nic817

You pay when you check out. We paid with MasterCard. My guess is they take all major credit cards,, but call your credit card company before and let them know you will be using it for charges in Mexico, otherwise they would likely freeze your account. That's what my bank told me anyway, so we called before our wedding.

We used the wedding DJ app and it worked flawlessly. I would highly recommend it.

We went through a travel agent and once we put our deposit down, Paloma Flores (she does the bookings) emailed him to ask about the wedding date and location. Our wedding was March 2014 but we had the location and time booked in February or March of 2013. After that, you won't hear from the resort until about 3-4 months before your date.

Hey ladies! We got back from our wedding at the resort last Saturday, and holy crap, it was amazing! Here's some info: We got married at the Tulum gazebo and our coordinator was Jazmin. Two weeks prior I had tried to get ahold of her for some last minute questions but she didn't reply. When we met with her she apologized and said she got all of them and read them but wasn't able to reply (?? weird). Anyway, all was fine. We arrived on Saturday and met with her on Monday at Tulum, but we were actually staying in the Royal Golden part of Akumal. The resort is beautiful - huge but there's lots to do. We had 60 guests come with us and we thought we would be running into them all the time but it was actually difficult to find people, even though we were all in the same part of Akumal. They upgraded our room to an oceanview (looking onto the Akumal wedding location actually) and we got gold wrist bands but they weren't really clear as to what they entitled us to other than identifying us as a bride and groom. Back to the wedding stuff - our meeting with Jazmin was about an hour and she confirmed every single details with us and then signed the contract. She has tons of notes written in our file from emails I had sent to her over the past year when we started planning. Everything was exactly as we had expected. The wedding was on the Wednesday at 2pm. They had a private trolley come and pick up all of our guests at 1:20 at the lobby of Akumal. (Jazmin gave us a printout of all the wedding details to give to each guest - very helpful. I wouldn't recommend bringing programs for this reason, unless you are concerned with how they look). A separate golf cart that fit 7 people came to pick up me, my 4 bridesmaids, flower girl and photographer (who we flew in) at 1:45 and took us right to the gazebo at Tulum. When we arrived, all the guests were seated and they were playing the CD of music we had brought for when the guests were there (Vitamin String Quartet - amazing and many guests raved about this music!). Jazmin was there with another coordinator, along with a guy running the music and the minister. They started playing the music for the bridesmaid right away and when it was my turn to walk, they switched it promptly to the appropriate song. The gazebo walkway is paved so you can wear any kind of shoes - I wore wedge sandals and my maids wore heels, all work fine for that location but I would recommend flip flops for afterwards if you are doing pics in the sand. We did the symbolic ceremony and it lasted about 20 mins. Jazmin did a very quick "rehearsal" with the groom and groomsmen/ parents before I had arrived so they all knew what to do, but none of us girls did. It doesn't matter though because everything runs smoothly - they really know what they are doing at this resort! Even though it was symbolic, they had us sign a certificate and we needed two witnesses for this as well. The ceremony is done right up under the gazebo but your guests sit outside in the sun - it was super hot but I think people expect this. After the ceremony we did pics and a private trolley came to take our guests back to Akumal at 3pm. Many of them just went into Tequlia restaurant to cool off and get drinks, as it is right beside the gazebo. Our dinner was at 5:30pm at Dolce Vita back in Akumal. We didn't do a seating plan so guests sat wherever they chose at our designated tables. The meal was delicious - caprese salad, minestrone soup, tartufo chicken or shrimp (also tortellini for vegetarians). We originally ordered the 3 milks cake because we had read great reviews, but Jazmin said the pastry chef in Akumal doesn't make the 3 milks very good, so she recommended switching. We chose vanilla and it was delicious - just a plain, white, round cake, but they set it off to the side with a cake knife if you want to do pics of cake cutting. We only ordered one but many people were still able to have a slice of it. We had MC's that did a few icebreaker things in the restaurant and one maid did a speech in there, but I would not recommend this if you have a large group. Some of our tables that were further back couldn't hear them. Our poolside reception started at 7:30 right outside Dolce Vita. It was set up beautifully - about 4-5 high tables covered in white linens and enough chairs for the guests, also covered in white. They wrapped white lights around the trees as well. We started with speeches and then got into the dancing part. We brought our ipad down with our own playlist. We purchased the app "Wedding DJ" for $5 and it was worth it. It lets your separate your first dance, father-daughter dance and you can also fade the songs for the rest of the night so there isn't an awkward pause at the end of the songs. There was a sound guy there who had plugged in our ipad (it's an AUX cord where the headphones go) and he even added a few sound bits where it was appropriate and paused the song during "Sweet Caroline" so everyone could do the "BA BA BA" part, lol. It was great actually. We paid for just the basic bar but they served everything and we had two bartenders looking after us. The rain location was going to be the 24 hour snack bar, which is all covered by a white tent but no walls. That would have been nice as well, but thankfully we didn't need it. The crew arrived at 10:30 promptly to take everything down, unfortuantely. We were having such a great time, but it's very loud so I can see why they shut everything down at 10:30. Afterward our guests went over to the snack bar, which was literally steps from where we were, for more drinks. Many of us ended up catching the trolley to the disco after, which was a lot of fun. Just make sure you bring your wristband if you cut it off - they weren't going to let me and my husband in but I had the wristbands in my purse. I should say we went back to our room before going to the disco and they had run a bubble bath and put rose petals all over the bed and floor. It was really nice to come back to! They workers there are so fantastic. We did a TTD session at sunrise the next morning and my dress got filthy. I left a $20 for the maid to say thanks for all her hard work that week and she cleaned a lot of the dirt off my dress. It was amazing! Very nice people there. I think I have covered probably more than I need to, but if you have any questions, I would be happy to answer them. Like every other bride had said, do not stress if they dont reply to your emails. They know what they are doing and your day will be absolutely amazing!

