lalanyc

Here you go! For context, our main considerations in selecting a spot were: keeping guests in one spot, lack of intimacy at megaresorts, good food/service, and relative privacy. With that in mind, below are other alternatives we considered: FULL SERVICE HOTELS (all boutique) Le Reve La Amada Hotel Le Meridien (awesome coordinator) Omni Puerto Aventuras (only 40 rooms but great quality though lack of beach area) Azul Beach Hotel Marina El Cid (ok, not small but also not a wedding factory and near Puerto Morelos) Al Cielo Hotel (closer to Tulum. We didnt visit personally due to location and rooms were more sparse than we would have preferred). Ana y Jose OFF THE BEATEN PATH OPTIONS Akumal Beach (Turtle Bay/Lol Ha Restaurant) http://www.turtlebaycafe.com/www.turtlebaycafe.com/Turtle_Bay_Weddings/Turtle_Bay_Weddings.html I thought this was a good alternative for a more private beach wedding; we just didnt love the quality of the cabanas closest to the restaurant though I understand there is a bigger hotels in the town. Also, at first glance the restaurant is very casual but I think it could be spruced up easily. Plus it faces the ocean. Here are pics from a frequent BD poster: http://stephaniewilliamsphotography.com/blog/2009/07/24/mariesam-tommy-wedding/ Playa del Secreto This is an event site for private dinners/ weddings. There is no hotel affiliated with it (as far as I know) though I believe the management provides wedding coordination services. Outside coordinators/vendors are also welcome. You could either rent nearby villas or you could bus everyone in from a designated hotel. Here is the site page: http://www.playasecreto.com/weddings.html Here is a wedding video: http://vimeo.com/21224964 Playa del Carmen One idea was to have all guests stay at a boutique hotel on the strip (or nearby) and have the wedding at a restaurant or beach club. The Blue Parrot Beach Club was one option. They seem to do a good job: http://www.blueparrot.com/weddings-events/ Taninah We didnt visit personally as it was too small but this is a complex in the jungle that can accommodate up to 35 ppl. If you have a larger party, perhaps they can stay in housing nearby. http://www.taninah.com/home.php Private Home/Villa Rental There are some spectacular mansions (err, "villas") all throughout the the Riviera Maya that would make a great location for a smaller wedding. I would encourage you to consider them for a very private setting. Hacienda Kukulcan is in Puerto Aventuras and is adjacent to 2 other equally stunning villas. Don't be discouraged by the rates - they are all highly negotiable. http://www.puertoaventurasmexico.com/rentals/kukulkan.htm http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wa-asNU6vZM Xcaret This is a water/nature park but don't be fooled - it is an amazing location for a wedding! Although the main event sites may already be booked, they were building out other event spots in the park when we visited in 2009 which could still be available. It is definitely on pricier side but the service looks impeccable. Only down side is that your guests would need to be bused into the park. http://www.xcaretweddings.com/ We were in touch w/ this coordinator who gets a slight discount: http://www.weddingsincancun.com/xcaret/ It must be terrible to change your plans after having your heart set on Ceiba! Stay strong - while no alternative will have the same "feel" as Ceiba, that doesn't mean your wedding will be any less fun or beautiful! Feel free to ask questions if you have any.

Jillian and Tiff - UGH I'm so sorry to hear you are going through this!! I would have never in a million years thought this could happen w/ Ceiba. I hope you guys get things straightened out. If you want advice on other hotels (I looked at many during my scouting trips) - I'd be happy to offer suggestions...

THAT'S TERRIBLE NEWS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My husband and I just got a note from management saying they will be changing "administrations" as of March 15, 2012 which includes the hotel's "concept". SOOO UPSETTING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We were just there this past November to celebrate our anniversary and had heard rumors that they had rented out the hotel to a swingers group the entire week before we arrived. The poor staff looked distraught whenever we referred to that large party. Now I can understand why. I know the economy is tough but never imagined they would turn to this! What a terrible loss....

We just returned from Ceiba to celebrate our 1 year anniversary. It was SO NICE to be back!! I didn't realize how much I missed our planning trips last year. The great thing about being married at Ceiba is that we can go back for years to come and continue enjoying its wonderful atmosphere (unlike, say, having been married at a function hall). Good luck to the future Ceiba brides!

