TATrisha

I have finished the Akumal version of the photo tour, for anyone interested. http://blog.faberphotography.com/gran-bahia-principe-akumal-photo-tour/

Hi Ladies! I finally was able to sit down and put together my photo tour of the Gran Bahia Principe Coba. I hope you find it useful. http://blog.faberphotography.com/gran-bahia-principe-coba-photo-tour I will be publishing the Akumal and Tulum version shortly!

I had stargazer lillies, so I know those are included. I'm pretty sure gerberas are as well, but I'm not positive.

Yeah, it works pretty slick how they transport everyone. When I got married they didn't do that and people just randomly wandered on their own to the wedding site. I think it's so much cooler to arrive as a group. The energy is up and everyone is excited.

Tulum is actually quite a distance from the Akumal location, so I think you might have to pay extra for the extra time, but it's worth asking.

If you're going with the resort photographer, then I don't think you have much time after your ceremony with them for photos (please, someone who has used the resort photographer chime in here). So then you'd probably get the 4pm ceremony time. If you decide to bring a photographer with you, I'd highly suggest an earlier wedding time (2 or 3) so that your photographer has plenty of time to take photos all over the resort. This also will allow your guests a nice break where you can have a cocktail hour with the band. OR, you could do a 3pm wedding and you and your husband could join them all for the cocktail hour. So it'd be 3pm wedding, 3:30 done. 4:30 you'd be done with photos (if not before then). 4:30-5:30 cocktail hour in the lobby with the mariachi band. 5:30 shuttle arrives to pick you and your guests up for dinner.

sorry it took me so long, but here are the workout facilities Tulum: Akumal:

For fun, I went and looked up the music I used For the guests being seated I used Burning Love by Elvis. This is an inside joke with my husband that was a surprise that I thought would make him smile... turns out... he couldn't hear the music from where they had him hidden! Oh well! My mom & Shawn's mom walked Shawn down the aisle, and then our parents poured the foundation of our sand into the vase. During that, I'll Stand By You by Carrie Underwood played. The couples walked down to Lost in the Moment by Big & Rich. I walked down to Over the Rainbow/Wonderful World by Israel Kamakawiwo'ole which is almost a five minute song. They faded it out when I arrived and after my dad handed me off. The sand ceremony was I'll Stand By You again. For the signing of the ducments... yeah, didn't know I needed a song for that, so they kept I'll Stand By You going. Our Recessional was Walking on Sunshine by Aly & AJ.

Quote: Originally Posted by Sunshine2680 Thanks Tlseege - so what would you suggest with regards to the mariachi band? should we wait until after we've had the toast and group pics and send everyone to the Tulum lobby to hear them while they drink? Yeah, that's what I'd recommend. See if the coordinator can set aside an area for you (mine was in the theater) so it's somewhat private, and have your guests all go there for a "cocktail hour" of sorts. You won't get to enjoy the music, but your guests will. I think the microphones are simply so people can hear, not necessarily because of the wind. It's hard to hear someone talking at a normal level with the waves crashing, birds chirping, kids playing in the water, and of course, the wind. So the microphone helps. Ceremony time... who is your photogrpher? Are you going with the resort photographer or flying your own in?

Quote: Originally Posted by Sunshine2680 Hiya all...question for the Tulum Beach brides...I'm told by Jazmin that my ceremony music is to be on a CD..(non-mp3 form)..which is fine...but does anyone know who 'man's' the music during the ceremony? Like do they literally just press 'play'..and 'stop'..or do they make efforts to fade the music out? I just don't want it to sound choppy..and i know there's really no way around it - especially if its still the middle of the song when it needs to be stopped - but would be nice if they at least tried to make it sound smooth Any suggestions? Oh! and have any of you had the mariachi band for after the ceremony? Did they start playing literally for the recessional? Just curious how others have co-ordinated in the past. I want the mariachi band for the champagne after the ceremony..but i haven't book an actual 'cocktail hour' or anything. I just figured everyone would head to the main lobby bar for drinks before dinner while we got pics done. But having said that..i want a giant group picture right after the ceremony before everyone dispurses so not sure how to co-ordinate that with the mariachi band either. Helllllp! Thanks! They make the music transition really nicely actually. At least I think so, so you shouldn't worry. They fade it out and there is always someone there manning it. I had the Mariachi band play inside the Akumal Lobby bar 45 minutes after my ceremony was finished. The reason was because everyone is congratulating you immediately after. Then you do a toast. Then you do your group pictures and your family formal pictures. During this time, although it'd be pleasant to listen to, I don't think you'd be getting the biggest bang from your buck in regards to the mariachis. I think your guests would enjoy them more when they can sit down and have a drink and listen?? You can most certainly do a sunrise trash the dress. It won't be crowded at sunrise. I would suggest either the Akumal cove (to the right of the wedding site) or the far end of tulum... the VERY far end. There is also an abandoned hotel if you walk on the coral past the Akumal cove. It's really awesome over there, but sadly when we were there the water had a lot of seaweed, but I still think it's prettier than the resort beaches for a trash the dress session. You shouldn't need sound equipment at all, well, unless you have a group of 100 Katie, it breaks my heart to read your post. One of my guests at my wedding was battling brain cancer at the time and so it really hits home to read your post. I wish you guys nothing but the best and I pray that he is okay.

