sunnyee

Yes, there is an iron and board in the room.

Mannixrox, We fly out of Toronto...live in Waterloo. You? My email is [email protected] if you want to drop me an email. Sunnyee

It started around 9pm with games, mechanical bull etc...the show started about 10pm. You should have plenty of time for an a la carte if you get an earlier reservation. I would suggest Don Pablo at Tulum. For the food and the proximity to the Fiesta...it's an easy walk through the lobby and straight down to the Hacienda.

Mannixrox, I will be at the Bahia the same week as you! I will have to check out your wedding - from a respectful distance of course! What time is your ceremony on the 3rd? You must be getting so excited! I wish you all the best on your wedding day! Cheers, Sunnyee

Julie2011, Yes, they still have the Mexican Fiesta on Thursdays at the Hacienda. $16 US per person. We treated our guests to the Fiesta in lieu of doing a reception. If you post your email address, I can send you some pics of the Akumal Hammock wedding site. Cheers, Sunnyee

crystalz, I was at the Bahia the last week in October of 2010 and can tell you that the weather was great. We had only a bit of rain, mostly at night and the days were very hot and humid. Perfect! If you would like to see some pics, give me your email address and I can send you some. Been there 8 times and am heading back in 19 more sleeps! Cheers, Sunnyee

melady24, We like to bring our own insulated travel mugs to the resort because they keep your drink nice and cold. Also, they are environmentally friendly! Some of the bartenders will remember your cup and the last drink you ordered too. I prefer using a straw with my travel mug and I bring my own supply because they are very hard to come by at the Bahia. Hope that helps! Sunnyee

Xcitedbride, We chose 5 songs....the first one was played while the guests assembled, the second one was for the bridesmaids, ring bearers, flower girl, the third one was for the bride walking down the aisle, the fourth one was for the signing of the certificate and the fifth one was played after the ceremony when we walked up the aisle to the champagne under the large palapa. We provided the CD to our WC with a list of the song name, track number and exactly when we wanted them to play and they followed it perfectly. Also, besides the list, make sure the CD has a label on it with similar info as well as bride and groom names (just in case!) Be sure to test your CD in a variety of players before you leave to make sure it works! We chose songs that were meaningful to us and it worked out beautifully. It will for you too! Happy planning, Sunnyee

Arlequin is beside the buffet restaurant, not part of it. It is a separate room altogether. I would highly recommend Arlequin for your rehearsal dinner. It is one of my favourite places to dine on the whole of the Bahia property and has a very nice atmosphere. Sunnyee

I don't think I can actually post them either...if you want to see pics of anything to do with the resort, PM me your email address and I'll send you whatever you would like. Sunnyee

Hi Christi, I looked at the pictures and from what I can tell, they used a beach site almost immediately to the right of the Tulum Gazebo. As the photos were taken in 2009, I am unsure if they still use that site or if the only choices are the Gazebo (Tulum) or the Hammock location (Akumal). I've attached photos...let's see if they work. Sunnyee Quote: Originally Posted by cdlillad Thanks Tanyam! So my remaining questions are. Do you think they have any wedding site locations at GBP near some blue water? What is the Akumal hammock location? They only sent me the wedding package prices and I haven't seen a list of wedding sites I can choose from. I saw some GBP Tulum pictures from JoLo98 in 2009 and they look beautiful. But I don't know if it's because her photographer was different or if there has been any hurricane damage since then. So I'm looking for updated information, since it is required to use the on-site photographers. And I don't know the name of the site that JoLo98 used. Here are the JoLo98 pics I looked at. http://claudiaphoto.com/slideshows/claudia/june/joanna_hank/ I'm trying to make my decision by today because Expedia has a Paradise Sale for GBP hotels and I don't know when the sale ends. Christi

Glad things are coming together for you! I have been to the Bahia 8 times...including a stay at Tulum 3 weeks ago. Let me know if you have any questions that I can help you out with. Keeping my fingers crossed for DJ Bijan for you! Sunnyee

Here is Paloma's information.She is the manager for all the WC's... Start with her and put URGENT in the email subject line or try calling her direct... 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.

