Sunsierra

If you plan on going to Akumal definitely rent (or bring your own) snorkel gear. The snorkelling is great (as long as it's not too windy) and you'll likely see lots of turtles. And then have lunch at Lucy's Tacos... yummmm! We took the collectivo to Akumal but then got a taxi for the ride back to the resort (we didn't feel like walking in our wet bathing suits).

We were at the Tulum beach location. And the main flower in our bouquets was Bird of Paradise. I'm not sure how local it is, but I'm pretty sure it's cheaper there than it is here. Hope that helps!!

Sounds like a beautiful wedding! I loved Citlalli too - such a sweet genuine lady. Oh - post more pics!!!! (Love your bouquet and siggie pic)

Quote: Originally Posted by Abbie we are renting a car for a couple reasons, 1 because we will arrive at the hotel the first day much sooner and when we check out we wont have to leave so early, we can spend some extra time in the sun! and 2 because we just like the freedom having a car brings. if we want to go to cancun one day and tulum the next, chichen itza the next, we dont have to pay for/arrange transportation--we can just jump in the car and go! and it will already be paid for as well AND we can leave from wherever to go back to the hotel when we want and not have to wait on anyone or anything. so its just that bit of extra freedom we can spend doing what we want and when. haha i say all this and we probably end up never leaving the resort Abbie - My parents went to the Mayan again over Christmas and they rented a car for the full two weeks they were there. My dad (who is an explorer at heart) absolutely loved the freedom. My mom (who loves sitting on the beach) said it probably would have made more sense for them to rent it for a couple of days instead of the whole time. If you're not planning on venturing too far off the beaten path, I'd say collectivo's are your best bet. We used them when we were there and found them to be very convenient. You can always hire a private transfer to and from the airport. But if you're like my dad - who drove down to Punta Allen, Sian Kaan, etc. (and was planning on a day trip to Valladolid) then a car would be worth it. That being said, next time we go we'll be renting a car as there are more places I want to visit where a collectivo won't take us. So I say make a plan of what you'd like to do/see and then see if renting a car makes sense.

Calchik - We ate at the Tequila too. We did the cake cutting right after dinner. Depending on how long you expect the speeches to be - you could either do them at the restaurant or at the reception. My suggestion would be to wait until the reception though so you're not cut short on time.

The great thing about Xel Ha and Xcaret is that you can go there all by yourself - just take the collectivo (you don't need to go through a tour company). Quote: Originally Posted by heidi_lk Has anyone tried the Coba Adventure?? Any thoughts. We didn't but a couple that came to our wedding did and they loved it!! Their only suggestion was to go on a day when it's not too terribly hot.

Quote: Originally Posted by calchik for those who have been there before, did you guys book excursions online or did you book it when you got there at the resort? is it cheaper to book online? we just want to do xcaret and golf. When are you going? I went to Xcaret's website to check out their prices (so for Feb 2009) and they are cheaper (about $30 per person)online than what we paid in person (Jan 2008 ). But I'm not sure if the prices have changed. One reason why we decided to not book online was because we didn't know which day we wanted to go - so it looks like booking online is cheaper - but also a little more inconvenient. I will say that booking online and/or going on your own is for sure cheaper that going with the resorts tour (I'd say about $20 per person cheaper on average). One more thing - have you considered visiting Xel Ha? We went to both Xcaret and Xel Ha - we much preferred Xel Ha. ETA: Looks like Xel Ha's online prices are about the same as what we paid for when we went there.

For a photographer, we had Citlalli of Claudia Rodriguez. We loved our pictures and it was very very reasonably priced - we went with Wedding Photo Package II (and keep in mind that these are their prices for Jan 2008 so they have probably gone up): Quote: Wedding Photo Package I 80 pics 4x6 (mix of color and B&W photos and B&W with a hint of color included) 6 enlargements 5x7 1 enlargements 8x10" Ceremony, toast and cutting of the cake (right after the ceremony) group picture and Bride and Groom portrait by the ocean. time aprox 2 hours. cost 800.00 us Wedding Photo Package II 100 pictures 4x6 (including 20 b&w) 10 pics 5x7 (3 b&w) 3 pic 8x10 (1 b&w , 2 color) Bride getting ready, Ceremony, Bride and Groom portrait by the beach, group photo, wedding party and family. Time aprox 3hours cost 1,000.00 us Special package III 180 pics 4x6 (including 60 b&w) 15 pics 5x7 6 pics 8&10 (3 color and 3 b&w) this is the most complete Photo Package because you will get a lot of candid shoots photojournalism kind besides the Pictures of Bride and groom, Wedding Party, Ceremony , family and reception. time aprox 4to 5 hours cost 1,650.00 us All photo packages include album and Cd's with the photos taken, and as you can see some pictures in black and white as well. What I really liked was that we got two CD's with all of our pictures on it (so whenever we want to print more, we can)!

