Azul Sensatori Brides - POST HERE!

[rebepax]

@@kmk2016  The processional aisle for the skydeck is as long as the beach I think.  The interesting thing is that you walk up stairs. And then down the aisle. I think it will be as long as the beach for the procession. 

 

It is so perfect though!

[michandwarr]

Hello Ladies,

 

It has been a month since I was married at the Azul Sensatori so I thought I would post a quick review.

 

Check-in: We arrived in the evening, so we didn't receive a grand welcome, but we didn't run into any major problems. A few guests received the wrong room type but they were moved promptly the next day. We were not offered an upgrade and when I inquired about one they said to check back the next day.

When we did go and check back, they wouldn't offer us anything for free. Somewhat disappointing considered all the money our guests and I were spending there. If you do want to pay to upgrade; at the end of the front desk by the fish tank there will be a screen that displays  what the cost is to upgrade to different room types. The front desk staff don't tell you that...I just noticed it on the last day. So unfortunately based on what it said on the screen we overpaid to upgrade to the honeymoon suite for 5 nights but with everything going on we didn't feel it was worth going back to fight to get some of our money refunded.

 

Wedding Coordinators: We had Victoria and Janet. They were excellent. They were very detail oriented and accommodating for any last minute changes or hiccups. They really put you at ease. I forgot batteries for our ring-bearers bubble blower and after seeing they were $26 US in the gift shop I asked the Coordinators if they had some I could borrow and alas they did! I wouldn't hesitate to ask them for anything you may have forgotten. Janet also translated our wedding ceremony and did a beautiful job.

 

Smores BBQ Party: We had this as our welcome reception. It was great. The only thing I would recommend is that you bring bug spray for your guests as the sand fleas were terrible. Also ask for napkins.

 

Spa Services: Angelique did my hair and she was terrific. I only had to ask her to make some minor changes during my trial and she remembered the style on the day of the wedding. Make-up was fantastic - I got the MAC products (not Chanel). Angelique also did my fiancées haircut and he said it was the best haircut he ever received. She took her time and made sure he was happy with it. Overall the spa was very accommodating. I decided the day before the wedding that I wanted to book in our mothers and flower girls for up-dos and while they were stressed about it, they made it happen.

 

Decor: I brought a suitcase with me full of paper lanterns, papel picado, paper goods, tissue poms, photo frames, garland lights, tealights, table runners, luminary bags, etc, etc. It cost $200.00 US to have everything set up. I had ordered 4 of BC08 and had five tables so I rented one extra hurricane lamp and they mixed everything between the tables. I felt there were definitely enough flowers to go around. I also brought a box of freeze-dried rose petals and they scattered those on the tables too. On the entrance table and bartender table they used their own table runner that matched our colours. I didn't have any problems with customs on bringing in any of our decor.

 

Food & Drinks: For our reception we had the BBQ deluxe. Yum Yum Yum! Our guests continue to still comment on how good it was. They left it out for people to have seconds and came over to ask if it was okay to take it away. Our wedding cake was chocolate and vanilla with butter-cream and it also tasted great. The wedding coordinators put together a signature drink based on our colors..we didn't expect that and our guests loved it. Our wedding package included a group private dinner, a group brunch with the newly-weds, and breakfast in bed. If you are worried about scheduling too many activities for your guests I wouldn't bother doing the group brunch or group dinner. The food at both was mediocre. We also got about 5 bottles of champagne while we were there...I'm not sure why we kept receiving so many but we gladly took them! If you order meals for your vendors tell your coordinators when to bring them out. Halfway through supper I realized my vendors hadn't been served yet so I had to ask for their meals to be brought out. 

 

Music: We had DJ All Music and he did a great job. He used our play list (that we sent to them 30 days in advance) but also took guests requests. We used our own MC -they met with the DJ 15 minutes before the reception to work out the details and it worked seamlessly. However, I didn't notice until the end of the night that we didn't get the neon bracelets and balloons that were part of the package so I anticipate that they likely don't bring them out unless you ask for them. We used our IPhone for the music during our ceremony. My fiancée brought the phone with him and gave it to the Coordinators thirty minutes before the ceremony. It worked great.

 

Photography: We used Samuel Luna...he was amazing. I felt bad for him though as security was following him around the resort up until our ceremony. I think if we pay the $800 vendor fee for vendors to be there, they should treat them like any other guest. We had 1 hour of photography with Caribe photo included in our wedding package so we had that done earlier in the week with our guests. The photos were okay but it felt like the photographer didn't guide people enough so half the photos have people's hair blowing straight up in the wind, or dress flying up, etc. They also didn't touch up any photos. I was happy to have gone with Samuel for our wedding day.