Chrisdior - Yes, we brought the lights ourselves (actually, with the help of several relatives) - mainly because our vendor didnt carry these types of lights - only bigger lanterns which I didn't want. Unfortunately, I dont have a sample of the booklet but it was basically a series of square face shots with names, locations and relation below each box. My husband did all the work on that project

Wow, Matt - those pictures are STUNNING!!!!!!!! They gave me chills. Thank you for posting!

We went to the store directly - you will have better luck finding English speaking staff that way. If you dont happen to find anyone that knows English, I would try asking Diana or Paola for help negotiating. We actually worked with Ceiba's head bartender first to determine how many bottles of the different types of liquors we would need before going to the store. The bus rental cost depends on the size and the number of hours you want it for - we paid a little over $400 for a 45-seat bus for 4 hrs (x 2). Assuming you want the same # of hrs, you'd be looking at around $800-850. Of course, there are cheaper services but I really appreciated that the company we used was so professional. Feel free to ask for a quote! Here is our rep's contact info: Alejandra (Alex) Orozco YOUR CANCUN DMC Director of Sales Email: [email protected] Quote: Originally Posted by 780chick Did you order the liquor online or did you go to the store directly? It seems their webpage is all in Spanish. How much was it for the bus rental for the wedding day? We are looking to charter a bus to/from a catamaran cruise for a our guests (70-80 people)

No problem - good luck and congrats!!

Hi Tiffany, Re: the corking fee, I think we simply negotiated an extension of 4 hr blocks and then 2 hr blocks... I believe the extensions were slightly less per person than the original corking fee. Also, for very late night, I think we negotiated a lower number of servers since there would be fewer people. Yes, the late night taco bar was affordable - I think we paid based on consumption which was good since not all of our guests ate. We had almost 160 people. After the dance floor broke, some people moved to the area by the fountain but eventually everyone moved to lower area next to that - which is on the same level as the tables. There was plenty of room to spare. Hope that helps!

Also, in terms of decor - we kept it very simple. We had a few white flower arrangements for each side of the altar, plus the altar table itself. We also had a few short baby's breath baskets for each side of the aisle. I could have probably used more of those (think I only had 6 but could have easily used 12); that said, I believe they had to be moved while the guests came in b/c they were being knocked over (?). Dont know the full details except that they were moved around at the last minute. Perhaps they could have been smaller or maybe we would have been better off hanging flowers from every other pew. Finally, the Father offered to put out some carpeting along the aisle (he had red plus another color) but we declined.

Hi Ana, I just realized you asked for more pics of the CEREMONY not the reception!! Oops. Here are pics taken during the ceremony (Catholic church of Puerto Morelos): Quote: Originally Posted by AnaS Hi Lala, I love your review. Very helpful while planning a wedding even if I am at a different resort. I wanted to ask you a few questions about the wedding ceremony: How did you decorate the place? (do you have pictures to share?) What did you do about music during ceremony? Any other pictures from the ceremony would be very helpul for me to be able to imagine the wedding day Thanks so much, Ana

Hi MKA - Me too - I still can't believe we passed up the opportunity to have a Tequila Donkey!! Congratulations on booking w/ Ceiba!! You and your guests will have an unforgettable experience!! Ahh, I think I misunderstood your earlier comment. Yes, we did pay the $13/pp for the linens, etc. (the linens in the pics are from the basic selection offered with that price). When it came to additional decorations though, aside from the string lights and the pieces handled by the florist, Ceiba did the rest at no additional charge. Technically, we didn't have an after party since our wedding lasted until almost 4 AM though there were only about 15 very very drunk people left by then!!! Many older people started heading to bed around 11 PM and a big wave left after the taco bar around 12:30 AM. That said, I think your after party options will depend on how strict Ceiba wants to be and the type of crowd you expect. If you are big party people but Ceiba has a strict cutoff, then you can take the party indoors into one of the restaurants. You could either continue dancing or set up a karaoke bar. If you want low key drinks and/or want to limit spending, you could head to the front bar and just pay the bartender to stay extra hours (I think they are $20/hr). They could continue to use remaining liquor from the reception. If Ceiba is more lax but you dont want to dance, you could offer light food options and a bonfire with an I-pod/speaker set up. I would recommend tacos de trompo al pastor. You can arrange it so that Ceiba only charges you for what people eat: Hope that helps!

