Riss520

I haven't been on here in awhile! Aquabride your pictures look amazing! It looks like you had a beautiful wedding! Samantha I can't believe you wedding is this weekend! So exciting, you'll have to let me know how it goes. Did anyone take all their couples and wedding party photos before their ceremony so they didn't miss the cocktail hour? If so how long did it take? I'm trying to decide what time I want our photographer to come.

Congrats Dayna! I was there in August choosing my vendors and doing my tasting. The resort is beautiful! My fiancé's parents are actually there again right now finalizing the food for the Wedding, BBQ, and meeting with Allibe for last minute questions. We're paying for all our guests' transportation to and from the airport, which we are doing through the resort. I'm not exactly sure of the price though. I can ask though if you're interested. If you have anymore questions let me know because they'll be at H3R till Saturday.

April your pictures are beautiful!! I'm sorry there were so many problems the day of your wedding, but everyone looks like they had a great time. I was wondering where you ordered your lanterns from?

Congrats Jen! Once our contract was signed it was pretty much smooth sailing after that. Have you decided on all your other vendors yet? When are you getting married at H3R? My FI and I are getting married there on May 20, 2012, we're so excited! Let me know if you have any questions on vendors, I have contacted tons. ~Marissa

Wow, speech language pathology, that's awesome! One of my bridesmaids is going to school for that, too. I don't think we're doing a videographer. Is it around the same price as a photographer? That is a long time not to get your video, especially the couple that got married in Jan. If they're well known and have good reviews, I would go for it still. I would talk to them about the time frame of them sending you the video though. Maybe you can make an agreement with them in your contract, that if they don't send it in 4 months you get partial money back. You're going to have a great time at your site visit in October! Are you doing the tasting too? Will this be your first time there? Sara is normally pretty quick at emailing back. If you're still waiting I can send you the prices. I know she does normally require at least 4 bridesmaids to get make-up done since she has to fly there. I did get Adrian from Styling Trio Riviera Maya to go down a little in price since I had 4 bridesmaids doing hair and make-up. I'm still trying to choose between Juan Navarro and Gonzalo Nunez for photography. So many decisions! I did e-mail the woman you mentioned for the lanterns and she sent me the same prices. I just have to see if she'll only do the lanterns without doing our flowers. Thanks again for her e-mail! ~Marissa

Congrats with almost being done with law school! We're definitely trying to squeeze everything in. I have my optometry school written portion of my boards a month before our wedding. At least we'll have a nice relaxing break after! I'd love to see some of your pics next year. I'm so excited for our wedding. I wish May was already here.

My parents and I are getting to H3R on the 18th of May because I have my last final that day. We'll be staying till the 26th. My FI and his parents will be there the week before, but they'll be staying at the Grand Mayan for a few of those days. I was going to say I'd love to see pictures of your wedding if you were still going to be there. That's awesome though that you get to stay somewhere else for your honeymoon. We're taking our honeymoon in December of 2012 because I don't get many breaks from my grad school.

Where did you get the mini first-aid kits? That is a good idea. I only know that our cake wasn't included, maybe because we are having at least 75 people. Are you staying at H3R the week before your wedding and the week after your wedding?

Do you think I can use them for the lanterns, even if I am not using them as my florist? There is a $3 charge for putting the Welcome Bags in the rooms, but it is free if you leave them behind the front desk and they give them to the guests as they check in. Our contract never said the cake was included. I had asked too, unless it's just because we are having more people. As of right now I found bags at oriental trading company and also the dollar tree. The only things I have to put in so far are mini banana boat sunscreens.

Samantha- Yeah I know $1200 is insane! She said it would be half the price (so $600) for 15 lanterns, but she said she would speak to Luis just to make sure. The only places that you don't need to rent lighting for is the martini bar and the rotundra (I think it's called), that is right over the bridge from the lobby. It's very large with a cement wall there though. The Trio band Allibe said she could get, if we decide on that. So I would ask her or Luis about them. Sorry, I'm not sure about the speakers and microphone though. I'm sure you could, but I'm not 100% positive. ~Marissa

