heidi_lk

Quote: Originally Posted by jkcz0702 Its so much fun to see all of our guests have been upload their pictures of the wedding but after viewing them our biggest tip we can give you is do not let the WC tell the guests that it is ok to stand and go anywhere to get pictures or a better view. It was really distracting saying our vows with our guest walking behind the officiant, some of them actually waived at us (lol) and this is how most of our ceremony pictures look, how do you crop out a person I sure hope our photographer figured it out. Thanks for the advice!! I will definetly make note of that. Beautiful photos though, but it is a little distracting with guests wondering through them.... lol. You looked amazing!

Is Coba the ruins you are still allowed to climb?

Is anyone doing their stag or stagette, while down in Mexico. My FI was thinking of going golfing with the guys, and I was thinking of a day at the spa with the girls, then all meeting up at a club later?? Anyone have any cool ideas or suggestions?

We are thinking of just having everyone hop on Collectivo's and all meet at Tulum for the day. The ruins are goregous, and the beach amazing. I've been bragging to everyone about the beach as it was just ranked #10, by travel destinations 2009, best beaches in the world. I figure then people could come at their lesuire and stay as long as they want. I did want to pay for the trip but still figuring out the best way to go about that!

Quote: Originally Posted by Starryt Love the "your presence is our present" going to add that to my site. The memories of family and friends supporting you will out last towels and toasters. We also went with the "Your presence is our present, so no gifts required" line. We put it on our wedding website under the gift registry part, because I wasn't able to take it off completly. We also made a joke about not wanting to take up people's valuable luggage space, as our airline has a weight restriction. I thought it also served as a good reminder for that as well!!! We never registered and so far no one has brought anything up.

I am not changing my last name. I'm doing it for several reasons. One is business, I have so many degrees and certifications, and insurances... the list goes on, that I can never imagine having to tackle all that stuff. As well, I'm the last of my name, my family has all girls, so I feel its personally important to keep it. As well, on a selfish side I want to get my doctorate, and if I'm going to work that hard I want my name for the Dr. part.... lol My FI didn't mind too much. I've always been independent. And kids will have his last name (I might try to sneak my last name as a middle name to pass it along - but thats still being debated). Some people have made their comments, but it our lives and our choice and think it should be up to each couple to decide.

Great tips ladies! Glad I found this forum, was starting to feel really cheap after reading some other threads. Good to know not everyone has a ton of money to spend!! My helpful tips are: Use Excel to design a budget. I did up a spreadsheet of every thing we wanted/ needed for the wedding and what we wanted to spend. And I included everything - from rings to invites to tips to gifts for guests. This helped provide me with a very realistic number. In the second column I tallied what I actually spent. So if I found a really great deal somewhere, it allowed me to add an extra or spend a little more somewhere else. And I set it up to do all the totalling for me. Has been a real life saver, and so far has kept us way under budget!!!! My second tip is to keep your eye out for charity events and bridal events. I got my wedding dress at a Hospice Society event where all the dresses were donated by local bridal shops. 100% of every dress sold went to the charity and I got a $700 dress for $125!!!! Not only do I feel good helping out charity, but saved a ton of cash!! Hope this helps someone...

I am getting married at Gran Bahia Principe Coba, and we were told to just bring our passports and tourist cards. We have both never been married before, I know it changes things if you have. We also need to get the blood test done. We were also told we could then have them legalize the document there (for a charge), and that they would then Fedex it back to us in Canada. This is the part I am confused about. Does anyone know if this step is necessary?

