JennyK

even more disappointing news.. now they have conventions going on until March.. so no luck here!!

I'm an esthetician so I can answer any questions you have about Microdermabrasion. I myself get it done but it's very abrasive so make sure that the person doing it knows what she's doing.

Ola! Eu tambem sou Portuguesa (Trans: Hi! I am Portuguese as well) Welcome to the boards!

My good friend had her honeymoon here.. the DAY of the hurricane in 2005. Her plane was the last one into Cancun and they diverted her and her husband to a school for shelter for a day and a half. Needless to say, when she finally got to the resort after the hurricane, they had 90% of it already cleaned up. By the end of her honeymoon, it was like nothing happened! She said it was gorgeous regardless of what happened!

You guys are right. I will talk it over with my DH and possibly change it to Feb 13th. After all, 13 is my family's lucky number lol I should've went with it from the start lol It's just when you had your mind set on something.. and something goes wrong.. you go into panick mode..? Yea, that's me

It's not important that it's Valentine's.. it's just more convenient for my guests since it's a holiday weekend. Monday is President's Day and V-day falls on a Saturday.

I just had my site visit exactly 2 weeks ago at the Marriott Casamagna. We told the wedding coordinator the day we wanted but we'd be getting back to her once we had our final decision. She said they weren't booking yet for 2009 so we felt a lil safer about taking an extra week to go over pros and cons of each resort we saw. Well, we made our final decision last night. Upon emailing her to at least secure the date (we were willing to pay whatever the price is for the wedding with the increases from 200, she responded that my date is no longer available and if we wanted another date. How does that happen? So I don't know what to do.. should I pick another date or go with our #2 choice (Le Meridien) if they have my date available.

If you go downtown, there's many different stores with nice ideas for the OOT bags. I saw a lot of things I really liked. A few days before the wedding, I might just go downtown and get what I want.

Sorry the pics look a lil dark, the sun was in a weird spot when I wanted to take pics.. The gazebo at the Riu Palace Las Americas: Gazebo at Riu Cancun: The garden the gazebo is in:

Sol looked so natural.. absolutely stunning. You guys look great together!

Quote: Originally Posted by nic123 Thank you so much for this. I've been wanting info on the 2 Riu hotels and there isn't much on this board. Most cancun brides are Dreams Cancun. I wanted to ask about the Riu gazebos around sunset. Are there less guests walking around at that time? I realized that their gazebos were right by the pool, especially the palace. I thought the onlookers might die down w/the sun. Or, they could still be there after drinking all day! Which could be a potential disaster! The gazebos will look gorgeous at sunset. I can only assume that they're be less people. I was there at 1pm and if course there were many people all around. At the Las Americas, its right at the pool. At the Riu Cancun, it's away almost in a garden.

Quote: Originally Posted by foxytv Great review! It's so good you were able to do a site visit. Wish we had that ability ... but hopefully all will be well with our decisions! Did you notice a difference in the resorts based on price as well (was the nicest also the most expensive, etc). Well, I guess you can say "expensive" for not being all-inclusive. The Marriott is reasonable to stay there, but the fact that its not all-inclusive, it'll end up expensive in the end. The Avalons are very good in price and both have all-inclusive plans. What my FH and I are thinking of doing is... if we do decide with the Marriott, just have the ceremony and reception there but stay somewhere else with the guests. The day of the wedding, I'll have a shuttle bus to take us over to the hotel.

Everything looks gorgeous at the Hilton, just a shame they don't do all inclusive.

Hi ladies!!! My FH took a quick vacation to Cancun last week to do site visits before making our final FINAL decision. We had decided to do it at the Riu Palace Las Americas but before signing anything we wanted to check it out for ourselves. Can you believe that in the moment I forgot to take pics of most of these places!? I'm sorry I do have pics of the Riu's which I will upload them soon. These are only my opinions, but I do offer this advice - Do site visits! Check out what you are getting yourself into! I would've booked my place just on the pics I saw on the internet and I would've been disappointed. Marriott Casamagna - This is our #1 choice as of right now. The wedding coordinator was amazing, professional and well organized. She showed us many options we can go with. The grounds are absolutely beautiful with plenty of locations for pictures. There's also many different sites for the wedding. The gazebo was the most beautiful with a long walkway but 2 cons from that is that the first floor rooms are right there and the pathway to get to the area isn't that great. For smaller weddings, they have really beautiful fountains where they can set up the tables around them. Riu Cancun - This hotel has a nice gazebo overlooking the water but it isn't private and many of the guests will be walking around. Also, they have a small spot on the beach for the ceremony. The reception isn't private at all and there are a lot of restrictions. You can only chose from 2 of their main restaurants to have the reception and it will be while the other guests of the hotel are eating! The don't allow any music, only 3 songs during the ceremony and your first dance has to be danced right away. If you want a private party, you'd have to rent out their night club for an extra fee ($300+). I'd definitely consider this hotel as a vacation spot but not for my wedding. Riu Palace Las Americas - A little bit more luxurious than the Riu Cancun. Their gazebo is right but the pool so you'll have hotel guests in your background. They also offer a beach ceremony but in order to get there, you have to walk over sand bags and the water rushes up to your feet. Not convenient. Same goes for the reception in their restaurants and if you wanted the private reception, you'd have to go over to the other Riu's nightclub. This hotel is gorgeous but I'd only consider it as a vacation spot. Aqua Cancun - Had to check this place out. Not all-inclusive and very expensive looking. The wedding coordinator was out to lunch so we didn't get to look around. Feels like being in a spa though the minute you walk in the door. Gran Caribe Real - We really wanted to see this hotel. We asked to see their wedding coordinator but she was too busy and she told us security wouldn't let us look around. Avalon Baccara - This is a very quaint hotel. I believe it only holds about 50 guests so if you want a small place this is perfect. It's not very luxurious but typical and very nice for pictures. The wedding coordinator does weddings in both Avalons (they are next door to each other) and was helpful. There isn't a beach or gazebo in this hotel but you would be getting married by the pool. They set the tables around the pool area for your reception as well. Avalon Grand - The outside of this hotel is very nice for pictures. They have something that acts like a gazebo but really isn't. It's next to the pool. The hotel itself looks bigger that what it really is. No beach at all.. completely underwater and the waves were hitting the side of the building.

this review is amazing! You checked out the hotels I didn't get to check out but wanted to hehe

the first one is gorgeous on you!

welcome to the boards!

Congrats!! It's such a hard decision to finally make a decision

It looked gorgeous in pictures.. we drove by it and didn't get a chance to stop in.

ok, i'm back! It was wonderful. I'll make a new thread on my findings

I just had a site visit to both places.. PM me if you'd like the info I got and the pics I took of both Riu's

I'll be there too this week Which hotel are you staying at? I'm just staying at the Oasis Cancun since we need to save for next year..

Quote: Originally Posted by AMANDA310 MY FI and I went to Cancun in August this last year. The RIU is AMAZING!!! (But we didn't stay there-haha) If you've never been, take the Catamiran to Isla Mujeres (spelling?)...it's sooo beautiful!!! HAVE FUN, I'M JEALOUS!! I've catamaraned to Isla Mujeres.. you are right.. BEAUTIFUL! I'm so excited!!!!

My dress was $550 but my godmother came with me when I tried it on and she bought the gown and veil for me.. it's a custom where my family comes from. One less thing I have to spend money on

Last week my fiancee and I decided to go to Cancun to check out the resorts. On my list to visit is the Riu Palace Las Americas, Riu Cancun, Dreams Cancun and Dreams Tulum. I'll be taking lots of pics!!!!