pdcbride09

Ok...so I guess I should've posted here a bit ago, but to be honest w/ you, I simply forgot. Ok, so we got married on May 8th, 2009. Yes, right in the thick of the Swine Flu crisis. We left May 2nd. We were close to canceling 2 days before because of all the news and the chance of flights being canceled, but we decided to go through with it. We had very close family friends tell us that they will do whatever we do. So we decided to go through with it. We thought, it's just the flu! So we took the chance. So, May 2nd-6th we stayed in the actual town of Playa because we loved it so much from the year before. on the 6th, we transfered over to Sandos. It is definitely a big property! The thing that can be annoying is that you have to check in at the reception area that is really far from the rooms. Well, at least our rooms which were right off of the beach. You have Hacienda rooms and the more adult area, but it's a ways to the beach, not that we don't like exercise, just wanted to be close to the beach. So, in order for it to be legal, we had to be in Mexico 3 days prior of our actual ceremony. We met w/ the wedding coordinator Paola that Monday morning. We had to wait an hour after our scheduled appointment as she was running behind. To be honest w/ you, we were not please w/ her. I personally was a little more bothered by the way it seemed like she really didn't care about the whole planning process. It really is hard to describe her personality. She seemed a bit airheadish(not a real word I know) and when I would ask questions, she would be like...umm...suure I can do that..but not really sounding like she could. She just rubbed me the wrong way. Everything was fine until the very end of our meeting where she asked us if we could move our ceremony time from 5 to 4. I asked why, and she stated it was because the other Sandos resort closed and they had to move the other weddings to Sandos. She stated that we can have ours at 4, and the next wedding can have theirs at 5. I asked, why can't they be moved to 4? Also, with the ceremony, your guests must arrive a half hour before the start time. So, if our ceremony was at 4, and it lasted say 20 mins..then you go to the little wedding hut that is right behind the seating area..you should be there for a bit, that would be really awkward seeing that at 4:30 the other wedding party should be arriving. So again, to me that was not a smart move on her part. She said, you know, you could just keep your scheduled time then. We'll move them. So, 2 days later, we received a call stating that we had to move our time regardless. So we had to go back and forth, and finally got it to be at 4:30. I was just really upset about that. During our correspondence back and forth she stated that 5 is a perfect time to get married. Then, all of a sudden, 4 was the most perfect time to get married, just seemed like she was trying anything. Which meant making up lies to get us to move our ceremony. She then asked my husband "what is the big deal?" So, from that point on I was really frustrated. So, she gives you 2 bracelets to give to your "outside" photographers. So, on your wedding day, she expected me to go hunt down my photographers while I was getting ready to give them these bracelets (not to mention you have to take a cart to the other building where they check in). So, I went to reception desk at the meeting point where her office is located that morning of the wedding before I started to get ready. She came out and I asked her if she could do that as I will be too busy as well as my guests and she sort of hesitated to take them, but then said, "sure" but it was just so phony. I mean, that is your job, why should I be worrying about that. So then we ordered room service and ordered some mimosas directly from her. She said sure, no problem. Those never arrived. She did however drop off our flowers which by the way were GORGEOUS! After that I didn't see her until we were lined up outside. She had another assistant bring the photographer to the room and sit and wait there while we finished getting ready. I guess paola was making sure the guests arrived? I don't know. Ceremony was great, and she did coordinate the music once w/ the mariachis. But they do not do any rehearsals as to where you stand or anything. The guys just chose a side and lined up and then we were told to walk down by her. She timed the walk down the aisle and that was it. The most upsetting part of the wedding night was when we were done w/ the ceremony, and we needed to take pictures w/ our family. Paola kept telling us we had the dinner reservations @ 6:30 and my husband and I MUST be there at that time. I informed her if we are a few minutes late, that is ok seeing that our guests will be there. After we had our group photography, the photographer took us off by ourselves. Now, the photographer herself(Citlalli from Claudia Rodriguez) came to me and apologized about the location of where we shot most of our group photos, but she has never been to the resort before and Paola would not show her around. Paola told the photographer, "oh..there are some gardens back there" and that was it. The photographer herself was very frustrated w/ the lack of professionalism and told us that she is sorry that we have to deal w/ someone like that. And that she's never seen anyone like that before. So, coming back from our pictures Paola was waiting there..telling us that we have to "hurry" back to the reception area. We wanted to take one more photo which is by this teeny ruin next to the pool. She said ok, but please hurry. So we were rushed through our entire photography. Another note is that we paid $75 each for the 2 photographers. As we were walking back w/ them to the reception, we asked Paola if they could stay and eat since those bracelets are really day passes. She said.."oh yes, they can eat at the snack bars if they would like." We thought..hmm..ok..we paid $125 for them to come here take our pics and not be able to have our dinner?? So we had to consult wiyh the restaurant manager who then agreed that they could have dinner w/ us. But unfortunately they could not stay due to prior arrangements. The wedding itself was gorgeous. Our family/friends and the photographers who we absolutely loved made it special. The beach set up is gorgeous and the food at the Steak house was fabulous. We ordered Filet Mignon and the potatoes. The cake was delicious and was very cute. We were sort of rushed out of there as well. The manager made a comment to my husband when we asked if they could serve the cake. He said yes, that way they get everything out of the way for the next reservation. Oh! another thing to add! They took my husbands linen suit to press it that morning(he did procrastinate a bit I know) and when he got it back, there were stains all over the sleeves. So his suit was ruined. Can't tell in the pics, but in person you could. So as you can see, this review is mainly about my frustration of the wedding coordinator. The wedding itself was great. The setup was GORGEOUS and the dinner was delicious. Also, the resort is next to undeveloped beach where we got some GREAT SHOTS!! Would I recommend this resort, yes. The setup and food alone is worth it. As long as you have your friends/family there, you will have a great time. The resort is very nice. The beach is wonderful with a lot of umbrellas. The food I thought was great although 3 restaurants were closed due to the low occupancy. I'm just hoping that Paola gets a little better at planning. Her personality is what killed it for me.