Hey Everyone! We just got back from H3R late last night. We had a great time, the place is beautiful. Tuesday we met with Allibe because Luis was out of town. The only vendor of her's that we met with were for linens (gamanteles) and the DJ. I think we are only going to do a light purple table cloth (they're only $15 ea) and the white napkins and white chairs for the reception. We want large round centerpieces, so we don't want the table decor to override the flowers. We are using Marvin from Diseno Floral. He was so nice and really accommodating to what we want to spend. We also met with Juan Navarro. He has a great personality and I really like is photographing style. We are between him and another photographer Gonzalo Nunez, so we'll have to decide on that soon. Unfortunately Gonzalo was unable to meet with us when we were there. We did meet with Ivan from DJ Doremixx, and we loved his personality, he definitely is very organized and knows what he's doing. I'm not sure what happened with him and Tres Rios, because Allibe also told us that she did not recommend him, but we wanted to make our own decision and meet him for ourselves. As long as they let him in, we are putting our deposit down for him this week. H3R has a DJ and he's the same price as Ivan. His name is Jaime and from our meeting with him he really has no personality. I don't know if it is because he doesn't speak a lot of english or what, but he didn't speak at all the whole time we were meeting with him. He didn't even ask if we had songs we liked. I had to ask him for his contact information and he did not have a website or anything. We are doing a Welcome BBQ the night before our wedding at the beach area that is by the Pizzeria and the river. We are renting a light ball that is $350 and tiki torches, and also getting candles for the tables. Right now we have at least 75 people coming, but we did invite 200 so who knows yet. We were going to have the BBQ on the beach by the volley ball court, but the sand is pretty deep and not so great to walk around/dance in. Also, at night there are sometimes little mosquito like bugs. We are also bringing our own IPOD and speakers for this, and renting a Trio band ($350 for 45 mins). The Ceremony we are having on the beach by the river and the ocean. We are getting a chuppah with flowers from Marvin and also a runner and flower petals for the aisles. We are flying our rabbi down for the ceremony. They did tell us though that we should rent the speaker and microphone for $175 for this because no one will be able to hear the ceremony over the wind. I was wondering if anyone didn't use the microphone and if people could still hear. The cocktail hour we are having at the Martini Bar. They said it could fit up to 120 people. We really liked the lighting and ambiance there. You can only chose 5 appetizers for this. Unfortunately, it is too much moving around for the DJ to set his stuff up there and then bring it back down to the pool for the reception. So, Ivan said he would bring an extra speaker, no extra charge, so we can plug in our IPOD. The resort wanted $175 for speakers. The reception will be on the pool terrace, right by the beach. For 30 lanterns to light up the area they wanted $1200 (which we thought was ridiculous), so we are only using 15 lanterns and the lamp posts by the pool. Allibe was very weird about the lighting, we kept asking why we just couldn't use the lamp posts there since it is free, and she said that people would not be able to see what they were eating. We had one of the workers turn them on at night, and they definitely gave off enough light. So, we're mostly just doing the 15 lanterns just for the look. Also, just to let you know they only give you one option for an entree at the wedding, which is crazy. Not everyone eats chicken, meat, or fish, especially since some people are vegetarians. We fought with them on this and we're hoping to have 3 entree choices as long as we give them notice at the resort beforehand of what each person is ordering. We did the menu tasting on Thursday. It was a lot of fun. The food is great! We chose the tenderloin, 7 chilies chicken, and the San Juan fish. All come with rice (like a risotto) and vegetables. For the salad we are between the Campanario and the Three Maria. The desserts were amazing too. We are having them make us a cupcake wedding cake, where the top is a small cake we can cut. We haven't picked a flavor yet. The price is $250. As for place cards we are still trying to think of ideas. We were going to have sand dollars with calligraphy of each guests name and table, but we're afraid they will break. My FI's parents are going to H3R again in December so they said they'll look around in Playa when they are there too. Does anyone know of any places I can buy Welcome Bags that our guests can re-use again? I did e-mail 5 different people in the area that I found through blogs, that do make-up and hair, and the cheapest was Sara Tamargo. She is the sister of Sol from Del Sol Photography. She is $180 for hair and make up on the wedding day, and $70 for the trial. I think you need at least 4 other people getting their make-up done though for her to come since she has to fly there. There is no travel fee otherwise. Fernando Fuentes was $180 for trial hair and make-up and then $350 on the Wedding day. I hope this helps! Sorry it's so long. Let me know if anyone has any other questions. I'll try and put pictures up once I put them onto my computer. ~Marissa

Hey everyone! I'm also a H3R bride. We're getting married on May 20,2012. (1 week after you, Samantha). My FI's parents are also owners and we are working with Luis, who is slow to get back to us, but he has been a little better. We are going to H3R this week to meet with vendors. So far we know we want DJ Doremixx for the wedding. We haven't chosen a photographer or florist yet, we are trying to look for an affordable florist if anyone knows of one. For hair and make-up I've been in contact with Adrian from Styling Trio Riviera Maya. His prices are pretty good and I like his work, he does the airbrush make-up. Becky: Your wedding was beautiful. Your photographer was amazing. We are also having purple as our color. Good luck with planning everyone! If anyone knows of any good photographers too, please let me know. Thanks!! Marissa

Hey everyone! I tried posting here before, but I guess it didn't work. My FI and I are also getting married at H3R, on May 20, 2012. We are so excited! We are actually going there this week to check out vendors. We haven't booked any yet, but we're pretty set on having DJ Doremixx at the wedding. We have read great reviews about him, and are meeting him this Tuesday. All the information on here about vendors has been really helpful. Becks: Your wedding looked beautiful! Your photographer is amazing! I love your centerpieces, our colors are also purple. Samantha: I can't believe your getting married only a week before us. My FI's parents are also owners and we have been dealing with Luis. He is very slow at getting back to us, but he has improved since we spoke to someone who was above him. Good luck planning! ~Marissa

Hey Everyone, I'm also new on this site. My Fiance and I are getting married at Hacienda Tres Rios on May 20, 2012. We are so excited. We are actually going down this week to check out all the vendors (flowers, photographers, DJs, etc). I've been searching online a lot myself, and right now we're leaning towards having DJ Doremixx at our wedding. We are meeting with him this Tuesday, so we'll see how it goes. Becks: Your photos are amazing! Your photographer is so talented. Our colors are also purple. We haven't chosen a florist yet though, but I love your centerpieces; so pretty! Samantha: Your wedding is the week before ours, that's so exciting! My FI parents are also H3R owners. Who are you having from Photos In Cancun do your wedding? ~Marissa