TandAGetHitched

100 days to go! Just a year ago we had selected Azul as our resort and I was working Save the Dates! can't believe we only have 100 days until we are official Mr and Mrs! also - queue the panic - so many little things to get done! made major headway on the OOT bags this weekend.

We LOVE the Grand in DR! We’ve been a few times and got engaged there - it’s our favorite resort! The pool is great - the staff is AMAZING! And the food is wonderful! We love that the resort is a bit smaller, but doesn’t feel too small. He entire Iberostar property is beautiful! The Grand recently opened a time-share vacation pitch- we spent an hour getting to tour just to get a few free massages just be aware they will approach you and your guests. You can say no, but someone new will ask you the next day too. The staff really make the Grand awesome - they go above and beyond to make sure you have a great stay. We had initially considered the Grand for our wedding, but the costs to guests eliminated it as an option. The Grand is Adults Only, which is why we love it, but we do have some kids coming - so that meant all our wedding events would have to be at The Suites. The per night stay was a little more than we felt comfortable asking guests to pay. Plus, travel to the DR was more costly than travel to Mexico. It also seemed that the wedding packages and costs were higher than I expected. Now that we’re just a few months from our wedding in Mexico at Azul - the Iberostar wedding prices don’t seem that off Happy planning!!

@@LeanneP Thanks! I was still hearing mixed feedback about the off-site coordinators - some indicated they were still around. And when I called Javier, the Phone # is registered to Miami area. Javier has been pretty good to work with for the last year or so. now I just have to get my stuff together and start wrapping up the details.

any other April or May 2018 Azul brides out there? We're quickly approaching the "100 days to go" mark and suddenly starting to feel a little overwhelmed with the planning we have left to do, but it's mostly the little things, of course! Does anyone know the timeframe when Karisma transfer the wedding from the Miami WC to the wedding team at Azul? We're still communicating with Javier, and he's been pretty good these past 12+ months... just wondering when they transfer. Things left to do... that I can think of right off the top of my head: wedding band for FH list of songs for the DJ and the ceremony witness passports and legal documents final payment on the hotel dress alterations (scheduled) find bridal accessories find shirts for FH and BM finalize gift bags for guests - WIP communicate week of / day of timeline to guests organize all my communications with Javier so I can easily reference book flights for my mom and FMIL (they don't fly and are panicking about flying out of the country) probably a dozen other things I'm forgetting! anyone else feel like sh*t is getting real?

we opted to hire an outside vendor photographer as well. the resort options just didn't meet our vision. we opted for Moments that Matter - Lincoln has been WONDERFUL to work with. they have a special going right now where they are giving an additional discount if you book one of the GOLD packages. (must book by end of 2017). Below is the link to their packages. they do also include videography. We only booked a Gold package for our May 2018 wedding. https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0Vbu1IzJN8AcDZZTlo1UDBCa1k/view

@@DnD hi! I actually got them from a few different sources because I was struggling to find nice looking ones. My favorite ones are from Amazon https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01F6HZ2ZO/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 some are from Ikea http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/categories/departments/decoration/20492/ the small sights are from Michaels and Hobby Lobby.

Thanks! I changed it up a bit... removed the petals - it suddenly hit me that the petals look weird because they couldn't have 'fallen' off any of the flowers... also - we are not doing real flowers because the resort charges way more than you'd think, even for just 2 dozen flowers - I think the last quote I got was $100 for 2 dozen... outrageous! we can't bring in our own real flowers, not without paying the outside vendor fee. so, enter fake flowers. No one remembers centerpieces anyway, but we still wanted them to look nice . at the end of the day, this setup is $21 per table vs. the $90/each centerpieces from Lomas. here's the updated design... (the bottle will be frosted and the word will be painted gold)

The Dress My mom came to visit in June and we set out on a mission. My mom, and FMIL went to a few stores on Friday. And then on Saturday, my mom and MOH and I visited a few more. While at David’s Bridal I hit a wall – the consultant wasn’t listening to anything I said and I just knew I wouldn’t find my dress there. So we left and went to get a drink. Wine fixes a lot. The last store carried Mori Lee, who I knew I wanted to try several styles from her new line. The first dress I tried on here was perfect. They also carried my other top 2 contenders, so after trying on all 3, I select the Mori Lee. They said my dress would arrive in late October. So I was super shocked with it came in 6 weeks early in September! My HBIC and I went and picked it up – it’s perfect! Just needs a few alterations, but for right now, it’s hanging in my VIP’s spare closet. Next on the to-do list: Schedule alterations appointment (A) Find shoes and accessories (A) Book hair & make up appointments via WC (A) Groom & BM Attire FH has a light gray suit he just purchased – pretty sure he’s going to wear this. Need to figure out what the BM is going to wear. We are planning a shopping trip in January. Next on the to-do list: Finalize attire (T) Find FH's wedding band (A) MOH We decide to have just 1 MOH and 1 BM. I also have a HBIC (Head Bitch in Charge). Her role is really to help with the pre-wedding events and help keep us on time the day of. she is not a day of coordinator and she's not a personal attendant! She is just a close friend who will help make sure we stay on time and manage any potential disasters. She asked if she could have this type of role and be involved, so I said ‘heck yes!’ My MOH is my best friend. We’ve known each other for 13 years. I initially wasn’t going to have a BP because I didn’t want to ask friends to spend more money for our wedding. But then started to imagine the day and I couldn’t imagine it without LaLa by my side. So, she’s in! We went shopping for her dress in August and she found the perfect option at David’s. She got to pick whatever she wanted, but ultimately asked me to select the final one because she couldn’t decide Next on the to-do list: Schedule alterations appointment (MOH) Find shoes and accessories (MOH) Reception *update* Ugg centerpieces! These have been giving me anxiety! Lomas’ prices are high, but I don’t want to haul a bunch of stuff down with us. But I think I figured them out. It's about $20 per table. I'm going to frost the bottle, to soften the candle glow, and then paint the small sign in a metallic gold. I think they'll look lovely once they're are done. Glad to have these close to done! Next on the to-do list: Finalize centerpieces (A) Entrance music (T) First dance music (T) Welcome toast (T&A) String lights for plaza (A) Photographer Yes – we found one a few months ago! I had initially select one photographer, but once we got their contract and there were just a few things that didn’t settle well with T and I, like the 50% deposit and 50% cancelation fee. They didn’t negotiate on the terms, so we moved to another vendor. I emailed Lincoln at Moments that Matter and he was AMAZING. I told him our concerns with the previous vendor and he was very understanding. MTM’s contract is much more standard and flexible. Plus, Lincoln offered to shoot our wedding, even though we selected a package he typically doesn’t shoot, and gave us a discount! I’m really glad we found MTM – I feel super comfortable with them by our sides for the day. Next on the to-do list: Finalize shot list (A) Finalize day of schedules (A) Determine if we need to add extra hours to photographer package