Quote: Originally Posted by Turtlewax15 Hi ladies! Sorry it's been a while since I posted on here, been uber busy!! So we still have everything planned just had what I call a major glitch. Sunwing cancelled the flight we were all supposed to be leaving on. We were supposed to be leaving on Friday, August 7th, but I guess because of the economy they have cancelled that flight. So they have now had to switch us to Sunday August 9th. So it's been pretty confusing and stressful lately dealing with all the guests and their complaints. It sucks for some of my guests who booked seperately without our TA as they will be there 2 days before the rest of us and have to leave 2 days before we leave. But what can you do? I just hope this doesn't happen again... would really suck if our departure date got changed for a third time.....sigh But other than that everything else is booked!!!! Just waiting to hear back from Jazzmin that everything is still okay for the 11th since we now arrive on the 9th instead of the 7th. If it makes you feel any better the exact same thing just happened to us, except we are less than 2 months away which makes me extra mad!!! Nolitours/ Air transat just cancelled our Sunday departure, and now only have a Saturday, which departs from Edmonton and not Vancouver!!! Talk about stress. I can't believe an airline would do this to us less than 2 months away from our trip date. And to make matters worse, my travel agent doesn't seem to think its that big of a deal because its only a one day difference. But I had planned for everyone to meet in Vancouver, now they either have to take an extra flight, or get to Edmonton!!!!! So not what I needed to find out on my birthday... what a day. Sorry but I had to vent!

Thanks Abby, Lets see if this works. Wedding site photos we were given for staying at the Coba.

Quote: Originally Posted by Erica_Bellerive Wow corvette yiur DJ is only $17 per hour? That's cheap! I will have to think about doing that. Do you tell the WC right away if you want a poolside reception, or wait until closer to the date? Hi Erica, We booked it shortly after confirming our wedding date. There are only so many locations, so if you decide its something you want, I'd say book it sooner than later! Dates fill up quickly, as it was we got the last wedding that week. But they made us wait till we knew which tour company we were traveling with before they would confirm our date, which was very nerve racking!!! But it all worked out and now less than 2 months before we board... wooo hoo

Quote: Originally Posted by Erica_Bellerive Wow corvette yiur DJ is only $17 per hour? That's cheap! I will have to think about doing that. Do you tell the WC right away if you want a poolside reception, or wait until closer to the date? We were told that the DJ is $150 per hour. He is provided by the hotel, but must be paid in cash prior to the wedding. I have heard many good things about him. The bar costs are seperate from his services. Heidi

Quote: Originally Posted by emme Thanks for all of the great information Heidi!! As Erica said, there is not a lot of information that is specific to Coba...so this really helps!! We stayed at this resort (in Coba) a few years ago and it was beautiful. I absolutely agree with you about the rooms. I believe that our guests would rather have the newer rooms with the ammenities that they offer compared to being close to the beach. Every situation is different and the brides really need to know their groups. Can you please tell me more about the private reception that you're having? This is what we're looking at as well...and although there are alot of posts in this forum about this...I think you would probably have the most current pricing and information. Mainly, I am curious about the location? price per adult? price per child (if you're having any children there)? price of DJ? what type of drinks are offered? if they have an alternate (inside) location in case of rain? Anything else that might be helpful... Everything about your wedding sounds exactly how I have things "planned" in my head as well...right down to the number of people attending and everything Hi Emme, The reception is poolside and the charge is basically for the set up. They do cocktail tables with cloths and open a bar which is normally closed. You get your own waiter and bartender. Here are the options: 1. Special Cocktail Sparkling wine, Beer, Margaritas, Piña Colada 5USD /Pers extra hour 3 USD /Pers 2. National Bar: Beer, Rum, Vodka, Tequila, Cocktails, Gin 17 USD/pers/hour extra hour: 12 USD/pers 3. International Bar: Beer, Tequila, Rum, Vodka Absolute, Whisky JW, Chivas 24 USD/pers/hour Regal, Cutty Sark, Cocktails, Gin Beefeaters, extra hour: 18 USD/pers wine of the house, sparkling wine We are doing option 1 as we found thats what we usually drank on holidays anyways, and there is apparently a lobby bar near by if people really want a different drink. We are renting it for 2 hours and hiring a DJ. His cost is $150 US per hour. I tried attaching the photos of the wedding site we are being given but it keeps saying invalid file.... can anyone let me know how to put photos on If not PM me your email address and I will send them to you. Let me know if you have any other questions... Can't wait, less than 2 months!!!!!!! Heidi

