smiles33

b21fly: -We booked our trip through sunwing which included a shuttle from the airport to the resort and vise versa on the last day. I would check to see if its included with your travel package, I think if you booked a package its usually included. -On Sunwing, because I was booked as a bride, I was able to take my dress as an addition carry-on. However, I found this was a huge pain, carrying it around and there wasn't really a special spot for it, so it was probably just as wrinkled as it would be in my luggage. On the other hand, if they had lost my luggage I would have been devastated without my wedding dress, so it's really what you're comfortable with. But I would check with your airline to see if you can take your dress as a carry-on or not. -We didn't go to Playa Del Carmen. We thought about it one day, but we were all feeling lazy and enjoying our time in the pool so we didn't end up going. On the two Thursday nights that we were there they had a marketplace right in the resort which had a lot of great stuff. I don't remember if they had maracas there or not, but they do have them at the resort store because I brought some home for a friend's daughter. They aren't cheap though so if you can find them cheaper here I would bring them with you. MrsShoreytobe: We took a chance and used the resort photographer since it was an extra $200 to bring in someone else, and their platinum package allowed us to get copies of all the pictures taken (which turned out to be almost 500). We absolutely LOVED our photographer. I think his name was Lillo. He got some really great shots, had a really good eye for the setting and the lighting and took so many photos we didn't even realize he was taking. We've gotten so many compliments on our photos since we've been home, I'm so happy with them all. Here's a link to just a few of ours, about 25. There's way too many to post them all, but they're some of my favourites. http://s1285.photobucket.com/user/bishopn24/library/Wedding%20Photos%20Sneak%20Peak

No problem b21fly, glad to help!! Thanks for the additional info, Smiles33! A few more questions for you: What time was your ceremony? And then what time did you schedule your hair and make up appointment for? Did you feel like you had enough time? The ceremony was at 4, although we were about 10-15 mins behind, but I wasn't too worried because I knew they couldn't start without me. My appointment was at 11, along with 5 other people. I had my hair done, my makeup done and a french manicure and we were done before 2. That meant I had 2 hours to sit around to do nothing. Aside from eating lunch, it was actually pretty boring. Depending on how elaborate your hairstyle is and what all you're having done, you may be able to do it an hour later. Did you have the 'shuttle' pick you up and take you to the ceremony site? Yes, the wedding planner came and picked up me and my family- there was room for 6 of us. The groom did not get a shuttle though, and does have to be there half an hour early, so just make sure they factor that into their plans for getting ready. I am glad to hear your group was set apart for the dinner- we will have a group of 20 (including us) so our set up will be similar to yours I would think. She asked us how we wanted to set this up so I'm sure you'll be able to have a say! I really like your OOT bag ideas and am thinking about something similar I got the door hangers from a friend of mine, but she has a facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/fancyfavoursbylisa She did a really great job with them, and they were noticed by other people in the resort which was really cool!

