Azul Sensatori Brides - POST HERE!

[Mahalo79]

These are gorgeous!!  I just sent out my invites last week, I don't have a pic of them to post yet.  So fun!

Originally Posted by MaggieandJay 

My invitations turned out SOOOOO awesome. I am in love with them

[taylorwd]

 

Originally Posted by bigboponthebeach 

Thanks Wendy. Maybe some things in her life have changed. I'd actually be good with having half of her if she would just communicate with us that things have changed and her time is limited, family needs her, etc.etc.  We just feel like now that she has our (and our guests) cash, the level of service has decreased. If and when I get a response from her via email, my FI and I actually laugh in amazement that she remembered us.  The little things.....

 

Two questions for you....1) Did you also book your honeymoon through her? 2) Did you feel like your level of service changed at all?  You can PM me if you prefer....I guess it is slightly distasteful to discuss her in public for all to see. :-/ I'm just curious because we are 9 months out and I just want to know what to expect from her rather than having high expectations and being disapointed by the outcome/actions. Thanks so much...... 
 

I'll PM you.

 

Originally Posted by chong 

Ladies, I will be gone this weekend for my bachelorette party in Philadelphia. I am sooo excited! I will catch up with you guys when I get back...

 

Talking about the labor day weekend.. I thought Meredith is coming to Houston for her BD pictures. Where you at Meredith?

Oooh, HAVE FUN!!!

 

Originally Posted by Mahalo79 

Well I was trying to reply to mshannon and her pics!  Oh forgive me I'm obviously still in noob status for a reason lol!  Has anyone else been happy with the Caribe photographers?  bringing a photographer with us is not an option so i am hoping for the best with Caribe.

 While I am here I also wanted to ask about staying a second week.  Our guests are staying April 20-27 and our wedding is April 25, but we want to stay an additional week for our honeymoon after our guests leave.  I have been waiting several weeks for the supplier to give me prices.  My TA (who is from destinationweddings.com btw, and who I think has been fantastic) has been in communication with me the whole time, he was waiting on their quotes.  So long story short, I asked for what it will cost to stay an extra week at AS and also for quotes at what the cost would be to stay at the adult only ElDorado.  I am hoping there was a miscommunication (I also asked about premium room prices to see if we could qualify for the free wedding so maybe TA got confused about what I wanted?) so I am hoping the quotes only reflect the premium prices, but he quoted me 3300 pp to stay an extra week at ElDorado.  I am hoping this is a big misunderstanding, bc there is no way we can afford 3300 pp to stay an extra week.  I am just fine with staying at AS for another week if it is a reasonable price, 3300 is crazy, we are only paying 1540 pp for AS for the week in the first place, how much more can it cost for an extra week, the flight is already paid for in the first week price.  Maybe I am wrong, I am very confused!!  I just wrote my TA to clarify the situation and find out what affordable options we have.  Sorry for the long post, but need to vent and don't feel my family will understand if I tried to explain lol!  Also my FI will probably have a heart attack if I tell him the quotes I just got lol.  well, let me know if you ladies have any advice, thank you!

I feel like this has to be a mistake.  Maybe your TA meant total and not per person.  I had that happen a few times with quotes I got.  It seemed like they could never keep straight whether the quote was total or per person.  Fingers crossed this is what happened!  That would be a crazy price for an El Dorado resort.
 

Originally Posted by MaggieandJay 

My invitations turned out SOOOOO awesome. I am in love with them

LOVE these!!!!  Great job!!!  It must be such a relief to have these done.

[daniepps]

 

Originally Posted by TLGnhci 

Ugh, are any of you using Destinationweddings.com?  I feel like I was given wrong information regarding rates.  I already had to fight to get my rates to where I was quoted.  Now, FI and I were gonna get the premium swim up suite (was told it was $760.00 more for the both of us) ~ Yeah right, just got the rates and they are like $1000.00 more per person!  How am I supposed to figure out a budget plan when everything I'm told changes!!! Soo frustrated right now, and really not able to enjoy planning this wedding. 

