ahorton314

Oh, and if you want to see pictures I can't seem to upload them on here because they're too large or something, so you can add me on facebook to see them if you'd like. Just search for Amber Horton Lopez and request me

Yes, don't worry, things will work their course and when you get there all of your worries will go away

We went with the luxury package...but we also booked it last summer right before prices changed, so it was only $2250, and I know now it's somewhere in the $3000 range. I guess it all depends on your budget as to whether or not to get the package or do a la carte. I personally liked the package because everything was included and covered and so I didn't really have to worry about anything. As for your locations I'd recommend getting in touch with them ASAP to reserve the spots you want and get it in writing/booking form because if you don't they may change it on you and say that someone else already has it reserved...it happens. Although I will tell you that the terrace looks like an awesome location, and it has a great view, but there are rooms right behind and above it (as in those rooms' balconies are pretty much the terrace lol) so just keep that in mind. Have fun with the planning!

The weather was perfect at night...definitely much nicer than during the day when it's extremely hot and extremely humid. My WC thought we were going to have to move the reception inside because it rained all morning and was cloudy until about the time of the wedding, but we chanced it and it was perfect. It was still warm, but like I said, much more bearable than during the day. You should be fine And hopefully someone will get back to you soon...if you have a phone number to reach the office at I would try that, it gets a much faster response than email....or you might be waiting a longggg time for a reply. Good luck!

I wanted to write a review for those of you getting married at either the Gran Caribe or Royal in Cancun, because I wish I could have found a decent review for the Gran Caribe before the wedding. However, everything went great so no worries! Here it goes... Service before the wedding The worst part of the wedding planning process was the communication with the wedding "planners" here in the US. Luckily for you newbies, they have closed the US offices and now all communication is going through the coordinators at the resort, which is so much better. I had Angie Hayes and she was extremely frustrating to have as a planner and I could have done everything she had to do in half the time and in a better fashion. However, once I got handed over to my coordinator at the Gran Caribe, everything (for the most part) was corrected and communication was much better. Wedding coordinator My WC at the Gran Caribe was Diana and she was the cutest thing ever. She was so nice, made sure everything was going to be the way I wanted it, and she was just a sweetheart. My mom gave her a gift before the wedding for helping out when everything with the US coordinator got crazy, and she was floored and gave both my mom and me a huge hug and told us not to worry about anything. She really did a great job and she's an awesome woman Ceremony We had a ceremony on the beach at 6 pm. I was a little worried because while getting my hair done I found out that another bride getting her hair done at the same time was having her wedding at 6 also, and at the gazebo which was pretty close to our beach location. However, it worked out fine and my wedding actually started first, so it didn't even matter and I didn't even notice the other wedding! We just had a judge, nothing religious, along with a sand ceremony. The ceremony was pretty quick and after we walked down the aisle we were greeted with champagne (in the toasting flutes I gave to Diana prior to the wedding of course!) and all of our guests got drinks as well. We decided to then cut the cake, since our reception was outside at night and the pictures would come out better in the day. The cake was pretty tasty (we got hazelnut), but the colors I had asked for were a little off, but I honestly didn't care that much and no one said anything. We then sent our guests off to the cocktail hour while my wedding party and us did our pictures on the beach. Cocktail hour While I didn't really get to spend but 10 minutes at the cocktail hour after pictures were done, everyone that was up there said it was a good time. We did it up on the terrace which had a great view of the beach and ocean. We had a mexican trio play and they serenaded us when we came up, and they were great. I got to taste a little bit of the food and it was pretty good. We upgraded to hot food which was $5 a person and I thought it was worth it. Reception After the cocktail hour we headed to the reception which was right below the terrace on the beach. We had DJ Doremixx, Ivan Gomez, for the reception. He was nice and accommodating since much of our music plans changed due to time and whatnot (we had to be off the beach by 10 but we had music planned until 10:30). He got all of our songs right and the songs I didn't pick that he played were great choices. The fireworks during our first dance was awesome The food was pretty great also. We had the caribbean salad with shrimp, countryside soup, beef fillet with dijon, and this strawberry cake/pie stuff lol. Everyone loved the food and I think my husband and I were the only ones who didn't really like the main course, but that's okay! The reception seemed to go by fast, but we got to do everything we wanted (dances, bouquet and garter toss, all of that) and by the end we were ready to just head back to the room! Diana had all of our boxes for our flutes, cake cutter, sand vases, etc. already in our room when we got back so that we could pack it all up. Photography We just went with the photographer included in the package, Funever Photos (the photographers name was Caesar) but we upgraded to a 4 hour package. He came around 5:30 to my suite to take pictures of us getting ready and all that and left the reception about 20 minutes before it was over. He was really nice and kept telling me how great I was in the pictures and all of that and he never made anyone feel uncomfortable or anything. I can't wait to see all of the pictures! He was also very accommodating because we originally decided to have 5 hours, but when we realized we had to be off the beach by 10 we decided it was pointless to have him there for 5, and he called his boss and got us a $150 refund for the extra hour. Overall The Gran Caribe was awesome! We had 30 people come down, ranging in age from 8-70's, and everyone said they had a great time and that this was a great vacation and the best wedding they'd been to. The service at the hotel was amazing, and we were floored with gifts and VIP service when we arrived. Our suite upgrade was stunning and I couldn't even believe it when we first walked in. I was sad to leave the resort to go on our honeymoon it was so great! I will definitely be back again one day to visit where we got married If there's anything I left out or anything you want to know about just let me know and I'd love to help you out because I know how it feels to not be in the loop on some things and be worried as to how your wedding will go! My advice: whatever isn't going right now will go perfect on your big day and don't let those little things get to you. Phew, that was long!