Hi b21fly, I am so happy to hear you liked La Vaqueira as that is where we are planning to have our wedding dinner! And, we also have a few vegetarians that I have been worried about. Did you need to tell the wedding coordinator that you would have vegetarians far in advance, and before you arrived at the resort? I had mentioned to Araceli that we had a couple of people with special diets. We chose the menu for them when we were there. It was actually easier than I expected given their strict restrictions, so if yours are just vegetarian you won't have any trouble. We had to cut out all gluten and dairy products as well so it was a bit tricky! My wedding plan sounds very similar to yours, so I hope you don't mind answering more questions: Which wedding package did you go with? It looks like your entire group has champagne glasses, so I am wondering if you did the princess package that includes the champagne toast? I am debating between the princess and the infinity package right now...if I go with infinity (primarily due to suggestions found on this forum), I would add a one hour cocktail hour after the ceremony... We did the infinity package and added the champagne toast afterwards for $8/person. It was a nice idea and provided some great photos, however, we didn't find the champagne was very good, and I didn't really have time to drink my glass, so it's up to you whether or not it's worth it. You will likely go for photos right after your ceremony, so if you do a cocktail reception after the ceremony you probably won't get to enjoy it much yourself, but your guests will. Our guests pretty much just went to the sports bar for drinks while we had photos done, they seemed pretty content with that since the drinks are all free there anyway. How long did your ceremony last? To be honest, I'm not really sure how long it lasted, everything seemed like a blur. We went with a symbolic ceremony, with no religious discussion at all. It didn't seem like it took very long, definitely no more than 30 mins. During your dinner, was your group separated from other diners in the restaurant? How were drinks handled during the dinner- did you need to go to a nearby bar, or did they serve you at your tables? I think it will depend on how many people you have. We had 22 all together, so we had a small area set up in the restaurant, it wasn't a separate room or anything, but it was sort of set apart. We had 3 rounded booth tables for our guests and a head table for just my husband and I. Your wedding coordinator will talk to you about how you want to set it up, if there are options depending on the number of guests. Drinks were ordered through the wait staff and brought to the table. They were really good about making sure your drinks were full and that you had everything you needed. When/where did you eat your cake? We actually didn't do a wedding cake. We're having a reception at home so we're sort of doing cake there, but it wasn't something that was important enough to us. There was a delicious brownie for dessert with our dinner and we were satisfied with that. Did you give out any favors or extra decorations? No. We just gave out our OOT bags when everyone arrived, which had some cute personalized stuff. The door hangers were actually pretty popular, and were noticed by other guests at the resort which was kind of neat. We figured that the background of the ocean (even though we didn't actually get to do that) was enough for decoration for us. We're pretty simple people so too much decoration would have been too much for us. We thought about wedding favours, but my husband had been to another destination wedding where they gave out sand dollars, and he brought it home and then we had no idea what to do with it. It was a neat idea, but not very practical, so we decided to scrap that. Since you were inside for your cocktail reception, how did they set that up? Did you have any music? They set it up pretty much the same way they would have set up the beach. There were some high tables and chairs and the bar at the front. When you go to the resort, look for the building Ibeza, right beside the sports bar, that's where we ended up having it. I think you actually have to pay extra to normally have it there, but because it was raining it was the only option. It was a really nice place, they decorated the chairs and tables with the white cloth just like they would have on the beach. It worked out well though because it was air conditioned and we had a dance floor so we didn't have to try to dance on the beach. We did have music. We paid for the audio equipment ($560 for 2 hours). It was so worth it! We had actually made up a playlist because we thought we would just hook up our Ipod and that would be it, but there was actually a DJ with it. So he played some of our songs, we made sure he knew which songs we really wanted played, and then he mixed in some of his as well. So if you go with this, don't worry about making a playlist, just have some songs (if there's specific ones you want played) and he'll play them. We did this for 2 hours, but could have gone longer, so it may be worth the extra hour depending on the price. If not, we went to the disco after which was a lot of fun as well! I would recommend having someone with you be in charge of talking to the DJ and setting up music and speeches- my friend was our MC and it made my life so much easier! She made sure the DJ knew what songs we wanted and took care of everything so we could have fun. I am getting very excited for my wedding and hearing your review, along with the last few others on this forum, has been really helpful! Feel free to ask if you have any other questions. I know how anxious I was before my wedding because there is so much out of your control and unknown, but it really does all come together once you have your meeting. Your wedding coordinator will take care of everything! I was so happy with my day! I hope everything comes together for you and you have an amazing day too!

Hi b21fly, Here's a link to just a few of our photos: http://s1285.photobucket.com/user/bishopn24/library/Wedding%20Photos%20Sneak%20Peak He took almost 500 photos, so I've only posted about 25 of my favourites. We had dinner at La Vaqueria which was fantastic. We had 2 people who are vegan, gluten & lactose free & they were even able to accommodate their special diet. I ate at a bunch of other restaurants though and also found they were delicious, what I liked best about this one is that it was a steak dinner which would appeal to most people.

