SuzyQ76

That's what we ended up doing - the symbolic and then getting married here in Canada first. The symbolic ceremony totally felt like a real ceremony, we signed papers and everything! Plus the officiant does the ceremony in English, when you do the legal ceremony in Mexico the judge speaks Spanish and then there is a translator. I think absolutely all 40 guests had no idea we only did the symbolic ceremony! Our rooms were automatically upgraded for my whole group without us even asking. My Husband and I were even upgraded to a Platinum suite for free. I think we were upgraded because we booked so far in advance - If you leave it till when you are actually there you're risking the fact that they may be at full capacity and unable to change anyone. We had surprise last minute guests and they were unable to book at our resort because there were not any rooms free at all, so they had to stay at an adjacent resort and we had to pay the day pass for them to come to the wedding. Hope this helps a bit!!!

Hi Meg, sorry for the delay - I'm not on the forum much anymore!! Â I should have a few more pics of the Thai Club, I will try to send you some if you can send me your email addy. It's kind of like little private cabanas, so there is a lot of room but also a lot of private areas too...So I think you get to use it all, I only did the semi-private so I'm not totally sure on how the who private function goes. It's all open to the outside but with thatched roofs, very very beautiful. There is a lot of places to dance at the Thai, but again, you might have to message someone who did the private because I'm not sure how they set it up - the whole restaurant is like an open beach house with really nice wood floors then it leads right to the sand. Â The cocktails after the ceremony were done by the "beach waitress" she took everyone's orders, and seemed to keep people happy. I was torn between having the cocktail hour too, I think the difference is that you would have your little area set up and have glasses as opposed to the beach plastic cups. Â The centerpieces were done by the resort, the tables looked beautiful - you could put candles, I think there were some but I can't honestly remember - I'll have to check the pics!I Â Hope this helps a bit! Â Suzy )

 Hi Ladies, sorry I haven't been on here much lately!!!  The wedding pkgs include different things, some will include for up to 20 people (you, new hubby and 18 guests), and some pkgs include up to 40 people - it all depends on which pkg you choose. Then if you are over the specified pkg amount you just pay the extra $10 -$12 per person charge (I forget what they are). If you are considering a specific pkg let me know and then I can help you out with it!  My photog was my sister in law - who does photography on the side. So we lucked out because that is a huge expense on top of everything else - but even a lot of my guests took a ton of great pics!  All of our guests pretty much booked whenever the best deal came up - we had people flying from all over the world so we couldn't really coordinate a group quote for anyone. I did have one group fly from one destination, but they were the only 10 who flew on a group quote with a set price from one destination. The 30+ other guests booked online when the deals came - but I was pretty much watching prices every day and letting people know what was going on - that was pretty stressful for me!!!!!!! I felt like the travel agent.  Try not to stress too much - this is the reason we choose a destination wedding right? Everything is supposed to be handled for us!!!  Any other questions just pop me an email - I'll probably respond much faster! hehe [email protected]  Good luck with all the decisions!!!! Suzy )

The Beach reception is beautiful!! but it is out in the open by the main wood pathway of the beach so just keep that in mind as far as it being windy and visible to passer-by's. Maybe try to contact someone who had the beach reception on here so that you can get the full details. The gazebo is in the exact same place where the hold the beach ceremony, they simply move the chairs down to the sand...it's located right beside the platinum section of the beach loungers - so people will be beside you but you really don't notice. There were all kinds of neck stretchers taking a peek and guests can walk the stretch of the beach so they will come take a look!!! But I was so caught up in the moment I really didn't notice!! Good luck in your decisions! if you have any questions don't hesitate to ask!!! Suzy )

Quote: Originally Posted by lamon006 Suzy Q! Thanks for that great post. It was so nice to hearsuch good things. I am having my wedding in Mexico April 2011 and am narrowing it down between Grand Riviera Princess, Vallarta Palace, or Gran Melia. Can you also send me all that information? I can't pm either, do not know why. My email is [email protected]. Thanks so much! Just emailed it all to you, in 2 diff emails!!! Let me know if you have any other questions!! Hope it helps )

It all depends on how many pics you're going to take...if you want lots of time for pics, then I'd say choose 2 pm, that's what we did and I didn't find there was an excessively long wait in between, like I said most of the time was eaten up with pics and socializing and having some drinks. If you're going to do a cocktail hour, definitely pick the 2 pm option so that you and hubby can enjoy the drinks too and then do pics. But I still think you would have lots of time with the 3 pm option, I don't think that was avail when I booked or I prob would have picked 3 pm. Sorry not a definite answer, hope this helps a bit!!

