Now Sapphire Weddings Formerly Paradisus Riviera

[Vanessa56]

Amy and Joda,

 

Thank you both for all of your feeback.  My wedding is coming up soon and I am starting to get worried about all these last minute details.  All of the information you are sharing is reassuring and so very helpful. You ladies are amazing!

 

Amy - Did you upgrade your photography package? We are also going with the resort photographer, but I have received conflicting information as to what is included and what can be upgraded. My understanding is that the Divine package only comes with 24 pictures.  We asked if we could purchase the CD with all of the photographer's images, but they said we would need to speak to the photographer.

 

Also, around what time was the sun setting in Mexico? We are trying to figure out ceremony and picture timing.  Right now they have us scheduled for a 6:00pm ceremony (I believe there is another bride getting married at 5:00pm).  I am concerned that there won't be enough sunlight for pictures after the ceremony.
 

Originally Posted by AmyG 

Hi joda,

 

I'm so happy you had fun....we all had a blast!!!

 

I wonder if we had the some 'hiccups'.... :- /

 

I used the resort photographer.  Before we left the resort we were able to pick up our cd with 240 photos, a photo book w/ 80 pics, my video dvd from the videographer and they have an online slideshow too.  What photographer did you use?  Oh man I don't know if I would be able to wait...but you know it will be worth it.  :-)

We looked at the photos and dvd as soon as we got them in the hotel room, lol.

 

 

 

[joda]

We had a similar timeline 4:30 ceremony 5:30 cocktail hour 6:30 reception - dinner with toasts between courses 7:30 first dance, followed by dancing 8:30 cut cake, more dancing 9:30 finished I have no idea if things were on time - neither of us had a watch, but I think things were pretty close to the schedule.

RFinger,

That is the exact timeline I used....

 

5:00pm - ceremony (used sound system w/ ipod)

6:00pm - cocktail hour (used sound system w/ ipod)

7:00pm - dinner (dj started during dinner with lighter dinner music and then came on with dance music at 8:00pm)

7:45pm - toasts

8:00pm - dancing

8:30pm - cut the cake

dancing...dancing...dancing

 

For some reason our ceremony got delayed by approx. 15 - 20 minutes due to a miscommunication on where the guests and groomsmen were to meet.  I highly recommend that you have your guetss meet up at least 30 minutes prior to the event because the wedding coordinator will want to seat them at the same time and if they are late it will hold things up.  Because we were delayed, we lost some dasylight for more photo opportunities...but of course I was happy with all the photos I received so it didn't bother me too much.

 

 

 

 

[joda]

Oh and we had the divine package so used the violinist for the ceremony, and then DJ for the cocktail hour and reception.

[joda]

Yes, it is a great place for a wedding! As for hiccups, our arrival transfer never showed up, they forgot to iron our clothes (this was my biggest panic as I only noticed at 12pm on the wedding day!), our wedding cake looked NOTHING like what we asked for, and they messed up our romantic dinner on the beach. As I said, nothing too major, clothes aside, and that worked out fine. What were your hiccups? Who was your coordinator? We hired LaLuna, although the photographers have now been promoted to DelSol, so I guess that is who we used, haha. I am hoping we will get a sneak peek soon. Well, I guess we have because they posted photos of our from our trash the dress session where we got pooped on! But that is not quite what I mean

Hi joda,

 

I'm so happy you had fun....we all had a blast!!!

 

I wonder if we had the some 'hiccups'.... :- /

 

I used the resort photographer.  Before we left the resort we were able to pick up our cd with 240 photos, a photo book w/ 80 pics, my video dvd from the videographer and they have an online slideshow too.  What photographer did you use?  Oh man I don't know if I would be able to wait...but you know it will be worth it.  :-)

We looked at the photos and dvd as soon as we got them in the hotel room, lol.

