Grand Sirenis, Air Transat & Dean Sanderson Wedding Review

[kileelaine]

 

After learning so much, and getting such great ideas from the forum, its time for me to give back!

We chose to go with the Grand Sirenis Mayan Beach because of the wedding deal through Transat.

 

Due to our extra baggage from the OOT bags we went Transat Club Class on the way there. We still ended up getting one of our friends to take 1 small piece of baggage, but did manage to get it there without paying extra.  It was well worth it, if you can squeeze a bit out of your budget! Not only is the service and food waay better but also the seat size difference is crazy, they are soo small. I’m the first to admit I need to lose a few, but my MOH is 4’11 and weighs 90 pounds was even complaining how small the seats were! I have vowed never to fly Transat again without being in the club seats!

 

Transat did manage to lose my sisters luggage. Which was horrible for her. It showed up at the hotel a few days later. Nice save Transat! Private transportation was included in our wedding package so we had our own air conditioned bus. I am so glad we did as we spent over an hour dealing with the missing baggage delay. It does take almost 2 hours on the bus to get to the Grand Sirenis. But your guide has cold coronas for $3, and we were all so excited the time went by pretty fast.

 

Separate check in was supposed to be included with our package, but we didn’t get it. There was a bigger wedding party who arrived ahead of us (if only Transat hadn’t lost that luggage!) so it took forever to get checked in, and for a cart to come get us and take us to our room.

 

This was my 6^th time staying at an all inclusive resort. This was by far the biggest resort I have stayed at. There is A LOT of walking. It isn’t too big of a deal for the young people, but my grandparents had a really rough time of it. After the first day, we were able to make arrangements for them to be picked up by a cart when they needed to get around for the rest of the week. If you don’t have these special circumstances, and call for a cart, they will usually tell you one is coming, but it usually doesn’t. Sometimes you can flag one down, but it’s really hit and miss. Just keep this in mind if you have elderly guests.

There is a lot of variety in the a la cartes, and the buffet. The a la cartes were also hit and miss with different people. I personally was disappointed by the steak house, but loved the Japanese, Italian and French. If you have wine-o’s in your group, you can pay extra in most of the a la cartes for better wine. There are a couple affordable bottles, and it was a nice change to the house wine. The coffee bar is awesome! The lobby bars serve premium/international brands of booze. The tacos at the beach are a MUST! A few of our guests returned with injuries from the lazy river. Its pretty tricky getting on to the big inner tubes provided by the resort as the current is strong right away. Some of us brought our own inner tubes, just the cheap ones from Canadian Tire with the mesh bottoms, and had many amazing trips down the river. It was even relaxing going without a tube.

The rooms have a minibar with pop, water and 1 beer per person. It is refilled daily, they won’t refill it more than that. Some of the bathrooms have an open space into the bedrooms. There is a frosted door on the bathroom stall, but you can still see the person sitting there, its wierd. Knowing this beforehand, I brought 2 shower curtains from the dollar store, and some packing tape. One of our guy-girl-friends-only rooms had “The Holeâ€, so I taped up the curtain to give them some more privacy. They were over the moon as they were planning to have to leave the room anytime someone wanted to shower or do #2. Most of the other rooms with “The Hole†were couples so they were ok with it. But just another thing to be aware of. Room Service isn’t great, but its available from 11-11, and if you have someone with sunstroke who doesn’t want to leave their room, they will be happy with it.

My OOT bags were a huge success! Everyone is still talking about them!
Top Appreciated-By-Guest Items:

• Jute Bag – Everyone was using them all week!
• Pepto-tabs
• Tylenol,
• Cooling-Lotion for Sunburns
• Waterproof Card Carry Case that fit a few dollars in it as well
• Clothes Pegs - There is a clothesline on the balcony of the rooms
• Stainless Steel Mug - We decided Not to personalize them with a wedding logo, and so glad because everyone said they will use them again! What we did instead was just buy them blank – way cheaper! – then I got some sticker letters from the craft store and some Acrylic Sealer/Finisher spray. Sprayed the letters 4 times, letting them dry completely between coats. Then we put the initials of the people on the cups. So handy when you see a sea of cups and don’t know what one is yours. You can see them in some of the pictures. The stickers held strong, and have since even survived the dishwasher at home)

 

Wish I had Included:

• A pen and notepad. They don’t have pens in the room!
• A brochure or something with a list of items in the bag, and what they are intended for
• A map of the resort, and information about what the hours are for restaurants etc.
• Not necessarily in the OOT bag, but I wish I had packed more sunscreen, to be able to offer to my guests. I cannot believe how many people forgot sunscreen! It costs $26 for it in the gift shop at the hotel, and you are not near anywhere else where you could buy it from. Probably why the burn gel was such a hit!

