Jessica&Adam

My Cancun Site Visit Review: We had a great time in Cancun, and we learned so much! We went the last week in April and had absolutely perfect weather! Here is the site review (sorry it took so long to get the whole thing up): Let me know if you would like any additional pics or anything like that. I have a ton of pics of most of these places. Activities: Captain Hook: A We went on a Captain Hook Pirate Dinner Boat Cruise one night. It was a ton of fun! There was an open bar, and you can choose either lobster or steak (or both) for your entree. There is also a buffet there. The food was mediocre, but the entertainment was really good! The pirate show was amusing and kept us watching. There were games and dancing and lots of fun. We definitely enjoyed ourselves! I would do it again! It cost about $80 per person. Snorkeling Adventure: A We booked the Snorkeling Adventure through Best Day Tours. It took you out to a secluded beach in the Riviera Maya, and it lasted about 5 hours (including travel time). Unlike other snorkeling tours (I've been on a few in Cancun), this one took you out to 3 different reefs! You start out on the beach, then a boat takes you to a deep reef, then a shallow reef. Then you return to the beach for open bar and buffet lunch time, relax on the beach for a little while, and then those who want to go to a 3rd reef get back on the boat and go snorkeling again. Those who don't care to can just chill on the beach and drink some more. This reef is much nicer than those in Cancun! We saw all sorts of crazy things, including a sting ray (scary)!! I would definitely recommend this tour to anyone who likes snorkeling! I think it cost about $80 per person. Well worth it. Vendors: Minister – Petra Maurus I met with her and she was great! I was surprised to find that she actually has a British accent! But she was very ‘chill’, easy going, and easy to get along with. She has a very soothing voice that will sound great officiating our ceremony! If your hotel does not use her as a vendor, she charges $400 for her services. She works with you to write your own ceremony. As far as I could tell from our brief meeting, she will be great to work with! Best Day Tours I really like this company! We have used them before and I encourage anyone to use them! Mexico Hotels, Mexico Travel Destination Guide, Mexico Vacations is their website and you can basically book your transportation to and from the airport to your hotel. It costs about $34 including tax for 2 people (round trip) for this service. However, what you get from best Day is much more than just a ride! Best Day has a representative at almost every Resort in Cancun who is there to make travel arrangements for you, plan fun excursions, give advice on restaurants, whatever you want! Its basically like having your own private concierge! They even take your payments and book things for you, so all you have to do is show up. They have great service and are so friendly. I definitely plan on using them while planning my wedding (coordinating group activities, that sort of thing), and they are a good resource to tell your guests to use if they want to do some things on their own without the group. Restaurants: La Distileria: A+ We went here because Hacienda Sisal was booked up, and every single Mexican we asked recommended this restaurant as a good, authentic Mexican place. They did not lie! It was a cute little restaurant with great service and great food! They even have their own tequila museum! There’s a Mariachi band that plays, and there is also outside seating on the patio/terrace (which we wanted to sit at but it was full). The food was sooo good. Adam had the fajitas (awesome) and I had a Tres Quesos Stuffed Chicken dish, which was equally as good. The drinks there are good too! I would recommend this to anyone wanting Mexican food while in Cancun! It was about $60 for the 2 of us. Captain’s Cove: A We went here for lunch, and it is very very nice! Mainly seafood for the menu, and it was great! The ambiance and decorations of this restaurant are very nice and fun. We sat outside on the patio on the lagoon and it was so great. It cost about $60 for the 2 of us (just for lunch!) There is a bar attached to it, Pancho and Willy’s, which we did not go to since we were only eating lunch there. Looked like fun though! Lorenzillo’s: A++ So this place is my favorite, I mean I just love it!! Its seafood and they specialize in lobster, and this place has it all! Ambiance, great food, great, quick service, very cool décor and just a cool place. It is HUGE! The