Caroline1110

Manda, you may want to double check on how many carry ons you can take. I also flew Air Transat, and was told by our TA that the wedding dress counts as your one and only carry on, aside from a personal item like a purse or backpack. It was the check baggage where we were able to bring as many bags as long as it did not go over our total allowed weight, which I think is an extra 20kg per bride/groom couple.

Thanks )

Thanks for the compliment on our pictures. We used an iPod; however, the cord they use to connect to the speakers is an auxiliary cord, not an iPod dock, so any mp3 player would work. We also had music before and after the ceremony. We created separate folders outlining "before" or "after" wedding music then my groom/husband explained it to the music guy when he arrived at the wedding location before the ceremony. They will also play a song while you are signing documents so it's a good idea to have a song picked out for that too.

I thought I had more pictures on this computer. I will try to upolad some more. This at least gives you an idea of what the beach gazebo looks like. In the second picture, the flower arrangement on the table was included in the package. My bouquet and BM bouquets were made by the resort and I absolutely loved them. All the pink ribbon on the pillars in the gazebo was provided by them, including the chair covers in the third picture. Also, I did not want the red carpet that they offered, so I asked for rose petals instead. They included them for no extra charge, and in my opinion, looked a 100 times better than a red carpet. In the third picture, the flowers on the pillars were also included in the package. We didn't pay any extra for flowers and I don't regret that. I think what was included in the package was enough. For dinner, they brought the rose petals and all the flower arrangements and put them on the table for us. I also asked for 5 vases and I put all the BM flowers and my bouquet in the vases and used them as centre pieces.

We used an iPod for our reception and the sound system was pretty good. We bought all of our playlist music from iTunes and every so often there would be a song much louder than the rest, so other than the volume needing to be adjusted, using the iPod was perfect. For us, there was no need to have a DJ. We had 33 people and most of us were in the same building. Others were a few buildings down, but for the most part everyone was pretty close. Looks like you're staying at the white sands which is where we were too. The buildings of rooms of the white sands are all pretty close together.

Also, I did programs, place cards, menus, fans for the ceremony, favours etc. and I found it really added to the whole wedding. The only thing I would bother with is menus. I spoke to our wedding coordinator many times to try and clarify what was going to be served and how in order to do a proper menu. When it came time to dinner, everything came out differently than I was told. It may have been due to a language barrier, who knows. An example is I was told the potatoes with the main course would be roasted potatoes do I put that on the menu. We they were served, they were mashed potatoes. Not a big deal but because I make a very descriptive menu, people were confused. It would have been better to do dinner minus the menus.

Me personally, I would strongly discourage using excursion companies you book unless you know someone who has used the company before or you've done your research and it gets good reviews. I've heard too many horror stories about shady companies taking your money and not showing up or giving crappy service. If you're flying Air Transat, they have a rep on site that could easily coordinate an excursion for a large group with reputable tour groups.

So, I tried posting pictures last night, but the website wouldn't let me but I will try again later when I get home. Our wedding dinner was at Portofinos. It was probably the best food all week. I would highly recommend that restaurant. We chosen the Caesar salad, spinach tomato soup ( it a mix of cream soups. One side of the bowl tomato the other side spinach. They were think enough not to mix. Great soup but it was served luke warm. Main course was stuffed chicken. Really good. And as mentioned, we skipped dessert and stuck with the wedding cake. I didn't use any outside vendors and it was just fine. The spa who did my hair and make-up was awesome. The flowers met my expectations as well. I'll post pictures. If there is anything extra like a guest book table that you'd like, just ask when you have your meeting with the WC a couple of days before. Ok, just at the doctor office...gotta go. To be continued.

I wrote the previous from my iPhone. After reading it, I dont know if it was clear that we had our wedding dinner at Portofinos.

I feel bad I haven't posted a review yet, I've just been so busy. Anyway, you shouldnt have problems booking the spa, but you should do that ASAP if you have a bridal party as well trying to get in. It $155 for hair and make-up and they do a fantastic job! I would definitely recommend the services at the spa. For menu, you can only choose one item per course for everyone. Trust me though, it's the way to go. The resort does not do well at cooking dinners for big numbers. The times we went for dinners in the restaurants, we had 33 people usually at 3 separate tables. I didn't expect it to be perfect but most times, one table would be finishing dessert when the other was finally getting the first course. We ate at Portofinos (would recommend) and other than the soup being a Luke warm, the food was the best a week. Also, even though we were told we would be eating in the restaurant, we were in a very private area overlooking the lagoon. It was perfect. Also, the vanilla wedding cake awesome. Looks wise, it was simple - white with fresh flowers (I'll post a picture). It was one tier, with 7 layers. Just a side note, stay away from any desserts that say "mousse". GROSS! Instead of a typical mousse, they are made with gelatin. We had mousse chosen as our dessert at the dinner (then have the cake during dancing), but we scrapped that because we did not want to have the mousse served. I wasn't going to write a review now, but I also want to say we used a resort photographer and we would recommend our photographer, Marco. The pictures were great and the bonus is you get them pretty well the next day. Everyone commented on his quality of work. Also, I think there was an earlier question about translation of legal docs. We got married legally here, then did a symbolic ceremony there. For us, that was way easier and much cheaper. Anyway, if you have any questions let me know. Things have been do busy with Christmas life, it may be easier to put my opinions in shorter stints. I will add pictures though, my computer is acting up tonight.

