April2011Bride

Hey ladies,The I wouldn't worry about the wedding coordinators. I was talking to a local and he stated that the staff usually turns over every 3 months due to contractual obligations. This is not uncommon. No worries. As I was planning I saw 3 wedding coordinators go through the grand sunset/riviera hotel. The resort is all wrapped into one. I thought we were suppose to stay on the GSP side but most of our guests ended up being on the Riviera side. Both are equally as beautiful and you do have access to everything on either side. Hope this helps.

Yes I did go to the disco twice in two weeks. It was alright. I preferred the open bar area to dance to live music. But the disco was good too for upbeat music like Usher and Rihanna and stuff.

Hey ladies, I just returned from an amazing 2 weeks at the GSP resort. To sum it up it was better than I could have ever imagined. I had very little contact with Mara the wedding coordinator prior to arriving, however everything went smoothly. She is highly professional and makes sure everything is taken care of. When we met she had numerous questions and I gave her all my information. We had brought our own photographer so that saves on the cost of the packages at the resort. When we met with Mara she had mentioned that the original gazebo may be ready by Friday for our ceremony. Naturally i was thrilled because this was one of the main reasons I chose this resort to have our wedding. She said to just let her know as soon as possible what our option would be. On Thursday she called me to ask me about my decision and I surprisingly chose the alternate location. The reason I chose the alternate location by the "chill out" restaurant was because on that side of the beach it is way less busy and it more private for a wedding. You don't get as many randoms in your pictures. I loved this aspect of it. For our wedding package we did the Magical package because honestly for the extra $500 just to have a cocktail hour wasn't worth it for us because we were staying at an all inclusive resort and could drink for free anyway. The magical package comes with everything that the Royalty package comes with except the cocktail hour. I had my mother in law do my hair on my wedding day so therefore I re-scheduled another hair appointment at the spa for when my husband and my date night. The resort was very accomodating as were they when we re-scheduled our massage appointment. It states that you get everything the day after, but we rescheduled everything to accomodate our schedule and it worked out perfectly. The wedding day - our ceremony was at 2:00 p.m. our pick up cart was a little late, however we still arrived roughly on time. I wore stiletto pumps for the ceremony and would advise that if its windy to walk slowly as my dress got swept under my feet and I ended up stepping on it part way down the aisle. No one noticed as I just stopped and tried not to make a scene. The judge did not speak very good english which would be my only downfall, however my guests thought she was fine. The judge had also forgot that we were doing our own wedding vows so we had to remind her at the end of the ceremony that we were doing so. So there was a bit of a 'blip' there. No big deal though. I had a fairytale of a wedding and felt like a bride celebrity for all the random pics I was getting by strangers and all the attention I got as well. Our dinner was not until 8 p.m. at La Fondue. So between the ceremony and pictures my guest and I met at the open lounge in between the two lobby's on the main floor. It was perfect. It is still stunning for pictures and the drinks are free. Dinner at La Fondue was amazing. We didn't even notice there were other guests in the restaurant with us and had the back part of the restaurant set up reception style. We had a head table that was decorated and the other tables formed a giant "U" so that all our guests could see us. After dinner we actually went to the sports bar. It was fun. The resort in general: I found the staff more than accomodating. Like I said earlier I felt like a celebrity. Everyone remembered me by name, we were the rowdy group participating in all the main pool activites. I highly recommend doing Coco Bongo if you are into Cirque de Soleil type shows in a jam packed night club. It is definitely a great time. The resort is massive so be prepared to walk. The rooms are nice, just make sure you have your air conditioning on as we noticed our room was quite humid without it. We took American money down, and someone from the beach had told us that tipping in $5 means more to mexicans that tipping in $1.00 american. She said they actually "lose" money by carrying $1.00 american bills. I thought that was interesting. Money is money, so we ended up exchanging many of our $5.00 and $10.00 quite easily for $1.00. As for the bars and everything and the maid service we preferred to tip in $1.00. At the a la cartes is when we would tip significantly more. All in all this was an absolutely amazing time and I would do it over and over and over again! if you ladies have any questions please feel free to contact me. Best wishes to all the future GSP brides!

