AnnieWeds

I am in the exact same situation. My sister will be under 18 by just a few months. So I've emailed Cecilia and she is working with the General Manager to see if an exception can be made only because 1) she is the sister of the bride and 2) she is under 18 only by a few months. She does look old enough so we are hoping with all these valid reasons, an exception can be made. You should definitely try asking since she is the Groom's sister.

That's exactly why we chose a destination wedding too. Well, one of the reasons. But with all these options, it's turning out to be quite a bit amount of work. But it will be fun in the end and so glad for everyone's input in the forum.

How exciting! Have a great time! Definitely look forward to hearing about your florist experience. SMB prices are pretty high for bouquets.

sillygirl702, I agree that paying for your brother and BFF only is totally fine. We were also figuring it similarly when we sent out our invites, but it turned out more people are just not staying at the resort. Which is sad because the whole point is to be able to hang out with each other a few days before and/or after the wedding ceremony. Now it just seems like everyone is coming for the wedding and then leaving to do their own thing. I guess we should jave gauged our potential guests' willingness to stay at the resort prior to picking it or deciding on a destination wedding in the first place. @everyone... did you all know ahead of time that everyone would be ok with staying at SMB? I feel like if we paid for a night's stay at SMB, then people would consider staying at the resort. Is anyone out there paying for a portion of their guests stay at the resort? We don't have that kind of budget and I haven't heard any concerns like this on the forums. Feeling so frustrated...

@ckrn... Thanks soooo much! I can't wait. You must be so excited to be visiting soon. Lucky you! =)

@emsdds @CKRN: I wish we could have a site visit as well, but that just doesn't fit into our budget. We would love to hear your impression of the resort and if it matches up to the reviews everyone has been giving. Recent visits are the most accurate. I haven't heard any reviews on the beach itself. Is the beach as pristine as they describe? Is it rocky walking into the water? Is the water calm or are there alot of waves?

I've read that the resort has nude statues around the grounds so maybe you can mention that to your guests with young impressionable eyes =P

beachbride2013, no problemo! =) There is so much information when planning it is easy to get overwhelmed. At least that's how we feel. Not having everyone staying at the resort just makes coordinating on the wedding day more of a hassle. Making sure everyone gets thru the front desk on time and gets their day passes. I don't even know how it is done. Do day pass folks get a wristband? Does anyone who has had a wedding at SMB already have any experience with day passes? I agree. Search BDW for SMB weddings and you will find past weddings with lots of photos of ceremony and reception set ups. I found this site with honest views of SMB grounds and ceremony locations. The photos are not commercialized if you know what I mean. Like fast food ads of burgers and tacos that in real life look nothing like the sort. Lol. http://www.berwicktravel.com/secrets_resorts/secrets_maroma.html# Click on Agency Photos on the left hand side.

beachbride2013, no problemo! =) There is so much information when planning it is easy to get overwhelmed. At least that's how we feel. Not having everyone staying at the resort just makes coordinating on the wedding day more of a hassle. Making sure everyone gets thru the front desk on time and gets their day passes. I don't even know how it is done. Do day pass folks get a wristband? Does anyone who has had a wedding at SMB already have any experience with day passes? I agree. Search BDW for SMB weddings and you will find past weddings with lots of photos of ceremony and reception set ups. I found this site with honest views of SMB grounds and ceremony locations. The photos are not commercialized if you know what I mean. Like fast food ads of burgers and tacos that in real life look nothing like the sort. Lol. http://www.berwicktravel.com/secrets_resorts/secrets_maroma.html# Click on Agency Photos on the left hand side.

beachbride2013, no problemo! =) There is so much information when planning it is easy to get overwhelmed. At least that's how we feel. Not having everyone staying at the resort just makes coordinating on the wedding day more of a hassle. Making sure everyone gets thru the front desk on time and gets their day passes. I don't even know how it is done. Do day pass folks get a wristband? Does anyone who has had a wedding at SMB already have any experience with day passes? I agree. Search BDW for SMB weddings and you will find past weddings with lots of photos of ceremony and reception set ups. I found this site with honest views of SMB grounds and ceremony locations. The photos are not commercialized if you know what I mean. Like fast food ads of burgers and tacos that in real life look nothing like the sort. Lol. http://www.berwicktravel.com/secrets_resorts/secrets_maroma.html# Click on Agency Photos on the left hand side.