 

Wedding Locations: We had our ceremony on Zocola Beach (by the pier). It was beautiful. A 5:00 pm ceremony time in April worked great as the sun doesn't start to go down until after 8:00pm. Our reception was in Zavas Plaza at 6:30pm. Again, beautiful locale. The only downfall is that there are hotel rooms directly to the side, so you have a lot of onlookers and they don't close the pool directly behind the sweetheart table, so you may get swimmers in your photos! We did also get a few folks that tried to crash the party but they were quickly and quietly escorted away. I took it more of a compliment as anything else.

 

Waitstaff and bartenders: The wait staff and bartenders at all of our events were amazing. At the reception you are paired with your own "butler" which I thought at first was interesting but it was actually really helpful. All of the staff never let a guest's drink go empty, or a plate sit...it was truly outstanding service at every function we had. 

 

Dress steaming: You have to take your dress down to your concierge (with the laundry request paper you find in your room's closet) to have it steamed. It cost $16 US. I would recommend having this done atleast two days before the wedding as they did a crappy job on mine the first time, so I had to send it to get steamed again (at no charge).

 

Time Share sell: We didn't get approached about the time share but many of my guests did by their Concierge. Some of my guests attended the presentation as they then received a free 45 minute massage and free wifi in the lobby (15 minutes at a time). 

 

All in all we had a wonderful time at this resort and we felt that the staff and wedding coordinators did their best to make sure our wedding day was magical. We had 35 guests with us and the resort was large enough to find your own space but also small enough that you could easily find your guests. It's also a great resort for older folks as they don't have to walk very far to get from one end to the other. Most of our guests said they would love to go back to the resort and we plan to as well!

Edited May 26, 2014 by michandwarr

[kmk2016]

@@michandwarr

 

Thanks so much for the awesome review! Sounds amazing! Hoping you are wiling to share some pics too!

 

 

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[michandwarr]

@@kmk2016  Thank you; I hope it was helpful! Yes, you can see "unprofessional" photos at http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/user/265990-michandwarr/?tab=gallery

[Jennypert]

@@michandwarr    It sounds like your wedding was wonderful!  Congratulations!  I'm leaving for AS in 8 days and can only hope things go as smoothly as they did for you.  Thanks so much for posting the review and the pictures.  It really helps to ease my mind.  

[kmk2016]

@@michandwarr It sounds like your wedding was wonderful! Congratulations! I'm leaving for AS in 8 days and can only hope things go as smoothly as they did for you. Thanks so much for posting the review and the pictures. It really helps to ease my mind.

When is your wedding date? It would be fabulous to see a BDW Brodie's wedding while down there for the dress rehearsal! (We are there the 5-9)

 

 

 

 

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[AngelaA]

Hi Lolita2014

 

What did they charge you for setup fee on the chair covers, bows and sheers?  I got quoted $50 per sheer and $5 per person, which I'm assuming is $5 per chair.  I thought these setup fees where definitely way off compared to what you wrote in your review.

 

Also where did you order your flowers?  I'm not happy with the options on Lomas.

 

I contacted a makeup artist who stated that our resort definitely charges extremely high outside vendor fees.  I'm already paying $800 to have the photographer come on property so I dont' want to pay any extra.  

 

I was wondering if I could just pay the day pass fee and have the makeup artist come to my room.  Thoughts??  

Thanks for the review of the s'mores party!

 

Has anyone done any of the other add ons?  Im definitely interested in the Salsa lessons but was hoping to find a review before committing to it.

 

Thanks

[lolita2014]

@@AngelaA

I think you've confused me with someone else. I haven't had my wedding yet (6/20) so I don't know what set up fees will be. I bought my own bolt of tulle for sheers and sashes for the ceremony and reception. From what I am told it is just $5/person, $250 max. I plan to fight hard to not pay over $150 because I don't think my set up is complicated. I can justify the set up fee because my 120 sashes were 49 cents each and my tulle was $18. So still much cheaper than the resort rentals .

I only ordered one large hanging corsage for the ceremony from lomas. I made my bouquets and bouteniers from real touch and silk flowers. You can view my bouquets under my profile images. My centerpiece will be luminaries (ordered but not received yet from Etsy) and candles. I couldn't justify the ridiculous flower costs.

One of my bridesmaids is doing my hair and makeup so I'm not using the resort.

As for add-ons: I ended up getting two free cocktail parties and most of my guests are only staying three nights. So, we are having our Welcome dinner at Spoons Thursday night, the wedding is Friday with a cocktail hour before the private reception and on Saturday evening we are having a Farewell cocktail party.

I can't wait! 22 days until we leave.

[Jennypert]

When is your wedding date? It would be fabulous to see a BDW Brodie's wedding while down there for the dress rehearsal! (We are there the 5-9)

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We are having our Welcome Cocktail Party at Zocalo Terrace on Thursday June 5 from 5-7pm. If you are around stop by and introduce yourself.

[kmk2016]

We are having our Welcome Cocktail Party at Zocalo Terrace on Thursday June 5 from 5-7pm. If you are around stop by and introduce yourself.

Oh I won't intrude! I will admire from afar and send good vibes/well wishes!

 

 

 

 

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