Search the Community
Showing results for tags '2015 Brides'.
The search index is currently processing. Current results may not be complete.
-
hi everyone! i *did* have DJ Ricardo booked for my wedding last year until Odile hit and we had to postpone a year. Now Ricardo is booked on my date....looking for another replacement....nothing cheesy...no lasers or disco lights....certainly no conga line. just equipment for playing music during the ceremony and dinner, and then some dancing afterward. anyone have any reccos? have you used DJ Roca (Roberto Contreras) or DJ Mijares or DJ Alex? thanks for your help.
- 1 reply
-
- 2015 Brides
- Cabo
-
(and 1 more)
Tagged with:
-
Hi! I am renewing my vows July 2015 and I'm just now getting on here! eek! I've been watching from afar, reading all reviews and making decisions from what everyone has said. A few questions. Does anyone have any pictures of the San Jose Terrace or the Don Julio Terrace from the RIU Palace Cabo? I plan to have my reception there, but just want to make sure that there is a dance floor and adequate seating. I keep asking my WC from RIU, but they send me the same pictures everyvtime and tell me that they don't have other pictures that show the entire space.
- 1 reply
-
- 2015 Brides
- Mexico
-
(and 1 more)
Tagged with:
-
Hello! I want to share with you all about a great company located in the Cancun/Riviera Maya location that specializes in beautiful hair and makeup for your big day! I am getting married at the Dreams Resort and Spa at Puerto Aventuras and was interested in having my makeup professionally done and I will be putting clip in extensions, among other things such as false eyelashes and was looking into airbrush makeup as well. I researched trying to find an affordable company who also had great reviews and did honest business, which is really important when you are planning something so big from another country. I kept coming across a company called MVP Hair and Makeup! They have been voted the best of the best through Weddingwire.com in 2012 and 2014! I know it may sound like I am being paid to do this blog but I assure you I AM NOT! I seriously emailed the company just like everyone else for prices and information. I actually let a few weeks go by without responding because I wanted to make sure I was spending my money wisely. Edgar reached out at and gently asked if I had any questions and boy did I! I asked a million questions about the quality of work, asked what they would recommend for certain things and he PROMPTLY responded to my emails, which is a big deal I have found by planning from the US. They offer a variety of hair and makeup packages which include a trial for hair and makeup along with the day of. The package I got included both and the price was super reasonable. THE BEST PART??????? They now have a location right in Puerto Aventuras situated within walking distance or a short ride to some of the best resorts in the area!! Know why this is so great??? You will NOT have to pay a resort fee for outside vendors!! This saves so much money and was honestly what made me decide to go forward with them because Dreams charges $150.00 for outside vendors (quality work, great service and no resort fees). I asked which hotels they can service from this location because I actually have a friend getting married in another resort next year, here's what they said: Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya, Barcelo Maya Palace Riviera Maya, Dreams Puerto Aventuras and Catalonya Puerto Aventuras I searched and searched the entire area of Cancun for the best hair and makeup team and I found it. My wedding is September 5th, 2015 and I will come back and do a review with pictures of the work they did so you can get a better idea of what they can do. Until then, here are the links for the website: www.cancunhairandmakeup.com http://www.weddingwire.com/biz/mvp-hair-makeup-artistry-playa-del-carmen/9e36a82950784f36.html https://www.facebook.com/teammvphairandmakeup
-
- 2015 Brides
- 2016 Brides
-
(and 1 more)
Tagged with:
-
These lanterns were a HIT! As center pieces at my wedding reception in Riviera maya. I'm selling 6 of these gorgeous lanterns. They are 18"H. Looks stunning with candles around them. Simple with a statement. Can be left white or spray painted to match your wedding accent color. Dimensions: 7''W x 7''D x 18''H They were easy to transport in a separate travel bag. PM me if you are interested or have more questions. I live in NY and don't have the room to keep all of them.
- 12 replies
-
- 1
-
- 2015 Brides
- For Sale
-
(and 1 more)
Tagged with:
-
I can't believe we're leaving in 3 days from now and our wedding is one week from today! Today is my last day in the office. I am prone to anxiety and my entire goal through this whole planning process was to put in the time and energy well in advance so that I wasn't completely panicking and stressing this final week and the first few days in Jamaica. I have to say, wedding wise, I'm in great shape!! My fiance is finishing up some final coordination/logistics details for a couple excursions we have planned, but I'm leaving all that to him and he has it under control. I did hope I would be 95% packed by now, but work has kept that from happening. Try as hard as I could, but 3 big projects I thought were wrapping up came back around to be very needy in the last couple weeks! Even if I wasn't preparing to be off it would have been a tough couple of weeks, so it is extra crazy. I've had to work over the last few weekends, which is when I normally would have been packing. Hopefully I can pull it all together and keep my calm through take off! Thanks to everyone for your support, ideas and advice over the last year! I'll post a recap thread when I get back since I didn't do a planning thread and share my stuff in case it is useful to those in the trenches of planning
-
Hello everyone! I need your help. I am planning my Oct 20th 2015 wedding in Puerto Aventuras, Mexico and I need a DJ, sound system, speakers, mic and dance floor. I need someone who speaks english because communication is key between me and the DJ before and on the wedding day. Suggestions would be greatly appreciated :D
- 1 reply
-
- 2015 Brides
- DJs & Songs
-
(and 1 more)
Tagged with:
-
Hello Everyone, Can you all suggest me some beautiful summer beach wedding dress which should be in trend 2015 for my childhood friend. Her height is 5'3 inch and little fatty too.
-
Hi Ladies - I don't have a planning thread (drat) so I am posting a new topic and hoping I can get your thoughts on what you'd do. We leave for Jamaica for our wedding in 8 days and our wedding is in 12! Of course we booked our photographer last July and at the time I saw other brides say that she takes a long time to return pictures (like 12 weeks), and I figured I was okay with that if her style was what I liked the best. But ever since I've seen bride after bride after bride complain about how the photographer is completely unresponsive despite any attempts to contact her via email, Facebook or phone. She just does not respond at all. And many brides are waiting 5-6 months to get any of their pictures back, well beyond the maximum 12 weeks it states in the contract. They aren't even getting "sneak peak" photos to use for thank you cards before that. In fact, a bride on this forum today who got married in January hasn't heard a thing from the photographer! Now, every bride also says they love their photos and how they are worth the wait, and that they liked her on their wedding day, but I am MAJORLY regretting my decision to hire her I emailed her on May 8th to touch base and ask her about our timeline and what to expect on our wedding day. I haven't heard back. According to our contract, our final payment was due to her yesterday (2 weeks before our wedding) but I haven't heard from her. Another bride with a wedding a few days before mine DID (finally) hear from her, so I know she is alive! My fiancé tried calling her today and left a voicemail. I just don't think not contacting your client - or responding to their friendly email - in the month before their wedding is acceptable and I don't want to send her our $2,000 payment on a hope and a prayer. If she doesn't deliver my photos by the 12 weeks, she has my money so what am I going to do about it? This doesn't seem to be an issue with any other Jamaican photographers, and this issue is abundant and consistent among brides who have used her, so I just really regret giving her my money. She has a $720 deposit from us already. Hopefully my fiancé can get ahold of her and talk about our concerns (he is more assertive than I am) and if he isn't getting a bad feeling maybe ask for our deposit back? It seems unlikely she would return it. We may be able to find another photographer available at the last minute (or use the so-so resort photog), but then we'd be out the $720. I just picture her showing up on my wedding day and already having a negative feeling about her and it just stinks. Everyone says your rapport with your photographer is important and she is going to be hanging around us all day! I really do not want to send her the money and hope for the best...any other thoughts? Am I making too big of a deal out of this and I should just trust that it will be fine?