 

Originally Posted by bigboponthebeach 

Quote:

See below.....

Quote:

See below..........
 

 

Hi Ladies.....I too have been around however haven't had much to say and am kind of in a lull as far as wedding planning. Anyway, I thought I would chime in regarding the DW.com TA deal because I too am using them. We are on our second DW.com TA and so far I'm not really impressed. Our first TA is a long story, but I will say that she was rude, harsh, and very pushy. She didn't have much patience with us and was very pushy when we wanted to look at and consider non-Karisma resorts. When we were finally conquered by her persistance, she then became very pushy about the group agreement and did not want to decrease our room contract from 15 to 10 rooms as we requested. That was the final straw and we finally decided to request a reassignment.

 

We were reassigned to Wendy's TA per our request. I actually scoured this forum for good reviews of DW.com TA's and came up with a list of four solid names. We emailed those names over to the DW.com Supervisor and as luck would ahve it we were reassigned to Wendy's TA. In the beginning, it was love at first chat. Now that we signed our room agreement and the majority of our guests ahve booked and begun the payment plan, we rarely ever hear from her. It normally takes her 2-5 days to respiond to my emails and when I do email her with questions, she normally only answers one or two at max of my questions and seems to overlook or just not care to repsond to the entirety of my email. In a nutshell, I guess the best way to sum it up is that we feel like now that she has got our money, she no longer really cares about us. It frightens me because I feel like if there are bumps in the road down the line or en route to AS, she might not be as reliable as I once pegged her to be. But after two DW.com TA's, I just don't have the patience to give another TA a try. I'm going to just chop this up as a shotty experience but I will not put my seal of approval on that company if I should come across other B2B's considering them.

 

With all that negative said, I will offer this on the positive side. Once our rates were quoted to us via phone and email, they were solid. They have never fluctuated and unless someone got over on us or pulled a bait and switch on any of our guests, we have been pleased with being charged exactly what we were quoted. In addition, another pro of signing on with DW.com was/is the 20% off things as well as the room upgrade, no-interest payment plan for our guests, and the free cocktail party, spa session, or photog credit. Those in itself have passified me long enough to not complain again. :-/

 

I'm sorry for being so long winded, but I would have to concur with the others here......save ALL emails and take your rate quotes to the top of the food chain and fight for you, your FI, and your guests.  We had a little discrepancy with the whole room upgrade thing intially and having the email saved wherein it was guaranteed to us sealed the deal.

 

Best of luck, don't give up, and if push comes to shove.....take things to the DW.com Supervisor listed on your site info.

 

All the best!  

 

 

Originally Posted by TLGnhci 

Thanks girls.  I know it will all be wonderful in the end!  Just have to focus on the positive! 

 

I am so pissed with dw.com right now I can scream!!!!  I signed up with them in August 2009 with the intention of planning a wedding in St. Thomas but I found out they don't have many AI resorts so the TA with dw.com suggested AS and once I saw the pics I went with it.  I booked my wedding date and a group room block in September and the deposits for the rooms were due in October.  My TA told me as well as listed on my wedding website that anyone who booked before the time the deposit was due would receive a $50 resort credit.  I was also told that if I booked at least 21 rooms I would be eligible for a free room upgrade.  When the deposits were due I had 27 rooms booked.  Sometime in January my TA emailed me and said she had applied for the Bride and Groom Stay Free promotion because it looked like I had enough rooms to qualify.  I asked her whether the BGSF promotion was able to be combined with the free upgrade and she said she'd have to get back to me.  She got back with me about a week later and told me that I did qualify for the BGSF promotion and I could combine it with the free upgrade. I also asked her how the BGSF promotion worked and she told me it was equal to the lowest booked room category and would be issued as a refund 10 days after I returned from the trip.  By the time my final room payments were due I had a couple of guests cancel so we only ended up with 25 rooms. My detail sheet from the WC at the resort had me listed as being booked under the BGSF promotion.

