Azul Beach Hotel - POST HERE!

[girltravel77]

Kaela, Another question for you. Did you have any trouble bring all of your OOT bag contents, gifts, sheers, maracas etc into Mexico? We are saving our receipts and are going to bring them. But I heard you can only bring in $300 worth of goods each. I'm not sure how people stay under the $600 mark. Thanks!

[girltravel77]

Hi again Kaela, Did you have any trouble in the restaurants with people enforcing the dress code? We posted the resort dress code to our website but I have a feeling a lot of guests still may not read it or realize that they have to dress up each night. Did you have an uneven amount of bridesmaids compared to groomsmen? I have 3 girls and FI has 4. I'm wondering how to have everyone walk down the aisle. Sorry for the multiple emails - I keep having more and more things come to mind. I can't believe it's less than two months away!! Thanks!!! Melissa

[MrsK]

So cute! Love the cheat sheet idea!

[MrsK]

Originally Posted by KaelaMcD 

 

Hi everyone!

 

I recently got pictures back from our fantasitc photographer/videographer team at Playa Weddings. I'm including a link to our photo slide show, and a link to our highlight video. Enjoy!

 

Kaela

 

http://www.playaweddings.com/slideshows/kaela_bill/

 

http://vimeo.com/54975951

Im 98% sure we will be booking with playaweddings as I'm loving their videos, did you enjoy dealing with them? Did you receive your photos and video in good time? 

[KaelaMcD]

Originally Posted by girltravel77 

 

Hi Kaela! Thanks so much for all this info! Do you mind telling what sheers you bought from amazon and what the measurements were? I have been planning to have my hair and makeup done at the salon at the resort and getting the trail run through too. did you happen to bring them pictures of what you wanted, and they weren't able to do it? I wouldn't even know where to look if I wanted to hire someone outside of the resort and unfortunately I don't have friends or family that do that sort of thing. how would you have planned the hair/makeup part differently if you could have? did you have real cymbidium orchards for your trial too, or did you order those only for the day of the wedding?you're hair looked perfect btw, noone would have been able to tell if you wanted it any other way! I love the maracas - i will probably order the blue ones from the same site! how did you make the "shake for a kiss" tags? I'd like to do that as well, though I am not very creative! Thanks again! Melissa

 

Melissa-

 

Here is the exact link of what I purchased off of Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005WYWE9Y/ref=oh_details_o04_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 It says it's unavailable now, but I'm sure you can find something similar. Like this for example, http://www.amazon.com/Ivory-Organza-Fabrics-Yards-Wholesale/dp/B005WZMOS4/ref=sr_1_13?s=arts-crafts&ie=UTF8&qid=1362551632&sr=1-13&keywords=organza+fabric It's the same thing I got, but ivory instead of white (which is so close when we're talking about sheer organza). I think it ended up costing me about $40 total. Huge savings compared to what it costs to rent them from Lomas! It was two bolts of organza fabric, both measuring 25 yards each, and it was more than enough. We gave them to the wedding planners, and the staff assembled them to the gazebo. Packing tip: I had to take the cardboard out of the bolts to make them much easier for packing, otherwise they won't fit in a standard suitcase.

 

Yes, I did bring pictures of both hair and makeup that I was looking for. I would recommend this unless you're fluent in Spanish. The language barrier with the stylist was tough at times. I speak a little Spanish, but not enough to talk about specific hair and makeup terminology! Thanks for the compliment on my hair. :-) Overall, I was happy with it. I only had the flowers the actual day of the wedding, and yes they were real cymbidium orchids. My only complaint about my hair is that I'm not big on hairspray and they LOADED my hair with hairspray. I guess this can be expected with most up-do's, but I wanted it to look a little more "relaxed." On the other hand, it looked pretty much exactly the same from 2pm to midnight!

 

My critique on the makeup is that I didn't really think it was worth the money. I did the trial, and didn't feel like I was getting $85 worth (or whatever it costs, I can't remember) of better makeup and application than I could do myself. I'm really into makeup and have nice products, and based on the trial, I just didn't feel like it would be worth the extra money so I did it myself. I know a few other brides have hired outside vendors, but then you run into that darn outside vendor fee! So, all that to say, I think they will do a good job (they will even use your own products if you want) with your makeup, I just didn't use them because I decided I could do it myself and save a few bucks.

