futuremrswarner

 

Nice cake! It's better than the ones others have had.

 

Can u plz tell me more about your wedding package along with the pool side pricing? Did u pay for pool bar set up? DJ? Thanks

 

 

 

 

I had a symbollic ceremony, so I'm not sure if that changes things regarding the wedding package. It cost me $1275 USD for the wedding package, which I believe is the only option available for symbollic ceremony (unless you've requested for another package specifically for their features). I think it's called the Remember Package. 

 

For the poolside reception, it was from 8-11pm. We paid for the following:

"A private pool party with a cost of 1020 USD per 40 people max and 3hrs of special drinks (pina colada, margaritas, sparkling wine, beers) and obviously shots, as well as drinks you were able to get from the bars on the resort and special illumination and 1 microphone and speakers to connect your ipod and decorated too with chairs and high tables."

 

However, as I may have mentioned in previous posts, it was raining on the night of my wedding, so we were moved indoors. I just checked the Wedding Service Addendum that was signed on the day of my meeting with Jazmin, and it stated that in case of bad weather, we were moved to the Casa Club on the Sian Kaan section. 

 

I didn't really need the speakers and all that because I had hired DJ Bob for the wedding and he brought his own equipment. So this option did not include the resort DJ. 

Thanks for your reply!

 

Eugenia hasn't mentioned anything about a cash deposit. Did she wait until you got there to tell you about it or did you know about the deposit before you left for Mexico?

 

Sorry about the late response. Jazmin told me about the deposit before I left for Mexico. The final email she sent me, she mentioned the cash deposit. Again, I'm not sure if this is standard across all 3 of the resorts or if that was just for Tulum. 

Hi Everyone, 

 

I got married on December 19th, 2013. We stayed from December 15-29th (our guests stayed from December 15-22). We did the "Unforgettable" wedding package, LEGAL wedding. 

Hotel we stayed at: Coba

Hair: Coba Spa

Ceremony: Tulum Gazebo

Dinner: Porto Fino

Reception: Arrecife Jacuzzi Pool (Coba)

 

We brought our photographer from Toronto. 

 

If anyone would like me to speak to anything or write a review please let me know. 

 

Congratulations!! Can't wait to see pictures.

How much did u end up paying for the pool side reception? What was included? Did u have DJ included?

 

How was your cake?

 

Plz share pics as well.

Thanks

 

This is a picture of my cake that we got... we had dinner at the Don Pablo on Tulum. We had the 3 milks (tres leches) and it was AMAZING! I had to request for a 2-tier cake from Jazmin though. I asked her to make the 2 tiers smaller than usual just so I can't have the layers.

 

Hi there congratulations hope you had an amazing time.

We leave 23rd march get married 2nd April at the tulum gazebo cant wait and our meal will be at the don pablo. We have 28 guests booked already and still waiting for 6more to book. 

I just wondered if you knew exactly how long your photographer had to stay for I was told 5days then 5nights so just want to make sure?

Does anyone know where the poolside reception will be at the tulum please?

 

My photographers stayed for 5 nights. I booked their stay for Nov. 10 -15, which was sufficient for the resort to let them photograph my wedding.

I'm having the dinner at Tequiliritas Mexican Restaurant.... does anyone know if the tables are round or square? And about how many people per table?

 

I'm going through my photos from the trip and my dad's facebook photos. Tequila has square tables from what I remember and what I can see in the photos. My family was there in a group of 7 or 8 and they just put together some square tables to make a long table for them. I believe the settings there are 8-10 people per table. 

I am planning on having a cocktail hour from 5 to 6 (then diner from 6 to 8).... I want to use this hour for a couple of speeches, mingling, etc. 

 

Guitar trio is 295, and I would only do the "special cocktails" for the hour (wine, beer, margarita, and pina colatas), which is only $5 a person.... what do you guys think of this? When did you guys do your speeches?

 

My ceremony is at 3, and I'm wondering if having a cocktail hour at 5 would make things too rushed for photos?

 

From what I understand:

3to 3:30pm - ceremony

3:30-3:45 - toast

3:45-4 - group picture

4 to 4:30 - bride and groom pictures

4:30 to 5 - wedding party pictures

 

5 to 6  - cocktail hour with guitar trio, speeches

6 to 8 - dinner at Tequila Mexican restaurant

8 to 10:30 - poolside reception

 

*** Where is the poolside reception in the Tulum resort?

 

Thanks!