 

 

 

 

[joda]

No problem, I understand the anxiety when your wedding is coming up! So it is nice to get feedback/answers. I am not sure what time the sun will be setting when you get married. I had found a sunset guide at one point, but I don't remember where now. The day I got married the sun set just before 6pm, it was dark by 6:30 I think. Sunset is getting later and later now, I just don't know by how much. We had our ceremony at 4:30, and that was definitely plenty of time for photos. I think it still would have been fine if we had started at 5.

 

Amy and Joda,

 

Thank you both for all of your feeback.  My wedding is coming up soon and I am starting to get worried about all these last minute details.  All of the information you are sharing is reassuring and so very helpful. You ladies are amazing!

 

Amy - Did you upgrade your photography package? We are also going with the resort photographer, but I have received conflicting information as to what is included and what can be upgraded. My understanding is that the Divine package only comes with 24 pictures.  We asked if we could purchase the CD with all of the photographer's images, but they said we would need to speak to the photographer.

 

Also, around what time was the sun setting in Mexico? We are trying to figure out ceremony and picture timing.  Right now they have us scheduled for a 6:00pm ceremony (I believe there is another bride getting married at 5:00pm).  I am concerned that there won't be enough sunlight for pictures after the ceremony.

 

 

 

[AmyG]

Hi Vanessa56,

 

I also had the Divine package and so yes it did come with 24 pics, the photobook with 24 pics in it and the photographer for 1 hour. 

This is what I decided to do when I got there....since you only have the photographer for one hour as part of the package I decided to add him for an extra hour.  He arrived in my room about 30 minutes prior to the ceremony to get shots of me and bridesmaids as we got ready, then he shot us going to the ceremony (meeting up with my dad), then the whole ceremony, then the group/family shots, then our couples shots (which we were alone with him) and then part of the cocktail hour...so in total we had him for 2 hours.  I did not need him during the dinner & reception because my sister happens to be a photographer so she took great shots of all that.  Plus, sooo many of my guests snapped pics that whole time so I got so many pics from them.

A few days after the wedding I had a meeting with the photographer, he had gone through all of the photos he took (there were hundreds) he took out the bad ones (blinking eyes, bad lighting, etc.) and touched up the rest of them leaving approx. 240 photos.  He had us look through every single photo so we could get an idea of his work...they were Awesome!  He then told us that we could select 24 to have and for the photo book...at that time he showed us upgraded packages we could purchase...we went with the highest package which was to purchase every all of 240 photos on the cd and the upgraded photo book which had 80 photos in it....it cost $499.00.   I can't remember if the online slideshow came with the wedding package or not but we got that too.  I was so pleased with his photos so I knew I wanted all of them, plus he got shots that no one else got from different angles at the ceremony and then our couples shots which no guests or family were allowed to be there for.  There were other packages that cost less...one was $299 and one was $399 I believe.  I guess it all depends on how many pics you want and how many you get from other guests. 

 

As far as the sun setting....I believe that Day Light Savings in Mexico is on April 1st and the sun sets around 7:00pm, so basically your ceremony would fall at the same time of lighting that mine did....it was a beautiful time of night!!   

Towards the end of the photographer taking our shots, he got a little concerned with the lighting.  We definitely got all the beach shots we wanted but we didnt get as many resort ones like in the beautiful lobby, near the fountains, etc. just because of the lower lighting.  So if those shots are important to you then be sure to let him know that you want them so then he can be prepared and cut your beach ones a little shorter.

 

Please let me know if you have any other questions and I woudd love to help you out....I know Joda will too!!   Believe me I know the feeling going in and this forum really helped me a lot!

 

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vanessa56 

Amy and Joda,

 

Thank you both for all of your feeback.  My wedding is coming up soon and I am starting to get worried about all these last minute details.  All of the information you are sharing is reassuring and so very helpful. You ladies are amazing!

 

Amy - Did you upgrade your photography package? We are also going with the resort photographer, but I have received conflicting information as to what is included and what can be upgraded. My understanding is that the Divine package only comes with 24 pictures.  We asked if we could purchase the CD with all of the photographer's images, but they said we would need to speak to the photographer.