 

Glad you like the maraca idea! Our guests had a lot of fun shaking them all night. To make the tags I just used a microsoft word document, copied and pasted the line "Shake me for a kiss" in two columns, then printed it on white cardstock. I used a cutting board to cut each one out, then used a hole punch to put a hole in each of them. Last but not least, I tied them to the maracas using ribbon from a craft store. I waited to tie them on until we got to Mexico so they wouldn't get smushed in our bags. It sounds like a lot of steps, but it was easy and pretty cheap. I knocked it out in a couple hours on a Saturday.

[KaelaMcD]

Originally Posted by girltravel77 

 

Kaela, Another question for you. Did you have any trouble bring all of your OOT bag contents, gifts, sheers, maracas etc into Mexico? We are saving our receipts and are going to bring them. But I heard you can only bring in $300 worth of goods each. I'm not sure how people stay under the $600 mark. Thanks!

 

We didn't have "trouble" but we did get stopped by their customs agents. Thankfully, I had my receipts to prove the values, because they did ask for them and were questioning why I had 60 tiny tubes of sunscreen (and aloe, and bug spray, and a number of other things!) The only things that need to be under that $300 mark are things that look like "merchandise." (so none of your personal items) I made sure we were under that mark, and if you're not, I would suggest maybe giving a friend/family member a few items to take so that the burden doesn't fall entirely on you (if that's possible for you). Honestly, the agents knew we were there for our wedding (as they literally opened and rifled through all seven of our bags...) and they were really understanding of the situation. And I'm sure they get that pretty often!

[KaelaMcD]

Originally Posted by girltravel77 

 

Hi again Kaela, Did you have any trouble in the restaurants with people enforcing the dress code? We posted the resort dress code to our website but I have a feeling a lot of guests still may not read it or realize that they have to dress up each night. Did you have an uneven amount of bridesmaids compared to groomsmen? I have 3 girls and FI has 4. I'm wondering how to have everyone walk down the aisle. Sorry for the multiple emails - I keep having more and more things come to mind. I can't believe it's less than two months away!! Thanks!!! Melissa

 

Melissa- First of all, don't apologize for all the questions! I don't mind at all. The "unknown" was the hardest part of my planning process, so whatever I can do to help others with that element, I'm willing to do! So keep 'em coming if you have them. :-)

 

We had no trouble with the dress code. I've heard mixed reviews about this, though. We were there in October, which is technically low season where I think they may be a little more "lax" on the rules because there are many fewer people at the resort. From my memory, my guests dressed "appropriately" for dinner. You don't really have to "dress up" or get fancy, I just don't think they want people walking in wearing a wet bikini covered in sand for dinner. One of my Aunts' said that at Chil Lounge they asked her to put on shoes when she came in off the beach for lunch one day. But expecting shoes is pretty low expectations if you ask me!

 

About two weeks before the wedding we sent out a snail mail letter to all of our confirmed guests with more specific details about the resort, the schedule, tips, etc. I think we reminded our guests about the dress code then. I can send you a copy of what we sent if you want to it for reference.

 

Yes, we had an uneven wedding party. I don't know when people decided they have to be even? Who made that rule?! I only had my sister and cousin, and that's all I wanted. Bill had six groomsmen. We had all the groomsmen come down first, then parents and grandparents, then bridesmaids, FG and RB, then me and Dad. :-) We didn't have any of them actually "standing" (except my sis and his bro when we exchanged rings) so they didn't really serve an actual role in the ceremony. It was more just to honor them symbolically by giving them the groomsmen/bridesmaid title. And, a lot of them said they appreciated being able to sit because then they could actually see the ceremony! (Sometimes it's hard to see it from the side...) But there's not right/wrong way. Do whatever makes sense to you! :-)

[Amanda Hammett]

I would love to see the snail mail list/items you sent to your confirmed guests.  I sent one several weeks ago with a map of the resort and a few tips that I was aware of and I plan to send it again but would love to see what you sent to see if I need to add some stuff.  My email is [email protected]  Thank you so much!!!

[girltravel77]

Hi Kaela! I'd also like to see the list of info you sent to your guests before the wedding. My email is [email protected]. I'm sure I'll have more questions and be sure to post them. I appreciate all your help! Thanks SO much! Melissa

[gillianr718]

I had no idea about this $300 limit or receipts so I'm so glad you guys asked/answered that question!!!  I haven't yet purchased the contents of my OOT bags.

 

I've been trying to figure out if there's a way to order the supplies in advance, for in-store pick up at the walmart in Cancun.  I just can't figure out how to set up an account with a US address.  If anyone has done this or attempted this, please let me know!  Thanks!!