tracysf

That makes me so sad. We had such an amazing wedding week at Ceiba and absolutely loved that hotel. We had envisioned going back there in years to come to celebrate our anniversary with friends and family.. such a loss. Ceiba and their staff are amazing.... I just hope it's not true So sorry especially to the brides planning to get marred there. Le Reve is amazing---much smaller but gorgeous and close to Playa, which is nice. Best of luck to you all...

Forgot to share pictures. This is the site I created so that all our guests could upload their pictures to the same site. I highly recommend creating one of these sites as well. You can then use all the pictures to make photo books, prints, etc: http://johnandtracyswedding.shutterfly.com/

This is much overdue, but going to finally write a review from our amazing May 13th, 2011 wedding!! Overview: We had 125 guests come (mostly from California). Most guests stayed Tues or Wed until Sunday. When I first starting planning, I knew the most important thing to me was choosing a great location that was reasonable for guests and a place that we could somewhat take over (not a huge hotel). It didn't take long to find Ceiba since it is one of the only medium sized hotels in the Maya Riveria. Most other hotels were too small (30 rooms) or huge. Luckily, when we went to our first visit to make sure Ceiba was as nice as it seemed on the website--we were more than impressed. The hotel is gorgeous, very natural and rustic yet has a bit of a luxury feel as well. The wedding optinos were great. There is a huge reception area next to the main part of the hotel, several options for cocktail hours (pier, 2nd floor terrace area, pool area). A great beach for the ceremony (and for guest to hang out during the day). I liked that the beach was private--so you didn't have to worry about random people hanging out during your wedding. Also, the reception area is sort of tucked back next to the hotel--so most of our guests didn't even know it was there until the wedding day. The staff was incredible. The only downfall is that it is 25 minutes to PDC, but for me, all the positives outweighed this one negative. We still rented a bus one night and went to PDC and the bus ride was actually really fun. Also, at first it seemed expensive for guests--but once you break it down, it is really not a bad deal considering what you get (amazing hotel, food and beverage). Other thing to consider is that the 2 bars close at 11 so some nights i wished we had more time. I think it was probably a blessign though, b/c our group drank all day and needed to be cut off at some point. Just remember to stock up your rooom with some beers and order a bunch of drinks before last call Schedule: Tuesday night about 40 guests were there, Ceiba had a Meixcan buffet which was great. Wednesday night we had a cocktail hour and then everyone ate at the restaurant. We then took a bus with about 50 of us to downtown Playa. Thursday was rehearsal dinner (taco bar) on the beach with a steel drum band. Friday was the wedding (5:00 ceremony on beach, cocktail hour on pier, then reception on the terrace). Vendors/Ratings: Ceiba Del Mar: A++++ Exceeded alll of our expectations. Truly amazing--this MADE our wedding. It was perfect and our guests loved this hotel. Photographer: A++++ Melissa Musgrove from Santa Barbara. AMAZING! Highly recommend her!!!!!!!! We flew her in and it was soooooooooooo worth it. Taco Bar From Ceiba for Rehearsal Dinner: A+ Amazing. Everyone raved about it. Wedding Food from Ceiba: B+ It was good. not the best food I have ever had in my life but good (and I am a picky eater used to a high bar set in San Francisco). We offered a choice between Salmon and the Steak and Vegtable Risotto. Ceiba will work with you if you want to customize the menu a bit. Dessert at Wedding : A+ Ceiba helped with this. We did Churros, ice cream, mexican cookies and sprinkles (we brought spinkles) Alcohol at Wedding: We used La Europa. It is a bit more expnsive than Costco, but so worth it. They will buy back what you don't use. My worst fear was running out of alcohol, so I liked that we could overbuy and then return what we don't use. We bought a few things at Costco becaues it was a lot cheaper (vodka and a few other things. I am warning you though--it takes some time picking it all out. They will also come back and pick up what is not used after the wedding, which is nice. They are very trustworthy also. a very good and well run business. Decor at Wedding: A- Planner1 did our flowers, chairs, ceremony decor, and rehearsal dinner flowers and laterns. Gabi is so sweeet---i really like her and highly recommend her. Everything looked amazing except the flowers on the tables ended up not being what i asked for. I didn't see this until i showed up at the wedding--so nothing I could really do and at the end of the day, I was so happy that everything else was going well, i wasn't too cocerned. Basically the flowers and even the colors were not really what we discussed but perhaps some things got lost in translation. We discussed the exact flowers that woudl be used and I showed up and say gerber daisys (which I hate) and the colors included light pink flowers (when they were all supposed to be bright colors). however, everything else Gabi did was great. DJ: DJ Mannia--- A++ they were soooooooooooooo good. People did not stop dancing all night. Had all the most current music. They made our ceremony so much fun--best decision i made. Also, i highly recommend that you get the dance floor on the beach. that was SO FUN! Also, we had spotlights going out to the ocean otherwise the ocean is pitch black and you can't see it at all. these were only $300 or so for 4 spotlights--and they made our wedding so much prettier. Highly recommend this and the dance floor on beach. Transporaton for guests to/from Airport: A++ I HIGHLY recommend Alex at Your Cancun DMC. She is SO organized and my guests were so grateful that they had someone to work with to pick them up and drop them off at airport. They even set up a desk at Ceiba to make sure our guests knew what time they needed to be at lobby. Prices were reasable also. Her email is [email protected]. Javier - A++ I loved Javier. I sent him specific songs that we wanted played (mostly Beatles) and even how i wanted them played. He was amazing. So glad we chose to have live music. Hair/Makeup A++ can't remember their names now, but it is Gabi's sister in law (from Planner1). I LOVED them They were so cool and nice-- i want to be friends with them. And they are great at hair and makeup. Welcome Bags: The best thing I did was make a photo book on Shutterfly with a picture of all our guests, their names, and relation to bride/groom. People were referencing this all week and absolutely loved it. I reallly think it helped everyone get to know one another. Also--snacks and the survival kit were key (modium, advil, etc). All the other stuff was probably a waste of money. I should have gotten more snacks and less other schotcky crap. I am probably forgetting things now. But if you have any quesitons---please let me know. Also, happy to talk on the phone as that is probably easier. I know how hard wedding planning is and I am so glad I got help from people on this site!! Tracy