 

When we got to the resort people started inquiring about the resort credit, the WC, event manager and front desk manager said they had no record of us being eligible for any resort credit.  I sent my TA an email while we were still at the resort and she said she'd check into it.  Needless to say there wasn't a resolution before all of my guests left.

When I got home I sent her another email asking about the status of the credits and I also asked her when I could expect my refund from the BGSF promotion.  Again she said she'd look into it.  I never got a response so I sent her another email asking the same thing.  This time she replied a few days later and told me she was working on it.  Last Tuesday which was 20 days after we returned I sent her another email and let her know that telling me she's working on it is not telling me what the status is and I would appreciate it if she would let me know the status of the credit as well as the promotion.  She replied on Wednesday and said she had to check with the office and asked if I could give her until Thursday to find out.  I never received a response so on Monday I sent an email to the manager. By Tuesday when I didn't get a response from that I called the office and spoke to the manager who told me she was working on it and would probably have an answer later in the day.  So yesterday I get an email from my TA saying that the office reviewed my contract and found that I didn't qualify for the resort credit or the BGSF promotion because it wasn't written in my contract.  Furthermore, she said I wouldn't have qualified anyway because I needed 26 rooms for the BGSF promotion and I only had 25 rooms.  I hit the roof!!!!!!  If I have a TA and there's something that I qualify for that needs to be written in a contract, isn't it her responsibility to put it in the contract????  It literally took me 2 hours to send a response to her email because all I could think of to write at first were curse words.  This is really unbelievable to me.  I asked her if the resort had me listed as being under the BGSF promotion why wouldn't I qualify for it?  Of course she hasn't replied.  I plan to contact the manager but I was still angry today so I couldn't deal with it.

 

So to all you B2Bs please make sure any promotion your TA says you're eligible for is written into your contract.  Apparently an email from the TA saying you're qualified and they received approval isn't enough and even if they list on your website that you and your guests will get a credit if they book by a certain time, that's not valid either unless it's in your contract.
 

[bigboponthebeach]

Your invitations are really nice Maggie and Jay!  I like the classic antique feel they have.

 

Daniepps........reading your story made me mad for you. I am really sorry that you had to go through that I pray that there is some resolution for you. Not to stir the pot, but today I was on the DW.com site and just happened to see their shiny happy BBB A+ rating logo on the side. I clicked on it and there seems to be similar complaints to those you have expressed. Apparently they have had issues in the past with promising things, not fulfilling contracts, and/or failing to issue refunds.  I don't want to turn this into Debbie Downer page on DW.com because I believe there is a thread on this forum just to review DW.com, but I do hope you submit a complaint to the BBB if your issue is not resolved. Again, I am very sorry to hear you are going through this. I can only imagine anticipating a refund that was promised to me, only to be denied in the end. I'm sending good vibes and mojo your way in hopes of them seeing the error of their ways.

[mshannon2b]

I had Caribe photo do my pics.

We got them as part of our wedding package too!  I think they did a great job considering we didn't have to pay much. 

Some of my photos in the album were taken by Caribe photographers.  They aren't the most artistic photos you can get, but good.

We only had our photographer for an hour and we didn't choose to extend the time.  We had our photographer start from the ceremony and photos after.

A friend of ours who was at the wedding, wanted to do some photos for us as a wedding present, so he made up a lovely album for us and he did all the details photos of my shoes and dress and me getting my hair done etc and all of the reception pics.  So that would be an option.  Ask a friend if they would mind doing some photos throughout the reception so you don't have to worry about not having any.

 

Re the dancefloor on the beach ... I obviously didn't have a beach reception, so wouldn't like to advise you too much on that considering there is $250 to be paid for it.