- 11 replies
-
- Photographers
- Vendors
-
(and 1 more)
Tagged with:
-
Welcome to my planning thread! My fiance and I are getting married on Sunday, June 28, 2015 at Beach Palace Resort in Cancun, Mexico. I love reading everyone else's ideas, so thought I'd post my own in case anyone was interested! Our Engagement My fiance and I got engaged on a beautiful day in September 2014 at our favorite spot in our home city! Choosing the Wedding Location We decided it would be extremely expensive for my fiance and I to have a wedding in our home city. We attended a friend's Cancun destination wedding in June 2014, and fell in love with the idea of a destination wedding! There was a lot of debate as far as wedding location. Original location ideas included Costa Rica (nixed because of lack of direct flights), Jamaica (nixed because not as many direct flight options), and Cancun. Cancun ended up winning because: 1. There are PLENTY of direct flight options! and 2. There are SO many hotels you're able to choose from, and 3. Because of the plentiful number of hotels, prices tended to be cheaper. Choosing the Hotel This one was surprisingly easy for us. My friend that got married in June 2014 had her wedding at Azul Fives in Riviera Maya. Her e-ring ended up being stolen while she was down there, and she had other issues that contributed to her "not wanting to ever stay at an Azul/Karisma hotel ever again". Plus, we didn't want to do the same exact wedding as her! The other options we were looking into One thing we KNEW we wanted was to get married on a rooftop (THE VIEWS!!) versus a beach. While at aforementioned friend's wedding last summer, we saw how crazy the beach can get, and knew we wanted something more private. This led us to looking at hotels with rooftop terraces - and our initial choice was Sandos Cancun. However, we started talking to my friend about her wedding, and she recommended either Moon Palace or Beach Palace - saying those were her backup options after Azul. Once we looked at Beach Palace's reviews and pictures on TripAdvisor, we were hooked! Moon Palace was second place, but Beach Palace seemed nicer. We immediately contacted the Beach Palace Wedding representatives from the website, and were assigned a wedding coordinator who helped us reserve a date and the locations for our ceremony and reception. We also worked with our coordinator to set up a Group Room block, so that we could get standard room rates and certain group benefits. Save the Dates Once we coordinated the Group Room block, we worked on our save-the-dates at the end of December 2014. We ended up doing our save-the-dates using one of the Walgreens cardstock templates online in order to save some cash! Along with the save-the-dates, we also sent all of our guests an email with additional details regarding location, booking, etc. The email contained both a link to our group room block, and also a link to our theknot.com wedding website. Invitations Invitations are the WORST. Don't get me wrong, they're VERY cute. But they're also extremely expensive and time-consuming. We ended up inviting about 75 couples (150 people), and the invitations we ordered off Etsy were freaking ADORABLE, but almost $1,000! That's not even including the postage stamps you need in order to mail them! These were mailed at the end of February 2015 if my memory serves me right. RSVP's As our RSVP's came in, we started to get a pretty good idea of who was coming and who wasn't. We asked that our guests RSVP by April 1st (as our room block needed to be closed by April 28th in order to avoid penalties). We wanted to leave a buffer of a few weeks since generally some people are late with RSVP's - and boy are we glad we did! We had to follow up with a few people closer to the deadline in order to make sure they booked through our block by the deadline. Some people booked outside of our block, which cost us dearly in missing out on certain benefits - but overall I'm more happy that they're able to come! The Dress and the Suit! I ordered my wedding dress in mid-November 2014. I believe it came in from the manufacturer sometime in March. I had my first fitting April 28, 2015 to try it on in my size for the first time and see what needed to be done as far as taking it in and hemming. Second fitting was on May 17th, and at this fitting the dress had been taken in and hemmed. During this second fitting we discussed taking it in more and how I wanted a 3 point bustle. The third fitting was May 26th. At this fitting we discussed taking it in even more, and how a 5 point bustle is more appropriate. More to come on the dress - I just suggest getting it earlier rather than later in the process! I also bought veil weights from Etsy since I'm worried about the wind blowing my veil too much in all the pictures! Accessories are TOM's ivory lace wedges, Marlosha (Etsy) pink and gold teardrop earrings, and a Nadri gold and silver teardrop bracelet. My fiance is wearing a light brown linen suit he purchased at Suit Up! (just kidding, it's called Suit Supply). Brown shoes, a brown belt, and a white shirt will accompany. Bridesmaids are wearing a Laundry Hibiscus (i.e. pink/purple) tulip maxi dress, with either white or nude shoes. I bought them Kate Spade multi-colored cluster earrings in pink/purple. Gold chain bracelets with amethyst will accompany. Groomsmen are wearing Brooks Brothers white linen short-sleeved dress shirts (un-tucked), and stone colored pants. Brown belt and shoes will accompany. Planning the Wedding As the wedding planning is still in process, I will just share my vision for the event and things I've purchased/organized along the way! Welcome to Beach Palace My lovely mother is going to organize welcome bags for each room. The welcome bags will include sunscreen, ibuprofen, a flip flop bottle opener, a "Get to Know the Guests" sheet, and an itinerary of the wedding events. I'm still toying with the idea of purchasing waterproof key card/ID holders. I think they'd be nice for people to not have to worry about getting their tip money wet at the pool bar! I've heard the Beach Palace wedding coordinator ("WC") will deliver the bags to each guest room for $3/bag. Not sure if we will do this, or just try to catch up with our guests each day they arrive. Night Out We would LOVE to do a night out on the town of Cancun with our guests on Friday, June 26th - two nights before the wedding! Rehearsal Dinner We will have 34 adults and 2 kids, and have booked the rehearsal dinner for 6 to 8pm on Saturday, June 27th - the night before the wedding. This will be on the Infinity Terrace and we will be having the Italian Buffet dinner option. The buffet is $55/person since we didn't have any resort promotion for the dinner. We are not using any sound system or additional lighting for this