Quote: Originally Posted by Lizg Hi Suzy,funny that you mention changing the dates because I've been considering doing just that!! Even though we've already sent out our invites but I couldn't do it on thursday since a lot of people are getting there on thursday and I think saturday was already booked which is why we went with friday i think...but it wouldn't hurt to ask my wedding coordinator, maybe it's available! Good point about the drinks for the gala dinner, I assumed they were included, I should def double check!! I meant to ask you...you mention the courtyard bar has live music everyday...what type of live music? do they play salsa & merengue or what kind of music or does it change? I had asked my coordinator and she said that they typically play slow relaxed music!! I hope they play fun music too, I mean after all it IS mexico and it SHOULD be lively!! So what's your take on the live music there? What about the shows are they any good? I also heard there was some flamenco show at one of the restaurants, did you see it? And did you eat at Mamma Mia or La Hacienda...which do you think is better? I was thinking of having one of those as my rehearsal dinner if I do a private gala dinner. Thanks again Suzy for taking the time to answer my questions, you rock! Hey Liz! No prob with answering your questions, I know I had a trillion before I left, so I'm just glad I can help out and put other concerns to rest! I think one night a week, not sure which night, they have a live Mariachi Band, which was awesome!!! Most the other nights, it's pretty slow relaxed music, these two people, one female singer and a guy that plays the keyboard and sings backup, and they have a VERY SPECIFIC short list of music that they can do. You hear a lot of the same songs played nightly...Hotel California...80's soft rock-ish...there is a list they will let you look at to request a song, but if it's not on their list they won't play it - I think because of not knowing anything else! I think one night they actually had salsa and were teaching people...but I missed that night. The shows are good, and *funny*, they put A LOT of work into them, the costumes, the lip syncing and hair and makeup - we actually only went to one show so I can't really comment on them all! It's entertainment, we didn't really hear a lot of people complaining, some may have applied the term "cheesy" lol We didn't see the flamenco show, totally wished we would have, heard it was good - and we didn't even get to eat at Mamma Mia or La Hacienda!!! It was a FAST week, so my one piece of advice...scratch that make that 2 pieces of advice: *learn to say NO to family and friends on YOU trying to coordinate everything. *stay 10 days to 2 weeks if you can!!! 7 days + a wedding with a ton of needy guests is not enough to get full use of all the amenities on this resort!!! Most of our group really LOVED Las Olas...and really I'm not sure about the rest, sorry I can't help you there! I didn't even try Las Olas, the only one's I tried were: La Valqueria, really good, everyone liked it (that was our rehersal) Miso - again really good, but that was a regular night so not a set menu... OMG I think that's it, time just went soooooooo fast!! Any other questions don't hesitate to ask!! Good Luck!! Suzy )

Quote: Originally Posted by Lizg Hi Suzy, congrats and awesome review, definitely puts my fears at rest (I'm getting married there on 11/26/10). Unfortunately for me, the semi-private option for the thai beach club is not an option because it's closed on fridays I was wondering, did you end up doing a first dance, and if so where? Did you go to the lobby and would you reommend doing it that way? I'm entertaining the idea of getting the private gala dinner so this way i can do a first dance there etc...but it definitely doesn't look as nice as the thai beach club more of a conference room look Any suggestions based on your stay there? Thanks! Liz. Hey Liz, You will have a blast!! We did not do a first dance. But we did see a lot of people go to the courtyard bar for their dance and it was really nice, and really packed with people!! The courtyard is a popular place to be at night, it's where the live shows happen nightly...and there is usually live music nightly too - the lobby doesn't have music so there wouldn't be anywhere to dance. I think the gala dinner would be really nice, and you would have the whole room to yourself, so you could do speeches and dancing, whatever you want - just check to make sure that you don't have to pay for drinks to be set up, I don't think there's a bar there and from what I understood you have to pay a per person drink charge that adds $$'s to your dinner. Then there is always the beach party too, if you wanted to pay for the private option...but that's expensive, $85 per person with a 40 person minimum...I know this may sound really stupid, but is there any way you might be able to change your wedding day to Thurs? have you sent out invites etc...It might be worth seeing if you can change things and see if the Thai Beach is avail for the Thurs - just a thought... I don't think I helped your decision any, but if you have any questions or need any more info just let me know. Suzy )

