Diana

The flowers that I chose were B2 and they were beautiful... just like in the picture!

I am sorry to hear that you had trouble with Paola... we were just married there last month and had no problems at all. As a matter of fact, she seemed to go above and beyond for us (even providing us with sand and containers for the sand ceremony!) It is a shame your photographers were unfamilliar with the resort because the beach to the side of the resort was a beautiful place to take pictures! I am sure your pictures were great though, since the lighting would have been perfect at that time!

I just wanted to clarify the room/area information... yes, the blue section is the Riviera Section but it is not considered the Royal Elite. Royal Elite Rooms are the timeshare/vacation club rooms... they are located throughout the resort in each section... Another thing they have is the Select Club... these rooms are also located throughout each section but they are simply rooms with upgraded perks... champage/wine/fruit welcome basket, robe & slippers, coffee maker in the room, iron in the room, admission to Select section of the beach and the Select Club lounges located in the lobby - with free internet. We stayed in the Beach section and it was great... our beachfront room overlooked the wedding hut! Suggestions for your guest would depend on what kind of vacation they are looking for... fun/interactive/busy - beach section... few kids/quite/relaxing - riviera section

I used bare minerals mineral veil over my usual makeup to keep the shine down... also brushed some on before the reception to freshen my face up... I also used a primer before my eyeshadow... also, I like shiny gloss but wanted to make sure it wasn't super sticky incase my hair blew in my face!

I am not sure if we were only given the buffet for choices because of the kid or because we were over 30 people (we had a total of 34 including us). Either way, a couple of weeks before we left, we were given a choice of either the Mexican buffet or the Italian buffet. We chose the Mexican but when we got there, it was closed for low occupancy and we had to do the Italian... It was better though because the Italian has air conditioning and the Mexican doesn't. Also, the room is L shaped. We had two long tables set up on the short part of the L and it was almost like having our own room! I am sure you can do toasts in there but I will tell you that after the ceremony there is plenty of time to do toasts before your pictures... they have a champagne toast set up for you in the wedding hut right after the ceremony. (they have a microphone for you too!)

You should check and see what time the sun sets in Feb... I think it was set around 8 while we were there... 5pm ceremony (guests arrive at wedding hut at 430) following ceremony - pictures (resort photog - Teo - he was awesome!) 630 dinner (we had it at the italian buffet b/c we had one child)

Our ceremony time was 5pm and it was perfect! For most of the ceremony the sun is to your back and not beating down on you (don't get me wrong... it is still hot but you are not roasting) and the lighting for pictures after is amazing!

Hey Ladies! We were married on June 26th at Sandos Playacar... and it was PERFECT!! I will be writing a full review when I get a chance (we didn't come back until the 2nd and then had our AHR on July 11th.. and I didn't take any time off work in between) I dealt with Paola and everything was great! She was very accomodating and helpful. I also used one of the resort photographers and he did an amazing job! The packages are very reasonable if you compare them to hiring an outside vendor and paying the guest fee. Anyway, like I said I will give a full review in a little bit. In the mean time you can check out some of the pics on our website Diana Forchione & Frank Bender's Wedding Website - WedQuarters and feel free to ask me any specific questions you might have!

Ok ladies... We are getting ready to leave in just a few days. 5 to be exact! (I actually already packed!) Let me know if there is anything specific pictures you want of the place or any specific questions you want answered. I don't think I will on here later than sunday afternoon so get them in before then and I will try my best to deliver!

Our ceremony is at 5pm... guests seated at 430pm... dinner at 630pm and then we plan to get changed and hang around at the bars and if we are still up go to the disco when it opens... you can rent the disco from after dinner until it normally opens but it is priced per hour.

Quote: Originally Posted by candiekiss I'm getting excited girls.....We are leaving in 8 days and the wedding is in 13!!! I'll try to post pics when I come back but I haven't been very good at doing that. Diana, that's interesting they say $6 per person extra for the toast and cake. It seems like they nickel and dime you to death on things. Yay! That IS very exciting! We are leaving in two weeks and I am excited so you must be SUPER excited! Good luck, I know it will be great! Yeah, I know. I had never heard that before now but there has also been three different wedding coordinators I talked to.