event. Morning of the Wedding My mother and I are getting our hair (only) done at the Beach Palace Salon at 10:30am. I've heard bridal hair takes almost 3 hours at the BP salon, so I wanted to get mine done early! I don't really wear makeup so I'm doing my own. Afterwards, my girl friends are going to do their own hair and makeup in my room while drinking mimosas (yum). Photographer We're using Dream Arts photography - the Beach Palace recommended vendor. We are doing 3 hours from 4 to 7pm, with a 15 minute mini-movie. We're doing our own "getting ready" and reception dancing photos. Ceremony The ceremony will be on the Sky Terrace at 4pm. Purchased the Metallic Sands ceremony package for decorations! Hoping to have regular chairs rather then the "pods". We are doing ring exchange and vow exchange in a symbolic ceremony. We are getting legally married upon our return back to the U.S. We are putting our ceremony programs in a basket (maybe from Crate & Barrel?) on a table as you walk in, and gluing the programs to a stick to turn them into fans since it will be quite warm out! After much debate on whether we use the BP officiant, or one of our guests, we decided on the BP officiant after hearing good things. One thing we want to make sure to do is have someone take a group picture of us and all our guests near the altar on the Sky Terrace! Cocktail Hour The cocktail hour is on the Sky Bar South from 5pm to 6pm. During this time, the wedding party will be doing photos on both the Sky Terrace and also at the beach. We ordered the Mexican appetizers for the rest of the guests enjoying the cocktail hour. Reception Ufffffff...so much info to list here! To start off, it's on the Palenque Terrace starting at 6pm! Entrance - we will have a basket of flip flops on a table for guests to take as dancing shoes. I ordered Navy Blue assorted size flip flops for the men and Lavender assorted size flip flops for the women from Dollar Tree. The basket will be the $29 fold-able bamboo basket from Crate & Barrel for luggage packing ease. On the table, there will also be everyone's table number assignments. We purchased Wilton ivory fold-able place cards. My fiance is going to tape washer to the inside of the cards to weight them down and combat the wind. Tables - 6 tables, with 6 people each. Using the Metallic Sands decoration package so we don't have to worry about much! We're printing the table numbers ourselves, and ordered some natural sea-shell table card holders from Etsy to display. Favors - At each table setting, there will be Mexican loteria matchboxes that we ordered on Etsy. Our favors also kind of include the flip flops and the glow sticks mentioned below. Lighting - We ordered necklace glow sticks from Amazon. The best man will be handing these out to guests as it gets dark. We also ordered Zuniga 4 column lighting with 2 string lights (via Beach Palace). Music - We ordered 2 speakers from JSAV (the Basic Package) and will be playing our iPod during the reception. Food/Drinks - Went with the BBQ buffet as it seems to be something that would appeal to everyone. We ordered a chocolate chantilly frosted cake. Possibly ordering additional champagne.
- 8 replies
-
- 9
-
- 2015 Brides
- Cancun Riviera Maya
-
(and 1 more)
Tagged with:
-
robe de mariée bustier coeur. Un avocat raté, un footballeur américain, une mère de famille dévote, un autiste cinéphile, une anarchiste vagabonde, un ex-toxicomane et un milliardaire blasé. Non ce n’est pas « Lost » mais « Community », la série sur…un Community college justement. A Greendale au Colorado, tout ce beau monde va se retrouver dans le même groupe de travail, et les vannes vont pleuvoir. En effet, chacun d’entre eux a son vice caché, mais aussi un passé complètement loufoque. Cette saison marque surtout le retour de Dan Harmon aux commandes, après son éviction de la 4ème saison de son propre show. robes de mariee vintage
-
robe de mariée bustier coeur. Ils sont 16 candidats (dont une majorité de femmes) a avoir été sélectionnés pour les émissions en direct sur D8 : Claudia, Kim, Yseult, Ezra, Léopoldine, Mathieu, Alvaro, Julie, Chehinaze, Dana, Laura, Sirine, Marc, Hugo, Mehdi et Pauline. L’occasion pour ces chanteurs de montrer ce dont ils sont capables et de faire la différence. >> Qui sont les candidats de ce Nouvelle Star 2014 ? << robe de marié retro
-
robe de mariée bustier coeur. « Pour Léo Matteï (Jean-Luc Reichmann), seul le résultat compte et il n'hésite pas à bousculer les conventions avec un seul mot d'ordre : protéger les mineurs de tout danger, y compris d'eux-mêmes. » Nouvelle série sur TF1 ce jeudi soir avec « Léo Matteï, brigade des mineurs », une fiction un peu différente qui met en scène Jean-Luc Reichmann que l’on est pourtant plus habitué à croisé au poste d’animateur, mais qui s’en sort très bien ! Ci-dessous, vous pouvez découvrir les premières minutes de cette nouvelle série française afin de la découvrir. Comme toujours, les épisodes de « Léo Matteï, brigade des mineurs » sont disponibles sur le site TF1 Replay pour un visionnage valable pendant une semaine. Aucune raison donc de se priver e cette fiction originale et intéressante. Avez-vous regardé « Léo Matteï, brigade des mineurs » ?
-
We are back from our amazing wedding and honeymoon and ready to clean house; I am accepting all reasonable offers buyer pays shipping! Pay pal only!! -10 table numbers - 1 bag of seashells - 30 orange lanyards - 29 clear badge holders - 1 sandwich bag of orange sand -1 gold tone headband -1 bride hanger -1 floral necklace -1 pair silver pumps size 9.5 fits like 9 -1 pair of blush Steve Madden Sandals -1 garter 2pack unopened -24 bubbles -2 Gray organza overlays -15 Orange organza table runners -70 Orange organza chair sashes
- 4 replies
-
- 1
-
- 2015 Brides
- Beach Weddings
-
(and 1 more)
Tagged with:
-
Hello, I am curious if there are any other brides currently planning their wedding at this Dreams location? See, I booked my wedding September of last year and we were working with the coordinator, Jacki, and she was WONDERFUL! Unfortunately, she left (not sure what happened...) and since January we have been working with the new coordinator, Areli. I have been SO unhappy with her! She does not respond to my emails at all and on the rare occassion that she has responded it has been something very short and unhelpful. I have been trying to get with her to book a lot of stuff for the weekend (dinners, band, etc.) you would think she would want the commission but she has ignored my emails. Anyone else working with her on their wedding and if so, how is the communication? I feel like I am being a bridezilla because I keep sending management complaints about her but we are looking to spend a lot of money here and I feel like we are being ignored and like our money doesn't matter here.
