Meredith

Hey girls, I just wanted to post a review of DJ Mannia's services. We had Carlos at our wedding on April 3, 2009 at the Paradisus Riviera Cancun. We used Carlos because the house DJ at the Paradisus Riviera Cancun was crazy expensive and Carlos' prices were reasonable. I first want to say that he was PERFECT! He responded very quickly to my e-mails and answered all my questions. We wired the money to him (both the deposit and final payment) and everything went off without a hitch. We met him at the hotel a few days before the wedding and he was very professional. I had sent him a suggested playlist with the names of the songs I liked during dinner and dancing. I also gave him the names of the wedding party for the introduction. He had some great ideas that we went with as well. We ordered the light up dance floor for 50 people and his services for 4 hours. Later on, he asked if we needed him for the ceremony sound system - he even gave us a super low rate since we got the other services. He also provided my father in law equipment for his guitar to hook into the sound system at no cost. He did a great job of introducing us, announcing the cake cutting, arranging the speech and kept the party moving all night! He played all the songs I e-mailed him during dinner and dancing and allowed requests during dancing (which I told him to do). I really don't have enough great things to say about Carlos. I just wish he also did parties in Florida so I could use him again! Let me know if you have any specific questions. Thanks, Meredith

Hey girls, I just wanted to post a review of DJ Mannia's services. We had Carlos at our wedding on April 3, 2009 at the Paradisus Riviera Cancun. We used Carlos because the house DJ at the Paradisus Riviera Cancun was crazy expensive and Carlos' prices were reasonable. I first want to say that he was PERFECT! He responded very quickly to my e-mails and answered all my questions. We wired the money to him (both the deposit and final payment) and everything went off without a hitch. We met him at the hotel a few days before the wedding and he was very professional. I had sent him a suggested playlist with the names of the songs I liked during dinner and dancing. I also gave him the names of the wedding party for the introduction. He had some great ideas that we went with as well. We ordered the light up dance floor for 50 people and his services for 4 hours. Later on, he asked if we needed him for the ceremony sound system - he even gave us a super low rate since we got the other services. He also provided my father in law equipment for his guitar to hook into the sound system at no cost. He did a great job of introducing us, announcing the cake cutting, arranging the speech and kept the party moving all night! He played all the songs I e-mailed him during dinner and dancing and allowed requests during dancing (which I told him to do). I really don't have enough great things to say about Carlos. I just wish he also did parties in Florida so I could use him again! Let me know if you have any specific questions. Thanks, Meredith

Hey girls, I just wanted to post a review of DJ Mannia's services. We had Carlos at our wedding on April 3, 2009 at the Paradisus Riviera Cancun. We used Carlos because the house DJ at the Paradisus Riviera Cancun was crazy expensive and Carlos' prices were reasonable. I first want to say that he was PERFECT! He responded very quickly to my e-mails and answered all my questions. We wired the money to him (both the deposit and final payment) and everything went off without a hitch. We met him at the hotel a few days before the wedding and he was very professional. I had sent him a suggested playlist with the names of the songs I liked during dinner and dancing. I also gave him the names of the wedding party for the introduction. He had some great ideas that we went with as well. We ordered the light up dance floor for 50 people and his services for 4 hours. Later on, he asked if we needed him for the ceremony sound system - he even gave us a super low rate since we got the other services. He also provided my father in law equipment for his guitar to hook into the sound system at no cost. He did a great job of introducing us, announcing the cake cutting, arranging the speech and kept the party moving all night! He played all the songs I e-mailed him during dinner and dancing and allowed requests during dancing (which I told him to do). I really don't have enough great things to say about Carlos. I just wish he also did parties in Florida so I could use him again! Let me know if you have any specific questions. Thanks, Meredith

Okay - here is my attempt to post photos from photobucket. Let me know if it worked. If so, I will try to post more photos.

I am trying to figure out how to post. I will post them when I figure it out. The fun pub opens at 11:00 every night and stays open till around 2:00 a.m. The lobby bar is open until 12:00 every night. Some nights they have a band and other entertainment.

Hi girls - I am back and the wedding was awesome. I posted my review in the wedding review section. I tried to upload photos, but I don't think it worked. Can someone show me how?

