Our Wedding was at Azul Sensatori

Monday, Sept 16, 2013

Wedding Coordinators: Janet, Antonio, Victoria

Ceremony-Zocalo Beach Gazebo

Reception- Plaza Zavaz

 

I will start with a basic review for those of you who might not want to read my novel:

My Rating is A the best F the worst

Wedding Dept - D

Wedding Sites Outdoors- B

Wedding Sites Indoors - F

Azul Sensatori Property- A

Rooms - A

Beach - C

Overall Resort Staff - A+++ They were exceptional (not including Wedding Dept)

Lomas - A

Food in Restaurants - A

Room Service - C

Spa - A++++ Fantastic

 

We arrived on Thursday night around 8:30pm, Sept 12th and were greeted by a very friendly staff and escorted to the concierge desk for a private check in. The concierge was very enthusiastic and friendly. She went over all the paperwork in short order and gave us letter from the Wedding Dept stating our meeting time on Friday. Immediately, I noticed the meeting time overlapped my Hair/Make Up Rehearsal appt at the spa. I was annoyed because I had made a specific note on the Detail Sheet to avoid conflicting schedule for this appt. My first impression was the wedding dept didn’t care about my pre arranged spa time and states the appt set by the wedding coordinator can not be changed. Due to the time of night I could not do anything about it until the Spa opened at 8:00am the next morning. I was left to worry about it all night.

 

Once we finished with the concierge, Marcelo, the bellman escorted us to our room. Marcelo was so friendly and enthusiastic. We were really enjoying talking with him. As we were walking to room, I noticed him take a turn into the Adult Only Section. I questioned where we were going and said I told him we are not booked in the Adult Section. Marcelo seemed confused but handled it well. He did what he should and that is talk up room and the section. Which all sounded great except we have 50 guests coming and 8 children that we wanted to be accessible to. Most important, my nephews being able to spend time with us at our swim up or in our room on the day of the wedding as they were part of the Bridal Party. We appreciated the upgrade but expressed it just wouldn’t work for us on this trip. Marcelo really went above and beyond by calling the front desk and trying to work it out. Ultimately it was out of his control so he did a great job showing us the room and helping us with the luggage and went on his way.

 

We then began working with Eduardo at the Front Desk to get the room figured out. Eduardo was very friendly as well and did try to help us. We were told that there were no rooms available (Swim-Up) in the Azul Section which is where we booked. Our option was to move to the Premium Section and pay $1,000.00 more for the week or they could possibly move us to the Azul Section on Sunday, the day before the wedding. I was not happy about this at all. It is there problem they didn’t have a room in the section we booked and I was not going to be burdened with moving rooms and all our luggage the day before our wedding. Not to mention that I would be busy with all our family and our Welcome Dinner was that night. It is now like 10:00pm and we are tired and hungry and have to get up early to get a hold of the spa to change my appt time to 8:30am. Out of stress and our desire to not be in the Adult section we broke and said move us to the premium section and DID PAY THE UPGRADE. The fact that I gave in really bothered me for the next several days. I decided not to dwell on it and I would bring it up with my TA when I returned home.

 

Marcelo returned to move our luggage to the new room. Again he went above and beyond showing us the room and all the features. I was up very late unpacking and getting organized for the next day which was going to be busy with appts.

 

Friday, Sept 13, 2013 we got up early to get some breakfast and go to the Spa right at 8am to try and get my appt moved to 8:30am so I could make our 11:00am with the wedding coordinators. The spa receptionists were very friendly and accommodating. They took me in right at 8:30 for both my rehearsal of hair & makeup. Martha was my stylist,I liked my hair but did not love it and my makeup was too dark which I expressed to her. I left by saying I had to see the make up in the sunlight but I felt it was way too dark. When I left I completed a comment card and indicated “Good” on the questionnaire. I am running a little late now so I rush back to my room to get my fiance for our appt. By the time I arrived back to our room the spa had called the room and were concerned because my questionnaire did not say “Excellent”. The receptionist offered me a lot of options, change the stylist, have another rehearsal, etc. At that moment I was rushed for our appt but was pleasantly surprised by the Spa’s effort. I advised them to give some time that day to look at the make up more and my hair.

