Wedding At Secrets Capri - Review November 2014

[Sunflower0327]

Hi Ladies!

 

So I was married at Secrets Capri on November 8, 2014 and figured that I should write a review since it was difficult for me to find recent reviews on Secrets Capri during my research. If you have any questions, feel free to shoot me an email and I can give you some suggestions and more detailed information. I can also send photos...

 

RESORT - I chose Secrets Capri because it was affordable and intimate (only 290 rooms, one pool). I initially wanted to book Secrets Maroma but was worried that not all of our guests would be able to afford it. The Secrets Capri staff is amazing!! I have never been to an all inclusive resort and was pleasantly surprised by how accomodating and awesome the staff was. The resort itself is older, so be prepared for that. It smells older too. I read on tripadvisor that some of the rooms have a moldy smell to them, but I think that comes with the territory since the resort is older. We booked a honeymoon suite which was great and big! There is 24 hour room service which is AMAZING. The beach is nice. The resort has activities throughout the day and night. Our guests would go hang out at Desires Lounge at night. The lounge is nothing to call home about. It has a smell to it, but the more you drink, the more the smell goes away Beware - There is a theme night every night at the resort except Sat. So make sure you ask Carolina if it will interfere with your wedding/reception.

 

FYI - Make sure you ask for premium alcohol when ordering drinks at Secrets Capri.

 

We had a girls/guys night. I booked Playacrawl for the females and it was so much fun! Very organized. The alcohol was cheap but there was a lot of it and we had a blast!...

 

WEDDING COORDINATORS A - Our hotel wedding coordinators were Carolina and Abi. To be honest, Carolina's email response time wasn't the greatest in the beginning which made me worried. She was super sweet but I still ended up booking outside vendors for everything. When you're dealing with people in another country and they always say, "Don't worry, everything will be good," I am the type of person that needs to know exactly HOW everything will be good. It's important to get everything in writing, but it's also important to talk to her on the phone. After talking to her on the phone, I always felt better. I scheduled two lengthy phone calls with her. When I met her in person a couple of times before the wedding day, she was AWESOME. I was still happy that I booked ouside vendors but I will say that she was super organized. I brought a lot of stuff with me, such as thank you cards for the ceremony seats, sea shells to put in organza bags (to use as paper weights for the thank you cards), menus, luggage tag wedding favors, photos, etc. Carolina took photos of the exact way that I wanted everything, which made me feel so much better. The only thing that went wrong was that they forgot to give my dad a boutonierre for the ceremony. I was so wrapped up in the day that I didn't even realize he didn't have one. My bridal bouquet was gorgeous. It was included in the package and I sent Carolina photos of what I liked. Make sure that when you are continuously updating the wedding agreement with Carolina, which is on an excel spreadsheet, that you include photos of things you like, and detail EVERYTHING.

 

THURSDAY WELCOME COCKTAIL HOUR A++ - Took place outside near the pool. It was awesome. I highly suggest it. Staff was amazing and food was great....

 

PREWEDDING DINNER A++- I did not have a wedding party. We had about 48 guests. Because we used an outside vendor for the photographer, we were able to use the hotel photographer for our rehearsal dinner (since it was included in our package). The dinner took place on the Portofino Terrace by the pool and we served Portofino's food. Portofino is by far the best restaurant at the resort. The night before our wedding, I saw that another couple did the bonfire and it looked fun. It was breezy at night so keep that in mind...

 

WEDDING A++ - Took place on the beach at 3:30pm. It was supposed to take place at 3pm but I was late. It was hot but perfect. Even though there were other people on the beach, it still felt private. The ceremony takes place between a pier and bushes/trees. I noticed in old photos of Secrets Capri, that there is old looking hut located near the ceremony. The hut is no longer there. The officiant had a heavy accent so I had a friend read the lengthy sand ceremony wording that I had prepared. I honestly believe this is the best place to have your wedding at the resort. The beach background was gorgeous....

 

WEDDING COCKTAIL HOUR - A. There was a mariachi band and it looked awesome. My husband and I were taking photos at this time but the guests looked like they were having tons of fun.

 

RECEPTION A+++ - Took place near the pool/gazebo at 5:15pm. PERFECT. The DJ was located in the gazebo. The dance floor was in front of the gazebo and we had three tables along each side ofthe dance floor. Our sweetheart table was right in front of the dance floor, near the pool. I highly suggest the buffet, the food was fabulous. The staff made sure all of our guests drinks were filled at ALL times. We did not use an outside vendor for our cake. I had Secrets Capri make a vanilla buttercream cake (I hate fondant) and it was delicious. I honestly was shocked that the cake tasted so good. Because buttercream does not stand up well in the heat, I chose the simplest cake decoration. It was 3 tiers with some white flowers on it....

 

HAIR A++++ - Doranna Bertoli - I am African American and was worried about getting a hair dresser in Mexico. I had nothing to fear because Doranna was great. She actually came to the hotel to blow dry my hair the night before. My hair was so straight that I wished I could pack her in my suitcase and take her back to CA with me. She styled my hair in a really elegant style for the pre wedding dinner. On my wedding day, she did an amazing updo. If you want a romantic updo that looks complex but soft, she is the one to book.