Quote: Originally Posted by gowiththeflow Thanks for the great review! The gazebo pictures are so beautiful. We went to the resort in Oct and loved it! I was a little confused...did you do the private or semi-private? If you did semi- do you remember how much pp it was for totally private? Sorry, I just wasn't clear! I received some info from the resort, but unfortunately they did not include and private reception info - the main thing I really need!! Hey!! We did the semi private option, so there was no minimum amount of people and it cost $45 USD per person...the private option is a 40 person minimum and it cost $100 per person, but you get the WHOLE restaurant to yourself and it is absolutely amazing. If you need the semi private and private options just send me your email and I'll send you the info I have! Hope this helps a little bit! Suzy )

Quote: Originally Posted by doblauvelt OMG congrats to everyone, I'm so happy for you all I know it's been awhile and let me tell you the horror story I went through with Andrew. But to make it short, some of you know we broke up in January, just 3 months before our wedding. Things weren't right at the time BUT we reconciled and ELOPED in Las Vegas. I know, so cliche but the situation was just right. I had already switched my plane tix from Cancun to las vegas and Andrew came last minute and everything was just so perfect. I'm still not out of the water yet with the whole wedding planning. My parents a throwing me a vow renewal/ wedding reception in August to honor our families, that's so nice of them. And hubby and I still haven't had our official honeymoon yet lol (we're thinking Bora Bora). Everything is so backwards but I don't care... I married my bestfriend So congrats once again to all. I have to catch up to all I have missed these past few months. OMG, I'm soooo glad it worked out the best for the both of you!! AND Vegas!!! that's awesome!!! Also totally go to Bora Bora for your honeymoon, never been but I totally have to go there at some point in my life! Congrats to you and again, so glad you have your Happy Ending!

Quote: Originally Posted by StephyD Thanks SuzyQ for all the info you sent!!! I have a few more questions... I guess we need to be there 4 business-days prior to the wedding... why is it 4 days when most resorts in Riviera Maya request you being there 3 days...? Also... for the private Thai reception, if you do private (instead of semi-private), do you have a dance floor? We are planning to have a private reception, with DJ and a dance floor... from the pictures I've seen, it looks pretty small, I'm just wondering if there would be enough room. Also, what decorations do they put up for the reception? What time do they hold the ceremony at? Stephy, Just ask the wedding coordinator about the days, we flew in on a Sun and our ceremony was Thurs which was technically only 3 business days prior to the wedding but she still said it was fine...but then we decided to just have the symbolic ceremony and do all the legal stuff at home. I think if you do the private option at the Thai Beach you have lots of room for dancing, you'd have the whole place to yourself; which like Sasse said holds 100+ people, but it's set up really intimate so it's not like a huge square room that you'd have to fill with people. Unless you want the dance floor on the beach you wouldn't have to pay for the dance floor at the beach club, you could dance right on the restaurant deck/floor. As far as decorations for the reception, I don't know because I only did the semi-private, so you might want to message sasse75...but the restaurant is BEAUTIFUL, and the scenery is amazing so you don't need a lot of decor. As far as the ceremony times go I think there are 2 choices, 2pm and 4pm daily. Let me know if you need anything else! Suzy )

Quote: Originally Posted by CherryCoke Great review and beautiful pictures. Congrats! Would you mind sending me the info about this resort. Thanks, Sara pm me your email address and I'll send you everything I have... jcruzin76!! Glad to see some pics up ;o) You look amazing!!! Jamaica looks beautiful, I love the wedding gazebo, or what I can see of it!