 

Kat

How much extra were the white sashes on the chairs?

 

I am planning on having a cocktail hour from 5 to 6 (then diner from 6 to 8).... I want to use this hour for a couple of speeches, mingling, etc. 

 

Guitar trio is 295, and I would only do the "special cocktails" for the hour (wine, beer, margarita, and pina colatas), which is only $5 a person.... what do you think of this? When did you  do your speeches?

 

My ceremony is at 3, and I'm wondering if having a cocktail hour at 5 would make things too rushed for photos?

 

From what I understand:

 

3to 3:30pm - ceremony

3:30-3:45 - toast

3:45-4 - group picture

4 to 4:30 - bride and groom pictures

4:30 to 5 - wedding party pictures

5 to 6  - cocktail hour with guitar trio, speeches

6 to 8 - dinner at Tequila Mexican restaurant

8 to 10:30 - poolside reception

 

*** Where is the poolside reception in the Tulum resort?

 

Thanks!

 

Kat

 

 

The white sashes on the chairs were included in the price for the wedding package. I didn't need to pay extra for that. 

 

It rained on the day of my wedding, so we didn't end up having the poolside reception. However, I did see another wedding with the poolside reception at the pool by Gran Tortuga.

 

For us, we didn't do the cocktail hour so we just did our speeches during the dinner in Don Pablo. We didn't use a mic or anything, but if you spoke normally, I think your guest should still hear you, even at Tequila restaurant (assuming you're a small sectioned off area in the restaurant). 

 

That timeline is pretty much what we had.

3:00-3:30pm  ceremony

3:30-3:50pm  toast and just quick mingling 

3:50-4:15pm  group photos

4:15-4:45pm  wedding party photos on the beach

4:45-5:30pm  bride and groom photos on the beach

 

We took a little longer with the photos, and even then, we had extra time to spare before we had to go to dinner. You should be fine with your timeline. 

Can any previous brides help, how did everyone communicate with guests to arrange meeting up and to find out where everyone is? I've read on here the rooms don't have voicemail?

Not keen on using mobiles as it'll cost loads, any suggestions?

 

Jazmin gave me a little note/letter to give out to all the guests to give them a brief timeline of the events that day for those who are not part of the wedding party. It had the time and location of where to meet within the resort to head over to the ceremony site. It was helpful too when your friends and family can pass on the information just in case you can't reach all your guests in time. The letter is given to bride/groom at the meeting with the WC, so you would have to hunt down your guests or have the resort put it in their rooms. 

 

If you're referring to communication with the guests within the week, we just use the room phones as much as we could, and made arrangements the night before. Again, having guests pass on the word to each other really helped us. Although it was easy to hunt everyone down for us because all my guests were placed within the same building. 

I'm trying to reach Jazmin but haven't heard back in nearly two months. I really want her to confirm my dinner time  - as well as my cocktail hour I will pay for before and the poolside recpetion - so i can order and mail my invitations

 

3pm - tulum gazebo legal ceremony

5 - 6p - cocktail hour with guitar trio

6 to 8pm - dinner at Tequila mexican resturant

8 to 10:30pm - poolside reception

 

what do you guys think?

 

That is exactly what my timeline was for the wedding, and I think it worked out great for us. We didnt have a cocktail hour set up, and just allowed guests to do their own thing after the ceremony while we were taking photos. However, it worked out great for them because many of them went back to the room to rest up or change into more comfortable clothing. They all appreciated the little spare time they had. 

Do any past Canadian brides have any feedback on how you paid for everything?

 

I know you pay for everything at the end, but we are trying to decide on whether to pay by credit card or to bring down cash. Taking $3k + cash down to Mexico (esp leaving it in our room safe for en entire week) makes me nervous, but Eugenia has told us that the exchange rate the hotel gives us if we pay by credit card in Pesos is not the greatest and is better if we pay in cash. This makes sense if we were coming from the US and all our currency was in USD already, but coming from Canada we have to exchange either way.

 

Any thoughts...