- 3 replies
-
- 2015 Brides
- Beach Weddings
-
(and 1 more)
Tagged with:
-
Hello my fellow brides! Planning my Cabo wedding has been a lot more than I ever expected or thought I'd signed up for. Though I’d been a long time lurker on this forum, I only originally posted back in December 2014 to share my heartbreak of having my wedding cancelled as a result of Hurricane Odile and then re-cancelled due to the venue not being ready when they promised to be. http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/topic/78505-cabo-wedding-cancelled-twice-advice-needed/ As everyone on this forum knows, having a destination wedding can be scary with so many things out of your control, and having to somewhat blindly trust whatever information you can find. I depended on many of the opinions and feedback I’d read on these forums (and a few times just blind luck) and ultimately it all worked out as the most perfect wedding I could have ever asked for. As a result, I wanted to pay it forward to all of the other brides out there in lurking mode. I based many of my decisions and choices on what other lovely brides have shared, and I couldn’t have been happier with the results. So here it is….My full reviews for my 2015 Cabo Wedding Location: Cabo San Lucas, Mexico Date: May 9th, 2015 Number of guests: 75 people Accomodations: Grand Solmar Lands End, Playa Grande and Solmar All-Inclusive Ceremony/Reception Venue: Grand Solmar Lands End, Lands End Terrace, Playa Grande Beach Flowers / Decorations: Through the Grand Solmar Lands End Wedding Coordinator: Alana Duran and Erika Quiroz through the Grand Solmar Photographers & Videographer: Enrique Morales, EM Weddings DJ, Equipment and Lighting– Victor Daniel De Alba, Teeven Technology Event Entertainment Violinist – Violetta Poletek - www.caboviolin.com Hair & Makeup: Suzanne Morel Welcome Cruise: Cabo Mar Accomodations: Grand Solmar Lands End, Playa Grande and Solmar All-Inclusive (review on location, food, rooms, etc.) Solmar collection is actually 3 different resorts in the same area which all had very different price points, and flexible all-inclusive options, which are all easily accessible from one another either by walking or taking the countless shuttles available throughout the resorts. This meant by offering the choice of any of these accommodations to our guests, we could still be all together, but not have to burden any of our guests with hotel offerings that were completely out of their price range. My husband and I only stayed at the Playa Grande and the Grand Solmar, so I can only speak directly about those two, however our guests that stayed in the Solmar All-Inclusive said it was perfectly lovely, the rooms were large, the beds were clean and the food and alcohol was good. A few mentioned the bathrooms being a bit dated, but they certainly didn’t consider this a reason to not stay there. Also, anyone staying here was completely permitted on the other properties, so it didn’t prevent them from being able to spend time with all of our other guests. The vast majority of our guests stayed at the Playa Grande, and that tended to be the default meet up / hang out spot for everyone regardless of resort. It was an active, young and fun resort, with tequila volleyball among other poolside activities and music playing, though not so loud you couldn’t hear yourself think. It proved to be the best option for most of our guests so they could socialize by the pool without worrying being disruptive. The Playa Grande also offered an all-inclusive option that about half the guests took advantage of, though my sense is you probably end up breaking even either way you do it. They offer 2-for-1 happy hours by the pool starting at 2PM. The beds were incredible comfortable, the rooms were super clean and each room contained a full fridge, microwave, etc. so you were also able to buy your own groceries and prepare your own meals, if that’s what you wanted. I mainly only ate at the pool bar and at breakfast but the food at both was excellent. The drinks were delicious (I heard a few complaints of not enough alcohol but the staff was happy to remedy this if brought to their attention). There are also signs that explicitly prohibit ‘seat claiming’ by coming down and dropping towels on the chairs first thing in the morning, which I very much appreciated have been to so many other resorts where that is an on-going frustration. Even in May, there seemed to be an abundance of seating available, and so this was a non-issue. The Grand Solmar is most exclusive of the three, and the much more elegant. It was perfect for my bridesmaids and I to get ready in the day of and stay over our wedding night, the grounds are beautiful, it feels very private and quiet (despite ongoing construction to build a new lobby and fix some hurricane damage). The staff was excellent, so friendly, so helpful and just an absolute pleasure. In my opinion, all of the resorts would be worthy of 5 stars within the price points they are in. The kicker above all else that made this collection of resorts even better was that it is right next to downtown. A 5-minute walk from the Playa Grande puts you right in the Marina next to Senor Frogs. Our guests were extremely grateful for this, as it made Cabo much more accessible than it would have been had we had our wedding somewhere in the Corridor like where we original planned. Ceremony / Reception Venue: Grand Solmar Lands End, Lands End Terrace, Playa Grande Beach Possibly one of the greatest blessings in disguise in replanning this wedding was discovering the Grand Solmar Lands End as our venue. The Lands End Terrace where the ocean meets the lands end rocks jutting out of the sea is so unique and breathtaking. The location of it relative to the resort also is somewhat remote and extremely private, so you don’t run the risk of random resorts guests wandering through your wedding or voyeuristically sneaking a peak. The lighting, sound equipment and general set up are all critical to maximizing this amazing space (all of which was executed flawlessly, but I’ll get to that in later parts of the review) but there is so much natural beauty here, and along with the gazebo, there is very little that needs to be added to make this perfect. All catering, drinks and the wedding cake were handled through the resort, and it was all better than I expected. When the guests arrived at the cocktail hour on the stunning Don Luis terrace, servers were waiting with trays of drinks and hors d’oeurves and giant smiles on their faces. The one limitation of this space was you cannot play music after 10PM, which effectively meant our dance party / reception was over at 10PM. I knew we wouldn’t be ready to call it a night at that point, so I asked if we could possibly have a bonfire on the Playa Grande beach. Though I’m not sure if this was something they had done before or not, they were super amenable to making it happen, and the end result was one that blew my expectations completely out of the water. The resorts organized the shuttles to get our guests back over to where the bonfire was happening on the beach. They had laid out beach chairs in a perfect circle around the fire, with Mexican blankets to help people stay warm. There was a small s’mores station where people could pick up their marshmallows and the chocolate was pre-melted onto the graham crackers so once the toasted marshmallow was placed on it, you had a perfect, non-messy s’more. They also set up a small tiki bar to continue the drinks flowing until Midnight. It was the perfect way to wind down and end the night Flowers / Decorations: Through the Grand Solmar Lands End As I mentioned, the natural beauty of the space is so great, we needed very little in terms of decoration to complement the space. Something worth mentioning is the Grand Solmar is generally more restrictive about working with outside vendors that aren’t part of their approved set. Due to the extenuating circumstances I had faced, they were much more flexible with me, but when it came to flowers they insisted we go through them. For what it is worth, I don’t think this is as much them trying to maximize their profits, as it is them wanting to provide a truly immaculate wedding, and feeling more confident in their ability to do it versus a 3rd party vendor they have less control over. I gave them the proposal that I had from an earlier florist and they were able to replicate it completely to my vision at the exact same cost. As part of their standard set up, they provide beautiful tiffany chairs for the ceremony, white table linens were pinwheel table cloths (I believe that’s what they are called) which added a nice, understated touch of elegance and white draped material and a white runner for the gazebo. I brought light teal cloth napkins from home, and the look was perfect. As far as the bouquets and boutonnieres, they also arrived just as expected and were absolutely stunning. Wedding Coordinator: Alana Duran and Erika Quiroz through the Grand Solmar The vast majority of my experience was with Alana, who had helped me out through the beginning always, answering my emails thoroughly and promptly and giving me honest and direct answers so properly set my expectations. She never said “We can’t do that” or “That’s not allowed”. She always took time to develop some thoughtful alternatives and would talk them through with me. She was very professional and just truly lovely. Given we planned our wedding at the Grand Solmar, sight unseen, she had to work to make me feel very comfortable and confident that things would work out, and she