Sandos Playacar Brides!

[kaitlin422]

Bride-chill-a, you must be so EXCITED!!

[Bride-chill-a]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kaitlin422 Bride-chill-a, you must be so EXCITED!!

YES I AM!!!! We leave in one week today and the wedding is next saturyday!!! So far this week and into early next week the weather is really crappy! I'm praying for no rain! I'm from Vancouver...that's the last thing I want when I go to Mexico is more rain! LOL!

If anyone needs me to take pictures of anything or has any questions for me, let me know by Tuesday and I will do my best to get any and all info you need!

[Bride-chill-a]

Ok ladies....last chance to let me know what info you want to me be on the look out for! I will be leaving at 6am Wednesday morning....YIPPEE!!! I can't wait to report back to you all and let you know how it was! I know I was always waiting with baited breath for the next bride to come back and post a review!

 

Wish me luck!

 

Jennifer

[bryonandkiuana]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bride-chill-a Hey Everyone! I can't believe my wedding is in 81 days!!!!!! Am I the next one, on this forum? Or is anyone in January? I'm beginning to get quite frustrated with Paola because I've emailed her all of my answers to the questions that we will discuss 'in our appointment' and she's emailed me all of those questions again! Based on what Kuyana said, I'm not even going to worry about getting her all that info, since she apparently won't have it when we get there anyways! As far as room upgrades go, we really want to have a special room during our stay since it's our wedding but it sucks they can't guarantee that especially since we are bringing 34 people to their resort! Throw me a bone! LOL. We are going during peak season which is why i was hoping to secure that ahead of time. Kuyana, did you guys get an upgrade? If not, how was your room? Sorry to be negative! I really needed to vent to someone who understands! Any feedback or suggestions would be welcome! Thanks! Jennifer

OMG!! The big day is coming up!!! Good luck, have fun...you will have a blast! We were able to get the upgrade & it was sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo beautiful! But all of the rooms are really nice...but the upgrade was really really sweet! Sandos will treat you well. I'm so excited for you. If you have any other questions, please email me...I'm not on the forum as often as I used to be...
bryonandkiuana@comcast.net

I can't wait to see the pictures!!
Enjoy!
Pictures:
http://www.sephphoto.com/client/bnkpdc/
the wedding video:
Kiuana & Bryon Wedding Day Edit on Vimeo

[bryonandkiuana]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MayBride2010 Hey ladies, did any of you not stay in the riviera section? If so, did the regular rooms have 24 hour room service?

yes, my entire party (66) stayed on the Riviera said and loved it! The rooms are really really nice & they upgraded us to the master suite. HOWEVER, let me warn you...the room service is 24 hours for the entire resort but the food absolutely SUCKS!! ALL OF IT EXCEPT THE FRUIT!

[nmoreau]

check with Petra Maurus, she sounded really nice, but not sure on her price.

We are having a family friend perform our symbolic ceremony!

[nmoreau]

Hello everyone -

It has been awhile since I posted on here... been absorbed in wedding plans, 2 AHR plans, buying a house and getting set for the trip!

 

I hope you are all doing well.

 

I saw some complaints about Paola and I just want to say regardless of how fast she replies or if she seems like she doesn't know who you are, she will be great. I met her when I was down for a visit and she works hard! She will be great and will get it right. Just have a really good idea of what you want. I saw lots of photos and would be willing to answer any questions. There were 2 weddings the week we were there.

 

I am intersted in knowing how the MAC make up went or what that lady's contact info is. I think that sounds like a great idea, so close to the resort too.

 

Italian Buffet all the way.. it is the only one with air conditioning, besides the restaurants (our group is too big for the restaurants).

 

The hut is not huge but you could do a first dance there if people stood on the edges. The wedding we saw did their toast and danced to the Mariachi band they had playing at the wedding.

 

Good to know about the beach! That will be nice.

 

Hope everyones wedding plans are going great! I forgot how helpful this site is.

[kbloco1]

who is petra maurus?

[Chrystal]

Hello,

 

Has anyone used the resort photographers? If there is anyone who has what did you think? I was thinking of going with an outside photographer, but if the resort photographers are good I will just use them.

Thanks!!

[Bride-chill-a]

Hey Everyone!

 

So we are back and we are hitched! Here is my (long) review of Sandos, which should hopefully answer everyone's questions. I tried to be as detailed as I could and I hope I didn't forget anything!

 

Wedding Review of Sandos Playacar – February 27th, 2010

 

The Resort – WE LOVED IT and our guests did too! We have very seasoned Mexico all-inclusivers joining us and they were very happy with their rooms, the food and the service. The service and the staff are excellent, the grounds are nice and it’s a very big resort which is great because there was something there for everyone. The plaza was always happening and busy at night, so you could never get bored. The disco is a little cheesy looking, but it was busy every night and a lot of fun (mostly the same music every night though). As for the rooms: it’s a tough call as to what you want. We booked for the Beach Resort (the older side) and when we asked for an upgrade the woman was hesitant so I threw $20 her way and she made it happen, although we didn’t end up taking the upgrade because it was on the Riviera side - which was on the exact opposite side of the beach and where all of our guests were staying. The rooms are much nicer, modern, bigger (they have a Jacuzzi and a flat screen TV) and quieter than the Beach Resort side plus I really liked the pool on the Riviera side. It was the only one on the resort with a swim up bar, there are WAY less kids there and it was generally quieter and nicer. The Beach rooms were nice, they were just more traditional/Mexican looking but they are loud (you can hear a lot going on outside) as they are located right by the main pool where all the action (noise) is. The one great thing about being on the Beach side was that it was really close to all the restaurants and the beach. There is room service 24 hours which is decent (especially coming home from a night of drinking, it hits the spot) but it always takes at least an hour to get anything – even though they say it’s less.

