CanadianKim

The ceremony is done in spanish by the judge(i think that's what they are called..) and someone translates it. For us the wedding coordinators assistant did the translating. At the end you get a written copy of it in english to keep. You will get this when you meet up with your coordinator a day or so after the wedding.

Not sure if you are in the US or Canada or where you are at, but I can tell you how it worked in Canada for me. We got legally married there back on November 18, 2010. It took about 3 months to get the certificate in the mail. It has to be translated to english by a certified translator. If you happen to live in BC Canada the website for transators is stibc.org. You will need the translated copy to get everything changed over. I thought that when I received the certificate it would have already been translated. I think it cost $50 to get the document translated. All of the other legal paperwork as far as getting married at the resort is pretty straight forward, and they take care of it all. Let me know if you have any other questions!

I agree about the veil. I got married on the beach at the hammock location and my veil was in my face the whole time. Allthough our weather wasnt the greatest because it was pretty windy and raining as well. The veil was nice in pictures though! But it really did get in the way for the ceremony. I was having to keep pushing it back behind me constantly.

Thanks! Glad I could help. Ya I'm from Vancouver! Its hard to research all the legal stuff online. I read a bunch of different stuff and got confused and worried that i wasn't going to have everything needed. In the end all we did for the legal work was fill out a document(Microsoft word file) that the coordinator sent over. This had basic info such as full names and address and parents names and witness's and all that. Basic info really. Then we just e ailed that back to her. Then we of course needed passports for us as well as our four witnesses. We brought our birth certificates but didn't end up needing them. You meet with the wedding coordinator the day after you get there and she makes copies of everyone's passports and you go to the clinic which is in the resort at the hacienda and get your blood tests. That's all the legal work that's involved in Mexico anyways. When you get back to Canada in order to get your name changed turned out to be more work then I thought but not the end of the world. You have to wait the roughly three months for the legal copy of the marriage certificate and then it has to be translated by a certified translator before you can change anything over. We've been married just over four months now and I have most of my ID changed to my new name.

We did the private cocktail party and it didnt cost that much. We decided to do 2 hours only from 7:30-9:30 just to save the $300 or so and figured the two hours would be enough since you can just go hang out at the bars or go to the hacienda afterwards. We also chose the cheapest drink option which was for the 2 hours a total of $8 per person(5$ for the first hour and $3 for the second). Then the DJ was $190/hr. The reason it costs more for the booze even though it's all inclusive is because you get a private bartender/bar. We ended up getting any type of booze we wanted. We had rum, tequila, margaritas, beer. Pretty much anything you asked for. Just make sure to tip the bartender. If you were to do the two hours and the cheap cocktails it would only be about $700 really. Foods not really necessary because you go there right from dinner and you can always grab food after from the snack bar if your hungry. I definetly think the private cockatil party is worth it especially if you want to do the dances and speaches and all that. It's more private. Quote: Originally Posted by Saucy Friend Hi Jemma! I'm from Canada (British Columbia)- you? I can tell you the price Eugenia quoted me: A private cocktail after the dinner beside the pool or at the Coba room (with air conditioning) from 7:30 pm to 10:30 pm, as it is private it will have the following cost: DJ 190USD + tax per hour and he may play only your music (bring it on IPOD or CD) or mix it with the one that he has or only play his music. For drinks you have the following options: National Bar: Beer, Rum, Vodka, Tequila, Cocktails, Gin, Whisky 17US$/pers/hour extra hour: 12 US$/pers International Bar: Beer, Tequila, Rum, Vodka Absolute, Whisky JW, Chivas Regal, Cutty Sark, Cocktails, Gin Beefeater, wine of the house, sparkling wine 24 USD/pers/hour extra hour: 18 US$/pers Special Cocktails: Beer, Piña Colada Cocktail, Margarita Cocktail & Sparkling Wine 5 USD/per/hour extra hour: 3 US$/pers CANAPES Mixed Canapes 5 pieces 8 USD/ person Mixed Deluxe Canapes 10 pieces 10 USD/person 1) we are going all inclusive, so why should we pay extra for booze? 2) If the DJ is going to play off my iPod, why the heck is it $190 USD per hour! This seems insane! I am trying to find out from her what the options are. I don't mind hanging out with everybody at the resort~~ I'm very social anyway, and think it would be hilarious to dance with random guests. I just want to have a first dance, the cheezy father/daughter, mother/son dances, etc... and I would like to have speeches where we can thank our guests for coming etc. I wonder if we do this at dinner? I wouldn't paying a bit extra, but this would be like $2500 extra, since we have 32 guests. Can anyone share thoughts on what they have done? I am trying to look through the backlog of posts on here.... which are super helpful btw!

