General Overview

 

Aventura Spa/Cove Palace: A+

Let me just start by saying we LOVE Aventura. We had been there once before; we loved it then and we loved this time! Aventura was the perfect place for our wedding! They really know what they are doing and created a beautiful wedding experience for us! We had a few concerns going in and a couple more in the issues we dealt with in the first couple of days (all stated below) but when it came down to the wedding day, the entire staff made sure everything was perfect for us! We are sooooo happy we did not choose anywhere else for our wedding.

 

Children vs. Adults-Only

We had been to ASP about 4 years ago and loved it then. Children were not allowed anywhere on the resort at that time so we were a little concerned about that change. Lucky for us, it was not spring or summer break so there was not an abundance of children. There did seem to be quite a few kids at the family events on the Cove side in the evenings, but we did not hang out there at all. I think Aventura does a good job of keeping kids occupied – events, game room, etc. – so we did not have any issues.

 

Spa vs. Cove Pool

Spa side pool was great for relaxing and also partying! It is spread out quite nicely so you can get away from the “action” if you want to. They had a poker table in the pool, drinking games, and an all-around fun atmosphere. Cove pool had volleyball, water aerobics and other activities that could involve children, but rarely did that we saw. Both sides have a nacho bar set up, and burgers and sandwiches off the menu. Spa side pool got busy very quickly. We designated a spot for everyone to meet. We had someone from our group at the pool everyday by 8 or 9am to put towels on the chairs for everyone. There were a lot of people saving spots, so by 11am chairs were few and far between.

 

Spa Nightlife vs. Cove Nightlife

Spa side had a very relaxing feel, so you could drink at the lobby bar or in the atrium area and just chat with friends. Cove side had events every night in the atrium – a Mexican themed party and buffet, a magician, a marketplace where vendors set up their booths and sold their items. It was always active and very loud. It looked like a lot of fun, but we were not looking for much entertainment (we prefer to entertain ourselves!) so we did not hang out on that side much, except for the Disco and dinner some nights.

 

Staff on both sides was extremely accommodating! You could catch a ride on the shuttle between the two sides or call for a golf cart to take you from and to anywhere on the resort. The shuttle driver knew our group would want a ride back to the Spa side after the disco every night so even after the disco closed, he waited for us in the lobby until we were ready. The bartenders let one of our friends go behind the bar and work with them one night for the entire night! They let us make up and name our own shots. They really seemed to enjoy making sure all of the guests were happy and having fun. Even when our group got a little wild, they seemed to encourage it!

 

Rooms

We were a little disappointed with our room when we first checked in. The first time we were at Aventura, we stayed on the Cove side and the room opened up to make it look pretty large. We were in heaven! Our room this time was on the Spa side and opened up opposite and just seemed much smaller. Obviously, it could be that we were remembering incorrectly but it just seemed like we had a lot less space. We tried to explain this to them at the front desk but they did not understand. They kept telling us that all of the rooms on both sides are the exact same size, except for the Presidential Suite. We talked about upgrading to the Concierge level, but they said the only difference was that we would have an ocean view, and the room would still be the same size. Like I said, that could have been us remembering it differently, so I do not really blame them for this. It was just disappointing.

 

As you may know, almost every room has a hammock on the balcony…but ours did not because it was a corner room. Obviously we didn’t plan to spend much time in the room, so in the grand scheme of our trip it was not a big deal. But it added to my concerns that of our group’s 16 rooms, the Bride & Groom got the only room without a hammock!

 

Before we left, I asked my WC if we would all have rooms somewhat near each other. She said that while they cannot guarantee it, they will do their best to get us all close. SO did not happen! We had people all over the place from one end to the other. We got lucky and happened to be in the same hallway as one other couple, but that’s it. That was disappointing, but again, not a huge deal.

 

Tipping

When we visited the last time, we did not tip a dime, and we were treated extremely well. This time we decided to tip for superior service, so we would tip the shuttle driver that waited for us, or the golf cart driver that chauffeured us around the resort, etc. We didn’t really tip at restaurants but we didn’t really have a reason to either. Actually, we did tip the wait staff at our Reception dinner at Mundaca (after the ceremony) but that’s because we received extraordinary service!

 

Restaurants

We had mixed reviews from our guests about the food. Everybody liked/loved at least 1 restaurant they chose for dinner, but it was different for everyone. The Mexican restaurant, private lobster dinner and Asian restaurant were among the favorites, overall. FI and I loved every place we tried, which was Mundaca Steakhouse, Mexican, El Greco and Italian.

