MelDab

My wedding coordinator at The Royal Cancun where I'm sending a TON of business (80+ people have already booked and invitations haven't even been sent out) completely dropped the ball. I went on my site visit back in late October. After our tour and tasting, we had a ton of questions for our coordinator (Diana who was amazing on site would be our on site coordinator) and we never heard from her. We didn't hear back from her for 2 months! Maritza, our "call center" coordinator if you will finally jumped in after I HOUNDED Diana for answers. She finally got back to me 2 months later with the answers to my questions. Awesome. At this point, I wasn't panicked. Maritza was great, and answered all of my questions. After a ton of back and forth, we had it all finally nailed down. We were getting married June 6th at 5:00 at the chapel, and then we were having our cocktail hour on the Terrace, and then our reception in one of the ballrooms. We had even picked out menus, etc. I thought the hard part was done. Well, last week, i come to find out, that everything she promised HADN'T BEEN AVAILABLE SINCE NOVEMBER!!!! So now, I can have my wedding outside, but it has to be over, packed up, etc by 10, or I have to start ALL OVER and find another venue. At this point, I'd love to hire a WC who can find me a venue, caterer, band, etc. I basically need EVERYTHING at this point for the cocktail reception and reception. Such a mess. 3 months to go, and it's pretty awesome that I have absolutely nothing! Any recommendations would be super appreciated. Venue is the element I'm most concerned with, so please let me know if you've had your wedding in Cancun or been to a wedding in Cancun and loved the venue! Thanks girls!!!!! Sorry for any typos, just a tad irritated. Mel

Hi! I'm a Royal Cancun bride and have had the most awful experience. I advise that you make all of your decisions early, and get the contract locked up. I went out to do my site visit 10/28/10, and immediately, while still on hotel property emailed my coordinator all of our questions, and desired locations for all events. I never heard back for 2 months. Finally heard back, and then we went back and forth on quite a bit. DO NOT let them push you around on only serving one meal, or crap like that. Either way, we were finally ready to get the contract signed, I thought I had everything nailed down, down the the menu, and while I was told things were reserved, they weren't and hadn't been since NOVEMBER! I just found out about this last week, so we're basically having to start all over. We're getting married at the chapel at the Gran Caribe at 5 on June 6th, but don't really have much else. Well, we do have about 80 people booked for the wedding so that's a plus. Now I just need to know where to put them. I've gone through the ringer with them, so PLEASE reach out if you have any issues or need any advice. Also, calling them is WAY better that doing things over email. We learned the hard way. It's a beautiful resort, and I know everything is going to turn out absolutely beautifully for your wedding. Just don't want you to make the same mistakes I did!!!! Congratulations! Melissa

Hi Ladies! I'm getting married at the Gran Caribe June 6th, 2011 in the Catholic Chapel and my ceremony is at 6:00 pm. My Fiance and I are heading out to the Gran Caribe this weekend for our site inspection. We're considering the Luxury or Ultimate luxury package b/c we'll probably have between 75-100 guests. Are all of you aware that based on the number of rooms you book they'll credit back the money you spent on your site inspection in the form of hotel credits that can be used throughout the hotel? We'll get more information during our visit. We're considering a buffet instead of a sitdown meal. I just couldn't pick ONE entree for every single person. I can't believe they ask you to do that! And we're probably going to go the ballroom route, only because we don't know how hot or humid it's going to be. Maybe we can make a daytime decision? That would be ideal!!! The information above regarding the Lasso, Coins, sponsors, etc, is news to me. Thank you so much for sharing. We'll definitely get clarification on that as well. What can I do to help? Let me know if there are any pictures you'd like for me to take. We're meeting with our WC at 10:30 am on Saturday, so let me know if there are any questions we can ask for you. We're going to explore rooms and reception sites at the Royal and the Gran Caribe. We were basically told though that if you and your guests stay at the Royal then you have your reception at The Royal and if you and your guests stay at the Gran Caribe, then your reception has to be at the Gran Caribe. Here's a current list of questions, I'm sure it will grow from here. Actually, please help me with my list! I'm sure there are TONS of things I've forgotten - Can we meet the priest before the ceremony? Would be nice for him to know a little about us before marrying us! When/How do we pick the flowers for the chapel? I haven't seen any information on that Hair and makeup? Can we do a trial a couple of days prior to the wedding? Do I need to book services in advance for my bridesmaids? How/where do I ship items for the welcome bags, escort cards, and wedding gifts? Will the hotel put the bags in the rooms, or hold them for the guests at check in? If we bring in our own photographer can we use the photographer in the package for our rehearsal dinner? What rehearsal dinner options are there? What live band do they use? Are they any good? If I go with the Ultimate Luxury package, there seems to be a ton of musicians. How do they all fit into the flow of the wedding? I didn't love any of the bouquet options so I'm going to see if they can copy something I saw in a magazine. Also will ask about slightly altering the cake. How much will they charge me if we don't end up liking the reception sites or hotel and only want to have the ceremony there? I'm going to ask to see the linen colors and try to get an estimate on cost for the chairs, etc. Who takes care of tear down and of putting everything away? I'm sure there will be some things that we bring that we'll want to keep. Who's in charge of making sure everything I need gets back to my room. Can we bring in an aisle runner? Where does the champagne toast take place after the ceremony? Are canapes passed at this time? What else ladies? I know there are tons of things that have floated in and out of my mind that I've failed to jot down. Help!!! Mel

Did you actually go for a site visit? SO happy to hear that! People have had concerns about the aisle not being long enough. Did you feel that? Would LOVE to see your pictures and hear all about the experience. Who is your wedding coordinator? I have Maritza, and it's a bit tough to get answers back. We're learning that it helps to follow up an email with a phone call. Also, what package did you choose? We're debating between the luxury and ultimate luxury. So excited for you! Can't wait to hear details! Mel

Hello out there! This is my first forum post ever, and it looks like I couldn't have chosen a better site! I've been looking around and can't believe ALL of the helpful information all of you amazing ladies have posted! Â My fiance and I are considering the Gran Caribe because we're both Catholic and love the chapel. Â Are there any other Catholic chapels out there? Â Any feedback from anyone who recently got married at the Gran Caribe? My main concerns are decorations, and reception location. If you got marrried in the chapel, did you have your reception at the Gran Caribe as well, or did you have it somewhere else? If you had it at the Gran Caribe, what did you think of the food, decorations, entertainment etc. Â Looking forward to chatting with you all!