All Night Long (A ) Included in our package. The DJ was pretty good. It took a minute to get to the right part of Rhianna’s “We Found Love” for our grand entrance song but besides that he was pretty good. He even made us a CD of the major songs from our reception, which was a nice touch! Also provided our uplighting totally made the room have an extra swanky feel but I do think we may have overpaid. $400 for four hours just seemed too steep and we probably could have gotten it cheaper somewhere else but they were already there to dj.
Memory Lane (B) Included in our package with the platinum. They videotaped our ceremony and did a pretty good job. I gave them an (B) because when they initially contacted us saying they were part of our package they recommended that we upgrade to two or three videographers instead of just one which was part of the package. We nicely declined and they emailed again saying they “wish we would reconsider”…. Besides feeling like they really wanted to upsell us, they were good. We know its how they make a living so it wasn’t a big deal and the video turned out well!
Chiemi Photography A++ My fiancée was a little nervous going with a photographer and not meeting her first but OMG she is amazing. She was so energetic and into getting good shots that she would jump up on chairs, etc. to get the best photo. I hadn't heard much about her here on the knot but really hopes she get some recognition because she really did an amazing job! She posted some pics on her FB Page and they are AMAZING. We can’t wait to see the rest. Here is a link:
http://www.facebook.com/chiemiphotography
We are Michele and Justus at the Platinum.
Francesca Lombardi – A+ She and Kimberly worked on us all day and they did a fantastic job! All of the BM’s were going for something different and they made each look unique. My BM are beautiful girls to start with but they looked like models when the girls were done with them. Francesca makes you super at ease and listens to what you want. I had sent her a picture about two weeks before the wedding and she had it ready to go on her phone when I sat in her chair. I would definitely use them!!!!
Iberostar Grand Paraiso Riviera Maya - honeymoon
I found this place on the knot honeymoon board as the top all inclusive resort for 2012. Ummm this place was more luxiourous then we imagined. We had never done an all inclusive, and to be honest, I thought we would have to trade some luxury for all inclusive but not the case at all. They have us the best suite they have with a hot tub on the balcony overlooking the ocean. The food was good, lots of amazing fresh fruits and vegetables. On some things at “Italian night” they basically just loaded lots and lots of cheese on noodles and called it pasta but for the most part, everything else was delicious. Great steak, great fresh sushi, something for everyone. Their beach is beautiful white sand and the water was turquoise. We got a cabana on the beach almost every day to relax and whenever we wanted a beer or drink, they got it for us. The infinity salt water pool had club music and a swim up bar and was more rowdy but a nice change from the beach. What struck us most about this resort was how hardworking and accommodating every employee was. I have been to the Carribean and never received such outstanding service. Even if a staff member was walking in the hall, they would say Hello and made sure we had everything we needed. They took cleaning seriously! I walked in one time during their morning service where I thought they just made the bed and a young girl was scrubbing the heck out of our marble floor! Seriously. The floors were so clean you could eat off of them throughout the resort. We only made it to one show and we weren’t that into it….it was Mayan interpretive dance and although they were very talented dancers, it just wasn’t our show so we left but I heard the other shows were more popular (Broadway hits, and Rock and Roll show). One thing I should note is that there was A LOT of seaweed in the water and that washed up on shore. This was my first time to Mexico so I’m not sure if it is always like that or just this time of year but be prepared to have it wrap around your toes while swimming. It was so bad that every few days the resort workers would have to rake it up and throw in trash bags so you could walk on the beach. The beach next to the resort is vacant land and you couldn’t really go on long walks because the seaweed was everywhere and once it dries, it kind of hurts to walk on. I would definitely go here ago and think that its perfect for honeymooners!!!! Who wouldn’t want to walk in from a day at the beach to a Jacuzzi full of bubbles and rose petals?
All in all, my finacee kept telling me what a wonderful job I had done with the ceremony, reception, and honeymoon and I have all of you Knotties to thank!!! Thank you for all of your comments and feedback