 

MAKEUP A - Norma Zurama - Norma is a manager at MAC Cancun and she was great. Again, being african american I was worried. But, she came through and everyone loved my makeup. It felt a little heavy to me, but it was pretty. FYI - Do not put moisturize on your face before she gets there.

 

DECOR A+- I hired Eventos Euforia to decorate our ceremony and reception. I was SHOCKED by how beautiful and full my flowers were at the ceremony. They did an oustanding job. The wedding was gorgeous.

 

VIDEOGRAPHER A - Mike Canterell. Mike was great. The footage won't be ready for a couple months but he was everywhere! I'm excited to see what he puts together....

 

PHOTOGRAPHER A - Sascha Gluck was awesome. We all ended up jumping in the ocean (in my wedding dress) after the reception, and I'm pretty sure he stayed over the time that we booked him for. Im excited to see the photos he took in our suite after my hair and makeup was completed....

 

DJ A++++ - Mannia Cancun - We sent them a list of songs that we wanted to be played at the reception and I thought he would just play some of them. He played all of them and it was perfect....

 

The day after the wedding, we booked Paradise Catamarans. It was a little rainy outside but we all had so much fun.

 

Let me know if you have any questions!!

[acw271011]

Congrats on becoming a Mrs! And thanks for the review! Secrets Capri is on my list for our renewal so it was good to see a recent review! I'm having the hardest time picking a resort so any info from other brides is a great help!

[Sunflower0327]

Thank you!  If Secrets Capri ends up in your top list, let me know if you want any more info. 

[lydiasusi]

Hi Ladies!

 

So I was married at Secrets Capri on November 8, 2014 and figured that I should write a review since it was difficult for me to find recent reviews on Secrets Capri during my research. If you have any questions, feel free to shoot me an email and I can give you some suggestions and more detailed information. I can also send photos...

 

RESORT - I chose Secrets Capri because it was affordable and intimate (only 290 rooms, one pool). I initially wanted to book Secrets Maroma but was worried that not all of our guests would be able to afford it. The Secrets Capri staff is amazing!! I have never been to an all inclusive resort and was pleasantly surprised by how accomodating and awesome the staff was. The resort itself is older, so be prepared for that. It smells older too. I read on tripadvisor that some of the rooms have a moldy smell to them, but I think that comes with the territory since the resort is older. We booked a honeymoon suite which was great and big! There is 24 hour room service which is AMAZING. The beach is nice. The resort has activities throughout the day and night. Our guests would go hang out at Desires Lounge at night. The lounge is nothing to call home about. It has a smell to it, but the more you drink, the more the smell goes away Beware - There is a theme night every night at the resort except Sat. So make sure you ask Carolina if it will interfere with your wedding/reception.

 

FYI - Make sure you ask for premium alcohol when ordering drinks at Secrets Capri.

 

We had a girls/guys night. I booked Playacrawl for the females and it was so much fun! Very organized. The alcohol was cheap but there was a lot of it and we had a blast!...

 

WEDDING COORDINATORS A - Our hotel wedding coordinators were Carolina and Abi. To be honest, Carolina's email response time wasn't the greatest in the beginning which made me worried. She was super sweet but I still ended up booking outside vendors for everything. When you're dealing with people in another country and they always say, "Don't worry, everything will be good," I am the type of person that needs to know exactly HOW everything will be good. It's important to get everything in writing, but it's also important to talk to her on the phone. After talking to her on the phone, I always felt better. I scheduled two lengthy phone calls with her. When I met her in person a couple of times before the wedding day, she was AWESOME. I was still happy that I booked ouside vendors but I will say that she was super organized. I brought a lot of stuff with me, such as thank you cards for the ceremony seats, sea shells to put in organza bags (to use as paper weights for the thank you cards), menus, luggage tag wedding favors, photos, etc. Carolina took photos of the exact way that I wanted everything, which made me feel so much better. The only thing that went wrong was that they forgot to give my dad a boutonierre for the ceremony. I was so wrapped up in the day that I didn't even realize he didn't have one. My bridal bouquet was gorgeous. It was included in the package and I sent Carolina photos of what I liked. Make sure that when you are continuously updating the wedding agreement with Carolina, which is on an excel spreadsheet, that you include photos of things you like, and detail EVERYTHING.

 

THURSDAY WELCOME COCKTAIL HOUR A++ - Took place outside near the pool. It was awesome. I highly suggest it. Staff was amazing and food was great....

 

PREWEDDING DINNER A++- I did not have a wedding party. We had about 48 guests. Because we used an outside vendor for the photographer, we were able to use the hotel photographer for our rehearsal dinner (since it was included in our package). The dinner took place on the Portofino Terrace by the pool and we served Portofino's food. Portofino is by far the best restaurant at the resort. The night before our wedding, I saw that another couple did the bonfire and it looked fun. It was breezy at night so keep that in mind...

