linds0128

We just got back from our wedding down there, and I wanted to do a review for everyone before I forget all the details. It really was a fantastic place to get married, after our week there we stayed at a different resort in Playacar and am so happy that we had Grand Sirenis as our venue. It was a lot more private with no one except our guests around for the ceremony and the reception and the wedding coordinators were amazing!!! We had 100 guests and our wedding coordinator was Marcela, I had never heard of her from this blog and she was amazing!!!! Both her and Elizabeth were around on the wedding day to make sure everything ran smoothly. I know there's a couple people on here that mentioned how bad the communication was between the coordinators prior to leaving, I had experienced the same thing until 2-3 weeks before leaving, Marcela took over the emails and got back to me about everything either that day or the next. She was able to send me diagrams of the set up for the palapa, reserve us the rehearsal dinner, etc. I had also given her a welcome note that I had wanted to be given out when people checked in, she had no problem printing it up for me but we had people coming to both sides of the resort and they were arriving on different days so some people did get missed, it was ok though we just had to track them down. Our meeting with the wedding coordinators was the morning of the second day. It went through everything. I brought down quite a bit of stuff and they were great about just leaving it with them and they would take care of it all. There were fans for the chairs, seating cards, a candy bar, table numbers, our sand frame, our puzzle guestbook and the dvd for our screen show. Everything was kept in their office and set up perfectly the day of. Some of the extras we got from the meeting were: Palapa, projector screen, surf and turf menu (AMAZING!!!!), flower petal bags, center pieces for the tables and rental of the sound system. We opted to get 2 pick up carts to get people to and from the palapa because people were on both sides of the resort, it was an extra $100 but well worth it as the cart only fits 7 people at a time. The meeting did take a couple hours from our morning, but I felt great leaving it knowing that everything would be taken care of exactly how I wanted it to be. Wedding Day: I went to the spa with my mom which was the best decision I made, it was so relaxing and by the time I was done it was time to get ready! I had my hair and makeup done by one of my friends, but I did get my nail polish redone at the spa by Gero and she was great. My dress arrived from getting it steamed while i was still getting ready, and the flowers came about 15 minutes before we needed to leave. Everything did seem a bit rushed right before we left, but the carts had picked everyone else up so when we got there everything was on time. (which my husband was very happy about because of how hot it was!) I had the mariachi band play for our ceremony, so I was quite excited to hear them when I got out of the golf cart. You get dropped off behind the palapa so no one can see you until you come around the corner which is perfect for last minute adjustments. My hair flower didn't arrive until after the rest of the flowers so my friend put it in while we were waiting for everything to start. The minister was amazing, she was funny and light yet kept the ceremony focused on love and us. It was perfect. I had brought my own photographer friend down so I didnt want the resort guy there, unfortunately they said it would cause more of a fuss to not have him so he was there beside the minster which I kind of hated but what can you do. Once the ceremony was done instead of having a celebratory line he kept trying to get us to pose, thats where I finally told him 'thanks for coming but I want you to leave now' we picked out our 13 photos from him the next day and Im so happy I brought my friend for real photos! Right after the ceremony we did family formal pics while everyone else had champagne and snacks, I didn't try any but heard they were good. It was really hot so everyone was trying to find shade, the set up for the palapa took a bit longer than it was supposed to so people weren't allowed into it, when my husband went to check on what the delay was they were trying to put together out puzzle piece guest book.. so sweet, but the pieces were going to be handed out to guests to sign so not neccessary! Once that was figured out people were able to start finding their seats, and I was able to rip off the bottom of my dress!!!! If i can recommend anything it would be this: my dress was so hot it was fantastic to be able to take the bottom off and have a shorter dress. We had more of a formal reception with our friends as MCs, speeches and a slideshow movie, the whole time marcela and elizabeth were around making sure that all the food was delivered at the right time to the right people. For the food we choose the surf and turf but had some people who wanted the salmon or veg. On the name cards I put a different colored flower based on what people were eating and the servers were able to give them exactly what they wanted. The salad was ok, nothing great. The asparagus soup was awesome! and the Surf and turf was incredible, the cut of meat was fantastic and the size of lobster was a lot bigger than I thought it would be. it was all grilled behind the palapa so it was fresh and great portions. We didn't have dessert but had the cake instead. I had all each tier be a different flavour and they made it so big there was tons left over. It was really yummy, I thought the chocolate was the best. Our candy bar was a hit, I had brought down gummy candies (no chocolate) and sand buckets for the table but the girls made it look so much better, they added extra bins and put together some sample bags with ribbons, it looked fantastic. I did leave the buckets down there so for any future brides you can ask to use them! The dj from the disco had showed up and was blending our songs from our ipad. We didnt have to pay extra and he let us choose the music. After the dinner we had to take down tables to make room for a dance floor, there was about half of them taken down so people still had the option to sit at a table and put their drinks down. We headed to the disco afterwards where a lot of people didnt like the music selection and ended up leaving, but the dj got better as the night went on. After we got back to our room all of our things were back there, including 2 massive pieces of cake! and they did an amazing job in our room. I have nothing but good things to say about the wedding day, our week stay and the wedding coordinators. All of the staff were telling us that they have not had a wedding of that size down there and they pulled it off with no problems. I will post some pics when I can if anyone wants specific pictures let me know, I can email them to you.

it seems like a bunch of us are within weeks, or days of each other, im down there may 4-11 is anyone else there the same time?? Also does anyone by chance know what kind of hook ups are needed for the projector and screen?? I have sent about 3 emails with various questions and attachments and have not heard anything back either... thanks!

Does anyone know what days of the week the disco is closed?? I had assumed it was open everynight but was told it isn't. Also Im not sure who was asking about the projector and screen but I have it in my papers as 1000 pesos

Can I ask where you ordered your clear plastic bags from? Thanks!

@sgreen99 just so you know if you have more than 60 people the price for the dinners for the palapa for the 3 course dinner is 350 pesos. there is also a charge for the use of the sound system per hour if you dont have a dj... I'm in the process of trying to pick out flowers etc does anyone know what the color options are for the ribbons? I know if you pick anything other than white or blue you have to pay but im wondering what the other colors are? And does anyone know what the cost is for a flower for your hair? i'm guessing it wouldnt be too expensive?

@ LJMedic I think its mostly for the men, and its long pants as far as i know

@MJKH We're bringing one of our friends to do the photography and paying for them as a guest so we were told we wouldn't have to pay that 300... I think it only applies if you bring someone to the resort that is not staying there Also someone was asking a couple pages back about a catamaran/tour... I'm trying to find one as well and have just been emailing the companies I find from google, it depends on what size your group is, a lot of places have boats for 50 but finding bigger boats has been challenging. Pamela from the resort gave me an email for a company but they have not responded to any emails. I can message you some of the companies that have responded if you want Is anyone doing a candy buffet????

@janette34 I believe thats the menu for the 3 course dinner.. I got the info pack from aracely that had 3 options for the dinner at the palapa... 3 course, surf and turf and bbq... and the bbq is more expensive per person than the surf and turf so I'm wondering whats included in it.

I had contacted paradise catamarans after reading their reviews on trip advisor and they had reasonable prices for sunset cruises, I dont know about what it would be for dinners, I was looking at doing an afternoon with them but they can only accomodate 50 people max so it won't work for our group. Mark was the one who emailed me back and he got back to me right away with other vendors I could try for my group so I would contact them.

Has anyone looked into the BBQ dinner for the palapa?? I am wondering what all is included in it

@bride2bdebbie Who makes the second dress? it is gorgeous!