 

The Wedding Co-Coordinators – We met with both Paola and Maria, but mostly dealt with Maria as she was the one taking care of our wedding day. I LOVED MARIA!!! She is so accommodating and has a great personality (my MIL and Mom really like her as well) she will work her butt off for you!

The Ceremony – it was so gorgeous! We lucked out with the weather because they were calling for rain that day, all week, and it turned out to be the sunniest, clearest day of the entire trip! The water was bluer than ever, not a cloud in the sky and we had a gorgeous sunset for our pictures. The ceremony was at 4 (which was 1 hr and 45 mins before sunset) and it was still hot and sunny, but it was perfect timing for pictures afterwards. By the time the ceremony was over and we had some group shots, the sun was starting to set so we had beautiful lighting for our pictures of the two of us. The only thing I wish I would have done is had a rehearsal. I don’t even know if this service is offered because well…they never offered it! But my wedding party and my dad didn’t really know what to do (not that I did either) and I was fine with just going with the flow, because it wasn’t complicated, but I think we would have all felt more at ease had we known exactly what we were going to do. So it felt a little un-organized in that sense. The music was a little quiet and I think the song skipped when I was walking down the aisle because he restarted it. It wasn’t a big deal though really. When you’re in the moment, none of it really matters.  The set up was gorgeous; it looked exactly like the pictures. The minister was really lovely, our families really liked her and she even dressed in our wedding colors (I saw another wedding while I was there and she did the same for them too). She spoke excellent English. Maria and Paola offered us a sand ceremony before the signing of the papers, which was really nice and they give you a container to take the sand home in.

 

Reception – We had ours at the Italian Buffett which I would highly recommend! The food was the best (my favorite out of all of them, including the Ala Carte ones) and the nicest looking inside. It’s very modern looking. We did our speeches in there which was a bit difficult because they didn’t turn the music down and you’re not allowed a microphone, so I would recommend doing your speeches in the wedding hut where you can have a mic. The cake was DELICIOUS! We had strawberries and cream with hard white chocolate on the outside. Maria had an assistant Sylvia who was in training, and forgot to put our flowers on the cake (she took them to my room instead) which we paid $30 to have, but Maria gave us our money back the next day. She felt so horrible for the error too (which really wasn’t that big of a deal either).

 

Flowers – my bouquet was GORGEOUS! I was really happy with how it turned out however my bridesmaid bouquets looked nothing like what I wanted which I think was a communication error between Maria and I. They still looked nice so I wasn’t worried about it; it just wasn’t what I was expecting.

 

Photographer – We used Citalli Rico of Claudio Rodriguez photography and she was EXCELLENT! She was really, really lovely to work with and very professional. She made herself invisible when necessary and gave direction when appropriate. She was happy to accommodate any shots we wanted as well as suggested some. She was very attentive, personable and concerned about how I was doing. We had a videographer with us during our shoot with her, so we got an idea of how the shots looked by seeing it on video and I’m certain they pictures will turn out amazing! Maria and Paola said they have worked with her before and said she is way better than the resort photographers.

 

Videographer – We used the one that the resort photo shop contracts out and it was HORRIBLE!!! It would NOT recommend anyone use them. First of all the guy was LATE!!! He showed up just as the ceremony was starting so he only got starting from my MOH and on. He missed the rest of my bridesmaids! Thankfully he got there in time to catch me going down the aisle. So he ended up staying an extra hour (which is why he was there for our photo shoot) to compensate. We spoke with the manager who gave us 3 extra copies of our video and an extra 5 mins of edited footage. But the quality of the footage during the ceremony was not very good and the sound was awful! He shot different scenes of the ceremony in different tones (i.e. black and white, sepia, color) so it was really weird and inconsistent when you watch it. A lot of it was out of focus, it was really quiet until they dubbed our songs in which come on really loud. I will say they got all of our songs downloaded and used them on the video which was nice and the part of our photo shoot was great. I’m guessing because he got there late he didn’t have time to set up his camera properly. You’d be better off to go with Claudia’s husband as its only $50 more for 10-20 mins more footage (plus you have to get him a day pass). I’m kicking myself for not doing that.

 

Spa – I used the spa at the resort to get my hair done and I was so happy (and relieved) that it turned out perfect! It was pricey though $100, but she did a great job! I was really nervous because the girl didn’t speak much English, but I brought pictures and she totally knew what to do. I will say though, that the place is not very sanitary. She pulled out a dirty brush with hair all over it and used it on me, and my husband got a mani/pedi and he said their cutters were dirty.

 

I did my own makeup as I’m a makeup artist for MAC and sent my wedding party and mom’s to MAC on 5th and theirs turned out well. The one thing they did to all of them though was put on WAY too much eyeliner, so you just need to specify if you don’t like that. You can contact Oscar who is the manager @ Oscar Ibarra [mac_oscaribarra@yahoo.com] to book an appointment. It was $55 redeemable in product.

 

Our room was decorated really, really nicely at the end of the night. It was a really nice touch!

 

All in all, I would totally recommend Sando’s for a wedding! It will be a dream come true!

 

Here is a link to our website where I posted a couple of albums under the ‘photo albums’ page, at the bottom you will see two links to themWelcome - The Knot: Wedding Web Page Builder

Good luck and happy planning! Email me with any questions @ jennydelly@shaw.ca