 

Also, around what time was the sun setting in Mexico? We are trying to figure out ceremony and picture timing.  Right now they have us scheduled for a 6:00pm ceremony (I believe there is another bride getting married at 5:00pm).  I am concerned that there won't be enough sunlight for pictures after the ceremony.
 

 

 

[shannonmarie]

Hey Amy! Your picturese are beautiful! How much extra did you have to pay for an extra hour of photos? I would love to do that. I'm getting married at Now Jade but I'm thinking the pricing should be very similar.
 

Thanks!

Originally Posted by AmyG 

Hi Vanessa56,

 

I also had the Divine package and so yes it did come with 24 pics, the photobook with 24 pics in it and the photographer for 1 hour. 

This is what I decided to do when I got there....since you only have the photographer for one hour as part of the package I decided to add him for an extra hour.  He arrived in my room about 30 minutes prior to the ceremony to get shots of me and bridesmaids as we got ready, then he shot us going to the ceremony (meeting up with my dad), then the whole ceremony, then the group/family shots, then our couples shots (which we were alone with him) and then part of the cocktail hour...so in total we had him for 2 hours.  I did not need him during the dinner & reception because my sister happens to be a photographer so she took great shots of all that.  Plus, sooo many of my guests snapped pics that whole time so I got so many pics from them.

A few days after the wedding I had a meeting with the photographer, he had gone through all of the photos he took (there were hundreds) he took out the bad ones (blinking eyes, bad lighting, etc.) and touched up the rest of them leaving approx. 240 photos.  He had us look through every single photo so we could get an idea of his work...they were Awesome!  He then told us that we could select 24 to have and for the photo book...at that time he showed us upgraded packages we could purchase...we went with the highest package which was to purchase every all of 240 photos on the cd and the upgraded photo book which had 80 photos in it....it cost $499.00.   I can't remember if the online slideshow came with the wedding package or not but we got that too.  I was so pleased with his photos so I knew I wanted all of them, plus he got shots that no one else got from different angles at the ceremony and then our couples shots which no guests or family were allowed to be there for.  There were other packages that cost less...one was $299 and one was $399 I believe.  I guess it all depends on how many pics you want and how many you get from other guests. 

 

As far as the sun setting....I believe that Day Light Savings in Mexico is on April 1st and the sun sets around 7:00pm, so basically your ceremony would fall at the same time of lighting that mine did....it was a beautiful time of night!!   

Towards the end of the photographer taking our shots, he got a little concerned with the lighting.  We definitely got all the beach shots we wanted but we didnt get as many resort ones like in the beautiful lobby, near the fountains, etc. just because of the lower lighting.  So if those shots are important to you then be sure to let him know that you want them so then he can be prepared and cut your beach ones a little shorter.

 

Please let me know if you have any other questions and I woudd love to help you out....I know Joda will too!!   Believe me I know the feeling going in and this forum really helped me a lot!

 

 

Quote:

 

 

[shannonmarie]

Sorry Amy! I think I answered my own question. I just found the price listed under additional services. It looks like it's $250. Thank you!!
 

Originally Posted by shannonmarie 

Hey Amy! Your picturese are beautiful! How much extra did you have to pay for an extra hour of photos? I would love to do that. I'm getting married at Now Jade but I'm thinking the pricing should be very similar.
 

Thanks!

 

 

[AmyG]

Joda, I can't wait to see your tash the dress pics!!!!!!   I worked with Anel prior to going down there and through emails but when I got there I worked with Ramon...they were both so Wonderful!!  