Here is my wedding review - Jesse and I got married on Friday, April 3, 2009 at the Paradisus Riviera Cancun. We arrived at the resort on Monday. Check-in was quick and easy. They had our room ready when we arrived - it was 10:30 a.m. The lobby area of the resort is beautiful and the photos do not do it justice. It is one of the nicest hotels I have ever seen. The hotel is about 15 minutes from the airport. Once we checked in, we were driven (via golf cart) to our room. The grounds are awesome - amazing trees, flowers and bushes. Just wonderful. We were upgraded to an ocean view room because we had booked over 50 guests for the wedding. The rooms are very nice, very clean. I had heard a lot of people talk about how hard the beds were - but I thought they were just fine. I slept great every night. The second day we met with our dj (Carlos Mannia) and our photographers (Playaweddings). Both meetings were scheduled via email before we left and everyone was on time. The meetings were quick. We talked about the wedding day schedule and were the wedding would be. Then we met with Perla to finalize the details. I was very concerned because it was so windy at the resort (especially on the beach). I asked them if there was anything they could do to weigh down my veil - they said they would try. Ultimately, the said it was too windy and there was nothing they could do. Amazingly, the day of the wedding, the wind died down and I was able to wear the veil. It was so much fun meeting up with friends and family. We spent a lot of time in the lobby bar at night - which is sooo pretty. We also spent a fair amount of time in the Fun Pub, which was actually a lot of fun. One night there were some spring breakers dancing, but on the whole, the crowd is 20-50s and more laid back than partiers. They also have a game area with pool and ping pong, which was fun. There is the pool bar (but I found the water a bit cold) and a great beach bar near buildings 3 and 4. I loved this place the most. I enjoyed all of the restaurants (The French restaurant was just okay - but I am a picky eater). The buffet was awesome and tons of choices. There was never a lack of food. We also got room service a bunch - which was also great. No one got sick from the food either. We were able to reserve a bunch of seats at some of the restaurants for up to 50 people. We also reserved 50 seats for everyone at the buffet restaurant for the rehearsal dinner. The rehearsal was quick and easy on the beach. Our pastor from Florida was in charge of it. I had a trial hair run on Wednesday. She has a book of hair styles that I choose. She did a great job!!! The trial run was not very tight and it feel out as soon as I left the spa. I was concerned that it would fall out on the wedding day, but she knew what she was doing and it was beautiful on the wedding day and lasted all ceremony/reception until I took it out. My one piece of advise - do NOT get your nails done. I got a manicure/pedicure. Some friends of mine did as well. Not only were they bad (especially the french pedicure), but they chipped the next day. Don't waste your money on this one. Some friends of mine said the massages were wonderful. They had an extra girl help do the bridesmaid's hair. Everyone did a great job on the hair! The wedding went off without a hitch. The flowers were not done correctly - but I will take the fall for that. I think there was some miscommunication on what I wanted. I wanted my flowers to be pink and white, and the bridesmaids to be all pink. All of the flowers were delivered as pink and white. No big deal though. DJ Carlos arrived very early to set up the sound system for the ceremony. My father and brother in law played their guitars at the ceremony. Carlos helped plug their guitars into the sound system. The photographers arrived on time and took great photos/videos. Perla and Daniella did everything perfectly. The tables were more beautiful than I had imagined. The service at the wedding was awesome - everyone was great! We forgot the garter and the photo for people to sign in the room. Perla went and got it. She really went above and beyond the call of duty. I can't think of much else to say except it was perfect and everyone had a great time! I have tried to attach some photos...I am not sure how to do it. Let me know if you have any specific questions. -Meredith

Sandra - what date to fly to the hotel? I will be there until April 5th - before we leave for the honeymoon hotel (El Dorado Royale). If we will be there the same time, I can let you know what happened with the Mannia/SWANK charges. So far - Perla has only charged me the $300 fee. Her invoices don't include extra supervision time. SWANK mentioned that I would have to pay for supervision when I was talking to him about the slideshow. After I told him I would pay $150 for the screen (crazy prices - I'm not buying the screen, I am barrowing it..right?), he never mentioned extra DJ fees. ...So that is where I stand. I'll let you know how it goes down. Perla has not mentioned that we have to pay for invoice before we get down there. She hasn't mentioned anything about it all as a matter of fact. We were going to take the most recent invoice with us and pay by credit card before the wedding. I wouldn't pay before you get down there (unless you want to lock in the rates or something).

Yeah - it did come up fast! I thought I had 3 weeks at one point, and I checked the calandar...and it was only 2 weeks left..yikes! Things are going pretty smooth - that is the beauty of the destination wedding. I found them to be much less time consuming on the planning. I will take lots of photos and someone will have to show me how to upload them when I get back

Thanks so much girls! I can't wait to get down there and just relax before the wedding! I have been using this email address for SWANK: [email protected] They have been pretty good about emailing back quickly. -I think they are probably both great DJ's, but I just can't say enough about Carlos...he is going to provide the sound for the ceremony (including mics for the guitar that my soon to be father-in-law will be playing) for FREE. He has gone above and beyond the call of duty. ...only 6 more days till I leave

Hey Girls - I just wanted to let you know that Perla sent me her latest invoice and it didn't include extra charges for not using the house DJ SWANK. I did have to pay the $300 outside vendor fee, but nothing in addition. I am using SWANK for the rehersal dinner slideshow, so maybe they aren't charging more because of that. Anyway, I'll let you know if I get hit with any extra random fees. Also - in case someone was wondering....DJ Carlos emailed me and offered to meet me at the hotel when I arrived to go over the wedding details. He has been great! Also - quick shout out to Missy - I just hope this temporary "banning" doesn't keep her from getting back on-line when it is over to keep providing advise. She has been so helpful for me...I just wanted to thank her and all of you other girls! THANKS! ...I am leaving on MONDAY for CANCUN!!! YEY!!!

