San Fran Sarah

Jackie emailed me back and said that there was a $200 flat fee per outside vendor. I'm pretty upset by this as it was so vague in the contract. Also, she seems to be changing this policy frequently and quoting different people different numbers. That adds an extra thousand or so to my total bill if I use the vendors i was planning on using but she never made it clear to me which vendors were her "approved" vendors. This feels unreasonable to me as we are spending so much on food, beverage, etc through Ana y Jose. I would gladly use her vendors if they weren't twice as expensive as all the rest. I hope she will reconsider this given our collective concern.

Jackie emailed me back and said that there was a $200 flat fee per outside vendor. I'm pretty upset by this as it was so vague in the contract. Also, she seems to be changing this policy frequently and quoting different people different numbers. That adds an extra thousand or so to my total bill if I use the vendors i was planning on using but she never made it clear to me which vendors were her "approved" vendors. This feels unreasonable to me as we are spending so much on food, beverage, etc through Ana y Jose. I would gladly use her vendors if they weren't twice as expensive as all the rest. I hope she will reconsider this given our collective concern.

sorry to cause you more work but please send it to me as well [email protected] thanks!

Hi again ladies, Its seems we still haven't definitively figured out how much the outside vendor fee is and which vendors it applies to. I am waiting to arrange my cake from one of the bakeries posted here : http://bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/t7891 until I figure out how much that will be. The food was pretty good at our tasting but the cake was not great. I guess that when we book a vendor, such as a cake or musician, through Jackie she must charge us more than she pays. For those of you wondering what reception will look like under the grape trees there are some pics on Trip Advisor and also here: http://bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/t26115 I would just like to second that Susan from Zamas has been great to deal with. We canceled our hotel block and welcome dinner at Blue Tulum and switched to Zamas. The taco dinner is $30 per person and w/ a few drinks/gratuity/tax it is still only like $50 per person. Susan has responded to my emails right away.

Hi, Wow! Great job-- i cant tell you worked really hard and have great attention to detail. A few questions: 1) Where did you get your embroidered GM shirts? 2) How did the iron on bags work out? Do you think little details will get lost? I'm thinking of doing my wedding map on to my OOT bags. Thanks so much! Sarah

I want the Skindinavia makeup finishing spray! I will PM you as well. Sarah

Hi (again) Ana y Jose friends. I emailed jackie re: officiant and she got right back to me saying this: "there is a new law that allows only professional officiants for ceremonies (with or without a pay) that also have a legal working permit to officiate in Mexico. This is a new law and there is not much information on how to get the permit etc, and it is changing a lot of plans for many of our future brides, so we will still allow anyone you want to marry you, no problem" Whew. . . . . . .

So we canceled and switched to Zamas. It was really helpful talking to you all.

Hi Ladies-- Sandy do you think if we are just having a friend officiate (not paying them and not doing a legal ceremony) that we still need a work permit? The grape tree area is definitely open all year and not considered "beach". You should know that if you choose the palaypa and you don't pay the 4000 "private event fee" that there will likely be other diners in the same area as you-- its just one big open rectangle. However, I'm not sure if they have opened for dinner yet. Does anyone know if they are opened yet? We are likely going to switch to Zamas for welcome dinner now. I'm getting married April 4th and I would love to share tree decor with one or more people!

I am thinking about canceling my room block and welcome dinner at Blue Tulum. They have been really difficult to deal with--not returning emails and being evasive about questions I've asked. Also, since changing ownership they have been getting really bad reviews on Trip Advisor. Is anyone else still sticking with them?