 

Off to the Wedding Coordinator meeting I went and arrived a few minutes late. I was greeted by Janet and Antonio.They were very friendly and inviting. Janet seemed more straight to business and Antonio was more enthusiastic and engaging. Which was good for me, I liked the mix. We began going over the detail sheet and they seemed very willing and able to manage all my wishes. It went very smooth especially since I am extremely detailed and brought pictures of all the details, play-lists, etc. Everything was in writing with pictures attached for the Original plan for the beach wedding and gazebo reception. In hindsight, I should have asked more questions and been more detailed about the backup plan in the event of rain. I did not ask a lot of detailed questions in this area nor did they offer a lot of information. It was basically if it rains the wedding is moved to here and the reception here. I think the only thing I asked was can I see the reception site which they showed me. I was fine with the ballroom and did not think to say explain in detail what you will do for my ceremony if moved in doors. We finished the meeting with the plan that I would return that day with our Welcome Bags to be delivered to our guests and the set up payment. I did not bring a lot of set up items and my fee was still $200.00 cash and $4.00 per Welcome Bag to be delivered. Overall when I left this meeting I felt very good and not stressed about anything because the detail sheet was so detailed.

 

We had requested a rehearsal late afternoon on Sunday before the Welcome Dinner. Most of our Groomsmen did not arrive until late Sat evening. We were advised in the meeting we could not have a rehearsal on Sunday due to the Mexican Holiday. Which really made no sense to me because the wedding department were working that day just not having any weddings. However, I made it work. We scheduled to have the rehearsal on Sat at 2:00 (which was the latest appt they had) even though most of our wedding party were not there yet. No groomsmen or father of the bride. The rehearsal would be done with Omar from the wedding department, who was not one of our coordinators but he would fill in to do the rehearsal. However, Janet assured me that it would be OK because the day of the wedding she would make sure everyone knew what to do and when and where to stand, etc.  

 

One additional note, the custom maracas we had arranged to be shipped directly to the resort were due to arrive that day, Friday. It was pre arranged that they would arrive after we checked in to avoid any problems. When at our meeting with Janet & Antonio we discussed the arrival of the maracas. Antonio was very aware of their expected arrival and we discussed him calling me to let me know when they arrived so I could come inspect them. I never heard anything from him on their arrival.

 

I returned around 5:00pm ish with my Welcome Bags and cash for payment of delivery of the bags and for the set up fee. I was greeted by Antonio. I gave him the payments and showed/explained the Welcome bags which were labeled for each guest with first & last names. Some bags were for families with kids and some specific for our bridal party. He assured me no problems and the names helped them. I then questioned if my maracas had arrived. He said yes there over here. When I said I thought you were going to call the response was “Oh yes, I did but there was no answer”. My comment was “You could’t have left me message, I mean that’s what voice mail is for?” In their very friendly way he brushed right past my comment and of course I let it go with the excitement of seeing the maracas.

 

My next topic with Antonio was regarding some confusion regarding our reservation at LaChique that night. There seems to be a big misunderstanding between us, off site coordinator, and on site staff. It was expected by us (bride & groom) and another couple that we would not have to pay the $25.00 for this because of the premium section & bride & groom status. Antonio was very confused by this and told us we would each have to pay the $25.00. Of course with all the room confusion, I had not yet set up WI-fi so I could not pull up my correspondence showing why I did not expect to pay.  Long story short, Antonio really went above and beyond for us to not have to pay the fee after some debate. He did work it out so all 4 of us used our Candle Light dinner room credit. Especially since we already had the candle light dinner as part of the wedding package.

 

At this time we went straight to our Premium Section concierge desk to arrange the steaming / pressing of our wedding attire. There we arranged the service and discussed how and when they would return my wedding dresses. It was discussed that the dress would be returned to our room on Sat and placed on the mannequin and covered. At this time I would not say the concierge service in the premium section was worth the price of the section. Basically we went in arranged it and nothing was told to us about all the perks of this section. We left not unhappy as we didn’t know what we were missing.

