nucci

Courtney We had 25 people at the Japanese. We had an adult table and a "kid" table but they were right next to each other. Like we could still talk to each other and take pics. It was really fun! We totally took the restaurant over and did sake bombs all night. I wouldn't have done it at any other place. There should be pics from this night on my FB. Hope this helps

Hey Ladies...just wanted to give my input! There are plenty of things for kids to do. They have an activity board by the pools that had what is going on every day and the times. They are always doing competitions at the pools and it's really fun to just watch haha. At night they have different shows too which is good for all ages. As for dinner options...We had 2 choices: salmon and beef tenderloin. We also asked to have different sides. Karla can ask the chef and let you know what other options there are. Having 3 choices might be a lot but you can always ask. Don't forget they have a whole buffet set up for apps and salads too. In my opinion the salmon was the best! I said it in my review but I'll say it again and agree with Hannah: They are strict and can come off rude/mean. I wish I would have been more assertive in the beginning with some issues I was having BUT remember they are working for you! So if you want something demand it! Don't worry about your actual ceremony and reception because they will be perfect...other things might not be so much haha. Good luck! PS How are you ladies posting pics on here??

ok i'm back! the ceremony was amazing. everything looked great and the minister was so good. we didn't meet with him before but he looked through our notes and personalized it which was really nice. honestly i feel like i don't really remember it!!! almost like i zoned out or something but everyone said it was perfect! the cocktail hour was set up in the gardens which was also perfect. we had the mariachi band and cold apps and champagne. we took a few pics but weren't really there for it cause we went to the beach area to take our pics. the beach was super windy so we mainly did pics in the surrounding areas. the reception was awesome! we had it at the don alfredo which is right outside building 10 and close to the pools and beach. there was a little drama saturday morning. on some of the maps it looks like the italian restaurant is located in a different spot so for a few hours we thought they set up everything at the wrong place. my parents went off! of course karla wasn't in yet so my dad went all the way to the lobby, which is far, and flipped out!! whatever everything ended up working out and it was the right place but there was a huge lack of communication about it. karla's boss ended up coming to the suite to explain everything b/c he knew how upset my dad was. he said from that point on if we had any questions/concerns to contact him. he was really nice about it but at the time we were all kind of freaking out. everything was set up great and looked awesome! def have your reception there if you can. there was a nice breeze too. i mean it was still hot but it was nice to be outside! all the wait staff was awesome! they were even dancing at times haha. we def showed them our appreciation though. they made out like bandits. jeff and i tipped them all and so did a lot of our guests. they were really good and deserved it! i had the salmon which was delicious and jeff had the steak. it was good but the salmon was def better. some people said their steak wasn't great. we did notice that you have to order things rare/med rare cause they tend to cook the steaks too long but still had a good taste. we did all our first dances in the beginning after being introduced to kind of get them out of the way. then we ate and then danced the ENTIRE night. i was so sweaty hahaha but it was so fun! dj doremixx brought out balloons and masks and it was soooo fun!! we cut the cake around 10. they did a great job on the cake and our bouquets. i know a few girls didn't give great reviews about the flowers but ours were prefect. i sent a picture and they duplicated it exactly minus the orchids b/c the price is ridic! we hired an outside florist to do our centerpieces. i got the idea and info from tara b/c i loved the way it looked. ours were just as pretty too! the reception ended a little after 11 and off the the disco we went!! i actually wore me dress which was fun but it got so dirty...whatever i'll never wear it again! after the wedding the next days we just partied it up!!! seriously we drank and ate all day long either at the pool or beach. it was so nice not having to worry about anything anymore. i actually never saw karla after saturday night. she was very organized for the most part but her availability and communication wasn't that great. but overall she was really great! sunday we spent all day at the beach/pool. sunday night we made reservations at the mediterrean rest. it was really good! def make the reservations early cause some people were having lots of issues with that. although they would tell you there are no more reservations but then the restaurant would be half empty. so really push for them if you want it! thats another thing i learned. be strong when you really want something. we all paid a lot of money to be there and we paid A LOT of extra for the wedding so we should get whatever we want hahaha!!!! monday night we went to the mexican. i thought it was good but some people weren't fans of it. tuesday jeff and i had our couples massage which was awesome!! so nice and relaxing!! that night we had our romantic dinner on the beach which was also perfect. they set up this whole area on the beach and had it decorated with flowers and music. we had our own waiter who was really nice. the meal was prob the best i had there. the only thing was it was SO windy but it made it funny cause everything was blowing over. our candle blew out at one point and we couldnt see a thing. also we both had soup all over us from the wind blowing it off the spoon!!!! after most our guests left we went snorkeling. def try to do this. so many fish!!! ive been snorkeling a bunch of times and this was def one of the best. we wanted to do so much more but just didnt have time. we wanted to spend as much time with our guests as possible and i wouldnt change that. we had SO much fun! some tips: -you dont realize how much you will be tipping so bring lots of $1 and cash for every day tipping like the bell boys, shuttle drivers, etc. everyone is very helpful! - i know i was having questions about tipping for the wedding...we tipped the photographers, dj, mariachi band, wait staff, karla, and a few others. if they did a good job then we tipped which was pretty much everyone - lobby bar is a good meeting place - it's A LOT of walking. the trolley really doesnt run as much as it should so leave enough time if you have appts. - try the coconut and nut ice cream...so good! - the pool and beach buffets are very convienent during the day cause they're so close but the main buffets are def better with more options - def go to the disco with a big group!!!!!!!!!! all in all everything was prefect!!!! the ceremony and reception were amazing and everyone kept saying it was the best wedding they've been to. the resort was so clean and beautiful just a little too big for me, very overwhelming but still gorgeous. a lot of people have put pics up on my FB: katie iannucci. if you want to see them just friend me. also my email is [email protected] if you have questions. i know the few girls that answered a lot of my questions and gave me help were life savers!!! you won't be disappointed...the iberostar is a great choice!

