simba1234

I need your opinions...My wedding is in April 23, 2010 and I just ordered my inviations and should be getting them before Thanksgiving. I have a real dilemma about WHEN to actually send them out. Part of me wants to send them out BEFORE the Christmas/New Year's holidays so that people can budget accordingly. Another part of me wants to send them out after all the holiday craze is over & done with so that the invitations don't get lost in the holiday shuffle but then I'm cutting it really close. What has everyone else done? What do you think I should do - mail them out right after Thanksgiving, before christmas or just wait until January?

I'm getting married at the Catholic chapel inside Gran Caribe Real but I'm having an outdoor reception at Le Meridien. I'm going to ask my WC at Le Meridien because she's been so helpful thusfar that I know she'll be able to help me out with this. I'm also going down to Cancun in the next month so hopefully I can find someone during my trip. I'll let you know what I find out. My fiance is SO excited about this idea! I know all the guys will love it.

I'm going to have a cigar bar at my wedding also I just haven't really looked into it yet because I've been working on other wedding stuff. I heard you only have to pay for the cigars (not the cigar roller's time). I'm going to ask my WC if she has any recommendations/references. BTW - I'm getting married the same day you are! April 23, 2010

I'm latin and so is my FI but he doesn't know how to dance salsa I have six months to teach him a choreographed routine. I want to dance to Marc Anthony's "Tu Amor Me Hace Bien"... that song has the MOST beautiful love lyrics ever, really fun and emotional all at once!

Same here...I signed up, paid the $50 deposit and ended up getting a MUCH, MUCH better deal on my own with a ton of extra perks and freebies thrown in that destination weddings wasn't able to get me. Destinationwedding charged me twice as much for half the stuff. I was able to get a hotel rate on my own for half the price and in addition I also got a free welcome reception with open bar for ALL guests, upgrade to a suite, large discounts on the spa, a couple of FREE ROOMS for guests and a bunch of other freebies and extras that destinationwedding didn't include in their quote. They were also not very responsive. Another thing that bothered me was that they didn't take direction... I told them I wanted a hotel in a certain area & price range and they sent me something completely different. It wasn't worth the hassle. I preferred to lose the $50 deposit than deal with them.

Quote: Originally Posted by Trukita Hello, I am also looking into the Guadalupe Chapel.....but not sure if they can let everyone in the chapel even though we would not stay at any "Real" resort. I am already in contact with the parish in cancun but the hotel has to get back to me if this is even a possibility. The wedding coordinators usually take a long time in any part in Latin America its a laid back attitude there and you pretty much have to stalk them and who care's if they get annoyed....I mean its our wedding day and its their job to take care of us...So for the brides out there that feel bad about stalking, don't feel bad that's the only way you will get results quicker. But its so worth it in the end to have everything just right and at such a beautiful location. Yes they will let you have your ceremony there. I'm getting married there in April and - I'm not staying at any Real resorts and neither are any of my guests. I'm not even having my reception there. They do require that you have at least one event there other than the ceremony since you are not hotel guests. For example you can have the cocktail hour, reception or rehearsal dinner...you just have to negotiate that with the WC. I'm only having the rehearsal dinner there but they originally wanted me to have the cocktail or reception. I'm also sure the prices are a little higher than they would be if you were a guest but I didn't think it was too bad. Definetly worth it in my opinion.

Yeah, I agree. I think it will be 100% worth the effort. i had a few frustrations early on in the process but I just kept being persistent because this is without a doubt my dream ceremony location. I'm so excited about it and have no problem stalking until I get answers. They're on a different wave lenght in MX and don't have the same sense of urgency we do. I'm a New Yorker so I'm super fast paced and expect answers immediately. The responsiveness from the WC has gotten WAY better the last couple of days. I think that as I speak to her more & more and build a relationship she has been a lot more responsive and helpful. I wouldn't dismiss this place based on our complaints I think it will be worth every penny & every single frustration I had to deal with in the beginning.

when I started wedding planning I didn't even know what COUNTRY I wanted to get married in:) Talk about overwhelming...first I had to narrow it down to one country and then to a resort. So what I did was research resorts online that looked nice & had good ratings(i.e. orbitz, hotels.com, tripadvisor.com) and I went to each website and requested a proposal and pictures. Once I got proposals, I created a spreadsheet where I listed all my favorite hotels along with prices and pros & cons for each. Then I compared each one until I narrowed it down to one choice. I'm so happy & in love with my choices and I think it's because I know that weighed all my options very carefully so there are no regrets. It was very overwhelming to think about until I got it all down on paper. Try a spreadsheet...i think once you get everything out of your head and down on paper it will feel less overwhelming. Good luck!