 

 

 

The Wedding
We have had to deal with 4 different wedding planners since we started this process. I blame myself for not bringing absolutely EVERY EMAIL to my meeting with Cecilia who was our final wedding coordinator.  They will nickel-and-dime you so go prepared. I was so excited and emotional I forgot about previous emails I had and things that I was told were included. We upgraded to the Palapa and Private Beach option. Aracely offered us the Palapa rental at no charge, we just had to pay the per person price of the “Beach Menu.†So it was basically half the price. Then we decided to upgrade to steak and lobster. Wow-ee-wow-wow, it was awesome! The lobster was easily the size of my hand! We started with the fruit salad, very nice, and lobster bisque also good. I had read online that the chocolate brownie was a hit for another bride, but my group found it horribly dry. We had decided ahead of time we didn’t want to have 2 desserts, so not to serve the wedding cake, but I wish we had. They delivered it to our room; it was vanilla moist and wonderful! We had to pay extra for the rental of the sound system in the palapa. She wanted to charge us more for the microphone, but we declined. It was included anyways.  One of our friends had brought their lap top, so we just plugged it in to the system and played our own music. Worked really well for us! It was worth every penny to rent the palapa. The service and food was amazing, I can’t say enough good things about it. We saw the location of the other beach wedding ceremony as another couple was married there during our stay. They try to make it private, but it isn’t. Also my MOH said she saw a wedding reception in the lobby bar, it was roped off but she watched the speeches, nosy girl that she is. Cecilia said they are trying to have only 1 wedding per day, so if you can find out if you are the only wedding for your selected day, I would try and negotiate getting the Palapa. It was totally worth it! We had dancing and even a limbo contest broke out.

 

We went with the Transat Bliss package. Here are the inclusions and my comments:

 

• Private roundtrip transportation between the airport and hotel – Yes!
   
• Separate check-in for your group – Did Not get, but not a big deal
   
• Fruit basket in the couple’s room

– Supposed to be upon check in but didn’t get until last day after nagging Cecilia every day
 

• Romantic dinner for the wedding couple

– They don’t offer this to you if you don’t ask for it! It needs to be booked through the wedding planner. It is a dinner just for the 2 of you at an a la carte, ours was at the French. They even closed the restaurant for the better part of our meal. Other guests started coming in to the restaurant at as we were having dessert.  It was great! We had it the day after the wedding and it was so nice to just have some time for the two of us together.
 

• Bridal bouquet and boutonniere for the groom

– Yes! It is a smaller selection she will show you once you are there. It you have seen the powerpoint presentation and have selected the bouquet you want, get one of them to email you confirmation that it is included! Bring that email with you! It allowed me the bouquet I wanted!
 

• The wedding service includes: decoration, music, wedding cake and sparkling wine

– Again, I was told the decoration included flowers by one of the other planners, but in my meeting Cecilia said no. I wasn’t thinking and just accepted the set up with no flowers. The only decoration included is the white silk canopy thing, chair covers and jute sash. Coloured sashes are extra. I didn’t think they were, so if you have an email saying your choice of color is included, bring it! We paid $50 for a small centerpiece that was used during the ceremony and on the main table for the reception. Because we upgraded to the palapa, we had to pay extra for music. The cake selection is also different than the ones we were shown in the powerpoint. The only decoration included was a ribbon, and a flower on top. I didn’t want to pay extra so I left it as is.
 

• Cocktails and hors d’oeuvres for the wedding group before the ceremony

–  Keep in mind we upgraded to the Palapa and Private Beach option. This was a really nice touch. It was great walking back down the aisle to a glass of bubbly. It allowed us to cheers all our friends and mingle for a bit before heading to take wedding party pictures. We chose to have the ceremony at 5 and the reception at 6. After the ceremony they move decorations and chairs from the beach to the palapa, so the guests can not go into it right away, and they specifically tell you to ensure your guests know they have to wait to enter the palapa.
 

