Melissa's Planning Journal - Azul Sensatori

Hi everyone,

I want to say thanks to all who provided much needed advice and support, couldn't have done it without bestdestinationwedding.com!

I finally got my professional pictures (SaraWilde.com, she's amazing!) and I decided to do a planning journal since I got tons of good tips from other brides who had done the same.

Let me start off by saying that Azul Sensatori is by far the best choice we made throughout this whole process. Many thanks to our wedding coordinators Alejandra and Veronica who made it stress free all the way through. This resort was the best decision for us and everything turned out perfectly! To all those brides who are still unsure, you won't regret choosing this resort. Although it is a bit more expensive and it doesn't offer many perks, it is well worth the money. We had 65 guests and all were more than satisfied with the property and service.

The start

We got engaged March of 2011 and I, like many others, had already started browsing bestdestinationwedding.com it was just a matter of picking the resort to give our guests as much time as possible. We decided to get married February 18th, the exact date of our 3 year anniversary. Our colours were all shades of purple, it made it easier to match everything, included the bridesmaids dresses.

The planning

We booked and planned with L'escape Destination Weddings, they were amazing. Jasprit did an excellent job in guiding us through the process. She was on the ball and quick to respond every email. Our guests were truly impressed with her services and said they were the best travel agent they ever dealt with. We were super happy and recommend them to anyone. She even called the morning before the wedding to make sure everything was to our liking.

Invitations and luggage tags

We are both graphic designers and did not see the need for printed invitations. Both our families were more than ok with e-vites, which is what we did. We built a fairly intense website with all the information they could possibly need in both English and Spanish (I had family coming from Mexico). We first sent a save the date email, then a formal invite with the website, then a reminder to pay the deposit. We build an RSVP page so that people didn't have to worry about sending it back. We had great feedback on the website and everyone was appreciative of all the information we provided.

Two weeks before we left we sent our guests a printed itinerary with some activities throughout the week and of course the luggage tags. Everyone used them and everyone loved them. They were a great identifier at the airport!

Photographer

As I mentioned our photographer flew down with us from Toronto, her name is Sara Wilde. She was more than amazing, super personable and friendly. All of our guests loved her. We went to university with her and we were glad she said she could come down with us. Sensatori didn't charge the vendor fee because she was staying at the resort more than 3 nights.

Accessories

I made myself and the bridesmaids barefoot sandals. They were super cute for the shoot on the beach. I made then two shades of purple and white for myself.

I bought really cheap purple shoes, that coincidentally had two shades of purple, downtown Toronto. I dressed them up with some flower hair clips I found on etsy. They turned out perfect.

Have to admit that a lot of the accessories I got from etsy, including the garter, my earrings, the ring holder, bridesmaids jewelry, my hair flower, mustache props, etc.

My hair accessory I bought on etsy, and I took it as a guide to make my bridesmaids' flowers. I bought the flowers, feathers and pins all separate and made them all to match mine

My earrings I also got on Etsy and the bracelet off ebay. It was $5.99!

I had a cute little purse that one of my bridesmaids got for me. She got it locally but I have seen it on ebay. Super cute.

I also bought a hanger with my new last name off etsy. My dress by the way, is a St Patrick, it's called Eresma. I loved it.

Later on I for the party I changed into Toms shoes, they are seriously the most comfortable ever. My husband and the groomsmen all wore them as well. We also thought it was cute since my husband's name is Tom.

I do have to mention that my husband's and the groomsmen's suits were all from Studio Suits .com, they were amazing. Awesome quality and fast shipping. Everyone custom ordered with different measurements and they all fit perfectly. We ordered their suits as a gift and they were definitely a money saver.

The girls all picked their own dress and a different shade of purple. The boys had a purple tie to compliment the girls.

The rings

My engagement ring was custom made, so we had to get the wedding band custom made to match. It turned out amazing. Later on we can get the other side to match My husband is a simple kind of guy so he just wanted a plain brushed titanium band. We also got that on etsy.

Flowers

I have gotten tons of questions about my flowers. I had calla lilies, and there was no way I was getting another kind (it's my all time fave) but when I saw the prices the resort had, I almost had a heart attack. They are really expensive and I couldn't justify paying that much. Luckily, I stumbled on a thread where girls were posting pictures of fake flowers, I couldn't believe how real they looked! I did some research and ended up working with WaterMeNot, she was awesome. Nice lady, did everything I asked for. Everyone believed they were real. Even the cleaning lady would put them in water when she came in to tidy up. They are extremely affordable and they will last you forever. It was a nice keepsake for the girls as well. Now, for those who still want real flowers: I forgot the boutonnieres, I did! I most lost it. We had to buy them from the resort and let me tell you I liked the fake ones better, not to mention they cost a ton. Oh well. I had purple callas for mine, and white callas for the girls.