If you are staying at TULUM they now have the credit card type keys not actual metal keys. I was there 3 weeks ago and was pleasantly surprised by the update. Sorry, I do not know about COBA or AKUMAL, however, I would expect that they will follow suit if they haven't already.

No, we opted not to do a poolside reception. As we were married on a Thursday, we treated our guests to the Mexican Fiesta at the Hacienda instead. Worked great!

Yup, that was us! We had an ipod in a Bose portable speaker on a table at the edge of the pool. We also had an added "lady" to our group...well part of one anyway. One of my friends "borrowed" the braid manequin head from the table outside of the washrooms in the Tulum lobby. We sat her on a table too attempting to disguise her with my hat and sunglasses. She was returned to her rightful place in the lobby after our antics and photos of course! We also had glow bracelets on most nights for dinner and drinks at the round bar at Tulum. Except Tuesday night...we gave them all away to any children we saw on the resort.

Hey Patourn! We were on the upper level of the pool and had our own tunes going so we wouldn't necessarily have heard you. Ariel was a scream! He served our drinks on a tray and then did some "dancing" for us too! He kept saying over and over, "I love my job, I love my job!" Crazy that we were so close on the Thursday! Had we only known...can't wait to read your review! Cheers, Sunnyee

Welcome back and congrats! So happy to hear everything went well and you had such a great time! I had every intention of coming down the beach to discreetly watch your wedding but as it was our last day, I stayed by the Tulum pool with my 13 girlfriends and partied. Ariel at the pool bar brought us rounds and rounds of beverages and it was so hot, we just stayed in the pool. I love that Eugenia ripped your bracelet off with her teeth before going down the "aisle"!! The wedding coordinators really do go above and beyond to make everything perfect! I remember Karla standing there holding practically all of my wedding party's shoes... Can't wait to see some pics! Congrats again and may you have many happy years as a Mrs! Cheers, Sunnyee

Hi Patourn and Kitchenwitch! I was married at the Akumal hammock location on February 25th, 2010 and am returning to the Bahia the week of October 22 - 29th with 13 girlfriends for some R&R and fun. I checked back to this site to see if there were any weddings while we're there and found yours. Best of luck to both of you and heed what others have said...try and relax because everything will work out perfectly! The wedding coordinators do an amazing job of pulling things together. Enjoy your time and who knows I may see you there! Sunnyee

Quote: Originally Posted by Ms.H I'm trying to convince my FI to wear a nice pair of tan short and a white linen shirt, but he's not really into it. For some reason he wants to wear pants We're getting married in Mexico and i just think he will be more comfortable. We're having a pretty casual wedding, my dress is not really a destination dress, but everyone else will be casual. I'm definitely not letting him wear a suit! He will melt!! My whole wedding party (males) wore shorts. We wanted casual and cool but we were only able to do this because we were dining in the buffet. Most a la carte restaurants want men in pants. The way to get around this is to change in between, but I would think that would waste valuable time. As for linen, I have never been a fan...it wrinkles way to easily and then it doesn't look very good.

Quote: Originally Posted by waybuloo Thank you for that I am trying to get booked in the Coba so I can have the choice of both locations as really like things about both!! For those of you who married at the hammocks did you hear your music loud enough? We had music on a CD that we provided and it could be heard perfectly!

Quote: Originally Posted by swankster77 Thanks that's what I was thinking... but the price of the renewal was so cheap so thought I'd at least inquire I just hope that with the symbolic we get the room upgrade and treated the same as we would had we be doing the legal... No worries! You get the same treatment and ammenities regardless of your ceremony type. It's not too late to change your choice of ceremony to Symbolic...just simply tell Jazmin what you want. Try not to stress...I know, easier said than done. Things will work out great and you will wonder why you stressed! Hang in there!