 

The rest of Friday went fine. We had a long dinner at La Chique with one bridesmaid & her husband who arrived on Friday before the bulk of guests arrived. I will say that if I had paid for La Chique I would have been upset. In all four of our opinions it is highly over rated. We actually talked about going to the buffet after. I will note that we are a group that enjoys fine dining and we really didn’t like it. The environment is really nice though.

 

After wearing my hair & make up all day I had decided by the end of this night that I did not like my hair or makeup that was done earlier that day in the spa. I noticed a lot of gaps in my hair and the make was way too dark.

 

Sat morning we decided to hit the Spa for the monthly special they were offering prior to the arrival of all our guests that day. We really needed it because Thurs night & Friday were stressful & hectic. Sat for the most part was just a busy day with 90% of our guests arriving all day. There were some slight confusions with rooms etc but again the front desk worked it all out. I would say the big frustration was my mom & sisters (with 3 kids) arrived at the resort around noon and were told their rooms would not be ready until 3pm. Which no one had a problem with as they were busy meeting/greeting other guests as they arrived and we knew check in was at 3. At 3:30 they still did not have rooms and everyone one else did including guests who had just arrived. However, I went to Antonio who went to the front desk and they had rooms within minutes of that. Not sure what the true problem was there but both of them did have connecting rooms.

 

We had our rehearsal on the beach gazebo site with Omar, another wedding coordinator, at 2:00pm on Sat. It was a nice day and good rehearsal even without all the bridal party. Omar just had to play the part of all the men. I again was very specific on what chairs for the front row and who was to sit there. (might have helped if Janet or Antonio where there)

 

On Sat evening some of our guests began commenting on seeing other of our guests with our custom bags and lanyards. I explained to them they would be delivered to their room and it’s because they were later arrivals. Etc. No problem.

 

When I returned to my room on Sat evening I found my wedding dress covered with a sheet and hanging from the rafter of the wood frame wall by the jacuzzi and the mannequin frame there undressed. I contacted the Premium Section concierge who stated they would get it on the mannequin and the mannequin was not in the room originally when the dress was delivered.

 

Sunday began well. I called the Spa to arrange getting a new stylist for the wedding day. They accommodated with pleasure. I also added two last minute men’s pedicures for groomsmen the day of the wedding and the staff was very accommodating were great.

 

Throughout Sunday through late afternoon some guests still had not received their welcome bags. To include, a bridesmaid with her schedule in it. I went to the Wedding Dept and was greeted by Victoria. When I looked I saw several of our bags sitting there (about 5). Victoria explained to me that there was some room confusion and even told me that one of our bags was delivered to someone not even part of our wedding group. Some bags for kids were delivered to adult members of our wedding guests. They assured me they would get it all worked out and delivered to them that evening (Sunday). I was concerned but Victoria assured me she would make sure. I did take one of the bags for my bridesmaid and delivered it to her myself (and did not ask for my $ back for it)

 

When I went back to my room at 4:00 to start getting ready for our Welcome Dinner at Spoons. I found that my dress was still hanging from the rafter and the mannequin still undressed. I walked to the concierge to explain my dress still is not done and they assured me they would get it done. The dress was so high there would be no way for me to get it down the day of the wedding.

 

We then got ready for our Welcome Dinner. I will say the Welcome Dinner was great. The staff that served us were Exceptional!!! Friendly, helpful, and so attentive. The food was great and the we loved it. My only comment was that they did not have the curtains pulled and we had a lot of other restaurant guests walking through to go to the buffet. It was not really semi private as they say it is. It could have been if the curtains were pulled. None of our guests noticed it but when I was looking around or at guests I wanted to go talk to I noticed I could see ½ the restaurant too and always noticed people walking through the middle of our tables. It was really minor as we all loved the staff and the meal but felt it was worth mentioning.

 

Returned to our room to start getting prepared for our wedding day the next day :) My dress was still hanging from the rafter but concierge was already closed so I could’t call again.

