Sunsierra

Quote: Originally Posted by harv0136 Does anyone know if it's possible to have a private reception at a restaurant? And if so how much does it cost? I've tried e-mailing but haven't heard a response. I'm having my wedding and January and am worried it will be too cold and windy by the pool. Has anyone been there in January? How was the weather? Thanks! We were there in January and I cen tell you that it's not too cold at all. When we went out for dinner all I ever wore was a tank top and skirt or shorts and sometimes pants (for the fancy restaurants). Amanda - Congrats!! Glad to hear everthing went well!

If you're staying on the Tulum side, the rain location for weddings is the Tequila Restaurant. Here are a few pictures that Jazmin sent us: I don't think the disco is a rain location for Coba or Akumal, it'll probably be a restaurant.

Quote: Originally Posted by jkcz0702 One more question on private dinner outside is there a limit to the number of people? We originally planned on around 50 ppl but now with the economy I think it will be between 35 and 40. I *think* they claim that they will still charge you for 50 people as that is the minimum. But I'm pretty sure a few brides have only been charged for the actual # of people. So I would budget for 50 just in case.

Quote: Originally Posted by jkcz0702 Does anyone know if you are allowed to customize the Legal Ceremony. We would like to have some readings, sand ceremony and possibly the lazo ceremony. Jazmin told us that we could add things to the ceremony (like the sand ceremony, readings, etc), but that we couldn't change what the minister had planned to say. Hope that helps.

RyanAmanda - I'm attaching the Spa Prices that Jazmin sent to me. The Spa contact information is close to the bottom. Their email is [email protected] Hope that helps!! ETA: The prices may have changed as these were for January 2008. GranBahiaSpaPrices.doc

JoLo - I got my dress steamed there. I arranged it with Jazmin the day we met with her. We got the flower girl's dress steamed too. I'm not sure of the price as I'm pretty sure we never got charged for it (not sure if it was accidental or if they include it in the packages). ETA: RyanAmanda - What were your questions for Jazmin? Maybe we can help

Quote: Originally Posted by jennyFTB I'm having the dinner at the Tequila restaurant....Stacey i know you had yours there too...What is the decor like in there....do I need to go out and get centerpieces and candles to snazz it up....or is the ambiance enough....can i get away with white table cloths and some flowers on the tables Also how is the seating set up...6 per table?? i am starting to get a bit nervous the closer it gets...i keep seeing different girls and their planning threads, and I feel like i haven't though about all the little details....YIKES.... The decor is about the same as any of the other a la cartes - although the Tequila has a water feature in the middle of the restaurant. We didn't bring or buy anything to use as centerpieces - just the one centerpiece of flowers that came with our package. The white table cloths were supplied (we didn't even ask for them) and Jazmin had printed out our menu - rolled up and tied with a ribbon. It was all we needed but you might want to do more - we just didn't care, haha. You get to pick your seating. We chose two tables of ten. The options were tables of 4, 6, 8 or 10 (I think) The tables are square in the Tequila. Good luck planning!!! And have fun!!!!

Quote: Originally Posted by RyanAmanda Plus, I don't know what to do about flowers. We're not crazy about any of the ones that Jazmin sent us. I wouldn't worry too much about the flowers. The pictures that Jazmin shows you are just a guideline. You can create your own bouquet with the choices that they show you (like x flower from this bouquet and y flower from a different bouquet with these greens, etc.) or a totally different bouquet (although you might have to pay more $$$ if you go with something totally different).

Quote: Originally Posted by Tlseege So perhaps you should just schedule a meeting point for everyone, like at the lobby bar for drinks. That's what we did, although we didn't have quite as much time as you. We found that a lot of our quests hung around while we took pictures. I think a scavenger hunt would be a great idea, but also a lot of work. I'm pretty sure most people will find ways to occupy their time anyway - but a meeting time at the lobby bar is a good idea.

Orchid - I would suggest shopping in Playa also. We went with "just the girls" and had a great day. You can definitly fill up a whole day. Also, if you plan to do the massages too (which is a great idea), I would suggest getting them done after shopping - we were very tuckered after a full day of shopping. JoLo - Yup, we stayed at the Tulum side and we were married at the beach location there. We loved it! Here's a few pictures for reference: Without peeps: With peeps: Oh, the other thing I loved about this location is that you enter from behind lush greenery: We had rose petals on the aisle - but I think they only put them where we were standing. I would definitly order more if you want them to show up better in pics.