 

WEDDING A++ - Took place on the beach at 3:30pm. It was supposed to take place at 3pm but I was late. It was hot but perfect. Even though there were other people on the beach, it still felt private. The ceremony takes place between a pier and bushes/trees. I noticed in old photos of Secrets Capri, that there is old looking hut located near the ceremony. The hut is no longer there. The officiant had a heavy accent so I had a friend read the lengthy sand ceremony wording that I had prepared. I honestly believe this is the best place to have your wedding at the resort. The beach background was gorgeous....

 

WEDDING COCKTAIL HOUR - A. There was a mariachi band and it looked awesome. My husband and I were taking photos at this time but the guests looked like they were having tons of fun.

 

RECEPTION A+++ - Took place near the pool/gazebo at 5:15pm. PERFECT. The DJ was located in the gazebo. The dance floor was in front of the gazebo and we had three tables along each side ofthe dance floor. Our sweetheart table was right in front of the dance floor, near the pool. I highly suggest the buffet, the food was fabulous. The staff made sure all of our guests drinks were filled at ALL times. We did not use an outside vendor for our cake. I had Secrets Capri make a vanilla buttercream cake (I hate fondant) and it was delicious. I honestly was shocked that the cake tasted so good. Because buttercream does not stand up well in the heat, I chose the simplest cake decoration. It was 3 tiers with some white flowers on it....

 

HAIR A++++ - Doranna Bertoli - I am African American and was worried about getting a hair dresser in Mexico. I had nothing to fear because Doranna was great. She actually came to the hotel to blow dry my hair the night before. My hair was so straight that I wished I could pack her in my suitcase and take her back to CA with me. She styled my hair in a really elegant style for the pre wedding dinner. On my wedding day, she did an amazing updo. If you want a romantic updo that looks complex but soft, she is the one to book.

 

MAKEUP A - Norma Zurama - Norma is a manager at MAC Cancun and she was great. Again, being african american I was worried. But, she came through and everyone loved my makeup. It felt a little heavy to me, but it was pretty. FYI - Do not put moisturize on your face before she gets there.

 

DECOR A+- I hired Eventos Euforia to decorate our ceremony and reception. I was SHOCKED by how beautiful and full my flowers were at the ceremony. They did an oustanding job. The wedding was gorgeous.

 

VIDEOGRAPHER A - Mike Canterell. Mike was great. The footage won't be ready for a couple months but he was everywhere! I'm excited to see what he puts together....

 

PHOTOGRAPHER A - Sascha Gluck was awesome. We all ended up jumping in the ocean (in my wedding dress) after the reception, and I'm pretty sure he stayed over the time that we booked him for. Im excited to see the photos he took in our suite after my hair and makeup was completed....

 

DJ A++++ - Mannia Cancun - We sent them a list of songs that we wanted to be played at the reception and I thought he would just play some of them. He played all of them and it was perfect....

 

The day after the wedding, we booked Paradise Catamarans. It was a little rainy outside but we all had so much fun.

 

Let me know if you have any questions!!

I will be getting married at Secrets Capri in 4 MONTHS!!!!

 

I would love to see some pictures of your ceremony/dinner/reception!   I am a bit anxious to see how this is going to work out for me!

 

I will be bringing my own vases, table cloths, centerpieces, and a few extra things, maybe wedding signs, unsure right now.  I do want to bring stuff to put on display, guest book and what not, just not sure if that table will be an extra fee?

 

Thank you! and congrats!! 

[MNsunseeker]

I would love to see pictures as well! I looking at an October 2015 wedding at Secrets Capri

[Sunflower0327]

Hi there!  So I am super late but here are some photos that can maybe give you an idea of the set up.  Let me know if you need any more photos!  Sorry if I attached too many lol. 

 

 

[MNsunseeker]

Wow those are beautiful pictures!!   I love the ceremony flowers.  Were these done by the resort?  I assume they were additional?  We are booking the ultimate package but have not spoke to the WC there yet.  Was there an additional charge to have them set up your reception decorations?

 

Hi there!  So I am super late but here are some photos that can maybe give you an idea of the set up.  Let me know if you need any more photos!  Sorry if I attached too many lol. 

[Sunflower0327]

Thank you, the flowers were my favorite part! Events Euforia did my flowers, decor, and ceremony and reception set up. I did not hire them as my planner, just decor. I had to pay the outside vendor fee of $150 but it was worth it because what Secrets was going to charge me for ever little thing totaled just about the same or maybe even less. And I was able to get EXACTLY what I wanted with the decor from Eventos Euforia. Oh and you can save money by having some of your ceremony flowers moved to the reception during cocktail hour. And chairs! I rented the chairs from Eventos and Secrets charged me like $2.50 each chair to move my chairs from ceremony to reception but it's better than paying $6 or $7 for different chairs. I would hope that if you rented the chairs from Secrets that they wouldn't charge you for moving them though....

Edited March 23, 2015 by Sunflower0327