kimdelc

Great review and I am so happy that everything turned out wonderful for you! You look amazing in your photos! I used a lot of the same vendors and I totally agree: DJ Mannia, Elizabeth, AND we didn't hold anything formal at Hacienda Sisal but we had dinner there with about 20 of our friends and everyone loved it! The food was great! I know you will absolutely love your photos! Elizabeth is just insanely amazing. I did change my dress for the reception and I will say it was a good idea. Also, my husband complained that I took too much time between the ceremony and the reception to get ready but I had to have my hair done all over again because the humidity absolutely destroyed it! It was still disheveled by the end of the night but it looked great for most of the reception. So I would definitely recommend that as well. Congrats again Opice and I can't wait to see more pics! - Kim

Hi Elizabeth! I didn't realize you were on BDW either! Sorry I mistyped the link but I am so happy you caught that so that everyone can see more samples of how amazing your work is. Thank you so much again for everything and see you next weekend! Nipa, we did not have any vegetarian options for our reception. We had chicken, beef and a fish option. If fish is an option for you (for some vegetarians who eat fish occasionally like me) then the salmon was great. The spinach pouchettes and the mini quesadillas we served at the cocktail hour were great according to our guests but we didn't get to taste them. They did run out so that was a good sign! And all the veggies at the reception were tasty. The caesar salad first course was good too. There is a restaurant on the property called the Mitachi Grill which has a vegetarian menu that is amazing. You may want to ask Fernanda if she can work with those chefs to create some vegetarian options for your reception. Opice, we flew in our stylist from the states so I am not sure about the stylists at the hotel. I would suggest just doing a trial run and taking in a picture so they know exactly what you would like. And thanks for the congrats! Opice you are so close! I am sure that your wedding will be beautiful and I can't wait to see your beautiful pics. - Kim

Oh and I forgot! The one not so great thing was the makeup artists at the Hilton. I had a consultation a few days before my wedding (which I HIGHLY suggest) and a trial run which went terrible. I was so unhappy with the outcome I wanted to cry. Fortunately one of my bridesmaids was online and found out that there is a MAC location in Cancun minutes from the hotel. My wedding planner (from LA) went to the location and met two MAC makeup artists (Laila and Norma) who did an amazing job! They came to the hotel room the morning of the wedding and did makeup for my mom and mom-in-law, 3 bridesmaids and me! They were fabulous and definitely knew what they were doing. I would HIGHLY recommend them. Here is the number to the MAC store: MAC Cancun: 8831912 And make sure you ask for Laila and Norma. Hope some of this will help you all! Please feel free to ask me anything. - Kim

OK ladies so I am finally back...kind of! It has been a whirlwind since our wedding on August 31, 2008! I won't bore you with the details, but lets just say we have been in/to 4 weddings including our own in the past 2 months and are on our way BACK to Cancun next week for the 5th! At least on this one we can relax! Here is a brief review: - The food was GREAT! We had 120 guests who all raved about the food. Even the cake was good! - The DJ was fab! We used DJ Mannia and he never missed a beat, outside during the ceremony or inside during the reception. - Los Barones (the Mariachi trio) was good from what we heard. We weren't able to stay for the entire cocktail hour because we were taking pictures but we did get to enjoy them for a few minutes. - Elizabeth Medina was the best! She was well worth the money, which we were skeptical about spending at first. Our original photographer backed out on us and since we were so close to our date we went with Elizabeth since she was available and just decided to eat the extra cost that we had not budgeted for. SHE WAS AMAZING! And she is very nice to work with and just a great person. Check out her blog, we are on there somewhat towards the middle now since she has posted more since ours. We are the only wedding she has ever done at the Hilton. - The flowers were nice, but they were a little on the peachy side when they were supposed to be pink. Although you really can't tell in the pictures too much thanks to EM! But overall Planner1 Events did a great job as well. Especially considering it rained and their crew had to move all 120 chairs inside and then back outside all in time for the ceremony to begin! Feel free to check out the wedding slideshow that Elizabeth put together for us: www.elzabethmedina.com/kimreggie Good luck and happy planning to you all! I'll be as helpful as I can ;o) - Kim

Good luck!