 

Wait service was extremely SLOW at most restaurants. It didn’t matter if we had 4 people or 24 people, dinner took 1.5 to 2.5 hours every night. If you know that going in, it might not be a big deal to you. Keep in mind that they expect you to order a 4 or 5 course meal, so try a little bit of everything but don’t fill up too fast! Plus, an appetizer might help tie you over if you are very hungry.

 

Palace Dollars: B-

The reason I have given this even a remotely high rating is because it is very nice to have these dollars to use…if you get the chance. When we first arrived to the resort, our group was split into smaller groups to be told about the Palace Dollars Promotion and the various activities for which it can be used. Our small group was told that our entire wedding block was able to use unlimited Palace Dollars toward Spa services (it is supposed to be only $300 total). Other small groups were told that in order to get the unlimited usage toward the Spa, they would have to take a 2 hour tour of the property! They did it because they didn’t know any better. We found the consistency of the program to be extremely lacking.

 

We had 30 total people in our group; some arrived on Tuesday with us, some on Wednesday and some on Thursday. Those of us that arrived on Tuesday were told to book Spa and Tours right away so that’s what we did. By the time the rest of our group arrived on Wednesday and Thursday, NONE of the tours they wanted to do were available on any day and every single spa service was booked throughout the weekend. This of course changed because of cancellations, but you wouldn’t know it unless you happened to be trying to book right when a cancellation was being made. At one point, one person in our grouped dropped her reservation so another person could make one and in the 2 minutes it took to do that (with the same representative), someone else had snatched up the reservation. It was a total mess. Like I said, though, if you were able to get in, it was really nice not having to pay.

 

Looking back, I had been in contact with Vanessa in the Spa/Salon prior to my arrival to book our hair for the day of the wedding. She had asked if we wanted to book mani/pedi or massage appointments for any of our bridesmaids and I thought they would have plenty of time once they got there, so I didn’t. If I could do it again, I would have booked those for every bridesmaid in advance and had them cancel upon arrival if they changed their minds.

 

Many of us were able to swim with the dolphins and get massages and facials, but most of us did not use our entire allotted amount. In retrospect, hubby and I were saying we should have upgraded our room for the night after the wedding. Some of our guests used their remaining dollars to buy wine and take it home. I would have been nervous about the bottle breaking in the luggage, but I guess it worked out for them.

 

Wedding Coordinator: A (the final one)

We booked our February wedding in June. I started out with Wilma in October and really liked her. She answered my e-mails in a timely manner. Then in January, she told me Lorena would be my new coordinator. She was ok, but we didn’t seem to “get” each other. I told her that I would like to make some of the decisions about the packages once we arrive (we arrived on Tuesday, wedding was on Friday) so I could be sure what we were getting is what we wanted. She told me they used to be able to do that, but now ALL of the decisions had to be made before we arrived. So a couple of days before our trip, I e-mailed her all of our choices, guest pass information, etc. I didn’t hear back from her on that. So Tuesday arrived and obviously we were traveling all morning. That morning Lorena e-mailed me to tell me I had a NEW WC. Luckily someone had checked my work e-mail and called to tell me this while I was at the airport. In her e-mail she said that the new WC (Edith) had been given all of my choices and knew everything that was going on. During our planning meeting on Wednesday, I found out that she did not have ANY of the information, including the e-mail from Yesenia to Lorena stating that we were to receive 2 hours of complimentary cocktail instead of 1 hour. They weren’t going to honor it because she had not received the e-mail! Luckily, I still had the e-mail to show her, so it worked out. I really did like Edith, though, and I trusted her. I was just frustrated that I spent all that time preparing because Lorena told me I had to, then I had to do it all over again when we arrived. When the wedding day came, Edith had everything under control and made sure I had no stress at all. She was fantastic!

I don’t feel like their wedding planning packet is very clear. There seem to be more options than what is listed, or at least variations of those options. In that respect, I was happy we got to make the decisions once we arrived, like I originally wanted.

 

Aventura Nails: B

All the girls had gotten our nails done a couple of days before the trip so we wouldn’t have to worry about it once we got down there. I had acrylic nails put on for the first time in years! Well, not being used to them, of course 2 of them broke 2 days before the wedding! As mentioned above in the Palace Dollars section, if you didn’t book a salon appointment right away, it was all booked up. I explained to them that I needed to get 2 nails fixed for my wedding and they actually told me there was no way since everything was booked throughout the weekend. My FI almost threw a fit! They ended up making someone stay after her shift to fix my nails. I felt bad but I didn’t know what else to do! This was not a touch-up job; they were very broken. Of course I tipped her well for it but I could tell how frustrated she was. So if I could go back and do it again, I would make the nail appointment for the day before my wedding and cancel it if I didn’t need it.

