jaccat15

I would use a TA that you or someone you know has used before and has experience with booking wedding groups. A friend of ours is getting married at the Paradisus in May and we liked how she communicated with us (very quick and efficiently) and had established a comfort level with her. When we decided to book our wedding at Secrets, we knew exactly who we were going to use. On the other hand, you might be able to work directly with the hotel's group sales dept. yourself - it's purely up to you. As a fellow bride, I would leave that part of the wedding in the hands of someone you know and trust....and ALWAYS make sure you receive and sign a contract concerning your room block - helps to protect you and your guests against those horror stories. Good luck!

What are your concerns about the flowers and AC? Cecilia seems very flexible when it comes to customizing the bouquets and center pieces. You can basically do whatever colors you want it seems. As for the AC - we are doing the reception in the ballroom so everyone is comfortable. I did consider the Ocean Terrace restaurant but we still felt our grandparents and maybe even younger people would be uncomfortable without the AC. As for the location of the room in relation to the ceremony, I'm sure the hotel, our TA and Cecilia are going to take it into consideration when we check-in. Buildings 17, 16, 15 are closest to the Gazebo Terrace on the north side of the resort (17 and 16 are preferred club buildings) **i kept the welcome kit with hotel map they give when you check in and got extras to give to my parents and my fiance's parents. Thanks for the tour group info! We are doing the airport transfers through our TA who does it through Olympus tours. My mom and I used them for our site visits in March and they were very accommodating - when we were getting dropped off at Secrets to check-in and we told the driver the purpose of our trip, he offered to drive us to the other resorts instead of having to take a taxi everywhere- so nice

hii - no worries- ask anything you want! that's what we're all here for We are getting in on Wednesday the 27th and leave Tuesday the 2nd - i miss you by 1 day! I'm going back Memorial Day weekend for a wedding at another resort and we are going to meet with Cecilia one day so my fiance can see the resort (he didnt come on the first site visit) and plan some more things. Let me know if you have any other questions and I'll def do that same! what kind of stuff are you shipping? I'm thinking we are going to send the stuff for the welcome bags - placecards - programs (if we do them)-and our frame for our Kettubah (we're having a Jewish ceremony)

We are reserving one of the 2 private rooms for our group - there isn't a charge for this which is great - you just have to let Cecilia know you want to do that and she will take care of it. Have you done a site visit? I def recommend it - it makes a big difference when you are trying to plan everything.

thanks!!! i just want to get these done and ordered and then start really focusing on our welcome bags. i love checking things off our list!

i'm actually going on Saturday to get the wording finalized on our invites We are going with a more typical wording for the actual invite but we are also including inserts with the weekend "itinerary" of events: Friday, October 29th Welcome Beach Bonfire Hosted by the Silver Family 9:00pm Saturday, October 30th Wedding ceremony and reception 6:00pm Gazebo Terrace Sunday, October 31st Farewell brunch World Café 9am-11am Then we are also including an insert with our travel agents info on it for people to book rooms. The RSVP card will have all 3 events listed on them for people to check off if they are attending. The invite itself is a folder style. It's a big square and when it opens there is a pocket flap on the bottom that will hold all the extras.

thanks for posting! i actually saw this on TripAdvisor love that site!!!

Hi Boo - when I was at the resort for my site visit, Cecilia told me what I had mentioned. Interesting.... I think as soon as people get the invites they will get moving on booking. They def don't want to wait it out longer than 3 months in advance to book. Are you using a TA for a group rate? The airfare went really high for our weekend so we are hoping it goes down again for our guests. Where are you having your reception?

Welcome to the site pryncesslinda! Yes, Secrets will do more than 1 per day BUT they will not do 2 big weddings in one day. If they take on a wedding that is over 20 people, they will only book another wedding smaller - which I find fair and nice. Other resorts will have 2 big ones in one day and that could get scary.

gotcha it's all so exciting for everyone who is invited - i'm hoping about half of the people I invite come (we are inviting around 225 people) but think maybe 100 will show or even less.