hello ladies!!! we got back thursday and i started back to work today boo!!! it's been just as crazy being back as it was in mexico. i mean the celebrating doesn't have to stop right??!!! ok here it goes... we got to the resort thursday and the wedding was saturday. when we checked in karla had left us a letter that we had to meet her at 3. i wasn't aware until a few days in but her hours don't start till the afternoon since she's there so late for all the events. this was a little annoying but we managed. the resort is HUGE...i mean HUGE. this made me so overwhelmed and totally stressed me out but i got over it after a few days. we got upgraded to building 10 which is right on the beach which was perfect!! i thought all our guests would be put in another building close but everyone was very spread out which was also stressful. it made it really hard to communicate with everyone to make sure people knew where and when to go certain places. i had made a brochure with all the info on it but i was still stressed haha. i asked karla to give me a list of everyones room numbers and she gave it to me after the 2nd day which was really helpful. i carried it everywhere haha. the resort is gorgeous too. i mean super super clean and very nice but like hanna said pretty strict with the rules. basically the first 2 days i was really stressed and having a hard time but then i started to relax alittle which was good! we put our welcome bags together there and if you put everyone's name on them and their arrival date karla will have them delivered for $1 a bag. everyone received theirs without a problem so it was def worth it. also at first i was doing way too much and not enjoying myself. not sure if it was me having issues with letting go of control or just being overwhelmed but then my parents and jeff all said i needed to give karla more responsibilities which i started to do. i mean we brought 50 people with us and paid A LOT of money for the mac daddy package so she def had to step it up a little. which she did. basically everything i asked her to do she did. i mean there were little things here and there but all in all everything was perfect. i think a lot of it was the language barrier too. sometimes things were coming off like she didn't care or with a little attitude but i think it was more the way their culture is. so we got in thursday and had the rehearsal that night at the japanese...do it at the japanese!!! SO SO fun!! we had a group of 25 and they sat us at 2 tables next to each other. the actual rehearsal was a little unorganized though. we got married at the gazebo so thats where we rehearsed but it was pitch black. not sure what the problem was...if karla forgot to ask for the lights or whatever but it took them about 15-20 minutes to get the lights on. we talked about the ceremony and did a quick run through and then went to dinner. they are super strict about times with the restaurants. my mom and a few other people showed up about 10 minutes early and karla and whoever actually asked them to leave and come back which my mom wasn't too happy about. karla wasn't my parents favorite person . they just thought she should have been doing more for us since we paid so much money. dinner was super fun though!! the food was great and the cooks were so much fun. they let us come behind and actually chop some of the food. we were doing sake bombs the entire time...we were def the life of the restaurant and everyone was jealous hahaha. honestly the staff will do anything for a few bucks so just ask and tip! after dinner the rest of the guests met us and off to the disco we went. we ended up at the disco almost every night!! they play great dance music and with a big group it's so fun!! the decor is a little strange hahaha but SO fun!! def go!! the next day, friday, we met with dj doremixx. if you hired him you will be all set. he is awesome and SO nice. he just went over the order of songs and asked a few questions. the meeting was all of 20 minutes and really easy going. later that day karla came and picked up everything for the ceremony and reception. she originally asked us to bring it to her but it was a lot. i think she started to realize she wasn't living up to our expectations so she came and got it. we had program fans, maracas, paper lanterns to be hung, guest book with stickers and polaroid camera, and a few other things and everything was set up just the way we wanted. we had to pay $40 for the lanterns to be hung but def worth is cause they looked great. that night we had our welcome cocktail hour at one of the pool bars. it was really nice. they set up tables and candles and had servers getting us drinks. it was time for everyone to get together and meet. after we went to the lobby bar and back to the disco!!! the lobby bar is a good time too!! saturday morning we went to the spa. if it's not included it's pretty expensive. i think a pedi was $65!! and it didnt last too long. i think this is your personal preference. i did my own makeup. i usually dont wear a lot and was fine with doing it myself. other people are against this but i think everything turned out good. i guess it's up to you if you want to spend the money but in my opinion they weren't that great. again the language barrier made it difficult. one of my MOH got her hair done and by the time the wedding came it looked like she had nothing done. its up to you! we got the presidential suite around 11. they had to change the room number that karla had originally given me and i gave to the photographer but everything worked out in the end. the suite is so HOLLYWOOD!!! it's so big and really nice to get ready there. all the girls got ready there and the guys got ready in our regular room. one annoying thing was that after they pressed my dress they delivered it uncovered to out regular room so jeff saw it and then i had to bring it to the suite. i wasn't too annoyed but little things like that add up! also looking at pictures they didn't press it the way it was suppose to be. the one side was more full than i wanted but can't do anything about it now. these are the things you don't even think about till it's too late. our photographers came at 4 to take getting ready shots. we hired citalilli rico out of claudia rodriquez and she was so nice and amazing!! it was very pricey but hopefully our pics will be great. she followed me everywhere! a cart came and picked us up and took us to the gazebo around 4:45. the ceremony started right on time and it looked beautiful. honestly ladies pick the gazebo over the beach. so much more private and the gardens are amazing. the beach is so public and WINDY!! not nearly as nice in my opinion. have to go to lunch...i will finish when i get back!

