Sandos Playacar Brides!

Thanks Jilligirl for looking into this for us! My PC died on me with all of my wedding info that I have saved on it, so I'm feeling a little lost! Thank goodness for this forum! The bonfire idea sounds amazing! I'd love to hear what she says about that too. We weren't going to have a private reception but we are now considering it so we can have our own space and time to do our speeches and dances, etc. Just weighing out our options between the poolside reception or renting out the disco. It all depends on what it looks like in there. I'm thinking the only thing about pool side is, what if it gets chilly or even worse...rains! I'm from Vancouver so I'm always considering the rain. I know when it DOES rain in Mexico it's often at night. So we'd hate to pay for that and not be able to use it. I know that's worse case scenario. We'll see!

 

Thanks again!

 

Jennifer

 

Disco Pictures

Hi future Sandos brides!

After looking at hotel after hotel after hotel in all the locations around Riveria Maya and Tulum, I THINK I have settled on this one. My fiance and I decided not to talk 'wedding' plans for at least a month after the engagement...but come on!!! I'm too excited not to do the research and plan the wedding, I just have to keep quiet about it until the 20th. Also, I've realized if I want a beach wedding, I need to start planning sooner rather than later, especially if I want a photographer like Claudia or Lincoln/Lori.

I've read through this whole forum a few days ago, so please excuse me if I forgot something and am being a newbie by asking something that's already been asked a million times. I just want to clarify a basic wedding day schedule at this venue.

Saturday wedding in Winter/Spring:

4-4:30 pm: Everyone/Guests heads down to Beach for ceremony

5pm: Music plays, Fiances see each other for first time today,Ceremony Begins

5:30: Ceremony Over, Mothers wipe the tears away

Group and bride/groom pictures somehow between 5:30 to 7:00

6:00-7:00: Cocktail Hour/Champagne/Speeches (?), preferably on the beach under one of those huts

7:000-8:30: Reception Dinner, most likely buffet since expensive for private event, more champagne and speeches

8:00 - 10 or 11: This is where I get confused!! So we had the dinner at the buffet and NOW we want to DANCE! We have a song, and I really want that to be our first dance, but where do we do this? I love the idea of by the pool or by the beach and I'd be fine renting out that are for the private reception for the dancing part (no food!)? Is that ok? If so, do we hire a DJ ($50/hour) and can they play by the beach or pool? Will they play songs that we choose? I can provide an ipod and cd's. Then I can have guests walk over to a bartender at the hotel area instead of paying $18/pp for alcohol? I want there to be dancing, I have specific songs in mind (as does my family) and I just want to make sure there is room to move and good speakers. What time would they end the private reception and we'd have to go to the disco? 11pm? I just want a few hours of my family and friends dancing together

Thanks for any input!!

Also, I'm still thinking about 'when' to have our wedding. To get the photographers I like it has to be sometime after August 2010, and that's entering hurricane/rain season. So I was thinking Nov/Dec 2010? I would prefer mid-Nov, but still pretty risky for the weather, but December, less guests might come because of holiday costs. I still like November because I want to be this man's wife sooner rather than later. But am willing to forgo a month or two if it guarantees no rain (i.e. beach wedding). Any suggestions? Thank you for your help girls! Can't wait to become an active member of this site.

Take care,

Leslie

Hi Leslie,

 

If it was me, I would stay away from the Mayan riviera between the months of Oct-Dec. I have been there alot and used to work with some of the tours out there and the weather is very unpredicatable at that time. Every time I have gone in November or December I have been there for two weeks, and I probably saw 3-4 days of clear skies out of the 14 days. Like I said I used to work with the tours that went down so I wa there ALOT! I have chosen January bc its safer time to travel for the weather (if your considering (oct - feb) and it is actually cheaper to go the first week of January. Once you pass the 15th of January your costs go up.

 

As for your dancing - you can rent out the disco for a few hours, i think its approx 250US per hour. From what Paola (WC) has told me you cannot get a DJ, and you cannot have dancing anywhere but the disco, if you arent having a private function. If you have a private function, they can set something up for you. So you dont have alot of choices on that one. If you rent out the DISCO kids can come, but if you dont then its adults only. Plus you can only rent the disco out until 11pm, as that is when they open it to the public. BUt having the disco also allows you to do a slide show.....just a thought.

I have heard from other brides that dinner usually starts at 6:30 and that its somewhat difficult to do speeches bc you kind arent all sitting together in a long table. Its just a whole bunch of table placed closer together. Also, they try to get you out of the restuarant kind of quickly as you are taking up tables and time from other guests. Last review I saw on here, they were kinda pushing them to get going and they hadnt even cut the cake yet. So I imagine your going to have problems doing toasts. That should probably all happen at the wedding hut when you have the champagne.

Look up Sandos PLayacar Beach review on the threads in here...there is more information on there for you. Good Luck!

The bonfire idea does sound awesome, please let us know when you get the price for it. In terms of a reception, all we really care about is that some people can do their speeches and we can have a few first dances. After that a bonfire would be awesome!

Does anyone know how the slideshow thing works? Like what exactly do we bring, USB? CD?... I am still back in forth with a private reception and renting out the disco... I am kind of afraid guests will be too hot eating outside the end of June..

Here is another question... I don't think I've read it on here... if you rent the disco will there be someone serving alcohol in there? or will it just be a dj? sorry if that's a stupid question!

As for the disco - there will be a bartender there in the disco for you. So you dont have to worry about that. As for the DJ - I was told that you bring your own ipod and they have a dock for it and you put it on random. However, I would look into it further, bc a dj would be there for when the disco opens, so I would hope that he could be available for you to. I am waiting to here back from Paola on the DJ issue to make sure the info I was given was correct.
Between all of us on here we will get the nitty gritty figured out!

Does anyone know if the witnesses have to be there 4 days prior to the wedding if it is a symbolic ceremony? I'm hoping not b/c we won't even be there in that length of time. I'm starting to get worried. I have an email out to Paola and I haven't heard back yet.

Thanks in advance.

If it's a Symbolic Ceremony, it's not legal so you don't have to worry about any of that 'being there 3 business days in advance" business. I'm assuming you would be making it legal at home, non? that's the nice thing about a symbolic ceremony!