Gran Bahia Principe Akumal/Tulum/Coba - POST HERE!

[Cdunn514]

I sent you over the banquet pricing that i recieved, I think that we are going to go with the cheapest one that is the Special Cocktails only.

 

Originally Posted by Coba Bride 2012 

Hi Cdunn514,

I was wondering how much it was per person for the Arrecife Jacuzzi bar  reception? Are you getting the pool reserved for only your reception? Thanks for your help.

 

[Coba Bride 2012]

I was wondering if you could send the pricing again. I didn't receive it. Thank you

 

Originally Posted by Cdunn514 

I sent you over the banquet pricing that i recieved, I think that we are going to go with the cheapest one that is the Special Cocktails only.

 

 

 

[cdlillad]

Hi Ladies!

 

I will try to answer some of the questions if I can.

crystalz -  There is only one golf course for the entire resort.  I know my stepdad liked it, because he went twice!  They have a website with more information: www.rivieramaya-golfclub.com

 

PHOTOGRAPHER - I brought a friend to take pictures for us and paid for his travel costs.  I ended up liking Arrecife's photos (Diego was our photographer) much more.  Arrecife has top of the line camera equipment and they have all the poses and lighting down to a science.  I didn't realize it at the time, but Diego was running around everywhere to get the best shots.  I figured this out by looking at the photos my friend took.  I would see Diego over here and then over there..and anyway...it was amazing.  Diego would lay down on the ground, then jump up, at one point he was standing on a chair.  I just think of him as a superhero photographer. 

 

So what I'm saying is that even if you bring a professional photographer from home, they won't know exactly which spots and angles are perfect...and the lighting.  I know that Arrecife seems expensive.  But what they do is show you about 150 of their best photos. If you buy all 150 of those photos on disc, they will throw in the "negatives" for free.  Which means they will give you all 700 photos that the photographer took for the price of 150.  It's actually quite a good deal and they do negotiate a little.  I know you want to look beautiful and Arrecife will make you look beautiful.  I felt really sweaty and icky on my wedding day and I was so suprised to see the photos turn out amazing.

 

My response to daveedal's comments - I agree the resort is HUGE.  My guests stayed at both Coba and Tulum.  I should have limited my guests to just one resort.  It was kinda difficult to find people.  I ended up paying a really high cell phone bill texting people.  Because like daveedal said, there is no voicemail in the hotel rooms.  You could consider walkie talkies, but I think the radius won't even be wide enough for that super large resort.  In most cases I just told everyone to meet for dinner every night at the main Tulum buffet.  We could easily find huge tables in the corner and met over there.  Also I used the grapevine communication method.  I would tell as many people as I could and they would pass the word to whoever they saw during the day.

 

gettingwed12 - We had our cocktail party at the main Tulum pool, dinner at Gran Tortuga.  I don't think you have the ability to have your party at a different pool.  The main Tulum is the best one because it has a large area to have your reception and it's away from most people walking by.  As you can see in my pictures (link in my signature), the area is big enough to have a large dance floor and also tables off to the side.  If you are worried about alcohol, Jazmin told me I could go to the supermarket and buy my own alcohol.  We did that and brought the alcohol to Jazmin's office.  I didn't hear any of the guests complain about the alcohol and we had so much alcohol left over that it went to waste.

 

[nikki17]

@ cdlillad...who did you use for your hair and makeup?  Do you mind sharing the price?  I am glad to hear that we have the ability to buy our own alcohol to serve...that definitely gives me some ideas!!  Jazmin is also my wedding coordinator.  Did she charge you a fee to serve the alcohol and to set up tables for the reception?  I know you used an offsite DJ.  I have requested information about the resort DJ, who I believe is DJ Bob and I haven't gotten anything.  I even went to DJ Bob's website and requested information and got nothing....so I am a little uneasy about the resort DJ!

[Tanya-Karolina]

Hello Nikki 17. I am getting married at Gran Bahia Akumal, and we are using Dj Bob for our reception! He was pretty good in keeping in touch with me. Here is his e-mail : boradem@aim.com. Good Luck!

[Tanya-Karolina]

Hello Ladies! I am leaving in 3 days! I can't believe it!!! I have one more question to the previous brides! I would love to have rose petals on the aisle at the beach, and I was quoted $10 per bag of petals. Is it a good size of a bag? would 3 bags be enough to cover the aisle, not fully, but good enough? and also do you know if there a flower shop close by?? In case it will not be enough rose petals, I thought to buy roses myself and just tear off the petals! Also is there a bar right on the beach by the hammock location?? Would you recomend to pay for the champagne toast after the ceremony?

 

Thank you so much!!! you all have been a great help!