Hey Ladies, I was wondering for those of you who have been down to the GSP resort and area, what currency you travelled with. We received notification from our travel agent that they are not accepting American bills. For those Canadian Brides who have been down to the area recently can you please advise what currency you brought? I would prefer to travel with American as Peso's accumulate into a large amount when you start bringing hundreds of dollars. Also, are there any brides who bank with Royal Bank of Canada? If so, did your debit card work down there? Thank you

Hey ladies, For those who have already had their wedding. I have received my set menus for the dinner. Has anyone heard anything about the restaurant "La Vaqueria"? Not many of the set menus have very appealing options. Has anyone looked at the set menu's sent out by Mara? I have read that the Mamma Mia restaurant is really good as well as the Miso. Man I am torn as to what to choose as the set menu's are so limiting. Also, for the "alternate" yuppa location, will this accomodate 3 groomsmen and 2 bridesmaids standing up at the front with my fiance and I? It looks pretty small. We have approximately 30 guests coming with us to Mexico and I want to ensure this location will accomodate everyone. Mara does not seem to think space will be an issue, however from pics it looks small. Thanks ladies.

Hey ladies, I did catch the CBC report. It was pretty incredible the story they told. The whole thing about the gas money stunned me. I couldn't believe it. I think the Yuppa is very picturesque. Mara the WC finally got a hold of me to send me some more details. I am concerned about the "set menu" as it doesn't really seem too accomodating. However, hopefully once we get down there it will be a little different. I am still trying to get a straight answer as to what documentation I require and if anything needs to be notarized by the mexican consulate of Calgary prior to us leaving. I have ordered my AHR invitations and will be sending those out soon. Any ideas for group activities to do with your crew while you are down there? Has anyone looked into booking a catamaran ride? Mara said she would section off the buffet for my group for a rehearsal dinner or a thankyou dinner. I just had to let her know. What other special events do you brides have planned? I love this blog!!!

Hey Ladies, For those canadian brides who are getting 'legally' married in Mexico, this question is for you. I live in Edmonton, AB and we are getting legally married in Mexico in April 2011. We are currently looking at the paperwork requirements in order to have a legal wedding. 1) Long birth certificate (includes parents) 2) Send them to Foreign Affairs to get authenticated 3) Get it notarized somewhere in Alberta 4) Send it to the Mexican Consulate in Toronto. We aren't actually sure if you need to do all these steps or what you actually need to do in order to prepare to be legally married in Mexico. So if any of you alberta brides can help a fellow bride out it would be greatly appreciated. We have heard different stories that you don't need to get the long birth certificate and all you need is to photocopy your passport and birth certificate and this was in the Dominican. I was just wondering if Mexico had the same rules? Thank you!

Hello lea_rai, Those are the options available instead of the gazebo? Do you know if they are at an additional cost? I don't mind the first one that is set up by the Thai Beach Club. It looks nice and it would still give me the option of wearing my shoes. haha! Has any one getting married in April received notification from the WC's? I haven't received a reply yet. I am going to see my TA on Monday and hopefully she will have better luck.

Hello Michelle, Was the gazebo destroyed? Do you know if they plan on rebuilding it?

Hello Ladies, I am new to this blog and I am set to get married at the GSP April 15, 2011. I was really excited reading this whole string of blogs until I got to the explosion part. One of the main reasons I chose this resort was because of the beautiful gazebo in which you had the choice to get married in. Imagine my heart break when I found out it was destroyed in the explosion. Honestly i hope they have it rebuilt by April 2011, however I am concerned that they will not. We have a bridal party of 3 BM's and 3 GM's. With that "box" it seems as though they would get cut out of the picture anyway. I truly hope they will rebuild the gazebo as I also had fantastic shoes to wear. haha! Any updates from anyone will be appreciated. Much Thanks.