Scoutley - she was probably looking at booking with the Coba - so the instructions were specifically for the Coba. I'm sure the rules apply to Akumal and Tulum as well. And I would assume the reason that some websites say you can eat at all of them is because RIGHT NOW you can. But as of NOV 1/08 you will not be able to eat at the buffets & gourmets at the other sections. (Unless you have a gold bracelet - again, this is just what I've read/heard). You will still be able to eat at the other a la cartes. As another poster said, her and her husband could eat at as many a la cartes as they wanted - I wouldn't count on this as we were only allowed to book 5 for a 2 week stay. Our guests got 3 for a one week stay. A lot of these things depend on who your tour operator is. Some tour operators only allow you to eat on your own section, some allow you 3 a la cartes per week, some allow you as many a la cartes as you want - it all depends on what your tour operator has negotiated with the resort.

Just to clarify - the information I found says you can eat at any of the a la cartes on the whole resort but you can only eat at the buffets and gourmets on your side. This might not apply to wedding groups though, as you get a different colored bracelet than other people. Like I said, Joel & I got gold bracelets, the rest of our group got silver ones. I saw other people on the resort wearing pink, orange, green, etc. bracelets.

Great review - I just wanted to comment on a few things: I believe the Tulum Buffet lunch on the beach they talked about is actually the Gran Tortuga restaurant. They serve a buffet breakfast & lunch there daily. (There's also the regular buffet beside the main lobby). They took taxis to Akumal Bay. I'm pretty sure the cost is $10 one way. We would take a collectivo there ($2 per person) and then take a taxi back. The collectivo drops you off on the main highway so it's a little bit of a walk (maybe 1/4 mile) to actually get to the 'gates'. We would've taken a collectivo back, but after snorkelling all day, we didn't feel like walking. And one last thing... I've heard there is a rule change at the Bahia. You can no longer eat at all the buffets and gourmets unless you have a gold bracelet (you have to stick with the ones where you're staying)- this is just what I've heard, so you might want to find out for yourself. Joel & I got gold bracelets (bride & groom) but the rest of the group got silver (I think). Also, I'm not exactly sure when the rule change comes into effect (I think it was October or November of this year).

Quote: Originally Posted by JoLo908 I don't know... I feel like I want to be all organized to inform people of things, be ready for the photographer, etc... but it is difficult without knowing this stuff until you get there! But i guess they have to wait for the minister to confirm and whatnot... I need to stop stressing about this and go with the flow, but some of these things I just want to know! So far I have to say the planning has been going well though! Bite my tongue LOL.. Consider yourself lucky. The whole time planning, Jazmin "confirmed" our time slot, but once we got there, then she told us that it wasn't definite - it still had to be confirmed with the minister. We had nothing to worry about though - we got the time we wanted.

Quote: Originally Posted by orchid1981 My sister's reception dinner is at La Gran Tortuga restaurant. We're just wondering if anyone knows how many people the tables seat and whether there are any table decorations of any kind. I'm sure we could ask Jazmin but just wanted to check in with everyone here first. Thanks!!! Scoutly commented on the table size (which is what I remember too). There were no table cloths when we were there, but they probably put them on for your dinner. As for decorations, there's really not much. Each table at every restaurant on the resort had a small vase with one flower in it. They brought our centerpiece from the ceremony for the dinner and put it on our table. Which was beautiful and I didn't think we needed anything more.

Quote: Originally Posted by RyanAmanda Okay, I just got another question! My 13 year old cousin is coming and she's just going to DIE being away from her boyfriend for the week...lol. Her mom banned her from bringing her phone (so she doesn't get a thousand dollar bill) so she asked about internet - does anyone know how much it costs to use the internet in the lobby? And is it charged to the room or does she need to bring pesos/american dollars for it? The internet access is at the Hacienda so you have to pay in cash (it can't be charged to the room - I don't think). I used it once for under 10 minutes and I think it was close to $7-8 (so about $1/min). I don't remember exactly though. I paid in USD but they take pesos too.

Martha, happy to hear your BIL is doing better! Can't wait to see the review and pics. That's too bad that your Tres Leche cake wasn't good.... ours was delicious and all of our guests loved it too!