I HIGHLY recommend you don't do your trash the dress inside the resort... I'm sure you could get good pictures, however it's pretty crowded and there is a lot of stuff in the background. So I'd recommend going off property for that. But as far as wedding day, I just wander and find places as I go. It all differs based on lighting. The day before the wedding my assistant (I lovingly call her mom) and I toured the entire resort (all three sections) to find the best places for taking pictures at the time of the day we'd be taking them. I would suggest that she goes about it in that way, to make sure that she is able to work within her abilities and style. I'm positive she'll find great places So have her do that the day before your wedding. Then I suggest having a route. I always plan a route so that I end up where I want to end up with very little to no backtracking. It's extremely time efficient. For Cheryl's wedding (in January so lighting is WAY different at that time of year compared to some months... so again, have your photographer scope it all out ahead of time) we started at the ceremony location, headed went into Akumal, went to the swing bar for a drink, sent the bridal party away, then went to the hacienda, then back to Coba.

Quote: Originally Posted by Rachael Thank you very much girls Your all fab! Another question for my brother, He has e mailed the hotel but as we all know.....NO REPLY!!! aaaaarrrrgh! My bro is wanting to take his laptop with him. Does anyone know if the safes will fit a laptop in? and how much is a safe? He is staying in Tulum Many thanks x Depends on your laptop size, but almost all laptops will NOT fit in the safe. The safe is about 15 inches, if that. Even when the shelf is taken out and the laptop is turned at an angle, it still doesn't fit. My laptop is 17", so I knew it wasn't going to fit. I had no problems having it there though. I do indeed. which gym would you like to see?

Quote: Originally Posted by stylishmeNC Trisha - I have a photography question for you from our photographer (she is my finance's cousin and is doing it all for free as our wedding present!) But she wanted to know what lenses you took with you as there is a limit on photography equipment (in relation to focal length)? Also, this one is kinda from both of us, but are there any locations that you would suggest for great photographs? I mean I can't imagine there are many bad spots being its in beautiful Mexico, but I loved all the ones of the recent wedding you shot down there Thanks again for all you help! Jill I never go alone. I always have an assistant or a second photographer with me, so I get to cheat a little This last wedding I took 50mm 1.4 24-70 2.8 70-200 2.8 and a macro lens. Locations inside the resort or outside of the resort? And thank you!

Quote: Originally Posted by aquamaniac Crystalz, thanks for the link; your pictures are stunning! Makes me so much more excited, we're officially at 100 days to our wedding day today! We also finally have a restaurant, Gran Tortuga on the Tulum side. Does anyone have any pictures of this one? Also, has anyone had a head table at this one? Jazmin sent me an email and it seemed that the head table only seats 4 people? Where did the rest of the wedding party sit then? Thanks so much, you ladies are so amazing! I have no idea what I'd do without this thread! Do i have pictures! ha! Silly question... although i don't have pictures of a head table. Boo. Next person getting married in Tulum, hire me so I can take a picture of a head table! LOL Okay, so here are the pictures The outside of the building as you walk to it. To the left is the beach. Behind the building are the dolphins. Behind me are villas and eventually the lobby. Here is a closeup of the table setting. At night it includes a lantern. Here you can see the buffet beyond the tables: And to the right of this photo is a pretty fountain:

That worked Crystal! You looked so beautiful!! sjust, I actually think doing speeches at the restaurant instead of the poolside is a great idea. My only suggestion is to do them before 6:30. I found that while we were there, 6:30 was when they let normal guests into the restaurants (wedding dinners were 5:30-7:30), so I would recommend maybe doing the speeches after the appetizer but before the main course?