We had our dinner at the Dolce Vita. They are actually both in the same building beside eachother so they have the same view pretty much. They are both looking out towards the pool, which is where the poolside reception would be if you are having that. Hope this helps!

We had Eugenia back in November and I believe she had in an email told me that she would leave a note at check in as to what time we would be meeting with her the next day. We met with her at 1 the next day and all went smoothly so I would say don't worry about it.

Hey I just received my marriage certificate as well. I went to ICBC(BC Drivers licensing) to change my name on my licence and the lady told me I have to get it translated, as well as have the translater complete a form that they gave me. I would think Ontario might require the same but they may be more lenient. Its going to cost me $50 and is only taking a few days so not a huge deal just kind of sucks. Hope this helps!

We did the legal ceremony, including the blood work and all the witnesses. We just received our legal certificate in the mail on Friday(just under 3 months after). I thought that it was going to be translated and that's all I would need but I was sadly wrong. I went to go change my name on my drivers licence and they told me it has to be translated and they have to fill out a form as well. Not sure what is required for other documents such as passport, SIN etc. Ive contacted a translater who is in the process of translating the certificate(costs $50) and then hopefully that will be it and it won't have to be notarized or anything. I'll keep you posted and let you know how it goes, and if there are any more issues. I really didnt think it was even having to be translated so that's kind of dissapointing but it doesn't seem to be too much hassle. Would have been nice to know before hand for sure.

We just did the basic setup but added the flour petals on the tables...otherwise there would be nothing on them. My husband did his speach here, we had a small group of 20 people so they were all pretty close and the restaurant wasn't super busy so it worked out good.

We actually had 4 witnesses(2 each). The others were our friends. cdlillad: I think it's usually pretty windy...never really that calm. During our wedding it was really windy and rainy and starting to storm. My veil was getting in my face, it was pretty crazy! Id say count on wind more than not.

Babyshaws - They have to be there 4 days prior...I dont really think there are any exceptions. You meet with the coordinator usually the day after you get there and she makes copies of passports. Immediate family is fine for witnesses. We used my brother and my husband used his brother. Maybe just double check with your coordinator and see if the two days is an issue and if so you may have to use family members.

dfranklin - Heres pictures of the Akumal beach location and the mariachi band. The middle picture was before they put our flowers at the table. It's just the basic setup though plus the flowers in the sand.

Quote:Originally Posted by kat15.4.11 Hi just a question about La Hacienda shops/nightclub that are within the Gran Bahia resort, I'm guessing that entry to the nightclub is free, all inclusive drinks? Id read a review which stated $15 but my wedding coordinator didn't say that? Were staying at the Coba x  The nightclub is free but it's only open from 12midnigtpht to 230am I think. There's a sports bar there as well with outside seating which is open earlier. They also have live entertainment but I'm not sure if thats every night. The $15 is probably for the Mexican fiesta night which is every Thursday at the hacienda. I think it was actually 16$ just depends on the exchange rate I guess.

 We had the mariachi band for our ceremony. They actually started off by playing the wedding march when I was walking down the "aisle". It wasn't planned and Eugenia actually asked me if I wanted that just beforehand so I went with it. It was really neat and everyone really liked it. They stopped for the ceremony and then played afterwards for our toast. It made for great pictures too! They definitely made our wedding more special and it's something everyone will remember. Definitely recommend it!

We booked through a group Air Transat Royal Golden section in the Akumal and it was about $1560 per person. We stayed two weeks and it was about $2200 Canadian.

Hey! I got married November 18th last year and still havent received it yet...its been just over two months now though but I was hoping to get it sooner than 3 months. I figure maybe they tell you three just to be safe so that you arent bugging them for it. Now I'm getting worried since you didnt receive yours within the three months! Hope it shows up soon!

