nikki&owen

For those of you asking about the pool side dinner...you can still do it with less that 35 people, you just have to for 35 people any way. There was only 27 of us, and I had a poolside dinner and dance. It was the best! Of course most people ended up in the pool by the end of the night....but you know that is going to happen

I had Fernando do my hair and makeup (well he did make up and brought another guy to do our hair). I was soooo happy with the the job they did. He is a super nice guy, very professional and he came the day before to so a trial. He was a little expensive ($350 for wedding day hair and makeup and $180 for the trail), but he came so well recommeded, that I had to do it, and I am really glad that I did. I am normally NEVER happy with the way a salon does my hair and make up and I was happy with him. I will look up his email address if anyone is interested. As for out side vendors for hair and makeup....if you don't tell, they wont know! Others have asked the wedding planners at the resort and have been told it is not allowed, however, Fernando said that he comes to the resort often with no problems.

They can take photos of the dinner or reception but it is an extra $350. It is listed under the WEG extra services. But as Cdlillad said, just get one of your guests to take photos at the dinner. By that piont the party is on, and you really don't need the pro pics!

Eugenia was great. It sometimes takes her a long time to hear back from her via email, but keep in mind that she has 2 or 3 weeding a day, everyday leading up to your, so she is busy. I found that once you get close to your wedding date she will replay more quickly. And once you arrive, she will meet with you, go over all of the details and she did a great job of ensuring all of our details were carried out. She id great a improvising with extra details too. We brought chair ties for the ceremony and dinner, and there were lots of extras, so she used them all around as decoration too. She had all of our decorations hung for us, and was just a great help. Her and her team are great. Quote: Originally Posted by Jemma woohoo...many emails later U get a email from Paloma saying Eugenia will be our WC! is she ok ??????? So from now on, do I still email the same email address but put it for Eugenia in the 'subject' ?? I would also be very interested in Arrecife prices/packages ! [email protected]

Sunshine, Jemma and Wcook, I send the photo packages to you, but Wcook, it did not go through to you..? either your mail box is too full, or maybe you wrote youe email down wrong? let me know if you still need it.

Ya the whole, not accepting US dollars is BS. In fact many vendors will only accept US dollars. I used Fernando to do my make up and hair (he did an amazing job) and he would only accept US dollars. For all of the stores in Playa del Carmen, you would actually get a better deal if you paid in US dollars vs Pesos (if you are Canadian at least), cause they would rip you iff in the exchange. The only place that we found it a better deal to pay in pesos was on the island of Isla Mujeres.

Well we have been back from our wedding for a few weeks now, so yes I know I owe you all a review! It is coming I promise, but overall I can tell you we LOVED Euginia and LOVED our wedding. More to come soon. I did just want to write a quick warning to anyone that was recently at the Akumal Resort or heading there soon. We and many of our guests were the victims or Fraud theft after using the ATM in the main Akumal lobby. The ATM had a tracking device and they copied our bank cards and took out thousands yesterday. So if you were there recently (Tara - Abbie23) check you accounts if you used that machine! I emailed the resort to tell them too.

well ladies, I leave for GBP in 12 hours!!! I cannot believe how fast it got here.....ya, ya I know they all say that. Any way thank you to all of you past brides for all of the advice and info. Honestly I got more info on her than the resort website and wedding planner. The WP are basically just order takers. For all of you future brides, I am having the Akumal hamock beach ceremony and then pool side dinner and dance so I can let you know when I get back how it all works and what it costs. I will be back in two weeks. We are having our honeymoon at the Eldorado Royal Casita Suites. .......here we go.....wish me luck!!

hmm, I think I will continue my search for a "real" looking fake one. The real ones look so nice, but ya, I figured they would fade fast! lol Thanks for the feedback.

Hey KRama, did you use a real flower for your hair, or a fake one? I want to wear a flower in my hair too, but I was afraid that a real one would wilt in the heat. Your's looks great though! What did you use?

That is great to know. Thank you. I have heard that Eugenia is really good, and I know they are super busy. Each coordinator does something like 3 or 4 weddings a day this time of year, so you can imagine how many brides that have to work with and get back to. I am a wedding and event planner here in Vancouver, so I can sympathize! For anyone that had a pool side dinner, do you know how many chairs they typically put per table? I am wondering if it will fit 8ppl or 6ppl? I want to get the seating plan done before we go.

Well the count down is on ladies! 26 more days until we leave! Aaaahhhh! For those of you that got married at Akumal, did Eugenia set up your meeting time with you before you got there, or did she just leave you an appointment time at check in?? Like everyone else with their wedding planners, I emailed her a couple of weeks ago, but have not heard back yet. I can appreciate that they are really busy though. It seems to me that they need more wedding planners at this resort, or a few coordinators to at least answer emails!

I bought flameless candles for the tables, the fake ones that are battery powered. You get get really nice ones that flicker adn look real, and the will never blow out!

That would have been a smart thing to do, but none of my BM live near me so they just had their sizes taken by a seamstress. I ordered based on matching their measurements to the sizing chart on the site, but the dresses all ended up being really big. Better than too small at least, but now they all have to pay to get them taken in! So if you are deciding between two sizes for your girls, lean to the smaller size!