beachbride2013, no problemo! =) There is so much information when it comes to planning it is easy to get overwhelmed. At least we are that's for sure! It just makes it more difficult to coordinate on the wedding day when people are coming from outside of the resort. Such as getting them thru the front desk and into the resort and dealing with the day passes. I don't even know how that works. Does anyone have experience with day passes? Do they give out wristbands to outside guests? I agree. There are lots of photos of ceremony and reception set ups on the site. I also found this site with some honest views of the resort - they are not "commercialized" photos if you know what I mean. Like fast food ads showing pristine, plump burgers and tacos and in real life they look nothing like the sort. Lol. http://www.berwicktravel.com/secrets_resorts/secrets_maroma.html# Click on Agency Photos on the left hand side.

beachbride2013, where did you hear that 80% of guests do not have to be at the resort?

Thanks everyone for your responses! This is a great thread and I'm so glad I found it. I will add a note to my wedding website that the day pass will be $100 for guests outside the resort. newloves1975, Cecilia is great to work with and one of the reasons we decided on SMB as well. Doing everything thru emails, it would be a dealbreaker if the WC was not responsive and helpful. brideRN, we are also looking for opinions on holding the reception and cocktail hour on the beach as well. It looks beautiful with the tiki torches surrounding the area, but our concerns are with sand blowing into the food or mosquitoes at night time.

Thanks baririce and beachbride2013. I think we might have some trouble getting 80% of wedding guests to stay at the resort. =( People would rather stay somewhere more affordable and come only on the day of the wedding. We were not sure if we should pay for the guests day pass or they should pay themselves. What's the etiquette?

Hi fellow brides. We are getting married at SMB May 2012! Are your guests all staying at the resort? Or are some guests finding outside accommodations and coming just on the day of the wedding? From the responses we have been getting, I think everyone is finding outside accommodations. It makes it hard figuring out which wedding package to get. Also, we will need to get a day pass for guests not staying at the resort to attend the wedding. Does anyone have experience with how that works? Excited, but starting to run into some headaches of a destination wedding. =T

Secrets Maroma Riviera Cancun! We are getting married there in May 2012. Thanks everyone! =)

Those are great party favors. I especially love the crossword and wordsearch about the Bride & Groom idea. It's a great way for everyone to get to know the Bride and Groom. =) Very excited for you. Look forward to hearing about your whole experience there when you get back. =)

kriztie707, thanks for pointing that out. Guests may feel obligated and not want to have their time taken up by the activities. We were considering the Bonfire on the beach and will probably be able to do that since we are expecting about 35-45 people at most. The Hibachi table sounds like it would be alot of fun too. =) Does anyone have experience with Rehearsals at SMB? If the ceremony is on the beach, do they set up the aisle and alter so that we can have a practice run on the day before.

Hi SMB Brides! Glad to see this thread revived. I am getting married here on May 12, 2012 and am just starting to plan wedding event details. I wanted to ask if there are any past brides or brides to be that have or are planning daytime activities at or off the resort with their guests? As a way to get everyone to know each other and have some fun before the ceremony day. If I am going to do it, I am thinking of having the activities BEFORE the ceremony day so everyone can get to know each other before the ceremony. Any opinions on whether it is better to have it BEFORE or AFTER the ceremony? Any personal experience out there on the mattter? We just want everyone to have a good time since they are making the effort to travel to celebrate with us. Thanks everyone! =) emsdds, yes please post your save the date! I'm always interested in seeing what creative way others make their save the dates. =)

Hi bpoKatie!!! Yes! Our wedding is on May 12, 2012 as well. =) What time is yours? We should have a lot of questions for each other. I will PM you with specific ones.

Hi SMB brides. So happy to hear about your wonderful weddings. Looking forward to the reviews. It makes us even more excited for special day in May 2012. We are in the process of looking for travel agents to help us negotiate the best room rates at SMB. We are in the New York City area. Do any NYC area SMB brides have travel agencies you can recommend? Thanks!

Hi SMB brides! So happy to hear about your wonderful weddings. Looking forward to the reviews. It makes us even more excited for special day in May 2012. We are in the process of looking for travel agents to help us negotiate the best room rates at SMB. We are in the New York City area. Do any NYC area SMB brides have travel agencies you can recommend? Thanks!