Iberostar Quetzal/Tucan

[JennyZ]

@@Mexico2015

 

Hello

 

I think I might be the only guy on the board (might have to change my pic) but I had a couple questions for anyone who can help out. My fiance are planning on getting married at the Iberostar Tucan and I have just started to email Connie. We have not booked but are looking to do so within the next week or so.

 

So we are looking to have a full fledged reception and have dancing and drinks post dinner. Most likely we will have over 30 people so from what I am reading we will have to have a private reception (which is fine by us). We were looking at the dream wedding package because of the 4 hour reception but really dont want most of the other things on there. All we would really need is the gold wedding with a longer reception/dance.

 

So does anyone know if you can add on a longer recpetion to the Gold package and if so, what does the price look like. Also, has anyone hired a DJ at all? I really would not have to worry about the songs but can make it happen if need be.

 

Thanks for any feedback and info!

 

If you are still considering the Tucan... You can definitely add the longer dinner/reception (it's from 6:30pm-10:30pm) for $990 USD. It's still A LOT less expensive than the Dream package, especially if you dont want all the other things! This is the same route I am going for my December 2015 Quetzal Wedding

 

From what I can see on the price list... The DJ is $100 USD for every 1 hour.

I also dont really want to have to worry about music - but can you really trust a DJ you've never met, from another country?... Here's what it comes down to for me: do I invest tons of time making my own songlists onto an ipod, or settle for possibility of dancing to the macarena!!!

 

Congrats and hope this helps!

 

JZ

[IvanLuckiePhotography]

@Mexico2015 think seriously on having a DJ, reception and  photos will never be the same, I am not saying just any DJ out  there !

[JennyZ]

Any past Brides of this resort have some insight they would care to share with a future bride?

 

I'm curious to details such as, seating & table arrangements for the La Marimba Steakhouse?

 

What kind of decorations you can bring with you, or what was worth/not worth purchasing there?

 

Did anyone use their DJ and your review on them?

 

 

Thanks in advance to anyone who can help!!!

[jsparrow10]

I'm so glad this thread is active again! We are booked for Tucan July 10, 2015. My brother actually got married there 7 years ago and it was amazing. Before we got engaged we already had a vacation planned at Riu which is next door to Tucan. We spent a whole day checking out other resorts and nothing really clicked. We figured we would go and talk with someone (Connie) at Tucan to see if they had our date and what has changed since then. They had more reception options which I was excited about and we got to see the beach reception set up and in action. It was gorgeous and looked like alot of fun. I do have some pictures as well. I can't wait to hear from the previous brides as well. Connie made a point to say they will have more communication closer to the date. She has been responding to emails but I've learned you have to ask like 1 questions at a time really and it's about a week or so response, which is fine. 

[Shermul]

Hi Everyone,

 

We are getting married here Jan 2015 so only 2.5 months to go. We're a very large destination wedding of about 100 people.

 

We had originally chosen a package and then realized it was cheaper to just go the a la carte method for us. We have hired a local rabbi to perform our ceremony, are doing a private reception dinner in the Tropical restuarant (its the only one we fit in) and a coctail hour on the beach with the mariachi band. I didn't want a hair trial, I'll be fine with just getting my hair done for the wedding day, and there were other things in the package we can do without.

 

At some point Connie will introduce you by email to Alejandra who will be your day of wedding coordinator. She is great at answering questions. I would number them and make them simple and put a bunch of questions in one email with space, she copies your email and responds to each question in red right under what you wrote, and attaches any photos you may have requested. I recently asked her for photos of the Tropical restuarant all set up for a wedding and she did just that, providing me with photos from three different set ups.

 

We are hiring the internal DJ for the reception. I have to admit I'm nervous about this. We had two options: Internal for $100/hour or external for over $1000 for 4 hours. We were informed that the internal DJ does not speak any english, so if we wanted an MC, the external is our only option. Don't be fooled though, we still need to provide a full song list to the internal DJ (not looking forward to putting that together), and I'm slightly nervous about communication, but we have a bridesmaid who is fluent in spanish and promised to help. I've heard no review on the internal DJ so you can understand where my nervousness comes from, but we really don't have a choice, the external DJ pricing was too high.

 

As for taking things with you, we're taking everything with us. I've got two bags already packed of favors, welcome bags, and wedding party gifts. My mom is bringing a trunk full of plastic cups and maracas for all of our guests. So yes, its a lot, and good to plan in advanced how your getting everything to Mexico. 

 

For decorations, we are making tablerunners (Alejandra has provided me with lengths for the 8, 10, and 12 people tables). And bringing water beads and color changing lights with us for centerpieces. We're hoping the resort will allow us to use two or three extra glasses per table to make our center pieces with, and a large bucket to hydrate the water beads. The lights last for 14 hours (we tested them) and change colors slowly between 7 colors. looks neat.

