fraggle42

sorry for the separate posts it wont let me put them all in one post

More photos requested

I had the unforgettable package and yes they were included. They were not in the brochure but a similar one was but in lots of bright different colours so I just explained to Jazmin exactly what I wanted and she sorted it for me.

Originally Posted by Tlseege 

 

Fraggle, you look amazing!  So beautiful

Thanks everyone. Had my at home reception on Saturday night and got to wear my dress again which was lovely (but much colder). Back to reality with a bump today. 6am start at work. So sad it is all over but at least I have fantastic memories of an amazing wedding day and holiday. Can't get used to being a Mrs though.

Originally Posted by futuremrswarner 

 

@ Fraggle42, just curious which photographer you went with. I'm starting to get nervous now that the resort won't allow outside photographers because all their websites mention that Bahia Principe does NOT allow outside photographers. I hear from Tlseege that she has always been allowed to stay, but I'm still a little worried. 

We used the resort photographer. They are expensive but I felt it was the best option coming from the UK as it is more expensive to fly someone over from the UK. Our photos and video were expensive even though we went for the cheapest package (we ended up buying more) but I absolutely love them so I have no regrets. In hindsight though, I could have probably got more value for money by approaching Tsleege or another Canadian photographer. At the time I was only thinking about the cost of bringing someone with us from the UK and never even considered asking someone from Canada.

For some reason I can't upload any more. It keeps saying there is a problem. I will try again another day.

Originally Posted by claruickie 

 

COngratualtions Fraggle on your wedding and delighted to hear it all went well - knew it would having holidayed at the hotel twice before and spoken to brides there at the time - none from the UK though.  The hotel is gorgeous eh   Can you settle some confusion please (or maybe its just me)  Eugina my hotel WC hasnt mentioned getting our documents translated or legalised however all the paperwork from First Choice/Thomsons says you need to get it done?!  What did you do?

Many thanks in advance and look forward to seeign your photos x

Hi Claruickie,

I had the same problem as you Thomas Cook kept telling me I need documents translating and apostilled etc and were even sending me the companies info where i needed to send my birth certificate, passports etc. It was going to work out at about £200 to get it done but my WC Jasmin was telling me no need. I researched it by scouring the internet which backed up what Jasmin was telling me. Basically, what is required varies between states and for Quintana Roo you only have to supply documents if you have been divorced, you were adopted or have changed your name for some reason. None of these applied to us so we didn't take anything. I think I drove Jasmin mad checking though...I must have asked her the same question about 4 times because I didn't want anything to get lost in translation, to get the wrong end of the stick and be in trouble when I got to the resort. A lot of the confusion is because the requirements are subject to change at anytime and actually changed earlier this year. Prior to this change you had to get translations etc which is why the travel agents are still recommending this.

I know gerbera daisies are included in certain colours. I had fuschia colored gerbera, white roses and stargazer lilies with fuschia colour centre. All included in package. Wil get some pics on for you next week.

i want gerber daisies just not sure with what.. havent got the catalogue yet from WC

We only had my bouquet, hubby's boutoniere (included in package) then ordered an extra boutoniere for my dad and best man and some rose petals for the flower girls. Our bill for these extras was $42. If you want to buy boutonnieres and corsages for all guests or have lots of bridesmaid bouquets to buy it could get costly.

You have your bouquet and grooms boutoniere as part of your wedding package. Your wc will send you a catalogue with loads of bouquets in. you can adapt these buy mixing and matching flowers/changing colors/shapes etc as long as they include the basic flowers in the brochure. Flowers included are roses, certain lilies, gerbera, and more. I didn't have to pay for mine and they were exactly what I wanted. I just sent a picture of what I wanted and went through it with the wc to make sure they had it right and they were lovely

I think since you didn't really want flowers in the first place, you should just be good with the resorts choices' of flowers. I think people who reach out to outside florist are the ones who have a very particular taste with flowers and wanted a specific kind. You should be fine.

I don't know about the reception getting booked up. We were undecided about having one at first due to budget so added that on later. So glad we had one though. Like I say there are so many weddings it would not hurt to get it booked early if you know you definitely want one.

Thank you! That makes me feel better! I will try to get my dinner time confirmed- the restaurant location has already been confirmed.  I want a pool side reception, but haven't actually requested one...I will do that as well.  Do you know if  the pool side reception always available? or can it get booked up? 

Thomas cook

thankyou and congrats your not to far from us, can I ask which ta you used?

Originally Posted by futuremrswarner 

 

Yeah, I will have to take a look at the dresses I try on, and see if the veil will look good. I always thought I'd look more like a bride with the veil. The Tulum gazebo looked the best from the pictures I had seen so far, so I think I would prefer that over the Tulum beach, just because the beach location seemed a little too plain for my liking. Thanks for all your comments here. I noticed that you went back a couple pages to reply to everyone's posts! And super glad to hear that you had an amazing wedding! Congrats again!

I know I said I would not write a review until i have got over the jetlag and I have been on here ages anyway. It is so strange to be the one in the know answering other peoples questions. I found this site so helpful that I want to help others out on here hence why I have tried to go back and answer a few questions for people. I will get some pics on at the weekend so you can see more of the gazebo.

Originally Posted by Tlseege 

 

I sqaured away my ceremony site and my reception site and then didn't hear anything for months.  But I needed an outdoor private reception and I know that they only allow one per resort a night (and up to three weddings per day) so I didn't want someone else to get it.

