Now Sapphire Weddings Formerly Paradisus Riviera

[mollyes]

Originally Posted by niknic456 

 

is anyone planning to use the photo booth

I soooo wanted the photo booth. We ended up not doing it because we had to cut costs somewhere but I would probably sneak that in if I had to do it again. People were having so much fun and I think that would have been a great way to capture it.

[mollyes]

Originally Posted by Riviera Bride14 

 

 

Wow thank you for this!! Im glad I dont have to worry about Anel as she sounds fantastic as far as making the day flow together and managing the ceremony and timeline of events, sets my mind at ease a little! Do you see her much that day or is she more behind the scenes?

 

Im a little anxious about it all as we will be arriving on the Wednesday and getting married on the Friday! So it doesnt give me alot of time to relax before the wedding, I want to have basically everything finalized and my mind at ease before I arrive.

 

I am going to do the same and send detailed pictures of how I would like things customized? Was there additional charge for slight customizations like the colors for flowers and the cake?

 

I planning to get married a few days before as well but would like the ceremony to be traditional with the vows and signing after we say I do! I will ensure to create my own documentation for keeps

 

Did you use the resort photographer? If so how long did you book them for. I see in the divine package they are only included for the hour not long enough!

 

I am going to ask a friend to more less MC or lead the events during the reception as well like announcing the toasts, speeches, dance, cake cutting. I plan to have the reception pretty low key and casual as we will be a small group around 25. Did you have a large or small group?

 

Any other advice or suggestions you would like to share! Thank you sooo much for your review hope to see some pictures of yourspecial day!

 

Hi,

 

Honestly, there isn't much for you to do or worry about once you're there. All I stressed about was the weather - which ended up being great. Otherwise, you don't really have anything to do because Anel takes care of it all. That said, running around after guests was EXHAUSTING. Thank goodness most people totally expect you to be busy and so they aren't as demanding of your time. But still... I found that to be the hardest part of the whole wedding!

 

For your questions - there was no additional charge for changing ribbon color or other slight modifications.

 

We used the one hour with the resort photographer to capture the speaches at the rehearsal dinner. We used Amorcito Corazon Studios for the wedding ceremony/reception/get ready. They were AWESOME. I don't have their pics back yet but I loved working with them. They are a super cool, young couple and they had great personalities and worked their butts off. AND they were $500 cheaper than the resort photographer (we got a price for the resort photographer for the whole afternoon/evening plus a second photographer and it came out to about $2300). We did have to pay extra for them to come on site and had to buy them dinner (but that's standard anywhere). I highly recommend them.

 

We had a big group - 120. You can see some pics in previous posts - just scroll up or look under my name. My main review is here: http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/t/86945/just-returned-from-now-sapphire-wedding-in-a-word-fabulous

[meganwitt]

Hi ladies,

 

So I go new that my good friend and photographer isn't coming to our wedding. I'm so bummed on two different levels. But now I need to start figuring out photography. 

 

Anyone who used the resort photographer - what package did you get, how many photographers and price of that all? 

 

Mollyes, How long were you able to have your off side photographer and what is the fee to bring in a vendor?

 

Any suggestions, thanks!

 

Megan

[Riviera Bride14]

Originally Posted by zeman321 

 

Where did you find the bridesmaid dresses? My daughter is doing coral and gray and we can't find the right color of coral....too orange or too pink....We haven't looked very hard yet, but look around when we're out and nothing.

 

I actually found the bridesmade dress that I think will be "the one" on the Davids Bridal website, You can search the dress selections by color. I chose a dress in the Coral Reef shade!

 

http://www.davidsbridal.com/Browse_Bridal-Party-Bridesmaids-All-Bridesmaid-Dresses

[Riviera Bride14]

Originally Posted by zeman321 

 

Where did you find the bridesmaid dresses? My daughter is doing coral and gray and we can't find the right color of coral....too orange or too pink....We haven't looked very hard yet, but look around when we're out and nothing.

P.S I noticed after I wrote you back that you said your daughter was doing the same color theme coral AND gray as well! Thats awesome I will try and share any nice ideas I come across regarding the coral and gray accented theme!

