Fireweed

I second Yoanni at the Blau - I had my wedding there and he did an awesome job with our hair. Just one warning though - book early! He takes a long time, but he's really thorough.

We had about as many people as you and they just sectioned off a portion of the restaurant for the wedding party - it's kind of located behind some short walls and the string quartet. It was perfect, definitely private enough and it's a quiet/formal atmosphere anyways so other guests are not going to bother you. We weren't charged anything, and they don't decorate it much unless you ask them too, but it already looks nice. We brought decorations with us and told our wedding coordinator we wanted them spread out over the tables. You can also ask her to put flowers on each table.

That's awesome! When is the wedding?

I'm not sure what you mean by "everything is after"? The weather was about 24C when we were there - it wasn't too hot but warm enough to have beach days and swim. The water was wonderful. November might be a bit warmer than that - just look up Varadero weather history on google and you should get some information.

The resort changed their email address last December - you should try [email protected]!

We flew Air Transat to Cuba and the wedding dress doesn't count as your carry-on. Check and see if you're flying with an Air Transat plane or Canjet (they use both). My travel agent told me to call the airline a month before we leave and just have them put on my file that I'm carrying a wedding dress along. We had no problems - if you book through a travel agent they will let Air Transat know that you're the bride and groom so you get extra perks like we did - extra baggage allowance, premium seating and free alcoholic drink! The flight attendants were great with my dress and folded it in the overhead bin. I also put my husband's suit in my garment bag so it was all in one place.

Hmm we just had our wedding at the Blau in December and brought our friend who's a photographer with us. She had a camera bag with her with a few lenses/flash etc. and was part of our wedding group and it wasn't a problem at all. It was quite obvious she was the photographer that day and nobody at the hotel, including the wedding coordinator, said anything negative about it. I think maybe if your photographers don't bring a ton of gear and just act like their your friend and part of your group, no one will bug them about anything.

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Actually according to reviews here: http://www.holidaycheck.com/hotel-reviews_Hotel+Blau+Varadero-ch_hb-hid_77161.html The hotel is fully handicapped accessible. I wasn't paying much attention to that since we didn't have the need for our group.

Hey, I think the hotel is as wheelchair accommodating as most Cuban resorts. It's not to Canadian standards. It helps that they have elevators going to every floor. There is a boardwalk to the beach and beach bar, but then there are a couple of steps to the beach - so I'm not sure if that would work out for you? It's better than the hotels with the villas because the villas are walk-up only so you'd have to request a ground floor room. Thanks for the compliments! Our ceremony was at 3pm which is usual for that time of year. I think the sun began to set around 5 so that was the perfect amount of time. The beach bar isn't anything fancy - it's made of wood and has screens that go down to cut down the drafts if needed. There's a bar, some tables and chairs, and a small dance floor. It's not fancy but there's no way to not have fun there. The guys working the bar are awesome. I don't really have any detailed pictures but here's one at night. During the day they serve hamburgers and fast food here as well.

Also since you're going so soon, I'd contact the Cuban embassy in the UK right away and ask them for the procedure - they would be your best bet on what is required to get married in Cuba. Since you will need to send your divorce papers to be notarized and translated, this could take some time to do (I know here in Canada the wait was a couple of months) Just contact the Cuban embassy (I'm assuming it's probably in London?) and they'll let you know what to do.

Hi there, Below are the marriage requirements for Cuba - they're geared towards Canadians, but I think the rules are the same for every country. It's a bit harder to get married in Cuba after being divorced - it requires more paperwork which costs money to translate, but it's not impossible by any means. You can get married at the Blau Varadero resort. Just email them at [email protected] for info. Alternately I'm sure you can get married in Havana at a government office of some kind, but I'm not sure where that is. Maybe contact the UK embassy in Havana for more info. Good luck! Cuba Marriage Requirements The information below outlines the marriage requirements for getting married in Cuba If you have never been married before, all you need is a passport that is valid throughout your stay in Cuba, and a tourist card (available from a travel agent, airline or the Cuban consulate). If either the bride or groom has been married before, the previously married person must, in addition to the valid passport and tourist card, also produce the following documents: if divorced: his/her birth certificate and Certificate of Divorce; if widowed: his/her birth certificate, Certificate of Marriage and Certificate of Spouse's Death. Have your birth certificate and any divorce/marriage/death documents translated into Spanish and legalized by the Cuban consul in Canada (service fee applies). In addition, you must: Create a sheet that lists your names, home address, occupations, level of education, nationality and the full names of your parents, living or deceased. Attach the photo page of your passport to this sheet. Fax copies of all documentation (including the extras described above if you have been married before) in both English and Spanish to your hotel in Cuba at least three weeks before your arrival there. Bring all your original documents with you. Your marriage will be formalized in the name stated on your passport. Your passport must therefore be correct, and the name on your passport must match that on all your other documents. After your wedding, your Marriage Certificate will be prepared as quickly as possible and either given to you before you leave (time permitting) or couriered at the hotel's expense to the home address on your documents. Your marriage is legalized by the Canadian Embassy in Havana and the Cuban Foreign Affairs department.

It does say that in the package, but you get a dinner booked for the entire wedding party at the a la carte for that night. There is no extra charge for it.

Hi Dasha, As you might have read in my review, you can always go down to the beach bar and dance there after your wedding, or your group can walk a short distance (less than 10 minutes) to a nearby dance club attached to one of the hotels. We had our first dance following the ceremony in the gardens. They set up a DJ for you, so just give him an ipod or CD and get him to play your first dance song there. If you have a beach wedding, your appetizers/cake is served in the beach bar, so you can do your first dance there. The wedding package includes a dinner at the nice a-la-carte restaurant for all your guests. The restaurant is already appointed with white tablecloths and you can request them to place flowers on the tables (you might have to pay extra for this?) or bring your own decorations like we did, and just let your wedding coordinator know you'd like them distributed on the tables. Hope that helps!

Thanks! We opted to get legally married in Canada before we left, so we booked the Renewal of Vows package at the hotel, which is basically identical to the wedding one but slightly cheaper. The cake and reception dinner were included in the package. The wedding coordinator Isabel Sabina at the hotel is great, but she is having a baby in March so I'm not sure if she's working right now or they have a replacement.