Here are some more random questions (FYI our ceremony time is 5pm): 1.What papers are needed for proof of his divorce? (I have never been married) For your fiance there is not any problem because he didn't change his name after his first marriage. For both I will only need passport, tourist card & a copy of your birth certificate. 2.Are we able to use one of our guests as a translator? Yes you can! We have had this case before and it is possible. 3.Do they offer acrylic nails at the salon there? Yes we do have acrylic nails. And I can recommend you a lot our beautiful spa and they are very good. 4.What is the cost to have our wedding clothes pressed/steamed? Depending on the complicity of your dress it will go form 30 to 60 usd and I would just ask you to give me the wedding clothes on the day of our appointment; so, we have enough time to do it. 5.Do we need to have anything translated before we arrive? Not before; if you are not divorced. You will need a translation of your marriage certificate afterwards. 6.Do you offer translation of wedding certificate into english? To legalize your marriage certificate you will need a translation of it into English and also a Mexican Apostille with international approval. This service has an additional charge of 270USD. I can arrange it for you right after your ceremony. Papers will be sent to your place and it takes around 2 weeks to receive them. Shipping fees are included in the price. Payment is in cash in our first meeting. 7.Is there an answering machine system available on the room phone? We are trying to figure out a way to let our guests know our plans of the day. We do not have this service; but, we do provide written messages if your family wuld like to send you a message and they ca do it through our operator. 8.When do you need to know how many guest passes we will need? On the day of the appointment you can let me know if you would like me to charge them to your room, or they will pay for them directly at the front desk. Note: People that are not guests of the resort will need to pay a day pass $77 usd and $39 usd per child. This is a special wedding rate, it is normally 90 usd per person. For further questions please do not hesitate on asking me. Have a nice week Guadalupe Porras & Paola Padron t is my great pleasure to assist you in this very special occasion and please let me answer below your questions... 1. What time should guests arrive at the ceremony location (the beach)? hey should arrive at 4:30, the wedding hut is at the very end of our beach right hand and it is a beautiful location. 2. Is there any way to know what time and where we will be eating dinner? (I do have one child guest) The opening time for restaurants is 6:30 and we have time for you to have the ceremony, take pictures and be at the restaurant 6:30 The restaurant reservation will depend on the number of final guests in your group. 3. Suggestions on where to gather after dinner but before the disco opens? I recommend you to have your dinner in one restaurant and then you can hire the disco to have a private event for speeches and dance. Our Disco is available from 7pm to 11pm, since it opens its doors for the rest of our guests. Additional cost is 280USD per hour plus 15% per service. It includes: drinks, microphone, DJ and screen for slide show. **Children are allowed just in private events. (younger than 18 years old) Another recommendation is to have a private reception to dance (1rst and 2nd dances, etc.), toast and have the cake aftewards in a private setting at the beach or at the pool. For private events these are the new prices for this 2009, i'll work with these prices at least until July 2009. Private events are not included in your "All Inclusive" package, so they have additional charges because you will have a reserved area just for your whole group of guests. Available time is from 6.30 pm to 10:30pm. Place: beach or pool area far away from the beach. Site fees= 500USD on the beach (minimum number 40 people) Site fees by the pool= 400USD (minimum number 40 people) menu charge per person = since 39USD per person open bar = since 18 per person Music.. DJ= 50USD per hour 15% service and 10% taxes (of the total amount of the event) I would like to know what your policy is regarding outside photographers. Are they allowed? Is there a fee? Also, can you please let me know who your photographer is or what company he/she is with? Thank you. The fee is 77USD per the photographer. The company is Photoshop but they don't have a web page. They do a very good job don't worry. Formato_Wedding.pdf

I wanted to review/confirm some of the prices that we had talked about.... Here is the "corrected" information (it is slightly different than what she had sent before... "estimated" suddenly showed up and this is the first time I had heard about an additional $6.oo per person over 30 people for the toast and cake. Please find all the numbers corrected below: $220.00 per couple for blood test $ 77.00 per guest pass $ 70.00 judge transportation $ 40.00 translator (our wedding ceremonies are in Spanish) $270.00 to translate the marriage paperwork from Spanish to English estimated $30-60.00 to steam my dress or suit $30 usd $65 to 100 usd for your hair at the spa salon If you would like me to do the Mexican Apostille for you, you will go home with copies of your legal papers and I stay with the originals, the judge has two original copies too. I will send you the original papers via mail with the legal apositlle in the next two weeks after your marriage. The set up will depend on your wedding package. I can confirm the June 26th and I have you in my schedule at 5pm. I would like to let you know. The wedding packages are for 30 people, and the extras are 6 usd per person for the toast and cake. Please let me know if you have special set up ideas and if you want something special we can do it! All I want us to help you to prepare the wedding of your dreams! Have a nice weekend! Best Regards Paola Padrón | Groups & Weddings Planners

