emaya77

Hi Kristina! Thanks for sending along your pictures! You looked so beautiful!! The resort does look really super nice!! Ugh...I really hope that Sharon can work with our budget and hopefully she gets back to be soon. I will keep you posted! Our other choice is maybe Aventura Palace?? We would rather Playacar Palace over Aventura but they have an 80 person limit for the wedding...I am sure we won't go over it, but what if we do!?!? So, just to be safe I don't think we should do Playacar. Thanks again! m

Hi Kristina! Thanks for sending along your pictures! You looked so beautiful!! The resort does look really super nice!! Ugh...I really hope that Sharon can work with our budget and hopefully she gets back to be soon. I will keep you posted! Our other choice is maybe Aventura Palace?? We would rather Playacar Palace over Aventura but they have an 80 person limit for the wedding...I am sure we won't go over it, but what if we do!?!? So, just to be safe I don't think we should do Playacar. Thanks again! m

Hi! We are STILL trying to decide which resort to have our wedding!! AHHHH... If anyone can tell me where you are getting married, or have gotten married and WHY you chose that particular resort I would be soooo appreciative!! We are looking in The Riviera Maya and Cancun. FYI...we are currently thinking about Aventura Palace, Playacar Palace & Club Med Cancun. Thanks!! Emily

Did anyone consider getting married at Aventura Spa Palace, and if so, why did you choose Moon Palace instead?

Quote: Originally Posted by nibsmom Hey Emily! I have the group promotions. I went through Tammy Host, and she really worked that group contract for me! She's awesome! When I saw your post, I got a little worried...so I checked Orbitz for package deals, and it looks like it's about the same price in the long run. A double is a little cheaper on Orbitz it looks like, but you don't get all the free perks that we have in our contract, like free excursions and airport transfers, etc etc. We really haven't said anything or given any information about booking in a different way or at a different hotel. If anyone does, it will be because they do it without us knowing, which I hope wouldn't happen. I think pretty soon, within the next month or so, we will start calling people and asking if they have any questions personally, so hopefully that will help head off any of that as well. Good luck!! What/how is Tammy Host and would you mind sending me her contact info? I am currently working with a TA, but obviously we haven't done much yet because I haven't even decided on a resort yet!! AHHHH...so confused!

Hi Kristina! WOW...thanks for ALL your help!! I just sent an email to Sharon, because I think the email Derek had given me was for Ivan - and he hasn't gotten back to me yet from last week...so, thanks for her email! A lot of Club Med's activities you have to pay for, is that correct? Was it expensive? Thanks for the tip on the wedding cake! I will def. keep that in mind! I love that you did cupcakes! I am not sure how many people we are going to have...but somewhere between 40 - 75. The rate for May 2010 is $148 per person per night. Do you have more pictures up anywhere of the wedding? I would love to see more details, and pics of the reception, etc! Thanks soooo much again!! ;o) m

Is anyone qualifying for the group promotions? If so, which ones? And was it super hard to get guests to book as part of the group rather then them going off to sites like expedia and booking at a cheaper rate? How were you able to sway guests away from doing that? Thanks!! Emily

Is anyone qualifying for the group promotions? If so, which ones? And was it super hard to get guests to book as part of the group rather then them going off to sites like expedia and booking at a cheaper rate? How were you able to sway guests away from doing that? Thanks!! Emily

Hi Kennynicole, Sorry...I haven't been on here in a while!!! Have had no idea where I want to have our wedding!! Arrugh! Have you decided on the exact resort yet? My travel is Jennifer...haven't worked with her much yet, as I am STILL trying to pick a resort!! Did you get a travel agent yet? If not, here is her email: [email protected] Is anyone qualifying for the group promotions? If so, which ones? And was it super hard to get guests to book as part of the group rather then them going off to sites like expedia and booking at a cheaper rate? How were you able to sway guests away from doing that? Thanks!! Emily

Hi Kristina, Thanks for all your help!! This is the email I received from Derek for Sharon (& Ivan ?)...is this the one you used for Sharon?: [email protected] Your stay for 1 week was only $1600? I think in May 2010 it might be $2100. Do you think if I tell Sharon how much our budget is (roughly around $3000 - $5,000: for ceremony, reception & stay) that she will be able to work with me in keeping within this budget? To cut down on costs, we will not have a DJ, but rather just play our owns compilations on our iPod. Also to cut down on costs I do not think we'll do the mariarchi and again just play our own music from iPod...also my friend is going to sing during the ceremony. I would like to have champagne for guests too during ceremony, but when I asked Derek how much this would run, the prices seemed very high. Thanks great that the rehersal and welcome dinners were basically free. So, you said that you don't leave the resort ever really...is there THAT much to do onsite? And how are the bars at night? I will have a lot of friends there and we want to make sure that wherever we choose that it will not be a super sleepy type of resort...ya know? Are they cool/fun bars and do they stay open late? We're not the 'sports bar' types, but we like more I guess...swanky?? Thanks!

