Now Sapphire Weddings Formerly Paradisus Riviera

[Chrysta]

I am getting married there in January 2015 so I will be following this thread! I am working with Juan Carlos and so far I have been skeptical....except every bride I hear from on this site says they were amazing! So I am keeping the faith =0) Any updates will be appreciated =0)

niknic456, what a beautiful wedding. I am getting married at NOW Sapphire on January 10th, 2015, and you have what looks like my exact dress, the colors, and vision that I am trying to put together. Its really nice to see your pictures and my "vision" come to a reality! LOL. Now I feel bad that I am just copying you but looks like you had an amazing time and wedding.

 

Congrats and thanks for the update =0)

[vanessav53]

@@BrooklynBride29 - We had 82 guests at our wedding a few weeks ago. We got married on the beach terrace and there was PLENTY of room. As for extras yes, the cost does add up for anyone of the 25 guests that are included in the divine package but there are ways to keep the costs down AND compared to a wedding in the NYC area ( that's where I'm from too) it was MUCH more cost effective. You get more for you $$. We also did ALOT of the extras ( photobooths, cigar roller, live band for welcome BBQ, welcome BBQ,etc.) and I still felt when it was all said and done it was worth the $$ we spent. My friends said ti was the best wedding they have ever been to.

 

If you want to email me offline I am happy to share some of the costs with you. My email is Vanessa.vlahakis@@gmail.com

@Chrysta- You have NOTHING to be worried about. I literally am a type A control freak from NY I was freaking out before th wedding because the communication with the resort is SO limited. About 60 days before I was talking to Juan Carlos EVERYDAY and I showed up and met him a few days before the wedding. we reviewed the planning form and I gave him all the decorations,etc. that I wanted set up. EVERY Detail was FLAWLESS. I am not easy to please and I literally can't complain about one thing. He did EVERYTHING right. The wedding was gorgeous and I wish I didn't worry so much BUT I understand why you are worried. You are in such good hands.  Please private message me for any specific details or if you are worried I can try to make you less stressed.

Also one thing I would just comment on before I send my full write-up because I feel very passionately about this is the resort photographer.

I hope that some of the other brides that used them had a good experience but I would not recommend using them. Luckily I heard similar feedback from other brides and I booked an outside photographer  ( amorcito Corazon) who were amazing BUT I used the resort photographer for my welcome BBQ for an hour since it was included in my divine package. I received the pictures back and they were not good quality at all> My friends and family took better quality photos than the ones the resort sent me back. The pictures were not even of people, the ones of people were from the side so people weren't looking the direction of the camera and I just felt it was amateur photography. I feel bad saying that but this is your wedding day and your photos will last you a lifetime. It's worth the outside vendor fee ( It's only $65 day pass NOT the $300 vendor fee so that is good)

 

Additionally in the package the resort gives you it's only 1 hour so you have to pay for the extra and they told me that any additional jpeg files that I need on top of the 24 included would be $17 per JPEG. Yes, $17 PER JPEG for one JPEG file. That's so ridiculous. So please my advice is be careful with the resort photographer. I'm sorry I'm being so bold and I hope that other brides had a good experience with them but this is my experience and I know how important photos are so I wanted to be honest.

[vanessav53]

Ok Ladies I finally wrote my review: Here is it! I hope this is as helpful to you as the past brides have been to me. Please let me know what other questions you have. I'm so sorry I had to attach this in a word document. I just typed the whole thing up in word and went to cut/copy into this review and it won't let me copy/paste. Please send me your email if you can't open any attachments! I'm so sorry. I will try to figure it out but in the meantime the review is in the word document attached. Also I have so many photos so if you want more of anything specific just let me know. Happy to send whatever you need.

 

 

 

re-cap wedding.docx

[britt1125]

@@vanessav53 can you email me your review? im really interested in what you  have to say and its very helpful .thanks!

[email protected]

Edited July 2, 2014 by britt1125

[vanessav53]

@@britt1125 - I sent over an email to you earlier this afternoon. Let me know if you did not receive! Enjoy!

[GingerJ228]

I am getting married there in January 2015 so I will be following this thread! I am working with Juan Carlos and so far I have been skeptical....except every bride I hear from on this site says they were amazing! So I am keeping the faith =0) Any updates will be appreciated =0)

niknic456, what a beautiful wedding. I am getting married at NOW Sapphire on January 10th, 2015, and you have what looks like my exact dress, the colors, and vision that I am trying to put together. Its really nice to see your pictures and my "vision" come to a reality! LOL. Now I feel bad that I am just copying you but looks like you had an amazing time and wedding.

