nicitica

I was married in Akumal at Casa Romero.  Jennifer Smith was my coordinator. Here is the email of the villa where our wedding was held. I reviewed them under villas in Riviera Maya corridor. And if you look at my profile you will see my wedding album. It was amazing and everything was perfect. I had 102 guests and it was not very expensive either!! 

Enjoy planning your amazing day!  info@weddingsakumal.com

If any of you lovely ladies have been to Buenos Aires, we'd love some hotel recommendations and anything else! So far I have booked lodging in the Iguazu Falls, an Estancia in the foothills of the Andes and a posada just outside of Mendoza.  But we have yet to book lodging in Buenos Aires.  Also, I would like to buy some great leather goods and will appreciate any additional info and advice.

 

I'd be happy to return the favor if I can provide any info to you... I've traveled a lot through the Mayan Riviera (Tulum, Cancun, Akumal, Playa, all of the area ruins, etc), Belize (jungle and island), Costa Rica (all over the country), Brazil, Italy (Florence, greater Tuscany & Rome), Greece (Santorini & Athens), California (San Fran, Santa Barbara and Santa Ynez), South Lake Tahoe, San Antonio TX, Clearwater Beach  FL and I live in Chicago. 

 

Thanks in advance for any input. We're going for 2 weeks in late December. 

Congratulations!! Secrets Maroma is beautiful! I was not married there, but I visited on a one day pass. I loved the SPA and all of the food! They just keep feeding you by the pool... it's crazy! 

I did not pay a lot of money for my photography and I am 110% satisfied with my photos. Plus, my main photographer is Mexican and speaks Spanish which came in handy! 

I was honestly surprised at some of the quotes I received while planning my wedding in Mexico. I live in Chicago which is a pretty expensive city and some of the prices in Mexico were higher than what I was quoted here (higher by $1000-$2,000).  I agree that you should look at their work, get recommendations from other brides and go with what makes you feel comfortable. However, just because someone charges over $5,000 (and I consider this a good chunk of cashola!)  does not mean you will necessarily be happier with that choice. I personally would not trust the resorts' photographer unless you have seen the work and are truly happy with it!  You will look beautiful and Im sure all will be perfect for you!

I used DJ Bob and I paid him $600 total which I believe included a tip. I think he stayed 2 extra hours and didn't charge anything more. And he was awesome!!! Everyone danced the entire evening. I would recommend him to anyone. He's a nice guy too. He said that he never saw a party like ours. We had 102 guests and everyone stayed until 1am!! Even my husbands 82 year old Grandma was there until the very end. DJ Bob never complained and really got into it. He even allowed my friend to use his mic to rap to a dirty song (with our permission of course). It was a wild party and he kept it going just like we wanted him to.  Also, I don't think $500-$600 is expensive when you know you can count on him! 

Our wedding cake was also done by Turtle Bay Cafe.  I know Jenn has been traveling home to California and also very busy with weddings, so she is not always quick to respond.  Also, she only needs to know what sort of cake you want about a week in advance, so don't sweat it (I know that's easier said than done).  I honestly decided my wedding cake while I was in Akumal the week of our wedding! And never thought of a cake topper or anything... luckily my aunt bought an adorable little bride and groom with dog (day of the dead style). It was so perfect for a little cake topper so I handed it to Jenn and she used it perfectly!  Try calling her cell phone or emailing her directly. Our cake was tres leches. I never tasted it, but everyone said it was delicious! 

This makes me want to go back now!!! It's already starting to get a bit chilly in Chicago and I miss Akumal. May seems like ages ago! Our welcome dinner was at Lol-ha! 

Congrats! I was married one week after you in Akumal Mexico. 

I have all of my photos uploaded to Shutterfly which made it very easy for me to create this guestbook for our wedding.  We used the boarding pass Save the date, an awesome passport wedding invite and continued with the "travel/passport stamp" idea for our guestbook and even table "numbers".   Here is a link to the guestbook which only cost me $40 since I got 30% discount and Free shipping! What a steal and it was a huge hit.  You should be able to click on my shared link below to see it. 

 

http://share.shutterfly.com/share/received/welcome.sfly?fid=42ac51347f59cb4ff12f12eb75ef82b5&sid=8AYuXDZozcNGkH

 

For our Table numbers at the reception we printed photos from each of the cities we've traveled to together (Rome Italy, Santorini Greece, Clearwater beach FL, etc...  We had a photo of us in the destination on each table and this corresponded with the guests adorable little favors which doubled as placecards. I'll try to make another post with photos of everything since it turned out cute. 