WOW Hanna- I'm so happy for you! It sounds like everything went well and you had a fabulous time. You review is calming me down a little. Some of your suggestions are what we are doing: Have the rehearsal at the Japanese, Ceremony at the gazebo, Hiring DJ Doremixx, etc. I was wondering about the bracelets so I'll have to remember to get extra ones before the wedding so I won't run into the same problem as you. That's a little ridiculous they wouldn't let you right into the Disco!! That's funny you tried to not pay the photography fee like Tara hahaha. I was thinking of doing the same thing but it sounds like they caught on hahaha. I'm def not paying $500 though. I agreed to the $300 and that's all they're getting!! Thanks for your suggestions too!! We leave in 3 days!!!!

We were originally told we had to be there 3 days in advance but the best price on tickets was getting us there only 2 days in advance so Karla said that was fine. We leave Thursday and get married Saturday. We are doing the blessing ceremony so not sure if that makes a difference. I totally get what everyone is saying about all the fees and upgrades, but you have to remember what you would be spending if you weren't doing a destination wedding. The prices would be doubled. From what I've heard once you get there and experience everything it will be worth every penny. 5 days to go!!!!

We leave in 9 days and get married in 11! So I quickly read through the latest posts and I'll give my input haha. We actually are legally married. We went to City Hall March 21 and had a small ceremony with family. We are doing the blessing ceremony in Mexico. It just seemed way easier than legally doing it there and then having to get everything translated and stuff. We picked the gazebo instead of the beach. Karla sent me pics a while back and it looks really nice. It's also secluded so you won't have random peeps watching you get married. We are aiming to have everything packed by the end of the weekend. We are packing boxes with all the wedding stuff and paying to have them checked onto the plane. I've heard some horror shipping stories so we figured it's safer this way and we'll only have to pay the fee the 1 way. I'm trying to finalize all the specific music now. It's really annoying!! I think we are just picking the songs for the wedding party entrance, our entrance, father/daughter, mother/son, cake cutting, and last song and letting DJ Doremixx do the rest. From what I've heard he does a great job so I'm trusting him to pick good dance music. Hannah- Thats sad about your family friend! We just found out 2 weeks ago Jeff's Gmom can't come anymore.

