Azul Sensatori Brides - POST HERE!

[Boam2be]

Hello everyone,

 

Im a newbie from the uk and just wanted to say thankyou. Ive read this forum, right from the beginning, starting a couple of weeks ago and have been hooked, ever since. The advice and support that you give on this forum is great.

 

I plan to get married there September 2011. Ive booked the hotel but im still undecided which wedding package to choose (silver or gold) so havent got my wedding day yet. Is the gold package worth the extra money, or should i just go for the silver and add extras?

 

Thanks

 

Natalie

[KittenHeart]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigboponthebeach Before I headed to bed, I just had to say how much I LOVE this freakin' thread! We all seemed to come together, drop a few F-Bomb smilies, encourage one another, and log out of here with our pep back in our step about our DW planning or experiences. I appreciate all of you and your support! All of you had the most honest and genuine advice and it helped me get out of my temporary DW pity funk. Upwards and Onward! So I haven't been good at the whole to-do's list thingy, so I'm going to ask you more senior or advanced brides what I should be doing with my time as far as planning and preparation right now. I've done the following and I keep feeling like I have all the time in the world, but I know 11 months will sneak up on me and I'll wish I completed more tasks. 1- Sent out STD email and ordered STD magnets from ETSY. 2- Booked photog and paid deposit. What's next Does anyone have a DW checklist or know of where I can find one on here?

Love hearing this I know how you feel, love you all too, you all are wonderful women I feel fortunate to be a part of our little thread

You are on the right track! Right now I'd be doing the big staple stuff, avoid details until later. I would absolutely start looking for your dress, if you get a dress that has to be made it takes 8 months and you want time for alterations etc. It's a big decision and you don't want to be rushed. Then I would start looking into flowers, decide what you want to do, resort flowers, real touch etc. If you want anything custom made do that early too. Sometimes it can take awhile. Also deciding the theme and colors of your wedding now is a good idea so everything looks coordinated etc.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Boam2be Hello everyone, Im a newbie from the uk and just wanted to say thankyou. Ive read this forum, right from the beginning, starting a couple of weeks ago and have been hooked, ever since. The advice and support that you give on this forum is great. I plan to get married there September 2011. Ive booked the hotel but im still undecided which wedding package to choose (silver or gold) so havent got my wedding day yet. Is the gold package worth the extra money, or should i just go for the silver and add extras? Thanks Natalie

Congrats and welcome Natalie!!

Personally, I did the free wedding which came with some basics and I added on and totally customized my wedding since the packages (silver & gold) came with stuff I didn't need or want, so it just depends on your needs. If you are bringing your photographer then obviously you don't need a package with one.

Good luck!

[meghan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Boam2be Hello everyone, Im a newbie from the uk and just wanted to say thankyou. Ive read this forum, right from the beginning, starting a couple of weeks ago and have been hooked, ever since. The advice and support that you give on this forum is great. I plan to get married there September 2011. Ive booked the hotel but im still undecided which wedding package to choose (silver or gold) so havent got my wedding day yet. Is the gold package worth the extra money, or should i just go for the silver and add extras? Thanks Natalie

Hey, congratulations! If you don't want to use one of the resorts photographers, definitely don't get the gold.

[bigboponthebeach]

Quote:

Originally Posted by taylorwd Who'd you end up going with for your photog? For a checklist, I used the ones in the book The Knot's Guide to Destination Weddings. There are pages of checklists starting from a year or so out taking you to your wedding day. This was my lifesaver, especially when I was just starting out and had no idea what I should be doing. It kept me focused on things that needed doing instead of jumping the gun. The checklists in this book do assume you have to find all your own vendors (which we don't , but it's easy to skip past those. Hm, 11 months out... You have your website done, as I recall. Have you registered? Do you have your dress? I'd be thinking about things that don't involve the resort since it's too early to really do any details with them. Overall, just enjoy that you're 11 months out and you can relax a bit!

Okay, so I didn'eve even know The Knot had a guide to DW's. Where did you pick that up at? I will take care of that tomorrow because it sounds handy to keep me in line!

I don't have my dress because I wanted to lose some weight first! I was going to wait until August to start looking because by then I figured I would have dropped at least 10 pounds. I've been really unhappy with my weight lately and didn't want to become depressed while having fittings.

And the photographer thing was SOOOO stressful! We looked at more than 60 sites and narrowed it down to 20 one week, 10 the next, 5 a few days later, and 2 up until last week. I'm going to inbox you for a bunch of reasons, I'll explain in your inbox.

