Ocean Turquesa & Coral Brides?

[aborgesbride]

It will have been 2 weeks on Monday since I sent a wedding date request to the WC. I even had my TA follow up on my email. Still haven't heard anything...*sigh* Planning to wait until Monday and then ask my TA to call. I just want to order my invitations and start getting people's trips booked.

 

@@Marciemarce have you heard anything back?

 

@@SarahWember Congrats!!! I'm new to the forum, but love hearing other brides reviews. I'm sure I will have some questions for you! I can't see your hair/make-up pics on my work computer, but am excited to check them out when I get home.

 

I know its stressful, same thing happened to me....& I was waiting on the confirmation to order invites as well...Don't worry it will all work out. They just recently lost one wedding coordinator so that could be the delay, not sure if they have someone filling the position yet or not. The wedding manager Ana is still there &  ive heard great things about her.

They are super slow on communication, but I've heard this is the norm. Im still waiting on other wedding details as well, so we're all in the same boat. Hopefully, we get those emails soon!

[MrsSheppardToBe]

Hi Everyone!

 

I am back from OCT and am officially a MRS!

 

Let me tell you that this resort is amazing!!  I am so happy with my decision to get married there, everything was better than I dreamed and my big day could not have been any more special.

 

The weather was okay... when we landed it was raining, and it rained the entire next day.  I had my 3-hour meeting with the WC (Areli... she was so sweet) and we went over EVERYTHING!  She showed me the unpromising weather forecast for my wedding day, and showed me all the Plan B wedding venues in the event of rain.  To be honest I wasn't overly impressed with the banquet rooms at first, because I was so disappointed that I wouldn't get the outdoor reception I've been dreaming of.  However, the room turned out to be very nice and my reception was awesome!

 

The ceremony was held on the rooftop terrace of building 17.  It was a beautiful ceremony, they covered all the chairs in white linen and fushcia chair bows.  I brought my own fake flower petals from Michaels and they spread them along the floor where I would be walking down the aisle.  They also draped white and pink fabric along the arch where my ceremony took place.  They played all the music for my ceremony, and even played one of their own songs (A Thousand Years) during my sand ceremony, since I didn't choose my own song for that.  After the ceremony, there was a waiter handing out champagne to everyone and we did some group photos.

 

I chose the hotel's photographer (Photopro) and trust me, they did a FABULOUS job!  I know the reviews on this site for them aren't that good, but I had a really tough time narrowing down which photos I wanted to keep because there were so many good ones.  They put together a nice photobook for me and my husband and made 2 smaller ones for our parents.  I also had their videographer film my ceremony and he put together an awesome DVD for me!  So impressed!  I would definitely recommend the hotel's photography services for your wedding.

 

Also, the hair and makeup team was AWESOME!!!  They did hair/makeup for me, my mom, and my sister and we were all amazed at how talented they are.  It was $145 each for hair and makeup and they made sure we were all very happy with our looks before we left, and we were all SO happy!  Also, I would highly recommend them as well

 

Our photo shoot ended just MINUTES before a big downpour of rain!  We were so lucky!!!  The entire wedding day was overcast, and I told my groom to decide whether to do an outside or inside ceremony.  He had to decide by 1pm which was 4 hours before the start of our ceremony.  He chose outdoor, because that's what I wanted.  The judge was also 25 minutes late because she was late coming back from a wedding in Cancun because it was already raining there.  I was SO nervous! 

 

My reception was really nice - I ordered the Feta and Balsamic salad, Champagne sherbet, Surf and Turf, and Creme brulee.  The presentation and taste of the food was amazing.  Everyone said it was the best meal of the entire week, and I agree.

 

I didn't have a DJ, I just brought my ipod with all my songs on it and a guy from the resort played it.  He was hard to find sometimes when I wanted to change the song for the bouquet toss, garter toss, etc.  However once a waiter saw that I was looking for him, he appeared within minutes.  My reception was from 7-10 pm.  The waiters at the reception were right on the ball all the time, very attentive and provided efficient service.

 

All in all, my wedding was everything I dreamed of! 

 

If I could give you brides any advice, it's DON'T STRESS about the small stuff.  Yes, the WCs take weeks to reply to emails but they are SO attentive when you are actually there, and that's when all the decisions are made anyways.  You really don't have to worry about planning details with the WC beforehand, other than choosing the venues for your wedding events.  Everything else can be left until you arrive.  Also, as detail-oriented as you are now, you won't be on your wedding day.  I was so stressed about absolutely everything leading up to my wedding but when I actually got there, I was like "I don't care about anything!  My wedding will be perfect no matter what happens!!" And it was, it really wasn't the flowers, the venue or the music that made my wedding special.  It was sharing my special day with my family and starting a new life with my husband.  Everything else was just the icing on the cake.

 

If anyone has any questions for me, please don't hesitate to ask!

 

XOXO

 

Mrs. Sheppard

Edited June 10, 2014 by MrsSheppardToBe

[BeeJewell]

Hi Everyone!

 

I am back from OCT and am officially a MRS!

 

Let me tell you that this resort is amazing!!  I am so happy with my decision to get married there, everything was better than I dreamed and my big day could not have been any more special.