Can one of you email me the wedding book that was mentioned in the earlier posts? I don't have enough points to open it. My email address: [email protected]

Hey girls - I am thinking that the $300 fee includes all the money to be paid to SWANK for the equipment, supervision, etc. I will confirm this with Perla and let you know (haven't heard back from her on this yet). Either way - I am paying the $300 and that's all - Perla never mentioned any extra costs so she will have to reduce something else in the budget to cover SWANK (if she needs to), but I won't pay more. That is crazy. On a positive note - when Carlos emailed me about a microphone at the ceremony - he quoted me $300. Then I asked him about the SWANK charges and he told me that he is familiar with them - not to worry about it...and by the way (as a wedding present) he reduced the microphone to $150 without me even asking about it. That is how you get customers He seems really nice! I'll let you know if I get charged anything else...good times!

Girls, I have a question for those who used an outside DJ. I am using Carlos Mannia...Perla told us there is a $300 outside vendor fee. That said, SWANK (the hotel's dj) just emailed me their policy and charges for an outside vendor. Is this policy/charge list the same thing as Perla's $300 charge? Please tell me that the the $300 is the total charge by the hotel for using the outside dj! Also - the policy form has a place for us (bride/groom) to sign as well as the outside dj. Did you and your dj have to sign this form for the hotel Thanks!

Thanks for the info - we are using a dj...but we can take down an iPod dock no problem. I will see if we can get a cheap microphone. ...I'm only 1 month away!

Julie, The hotel dj SWANK gave us a quote to use the projector/screen and it was almost $800. He said if we bring a projector ourselves the cost would go down (which it clearly should)...he quoted us $150 for the screen alone. I am thinking we can use a wall or put up a sheet. Girls - I asked Perla if we could have a sound system/mic for the ceremony so people could hear. She said we would have to talk to our photographer about that...but they don't provide this. What should we do? Go back to Perla? Help! Thanks, Meredith

That is very helpful information - I was wondering what to do with the photographers. Did you have to pay for an extra centerpiece for that smaller table too?

Missy, Thanks for those documents - the wedding schedule is really helpful! Meredith

I found these really cute cake toppers what are made to match your outfits...they were only $100. http://www.nicolewong.com I don't know how to upload the photo of my cake topper...but it is so cute!

Quote: Originally Posted by yamille Sandra I think it depends on when sunset is you can check that our for your date if you google. This is what my phtographer reccommended: (from my email) If you want to consider the OPTIMAL light for photography in the evening, 30 minutes before sunset and 30 minutes after sunset, so called the "golden hour") Planning your wedding around this time ensures the potential for BEAUTIFUL sky and dramatic lighting. For planning the start time of your ceremony, we would like you to consider a few things: If your ceremony time will be under 15 minutes, we recommend starting the wedding 45-55 minutes before the scheduled sunset. If your ceremony time will be 20-30 min, we recommend starting the wedding 55-65 minutes before the scheduled sunset. hope this helps... I think the timing is just a matter of preference. I didn't want my guests to be joining the reception and eating their dinner in the dark - instead they will be enjoying the sunset at dinner and then just as the dancing gets going...it will be dark out. That was my thought on having the ceremony at 3:30. I may sneek off at sunset for a photo or two...but people should be eating at that point so it won't be a big deal.

Hey Girls, I was wondering how long before/after the ceremony you had the photographer taking photos/videos? I have 5 hours and I wasn't sure when they should start/finish. The ceremony is at 3:30 and the reception starts at 5:00. I was thinking they should start at 2:00 and go till 7:00. BUT...Are you usually in your dress an hour and a half before the ceremony? Do you usually have the first dance, speeches, cake cutting within the first 2 hours of the reception? I haven't really paid too much attention to the time lines of other weddings...any advise is much appreciated! Thanks! Meredith

Sam - Yikes! Thanks for the heads up - I just emailed SWANK and told him we would not be using the projector/screen, so hopefully he won't charge me for the quote! That is nuts. Missy - Did you have to request the tables of 10 or do they come standard? Do you have to pay more for the larger tables? If not, then I would probably just to do the bigger tables to save money on the centerpeices. Thanks for the information!

We are trying to figure out how many tables we need....how many people did you girls put at a table - 8 or 10 (I have seen photos of both situations)? Thanks!

Fanny, We are using Carlos too. He is charging us $1600, but are also getting a dance floor from him that he is putting on the beach. Perla has charged us the $300 outside vendor fee (because SWANK has to attend the event as well). Perla also charged us $300 for using an outside photographer. We are trying to get her to remove this charge, since there does not appear to be a need for any "supervision." Have any of you had luck getting this fee waived for the photographers? -Thanks, Meredith

Your wedding photos are beautiful!! FYI - I heard back from SWANK on the projector/screen - his quote was$750.00! Yikes. I think I am going to pass.