside vendor it's cheaper to just get a room and put both the DJ's name and the photographers name on it ($1300 as opposed to $1600)...Then we'll just figure out an alternate use for the room since they won't be sleeping there...maybe give it to his brother that has little kids so they can use the additional space. I scoured the boards and asked brides on the Azul Beach FB page to figure out who the best DJ was since we can't sample it personally and everyone came back with doremixx...I even asked the photographer since they've been to a ton of weddings (although judging by doremixx's website, you wouldn't really know it cus its outdated) As for location, right now we're doing ceremony and cocktail on Sky and the reception in Blue Terrace but the reception is contingent on how many people RSVP too. We may have to do the beach for reception if it's more than 70 people. I just ordered round two of my invites (the first time I ordered invites, I received terrible quality and poor customer service from this one vendor on Etsy and had to call my CC company to get my money back, so this time I went with a storefront company...papersnaps.com and did their all-in-one) I also made sure to get samples first and ask for a hard copy proof first. I'm currently waiting for the hardcopy but the e-proof looked beautiful and I'm so excited! I'll try to post pics when I get them. Soooo, looping back around to the original question we'll have a better idea of #'s when we send the invites out in the next few weeks. What about you, what are your plans?

Hey ladies, So just wanted to update you all...I hadn't been in touch with my WC for about a month and a half and I thought for sure she was gone, but alas, she lives!! So today, I ordered my invitations and booked DJ Doremixx....PROGRESS!! 8 months to go!!

@@KaraEbeth that sounds super cute! I was thinking of blush and/or coral for their dresses too....it just goes so well with Mexico I was trying to upload a panoramic picture I took of the Sky deck but it wouldn't let me because the file is too big, sorry btw, I got my save the dates from a designer on Etsy and had them printed on vistaprint. also came out nice. I hear great things about zazzle!

@@KaraEbeth Gilt City is kind of like a groupon but with higher end stuff. Plus you can get another 20% off I think for being a first time buyer. I've bought some stuff off there in the past. It's great for these types of things! If you have a chance, take a look at the wedding chicks website...a lot of ladies buy their totes which are very cute. If you can catch a sale on their website AND use the gilt city voucher, it's a win win. The site for the totes is http://shop.weddingchicks.com/totes/ Plus, they have other custom things like t-shirts and such. My planning has been put on the back burner for a little bit. I'm focused on getting invites right now. I actually ordered invites from this one vendor on Etsy and it turned out to be an awful experience. She promised 8 days turn around time which included printing of the invites, RSVP, accommodations card, return address, and guest addresses. Long story short, it took over a month to get the invites (which the quality was not great), and she was difficult to get an answer out of once I paid her. I contested it with my credit card company and got my money back so now I'm at square one looking for invites again. How about you? How's your planning going? @@kriziac @@KaraEbeth I have to respectfully disagree with talicea7812...I went up to see the Sky deck when I did the BDR last December and we LOVED IT...it was gorgeous!!! It's an unobstructed 360 degree view and really reminded me of Santorini or the likes (I've never been but it looks like the pictures I've seen lol). Yes, you can do a cocktail hour up there. We're booked to have the ceremony and cocktail hour up there. We saw the Sky deck at Sensatori and it's completely unfulfilling because there is a giant wall on one side that takes up the view. I am so excited to go back there @@talicea7812 CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!! That's soooooo exciting!!! I bet you guys are over the moon

Hi ladies, Just in case anyone is interested, Gilt City has a 50% deal on Wedding Chicks which has some adorable OOT bags and other stuff. The sale lasts for approximately 2 more days. Enjoy http://www.giltcity.com/national/weddingchicksaparil

Thank you!! I'll definitely give them a call. Keep the details coming!! It's so helpful to hear your experiences!! Plus it makes us feel like we were there

What did you end up doing about flowers and where did you choose to have the reception? Can't wait to hear more about it!!

@@talicea7812 Good luck and congratulations!!!

Yeah, I think that's what I'm going to do. Thank you!!

@@KaraEbeth @@talicea7812 I booked my photographer/videographer already and they wouldn't discount their price but rather they threw in an extra hour for free. Since I really liked their work, I already signed a contract agreeing to that. They're really the only ones that I'm concerned about. I'm still up in the air about the DJ, if I should go with Doremixx or the Lomas DJ. And finally, if I do flowers, I'm going to do what @@talicea7812 suggested about driving to the security gate to avoid the outside vendor fee. ...$300! I WISH! lol

@@KaraEbeth I'm intrigued, what is this planning journal you speak of

@@KaraEbeth Thank you so much for that information!!!!! Which photographer did you end up going with? On a side note, I emailed my wedding coordinator (who seems to be a tad more on top of responding than my former WC) about if I could book one double occupancy room for two outside vendors for 3 nights and she said yes. If that's the case (and I'm hoping it stays that way) then I'll do that to cover my photographer and DJ outside vendor fee (if I go with the outside DJ) and then just request that the room be next door to my sister and brother in law this way they can use it as a play room for their kids or something. @@talicea7812 I finally got a chance to check out the bakery Zaida Marcos and she seems amazing! Did you go with her for your cake?