Oops...sorry, you actually answered a couple of my questions in your review - I forgot. I had read your review last week, and just wrote you before reading it again. So, whatever you answered in your review, you ca ignore those questions! Thanks!! ;o)

Oops...sorry, you actually answered a couple of my questions in your review - I forgot. I had read your review last week, and just wrote you before reading it again. So, whatever you answered in your review, you ca ignore those questions! Thanks!! ;o)

Hi Girls...sorry for taking so long to respond, haven't been on here in a while! Future Mrs Ross: What type of info are you wondering about PP? Have you chosen a place yet? I would LOVE to do Le Blanc, but it is def. out of our and our guests price range! ( Kegildemeister: How was your wedding at Aventura Palace?? Did guests have a good time too? How many people did you have and were you able to book a group contract to take advantage of the promotions they have? jhakimi1: It turns out that we cannot do PP cause I am afriad that we will be over their limit for wedding guests (80)...so just to be safe we are now looking into Aventura Spa Palace. I would much rather get married at a smaller resort, but I also do not want to stress about wondering if we are going to go over 80 people. Did you pick a resort yet?

Quote: Originally Posted by kristina&kevin Hi Everyone! We have been back for a few days and I am finally finding the time to post on here. I will be posting my planning thread today hopefully and I will also be posting some items that I have for sale. I am really excited to tell you guys about our amazing time at Club Med Cancun. I haven’t come across anyone else on this site that is getting or got married at a club med so hopefully I can introduce a new hotel for you to consider. Number of Guest: 52 Resort – Club Med! I love Club Med! I always have! I grew up going to Club Med’s and couldn’t think of a better place to get married. I HIGHLY suggest getting married there! The resort is extremely well maintained and everyone is so friendly. Your not just a number here…We were the only wedding. They don’t do one every hour like they do at some other places. The way Club Med works is they have G.O’s (employees) and then G.M.’s (guest). The G.O’s are encouraged to party with the guest. They become friends and everywhere you go they call you by name. It’s such a great place. There is also a Chief of the village and he is like the manager of the village. He is always around. He’s not hard to find like some places. You know who he is and he is very approachable and in our case was overly generous by giving my father a discounted rate when he decided to stay an extra day. Price: $110 pp…includes ALL food, drinks, sports (kayaking, sailing, trapeze, water skiing, etc), tips, entertainment, etc. Truly all-inclusive. You literally don’t spend a dime at the resort. I had a few guest complain to me because they had saved up a lot of money to spend in Cancun and hadn’t spent any! I think that is a good problem to have! haha Wedding Planner: Club Med doesn’t have their own wedding planner on site. They use an outside lady named Sharon (she does weddings all over Cancun…if you want her info PM me). She was Amazing! She is extremely thorough and a real pleasure to work with. She made everything so easy and I can’t thank her enough for all of her help! She is really easy to contact too! We must have emailed almost everyday for the last few months. I flew to Cancun to do a site visit last August and she picked me up from the airport…took me shopping for centerpieces and took me to the resort….no charge…and she even bought back from me all of the centerpieces so I wouldn’t have to deal with bringing them back! Also, she gave me additional items to use for my centerpieces (shells, trays, etc)…again no charge. She rocked! I had Sharon do the ceremony set up and then Club Med took over for the reception. They set up the tables, music, cake, etc. Club Med has an events coordinator that took really good care of us. Throughout the entire week he was there for us if we needed anything. Getting to the Airport: We went with my Sister, her husband and their 3 year old son to the airport. My sister isn’t exactly one of those that is on time…So we arrived at her house 30 mins before we needed to leave. Amazingly we were all in the car and ready to leave 15 mins before we needed too. Good start we thought…until we went to turn on the car and the battery was dead!!!! Amazingly we found the jumper cables really quickly and was able to get the car started within minutes. Then we started our trek to Miami Airport (1 hour drive) in the middle of morning rush hour. We were in the HOV lane the entire lane and were moving pretty good…Then my nephew started throwing up his breakfast all over himself and the car seat! So as were driving my brother in law and my husband were cleaning it up. It was a real mess! We finally get to the airport and were able to check in curbside for new cost!!!!! Amazing, right? We tipped the guy well and were inside at our gate in no time. Soon after we got to the gate my nephew was playing with my mom (who flew in from DC and was on the same plane with us from MIA to CUN)…and he had horrible diarrhea in his pants! Well my sister didn’t have any extra clothes except for underwear so we had to leave security and buy clothes….Needless to say it was a very eventful trip to Cancun. Cancun Airport – Smooth as can be. I was traveling with 9 family members and we had at least 15 bags and not one person was checked. As soon as we got outside we saw our shuttle and were at the resort in 10 mins! Weather- When we arrived it was really cool…77ish and EXTREMELY windy!!! I was really concerned that it was going to be to windy and cold for my guest to enjoy themselves…but everyday it got a little bit warmer and was only cool at night really. The wind died down a lot too. The Club med resort is on the point of the hotel strip….So it has a beach on the main side overlooking all the other hotels and then a beach on the other side with no hotels in site. This side also had no wind. So if you wanted to sit in the sun without a breeze you had that option. Room – We got upgraded to an Ocean view room. We could have had an ocean suite…but we couldn’t justify the extra money…how much time do you spend in the room anyways! The rooms were