Hi! I just want to say that we originally had booked our wedding w/ Blue Parrot Weddings..which is a great choice..very reasonable. We originally didn't want our guests to pay an arm and a leg to come to our wedding, so originally we were telling all of our guests to stay at La Tortuga. Very reasonable hotel, plus you get breakfast every day included and it's great!! However, at the last minute, after our invitations were sent out! (eek!) we found Sandos Playacar Beach Resort and Spa. It is VERY REASONABLE for an all inclusive. I believe it's $180 a night for 2 people. That of course includes all you can eat and drink and 24 hour room service! So...the difference I believe was $40 a day between the resort and La Tortuga..so we just decided that w/ drinks and food..it would be close to $40 a day staying at La Tortuga. So we decided to do the AI resort..and everyone was all for it! so although we loooooooooooooooooove staying in town, we decided that it would be better that way. Plus to have your wedding at an AI is so much cheaper! We are having a legal ceremony and I believe minus the photographer for 28 people it's only $1800!! so it's a great deal since it is an AI, the meal and drinks are included. We would've loved to have our reception on the beach, but they charge an extra fee for that. We figured we are at an AI so why pay extra for that? we are going to do it at one of their restaurants..and since there is no dancing or partying allowed in the restaurant, we are bringing our guests to the Blue Parrot Beach Club for the after party since we have a deposit w/ them. So we won't lose out on any money! Good luck on your planning. if you are planning to stay in town..there are a TON of hotels. Go to tripadvisor..and you can see there. They list them all!

Hello! I just want to say that I would consider Blue Parrot Weddings. I originally had a deposit down w/ them until about 31/2 months before our wedding which is in a few weeks. Paula is the wedding coordinator and she is FABULOUS!! She has always been EXTREMELY EXTREMELY accommodating. She will work with you and try to get everything to your liking. You do NOT have to have your wedding at the actual Blue Parrot Beach Club, but you can also have it at Playasia restaurant which they own. However, that is only if you have 30 or less guests. I didn't hear any bad reviews about Playasia..only good things and the restaurant is gorgeous. I would highly recommend them. The reason we switched is because we found an all-inclusive resort that was a lot cheaper than staying in town as we originally planned. But if we didn't find that resort, we would've still been getting married here. One great thing that Paula is STILL doing for us is we had a deposit down for the dinner. In the contract they state that if you cancel you get half back. So, we figured that after our dinner at the resort we can go to the Blue Parrot Beach Club for some drinks. So she is using our deposit to have an open bar for us. We get out own section too. She is VERY quick with responding too. The coordinator from the resort takes FOREVER! but Paula is quick!! The only downfall w/ Blue Parrot is that it's a VERY Public beach..so you might have some boats in the background or a lot of onlookers..which I know at any resort happens as well. Good Luck!

wow! your pics are so cute! I love them! your dress is beautiful! I think I saw something like that on Say Yes To the Dress. You guys looked like you had an amazing time. I loved viewing your pics, they actually made me laugh out loud! very entertaining. Did you request for those flowers to be set up along the aisle? I thought that looked really cool! The cocktails that you guys were drinking, those are included correct w/ the package? I like how they set that up too. For the dinner, that is how the tables are set w/out adding decorations or anything you brought in? Those menus were included?? If so, I can see why you don't need anything. If you don't mind me asking, what did you have for the dinner and did you enjoy it? I keep debating if I should add some appetizers for the time in-between the ceremony/dinner. We have our photographer for 3 hours, so I'm assuming we will have her for an hour between the ceremony/dinner. How much time lapsed from the end of the ceremony to the dinner for you?