We got that clause taken out of the contract. You are doing the right thing. Just don't back down. We had to go back and forth a few times for them to agree to it. Let them know that you tried everything that they suggested but it just isn't possible. - Kim

Quote: Originally Posted by Jessica&Adam What kind of verbage did you use to communicate to your guests how to make their reservations for rooms, and what to do as far as flights go? (For example, what website do they go to to do it, do they do it over the phone, etc.) We put a Travel Information page on our wedding website that had 3 sections: Flight Info, Accommodation Info and Transportation Info. Flight Info - we listed the major cities that most people would be travelling from and the major airlines that fly direct from that city to Cancun. We also listed the time zone change from that particular city. Accommodation Info - We listed soms details and the pricing of the rooms at the Hilton, and provided a link to our personal Hilton website so that they can book their rooms. We also listed the phone # and the event code in case they would like to call. Oh yes, and we stated the deadline to book a room. Transportation info - We described the Gray Line airport shuttle and the local bus that takes people up and down the strip. - Kim

The quote that we got from the DJ that the Hilton recommended was a little over $2500. DJ Mannia was less than half of that. Needless to say, we went with DJ Mannia. - Kim

IndyPitty, Wow you are only 3 weeks away! Congrats and I'm so sorryto hear Fernanda has not been responding faster. Don't stress though, I know it will be beautiful. I hate to say it, but just keep emailing her and let her know how frantic you are getting because it takes her so long to respond and you are so close to your wedding date. Hopefully that will get her to answer back sooner. Good luck! - Kim

The payment schedule depends upon your individual contract, which most likely depends on your anticipated amount of guests, venues you are using, etc. We are also on the incremented payment plan. There is no way for you to figure out how much each deposit will be on your own unless you already know exactly how many guests are attending and exactly what meal they are eating. Also, it depends on how you are handling your bar tab. We are expecting a lot of guests, but our second deposit (the one after the initial $1000) is based on the # of guests who booked their rooms and an estimate of how many of each meal we will require. I know this is confusing, but Fernanda will send you a breakdown of how they came to the deposit amount when the time comes. I hope this explanation helps, let me know if you have any other questions or you need me to clarify further. - Kim

Jessica&Adam, To avoid a penalty we started our room black small, and added in increments of 10 when the block got near full. So far it has worked out pretty well, but you have to keep an eye on the room block via the website online to monitor it so you know when to request more rooms. Otherwise, if it fills up your guests will not get your negotiated rate and there is now way for you to know that unless they tell you personally. - Kim

We are going to use a DJ. Fernanda recommended one to us but he was VERY pricey. So I started searching on this site and found another guy. Here is his website and email: MANNIA - Audio, Video e Iluminación Profesional [email protected] We are in the process of signing the contract with him. He has had great reviews on BDW and has been very quick answering all of our questions and sending over the contract. - Kim

I know it can be really frustrating. Some weeks Fernanda is great and responds right away! And sometimes it takes her a decade to get back to you. The only way we were able to relieve ourselves of that frustration was to get a calling card and call her when it was taking her longer to respond than normal. And in some cases like you said, she responds partially and doesn't answer all the questions. I would suggest getting a calling card and just call her when you get frustrated. Trust me, we have been there. - Kim

Yes, Fernanda can take a LONG time to respond. But like we all know she does have A LOT on her plate. We have had the most success with using a calling card to call her when we really need something. - Kim

My fiance and I LOVE Puerto Madero. The restaurant is pretty large so you would probably be able to have a rehearsal dinner there as well. Plus they have outside deck seating that overlooks the water. Here is the website: Puerto Madero Cancún