@@KaraEbeth Thank you for the Jet Fete blog search! So pretty

@@jd0922 Thank you so much for all of your information!!! I LOVE that you pinterest everything, I do too!!! I couldn't find the jet fete pic though, the link didn't show anything As for everything else, I adore it!! Love the simplicity of your bouquets and centerpieces. I thought about doing the same thing with regards to splitting that 3 smaller centerpiece one before I started looking at outside vendors. I know I keep saying this, but it's all still part of my mix because I haven't signed anything yet as far as that's concerned. I love your girls' dresses. I think my "color" is shades of blush (as cliche as that is lol) and gold. I go back and forth between blush and gold or just white. My fiance has no choice lol @@KaraEbeth yeah, that's the same site I used that my old WC said they don't even check. Ask Carol, she might be able to reset it for you or something.

@@KaraEbeth Yeah, my new WC told me yesterday that the bonfire is $50 per hour and to have s'mores it's $15 per person, so you could have one independent of the other. And their version of s'mores is really just marshmallows, fruit, chocolate fondue, and crackers by the way. Those prices are independent of the price for the BBQ I believe. @@talicea7812 thank you for that, I didn't even know that I had a wedding worksheet.

@@KaraEbeth Those are beautiful! I love the aisle decor and the boutonnieres! I also read about the real touch and keep going back and forth. I hate that I'd be spending money on a beautiful bouquet that I can't even bring back to the states with me so for that reason, I'm still contemplating the real touch. The other idea I saw somewhere on pinterest, both to save money and not waste flowers, was to have the bridesmaids walk down holding beautiful clutches. it's a unique idea and they can keep them as their gift! About Lomas and the tiki torches, I went on their website and checked it out, http://www.weddingsbylomastravel.com/planning/Candles-Lanterns-and-Torches they're charging $8 per torch so that could add up. I would like to do a beach BBQ also and a bonfire. I was quoted $50 per hour for the bonfire which would provide a decent amount of lighting I'm sure. You could always bring a bunch of candle bags and votives with you to set up on tables and the beach too. That's straight from Lomas' website except they want to charge $6 per bag and I'm sure you could find like 50 of them for $6 online somewhere lol Honestly, they transfer you around, but the best advice I could give is to get EVERYTHING in writing from them but be prepared to argue over and over again. I now have to go back and re-confirm everything that my old WC did. It's a hassle, but we fell in love with Azul Beach (like all of us have). I just keep praying that what the other brides say is true, that it'll be soo much better once we're there. On a brighter note, I love that we can trade info and ideas on here Oh and thank you for asking Carol for me...much appreciated!! (but please don't put yourself out) p.s. I tried to use the website that they provide when you first sign up in order to make changes to the time of my ceremony and my old WC said that they just rolled that out and no one is really using that yet so make sure to confirm by calling...but then again, she did up and quit lol so I don't know. Safest bet, call or email.

@@talicea7812 Thanks, I'll keep praying. I hope to be able to get this woman to nail down and confirm all the details I painfully got from the old WC

@@KaraEbeth Thank you for the florist info...I will definitely look into them!! Yes, for some reason the link I put in my last post was incorrect, it's actually the same one that you mentioned http://www.floresrivieramaya.com/eng/ Very reasonably priced, and I think I'm going to follow @@talicea7812 lead and get flowers delivered to the security gate. I emailed the florist today to see if they also rent out tall glass vases for pillar candles. That would be beautiful and save me from having to lug votives down with me. I also want to know the dimensions of the sky wedding gazebo because I would like to price out fabric instead of renting sheers from Lomas. @@talicea7812 I finally got a hold of my new wedding coordinator and that's only because I called them today and started to get loud about having to pursue them to take my money. Fabio never responded to me. Such a shame that their customer service in Miami is a let down. Keeping my fingers crossed that this lady is as helpful as she sounds. I will say that she was apologetic for my experience and seems more keen on changing that from here on out. we'll see...

@@talicea7812 I contacted http://www.floreriariviera.com/ I haven't signed anything yet...I'm still in the research phase for DJ, Flowers, etc I'm currently really frustrated with Miami Karisma! I found out by calling that my wedding coordinator doesn't work there anymore and the WC manager has yet to call me back and I've called him twice already. To be continued..... @@jd0922 Congratulations!! That's so exciting that your day is almost near!! May I ask you which florist you are going with? Those prices sound amazing!