Amber sorry about my PM being out of commission--I had too many messages but it is now in working order. I am actually thinking of canceling our hotel block and welcome dinner at Blue Tulum. They have been terrible to deal with and they have been getting some bad reviews on trip advisor. We might go with Zamas and I emailed them this afternoon. Anyways, at AyJ I am thinking about doing the lobster and a fish dish (tbd) and a vegetarian dish (tbd) I wanted to share an old email from Lyrebard (Lauren) who was married at Ana y Jose re: location, food and lighting questions I had asked her. You can find her GREAT review and pics here: http://bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/t26115 "We decided to have dinner outdoors under the grape-tree canopy for that reason [concern about privacy]...we couldn't pay the exorbitant fee for privacy, and yet we didn't want to have to share our space! We had cocktails among the beach beds, and then dinner under the trees. It worked really well for us, and we liked the intimacy of the setting. We only had 50 people, though, and I think they can seat as many as 70...after that, it may not be an option. If they are opening up the Beach Club to the public for dinner, then that means that they will be working their butts off to get diners in the place. Right now, they have agreements with different tour companies to be the "lunch stop", so they're guaranteeing business that way. Not sure what they'd do about dinner, but I can't imagine they won't be marketing themselves heavily, since they're in the making-money game. It was a tough decision, but we were happy with the way it worked out, and happy with how pretty everything was, set up under the trees. We didn't miss the palapa at all. We served a variety of appetizers, and our entrees were lobster and aztec pie (we're largely vegetarian, but sometimes eat fish if it's caught sustainably...the lobster was the only seafood they served that we were sure was sustainably fished). Honestly, the lobster was a huge splurge for us, but totally worth it since the flavors just sing. (I had tried it when we first went to AyJ and totally fell in love.) The Aztec pie didn't have as much flavor to it, but most people seemed happy with it, and seriously: the tortilla soup was out of this world. She offered a few lantern selections, but they all seemed really expensive. So we brought the lanterns with us from home, shared the cost with a bride getting married the same place the following week, and then sold them to Vanessa to rent out at future events. If you're interested in buying them, we found them at Luna Bazaar. We were supposed to use real votives...even brought the poured candles with us! But either they didn'ts tay lit, or the staff ws lazy, and they ended up using the little battery-powered ones. The colors were slightly off (actually, I'll bet LED ones would have been better since they aren't as yellow), but it was fine"

doranna debortoli's email is [email protected]. She doesn't have a website but if you search for her on the forum there are pics of other girls whose hair she has done. pm me your email address and I can send you the pics she sent me of other girls she has done. She's kind of expensive (250) but she will come down to Ana y Jose and do hair for you. If you go to her in Playa del carmen I think its only like 100. Let her know that I sent you. Maybe she will give us a group discount if a few of us book her. Sarah

What area are you having your reception in? I am considering doing it under the grape trees because I am worried about privacy in the palapya. I understand that they will be opening for dinner in the palapya and that there will be other guests eating in the same area who are not our wedding guests. Also, Steph--how much did it cost you to do rehearsal dinner at Zamas? We are thinking of doing our day-after brunch there.

Hi All, Here are my vendors so far: 1) Hair--Doranna Debortoli 2) Make-up--doing it myself 3) Photographer--Sol Tamargo (from Del Sol) 4) Flowers--Vanessa Jaimes 5) Guests--Blue Tulum and other hotels 6) Cake--considering Turtle Bay 7) Ceremony music--Ajua 8 ) DJ-- a friend (wedding guest) I'm not doing any transport since everyone is staying in Tulum. I'm a bit concerned about all these different vendors and the potential costs to me. I emailed Jackie to find out how much it would be. I looked back at my contract and does say there is an extra fee for outside vendors but it doesn't say how much it is or which vendors that applies to. How much is the corkage fee? Is anyone considering buying wine and champagne from Costco and paying the fee? I don't think we can afford to add the lounge furniture but I'd be interested to hear what you guys are renting and how much you are paying. We are getting married at the beach club so there are the beach beds there at least. Regarding Blue Tulum the rooms are really nice and they have A/C. I thought our guest would be comfortable there so we blocked rooms there and decided to host our welcome dinner there. They have been really difficult to deal with however so I would recommend blocking rooms with them.