inside is very large, with an upstairs area, and the outside is very large too! They have an outdoor bar and kitchen and tons of outside seating on the lagoon. This place, in my opinion, is a MUST for either a rehearsal dinner, welcome dinner, or something! The only con to this place is that the spaces are not as private. Laguna Grill: C- At Laguna Grill, the ambiance, décor, etc is all very nice. The restaurant looks really cool and is fancy. I was extremely disappointed in the food, and to be honest the service we received wasn’t that great either. The waiter told me he thought I was 17 years old….17! I could barely find anything on the menu I would even want to try, and then when I finally picked the one thing I thought looked good, it wasn’t. Adam played it safe with shrimp, lobster, and beef kabobs, and they weren’t bad, but they certainly weren’t anything special. For its pricyness, it was certainly not worth the cost. The food there is mainly Asian and seafood inspired, and I guess I’m just not too into exotic foods like that. I love Seafood but theirs was not impressive. I would not go back. Hotels: Fiesta Americana Condesa Cancun: A- or B+ We stayed at this hotel, but did not do a site visit. I want a beach ceremony and they cannot provide that, so we disqualified FAC from our search for a resort. However, the resort is just lovely and the service there is wonderful! I love the huge palapa at the entrance! It also has a very nice location in the hotel zone. Beach wasn’t too big, but neither are most of the resorts beaches in Cancun. There were huge rocks in the water, but they were visible so it was easy to steer clear of them. Check in ran smoothly, after requesting a new room with a balcony, they finally managed to get one even though there were none available (I think they must have pulled some strings, which was so nice of them)! The pools are awesome!! Probably the best of all the site visits I saw. They are heated, and the top pool is an infinity pool. Downside is that they close at 8pm, and the hot tub was not hot enough to sit in. The rooms were ok, nothing too special. The bathrooms were very small and not very nice. But really, how much time do you spend in the bathroom! So I didn’t let it bother me. We had room service on our last day: waffles, pancakes, sausage, bacon, and Mimosas…was delivered promptly and was very good (albeit pricey). We had drinks by the beach one day and they were expensive (as it is everywhere else) but they were STRONG, so def worth the price! J Checkout ran smoothly as well. Nothing to complain about at the FAC! Pictures of FAC: Westin: A One of my top 2 favorites (the other one is Hilton). I was sooo impressed by this hotel. It was the 1st site visit we went on and I must say it far surpassed my expectations! I guess I went in with low expectations since there is practically no info out there about this resort, but I was very pleased with the Westin! Gabriela, the WC there, was nice and knowledgeable. Didn’t really go out of her way, but she seems to know what she’s doing. Only thing that frightens me is that no one on this forum has married there. Also, the reviews on Trip Advisor are not so good, and one past bride on there even said that Gabriela was awful and not-reliable (even though she seemed fine to me)! Pros: Soo many ceremony/reception location options…too many to choose from almost! Private lagoon beach is PERFECT for our reception. Its secluded from the rest of the resort, has a huge palapa for dancing under, its own little bar out there, plenty of room for everything, plus the water! I love this location!! Has a great area for morning after brunch that they can reserve just for us. It looked very nice! Extremely affordable! The cheapest hotel of all the site visits we did! They have an awesome spa with really unique rituals. Spa Director gave us a tour and was very nice and helpful. Very family friendly. Rooms were nice, spacious/large. Their fine dining restaurant would be good for a rehearsal dinner. Cool beach side outdoor restaurant to hold an event in. They flaunt a HUGE beach and its VERY nice. Tons of cocktail hour locations (terraces). Cons: At the very end of the hotel zone. The bus we were on wouldn’t take us all the way down to it so we had to walk a little ways. I’m not sure if this is how it always is or if that bus driver was just done with his route!? I don’t feel as comfortable w/ Gabriela after hearing a bad review...kinda scary! Will do more than 1 wedding a day Pic of the lagoon beach: Hyatt Caribe Resort: B- Since I work for Hyatt hotels, I