I agree with the other responses.... choose wisely! I have heard horror stories. One of my friends married in Cancun never received their album. Luckily they got the disc of pictures and my best friend is a photog and offered to create an album for them at cost.  Since my friend is a wedding photog I hired her assistant to photograph our wedding, reception and our TTD the following day. This was MUCH cheaper than the photographers I scouted out in the Riviera Maya. And I knew I wouldn't be disappointed which was more important. I paid a total of $1800 which included airfare and hotel, and have access to all of the raw files which is priceless!  Photos are super important and I have yet to go through all of ours,  but I was also not willing to pay upwards of $5,000 for one day! So, do your homework, get referrals... do not use someone that has received a horrible review on this forum. The brides are very honest which is so helpful! Good luck to you and happy planning! 

Thank you. My girlfriend fixed my hair for me and I did my own makeup. I loved that I looked like myself. 

How is your Akumal planning going? Congrats on your engagement. My Akumal wedding was 5.29.10 so I'm still on a bit of a wedding high. Feel free to send me a private message if you need assistance.

Nicole

Ladies, 

Just want to check in. Wedding went off with out a hitch and it was amazing! 

I've posted a few pics to our website and I'd love to see yours as well!

www.jasinandnicole.com

More photos online www.jasinandnicole.com

Getting super excited now. Cannot believe we leave for Mexico THIS Sunday! wow.

Thank you all!! I think you are right. I am going to skip the programs, menus, drink menus etc. I'll get my flower order going and then just relax (get my hair died, buy makeup, mani-pedi, etc..) there is still a lot of primping isn't there? Thanks ladies!!

I hope it was good because we ordered a Tres Leches cake for our wedding in two weeks from Turtle Bay.

You guys, since Paul Simon released the Surprise album I have been in love with that song. I am a HUGE Paul Simin song, but my father is not. ( I asked him to listen to it and he really didn't like it. He likes "Welcome to my world" which is also a great song, but super slow. The others he and my mom are telling me are soooo cheesy I could cry. Andrew, I hope you get to dance w/ your daughter to Paul Simon someday. how sweet you are.

I was planning on using this as a "Welcome to Mexico" for their welcome bags, but I decided to print and send them in advance since everyone had so many questions, and obviously reading our website is too troublesome ) So, I included a packing list and some general info. I got this template from one of you amazing ladies - so thank you!! I used most of it and added the pack list in place of the itinerary. I've attached it here in case any of you will find it useful. I should probably now change the pack list to itinerary and print more copies for the welcome bags... I just realized that would be a good idea. )

brochure template.doc

Anyone looking to sell their led lantern lights? If they are working I am interested. I have a lot of white paper lanterns in different sizes. I don't NEED to illuminate them, but it would be cool.

I got a starfish that looks exactly like that at the Swarovski Outlet store. It was a free gift for spending over $100, but that was in March. I got two of them. One I gave to my flower girl for her to pin on her dress. I was trying to figure out what to do with the second one and the bouquet idea is great. Thank you!

Any ideas for a non-cheesy daddy-daughter dance song? I'd love to hear fresh ideas. Our First dance song is "something special to me" by George Strait. My fiance picked it... so sweet.

Only 17 days until our wedding. and we depart for Akumal next Sunday. Holy crap I have a lot to do. Any ideas on signature cocktails? Do you think I should type up a menu? (we are buying our own liquor). Also, is it necessary for a program? Can I skip that? I still need to create table numbers, select flowers, etc. I don't know what will look nice and I'm feeling overwhelmed. I also need to give me videographer a cd with a few songs for the video. I'd love input on all of these items. And we have 104 guests total including us. I think we are going to take over Akumal - this is crazy! Please help you lovely ladies!

HI. not sure where you're guests will be but I got a quote from a nice catamaran out of Puerto aventuras. $1300 for the charter up to 60 or 80 people I think, sunset cruise. WE ended up doing a 4 hour day snorkel trip for about $70 per person includes steak or lobster lunch and open bar. here is the link if you are interested in inquiring. DJ Bob gave me this company name if they ask. (so he can get credit) :::::::::: CATAMAYA ::::::::::