No one told me about the $200 charge for outside vendors! That isn't in my contract. Has anyone else heard of this and, if so, is it in your contract? I booked musicians from outside because it was cheaper! Also, has anyone heard whether they are now open for dinner at the Beach Club? They were supposed to open the palapya for dinner but last time I talked to Jackie it hadn't happened yet. I hope it doesn't open anytime soon because then our wedding dinners will be more private. If it does open, where is everyone planning to have the reception? Is anyone paying the exorbitant fee for the "private event"? Before they were opening for dinner everyone who got married there had a private event after they closed at dark.

I'm starting a thread for Ana y Jose Beach Club and Hotel brides! I look forward to our discussions. I'm getting married at the Beach Club in April. Sarah

Poohshek, is Pasteleteria a different place than "La Creperia" and Turtle Bay Cafe?

Now everything makes sense! That is why they canceled all the weddings after April 16th. They should have been honest with us though . . ..

Yeah, once you lock down the site you will feel great and everything else will just fall into place. We just wandered into Eurostars while we were in Tulum. Their wedding coordinator is named Angelina and her email is [email protected] I definitely have a hard time getting them to communicate lately and they are in the process of transitioning to new ownership so make sure they can Guarantee your date despite all that change before seriously considering them. I think we are going to try to go with Turtle Bay too! I haven't contacted them yet but let me know what you think. Have a great trip!

I'm an OB-GYN in training and I would say that a hormonal method such as the pill or nuvaring are the best way to ensure that you are able to miss your period next month. Many people who use the progestin-IUD called Mirena also have lighter or no periods but I wouldn't make a switch like that a month before your wedding because you can have some cramping and spotting as your body is adjusting. However, the IUD is great--you don't have to remember to do anything daily or even montly and it's as effective as a tubal ligation but completely reversible. If you don't want to get pregnant in the next two years or so I would definitely suggest it after your wedding. Monophasic pills can be taken continuously in order to skip a period but this does increase the chances of break-though bleeding.What pill are you taking right now? Yaz is a 20mcg pill so your doctor probably increased your estrogen dose to 30mcg? Do you smoke cigs? In the meantime ask your doctor about a pill that contains a higher dose of estrogen in a monophasic if he or she didn't already do this, especially if your spotting is unpredictable. Or, you can tailor the high estrogen dose to when the spotting occurs. For instance if it is only right before your period consider a triphasic pill like estrostep. If it is right after your period try a triphasic with a high estrogen:progestin ratio in the beginning like orthtircyclen. You may be able to switch back to a lower dose pill in a few months without breakthrough bleeding.

I loved Escencia too! When is your wedding? It is much more affordable in the off season and the food is sooooooo good.

Hi! It seems we have very similar tastes as I was interested in a lot of the same places as you. Here is my site visit review so I don't have to reinvent the wheel. http://bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/t22796 I understand that Eurostars in in the process of changing ownership. Our guests are staying there but be very certain they can follow through on what they promise you if you decide to go with Eurostars. I can't wait to hear what you think! We are interested in honeymooning at Maroma or Tides so I can't wait for your review. Safe Travels! Let me know if you have any questions about our site visit. Sarah

Wow! I can't wait to see the pics and your review. Its great to see more non-AI options on the RM. Good luck on planning!

I dont know if they make long line but primadonna makes amazing bras for D+ girls. I have this bra and I love it (I'm a 32 DD) Prima Donna Satin Collection Strapless Bra 0161331

wow I am just about to board a plane but I am reading all of this. My wedding is April 4th but I am actually having the ceremony at Ana y jose so it just means that our guests will be staying at the same hotel. I'm sure we can all have fun together! I have 50 guests but they won't all be staying there and I think even with 44 rooms there will probably be enough room. The only issue will be the rehearsal dinner. I'm sure we can work it out! This is all making me a little nervous but they haven't even contacted me except to say there will be another wedding at the hotel April 4th (which I assume is you). I think they should figure out a way to honor your old reservation but if you switch to April 4th I'm sure we can all stay at the hotel and even maybe share hair dressers etc! Sarah