was expecting a lot from this resort. And it did not deliver. It was not trashy by any means, but it just wasn’t a luxury resort like I had hoped. It could have been nicer, basically. For us, this hotel was nice, but was a definite no. Pros: Very affordable – 2nd cheapest next to Westin Helpful WC (Lissette Velez – very nice)! Very flexible and willing to work with our needs. Very nice restaurant – Blue Bayou – that would be awesome for a rehearsal or welcome dinner! The Regency Club rooms offers continental breakfast, nicer views, etc for an extra price per night We could get really good room rates Cons: Beach not that nice/big Rooms were just ok Pools just ok Lobby not very special or memorable/nice Huge rock formations cause shade on the beach (possibly where ceremony would be taking place) Does up to 2 weddings a day Pic of the Hyatt Caribe resort taken from a guest room: Hilton: A The Hilton was my other favorite hotel (besides the Westin). This makes my decision very hard to make. We did a property tour, a food tasting, met with the florists and the DJ/Special Events company. We got a lot done on this site visit! Pros: Fernanda (WC) is awesome! On top of it, very organized, helpful, etc. even though she has not been a WC for very long! 7 Awesome cascading and infinity pools HUGE and AWESOME beach! The food (tasting) was SOOO good. I mean it was amazing! I like their menu for the reception better than Westin’s. They can do a morning after brunch in a private setting – Pizza and Pasta restaurant (that is usually closed for breakfast) – we could use this for our private brunch Spices, their 3 meal restaurant, looks nice/warm/welcoming They have a Happy Hour with a Mariachi trio a few days a week in the lobby; good idea to use for welcome drinks Very nice back-up site for ceremony/reception: Miramar ballroom – it’s the only ballroom in Cancun with ocean views! It was really nice! Good cocktail hour location: Miramar Terrace or Caribe Terrace Mitachi Grill – seaside restaurant open for lunch and dinner I think – awesome views, great décor and ambiance…a very nice place! If they will close this off for me to have my reception in I would sign w/ Hilton immediately! (Fernanda is checking on it…keeping my fingers crossed)! Very family friendly In a better part of the Hotel Zone than Westin Hilton is the only hotel that does only 1 wedding a day – very important, in my opinion All their vendors that I met with I was impressed with. The florists were great and impressed me by creating for me a table centerpiece that was beautiful! They seem like they would be great to work with. Rated well on TripAdvisor, and there are brides on BWDF that have good things to say about Hilton Cons: Not as many reception location options as Westin Spa is nice, but not as big as Westin’s More expensive than Westin Fernanda is sometimes a little bit hard to get in touch with (via email) **I have a ton of my pics from the Hilton site visit on the thread “Hilton Brides” if you want to see them. Casa Magna ( and JW Marriott ©: I was very disappointed b/c I didn’t get to meet w/ Josefina, as she had a prior engagement to take care of on my site visit day. However, Yael Rodriguez did my site visit and she was very helpful. I liked the CasaMagna wayyy better than JW Marriott. The JW Marriott was just too uppity, it didn’t seem like a beach resort. It mainly just didn’t seem to fit in in Cancun. CasaMagna was very nice, I love the lobby and the insides. It had a really nice Hacienda-type vibe. There was a big enough beach for a beach ceremony, but I’m worried it could diminish, and it can’t afford that. We were there to see a gazebo wedding, which was nice! Pros: They have a TON of experience with weddings Good entrance to beach ceremony Great interior or hotel Decent beach They have very nice and affordable wedding packages You get your own Marriott Certified Wedding Planner In the middle of the Hotel Zone/close to lots of different things Cons: They often do more than one wedding a day No reception locations that I was too fond of Not very private areas Not a fan of the JW Marriott – not beachy enough for me I don’t know…I guess these hotels are just not for us. Below: pic of a gazebo wedding at CasaMagna So that’s pretty much it! I hope that helps people! And if anyone has any advice to help me make my decision, or pointers/advice, I would love to hear it. It’s been over a week now and I still can’t decide if I want to go Westin or Hilton! I was definitely hoping it would be an easier decision than this. I’m starting to stress out again already! Ahh!