Quote: Originally Posted by StephyD I'm trying to decide between the Grand Palladium and the Grand Sunset Princess resort. Can anyone send me the wedding packages info?? Also, do you have the WC's contact information? (phone number and email) Email me at: [email protected] What is the different between the Grand Sunset Princess and the Grand Sunset Riviera?? Any info would be great!!! Thanks!!! I just sent you ALL the info I have and I'll send you the Wedding coordinators email as well, we had Patricia, and she's awesome!!!!

Quote: Originally Posted by jcruzin76 Hi SuzyQ76...Congratulations!! Your pics are absolutely beautiful! I too just got married, but in Jamaica and I've been trying to figure out how to put pictures in my review. Can you please let me know how you did it? Thanks! Congrats to you too!!!!!!!!!! Jamaica must have been amazing!!! Can't wait to see your pics. I uploaded all my pics to photobucket - it's a free picture sharing site, and then you just copy the IMG code and past it where ever you want your pic to show up on the forum...just make sure you copy the IMG code so it works... Here's a link to photobucket... Image hosting, free photo sharing & video sharing at Photobucket so the IMG code will kinda look something like this: (once you upload all your pics each photo will have a code.) <IMG SRC="wedding flowers" ALT=wedding> It's pretty easy, just a little time consuming, Good luck and any other questions just let me know! And Congrats Again!!

Quote: Originally Posted by Margret Can you tell me if semi private Thai Beach option include open bar? Yes it does, there is a bartender specifically for the Thai Beach club, and it's right beside where they had us seated, so they just came around and took orders and everyone just ordered anything they wanted the whole time! and I think you could go up to the bar to order too. It was all great service!! I definitely recommend it, and if you are under 40 ppl the area that they put us in was very secluded and facing the ocean, so it was like we had our own private dinner )

Quote: Originally Posted by ccm Can somebody tell me how much it costs for the private beach reception? Also are kids only charged half priced? Thanks it's $85 USD per person for the private beach reception with a minimum of 40 people (or if you don't have that many they will still charge you for 40)...as far as the kids price I'm not sure about. Maybe there is a kids price after the 40 person minimum price? sorry wish I could help you out more on that one!

MEL, OMG!!! Your pics are amazing, it looks like you went to over 40 locations!!! So many nice shots, with amazing real life props!!! Love them all, they are stunning!!!!

Glad you got the dress you couldn't stop thinking about!! Destiny was definitely made for you!! It looks GORGEOUS on you!

Quote: Originally Posted by skadow ohhhhh I love the leapard print. Great Idea! SKADOW, Love your kitties, are they Savanna's? They are Beauties!!

Man, those are totally HOT!! You're GORGEOUS!!! Totally makes me regret not doing a boudoir shoot...looks like it'll have to be a 1 year anniversary gift!!! and in agreement with the previous post, I'm totally stealing the stiletto and thong move!! I like it a lot!! lol Good job, you're FI is going to go gaga for them!!

Here is my fresh bridal Bouquet, the one included in our wedding pkg....I LOVED it!!!! LOVE LOVE LOVED it!! lol and here's my BM's Bouquets that I made and brought with me, all supplies from Michaels...

Awesome review Wendy, your pics are amazing!!

Awesome review Wendy!! Your pics are absolutely GORGEOUS!!! The resort looks amazing and I'm glad it turned out to be everything you wanted!!

Quote: Originally Posted by kristy1980 This resort and all of the pictures you guys have posted look so beautiful. I just got a super price from my TA today for next April and I'm really leaning toward booking! I was wondering if anyone had any info they could send to me to give me an idea of wedding packages and extras etc. Let me know if you do and I'll send you my personal email Thanks everyone!! Send me your email, I have it all!!!!!

Quote: Originally Posted by Fivecents Hello Ladies! Just wondering if any of you Canadian Brides who had OOT Bags if you carried all items with you on the plane or if you had it shipped at the resort beforehand? HELP!!!! Don't ship it beforehand!!!!!!!!! I've read some horror stories on things getting trapped and then some even burned when not picked up at customs!!!! Not sure if anyone has a better story about things getting through to the resorts, maybe it depends on where the items are going...the burning incident was in Mexico. We took all of our stuff with us and pawned a few luggage pieces on what friends we could - it was a HUGE pain is the A$$ hauling all the luggage but much easier coming back!! Good luck on whatever you decide!