successfully did that every step of the way. A few weeks before the actual wedding, she got another wedding coordinator role that offered her more international opportunities that was something she was interested in perusing. She seamlessly handed everything off to Erika, who I immediately felt at ease with, and who executed my entire vision to a tee. I think I hugged her about 15 times the night of our wedding. Photographers & Videographer: Enrique Morales, EM Weddings Since I’m writing this only days after our wedding I haven’t yet seen any of the photos or video Enrique shot, but I have no doubt the pictures are going to be amazing! Picking a photographer is always challenging and I looked at tons of online portfolios before selecting Enrique. Not only did his style of capturing candid moments really appeal to me, his videography samples had me getting emotional over strangers wedding videos. I also appreciated his super-quick response times and professionalism. His dedication to his work and creating a quality product is immediately apparent when you read other reviews of him on this site. And I experienced it firsthand in working with him. Months ago I created a pinterest board of some of my favorite wedding shots that I shared with Enrique to give him an idea of some things I’d like to capture. In the days before my wedding and on my wedding day, I can’t tell you how thrilled I was to hear him referencing those photos from my Pinterest board and how we were recreating them. Not only did he review that collection which I’d carefully curated but he had actively and thoughtfully considered how he could recreate each of them. He obviously takes his job of giving the bride exactly what she is after very seriously. The team we had included 2 photographers and 3 videographers, all mic’ed up to each other to ensure they are in the proper locations and capturing the most important moments. The fact that they are all in contact like that also worked well for coordinating our wedding party and getting everyone where they needed to be. Even though they were everywhere, I never even noticed them. They camouflaged right in! For the posed photos, Enrique gave great and explicit directions on body positioning to take the best photos and was incredibly efficient. He knew the exact time that we’d get the best light for some beach photos, which ended up allowing me to spend even more time with my guests during the cocktail hour and the reception. One thing I really learned from all of this is that all of the clichés are true – It is really the best day / weekend of your life and it goes by way too fast , like blink of an eye fast, so I am so excited I’ll soon be able to relive it through Enriques beautiful work. A consummate professional through and through, I’d recommend Enrique and his team to all Cabo brides. DJ, Equipment and Lighting– Victor Daniel De Alba, Teeven Technology Event Entertainment Victor and his team were excellent. And really on top of everything. When I mentioned the rocks at Grand Solmar and how Alana said they might need special lighting, he immediately set up an appointment with her to go visit the site and discuss their options, which he then followed up with me on. Besides just the lighting and the DJ equipment, he also provided the equipment for our ceremony and our violinist, asking us all the details we hadn’t even thought of, like if we needed a free standing mike, so our officiant wasn’t holding too many things during the ceremony. And the music at the reception was so good! Perhaps even a little too good! During dinner, one table got up and started dancing before we’d even been able to do speeches, because the music was so good. However Victor quickly corralled them back, and soon enough they were able to break it down for real. When I gave him our Play / Don’t Play list I explained that the ‘To Play’ list wasn’t an explicit ‘Must Play’ but more directional to help him get an idea of what we wanted, and he did just that. He was playing songs that I wouldn’t have even thought to add to the list or had never even heard of before, but they were just perfect and the dance floor was packed all night long. He did an excellent job of mashing up one song into another to transition them. Just really exceeded my expectations in every way. Violinist – Violetta Poletek - www.caboviolin.com Just lovely. We only had her for an hour for the ceremony and immediately before and following it, but she was a complete breeze to work with. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house when I walked out to her version of 1000 years. Hair & Makeup: Suzanne Morel My decision to use Suzanne Morel was an easy one based on tons of excellent reviews, and photos upon photos of the beautiful brides and bridesmaids she or her team had worked on. I originally contacted her months in advance and she set up a phone call, asked for photos of what I had in mind, photos of my dress, etc. to get an idea of what would work the best. She was very through with scheduled check-in calls planned in the months and weeks leading up to the wedding. I worked primarily with Jennifer on her team, and she was great to work with. They were extremely flexible, accommodating new requests from my bridesmaids to also get their hair done only days before the wedding. They were also incredibly efficient. They planned start time was 9:30AM with the plan to be completely done by 3PM, and even with a few extra services thrown in, they were completely out of there by 2:30PM. All of my bridesmaids commented on the quality of their work as well as their speed. They asked how I was able to find them and I told them it was from these forums. J Welcome Cruise: Cabo Mar Many guests, including my husband, said this cruise was the best part of the weekend. We had a 3 hour dinner / sunset cruise with an open bar for all of our guests, and it was outstanding. The DJ was playing great music and had everyone dancing all night, the drinks were delicious as was the food. Several times the boat would stop and point out some of the landmarks, like the Arc de Cabo, and give the guests an opportunity to take photos in front of it. Even better, they kept a head count of how many people had gotten on so we knew we weren’t leaving anyone behind. This was also one of my favorite parts of the entire weekend because we got to spend even more time with all of our closest family and friends, and it required virtually no additional work on our part. Besides booking and paying for it, CaboMar handled absolutely everything else, and they did so exquisitely. The boat is a catamaran, so it was a very smooth ride, but I’d still recommend having some Dramamine on hand for the one or two folks that just might not do well on the water. If any brides-to-be have any specific questions about any of these vendors, feel free to ask! Best of luck with your planning!
-
Hello lovely brides!! I thought I'd share that The Hudson Bay is having a huge "One day" sale on luggages. I just bought my wedding luggage and I'm so excited now to complete my packing!! woo hoo!! I bought a Heys upright 30" for $130 Kate Spade is having a big mother's day sale at the Premium Outlets. Yesterday they had 50% off all handbags and 40% off accessories. Perfect gifts for yourself or your bridesmaids! I think they have the same sale this weekend with an additional 20% off. Happy weekend!
-
- 5
-
- 2015 Brides
- 2016 Brides
-
(and 1 more)
Tagged with:
-
Hello lovely brides and brides-to-be, We have decided to open up the floor to our guests if they would like to give a speech. We are asking them to decide this ahead of time though so that they can prepare for it a little, also so that it gives us a change to let them know that we want them to keep it at 3mins max-ish. In my earlier days following this forum, I saw or read someone post their example of a blurb that explained their speech etiquette for lack of better words. Does anyone have a sample of the wording they used? I'm short for words today but really want to get started on this asap. thank you!
- 5 replies
-
- 2015 Brides
- 2016 Brides
-
(and 1 more)
Tagged with:
-
Hello all. This forum has been extremely helpful for me through the ups and downs of planning my destination wedding. I had difficulty finding recent reviews of the Hilton Rose Hall in Montego Bay so I wanted to write a review after visiting for the 1st time last week. They have 2 beautiful gazebos that can accommodate 10 to over 100 guests and also offer ceremonies and receptions on the sand. The beautiful Aqueduct is also a short walk away and absolutely breathtaking in person. This resort will be perfect for our guests with children due to the onsite lazy river, water slides and the fact kids 12 and under stay free. Our other guests will also be thrilled to see they have an adults only beach section and nightly entertainment. Fresh, their buffet restaurant, was great. We had breakfast and dinner there and it was yummy. We also had an amazing steak dinner at Three Palms. They have free shuttles to the local stores and great house that run every 30 minutes and shuttles to the restaurants and clubs on the Hip Strip. I know every single guest will be impressed with their stay which is a huge relief since they are spending time and money for our wedding. Our coordinator, Angella Saddler has been amazing. Even when my wedding was 10 months out she still responded to my millions of questions in a timely manner and was an amazing host during our stay. If anyone has any questions please let me know but I truly hope this review encourages others to check them out.
