FtMacBride

Well ladies, I'm back from what I would call the BEST week of my life. I had the most amazing experience and I couldn't have asked for anything better. My wedding was April 16 at 4pm. We had 43 people attend from all over Canada (Newfoundland, Calgary, Edmonton, Fort McMurray and Vancouver). We were at the resort from April 13 to April 20th. Most of us flew Air Transat but then group from Newfoundland flew Air Canada. If you flew Air Transat you had a few more perks (bottle of tequila) but nothing to crazy. Everyone arrived on time and check in was busy but not too bad. I had personalized thermal cups with lids and straws ready for everyone as they arrived as a little welcome gift. Inside the cup was a little message and a quick itinerary for the week (rehearsal dinner, wedding time). It was great seeing these cups used throughout the week by my guests. Our first morning there we went to meet Marcela our wedding coordinator and boy was she great. I can't begin to describe how much I loved her and how fabulous she was. She made my wedding day so easy for me. I arrived with a huge bin of stuff for her to put out on the day of the wedding and she went above and beyond. We went over pricing and created an invoice and then paid for everything. It was very smooth. The Wedding Day I woke up the day of the wedding alone, my groom had spent the night with his friend and I wanted to have time alone to prepare cards, and a speech so I decided alone was best for me. I went over to the window and it was pouring rain. But it was also 6:30 in the morning. I had remembered what Marcela had said about rain and how it can pour for hours and just stop, so I knew I had lots of time before the ceremony so I didn't stress. Had my shower, coffee and wrote my speeches. Around 8:15 the bridesmaids and my mom began to arrive at my room. By 9am we went down to the buffet by the pool and had some breakfast (groom was going to buffet in lobby, so we avoided that area). At 10:40am we left my room and went to catch the shuttle to the spa. The spa is absolutely beautiful. Once at the spa, the 6 of us (myself, 4 bridesmaid and my mom) were taken into the salon and it was amazing. The ladies started with myself and 2 bridesmaids, and as the bridesmaids were done the others switched in. By 1:45pm we were all beautiful and went down to catch the shuttle. Anyone that is worried about getting their hair done by the ladies at the salon, don't worry, they are amazing. I have long thick curly hair and they had no problems whatsoever with it. We arrived back at the room at around 2:05pm and ordered some room service, played some music and started getting ready. This was the time that I looked around and realized I was getting married. I took time to take it all in and really cherish the moment. My photographers arrived around 2:15pm and started taking pictures of everything. I choose to go with an outside photographer just because I had heard that the resort photo were not as good. I think that was my best decision I could have made. I went with Photos In Cancun, and they were phenomenal. Derek and Lorena were awesome. They just fit right in and took photos as we were just hanging out. They never got in the way of anything. We continued getting ready and by this time the sun was starting to shine The shuttle arrived to pick us up at about 4:15pm (15 minutes late, but I didn't stress because I knew the day couldn't start without me). Marcela was on the shuttle with us and shortly after the shuttle pulled away from the door we were all singing "Going to the Chapel". It a memory that will be forever with me. Once we arrived at the location, Marcela got off the shuttle and went to make an announcement, that we were ready to start and had everyone take their seats. The music started and one by one the bridesmaids headed down the aisle. Then music changed, I kissed my mom and we started our walk. It was emotional, beautiful and everything I had dreamt about since I was a little girl. The décor looked great and the setting was stunning. The ceremony was the symbolic one and it was quick and sweet. We kissed, he pronounced us husband and wife, we turned around and walked back down the aisle to Celebration. It was perfect. We then had a champagne toast and a group photo taken. I had paid to have an extra hour of open bar before the reception so my guests could stay in the location while we were having pictures taken. We also had booked the mariachi band to perform during this time and my guests loved it. They danced and took photos with the guys! By 6pm we were ready to head into the Palapa for the reception. It was decorated beautifully and all my guests kept saying how perfect it was for a Mexico wedding location. For dinner we choose the Beach BBQ and it was great. There was plenty of food and lots of chooses for everyone. My cake looked absolutely gorgeous. The DJ was good however, I had brought an iPod full of songs so guest could choose songs from that as well. Once the party started it never stopped. Everyone had a great time and the staff was amazing. My photographers were enjoying the night sky because it was a full moon, so my husband and I would sneak out once in awhile with them to get some awesome night pictures. At the end of the night I was handed 3 memory sticks with over 1800 pictures on them. Now I have to go through all the pictures and pick 250 that we want edited and they will do that and send them back to us. I was so happy with them, they made our day so easy and were never in the way. They were just like any other guests at our wedding. I look forward to seeing them again whenever we return to Mexico. We had also paid for an extra hour for the reception because we knew no one would want the party to end at 10pm. So we paid the extra hour and at 11pm most of our guests walked over to the Disco and let the party continue. At this time Marcela, told us she would clean up and take everything back to her office and we could swing by on Friday and pick it all up. That way we were not trying to take the shuttle back with all our stuff, it was great. We went to the Disco for about half an hour and danced with everyone then said our goodbyes and headed to the Presidential Suite. All I can say about this suite is that it was AMAZING. Overall, I can't find one negative thing about the whole day. The staff was so awesome and Marcela made my day truly amazing. I had no stress and enjoyed every minute of the day. Looking back on the whole experience, I would not change a thing. My guests are still taking about how amazing everything was and how much fun they all had. Sorry for the long post, but just wanted everyone who is unsure about the resort or the whole Mexico wedding thing to know that I couldn't be happier with my choice and I would recommend it to anyone. June

