Jackie

Welcome to the forum!

Hey there welcome to the forum. We are also planning for a May 2008 wedding in PDC Riviera Maya. Tammy right if you could give us some clues as to what your looking for we can help a little more. Good luck and let us know how we can help.

Welcome Amber. I have no great advice for you, not that youll have trouble finding it on this forum, but just wanted to give a big welcome!!

Quote: Originally Posted by SASSYGIRL I started the new year with a 5K run/walk and dragged my FI and parents with me. It was a lot of fun and everyone ending up enjoying themselves. Bootcamp starts up agian in the morning and I am looking forward to it! OK, you are way to far ahead of most of us. I couldnt run 3 and 1/2 miles if I tried right now. 5K is about that right? Good for you! You are my inspiration I shall do some sort of cardio activity tomorrow for at least 20 minutes. Ok so thats not long at all but I dont want to kill myself the first day. Gotta ease into these things.

I was thinking Clanned and Bono "In a lifetime" . It sounds much better on Napster, but here is a link to where you can listen if you want. YouTube - Boromir "In a Lifetime"=

No not today. But I went grocery shopping this afternoon and am back on the South Beach diet starting tomorrow! It really works for me, its fast its easy, its healthy, and it includes cheese which I'm addicted too. I have decided not to go back to the gym untill February. This sounds so retarded but I feel like I need to get a little in shape before I hit the gym again. Ive been going there for 5 years now and I dont want people looking at me like I'm a beached whale compared to what I used to be. So I will do my yoga DVD's pushups situps lunges etc this month and hopefully be gym ready by February.

Thats a good question. Ive never asked because I know I wont exceed 40 people and really probably it will be between 15-25. You should try E-mailing Edith and asking what the maximum guest capacity is. In this picture It looks like you could easily fit 75.

Quote: Originally Posted by jthrasherphoto.com here are some stuff I've done before. These are not brides, it was more glamour type of work, but I wanted to post some examples so you know what I can do. I like this one, but I would wear something on the top, even if just a bra. And I would probably want to be looking somewhere other than straight into the camara. I suppose thats the shyness part. But really most wedding photographers get you barely dressed hopping into your wedding dress anyway so why not pose for a couple pics before hand!

Hi Andrea, Not to worry, a lot of brides dont make it down for a site visit and everything still works out wonderfully. Just really try and grab all and any info you can find on your top resorts and than compare them all, prices, location, style etc... Then book the resort that overall best suites your wedding needs. If you go to the search bar at the top of this page you should be able to find some good info on both the OGX and the RIU palace. I'm not sure if this forum has any info on the Iberostar yet.

I am all for this too. But I would probably schedule it for the day before the wedding. I"m thinking once the wedding day is done, I might just want to relax and enjoy Mexico with a vacationers mindset.

Congrats and Welcome!

The Palladium sounds really nice for a wedding. Here are a couple of pics of one of their gazebos, I love all the green around it. congrats on your engagement! Let us know if you have any specific questions!

I think we might have a thread on this if I remember correctly. I would definitely be interested to do this as long as it had a more classic/elegant sexy to it than a cheesy/trashy sexy to it. Have you ever done this with a bride? I have seen a couple of pics and thought they were amazing, and could still be considered frameable for at least the bedroom walls.

I think that sounds like a great idea. My only concern would be pictures though. Speaking of, have you looked into photographers yet? I bet theres some great photographers in that area.

that seems like a good deal. You girls are so creative. I love all these neat ideas, I cant wait to get into this stuff!

Wow, that stained glass cross looks stunning in the darkness of the room! What a great place.

That is really nice looking. How many did you get for the 74.00 dollars?

Hi Andrea, I'm glad you made it over to the forum! It really is so helpfull. Have you ever been to PDC? I havent but have done some research into it. All of the resorts you have mentioned seem great for a wedding that includes children and can host a larger guest list and is also affordable for your guests. I havent heard much about the Iberostar as far as weddings go but my boss stays there when he heads over to Mexico and he loves it. RIU's are always a good choice for weddings because they are very experienced with DW's. We are also getting married at the Occidental Grand Xcaret and as far as the resorts mentioned above goes (except for the beach) I think this one is the prettiest. Obviously I'm a bit biased to that resort though. lol. If you have any specific questions feel free to post them and they are sure to be answered!

Quote: Originally Posted by jilly76 I'm still considering Elizabeth Medina as well, I understand exactly what you meant Jackie about the low side of expensive, she's pretty much my limit, and that may be stretching it. She does have my date available and I really need to make a decision soon before everyone is booked! Make sure you book as soon as you can! Ann (akh) was hesitant on booking and then when she did Elizabeth was allready booked. Ofcourse she ended up with either Sol or Leigh as her photographer which they are both brilliant so its not like she lost out at the end, but price wise I believe they are a bit more expensive.