Hanna- Hahaha I'm so glad I'm not the only one freaking out. To make matters worse I woke up yesterday SO sick! It's so annoying but I'm pumping meds into my system so hopefully I'll feel better soon. WOW your flight is going to be so fun with all your guests!! You guys are going to have a blast and take over the entire plane haha. I totally get what you're saying about all the last minute things. That'll be me after this weekend. We are finishing up our table numbers and place cards now. I think these will be the last things we do. Any other ideas aren't getting done. No one will ever know we wanted them so I'm not stressing myself out anymore! Oh I also need to make sure I have all my outfits figured out!! How are you doing all your final payments for everything? Are you bringing cash, travelers checks, debit cards, etc.? Did you have Karla email you a breakdown of all your charges? I asked her about it today so I'm just waiting to hear back from her.

Hanna- Wow that's so exciting and we'll be right behind you guys . For photography we hired a photographer Citilli Rico from Claudia Rodriquez and we also went with DJ Doremixx. Are you freaking out?? I am haha.

Our wedding is 4-16...less than 3 weeks away. I can try to help out as much as possible from what I've been told. Our wedding is on a Saturday. We are doing the rehearsal Thursday and having the dinner at the Japanese restaurant. From what all the other girls have said this is the best place to go with a group. We are doing the Welcome Cocktail Hour Friday. Karla gives you the choices of where this will be. I think it depends on how many people you are having. A lot of this information is in the Final Details attachment that she will send you when your date gets closer. We picked the rehearsal to be on Thursday b/c some of our guests aren't coming till Friday and we didn't want them to miss the Welcome Hour. In the Final Details paperwork is where you can personalize your ceremony too. That attachment will be your bible!! To me it seems worth it to do the Mac Daddy package. Basically everything you would need is included in the package. The things we are spending money on besides the package are photography, DJ, and centerpieces. Again I think what you spend your money on is personal preference.

Tara- I love the picture! You look amazing! That is SO exciting you get to see all your pics soon!! What has/is everyone doing about tips? Who did you tip? How much? If you don't wait to discuss money on the forum I can email you ladies...Trying to figure out all expenses now and what travelers checks we need, etc. Thanks!

Erin- He did send us a bunch of info and songs. He sent us the popular list and then a 50 page list of songs in ABC order which I think is the part that is stressing me out. I guess we'll let him know all the important songs we want for the dances and stuff and then give him a few suggestions and let him do the rest. I've only heard great things about him and his work so I trust him to play music that will get us up and dancing! Thanks again!!!

Hannah- Not sure if you have to do numbers but I just figured it would be the easiest. I went to Michael's and bought stands and then I'm just going to print numbers off the computer. For escort cards I'm just printing people's names and table number on color coded cardstock and folding it over so it'll stand up. I figured that'll be good enough haha. I totally get what everyone is saying about pricing but like a few brides said...You have to remember how much you are saving by doing a destination. Also Iberostar is SUCH a nice resort and I've never heard a bad thing about their weddings. Hopefully all of us will only be doing this once so I'm fine with paying if it's what I want. Other resorts I know will through things in for free but I'd rather it be nice than free! Plus you can choose what you want to spend money on and what you don't. I loved Tara's centerpieces so I'm spending the money but that's b/c I LOVE flowers. I'm also spending a lot on photography but I think that's worth it. It's all up to your personal preferences ya know? Some other brides did SO much more than me and I was feeling overwhelmed but you have to remember the only person who knows what you don't have will be YOU! Tara and Erin- I have a question?? How did you ladies come up with your playlists for DJ Doremixx? This is totally stressing me out! I want to just tell him to play fun dance music haha!!

Oh forgot to mention that from everyones posts it seems they are charging for everything these days...not cool!

Hi everyone! It's been a few weeks so thought I would drop in to say hi! WOW so many new girls...welcome!! Things have been so crazy lately. Jeff had his back surgery and is doing well. I had my shower and bach Saturday and it was awesome!! So many great family and friends to celebrate with and it was so much fun. We got SO MANY presents it's insane. Out dining room and kitchen are packed! We also got married yesterday haha!!! YAY!!!! We went to City Hall for our legal marriage since it seems like such a pain in the butt to legally get married in Mexico. It was amazing...now just have to get through Mexico in a few weeks!!! So I feel like I still have a lot to do...AAHHH. We sent all our final details to Karla. I'm finalizing the centerpieces with the outside florist now. We have to get DJ Doremixx our music list in a week and I'm stressing about that. I want to just tell him to play good fun music haha. He sent us a list to look through that is 50 pages long. Jeff and his guys have to get shirts still and their suits altered. I'm going to my 2nd fitting today, which is making me nervous b/c I ate my way through this weekend . We still have to do escort cards that are color coded with people's dinner choice. Have to make table numbers. Have to decide on a welcome book/idea. Have to figure out how I'm getting all this crap to Mexico haha. Lets see...what else. I just feel like I can't even concentrate any more!!