 

Wedding Day!!

 

Wedding Day Timeline

Hair Done (Bride & 2 bridesmaids): 10:00am

Hair Done (4 bridesmaids): 11:30am

Ceremony: 2:00pm – 2:45pm

Pictures: 2:45pm – 4:15pm

Dinner: 6:00pm – 8:00pm

Reception: 8:00pm – 10:00pm

Disco: 10:00pm

 

Aventura Hair: A+

I was so impressed with their salon services. My 6 bridesmaids and I all got our hair done for the wedding at the salon and we were all extremely happy with the way it turned out! And we went in with no pictures or anything! I had Vanessa working on my hair. I looked through the books while I was sitting in the chair, not knowing exactly what I wanted. I liked the front of one picture and the back of another. So she put them together and it turned out better than I could have imagined!

 

Horse Drawn Carriage: A+

Most brides that have done this say it’s totally worth it and I could not agree more! We almost did not do it because I am a very simple person who does not like to draw much attention to myself and it just seemed so dramatic. In our meeting with Edith, though, FI and I decided that since it is something that this resort offers that not many others do, and it is the most special day of our lives, let’s just do it. It was one of the VERY BEST decisions we made. I didn’t purposefully keep it a secret from guests but we didn’t talk about it much, just because it never came up. So most of them didn’t realize when they saw the Horse that I was in the carriage and when they figured it out, it took their breaths away! I had more comments on that than anything else. Even guests that barely know me (friends of FI’s parents) were crying!

If you are on the fence about this, I definitely recommend doing it.

 

Rehearsal

FI and I brought our own Pastor since he is a friend of FI’s family. The night before the wedding, the Pastor, FI and I had our own rehearsal in the gazebo so we would be prepared. I had planned on the wedding party rehearsing with us, but during our planning meeting, Edith requested the wedding party show up half an hour before the ceremony for rehearsal. We didn’t think it was necessary for them to come to 2 rehearsals. The day of the wedding some of my bridesmaids were helping me get ready so they were 15 minutes late for rehearsal! It didn’t seem to be a big deal, though. Not that I heard at least. J

 

Complimentary Package

We thought about upgrading to the Sapphire Package but once we arrived, we realized we didn’t need all of the extras. We knew it would be beautiful no matter what. I am so happy we didn’t spend the extra money because we did not need to! My bouquet of white roses was GORGEOUS! I still get compliments about it when people see our pictures. The boutonnière was nice. The cake was good and I even had some people say it was very good, but we had just eaten dinner and had dessert so nobody was starving for cake…another reason I am glad we didn’t upgrade. There was a champagne toast after the ceremony which kicked off the celebration and was perfect!!

 

Ceremony

The ceremony was a million times better than I ever thought it would be! I expected it to be nice, but I didn’t realize how amazing it would be!! I was sitting in the room before the ceremony waiting for my dad and Edith to show up and I was so nervous! Edith came with my bouquet, the videographer (which I was not expecting in my room for some reason) and the carriage downstairs. It was so exciting but it felt surreal!!

 

The carriage took us to the gazebo in a roundabout sort of way. We took a mini tour of the property. I realized later that it was because Edith was on the walkie-talkie with our carriage driver telling him to keep us away until they were ready. The whole carriage ride probably lasted 8 minutes but it felt like forever! I was trying to relax but I had no idea what to expect.

 

When we started pulling up to the gazebo and I could see how beautiful everything looked, the wedding party in their places, my future hubby standing at the front, all of the guests standing awaiting my arrival, and a bunch of well-dressed employees standing off to the side watching me arrive, my nervousness was overcome with the feeling that this was going to be the best hour of my life. And it absolutely was!

 

Everything went off without a hitch – the sound system was good, they played all of the music on time, the champagne toast at the end was amazing, and the videographer captured all of it!

 

By the way, we got married in the Tulum Gazebo and loved it! I have heard of other brides not liking the fence next to it or the fact that it is on the far end of the resort, but those things didn’t bother us at all. In fact, we loved that we had a private ceremony without many random onlookers. It’s a matter of personal preference. Plus, the circle drive right outside the gazebo provided perfect access for the horse-drawn carriage!  

 

Tribute

My FI’s brother died when they were teenagers and they had been best friends. If he could have been here that day, there is no doubt he would have been the Best Man. In honor of him, my MOH walked up by herself. And all of the bridesmaids carried 1 single flower and set it on a table next to his picture as they walked up. It was so such a beautiful way to celebrate his memory on our day. Everyone loved it.