Gazebo Pic

LOVE THIS RESORT!!! We nearly drove our travel agent and wedding coordinator crazy because we emailed them so often before our trip. We were worried about all the negative things we had read--food poisoning, unsafe transportation, being switched to a different resort, insects, unhelpful staff, etc. Thankfully, none of this happened and we had the time of our lives. I will try to organize this review by category: Wedding: We stayed from May 24--31 with 8 other friends and family members to celebrate our wedding. The ceremony was everything I have ever wanted--beautiful and intimate. Our wedding coordinator, Jazmin, was very patient with our questions and made everything come together perfectly. Our photographer, Conrado (he is at the resort), was extraordinary--very passionate about his work, talented, and relatively inexpensive. If you are planning a wedding at BPT, I highly recommend also having the videographer (he works with Conrado). It was worth every penny. I still cry every time I watch it. If I was forced to pick something negative about the wedding, it would probably be the minister. He arrived 15 minutes late to our ceremony and his cell phone went off in the middle of it. However, his words were very touching and he handled the ringing cell phone so well that our guests didn't even realize it had gone off. It just gave my husband and me a good laugh. We had our meal afterwards at the Don Pablo and then went to the Bar Akumal to relax, sip a few drinks, and dance. The band was even nice enough to play a song just for us as our "first dance." What made it such a great wedding was all the special touches: having our room upgraded (for free) to an ocean-view suite, receiving champaign and a small cake in our room the day after our wedding, and Conrado throwing in a free poster-sized picture of our wedding. Food: The food was amazing. We ate at the Don Pablo (for the wedding reception), Oriental, Gran Tortuga, and El Pescador. My favorite was the Don Pablo and Oriental, but all were great. The buffets had a large variety and great taste. I would kill to have some more of the baked tortilla chips with fresh salsa and guacamole. Usually I don't even like chips and dip, but there I ate it for almost every meal! My husband loved all the fresh juices. Beach: Yes, as a zillion other people have reported, the beach can be rocky in places. Bring water shoes and you will be fine. The fish by the peer are really neat, and we had a great time going kayaking and playing volleyball. Bring your own snorkle gear if you are a water bug like me! Grounds: One word--immaculate. Everything was in it's place and super clean. Entertainment: The performers work hard and try to provide a variety. Yes, some of it is a little cheesy, and being from the relatively-conservative US I was a little turned off by all the barely-there costumes. (Between the topless beaches and the Broadway show, I saw more than enough skin for the week.) However, I LOVED the ballet dancer and the Michael Jackson lip synch show. God only knows how many hours per day they must practice and work out to stay in such great shape. Transportation: We booked our vacation through a travel agent and Worry Free Vacations. We had a charter bus taking us from the Cancun airport to the resort. This ride took 2 hours and 15 minutes because we had to drop off so many people along the way. However, we knew about this beforehand so we just relaxed and enjoyed the air-conditioned ride. On our way back to the airport, it only took 1 1/2 hours because we only picked up a few people. For all our excursions, we took the super-cheap, super-convenient Collectivos. $2 per person per one-way trip. Just go to the road in front of the resort and tell them where you would like to go. Of note: there are no seat belts in these vans and their driving is a little on the "Fast and Furious" side, so if you have young kids you may want to take a safer form of transportation. I made my 14-year-old brother-in-law sit in the middle of the back seat or in the front passenger seat (which does have a seat belt) just because I am a worry-wort. Excursions: The day after our wedding ceremony, our whole group went to Xel-Ha and then the Tulum Ruins. Word of warning--the tour reps will lie to your face. Not that I blame them; I realize that they are just trying to do their job. But know that anything they tell you will probably be in THEIR best interest, not yours. For example, we knew from reading tripadvisor that we could get into Xel-Ha cheaper by going on a weekend. Our tour rep tried to tell us that this was false and kept asking "where did you hear this?" Needless to say, we all went on Sunday, when it was only $22 per person (compared to 30-something during the week and more than twice as high to get the all-inclusive package). Xel-Ha was just amazing. I could have spent the rest of the entire week just there! But the rest of our group was exhausted, so we left around 2 and headed for the Tulum Ruins. This was free (since it was the weekend--another fact the tour rep denied), very hot (wear protective clothing and lots of sunscreen or you will fry), and had the most beautiful beach I have ever seen. I definately recommend these two places. We also spent one day at Playa del Carmen. I got a little tired of haggling the prices, but I'm glad I went just for the experience. Some of our friends went on a snorkling tour out of Playa and really enjoyed it. Another friend went to Chichén Itzá and thought it was worthwhile, although the ride out there is pretty long (>2 hours). Staff: Generally, the staff work very hard and do their best to make your stay the best possible. My mother made the comment that you never see any of the staff just sitting around talking or "slacking off." Out of respect and gratitude, we left tips of about $2 per day for our housekeeper, $1 per person per meal (a little more for the a la cartes), $1 per bag for the drivers of the charter buses, and small tips for whomever we felt deserved it. When I asked my husband if there was anything he wished would have been different about our trip, his sole response was "I wish we could have stayed longer." In fact, he still hasn't removed his wrist band!! (I guess he thinks he will magically be able to use the wrist band in St. Louis to snorkle in the ocean or eat anything he wants for free!!) This shows just how much we both loved this resort. Hopefully sometime soon we can return. If you have any questions, please feel free to email me. I'm a little busy right now with graduate school, so please be patient as it may take me awhile to return your email. As for the negative reviews you will inevitably find on tripadvisor about BPT, all I can say is that these people must live really miserable lives if they are unhappy with a place like this. Just relax, go with the flow, be polite and respectful, and enjoy this piece of paradise!!!!!

And another Pic!

Quote: Originally Posted by AQHARIDER Welcome Angela! I keep a binder of info, but what I have found to be more useful is copying and pasting out of this forum into a Word document. I alphebetize it by categories of stuff I want to be able to find later. Sarah, DUH why havent I been doing this. I copy and paste everything but never thought to copy and paste the stuff on this forum to my word program. Yikes sometimes my lack of brain power worries me.

What a great dress. Very elegant and clean looking. You must be very excited!

Good website! Yet another link to add to my favorites