What I mean by reasonable is the price of the room. Funjet offers a great hotel deal on their site. However, we found that if you purchase those entertainment books The 2009 Entertainment® Book - Great Savings on Dining, Shopping, Travel, Attractions, Movie Tickets & More! you get a 10% off your hotel stay via american airlines vacations! so that saved our guest even more money. for 2 people to stay from wed-sun there in a run of house room w/ that discount above it's only $717!! that includes the roundtrip ground transportation too! That comes out to $89 a day per person. I thought it was a great deal considering all the other resorts are just so $$$. Our friends and family aren't rolling in dough so to speak, so we wanted to find a resort that was definitely affordable. Another great thing too w/ that entertainment book is it gives you a discount on American Airlines. Now..when everyone booked, they were having a huuuge mexico/caribben sale(I believe that was the middle of jan to beginning of Feb). From Chicago to Cancun w/ the discount it came out to $282!! no that's cheap! So everyone that waited to book(which was pretty much everyone) it paid off. So, we did a lot of bargain hunting for our guests and saved them a lot of money! If you are inviting guests w/ kids, this resort sounds like the place to be. very kid friendly..which we weren't ecstatic about, but whatever. The beach is suppose to be amazing and the one resort that has the most Palapa's on the beach so that is also very important. I CAN'T WAIT!!

We actually changed our mind on the AHR. We decided a couple of months ago not to do after all. It's too much stress, and most importantly too $$. We have more important things to save for(HOUSE!). If anyone wants to congratulate us, they can stop by our place. I'm so happy we decided not to do it because I was stressing out bigtime about it. Just not worth it to us. The most important people to us will be there in Mexico, so that's really all that matters. Good Luck everyone!

I understand your frustration totally! I don't understand why we would have to pay an additional amount for drinks either, especially since they are included. I mean, that's just to serve them I'm assuming? But we decided on this resort because it was the most budget friendly overall for our guests. Every other place around there is so expensive. We wanted to keep the cost down for everyone. I heard they have the best beach on the strip. So as long as the food is decent and the rooms ok, we are fine w/ that. The ceremony setup on the beach is beautiful. Just so worth it for the price really. There is no extra price to eat at the restaurants there. Your meal and drinks are included in the package. It's just not your group only in the restaurant. Like I said, we are on a tight budget so it's ok. I noticed that a lot of other resorts have the same thing where you have to pay extra to be set up on the beach or have your dinner in a restaurant w/ other people. Just remember that a LOT of resorts charge extra if your guests that attend the wedding are not staying at that resort. Which I guess I can understand because they will be eating their food/drinks. But it's a little on the high side. Sandos charges $75 each person that doesn't stay there. I wonder how they would know if you are not staying there? I think you get bracelets or something to wear while you are there? but I'm just taking a guess at that.

These are our Restaurant choices: A la carte restaurants: Oriental, Gourmet or Steak house.. open time at 6pm (Groups with more than 15people have a set menu (same food for everybody) Italian or Mexican buffet .. open time at 6:30pm (Reserved area for the whole group) **microphone is not allowed. ** children are not allowed in Gourmet restaurant.[/i] no more than 30 attendant you can get a dinner reservation in one of our a la carte restaurants, more than 30 attendants, your dinner will be reserved in one of our specialty buffet restaurants. We don't include any kind of decoration inside our restaurants. I also asked her about doing a cocktail hour after the ceremony while we are taking our pictures, this is what she said: We can organize one cocktail hour right after the ceremony on the beach. the additional charge will be 15USd per person. plus the 15% service I asked her what was included in the cocktail hour, and she stated that it's drinks only, no appetizers. Which is ridiculous when all you can drink is included in your entire stay..so we decided not to do that and someone as well stated that their guests just went to the sports bar there..which is fine w/ us. Hope this helps out a bit. I just want to know what the restaurants look like. One bride said that you don't need the tables decorated because it's so dim? don't quite remember. Lupita as stated above, does not provide decorations for the restaurant..just want to know if that's even necessary to do that??