I'm pretty sure you have to use the DJ - I don't think you can just rent the equipment (but I would ask, just to make sure). Xcaret - "Xcaret Eco Theme Park is full of Mexico; Mayan Culture, Flora and Fauna, Archaeological Tours, Water Attractions and has a great Swim With Dolphin Tour." We had a great time there (it's a full day activity) and we would definitely go back again. Akumal Bay - short collectivo ride from GBP - rent snorkel equipment from the local dive shop and see all the turtles in the bay. We ate lunch at Lucy's Taco's - very delicious (turn left before the gates to Akumal to get to Lucy's). Tulum Ruins - We rented a guide when we went, the guide was great, but didn't 'guide' us as much as we would've liked. I think we paid something like $40 or $60. Definitely make time to swim at the beach there, it's beautiful! We also went to Xel Ha - "Xel-Ha is nature as no one has ever felt it before, a place to share in celebrating the biological parade of the Riviera Maya. Our Natural Wonder and its open-sea aquarium offer a myriad of land and water activities, ecological attractions, world-class restaurants, and countless more unimaginable experiences." It was way more expensive than Xcaret and in our opinions not quite as good. We had fun, but we wouldn't go there a 2nd time. Others in our group visited the Coba Ruins, and went on the Hidden Worlds Zipline & Cenote Excursion and the Quad Excursion (sorry, I don't know who they went through, but they booked with the resort). And there's always shopping in Playa Del Carmen (whole day) or Tulum (half day). My DH and I also went parasailing with the resort - it was awesome!!! Hope that helps! ETA: OOOPS!!! I got Xcaret and Xel Ha mixed up in my head. Xel Ha is WAAAAYYYYY better and cheaper... it's the one to visit... Sorry! Here's the revised version: Xel Ha - "Xel-Ha is nature as no one has ever felt it before, a place to share in celebrating the biological parade of the Riviera Maya. Our Natural Wonder and its open-sea aquarium offer a myriad of land and water activities, ecological attractions, world-class restaurants, and countless more unimaginable experiences." We had a great time there (it's a full day activity) and we would definitely go back again. Xcaret - "Xcaret Eco Theme Park is full of Mexico; Mayan Culture, Flora and Fauna, Archaeological Tours, Water Attractions and has a great Swim With Dolphin Tour." It was way more expensive than Xel Ha and in our opinions not quite as good. We had fun, but we wouldn't go there a 2nd time.

Quote: Originally Posted by JoLo908 Oh Hey, sorry, also wanted to ask, I am assuming we can just burn CDs on the computer and they will work down there? Sometimes people have CD players that do not play burnt CDs Ours worked fine and that's what we did. ETA: Google Sand Ceremony, you'll find lots of answers, vows and variations....

I'm not sure who asked about the iPod, but this is what Jazmin said when I asked her about the iPod: "And you are thinking in bring your own music for the ceremony, then please bring an audio cd ( I mean not mp3 or Ipod), sounds equipments are not allowed per hotel policies" So we ended up bringing 3 CD's - 1 with ceremony music and 2 for the reception/dance. And this is what she said regarding the ceremony (we had a religious one): "I don´t have any copy from the Minister because he doesn´t have a format for the ceremonies, But I can tell you that as the religious wedding is not a legal one ( in Mexico the religion has nothing to do with the law), so no papers are required, the wedding couple will receive a certificate from the minister. The minister is not catholic is non denominational one. The wedding takes like 25 minutes and the minister talks about the couple , about love, reads some passages from the Bible and give the couple a blessing. (in this middle you can add the sand ceremony or at the end) The exchange of vows is like the traditional one or the wedding couple can say their own. The minister is very flexible so it has happened that there are weddings where some familiy membersw want to read something or they want to sing and it is ok. I hope this can help you out to get a better picture of our religiuos ceremonies"

jennyFTB- For our wedding, we told everyone that we'd be going to the lobby bar after we were done taking pictures if they wanted to meet us there before supper. Everyone did and it worked out great. No need to pay for the cocktails if you don't have to ETA: JoLo, is there any way you could post em on here for all to see? Even though my wedding is over, I'd like to take a look.

Quote: Originally Posted by harv0136 Has anyone had their wedding in January? Do you think it would be too cool at night to have a poolside reception? Or would the disco be a better option? Thanks! We had our wedding January 9 and it was still quite warm at night (some might like a light jacket - but we were fine walking around at night without one). ETA: THe prices for the poolside reception are on Page 43 of this thread.

Quote: Originally Posted by Corvette79 hi guys, i need help, my computer got a virus and i lost EVERYTHING!!!! all my emails with the wedding coordinator, photographer travel agentall of it. could someone please give me paloma's email address again? please thanks so much! I had two, I'm not sure which one she uses now, but you can try both: [email protected] [email protected]

Quote: Originally Posted by harv0136 Thanks for the disco pictures! Were you happy with renting out the disco or was it a waste? With the new prices I got it looks like they increased the rate to $250 per hour. Do you think it's worth it? Also, do you know if it's possible to have a dance recpetion outside by the pool w/drinks only (no dinner)? And if so, does anyone know how much it is? We were very happy with the disco, everyone had a great time and it was totally worth it. I think $250/hr is still very much worth it (it's only $200 more). It is possible to have the poolside dance. When I was quoted it was $150/hr for the DJ, $5/per person for the first hour and $3/per person for any additional hours. So for two hours it would be $300 for the DJ and $8/per person. For three hours it would be $450 for the DJ and $11/per person.

Okay, I finally found some pictures of inside the disco. They are from this website. The dance floor (they had white lights on the pillars when we used it) Picture of the DJ booth The pictures don't do it any justice (our pictures of our first dance look A LOT nicer than these do - I'm sorry I can't post them, they are on a friends camera). ETA: I think these pictures are from 2006 (I don't remember the blue on the ceiling).