Quote:

Originally Posted by taylorwd Sooooo, let's see that monogram!

It should be attached below, I hope! ;-)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Boam2be Hello everyone, Im a newbie from the uk and just wanted to say thankyou. Ive read this forum, right from the beginning, starting a couple of weeks ago and have been hooked, ever since. The advice and support that you give on this forum is great. I plan to get married there September 2011. Ive booked the hotel but im still undecided which wedding package to choose (silver or gold) so havent got my wedding day yet. Is the gold package worth the extra money, or should i just go for the silver and add extras? Thanks Natalie

You are on the right track! Right now I'd be doing the big staple stuff, avoid details until later. I would absolutely start looking for your dress, if you get a dress that has to be made it takes 8 months and you want time for alterations etc. It's a big decision and you don't want to be rushed. Then I would start looking into flowers, decide what you want to do, resort flowers, real touch etc. If you want anything custom made do that early too. Sometimes it can take awhile. Also deciding the theme and colors of your wedding now is a good idea so everything looks coordinated etc.


Good luck!


I would LOVE to try on dresses but I'm being really vain right now and don't want to try them on until I lose some weight. I was giving myself until August to drop the initial pounds for a proper fitting. Do you think this is a bad idea?

I've decided to do real touch flowers, but I really want orange tulips and have not been able to find tulips PERIOD online. Has anyone seen any? I've decided our colors will be burnt orange, khaki brown, and white. I'm going for the whole burnt orange, starfish, and raffia theme. I LOVE raffia for some strange reason! LOL

[bigboponthebeach]

Quote:

Originally Posted by taylorwd Who'd you end up going with for your photog? For a checklist, I used the ones in the book The Knot's Guide to Destination Weddings. There are pages of checklists starting from a year or so out taking you to your wedding day. This was my lifesaver, especially when I was just starting out and had no idea what I should be doing. It kept me focused on things that needed doing instead of jumping the gun. The checklists in this book do assume you have to find all your own vendors (which we don't , but it's easy to skip past those. Hm, 11 months out... You have your website done, as I recall. Have you registered? Do you have your dress? I'd be thinking about things that don't involve the resort since it's too early to really do any details with them. Overall, just enjoy that you're 11 months out and you can relax a bit!

Okay, so I didn't even know The Knot had a guide to DW's! Where did you pick that up at? I will take care of that tomorrow because it sounds handy to keep me in line!

I don't have my dress and haven't even window shopped yet because I wanted to lose some weight first! I was going to wait until August to start looking because by then I figured I would have dropped at least 10 pounds. I've been really unhappy with my weight lately and didn't want to become depressed while having fittings. Do you think waiting is a bad idea?

And the photographer thing was SOOOO stressful! We looked at more than 60 sites and narrowed it down to 20 one week, 10 the next, 5 a few days later, and 2 up until last week. I'm going to inbox you for a bunch of reasons, I'll explain in your inbox.

Quote:

Originally Posted by taylorwd Sooooo, let's see that monogram!

It should be attached below, I hope! ;-) I'm still learning this whole multi-quote and attachment thing with this forum. I need a tutorial for this forum some days, I swear! LOL

Quote:

Originally Posted by Boam2be Hello everyone, Im a newbie from the uk and just wanted to say thankyou. Ive read this forum, right from the beginning, starting a couple of weeks ago and have been hooked, ever since. The advice and support that you give on this forum is great. I plan to get married there September 2011. Ive booked the hotel but im still undecided which wedding package to choose (silver or gold) so havent got my wedding day yet. Is the gold package worth the extra money, or should i just go for the silver and add extras? Thanks Natalie

Welcome Natalie!!! This thread is one of the best things I have come across since planning! I too read from page one until present and these ladies are a resource worth their weight in gold! The free package was not an option for us, we were told only at Azul Beach. We went with the cheapest and figured we'd add on as needed. Best of luck to you planning!

Quote:

Originally Posted by KittenHeart Love hearing this I know how you feel, love you all too, you all are wonderful women I feel fortunate to be a part of our little thread You are on the right track! Right now I'd be doing the big staple stuff, avoid details until later. I would absolutely start looking for your dress, if you get a dress that has to be made it takes 8 months and you want time for alterations etc. It's a big decision and you don't want to be rushed. Then I would start looking into flowers, decide what you want to do, resort flowers, real touch etc. If you want anything custom made do that early too. Sometimes it can take awhile. Also deciding the theme and colors of your wedding now is a good idea so everything looks coordinated etc. Good luck!