• Wedding dinner at à la carte restaurant with head table – Yes, but we had ours at the Palapa
   
• Boutonnieres for up to 7 guests

They allowed me to have 4 boutonnieres and 3 small bridesmaid bouquets. I paid $35 for a wrist corsage for my mom, as she walked me down the aisle
 

• Wedding photographs: a souvenir album, (12) additional 5x7 prints and one large 8x12 print
  We did not get the souvenir album or any printed pictures. The CD they gave us also had none of the pictures we picked on it.
   

 

When we booked our wedding we were told we would have to pay for a day pass for our photographer, and that there was no other fee. Because I had this in writing, I did not have to pay the $300 penalty. Having seen the photographs that the resort photographer took, I would have paid the $300 penalty. I would have paid a $500 penalty just to not have their photographer there at all. I know that sounds mean, but they really just got in the way of my photographer. I spoke to the photographer of the bride who was married the day before me, and he told me about how the Resort Photographer purposely got in the way of all the shots he was trying to take and missed out on some key shots due to her stepping into him. He said the bride was in tears after she saw the pictures taken by the resort because apparently she bought the biggest package from them. On their website they advertise that they use a Nikon D7000 camera, but they don’t. My hubby is a beginner shutterbug, and said our Canon Rebel camera is better then the one they use. Also, when they film the video, they use a poor quality camera don’t use a tripod, so you can she her hands shaking. I would live to be able to show you some comparison shots of their photography against the photos our photographer, but the funny thing is the CD they burnt us doesn’t have any of the pictures we picked.  Its just a bunch of random garbage. I would have been devastated if those had been the only pictures I had of the wedding considering we didn’t get to look at the CD until we got home. They are nothing at all like the pictures they show on their website. I know some brides have had ok experience with them, but with a once in a lifetime event, I was not willing to risk it and I am so glad I went with Dean Sanderson.

Here are the best ones:

 

 

 

 

 

 

[kileelaine]

 

Dean Sanderson was beyond amazing! He went above and beyond any expectations I could have imagined. He made me feel so comfortable and captured so many great moments, rather than just making us pose. He made me laugh when I would start to tear up and even helped me put my veil in. He was full of fun picture ideas. I don’t know anyone harder to photograph than me and my husband; we are both overweight and super self conscious about it. I’ve never felt more beautiful! When I look at my pictures I feel so happy that he captured exactly how we felt that day and will remember it that way forever. When we got back from our trip, less than a week later Dean had emailed us a whole bunch photos that he had sized so we could email to friends and family and post on facebook while we waited for the high res ones to come in the mail. Maybe a week after that and we had received the CD’s. I can’t say enough good things about Dean. Here are some pictures:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These are the appys the serve your guests after the ceremony

 

 

Bubbles for after the ceremony. A really great touch!

 

Finally Married!

 

Moment captured, my sister NEVER smiles!

 

 

Dean is like a ninja, I didn't even know he took this one!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Coming back from the photo session where they introduce us as married

 

 

The fruit salad appy, that was really fresh and wonderful!

 

The wedding cake that is included with the Transat package. They let you pick ribbon color. The flower was a surprise. Maybe the chocolate brownie thing was horrible because they had to transport it all the way out to the Palapa... in any case it was horrible and I wish we had served the vanilla wedding cake. It was very moist and wonderful!

 

 

The head table. We decided since our wedding group was so small to just have the Maid of Honor and Best Man sit with us. We paid $60 for that centerpiece.

 

 

You get top shelf liquor with the steak and lobster. We made good use of it!

 

 

 

Things you just gotta do at your wedding

 

 

I love how Dean caught the eager-bouquet-catching-beaver

 

 

Our group was 25 people. They set us up with 3 round tables and then the head table.

 

 

Yes, it was a lot of fun!!

 

 

 

 

[kileelaine]

Here are some pictures of my OOT bag stuff

 

 

Burn Gel, Easy-Insert hotel key holder, Drinkin' Mate hangover tabs, waterproof cards, Charimin to go, first aid kit filled with goodies, decorative clothes pegs

 

"Personalized" Mugs

 

 

Waterproof carry case for hotel key and tipping cash. BIG HIT!

[MichCraw]

Wow thanks so much for sharing that magic moment with us ... I don't know what the resort photographer pictures looked like... but WOW what a great choice in photographer you made!!! Those pictures are amazing!!!! Love the one of you two and the veil !! Congrats!

