sunnymylene

Quote: Originally Posted by meganwitt Hi Ladies, Thanks for all the tips and details. I love this website because as we all know Anel is a very busy lady. I do have a question for past and current brides if anyone did a welcome dinner? I was first thinking of just meeting at the Lobby bar after rehearsal and having people go wherever for dinner, but I'm no thinking dinner together might be nice. I think I really would be okay with just blocking off a section in the buffet even, but I think we would enjoy having everyone together before the big night. Have a wonderful week ladies! NS is a no reservation resort at any restaurant, so you can definitely do you casual dinner together at the buffet but you have to show up at the time you want to eat to get the tables pushed together. We did exactly that for 12 people, just our close family, since they had never met before. Show up we many people, not necessarily all of them. And go maybe just after after the rush hour.

Quote: Originally Posted by mollyes We had about 20-25 kids at our wedding ranging in age from 1-15. They LOVED the Explorer's Club and Core Zone. I ordered kids meals for anyone under 12 and 12 and over got to pick off the adult menu. Everyone seemed happy with their food and I loved having them on the dance floor. My brother and sister-in-law opted not to bring their young sons (2 and 4). They told us after that they deeply regretted it after seeing how great it worked out with the other kids. They were worried about leaving their kids with strangers but checked out the Explorer's Club and said that in retrospect they would have felt totally fine leaving them there. We had 3 babies in our group under 1.5 year old. I ordered 2 kids menu for the oldest two, but they ate off their moms plate... A bit of a waste of money. I had picked their menu with their moms in advance. They were also sitting on their mom's lap or in their pram, high chairs were available nearby if needed. The 3rd baby was breasfed way to go ! They should just make kids menu free anyway...

Quote: Originally Posted by TaraHall Hello Brides! Can anyone tell me what the atmosphere at NOW sapphire pool area is like? (lively or calm? What type of crowd? What type of music? Loud or quiet? How much activity?) We are unable to so a site visit, so any help is greatly appreciated! The Preferred Club pool, which comes with wedding packages, looked really quiet, calm and away from the beach. I didn't go, just walked by to the spa nearby. But the Preferred Club allows you to reserve Bali Beds by the pool or Huts on the beach. Do take advantage of that (which we didn't cause we found out later) it will save you searching for people... Book them for the whole week on your arrival.

Quote: Originally Posted by CAmomofbride Another question, beyond the wedding, what type of excursions did your guests seem to enjoy? Did they use the excursion desk at the resort, go into Puerto Morelas directly to book snorkeling, book before they came, etc... Is there a bus available to take into Puerto Morelas, did people use taxis or even walk down the beach to town? Any insight is appreciated. Hi there, My parents walked to Puerto Morelos on the beach, there and back. It's doable, it's almost a day of it I think, have lunch there and shop in the few little places, it is small though, but definitely local. Taxi is a huge business on the Mayan Coast, so they inflate the price well... The city bus is on the "nearby" highway 307. Look at Google Maps. Taxi from the resort to Playa Del Carmen is 45$ for about 20 minutes ride. I didn't organize any excursions as I knew people would want to choose their own. When people did, they just went to the desk and organized it a day or 2 in advance. Some did cave walking, and some did the Cenote-Coba (which I did). Both were really enjoyed by everyone. A friend organized two scuba dives in cenotes with a shop in Puerto Morelos for us, will in advance, like 2 months...

Quote: Originally Posted by megmcd412 Hi everyone, I am new here, and we are so excited to have decided on now sapphire for our wedding in august of next year!! Before we decided I had some questions and Anel was great about getting back to me relatively quickly (1 or 2 days). I sent in the credit card authorization form to book the wedding date along with the necessary documents (ID and credit card). It has been over 2 weeks and have not received anything from her. Four days ago I sent another email asking if she received the documents, if everything was filled out correctly, if the date was booked for us, or if we needed to do anything else. I still have not heard back from her on anything. I am starting to freak out because I want to get the wedding date booked so I can move on and start working on other things. I know she is VERY busy with weddings all the time, I just don't know if this is typical. I don't want to be a pain but friends and family are asking and I don't know what to tell them! Any advice/insight is helpful! Thank you! Megan It's best to call them between 8 and 11 am at their local time, after they bustle around on 2 or 3 weddings a day...