Hi ladies, Can't believe I am getting married in 37 days.......ahhhhhhhh!!!! Just in the final stages of planning everything now. I am wondering if any of the Canadian brides mailed things down before hand or if you just brought everything on the plane with you??? I have a box that I want to send down earlier but Canada Post is outrageous. Wondering if anyone has any suggestion or if I should just bring it on the plane with me. June

Quote: Originally Posted by Oilersbride Hi June The booze won't start flowing until after ceremony. We opted for open national bar starting at 230 for our cocktail hour(s). We had people take pics with us from 230-300ish and then a Mexican trio came and played to keep guests entertained. We had the DJ play music after this. We had reception start at 6. We had the wedding coordinator arrange to have extra Tiffany chairs at no cost so people could sit. I think having that much time between ceremony and reception probably sucked for the guests since we didn't want to shuttle them back and forth before the reception. We got extra appetizers for the cocktail hour and I think open bar is better then paying for extra wine / champagne since not everyone drinks that. Also you get the golf cart for 8 hours / if you don't pay for the extra one that they offer for 1000 pesos for 5 hours. Ours was available from 1-9 leaving people stranded (only because it was raining buckets that night) at the palapa till the disco shuttle ran. Because you will have a shorter time between ceremony and reception I don't think you need to worry about open bar until start of reception itself. Do you know when sunset is while you are there? We spent from 315ish till prob 530 when we lost the light. Depends what kind of pics and how far you want to go away from ceremony site. Oh and I highly recommend people go check out the ceremony site. The wedding coordinator does not take you there (at least ours didn't) and we walked there fairly easily during the day... It's right behind the disco and there is a path from building 24 (I think it was 24) that you can follow. This is where the private beach ceremony is and not the public one. And you might get talked about how awesome the ruins are to take pics on but I didn't find it very easy to get up to it just walking around let alone in a dress! Sorry I rambled!!!!! Thanks for all the info. I believe sunset while I'm there is around 7:15 so I think I should have some light for photos. I just booked Photos In Cancun as my photographer and I am so happy that I am not using the resort photographer. I think I may pay for 1 hour of open bar between ceremony and reception so all my guest can stay in the one area and they don't have to leave and return back to the resort. There is only an hour and a half between both so I think, open bar is a good idea. I am thinking that within the hour I will also have the Mexican Trio play for the 45 minutes. Thanks again for all the info

Hi ladies, I am just going through all my attachments that were sent to me with all the details about the presidential package. I am a little unsure on the ~Champagne toast and appetizers~ Is this a cocktail hour??? How long does it happen? Is it long enough to keep guests entertained while wedding party gets photos, or did you guys opt for a private cocktail hour? I am not to sure what time the open bar starts...whether it starts when the ceremony ends or whether it begins when the reception starts. I am thinking about a 4pm start with cocktail hour from 4:30-5:30 and reception to begin at 6??? Does this make sense or should I change my times. I know if I start reception at 6 I am will to pay the dj and extra hour to keep him till disco opens. How someone has some feedback for me June

Quote: Originally Posted by Shera Richer Hello Grand GSRM Brides! I'm getting married on April 24th, 2014. I was wondring if anyone decided to go with an outside photographer from Mexico for their wedding. I was looking a the packages available through Adventure Photos, did anyone use their services. thanks! any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Shera Hi Shera, I'm getting married on April 16, 2014! We are there until the 20. When do you arrive? I am also looking into using an outside photographer and I just cant seem to choice one!!! June

