Azul Beach Weddings 2015

[talicea7812]

I have been on many other forums and Karisma charges the highest outside vendor fees.  I was talking to a bride complaining that her outside vendor fee is $300! haha. that's nothing.

 

BTW @@ng2015

what florist have you been talking to?

[ng2015]

@@talicea7812

I contacted http://www.floreriariviera.com/ 

I haven't signed anything yet...I'm still in the research phase for DJ, Flowers, etc

 

I'm currently really frustrated with Miami Karisma! I found out by calling that my wedding coordinator doesn't work there anymore and the WC manager has yet to call me back and I've called him twice already.

 

To be continued.....

@@jd0922

 

Congratulations!! That's so exciting that your day is almost near!!

 

May I ask you which florist you are going with? Those prices sound amazing!

[talicea7812]

@@ng2015....

 

Its a good thing u have started planning early.  I am on my 3rd coordinator. Don't be surprised if you get another one before the wedding day.  It seems to be a common complaint on the forums.

 

If you are waiting for Fabio to return your call...he really isn't much better than the coordinators.  I waited 2wks to get a response from him.  I finally got a response when I went to social media and posted on facebook and twitter about how unhappy I was.  They don't want the bad publicity.

[KaraEbeth]

@@talicea7812 and @@ng2015 Thanks for the info ladies. I'm going to make a note to look into those two vendors. I don't think it would be too hard for someone to meet the vendor somewhere to pick up the flowers. I also saw someone mention on one of the Azul Forums www.fresaweddings.com. They offer all kinds of stuff, decor, fire lanterns, hair and makeup, cakes and cupcakes, music and entertainment. I wonder if you would only pay ONE outside vendor fee for using them for everything hahaha. Also saw http://www.floresrivieramaya.com/eng/weddings.php @@ng2015 not sure if this is the same company as you mentioned or not.

 

@@talicea7812 how many days did you have to book for the videographer? I thought i read somewhere a minimum of 3 days stay but I could be imagining that...it's hard to keep all the info. straight. Carol is my WC btw not sure if I told you that hoping I have better luck with her....worries me a little.

 

Not sure if this is relevant to anyone else either, depends on if you're using beach gazebo but I inquired with her last week regarding the gazebo dimensions so I could figure out what I wanted to do regarding sheers and she said she doesn't have exact dimensions of the gazebo but the measurements of the sheers they use on the gazebo are 12 meters long and 1 1/2 meters wide.

 

@@jd0922 congratulations your wedding is fast  approaching. I'm jealous, I am so impatient I just want mine to be here already! What colors are you doing and are you having yours on the beach? I'm really trying to budget as well but the costs are adding up and it is definitely stressful.

[ng2015]

@@KaraEbeth  Thank you for the florist info...I will definitely look into them!! Yes, for some reason the link I put in my last post was incorrect, it's actually the same one that you mentioned http://www.floresrivieramaya.com/eng/ 

Very reasonably priced, and I think I'm going to follow @@talicea7812 lead and get flowers delivered to the security gate.  I emailed the florist today to see if they also rent out tall glass vases for pillar candles. That would be beautiful and save me from having to lug votives down with me.  I also want to know the dimensions of the sky wedding gazebo because I would like to price out fabric instead of renting sheers from Lomas. 

 

@@talicea7812 I finally got a hold of my new wedding coordinator and that's only because I called them today and started to get loud about having to pursue them to take my money. Fabio never responded to me. Such a shame that their customer service in Miami is a let down. Keeping my fingers crossed that this lady is as helpful as she sounds.  I will say that she was apologetic for my experience and seems more keen on changing that from here on out.  we'll see...

[talicea7812]

@@KaraEbeth

 

I don't think u mentioned u have Carol.  Hope you have better luck too.  On Friday she sent me my wedding worksheet bc all final selections are due.  Half the info was incorrect.

 

As for the sheers...she wouldn't give me exact dimensions either.  I ordered two 40yd organza bolts to do the gazebo.  Should be enough.

 

I did book the videographer for 3 nights...He is not actually staying at the resort.  It was cheaper to add him to my mom's room than pay the outside vendor fee.

@@ng2015....

good luck.  after all my issues and finally hearing back from Fabio...everything went right back to the way it was before. I emailed carol questions...some of which she took 2+ weeks to respond!!!! 