[pammyk]

Well we are finally booked!  Staying at Grand Bahia Principe Coba March 1-March 8th 2012; We are getting married at the Tulum gazebo on March 4th or 5th at either 4pm or the sunset time. This form has been so useful in the pre-booking planing for our wedding, everyone is so helpful and there is so much information on here!  I do have a couple of questions, I have been going back and forth if i want  do travel mugs for everyone; just wondering for anyone who has done them was it worth?.  My concern is do people actually use them? The hassle of transporting them is what worries me the most. But if its something that people really get use out of then i defiantly want to do them. Also, I noticed that a lot of people have been getting those paper lanterns and bringing them down for the poolside reception, where do you hang them from? We are doing supper and the restaurant with a 3hour poolside reception with DJ, and i really want the poolside reception to be  decorated.  In the pictures that I have seen there doesn't seem to be much decorations, has anyone done centerpiece for the tables? Any feed back would be awesome!

[TATrisha]

 

 

Originally Posted by pammyk 

 

Well we are finally booked!  Staying at Grand Bahia Principe Coba March 1-March 8th 2012; We are getting married at the Tulum gazebo on March 4th or 5th at either 4pm or the sunset time. This form has been so useful in the pre-booking planing for our wedding, everyone is so helpful and there is so much information on here!  I do have a couple of questions, I have been going back and forth if i want  do travel mugs for everyone; just wondering for anyone who has done them was it worth?.  My concern is do people actually use them? The hassle of transporting them is what worries me the most. But if its something that people really get use out of then i defiantly want to do them. Also, I noticed that a lot of people have been getting those paper lanterns and bringing them down for the poolside reception, where do you hang them from? We are doing supper and the restaurant with a 3hour poolside reception with DJ, and i really want the poolside reception to be  decorated.  In the pictures that I have seen there doesn't seem to be much decorations, has anyone done centerpiece for the tables? Any feed back would be awesome!

 

 

Congratulations on booking!! 

Okay, travel mugs... TOTALLY worth it!  Everyone in our group was very thankful for them and used them constantly.  They were a HUGE pain to travel with (filled an entire suitcase) however I stuffed them with other stuff so it wasn't dead space (socks, OOT bag items, swim suits, etc).  It helped a little.

I had centerpieces on the tables for my poolside.  They were the decorations I bought for the ceremony.  Since I paid extra for them, they just moved them to the reception.  It worked out perfectly. 

 

Originally Posted by Tanya-Karolina 

 

Hello Ladies! I am leaving in 3 days! I can't believe it!!! I have one more question to the previous brides! I would love to have rose petals on the aisle at the beach, and I was quoted $10 per bag of petals. Is it a good size of a bag? would 3 bags be enough to cover the aisle, not fully, but good enough? and also do you know if there a flower shop close by?? In case it will not be enough rose petals, I thought to buy roses myself and just tear off the petals! Also is there a bar right on the beach by the hammock location?? Would you recomend to pay for the champagne toast after the ceremony?

 

Thank you so much!!! you all have been a great help!

 

I had three bags of rose petals on my aisle.  It really wasn't enough if you ask me (I would have liked maybe three more bags), but you can see for yourself if you'd like to use them. 

 

 The bar is very close to the hammock location. It's the 24 hour snack shop.  Your party will meet there and then be escorted to the ceremony site.  You will hide in the bushes of the bar.  In this picture below of me walking down the aisle the bar and snack bar is the roof line in the upper left corner.  I hope that helps.

 

[cdlillad]

nikki17 - Sara Tamargo did a great job.  I highly recommend her!!  On the wedding day, the bride's hair and makeup cost together is $150.00 USD.  Hair and makeup for each bridesmaid is $130.  You will need to tell your wedding coordinator that you have someone coming onsite, or else they won't let her in the security gate.  I had that problem and it caused a lot of stress for me.  Keep in mind that you may have to pay a day pass for the makeup lady AND the hair lady that she brings.  It gets kinda expensive, but I think it's well worth it.  It was a miracle that my makeup stayed on all day and night with all the sweating I did outside.  Also, I recommend getting your hair fixed completely up, because it's really hot outside and windy.

I still had to pay to have the poolside reception, I just bought the basic package with beer, margaritas, and sparkling wine.  They didn't charge any fee to serve the extra alcohol that I provided.

 

DJ - I don't really think that DJ Bob is the "resort DJ". I think that's rumor that started on this forum.  I think DJ Bob is a popular DJ that many girls on this forum choose to hire.  I'm assuming the resort DJ would be the same one that plays in the Disco at the Hacienda.

 

Tanya-Karolina - I bought one bag of rose petals for my flowergirl. But I didn't notice how big it was.  We had a rental car and we drove around a few times exploring the area.  I didn't see any flower shops nearby.  You don't really want to stress yourself out looking for that. 

I think if you don't buy the champagne toast, they will still give you some sparkling fruit drink in champagne glasses.

 

pammyk - The gazebo is a beautiful place.  That's where I got married. ;-)  I have heard from other brides that their guests use the mugs.  But honestly my guests didn't really use them.  I think it's because most of my guests only stayed 4 nights.  Maybe if your guests are staying for a week?  And my suitcase situation was out of control.  I had to have several of my guests brings boxes for me.

[Sunshine2680]

Hi Gals - just a couple questions

Does anyone have prices for hair and makeup with the salon (Tulum)?

Also - whats the lo-down on DJ? I see there aren't any DJ services included in the wedding packages
Does the resort have their own that you hire for extra $?
Or do most bring one in from the outside?

Thanks!