Quote: Originally Posted by DinaQtobe Have any recent brides brought their own speakers down? Brides that rented speakers, was the cost charged per hour? So $150 an hour for a 3 hour reception? I am getting so close! At what point should I be booking the spa appointments for hair/makeup? When I send in my planning form? Hi DinaQtobe It is 150$ for the whole time, not per hour. http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/g/i/185414/down-below-there-are-3-buttons-tag-embed-original-click-on-original-button-this-will-open-a-new-tab-window-and-youll-be-able-to-zoom-in-and-read-clearly/

Hi tschooley This is my bill, let me know if you can't read something. http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/g/i/185414/2-wedding-bill-wedding-day-timeline-wedding-menu-cards/sort/display_order/ It comes to 105$ per additional person above 25, including additional hors d'oeuvres in cocktail hour, signature drinks, drinks, dinner meal, cake http://www.amresorts.com/wedding_guides/nosrc-wedding-guide.pdf As per page 10 in their booklet: 53$ for divine dinner + champagne toast 4$ + cake 7$ + cocktail hour 15$ + hors doeuvre 15$ =94$ + tax + service= 104$ per additional person. I hope that helps.

Hi Brittany, yes it's right in the middle between Cancun and Playa. About 45$ by cab. Just far enough so you don't loose guests out in town, but still close enough to have a visit for a day trip. My bachelorette was in Playa at Coco Bongo, and the Bachelor party was in Cancun. In my profile I have albums with links to my FB pictures...

I think Now Sapphire must have a contract or a preferred provider for officiant as we also had Alejandro Monroy. He was really good, what he said was so nice, we added a sand ceremony. I just wish I had said thank you more to him, but I was so mesmerized that I forgot ! I am trying to find what he said, Tauru Smith just reminded me his name ! I had symbolic ceremony, and we asked Ramon to provide a paper where our witnesses could sign, to make it look like the real Mexican paper. Good thing it was a quick sign here and there 'cause my last name was missing, and it was printed on brown paper. Anyhow, I think I could have done a better job at making a fake piece of paper... If you are having a symbolic ceremony and wish to have the signature as part of the ceremony, you can totally make it yourself. Make it look as official as you like or as fancy as you like.

What a gorgeous wedding wedding. You are so pretty ! The color of the water was perfect on your day, wasn't it ! It must be changing daily or something like that. On my day, it wasn't as blue... Congrats !

Tiffany, you need to turn your albums to public to let us see them... Looking forward to see your pictures Mylene

http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/astronomy.html?n=923 This website allows to check what time the sunset will be on your wedding day, and time some photography accordingly. It is best to call them pretty early, before 11am at their time, after they get busy setting up weddings. Ask as many questions in one phone call. As far as which package between Eternity or Divine, look at their page http://www.nowresorts.com/sapphire/weddings.html and download the wedding book for more details. I chose Divine because that page says it includes the gazebo decor, but I recently read here on this thread that it may be included in all the packages, please confirm with Anel or Ramon if it does. Oh and let us know here too. Don't pay for the video, I don't like mine. it's amateur and tacky old soundtrack. I didn't want one anyway, it's really the only disappointment in my day. My guests would have done the same or better. The dinner on the beach was excellent, from the french restaurant, and turned out to be quite similar to our menu, so it was good to try before, and compliment our lack of time to try the French Restaurant. The spa massage is a definite recommendation. The musician was also a good thing, I wouldn't have paid for them but it added ambience to wait for me to come and walking down the aisle. That way we didn't have to pick another meaningful song and worry about it getting it played... The photo album is neat. We added a 3-hour photo package to the 1-hour included. We rented the audio-video system for the evening, one flat rate and not per hour, pleyed our music from our ipod. The cocktail hour played Uncovered vol 2 by Ministry of Sounds. The dinner was with latin guitar from itunes. After the meal we had Uncovered vol 3 and 4 by Ministry of Sounds. The dinner includes alcohol service. The bar was set-up near by, it was included in mine. I wouldn't have paid for bar service knowing that it's free-flowing everywhere else on the resort... Overall I was very happy with how the day went, how they have under control, we worry way too much. Have a look at my profile for more pics and a detailed bill... Good luck and happy planning.