Quote: Originally Posted by emme Has anyone booked their package with Coba? If so, what options did you have as far as the location of the wedding? Could you choose any wedding spot within the whole hotel complex? What about restaurants? If staying at Coba, could you have your wedding dinner at Gran Torguga or Tequila? Hi Emme, We are booked for Coba, for May 21st, 2009. We chose Coba because it offered junior suites which we thought would be nice for our guests, as some are groups of 3. We also liked that the Coba was the newest of the 3. We knew it was off the beach but most our guests said they wouldn't mind. And I always enjoy a nice walk to the beach each morning... got to fit into that wedding dress... lol. You just need to rate what qualities are more important to the majority of the guests/ yourself, you can never please everyone.. I've tried..lol. We were given a beach location for the wedding, we were not offered any other choices. They sent us pictures of the site and it looked beautiful. I figured if we are going all the way to Mexico, we might as well get married in the sand. We were offered 4 different restaurants for our dinner. We have approx 26-30 guests going. The dinner is included. They were all Coba al a cartes restaurants, you are not allowed to pick one of the others from the sister hotels (so no gran torgua or tequila). The choices were Italian, Seafood, Mediterrian, and French (Le Gormet). We picked Italian. If you have more than 10 guests you must pick your menu. We picked one appy, one soup, and 2 main courses (I believe the guests choose which one), and then the wedding cake. Another reason I picked Coba is that the restaurants are air conditioned. I've heard that others in the resort are not. We are getting married in May and didnt want guests to be too hot. After dinner we are then doing a private poolside reception, with DJ. This is not included but is available at an extra cost. Hope this helps, Let me know if you have more questions. Heidi

Hi Katy, I am assuming for you and me both its a stress related thing! As I am totally in the same boat. I've been on the same bc for years and years. Then I was switched to a generic brand which really screwed things up. I switched back and had one normal month and then missed my period. I took a test and it was negative, but still no period again. This of course has me even more stressed, which I am sure isn't helping the situation. My wedding is 2 months away, and I also wasn't quite ready to be preggo's, I booked 2 weeks at an all inclusive after all I'm going to take one more test just to be sure, then chalk it up to stress. Maybe wedding planning has been more stressful than I have thought. Anyways, just wanted to let you know your not alone in this craziness! Let us know how things go.

We are doing hot sauce with our own label, and personalized paper fans. We figured the fans will be useful during the ceremony, and that hot sauce fits with the Mexican theme.

We just booked Mexican Wedding photos for our wedding in May. They were recommended by a couple of brides on Trip Advisor. I chose them based on this, there website photos, and there quick responses to all of my emails. Here's to hoping the photos are great!!

Thanks everyone! I can't wait to see it. I've only been to Tulum and xel-ha before and looking forward to something new

I'm not sure if you would have to go to town. When we last stayed at a Palliduim resort, they had several times of day when sales guys from the tour companies would show up and you could book directly through them (they just hung out in the main lobby). I am hoping this resort may be the same way. Or concierge usally has phone numbers of local tour guides. We have been to both Xcaret and Xel-ha. Both are amazing. However, Xcaret is more like a zoo with lots of animals and an amazing evening show (a highlight for sure), but Xel-ha has far superior snorkeling, so it depends what you are looking for. Has anyone tried the Coba Adventure?? Any thoughts.

Quote: Originally Posted by calchik congrats! happy to hear it went well and the backup plan worked when the weather didn't. can't wait for a full review and see your pics. for those who have been there before, did you guys book excursions online or did you book it when you got there at the resort? is it cheaper to book online? we just want to do xcaret and golf. Hi Calchik, I just noticed you are getting married 8 days before me! Are you going for 2 weeks or one? Getting super excited already! We've always booked excursions after we have arrived. I find it more flexible that way. But don't forget to barter, we have always gotten a discount when there has been more than one couple going. Even with a group of 6 they gave us $15 a person off! Always worth a try, but probably harder to do if you are booking through the travel company, we usually try to deal with the tour companies that are local. Heidi

Quote: Originally Posted by Steve&Julia Hi all thanks for your help, well I asked around and the photographers here are asking for $5k - $6K just for the photos (airfare and hotel might run me more than it’s worth) I might have to stick to the photographer out there but will pay for him to stay all day. The packages I saw they offer 70 photos for $1030 wanted to know if the guy was worth it. also did you do a reception after the wedding or did you reserve a dinner at a restaurant, I am estimating 50 guest so far and want a DJ as well as a reception. You know to introduce Mr. and Mrs…… but I was wondering if anyone had that and what they can tell me about their experience. My last question (for now) is do I ask them if they have specific flowers? I would like to do a sunflower or yellow and or purple Calla Lilly flower arrangement for the ceremony but also did they do centerpieces at the tables during your reception. Or is this something I might have to send down or figure out an alternative. Thanks in advance. We just contracted www.mexicanweddingphotos.com There packages weren't too badly priced and I really liked their work. They were recommended to me by another couple who was married here, and they are familiar with our resort. They were also quick to reply to all my emails. Heidi