Hey JodiMichelle, I don't know what number you are trying to call, but I have Lupita's number, or the number that is included in her signature line, However, it's an actual Mexico number/info. To dial Mexico from the US you have to dial 011 first Guadalupe Porras C. | Groups & Weddings Planner Sandos Playacar Beach Resort & Spa Tel. + 52 984 877 4040 Ext. 4209 | Fax +52 984 877 4059 weddings.playacar@sandoshotels.com Hoteles en Lanzarote. Resorts en Cancún ? SANDOS HOTELS & RESORTS Here is some info she sent me regarding having a private event, flowers, music, photography and restaurant choices: For private events these are the new prices for this coming 2009, i'll work with these prices at least until July 2009. Private events are not included in your "All Inclusive" package, so they have additional charges because you will have a reserved area just for your whole group of guests. Available time is from 6.30 pm to 10:30pm. Place: beach or pool area far away from the beach. Site fees= 500USD on the beach (minimum number 40 people) Site fees by the pool= 400USD (minimum number 40 people) menu charge per person = since 39USD per person open bar = since 18 per person Music.. DJ= 50USD per hour 15% service and 10% taxes (of the total amount of the event) This is the update pricing list for flowers: Boutonnières, since 15 USD each Children boutonnière since 10USD Bridal bouquet: since 50 USD Bouquet for Bride's maid since 35 USD each Corsage since 20 USD each Flowers arrangements for the table since 45 USD Archway since 220USD Gazebo with tul = since 220USD **no flowers included. Flowers for cake since 35USD Bags of petals 15USD (big) ** Prices can change without notice** Photography prices: 2009 10 photos = 150USD (no CD, no photo album) 20 photos = 270USD (no CD, no photo album) ** 30 photos = 450 USD **60 pictures = 650 USD ** 90 pictures = 850 USD ** 120 pictures = 1100 USD **Note: prices include print pictures & pictures in a CD ROM & a Caribbean photo album. IMPORTANT: PICTURES IN THE CD ARE THE SAME PRINTED PICTURES, NUMBER OF THESE PHOTOS DEPENDS ON THE PACKAGE THAT YOU CHOOSE. (She quoted me $150 to bring in an outside photographer!) Video= 30 min edited in DVD price is 650 USD The options for music are these, prices are per 45min: Mariachi: 420USD Trio 320USD Saxophonist 250USD Steel drum players 450USD DJ 50USD

not only is there a $500 "site fee" to have it on the beach OR by the pool, there is an additional charge of $39 p/p for the food and I believe another $15 per person for the open bar. So a lot more money you will have to spend versus the free option. PLUS you have to have 40 people minimum to have it on the beach/pool. We really wanted it on the beach, but that is a lot of extra money to tack on on top of the package fee. But if you have it, go ahead! Wish we did!

My favorite pic is the one where you guys are signing the legal document. You look absolutely gorgeous!

Also, Did they give you an option to decorate the reception area I was informed by Lupita that they do not decorate the dinner area, but wondered if you brought anything to decorate the tables, or if they even really need it

Thanks so much Sbertling! I'm getting married on May 8th and I'm getting very nervous. As far as your music goes, did you just put those two songs on a cd and hang them to her and they played them? Did she instruct you to put two songs on there just curious. Another thing I'm nervous about is the dinner. The fact that they hushed you worries me as my friends that are going are pretty energetic is the way to put it..so I can imagine how they are going to be if we eat there. I can't WAIT to see your pics. I wish it was in my budget to use Matt or Sol for our wedding. but I'm happy w/ our choice of Claudia Rodriguez. Oh, one question regarding the ceremony/photography. after the ceremony, what did your guests do while you guys were taking pics? Did they go to one of the bars for drinks A little disappointed to hear that there are a lot of kids there..but for the price, you can't beat it!! Just hoping the time we go which is supposedly low season, it won't be so bad. Again, thanks for the info!!

Hello everyone. I was wondering if anyone else has seen the latest news on travel alerts on traveling to Mexico. Now universities are warning spring breakers to NOT travel this year due to the increase in violence. They are even stating not to travel to Cancun/Riviera Maya!! This has me a little worried. I was wondering what everyone's thoughts were. Here's a link to the U.S. Department of State Travel advisory: MIG: Mexico Travel Alert although this article I just found states something different for the big tourist areas. Mexico: Spring Break, Beaches -- and Bloodshed - News- msnbc.com

Heather I was wondering if you were going to post any pics or review of your wedding Hope to hear from you soon!!