beachbride2013

I received my wedding contract with the beach bonfire info on it. It states that we will recieve (for the $250 fee) the Beach bonfire, resort lounge chairs around fire, and cocktail tables. For an additional cost we can have flowers and music. We are just bringing an ipod dock for the music though. I'm so excited!

They do not allow sky lanterns.

They do not charge for additional chairs, just food, bar, decor, etc.

Hey Lola, I don't think they actually move the chairs to the reception. I could be wrong, but I have read in older posts that Cecilia said to double up on sashes because they do not have time to move the sashes from the ceremony to reception area. I am bringing my own sashes and bought twice the amount of guests I have.

I also wish there were more pics of the area. I would love to see what it looks like for a reception. We are not having a rehearsal dinner. We are doing a beach "welcome" bonfire for our guests on Friday night. Our wedding is on Sunday. I just didn't want to do it the night before the wedding. I'm not really sure what we will do on Saturday evening. Probably just take it easy.

I am having my reception there. I have searched the interweb over for pics and have come up with very little. It is pretty much the same as the gazebo terrace except on the opposite size of resort along the beach and pool. It's still has ocean views. I am having my wedding in May, so I can post pics when I return. If the gazebo is your first choice and is not available, I would suggest the barracuda terrace or the beach. They seem like the most popular and prettiest choices. The beach may be quite windy though. What time is your wedding?

I could see it being too loud because of wind and waves so it is probably true just depending on the weather that day. The sound system does include a microphone so there should be no problem. I know that they will fade the music in and out for you at the right times, so that is the main reason I am using it. I am worried that something will go wrong with the music if I have an ipod during the ceremony. I don't really have anyone who can work it for me during the wedding. We are doing the ultimate package and are substituting some stuff so we can put that cost toward the DJ. Speaking of music, I am trying to put my list of songs together for the ceremony. Are y'all having 1 song or more than that for the prelude? I only have a 3 minute song and am wondering if I should have at least 2? I've never been to a destination wedding so I really don't know how long it will take guests to be seated. We are having about 17 seated guests at the ceremony. Hmmm.....

We are doing an ipod dock from home for bonfire, sound system for the ceremony, the mexican trio for the cocktail hour, and the resort DJ for the reception.

Hi! I have not been to secrets maroma but am getting married there in May. if any of you got married in mid july... how was the weather?? showers? was the heat bearable? I did not get married in July, but I have been to the area. It will be hot and humid and breezy like opp stated. It's mexico and the beach though, so most guests should expect it. It will probably be a little warmer in July, but hopefully your guests can tolerate it. Also, it will likely rain at some point, but probably not all day. When I was there it rained for about 2 hours on about 2-3 days we were there. If I remember correctly, it was early afternoon/morning. any of you know when the sun will set? valeria keeps telling me between 5-6, but whenever i look it up online it says 7:30 for playa del carmen on that date...? our wedding will be planned around that, so the timeline is crucial. I am also not completely sure, but I think it may be getting pretty dark around 7:30. I would guess around 6:00 or 6:30. I can't remember exactly, I never pay attention to the time when I am on vaca. valeria mentioned there are no shuttles to and from the hotel, but we can pay $200 for hotel "transportation" from airport both ways. did any of you or your guests take taxis from the airport? or set up an online shuttle beforehand? any problems? cost? A lot of our guests are using cancunshuttle.com as the previous poster stated. I believe for 2 people it was about $80US round trip from hotel and airport, and that was for a private transfer. They also have a facebook page so you could check them out there. There will be taxis readily available outside of the hotel for anyone who wants to leave the resort as well. We used Colectivos when we were there last time to go to the Tulum ruins and was very affordable and easy. Much less expensive than taxis, but probably not for everyone. wondering how to go about paying everything? us or mexican currency? i'm assuming you pay for the wedding stuff once down there... do they take credit cards? what about the activities outside of the resort... ziplining, taxis, etc... what currency did you use? if you don't mind me asking, just because i'm so clueless on this issue, how much american $ and how much mexican $ did you have with you/ did you need for your trip? US money will be accepted everywhere in cancun/playa area. You may get pesos back in change, but I never have used anything other than US money. Taxis, tour companies, everyone takes american money. I will say that you need to be sure that your bank/cc company knows that you will be leaving the country and that you will be making purchases (especially the large purchase to pay for your wedding). Also, you will wan to check the terms of your cc company, because they may charge additional fees for you to use it in another country. We use cash for everything like tour guide, taxi, etc. brides who have been: any recommendations on reception areas outside? we would like to not pay for extra lighting if possible. know of any area that will be lit at night? Can't help with this, but we are having our reception at the barracuda terrace with no additional lighting.

