Rmarino222

I have 10 1/2 months to go and finally feel like it's all real! I found my dress this weekend and am soooo excited about it. I have my first site visit to La Amada on the 27th and can't wait to finally see it in person! I'm heading down with my mom and sister for the site visit and we're doing the all-inclusive plan so that we can be sure to taste as much as we can and plan our menu around what we like. My finance and i have decided to do the all-inclusive for the week that we'll be there for wedding and i have a feeling that most of our guests will follow suit. for $80/person/day it's totally worth it. my friends and family do a lot of drinking and eating so i think that we'll easily get our monies worth. and since i think that most people will be doing the all-inclusive, i might just do open bar for beer and wine for the welcome dinner and reception since everyone can get other drinks with the all-inclusive if they want them. that's just a thought for now. we have decided on having the mariachi band during the cocktail hour. So far i've heard from 2 recent la amada brides that it was the best decision they had made and totall worth the money. One bride told me that she got the price down to $500, so i'm going to talk to Ileana about matching that price for me. kristine - the decor sounds amazing and i can't wait to talk to Gabi while i'm in mexico to see what my options are. the floating candles in the pool are amazing and i'm totally copying you on that! my bridesmaids are wearing fuschia (haven't found the dresses yet) and i'm having my mom and my future mom-in-law in navy and teal so your color scheme isn't too far off from mine. Hopefully you'll pass around some pics after the wedding! What time is everyone doing their ceremony? i really want mine to be while the sun is setting and then have the cocktail hour while it's getting dark near the pool. another thing i have on my list to talk to Ileana about! i'm putting my fiance in a dark grey suit with a light pink shirt and the groomsmen are all going to be in navy suits with light pink shirts. i saw a pic from another La Amada bride who did this (including the fuschia bridesmaid dresses) and it looks amazing!! im still thinking about what shoes the guys should wear. what is everyone else doing for shoes for the guys? Kristine - what did you decide on for the menu? and what is everyone doing for a cake? i've heard mixed things about the cakes there and just figured i'd see what you all were doing. i can't wait to see the place in person and meet Ileana face-to-face (and hopefully Gabi too, i still need to check that she's available that weekend) and then when i get home i'll probably start doing a lot more planning. i'm still in the beginning of the planning and would love to get some updates and ideas from the other la amada brides out there! happy planning to all!

Congrats on your engagement!!! I was in your position just a few months ago and ended up deciding on La Amada Hotel. I would highly recommend checking it out while you're down there. The hotel is new and modern, the rooms are really cheap and they just started an all-inclusive option for only $80 per person per day. And the all-inclusive is not mandatory. The location is remote, which was actually one of my reasons for choosing it. I wanted a place that was away from it all so we could all relax on the beach together and celebrate! The food at the hotel has only gotten incredible reviews, as well as the service. I actually chose the place site unseen and am going down at the end of January to finally see it in person. I've spoken to a few people that have been married there and they have nothing but great things to say about their experience. Good luck in your search!!

Happy Holidays to all the La Amada brides!!! I just booked a trip to go down the last week of January and i figure i can go over everything with Ileana when i'm down there. I'm putting everything on hold until i get down there and see the place with my own eyes. I'm sooooooo excited about seeing it in person. She did confirm with me that we are allowed to bring in our own alcohol. I really want to do a bonfire either the night before my reception or after. I"m going to meet with Gabi while i'm down there also, so she can show me all the possibilities.

Carla - i should have started that last reply with a big "CONGRATS".

We're doing a DJ instead of a band and are using DJ Mannia. I have read a TON of great reviews and have no doubts they will do a great job. If you are looking for a photographer, we are using Sascha Gluck (again, i've read great reviews and LOVE his blog). I recommend talking to Gabi from Planner 1 events since i think that is who the hotel usually works with and it might make things easier to just go straight to the source. Going straight thru Gabi might give you lower prices too. I got engaged 2 days before you so i'm still in the beginning phases too! One of my friends is a travel agent and she is working with the hotel to finalize the room block information. If you would like to contact her to help you out, just send me a PM and i'll give you her contract info. We are going down the first weekend in February for a site visit and to meet with Ileana, Gabi and hopefully my photographer while i'm there.

What kind of rates did you guys get for the room block? La Amada is being a little difficult and as of now is only giving me a $6 discount. Did any of you have problems getting them to give you a break for a group booking?

Thanks for all the input. I have decided to go with La Amada Hotel. The most important things for me was having good food, a smaller, more intimate setting and low room rates for the guests. La Amada has all of that and i'm soooo excited to start my planning.

I'm so excited! Heard back from Ileana last night and my date is being held and my room blocks are being negotiated!!! So, looks like i'll be getting married at La Amada Hotel on December 2, 2011!!!! Yay!!!!

I have another question...For the girls who are using outside vendors (like Planner 1 Events or Tropical Wedding Experts) - are you using them to do the table set-ups and ceremony set-ups, as well as the decorations and stuff, or are you using them in addition to the La Amada standard ceremony, cocktail hour and reception set-ups? I am eagerly waiting for Ileana's response so that i can go ahead and confirm my date with her!!!!!!

I'm soo happy to have found this thread because i am just starting my planning and it looks like all of you have already got a good handle on things!!! Thanks sooo much for the info! Right now i'm just waiting to hear back from Ileana and I'm almost positive that we're going to book La Amada. I absolutely LOVE the hotel and love that it's small and intimate. I really don't want to be at a hotel where i'm one in 20 brides there for the weekend. To the girls that mentioned bringing in their own liquor - did you confirm that it's ok? If so, any further information regarding that would be helpful. I would love to cut down the cost of the open bar by bringing in my own alcohol, i just want to make sure that i'll be saving enough for the hassle of doing it myself. Woktor had mentioned DJ Mannia and after looking at all the rave reviews, i think i want to use them. When i contacted them they told me to go through the hotel. Is DJ Mannia the company that La Amada uses? For photography i think i'm going with Sascha Gluck - is anyone using him? His blog is great and i saw a ton of great reviews on this site. Is anyone doing the bonfire on the beach? it seems like it would be so fun!

After reading through hundreds of posts I am so confused about whether or not to book my wedding at an all-inclusive resort. It seems to me that it costs a significant amount more for my guests to book at an all-inclusive. Looking at places like the Dream hotels, it will cost around $500 per person (for 4-5 nights) and that's not including airfare, where staying at a small boutique hotel (like La Amada) will only cost $170 per night and that can be divided up between how ever many people are staying in the room. Plus, it doesn't make sense to me why i would have my guests pay for an all-inclusive plan when i am going to be paying for the cocktail reception and dinner the day of my wedding ceremony, plus a dinner (or sunset cruise or something). And since breakfast is included with most hotels, it means the guests will only be laying out money for drinks during the day and lunch. Is it really that much more expensive when all is said and done to do a wedding at a hotel that is not all-inclusive? Am i missing something? HELP PLEASE, I'M SOOOO CONFUSED!!!

I have been reading through posts on this website for 2 weeks and am thrilled to have found this one. I'm in NYC and am recently engaged and am in the process of trying to figure out where to have my wedding on Dec. 2, 2011. I didn't realize how overwhelming it would be to find the right hotel. Right now La Amada is top on my list, i'm just a little nervous about the cost of everything. Would you girls mind giving me an idea of how much the ceremony/reception is costing you and what the rate of the rooms you got for your guests? I'm expecting to have around 40-50 guests.