1dutchie

Hey would you mind sending me the PDF Wedding Information guide too please? It would be much appreciated! [email protected]

lol I thought it would have been.. Not so much! Good for you for finding such a great price. Our price isn't too far off. We booked with a travel agent that was referred to us by another bride actually and we are flying with West Jet out of Toronto. We had a few headache's a long the way.. A few teachers that would prefer us to book over the christmas holidays (which is far more expensive) and we had to keep in mind guests traveling from other provinces which is generally $100-$200 extra per person depending on where they are traveling from. ...and we had a long list of requests.. Not too far from the Cancun airport, must be able to sight-see, good food, must be able to snorkle, drinks must be included at the disco (which someone resorts it isn't) must have balcony, can't be too big of a resort, can't have too many resorts close to it, and of course it had to be priced right. When realistically you get what you pay for! It is a nice resort and you aren't gonna be paying $1000 per person! Wow! Your turn out is amazing! We were concerned at first we might be inviting too many people.. We have family we have to inivite, some of which won't be able to fly. Understably so and at this point I feel as though I have no idea what the turn out is going to be like! We have had a few friends tell us they won't be able to come because they are having baby's this year. We send out an email with the booking info on it already a few weeks ago. I think we are going to send out our save the dates in the next week or so. It will have our website on it with all the info and updates. Not too sure when our formal invites should be send out but probably some time this summer.. I want to avoid having last minute guests as much as possible.. If I can help it.. Unless it is circumstancial of course! hahah yes I have even said that! Let's go to Vegas instead! lol but we can't bring our boys with us and we want them there

I know how you feel. Trust me I am going through the same motions right now.. You can't please everyone.. We told everyone the moment we were engaged that we would plan a destination wedding. Now that pricing and booking information is available to everyone and an initial deposit needs to be made some people seem shocked.. I mean come on this isn't news! Yes, that is the calendar I was referring to.. I wouldn't wait too long if I were you.. No need to stress but when you are booking with a group I would hate to see there be limited availability because you waited too long or tried to save a little money.. It isn't worth the stress and I am sure people will still have complaints.. It will also give them less time to pay their balance because it is closer to the date.. In my opinion doing it earlier allows people to make payments over time.. I think it gives more people the opportunity to make it financially feasible.

Hey, we went ahead and booked through a travel agent. We did lots of research and got quotes from 3 different agents. One I felt was giving me the run around the other gave me an approximate price and the 3rd was bang on! As long as you know in your mind a price that you are happy with I say go with that. We had to put an initial $200 deposit down and the remaing balance has to be paid about 2 1/2 months prior to departure. We quickly learned that you can't please everyone.. The people we least expected put down their deposit already and the ones we thought would do so right away will probably wait until the last day to put down their deposit to get in on the early booking price.. Even that I find stressful.. I don't like to hassle people or pressure our guests but the truth of the matter is prices will go up.. They may come down.. But, that isn't a guarantee.. This resort does weddings all day long and I noticed the week we are getting married (which isn't until January 2014) is booking up already! I don't want to take my chances.. Plus I don't want our guests to miss out on getting a good price or being able to stay with us.. The way I look at it is the people that really want to be there will be there.. They will make it work.. For those who can't or won't that's ok.. In a way I would rather know now or in the next few months then 2 months prior to departure.. It's different when you are travelling with a group of people you have to ensure there is availability at the resort.. We had a few guests suggest booking last minute.. I politely told them that we have to have to make seating arrangements and send the dinner options 2 month before the wedding.. I can't base our wedding and numbers on guests taking their chances and booking last minute to save some money.. Besides why would you want to.. What if the resort is booked solid?

Great questions in terms of payment I was curious to know too! I have read that payment is made prior to the wedding with credit card (I would imagine paying with 2 isn't a problem) When you have your initial meeting and iron out all the details and add ons and such. But, I would like to get a firm answer from someone who has already gotten married. I am actually curious to know whether payments towards to wedding package can be made prior to arrival at the resort (after the initial deposit) I don't see why not but I was curious to know if anyone else has done this? I just don't want to wait until the day of and then pay for everything all at once if I don't have to.. I personally haven't gotten my hair done at the spa but I will be for my wedding.. Depending on how you would like your hair styled I know that it is best to not have your hair freshly washed. I am getting married on a Thursday and I will most likely wash my hair late Tuesday night or early Wednesday morning.. It all depends on how quickly your hair gets greasy (which of course you don't want) But the reason why I wouldn't recommend washing your hair the day of is because it washes out the natural oils in your hair and it is more difficult to style that way.. Your hair styles easier and colors easier when it is "dirty"..

I was thinking the same thing khunt29! It would be such a shame not making use of those flowers after the ceremony, but I was worried they might look silly laying down too.

Do you remember who was your dj at the resort? I am gonna talk it over with the fiance and see if we can fit in the dj for a few hours

I emailed Pilar and asked if it would be possible to get extended time for the Castaway restaurant and she told me the latest it is available until is 11pm. She said it would be an additional service charge for a minimum of 50 guest $15 per person. Which would cost $750! As much as I would love to have the additional time it isn't late enough for us and I can't justifiy spending the extra money.. Yes, I am thinking the disco also! The sports bar is referred to as the disco right?