Okay, so these pictures are not sorted through at all, but I thought I would share them anway. I created a Shutterfly share site so that all our guests could upload their pictures to one central place: http://johnandtracyswedding.shutterfly.com/ There are pics from the rehearsal dinner, wedding, and just pics from the whole week. Sorry they are kind of a mess. I should get my professional photos soon. Tracy

I created a book on Shutterfly. It's a bit more expensive but this was literally the best thing in the welcome bag. Our guests are still raving about it: http://johnandtracyswedding.shutterfly.com/pictures/9

Hi All !! John and I just got married at Ceiba on Friday and it was amzing. Ceiba, Planner1, Javier, and DJ Mannia, hair/makeup were all wonderful! Our Cigar Roller no showed and had a few really small hiccups that I can go into later. Ceiba went above and beyond to accomodate all of our 125 guests and the most important thing is that everyone had an AMAZING time!!! will write more details and can answer any and all questions later but wanted to post this before I head to fiji for honeymoon. at airport now. ceiba seems expensive for guests but once you get there you will see the amazing value.

Oh, and forgot the most important part. Shutterfly never deletes photos. Even if you never make a purchase, you can store your photos there forever. Most sitse like Snapfish and Kodak will delete your pictures after a certain amount of time if you have not made a purchase.

Shutterfly is defnitely better, but I might be biased because I work there Honestly though, here are the advantages: 1) Your guests do not need to create an account to view your pictures (which makes it easier for guests). 2) Shutterfly has share sites specifically for weddings and you can store videos on share sites too (snapfish might have this too-- not sure) 3) Shutterfly is the leader in photo books---and trust me you will want to make photo books with all the pictures from your share site (that you took and guests took). They are a great gift for mom/dad and bridal party! Shutterfly has better quality books, more design options and are easier to make on Shutterfly. 4) Shutterfly offers 100% satisfaction guarantee-- this sounds like an total advertisement--but this is so important. If you aren't happy with the way any of your products turn out --you can get your money back or order somethign else, etc. Okay- that is my $.02. Happy picture taking!

I found these really cute beach bags at Target. They are the best quality ever---but definitely the best I have found for under $3 each! They have a zipper and a pocket on the side too. They are located in the sale area in front of the store (in the $1-$2 bins). You should be able to view a picture of the bag from this link and I also attached one: share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AbNWzlk1bN2LPOg

Hi Go with the flow!! Thanks for the great tips!! I am working and slightly obsessing over my welcome bags right now. What did you put in them that your guests were raving about? Thanks!

Hi Theresa! Congratulations! So happy that everything went well at Ceiba. That is so great to hear! Hope you are enjoying your honeymoon! Can't wait to read your review!!! Tracy

Have a great time Tweets!!!!!!

Thanks Lala!! I will talk to Diana and Lala. We have about 120 guests so I don't think we have to end our wedding at a certain time-- i'll double check though. Thanks again for everything!

Thanks again Lala!! This is so helpful! Did your florist wrap the actual candles in wax or the votive? Sorry... i don't quite understand but definitely want to tell my florist (Planner1) this idea. Also, you mentioned you have to turn music off at 11. Is that alwasy the case? Not for weddings, right? Looking forward to getting the kereokee info--that sounds like so much fun! Thanks!

Hi Lala!! Thank you so much for your thorough review!! I can’t tell you how much relief it gives me to hear that everything went great and Ceiba treated you and all your guests well!! Congrats again on you marriage and planning a successful wedding (I had no idea how hard it would be to plan…eeek!). I have a few follow up questions I was hoping you don’t mind answering. My wedding at Ceiba is coming up-- 6 more weeks J 1) Do you have more pictures that you would be willing to share? I would love to see more of the décor from the other nights, etc 2) I love the idea of the bonfire! Were you able to just plug your ipods into the speakers after the band stopped? 3) Another question on music—does Ceiba generally play music during the day? Since you had such a large group, I was wondering if they would let you play your own music or request? 4) OOT Bags—did you include a list of “things to do†for your guests. I know Ceiba already gives some info, so wasn’t sure how much to include. I definitely want to do the books—where did you make them or was it all DIY? 5) Welcome Drinks—we were planning to do this at the sushi lounge so that we don’t really have to pay for anything (our guest are almost all AI) .. do you think around the pool is better? Did they make you pay to set up tables? What was your signature drink---I can’t decide on one for the wedding but don’t want to do margaritas because we are doing that for the rehearsal. 6) I LOVE the idea of Kareokee—so did DJ Mannia arrange that all for you? Do you mind if I ask how much it was? We are using them for our wedding to, so we might want to do this after the rehearsal or welcome. 7) Wedding—did you use LED candles? I can’t tell from the pics. I really want to use real ones but heard that they will just blow out. 8) Food- did you have any apps passed out during the cocktail? If so, any recommendations 9) Did you plan any excursions. I haven’t and am starting to feel bad. Should I be? 10) Did you ship anything (the welcome bags, etc)> I have heard they can get lost of stuck at customs, but can’t imagine having to cart all this stuff with me on the plane! Thanks again for taking the time to write your review! Tracy