 

The weather was okay... when we landed it was raining, and it rained the entire next day.  I had my 3-hour meeting with the WC (Areli... she was so sweet) and we went over EVERYTHING!  She showed me the unpromising weather forecast for my wedding day, and showed me all the Plan B wedding venues in the event of rain.  To be honest I wasn't overly impressed with the banquet rooms at first, because I was so disappointed that I wouldn't get the outdoor reception I've been dreaming of.  However, the room turned out to be very nice and my reception was awesome!

 

The ceremony was held on the rooftop terrace of building 17.  It was a beautiful ceremony, they covered all the chairs in white linen and fushcia chair bows.  I brought my own fake flower petals from Michaels and they spread them along the floor where I would be walking down the aisle.  They also draped white and pink fabric along the arch where my ceremony took place.  They played all the music for my ceremony, and even played one of their own songs (A Thousand Years) during my sand ceremony, since I didn't choose my own song for that.  After the ceremony, there was a waiter handing out champagne to everyone and we did some group photos.

 

I chose the hotel's photographer (Photopro) and trust me, they did a FABULOUS job!  I know the reviews on this site for them aren't that good, but I had a really tough time narrowing down which photos I wanted to keep because there were so many good ones.  They put together a nice photobook for me and my husband and made 2 smaller ones for our parents.  I also had their videographer film my ceremony and he put together an awesome DVD for me!  So impressed!  I would definitely recommend the hotel's photography services for your wedding.

 

Also, the hair and makeup team was AWESOME!!!  They did hair/makeup for me, my mom, and my sister and we were all amazed at how talented they are.  It was $145 each for hair and makeup and they made sure we were all very happy with our looks before we left, and we were all SO happy!  Also, I would highly recommend them as well

 

Our photo shoot ended just MINUTES before a big downpour of rain!  We were so lucky!!!  The entire wedding day was overcast, and I told my groom to decide whether to do an outside or inside ceremony.  He had to decide by 1pm which was 4 hours before the start of our ceremony.  He chose outdoor, because that's what I wanted.  The judge was also 25 minutes late because she was late coming back from a wedding in Cancun because it was already raining there.  I was SO nervous! 

 

My reception was really nice - I ordered the Feta and Balsamic salad, Champagne sherbet, Surf and Turf, and Creme brulee.  The presentation and taste of the food was amazing.  Everyone said it was the best meal of the entire week, and I agree.

 

I didn't have a DJ, I just brought my ipod with all my songs on it and a guy from the resort played it.  He was hard to find sometimes when I wanted to change the song for the bouquet toss, garter toss, etc.  However once a waiter saw that I was looking for him, he appeared within minutes.  My reception was from 7-10 pm.  The waiters at the reception were right on the ball all the time, very attentive and provided efficient service.

 

All in all, my wedding was everything I dreamed of! 

 

If I could give you brides any advice, it's DON'T STRESS about the small stuff.  Yes, the WCs take weeks to reply to emails but they are SO attentive when you are actually there, and that's when all the decisions are made anyways.  You really don't have to worry about planning details with the WC beforehand, other than choosing the venues for your wedding events.  Everything else can be left until you arrive.  Also, as detail-oriented as you are now, you won't be on your wedding day.  I was so stressed about absolutely everything leading up to my wedding but when I actually got there, I was like "I don't care about anything!  My wedding will be perfect no matter what happens!!" And it was, it really wasn't the flowers, the venue or the music that made my wedding special.  It was sharing my special day with my family and starting a new life with my husband.  Everything else was just the icing on the cake.

 

If anyone has any questions for me, please don't hesitate to ask!

 

XOXO

 

Mrs. Sheppard

 

Jenna Im so SO happy for you!! did you have a quartet playing at your ceremony? (I'm so impressed that they played 1000 years).  I can't wait to see pictures and would LOVE to see your video if you feel up for sharing!!

also, how did you decide how to time everything during your reception?  were also just doing an iPod and I'm a bit nervous about when to do the speeches, first dances, bouquet toss, garter toss etc.  I'm thinking about delegating someone in our group to be a bit of an MC.  How did you work that out?

[aborgesbride]

@@MrsSheppardToBe

 

Congratulations Jenna!!!! so happy for you! Thank you for the details!

 

Some pics of hair & pakeup would be greatly appreciated, if you feel like sharing! I wanted to show my girls some examples so they can decide if they want to use the salon or not.

 

Question did you let them know which songs to play for which parts of the ceremony?? or how did that work?

 

Yes I'm with @@BeeJewell...curious to know how you planned out the music on the ipod, because im doing the same. I am planning on delegating my bro as an MC to intro the bridal party to the reception area etc.

 

very happy for you!

Cant wait to get married!!!

[SarahWember]

you look gorgeous @@SarahWember!! we've also booked that package so good to know we can rest assured!

ps. you also look so in love in that trash the dress pic..so happy for you

Thank you!!! I can't wait to get the professional pictures from Samuel Luna back. The trash the dress was REALLY fun for both of us. You'll be happy with that package for the wedding, although there are many little add-ons, such as bridal bouquets and boutainers (sp?)...flowers for the ceremony, etc. But having it include the spa services was great!! Lots of extras, including a private dinner on the beach for you and your groom for any day after the wedding. Also, the food was AMAZING!!!