Quote: Originally Posted by swankster77 I've run into a slight problem! UGH! Since I am divorced Jazmin told me I have to get my birth and divorce certificates both translated and apostilled... the problem is, I only have my certified birth certificate (need the long-form/uncertified copy) AND I do not have my divorce certificate (would have to drive 3.5 hours to get it) I do however have my judgement of divorce witch happens to be 8 pages long (translating is $50/pg)... so I'm looking at a grand total of $300-$600 to locate the correct documents and get them ready for me to be legally married in Mexico. BOO! So this is what I'm contemplating... getting legally married here in WI before and then doing the symbolic ceremony in Mexico and not telling anyone. How many of you have done this? Can anyone let me know what the difference between the legal, symbolic & renewal of vows ceremonies are? My wedding is only 2 months away so I need to figure this out ASAP! AAAAHHHH! Yes, I'm starting to freak out a little! If we do decide to go with the legal ceremony as planned I need to jump through a lot of hoops in little time so I'm just not sure if it's worth it. I just want to marry my FI... just not sure what's the best way to do it! Any insight is greatly appreciated. To save yourself some stress/grief get married before or after your Symbolic ceremony in Mexico. Simply tell your WC that you want everyone to believe that your wedding is the real deal and she will make it happen. We had a Symbolic ceremony and had our 4 witnesses sign the certificate...no one suspected a thing. The minister was great and followed protocol as if it was a legal wedding. We got back from Mexico and got married a couple of days later. In our hearts and minds, our wedding happened in Mexico...we just did "the paper work" at home. I know that once we made this decision to go this route, I was more relaxed. Hope this helps!