[MrsHK]

Originally Posted by CAmomofbride 

 

While were waiting to see you're wedding pics, can you share some ideas of what you've planned for decorations, welcome bags, meal orders etc.

Thanks, still in the planning for Oct wedding and anxious to get things tied up!

Hey ladies! We just had our wedding down here in Mexico, where we happen to live. On multiple trips back home to Canada as well as one trip to the States, I was able to put some nice OOT bags together. Here's what we did for our Welcome Kits and Oh Shit! Kits:

 

 

16 oz Tumbler Mug with wedding logo - $3.75ea from DiscountMugs.com

Tote bag with wedding logo - Discount Mugs - $3.60ea from DiscountMugs.com

Notebook - handmade on brother-in-law's letterpress, took a very long time to make 80 of these but totally worth it! Check out our blog post on how we made them: http://loveandrum.com/blog/2013/6/2/weddingpress-handmade-notebooks

Beer coozies with wedding logo and "Drink Up Me Hearties" - $1.10 ea  from DiscountMugs.com

Cooler bag with ziploc liner for leaks (our energy conscience hotel in Tulum didn't have fridges) - $3.70ea

Snack pack with bag of chips, Japones nuts and Winis candies (similar to Starburst) all purchased at Sam's Club in Mexico - $1.50ea

 

We did one bag per couple and one bag per single guest. For everything from Discount Mugs, I had it all sent to my Dad's place in the States to save on shipping. On a visit to him I grabbed half the stuff and he brought the rest. We both got the "red" light and they looked in our bags, but neither of us had real issues at customs. They just looked through, I kept saying "por nuestras boda!" and smiling and all was fine. I can't speak for what another customs agent might do for someone else though! 

 

For all you Canadian girls, you can have everything sent to a shipping place near the border and pick it up for much cheaper than the shipping costs to Canada. 

 

I used round circle stickers and alphabet stickers from Dollar Tree to label all the mugs with everyone's initials, and used hang tags from Staples to label everyone's bags. I tea stained the hang tags and used alphabet stamps from Michael's to personalize the bags for everyone. For the couples I did their first names on the hang tags, like "J & C" or "M & K". For the single guests I did their full initials like "DL" or "NC".

 

We included a little Welcome Booklet with information about the area, things to do, restaurant recommendations, helpful Spanish phrases, etc. 

 

A note about the hang tags: The little circle at the top comes off when you tea stain it. I had to glue all mine back on. You can either put some glue ahead of time so they don't fall off, or be ok without having the circle be on the tag once it comes off.

 

 

We used paper lunch bags to put our Oh Shit! Kits together. I again used hangtags from Staples and tea stained all of them. I used the alphabet stamps for the "Oh Shit! Kit" part and a potato stamp to make the red cross. I then used a sticker on the back (vintage travel themed) to close the bag and tied them closed with twine, and hung the tag on the twine.

 

We decided to buy our meds in bulk and divy them up ourselves once we were in Mexico. It saved a TON of money and didn't take that long to do. No one seemed to mind that the ibuprofens weren't in a sealed package. We made a little piece of paper with instructions for the diarrhea relief and ibuprofen. 

 

Here's the list of contents:

 

1L Gatorade packs - purchased in Mexico at local grocery store - $0.65ea (1 per person)

Diarrhea relief - Costco in Canada - 168 tablets for $23, gave 2 per person for a cost of $0.30 per person

Ibuprofen - purchased from Costco in Canada - pack of 500 for $10, gave 6 per person for a cost of $0.12 per person

Tums - purchased from Walmart - packs of 3 for $2 which is $0.70 per roll (1 roll per bag)

Aloe Vera purchased from Avon.ca - $1.89ea (1 per bag)

Band Aids - on sale at Shopper's, 320 bandaids for $12, gave 6 per person at a cost of $0.25 per person

Gum - purchased at Sam's Club in Mexico - $0.40ea (1 pack per person)

 

Oh Shit! Kit cost:

per single person - $4.31

per couple - $6.03

 

Welcome Kit cost:

per single person - $13.65

per couple - $20.00

 

Total Cost of Entire Bag:

per single person - $17.96

per couple - $26.03

 

We had 70 guests total, half couples and half single people. In the end we spent just over $1000 on our Welcome Bags, but I think it was totally worth it. Everyone came from so far and it was great to show our appreciation for spending their time and money to come celebrate with us.