Here's some more! Mitachi grill: Mitachi menu tasting: salads: Salmon: Filet Mignon: Stuffed chicken dish: Cheesecake flan: Tiramisu: Lemon rasberry cake: Floral arragement the florist made for us as an example table certerpiece using the flowers I like: Individual flowers brought to us: Ok! Phew...so that is all my site visit pics. Let me know if you have any questions. Review to come!

More pics... Caribe terrace: Caribe terrace: Caribe terrace view: View from Caribe terrace: Other terrace (bigger, can't remember its name)... Miramar terrace - good for a cocktail hour: Miramar ballroom: good backup in case of rain: Mitachi Grill: Mitachi inside seating: Mitachi grill view of ocean - BEAUTIFUL!! More to come (plus my review)!!

So I am finally going to post my site review pics of the Hilton here! The view from the street: Lobby area: Lobby area 2: Spices 3 meal restaurant: Cascading Pools (there are 7 of them): Pool Deck: Deluxe rooms w/ balconies: Deluxe rooms w/ "Step-outs" (aka not balconies): Route to take to beach ceremony: Beach (for ceremony - secluded from others): More to come...

Well, I haven't made a decision for sure yet about Hilton, but as of right now its what I'm definitely leaning towards. I promise that this weekend I will try to work on my review and getting some site review pics up! I'm waiting to find out from Fernanda if I can have my reception at Mitachi Grill...I LOVE that place!!

Hey all the Hilton Cancun brides out there! I was just wondering how many are there on this forum and was thinking we could all post our info on this thread to keep track! For those who are getting married here... 1. When is your wedding and # of guests? 2. Ceremony location? 3. Cocktail hour location (if you're having one)? 4. Reception location? 5. What vendors are you using (minister, photog, florists, dj/live band, etc) 6. Any additional fun info about your wedding, pics, etc! Hopefully this will help everyone and those future brides interested in Hilton Cancun (like myself)!

Aww congrats! I love your dress, and your bouquet! What flowers are in it? Casa blancas and stargazers?? Its beautiful!!!

Ok I just got ahold of Vincent and answered my own question. He is cheaper (although slightly) than using Sol or Matt. For 5 hours of coverage plus a TTD Session its $5000. Not too shabby, and comparable to Elizabeth Medina's prices!

Thank you all for the warm welcome...I'm so excited!

Question: is using Vincent cheaper than Sol/Matt? I LOVE LOVE LOVE their work but its just not in my budget but I would love to use Vincent if he would be a little bit less expensive!

Hey! I just got back from Cancun on Sunday...last time I was in the water was Saturday (a few days ago). The entire time we were there I saw no "sea lice" nor heard anything about it. Water was beautiful (though not as clear as usual - but still a beautiful brilliant turquiouse)! I'd say you have no real reasons to worry. I didn't notice a thing, and I'm paranoid of creatures in the water!

Ladies, I know there isn't much on the Westin Resort in Cancun on this forum (for whatever reason). I just got back from a site visit of this resort, and I must say it is stunning. It really surprised me how nice it was (Westin received some bad reviews on TripAdvisor)! Gabriela, the WC was very helpful and the property had so many options for ceremonies and receptions. The only bad thing about the Westin is that it is very far away from the rest of the hotel zone (but this is a good thing for those brides seeking privacy and to be away from the chaos of the hotel zone). I will be posting a full site visit review soon whenever I get a chance. Seeing as how I am looking into the Westin though, I found a previous Westin bride who provided me with the following helpful review: Jessica, First, congratulations on your engagement. I would suggest that you and your wedding party stay in the Royal Palm Beach hotel. It's a little more, but worth it. Why? The complimentary breakfast will ensure that you see your guests every morning, which was nice. The small pool was great for our older guests who had first floor rooms that opened to the pool.. great place for us to congregate, leave towels, eat together, etc. Also, the complementary happy hour was really fantastic. Again, it meant you saw everyone every evening and let's face it, free domestic drinks and mixers were great. The night before the wedding, we literally were at the bar ordering 40 margaritas and 40 shots of tequila at a time. We tipped the bartenders VERY WELL, and they kept it coming. Tremendous! Our wedding was flawless. Gabriela did a fabulous job, she was extremely attentive to our millions of questions and made everything run smoothly. We went there to see the place before hand and made many decisions before hand. We tasted the food, chose our cake, etc. On the day of the wedding, everything was great. Expect to have a few additional expenses here and there, but everything was fine. The food for the wedding was absolutely incredible! I am not exaggerating. For the cocktail hour, we had a Mexican spread, chips, salsa, guac, chili, it was nice. For dinner, we chose a stuffed chicken dish (WOW), a fish disk, and a few vegetarian dishes. Our cake was tres leches (WOW). We eventually chose to have the wedding at the Lagoon, cocktail hour there as well, and had dinner on the ocean side. The locale was fabulous. The weather was beautiful. Our wedding started at 4pm, so we ran out of sunlight quickly, so think about the time you need for the pictures. Beyond that, it was great. Actually, the way the sun started to set as we were married was absolutely beautiful. We were married by Petra, and she was great! We had everyone wear white and creams (I wore White linen, my wife a sand/cream colored chiffon gown) and she also wore a white suit and really blended into the atmosphere. She is very articulate and did a great job. Complaints: The music was only ok. We hired a local DJ through Gabriela and he was not great at all. However, our wedding was so diverse and the music we wanted was fairly foreign to them, so that may have contributed. If top 40 works for you, you'll be fine. Take Care!