[MRS2012]

Wow...what a treat to be able to read your review and see your pictures!  I LOVE that you have pictures of your food and cake...I've been dying to know what the presentation would be like.  I feel good about our decision to go with the presidential package thru the hotel...our TA warned us that Air Transat's packages are not as transparent for couples as they should be...so hopefully we avoid a lot of that nickel-and-dime stuff you had to deal with.  Although we will be making additions to our package as well (corsages for the mothers, etc.).  Do you still have the powerpoint of the floral choices, or of any other options for that matter?  I would love to see it.  You can send it to janelleh@sasktel.net...how flexible are they with the bridal bouquet?  I have a picture of exactly what I want, but I have yet to see any bridal bouquets like this one at a GS wedding.  

 

I'm also glad we've got our own photographer booked.  I never thought about requesting that their photographer STAY AWAY the day of the wedding...I kinda thought they could just work happily in unison, and if we got a few other interesting pictures from the resort, that would be great.  But your comments have me concerned.  I wonder if instead of using them for the wedding, we could request that they come and shoot for a bit at the rehearsal dinner or something like that?

 

Thanks to all of you brides who take the time to do the reviews of the resort and your experience...It's so helpful! : )

[Sharon99]

Your pics came out amazing! Beautiful wedding! Love the colors! Looks like you & your guests had a great time. Congrats!!

[kileelaine]

 

Originally Posted by MichCraw 

Wow thanks so much for sharing that magic moment with us ... I don't know what the resort photographer pictures looked like... but WOW what a great choice in photographer you made!!! Those pictures are amazing!!!! Love the one of you two and the veil !! Congrats!

The first 4 pictures at the beginning of the review were taken by Photo Caribbean, the resort photographer

 

[kileelaine]

 

 

Originally Posted by MRS2012 

 

Wow...what a treat to be able to read your review and see your pictures!  I LOVE that you have pictures of your food and cake...I've been dying to know what the presentation would be like.  I feel good about our decision to go with the presidential package thru the hotel...our TA warned us that Air Transat's packages are not as transparent for couples as they should be...so hopefully we avoid a lot of that nickel-and-dime stuff you had to deal with.  Although we will be making additions to our package as well (corsages for the mothers, etc.).  Do you still have the powerpoint of the floral choices, or of any other options for that matter?  I would love to see it.  You can send it to janelleh@sasktel.net...how flexible are they with the bridal bouquet?  I have a picture of exactly what I want, but I have yet to see any bridal bouquets like this one at a GS wedding.  

 

I'm also glad we've got our own photographer booked.  I never thought about requesting that their photographer STAY AWAY the day of the wedding...I kinda thought they could just work happily in unison, and if we got a few other interesting pictures from the resort, that would be great.  But your comments have me concerned.  I wonder if instead of using them for the wedding, we could request that they come and shoot for a bit at the rehearsal dinner or something like that?

 

Thanks to all of you brides who take the time to do the reviews of the resort and your experience...It's so helpful! : )

 

I will for sure send you the powerpoint!

Yes if it sounds too good to be true, it usually is. Overall I am happy with how everything went, but I do wish I was more prepared for the nickel-dime-battle.

I brought one of the ties with me to show Cecilia our colour. I just picked the style of flower and asked her to match it. They pretty much did the rest. The bride before me had some elaborate flowers, so I feel confident in saying that as long as you bring pictures, they should be able to do it.

 

In terms of the photographer, you do get to choose what part of the day you want the photographer to cover, depending on how long of a block you have them for. I have a feeling they will be at the ceremony regardless though since they try to "upsell" your package. Also why they try to be the ones to get the "money shots." I will also send you the forms that you have to submit to the wedding planner so you can start thinking about everything. It took me a couple days before I had everything decided and she kept asking me for them

 

 

[Kbodchill]

Hi Kileelaine!

 

Congratuations! Your review is very helpful and my fiancé and I loved your pictures! It's one thing to read all these reviews about the food, and the party, and the champagne and the ceremony, but it is a whole other thing to SEE the food, SEE the fun, SEE how happy you were! Might I just add, Kilee, that you looked GORGEOUS!

 

Your photog was really superb too! One of our guests is doing the photography and I'm gonna show him these pics to give him an idea of what we're looking for.

 

Looks like you had so much fun at the reception! I can't wait for ours!!

[passionsarcasm]

Beautiful wedding Kileelaine, your photos are sooo nice. 

 

Question, where did you purchase your jute OOT bags, I love them!