Now Sapphire Weddings Formerly Paradisus Riviera

[danimarieb]

We're also moving the party to the resort club after our reception ends (10pm). I read previous brides' posts who did that and it seemed to work well.

 

I'm wondering if any of you have asked about this, or had weddings already and dealt with this... For our group reservation we reserved all "preferred" rooms so they'd have access to the preferred lounge room, preferred pool/bar. A few people were later in booking a room and there were no more preferred rooms available.  I'd really like to have all of us meet at that pool bar the night that most people arrive, but not plan it as a private event so we don't have to pay the site fee and per-person. How hard would it be for those 5 people or so to get into that preferred area for a few hours?

[DinaQtobe]

Hi everyone,

I'm just curious what everyone plans to do after the reception. Is there an area to keep the party going for a bit longer?

We went to the club at the resort and had a GREAT time.  We went before 10 (reception ended at 8:30 I think) and played music through the portable speakers we brought for our reception.  The club and lobby bar are pretty close to each other - drinks came from there before the club "opened".  After it opened we had even more fun.  It was super nice to have people congratulating us the entire night.  Great night, great memories!

[DinaQtobe]

We're also moving the party to the resort club after our reception ends (10pm). I read previous brides' posts who did that and it seemed to work well.

 

I'm wondering if any of you have asked about this, or had weddings already and dealt with this... For our group reservation we reserved all "preferred" rooms so they'd have access to the preferred lounge room, preferred pool/bar. A few people were later in booking a room and there were no more preferred rooms available.  I'd really like to have all of us meet at that pool bar the night that most people arrive, but not plan it as a private event so we don't have to pay the site fee and per-person. How hard would it be for those 5 people or so to get into that preferred area for a few hours?

I don't think this will be a problem.  We had one guest that could not book preferred at our wedding and as long as she was with us (and gave one of our room numbers) it was fine.  I am not sure what time that pool bar closes - might want to look into that and ensure it is still open at the time you want to meet. 

Also, I am not sure how many guests you have, but that bar is only staffed with one bartender, and the bar itself is small.  There are lots of loungers and bali beds for your guests to hang out around, but there isn't a "bar" with stools or tables set up for mingling.  If that atmosphere isn't what you were going for, the lobby bar is a great alternative.  There are tons of couches and chairs set up.  We met every night at the lobby bar and easily were able to get seating for about 15 people no problem.  There are also servers that come around to take drink orders.  If you tip them they come back often!

Hope that information helps you.

[erobin223]

Can anyone share their wedding day schedule with me? I'm not sure what time to schedule my salon appointments and how to plan the specifics of my reception.

[kyoung090]

For the welcome letter - I am putting a general Welcome to Mexico - and then listing the events like our welcome cocktail party - the basic timeline for the wedding day and the schedule for our group trip to Xcaret.  I am also including our request about social media and photo sharing.  I don't want to look at my guests and see a bunch of phones in front of faces, so I am asking that nobody have phones out during the ceremony.  During the reception they can snap away but I will ask that they not share those on social media till I have had a chance to share some.  I am thinking we might need a wedding hashtag so we can see everyone's after the fact.

 

For the program- I'm doing fan programs, since it will be pretty warm.  Then I will list who is who in the wedding party - the timeline for the ceremony - cocktail hour etc. (since there now has to be a big break between ceremony and cocktail hour)  I want to note what time the photobooth will open and that sort of thing and I will list the menu there since I'm not doing menu cards.  I'm going to put a reminder on the program also that goes something like:

 

         The Bride & Groom would like you to be fully present during the ceremony, and have hired professional to capture this joyous day.  While we appreciate you wanting to help us document this special event, please keep your cameras and phones silent and put away until after the I do's unless you have been specifically asked by the Bride & Groom to do otherwise

 

My timeline looks like this right now - might have to move a couple little things still but:

2:30 PM Photographer and Videographers begin   Photos of Guys getting ready

3:00 PM Detail Shots (Dress hanging, shoes, rings, etc.)   Photos of Girls getting ready - hair and makeup done by 3:45

3:45 PM Guests begin seating

3:50 AM Couple first look photos 

4:00 PM Ceremony

4:35 PM Champagne toast  & Group Photo - Everyone Attending   Photos for wedding party and family

6:00 PM Cocktail Hour begins   DJ starts music

7:00 PM Reception Starts

7:10 PM Dinner Served

7:25 PM Speaches/Toasts

7:50 PM Cut the cake

8:00 PM First Dance   Photo Booth Opens

8:10 PM Pictures with Sparklers on Beach

8:30 PM Photographer Finishes

9:30 PM Videotgrapher Finishes

10:00 PM DJ Finishes   PhotoBooth Closes   Reception Ends

how did you do the champagne toast after the ceremony? did you have to purchase additional champagne and have the resort pour the glasses of champagne? did you have enough time with the first glance photos doing them 10 mins before the ceremony? and where did you have your cocktail hour/reception?? Thanks!!!

[JaxBchKay]

how did you do the champagne toast after the ceremony? did you have to purchase additional champagne and have the resort pour the glasses of champagne? did you have enough time with the first glance photos doing them 10 mins before the ceremony? and where did you have your cocktail hour/reception?? Thanks!!!

I haven't had my wedding yet, but many brides did the toast right after the ceremony instead of a standard receiving line and said it worked great.  They will have waiters standing behind the ceremony on the beach with trays and glasses so it should go smoothly.  You get a champagne/sparkling wine toast with any of the packages, just the number of people inlcuded changes I think.  We are only doing a couple of first look photos so I don't think we need much time for them, if I'm finished a little early with hair and makeup then we will do them a bit earlier but I wanted them done while guests are going to be seated so they don't see us till we are coming down the aisle.  We are doing our cocktail hour on the beach and the reception on the Tequila Terrace.  I hope that answers all the questions, Let em know if you have any more, I'll be able to better answer them when we get back

 

Leaving in 21 days!!