It is your wedding, and like anything in life, you cannot make everyone happy! I too experienced grief and stress from everyone in the family having an opinion: what date you should go, how much they will pay, where they want to stay etc. Just book what you want and accept the fact that you wont have everyone, but you will still have a great wedding. Do a reception when you get back home for those that missed it if you feel bad. But remember that you are inviting them to YOUR wedding, not putting on a party for them.

Hi Ladies, Some of you were talking about ordering dresses online, earlier in the thread. Just wanted to reoprt that I recieved my bridesmaid's dresses from dressforlessbridal.com, and I couldn't be happier. They are the really dress designer (or at least have the same quality) and Tony the owner of the store was so great. He calls you to let you know he recieved the order, and calls you again to let your know when they ship. He was so helpful. It really puts your mind at ease when you are ordering from a website. Much, better than houseofbrides.com

I ordered one of my bridesmaids dresses from Houseofbrides.com. It was a dessy dress, and it was about $100 cheaper than the store as well. It took a lot longer than they quoted me, and it was not the same quality...definitely a nock off. Don't get me wrong the quality was still alright, I am happy with it, but you can tell fromn the seems and suck that it is not actually Dessy. Because it was taking so long, I looked into another online store for the rest of my bridesmaid dresses and heard good things about dressforlessbridal.com. The customer service is definitely a lot better, and the price was about the same as houseofbrides. I am still waiting for the dresses to arrive though so I can't speak for the quality. Although, the guy I spoke with on the phone assured me they were real Dessy dresses. I'll keep you posted.

I do remember the disco not opening until midnight, but I seem to remember it staying open until. 230 at least. It has been 2 years since I've been to the resort so things may have changed though

My wedding coordinator is Eugenia, I believe she does all of the weddings at Akumal. They didn't offer any other outdoor reception sites, but to be honest I had already done so much research that I just told her what I wanted, so she didn't have a chance to offer. So you should ask, they may have. I haven't heard of any other brides having a band, but if price is not problem, I am sure it is possible. They do offer a mariachi band as an option for the ceremony. At the Tulum side of the resort, they do have a band that plays in the lobby bar, the bar is an open air bar (no walls) and I have heard of wedding parties going there for the reception if you are a small group. It is a fun atmosphere there, but it is not private. They have a resort florist, so yes you can send them photos and see if they have what you are looking for. Lots of brides have been happy with the resort DJ, I am using DJ Bob, also lots of good feedback. Hope this helps Nikki

Angie1017, Your wedding photos look beautiful! Congratulations! We have the same wedding colors (as do 80% of the brides! lol) and I noticed in one of the photos that you have a pink colored sparkling wine. what did you put in the wine to make it this color? did you bring something with you, so did the resort do it? Thanks Nikki

I am getting married on the Akumal Hammock beach. I've heard great things and all the photos I've seen from the other brides look beautiful. You can see the pictures further back in this thread. There is also a dock at the Akumal side where you can have the ceremony, but it is small, so it doesn't hold too many ppl. I am paying extra to have the reception, dinner and dance poolside. I was quoted $1015 for 30ppl for the dinner which includes three hours of bar, then you have to pay a rate per person, per hour for the extra 2 hours or however long. The Bar rate depends on what alcohol selection you choose. The you will also have to hire a DJ which can be anywhere from $400 - $600 depending on whether you go with the resort DJ or an out side one. I am using DJ Bob who is $600, but he comes highly recommended. DJ's seem to be the only outside contractor that they will let you bring in. You have to use the resort Photographer, no option there. But, they have also received good reviews on this forum. As for booking the trip & rooms, I went through a travel agency (one that actually specializes in destination weddings). That way we are guaranteed to have all of us on the same flight, and booked into the same area of the resort (we booked the Royal Golden Club). I just thought if everyone books independently, you may arrive on different flights, days etc. TA can also give you a deal where if you book XX number of ppl that you get one person (ie bride or groom) free. As for room upgrade, it is a gamble if they have the availability or not. I wanted to ensure a nice room, so we booked in the Royal Golden Club. I don't know if there are perhaps nicer suites in the Royal Golden side as well, or if they are all the same, but I guess I will find out. I can let you know in April!

I have a questions for those of you who have recently been there. What are each of the at Akumal? I was originally wanting to have our "rehearsal" dinner at Arlequin restaurant, but am now remembering hearing someone say that the restaurant is just a sectioned of part of the buffet room made into a restaurant at night. Is this correct? I want a nice atmosphere for us. Any recommendations?

For DJ Bob it is $400 for a 2 hour reception or $600 for a dinner and dance. For the dinner and dance you can use his mic and he will also play dinner music.

I am hiring DJ Bob, and he said that he always brings lights with him to this resort. I mentioned to to Euginia before that I was hiring him, and she said that was fine. She didn't mention anything about him not being allowed to bring his lights. I think it just means that they will not provide the hotel lights for an outside contractor, but they can bring their own.

Just wanted to add an update, it in case any new comers come are looking into dress website info. I received the dress from HOB....finally.... and the dress is actually pretty good. I don't think that it is actually made by the brand name it advertises as the quality is a bit off, but it is still pretty good. Regardless I already ordered the other three dresses from dressforlessbridal, so hopefully those dresses will be good too. The customer service from dressforlessbridal is already sooooo much better. Tony the owner calls you to confirm that he got your order and give you a delivery date, and it will definitely be here in time! would definitely recommend dressforlessbridal already!