murmel

HAPPY NEW YEAR LADIES!!! Best wishes for 2017 :) The food at Sensatori is amazing! That was our main reason for choosing this resort. Do your guests want to stay at the resort? Often the rooms are sold in blocks to other travel agencies/tour operators. So even though it says the hotel has no rooms, that is not necessarily true. You can try www.sunwing.com (under the hotel section for room only), Apple vacations, and/or ask your travel agent to look into finding more rooms. If you can't get any more rooms, try negotiating with them ahead of time to waive the fee. Usually guests are permitted into the resort for the day of the wedding (as long as you are paying for a dinner/private event. If you are doing the free wedding package and included dinner, you may have to pay a fee). However, that is based on the 80% rule of your guests staying onsite.

@@kat5849 Welcome! This forum is amazing resource to help plan. Azul does have a great kitchen which is willing to arrange special foods for dietary restrictions. (we had some with nut allergies and a vegan). I realize it's not the same, but the chefs took their time to find things to make everyone happy. Please read the official forum for other tips and info about the resort. www.bestdestinationwedding.com/topic/72018-official-azul-sensatori-thread/

Not really sure about the lighting, but if there is any it is limited. The warm glow bulbs will give you a lovely romantic feel, and often people have placed tiki torches around the area to help. Remember there is not much to string the lights to over the beach area...(ie. poles or palm trees). So you may not be able to have as many lights strung above the area as you may want. I have also updated the Bridal roll call with the couple of new ladies who have joined us! Welcome!

Check out the Bridal Roll call list to see upcoming brides on the forum: http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/topic/72018-official-azul-sensatori-thread/page-2

Sarahjayne07- there are a few photos of "beach building 3" on the Official thread. It's just listed as the "beach location". Unfortunately the photos are from an evening event, so a bit difficult to get a real feel for it. If I remember correctly, there is a stone ramp leading down to the beach on the right side (if you're standing in front of building 3 looking to the ocean). They set up an area, between the palapa beds and on the sand.

We used places we had travelled to, as table markers. I printed a photo of us in those locations and placed on the table. If you look at the Official thread, you can see some photos of Zocolo terrace...not sure what location Zocolo beach is. If it`s the beach, there are some photos as well. Either way, both locations really only have a few palm trees around that they can possibly strings lights from. They may need some support around the edges to create the effect you are looking for. http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/topic/72018-official-azul-sensatori-thread/ PS. Are you planning a sunset ceremony....6pm...I think sunset is about 615-630pm in January. The sun will be setting behind your guests.

sarahjayne07 - there are a few photos on the Official thread of all the sites for receptions. http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/topic/72018-official-azul-sensatori-thread/

Sorry for the delay. We have traveled with our little one and here is what I can remember: ***I think everything was free of charge, but you might have to request it. In room: Crib, bottle warmer, baby monitor (so you can sit on the patio and hear your little one), stroller, baby bath, bottle sanitizer, fridge, microwave. * if any of these items are not in your room when you arrive, you can request them. As well, if the stroller is not what you need, go to the kids club and exchange it for a different one Around the resort: the restaurants all have high chairs available at the front doors, and usually a few small toys. The kids club has a small area with toddler/infant toys which you can sign out for a day/week for your little one to play with. The kids wading pool is about knee deep, and slopes in from the sides, so an infant/toddler can sit at the edge and splash (this area is also mostly in the shade) Food: the restaurants all have baby food in jars (purees in assorted favours) (this is included in your vacation package). The milk is fine for the little ones to drink. We usually took a few bottles to the bars and had them fill them up with milk. Then we kept them in our room fridge. This saved us from having to run all over the resort last minute. You can also request milk through room service (keep in mind, it will be brought in a glass. So order in number of glasses of milk you might want) Babysitting: the sitters are usually the staff from the kids club. We have never had an issue. We had the sitter come to our room and watch our little one so we could enjoy a quiet dinner. I think the price was $12 US/hour (but it's been a few years), as well after 11pm there is an extra fee to pay for their taxi home. It doesn't always mean the hotel is sold out. Often rooms are sold in bunches to different charter companies, so they show the room as unavailable, but often it still is through a different agency. If you are looking for extra rooms, have your travel agent look through different vacation carriers.

Beautiful photos LoLoJabs!

Beautiful photos! Thanks for sharing. Your dress is just stunning and it looks like everyone had a blast.

My father passed away many years ago, and similar to you, my mother is in a nursing home and unable to attend (we were married by a judge in front of her). For me personally, I didn't want to have a huge reminder that they were missing the day (it was hard enough to deal with loss), so I found someone who personalized a small photo charm of my parents on their wedding day and attached it to my bouquet. It was my PRIVATE way of including them, without drawing attention to it. Perhaps since it is relating more to the groom, ask him. Does he want a public symbol or perhaps something more private? Perhaps a custom embroidered handkerchief with their names to slip into his suit pocket. An old fashioned pocket watch with their names on it. Cufflinks with their initials.

Check out the information on the official thread: http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/topic/73076-official-el-dorado-royaleel-dorado-casitas-royale-thread/ I believe there are also some photos of the locations.

Totally understand the overwhelming part! LOL There are lots of great resorts, just trying to find the one the offers the most of what you need is tricky. Some of the advantages to Sensatori- size (not to big or too small, just over 400 rooms), the staff and service is amazing (I travel A LOT, and it still is in our top 3), the food is fantastic (again, been to a lot of resorts and this is by FAR the best food we have ever had!), the wedding staff on site are really good and professional (the Miami based ones that you have to deal with before you head down though are the pits), the airport is easy to get to from multiple locations and the resort is only 30 minute drive. If you don't mind larger hotels, you can also check out the Dreams resorts or Grand Pallidium resorts in the area (the beaches are nicer, but they are hotels with between 800-1200 rooms). Or for adults only, Excellence is beautiful.

Amy- they supply the wooden plank aisle in the sand as part of the wedding package (no extra fee). If you want a runner/fabric on it, you would need to supply or rent that. Not sure I will cover all your questions, but we'll try: first off please read the Official Sensatori thread, there is a lot of great information/help there: http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/topic/72018-official-azul-sensatori-thread/ - you can bring your own decorations to the resort, but will have to pay a CASH set-up fee directly to the wedding coordinators on site. This fee usually ranges from $75-150US (depending on how many guests and the amount of decor) - you can use the SAME flowers at both the ceremony and reception. BUT you MUST specify this to the wedding coordinators - they will NOT allow you to use the same chair covers/bows at the ceremony and reception. If you are doing a private dinner, the white chair covers are INCLUDED. - after dinner, many people, with both large and small weddings will go up to the Mojioto lounge for dancing and live music. -photography- please see the Official thread - beach. The beach is quite narrow, but the sand is nice and in the last few years they have been adding new sand. So the beach itself for the wedding and photos is lovely. Going into the water, the ground is rocky and coral based....it's a dead coral reef which got push up years ago during a hurricane. (it's not their fault) And yes, there is some seaweed on occasion...please remember it is an ocean. The resort staff clean up the beach each morning, and just before a wedding to ensure it looks pristine. -spa prices (I am not sure currently, I got married there 5 years ago), but the staff is very professional and as long as you bring pictures to show what you want, everyone seems pleased with their results. They will redo it, until you are happy! I would likely suggest more of an updo, since it can be windy. - April should be lovely weather http://www.holiday-weather.com/cancun/averages/april Hope that helps!

I don't think the dollar value has increased. Check out this forum for more details: http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/topic/4239-customs-in-mexico-declaring-wedding-stuff/