Leaving for site visit in 2 weeks!!!

I haven't posted much recently because I've been really busy but I'm so excited and have to share ... I'm leaving for my site visit in 2 weeks!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

We'll be in Cancun from Friday 8/14 through Thursday 8/20 and will be staying at the Hilton Golf and Spa resort for the bulk of our stay. My dad travels a lot on business and generously gave us 4 of his free reward nights! Monday night we're staying at a little hotel on Isla Mujeres because we have site visits booked on the island that day. We're meeting with Tiffany of Sunhorse Weddings to look at Zama Beach Club and a few other places.

 

That leaves us with one night to stay somewhere else. We'd love to check out Ceiba del Mar but can't afford to stay there on this trip so we might find a cheaper hotel in Puerto Morelos, or we might go down to Playa del Carmen for a night.

 

I want to be as well-prepared as possible to get the most out of this trip but I don't want to overdo it and visit a bunch of places for the sake of it. We really want a private, non-resort wedding that won't completely break the bank and there aren't that many options. Plus, we're kind of limited to places that we can check out during the day and still make it back to our hotel in Cancun at night. Any other places we should hit up?

 

What are some important questions to ask or things to look for when we're checking places out?

 

I AM SO EXCITED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

-Jen

This book has a lot of great advice/ideas for planning a destination wedding. Pick up a copy if you don't already have one. With this book and BDW, you should be all set!

 

Amazon.com: The Knot Guide to Destination Weddings (9780307341921): Carley Roney, Joann Gregoli: Books

 

Have a great trip and give us a report when you get back!

Hey Jen - how many people do you think you're wedding will have? I've put together a few lists of recommended places in Tulum if you're interested.

Jen,

 

That is SO exciting!! Can wait to hear your feedback...Is Zama an all inclusive resort?

Good Luck and von voyage!

Not sure yet how many guests we'll have but we're thinking around 30 to 50. I would love a list of places in Tulum! Thank you!



Zama is not an all inclusive resort. It's a beach club actually. You can see pictures of it here:
Zama Beach Club Photo Gallery by SunHorse Weddings at pbase.com
It's absolutely gorgeous and completely private which is really important to us. It has a beach with a pier, 3 infinity pools, a large terrace/deck for dinner and a palapa with a dance floor.

After looking over our budget, I fear it may end up being too expensive for us though. We need to keep the entire wedding under $15k and that has to include my parents' flights and hotel in addition to our own and when you add in photography (a good photographer is very important to us), my dress, open bar, etc, it's cutting it a little too close. So now I need to find a few cheaper places to check out while we're there. I'm probably going to have to sacrifice some privacy and maybe even go with an all-inclusive resort in order to pull this off.

It's not exactly back to the drawing board, but I do need to come up with some alternative cheaper options and we're leaving in one week! Aaaah!!!

Any suggestions would be appreciated!

- Jen

Here is a link to places that are large enough to accomodate large groups. In Tulum, anything over 20 is considered large.

www.destinationscout.com/scout

 

I'm working on my website which will eventually list all contact information. In the mean time I can either make appointments for you or send you contact information for any of the places. All of the places are open for business, so there will certainly be someone onsite that can show you around. They just may not be in a position to talk prices with you. My golden rule of negotiation is to go in with your budget instead of asking them what they charge.

 

Good luck!

Oh, I forgot to mention, the only place on the list that is large enough to accomodate more than 20 people is Mil Amores.....but the hotels are close enough together that you can always book rooms in the hotel next door.