Quote: Originally Posted by Abbie hi ladies! -has anyone found an aerial view of the ENTIRE resort? everything ive seen is section by section, and id like to get the full picture of how its laid out. It's not an aerial view - but here is the resort map!

Quote: Originally Posted by jkcz0702 How big were the cups at the resort? I am trying to decide if it is worth it to put cups in the OOT bags or are the resort ones good enough. We weren't sure about this either. We ended up going the no-cup route (to save $$). Everyone managed fine without one - but next time I go back, I think I'd definitly bring a travel mug (not for the size, but to keep the drink colder longer).

Quote: Originally Posted by 1kpaine Has anyone else rented to disco? Does the DJ act at all as a MC? We rented the disco. And to tell you the truth - I honestly can't remember if he annouced or not? Sorry.

Quote: Originally Posted by scoutley Last minute questions are popping up now! I did a search and couldn't find the answer... Is there an ATM at the hacienda? I'm moving along with my plans assuming that there is one. Anyone know if there is or not? There is an ATM at the Hacienda. Enter the Hacienda from the East and then turn left. Go past the disco. Once you're in the "other" area (I think there's one or two steps down -you'll know what I'm talking about once you get there) turn right again. There's a little room there with an ATM - and if I remember correctly, the exchange was pretty good too!

Quote: Originally Posted by MayanButterfly I was wondering if anyone did their own wedding cake? One of my bridesmaids and I took a wedding cake decorating course and I thought it would be a nice touch to do my own (decorate not bake... still working on that part!) Also, has anyone been to Xcaret? I am having a catholic ceremony there at the St. Francis of Assisi church. 5 more months!! We didn't decorate our own cake. And I doubt you'll have much luck doing it on the resort (and is it really something you want to be doing while you're there?) A place I might contact if you're really interested is the Turtle Bay Cafe in Akumal Bay. They might bake the cake for you and you can decorate it (I believe they'll deliver the cake on the wedding day too). We went to Xcaret and we liked it. I don't remember seeing the church though, sorry.

Quote: Originally Posted by 1kpaine Did everyone's ceremony time get changed? I'm a little worried just because we're all getting our hair done and the last apointment is set to finish around 2pm. Does Jazmin do a reherrsal the night before? Our time did not get changed. If you want to do a rehearsal, I think it's something you will have to arrange yourself (maybe with the help of Jazmin). We didn't do a rehearsal but a few girls on here did.

I just wanted to add that we did use the internet at the hacienda. I used it for about 5-10 minutes to check my email and reply back to our photographer. If I remember correctly it was under $5.

Quote: Originally Posted by scoutley I just got a confirmation from Jazmin that isn't really a confirmation! All along, I've been told by Paloma and Jazmin that I HAVE to have my ceremony at 2pm. No other options. I've requested the beach from the beginning and have been told thats fine. Now Jazmin says that they can't confirm availability till you get there. ?!?!? Anyone know which availability? Location or time? I'm working on my welcome brochure right now and had planned on putting both location and time in there. Aargh! We were told that the availablity isn't "written in stone" because it all boils down to whether the minister/JP can make it on that day at that time. I wouldn't stress too much about it though as I haven't heard of anyone's wedding actually getting changed. You and your FI will be upgraded depending on availablity. (If the resort has rented out all upgraded rooms to guests who have paid for those rooms, you won't be upgraded).