Just got back from our wedding at the resort, and I know how helpful it was to have jovn28 share her experience so I thought I would share mine as well, especially the parts that were different. Resort: The resort is beautiful!! The two biggest complaints I read about before going here was the food and the rocky ocean. The ocean does have rocky spots, however, it's not the whole area. It's very easy to find a spot where it is not rocky. The water was beautiful, and there were even schools of fish swimming around you. The food was really not a problem for me. The buffets were fine- everything tasted good, it was just not spectacular, blow me-away, which I really wouldn't have expected in a buffet anyway. The a la carte's were fantastic!! Their food presentation was great, their portion sizes were a little small, but you got 4 courses so it was unnecessary for them to be much larger, especially since you can always go to the Sports Bar or the buffet for a snack later. We ate at Tapas, Mama Mia, Miso and Le Fleur as well as the Tapinyaki (sp??) show. The food was all delicious, however, the food at the Tapinyaki show had a lot of butter and garlic, which my stomach was not happy about the next day. We went with a groomsman and my in-laws and my mother-in-law and I were both ill the next day, so just a word of caution to the ladies! However, it did taste fantastic and the show was great, so it's up to you if it's worth the risk! We stayed in a Villa Suite which was beautiful. However, we had some family members stay in swim-up rooms, which are just regular rooms that swim out to the pool, and we have agreed that if/when we go back we would stay there instead. Our room came with lots of great perks, and was completely perfect for wedding photos, but it was really nice to be able to swim after the pools close, especially right before bed. Mosquitos I'm not sure if it was just the time of year or not, but there were a lot of these so I highly recommend bringing bug spray. They did fog the resort regularly so they were trying, but because there was so much water and it is rainy season there's only so much they can do. Wedding Coordinator- Araceli Wow!! She was fantastic!! Our day was flawless. It actually rained on our wedding day, which I was really stressing about. However, about 2 hours before we made the decision to use the back up venues for our ceremony and for our cocktail hour. It actually turned out great! The ceremony, dinner and reception all ended up in lobby area so people didn't have to travel from the beach to the restaurant and back to the beach again. We had paid $25/person for the 2 hour cocktail hour on the beach, which included the private bar tender and some high tables with chairs. Because it was raining they moved us inside and we decided that it was way better- first of all it was air conditioned so we didn't all die of the heat, and there were no mosquitos since I was already being eaten alive by them! Hair, Makeup & Nails I had my hair, makeup and nails done at the spa, along with my maid of honour, grandmother, mother, mother-in-law and friend and they did an amazing job! I was so happy with how it all turned out, especially since I had forgotten the picture of what I wanted done and had to try to explain it. It was amazing!! We actually ran into the man (Francesco) who had done it later in the week and my husband thanked him for making me look so beautiful! It is pricey however, I paid about $200 US for a hairstyle (which is more expensive for the bride than for everyone else), a french manicure and my make-up. It was well worth it though!! Photographer We had a guy named Lillo do our photos, and wow, was I impressed!! I paid for the most expensive package because I wanted to be able to have all the photos on a disc, but this also included 4 photo books (one big one for us, one for trash the dress and 2 smaller ones for our parents) as well as 2 wedding photo albums and 110 prints. This was the part I wanted to go the most perfectly because I've worked in photography and photos are really important to me, and I was not let down. The rain held off for about 2 hours so we were able to get all of the beach photos that I wanted together. He didn't miss a single moment, and captured several moments that I didn't even realize were happening lol. He had an amazing eye for poses, lighting and just fantastic creativity and fun!! The only problem we had was we were told they would all be ready to be picked up on the Wednesday, but when we went our 4 photo books were missing. No big deal, we were there until Friday so they said to come back tomorrow. We did, and only 3 of the 4 were ready. We were a little stressed at this point because we were leaving the next day. They said it would be there first thing Friday morning, but when we went it hadn't arrived yet. My husband pressed them on it because we really wanted to take it home with us to give as a gift at our Canadian Reception, and they had the guy deliver it before we left. So just make sure you're on top of them when picking up your pictures so you're not down to the wire!! Laundry Service This is where we did have a big problem. We sent out all of our clothes to be steamed, which worked out to be my dress & veil, the maid-of-honour dress, the mother's dresses and 5 sets of guys clothes. When they were delivered the total was 769 pesos, but the guy told me if I paid cash it would only be 500- great! However, as my sister and i were getting ready we noticed that her dress not only had a rip in it, it also had several small stains. Fortunately all of this was able to be hidden, as this was about 1 hour before the wedding. Little did I know that my sister also found a tear in my dress, also hidden fortunately, but she kept it from me until later so I didn't freak out lol. We had to battle with the wedding coordinators the next day to get our money back for the laundry service, as we feel we shouldn't have to pay to have our dresses ripped. So my recommendation would be to very carefully check over things that are steamed and ask for a copy of the invoice in case there are any problems! I think that was it for the major points- if you have any questions feel free to send me a message!