 

Post-Ceremony

We all stood around celebrating with our champagne while the final song played through and I think they even replayed the song. It was a very special time for everyone to congratulate us and I was happy that we were not rushed off to take pics right away or anything.

 

I was concerned about having so much time between the ceremony and dinner but it was fine. I am really happy we stuck with our 2pm ceremony. By the time the ceremony ended, all of the guests celebrated a bit and we took pictures with everyone (we wanted a group shot plus some individuals), it was about 3:15pm. Then everyone went to the Cove side lobby bar (per my instruction) to hang out and wait for dinner. Meanwhile, we took more pictures along with the wedding party and met up with everyone else at about 4:30-4:45pm.

 

The thing I did not account for was that people are ALWAYS hungry after a ceremony, regardless of whether they had eaten beforehand. I wish I would have provided snack mix while we all waited for dinner.

 

Dinner

We had dinner at the Mundaca Steakhouse and it was wonderful! I didn’t provide table decorations - other than the maracas we had bought in Playa for each guest - so I didn’t expect it to look outrageously gorgeous or anything but it did!! The staff had made it look so beautiful and they had our maracas laid out at each place. I almost cried when I saw it!! When the appetizers came, hubby and I got our own appetizers so we wouldn’t have to share with everyone. It was the little stuff like this that made everything more special.

 

Note: Edith had requested we choose 2 entrees ahead of time to save time, so that people could order from those 2 entrees. We were very skeptical of this because we wanted everyone to get what they wanted, but Edith talked us into it and it really was better in the end. We ended up choosing 3 entrees plus a couple of appetizers and a dessert. They were very flexible about it.

 

Cocktail Reception

We had 30 total people and 65 room nights booked so I assumed we would receive some of the benefits, like a private function and compensation on a couple of room nights. Apparently, our Travel Agent (out of Omaha) did not set us up on a group contract at ASP because we booked through a tour company (Continental Vacations). My TA spoke with Yesenia about it and they decided to offer us a complimentary 1-hour cocktail reception as well as 2 comp’d nights. I was able to talk Yesenia into a 2-hour reception, and she was very cool about it. The cocktail reception was fantastic!!! Once we arrived, Edith gave us the options for where to have it and we walked around to all of them. I thought for sure we would choose one on the beach, but when we looked at them all, we thought the Cove Terrace would be perfect! Again, it was decorated beautifully and the staff was awesome! We told them we wouldn’t need the hors d’oeuvres buffet since we would be coming from dinner. They said they would set it up anyway because it is included with the cocktail reception. We chose the Asian Hors D’oeuvres menu. People LOVED it!! We were so full from dinner but people couldn’t stop eating the hors d’oeuvres because the food was so good. They let us take a bunch of it in to-go boxes but I still felt terrible at how much good food went to waste.

 

We bought the Bose Portable Docking Station specifically for the trip. I was a little concerned that it wouldn’t be loud enough but it was. The Cove Terrace is nestled into the corner, though, so there wasn’t much outside noise. We had 32 total guests and we cranked the music to dance and it was great!

After the cocktail reception ended, we had after-hours at the Disco. A lot of people came to the disco, but some wanted a quieter atmosphere and just a nightcap so they went to the lobby bar instead, which was understandable after the long day. Hubby & I stayed out with our friends almost until the disco closed! I didn’t want the night to end; it was a great day!!

 

Photographer – Octavio Montes’ Assistant

We had always planned to use the resort photographer but we were not impressed with their packages. We wanted someone to take pictures throughout the day – getting ready, ceremony, family/wedding party, dinner and reception. The packages seemed like a lot of money for a minimal amount of time. So a couple of weeks before the trip, we started researching outside vendors. We chose Octavio Montes because he offered us ALL pictures in high resolution on a CD, which is what we needed. Plus he would not charge for the times we did not need him – during dinner and such. By the time we booked, though, he was booked on another wedding. He offered us a discount to use his assistant and of course we were fine with that. Mayte was fantastic! She was so kind and took any shot we wanted her to take. She took a lot of pictures and did not rush us on anything. We invited her to eat dinner with us, but she preferred to sit off to the side and do work. Throughout dinner, if she saw us doing something funny, she would jump up and take pictures of it. She wasn’t even on the clock! She isn’t the most experienced but she is learning and did a great job for us. Plus,

 

Resort Videographer

LOVED the video! This was definitely one of the best things we did and I would absolutely recommend it to everyone. Plus, it can be paid for with Palace Dollars! I only wish we would have booked 1 hour at the reception, too. We did not get video of the speeches, dancing or anything and I seriously regret that. We received a video camera as a gift before we went on the trip so I figured we would just put someone in charge of taking video of the speeches at the reception. When it came down to it, though, it was so far from everyone’s mind. Everyone there was so relaxed and just wanting to have fun. I wish we had it all on video!