 

My advice, start planning early. Ask all your questions and don't hold back. If you don't hear back from Connie in a week, send her a followup email. Alejandra will provide you with a planning worksheet when you start working with her about 2-3 months before the wedding date. This is where you select your cake flavor/shape, and how many bouquets you need and what type of flowers you want, and how many people you have total, things like that. And ask her lots of questions, she has all the answers! She has been great to work with.

 

 

Oh, I should also mention what I learned about rehersal/rehearsal dinner. We have a large family/wedding party. So we will be doing a rehearsal dinner the day before. While we can't book a table, Alejandra said that they will put together a table for 40 people at the buffet for us for 6:30pm, right when they open. This is good enough for us as we don't want to pay another $990 to reserve a private restaurant for 4 hours. As for the rehearsal, that depends on if they have another wedding the day before, timing, and availability of staff. They will let us know when we arrive what time we can do that the day before the ceremony. So just be aware, you probably won't be able to do it exactly when you want it.

 

 

Please feel free to ask me more questions ,and I would love to provide more information after our wedding in Jan as well.

 

Congratulations and good luck.

[JennyZ]

@@Shermul - Thank you for all the info and Congrats on your upcoming wedding! You must be soooo excited!!!

 

 

Would you be able to share some of the details you have received with me???

 

- The photos of the Tropical restuarant all set up for a wedding / three different set ups.

and

- The lengths for the 8, 10, and 12 people tables

 

 

I have quite some time, before Connie is going to forward me along to the WC to get this info (even though I have already asked) and am really hoping to finish all my DIY table decorations soon. I have enough to do & spend next year, with all the favors, OOT bags, etc! This was exactly the ino I needed to complete my dinner planning!

 

Thank you SO much in advance if you can! My email is: wedding@@Jennyfer.ca

 

 

Cant wait to hear about how your big day went!!!

[jsparrow10]

@@Shermul Thank you so much for sharing all of this! 100 people for a DW is amazing! Reading this makes me so excited about everything and excited for you! How far ahead did they need to know the number of people attending? For our TA the final deadline is April 1st (really April 17th) and didn't know if that should be the rsvp date or if the resort needed to know numbers before then. My sister in law used the internal DJ and it was fine. Especially if you need to make a music list beforehand, they will have all the music you would need then! The centerpiece idea sounds amazing and genius since the waterbeads won't take up space in a suitcase! Can't wait to see how everything comes together!

[Shermul]

Here is the response from Alejandra to me asking about table lengths and pictures (and I've attched the PDF):

 

Enclosed you will find the pictures of the Tropical Restaurant for a private reception.

 

I confirm that for the tables set up, the longest one is of 12 people, the head table can be of 2 -8 people. For the 12 people long tables, we do not put the two ends, is 6 and 6 on each sides so the guests does not get the back to the head table. In the picture you can see what I mean.

 

It is ok if you want to have tables of 12, 10, and 8 chairs. No problem with that.

 

The length of the tables in meters is:

 

12 people – 6 meters

10 people- 5 meters

8 people- 4 meters

 

 

TROPICAL RESTAURANT.pdf

We went through Apple Vacations for our Travel Agent. If you are still looking for one, I highly recommend him and his Team!!!

 

HARRY PIERSON
Destination Wedding Specialist
Apple Vacations Destination Weddings
Phone: 610.325.1804

Email: hpierson@applevac.com

 

 

So the date they gave us for our guests to book/cancel their rooms by without any additional fees was 160 days prior to the travel dates we set. We made our RSVP date, 1 month before that so that we could invite additional guests and they would be able to take advantage of the great pricing we got in our room block. While it seems like asking for RSVPs 5 months ahead is unfair, they had to book their rooms a few weeks after that, so it was also a reminder. We sent out invitations 8 weeks prior to the RSVP date. Save the Dates were sent out 12 months before the wedding date. There were some people that could not give me an RSVP due to personaly reasons, so we counted them as yes for now, and we've asked them to give us a final answer by 60 days before the wedding.

 

Hope that helps. I believe you have to give your numbers to the resort 60 days before, so you should take that into account. Also, expect about 20% of your guests not to respond so leave time to hassle them.

This is what the water beads with the lights look like in a wine glass. I think I like the tall water glasses better, but this is the picture I have from our test run.

 

 

[JennyZ]

@@Shermul - Thank you SO very much! I really appreciate you posting the information!!!

 

I am doing my dinner/reception at the steakhouse, but from what I have seen/heard, it is basically a mirror image of your tropical restaurant, just a different menu!

 

You have made my day - I can now start thinking of my seating charts and finish making my table arrangements!

 

Your lighted water beads look really cool and WOW! 100 guests! You are going to have a blast!!!!! Great choice in Wedding venue! Hope your day is beyond magical!

[jsparrow10]

@@Shermul Are you using the resort photographer? And what flowers are you using? 

 

@@JennyZ You make me feel like I'm behind on things! My date is July and haven't even thought about table decor and seating arrangements!