Hola chicas bonitas! I leave for my site visits to the following resorts on Wednesday and I can't wait!! Hyatt Caribe Resort Westin Hilton JW Marriott Casa Magna Marriott Does anyone need anything from any of those places? Or for Cancun in general? I will provide a full review upon my return. I can't wait to finally *hopefully* figure out where I'm going to have my dream wedding! Attached (if I can get it to work) is all the research I've done up til now, including resort info, rehearsal/welcome dinner locations, site visit questions, price comparisons, and other useful information. Enjoy! Resorts.xls

And here is another review on the Hyatt Cancun Caribe Resort from another real bride (Lindsay): 1. How was your overall experience? The overall experience was wonderful. Lissette and the Hyatt were very accommodating, the entire staff was friendly and helpful. I am extremely happy we did our wedding there. 2. How was it working with the Wedding Coordinator? Would you suggest getting an outside Wedding Planner? Lissette was extremely helpful and was able to deliver everything I had requested. She is familiar with all the vendors and has a relationship with many of them. She made the whole process seem less to me. 3. Where did you have your ceremony? Where did you have the reception? How did they go!? We had a sunrise (not sunset) ceremony right on the beach on the Hyatt property. The entire setting was perfect. We had just a few family members that attended, and we had a small breakfast by one of the restaurant areas outside by the pool. There is a picture on the site from breakfast. Again, the servers were efficient, food quality was great. We did not have to ask from anything, we had everything we needed. 4. How was the service at that resort? Service was excellent. We did not have a problem. Since we stayed there for our wedding and honeymoon, about 10 days, we became familiar with a lot of the staff and everyone was helpful. Very personable and they are more than happy to accommodate your requests. We learned to just ask questions and we were always happy with their suggestions for things to do or go see. 5. How were the rooms/other areas of the hotel? What we observed was there are always always staff working on cleaning the rooms, pools, beach, restaurants, hallways, attending to guests. Unbelievable, not like here in the states. 6. Looking back, what would you do differently? I took a very laid back approach to the entire thing. I gave Lissette my requests, but I did not ponder over details. The only thing I would have done differently, and it was my call, was to have a rehearsal. Like I said, I was very laid back. I opted to go dune bugging over having a rehearsal. But other than that, I was happy. Suggestion, write a list of everything you want to review or have concerns with. Review the grounds where the events will take place. 7. What was the best part about your wedding? Hmm. Hard to narrow it down. All I can say was that it was everything I wanted. I did not really stress out as Lissette took care of the scheduling, sets ups, contacting vendors, etc. I had time to enjoy myself and the experience of getting married. 8. Do you have any wedding photos you wouldn't mind sharing? Lindsay & Greg - wedding website by mywedding.com Go to link and click on Our Wedding. I have more if you would like me to send some over that are not on the site. 9. Where did you have your rehearsal dinner? We were very informal since it was such a small and private wedding. As I mentioned, I did not do a rehearsal, but there are many nice restaurants in the hotel zone. Depending on what you like and how much you want to spend, there are a lot of great restaurants in the area to choose from. Let me know your preferences and I can make some suggestions. 