very clean, modern and comfortable. Good A/C and awesome beds. When we arrived they had flowers, chocolates, a candle and a free couples massage certificate waiting for usJ Food – As in Club Med tradition, the food was AMAZING!!! All of my guest couldn’t get over the awesome food that they had. This club med had a Main Restaurant (buffet), a specialty restaurant (at night, 5 course meal), a tapas restaurant/Late meal restaurant….it served late breakfast, late lunch, tapas (by reservation) at night and then late dinner. SO pretty much you could eat ALLLLLLLL day. Bars- There were three bars and the drinks were constantly flowing. They served good strong drinks all day and you never really had to wait for a drink. They also brought drink and fruit to you out by the beach, pool, etc. Guest Arrivals – Went really smoothly. We knew when every one was coming so I separated the duty of greeting the guest among my family members who all arrived one day before the guest did. It worked out great. Everyone felt good to be greeted by someone they know. Welcome Dinner- For the welcome dinner the club closed off one room for us and we were able to have our own little private area. The dinner was great except for the fact that 10 mins before we arrived my husband started feeling like he was going to throw up…within 15 mins of being there he had to leave…so did my sister, my mother and my father!!! ALL of them got sick by my nephew (who as I mentioned earlier got sick on the way to the airport). From that point on it spread through my guest like a wild fire! The following day all of the sick people (including my husband) slept the entire day. Luckily it was just a 24 bug of constantly throwing up and diarrhea. And by the time the wedding came no one was sick. BUT after the wedding it still continued to spread….in all 10 people of the 52 got sick!!! Surprisingly though it didn’t seem to ruin anyone’s vacation. It went through their system so fast. If anyone gets sick it is usually me…So I am really surprised that I didn’t get sick!! Rehearsal Dinner – We had our rehearsal dinner in the same room that we did the welcome dinner. Luckily all of my family and my husband was feeling better so they were able to attend. They didn’t really eat much, but were able to attend. Hair / Makeup – My hair and make up turned out perfect! I did a tight French twist and put a flower in it. I was going to wear a veil, but the wind was so strong that I didn’t want to be bothered with it (I will be selling the never used veil…should be posting all for sale items today). I had good family friends do all of our hair and makeup and they really did an amazing job. Wedding Day – The day started off looking like rain. It was still really windy out and I was really concerned about it raining for the ceremony…but my grandmother was looking over me and the skies cleared just in time for the ceremony. It was truly beautiful from our ceremony till the time we left 4 days later. Up until then it had been overcast, windy and cool. I was so calm the wedding day. I even couldn’t believe it. I was just so relaxed. I am usually a worry wart and need to know whats going on at all times. But not that day…I was so calm and I’m really glad I was. I hate being stressed. The Ceremony- We were going to have our ceremony on the beach, but changed our mind and did it on the grassy hill next to the beach. I am so glad that I changed the location! It was so picturesque. We had a mariachi band and were married under a beautiful bamboo gazebo. It was perfect. The entire ceremony cost us about $2,100 I believe…this included flowers for my family (step mom and step dad), my husband’s family, flower girl, ring bearer, 3 bridal party, 3 groomsmen, my bouquet and my husband’s boutonniere, chairs, gazebo, pastor, mariachi band and sand ceremony. Reception- At this resort we rented out the specialty restaurant…They had a wide selection of menu choices. We decided on the $25 buffet. There is a 100 minimum to rent out the entire restaurant and since we only had 52 guest we had to pay for the extra 48, but it worked out because they charged us like $10 for the additional 48. So we got the entire restaurant to ourselves, plus open bar, a dj, and a cake for 50 for $2,300 I think…Something close to that. Which I thought was a deal. Photography – A good family friend is a wedding photographer. So we paid for her entire trip (less than $700 for air and 4 night stay) and she did the pics for us for free. She did an amazing job and I am really happy with the pictures. The only thing I wish we did was have more just Kevin and me shots. We were working against time since the sun was setting so quickly. But what we got was great! The next night we did the ttd pictures. This was the first time that my photographer had done this…so it was sorta a rough start. The pics would have been good….but my husband was not really enjoying himself so he wasn’t smiling in a lot of the photos. She had us crawling around on sharp rocks and the whole thing wasn’t what I wanted….but we went along with it. The next morning I was up really early and the light was so beautiful out that we decided to do it again! My photographer was asleep, but my brother in law was awake and so he took the shots for us (he is a professional photographer too). Those shots turned out awesome and were exactly what we wanted! I am so happy with them! Guest Departure- Over the next few days we said to goodbye to our guest one by one and then on the last day we were down to 8. It was perfect. We had such an amazing time. I hope I didn't ramble on to much:) Hi Kristina! Thanks for the wonderful review of your wedding at Club Med Cancun!! We are trying to decide between Aventura Palace and Club Med Cancun for our wedding, and wanted to ask you a few questions. How much were your rehearsal & welcome dinners and hair and makeup? We are on a tight budget...were you worried that because everything is a la carte that the prices would rack up? Did you work with Sharon? If so, how was the communication? Did she respond quickly and thoroughly to your emails? Did she have a direct 800 # to contact her on? How far is the resort from the airport? Does the resort offer free airport transfers for guests? Is it easy to get into Cancun for shopping/bars/restaurants? Is it worth the trip into town? Thanks so much for any help you can offer!! Emily