So, I'm just at work right now, but I plan on sending pictures and my thoughts on everything this weekend. For now though, Manda, in terms of programs, I kept quite simple. I just had the names of our parents, the bridal party and some info about where dinner and the dancing was going to be held. I'll include a picture of our program when I post pictures. In terms of tables, we had our dinner at portofinos, do we didn't have round tables. I did see them though...my guess is 8 could be sat at each table.

Ok, we're back from Mexico. The wedding was everything I imagined it to be. I'll post a review along with pictures after our AHR on Saturday. In the meantime, let me know if there are any questions that I could maybe help answer.

We're down to the last couple of days before we leave and it's definitely crunch time. Still working on menus, programs and the playlist for our receptions. Other than that, just packing and those sort of things. I'll be sure to write a review when we return. We have our AHR the week after we get back, so it may be a couple of weeks before I can get that on here.

Also Manda, I saw the $4 a sash charge on the website too. I'm not sure why they have that on there. Maybe they have changed their policy since that quote was put on the website.

Is anyone doing menus for the dinner? I was thinking that because are guests' food is chosen for them, I would print up menus for each place setting. Also, I really like your invites, JND. You're so creative.

Hi Manda, I was told that chair covers with sashes are included. There is no charge for the first eight people at the ceremony, then there is a $20 additional charge per person, but that includes cake, wine for toasting and chair covers (with sashes). I was told the colours they have are blue, white, pink, aqua, cappuccino and purple. Hope that helps.

Are you legally getting married there? I'm not (we'll do all the paperwork here and have a symbolic ceremony there), but I hear you need to be in Mexico for three days before they will marry you.

Hey Stephy, Just curious, how did you find Coco Bongo's? Did you all go as a group (guys and girls)? Is it run like an excursion in the sense that you come and go as a group with a "guide"? Not to sound paranoid or anything, but I've heard bad stories about the smaller towns in Mexico after dark and how they're not very safe. Did you get that feeling at all?

Thanks for the info, Stephy. Good to know that you weren't charged for external vendors who weren't staying. I wasn't sure if the resort would, "penalize" by charging for a day pass if external vendors were brought in instead of using theirs.

I went with white, and based on pictures on here, I think a lot of girls went with white. Two reasons I got a white dress, #1 - it's really the only time you get to wear a white gown, and #2, I didn't want my dress to blend in with the color of the sand if I went with ivory. I thought a white dress will stand out more when taking pictures on the beach.

Stephy, Do you mind if I ask how much you paid for your hair/make-up team? I'm assuming you also had to pay for a day pass to be able to bring them on the property. Thanks, Caroline

Stephy, Your pictures look amazing. Hopefully she can recover more picture. I can't imagine how frustrated you must be.

Sorry, I missed your post Stephy. Maybe you also have info about Claudia? Also, maybe I'm just clueless, but for TTD sessions, do people wear their actual wedding dresses, or do people use another white dress? Does the TTD session cost $1800 on top of the regualr photos?

Hi nicole - 20 Do you by any chance have any prices for Claudia Rodrigez? I sent her an email requesting prices a while back, but I've yet to hear from her. Also, has anyone heard anything about the resort photographers? I have the price list for them, I'm just not sure about their quality compared to other people. Also, we're having our dinner at an a la carte restaurant. Does anyone know what the set up is? Is there a private area? Round tables, rectangular tables? Lastly, does anyone know if we're permitted to have candles on the the tables at dinner, as well as, at the cocktail hour? I'm trying to cut down on some flower costs if possible, so I was thinking of candles instead. Thanks, Caroline

Hi everyone, I'm new to posting on this site, but I have been reading all the posts, and there is a wealth of info here. Congrats to everyone getting married. We have booked our wedding for November 10, 2011. Just a question, I'm in the process of trying to decided where to have our cocktail reception. I have been given the choice of La Laguna and Gran Azul. Does anyone know if one appears to be a better choice than the other? Laine described La Laguna as beautiful, but I don't remember seeing anything posted here about Gran Azul. Also, I have received several pictures of flower samples. Does anyone know if they are all the same price, or do the prices vary depending on the flowers you choose. Thanks, Caroline