 

MONDAY The Big Day,

We awake early to have breakfast and head to the spa. (My dress is still hanging from the rafter)

 

The spa staff was great. I loved Angelice my new stylist. She did a fantastic job. I absolutely loved my hair and makeup. The groomsmen & Groom all had pedicures and loved it. The bridesmaids & my mom seem to be a little frustrated with their hair but not enough to affect the day. The spa runs very slow. I had made specific request that all members be done by 2:00. At 1:30 when I was leaving the spa none of my girls were done and my MOH had not had her hair or makeup even started. I told the front desk as I was leaving that they must hurry up that they were all due for pictures at 2:30 and some still need to do their own make up. I think we were all ready for pictures about 3:00 for pictures because it was rushed for the girls in the end. (now me as the bride had plenty of time but I also arrived 45 mins early with the men otherwise I would have been rushed too)

 

During my Spa time Janet came to me to show the forecast. Which was 60% chance of rain during our ceremony & reception. At this time we discussed what to do. It was immediately decided to move our reception in doors to the ballroom. If we chose to risk the reception outdoors and it began to rain the DJ would pack up and go. The DJ will not set up twice to move in doors. That would have been the end of my reception if it began to rain. We discussed what happened if I chose to risk it and keep the ceremony outside. I was told they would keep the ceremony on the beach and if it was raining 30 to 60 mins prior to the ceremony they would move it last minute to the Entertainment Patio partially indoors but with none of my decorations. In the event the rain or storm was really bad they would move it to the Mojito Bar. I decided to move it to the patio at that time and signed all the forms to make the move. This was about 12:30.

 

By the time I got back to my room I changed my mind and called wedding dept and spoke to Victoria and asked if I could keep the ceremony outside or was it too late (it was 2:00pm at that time). She said she would talk with Janet. Around 2:30 Victoria arrived in my room to explain that they would/could keep the ceremony outside and that if it was moved last minute it would be without my decorations. I agreed. At that time I asked point blank, how do you notify the groom and our guests of the change and when. She told me that they would call each guest and leave Voicemails if they weren’t in their room but it would be in about an hour (3:30) not then. I explained that this was going to really confuse the groom and she assured me over and over again that she was walking to him directly right then to talk with him and let him know. My mom said she would go too so he understood the option. I said no mom I need you here and Victoria said it was no problem she would explain it to him they could call me from his room if he need more info from me. ( I never received any phone calls)

 

I then showed Victoria that my dress was hanging from the rafters and she said “Oh yes we came to put that on the mannequin and it was too high”.. This whole time I thought it was the concierge staff dropping the ball. So while my bridesmaids and I are trying to get ready Victoria and my photographer were working on getting my dress down and getting it on the mannequin just for picture purposes. Then working on getting it off the mannequin so I could put it on. Annoying but minor. I really was in the clouds with happiness at this point.

 

At about 4:00 the weather changes and the rain begins and it’s clear my ceremony will be moved indoors. Pretty quickly after that Victoria shows up at my room to explain the change to the Mojito Bar and that they would be back to escort me at 4:45. In hindsight, I should have said “Wait why the Mojito Bar it’s just lightly raining and not storming which would put it on the Patio”. But I didn’t say anything I was really distracted at this point with pictures etc. At this point I start to get a little depressed but my girls really kept me upbeat and smiling. Now this time I do not ask Victoria how she will tell my groom, I just assumed. That was a big mistake. At 4:30 my room phone rings and it’s my groom upset and talking with my sister. My sister immediately handed me the phone. He was agitated and he knew it was time for him to be heading the the ceremony (his report time was 4:30) but had no idea where to go. I asked him if Victoria came to see him and he said no one has been there to see them all day. He never got notified of even the 1st change. You have to know my groom. He is so laid back and does not react to stress. I explained what to do and where to go. He was so stressed about not being at the right spot he and no one communicating with the men all day he said NO I’M NOT LEAVING UNTIL SOMEONE COMES TO GET US AND TELLS ME WHERE TO GO. I knew then we had a problem. If the groom didn’t know where to go, did any of our guests? It was my photographer that escorted the Groom to the correct spot (the Mojito Bar) At this time 4:30, my bridesmaids call their husbands and explain where to go and to look for our guests at the two other locations if they are missing. So it was them who rounded up guests to the lobby. (I asked guests later and only a handful got calls and the others said they didn’t not have a voice mail)

 

At this time my girls started calling the concierge to get several umbrellas to get me to the lobby. They brought them promptly.

