Sunshine2680

Anything I can do to help!
 I just think they're really shady in how they operate.
Not to mention that the people who work there (owner included) who are so unprofessional i wouldn't even know where to start in describing!
All in all - it was very frustrating dealing with them when it came time for final payments and getting our transfers and tickets.
A lot of emails and phonecalls from myself and my guests went unanswered. Not cool at all.
Planning a wedding long distance is stressful enough- the last thing a bride needs is her TA to make things worse!

Hi ladies- just back from the Mayan riviera last week - our wedding was perfect and a blast!

Now that it's all over and done with - I'd like to share my thoughts on Romantic Planet  - our travel agent.

DO NOT BOOK with them! Their customer service was absolutely horrible!! I don't get into too many details but I will say that
I would not recommend booking with them for your destination wedding. If you want specifics - then please PM me.

I just had my TTD done last week - we went to Dos Ojos Cenote - and they charged us $100USD to shoot there - which sucked and was unexpected but given the shots - i just didn't care

and i didnt want to keep driving around to find one  - as a lot of them get busier as the day goes on

We honestly just asked our cab driver one day while we were heading to Tulum ruins and he was SO helpful - even took us around to view a couple to see if we'd like to use it for our session

 We also had the 3 milks cake (Tres leche) - it was yummers!

Originally Posted by futuremrswarner 

 

HA! Worstbride has not had the best experience with Paloma either LOL.

Yikes- that sucks!

Here's my TTD pics!!

Originally Posted by worstbride 

 

Your underwater photos are AMAZING!

 

I am so enlightened t hear of people having good experieces with the weddng coordinators... how long did it take you to actually hear from her? I have Eugenia from AKumal and can't seem to nail her down or any real info. 

Thank you!  We had so much fun at the cenotes!

Jazmin wasn't the best at replying right away - but she did always reply. Usually within a couple weeks (at the most) - for me anyway. What i found that was great was that i emailed her right away after we booked to the resort. Which was about 18 months in advance..lol That way the earlier i started asking questions the earlier i got answers and if Jazmin didnt get back to me right away - it was no big deal and i didnt stress because we had so much time.

But even leading up to the departure Jazmin emailed all the details she had and set up the meeting for when you get to the resort. You'll take care of all details there too. She's very thorough and knows whats going on

Can't say much for Eugenia - but I think she's pretty good also.

If worst comes to worst you can always try and get a hold of Paloma - I think she's the big boss for all the WC's

Originally Posted by futuremrswarner 

 

That leaping frog picture of the guys is adorable! I love it!

 

It's always nice to hear brides come back from their wedding and say that it went perfectly. Even though the first couple of months after booking is always stressful with the lack of communication from the WC. I really can't wait to hear from them. Still have another year to go.

 

So glad you had an amazing time! Congratulations again!!

Thank you! ya -  I think we all go through the MIA WC's but realistically its never an issue. This thread provides A LOT of answers for brides - I hope all the brides use it as its a great tool.

Honestly for me -the earlier you start emailing your WC the better. I had all my stuff planned out months before we even left so it was way less stressful on the days leading up to our departure.

Best advice - just don't overthink or overstress - Jazmin and her crew will bring everything together for you!

HOLA EVERYONE!

Here's my review of our week in paradise!!!

We were in mexico from Dec 1- Dec 8 - and wedding day was Dec 5 at Gran Bahia Principe Tulum - Blissful Love Wedding Package

What I brought with me (wedding) :
-Chair sashes
-Ring bowl
-Table numbers (i made them)
-Welcome bags
-Favors
-Cake cutting set
-Cake topper
-Starfish for ceremony decor
-Sand ceremony kit (with sand- but also used sand from the beach for our moms to pour- disguised it with glitter! ha!)
-Wedding attire, jewellery..etc
-Photographer!
-Place cards
-Guest book/basket for cards

Arrival into Cancun: Flight was smooth - flew with Westjet - TV's didnt work but other than that great flight.
When we arrived at Cancun airport - we got through customs/immigration quick - and then came the security - which is what I stressed about as the whole 'red light'/'green light' game got me worried as we had 2 pieces of luggage each as well as my wedding dress. LUCKILY - we both hit green lights and went straight through!
Transportation to the hotel was fine. You just have to fight your way through all the tour companies when you exit the airport. Once we found our bus everything was great.

Check-in @ GBP was good. Just took a while. We were all part of the Diamond Club so we got a seperate check-in lobby. Everyone got the rooms they were supposed to except a few glitches on bed sizes.

