BecomingaRiggio

Looking back at my wedding experinece, most of my stress was induced by the Miami Coordinators at Karisma. Oncer we got there, different story. 100% turnaround. I bought alot on saveoncrafts. Took a glue gun and extra sprays and flowers to spruce anythung up in Mexico if needed.

I brought my own flowers. I thought they were beautiful. Even my bouquets. Ig people knew they were real touch, no one mentioned it. They look classy. I left them with Katy. I also got my bouqets on etsy. I can forward info to you. I rented w Katy. I think we used 4 strands. I dont know how long they were. The resort knows exactly how to hang them

Dont tell them anything. Their job is to sell. The on site coordinators in Mexico can pull anything off. Maybe you can request your on site meeting earlier

Are you using a travel agent? You shoukd check with her and see if you booked during the promo's. Really? At 150 people, you should have a cocktail hour and a dinner at no cost to you

Look at Pixan Photography. Owner is Vincent. I did endlesssssss tedious months of research amd he came out on top on all catgegories important to me 1) making me look as beautiful as possible 2)capturing a story/moment w every pic 3) communication needed to be prompt 4) most bang for my buck. Will PM you some other info. Here are a few of my fav shots.. Because he was an outside vendor, AS did charge me the $800 vendor fee. And i would have paid more if they wanted to for him. He and his staff were easy to work with, easy to communicate with and he is just so darn sweet. [http://video214.com/play/dbClW8w5i7dHj2AX5p3a1g/s/dark] Zocalo is actually a beatiful location. It can be done very tastefully w minimal decorations. Maybe just candles..plus that is where they cook a majority of the good for events so yours would be freshest and hot. The pics online dont do it justice. But its cery authentic and clean. Everywhere at AS is perfect

I used Gayle Hirsch. She is an agent here in Texas. Works for herself. She is awesome. But suggest it to your TA. She should not have one problem doing that. Im looking for it to send it to you but i cant locate it

@@carrieandsam are you using a travel agent? If so, Gayle (my TA) wrote an email to me that said.somwthing along the lines of "hi karla and bill, The deadline is quickly approaching. You have only 6 guest rooms left in your block. If not booked by Aug _ , the hotel will release these rooms. The hotel right now is about 80% booked. I would hate for your guests to stay at a different resort and not be subject to the day pass fee of $100." You get the jist. Then we forwarded that email to our guests. May help if they hear it from someone else

Can you move it to 5? Where is your reception?

How much time do you have in between the ceremony and reception? I like what she said above trying to keep everyone together and keep that party vibe going. Photographer can get great shots of your guests

If any future brides have not booked a photographer, please consider Pixan Photography. Here are some of my favorite sneak peeks and i cannot sing him enough praises. I think his packages are reasonably priced. Much better than most i researched. And if i could do it one more time, i would have hired him the entire wedding week

I would keep in mind that perhaps the set up fee is more because they have to take down the swings

@@Aliyedwinramirez. I would snag this locatiom up if you could!

I cant believe you have these!!! Thank you!!!! Awesome pics. I dont know the name either. I call it Zocalo Hut too. They offer it as a back up but ask for it. This accomodated 109 people. They said dance would would be to small but it was perfect

@@Aliyedwinramirez, we had a welcome dinner on the beach and it was beautiful. We decorated w tiki torches. Everyone loved watching the sunset together. People took shoes off and danced in the sand. Maybe you should reconsider. Nobody minded the seaweed. Let me look for pics @carrieandsam

@@atyson03, cant wait to hear all about it! I'm sure all the girls here really find our feedback valuable. Just a note: we had 120 guests stay 7 days plus and not one person had GI illness, aside from a hangover.

Ugh ladies, please don't go overboard drinking. You will regret it. Amd give yourselves at least 2 hrs back in your room after the salon to unwind and take a minute to eat. Make a list of family members you want in ur pics. I dont remember taking a big family shot. Even a shot of us in sky deck.

Ladies, I will be selling a bunch of these welcome totes and sunscreens. I am not sure how many i have, but its a ton! Im just gonna be lazy and unwind for a week. Please PM me if interested. I also have glass mirrored candle holders. Anout 36 of them!

Hi @@HolaAmigos! The 2 days prior to the wedding were partly cloudy and hot. But wedding day not one cloud and it felt even more hot and humid. It wasnt too bad on the Sky Deck cause we had a breeze but the sun was still shining bright at 530pm. I wasnt melting in my dress until we started to party.. we ended up getting the little hand towels from the spa to cool off. ($1 a towel). I saw a video where i was wiping sweat from my forehead. Luckily i decided against spanx and any indergarmets that would be hard to put back on w sweat.. it was dripping down my legs too. Unfortunately, i drank a bit much and i remember the evening in patches. I was told that I had a wonderful time! @@blushxo, Hi!! I still like Zavas, but i fell in love with the Zocalo. It has swinging chairs and beds that make it very loungy and sexy..they couldnt stay for my reception but im sure they could keep them if you asked. That would take up some of your space. I meant it seemed more intimate beacuse it has a hedge that encircles the Zocalo. It near the restaurant and so there is more space between the venue and guest rooms. Either location is great..but Zocalo was exactly what i envisoned in my head.

Here are my biggest tips ladies, Imelda at the salon does amazing things with hair and makeup. She made by bun look like a rose. Be flexible with suggestions they make, they do about 7 weddings a day (you would never know) but we were curious and tried to get to know the staff. They know what they are doing amd will do anything to make you happy. Be gracious and even if it pains you, tip them. We saw many people treat the staff like they were superior or a better class of human. They work hard to keep the place clean and your guests happy. Our houskeeper started at 6am and shift ended at 9pm, with 1 day off. No labor laws out there. Keep your communication w miami as.little as possible. They do nothing anyways but make us bridezillas. Bernice and team at AS are true professionals I cant say enough about the amazing experience i had but I also let go alot of control once i got there and i was able to enjoy myslef and my guests more. My photographer is amazing. I will be happy to share his info if you PM me.

Few quick words. The staff here are amazing and accomdating. Unfortunately, my wedding coordinator in miami, Jennifer, did not forward the guest list count w meal selection and many other things. So it was doing everything allllll over again. Very upset about that and i will wait to get back to US to call her. Do not worry about the spa. They do great work. Ill post pics. Honestly, anything you want, they do! We have room 4332 and its perfect. Many of our guests were upgraded to swim ups and to premium section. Tonight is the big night. Oh btw, my set up fee is $400. Honestly, after seeeing how they work their butts off...i am pleased to pay them. Its prob more than the $250 set up fee because i have alot of stuff. I promise you, things will be ok whe.n you get here

LaurenR, wifi is great in the blgs. The weather is perfect right now. The backups (in case of rain) are beautiful. We even changed from Plava Zavas to Zocalo ? It has swinging beds and chairs and it more intimate. It was the backup in case of rain. Where is your ceremony? Where is reception?

We are flying 1st class and it wasnt a courtesy. Had to shove my purse into a suitcase or pay $200 for each bag

Day 1: day of travel. If flying American Airlines, your dress will count as carry on. I though it was a "personal item" but if you carry a purse as well then that is your personal item and the dress is carryon.

Wed to wed. Thats a great idea. I was so relaxed. I had a xanax, was just snoozing..massage at 7pm...ooooh @@LaurenR wed to wed. When is your day? Are you ready?