Here is another email answering some random questions that I asked... My questions are followed by her answers... 1. what would the cost be to have the beach setup from the higher packages added to the sandos package? Can you please explain the set up that you would like to have please? The set up included in the wedding package is a nice decoration at the beach with white clothes (please see pictures attached), white clothes on the chairs with ribbons (we have different colors) You mean for a private reception, dinner or party with drinks? For private events these are the new prices for this 2009, i'll work with these prices at least until July 2009. Private events are not included in your "All Inclusive" package, so they have additional charges because you will have a reserved area just for your whole group of guests. Available time is from 6.30 pm to 10:30pm. Place: beach or pool area far away from the beach. Site fees= 500USD on the beach (minimum number 40 people) Site fees by the pool= 400USD (minimum number 40 people) menu charge per person = since 39USD per person open bar = since 18 per person Music.. DJ= 50USD per hour 15% service and 10% taxes (of the total amount of the event) Note: People that are not guests of the resort will need to pay a day pass $77 usd. 2. on the wedding packages it mentions that if you reserve 18 rooms for 7 nights you can get the sandos package free and upgrade to the carribean for $800. we do not have 18 rooms for 7 nights but we do have 20 rooms for varying amounts of time. 18rms x 7nights 6. If you calculate the total number of room nights booked it equals 133. Does this qualify us to get the sandos package free. (most of our guests are booked in the ocean front rooms) If you have 5 rooms for 7 nights your can have for free the Sandos Symbolic Package. If you have 18 rooms for 7 nights you can have for free the Sandos Legal Package. My question for you is the wedding that you are looking for is legal or symbolic? My system will only allow me to take the rooms that are staying for 7 nights. If you have The Sandos Symbolic Package for free (it does not include the Minister $350usd) and you want to upgrade it to the Caribbean Symbolic Package the difference to pay is for 1100 (including minsiter). If you have the Sandos Legal Package for free (it does not include the Judge´s transportation $70usd & translator $40usd) and you want to upgrade it to the Caribbean Legal Package the difference to pay is for $800 (it does not include the Judge´s transportation $70usd & translator $40usd). 3. what type of payment do you accept? We accept visa or mastercard, American express, debit or credit. Even though some of the payments are paid in cash in our appointment. This will depend on the type of wedding that you will have. 4. can you send me some information photography costs? Photography prices: 2009 10 photos = 150USD (no CD, no photo album) 20 photos = 270USD (no CD, no photo album) ** 30 photos = 470 USD **60 pictures = 770 USD ** 90 pictures = 1100 USD ** 120 pictures = 1300 USD **Note: prices include print pictures & pictures in a CD ROM & a Caribbean photo album. IMPORTANT: PICTURES IN THE CD ARE THE SAME PRINTED PICTURES, NUMBER OF THESE PHOTOS DEPENDS ON THE PACKAGE THAT YOU CHOOSE. Video= 30 min edited in DVD price is 650 USD 5. how much does it cost to call the united states from your resort? $18 pesos per minute and with the exchange rate 12.40 pesos per dollar for now it will be $1.45 usd Best Regards -- Paola Padrón | Groups & Weddings Planner

We are leaving on the 22nd and it is coming fast... I want to start posting some info incase I run out of time. [bThis is the most recent email that I got from Sandos talking about the documents we will need and any info that we have to send earlier. ..[/b] I would love to move forward to the next step with the legal requirements for your wedding. Please both of you bring your birth certificates, passports and tourist card in our first appointment. Also fill out the form attached and scan it for me, I need this information as in birth certificates, it is very important to have all addresses complete and ages of your witnesses and you. Can you confirm if you are divorced or not please? These are the requirements to get married in Mexico, (for singles never married before) arrival 3 working days prior to the ceremony passport valid at least 6 months after the ceremony & birth certificates, scanned prior your arrival. tourist visa - you get it upon your arrival in Mexico (be sure that is in perfect shape and the 11 numbers of the top are complete) 4 witnesses (arriving the same day as the couple to be married) blood test done in Mexico ( arranged by the Wedding planner) For your fiance if he is divorced there is not any problem because he didn't change his name after his first marriage. Now, about you, let me know if you are divorced and if so, if your passport has your divorced or maiden name? If you are divorced I'll need your birth certificate where your parent's name is shown. Also, your divorce certificate both with a legal seal. These documents have to be faxed at least 2 weeks prior to your arrival to be translated by one professional translator here in Mexico, at the Registry office. The original copies will stay here in Mexico with the judge. The cost for this service is 50USD per page. To legalize your marriage certificate you will need a translation of it into English and also a Mexican Apostille with international approval. This service has an additional charge of 270USD. I can arrange it for you right after your ceremony. Papers will be sent to your place and it takes around 2 weeks to receive them. Shipping fees are included in the price. Payment is in cash in our first meeting. Thank you for your beautiful efforts. I am looking forward to see you... Warm Regards -- Paola Padrón | Groups & Weddings Planner WeddingPaperwork1.xls