- 2 replies
-
- 5
-
- 2015 Brides
- Jamaica
-
(and 1 more)
Tagged with:
-
Hello brides!! I'm 4 days away for my BIG DAY ! I wanted to share my experience in this wild ride planning the perfect wedding! I am not that nervous I think, because I trusted very professional people for that special day. My experience with the DJ has been really great! I picked Dj. Rickalvin: And he has been great through all this process, he is very well organized and very flexible. He always answers my emails quickly and exactly with the solution or answer I need to any of my doubts or questions. We told him the music we liked and what we didn't like, so this way he knows a little bit more about us and what we expect for the wedding day! I found this Dj through a friend of mine that got married on Cancun last summer, and every single person told me they had lots of fun and everyone recommended the dj a lot. Another vendor that has been in touch with all throughout this whole time are the photographers: www.shenkophoto.com As I told you before, this is a married couple that is dedicated only to taking pictures around the world. We've been communicating for more than 8 months now, and I think we now seem to now each other even if we haven't met in person. Last month we arranged a Skype session and that was the first time we saw each other, other than in photos. We talked a lot about the wedding day, the pictures we would like for that day and with who, etc. They also seem to be really interested in small details about that day, like for example flowers, centerpieces and other decoration details that we picked. Also they are really organized, and helped us make an itinerary for family pictures so that we don't lose any time and we have all the people we want on the pictures. In 2 days we are meeting for a casual session so that we know each other in front of the camera and in that way, I think, it will be easier to communicate on the wedding day for the things we want, and can or can't do. My fiancé always laughs at me because I am a very bubbly person and I don't have shame of anything, but when you put a camera in front of me, everything changes!!! I just don't know what to do it's such a dumb thing! So wish me luck!!! When I come back from my honeymoon I'll tell you more details about everything =)
- 5 comments
-
- 1
-
- 2015 Brides
- Beach Weddings
-
(and 1 more)
Tagged with:
-
I am getting married at Dreams Riviera on Sunday July 19th, 2015 at 6pm. Wedding Weekend as follows: Friday: Welcome Booze Cruise Saturday: Rehearsal Beach Party Sunday: Ceremony on Beach Cocktail Hour on Beach Reception: Pool Deck We already have 68 people booked. Below is a gallery of some of the projects Ive worked on. Save the Dates! For our save the dates we sent out personalized luggage tags to all our of guests. Its amazing what you can do with the power of mail merge! All of the personalized information was filled out with the guests info! EventswithGrace Asking Our Bridal Party! EventswithGrace Bridesmaids: Towels: HueByJennyHouston Groomsmen: Cups: DecadentDesigns Flower Girl: Personalized Baby Bloomer: FlyBabiesEmbroidery Ring Bearer: T-shirt: KimsKreativeBoutique Wedding Invitations: EventswithGrace
- 16 replies
-
- 8
-
- 2015 Brides
- Beach Weddings
-
(and 1 more)
Tagged with:
-
Hello lovely ladies I"m now less than 2 months away from our wedding day! We went to cityhall today to apply for the marriage license. The cost of the marriage license is $140 + tax; there is a fee for a consultation with the officiant; and the facility rental which was $299 approximately. The clerk told us that if we chose to have the civil ceremony at home, it would only cost $28.50 approx instead of the $299.00 What are you Toronto brides doing? I didn't want to do it at home because it seems too personal but it saves $200!! (which is the facility rental) We really just wanted to sign papers and do the minimum in order to focus our attention and emotions on the symbolic one in mexico. ahhh decisions, decisions...
- 11 replies
-
- 2
-
- 2014 Brides
- 2015 Brides
-
(and 1 more)
Tagged with:
-
Pinata at the reception? Is anyone considering doing a pinata for the wedding reception? I saw some pictures and it looked like sooo much fun but I'm worried that it might either get overlooked or cut into dance time. I found this gorgeous pic online. I love the bright colours that it brings! It looks like it would be so much fun and we could totally fill it up with things from Costco etc etc. Anyone considering doing one?
- 8 replies
-
- 3
-
- 2015 Brides
- Beach Weddings
-
(and 1 more)
Tagged with:
-
Hello lovely ladies, I'm looking to get some advice and or ideas. Since my mother is no longer with us, I wanted to find a way to include her in this special day. I have seen the idea where couples leave a chair empty and reserved for that special person. I really like that idea. Here's where it could be awkward though. So my dad will be at the wedding with his new wife. She's great and she's been very supportive for this wedding. I don't know where to put the empty chair. I don't want it to be awkward for her if she's sitting next to it. the space is quite small where we are getting married so I don't know if that's the best option but it was one that I really liked. I really don't want her to feel uncomfortable. Let me know what you ladies think!
- 26 replies
-
- 1
-
- 2015 Brides
- Beach Weddings
-
(and 1 more)
Tagged with:
-
Hello lovely brides and brides-to-be! I am thinking of having sparklers at our wedding. We get married this June in the Mayan Riviera. My idea was to have everyone light up their sparklers during our first dance. I am going to make little tags that say "let love sparkle" or "let amor sparkle" since we are trying to do things a little "Spanglish" Does anyone know where you can buy Sparklers in the mayan Riviera? I'm guessing the Walmart there would have them?? But just wondering if anyone else has succeeded with this. Also, for any past brides, do you think the sparkler light up would be distracting during the first dance. I don't expect everyone's undivided attention but I'm hoping that for pictures there are enough sparklers to make it pretty. At least for sure it would draw a crowd that way. Would love to hear your thoughts!