Great thanks! Any chance you might be able to find out what his name is for me? I think we might get one of our friends to MC. Lol that would als be my music request ...no country! I am worried that 10pm won't be late enough.. We love to dance and am so worried that people will be bored after 10pm. I have had other brides suggest the lobby because they have a band there on some nights. I am curious about the sports bar also. I read somewhere a dj performs? Did you visit the sports bar? What was it like? Did they play good music? Were people dancing?? Did you go elsewhere afer the dj was finished at Castaway? Or did everyone go back to their rooms?

*played.. my goodness I just can't spell today.. It must be Friday! I might have to consider getting a dj hahah it sounds like he was a blast! Did you provide the dj with the music or did you let him play whatever he chose to do so? Did he mc also?

Did you rent a sound system while you plaid your music from your Ipod? If so what sounds system did you go with? I understand there is one for $150 and another for $300. If anyone else has rented to sound equipment were you please with it? Any recommendations? Thanks!

*Good

Go to know thank you!

Oh wow sounds like you had the time of your life!! I think we will most likely end up with 30-40 guests but it is hard to say at this point. I think we will most likely bring an ipod and choose our own music. What DJ did you have? How long did you have him for? Was he a DJ at the resort? Or did you have to get a resort pass for him? Which package did you go with? What were you dinner choices? Sorry for the question overload I have many.. Can't wait to read your review! Thanks for your help!!

Did you have a lot of people at your reception? How was the drink service? Was there 1 bartender? Did you have your reception until 10pm? Did you bring your own music? Or have a DJ? Thanks!

You mentioned private bar at the reception. Which locations does that apply to? We are having our reception/dinner at Castaway restaurant and there is a bar there. Will there be a bartender there or does it cost extra to have someone serve drinks there? I thought it was included but am not sure.. I also read that they are able to do a signature drink. Does anyone know whether that is an additional cost?

I was curious to know whether after making the initial deposit for the wedding package if payments can be made leading up until the wedding or if the remaining balance is due/has to be paid upon arrival at the resort?

As far as I know there are no restrictions on when you get married if it is a symbolic ceremony / vow renewal. I do know that if you are having a legal ceremony you have to be in Mexico for 4 full business days to get married at Now Jade..

Big Congrats Chantal!! I can't wait to read your review! We will be getting married on the 16th of January 2014 so it will give me a good idea of what to expect in terms of weather and do's and dont's that time of year!

I know for the legal ceremony's there is a requirement to be on the resort for 4 business days. For the symbolic ceremony/vow renewal there should be no requirements. That is what we are having too

I am unable to open attachments on here would you mind email please? [email protected] Much much appreciated!!

Yes, please share your seating chart if you don't mind!

Thank you Shannon! It's hard to say at this point how many guests we will have. We are sending out quite a few invites but I know for a fact half won't be able to attend. That being said based on a head count it could be anywhere between 40-60 guests.. I am kinda hoping it will be more like 40. We went with the Eternity package which looks like will be an additional $48 per person. I don't think we are going to have the Cocktail Hour because our additional costs would be too high. Plus most of our guests will most likely go back to their room or have a few drinks on the beach or bar after the ceremony. I understood there is a club/ "disco" at the resort. Is that true? First I read somewhere about the mix and then elsewhere I read that the sports bar at the resort has a DJ come in during the late hours. Is this true? Is this only on certain days? Where can we take our late night guests that want to keep dancing? Any suggestions? So the DJ will be at the Castaway during your dinner and reception? Thaniks for recommendation looks like Ipod it is! Are you bringing a docking station or do they have that available at the resort?

Hi Now Jade Brides! I am super happy to say that we finally have our date confirmed at Now Jade! We are getting married January 16, 2014! We are planning a beach ceremony and will have a dinner reception at Castaway! I am so glad to see other brides are inquiring about the Castaway restaurant because I haven't been able to find much out about it. We have it from 7pm-10pm which doesn't seem like enough time.. I send Pilar and email and hope that this can be extended. Is there a limit on how many tables/chairs will be set up? Will anything over 25 be additional charge in terms of tables and chairs? Are the chairs regular chairs or do they come with white chair covers? I will be bringing my own music and was wondering if other brides have done this? How did you find the sound system/speakers that you can rent? Did you go for the big sound system? Or the regular one? Do they have a cd player set up or should I be bringing a MP3 player docking station? Thanks!!!

Hi RIU Palace Brides! I am new to this thread and I was hoping someone might be able to get me a better idea in terms of pricing. We have been searching non stop for a resort that suits our needs and stays within our budget. It has been really discouraging this far and we have researched so many different resorts and then I came back to the RIU Palace and now I am wondering why we haven't inquired about it?! Has anyone stayed at this resort? Or gotten married at this resort that could give me some tips? Anything you would change? What location did you choose to get married at? If you chose to get married right on the beach how private was your experience and were there a lot of people from the resort watching walking the beach during the ceremony? We initially were planning to marry in January 2014 thinking that we would allow our guests a lot of notice and time to plan financially and it would break up the cold winter season. But, as it turns out when booking early you still have to pay the full pricing within so many months so it makes no difference if we were to get married say November / December. 2014 pricing hasn't really become available yet either in terms of wedding packages etc. So we are now thinking along the lines of December. I was really hoping you ladies might be able to help us get the ball rolling and give an idea in terms of pricing most of us will be flying out of Toronto or Ottawa if it is an option and a better price. Plus most of our other guests will be flying out of Regina, Saskatchewan which we just learned will cost $200-$300 extra per person... When we choose a wedding package do we have to pay for it up front? Do we pay for it once we get to the resort? Or make payments over time? Oh boy I am soooo new to this. If emailing pricing is easier please email me at [email protected] Thank you for your time!!