Review of Wedding at Occidental Grand Xcaret Resort

I have been part of this forum since September 2008 when I first got engaged. I am one of the few guys who post on this forum. I think I have only encountered 2 other guys here so thank you ladies for accepting us This website has been an instrumental part of our successful wedding so here is my chance to give back with a review of my wedding

Xcaret Resort

The resort was perfect for our 80 guests. Food and drinks were excellent. I would HIGHLY RECOMMEND bringing walkie talkies if you have as many guests as we did. It made it easy to communicate with everyone. The price was very reasonable to at around $1000 CDN for flight, hotel and transfer taxes in. We were originally going to get married at the Royal Playa del Carmen but the price was double. It made more sense to move to the Xcaret so it would be more affordable. A+

Wedding Coordinator Marialma Ortiz

Wow what can I say but this lady is awesome. We met with Marialma the day we arrived and she had all the vendors there that would setup our wedding reception. This girl is so organized and she kept every single correspondence since we first made contact. She knew exactly what she was doing and totally put us at ease. Throughout the months leading up to the wedding she answered every single question no matter how complex or trivial in a very timely manner. My wife and I are very particular how we wanted the reception to look and feel. We brought so many decorations from Toronto and Marialma was able to follow directions no problems. It was such a blessing to have her. Also a blessing in disguise that we moved from the Royal to the Xcaret because from what I have been reading on this forum, the wedding coordinators at the Royal have gone down in quality and are terrible at responding. Glad I didn't even have to deal with that headache. On the wedding day Marialma was there from start to finish. Over a 16 hour day and she stood with us the whole time and was there for our guests and my wife and I. Seriously what more can you ask for? If having an organized and attentive wedding coordinator is tops on your list than book at the Xcaret. A+ for Marialma.

Marialma helping my wife

Our setup with Marialma's help

Sarao

We saw some of the decorations Sarao did from some posts here. We were happy the way they transformed our reception site which was at the Beach Club into a more intimate setting. The Beach Club is huge but they made a nice enclosure that kept everyone together. A

Here is the dancing area

AVI SPL

We rented the sound system from AVI SPL. We had our own DJ so we just needed speakers, mixer, mics, projector, screen and all the necessary wiring. Unfortunately they weren't prepared by the time the reception rolled around. The wiring was messed up and nothing was working. Luckily my DJ was there and he was able to rectify the situation. AVI SPL was also giving me grief on paying for the bill. They wanted only cash payments but I insisted on prepaying using money transfer or mastercard. After much debate and contacting the head company I was able to pay with my mastercard. In the end the sound was good for the rest of the night but wasn't too impressed with the other stuff given how much I was paying them. B

We used the screen a lot

Performances by our friends

We got married at the Nuestra Senora del Carmen Chapel in town. So we needed transportation for the guests and the bridal party. We used two companies:

Playa.info

We had 80 guests so we rented six vans that can carry up to 14 passengers each. I visit another forum called Playa.info and that is where I found them. Communication was a bit slow but on the wedding day they were there on time which is the most important thing. Everyone was transported safely from the resort to the chapel. A-

Lomas Travel

We got a Lincoln Navigator Limo for the bridal party. Very clean and the driver was prompt. I read some horror stories about renting limos in Playa but thankfully everything was ok. Dealt with Enrique Astudillo. Great response and was very thorough and following up. He actually noticed I had the wrong address for my ceremony. We got married at the Nuestra Senora del Carmen CHAPEL on 5th and Juarez but we put the address down for the CHURCH which was several blocks away. Playa.info never caught that but Enrique did. A+

Our pimp limo

Some pics of the chapel

Coral del Caribe

My wife really wanted a mariachi band for our ceremony. I wasn't too crazy about the idea but I went along with it. Wow, I have to say that I am really happy we got these guys. They did a spectacular job from beginning to end. We had a 7 piece band and played every single song we requested. After the ceremony we all strolled down Benito Juarez to the water and they followed us and played. It was totally awesome. Highly recommended. A+

Here is the contact: Jorge [email protected]

Doranna

My wife's hair was done by Doranna de Bortoli. After reading the reviews and recommendations my wife was more comfortable using Doranna than the resident hairstylist at Xcaret. Doranna invited us to her house in Tohoku for the trial. My wife totally loved it but was worried the hair wouldn't stay on the day of the wedding because of the heat and we were also performing a high intensity routine that consisted of salsa, contemporary and tango. But Doranna was awesome and my wife's hair remained sturdy for the whole night. A+ easily for Doranna.

Freelance Italian Hair Stylist in Mexico - Doranna Hair Stylist - Playa del Carmen - Riviera Maya - Cancun - Tulum

Citlalli Rico and Gerardo Rivera (Claudia Rodriguez Photography)

Picking a photographer was probably the hardest thing. I initially wanted Elizabeth Medina. We are so much into color and we just love the way Elizabeth Medina makes everything pop. However we also wanted a videographer so we looked for a company that offered both services. After much research and reading and reviewing portfolios we went with Claudia Rodriguez's team. Citlalli, Tamara, Jerry and Jimmy were such an awesome group to work with. They were very attentive to our needs and our guests needs. Very patient, professional and charming. You can tell they love their work and work together as a team. We had them for 8 hours originally but extended them another 2. Great workers and great people. A+ all the way.

Citlalli Rico Photo Blog Wedding Photography Blog

Ana Da Roux

Must also thank Ana Da Roux for helping us with our passport invitations. A+ as well. Here is a link to my review.

http://bestdestinationwedding.com/fo...de-roux-49987/

ThreeGalasDesigns

Our amazing Aisle Runner was done by Holly Carafa from ThreeGalasDesigns. Very easy to deal with and everything was done to spec. A+

Three Galas Designs www.ThreeGalasDesigns.com

Anyway that is it. This is all coming from a guy's perspective so if you have any specific questions that I may have missed let me know and I or my wife will do our best to answer.

Lastly I must thank all of the people here who have posted and responded to my PMs. Every piece of info no matter how big or small was mostly from this site. It's amazing how great a resource this place is. You can find anything you need with that search button Thanks for posting all the pics, sharing your stories, your reviews, your tips and recommendations. It has all been so helpful. Our destination wedding was definitely the happiest time of our lives thus far. All our 80 guests had the best time as well and they even want to do a reunion a year from now. Thank you again to all past brides and grooms and my love and best wishes to all the brides and grooms to be

Our beautiful guests. 5 people are MIA.

Wow, amazing!! It looks like you had such a beautiful and well-put together wedding! It's clear you two put a LOT of thought into your guests and your wedding.

Xcaret was in our top two when picking resorts, though we ended up not choosing it strictly for its size. Given how yours turned out, maybe we should have!

I can't wait to see more pictures!

Your wedding looks amazing, congrats! Thanks for the review. Were the lanterns something the resort offered or did you bring those down yourself? That is something I REALLY want for my wedding. Thanks.

-Tamara

What a great review! You both looked sensational! Thanks for doing the reviews. Congratuations to you both!

Thanks everyone

Quote:

Originally Posted by TamaraDan Your wedding looks amazing, congrats! Thanks for the review. Were the lanterns something the resort offered or did you bring those down yourself? That is something I REALLY want for my wedding. Thanks. -Tamara

Tarsicio Leyva <[email protected]>

Wow, you're wedding looks amazing. Congratulations! Thanks for such a detailed review and all the pictures.

Loved reading your review!! Great attention to the details. You guys are a beautiful couple!

Your Wedding was absolutely Amazing!!!! How beautiful. Congrats!!!

Great review! Congratulations