My hunny and I were given an ocean front room with a spectacular view - so I'm thinking they do upgrade most wedding couples but theres no guarantee.
We had champagne waiting for us also!

We met with Jazmin our WC on the Monday (they dont work sundays) - and we brought everything for the wedding to her. I'm extremely organized so i had pictures of EVERYTHING to help her with the set up. Everything from where i wanted the starfish hung at the ceremony - to the seating plan for the reception. I'm sure she would have figured it all out anyway because I have to say that Jazmin is AMAZING!
For those of you who are bringing A LOT A LOT of stuff down be prepared for Jazmin to tell you that you'll have to provide someone to help them set everything up. I asked her and she said i didn't have too much stuff.
Once you explain all the decor etc ..then she goes over the wedding package with you...each and every details from getting ready - to when they'll pick you up at your room..etc etc
We also gave her all our music on CD's. Everything from Pre-Ceremony music to Ceremony music...and then she passed along the CD's to the DJ for all the songs for the reception. We had the playlists on our ipods also just in case...but we didnt need them. I did notice that the DJ had an Apple laptop so I'm sure if you handed him your ipod/iphone - it would have worked fine. Ceremony stuff still has to be on a plain old fashioned CD.
EVERYTHING WAS PLAYED PERFECTLY!

I hired hair/makeup outside of the resort and Jazmin was SO awesome - met them at security and brought them right to my room.
Also hired outside for flowers too as it was MUCH cheaper.
**NOTE** With regards to the vendor fee - Jazmin did not charge me at all!!! She said as long as they just stayed in the room and didnt use any of the hotels services (food, drink) then we didn't have to pay. So we just asked someone from our group to go to the buffet and make some plates of food to bring to the room for us. Easy peasy. Saved me $180!
Also - with the flowers - there is no charge anyway because they were simply delivering!

Once we went over each detail for the wedding - we went through the financials...gave her our cash deposit (*she will tell you how much this will be BEFORE you come to Mexico) - and the rest is just charged to your room.

Thats it thats all!
Next came the wedding day - and everything went perfectly according to plan! We even watched them set up the ceremony location from my balcony!

Our ceremony was at 2:00pm and I must say I'm glad it wasnt any later! Mostly because pictures after took SO LONG. We of course had our own photographer but we wanted to shoot everyone and then leave my hunny and me for last so that they could all go freshen up before the reception.
Luckily for us Arrecife never showed up so we never had to tell them to take off - one less thing to worry about.
We payed extra for a private bar to be set up on the beach for after the ceremony. This cost $175 for 45 min service for 35 people of beer..and margaritas. This was 100% worth it! It was just nice to not have to make my guests wander to the nearest bar to get a drink. It was all in one area and that way they could enjoy the Mariachi band we hired to play! This was $370 for 45min set and totally worth it also!
Everyone was so surprised!!
Once the band was done - we were still taking pics but the guests slowly filtered out to go freshed up before the private poolside reception at 6:30.
**Normally they have cocktails starting at 6:30 and then dinner after but because we only had until 11:00pm to do EVERYTHING we asked Jazmin to have the food ready for 6:30. She was totally accommodating.
We started right on the nose - and we shut-down right around 11pm. As much fun as it would have been to carry on - we were EXHAUSTED. My husband and I did not sit down the whole night. Mostly because we were keeping busy dancing and visiting.

We had the BBQ buffet and it was DELICIOUS! SO many options to appease everyone's taste! What was nice is that the buffet included mini dessert options but we also had wedding cake for everyone too. We paid $88 to have a 2nd tier and was definitely worth it! We had given Jazmin a picture of a cake and she passed it on and it turned out perfectly!

Once everything was over - we just went to bed. And we went and saw Jazmin a couple days later to pick up the marriage certificate (this was just a symbolic ceremony- so it wasn't legal) and she had packaged up everything that was left at the reception and ceremony for us. I'm told they dont always do this so if there's something thats super special to you- you may want to grab it yourself before you leave for the night.

All in all - the day itself was perfect. I can't say this enough and I can't commend Jazmin enough either. She was superb! TRUST ME when i say not to worry about a thing. Jazmin and her people know what they're doing!!

Sorry if this review is a bit all over the place - I'm trying to think of everything!
If I've missed anything just give me a shout! I will answer any questions you guys have!

 

Originally Posted by futuremrswarner 

 

Your pictures are amazing! and OMG im in LOVE the TTD pictures!! Congratulations!!

Thank you!