We had our dinner at Dolce Vita in November. It was really good and everyone enjoyed the food. They set up the cake really nice and the staff was really good. If you like I can send you a copy of the menu options that they gave us to choose from. We had to choose two main courses because of the amount of people we had(20) but if you have over a certain amount you can only choose one main course. You also choose the appy and soup. I probably have the Frutos Del Mar menu saved somewhere to so let me know know email if youd like me to send you that as well. We didn't do a rehearsal...as we only had 20 people and didnt think it was necessary. The Tulum buffet seating area is larger and has a lot of larger tables, where as the Akumals isnt as big. We did a goodbye dinner there which was nice.

Were you planning on doing personalized maracas? If not and you have time before your wedding, you can buy them in playa del carmen. I think they were around $1.50 or so but if you were buying a ton you could talk them down for sure. Or if you wanted to personalize them I'm sure you could do so yourself after you receive them if you have time. I did personalized cherry blossom fans from weddingstar.com. Theyre not the cheapest but they were really nice and everyone really liked them. Its a good idea if your wedding is on the beach or an uncovered area, so that guests can keep cool. Looks like for pictures too! We also did personalized shot glasses that cost $3 each.

I just thought I'd let everyone know that's planning on going to the disco after their ceremony and dinner, that its only open 12-2:30 or 12-1:30. I cant remember but I do know it doesnt open until 12 midnight. But right near there at the Hacienda theres a sports bar where you can have drinks and we did see live entertainment(band and people dancing) one night. Not sure if this is every night either.

Hey I had 20 people including us and our cake was one level. We also skipped the dessert and just got a larger cake. We had champagne included with our package(2 bottles) and if we wanted more we could purchase more bottles. Two was plenty though as some people didn't drink.

You have to pay for the wedding package as well. I have the package prices and details for the legal ceremony options if you would like me to send that to you let me know. We just used a travel agent from Marlin travel and booked a group. She was great. You just get a quote and send it out to everyone and then they have a certain amount of time to book where the rate is valid(usually a two week time frame) and then they just contact the agent to book. You need a minimum of roughly 10 people to do a group booking. The basic package with Arrecife Studio for the $540US includes pictures of you getting ready in your room before the ceremony, pictures of the ceremony, group shots, and then a bride and groom session. We had the raspberry cake as we thought that was a little different and everyone really liked it. They did a nice setup around it on the table with napkin swans and flower petals as well. Beautiful pictures Angie! Congratulations!

I had Nestor as well and he was amazing. I think you can request someone but its not 100% guaranteed depending on their schedule. If you are just getting the photos included in the wedding package I think that it's just photos of the ceremony. I dont think they take the time to do photos afterwards with family and what not since its only 10 or so photos you are getting. I could be wrong though not quite sure because we booked the basic package $540USD which included 36 photos plus the 10 in our package. I definetly recommend this if you can afford it. Friends and family took a ton of photos but the photos they take are really really good quality and get really romantic and neat shots. We ended up buying more for a total of 87 photos since there were so many nice ones to choose from.

Hey! Just thought I'd point out that the florist isnt actually at the resort. They are in Playa del Carmen. I sent Eugenia a picture of what I wanted and asked her to have a sample ready for when I met with her to go over details. This cost $20 I think it was and was totaly worth it because at that point if you want to change anything you can rather than having them the day of and not liking them and being stuck with it. It was just a smaller size sample of the actual bouqet.

I actually had Perla do my hair as well, and I was pretty impressed in the end as well! We had Nestor as well. He was really good, worked around the rain quite well too! We did the full size cake instead of the dessert. It was really good. It was just plain white but we brought a cake topper and got flowers put on it as well. I would suggest this over the other dessert because you could have that any other night. Quote: Originally Posted by thaodao Hi girls, Sorry I've been MIA lately- school has been really hectic. Christi, I had my hair done by Perla at the Akumal spa and couldn't have been more happy! It was only $85 and my hair looked gorgeous.... PM me. I'll send you a pic... As for the wedding cake, it was only one tier and nothing special, but to tell you the truth, no one missed it- in fact, not one person had a slice, we were too busy dancing during the reception. We used the resort photographers Juan and Nestor. Everyone who has seen them are astounded by how beautiful they are! I spent $2500 on photos and they are DEFINITELY worth it! Again, I'd be happy to send pics your way. Good luck girls.... let me know if you need anything else.... Thao