I would LOVE to try on dresses but I'm being really vain right now and don't want to try them on until I lose some weight. I was giving myself until August to drop the initial pounds for a proper fitting. Do you think this is a bad idea?

I've decided to do real touch flowers, but I really want orange tulips and have not been able to find tulips PERIOD online. Has anyone seen any? I've decided our colors will be burnt orange, khaki brown, and white. I'm going for the whole burnt orange, starfish, and raffia theme. I LOVE raffia for some strange reason! LOL

[taylorwd]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigboponthebeach Okay, so I didn't even know The Knot had a guide to DW's! Where did you pick that up at? I will take care of that tomorrow because it sounds handy to keep me in line! I don't have my dress and haven't even window shopped yet because I wanted to lose some weight first! I was going to wait until August to start looking because by then I figured I would have dropped at least 10 pounds. I've been really unhappy with my weight lately and didn't want to become depressed while having fittings. Do you think waiting is a bad idea?

I think I bought my book on amazon, but most major bookstores carry it.

I can definitely understand about wanting to look your best while trying on dresses! Wedding dress shopping is such a fun and unique experience that you don't want it tainted in any way! Just remember, if you're ordering a dress and not buying off the rack, you're getting a custom fit. Your actual fittings won't start until months later when your actual dress comes in. If you've lost a lot of weight between when you purchased and your fittings, they can take the dress in as much as needed. Ask the girls on here, lots of them kept getting more and more inches taken off their dresses.

[KittenHeart]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigboponthebeach I would LOVE to try on dresses but I'm being really vain right now and don't want to try them on until I lose some weight. I was giving myself until August to drop the initial pounds for a proper fitting. Do you think this is a bad idea? I've decided to do real touch flowers, but I really want orange tulips and have not been able to find tulips PERIOD online. Has anyone seen any? I've decided our colors will be burnt orange, khaki brown, and white. I'm going for the whole burnt orange, starfish, and raffia theme. I LOVE raffia for some strange reason! LOL

Well, this all depends on what you are looking for. I found my dress and purchased after looking for 3 weeks straight mid August 2009. My dress came in at the end of February and after 3 fittings finally had my dress with me at home mid -April for my May 8th wedding. Just to give you an idea of the typical timeline. If you end up buying a dress off the rack, you're golden, you can wait until next year to purchase a dress. Just keep in mind, if you don't know what you want it can be a process to find you dress, it was for me, to me the dress was most important, I'm big into fashion so yeah

Also like Wendy said, you still have awhile to drop the weight since your alterations won't be until right before your wedding.

sharon nagassar designs, Silk bridal bouquets, silk weddings, Custom orders, Latex, Real Touch, Natural Touch & Floramatique Silk Wedding Flowers

Has the most gorgeous real touch flowers ever. She has anything you could possibly want and if not, she'll dye them. I had magenta tulips in my bridesmaid bouquets. She could always dye white tulips for you. I suggest you contact her if you are doing real touch, all my flowers are real touch and I was blown away by how unbelievable they looked.

[jazz04]

Hi I was wondering what extras some of you have added onto your packages at AS that are not included to make the day even more special! Also I love the photos Elizabeth Medina has done does anyone know her round about price or have any other suggestions for photog?

[taylorwd]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jazz04 Hi I was wondering what extras some of you have added onto your packages at AS that are not included to make the day even more special! Also I love the photos Elizabeth Medina has done does anyone know her round about price or have any other suggestions for photog?

Photogs are a hard one to answer b/c they're such a personal choice! Elizabeth Medina does great work if the resort will let you use her. Many of us choose to bring our own photographers with us b/c you get more bang for your buck that way. I brought Andrew Jordan (click under my siggy) and AmyKH brought a great one too (Chris Schmitt).

Just as a price comparison (and I'm just ballparking b/c I don't know Elizabeth's exact prices off-hand), for the same as about 5 hours of shooting from someone like Elizabeth, you could bring someone and get a full day of shooting on your wedding, a TTD day-after session, and possibly another even as well like a rehearsal.

[amcferron]

So, for those of you who brought your own photogs, do you mind me asking a ballpark price that you payed?? I have priced two and it just seems crazy, but then again, I have never had quotes for photographers to fly to another country either.....