- 32 replies
-
- 2
-
- 2015 Brides
- Reception
-
(and 1 more)
Tagged with:
-
Hi ladies, I just got back from my wedding site visit at the Hard Rock Riviera Maya. I'm posting my review that I also just put up on Trip Advisor as I had a really hard time finding any information on a wedding review of this resort in particular before I visited. I'd like to know if anyone is having the same experiences as I am or have had to this point. Particularly with the home office in Miami. I'm dealing with Andrea Perez and she's awful. To be honest, if my deposit wasn't already paid to this resort and 40 guests room deposits already paid, I would probably move elsewhere. Whilst the actual venues to get married are much nicer than other resorts and a bit more private (eg- the palapas over the water vs a gazebo right in the pool area), I'm not sure it's worth all of the aggrevation I am going through just trying to get finalized costs and a contract to sign to move this wedding forward! We have guests attending from 4 different continents and that's stressful enough to deal with! I don't need the added stress of problems occurring in the run up to my wedding or worse, day of! I would also post pictures but unfortunately, my husband got into the hot tub with his iPhone in his bathing suit pocket and, well... good bye all pictures we had taken! Even the rice bag trick didn't work. The phone is fried. Thanks. Here's my review... We visited this resort for 4 nights just prior to Easter for our wedding site inspection. We booked this resort for our wedding this coming July without having previously visited or seen the resort firsthand and went off pictures from the internet and the recommendation from a travel agent based on our needs/wants. This resort needs to step it up in the service department majorly! Across the board, the service we received at times was appalling and downright rude. We're due to have our wedding here in July 2015 with approximately 40-50 guests in attendance and I wish I could change resorts. But unfortunately, we're too far down the line with planning and room deposits to switch so we'll have to make do. In comparison to our experience at this resort, prior to arriving at the Hard Rock, we spent 3 nights at the Excellence Riviera Cancun where the staff and service were, well... excellent! It was such a let down to then arrive at the Hard Rock and to be let down from the get go. Here's our experience... Check in: We rented a car and drove ourselves to the resort. The bell hops met us at our car and unloaded our luggage promptly and took the car via valet (free parking). So far, so good. We were offered a glass of some neon blue (non-alcoholic) drink as we walked in. It's disgusting. Took one sip and put it down. In comparison, we were offered a glass of champagne AND a cold wash cloth at the Excellence. The check in desk is chaos. They don't have enough personnel behind the desk to keep up with guest demand at peak times. We were about the 3rd group in line and waited about 30 minutes to get to the desk for our turn. We were checked in, told our room wasn't ready but were being upgraded (score!) and to come back in about 15 minutes for our key. Fine. We were fitted with bracelets and given a photocopied map of the resort. That was it. No explanation of the map (which isn't very clear or big and a bit difficult to read), not direction to go to the bar up the hallway if we wanted a drink, nothing. We felt a bit lost and were already feeling a bit put off given how well we were treated at the Excellence only 2 hours earlier. We came back about 15 minutes later, got our key and room number but given no other information. I had to ask what we were meant to do, if the bell hop was going to bring our bags up, if we had to go get the bags, etc. It was all very confusing and annoying that the desk staff didn't seem to go out of their way to explain anything. We also realized that we had different colored bracelets than most people and it was only after we met with our on-site wedding planner the next day, Natalia, that we found out these were VIP bracelets. Wouldn't that be something the check in desk should have told us?? Weirdly, where our room was (8325), there wasn't an elevator located near by, but the stairs were right there. So the bell hop wound up carrying all our bags up the flights of stairs. It was all very strange. The room: It was just okay. The rooms are definitely on the small side. It was nice to be upgraded from a garden room to a sky terrace room (which we've also booked for our wedding in July). However, they gave us what I call a half terrace room in which it only has 2 chairs and a hot tub upstairs. The other terrace rooms we saw across the way had a bathroom, 2 lounge chairs and an 8 person table and chairs in addition to the hot tub. Not sure why they skimped and gave us a room that didn't have all the amenities they advertise for the sky terrace category?? The mini bar was a bit of a let down. The Excellence gave us bottles of wine, snacks such as Oreos and Snickers bars, etc. The Hard Rock just gave the basics in terms of drinks (coke, diet coke, juice, water and beers). Weirdly, they give 2 cans of Dos XX and 2 cans of Tecate light. I was pretty surprised by the Tecate light as this is pretty cheap beer and I wouldn't think the Hard Rock, with the prices they charge, would cheap out on the mini bar and top it up with this cheap stuff. In comparison, the Excellence gave us 4 nips bottles of Corona and 4 cans of Corona light. On the 2nd day, the mini bar filler came around whilst we were still in the room. He told my husband he would come back but when we came back after a long day at the beach, he never did. We called to have the mini bar refilled (the book says you can call any time for a refill on the mini bar) and were given a bit of attitude by the operator who told us they had completed all of the mini bar refills for the day. Eventually they came and refilled it that evening but not with everything we had used. The coffee and coffee maker were fine. Annoyingly, they never gave us any brown sugar which my husband likes. I kept thinking they would fill it up each morning and include what was missing but they never did. The iron and ironing board were bad. The ironing board cover was very worn and threadbare. The iron barely worked and dripped hot water all over my husbands foot when he tried to use it. We didn't try to use it again after that. Bathroom toiletries were fine. Basics were there. What was nice at the Excellence is that they also offered a toothbrush travel size Colgate toothpaste which I thought was an extra nice touch that perhaps the Hard Rock could take on. We had an issue with the toilet in our room from day 1. You would flush it but then the toilet would keep running. We called maintenance who came up the next morning whilst we were out and 'fixed' it. Unfortunately, it still wasn't fixed and required another call to maintenance. We finally gave up after the third call and just gave the handle a jiggle to make it stop running. Housekeeping was hit or miss. They only give you the bare necessity number of towels. So we only had 2 at any given time. What was extra annoying was that we had the roof terrace with hot tub but were never given any towels for the hot tub! We looked across at other similar rooms, all which had 2 rolled up towels next to the hot tub. We called housekeeping who very rudely interrupted us when we were requesting towels to say that they should already be up there. We told her there were none and we would like some but they never showed up. Not at all during the 4 nights we stayed there. We finally started getting them from the pool towel hut. Beds were comfortable and pillows fine. Pools: We didn't spend much time at the pools. This is primarily because the hacienda side pool was teeming with children who weren't really being supervised by their parents and on the heaven side, I was taken back about 12 years to my college spring break days with booty dancing competitions, which wasn't really the atmosphere we were looking for either. My husband walked through the Heaven pool side to go get us drinks and some drunk girl who was up dancing decided to slap him on the rear end as he walked by and then her equally drunk friend decided to slap him in the privates! I mean, really out of control. What is wrong with these people?! And what is wrong with the bar staff that continue to serve them or the fact that none of the staff around the pool/DJ area said anything to these girls?! Beach: We spent most of our time at the VIP beach on the hacienda side. Primarily because it actually had shade (the Hard Rock must want people to have heat stroke with the lack of shade/umbrellas they provide) and because it was less chaotic than the pools or regular beach. The sand is pretty awful. Rocky and can sometimes hurt your feet. Not powdery at all. The swimming was fine. There was great snorkeling right in the protected coves off the beach. We saw plenty of fish, including 2 resident barracudas and a baby barracuda. The grounds: Can be pretty appalling in some instances. We were shocked at how poorly the grounds were made or put together in some places. There is a giant pool that sticks up in the middle of the sidewalk in one area (not sure what it's purpose is), but someone ripped it out of the ground and threw it to the side. That evening, we were walking to the