 

I was nervous about bringing the cash down as well, but I ended up paying the resort all in cash in the end. With the credit card, alot of companies will charge the exchange rate + an extra % so it just didnt make sense to me. The hubby and I ended up paying the resort and all our vendors in cash in the end, and since we exchanged a larger sum, the bank gave us a slightly better rate. You would have to take cash no matter what as the resort asked us to place a cash deposit of about 630 USD during our meeting with the WC. So do bring some cash. We left all the cash in the safe the whole time, and paid everyone as soon as we could so we didnt have to keep the cash. 

Hi could you tell me how much it was to hire the red carpet for the gazebo?

 

The red carpet was a free option, if you wanted it. I would just confirm with the WC before you request for it though, just because each WC seems to be telling their brides different things sometimes. 

The ceremony took approximately 30 minutes. It wasn't very long, and this is also after we had an extra 5 minutes or so of my sister in law doing a quick reading for us. The new website is difficult to upload photos, but I was able to find this one of us during the ceremony at the gazebo in Tulum. 

 

We had our legal wedding in Toronto a month prior to us leaving for Mexico. We only did the symbollic ceremony at the resort, which is why I didn't chase for the marriage certificate as much. I'm not sure if the legal wedding certificate will take longer for them to get to you, but with that additional week, it should be more than enough time to get yours.

 

I stayed in Villa 4 on Tulum. It was the closest block of villas to the main area. I'm not sure if we got an upgrade, but when my family and friends came to my room, they did say that the room we had was bigger (with an additional sitting area). It was not too noisy, because we didn't hear much of the main lobby bar from our room, and we were pretty close to it. On the day of my wedding, there was a little bit of wind, but I don't think it was too bad. My hair was wrapped to one side, left down, and I didn't find that I had to remove the hair from my face during the ceremony.

Oh just some quick things as well:

 

Travel Agent: Shelley Elkas from DestinationWeddings.com

Airline: Air Canada Rouge

Photographer: Photos In Cancun 

Make-Up & Hair: Styling Trio Riviera Maya (Adira Guerra and his team)

DJ: DJ Bob

 

Dinner Menu: 

- Don Pablo salad

- chicken broth

- surf and turf

- three milk wedding cake

This is going to be a long one. Be prepared.

 

My experience with Bahia Principe Tulum, Jazmin and her assistant Karla, was great.

 

I believe I placed my deposit around November 2012 for my wedding in November 2013. Jazmin introduced herself to me 2 months later, and by then, she had confirmed my wedding date and time for me. Based on the posts from the past brides on BDW, I had written down a list of questions for Jazmin already, so I asked her as much as I could with the first email I sent her. During that time, her email responses were within 2 weeks to a months time, but all my questions were answered. By March, I had essentially finalized all my wedding details with her, including the wedding location, the reception dinner menu, the cake, and the poolside reception. The 2 months leading up to the wedding, she reminded me of the guestlists, and helped me to finalize my flowers (including addtional flower arrangements I wanted for the ceremony location). She sent me a final email once every detail is confirmed to give me the details of our meeting time and what I needed to bring to her. 

 

The day of our meeting (2 days after my arrival), I was waiting in the lobby for my meeting with Jazmin, and I was introduced to Arrecife Studios representative by Karla. The rep started chatting with me about photos, even though I had already emailed their office that I would not require their services. I had to tell the rep this information, and she went to reception to confirm details of the photographers to ensure they are staying at the resort for the minimum of 5 nights before she was willing to provide me with a cancellation form. Jazmin came to get me before the rep came back, so I had asked Jazmin for the cancellation form and she was able to provide that to me and helped us with that. 

 

The meeting was very good because I saw that Jazmin had printed out all the emails I had sent her regarding the wedding details, including the photos that I sent for the extra flower arrangements I wanted and the way I wanted my bouquets and boutonnieres. She had essentially all the details down to the crack and confirmed everything with us again. She asked for the CD for the music at the ceremony, and all the decorations that I wanted for the ceremony and reception. She was very good at making notes of how I wanted everything and put it on sticky notes on each of the items that I had. At this meeting, she also requests that you bring a cash deposit (she'll let you know the amount on her final email). So at the meeting, she confirms for me where I wanted the flowers to be delivered on the wedding day, and where guests and the groom would have to meet before the ceremony, how we wanted the ceremony.