Quote: Originally Posted by KittenHeart Hey ladies! I am getting married Saturday, May 8th 2010 (I know, I've got awhile!) I just realized I will be there for my wedding week of Cinco De Mayo! Does anyone know if it's more crowded, expensive or poses any problems? Without even thinking I was planning on having my bachelorette party that day. Any insight or info would be MUCH appreciated. Thanks! Hi, Which resort are you getting married at? I am wondering how you were able to reserve your wedding date so far in advance. Every travel agent i talk to tells me that i can't reserve my date for at least another 3-6 months i need to reserve the date so that i can send guests a definte as to where the wedding is and when! how has this worked for everyone? Thanks! Emily

Hi, Does anyone know if there is anything within walking distance outside of the resort? Like restaurants, shops or bars? Thanks!

Quote: Originally Posted by rach220 Hey Emily, Our TA is Colin Stout...his website is kokotravel.com. He is a timeshare member of Palace and vacations there all the time with his wife. (When I booked our stay for the Aventura he called me during his vacation at Vallarta Palace!) His prices were pretty good too and you get perks like free massages if you stay a week or more. The only thing is he doesn't do flights, just the hotel stay, but that didn't bother us. I'm surprised there are so many TAs that refuse to book at Palace...it seems like a great chain, there are so many great reviews on tripadvisor and I'm sooo excited to be getting married there! Good luck! Rachel Hi Rachel, Thanks so much for the info! I will definetly contact him...it's great that he's a member! Emily

Hi, We are thinking of having our wedding at Playacar Palace (same chain as Aventura Palace)...and I was wondering if anyone has used a Travel Agent that they love and can recommend. I am looking for an agent that has experience booking with the Palace resorts, because for some reason a bunch of agents that I have spoken to so far say they do not like Palace resorts and will not book with them. I have no idea why this would be, except maybe they don't have a contract with them or something - because the Palace resorts get great reviews, and Moon Palace has a ton of weddings so you'd think the Agents would be all over that!? Ah well...yea, so if anyone can suggest an Agent that would work with someone even if they are not local, that would be great! Fyi...I am 5 min. from Philadelphia, in Collingswood, NJ. Thanks!! Emily

Hi, We are thinking of having our wedding at Playacar Palace (same chain as Moon Palace)...and I was wondering if anyone has used a Travel Agent that they love and can recommend. I am looking for an agent that has experience booking with the Palace resorts, because for some reason a bunch of agents that I have spoken to so far say they do not like Palace resorts and will not book with them. I have no idea why this would be, except maybe they don't have a contract with them or something - because the Palace resorts get great reviews, and Moon Palace has a ton of weddings so you'd think the Agents would be all over that!? Ah well...yea, so if anyone can suggest an Agent that would work with someone even if they are not local, that would be great! Fyi...I am 5 min. from Philadelphia, in Collingswood, NJ. Thanks!! Emily