Hi tappleton - the dance floor was set up over the sand right off of the paved terrace. If you note on my review though, the dance floor was unnecessary since there was plenty of extra space on the terrace for dancing (which was a good thing since the floor BROKE shortly after the guests rushed it!). If your wedding is on the terrace, I would recommend putting that $$ toward decorations, UNLESS you really want a lighted dance floor. That way you dont have large empty areas remaining on the terrace. These are the string lights we used: http://www.1000bulbs.com/product/36766/HLS-346166.html I actually purchased the lights and some very nice relatives split the boxes among their suitcases. My florist wanted to charge an exorbitant amount to rent and arrange them so I decided to bring them myself! I donated them afterwards to my parents who happen to have a huge yard. Ceiba strung them for only $100. I think Ceiba used 40 of the boxes (24 feet per box), if that! I bought way too many. A friend of a friend was able to get us 2 fire dancers for $200 for 15 minutes. We had a taco bar around midnight and the dancers came out right before then, around 11:40 PM. I think one of the planning companies should be able to match that price for you if you're interested in a shorter show. Honestly, once ppl are buzzed, they dont have long attention spans and they also dont care of there is 1 or 10 dancers - they're just pumped that there is fire! So I wouldnt recommend spending much more than that. People still talk about the fire dancers and ours werent even that great!! haha.

Hi Ana, happy to share! How did you decorate the place? (do you have pictures to share?) Yes! Can you see the pics I posted earlier under "decor" in my earlier review? I basically used lights everywhere - string lights, lights on the palm trees, lights in the centerpieces, spot lights in the background, candles, etc. What did you do about music during ceremony? My aunt sang and played acoustic guitar - the church where we wed has a small speaker system which was sufficient. Had she not been available, we would have probably contracted a mariachi or trio. Any other pictures from the ceremony would be very helpul for me to be able to imagine the wedding day Sure, hope this helps! Thanks so much, Ana

MKA - sorry for the late response; didnt see your post sooner! See below: 1. How did you go about buying the liquor outside and bringing it in? Was Ceiba ok with this? Did they help you transport it? The open bar per hour seem really high which is why i am inquiring. Did you do this for the rehearsal dinner as well? WE BOUGHT OUR LIQUOR, BEER AND WINE FROM LA EUROPEA (A CHAIN OF VERY BIG LIQUOR STORES - http://www.laeuropea.mx/euro/) AND THEY DELIVERED IT TO THE HOTEL. WE BOUGHT ALL OF OUR ALCOHOL FROM THEM AND THEY ALSO OFFERED TO BUY BACK ANY LIQUOR WE DID NOT USE. THEY HAVE LOCATIONS IN CANCUN AND PLAYA DEL CARMEN. I WOULD PAY THEM A VISIT IN PERSON TO SEE IF THEY HAVE ENGLISH SPEAKING STAFF THAT COULD WORK WITH YOU DIRECTLY. DIANA/PAOLA KNOW THEM WELL AND WORK WITH THEM OFTEN; THEY MIGHT BE ABLE TO MAKE THE ARRANGEMENTS FOR YOU. 2. Were you able to negotiate the set up fees to be included? THERE WERE NO ADDITIONAL SET UP FEES W/ CEIBA. I ONLY PAID $100 FOR THEM TO PUT UP STRING LIGHTS FOR THE RECEPTION WHICH WERE EXTRA EFFORT. 3. What is a Tequila Donkey? A TEQUILA DONKEY IS A DONKEY THAT HAS A TEQUILA BARREL HUNG ON EACH OF ITS SIDES. GUESTS CAN SERVE THEMSELVES TEQUILA FROM THE BARREL 4. What did the hotel charge for the bonfire? And did you only have marshmallows? I THINK THEY CHARGED $300 AND YES, WE ONLY HAD MARSHMALLOWS. I'M SURE YOU COULD GET DIFFERENT FOOD THOUGH IF YOU REQUEST IT AHEAD OF TIME. 5. Is the rental furniture necessary and what did you use it for? DO YOU MEAN THE LOUNGE FURNITURE ON THE SAND WHICH WAS USED AFTER THE DINNER? FROM WHAT I COULD SEE, PEOPLE DID USE IT TO TAKE A BREAK FROM THE DANCING BUT ONE COULD GET AWAY WITHOUT HAVING IT. 6. Not sure if you know this but if you have your reception on the beach, do you need to rent a dance floor? YOU DON'T HAVE TO RENT A DANCE FLOOR IF YOU DONT WANT TO. IT'S TOTALLY UP TO YOU! Thank you so much for your time and help! I really appreciate it! YOU'RE WELCOME!