Another Prince George, B.C.... as well ; )

Quote: Originally Posted by jennyFTB Hey ladies....Just got back from the honeymoon and wanted to let everyone know that the big day went perfectly....Jazmin did not forget a single detail...I'm going to try and anwser a couple recent questions on here...We had our dinner in the Gran Tortuga and the food was AMAZING. Everyone loved it! We had 58 ppl down with us and had a table of 11 two tables of 10, 9 and two of 8. Or something to that effect, they had no problem accomodating the odd numbers. Both my husband and I had never been married before and we had the "official" legal ceremony. We were required to bring our passports and the passports of four witnesses with tourists cards. I was also required to bring my long form birth certificate translated into spanish and stamped by the Mexican embassy. That document was given right to the judge. My fiance was NOT required to submit his (not sure why, but we brought his down anyways just in case). As for all the a la cartes at the different resorts. All our guests ate/used the facilities all the different restaurants at each resorts with no questions or issues. Our wedding dinner DID count as one of the a la carte dinners out of the three that you get for the week for all our guests. They are pretty strict on this one, as a couple people in the group tried to argue that the wedding dinner shouldn't count but they got shut down pretty fast....I will post a full review and pics as soon as I unpack my suitcase... So glad to hear you had a wonderful wedding. We can't wait. When you have time, I have a question about the long form birth certificate. You said you had to have it translated and stamped. How did you go about this process? I am having a tough time trying to figure out how to get everything done. Did you then have the marriage certificate appositled there? Any advice you have would be great, as we are trying to accomplish the feat of having a legal wedding Heidi

Quote: Originally Posted by krussell I have a quick question for any Canadian brides who were legally married at or getting married at GBP. I'm still confused about the legal aspects. In the doc that Paloma sent it says: "We recommend to appostille the certificate of marriage on site with the legal authorities… the process lasts around 3 months…" I think she means "takes around 3 months", but does the judge do this? It sounds like some people were just able to bring home the marriage certificate and get it all legalized at the court house. What have other peoples experience been? What's the easiest way to do this? ok...sorry that wasn't really a quick question From what I understood this makes the document a legal document in Canada. I believe it is sent to their embassy. It is apparently easier than taking it home and getting legalized in case there are issues with the paperwork. I was told by a friend who was married in Cuba (so may be different), that they chose not to do this and when they got home found out that there liscence was not valid. We are also trying to get legally married there. I think we will have them appostille it there, as it sounds easier (but is a little costly). Can anyone confirm, that all you need is your birth certificate, passport, and tourist card?? That is what I understood from the last email from the WC, but I am worried I won't have everything I need, and a legal wedding is important to us. Thanks!!! Heidi

Quote: Originally Posted by JoLo908 Does anyone have Paloma's e-mail? I e-mailed Jazmin and said we would like to meet with her to discuss things when we do our site visit from March 6-10 ( my present!)... But I have not heard back. I think it is appropriate to want to meet with them to see the locations, and ask other questions... Right? Should I contact Paloma? Does anyone have her e-mail? Hi Joanna, Here is the info I have from an email from Paloma. I found if I c.c'd Paloma in I usually got a quicker response. Although our WC was recently changed, and our new WC has been fabulous, always quick to respond. But it never hurts to email, or cc Paloma as well. Paloma Flores Gerente de Grupos y Eventos / Groups & Events Manager Gran Bahia Principe Riviera Maya Email:[email protected] Tel: 052 984 87 5 50 00 Ext. 28117 · Fax: 052 984 87 5 50 01 Ctra. Chetumal Benito Juárez, km. 250 Local B, Municipio de Solidaridad Akumal, Quintana Roo C.P. 77760 . México. Heidi