 

When Janet arrived at my room about 4:50 to escort me to the Mojito Bar she said we were a little delayed due to the change. Which was expected by now with the changes. At this time I was just ready to go. About 5:00 we started on our way. ALL the rain had stopped but everything was very wet so it would have been hard to be outside to marry but we could have definitely done the patio vs the Bar. As I was making my way to the lobby guests were back in the pool and cheering me on as I walked by. My mood was sheer joy at this point. They escorted me up the elevator to the lobby. When the elevator opens my bridesmaids see the Groom standing in the lobby talking with groomsmen. So of course they are rushing to get him into place and I had to hide in the elevator as everyone was trying to block me. I was thinking if he’s standing out there are the guests even seated??? Are we even ready to start the ceremony? Very Annoying. Yet again people in the lobby were cheering me on and making wonderful comments which put me right back into sheer joy.

 

Then processional starts. I can hear the correct music from outside. When I start my walk in I can’t see the alter/groom just the guest chairs and no one is standing. When I get closer I notice the guests all seem rushed to stand. I even caught the look on one of my close friends face that seemed sad/annoyed that she was stumbling to stand before I entered. It escaped me at that point because I was filled with joy. I would say that the things I noticed from this point were a thought or concern for a split second and then I was pulled right back to my joy. So I will mention them as I noticed them but forgot them just as quick as I noticed them. 1st was guest were not standing which means no one said “Please Stand” as I had indicated. 2nd was the tacky alter-If I was suppose to not have decorations due the last min change why was the alter wrapped in white & PINK when my colors were Purple & Orange. They had moved my hanging flowers (purple & orange) and put them on the pink & white alter. 3rd- I gave specific instructions of how many chairs to have in the front row (4 on bride side & 3 on grooms) and who was to sit in them. This was ignored totally. When I walked in with my dad I noticed guests sitting where he was suppose to be. (not sure what happened about that as I was now gushing over my groom) 4th- the sand ceremony table was set smack in the middle of the alter. The groom was standing at the one side and me on the other. Never were we next to each other or hand in hand during the ceremony. Until we stepped forward to exchange rings & kiss. This drove me nuts the whole ceremony and neither of us knew what to do. That was not how we rehearsed. Then after I kissed my groom I didn’t pay attention to a single thing. I was lost in the moment.

 

According to guests the staff was excellent in the Mojito Bar for the happy hour prior to the reception. The finger foods no one had any specific comments as they can’t remember what they were or if good or bad.

 

The reception. First thing I notice is it’s not at the same room they showed me on Friday when I asked to see the back up. (it was much smaller) I do not have all the facts for all the things that went wrong. However, there were definitely things that went wrong. I don’t have all the facts because my bridesmaids did not want to approach me with problems because they wanted us to just enjoy our wedding party. The coordinators Janet & Antonio did come to me with some problems but I never really knew what the whole problem was. They were asking my approval to do something to fix it.

 

The first real problem right before we entered the reception as Mr & Mrs was outside the doors. I was told by Janet that there was a problem with seating and some guests didn’t have seats but they had the exact chairs I on my detail sheet. Now I am in my dress ready for my first dance I don’t have my detail sheet or anything in hand, seriously?. I basically said if there are enough chairs can’t someone go help people get seated. Yes we didn’t have a seating chart/assignment but maybe 6 ppl are trying to sit together and there are only 4 seats together. Janet says OK we will go take care of it. Few mins later I see my aunt and uncle walking out but they are heavy smokers and assumed they were heading to smoke, so I thought nothing of it. Later once we had started the buffet Janet approaches me to say some guests were leaving do the seating. I said it doesn’t matter what the problem is if it we need more chairs just add them and I will settle up with them later. She said OK. Then my MOH-sister immediately came up to say it was my aunt & uncle who left and just to let it be and it was on them for being selfish & leaving. So I said OK go tell Janet not to do anything. My feeling here is if they do weddings day in and day out and this seems like such a minor problem to start the reception with the coordinators should have just handled it right away vs letting it go so far as guests leaving. It’s a chair or two-what was the problem? Making sure I would pay for the extra chairs? Ridiculous! Again stating I don’t know all the details from every point of view but this could have been avoided and not been something I was even aware of.