hi friends! I'm looking for some feedback / ideas on our centerpiece mock-ups.... A few ideas/comments: I'm planning to frost the bottles, so it's a little softer we have 8 tables and my initial thought is to do a different flower arrangement for each table Plan to use the silk flowers to help keep costs down yes, the vase is a small patron/tequila bottle do the flowers/vase add to the centerpiece or do they distract? Are the flowers needed or does the bottle on it's own look ok? FI likes the first and last photo the best... Thoughts? feedback? love em? hate em?

6 months to go!! I had a really productive call with Javier yesterday... talked a lot about the details... feels nice to start talking about the details instead of just ideas - the plans are starting to come together! Travel We decided to have a legal wedding in Mexico. We considered getting married here before and I socialized this idea with a few very close friends and after talking to them, we decided to stick with legal. So we will arrive on Monday, May 7 and have our blood work done on Tuesday, May 8. Most of our guests leave on Sunday, May 13, but we are going to stay a few extra days until Wednesday, May 16 (10 days total). We booked flights with miles. I made a few big international trips to China last year and we get to keep our miles, so I was able to buy us first-class tickets for the trip and still have enough miles left over to buy my mom’s flight. Passports are both up to date, so one less thing to worry about. Next on the to-do list: Book airport parking/transportation in MN (T) Book doggy daycare/boarding for the puppies (T) Ceremony We set our ceremony for 4pm on Friday May 11, 2018. The WC kept trying to push us to the sky deck, but we are 100% a beach couple. We opted for the Always & Forever package and are planning very little décor for the ceremony. We are using the white chairs in the package and I plan to bring a few white sheers for the gazebo, but pretty simple. I did order rose petals for the isle. We are not going to do a program, since it’ll be pretty short and honestly, one less thing to do! Next on the to-do list: Source sheers (A) Select ceremony music (T) Cocktail Hour This will be immediately following the ceremony and on the beach. We’re planning to do a receiving line and/or a group photo after the ceremony. And then the 5 of us will head off with our photographer for some sunset pictures around the resort. I’ll be staying out of the water with my dress though. . We select the Mexican Fiesta for the cocktail hours. Next on the to-do list: Build playlist (T) Reception We’ve select the Plaza Zavas for our reception, it’s beautiful. We’re again keeping with the basic package – white tables and chairs. We selected the BBQ Buffet for our dinner, as we have quite a few dietary restrictions, a buffet is just easier. We are not doing a cake. T is not a cake person, and the buffet comes with 4 desserts. I’ve read too many posts about a wedding cake that goes to waste, especially since you can even take it back to your room! So we’re going to pass on this tradition. I booked the DJ a few months ago – so that’s done! We aren’t going to do speeches, so one less thing to worry about. Centerpieces have been giving me more anxiety than they are worth! Lomas’ prices are way too high (we will have 9 tables total), but I don’t want to haul a bunch of stuff with me. I bought these wine bottle-like lanterns at Michaels for $3/each, but they need something more with them. So I’m trying to figure that out. Next on the to-do list: Finalize centerpieces (A) Entrance music (T) First dance music (T) Welcome toast (T&A) String lights for plaza (A) Flowers Ug, flowers, another struggle! Why are Lomas prices so high?! I know, all wedding prices are high. I’ve been toying with the idea of making my own flowers, but I have 0 talents in this area. I’ve looked at etsy a bit, but prices are pretty high there too and I’m nervous about quality and travel. I ultimately ordered flowers from Lomas (1 bridal bouquet, 1 MOH bouquet, 2 corsages, 2 boutonnieres). Next on the to-do list: nothing!

@@Sweetness14 they are BEAUTIFUL!!

@@Sweetness14 - awesome! did you have to pay the outrageous $800 outside vendor fee? Can you share some photos of your flowers? Also - who was your WC? thanks for sharing!

hi friends! Looking for a bit of advice on flowers! I'm wondering what others have done or are planning to do... We need 1 bridal bouquet, 1 MOH bouquet, 2 boutonnieres, and 2 corsages for our moms... so not a lot of flowers, but enough that it is causing some stress. (flowers & centerpieces are my two *road blocks* right now...) Lomas' floral pricing is high and nothing on the site really 'wows' me. Well, there are a few, but they are, of course, the $350 bouquets. I just can't justify that cost, especially since I can bring the flowers home. http://www.weddingsbylomastravel.com/planning/bouquets.html If you ordered from Lomas - was the quality worth the cost? did anyone have a bouquet custom made vs. ordering one of the standard options on the site? For those who did fake flowers - where'd you find the stems? how'd you pack them to ensure they didn't ruined during travel? Thank you!!!