Quote: Originally Posted by Isabelle Parent Is there really dolphins on the site ? Is the golf a 9 or 18 holes ? Thank you for any insight you may have. Isa Hi Isa, Yes, there really are dolphins in the Tulum section. Four of them, if I'm not mistaken. I took photos for one of the wedding couple's guests while they did the dolphin interaction. It was really fun and they had a lot of fun. Here is one photo from the event: Golf is 18 holes.

I'm so sad Crystal! Every time I try to look at your pictures Facebook says "view more" and then it errors. I only get to see up to the group pictures on the rock wall and then no more

30 Meters of fabric would be 32 yards. I had 14 yards... so I'm guessing there is 16 yards of fabric for each color based on the length. I don't know what they did for her fabric, but for mine they just tied it up, there were no cuts made.

So awesome to be nominated! I voted, I hope you win Tammy!

Quote: Originally Posted by crystalz This probably isn't the right way to go about it but myself and my wedding planner just didn't tell any of them that i was bringing my own photographer... We had arrecife for the 10 free photos and wasn't in Vina's way, only a couple pics out of 536 he was in. I wonder if Vina would think differently about that. He is only in the three photos that I posted above for Cheryl's pictures, but because he was there I had to change the way that I photograph weddings. Had he not been there, I would have gotten different angles and photographs. Hopefully your Fiance's cousin in a professional photographer. If she is conducting business, she needs the proper visa. There are photographers that don't fill out the paperwork. And there are photographers that have been detained and have gone through hell because of it. It's just really not something to risk when you're dealing with someone's wedding photographs. MEXICO VISAS INFORMATION FM3, FMN, FMT & FM2 As for equipment restrictions... the biggest one that trips most photographers up, is that you're only allowed one camera per family or person. You're only allowed two lenses, one flash, two batteries, no tripod (although I have seen some people bring them without getting stopped). Any photographer will tell you that this is not enough equipment and backup equipment to properly shoot a wedding so you have to be smart and fill out the proper paperwork and have the proper assistence. Quote: Originally Posted by Fally I posted my wedding review in the resort section, as I was unable to add it in here Wishing you all joy and happiness!!! Great review Fally!! I have added it to the official thread, it'll be helpful and fun for other brides to read. Thanks!

Your photographer should have done all the research before accepting the job, so I'm sure they already know. But you need to properly fill out the tourist visa. You might be asked questions and you need to be prepared to answer them. There are many restrictions on how many lenses/cameras/flashes/batteries/tripods/etc that photographers can bring in. It's quite tricky but once you know the rules and you follow them then you're fine.

Cheryl told the wedding coordinator that I was coming to take pictures. They said that was fine and asked for all of my business information. i did NOT give them any, and I don't believe Cheryl did either. But it was still fine. Now, it's not that I was there illegally or trying to hide anything. I had all the proper visa paperwork filled out and with me. It was for my safety and the safety of my equipment. They wanted to know what room I was in, what days I was traveling, my business name, etc. I just didn't feel comfortable with them knowing that I had over fifteen thousand dollars worth of equipment in my room! As far as them being in the way, here are a few examples from Cheryl's wedding. I worked around him the best that I could... but that's not really how you want to photograph a wedding. You'd rather be able to get every shot that you can and not have to worry about blocking someone out of the photos all the time. As for the gear that he is using (if anyone cares). It was Nikon. I had never heard of the camera body he was using, but I swear it was the D2H with an off brand lens.

The gazebo location is up on a hill and surrounded by buildings and some gardens, so the wind isn't quite as bad. It really depends on the day though. The jacuzzi pools are adults only. Nobody under 18 is supposed to be swimming in them, however there were a few kids that came in the pool while I was there, not that I minded, just an observation.

Provided is a hurricane lamp and a small vase with a single flower in it (the flower depends on what restaurant you're at).

Hi Jen! Congratulations! I just returned home from photographing a wedding at the Coba, and it is definitely cheaper to fly in your own photographer. Here is the "official" thread that I have put together for the Gran Bahia. Emily2012 is getting married two days after you! I believe she is planning on using the resort photographer, but you could discuss flying a photographer in together to save costs. http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/t/75549/official-gran-bahia-principe-riviera-maya-thread/10#post_1663902