 

We went in and had our first dance and father/daughter dance. That part was so emotional it was a total blur. :) As we were shown to the sweetheart table I notice it was butted up against a wall, which was no problem, but they had our Senor / Senora signs hanging on the back of our chairs (as I had instructed). They really should moved signs to display them since our chairs were against the wall. Charles & I just moved them to table to display.

 

Then we were sent to start the buffet. I noticed immediately that the shrimp was in the same pan as the fish which meant the Groom couldn't touch it because of this Shellfish allergy. All over our detail sheet references his severe allergy to Shellfish. I would have thought the shrimp would have been completely separate from all other dishes to be safe. But the groom said it’s OK there is plenty other food. Next thing I noticed is we have two potato dishes. I had lots of conversations regarding this. It made no sense to me to have mashed potato and baked potato on the same buffet, do we really need two potato’s? It had been on the detail sheet to substitute the baked potato to Corn On the Cob.  Again, pretty minor but things are starting to add up now. We went on and ate and the food was good and all our guests loved it.  It is worth the note to the lack of paying attention to detail.

 

I thought they did a good job with decorations and the tables looked great. The one comment I have is that on my detail sheet it specifically says not to use any Roses. My hanging flowers for the ceremony and my centerpieces ALL had Roses in them. That bothered me only because now it’s several things that are being overlooked from my detail sheet.

 

We were completely loving the staff that worked our reception (which was the exact same safe from the Welcome Dinner the night before). They were so amazing and payed close attention to Charles & I and what we needed. Truly exceptional.

 

Even with all the details being missed we were so happy and smiling ear to ear. Dancing and playing with our guests. It was whipping out the mistakes. But then the night was not over.

 

The next MAJOR problem that occurred was between our videographer & the DJ (All Music). This is a topic that I do not have all the facts so I will give you the information as it was presented to me in bits & pieces. Let me explain that our videographer was doing something a little unique. Part of his specialty is to do a same day edit of the video and view it at the reception for our guests to see the events of our day as the bride & groom. Our videographer was instructed by me to touch base with the wedding dept when he arrived at the resort to make sure he had what he needed to do the viewing. Which he failed to do, his fault. At the same time, on my detail sheet I had noted it for the DJ. From my understanding the DJ was unwilling to work with my videographer and stated he did not know about it in advance which was not true, it was on my detail sheet. My videographer has his laptop & projector to view the video but in all his experience doing wedding he has always just plugged in to the DJ speaker with one cord. The DJ said absolutely not. The viewing is 3-4 mins long total. For some reason the DJ was not flexible in working with any other vendors which bothered me but I wanted to focus on my wedding reception as I was having a blast. When Antonio was telling me about the problem I remember saying “Seriously, that is ridiculous. At this point I don’t care if the viewing happens” Which was true. I was happy and having fun. But then a few minutes later my videographer told me I don’t know what your coordinator told you but not for me to worry just have fun and he would work it out. (which is truly what all vendors and coordinators should have been doing and not bothering us with things unless major) Some time went by and the next thing I know the DJ approached me when I walked to the table to get a drink. The DJ comes to me face to face and says your videographer just punched me. I instantly get upset and confused. I said what? Really? as I am looking at his face there is no sign of him being hit on his face. But he insists yes. I say hang on let me get Charles (Groom). He says no no it’s fine just have fun. I am just standing there in shock when he walks back to the DJ booth. I look around the room to find my videographer and I don’t see him but I still his equipment. I find Charles & tell him what they just told me and Charles is upset that they keep coming to me with problems and only when he is not present. Granted I am the planner and their point of contact. Charles steps out of the reception and talks to someone outside not sure who and says not to worry about it. Even now he says just leave it alone. What I do know is our videographer did do the viewing (which was totally romantic, touching, and amazing to see) by going to his room and getting the clock radio, IPOD dock from his room and that was our sound system. No one approached me about the DJ problem after that.  What I would like to point out if the DJ was truly punched by my videographer how was that not a MAJOR PROBLEM and how do you say oh don’t worry just enjoy your wedding when I say I need to get Charles. That seemed so odd to me. If I really believed the DJ was punched I would have ejected/fired my videographer on the spot. Completely ridiculous situation that they are all vague on the details which really angers me. If they involved me they should tell me the truth.