Quote: Originally Posted by BethHeppert My wedding is planned for Nov 27th, 2010! We have been to the resort twice and are going a third time for our site inspection June 12th. I hope a wedding is going on while we're there so I can check it out! I have a question, hopefully someone can help...How are your guests booking their flight/rooms? Through the resort or through a travel agency? You're in luck! I'm getting married there on June 12 at 6 on the beach. I know there are two other weddings that day also, with the 2nd one being at 4 I believe. But you can take a peak at ours We're doing the ceremony at 6 on the beach, cocktail hour by the gazebo, and reception on the beach until 10:30ish. To answer your question, most of my guests went thru expedia (it's just cheaper since they give the package deal when you book flight and hotel altogether). We went with a travel agent though because we're staying at one hotel for the wedding and another for our honeymoon and i didnt want to have to figure all that out on expedia, so it was just easier thru a TA. once everyone is booked you can send a rooming list to your WC so that you can try and get all of your guests together in one area of the resort if you want. hope that answers your question!

Quote: Originally Posted by knm61210 Angie is my third WC (my first two were fired) and they have all been slow as molasses. I emailed her 4 times and left 2 phone messages over the last two weeks for my final bill and I never got it. You'd think they would want to be payed?? You have to call and actually get her on the phone to get anything done. I finally got her yesterday... she answered a lot of my questions but I'm till waiting on that bill... it is so frustrating getting into contact with those wedding coordinators! both my mom and I call the michigan office and sometimes even then we can't get through! I called Angie on Monday and actually got through to her without being on hold for a long time and she said she'd email me this and that and it's almost 5 days later and nothing, so she'll be getting a phonecall from me tomorrow for sure! It's crazy how terrible they are at communication...I would think being in the wedding business they'd be a little better at that! I'm starting to freak out that everything I've sent Angie in terms of wedding choices isn't going to get communicated to the resort and that nothing is going to be the way it's supposed to...but I guess all I can do is wait and see, and hope! I'm glad to know it hasn't just been me having issues with her, but I hope they start getting better at communication for future brides because it makes this whole process more stressful and frustrating than it needs to be. Whew, I needed to vent lol!

Quote: Originally Posted by Shoesiesluvr Thats funny because alot of the girls dealing with the Real Resort WC's have been saying that theyre experiencing issues with communication but for some reason everything has been smooth with us. We have no complaints what so ever. Anyway Yes please post pictures of your wedding so I can see, where are you having your ceremony & reception?? I do not exactly what our meals are as I have that on my home computer but I will deff post when i get home and have access to it... but we have also added a huge cake that feeds 70 people even though we are only having 35 attending (i wanted the dramatic effect lol) and we have booked fire dancers, cold fireworks && my sister who is part of a local (here in OC) tahitian dance group will be performing a special dance for us. Ooooh I cant wait until your wedding...I'll definitely be looking forward to your review if you chose to do so, and your pictures...Have you done any DIY favors, OOT bags etc? We're having both the ceremony and reception on the beach, with the cocktail reception at that little area behind the gazebo. We've got about the same number attending, 31 is the final count I believe! We just decided to book a DJ also instead of doing our own music as that was stressing me out quite a bit. We are doing OOT bags; I got the bags off of oriental trading co for $10 for a dozen, and they're a great sized beach bag! We're going to put little things in there like candles, mints, hershey kisses that I got off of oriental trading and then I saw some great stuff at Joanns Fabrics the other day like print at home water bottle labels, champagne bottle favors with print at home labels that we're going to put made at home bath salts in. I'm also going to try and find some decently priced picture frames to put in the bags, or I'm going to buy ceramic ones from the dollar store and paint them in pink and orange, our wedding colors. I've got a lot of ideas that I need to start getting on lol!

Quote: Originally Posted by Shoesiesluvr I know...5 more months for us and even sooner for you!! I bet youre totally excited!! Umm we are working with Julie over in Michigan and I believe we got the Luxury Package...what about you?? Are you staying at the Gran Caribe or at the Royal?? I am extremely excited!! We've been working with Angie in Michigan, it's been an....experience haha! We got the luxury package as well! We're staying at the Gran Caribe, as well as all of our guests, but we're leaving the day after the wedding to head to Secrets Maroma Beach for our honeymoon so we're away from everyone who is staying at the Gran Caribe for a few days after the wedding. I'll definitely have to post pictures after the wedding so you can see it all! What kind of things have you selected from the luxury package, like meals and all that?! This is so exciting!

The tote bags from oriental trading company are a great deal. We got a dozen for $10 off of there, and they came in nice bright colors perfect for beach weddings and for guests to use as beach bags!

Quote: Originally Posted by Shoesiesluvr Welcome & Congratulations on everything!! We're getting at the Gran Caribe as well...and your wedding day is my bday!! lol Who has been your wedding coordinator, from the offices in Michigan? Which package are you doing?! How exciting!

Newbie to the forums! I've been reading them for a long time and have been a member for a month or so and am just now getting to posting. My fiance and I are getting married on June 12, 2010 at the Gran Caribe Real. Any advice from brides married at a Real resort, or any advice in general? We put the final payment through today and it's coming up so fast! Look forward to hearing from you ladies!!

My name is Amber and I am getting married at the Gran Caribe Real Resort and Spa this June 12th! I'd love to see any pictures from weddings there or any advice from anyone who has gotten married there