I would say that after the ceremony most of my guests, me included, had kicked of our shoes and were wandering around barefoot on the plaza deck!  So if your party are similar minded, then you prob wouldn't need a dancefloor, however, the older guests may want one for dancing on ... so sorry, can't really answer that one! x
 

Originally Posted by Mahalo79 

Well I was trying to reply to mshannon and her pics!  Oh forgive me I'm obviously still in noob status for a reason lol!  Has anyone else been happy with the Caribe photographers?  bringing a photographer with us is not an option so i am hoping for the best with Caribe.

 While I am here I also wanted to ask about staying a second week.  Our guests are staying April 20-27 and our wedding is April 25, but we want to stay an additional week for our honeymoon after our guests leave.  I have been waiting several weeks for the supplier to give me prices.  My TA (who is from destinationweddings.com btw, and who I think has been fantastic) has been in communication with me the whole time, he was waiting on their quotes.  So long story short, I asked for what it will cost to stay an extra week at AS and also for quotes at what the cost would be to stay at the adult only ElDorado.  I am hoping there was a miscommunication (I also asked about premium room prices to see if we could qualify for the free wedding so maybe TA got confused about what I wanted?) so I am hoping the quotes only reflect the premium prices, but he quoted me 3300 pp to stay an extra week at ElDorado.  I am hoping this is a big misunderstanding, bc there is no way we can afford 3300 pp to stay an extra week.  I am just fine with staying at AS for another week if it is a reasonable price, 3300 is crazy, we are only paying 1540 pp for AS for the week in the first place, how much more can it cost for an extra week, the flight is already paid for in the first week price.  Maybe I am wrong, I am very confused!!  I just wrote my TA to clarify the situation and find out what affordable options we have.  Sorry for the long post, but need to vent and don't feel my family will understand if I tried to explain lol!  Also my FI will probably have a heart attack if I tell him the quotes I just got lol.  well, let me know if you ladies have any advice, thank you!

Originally Posted by Nikki O 

I am having a beach reception as well and am wondering about the same thing...
 

 

[mshannon2b]

Love your invitations!

 

Originally Posted by MaggieandJay 

 

 

[TLGnhci]

 

Originally Posted by daniepps 

 

 

 

 

I am so pissed with dw.com right now I can scream!!!!  I signed up with them in August 2009 with the intention of planning a wedding in St. Thomas but I found out they don't have many AI resorts so the TA with dw.com suggested AS and once I saw the pics I went with it.  I booked my wedding date and a group room block in September and the deposits for the rooms were due in October.  My TA told me as well as listed on my wedding website that anyone who booked before the time the deposit was due would receive a $50 resort credit.  I was also told that if I booked at least 21 rooms I would be eligible for a free room upgrade.  When the deposits were due I had 27 rooms booked.  Sometime in January my TA emailed me and said she had applied for the Bride and Groom Stay Free promotion because it looked like I had enough rooms to qualify.  I asked her whether the BGSF promotion was able to be combined with the free upgrade and she said she'd have to get back to me.  She got back with me about a week later and told me that I did qualify for the BGSF promotion and I could combine it with the free upgrade. I also asked her how the BGSF promotion worked and she told me it was equal to the lowest booked room category and would be issued as a refund 10 days after I returned from the trip.  By the time my final room payments were due I had a couple of guests cancel so we only ended up with 25 rooms. My detail sheet from the WC at the resort had me listed as being booked under the BGSF promotion.

 

When we got to the resort people started inquiring about the resort credit, the WC, event manager and front desk manager said they had no record of us being eligible for any resort credit.  I sent my TA an email while we were still at the resort and she said she'd check into it.  Needless to say there wasn't a resolution before all of my guests left.