Tdaigz - I've literally been calling a million times until they have no choice but to answer or call me back. I just buy a $2 calling card which gives me about 2 hours worth of calling time and then I call as many times as necessary. The WP at Gran caribe isn't going to give you much info about the catholic requirements. You need to contact the parish in MX to find out what they require. They told me I needed the following: A letter from my local parish in the US stating that they authorize a catholic ceremony in Cancun, MX. The letter should include the following info: Where you're getting married (Cancun, MX), the ceremony location (Our Lady of Guadalupe Chapel in Gran Caribe Real), The date & time of the ceremony, and the date of your baptism, communion and confirmation. The letter needs to have an official seal of the catholic church and it should be addressed to "Luis Alberto Chauvarria". They need that letter emailed/faxed to the church in Cancun one month before the wedding. You should call just to triple check because I've heard different dates thrown around. I'm going to try to send mine at least two months before to be safe. Then you need to bring the original letter when you fly into Cancun a few days before the ceremony. When I called the church in Cancun, they told me that the ONLY thing they need is this letter but I'm going to also bring copies of my communion, confirmation & Baptism certificates just to be safe. If your fiance is part of a different church then he will need to go through the same process with his church unless your priest is willing to put both of your informations in the same letter. My fiance lives in brooklyn & I live in manhattan so he needs to get a letter from the church in his jurisdiction. My church said they won't include him in my letter. I called my church in the states yesterday and they told me that in order to give me that letter authorizing the marriage, I need to bring in my birth certificate, baptism, communion and confirmation certificates. They will then give me the letter and information on when/where to take the precana classes (premarital counseling). The email to the church in Cancun is [email protected] The contact there is Lupita Ramos and her phone is 011-52-998-849-5035. She was really responsive and returned my email within a day. I followed up with a phone call just to triple check the requirements. I know that's a lot of info:) I hope it helps...I know how frustrating the process is when they don't get back to you. I'm not having my reception at Gran Caribe. I had already fallen in love with a reception venue somewhere else but they don't hold catholic ceremonies so I decided to have the ceremony in Gran Caribe and the reception elswhere. I'm glad I went that route because my reception WC has been amazing, responsive and helpful - she's made it really easy for me. If I had to deal with Gran Caribe for the ceremoney AND reception I think i'd be a bridezilla right now:) Good luck & let me know if I can help with any other questions.

Quote: Originally Posted by tdaigz Hey Everyone!! We are planning our wedding here! In the process of trying to get all the information straight to get married at the waterfront catholic chapel! It's proving to be a little difficult to get answers from the wedding coordinators! We have our deposit down - but have been instructed to contact the church directly to no answers. Our wedding date is April 27th 2010 - deposits are down etc.. Has anyone else been through this process? Any hints/tips when dealing with the wedding coordinators and the church?? I'm planning to get married in the chapel on April 23, 2010 so just a few days before you:) It's been an extremely frustrating process. They are horrible at getting back to me and won't even confirm a time. I have the deposit down also. I have just literally stalked them to get answers What do you need to know? Do you have the email of the church contact? Did they tell you which documents you need? You have to get a letter from your local parish stating that they authorize a catholic ceremony in Mexico. Let me know if there's anything I can answer.

I'm having my wedding reception at Le Meridien in April 2010 and I'm SOO EXCITED! I fell in love with this place the minute I saw it and the wedding coordinator at the hotel has been absolutely AMAZING and nothing short of it!! She's so helpful, super, super friendly and flexible. She's always available, gets back to me with answers to all my questions immediately (literally within the hour). She's so awesome I can't rave enough, she's made this process so easy for me. I haven't gone down to visit but I'm going to put my deposit even before I go just to make sure I secure my day. Jenny - Did you already have your wedding? How was it?