Did anyone travelling from Canada to Mexico have any trouble with customs when bringing in items for their OOT bags?? I read on one of my checklists to take receipts for all of those things and I don't think I have most of mine anymore.

Hi there!! 2 more weeks until my big day!! Just wondering if there are any last minute tips/advice before we leave???

For my OOT bags I did Wedding Day Survival Kits. In them I have: -Welcome Letter & Wedding day itinerary -Map of the resort (which I'm hoping to highlight where the different wedding events are taking place, have to do this with our WC though) -pack of tissues for the ceremony -hand fan for the ceremony since it will be July in Mexico and very hot lol -customized beer kozy from discount mugs ("To have and to hold and to keep you drink cold") -crazy straw to drink with -packs of Tylenol for the next morning -customized door hangers for the next day ("Please do not disturb. We are recovering from C & N's wedding") We also used this in place of wedding favours since they are things that people will use while they are in Mexico. I also love the idea of the "Oh shit" bags, however friends of ours did those for their destination wedding in February and since we have some of the same guests I wanted to do something different.

Hi! It's interesting that you just mentioned sunwing is going bankrupt within the next year as we had MAJOR issues booking with them for our wedding this July. In February we were told that they were cancelling the flights that we were all booked on and it took a good month before we were all rescheduled again, and that was after an irate phone call from my fiance to their head office. They also charged our credit cards about 6 months too early and were horrible for our TA to deal with. We are finally sorted out thank goodness, but what's hilarious is that they offered us future travel vouchers to apologize for the inconvenience! So, I know how stressful it all is, we were completely booked and had everything planned, deposits paid, and when we found out about the flights being cancelled we thought we had to do it all over again! I hope it all works out for you, I'm sure anywhere you have your wedding will be beautiful!

Hi everyone, Just wondering from the people who have had their weddings, what you tipped, or if you tipped, the wedding coordinator & private bar tenders etc.? We are getting married there in 6 weeks so want to make sure we have enough cash set aside.

Hi there, We are getting married in July and are doing dinner at "La Vaquera" (spelling???) followed by a cocktail reception on the beach. It cost $25/person for 2 hours. We also are paying $560 for the audio equipment for this time, which includes an IPOD hook up. We were just going to bring our own but we were worried it might not be loud enough for the beach so decided to pay the extra money.

My fiance attended a destination wedding this past February where the bride and groom arranged a lot of group dinners etc. and he found that many of the guests were complaining about that. They felt that since they were paying so much to be there that they should be able to plan their own vacation, except of course for the wedding day. So we've decided not to plan anything for the group so that people can do what they want for the rest of the days they are in Mexico. What they did appreciate was inviting people to come along on an excursion that they would book, but not being told they had to be there, which I think was the part they had the most problem with. I have also been told by my sister who has been to this resort twice before to book excursions when you get there. As far as meeting up throughout the vacation, the other wedding party chose a specific spot at a specific pool where people can meet up if they want to meet up with others. They found that there was almost always someone else there, so we are going to do the same. That way you always know where to find someone who wants to be found. The other thing we are doing is providing everyone with a contact card in their OOT bags with their room numbers so you can get in touch with anyone by calling their room.

RivieraMayaBum: Those are beautiful!! Thank-you so much for sharing them with me!!

RivieraMayaBum: Hi there!! First of all, congratulations!! How was it?!?!?!? Second of all, thank-you so much for offering to share & for your advice! The pictures are the most important part of the wedding to me, so I will make sure to go and see them ASAP after the wedding. I would love to see all of your photos, but that's probably not possible lol. I think what I'd like to see most are the photos taken with you and your husband on the beach after the ceremony, and trash the dress if you did those photos.

RivieraMayaBum: Hi there!! First of all, congratulations!! How was it?!?!?!? Second of all, thank-you so much for offering to share & for your advice! The pictures are the most important part of the wedding to me, so I will make sure to go and see them ASAP after the wedding. I would love to see all of your photos, but that's probably not possible lol. I think what I'd like to see most are the photos taken with you and your husband on the beach after the ceremony, and trash the dress if you did those photos.