jplovesme

I was able to sub a few things in my package, through my WC. Just let them know what you want and don't want and they can make your package as unique as you need it. You can do what I did -- complimentary (I stayed more than 7 nights) package then added a la carte items. They will send you a list of items that they offer. If it's not listed, just let them know what you are looking for, and they can tell if they can get it for you or not. Hope this helps a little! Thanks, my dear!!!

Hey Gran Caribe Brides! I just posted my full review of the Gran Caribe, and of my photographers, Del Sol Photography. Check it out!

I just thought of something that kinda went wrong on the wedding day. I had 2 guests that didn't stay at either the Gran or the Royal, and they got stopped at the lobby by security. Luckily, my girlfriend had my room number in her cell phone's email list, and was able to call our room and my hubby ran down there to get them. Soooo, make sure you confirm with your WC AND the on-site coordinator (this had to be her fault for not giving me instructions for them) of your non-Real guests. Even though I filled out the guest list twice for them, my friends said that the front desk didn't know about my wedding being held at the resort, so they didn't let them through. I assumed that the front desk or security would have a list of names of guests that were going to be there for the event. Confirm confirm confirm!

Thanks! That's funny, I was just thinking, I forgot to post about the hair and makeup. I had both hair and makeup done by Alma at the Royal Cancun spa and salon. Her colleague did my mom's hair and makeup. Mom was happy, which is rare since she's 150% pickier than me. I was happy with Alma's work, since I didn't trust myself with bridal makeup. I will post pics when i receive them from Del Sol, but I was happy with alma's work. My style was simple, long waves (completely down). I was freaked out at first, cuz she curled my hair pretty tightly, but by the time my ceremony came around, the curls relaxed and looked great. Makeup -- I asked for something more on the natural side, and I was happy with how I looked in person -- I have yet to see how they turned out in the photos, but it was worth it. I had originally hoped to hire an outside vendor to do my hair/makeup in my room, but that $350 vendor fee was too much for me at the time of booking. I probably should have done it cuz I like photos where the bride is getting hair/makeup done. Oh well. The salon is just a quick walk from the Gran, so if any of you girls are getting it done there, it's pretty easy to do. My appointment was at noon for hair, and 130 for makeup, and I was back in my suite by 2:30pm in time for Matt and his assistant to start taking getting ready photos before the 4pm ceremony.

These are GORGEOUS photos! I hired Del Sol Photography for our 1/1/11 wedding last week, with Matt as the photographer and Jonathan C as his assistant (sorry if I mispelled Jon's name). They were both wonderful and truly professional (and helpful throughout the day), so I look forward to seeing our photos as well! I hope anyone who is considering Del Sol Photography for their special day -- they are WELL WORTH EVERY PENNY. Just look at these photos that Matt posted here! Beth, you are one beautiful bride and congratulations!