 

Congrats and thanks for the update =0)

PLease don;t worry.. everything will be perfect.  I am a type A, wall street, high maintaince control freak and everything went better than planned.  I honestly didn't start to plan out the details until right before I left and I left things into Ramon (he was my planner at the resort) hands and the staff blew me away with how beautiful everytig turned out. 

[zeman321]

It seems to be quiet in this forum these days. How is everyones planning going? We are 4 months away from my daughter's wedding and things are starting to fall into place. I started planning a looooong time ago and am glad I did. Now I can kinda relax and enjoy! I'd love to know where everyone else is in their planning.

[JoniA]

Ok Ladies I finally wrote my review: Here is it! I hope this is as helpful to you as the past brides have been to me. Please let me know what other questions you have. I'm so sorry I had to attach this in a word document. I just typed the whole thing up in word and went to cut/copy into this review and it won't let me copy/paste. Please send me your email if you can't open any attachments! I'm so sorry. I will try to figure it out but in the meantime the review is in the word document attached. Also I have so many photos so if you want more of anything specific just let me know. Happy to send whatever you need.

Awesome Review Vanessa!  I am getting married at Now Sapphire in January 2015 and I am starting to panic as I feel very unprepared (lack of communication with resort), etc.  You had a lot of what I want (if I can talk my fiancé into agreeing) for our wedding.  Do you mind if I email you to see if you have a price list I can look at for your extra's beyond the Devine, vendor pricing, etc.  I'm on a budget and need to figure out what I can eliminate.  I also am expecting around 80-90 people.  Thank you again for the review, vendor tips, etc. I also am getting married on the beach and have the beach terrace (I believe we have that for both cocktail and reception - I wasn't given another choice).  I'm marrying a banker and he wants all of the "numbers" so, I'm trying to figure out any hidden costs that you may have experienced (chairs for ceremony/cocktail/reception, etc).  Love the tip regarding skipping the champagne toast - that allows me to have the photo booth I want!!  This is a great resource and I hope I can also help some brides along with their journey as you have! Joni   My personal email is joni.trans4@@gmail.com

My wedding is in November and I am expecting around 100 I think... as soon as I have final numbers, I can give you a pretty solid estimate of what mine will cost!  Good luck in the mean time!!! 

Congratulations, Vanessa!!!  So exciting!!! Can't wait to read your full write-up!!  Wooohoooooo

@@tcaurie07 - I would love to see your final numbers when you have them.  I am getting married January 2015 and expecting around 80-90 people and starting to see double when I add up the extras! Good luck with your planning!

I did have issues with mailing my boxes and clearing customs because I was not aware that seashells are considered animals and need special agricultural clearance, but Juan Carlos called customs and worked everything out for me. I would recommend shipping 2 months in advance or trying to take as much as possible on the airplane with you, clearing customs that way is much easier.

You will not need a generator. The Tequila Terrace has everything your DJ will need. I had a super duper sound system with lights, fog, etc...and it was fine.

I had my ceremony, cocktail hour, and dinner on the Tequila Terrace and it all worked out fine....don't worry it will all be setup prior to guest arrival and the only thing they move are chairs and you will not be aware that they are moving the chairs because you will be off taking pictures. They will take care of it!

@@niknic456 - I love your pictures and decorating.  My color is horizon blue (similar).  Could you give me pointers as to what you used for decorations and where you purchased?  (Love the napkins in the glasses/sprinkles on the tables and the blue sashes tied around the higher tables to add color).  I'm trying to keep my decorations simple and elegant.  Also, did you just ask WC (I have Juan) to set up that way or give him pictures, etc.?  Sorry for all the questions - I'm getting married in January 2015 and it just hit me I need to make some decisions!  Joni   email is: Joni.trans4@@gmail.com

Edited July 8, 2014 by JoniA

[CurlyKristen]

Good afternoon Brides! I was wondering what kind of table setup have past brides done or current brides planning for their reception? Has anyone done a U shape table setup on the tequila terrace? At first I was thinking one long table, kinda family style since we are only having 25-30 guests, but now I also like the U shape. Any suggestions?

[DinaQtobe]

We had just under 20 people and one long table worked out perfectly for us.  It made the dinner seem more intimate and everyone was able to socialize.  If you go to my gallery there are photos.

Good afternoon Brides! I was wondering what kind of table setup have past brides done or current brides planning for their reception? Has anyone done a U shape table setup on the tequila terrace? At first I was thinking one long table, kinda family style since we are only having 25-30 guests, but now I also like the U shape. Any suggestions?