Hello & Welcome Turtlewax and DaniellaP. The Tulum and Akumal hotels both offer rooms closest to the beach. The Coba is set back from the beach (I believe a couple of minute walk) but they are also the newest rooms. Tulum is the oldest - that's where we stayed and we absolutely loved it!! Tulum and Akuml both offer beach wedding locations (Coba might but I'm not too sure). Here are pictures of the Tulum wedding locations: Beach (this was our wedding setup): Gazebo (these are older pictures that Jazmin sent us): Garden: And here's the rain out location for Tulum (it's the Tequila restaurant): Sorry that the pictures are really bad - everything does look a lot nicer in person!

Quote: Originally Posted by JoLo908 Okay, this may seem to be a really random question, but, I really would like to have my single bridesmaid, single groomsman, and me walk down the aisle to the song "The Luckiest" by Ben Folds. The song is over four minutes... is that too long? And is it weird to just have us all go walking down to the same song? I love the song so much, I am torn as to what to do. I remember someone saying the walk was long, so, can anyone tell me if this is a good idea or not?? Thank you!!! That is really up to you! The thing I like most about DW is that they're still pretty new and there's no "etiquette" or "standards" that people expect - so if you all want to walk down to the same song - then do it! But just to let you know - the walk isn't that long - each person/couple can get down there in under a minute (for both the gazebo and the beach) jennyFTB - I'm pretty sure the options for seating are 4, 6, 8, or 10 (or something like that) and you have to pick one (so all tables of 4 or all tables of 8 ) but I could be wrong - this is probably something that is best discussed with Jazmin. For us, we picked two tables of 10 (we had 17 guests so 19 of us in total) and we sat with the guests so I really can't help with the head table.

Quote: Originally Posted by 1kpaine Sunsierra - how were the speakers for the ceremony? was everyone able to hear ok? What did everyone do for a reherrsal dinner? I was thinking we'd probably just book a resterant, but wanted to see if anyone had any other idea's. I'm pretty sure everyone heard our ceremony (they all laughed when DH emphasized the "poorer" - so I'm guessing they heard it, haha). And no one had any complaints later. We didn't have a rehearsal dinner - but I know a few other brides did.

Quote: Originally Posted by Sapphire723 If you don't have a private reception, is there a limit on the number of people which are included in the package? I know that more than 15 people and you have to have a set menu, but is there a limit on how many people they can accommodate without an extra charge? If so, does any one know what the extra charge is? No, I'm pretty sure there is no limit on the number of people. I don't think there is an extra charge for more people as the dinner counts as one of their alloted dinners at the a la cartes.

magaliscious - Oh, don't start stressing... you still have lots of time!!! Why does your friend staying off the resort make it hard to plan what the girls will wear Your friend will have to get a day pass for the wedding but she'll still be able to get ready with you. and the other girls.

We picked our flowers out of the book and this is what my bouquet looked like: And a close up: We had dinner at the tequila too our menu was: 1 Entry – Mexican Entrée Plater Buffet (Our group finished off the platters and they brought our more!) 1 Soup – “Azteca” Soup 1 Main course – Chicken Breat Medallions 1 dessert – Tres Leche Cake And everyone LOVED the food!

Quote: Originally Posted by JoLo908 Okay, I have a stupid but important question. For anyone who got married by the palapas (as we wish to do) do you wear shoes?? Or go barefoot?? Joanna - The girls and I all went barefoot and loved it!! Also, we got everyone's room #'s (from them - the front desk won't give them to you) and wrote them down so we could call them if we wanted. But Jazmin will give you printouts of the wedding day activities that you can give to all of the guests.

Quote: Originally Posted by hockeygirl Hi all, I am newer to the site, and usually just look and never talk, but I am stuck! I need some advice on the DJ...I am debating whether or not to get a DJ or to build up an Ipod. Any personal experiences out there? Wedding day : May 26th 2009 at 5pm Resort: Akumal 11 Booked so far! And I GOT CLAUDIA! Thanks! You are going to love this place (and Claudia)! When we were married there (Jan 2008 ) we were told that bringing an iPod wasn't an option so we went with the DJ. As far as I know, this hasn't changed. For the wedding songs, we brought a burnt CD with our songs on it and they played that. Hope that helps.

Hi Claudette! I've sent you an email, if you have any other questions please feel free to email me!