I agree that the minor hiccups did not put a damper on my day or sway me in any negative direction of the overall experience......here were my minor hiccups:

 

1) We had booked an Ocean front room for the first half of our trip and a Preferred Ocean room for the second part (after we were married) and so when we arrived we thought that if there was availibility then we would be upgraded immediately....(as stated in the Divine Package).  When we arrived at the resort we were taken to the Preferred Lounge for check in and so we thought "okay cool were being upgraded now"...not the case.  They told us that there were no available preferred rooms.  So we figured "okay no big deal, we'll be upgrading in a few days".  WELL come to find out, when my mom checked in at the lobby (& my sister), she was asked if she wanted to upgrade to Preferred.  When I found this out I got annoyed because they clearly stated that there was no availibility when I asked.  Since we had to wait a few hours to get into our rooms, I decided to go introduce myself to Anel in the wedding department because I wanted to set up our meeting.  I told her about the room situation and how they offered my mom the Preferred and she immediately called the Preferred lounge and fixed the situation and got us into a Preferred room.  I was very pleased.  Resolved.

 

2) I had hair appointments set up a month in advance with emailed schedules and confirmations from the spa.  After my meeting with Ramon, he advised me to confirm the appointments, so a day later I did confirm the appointments and times and we were all set.  On the day of the wedding, the spa was calling my sisters room telling her that she was late for her appointment, but she wasn't according to the schedule the spa gave me.  They had moved all of the appointments around without even telling any of us.  We arrived when we arrived and everyone got their hair and make up done and it turned out beautiful.  Just be sure you remind the receptionist that your bridal hair/make up is included in your wedding package so they don't charge your room.  Resolved.

 

3)  During my meeting with Ramon, we confirmed our dinner on the beach down to the menu, day, time, etc.  The night of our dinner, my husband :-)  decided to call down to the conceirge just to confirm to make sure we were all set....No reservation was made in our names....I called Ramon and he said he would call me back.  Five minutes later he called me back and we were all set, we just had to push back the time but that wasn't a big deal.  The dinner was Awesome, excellent service, very romantic.  Resolved.

 

This is my advice to other brides/grooms (and Joda please chime in also if you can think of anything)....Discuss and Follow Up!!!!   Tell Ramon or Anel exactly what you want and follow up with it all.  They are Amazing at their jobs but I think they have so much going on that they cant do it all. 

I took it upon myself to do tasks to make sure they got done.  The steaming of the clothes was one of them.  I asked Ramon exactly what to do, he told me to have them all set on my bed in our room on a particular day/time.  I collected all of the outfits and had them in our room, then I called Ramon and told him they were ready to be picked up.  I have to ask myself that if I didnt take it upon myself, would they have done it.  Joda perhaps thats what happened with you. 

Another thing was the couples massage, I had discussed it with Ramon when I wanted it, but it was never set up.  I had to go set it up myself and then call to confirm it.....FYI:  massage was Great!!
Just know exactly what you want to get out of the whole thing and each specified wedding package item.  I did not utilize the transfer service and the some of the floral options and so now that I think back maybe I should have tried to 'trade' those items for others.  What's done is done and overall it was the absolute best thing I ever did!!  My 25 guests have not stopped raving about the resort and the wedding.  The resort is BEAUTIFUL w/ Excellent staff!!  I will definitely be taking advantage of the anniversary nights next year!

 

[AmyG]

JenniferL,

 

CONGRATS on booking!!!   :-)   ...and how cute on Valentine's Day!!!!!!!!!!  :-)

 

I only have experience using a travel agent.  All 25 of my guests went through the same travel agent, he was able to give us a group rate and my guests were all set up on payment plans.  I don't have any experience booking directly through the hotel. 
 

Originally Posted by JenniferL 

Hi All, 

 

I am completely new to this site, and just wanted to thank all of you for you posts! I have been reading through them all over the last few days.

 

I just booked my Wedding at the Now Sapphire Resort for February 14, 2013 (seems so far away). 

 

My one big question would be, ANY SUGGESTIONS WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED!!!! - would you suggest to book room directly through the resort or use the assistance of a travel agent??? I have never used a travel agent before and i am hearing that they can arrange payment plans for some of my quests? Is that a real thing??

 

Thanks Ladies!!!!