Paradisus Riviera Brides - POST HERE!

[SamG]

Hi Girls,

 

I'm not on all that often, but now that we're getting pretty close to our date, I would really like to get reinvloved!

FINZUP... How many people are you having? We are expecting 60 so we were advised to do everything a la carte rather than a package. It's a bit pricier, but we're getting EVERYTHING we want and it's kind of nice to make it our own. We went down and did a food tasting after choosing from ALL of the banquet menu's and ended up picking a main entree that wasn't even there.

 

NAVARRABROOKE You're actually getting married the week right after us! We went down and did a site visit that exact week last year to see what the weather and hours would be like. You lose sunlight early in November so we're starting our ceremony at 4:00. Perla said this would provide us with just enough time for beach photos and it will be a little cooler out. If you have any questions, let me know, and I'll see you down there!

[navarrabrooke]

SamG - that's awesome - thanks for letting me know! We're flying in on the 10th - will you still be there? We've got about 3 months to go...so much to do! Are you doing a sit down dinner or a buffet for the reception?

 

Anyone doing a sand ceremony I've been looking into it and I really like the idea. It's sorta in lieu of the unity candle. Planning a Sand Ceremony

[MissyR]

Hey ladies! Just thought I would check in and see how everyone is doing!

 

Will try and answer some of the recent questions - We got married in November and had our ceremony at 3:30. The sun set around 5:30 - 6:00 so it was great for pics etc.

 

We did the sand ceremony which worked out well - I wrote the script (ok copied it from other BDW) and gave it to the judge and it was great.

[navarrabrooke]

Thanks, Missy! Can you send me the script I've been researching online, but there's so much out there..I don't know where to begin!

 

I think we'll set our ceremony for 4pm. Thanks so much!

[featherchick]

Hello everyone! It's been a while since I've been on here, so I thought I would check in. I had tentatively scheduled for our ceremony to be at 3:30. Does anyone know if that is a good time for early January? Also I just booked my photographer and I am so excited! We are actually bringing one from the states, which sounds excessive, but its actually a better deal. It seemed like most of the prices in Cancun for photographers were at least $2,000 for like 4 hours. Well, I swung a deal with the guy that took our engagement photos ( which I love!) and said I would pay for his trip down for 4 days 3 nights and his flight ($460 for the room and $240 for his flight) if he would take pics for the weekend. I told him he could even bring his wife (as long as he paid for her portion) and he said yes! He will be there taking pics for the entire wedding day plus we are doing a trash the dress session the morning after. I suggest that others look into trying to do something like this.

[navarrabrooke]

Isn't that great?! I'm doing the same thing, but it's a friend of ours. We're paying for her trip and she'll shoot us for 4 days. Much better deal!

[HappyGoLucky]

Hello all!

 

I will be marrying at the Paradisus RM on April 9, 2010. I flew down with my FI, his parents, his bro and sis-in-law and my parents in early June to do a site visit. We also checked out Secrets Capri and the Royal Hideaway Playacar. We unanimously agreed that Paradisus was exactly what we were looking for. Secrets was a close 2nd but we had to rule it out due to the fact that it's half the size and the feel of the resort was more for honeymooners than it would be for our young crowd of possibly 120+ people. Royal Hideaway Playacar was just a guilty indulgence to visit but it was by far the smallest and they're not used to accommodating larger weddings. Plus, I think their rooms start around $800/night, which is a little pricey.

 

We've put down the deposit for Paradisus and taken care of the room block via wire transfer. I've pretty much locked down the DJ and photographer. I'm working on the videographer and MUA. I'm actually using the co-writer of "The Knot's Destination Wedding" book as a consultant for her recommended vendors. It was more for peace of mind than anything else. She's been incredibly helpful, although I may end up not using any of her recommendations. I've already picked out the dress (thank you Kleinfeld's in NYC) and the bridesmaids dresses and I'm just counting down the days until I get to go back to sunny Mexico. If any newbies want to see pics of Paradisus I'd be more than happy to send you the link via email. Also, if anyone has recommendations on a videographer and MUA... I'm all ears!

 

Thank you to all those who have made posts! This website has been a holy grail to my obsessive researching. In fact, my FI has to pry me away from the computer half the time b/c I can't stop researching more stuff about the wedding.

[ktchi]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HappyGoLucky We've put down the deposit for Paradisus and taken care of the room block via wire transfer.

Hi HappyGoLucky,
I was wondering how the room block works. Are you not using a travel agent? I am trying to decide whether to just go through the hotel or go through a travel agent. I want my guests to be able to decide how long they want to stay.

[navarrabrooke]

Hi HappyGoLucky - Can you send me the link to your site visit pics? My email is navarrabrooke@hotmail.com. I too am obsessive about all things wedding-related!

 

Hi Ktchi - We are working with a travel agent (Joani) at Destination Weddings (DW) and she has been great. Our guests call or email her directly to request quotes and book their travel. She's been able to either match the rates we've seen on Expedia, Orbitz, etc. or come in even cheaper. If you use DW, they offer you a website with all the details on the resort, pictures, etc. Guests can refer to that and they can go directly to your TA with any questions - kinda relieves you of fielding a bunch of questions. We did not do the room block - mostly because we didn't know at the time how many people could actually attend. So far it's been working for us. We've heard good feedback from our guests - they like that you can pay half at the time of booking and then make monthly payments thereafter. We've only had one couple book through Expedia and these sites make you pay in full at the time of booking. Also, if anything were to go wrong you have a TA on your side (and your guests do too) to take care of everything. Just added peace of mind. Hope this helps!

[yolyd75]

SAMG... I am from SI as well.. which part of the island are you located>?