 

The day of the wedding, our wedding ceremony was at the Tulum gazebo at 3pm. The guests, groom, groomsmen and father of the bride had met around 2:30pm in the lobby to be led to the ceremony location for a quick rehearsal and just simple instructions on what they needed to do. Jazmin was there with them the entire time. The flowers were exactly the way I wanted them, and they were delivered to the bride's room right on time. Around 2:50pm, the driver came and knocked on our door to pick us up with the golf cart to the ceremony. Karla was with me and the girls with her walkie-talkie, chatting with Jazmin at the gazebo to signal the girls out on time. I heard the music playing and it was exactly the songs I wanted at the right time. Throughout the ceremony, Jazmin and Karla stayed to make sure everything was running smoothly. After the ceremony, she helped with the champagne for toast. When that was complete, she pulled Richard and me aside to confirm the poolside reception. This is important for other brides with the poolside reception, the resort will check the weather for you throughout the day, and they will advise you to the best of their ability if there is a chance of rain at night. If there is, they will advise you to move to the indoor location. At this point, which ever option you select will be final. If it rained and you chose to stay outside, the resort will not refund you for not being able to have your reception. If it didnt rain and you chose to go inside, they will not allow you to move back outside. So at this point, Jazmin informed us that there was a low chance of rain, so we decided to stay outside. 

 

Dinner was at the Don Pablo for us (great option by the way). Jazmin and Karla were there as well to meet us at 6pm to make sure everyone was at their tables. We had one table where they merged some guests names together so they had to fix that and bring additional settings. Otherwise the dinner went well. When we first started the dinner, there were not many guests in the restaurant with us, so we started our speeches as soon as the first course was done. It was really quiet in the restaurant so mics/speakers were not needed at all. Other guests in the restaurant were also very accomodating. I noticed that Jazmin and Karla came into Don Pablo to check up on the dinner every so often. At this time, we noticed that it started to thunderstorm outside around 6:30pm. Richard and I had to speak with Jazmin about the poolside reception. She told us low probability of rain, but now there was a thunderstorm, so we asked if it was still possible to move inside. She only told me she would try her best, and confirmed for me before the dinner was over that she was able to move us to the Plan B location at Sian K'an. The menu was exactly as we decided on, and the cake (tres leche/3 milks) was delicious. I had requested that the cake be 2-tier, and she was able to deliver that as well. Our guests LOVED the cake - some had 2nds and 3rds, and some even packed some for midnight snack. 

 

After dinner, she was there to show all of us where the trolley was waiting to take us to the Sian K'an location. She made sure everyone was on the trolley first before we left. She didnt come with us, but she did send Karla with us to confirm that everything was ok before she left. The reception went well. We were able to have DJ Bob for our reception, but this was only the case because I had made a deposit in January 2013 before the resort changed their policies. Apparently, the resort has new management who changed all the rules to not allow external vendors for anything. I believe DJ Bob is working with the resort to work out a deal, so not sure how that will end. 

 

I was at the resort for an extra week, so I didn't really bother chasing Jazmin down for the marriage certificate. I got that a day or two before I left Mexico, and she returned all the decorations.

 

So overall, I would have to say that I had an amazing experience with Jazmin and Karla. I could not have asked for better WCs.

Here's a picture of the two of them. The one with the glasses is Jazmin, and the other is Karla.  

 

 

 

I've typed a lot. If any brides have any other questions, let me know. Happy planning and hopefully, your experience will be as pleasant as mine

It's hard to hear from other brides that their experience were that much of a nightmare. I would've freaked out if that was me. Luckily, my experience was not bad at all, dealing with the WCs from Tulum. I can write a review for those of you getting married on Tulum and working with Jazmin, if any ladies would like to hear, let me know. 
 

This was in the Tulum lobby. They have pillars in the Coba lobby as well, and I believe the Coba lobby has 3 pillars. The Akumal lobby is some kind of statue, so it doesn't look the same.

Yes, I used Photos In Cancun, but I had a hard time arguing my way out of that one. Derek is from Toronto and they're friends of ours. I had sent an email to Arrecife Studios to let them know I wouldn't need their services, but they didn't reply me. So I took it as they're ok with it. When I arrived at the meeting with the WC that day, you actually meet with Arrecife representative first, and they gave me a hard time, but Derek and Lorena stayed at the resort for the required 5 nights, so they couldn't really say anything.

Hi ladies, 

 

I just returned home from my two weeks wedding/vacation from Mexico, and super sad because I came home to snow in Toronto. However, the wedding was successful and all my guests had fun. The wedding coordinators did a FANTASTIC job, and I really couldn't have asked for a better wedding day. 

