TATrisha

This is the new OFFICIAL Gran Bahia Principe Riviera Maya Thread! Here you will find the answer to almost all of your questions! If you don't see the answer, feel free to ask, but please look through the information first. Post #2 - Basic Information (Resort Info, Contact Info, Legal Requirements) Post #3 - Wedding Packages Post #4 - Wedding Locations Post #5 - Dinner Locations, Options & Cost Post #6 - DJ Options and Costs Post #7 - Cake Post #8 - Details (ceremony details, hacienda stuff, random questions and answers) Post #9 - Flowers Post #10 - Spa Post #11 - Tropic One Studio (the onsite photographers) Post #12 - Wedding Reviews Post #13 - Wedding Photos & Video Links Post #14 - Resort Reviews Post #15 - Bride Roll Call! Shoot me a PM with your user name, wedding date, and dates you'll be at the resort (ie: tlseege, 4/11/2008, 4/7-4/14) and I'll add you to the list Post #16 - Faber Photography's Photo Tours Post #17 - Reserved for future use Again, if you have anything to add to this, please feel free to send me a PM or shoot me an email and I will gladly update the thread. The old Gran Bahia Thread is still alive and active, but hopefully that thread will be more for brides to discuss their weddings and form a sense of community. Thanks!

I brought photos of my flowers too and she said it was included. It's if you get fancy flowers like orchids that it starts to cost additional. My bridesmaids flowers were $36 each and that was for roses and green things... I forget what they were. My corsages were expensive, but that's because I had orchids.

Hi Ladies! I just finished organizing all the information from this thread. Hopefully soon we'll have a master list where you can go and get all the answers to your questions since most have been talked about several times over the years. The one thing I'm missing is the up to date symbolic ceremonies. Here is what I have. Does anyone have anything current with new prices? SYMBOLIC CEREMONY (November 1st 2009 – October 31st 2010) STANDARD PACKAGE Fees for the symbolic ceremony and thev minister (not catholic). (In Mexico religion and state are separated, this ceremony does not have legal value, is only a blessing or a renewal of vows, in this case the couple does not have to bring any legal documentation) Marriage ceremony with music from CD (clients can bring theirv own music) Decorated location; wedding location will be assigned uponv arrival. Dinner at one of the specialty restaurants:v oA la carte - if the wedding party is less than 15 people oSet menu – wedding groups bigger than 15 people It will count as one of the dinners allowed to during their stay for the rest of the wedding party, dress code required. Free upgradev for the wedding couple (upon availability) Special fruit basquet in roomv upon arrival Room special decoration on wedding dayv Special amenities inv the room. Professional services of a wedding coordinator.v TOTAL PRICE (taxes included): 820.00 US DELUXE PACKAGE Fees for thev religious ceremony and the minister. (In Mexico religion and state are separated, this ceremony does not have legal value, is only a blessing or a renewal of vows, in this case the couple does not have to bring any legal documentation) Marriage ceremony with music from CD (clients can bring theirv own music, 4 songs are suggested). Decorated location; the wedding locationv will be assigned after arrival. Floral bouquet for the bride and buttonholev for the groom. Wedding cake and 3 bottles of domestic sparklingv wine. Dinner at one of the specialty restaurants:v oA la carte - if the wedding party is less than 15 people oSet menu – wedding groups bigger than 15 people For the rest of the wedding party, it will count as one of the dinners allowed to have according to their stay Dress code required. Please be punctual Flower arrangement on the table of the judge and marrying couple.v Special fruit basquet in room upon arrivalv Free upgrade uponv availability. Special amenities in the room.v Room special decoration onv wedding day Club Car for bride’s transportation to weddingv location Professional services of a wedding coordinatorv TOTAL PRICE (taxes included): 1,160.00 USD MAYAN BLESSING (November 1st 2009 – October 31st 2010) MAYAN CEREMONY PACKAGE Fees for thev religious Mayan officer “Shamanâ€. (In Mexico religion and state are separated, this ceremony does not have legal value) ………….It is a traditional cultural ceremony where ancient Mayan blessed love of wedding couples in harmony of nature and with the authorization of the Gods, the 4 elements and the 7 spiritual directions, the smoke of copal cleans all souls and allows an eternal blessing of love, with the sound of the sea shells and the colors of the flowers……. in this case the couple does not have to bring any legal documentation Marriage ceremony with music of drums and sea shellsv partly performed in Mayan language and translated into English. Decoratedv location; wedding location will be assigned upon arrival. Dinner at one ofv the specialty restaurants: oA la carte - if the wedding party is less than 15 people oSet menu – wedding groups bigger than 15 people It will count as one of the dinners allowed to during their stay for the rest of the wedding party, dress code required. Free upgrade for the wedding couple (uponv availability) Special fruit basquet in room upon arrivalv Room specialv decoration on wedding day Club Car for bride’s transportation to weddingv location Special amenities in the room.v Professional services of av wedding coordinator. TOTAL PRICE (taxes included): 900.00

I have always wanted to go to this restaurant, but the reviews have scared me off. I get so close to actually going but when the time comes I decide I'd rather go somewhere else where the reviews are better and not waste a meal on a bad restaurant. Sad.