She did get back to me. After speaking with Cecilia, It seems that the reception locations are on a first come first serve basis. I did not realize that. Someone else is having their reception at the wedding gazebo place so I will not be able to have mine there. I was able to reserve the barracuda terrace for my reception. When I originally inquired, I was told I could do it wherever I wanted. I told them I wanted to have it at the gazebo but it seems that was lost in translation. Thank goodness the barracuda terrace was available. It was very important to me to have ocean views. I guess I should have been more aggressive with what I wanted. I can be pretty laid back and tend to take things as they come. Oh well. After looking at the different locations, the barracuda terrace was my second choice.

I just emailed them so I will let you know if they respond.

They also do a 3:00 pm (mine is at 3) and they do an 11:00 am as well because that time was also available. Maybe they switch times depending on what day of the week, or what the first person to choose that day wants.

I guess what I am wanting is the Gazebo terrace. I was looking through the wedding guide on the secrets website and was getting confused as to which is which. I talked to FI during dinner and he doesn't really think we need to do pomanders for the ceremony. He thinks plain is fine. lol We still have some time to think about it, I just have no idea how they decorate it, if at all. I think if it is just the white tule, it still looks beautiful. @Annieweds-I agree. We originally were going to do the free wedding and then went up to the next one, and then up again! We are having less than 30 people. We are still waiting for some RSVP's, but it could be 30 including us. I liked the fact that it had the music trio and a few of the other things. Does anyone know who the resort DJ is? We are thinking about booking the DJ, but wanted to see who it was.

I ordered the colored maracas from a company called almos here in the states. I don't know if they ship internationally. I did not ask the wedding planner anything about them.

Okay last post I swear! I am now really confused as to the reception locations. I am wanting to do it at the location that I see in most of the pictures next to the swimming pool. Which location is this? Is it the Gazebo terrace? The pool terrace? or the seaside terrace? I'm so confused as to which one is which. Can someone please clarify?

Lola, it sounds like you are really on top of things! You wedding sounds beautiful!!! I was also wondering what was included as far as decor in the ultimate package. I have a feeling that there really isn't much included. I haven't thought about how the ceremony arch will be decorated. I guess I should think about that now. I'm shipping my OOT bags, sashes, and centerpieces down there. I will send the stuff back with some of my guests and myself and just get it from them when we get back home. I was thinking about leaving my centerpieces down there so I don't have to deal with it, but if they are going to charge me to set them up, then I am bringing them back!

I have read that in the past, they did not charge to set up chair sashes and centerpieces. It's very frustrating if they changed this. If they are going to charge per chair sash, I will have someone from my family tie them. I'm not going to pay $2 per bow. We have already blown our budge by several thousand dollars. I also read that you would need to double the amount of sashes because they will not transfer the bows from the ceremony to the reception because of time. So maybe this has changed, but I am planning on doubling up on my sashes because of this. I would not want to risk it if you think there is a chance that Cecilia could be misunderstanding what you are asking. I have also read that they DO charge quite a bit to set up lanterns because they have an outside company do it or something like that. So even if you bring your own, they still charge a significant amount (if not the same amount). I would check with Cecilia to be sure but I think someone posted something about this recently.

I purchased almost all of my stuff at dollar tree. The only difference I guess is that at my dollar tree everything is $1, regardless of what it is. I got almost everything there though. I had never been before my wedding. Just for OOT bags, and I think it was the best idea ever!!

I bought a couple of these (all they had in stock) in the store. Mine were multi colored, but otherwise exactly the same. I was able to fit sudoku books, hand sanitizer, koozies, lotions, cards, gum, and about 10 other things. I think these will be great bags. The material is great for the beach too.

I am shipping my chair sashes, OOT bags, centerpieces, and maracas to the hotel by the end of next week. I can't wait for the wedding!!!! I am surely trying to save some money by sendiing this stuff down there first. I just don't know the shipping cost, but I think i will come out ahead still!

We are doing our reception at the Gazebo (I think)....eek! I don't even remember what I have planed now!! I'm on spring break now so hopefully I can get some things planned this week! I need to figure out decorations, order chair bows, and I think we are now considering doing the DJ from the resort. This is so exciting! I cannot wait to get married at this resort!!

We are also doing the Mexican trio for our cocktail hour (I think). My fiance wants to do it for the bonfire, but I am wanting it for the cocktail hour. I think the Caribbean trio will be more bongo drums and/or reggae sounding. We are just upgrading to the biggest package because it just seems easier. I just want to see if we can swap out the video stuff for something else....we just don't need that.

I was thinking about providing flip flops in a basket, but I'm not sure yet. I did put on my wedding website that the ceremony and cocktail hour would be on the beach so wear shoes that can be easily slipped off. I've verbally told some guests who asked about how to dress as well. I think barefoot or flip flops will be fine for the ceremony and cocktail hour.

Funkydoll, there is an extra charge for getting married on Sunday. If you are doing the non-legal ceremony it is $100. For the legal ceremony I believe it is $200 additional (on top of the blood test, etc).

For those wanting to know about hair at the resort, if you go to venue reviews and then secrets maroma, there are a few pics of ladies who had their hair done at the resort. Not many, but I saw a couple of them.