Decorations

We had our ceremony on the Sky Deck at 3pm. We wanted it to be private and it was well worth it. We had a beautiful day. The only thing I purchased through the resort was the large floral arrangement for the gazebo. I provided them with pictures and sketches of how I wanted everything set up, they did everything perfectly!

I bought two shades of purple organza bows on ebay. I ended up taking 100 in total. We had 65 guests so they had to take some from the ceremony downstairs to the reception once we were done. I got the large bolt of organza for the gazebo from Amazon, it was only $25 and I had lots left.

Sand Ceremony

We bought the large vase at the dollar store and the two pouring glasses are beer glasses from Ikea! I bought purple sand from Michael's and the Tom had sand from the beach. The wedding coordinator sealed it after with melted wax from a candle. It worked great and we were able to take it home with no problems

I made 10 pomander balls, all with flowers from the dollar store. They ended up costing about $10 each. We also reused them for the centerpieces. We had 8 tables. I got a white soup bowl from ikea to use as the vase for it, I just told them to flip them so the ribbon was inside the bowl. We were happy with them. All ribbon was bought from ebay, way cheaper.

For the table numbers we used the same hand drawn letters and numbers we drew for our invites and other things. The frames were bought at ikea for $1.99. They have two sides and we put a fun fact on the reverse that matched the table number, everyone loved reading them.

For our seating cards we used the maracas. My cousin purchased them in Mexico for me in a dark shade of purple. We attached a tag that said 'Shake for a kiss' on one side and the other side had their name. Everyone had a blast with the maracas.

We also made a menu card that they tucked into the napkin.

Everything about your wedding is gorgeous! Congratulations!!! Clearly a lot of hard work & love went into pulling it all off

I also had white frosted glasses with votives, those didn't stay lit tho as it was very windy at night.

Cocktail party

The reception didn't start until 6pm, while we were taking pictures the guests were having a cocktail party at Yoga Palapa. They had a purple signature drink and delicious d'oeuvres.

Photobooth

We had a separate table they set up for us with all of our props. The guests were taking pictures as they were getting to Plaza Zavaz, where we had the reception. Those ribbon wands I purchased online, the guests waved them at the end of the ceremony.

Seating chart

We had a seating chart on the guestbook table. They placed the large flower arrangement on that table. Tom and I decided to sit alone.

Plaza Zavaz

By far the best location. It was private and big enough to accommodate 8 tables. The dance floor was a nice touch.

I bought 20 lanterns, two shades of purple and white. My mother in law also helped me make paper pompoms which were super easy to make and pack (they are flat until you open them). I also had LED's in the lanterns but they were useless, they place was well lit and you couldn't really see them. The DJ also had great lighting which made the LED's get lost.

The bows were the same as the ones we had in the ceremony.

I bought a piñata through the resort. It was great fun and everyone loved it! It brought a bit of Mexican tradition to the party. I also made the blindfold from a dollar store mask.

The DJ

I highly recommend hiring a DJ, he made our party! We went with DJ Doremixx, Temo was excellent and had everyone on the dacefloor. They also have cold fireworks which they lit at the end of our first dance, as well as fun props for the party!

Conclusion

It was a perfect day, we couldn't have asked for anything more. We were so please with everything and everyone. Food was excellent (chicken from the a la cart menu), people were amazing, service was excellent. Everyone had a great time.

That's it! If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask!

what a wonderful wedding! I love the purple. I love your table numbers and such - you guys did a great job with the design. thank you for sharing!

Beautiful! I love your hair accessory. The purple looks amazing! Congrats!

Melissa, 

   Everything looked gorgeous!   You did a fabulous job!!!! I loved the pomander ball centerpieces.  I wish I had you as my wedding plannner!!!

      Did you make OOT bags?? 

          Congrats again!

      -Brooke

Thanks Brooke! Believe it or not I would totally consider being a wedding planner! lol

I didn't make OOT bags but we will make a photobook with all the photobooth pics and mail it to our guests! I will post pics once they are done!
 

Originally Posted by starcamping 

Melissa, 

 

   Everything looked gorgeous!   You did a fabulous job!!!! I loved the pomander ball centerpieces.  I wish I had you as my wedding plannner!!!

      Did you make OOT bags?? 

          Congrats again!

      -Brooke