Here is my review of our wedding at the Bahia Principe Coba: Airline: We booked with Air Transat. Flew out of Toronto. Usual tight seating and only 44 pounds baggage allowance. Spread things around so we did okay going down. Coming back though, we were overweight (darn sand from the sand ceremony!) and were charged $12 per kilo. No biggie, whatever! Arrival into Cancun: Cancun airport is Cancun airport. Busy on a Saturday but having done this many times before, we knew what to expect and just went with it. I got the red light and had my bag searched. Easy peasy, no questions asked. Ride to the Bahia: It takes an hour and a half to get to the Bahia from the airport. Our group took the whole bus which was great…no extra stops! Our host served Coronas and water while we celebrated our arrival. That was the fastest bus ride I have ever had…we were having so much fun that the time just flew! Coba Golden Lobby Checkin: A bit chaotic but heck we were a group of 40!! And our rooms were ready which was a bonus. Our room was beautiful as usual with champagne and fruit and flowers waiting for us. The letter informing us of our meeting with Karla the WC was in our check in package. Wedding Coordinator Meeting: I had met Karla back in November when I vacationed with 5 girlfriends. She was delightful then and didn’t disappoint us at our meeting. She is very sweet and knows her job well. We went over the details of our wedding day. I had photos of how I wanted my bouquet to look and photos of how I wanted the table décor for dinner set up. I showed her all of the decorations and she wrote everything down. I was very organized (thanks to this forum!) and the meeting was quick and painless. I had every faith that she would look after all of the details we discussed. Hotel: We had been there 6 times so we had high expectations. Everything was as we have experienced in the past. It is a sprawling beautiful property. Very clean and well kept. Impressive lobbies with huge statues. Friendly people and good food. We enjoy exploring all three resorts and the size for us is not a deterrent. We love to walk and seldom use the tram services. This helps keep all that food and drink from landing on my thighs! We stayed in the Club Golden section of Coba as we enjoy the extra amenities for this section. Our wedding day: I got ready in my MOH’s room and let the hubby look after himself and our three boys. My bouquet arrived and the florist did an incredible job replicating the photo I had provided to Karla. They were beautiful! A close friend of mine did my hair for me. I was pampered and surrounded by my lovely ladies! All of the guests and the Groom met in the Main Coba Lobby and were transported to the wedding location which was the Akumal Beach Hammock site. They sent private transportation for me and my two MOH’s. We arrived at the site and we were greeted by Karla and my flower girl and my three boys. We were hidden from the sight of our guests. Karla lined us all up and reconfirmed our music choices for each section of the ceremony. Then she gave the signal for my two youngest boys to start walking the path to the site, followed by my two MOH’s and then my flower girl. I waited patiently while my eldest son held me together…I didn’t want to cry but I could feel it coming on! It was our turn next and when I rounded the bushes and saw the people it was amazing. Then I saw my hubby to be…he was crying…enjoy every moment ladies, everything seemed a bit of a blur. We had no idea what the ceremony would be like but it was perfect. The Minister was so sweet and he spoke English pretty well…a little broken at times but that only added to his sweetness. The only glitch that I quickly had to avoid was, the Minister was going to perform the Sand Ceremony and I had to quickly substitute one of our Best Men because I wanted him to do it – I had written the ceremony out for him and it was special for us to have him read it…the Minister was okay and crisis was averted! Everything was awesome…everything we had hoped for! The weather, the execution of the plans, having our friends and families there…simply amazing! We had champagne after the ceremony right there on the beach. Photographer: Our wedding package included 10 free photos. Jose was excellent! He took 88 photos of our ceremony and we purchased all of them on a CD. Dinner: We opted and were given special permission to have our wedding dinner in the Yucatan Tulum Buffet. In keeping with our “casual†approach we felt this was a good choice for our group. We were treated like royalty by the manager, maitre d and the wait staff. They gave us a private cordoned off area of the buffet and it was decorated as I had asked Karla to do at our meeting. We were very pleased! Our dinner was leisurely and informal with no speeches, just food, beverage and mingling. Our cake was small for 38 people, but it was just fine. Mexican Fiesta at the Hacienda don Isabel: We opted not to have a reception and instead treated our guests to the Mexican Fiesta (Thursdays only). There is entertainment like Mexican games and a mechanical bull going on before the show starts. They prearranged seating for our group in the first two rows. The show was good and ended in fireworks. It was a little cool that night and we boosted the shops at the Hacienda with blanket and poncho sales! The disco opened after the show and some of us poured in there and danced until the wee hours. Honeymoon: Everyone left us on the Saturday after the wedding for our honeymoon. This was the very best idea in the whole world! We had a glorious week, just the two of us…I would highly recommend taking an extra week for your honeymoon! Overall experience: Fantastic…excellent…amazing! So glad we went the destination wedding route. It was a special way to celebrate our big day in an interesting and unique way. Thank you to all who have shared their thoughts and ideas to this forum. It was an invaluable tool and a major reason our wedding was so awesome. Cheers, Sunnyee

Quote: Originally Posted by Julie2011 Hi ladies, To those of you who have already had your wedding- If you did a symbolic was it ovious to the guests that it wasnt legal?? do you think the resort would make it seem legal for us- we are thinking about doing the paper work at home before we leave, but I really dont want to take away from the moment either. Also was wondering if they still do the Mexican Fiesta on Thursday nights? Thanks so much =) We did a Symbolic Ceremony and made Karla (our WC) aware that we needed for everyone, including our witnesses, to think that this was the real deal. I can assure you that NO ONE questioned anything and it was done according to legal ceremony protocol...our witnesses signed the "certificate". To us our wedding day was the date of the ceremony in Mexico. We did the "paper work" back in Canada after the wedding. So much easier! Yes, the Mexican Fiesta is still on Thursday nights. Since we were married on a Thursday, we opted to treat our guests to the Mexican Fiesta in lieu of a reception. Worked out well, except it was a bit cool that night. They even arranged to have reserved seating for our group in the first two rows!