Cynlee143

Hi ladies!

My sister in law is getting married at the grand sirenis next November. I was wondering if you girls have any recommendations for photographers? Thanks in advanced!

I was just thinking about this the other day! Were doing a college with picture canvases, as well as a coffee table book.

These are the following items I have for sale from my wedding. Please note the silk flowers are brand new. PM if your interested- shipping not included.

1) Silk Flower Bouquets- Vintage style. I have 4 available, these are brand new! They would look great as part of center peices or on guest book table! Selling them for $15 each.

2) 8 new silk flower bouquets- These silk flowers are beautiful and would be perfect to use as aisle flowers, center pieces, or for flower girls! You can also bunch a couple for bridesmaid bouquets or bridal bouquet. Selling all 8 bouquets for $100

3) 30 Chair sashes- 15 (royal blue) and 15 (Turquoise) for $30

Originally Posted by nickieb 

 

Hi Tracy

 

We are getting married there march 2013....!!!!!!!! I cant wait !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I like the paper lantern idea.....

 

What are you doing about a photographer?  I think that the hotel one is really expensive and am thinking about finding a local one?

;o)

 

Hi Nickieb! The resort has a strict policy on outside photographer, but if your photographer is a guest from the resort then it can be your "friend" that is taking pics for you . We went with Chris Schmitt Photography (http://www.chrisschmittphotography.com/) and he was so AMAZING! We just got accessed to all our pics today and everything was photographed so perfectly. If you don't have a photographer, then I would suggest looking into him because at the time that we booked he covered his own flight (which saved us a lot of $$). He is such a talented photographer, and will do what ever it takes to get you memorable pictures.

I bought a bag of seashells from Michaels and brought them with me. We didn't have any problems getting them there, but I was unable to find any definitive answers either.

Hi Ladies - i've seen a lot of debate on BDW regarding starfish and people being allowed to bring them into Mexico for their decor. I'm wanting to use them for my chairs during the ceremony but I dont want to run into trouble with customs etc. Have any of you past brides brought these in? Is there a way to bring them without getting them taken away? OR is there somewhere i can buy them in Playa Del Carmen?

Hi Maria! Yes, the staff does cut the wedding cake for you after the first cut by you and your husband. We had the poolside reception until 11, but could have definitely stayed longer. You might need to make that special request to your WC

Originally Posted by Sunshine2680 

 

Oh! And for the gold member - its $120/$110 per person right? Not $120/$110 for one group?

Jazmin's english isn't the best - and it says 'per groups' so I'm not sure...

I believe it was $110 per person for the gold member! They get better seats and view of the stage . And yes, unfortunately if some guests go with gold then your group will be separated. When we went they had a certain section for all the GBP gold members, and GBP standard tickets. 

There's no Coco Bongo on Sundays! We went on a Wednesday and it was still packed!! Booked 2 days in advance . It might be easier to do all the bookings when your there.... Just make sure you negotiate

Sunshine, We went to Coco Bongo and it was so much fun! There's Coco bongo reps everywhere by the pool and lobby. We bought ours a couple days before. There's 2 packages.... 1) is VIP (lower level, better view of stage, table and seats) 2) regular pass (higher level, no seats, decent) We had 21 people and went with the regular pass. If there is only a small group going then I would go with VIP. When we first talked to the coco bongo rep he quoted us $65 per person..... Then we talked him down to $60 plus bride and groom free entrance. I thought that was a good deal, until our best man talked to our wedding coordinator and got $50 per person. So I would probably wait and ask your wedding coordinator during your sit down meeting. It really depends on how many ppl are going to coco bongo.

We just got married in Mexico on May 22, 2012 and it was absoluately beautiful!! We had so much fun that were already talking about renewing our vows in 5 or 10 years . Depending on the location it most likely be a small gathering of immediate family and close friends, or it may just be the two of us in an exotic destination like Bora Bora.

Originally Posted by AD2012 

 

Hey Ladies,

 

We've been home for just over a week now. We had an amazing time, thank you all for your help & suggestions.

 

I created a review of the resort if anyone is interested. Beware it's long!

 

http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/products/gran-bahia-principe-akumal-all-inclusive/reviews/6129

 

Once we get some more photos from our photgrapher, I'll post them. Here are the sneak peaks from our TTD & wedding day. Sorry they're so large.

 

 

 

 

We did the TTD just outside of the akumal golden beach.

 

You looked so STUNNING!! I love the beach pic.... so romantic. Can't wait to see more from your wedding

Originally Posted by Maria1301 

 

Can anyone tell me how big the bags of flower petals they offer are?     Thanks so much!

I'm not sure how big they were, but we bought 2 bags for our beach wedding and that wasn't enough ... but it would have been blown away from the breeze too lol. Their $10 or $11 usd per bag and you can get them in any colors you want. 

Originally Posted by Sunshine2680 

 

Great tips Cynlee! Thanks!! Looks like it was a great day! Glad to hear the resort DJ is a good one! We're going to bring our iPod anyway just in case

We did the same too . Oh, we also bought glow sticks ($1 at michaels or dollarama) for the poolside reception and that was a big hit!