Hi, Congratulations, and I will keep my fingers crossed for you!! Have you heard anything about when their new packages for part of 2009 and 2010 are going to be posted? I heard they were going to be better, but no idea what is included...I am hoping they are not going to be a lot more expensive! Although I also heard that if you'd rather go with one of their current packages, they will still let you do that. I am wondering when we should/can confirm our 2010 date...any ideas? I need to check in with our travel agent again on this, she is sometimes so hard to get a hold of! It's pretty annoying...are you using someone good that works with people in other states? How many people do you think you are going to have at the wedding? Are you going to be able to take advantage of any of their group rate deals? PEACE: I am so sorry, I never saw your post...I haven't checked this thread in so long because I didn't think anyone else replied to it or was getting married at PP! Glad to see there are others who are though! I was looking at Azul Fives, and if $$ weren't the issue for me, I'd go with them in a hearbeat! But, I chose PP since it's more affordable, still modern/contemporary, close to shopping, restuarants, bars (Playa del Carmen's 5th ave is only a 5 min walk) and we can also take the ferry over to Cozumel Palace to eat/drink for free there...heard we can walk into a town from there as well - anyone know which town and is there anything in that town? Also PP's (and all Palace resorts) have great group rates!! Not sure what they will be for 2010, but I am hoping they will be the same since this was also a big reason for us chosing this resort. Of course we haven't confirmed our date yet...so of course I am STILL going back and forth between lots of resorts, and can't stop looking around, but I keep going back to PP...although Cozumel Palace seems really nice too and have great reviews and won many awards...ahhhh!! ;o) Good luck everyone and let's try and keep us all posted! Emily

Quote: Originally Posted by j5nichols2 Well here it is: Date Picked: May 22, 2009 Resort Picked: Playacar Palace Wedding Bands: Both me and my FI Dress Bought: Still needs extreme alterations STD's: Send out about 2 months ago Invitations Sent: We wanted to get them out early Wedding Registry Done: Although I have to go online and take a few things off...Like the Wii my Fiance ran off and added Passorts Done: Well both my FI and I have them, but his expires 5 months after the wedding so he needs to get it renewed Tip Booked SO MUCH left to do! But it will be okay...I just need to take one thing at a time! Hi, What made you decide on Playacar Palace over other resorts? Also, did you look into Cozumel Palace at all? We're getting married in May 2010, and PP is our 1st choice, but for some reason it seems that no one on this forum is getting married there which I think is so strange, and it worries me a little...so if you could just let me know how you narrowed it down to PP I would be sooo appreciative!! Thanks!

Quote: Originally Posted by ieemc We got married at Aventura Spa Palace and it was absolutely fabulous - the best day of my life! We have visited Aventura, Moon, Playacar, Beach and Sun Palace and Aventura is definitely our favourite which is why we picked it for our wedding. We were there on our own but were very well looked after by the Wedding staff and any other staff who found out we were getting married - the maid even left me a little good luck card on the morning of the ceremony!! I have to say though I am a bit disappointed to read that they may be letting children into the resort - not that I have anything against children - but I feel the atmosphere of the hotel will be ruined - it much more suits being adult only and is one of the reasons we have visited it 3 times. In my opinion then, ASP is definitely the choice for weddings!! I think we are going to go with Playacar Palace. It seems to have everything we want - walking distance to nice town outside of resort, can take ferry to Cozumel Palace, not too big, allows kids, modern/contemporary. My only concern though is that it seems like not many people get married here and I cannot figure how why!?!?

I am definitely not expecting any presents for our wedding!! But, like many of you have said...certain people insist anyway. So that being the case, I guess I will need to let people know there is a registry should they feel the need...I just don't want anyone to take it out of context. Thanks!!! ;o) Emily

Hi, We would like to have a registry, but are worried that guests will be offended, since they are already paying to travel to our wedding. What is the proper way of asking guests for gifts Thanks!

Quote: Originally Posted by rach220 We are getting married at the Aventura Spa Palace. We originally chose it because it was an adults only...but I just found out that they are going to allow children in half of the resort in May of 2009 (and half will still be adults only...I hope!) Just something to look into...it is close to Playacar Palace (I think 20 minutes?) and you can take their shuttle there for free...just another one of the Palace chain to look into...we thought the Palace prices were reasonable compared to others... Good luck! Oh, WOW...really?? This is great news!! I will definitely need to look it up to make sure about Aventuras allowing children in part of the resort...that would be perfect!!! Thanks for the info!!