[kyoung090]

@@JaxBchKay Fantastic thank you for the info! Getting close! I can't wait to hear about your wedding. Leave in about double the days of you so youll have to update when you get a chance after the wedding!

[vancouverpetunia]

Hello fellow Sapphire brides! We were in PDC last week for a last minute vacation and had the opportunity to visit Now Sapphire, meet with Juan Carlos and do a menu tasting. Overall the food was all very good, but I thought you might be interested in our opinions on the food we tried. Keep in mind that with different cooks in the kitchen at any time, I'm sure the quality could vary somewhat, but these were our experiences. Anything with a * was a favorite.

 

Cold hors d'oeuvres

• Sushi & Nigiri - This came with a wide variety of items - I think 5. We found the rice was undercooked, but Juan Carlos also commented on that and said that it is usually better and that he really likes the sushi there. He even mentioned it to the manager. Note that a lot of the rolls included cream cheese, which is not my favorite, so if you want to avoid that, you could try making a special request.
• * Sliced tomato & mozarella al pesto - Delicious & very fresh tasting. Good vegetarian option.
• * Prosciutto ham bruschetta - Loved this as well. 
• * Shredded beef mini tostada - Super yummy!

Hot hors d'oeuvres

• * Beef brochettes with rosemary sauce - Beef was super tender. I think it also came with zucchini on the skewer? Oh, and the skewer was a rosemary stem.
• Fried shrimp & bacon - This was one large prawn wrapped in bacon on a skewer. FI loved this (of couse). I liked it and I do normally think "everything's better with bacon", but the bacon on mine was very fatty. I think his was more meaty. Luck of the draw,
• Cheese and bell pepper turnovers - These would be better described as empanadas. Not a lot of flavor though.
• Mini cordon bleu - Came with a sauce that was quite tasty, but overall thought it was pretty standard stuff.
• Fried chicken taquitos - A bit dry & bland.
• * Pork baked in leaves "sopes" - This was shredded pork and a sopes is sort of like a tostada. Absolutely amazing.

Sweet hors d'oeuvres

• * Vanilla custard flan - Traditional and very good.
• * Coffee eclair - This was more like a mini cream puff, coated in chocolate, with a coffee cream filling. Yummy.
• * Mexican fritters with powdered cinnamon sugar - Also like a mini cream puff, filled with whipping cream. Amazing.
• Mini cheesecake - Admittedly cheesecake is not my fav, but this also seemed a bit dry.

Appetizers

• * Marinated fish ceviche (Eternity Menu) - I LOVE ceviche and this was very nicely done and beautifully presented.
• * Mixed lettuce and shrimps, diced mango and ginger, mango dressing (Divine Menu) - This was so pretty to look at! I can't believe I didn't take a picture. It's actually 2 large prawns and the salad part is rolled inside a thin slice of cucumber. Hard to describe, but you get a "salad roll" and then the 2 prawns. 

Soups

• * Tomato chicken broth with corn tortilla strips, etc. (Eternity Menu) - Typical tortilla soup with a tomato based broth. Very tasty.
• Creamy lobster soup, brandy scented (Divine Menu) - Would describe this as a bisque. It was too rich for my tastes, but I'm sure some people would love it.

Main Courses (all Divine Menu)

• Supreme of chicken stuffed with seafood - I didn't find this had a lot of flavor and the meat was a bit dry. The champagne sauce is cream based. 

• Surf & turf of beef filet and shrimps, etc. - This was a filet mignon and 2 prawns. The sauce was very rich. The meat was not as tender as I would expect and there was quite a bit of gristle. 

• * Beef filet bordelaise - So tender & delicious! Liked the potatoes as well. 

Desserts (all Divine Menu)

• Pistaccio panacota - Nice, not too heavy.
• * Cognac truffle cake - OMG chocolate covered chocolate mousse. To die for. 

I wish I had taken more pictures. I don't know why I didn't. But everything was beautifully presented. I definitely found that the descriptions can be somewhat misleading so you might want to inquire further if there is anything specific that is important to you. In our case, my FI is lactose intolerant (but I'm not letting that stop us from a good meal - too bad for him LOL), and I was surprised that some of the items included cream, cheese or other dairy product. I wouldn't have known that from the description.

 

Anyhow, I hope this helps with your menu planning. Let me know if you have any questions!

Edited April 11, 2015 by vancouverpetunia

[jessiker05]

I took the budgets in PDF that you ladies were sweet enough to send me and put them into an excel file. I'm happy to share the file but remember it is not complete with all available options and is based on several sources. I'm trying to make it as complete as possible because I'm an accountant and budgeting is important to me

Hi there, would you mind sending me your budget sheet as well? I'm not getting married until next year, but I'm just starting out and am curious what this looks like. email is: jessiker05@hotmail.com Thank you!

[jessiker05]

Hi everyone,

 

How did you all choose between the Tequila Terrace and Beach Terrace? Both look nice, but what are the pros and cons of each?

 

Our group is going to be between 20-30 people (no kids). I like the idea of the Beach Terrace being so close to the beach, but would it be too much space for this small of a group? Which of the two areas is more private from other people? Has anyone used the Preferred Pool area for dinner/reception? If so, could you please share some pics?!

 

Thanks in advance!