Hi CAmomofbride, Yes, my first choice was also Tequilla, but it was not available anymore. Beach Terrace turned out to be excellent. The ceremony was at 2:30 on the beach. Yes maybe there was onlookers, 8 at the most, and some passer-by. I was so happy and in my bubble that I didn't care if anyone was looking. And really, they are just happy with you. By the time we move to the beach terrace for the cocktail hour around 3:30, they had blocked off the area with lounge chairs, and a private bar. That was for the cocktail hour. Most people minded their own business, looking for a few seconds. Also, I was away during the cocktail hour on photo duty, so no big dresses to look at during the cocktail hour. And being at this time, people were naturally leaving the pool area becoming shaded to do other things. I'm sure if it was 12 midday, more people would be looking... And during dinner, well, every other resort guests are busy drinking and eating, so it was private enough. I'm so glad to had it done on the beach terrace, it was casual looking because of the couple huts providing shade, and a mexican style, without being tacky. The elegance was in the table set up and linens. To me, the Tequila Terrace, after I located it, was a bit far, and extremely private, it looks very elegant, a bit too much to MY liking. I chose NS because of its relaxed and more mexican style look, and the beach terrace was exactly that. https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10152431635100431.950190.544615430&type=1&l=89b4535950 My public FB album, these are our professional pictures, from Adventure Photos, provided by NS. http://mylenedavewedding.nowsapphire.adventurephotos.com.mx/ Link to photo montage made by the resort photographer, their choice of pictures (this link doesn't work from iPhone or iPad) At this stage, my pictures on my camera, taken by my brother, are unsorted, and not online yet...lack of time. I only just sent my TY cards ! I hope this input helps. On my profile, there are more generic pictures of the beach terrace...

Hi TaraB, I inquired the same and was referred to their golf link : http://www.nowresorts.com/terms/2011/golf.html So the free round of golf must be played outside the premium tee-time to be free. Check the dates in the T&C, it goes by season. All players must pay for a shared cart. 40-50 $ depending on the season. So every game outside of tee-time is at least 40$, let alone if players want to play in premium tee-time at a cost of 35$, it would be 75$ at least, depending on the season. So not so free free Check with your airlines if their is a fee to bring golf bags. We flew with Westjet, and a golf bag would be a second baggage and has a second-baggage fee of 20-23$ on the way there, and on the way back. The golf website says rental is 55$. So if players will play at least 2 games it may be worth bringing their own clubs. We had lots of golf players in our party and none played !! I guess they might have wanted to spend their money on more unique things to do like Mayan ruins. Cheers, Mylene

Don't be too bummed out by this difference in price... yeah you could have saved that much but I think buying online has its risk. There's nothing like feeling the fabric, the fit, and buying the one you felt in love with and getting married in it. I also wanted to buy online to save, and try out different cuts in stores, but when I saw the one that matched exactly what I was looking for, i wasn't prepared to order a replica, have flimsy material, having to get it retouched or tailored, risking to be disappointed and having to buy the real, more expensive one. And 860$ seems like a decent price. If you hadn't seen the price online, you were prepared to pay that amount, it was in your budget you had set. I'm sure there are brides to be out there who had great experience with buying online. Now, celebrate the fact that you found your dress, the one you love, and enjoy preparing something else ! I love my dress so much, and felt lie a million dollar in it on my wedding day, I want to wear it again ! I think I'll have a high-tea with other ladies I know who got married recently and get to wear our dresses again and show them off ! (I never thought I would actually do that before...)