Here are a couple of photos from my photographer that I have received so far. Let me know if I can help with any questions about the resort.
 

 

There was a chance of rain later on in the afternoon, so our poolside reception was moved indoors to the Plan B location at Sian K'an. No regrets. We had just as much fun and the space was gorgeous!

 

 

Thanks!! Yeah, I'm getting more and more excited as we speak, and checking this forum does make things even more exciting with other brides chatting with me. I will try to enjoy the day and let you guys know how the wedding went.

 

I'm there for 2 weeks, one for the wedding and the other a mini honeymoon with the new hubby. So if anyone has any questions about the resort or things that I can figure out for you while I'm there (without having to hunt down a WC), let me know and I'll try my best to check them out for you ladies while I'm there. 

I will let you know also if I hear anything. I'm like a crazy lady checking my emails all the time!

Most brides to be on here are getting married in tulum or coba so it's unclear if Akumal is really busy for weddings or there's not a lot of Akumal brides on here.

Fingers and toes crossed we get something sorted soon!

 

I met a bride from this forum whom i've been chatting with quite often offline. She's getting married at Akumal the week after me (while I'm still at the resort) and she dealt with Eugenia. I've been hearing more often that she's unresponsive than most other WC.

 

From what it seems, I've had a much different experience with the WC than you. I've been dealing with Jazmin, and she's been quite on top of everything. In the beginning, I didn't hear from her until a week or two after I send them, but she's been pretty quick since a month ago. She replied pretty much within the same day sometimes. She confirmed my ceremony location, the time, and the dinner location for me approx. 2-3 months after we booked with the TA. She confirmed the poolside reception for me as well around the same time. So I essentially had a timeline of the day relatively early in the planning process.

 

I've left it to the guests to figure something out for themselves. It probably maes me sound like a bad host, but I figured the less rigid I make the schedule, the better it is for them. I figured they can all gather at a bar near by the restaurant, or closest bar to the ceremony location. I'm sure the guests will understand.

 

As for the speeches, the resort doesnt allow music or mics in the restaurants because it will disrupt the other guests in the restaurant. So those making speeches will just have to speak a little louder. They say its quiet enough there that you should be good without speakers.

 

I'm having people do their speeches during the dinner. I've read on the forum that usually not as many people are in the restaurants around the time we're in there, so it's slightly more quiet. I know I will be taking my time with the photos, so I won't really have a cocktail hour. Hopefully it works out. 

 

I have the flowers catalogue that Jazmin sent me, but the photos are VERY outdated. For me, before I even received the catalogue, I just assumed that basic common flowers were included in the package. Anything that is most likely required to be imported from other countries would not, like orchids. Let me know if you still want me to send to you.

 

I have the exact same timeline for my wedding next Tuesday. I didn't get too bummed out about it because I have more time for photos after the ceremony, and nobody has to rush for photos or to the next location. I'm sure guests wouldn't mind hanging around the bar for 30-1hr in between. I know they can arrange a cocktail hour for you, but I believe it will be an extra cost because the resort is designating a specific staff just for your party. For me, I'm sending out an email or in the welcome letter to the guest to tell them the timeline and ask them to chill at a bar or something while the couple does the photos ourselves. These are little minor things that you can work around, so don't get too bummed about it.

 

I'm doing the symbollic ceremony because the we wanted to avoid all the hassle of the blood test and arriving early. Some of our guests are limited to the number of days they can stay, so I didnt want the legalities to interfere with that. So technically, I'm already a married woman!! we had our legal ceremony on october 4th at city hall. Now it's just time to party! I think Jazmin might be on vacation right now, at least from what I was told.

This is getting frustrating seeing all these posts on the forum about the resort not letting people do this and bring that. I've been dealing with Jazmin, and she's been pretty good so far with responses. My weddings is 1.5 mths away, and I have most of the things planned now with her, and I have emails printed out to document everything she said that was ok. I've placed deposits for DJ Bob and the make-up artist about 6 months back, and Jazmin confirmed it was ok. I will definitely make a scene if they reject them. As for the photographers, I am paying for a friend to stay in the resort for 5 days, and Jazmin just told me to email Arrecife Studios about it. They havent responded to my email at all, so I'm going to have to talk to Jazmin again maybe.