Originally Posted by Tracy Taylor 

 

S

Sorry! I was thinking of the wrong flower! I was told that purple calalillies were not part of the package.

White cala lillies are - but the dark purple ones are not

They will cost extra. I had them in my bouquet just a few days ago - but i did not order them through the resort - i used an outside floristn as they were much cheaper

Just got back from my wedding! Used Marvin - he was amazing!!! The only issue is that the flowers were about an hour late - but i had arranged for them to be there extra early just in case this happened so it all worked out in the end anyway...and the flowers themselves were PERFECT!!

Originally Posted by Danielle Hague 

 

Wonderful pictures the one,s in the water are gorgeous! Did u have the evening reception and DJ ? If so was this worth as I know these are extras x

Yes - we had a completely private reception poolside. The dinner had to be buffet style which was fine by us - we weren't there to be formal. Just to have fun. The food was amazing anyway.

The price we paid for the reception was expensive. They charged us $3130 USD for the poolside reception which included the dinner...bar...and DJ with lights etc. We even had to pay an extra $700 to extend it to 11:00pm.

I guess I can't really complain much tho because everything was perfect.

Originally Posted by Katryne 

 

Awww!!! Amazing!!! Welcome back and congrats on being a Mrs!!  I know you were looking for a cenote to take your pics at a while so I'm curious, where did you end up going?

 

Good luck with the laundry!

Thank you thank you!!

yes we actually ended up talking to the taxi driver who took us to Tulum ruins for our engagement shoot. My photographer told him the things he was looking for (shallow areas, but not too dark..etc) and he suggested Casa Cenote - even took a lil detour to show us and we didn't like it too much - so then he suggested the Dos Ojos cenotes and they were perfect. The only poopy part was that it cost us $100USD to go in to take professional pics. But given how well they turned out - I'm not complaining.

HOLA EVERYONE!!! JUST got back last night!!! I'll post a FULL - detailed review in a few days once i've made my way through the mountains of laundry - ha ha - but I'll give a mini general overall review now..

THE WEDDING WAS PERFECT!!! It could not have gone ANY better! I had Jazmin as my WC - as I got married on the Tulum beach and had a private poolside dinner/reception.
Jazmin was AMAZING!!! I know alllll the other brides have said the same thing and I will attest that they ar 100% true. These ladies know what they're doing - so any concerns you may have will float away once you get down there.

Also - to clear up a few things regarding the resort photographers. Everyone is under the impression that GBP is the reason for the restrictions on outside photographers...THIS IS NOT TRUE!!! When I had my meeting with Jazmin - she literally said - I don't care who you have for a photographer...its Arrecife that is the issue.
As mentioned before...you do have to sign a sheet declining their services and Jazmin did warn us that Arrecife might show up the wedding day to poke their noses around and ask questions about who was taking pics etc. They never did - which was good. But she said if they did - just to tell them we didn't like their pics on Facebook so we don't want them. LOL - no joke.

We did in fact bring our own photographer from Canada and he was with us for the entire week so even if Arrecife had gotten pissy - they couldnt do a thing about it. So for those of you who are reluctant to use Arrecife - don't feel obligated to! If you want to bring your own - then bring your own!!  The 5 day stay rule is however true.

I will get into more details about everything else in my review but I wanted to set the record straight on the photography issue.
Here's a couple teaser pics in the meantime!! (Tulum engagement session, wedding day, and TTD)

ANY QUESTIONS FIRE AWAY!!!!

Originally Posted by claruickie 

 

Being the fact I am having a Mexican wedding I would like to book the Mariachi band - totally cheesy but I will regret it otherwise!  Did anyone have this or anyone booked for their future wedding?

 

Thanks in advance Kirstin x

JUST got back last night and we did book the mariachi band for when our ceremony finished - TOTALLY WORTH IT!!!!

Outta here in just a few hours ladies! I promise I'll post allllll about it when I get back!!!

Its a big 48 page file - but this is the most up to date Floral catalogue I have

Hope it works!

CATALOGO SAC NAH flores novias.pdf

Originally Posted by AndreaandAaron 

 

Me again

 

Was  there an option to pick up the flowers instead of the delivery fee?  (could be a good job for my dad and FFIL) Do you know if Marvin's shop is close to the resort? I guess $100 isnt thaaaaat bad if you are saving a ton of money...