 

We received a ton of thank you's from everyone and I think mostly everything was used, especially the Oh Shit! Kits. People kept commenting on how useful and thoughtful everything was, which was nice! We saw lots of people using the tote bags, beer coozies and tumbler mugs. The best thing is that I'm sure people will use some of these things at home, such as the tote bag and the drink tumbler (coffee mug). We chose to not put our name and date on most items so that people would keep them for their everyday lives.

 

I hope this helps some of you for inspiration! Another idea is to hand as many Welcome Kits out at home before hand as you can. That way you don't have to pack them and people will know what extra things they have to pack, or don't have to pack!

[niknic456]

Hey I thought I would post some of my wedding decor since we all love pics!!!!

 

These centerpieces I will use on the cocktail tables. I will add water and a floating candle.

 

 

I have decided to one long table so I will place these vases long the length of the table.

 

My Save The Date...I mailed them last month even though all my guests booked their rooms in May!

 

We are doing the unity candle, keeping it traditional!!! I will add ribbon and a rhinestone charm to the candle.

 

 

My programs...printed and ready to go!!! I'm going to add blue ribbon with a mini starfish.

 

I purchased these napkins from Ebay for $9.00 for 25 napkins...of course it was shipped from China but the quality is amazing and I rec'd in 6 days. I also have matching chair sashes, I paid $21.00 for 25 sashes.

 

I both these brooches from Ebay as well and I will have the resort duplicate this exact cake for me.

[niknic456]

Originally Posted by niknic456 

 

Hey I thought I would post some of my wedding decor since we all love pics!!!!

 

These centerpieces I will use on the cocktail tables. I will add water and a floating candle.

 

 

I have decided to one long table so I will place these vases long the length of the table.

 

My Save The Date...I mailed them last month even though all my guests booked their rooms in May!

 

We are doing the unity candle, keeping it traditional!!! I will add ribbon and a rhinestone charm to the candle.

 

 

My programs...printed and ready to go!!! I'm going to add blue ribbon with a mini starfish.

 

I purchased these napkins from Ebay for $9.00 for 25 napkins...of course it was shipped from China but the quality is amazing and I rec'd in 6 days. I also have matching chair sashes, I paid $21.00 for 25 sashes.

 

I both these brooches from Ebay as well and I will have the resort duplicate this exact cake for me.

 

I went ahead and purchased welcome tags for OOT bags, but I'm still undecided if I will do the bags. And the straws will be used for cocktail hour, one side says "enjoy" and the other side has out names.

 

And no table is complete w/out table confetti...which I have royal blue, silver, and turquoise...

 

I purchased 90% of my items from Ebay!!!

[TaraB]

Originally Posted by meganwitt 

 

Hi ladies,

 

So I go new that my good friend and photographer isn't coming to our wedding. I'm so bummed on two different levels. But now I need to start figuring out photography. 

 

Anyone who used the resort photographer - what package did you get, how many photographers and price of that all? 

 

Mollyes, How long were you able to have your off side photographer and what is the fee to bring in a vendor?

 

Any suggestions, thanks!

 

Megan

Hi Megan,

 

Anel told me if you're bringing in an outside photographer you don't have to pay the vendor fee, only the day pass fee, so that helps.

 

I PM'd you some info on a photog I found down there, after 2+ months of research!  hope it helps!

[TaraB]

Originally Posted by niknic456 

 

 

I went ahead and purchased welcome tags for OOT bags, but I'm still undecided if I will do the bags. And the straws will be used for cocktail hour, one side says "enjoy" and the other side has out names.

 

And no table is complete w/out table confetti...which I have royal blue, silver, and turquoise...

 

I purchased 90% of my items from Ebay!!!

Beautiful decorations!  can you tell me which vendor you used on ebay for the napkins and chair sashes?  I am just in the process of finding some for myself!  Thanks!