 

Then the cake. All of our guests liked the cake. We did pay more and were very specific that they could not use any fondant. It was a buttercream frosting. I absolutely hate fondant. The cake was beautiful.  After we cut the cake we walked away and the staff took care of the cake cutting and serving. Thank goodness. But I did note to Janet and Antonio at our meeting the top tier was special for the groom (Nutella filling). And that we wanted it cut we wouldn’t be saving it to take with us. Because I was so distracted I remember taking one bite of the cake with ice cream one of the bottom tiers which was vanilla cake with strawberry filling, very good and moist. My only comment/regret is that I didn’t pay attention that Charles nor anyone ever received a piece of the Nutella filled cake. According to guests I have asked they remember seeing the top tier (smaller) layer set aside on the sweetheart table. Which means no one had any of that tier that was the SPECIAL tier. It was never even brought to my attention at the reception about the tier or where it was.

 

The reception ended and we went on to the Mojito Bar.

 

This review is based on the the Wedding side of things. So the next few days I am not going to include. Although we had a few guests have repeated problems with their rooms.

 

The night before we left (Friday night) I opened up the suitcase to make sure I received everything back from the wedding decoration. I notice late Friday night that we never received our Sand Ceremony Picture frame. We are due to checkout at 12:00 the next day and the shuttle to pick us up at 12:30. At 8:00 am Sat am I leave a VoiceMail for the Wedding Dept about the frame and to call us back we had to pick it up by noon. We spent the morning tipping people around the resort we felt deserved it. From 11:00 to noon we were in our room getting ready to go. Still nothing from the Wedding Dept. I would like to point out my wedding was 4 days prior and no one had ever let me know they had it and it wasn’t in my bags. At noon the bellman came for our luggage and we headed to the lobby. We went to the wedding office and it was locked. We had to have the Front Desk call them on the property to come up. About 5 mins before our shuttle arrived out walked a woman named Denise, whom we had not met prior, with our frame. At that point I handed her a partially completed review.

 

In addition, I know that two guests never received our Welcome Bag. When we said goodbye to those guests prior to their departure I asked again and they still had never received a bag. This upset me greatly. Not only did two of my guests not get all the touches of love we had put in those bags, but that’s money that we spent that was lost, and the delivery fee we paid to the wedding dept for that delivery. Delivery that never happened or at least to the correct people.

 

We were there a total of 9 days and it rained the first 7 days. The last two days we were there were finally full sun and no rain. We know that several weddings got moved. I can only imagine their experiences.

 

The way that we feel about the overall process is that the Wedding Dept is not equipped to handle the rain out changes efficiently or effectively. I have yet to see our professional pictures yet but the ones I have seen from family & friends from the ceremony make me CRINGE. I look at the bar environment and feel that I wasted a lot of money getting married in a BAR. Which had a tacky background and mix match colors. There is nothing unique, elegant, tropical or worth the money about the ceremony. They really need to have a better backup space for rained out events. I am really nervous to see my professional photos as I feel like I also wasted a lot of money on a great photographer to get cheesy pictures in a bar. Am I aware that things go wrong in a wedding, yes. However, I had one off site coordinator and THREE on site coordinators that do this every day. We spent $9,900.00 including the spa for our wedding and it was so not worth it. Things went wrong with the reception but I really feel like the ceremony was the worst. The $9,900 does not include the total amount of money as the Bride & Groom we spent at Azul Sensatori and our ceremony was a mess. When the Groom who cares less about decor and details than the bride kept saying the entire week after the wedding “Can we have a do over?” That’s bad. Even now, two weeks later, we keeping joking that we paid all that money and traveled all that way to get married in a Bar.

My next question is the credit that we are suppose to receive for our Anniversary Trip, can it be used at another Karisma Resort? I am not sure we want to return to Azul Sensatori in Riviera Maya. Not because the resort or it’s staff are not great, they are. The wedding department and my wedding has spoiled my opinion of them and I can never get that day back.