Quote: Originally Posted by groom'smom jccat, my son's wedding will be Oct 22 at Secrets. O very nice! We are getting in on Wednesday, the 27th. When are you sending the invites out? We sent the STD's in mid-March and my mom and I just went today for invitations. I think we should send ours by July 1st or 15th for an August 30th RSVP - just wondering what you guys are doing since you are on the same timeline.

Hi everyone! I feel like I have missed so much going on - I've been so busy!! For our Welcome/Rehersal - we are doing the beach bonfire but AFTER dinner. We are expecting about 75-90 people so the restaurants wouldn't work for us unless we did it whole event at a closed restuarant. We also would like for everyone to enjoy the amazing food at Secrets and then meet us on the beach for a little party

The guest room rate was a big factor in deciding when and where we are going to get married. I think time of year is especially important in pricing as well - peak season (December thru May) is probably most expensive. Hurricane season is most likely cheapest (June thru November). We don't expect our guests to stay the entire week- but for the weekend (3 nights) we think up to $200 per night per person is reasonable - and also a great value for this hotel. We have about 11 rooms already booked for our wedding!!! yayyyy

Thanks everyone! We booked Samuel Luna

nice find! thanks!! I just booked our photograher - Samuel Luna - some one on the board recommended him and he has great reviews and his prices are reasonable

Quote: Originally Posted by mellyrobert stupid question...would $350 a night be per double room or per person? $350 would be per double occupancy in a room - your TA will give you a rate per person based on double occupancy (example: $175per person, so $350 total per night) They should also give you a single person room rate as well. I'm not sure how it works if you have a few friends who are single and want to share a room - I'm pretty sure it's 2 per room only but check with your TA.

Jan is peak so it could be more than $350 per couple per night. I wouldn't worry too much about the price for your guests, your closest fam and friends will come and everyone else will figure it out You just have to be 100% happy about your location.

Hi ladies! SMB is amazing for either your wedding or honeymoon, it won't disappoint. Regarding room rates - it really depends on the time of year you are having your wedding and also the group rate your TA can negotiate with Secrets for you. To give yourself an idea, you should check expedia to see what the discounted rate is that they have with the hotel and subtract about $20. This I have found is a good gauge. Remember, the rates you will get from your TA will be PER PERSON PER NIGHT - Expedia and other travel sites are based on 2 people. As for rooms - We got upgraded to one of these a few weeks ago when I was there to plan our wedding. It was really nice having a pool to use but honestly, I would have never booked it bc we never used it and bc it is basically a breeding ground for mosquitos and is on the ground floor. We are booking an Ocean View for our wedding and hope to maybe get upgraded to a honeymoon suite If you think you are going to use the swim out and want the option to stay in the room one day and hang by that pool, then I would do it - but depending on where your room is, the sun isn't always on your patio depending on the time of day. Just some things to keep in mind! Good Luck!