10. Is there anything I should be wary of, or anything to watch out for (hidden costs, things like that)? I do not recall to many costs that we were not aware of. But one thing to make sure to look for are the Service Fees, this is different from the taxes. This is above and beyond the cost plus taxes. I can't remember how much the Services Fees were (10%), but it definitely makes a difference in your total budget. Services Fees should be listed on anything you receive, or make sure it is listed. I did not completely understand the services fees and tipping. You might want to talk to Lissette about it. Because I believe the fees are kind of like tips, but I think you could still tip on top of that? If you take USD $100 bills, make sure there are no rips or tears because they will not exchange or accept it. 11. Anything I should definitely do? One suggestion, tips go a long way. We found that if we tipped the staff closer to what we do in the state, the quality of service goes up. They are grateful, helpful, efficient, fast and friendly. If you are detail driven, I would definitely review the details of the ceremony, reception, etc. Lissette will take care a lot of the work, but if there are specific arrangements you want, I would review with her. She is very accommodating and works hard to make sure everything is as you request. She was actually really sick right before, during and after our ceremony, but she was there through it all. Also, I am usually a planner (map out activities, research tours, costs, directions), but I just researched a little online of things to do. But did not map out or make reservations for anything. So you know, the hotel has an onsite desk, I think Expedia, for activities and tours. They work with many of the local companies around there, so the onsite desk has brochures, tour information and they are open from 7am to 8 or 9pm everyday. So we were able to wake up and decide what to do that day and be able to attend various activities. But if you want to take a day tour to the ruins or someplace like that, I would plan a day ahead because some tours leave prior to 7am. There is also another activity stand out by the pool area who offer similar activities, more water based. For the most part, the cost is reasonable. The ones that cost a little more, to tend to offer more, so it's all in perspective. 12. Anything I should definitely avoid doing? At the Hyatt, everything was nice and we did not have any complaints. As for avoiding anything, you should be fine at the hotel. A few other items: We stayed in the Regency Club part of the hotel for a few days around the wedding. Just wonderful. These are suites and most of them have balconies and they have a separate pool area with beds, lounge are separate from main hotel. I recommend a few nights stay in those rooms. I attached a picture of the Regency pool area. Again, separate from the main pools. The pictures on the link (see below) where we are getting hair and makeup done is in our Regency suite bathroom area. Large enough for all us of to get ready. The bottom floor in the main part of the hotel have large patio/deck areas. Including pool chairs, so you can lie down and tan if you like. Not sure how comfortable you are, but taking the bus around the hotel zone is cheap and fast, about 65 pesos per person, per ride. That's 50-60 cents american. Very cheap! Tours are easy to access and get information on. I wrote some other comments below. I can try to recommend a few if you would like. The hotel has a store onsite that sells crafts, jewelry, souvenirs, all very reasonable, actually not bad at all. I came home with a bag of jewelry, even silver bracelets and I did not break the bank at all. They also have another sundry store that sells suntan lotion, magazines, etc on site as well. Since our wedding was at sunrise, and vendors had to come in at ridiculous hours of the morning (hair & makeup at 3am), we had to pay a little extra. But other than that the prices were okay. We originally we working with another hotel in the hotel zone, and their prices were outrageous. Lissette happened to contact me right around the time the we were having problems with the pricing, and I gave Lissette a list of everything I had been asking for and it was about half the price the other hotel was asking for, even with the additional cost for the time of the wedding. Lissette did everything in less than a months time. Regards, Lindsay

