aqua32marine

Hello ladies! It's been a while since I posted, it's been extremely hectic! I'm actually at Privilege right now, relaxing on the balcony and enjoying the lovely weather. I've been having some pretty negative experiences with the hotel. Like they released my room block earlier than my contract date, resulting in 6 of my guests staying at another, much more expensive place AND they aren't apologetic about it. And there's now this 10% service charge that's appearing on the dinners I had planned, even though that wasn't mentioned at all before!! But there are some positives as well, the staff are wonderful and the drinks are plentiful! I'll try to check in a couple more times, let me know if you have any questions!

Welcome to the forum!

Welcome to the forum!

Hi Ladies, Elba confirmed that the reception will end at 10:30, but they can stay open untill midnight for $5 per person, per hour (if all-inclusive). Since we have to pay for the space, we're thinking of just moving the party off-site to a bar if folks want to keep partying Tina

So Rae, will you be having the ceremony and the dancing on the terrace? Good point on the timing, Sheena, I'll have to confirm with Elba on how late we can have the terrace area Tina

Welcome, Kathleen! I'm a January 2010 bride as well. Are you the one getting married on January 9th? Also, Elba said their florist would be willing to do a chuppa/pavilon type thing with flowers for free, so I would send Elba some pictures and see if she can work something out if you're not liking the flowered arch. Rachel, as for the reception, my understanding is the dinner in the blog was inside Sabor and the dancing was on the "terrace" portion, which is just outside and partially covered with exposed beams. I'm thinking of having this set up for mine as well. Has any put any thoughts into dj versus ipod? I'm debating right now and can't decide. I emailed 1 DJ but haven't heard back from him on rates yet, and Elba had previously quoted me $250/2 hours for another DJ. The speaker/mic costs for an ipod is "100 usd or 200 usd for 2 to 4 hours," which isn't as clear as I would like but I think she's saying about $50/hour for rental. The only reason I'd want a DJ is to make announcements, etc but what are you gals planning on?

Hey Ladies, I have menus for appetizers, the bar and dinner. If anyone's interested I can email them out Tina

Hi ladies, I'm having the same debate as well. One question I had, though, is that if we play our own music from an IPOD would we be missing out on having the DJ make announcements, like announcing us in, starting the first dance, etc? Or should someone other than the DJ be doing those things? Thanks, Tina

Like many others, I originally wanted a tea length (or shorter) dress and I actually have a bunch of pictures and things I've saved from my research; if you give me your email address I can send them to you. Alfred Angelo had some beautiful ones. The main problem was, most designers try to over-compensate for the informality of the short dress with lots of extra beads and stuff, and sometimes this doesn't show up in the internet pictures. When I went into stores to try them on, I didn't like them as much because it felt too sparkly for my beach wedding. I ended up choosing a longer dress but it is form-fitting without a train

We emailed our STDs as just a jpeg of the STD "card" and a little personalized note at the start of the email. The STD picture had our website on it as well. My FI found an existing STD design we liked (a French airmail letter), copied it, pasted our wording on and then posted it in emails so that it would be visible in the email body. It looked very nice, and it saves on paper waste! Tina

Hi Sheena, Haven't heard back about the flowers. The flowered arch in the pictures is the one included in the package, and Elba's going to try to see if she can get me a chuppa/pavilon type thing (sort of like in your pic!) for free. I probably will get a dj, but I'm going to try to get a sense of his music type, etc before committing. My FI and I are debating having a band come out at the end of the ceremony, during the cocktail hour. Our friend had a mariachi band come out at the end and it made things feel very celebratory and exciting! Sheena, totally agree with you on the cake, I've heard that folks don't really pay attention to it since they're so stuffed by the end (especially at an AI!)

If the puzzle book deal falls through, please pm me! Thanks, Tina

Thanks for the photos, Sheena, Elba had sent those to me as well. I'm pretty much going to copy that wedding set-up, although I'm flip flopping between the flowered arch shown in the pics or a chuppa/pavilon type thing with flowers. I was just planning to use the florist & bakery that's included in the wedding package, I'm not too picky about flowers or the cake. The thing I'm most picky about is the music, I found a violinist who's pretty reasonable and now I need to match him up with Elba

Yay!! I also signed the contract a couple of days ago (I don't think Edgar read any of my revisions, so that was cool!), I'm on for January 16th!