I am working on the Gran Bahia Riviera Maya thread. It's 454 pages long and I'm currently on page 260. Hopefully by the end of the week I'll have something for you ladies.

Hi Nikki, A really cool alternative to the tree guest book would be a PALM tree guest book. Have your guests finger prints be coconuts in the palm tree. Since destination weddings tend to have less guests than normal weddings it should work out perfect!

Mari has wonderful starting off points. I think the key is 1. Budget. Make a budget. Know the budget. Stick to the budget. This will help narrow down resorts. 2. Do you want to get married on the beach or in a gazebo. Some resorts don't have one of the options, so that'll help 3. Do you want an outdoor private reception? 4. Do you want all-inclusive? 5. Will kids be invited? 6. Do you want a large resort with a ton of things to do, or a more botique resort for an intimate time? When you start answering questions like that the list of resorts will get smaller and smaller until you're left with the perfect one for you and your fiance!

The Hilton to the east of Dreams has a swimmable beach.

Morning ladies!! Quote: Originally Posted by Fally Hello All, I am new to the forum, I am getting married this November 30, 2011 at the Gran Bahia Principe Akumal on the beach. We are doing dinner in the Dolce Vita, and will have a private two hour dance bar reception after. I am wondering does anyone have any advice or have any pictures!!!! It would be greatly appreciated:) I am most curious about the Dolce Vita and the reception area.....how did everyone like it ect.?! We had dinner at the Dolce Vita during our stay and it was very good. The reception area for us was by the pool and it was lovely. Is that where yours will be as well? It's very beautiful at night with the pool lit up and the Akumal Lobby lit up as well. As well, has anyone done welcome bags as I am thinking on doing those as well I am just thinking of the easiest way to transport them down there. I had an entire suitcase of welcome bags! I shoved as much stuff as I could into the travel mugs that I provided my guests (the resort gives out TINY cups so these came in quite handy). By utilizing the space inside the mugs I saved a ton of luggage space. Thanks for anything you guys can provide!!!! Fallon- Future Mrs. Woods

Cheryl, we won't wreck it One of the benefits of NOT having the resort dry clean it, was that I could shove it in my suitcase for the plane ride home and not have to carry it above my head the entire time again! or worry about finding carry-on space.

My thoughts in purple

Oh yes, these are very different dresses. I assume you'll be ordering these online so you won't be able to try them on... but I'd go to a bridal store and try on these shapes and see what flatters you most. It's amazing how different they are in a picture vs on your body.

For my wedding April they were not a problem at all. However they had little golf carts out spraying the "jungle" areas daily. I photographed a wedding in November in Riviera Maya and they were TERRIBLE. I highly suggest something like this bug spray just in case. It's SPF and bug spray in one. That way if the bugs ARE bad then you don't have to spray two things on your skin. I carry this with me in my bags for weddings and we use it in emergencies and it's lovely. You can buy them at Walmart for cheaper, like $2 for a little bottle (like a pen).

I got married at the Akumal side... and my advice... 1. Beach. It's amazingly beautiful 2. Theme dinner with dancing under the stars 3. Private reception for three hours, THEN head to the disco. The disco doesn't open until late anyways.

Why hello there Okay, my opinion is to wear your real wedding dress. I think the photos will have much more meaning to you. But next we need to discuss what type of a dress you have. What is the fabric? Maybe a picture of it would help? Also, knowing that you're going to be wearing it again will help me decide what type of photos we'll take. I won't do anything too crazy that will get the dress officially "DIRTY." We can also just do beach pictures if you don't want to actually get IN the water. But honestly, after dancing during my pool side reception, my dress was BLACK. But then when I did my trash the dress in that crystal blue water it came out perfectly clean (just sandy). Rinsed it like crazy in the shower to get as much sand out of it as we could, hung it up, and it's as good as new.

I actually went and checked some of the options out on MyPublisher (I have used them for personal projects a lot, but never seen the minis). They are 75% off right now, so only 62 cents for the minis. I printed one out so that I can show my future brides. I think these are SUPER cute thank you ideas. Great thinking! In total with shipping it cost me $1.61 for a book. I don't think that's bad at all!