Heaven side and I nearly broke my ankle because it was dark and I didn't see this 6 inch wide hole in the ground. Another time, walking through this large courtyard area where they seem to hold concerts or team building exercises, we came across a giant pile of rusty screws. Just lying there right in the middle of the walk way. No idea how they got there or why. I saw a spotlight type light, meant to illuminate a tree just ripped out of the ground and thrown to the side with the electrical wires still hanging out the bottom of it. There also seemed to be quite a bit of trash thrown about. Presumably by drunk guests who have no class and throw their garbage anywhere they like. There were cracked tiles in some of the floor areas and the inside of the one elevator ride we did take was disgusting. Fingerprints everywhere and the wallpaper like covering they had over the glass window side of the elevator was half ripped off and torn to shreds. Really bad looking. Bar/restaurants: The restaurants on the heaven side are leaps and bounds better than on the Hacienda side. The Brazilian on the Hacienda side was so so. We found the cuts of meat were not the best and they were quite fatty with veins running through the meat. We had a third plate on the table which we dedicated just for dumping fatty pieces of meat that we didn't want to eat. By the end of our dinner, this plate was overflowing. The Italian and French on the Heaven side were excellent, as was the service. Really top notch. The Mexican on the Heaven side was equally good. The pool bar food on either side is disgusting. Don't bother ordering chicken wings. They are horrible and forget blue cheese. I'm not really sure what they put on our plate. It was white and very runny but really had no cheese. The lunch is just so so. No matter which restaurant you go to, it's primarily the same buffet food. We had lunch at El Toro one day, and they'll put meat on the grill for you... don't bother with this. The meat is cooked burnt on the outside and then raw on the inside. What would be good is if there is somewhere you could go that just had plain salads or chicken wraps or club sandwiches. These are all on the room service menu but annoyingly, you can't order it anywhere at the pools or restaurants for lunch. The breakfast is decent. Lots of choice, you won't go hungry. We ate one morning in the Hacienda side Mexican restaurant which is reserved for VIP or timeshare sales. You should avoid. It's noisy and there's not enough room at the food station. It's annoying listening to the reps constantly trying to sell other guests on these timeshares and the waiter service is crap. We were nearly done with our breakfast before they came around offering coffee and practically left before they brought it to the table. We watched other guests just get up and walk over to the coffee service station and serve themselves rather than wait. In hindsight, we should have just done this. The bar service at both pool bars is terrible. Our first day, first drink we went to go get, we went to the Heaven pool bar. It's chaotic and you're not really sure where to stand or where to order. We finally, after 10 minutes, managed to get the bartenders attention to order our drinks. He never said hello, never smiled. In fact, he seemed downright annoyed we wanted to order drinks. He started walking away before I had even finished telling him what we wanted. I had to call him back over and then tried to hand him our 2 insulated mugs which he rudely just replied 'take off the covers'. We stood there gobsmacked. The very first drink we try to order and this is how we're treated?! So rude. He couldn't have been less bothered to help us. We found this to be the case most of the time at both pool bars on either side of the resort- chaotic, never know where to stand to order, and bad and sometimes downright rude service. On the flip side, the 2 gentleman waiters who brought the food/drinks back and forth on the VIP beach Hacienda side were wonderful. Energetic and always had a smile. We didn't mind tipping them because they worked so hard and were very grateful. Overall in terms of service, with the exception of the VIP beach servers and the servers we had at the italian, french and Heaven side Mexican restaurants, the service is terrible at this resort. Never smiled at, ignored most of the time and it almost seemed like they were annoyed when you would interrupt their casual conversation among each other if you needed anything. As a comparison, at the Excellence, no matter which member of staff you passed walking by- a bartender, bell hop, chambermaid, someone changing a light bulb, they ALWAYS stopped what they were doing, looked at you and gave a friendly 'hola' with a smile, Now that's the kind of service and staff I like to see! Not these morbid mopes who look absolutely miserable. Wedding on-site coordinator: Natalia saved this trip for us. She was great. Met us in the hacienda lobby the 2nd morning we were there, gave us a tour of the entire resort, told us we had VIP bracelets, answered all of our questions, showed us all of the wedding venue options at the resort. She is the only reason we are still having our wedding here. She provided me with some reassurance that this wedding with my 40 guests won't be a complete disaster. Especially as the service in the 'home office' in Miami is terrible. Our contact in that office is horrific. The information she provides and the quotes based on our requests are not organized, hard to follow and come in drips and drabs in different emails. I've finally told my WOW (not sure what this stands for but these are travel agents who are Hard Rock specialists) wedding travel agent in NY to deal with her as I could no longer without losing my cool. So I've basically cut off all communication with this woman in Miami which is not good considering this is the woman who needs to put my contract together and final costs before anything can move forward at the resort itself. But honestly, I've given this woman everything she could possibly need to quote my wedding, including my own 20 page look book with picture examples of exactly what I want everything to look like from the flowers to the table setting to the papel picado hanging over the dance floor. And she still tells me she doesn't know what I want. It's unbelievable. There are also fees for setting up in different locations, fees if you want them to place a program on each chair, fees for everything. So she includes line items for set up fees in my quotes, but it's not clear to me what is included in these line items! All very confusing. We also found the Hard Rock contracted vendors to be wildly overpriced so we are actually bringing in outside vendors for multiple things such as the flowers, DJ, photographer, hair/make up, etc. Even with the $500 outside vendor fee per vendor, it still works out cheaper. Hard Rock needs to make their prices with their vendors more competitive if they want to retain the business! Our budget for this wedding is about $15k and at least half of that is going to be with outside vendors, if not more. Also incredibly annoying is that we're staying a total of 10 nights for our wedding. We are getting 7 nights 'comped' due to our wedding guests, HOWEVER, we are paying a good sum of money to upgrade to the Sky Terrace Suite room (comped rooms only go up to platinum room category) and are paying full price for the last 3 nights. Because of the 'comped' room rate for 7 nights, we only earn 3 nights worth of resort credit, which is $500. The inflated prices they charge for the resort credit activities, we can hardly do anything, which really doesn't seem fair that we're the bride and groom and are bringing all of this business to the resort and we get the least amount of resort credit out of all our guests? Just doesn't seem right. We want to have as good a time as everyone else and we won't be able to do everything we want to because of this. I can understand if we weren't paying to upgrade on those 7 nights, but we should at least earn something for the money we're paying above and beyond the comp rate. So that's it really. Did we have the worst time? No. But would I return if I didn't have to for my wedding or another vacation? No. There are less expensive resorts that are much nicer and where the service is much better. I think you're paying for the Hard Rock name here and it's just not worth it. Sorry, one last thing... we are not going with a Colin Cowie set up for our wedding. For the price they charge and the fact that you can't change a single thing about the design (even if you want to use real flowers vs fake flowers they have in some of the packages) it's simply not worth it. This was confirmed when I saw the black and white themed set up on the beach. It looked pathetic. I felt so sorry for the bride and groom. The chuppah looking thing with the crystals hanging down looked like it had seen better days. It was rickety and cheap looking and looked like it was about to fall down. The hooks with the glass balls of flowers lining the aisle looked drab. Save your money on these Colin Cowie packages ladies and just go with the complimentary wedding and pay to customize. You'll be much happier! This way you can get the colors you want, the flowers you want and don't have tacky crystals hanging everywhere.
- 6 replies
-
- 3
-
- 2015 Brides
- Beach Weddings
-
(and 1 more)
Tagged with: