Matt Adcock

Also, check out these photos from Le Reve...I think it will be a perfect fit for your guest count and location rocks as well! Le Reve

Welcome to the forum! we really recommend Ceiba del Mar. Have a look at a few ceiba photos here: Ceiba Slideshow Also, Zoetry, Pariso del la bonita. Good luck! mateo

Quote: Originally Posted by mexbride83 Ask9999 - The TripAdvisor comment that Matt made was not about actual TripAdvisor reviews on Ceiba del Mar, it was simply an analogy. He was saying how you often see things on TripAdvisor saying they don't suggest going there and not giving reasons for why. Glad somebody got that...I guess I'll preface that I'm making an analogy next time I use one Quote: Originally Posted by ask9999 ...I posted a short version of all the miserable things Ceiba did to ruin my wedding and honeymoon (yes, they managed to ruin both) in another Ceiba post. .... Sorry they actually treated you that way. I think this forum is a great resource and the root of my posts was investigatory. I have no doubt you had a bad experience and apologize on their behalf because we love the place... we have stayed there on several occasions and haven't experienced any problems with service, shady regulations, etc. Just to bring light to this thread, I know that there are always going to be dislikes and compliments from just about every venue out there for many different and personal reasons. We must concentrate on advising the future clients of the problemas experienced so new clients can look out for them when it is their turn. As a business owner, I want to know if we have a problem with our customer service and will flip over backwards to correct the issue and move on. In some cases out there, especially in Mexico and in our experience, some of the bigger hotels take on a David VS Goliath attitude when problems occur....Guess what? They are no longer able to hide from situations that may jeopardize future sales. WHY? Because of places like BDWF where problems become transparent. Its the perfect chance for them to address problems in their policies and move on to correct the issue. My post was intended to enlighten and educate and keep constructive, vs hating. I'm not literally calling anybody a hater here, just generalizing. The voices of people participating on BDWF will be heard, and in the end, I believe we will all have a better experience because of this resource available. Can't wait to see your photos from Morgan Lynn, she was our guest during the week of your wedding! Cheers! matt

Quote: Originally Posted by L&A2010 Does anyone have any safety concerns with everything going on in Mexico? Everything I read seems to point to the risk and violence being contained to the north near the boarder, but I don't want to be responsible for putting anyone in danger if I am missing something. Several of my guests have emailed me recently to tell me to beware. Anyone else concerned? Uhh, no problemo here. This place is sooo safe feeling, you will feel like its Florida

Wow, I wouldn't expect anybody actually criminally doing wrong intentionally here. With the turnover of staff in any business, expect bumps in the road. This hotel is highly respected within the industry and they are in the business to PLEASE their customers, hospitality is the root of their success. Quote: Originally Posted by ask9999 I got married here in February and would not recommend it to anyone. It is a beautiful resort, but looks can be deceiving. sounds like something I'd read on tripadvisor that is pretty unprecedented, without statistics and lacking individual characteristics to back up points. Perhaps a few details? We vote Ceiba del mar (NOT PAID TO SAY THIS EITHER). Seriously folks, its one of our top fav places to shoot at!

Quote: Originally Posted by becks1581 Matt, Thanks so much for posting the pictures, they make me even more excited to go on my site visit and to meet Fernando while I'm there! Do you have any thoughts on the resort or have any recommendations re: locations that make for great venues (ceremony, cocktail, reception)? It's always great to hear from someone who has been around the property and seen a wedding in action!! De nada we have seen a few weddings in action around this place... ;0 Well, I don't want to hijack this thread, by any means and start throwing out lists of other hotels we recommend.... SO, just send an email to our studio manager and she will be happy to recommend hotels with slideshows, regardless if you book del Sol or not. info @ delsolphotography.com We really like HTR, for sure. Love that its not toooo big and they have a pier and the cenotes are there too...pretty deep and tough for photography though. cheers! mateo

Hola, yeah we have done a few in June You are correct, in June in the Riviera Maya its HOT, as long as you don't make the guys wear black suits on the beach, you can deal with this. Bring water! Rain...they say it rains a lot in the summer months, June, July August Sept... BUT, I've seen it rain a TON in December, and other years NONE.... Its very unpredictable. I do know that this is an El Nino year and that forecasters are predicting strong rain in some rainy countries in Central America and South America... will that mean the RM Who knows. I'd say don't worry about the rain because you will go MAD planning around it. Honestly, any month you could pick here may have rain. This bride got married June 27 2009... It rained, wedding moved inside. Bonus, she got a rainbow Married at Excellence Riviera Cancun. The key is, the rain is usually quick and if there are thunder clouds or at least SOME clouds, then the after rain light from the setting sun is AMAZING and often, yielding rainbows. Rainbow appears after frame 111 or so... Here is a Dreams Tulum JUNE 2009 wedding. Check out the amazing sunset (LOTS OF CLOUDS in the sky) the colors wouldnt be possible without that clouds and the slight chance that clouds make rain Here is another Dreams Tulum June 2009 wedding, virtually cloudless sky. Here is a Paradisus Riviera June 2009 Wedding, no rain. Some residual clouds in the sky, makes for nice sunset beach shots! Here is a June 2009 Barcelo Maya wedding, no rain and some clouds...nice sunset shots! Here is a June 2009 wedding with BIG SKY and lots of beautiful sunset moments, the clouds at the twilight hours were amazing! Here is another June 2009 Hotel Esencia wedding... nice sky and no rain. Looking back at June 2009, I think we shot 16 weddings. I recall it only raining at 1 of them. She got a rainbow Cheers and happy planning and hopefully, less stressing about an element you really can't control or predict! Mateo

At the beach, its hit or miss with wind. I'd say that we have experienced big big wind over in Cozumel... In the RM, its strong some days and others, its not. Generally speaking, the winter months (Jan-March) are the strongest wind months...this comes from my kite surfing buddies who are veterans to Playa del carmen and this entire area. SOME reception locations actually have built in wind blockers for receptions... so, the location can be outside in a Palapa or a deck / terrace area and also have wind protection in case of high winds.... SO my recommendation is to ask about this kind of thing with the places you are investigating. Recently, I shot this wedding in Tulum at Ana y Jose. BIG wind, but they had plastic or maybe it was nylon panels that unroll and really block out the wind. NOBODY complained and it was a cool evening in early March this year. Sangeeta + Cristian - Photos by Matt Adcock I've seen this kind of thing a lot, FYI... crossing our fingers they have this option for you and that any future brides reading this will remember to ask these kind of questions if WIND is a concern. saludos, Mateo del Sol + WIND equals BIG BIG veil shots too

I think there is a great thread going about CDM. Would it be possible to merge this convo there? http://bestdestinationwedding.com/fo...06/index5.html

Another HOT wedding from Ceiba del Sol Style. My sweetie Sol shot this one recently, her eye is MAGIC. Samantha + Kevin - Photos by Sol Tamargo Her review on Trip Advisor really speaks RAVES about Ceiba... This place is literally, one of our favorite spots. The rooftop views of the ocean are to die for, just wow! We hope Lilia is getting settled in!

Quote: Originally Posted by jeninesmom LOL She said it was great because the whole day felt like a party. Thats what we like!! P A R T Y!! ☺ The day will go without a hitch (except your daughter getting hitched I had a few more thoughts to share about early ceremonies: Regarding the look of the photos... IF your heart desires the TRUE BLUE colors that we have here from the ocean in the Riviera Maya, ideally its better to shoot the ocean earlier or mid day, for these true colors to come out.....so this will be a plus! The only compromise is that the light is harsher and tends to be more contrasty and its tough to not wear shades.... but shades are COOL I shot this wedding at 1pm. They actually had a ceremony under a small palapa, so they were in the shade. We did a TTD just following the short ceremony. Notice how BLUE the sky is, along with the water... Christi and Scott - Photos by Matt - Excellence Riviera LOVE the colors of mid day weddings. We still recommend the late afternoon ceremony start times if a reception is planned...Its just easier but as folks point out in this thread, there are perfect exceptions to every situation! Saludos y VIVA Mexico...happy easter weekend too! mateo

downtown PDC is the way to go... in all our time here, cancun never really felt quite like downtown PDC. this tiny place here is so so so quaint and yet lots of HIP HIP happenings, especially at 12th st and 1st ave. 5th ave (running parallel) with the playa is the place to be. The hotels can arrange taxi's for very affordable rates, even van taxi services. Leaving playa, there are taxi's everywhere. All I can say is that there is a night and day difference from the "feel" about walking along 5th ave in Playa (a public walking ave) vs walking down the highway from hotel to hotel in Cancun. Big bars in Playa and the streets are hopping every night from 10pm +. have fun! matt

Well, fact is its pretty much always HOT in mexico in the Spring and Summer. I'd say out of 1000+ beach weddings here, Sol & I have seen just about everything. We even dedicated a section on our blog with links to sunset calendars to showcase our recommendations on ceremony start time, etc. Check out our Seasonal Guide here. At this point, the plan is pretty solid and I think you should just enjoy the early ceremony and go with the flow. Whats the worst that could happen? Folks forced to sit on the beach with an amazing view and watch a beautiful ceremony 10-15 minutes max for this and I wouldnt worry too much. Hope you have a happy wedding! Matt

Quote: Originally Posted by Jackie22 These pictures get me sooo excited for my Aventura Spa Palace wedding and using Del Sol to shoot my big day Looking forward to meeting you on May 25 Jackie!!! start the countdown

Quote: Originally Posted by NaM No prob! Also, not sure why I didn't think of this early but here's a close up pic (by Del Sol) of my make up by Fernando if anyone wanted to see his work up close! This is a cool shot Thanks for posting! He is dress SO NICE too!

Quote: Originally Posted by buehler.allison Gorgeous photographs! Thank you for posting them. We are going to have Vincent too! www.allisongabriel2010.com Quote: Originally Posted by shae Beautiful! I've booked Del Sol for my Dreams Cancun wedding and super excited about it! www.rowellandshellane.wedsite.com Cool sites amigas! C U this summer!

Quote: Originally Posted by becks1581 OK...here's the price list from Fernando. This is accurate as of appox 3 weeks ago: BRIDE TRIAL HAIR AND MAKEUP $180 DAY OF THE EVENT $330 BRIDESMAIDS,MOMS,FRIENDS ONLY MAKEUP $90 ONLY HAIR $50 up to $80 Fernando did the hair / makeup for Marissa and her girls for our wedding at HTR on Oct 12, 2009. Their slideshow is here I believe he also did makeup for their TTD as well. We started at HTR and then went to a cenote and then ended up back at the beach area for the last of the shoot... Just amazing stuff! Blog Post Video Marissa & Louie TTD Anyway, Fernando rocks... He is on time and always goes above and beyond for our clients! Here are a few more brides he did makeup for Marshal + Kaori -Ceiba del Mar Gaby + Ryan - Rosewood Mayakoba cheers! matt

Quote: Originally Posted by Micas de Miralls Hello we are Federica and Arianna , from Micas de Miralls , wedding planner from so many years in the Riviera Maya!!! We are so passionate about our job!! For us every wedding is a unique wedding, so for this reason that every Micas de Miralls wedding is so different from another!!! Welcome to the form senoritas! Glad to see you here. Hopefully, you can add to this amazing resource here on the BDWF by helping answer brides questions. Cheers! matt PS. I recommend that you update your signature in the Control Panel and put a link to your site!

We are sad to see Denise leave. We recently shot a KILLER wedding there, Karim & Jennifer...this was one of Denise's last events. Blog Post: Karim + Jennifer - Photos by Matt + Sol Karim + Jennifer's Slideshow They were married in the local chapel in Puerto Morelos. I love this place, very dramatic lighting and the space is wide open. ONLY problem, its HOT, so don't think this will be an ok option in the Spring / Summer unless you want to sweat We welcome Lilia, the new groups / wedding coord. Lilia J. Giménez Anaya Lilia Giménez <[email protected]> Coordinadora de Bodas y Grupos Wedding and Groups Coordinator Ceiba Del Mar Spa Resort Tel: + 52 998 872 8060 ext 6803 Fax:+ 52 998 872 8061 The Ceiba del Mar Spa Resort - A Riviera Maya Luxury Hotel

I've been to a few weddings in my time and have a few thoughts here. There are a few factors that I considered when choosing a location for MY WEDDING that landed us on the beach. I'll give you some thoughts with photography in mind relating to how I think the photos can portray your shared "romanticism" between each other. First factor: Inside vs Outside Obviously, photography is important to us and it has been our experience with the majority of the weddings we have attended in our lifetime, that weddings taking place "OUTSIDE" seem to be far far less restricting. There is no roof over your head, there is no preacher saying "STAND HERE" to the photo crew. I've shot many church weddings in the USA and in Mexico. Some of them (chapels at AI's) and a few others here in Playa are very very small. Bride and groom usually stacked up against a back wall. Basically, we are forced to shoot from pretty much limited perspectives. For Photography purposes, we feel that shooting outside (without ceilings and without walls) opens the door for freedom. There are no restrictions or regulations or rules. Just remember, the smaller the chapel, the less dynamic the "may be". Just to give you something to chew on, I recommend taking a look at a slideshow recently shot in a church and one shot in a beach setup. Recent Dreams Tulum Chapel Wedding In addition, the priest at this wedding literally yelled out loud at Sol Tamargo (in Spanish so the non-Spanish speaking guests wouldnt know) that she was standing in HIS SPACE (10 feet away from him) and that she should get out of there immediately. 2 times. Boo. *We loved the photos from the slideshow above, regardless of being screamed at by a man of god, so did our clients! Check out our blog where they RAVED about the photos. I think that chapel weddings are cute and by no means to I think that one shouldnt get married in one. I just its tougher behind the camera to shoot expressions and involve the entire story due to the constraints of the location itself. Here is a chapel wedding in Puerto Morelos.... Priest was warm, welcoming and the coverage is VERY dynamic. Now take a look at this wedding shot at Blue Tulum. Outdoors and amazing location. There is no difficulty positioning to shoot. With a 2 photographer setup, we can shoot the bride's reaction wile simultaneously shooting the groom's reaction, as she walks down the isle. Here is another good beach wedding with dynamic angles, no restrictions because we are outside and can move very freely. Its very difficult to shoot the family reacting to the ceremony when shooting in a smaller confined church. Quote: Originally Posted by belle_jacobs it doesn't matter where the place is for as long as we invite HIM, He is still present in the whole holy matrimony process. I think you summed up hope this angle helps... whatever you decide, it will be amazing! saludos, matt

WOW Elizabeth, those are some sexy wow shots. I love this place too... Although we didnt get married there, we would for certain go there for a vacation / give a thumbs up recommendation for the wedding there. In addition, Angelina Cardenas, the groups and wedding coordinator has been more than helpful and exceptionally organized for all of our events there. We have a few weddings under our belt there. I think viewing slideshows from multiple photographers and different setups is the WAY TO GO to visualize the location. Here is a few from the del Sol world of photography... Hans+Lara - Photos by Vincent Nicole+Jim - Photos by Matt & Sol Some real cool fire-show stuff from this wedding...also, the emotional exchanges between the Nicole and Jim as she walked down the isle...some of our very best expressions captured on this one! Vanessa + Marius - Photos by Vincent Michelle+Kevin -Photos by Vincent (Getting ready at Blue Tulum) In a few weeks, we are going to stay in the hotel for several nights. I'm pretty sure we are bringing the cameras. We will be shooting sunrises, sunsets, and the entire property for a more thorough set of imagery to combine with our current folio. The idea = more photo of the place, better for brides to virtually visualize what is happening here! happy planning! matt

Quote: Originally Posted by Jackie22 I'm using Del Sol for my May 2010 wedding, they have been great to work with so far. You can find slideshows of their work on this forum. Can't wait to use them Can't wait to see you soon amiga!!! Lots of photographer options here, be wise. Flying folks in from USA or Canada is going to cost 1500-2000 in travel fees, my best guest Saludos, mateo

Sol Tamargo's sister, Sara is now giving her efforts as a makeup artist in this region. They share a very similar resemblance to each other, scary actually. Sara Tamargo Professional Makeup Artist We talk about her here: Del Sol Photography Blog She is a pretty cool gal! We work with Fernando Fuentes too, awesome guy! Happy makeup hunting! mateo

Quote: Originally Posted by Simistar Just curious Matt -- did you guys do the wedding? :-) Unfortunately, we were very booked at that moment and had to pass it up. I hope they found somebody... They said they had 50-60 guests, so it was a real deal

Nah, Its very often that we meet people who are planning just a few weeks out... got this email on March 5: Event Date: 2010-03-05 Phone Number: Email: xxxx Remarks: We are getting married tomorrow, march 5th, at the XXXX hotel and are looking for a photographer. Are you available Can you please call us and let us know, and please also let us know how much you charge. In the last week of Feb, we booked 3 weddings in the first week of March... Folks seem to put off destination weddings and just about every time, everything goes without a hitch Good luck planning! matt