Cozumel and Mayan - recommendations

[SMB&CRZ]

Hi everyone,

 

My fiance and I are looking to get married in Mexico probably in March 2010. I think Cozumel is my first choice, with Mayan as the 2nd for locations. I'm looking for recommendations.

 

Here are some must haves:

 

All inclusive, must have a good beach, preferably no more then 30 minutes drive from the airport, 4 star or better.

 

I want my ceremony on the beach, and I want it to be private (no gross men in speedos walking around, while I pledge my love) and I want the reception to be private as well. I am open to getting married off the actual resort (like I've seen pictures for the 'Beacfront wedding garden and Mr. Sancho's restaurant in Cozumel, and that looked not too bad).

 

I am also looking for a travel agent. I need someone who responds to emails promptly (I prefer email to phone), someone who will actually make suggestions based on the criteria that I am telling them, and preferably a TA that specializes in DW. Any recommendations on that front would be greatly appreciated as well. Thank everyone!

[jammies1234]

I'm from Whitby Ontario and I've just started planning my wedding. My fiance and I were vacationing this past January in Cozumel and decided we would like to get married here also. I have the same kind of requests as you so I would love to hear any of the replies you may receive. We are thinking Jan or Feb 2010.

[utbride2010]

Hello Cozumel brides,

I have been planning (or trying to plan) my June 2010 wedding since July of 07! We decided on a vacation to Xcaret in Mexico that the beach was definately where our wedding was going to be. We have since then been back to Mexico twice, once to Playa and once to Cozumel. I have also been to Cancun (when I was 19).

 

We have decided on Cozumel. I like the idea of getting married on an Island! Cancun, for me, has too many young party goers. We want a more intimate affair. We have choosen to marry at Mr. Sanchos (it has a wedding garden and a beach side restaurant). The name sounds funny but it is gorgeous and the wedding planner, Stephanie, is great. We saved our date with her last year but we can not arrange any details until 3-6 months before due to the many number of weddings she does year round. SHe is great and has a website that is very helpful if anyone is interested. Cozumelweddingplanner.com

 

Also the resort will not let us book rooms until June 09 or later because they do not yet have the rates set. We are staying at the Occidental Grand Cozumel.

 

If you do decide you like Cozumel you can still fly into Cancun because it is cheaper then you take the bus from the airport to Playa which is only ~$8. Once at the bus stop in Playa there is a ferry around the corner and you take that to Cozumel, ~$12. Do NOT take a cab from airport to Playa, they will rip you off and you have to walk forever to get to the ferry. Also if you look into Grand Cozumel and you decide you are looking for more inexpensive rooms try their sister resort next door, Allegro Cozumel.

 

If there are any other Cozumel brides I would love to hear from you! Hope this helps someone.

[Sheena.]

hii ladies,

 

we too were looking into Cozumel. so far i haven't been able to find a private location that's perfect for us. i might be a little too picky and might end up caving in.

 

here's what i found:

 

The money bar http://themoneybar.net/

PROS

- quite new

- clean

- not tacky looking

- has a great reception and cocktail hour area

- good food choices, not too expensive

- they close the venue for your wedding

 

CONs

- extreeeemly small beach - manmade - kinda pathetic so you can't have the actual ceremony on the sand - this is our number one requirement

- open bar is kina expensive - $27 per hour per person

- the name - not very romantic

 

 

Mr Sanchos

PROS

- nice garden and beach

- they allow you to bring your own wedding planner

 

CONS

- poor food options

- not sure about the quality of the actual venue

- the name - not very romantic

 

Casa Gordon - casagordon.net

PROs

- private villa

- beautiful

- private beach perfect for the ceremony

- lovely poolside - perfect for the reception

- amazing!!! dream!!! what more can i say

 

CONS

- they do not do daily rentals for wedding during high season

 

 

For the hotel I was thinking about Iberostar Cozumel.

 

Heres why:

- It is rated #6 in Cozumel on trip advisor.

- All inclusive

- Beautiful grounds.

- Supposedly good food.

- Not expensive at all compared to other Cozumel hotels.

 

On the down-side

- It has very very basic rooms but their clean.

- It is a 3 star.

 

 

i'm currently exploring options in playa del carmen and sounding areas excluding cancun, but not having any luck - found some good venues but the hotels are just too expensive. ugh stress!!

 

hope this helps. let me know if you have any questions about any of the places i found.

 

 

Sheena

[utbride2010]

Dear Sheena and all other interested brides-

 

Response to pros and cons listed for Mr. Sanchos

Yeah I totally agree that the name (Mr. Sancho's) is not very romantic, so on our Save the dates we just called it "The Wedding Garden." I have not tried the food there yet, but we are going in November for tastings. Stephanie, from Cozumel Wedding Planners, has said that we can tweek the menu some from what's listed online. I can fill everyone in on how it goes when we get back. Also, as far as the venue goes, we went there last July and it was by far the most beautiful. (Other beaches were dirty and some had strange oders.) From what I understand Stephanie is the owner of the garden property and she keeps it in excellent condition. She does allow you to bring in outside planners if they are taking care of services she does not provide but all things directly related to the venue go through her.

 

BTW- cozumelweddingplanner.com website has info for anyone who is interested but note that if you are a picky bride like myself and want more things than you see there she and her staff are more than willing to work with you. For example she does not have table linens I like so I am bringing them with me and a friend is going to the site early to help her put them on.

 

Hope this will help someone! Good luck to all the ladies (and gentlemen) in search!

[TammyB]

If your looking for a TA, I would highly recommend contacting "Tammy Host" on our forum. She is awesome and several girls on the forum has used her.

 

Best of luck and Happy planning

[Sheena.]

utbride2010 thanks for the info. ooh and i love the idea of calling it the wedding garden - it sounds so much better!

[Gina]

Yes, utbride2010, That's a great idea to call it the "wedding garden"- FABULOUS! I want to go down to do a site visit, but in the last couple of months I have been to Jamaica, Riviera Maya and Punta Cana looking for the perfect wedding location- So I'm all tapped out. I will wait until you get back for feedback- Thanks Gina

[Brenners]

I have looked online and (despite the name) I was pleasantly surprised by what I saw about Mr. Sanchos. I will be anxious to hear more about your experiences.

[bellaVida]

Hi ladies. I recently choose cozumel for my upcoming nov. wedding.

We are choosing between the occidental grand and the wyndham. Holiday sands is actually really nice and has great children s activities if you are inclined. I contacted a wedding planner and found all the information she gave me on my own. So i contacted the hotels directly myself. The prices they give seem to be lower and more room to wiggle. For example i wanted a mayan shaman wedding.At the wydham they ask for 2 grand just for the ceremony and i think a champagne toast and cake. I have the name of the shaman (asked the hotel for the website) and made arrangements myself.For a third of the price. So finding a hotel willing to let me bring my own officiant and have a nice beach was the deal maker. Right now i have 2 hotels to decide from. I am actually coming in on a cruise for the day so my guests will buy day passes and us a room, They get free drinks all day and can order from any of the menus.(they are going to make us a special menu to) so that covered the lunch part.Now we just pay for decor and cake!

I am being really frugal.We paid for 13 cabins on the cruise and just wanted our loved ones with us.I am looking forward to talking with you all.