I think you can pick them up - not 100% sure tho - don't quote me on it. I do believe he's in Playa del carmen - which is only about a 20-30 min drive from the resort - so ya - you can get your dad's to take a cab down to get them for sure - **IF thats where he is - ha ha

Again - i'm not 100% sure - so I would email and ask Marvin

Originally Posted by worstbride 

 

So I don't really care about flowers at all, but I read that people were only spending like 3-400 on flowers from the resort? How much is this marvin guy? And are you having to pay the delivery as well as he $90 day pass to have them on the grounds?

Well if you don't care much about flowers and the resort offers ones you like - then i would use them because you'll prob get a lot included with your package.

Unfortunately for me - none of the ones that were included in the package were what i wanted - so i was going to have to pay over and above.

What i did was send the exact pics above to Jazmin (my WC at the resort) and got her to quote me and send the exact same pics to Marvin and got his quote. There was literally

$1000 difference in the grand total with Marvin.

I can't remember what the prices were (per flower) from the resort - but Marvin is charging me only $190 for my bouquet and the resort was like $500-something - no joke

For the boutonnieres and corsages they were fairly similar - Marvin is charging around $20-$25 per

Bridesmaids bouquets with Marvin are only $75 - and the resort was chargin over $100

You do have to pay $100 USD for deliver to the resort BUT you don't have to pay a vendor fee because he's just delivering - not really coming onto the resort.

I'm having to pay a vendor fee for my hair and makeup people but thats all

Originally Posted by AndreaandAaron 

 

Beautiful flowers!  Thank you so much for all the info!    

Thanks! and you're welcome!

Originally Posted by worstbride 

 

Someone please tell me I don't have to find a florist out there

Depends on what kind of flowers you want. If the resort provides what you want then you're all good - especially if your wedding package includes flowers.

If you're wanting more extravagant flowers like Orchids...the resort can and will get them for you - however it will cost you quite a lot

I'm using Maya Diseno Floral - Marvin's prices were SO much better than what the resort quoted me.

You don't HAVE to use an outside florist - but it's really up to you - what you want and how much you wish to spend

Originally Posted by AndreaandAaron 

 

Nice!  Do you order them individually?  Did you order everything through Marvin? (centrepieces, bouquets and boutonnieres) Did your package through the resort come with a bride's bouquets/ centrepiece etc?  Are you just forgoing those items or did you work someone out with your wedding planner?  Is marvin dropping off the flowers to the resort? Sorry for the 1 million questions! And thanks again!

ha ha - no worries!

Yep - just sent Marvin pics of a singular green cymbidium orchid and told him i wanted them for the cake.

He actually sent me samples of centerpieces and I chose from the pics..changed up a couple flowers and he was more than accommodating.

I've got the blissfull love package - and I honestly don't even know what flowers come with that. But I do know that for the 'bride's bouquet' - I just ordered what flowers I knew were included - and i'll be using that as my 'throw bouquet'. As far as the other flowers that are included - I havent discussed any with Jazmin - Maybe we'll do that when we meet - if not - I guess that means i'm foregoing them - ha ha

All i care about is that I get the ones i ordered from Marvin.

Yes - he's scheduled to deliver them the morning of the wedding. He does have a delivery fee - its $100USD which is definitely steep - but again - I still saved SO much money by using him rather than the resort.

Here's what Ive ordered - pics I sent to Marvin

  Boutonniers

 Corsages

 Bridesmaids bouquets with the dark purple calla lilies

 My bouquet

Originally Posted by AndreaandAaron 

 

Thank you so much!  Are you planning to have orchids on your cake?  

Sure am! ordered extra!!

Originally Posted by worstbride 

 

Hi other principe brides...

I realize I am getting married in a year but I can't get these people to answer me at all. Did they make you wit too three months befor the wedding befor they started the planning? I feel like there are 8 milliion things to do that I can't make happen until I know what we are doing for reception and flowers and ceremony place etc.

Has anyone else been dealing with this and can someone please tell me what the time lines were like?

Have no fear - you have lots of time. I understand how frustrating it can be because you just want to get stuff planned. I was the same way. I got engaged 18 months beforehand- ha ha - and now just a few days out!

The wedding co-ordinators are SO busy - they have an average of 2-3 weddings/day at the resort so they're focusing their attentions on the more current brides.

My suggestion is just email your questions...and Jazmin will get back to you. Sometimes not for a few weeks but she will. She did for me anyway.  As hard as it is - just try and be patient. Don't worry - once you've chosen your ceremony and reception locations - the rest of the details are pretty minor. And A LOT of your questions can actually be answered on here too. This forum thread has been a  HUGE help for me.

And feel free to ask any of us current brides for updated info! I know i'm happy to answer anything I can!