Hi Gran Caribe Brides of 2011! We just got back from our wedding, which was on 1/1/11, and I’ve been so bad about posting a planning thread and updating my info on this board, but I thought I’d put a “ short†review (this is sooo not short) on this thread so you ladies are prepared for your upcoming weddings this year… Our wedding was at the Gran Caribe Oceanfront Gazebo. Unfortunately, it was SUPER WINDY from 12/26 through 1/1/11, so I had Flor (our onsite coordinator) move our dinner reception and cocktail hour from the Gazebo terrace to a ballroom inside the Gran Caribe. I was worried the whole first few days I was there, that our guests would not enjoy their food with the 16mph winds around them. Sigh. One big disappointment, but Flor was able to accommodate my last minute request. They can make these location changes due to weather the day of. So here’s my breakdown and some tips… [WC (onsite), Flor] She did a great job. I had been battling with the emails like everyone else here, getting slow responses and such, but Flor was very quick on getting back to me even while I was on site. Our final meeting, which was the day after we arrived, she finalized all the details, and was able to make some last minute changes for me. We had less guests (9) then expected, and she credited me with whatever money was leftover to apply to spa services at both the Royal and Gran. We used it for a double massage. Nice. But here’s a tip when doing your final meeting. Make sure you ask the coordinator to take a look at any rented linens, chairs, and other decorative details. When our day arrived, two big things did not go through for me. The Tiffany chairs were WHITE instead of CHOCOLATE (I had arranged this through the WC Claudy via emails), and the CAKE was NOT the design I ordered. Luckily, we had a small group, and I was too dazed the day of the wedding to care, but now that I’m looking at photos of the reception, I regret not telling Flor to show me the chairs’s colors that I rented ($10 each) or to make sure the cake décor was absolutely correct. I ordered a couture cake, and got the look of their signature cake instead. Yikes. Other than the chair and cake fiasco, everything ran smoothly through Flor. [flowers] OMG. Can I say that the quality of the flowers surpassed my expectations? Mexicans really take pride in their work, and the florist made me a GORGEOUS bouquet, along with the centerpiece, corsage for my mom and boutonnieres. I had to choose a low red rose centerpiece in case the weather was windy, but I had originally wanted a taller glass vase, but the smaller centerpiece choice still looked wonderful. Gave our guests a chance to see each other’s faces during dinner. But 5 stars for flowers! My bouquet, looked fantastic! [Food] We ordered the Cocktail Hour right after the ceremony and got 5 choices of cold and hot appetizers. Everything was phenomenal! Our guests were so happy with that portion, and thought that it was already the dinner. Since we had to move our cocktail hour indoors, they had it set up with our dinner room so that all the food was in one place, and guests were able to take their food to the tables. Again, small group, anything goes. Dinner was phenomenal, and I couldn’t ask for more. The presentation of each dish was gourmet and true culinary art. Our guests were taking photos of each of their dishes. We had the shrimp salad to start, the stuffed chicken, then the chocolate covered cheesecake for dessert. Each item was delicious. [sound system] We brought our iPod since we didn’t want to spend $800 on a DJ for 11 of us in one little room. Good thing we did. None of the guests there dance in general, so it was fine that we didn’t allot a dance floor. The sound system was a Bose system for both the ceremony and the reception dinner/cocktail hour. Great sound, and our playlist was already playing when we entered the room. They did great. As for the ceremony, Flor asked the names of the songs for each portion of the ceremony, and even though I had already created playlists for the ceremony, I didn’t know we needed a song for the signing of the documents or the exit, so she was able to have the DJ at the gazebo find the songs we chose last minute for those parts, and it went smoothly. TIP: make sure you add your song choices ready … it all worked out great though. [Cake] I mentioned the mixup on the cake choice earlier. But I will say that our cake tasted soooooo good. Unfortunately, we all had so much food from the cocktail hour and the dinner to eat full slices, but everyone raved about our cake. I had asked for chocolate raspberry, but it seemed like they only made chocolate, cuz I did not taste any raspberry. For me, that’s fine, but I’m still not sure if Flor made that change when I requested it at our final meeting. Again, make sure you confirm those details via email in the document they send you prior to your trip. And again, at the meeting. They sent the cake to us the next day in to-go boxes, and it was just as delicious the night of the wedding. YUMMMMMM. [TIFFANY CHAIRS] I had always wanted Chiavari chairs for my reception, so I was excited when the Gran started renting these out. And like I said above, I had ordered Chocolate chairs to go with the chocolate silk linens I rented, but instead, got White chairs. Not the look I had in mind, but again, by the time the wedding day came around, I didn’t care too much at the time. My thoughts are on photos. But we’ll see. I ordered sashes to go on the chairs, but they used chiffon sashes, not satin, which to me, doesn’t look as elegant as silk/satin. Our colors for the evening were chocolate and crimson, and the white chairs and bright red sashes threw me off. I make wedding invites and stationery for a living, so I’m kinda picky about décor, so I was kinda disappointed in these details not working out. But that’s just me. [Overall] Can’t beat the location of the Gran Caribe. We originally chose the Gran as the location since we thought people would want to bring their children, but of course, only adults showed up. But it all worked out. Anyone looking at the Albatros restaurant as a reception location (Terrace), it is gorgeous at night. Our photographer (Del Sol Photography) took awesome shots of the groom and myself on the Albatros Terrace, and the view was ethereal. We got the Master Suite with Jacuzzi and Oceanview (Suite #2763), which was right by the Gazebo, so we had a decent ocean view, but it was NOT as pictured on the Real Resorts web site. I was kinda disappointed in that, but it was still a nice room. AND we had full privileges at the Royal next door, and ended up having all our meals at the Royal during our 8 night stay. We moved to Le Blanc for 4 days/nights after the wedding, which was super duper great, but I’ll include that info in my planning thread (coming soon). Hope this helps a bit, and feel free to send me a private message or post any questions on this thread!