 

Decorations

We did not bring too many decorations but luckily it was so beautiful that it didn’t need many! For the ceremony, we had a couple of chair bows for the ends of the isles. Plus we had made ribbon wands in our colors, and of course the sand ceremony was in our colors. Other than that, we relied on the blue in the girls’ dresses and the green in the guys’ ties to work its magic…and it did!!

 

For dinner, we had maracas at each place setting. We bought them in Playa a couple of days before the wedding and gave them to Edith. She had them washed (they were dusty) and put at each place setting! I definitely recommend this or some other favor at each place setting as it really added to the ambiance.

 

For the reception, we brought a few bags of beads in our colors and gave them to Edith, not really having a plan for what to do with them. She filled them in centerpieces she had and put them on the tables. It was simple and perfect!     

 

What I would do differently:

Welcome Bags: The only thing everyone needed was something I did not put in their bags - Immodium. Regardless of the restaurant or type of food, most people’s bodies are not used to eating and drinking all day, everyday for a week. Luckily we had one girl who brought enough for everyone, since they did not sell it in the gift shop.

 

Another thing about Welcome Bags – they absolutely needed a tag with the bag owners’ names on them. I had planned on doing it but got so busy before we left, I decided it was not that important. It was very important! Handing them out and making sure everyone got one was harder, but more importantly, everyone used them as a beach bag and they were constantly mixed up.

 

Put ONE person in charge of packing alike items: Between me, my mom, my MOH and my MIL, we all packed items for the wedding day to take down there but in the haste of getting ready, items were forgotten. Specifically, the programs were forgotten! I lost my hair flower, and my bracelet was hiding in the bottom of my bag…I didn’t find it until we got home. L  I wish I would have put one person in charge of taking items I was going to wear (jewelry, hair flower, veil, bobby pins, etc.) Another person could have brought items for the ceremony (decorations, ribbon wands, programs, etc.) and so on. OR at least I should have made a list of each item and crossed it off only when it was packed.

 

Snack Mix right after the ceremony:

Following the Spa side ceremony, we sent our guests to the Cove lobby bar since our dinner and reception was on that side. When we were done with pictures we went to join them and realized there were no snacks in the lobby bar on that side. (There are snacks in the lobby bar on the Spa side.) This sucked because we were hungry! With the dinner, cake and hors d’oeuvres at the reception, we ended up being bombarded with food later on, but it would have been nice to have snacks following the ceremony.

 

Make Spa Appointments before the trip:

They were willing to make appointments for me and my bridesmaids before the trip and each bridesmaid could then use her Palace Dollars toward the services upon arrival. And there is no penalty if you cancel in proper time. I made hair appointments for us all, but I wish I would have also made Massage and Nails appointments for us all.

 

Book the videographer for 1 hour at the reception:

I am not sure if this would have been covered in the Palace Dollars Promotion but we would have and should have paid for it. I didn’t think we would need it but now I would give anything to have video of the reception!

 

Tissue Paper in Sand Vase:

I had read about the sand in the sand ceremony kit settling during the flight home and that you should bring tissue to stuff it so it doesn’t have room to settle. It wasn’t a priority so I didn’t do this and our sand did settle and while it doesn’t look bad, it doesn’t look beautiful like it originally did. We have extra sand so I want to redo it but hubby doesn’t feel right about that. We’ll see how what happens J

 

Confirmation numbers & print-outs for all decisions made prior to arrival:

When I booked our hair appointments before the trip, Vanessa e-mailed me everyone’s confirmation numbers. I figured since they had them in the system, I wouldn’t need to print out the numbers. They had one of my girls’ name spelled wrong and it was terrifying in the time they couldn’t find her reservation.

 

As mentioned in my cocktail hour section, I almost didn’t receive the 2-hr complimentary reception I was promised because they didn’t have record of it. Luckily I did on my e-mail, but I should have saved the hassle by printing it out and bringing it with me. I definitely recommend printing out every important e-mail from any staff member you are in contact with prior to the trip.

 

And Now We’re Married!

 

That’s it everyone! I hope you enjoyed my review…sorry it’s so long. I would love to help future brides (or grooms) so feel free to ask me any questions and I will answer them as best I can.

 

The only real advice I can give is to prepare as best you can, be ready to change your mind on some things once you get there, relax and enjoy every second of it!! Despite my worries, even the things that went wrong could have not ruined our day. Remember that at the end of all the planning, you are getting married in paradise to the love of your life! Good Luck and Best Wishes to you all!!!

 

Karen