Ok. So which one of these are best then? I'm trying to decide on which one to try out on our site visit next week: Pirate Assault Captain Hook Sunset Cruise Caribbean Carnival If anyone has tried these or knows which one might be best, I would love the advice! They are all pretty much the same price, according to that website (and they all sound kind of similar too, which is why I was wondering who has tried which ones). Gracias!

Hey ladies! I thought this might be helpful for anyone considering the Hyatt Cancun Caribe Resort! These are some questions I asked Carrie, a previous Hyatt bride (and her answers): 1. How was your overall experience? I have to say I was a little worried about taking my family to another country to get married. We did have some initial problems with people (fear of flying) but it all ended up OK. We had 24 guests + ourselves from CA to London. The whole process was pretty easy with Lissette to help pick vendors to handle the things the hotel did not. 2. How was it working with the Wedding Coordinator? Would you suggest getting an outside Wedding Planner? Lissette is great. I can't say anything bad about her. Her recommendations were right on and I actually regret not going with the photographer she suggested. I'm an event planner so I never thought to higher an outside planner. Plus our wedding was small enough and more on the casual side that I didn't think it was necessary. It did take a lot of my time to plan, but then again I felt the need for it to be super organized since I am a planner and I knew people would expect things to have a polished look even if I was doing it all myself. Lissette was great the day of, so I didn't worry about that. In fact I didn't even see the ceremony site until I walk down to it with my Dad. Such faith, I know. 3. Where did you have your ceremony? Where did you have the reception? How did they go!? We got married right on the beach at 3pm, close enough to sunset in Nov to have pretty sunset pictures after the wedding. Our reception was in the restaurant. It was great and given that it rained right after our wedding ceremony I'm glad we decided to have it inside. We had one big table for everyone with us at the head of the table, a little cake table and one for the guest book too. We ended up on the lower level so it was sort of like a private event even though there were other diners on the upper part. We were also able to save $$ by not hiring a band since there was already live music in the restaurant that night. Everything overall went well. 4. How was the service at that resort? WONDERFUL. We were there for 10 day and by the time we left we knew most of the employees by name as well as they new ours. Although if you want a massage or anything else day of, I would suggest going to the Marriott/Renaissance since the have a GREAT spa. 5. How were the rooms/other areas of the hotel? Our rooms was great. We were in one of the Hyatt Gold Club rooms, we had a beach from room with a huge tub. Loved it. The rest of the resort was great too. The pools were both nice and since we were there during the shoulder season we sort of had the place to ourselves. 6. Looking back, what would you do differently? Hire a different photographer. DO NOT HIRE Michael Maurus!!! He is a great photographer and we got great pictures, but he belongs shooting ad and models that he can tweak and take 2 hours for the perfect shot. I have planned weddings before and worked with some great wedding photographers. It takes a special person to have the ability to run the wedding and get everyone to do what you want, when you want them to do it...with grace. Also I would go ahead with the legal wedding, It costs more, but for the ease of just having it done with I would go though that extra hassle while in Mexico. We waited until we got back to Seattle to legalize our union and it just seemed like the extra couple hundred $$ would have been well spent. 7. What was the best part about your wedding? Location, location, location. Who can ask for a better back drop than crystal blue water and white sand. Oh and of course the actual marrying of my husband too hehe 8. Do you have any wedding photos you wouldn't mind sharing? I'll send you some when I get home. 9. Where did you have your rehearsal dinner? La Distilleria www.ladistilleriacancun.com We had a great time. The service was great, they had a mariachi (sp?) band, and we had drinks on the patio. Overall it was a great restaurant for the occasion. I was trying to find a noce place to eat that didn't have outragously priced food for my in-laws since they just gave me a budget and said we can go where ever, just make it reasonable. Plus they have a tequilla museum there that was pretty interesting. 10. Is there anything I should be wary of, or anything to watch out for (hidden costs, things like that)? Food costs are high (I though higher than Hawaii) and I expect if you go during a high season they would be even higher. (but in the end I think it was still cheaper for our guests given the cheap ovenight costs) We did a group trip to Chichen Itza and booked though a tour house before getting to mexico. Although you can easily do this when you get there, if you have any type of group activity I would book it on your own (not with the hotel) since it is sigificantly cheaper. Also we took the city bus just about everywhere. It was only 6 pesos to ride it RT compared to $20 USD for a cab. I felt they were very safe, just make sure to have change and the drivers don't always give you change back. 11. Anything I should definitely do? Definately see the Mayan Ruins, they are amazing. They are all over the region and some just a few blocks from the hotel too. Not sure what kind of traveler you are, but we wanted to get away from the resort for a night or two and see more of 'mexico' or escape to Isla Mujeras for a little quiet time, but we ended up having drinks by the pool instead (not a bad thing in my book though). I could go on and on about this question, so after you do some research just let me know what you plans are and I can give you some feedback. 12. Anything I should definitely avoid doing? No, not really. Plan what you want, what you see in your heart and no matter what happen that day. Just remember that your wedding is important, but your marriage to your hubby and the look in his eyes when he sees you is what you will remember. And sometimes the imperfections are what make your day so great. Hope that helps someone!

Thank you so much ladies! I have contacted Petra and she seems great (at least through email so far)! The $400 fee is a little much, but it is good to know I have her now as a great option!!

Hola chicas! So I have tried searching the forum on this subject but haven't had much luck. Does anyone know of an English-speaking (I dont mind a little bit of an accent - but I want them to be understandable) non-denominational minister I could use for my "symbolic" wedding in Cancun? Most of the rewiews I have read mention that the minister is hard to understand or barely speaks English. I was just wondering if anyone knows of someone else in the Cancun/RM area that speaks clear English that could do my ceremony!? Like maybe someone that specializes in doing English spoken Destination Weddings?? Thank you!