Hey ladies - we leave in exactly one week for our wedding trip. Getting very excited but also a little anxious - just want to make sure I have everything I need. Any last minute suggestions of what to bring with me aside from the obvious? I printed all the important emails I exchanged with Jazmin and the photo studio (where they said I just had to sign a paper at the meeting saying I didn't want them there). I've emailed both Jazmin and Paloma 3 times over the past two weeks and haven't heard anything back yet. I just wanted to know when our meeting would be when we arrive...should I just assume they will contact me or the front desk will set this up? Seems bizarre that one week away they aren't replying.

One of my guests wanted to know if the resort has shampoo, conditioner, body wash, etc in the rooms and replenishes this as needed? I am assuming they do but wanted to confirm that with someone who has been to the resort before. For the ceremony, do they play music while your guests are coming and getting settled? I have a cd I'm bringing that includes a song for the bridesmaids walk, for me, for our signing and for when they pronounce us as married. Should I bring another cd with instrumental stuff for when the guests are coming though? Thanks!

Did anyone have their dinner at Dolce Vita? Jazmin is suggesting we make a seating plan since we have quite a few guests. I asked her if we can put us and our wedding party together but she said we can't because they can only do up to 10 at a table. Wondering how they set the tables up so we can make a searing plan.

I'm also wondering about processional and recessional songs...I think we might do something fun for afterwards like Jagged Edge "Let's Get Married". We like to dance...well, I do

Hey ladies, for past and upcoming brides, did you do a seating plan for your guests? We have 60 coming and we are at Dolce Vita for the dinner. Also has anyone had a flower girl and if so what did she carry- petals, a little bouquet, etc? We have one but I didn't really think about having to pack a basket for petals. Seems like a pain so wondering what ideas you may have? Also were you able to steam your dress/ bridesmaid dresses?

I'm staying at Akumal as well. Can you post the email address? Thanks so much! Does the resort have anywhere where my dress and the bridesmaid dresses can be steamed if need be? I thought about buying a portable steamer to take down with me if not. What have past brides done?

I read on trip advisor that it's wise to email the hotel ahead of time to book a la cartes. I wanted to pass this info on to my guests, since we are going during March break and it will be extra busy. Does anyone know the email address where guests can do this? I saw it in trip advisor months ago and of course now I can't find it. Thanks for your help!

This is very helpful...thank you ladies.

Thanks for the info and pic. I tried to post this the other night but I'm having a lot of trouble navigating this new website! Did anyone get any prescription medication for before the trip, ie - dukoral (sp?) or twinrex? Normally I wouldn't even worry about it but since it's my wedding I want to take all precautions! lol Does anyone know if the resort uses filtered water to wash produce and to make ice for the drinks?

I saw that you did the symbolic ceremony which is what we are doing too. How long was the ceremony? We need to let our photographer know. Also do you have any pictures of you and your husband during the ceremony at the gazebo?