In case anyone is interested, I have put up my little review of Dreams here: http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/products/dreams-los-cabos-suites-golf-resort-spa-all-inclusive/reviews/4923 I also created a page on my blog as a photo tour to try and help people visualize the resort and wedding options a little better. http://blog.faberphotography.com/dreams-los-cabos-wedding-photo-tour/ I hope this helps someone!

Oh Jess! Your wedding is coming up really soon! Congratulations!!

I would recommend Cancun Valet. I have used them a few times and their service is great and their rates are affordable.

VancityBride, The gazebo is really pretty but there are people around. Not that noticable though, due to the fabric that they hang off the end of the gazebo typically. For the wedding I photographed, although it was in the sand next to the gazebo, there were probably 5-10 people that had stopped to watch. Thankfully they were respectful and stayed back, so they were only in the photographs I took when I intentionally took pictures of them The walking distance from the beach to the lobby is definitely a walk. It's not TERRIBLE, especially as the bride and groom, as I assume you'll be taking pictures. At least that's what we did. We took pictures during our walk to not only get awesome shots, but then you don't even notice how long of a walk it is. Without photos, I'd say a five minute walk if you're going casually.

There are multiple ways to look at this. The resort photographer will be familiar with the resort. They know it like the back of their hand. They know the lighting at the certain times regardless of the time of year, and they know the typical spots. You could go home with 124 photos of your ceremony for $1500 and be perfectly happy. If you hire a third party, you're more likely to get a more personalized experience but they won't know the resort as well. Technically could be a good thing as you won't have as "traditional" of photos, but you have to find a good photographer who knows how to work the provided lighting. Sadly, I believe Excellence is one of the resorts that won't allow you to bring in local third party vendors. I believe you will need to pay for a photographer to stay for three nights to be considered a guest at their resort. When you add up the costs, this honestly isn't a bad deal at all and probably shockingly less expensive and more bang for your buck than hiring the resort photograher, but it's not for everyone. So, what i would do if I were you is look at other destination wedding photographs, or any wedding photographs. Which ones do you love? Do you love the getting ready photos and the candid shots of the ladies getting ready? Do you love the ceremony shots where you capture putting the ring on the finger and the first kiss? Do you love the private portrait sessions where the bride and the groom seem so happy and in love? What about the reception photos? This wedding is a one time deal. Photographs are all you'll have to remember it by. Personally, I love the ceremony photos from my wedding, but I treasure the other photos of our family and friends celebrating with us, and the portraits of my husband and I far more than our ceremony photos.

Hi ladies! I haven't posted in here in a long time, really I haven't posted much at all lately, but I'm finally getting back into the swing of things. I photographed a wedding at the Barcelo Maya in 2009 and it was beautiful. Cathy, I love your idea of using the rooftop terrace. It's really nice up there, has a lovely breeze off the ocean and a great view! KiseKae, the Strawberry Package is worth it for the reception to be elsewhere. The reception I photographed was outside and the breeze was beautiful as was the scenery. Nothing like dancing under the stars and looking out at the lit up resort. It was gorgeous! And super private and fun too!

Congratulations on booking!! Okay, travel mugs... TOTALLY worth it! Everyone in our group was very thankful for them and used them constantly. They were a HUGE pain to travel with (filled an entire suitcase) however I stuffed them with other stuff so it wasn't dead space (socks, OOT bag items, swim suits, etc). It helped a little. I had centerpieces on the tables for my poolside. They were the decorations I bought for the ceremony. Since I paid extra for them, they just moved them to the reception. It worked out perfectly. I had three bags of rose petals on my aisle. It really wasn't enough if you ask me (I would have liked maybe three more bags), but you can see for yourself if you'd like to use them. The bar is very close to the hammock location. It's the 24 hour snack shop. Your party will meet there and then be escorted to the ceremony site. You will hide in the bushes of the bar. In this picture below of me walking down the aisle the bar and snack bar is the roof line in the upper left corner. I hope that helps.

When we stayed at the resort we went to Tulum for our Trash the Dress and fell in love. If we go back, we're going there to hang out of the day. AMAZING. The only real excursion Shawn and I did was the Xel-ha. We swam with the dolphins. It was so awesome and since only Shawn and I went, it was great to have a little time away, just us. The favors I gave were my OOT bags. Guests got the bag, a custom mug (which EVERYONE used), miscellaneous crap, and the essentials. I also did photo frame place cards.

Oh that's sad! That IS a serious error! How sucky! I'm sorry!! As for the dress steaming I didn't bother. The humidity pretty much took all of mine out, but then again it was just my "under" layer as the top was lace so it didn't wrinkle anyways. My ceremomy was at 3pm and it actually worked out quite well. My guests were able to go back to their rooms and freshin up for the 5pm cocktail hour and we had plenty of time for photographs which was really important to me (I'm sure you can guess why!!)