Originally Posted by fraggle42 

 

Thanks for the review AD2012 and congratulations.

 

Have a fab time Coba Bride 2012. Cannot wait for your review and pics.

 

Just a quick question for everyone. I am travelling from the UK and am hearing mixed opinions on the best currency to take. Some people say that the currency is the peso so take the peso. Some recommend the US dollar. All the prices of things at the hotel are in dollars. When we visited Mexico before we were recommended to take the US dollar but that was about 10 years ago and things may have change since then. Plus we still got change in peso's anyway so got confusing. Any advice?

 

I know we won't need to carry too much money with being all inclusive. Mainly for tips and excursions. Do most people pay for the wedding by card?

We took USD, and I think they prefer US money vs peso. Everywhere we went (ie resort, city, excursions) took USD money. They also have an exchange desk in the lobby, but the rates are probably not as good. We used the exchange desk a few times to exchange $10 usd to $1 usd so that was helpful. If you buy stuff in the resort or in the city,they will give back change in peso. We just used those as tips lol. At the end of our trip, we paid for our wedding with a credit card during check out. They will give you an invoice and everything will be written in spanish and currency in pesos. When you meet with your coordinator she will calculate everything out for you and tell you how much the invoice will be for the wedding. Hope this helps!

Hi Ladies!! Were back from our wedding, and everything was just gorgeous! The staff and wedding coordinators are amazing and will do everything to make your day special. If any of you guys have any questions, just ask or pm me

Here's a few tips:

1) private poolside reception definitely a MUST! Jumping in the pool at night was definitely memorable. We hired the resort Dj and he was great!! I was a bit scared at first after reading all the reviews, but he was honestly amazing. He had most of the songs we requested, but if he didn't he would quickly download it.

2) At the end of the night make sure you pack up all your center pieces and chair sashes or else its your loss.  

3) I wanted flower lillies for my hair and for the bridesmaid, but when I got them they were HUGH... so we didn't end up using them. My advice is to get fake ones or orchids.

4) We got married at the beach in Akumal (Hammock location), it was so beautiful but breezy as well.... so make sure your hair is tied up . Luckily we had an engagement shoot the night before the wedding, so I quickly changed my hairstyle so it wouldn't get it the way.

5) TTD- Initially wanted to do it at the cenote, but ran out of time. HOWEVER, the paradise beach is goooorgeous ... white sand, palm trees, turquoise water, and fishing boats. Definitely the postcard look. Oh, and get the resort to call the cab for you so you don't get ripped off. We asked for prices before hand too. We also paid our cab to $10 USD an hour to wait for us while we did our photo shoot so that we didn't have to grab another cab.

Good to know yeemein! We're planning on going to a cenote outside of the resort - I'm hoping we won't run into the same problems - but from other TTD pics i've seen at cenotes -I've taken note which ones they are so hopefully all is well

Hi! Does anybody know if the flowers on the signing table is included under the "remember package"?

Wow, I had no idea there are so many of us there that week! We arrive on May 19th (9 more sleeps!) and are getting married at the Tulum gazebo on May 22 at 4pm. I will be checking my email while in Mexico (because of work) so feel free to drop me a line when you arrive and we can grab a drink, its on me  [email protected]

Everyone's wedding sounds amazing and always have great things to say about the wedding coordinators! Ahh just a relief since we're leaving soon . For any brides that got married at the hammock, where is the best place to send my group for drinks after the ceremony ( ours is at 3:00 pm). Also, how much do you tip the restaurant staff and wedding coordinator for their service on your big day? Thanks!

You'll have to keep us updated on the price of the package once you talk to the coordinator face to face. Were doing all the legal stuff here in Canada a few days before our wedding in Mexico. It would be nice to save some money lol
 

Originally Posted by yeemein 

hmm this is interesting. I had asked Maria so many times if the price of the package would decrease if we don't need a minister and she said no. We're already legally married in Canada and our best friend will be our "minister" for our ceremony. I think the best thing to do is to negotiate with your WC once you're in resort. It's impossible to get an accurate straight answer from them. We're departing in 10 days and wedding in 15 days

 

 

I am planning on doing this as well, and then taking it to a professional to edit the video . 
 

Originally Posted by Rachael 

Hi coba bride

 

I am not totally sure but surely a guest using a camcorder could not be classed as a photographer. A video camera used by one of the guests is what I am considering doing. It is pretty terrible if they charge for a guest using their own camcorder!!!

 

Hi Ladies!!! I know this question was asked before, but I can't seem to find the post . I'm just getting ready to pick flowers for my bouquet and was wondering if anyone knows what types of flowers are included in the resort package?

Thanks Trisha!! Loove your photography!!
 

Originally Posted by Tlseege 

I have finished the Akumal version of the photo tour, for anyone interested. http://blog.faberphotography.com/gran-bahia-principe-akumal-photo-tour/

SOOOO glad I found this tread!! Just preparing for my OOT bags now