When I got home I sent her another email asking about the status of the credits and I also asked her when I could expect my refund from the BGSF promotion.  Again she said she'd look into it.  I never got a response so I sent her another email asking the same thing.  This time she replied a few days later and told me she was working on it.  Last Tuesday which was 20 days after we returned I sent her another email and let her know that telling me she's working on it is not telling me what the status is and I would appreciate it if she would let me know the status of the credit as well as the promotion.  She replied on Wednesday and said she had to check with the office and asked if I could give her until Thursday to find out.  I never received a response so on Monday I sent an email to the manager. By Tuesday when I didn't get a response from that I called the office and spoke to the manager who told me she was working on it and would probably have an answer later in the day.  So yesterday I get an email from my TA saying that the office reviewed my contract and found that I didn't qualify for the resort credit or the BGSF promotion because it wasn't written in my contract.  Furthermore, she said I wouldn't have qualified anyway because I needed 26 rooms for the BGSF promotion and I only had 25 rooms.  I hit the roof!!!!!!  If I have a TA and there's something that I qualify for that needs to be written in a contract, isn't it her responsibility to put it in the contract????  It literally took me 2 hours to send a response to her email because all I could think of to write at first were curse words.  This is really unbelievable to me.  I asked her if the resort had me listed as being under the BGSF promotion why wouldn't I qualify for it?  Of course she hasn't replied.  I plan to contact the manager but I was still angry today so I couldn't deal with it.

 

So to all you B2Bs please make sure any promotion your TA says you're eligible for is written into your contract.  Apparently an email from the TA saying you're qualified and they received approval isn't enough and even if they list on your website that you and your guests will get a credit if they book by a certain time, that's not valid either unless it's in your contract.
 

 

Oh goodness!  This really doesn't ease my worries with them.  I'm so sorry you are dealing with this BS!  They really need to get their together!

 

Good luck with management. 
 

[beaz2be]

First of Daniepps I am SO SORRY to hear you're going through that.  That just sucks and is NOT good business.  This may sound totally callous (but I'm a lawyer so it's natural haha)  I'd sue 'em.  Seriously.  It was a separate contract in an of itself (if you book before X you get $50 credit, if you book 21 rooms you get BGSF promo).  You have it in writing.  I think you'd have a good claim against them.  Sorry if that's awful advice.  I really do just feel angry for you and want to see you get what you deserve.

 

 

 

Originally Posted by Mahalo79 

We haven't picked our wedding package yet, but my TA is a GI wedding consultant.  Is he going to let me in on this after we pick our wedding package?  Or am I gonna miss out on this b/c I'm Canadian.  Why do I have a feeling I won't be getting this?  Oh Well, it's worth a try! 

 

I'm Canadian too.  I asked our WC about this and she says that if your TA is a GIWC you qualify (no Canadian/American issues, unlike many other promotions).  Our TA confirmed that she is a GIWC so I'm waiting now for the WC to respond by putting it on our detail sheet.  Her response time has basically dropped from 24 hrs. to 2 weeks.  I'll let you know if I come across any problems but you SHOULD be ok.  I'd ask your TA about it directly.  I think some of them like to keep it a secret and then act like they're footing the bill to get you some 'surprise' extras right at the end. 
 

Originally Posted by MaggieandJay 

My invitations turned out SOOOOO awesome. I am in love with them

FABULOUS INVITES Maggie!!
 

[mmc1105]

I'm so sorry that so many of you are having issues with your TA.  It really is such a stressful part of planning, and I can't believe that so many DW.com TA's are so shady.  If it is sooo hit and miss with these TA's, that really doesn't say much about the company.  I don't think you should feel bad about discussing it here, that's exactly what this forum is for.  To review vendors, discuss ideas, and get feedback from people who are going through the same thing.  

 

Please keep us posted.  Best of luck ladies!

[mmc1105]

 

Originally Posted by mshannon2b 

Here is the link to my wedding photos if anyone wanted to see the whole album. Some are the Pro ones by Caribe photo and some are just snaps by friends and family. xx   http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=56583&id=1457402869&l=6edf49f00e

Thank you so much for sharing!  I can't open attachments yet, so I loved going through your entire slideshow!  You looked absolutely gorgeous... Congratulations