Quote: Originally Posted by Oilersbride Hey everyone ... I am still actually at the resort - our wedding was a couple days ago, There were no major snafus... Cake was wrong flavor and an iguana helped itself to a tray of appetizers during cocktails.... Those were the biggest boo boo of the day. Dj played songs fine for the ones we specified but definitely wished we pre loaded a iPod with songs for reception - luckily a couple guests provided their phones and the dj played the music from that which was more crowd appropriate. Resort photographers did not show up day of wedding - we brought our own and they offered to do a family session with us for our ten free pics - if the rain ever stops I hope we can do that in next couple days! I used the spa for my hair and make up as well as pre wedding manis and pedis - it all worked out well. Hair and make up took 2 hours and I just needed to remove the thick dark eye brows they filled in - but I was happy over all with how it turned out in general. We also did a ttd session the morning after - pool lazy river and down at the beach .... We had zero issues with bringing our friend in who was staying the whole week with us. More detailed review and pics to come! Oilersbride, Congrats on your big day. Cant wait to see pictures and hear all about it when you return home

Quote: Originally Posted by Oilersbride You get an open bar for your time at the palapa. it is a national open bar and you can upgrade it to international or premium. we are having an open national bar as part of the cocktail hour. the palapa is located fairly far from the rest of the resort and we are paying the extra to have the golf cart service for five hours (basically an hour before our wedding ceremony to the start of the reception to be able to take our guests to the wedding area and to have for us to go around to different places on resort for pictures). we have the presidential package so I am not sure what you have outlined in the platinum through the travel agency but you should clarify what you get included as far as drinks go. we are paying extra per hour to have them earlier than the start of our reception plus they are only there for four hours so we are extending it for an extra hour to have them until 11 pm. Just wondering how much it is costing to have the Palapa for an extra hour? Do you have to pay extra to have the dj as well for the last hour? I know we get the dj for 4 hours total. Does this include the ceremony if we have music or is it just the reception?

Hello Brides, Well I just confirmed our wedding at the Grand Sirenis. We are getting married on April 16, 2014 So excited now for the planning process!!! Any other brides getting married in April? We will be at the Grand Sirenis from April 13 - April 20!!!!

Well that sounds like an awesome deal. I am also dealing with Sear Travel and just waiting back to hear prices now. I have found that the wedding coordinator has been awesome. I emailed 4 times yesterday back and forth. How just hoping the TA comes back with a good price so I can finalize everything and people can start paying their deposits.

Hi Oilersbride, Thanks for the update. We are getting married in April. I am just in the middle of requesting April 16, for the beach ceremony and the Palapa reception. Just awaiting confirmation. Also, waiting to get quote back from TA. I assume that you guys are flying out of Edmonton? Was your package under $2000 and who are you flying with? I was dealing with a TA from Fort Mac but changed and now I dealing with one via email and phone calls from Vancouver. The Fort Mac travel agent never seems too find any good deals

Hi guys, congrats to everyone on their engagement!!! I am loving this site, it has been most helpful. I however, have my deposit down on The Now Sapphire however, just got pricing back from my TA and it is extremely high. So now I starting all over again. I have been looking at The Grand Sirenis and I'm starting to love it. I just have a few questions for those that have already been there. How is the night life? I am going with about 50 people and I'm wondering if everyone will be able to party at night (most are coming without kids)? Also, is there anyway to get more A la Carte dinners? 8 restaurants and only 3 a la carte dinner Also, is there snacks available in the night time? I thought I was done with this whole planning and finding a resort but I guess not!!! Happy to hear any feedback as well!! Thanks and happy planning

Here is the website I have been looking at for prices. Hope it helps: http://bluebayresorts.com/index.php?accion=bodas&subAccion=getInfo&packId=22&idHot=1

Here is the link I have been looking at for some prices: http://bluebayresorts.com/index.php?accion=bodas&subAccion=getInfo&packId=22&idHot=1 Hope this helps

Hi ladies, I'm also looking at getting married at BBGE in April 2014 Just wondering what previous brides thought of the location. I am a fan of sandy beach and some reviews say the beach is not sandy I would love to have pictures done on a clean beach. Also, wondering about any hidden costs as I plan on having over 50 people attend from all across Canada!!! Would love to hear any reviews or see more pictures

Hey SuperJdub, Just wondering if you have some pictures of the wedding? I am planning on getting married in April 2014! So far this resort looks great and is my favourite Congrats on your wedding!!!

Hey SuperJdub, Just wondering if you have some pictures of the wedding? I am planning on getting married in April 2014! So far this resort looks great and is my favourite Congrats on your wedding!!!