Quote: Originally Posted by amieejo87 Ok.. so you are going to have your cocktail party at the gazebo terrace and the reception at the ballroom. That is what I was thinking, also. Cecilia is kinda hard to deal with because by the time I get a response I have moved on to other questions. Anyway, so what is your outline for the wedding day? Dont mean to be nosy, I just wonder how the time will go. I can't get cecilia to tell me if the cocktail party takes place while we are taking our pics on the beach or if it is after the pictures. But if it is after, what do my guests do in the meantime? I will have around 35 to 40 guests and the wedding is scheduled to take place at 6 (sunset) but now I have 2nd thought about this...will there be enough time for pics afterwards? How many hours of photograghy are most brides choosing to have? I have thought about 3 hours but i'm wondering is that will be enough Thanks everyone for all the help! Amiee Hi! When is your wedding? Give Cecilia a couple days to get back to you about these kinds of questions - you probably have a lot of time and she has made me feel completely at ease with no need to rush into anything - unlike decisions for a wedding in NYC. Yes, we are having the wedding at the gazebo and the cocktail hour on the gazebo terrace/lawn area and then moving the reception to the ballroom. As for my wedding day, I am unsure of the exact timing but have am probably going to get a photographer for 8 hours. This should give enough time for pics before the ceremony and then the reception. We are Jewish and our wedding is for a Saturday night which means we have to get married once the sun is down in observance for Shabbat. I'm planning on taking most pics before the ceremony (family shots, with my fiance, getting dressed, etc.) Most photographers tell you to have the ceremony an hour before sunset or so, so you can take pics on the beach - we aren't very interested in this so it doesn't matter for us. We are going to take other pics around the resort and such before and maybe some after the ceremony on the beach but I doubt it. This gives the rest of the time to the reception (4 hours). I'm going to assume cocktail hour will take place for you while pics are taken on the beach - from my experience with weddings, the bride and groom rarely attend the cocktail hour anyway - if only for a little while and then get introduced at the ceremony. We might also do the cocktail hour before our ceremony - something a few of my friends have done at their weddings since the ceremony is a little later due to Shabbat (and the bride and groom usually do their Ketubbah signing during this and have private cocktail hour service with their bridal party). Let me know if you have any other questions! I know this can be a lot to handle and to get used to communication wise. jackie

Dreams resorts are very elegant and classy for families. If you don't need all-inclusive, you can also check out Fairmont Mayakoba - this is an amazing resort.

Do you have access to a Kinkos or Staples? you can scan it there and email it. I wouldn't fax to Mex from work either.

Quote: Originally Posted by amieejo87 Hey everyone I am getting married at Secrets Maroma Beach and I had a few questions. I def. a newbie on this site and still trying to figure it all out. I will be getting married on July 16, 2010 and was wondering what brides suggest for the reception hall, the ballroom or the gazebo terrace? what are the pros and cons? I will not be able to view the place until my wedding so I am a little nervous any advice would be much appreciated! Amiee Hi Amiee! Congrats on your wedding! SMB is amazing. When I did my site visit, I was torn on where to have the reception as well. We are having our cocktail hour on the gazebo terrace lawn area and then moving the reception to the ballroom - which is so nice. The other option was to have the reception inside the World Cafe - which we considered too. We did this bc of our granparents and we don't want people to be uncomfortably hot during the reception. As we know it can get so humid and gross at night so we wanted to make sure everyone would be happy. It also depends on your preference and how many people you are expecting. We are inviting around 215 people and expect about 90 to show so a lot of the spaces (including the restuarants) can't hold that many for a reception and dancing. I hope I helped! If you have any other questions, def check around the thread and the site and ask away! Happy planning!

Quote: Originally Posted by groom'smom So, if you pay for the Ultimate Pkg (which comes with some photography), do you just opt out and hire your own? Yes, you can let Cecilia know you will not be needing that portion of the package. Also remember when you have someone come in from the outside, the resort charges an outside vendor fee if they are not a guest of the hotel. For example - Elizabeth Medina lives 4 hours away and asks for a room for the night in addition to her fee. You would not be charged the outside vendor fee for this since she will staying at the hotel. But, there are other photographers in the area that will not need to stay at the hotel and you will then only pay the additional $90 fee for them to come to the resort that day/night.

Quote: Originally Posted by groom'smom Does anyone have information on the photographer that the resort offers with the ultimate package? Does everyone hire their own or do some use onsite one? As arizona said - Juan Navarro is the one that is included and that the package prices are based off of. I met with his team when I was down there on my site visit a few weeks ago. They were OK but it depends on how important photography is to you. Their "wedding album" is a run of the mill photo album you can buy at your local Target with sleeves of 4x6 pictures. The package also offers Adventure photos - which is the photography company based in the main building of the hotel - their album is much better but I realized it's the same Iphoto photo book you can make on your Macbook at home.

Thanks everyone! I got in touch with Elizabeth Medina and Del Sol - we are trying to figure out which one we are going to go with. It seems that if you don't go with the photog in the package the hotel offers, the prices are pretty steap - but maybe this is what it costs? The photographer costs half of what the wedding will - does that seem about right?