Wow, everything looks sooo nice, and it's so inspiring seeing how much effort you put into it! I'm going to steal your shell ring carrier idea

Hi Sheena, I'm actually waiting for confirmation that the boat can leave from Isla Mujeres as well since the websites state Cancun departure. And Edgar takes forever in responding! If you want I can send you a copy of the reservation form that I got from them so you can start reviewing it Tina

Awesome, thanks for the info Sheena! I also got a price quote from the cancun discount folks for a steak and shrimp boat cruise for $59 pp: Cancun Lobster Dinner Cruise - Cancun Sunset Cruise It's not that much more than the appetizers/cocktail option Tina ps your wedding website is awesome!!

Hey Sheena, I'm having the exact same question for Edgar! I've actually talked to him on the phone (there's an 866 # on the website) and He said that they would set aside some room blocks without reservations BUT I got the sense he may have been just saying "yes" to make me happy because he's busy (trying to get things together after Josefina left and they have a wedding party this weekend). So I put it down in writing and am waiting for his approval of the contract. Very nerve wracking, I've been waiting for confirmation this past week Here's where I found a boat charter: Yacht charter for weddings anniversary birthday boat Cancun, private group party boat leasing rental yacht but it won't be as comfortable if there are more than ~50-55 people

Forgot to talk about the reception dinner. It seems like the choices are the Sabor restaurant or palapas outside of the Cafe Del Mar. On my trip there next month I'll make the location decision, and I'll definitely take some pictures and post them! I think I do want dancing at the reception and Elba mentioned that the dj booth is near the palapas, so that may be what we'll go with

I'm so glad to hear, Rachel, that you've signed the room block! I've been trying to figure out with them if the forms they sent me were for reservations (i.e. you don't show, you pay for the rooms regardless) or for a room block (i.e. put it on hold, don't pay unless reserving). My main contact on the reservations was Josefina and she's not with them anymore, so it's sorta back to square 1 with explaining everything Depending on my final guest list, I may have a reception dinner outside of the hotel (like at Sunset Grill or at a cute restaurant called Miramar, it's near the ferry) just for some variety. If I get around 50 people I'll probably get a sunset cruise and just have appetizers and drinks. Sheena: what pirate cruise are you thinking of? That sounds kinda fun. I've been speaking with a charter company (name escapes me but I can post it later) who charges about $500/hour for a private boat that can fit 55-60, and the pictures look really nice. We can also have them serve us food & drinks or we can bring our own.

Sheena, I was planning to just let my guests know about some of the activities available but wasn't going to try to plan a large group thing; I think my group would appreciate flexibility since some of them are treating this like a vacation separate from my wedding. So I'll post information about some activities [like a day trip to Isla Contoy or a golf cart drive around Isla] but not try to organize all 60 guests into doing something. I am trying to put together a sunset cruise as my welcome dinner, but 60 people wouldn't be really convenient/comfortable on it. So I'm waiting to see what my final guest list count is before moving forward with that

Hi Sheena, I hadn't firmed any guest count up with them but I think I said about 60 guests. My price quote was slightly lower than yours by like $10, but I'm also going earlier in the season so that may account for the price differential. If you do decide to negotiate with them for a lower price, PLEASE don't mention that you got this info from me or from another guest planning a wedding there (they could probably figure out it's me), since that may make them pissed off at me...I want a good relationship with them, at least until after my wedding Thanks!

Hi Sheena! How many people are in your party? That may affect the prices we're quoted

They look so good, very professional! What kind of paper did you use for the booklets and how did you get the eyelet things in?

Wow, Sheena, thanks for the info! If you don't mind, I have a couple of questions: 1. I'm assuming the $15 pp cocktail hour is just for the non-inclusive crowd? I thought the drinks and stuff were included with the $35 dinner fee? 2. Do you know how long the fire dancer show is? 3. What is the deluxe set up ceremony?? Thanks! Tina