Where are you getting married? My hotel recommended Mayan Sound also but I can't find any info on them either.

Quote: Originally Posted by DJMannia Hello Simba, Our Dj´s play all genre of music on the basis of your music taste or if you want they can play just one genre , is your wedding and we want you enjoy the most Awesome! Thanks for answering me

Can anyone list the type of music he plays Hip Hop, dance, techno, spanish, etc What genre of music?

Is anyone planning a rehearsal dinner outside of your resort? Any suggestions for good, affordable restaurants in Cancun- preferably in the hotel zone?

My cousins got married in PV and they flew down Rudy Arpia to do their photography. They got a really reasonable price and their pictures are simple amazing! I really, really love him and wish I could use him for my wedding. I just don't want to have the same exact pics except I don't want to use the same exact photographer because I want to be somewhat original:) He went to PV for 3 days and covered the rehearsal dinner, the ENTIRE wedding (from pre-ceremony all the way to the very end of the reception) and a day after trash the dress session. Beautiful pictures, check out his blog.. Los Angeles Wedding Photography, Orange County Wedding Photography, Pasadena Photographer

My cousin got married in this church last year and it was really, really beautiful. The mass was a full hour. I don't know what you mean by private but there were people in the church who were not part of our family/friends.

Quote: Originally Posted by simba1234 If you go to this website you can check out historical weather for your location. It's pretty awesome because you can enter your exact wedding date and look at how the weather has been on that date for like the last 13 years. They even break it down by each hour of the day and tell you everything from the weather to humidity, wind gusts, precipitation, etc. Weather History & Data Archive : Weather Underground sorry for some reason the link didn't post the first time. Here it is: Weather History & Data Archive : Weather Underground

If you go to this website you can check out historical weather for your location. It's pretty awesome because you can enter your exact wedding date and look at how the weather has been on that date for like the last 13 years. They even break it down by each hour of the day and tell you everything from the weather to humidity, wind gusts, precipitation, etc. Weather History & Data Archive : Weather Underground

If you go to this website you can check out historical weather for your location. It's pretty awesome because you can enter your exact wedding date and look at how the weather has been on that date for like the last 13 years. They even break it down by each hour of the day and tell you everything from the weather to humidity, wind gusts, precipitation, etc. Weather History & Data Archive : Weather Underground

This is so awesome. Thanks for sharing!!

Quote: Originally Posted by kvataj30 Have you looked into the Gran Caribe? They have a chapel which is surrounded by glass so your views are completely of the ocean. They provide you with a english speaking priest and it's the next best thing to a gazebo. I was just there last week to look at it and it's beautiful. I have pics I can show you if your interested...just send me your e-mail and I'll forward them to you. Also check out Real Resorts Mexico|Real Resorts Cancun| Real Resorts Playa del Carmen|Luxury Hotels in Mexico and click on weddings. They have some pics there also. I just pm'd you with questions and my email address. I'm so excited - that place is awesome!! Thank you so much for telling me about it. I'm praying they're available on my date:)

Has anyone had a catholic cermony in Cancun? Where did you do it? Was it in the church or do catholic priests EVER do ceremonies in gazebos or outside of the church? I really want to have a ceremony in a gazebo with an ocean view at sunset. My mom really would love me to have a catholic ceremony so I want to make her happy in that area but I don't love the idea of geting married inside a church. I feel like a catholic ceremony in a gazebo is a good compromise. I read online that the Marriott in the hotel zone is the only hotel authorized by the catholic church to perform catholic ceremonies in a gazebo. When I called them they told me they were still "negotiating" with the catholic church. Then I called back and they told me that I can do the ceremony in the gazebo but I have to get a priest on my own to agree to it. So now I'm confused and frustrated...has anyone else run into this? How in the world would I get a catholic priest to agree to that? I wouldn't even know where to start?

Quote: Originally Posted by J&MWedding where in PV did your sister in law get married! have fun planning! this forum makes the planning process much easier! They got married at a catholic church (I forget the name...I think it was called Our Lady of Guadalupe). The reception was outdoors at the NH Krystal. Everything was simply amazing and gorgeous.

I'm brand new to this forum so I apologize for the question...I'm just having a hard time finding a place on the forum that has a list of photographers? Can someone send me a direct link? Thanks!