Thanks for everyone's help, I REALLY appreciate it!!! I've got great news...I've narrowed it down (I think...for now anyway...) to my Top 5! I decided not to go the AI route...it just isn't for us. So I'll be doing site visits at: Hilton Westin Hyatt Caribe JW Marriott Casa Magna Marriott ...and the great(er) news is that they ALL do beach weddings still, hoooray!! So far my two fave's are Hilton and Casa Manga/JW, but I can't wait to leave for my trip (2 weeks from today) and see them all! I'm really hoping that one just sticks out to me as "the one". We're also going to try to visit some potential welcome dinner and/or rehearsal dinner sites. So far, these are the options that I've heard about on this wonderful forum: La Casa de las Margaritas Shrimp Bucket La Dolce Vita A Pirate/Sunset Cruise (booze cruise type thing) Hacienda Sisal If anyone has any other ideas/input, I would love love love to hear it!! (I doubt I'll be able to make it to all those restaurants so I need to narrow it down)!

Quote: Originally Posted by lbberger i'm glad my review is helpful! the band did play cd's during their break and they did a great job mc'ing the party...cutting of th cake, toasts, et. i got lots of comments on how great they were. they have a good website too so check it out. i would definately do them over a dj if it s in your budget. they have a huge songlist! i met with the main guy a few days before the wedding to go over the specifics. good luck! Hola! So would you mind giving us a list (or a short list, whatever is easiest for you) of what songs you had them (Kiko y Carlos) do? I would love to get some ideas for good 'wedding songs'!! Also, how do they dress while performing? (Random, but kind of important!)

Quote: Originally Posted by Opice34 I did a site visit before choosing the Hilton. Here is my 2 cents on your hotels listed below. Fiesta - didn't visit this one Hilton - there is plenty of beach for a beach wedding (I believe you saw my pics in my previous post?) Westin - we cancelled our visit here because the reviews on tripadvisor are horrible. We decided that even if we went there and loved it we wouldn't risk putting our family and friends at a resort with such bad reviews. But, we didn't see it for ourselves. MP - I just posted to you in another thread that I thought it was about 15 minutes from the hotel zone. They are plenty of MP brides that can give you more info. They had a nice beach suitable for a wedding. Dreams - They do have a beach that would be big enough for a wedding, but I"m not sure if anyone has wed there or not. JW/Casa Magna - both are beautiful hotels. JW is the nicer of the two and will most likely be more expensive. CM feels a bit more laid back. When we were there, neither had much beach though. If you email the resorts, they will be very honest with you about whether or not they can accomodate a beach wedding. (At least they were in my experience.) Those that lost their beach in the last hurricane season very quickly told me that they couldn't accomodate a beach wedding. I'm not sure when you're getting married, but keep in mind that another hurricane season is approaching and even those hotels with a beach right now may lost it. You will probably have time to visit all of those in one weekend if it will set your mind at ease. We ran around like idiots on our site visit weekend, and we visited lots of sites and had dinners at potential rehearsal dinner locations. Good luck!!! I'm sure you'll fall in love with one!! Opice- have you decided where you want to have your rehearsal dinner yet or at least narrowed it down? If so, what are your options and do you have pics? Where did you decide to have your reception at Hilton? I'm freaking out now about this whole beach situation!

Hey! Would you mind emailing me the info you were talking about (melissa)?! My email is [email protected]. I'm also looking for a spot to check out during my site visits for the rehersal dinner. thanks! Jessica

Quote: Originally Posted by Helland Photographs ... I just worked at the Westin a few months ago... the beach is in fantastic shape... Do you have any pics you'd be willing to share? Jessica

Awesome review...I am interested in CasaMagna so that really helped out a lot!! I would LOVE to see some pics please!!

Quote: Originally Posted by wade2893 I think you should take Moon Palace off the list because it is not close to the hotel strip, per your note. Since being on the beach is so important to you, let me recommend you also consider the Hyatt Cancun Caribe Resort. Not as popular as those that you've listed, but the property has one of the better beaches in Cancun. A lot of the properties lost most of their beach after Wilma, but this property still has a pretty nice one. I will be able to give you a better assessment after I get married there on May 3rd. I will be getting married on their terrace, but will take plenty of pictures and give a full review when I return. Good luck!! I was thinking about the Hyatt Caribe Resort (I actually work for Hyatt here in San Antonio, TX)! Do you have any further info on them....or pics you might be able to send? How has your overall experience been with them so far? Where are you having your reception there? How is their WC? I was kind of staying away from that resort b/c I hadn't heard of any people getting married there, so I am very happy to hear that you are! Any info you can share of them would be greatly appreciated!!