Any Occidental Grand Xcaret brides out there?

Exciting! have a great wedding, can't wait to hear all about it when you get back!

yay! Bring back lots of pictures for us to see Congrats!

Has/Did anyone put a deposit down on the wedding before you arrived at OGX?

Back to the photographer question, we are using Cancun Studios, they are located in the resort so there is no outside fee. Their website is CANCUN STUDIOS We met with them last year and they seem pretty good

Hello Everyone,

I just got married on January 8th at OGX. It was fantastic. It was a bit cold - we got plastered with the cold front that hit the lower US last week. BUT, we all managed to layer up in our "summer" clothing and find things to do to keep warm.

The resort is ENORMOUS. There's a shuttle that takes people around the grounds. Walking from the beach area to the lobby is probably 10-15 minutes. SO, when you go to the beach, take a bag with you. You certainly don't want your umbrella drinking time to be too interrupted by running up to get the sunscreen you forgot!! There are a couple of little animal pens on site with monkeys, deer and flamingos. Make sure to try to negotiate a pass to Xcaret park with your package. It's a great day excursion.

Food was okay. I've been to many all inclusive resorts with better food. The seafood restaurant was by far the best. BUT, they only serve seafood. So make sure everyone in your dining party enjoys it.

Marialma was great. She's very friendly and energetic. We were extremely happy with the job she did. We hired a mariachi band for the ceremony and the reception. They were the highlight of the evening.

Stuff to make sure of:

- Make sure they make your bouquet exactly how you want it. I pointed to a picture of a bouquet that had only Hawaiian flowers. I wanted some ivory orchids in there as well. I ended up getting some sort of broccoli looking thing that I didn't like. It wasn't a big deal, but some people are picky about their bouquets...

- Do a rehearsal the night before. Make sure that Marialma is available.

- Do all the meetings with photographers and Marialma asap. Or arrive a day earlier than everyone. We had ours moved to a later time in the day and it put a huge dampener on hanging with our friends and family.

- Make sure to talk to the photographer about what time is best to have the ceremony. Ours was scheduled for 4:30 but we had to move the time up because we didn't have enough time for pictures. He loves props! We saw some photos with a couple with balloons. I had Marialma arrange the balloons for us. They are by far my favorite photos of the day.

Cancun Studios was amazing. Augustin and his wife were a great team - very fun to work with. And the pictures are gorgeous. He really tried to do some artistic stuff with us. We definitely came out with photos that are not the typical wedding photos. I'm still waiting for the final product. BUT, from what we saw, he did a spectacular job.

The semi-private reception was nice. Very laid back and much cheaper than the private. It was worth it for us. Having other guests in the restaurant only made our party seem a little bigger!!

If you want any sort of cake topper, make sure to bring them. We had some little bride and groom rubber ducks that a friend gave us. They were perfect. Very cute and original.

The spa at the hotel was also very good. Claudia ended up giving me a foot reflexology massage while my hair was being finished. It was the perfect thing to relieve wedding day stress.

I'll post pictures asap.

Good luck!!

Soonerrae -- Congrats on being a Mrs thanks so much for the review! I can't wait to see pictures!!!

1. Is it possible to wear heals at the ceremony site? or do you recommend flats or a wedge?

2. did you put any money down in a deposit for the wedding before you arrived at the resort?

Congrats on having a great day! I was reading reviews last night again on the resort and I'm starting to get worried about how huge it is!

Did they place all of you and your guests in the same area - how did you arrange to meet where and hang out together?

I can't wait to see your pictures!! Which restaurant did you have the semi-private reception in?

Thanks for the tip - I'm bringing a picture of what I want my bouquet to look like - EXACTLY.

And Sarah - we havn't paid a deposit on the wedding - we were told we would pay for it all when we got there.

Just got back after 11 days. Amazing time. Words cannot possibly even come close to describing what an incredible experience this was. Marialma is great to work with and yes don't worry about a deposit. You just have to pay when you get there. When we arrived we met with Marialma and all of the vendors. She had everything all on lock and setup. She runs a tight ship so don't worry about anything.

Thanks for all the tips from everyone here. Sarao did a spectacular job with the decorations. The Mariachi band was a nice touch to our Ceremony. Citla Rico from Claudia Rodriguez Photography was also a pleasure to work with. Lomas provided the Limo and Playa.info transported all our guests to the Capilla in town. Doranna is also amazing and my wife's hair was beautiful. We even danced a four minute salsa/lyrical/tango routine and it stayed in tact.

Honestly just too many great things that happened the whole week+ trip and especially the wedding day. I'll post a FULL review soon to make sure I don't miss anything. Just have to let the tequila leave the system so I can function normally again!

The resort is huge but if there is one thing I can suggest is bring 2 way radios or walkie talkies. We had 80 people and these devices were a must to organize everyone.

Ok time for sleep!