 

Try the emails in the link futuremrswarner provided, and if those don't work... call.

 

Oh, and I didn't book those two things, my travel agent did.  Travel agents are like gold.

Try to get your wedding date, ceremony times and dinner location sorted ASAP because this place is so popular. I got in touch about 10 months before our wedding and the restaurant and location we wanted was only available on certain dates. I don't know how it works in Canada but I am from England and I booked and paid for the wedding package through our travel agent. They then contacted the hotel to sort out a date which was emailed to us early Feb 2012 along with an email from the WC with initial info required regarding documents etc. From then on I was directly in contact with Jazmin and actually bought the wedding date forward 2 days once she gave me further info regarding ceremony location/dinner location (which I had to request). So by the end of Feb I had sorted the date, wedding location and dinner location and times (9 months before the wedding). Everything else gets sorted as we went along. she emailed me cake brochure, flower brochures, poolside reception info and answered many other questions as and when i requested but i normally had to ask before she sent me anything and then wait a few weeks for a response. Don't worry, our WC was brilliant...they are only slow because they are so busy. You will realise this when you are in resort and see how many weddings they have to organise. They have meetings with couples in the mornings to discuss weddings then usually have multiple weddings every day. They don't just make the arrangements for you either they are with you on the day. Jasmin was part of our ceremony along with the registrar, they take you to the locations for dinner and reception etc. You really do realise when you see them in action why they have little time to email people. They will get back to you though so hold in there.

Originally Posted by futuremrswarner 

 

 

Oh gosh. I think I'm getting married at the gazebo, and I was considering a half-do with a veil. Now I'm not too sure. I haven't purchased my dress yet, so maybe the dress will not look good with a veil anyways, but I do really want one. You girls think it's a little too windy there for it?

 

@ Fraggle42, congrats on your recent wedding! Can't wait to see your pictures and your review.

I am not sure. It really depends on the day...some are calmer than others. Maybe some brides will comment who did wear veils. If you really want one then go for it but maybe choose one with jewels in to help weigh it down in case it is windy. I would say the Tulum Gazebo and Tulum beach locations are less windy than the hammocks though. It is very open where the hammocks are but it is more private. There is a restaurant right by the Gazebo. Its a tough decision. We were very happy with ours though.

Originally Posted by Tikka 

 

 

I had thought it was $70 per hour for the speaker rental but Jazmin keeps telling me its $180 per hour!!!!! So for two hours I would be looking at $360 for the speaker rentals and $420 for a DJ....... Anyone else get quoted this? I had thought she had made a mistake and confirmed these prices

I was charged $120 per hour

Originally Posted by Tammyd23 

 

For the poolside party if I have 3hours special cocktails for $11will I have to pay the same for children

We had 8 children (all under 5) in our group and we didn't have to pay for them.

Originally Posted by Tlseege 

 

I was told my dinner time, and I believe Mariah and Cheryl were too (the two brides I've photographed there).  But it all works out

 

For the cocktail hour, the wedding coordinator set aside chairs in the Akumal theater bar area.  It was "private" and didn't cost me a thing.  Basically, I would just have a common meeting area.  Like "meet at such and such bar at 5:30pm for cocktails before dinner"

I requested my times for ceremony and dinner and luckily they fit in fine so Jazmin accepted them.

Ceremony 2pm Tulum Gazebo

Dinner 6-8pm Gran Tortuga (did speeches here too)

Private poolside reception (8-11pm)

I was a little worried about the time between the ceremony and dinner being too long but i didnt want to eat too early as i wanted the dinner to flow into the reception. We arranged to meet our guests in the Bar Akumal (in Tulum section) for drinks after our photographs. We were in there for a few hours but it was really nice. It gave us time to take it all in, mingle with all of our guests (which we did not have as much chance to do at dinner & reception as I was dancing all night) and of course spend time together with my new husband (which I recommend). Anyway the time flew by and we were soon off for our dinner so these timings suited us great.

Originally Posted by AndreaandAaron 

 

Thank you for that info!

Our dinner was 6-8 at Gran Tortuga.

Originally Posted by AndreaandAaron 

 

Me too!  I spend waaaaaay too much time on here everyday!

 

We are staying at the Coba, so we chose a restaurant there- the Mediterraneo!  I have about 1 million questions for my wedding planner (Maria), its sooooo hard waiting to email her until the date gets closer!

 

Which restaurant are you leaning towards?

I got in touch with my WC ages before my wedding...as soon as it was booked. Don't be afraid to ask questions. I wouldn't bombard them with loads of one question emails. I tended to send one email with lots of questions in. I sometimes had to wait a few weeks for a response (purely because they are so busy doing weddings every day) but she would always get back to me with the info requested.

Originally Posted by futuremrswarner 

 

Yeah, I'm going next November, and the time slots they offered were 1 or 4pm. Do they allocate time slots for dinner as well? I want to make sure there is enough time between the end of the ceremony for photos and such before the dinner starts.

I just asked for 2pm and got it.

Originally Posted by futuremrswarner 

 

Oh, I will really have to confirm with my TA which location I am at then. Sometimes, she's telling me Akumal, and other times, she's telling me Tulum. So if I was at the Akumal, I wouldn't be allowed to use the Tulum gazebo?

I stayed in Tulum section and was torn between akumal hammocks and tulum gazebo. I asked for availability dates for each and was told I could get married at either.