Hi there! I just got married at the Gran caribe next door, so it's the same company/service, and we used the iPod for both the ceremony and reception. There's another thread about their sound system if u do a search, but really quick, the sound system was GREAT. Flora, the onsite coordinator, made sure that our iPod was playing the set playlist we put together for the cocktail hour and dinner, and the speakers were Bose, and plenty loud enough for the ballroom salon we were in.. hope this helps, but do a quick search on the Gran or Royal sound system and you'll get more 411... good luck!

Wow! thanks for sharing! The photos look like Playa Del Carmen, but they're beautiful. I noticed that the photos show chivari chairs -- are those available now? I haven't posted in a while, but we're getting married in the Oceanfront Gazebo on New Years Day 2011. Still getting RSVP's and booking info for our guests, so I still don't know where our reception will be. I haven't talked to a WC in a while since they've changed locations and had all their turnover, so I appreciate everyone's latest feedback here. It's about time for me to start up on the wedding planning since the date really creeps up way too quickly. I can't believe it's already September!!

I got my dress and it is a 4P from Maggie Sottero, but I have to have it taken in and cut still (when I ordered it, the owner was torn if I should go a size down, but it's better to take in, then to let out). I'm 5'0", 98 lbs and normally a size 00, WITH a 32D chest, so its tough finding something that fits! I'm going in this week to get it altered (dress arrived a couple weeks ago!). As for honeymoon dresses, I've been kinda stocking up now at stores like BR since they make 00p and 0P. Victoria's secret makes cute summer dresses in XS that fit me fine, except they are still kinda long. It's tough being a petite bride!

Quote: Originally Posted by Kristy! I wouldn't do anything permanent to your e-ring. I lost some weight before my wedding and my e-ring felt pretty loose, so I debated on getting it resized. Then I thought about it and realized that I want to wear this ring for the next 50 years. Am I really going to be the same size at 40, 50, 60 that I was at 27? Honestly, I've gained weight since my wedding and I'm so happy I didn't mess with my ring because it fits better now. Just some food for thought. This is actually a good point. Same thing with me. I lost a lot of weight, and my ring is now pretty loose -- but we have our wedding bands, and my band when placed on top of the e-ring keeps it from spinning... i know that if/when we get pregnant, i'll gain weight, and after that, there's no guarantee that I'll get this small again. so I am going to wait on resizing mine till after the wedding when I start wearing the band regularly over the e-ring.

OMG. Her work is gorgeous! But it helps that you are a beautiful couple! Great photos, and Congratulations! I added her to my list of fave photo blogs!

Runaway Bride: Joan Cusack

I'm from San Diego and did my research for local photographers for our engagement photos (we're using Del Sol Photography for Mexico). But as far as San Diego goes, there are 1. Boucher Photography (GORGEOUS work): Bouchér :: The Wedding Blog San Diego Wedding & Boudoir Studio 2. Nicole Caldwell (she's doing our engagement photos!) Nicole Caldwell Laguna Beach Wedding Photographer, Boudoir Photographer Orange County Maternity 3. The Image is Found: the image is found . photo blog Such a fun couple of photographers from north San Diego. 4. Melissa McClure: Melissa McClure - Destination And Southern California Wedding Photographer --> gorgeous photos, great prices (we almost chose to fly her out to Mexico. I don't know if Melissa starts lower than $1200 for a full wedding day, but her assistant does the same high quality work and starts lower. check out their sites! I talked to Jessica Claire, cuz I love her work, and her info is in one of the replies above. Very sought after! Do more research of the local photographers in SD before flying out someone from your area. You may find someone with decent pricing here.

I just got the updated price list from my WC, and there is a $350 vendor fee listed on there. Just FYI. Maybe you can arrange something with your contract to exclude that fee, especially if u are ordering the luxury package or something

Like! York's Peppermint Patties