[MrsSheppardToBe]

Jenna Im so SO happy for you!! did you have a quartet playing at your ceremony? (I'm so impressed that they played 1000 years).  I can't wait to see pictures and would LOVE to see your video if you feel up for sharing!!

also, how did you decide how to time everything during your reception?  were also just doing an iPod and I'm a bit nervous about when to do the speeches, first dances, bouquet toss, garter toss etc.  I'm thinking about delegating someone in our group to be a bit of an MC.  How did you work that out?

 

Thank you!  I pretty much just winged it during the reception.  We just did a few speeches as people were finishing up each course during dinner - we could usually get 2-3 speeches done between courses before the next course was brought out.  I had my Uncle MC the reception and he did a great job!  The first dance/father-daughter dance was done after the dinner was finished, and I did the bouquet/garter tosses halfway through the dancing part of the reception.

 

@@MrsSheppardToBe

 

Congratulations Jenna!!!! so happy for you! Thank you for the details!

 

Some pics of hair & pakeup would be greatly appreciated, if you feel like sharing! I wanted to show my girls some examples so they can decide if they want to use the salon or not.

 

Question did you let them know which songs to play for which parts of the ceremony?? or how did that work?

 

Yes I'm with @@BeeJewell...curious to know how you planned out the music on the ipod, because im doing the same. I am planning on delegating my bro as an MC to intro the bridal party to the reception area etc.

 

very happy for you!

Cant wait to get married!!!

 

Thank you!!  I made a playlist on my Ipod called "Ceremony Music" and edited the title of each song so they knew which song was for what.  For example - "Bride's Entrance - Bless the Broken Road".  They needed very little instruction and did a great job!

[aborgesbride]

Ladies! I have new info, so apparently Ana is really no longer working there :s but I got an email from Daniel and he seems to be very friendly.

It took about 2 and a half weeks for them to send me a wedding checklist so be patient!

@@MrsSheppardToBe

Jenna, am I supposed to be filling out the wedding checklist spreadsheet with everything I want for the wedding? He didn't really explain it to me loll and also he sent me a guestlist form? Assuming I'm supposed to fill it out as ppl book their trip? Thanks!

[BeeJewell]

no way!! thats concerning…how did you come to find that out? 

I haven't done anything or heard anything since my wedding confirmation (mind you it was from ana!!) but i figured most of the stuff can wait (now that I've got the important parts done time, date, location).  Let me know if daniel sends you anything interesting that you think i should know about @@aborgesbride!!

[aborgesbride]

@@BeeJewell

 

well after I received the wedding confirmation from the groups coordinator (not even ana), the email had said there was a wedding checklist & flower options  attachment to fill out, but I had never received the attachment...So I had emailed Ana, if she could please send it to me....I never heard anything back so after 2 weeks of waiting, I sent another email to ana, about it again, mostly because I am getting the romantic package but I want to upgrade the reception location to the lobby terrace & wanted to confirm that location before it was booked.

Anyways, I finally got an email back from Daniel, a wedding coordinator, and he had said Ana is no longer there & he sent me all the wedding checklist stuff to fill out. he's actually a really quick responder. I think now theyre trying to get back to ppl within 48hrs. at least that's what it said in the email?

I don't know but im assuming they have everything under control! Im hoping!

Im not too torn up about the Ana thing only because she never actually ever sent me an email.

So hopefully no more changes here on out & we can all enjoy the wedding process again loll

 

Let me know if you want to see the flower options and table set up etc. its a weird spreadsheet they give you, but at least gives you an early idea on planning stuff.

[BeeJewell]

@@BeeJewell

 

well after I received the wedding confirmation from the groups coordinator (not even ana), the email had said there was a wedding checklist & flower options  attachment to fill out, but I had never received the attachment...So I had emailed Ana, if she could please send it to me....I never heard anything back so after 2 weeks of waiting, I sent another email to ana, about it again, mostly because I am getting the romantic package but I want to upgrade the reception location to the lobby terrace & wanted to confirm that location before it was booked.

Anyways, I finally got an email back from Daniel, a wedding coordinator, and he had said Ana is no longer there & he sent me all the wedding checklist stuff to fill out. he's actually a really quick responder. I think now theyre trying to get back to ppl within 48hrs. at least that's what it said in the email?

I don't know but im assuming they have everything under control! Im hoping!

Im not too torn up about the Ana thing only because she never actually ever sent me an email.

So hopefully no more changes here on out & we can all enjoy the wedding process again loll

 

Let me know if you want to see the flower options and table set up etc. its a weird spreadsheet they give you, but at least gives you an early idea on planning stuff.

 

If you could just send me daniel's email that would be great!  Just want to send him a copy of my confirmation from ana to make sure that it hasn't fallen thru the cracks with her leaving + ask him if theres anything else I should be doing..hopefully hell send me the spreadsheets himself! (and save you the work!)

it would be amazing if we started hearing back within 48 hours!! ( i won't hold my breath though haha)