[ng2015]

@@talicea7812 Thanks, I'll keep praying. I hope to be able to get this woman to nail down and confirm all the details I painfully got from the old WC

[KaraEbeth]

@@ng2015 no problem, I'm considering using them as well. I am going to at least get a couple of quotes. I also saw on a forum (I think it was the Azul Beach 2014 forum) a real touch flower company called Bloom Bridal the website was www.bloombridal.com. Their bouquets are really pretty but almost more than a real bouquet. It would be nice to be able to save the bouquet and take it home...but then again it would probably sit and collect dust, LOL. I also saw a boutonniere on Pinterest with just a sheer ribbon looped and a starfish, I thought it was kind of unique and would save money on boutonnieres.

I

I am considering these for aisle decor as well, I think they would be easy to make and not too hard to pack and bring with me.

If we decide to go forward with the beach BBQ I am considering just renting lanterns and tiki torches from Lomas. I don't want to but Tiki Torches will be an easy way to have lighting and if I use small lanterns on the tables it should provide lighting too and i was going to try and maybe use some starfish propped up or something. Haven't got that far yet.

 

@@talicea7812 & @@ng2015  the lack of communication from these people worries me and I sit and obsess over things until they're taken care of.... I originally had someone named Erika but I guess she was just to answer initial questions prior to me reserving the date then once I put down the deposit i was assigned to someone new (Carol). The biggest problem I've had so far is the timliness of the answers. I get that there are 365 days in a year and at most 2 weddings a day but I don't feel that they are so busy it takes a week to answer an email. @@talicea7812 how are they just now sending you finalized stuff when your wedding is just a couple weeks away? The email I have from them says everything is supposed to be paid and finalized within 45 days? @@ng2015 I will "inquire" with Carol regarding the sheers for the sky deck and see if I can get an answer. Also do you guys have online profiles on Karisma or Lomas' site to pay toward your balance or add items or choices on or do those all just get relayed to Lomas and they send the info to the onsite coordinator, how does that work?  When I originally paid the deposit I thought i had made a username or something where I could go back and keep paying but when I tried to sign in prior to hearing from a planner it wasn't working. I thought Lomas' site was set up kind of the same... Maybe I am totally wrong here.

[ng2015]

@@KaraEbeth Those are beautiful! I love the aisle decor and the boutonnieres! I also read about the real touch and keep going back and forth. I hate that I'd be spending money on a beautiful bouquet that I can't even bring back to the states with me so for that reason, I'm still contemplating the real touch. The other idea I saw somewhere on pinterest, both to save money and not waste flowers, was to have the bridesmaids walk down holding beautiful clutches. it's a unique idea and they can keep them as their gift!  About Lomas and the tiki torches, I went on their website and checked it out, http://www.weddingsbylomastravel.com/planning/Candles-Lanterns-and-Torches

they're charging $8 per torch so that could add up.  I would like to do a beach BBQ also and a bonfire. I was quoted $50 per hour for the bonfire which would provide a decent amount of lighting I'm sure. You could always bring a bunch of candle bags and votives with you to set up on tables and the beach too. That's straight from Lomas' website except they want to charge $6 per bag and I'm sure you could find like 50 of them for $6 online somewhere lol 

 

 

Honestly, they transfer you around, but the best advice I could give is to get EVERYTHING in writing from them but be prepared to argue over and over again. I now have to go back and re-confirm everything that my old WC did. It's a hassle, but we fell in love with Azul Beach (like all of us have). I just keep praying that what the other brides say is true, that it'll be soo much better once we're there.

 

On a brighter note, I love that we can trade info and ideas on here

Oh and thank you for asking Carol for me...much appreciated!! (but please don't put yourself out)

p.s. I tried to use the website that they provide when you first sign up in order to make changes to the time of my ceremony and my old WC said that they just rolled that out and no one is really using that yet so make sure to confirm by calling...but then again, she did up and quit lol so I don't know. Safest bet, call or email.

Edited March 28, 2014 by Tammy Host

[KaraEbeth]

@@ng2015 those are a good idea too! I haven't heard anything about a bonfire other than the s'more party, so to have a bonfire with the bbq it's $50/hr?