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Andrea2006 - If you haven't already looked, there is a link to my pictures on my signature. We were married at the Tulum Gazebo and had dinner at the Gran Tortuga. I didn't have Arrecife take pictures at my dinner or dance, but I'm sure they would have done a good job. You can see that the quality of my pictures at the dinner and dance were not too good, I had my friend from home as my photographer for those parts and they kinda turned out dark. I was too nervous on my wedding day to eat, but there was definitely plenty of food at Gran Tortuga. And we had our own section to the side, so it seemed private. There were other people on the other side of the restaurant, but I didn't even notice them. We even had speeches at the restaurant and everything.

Sunshine2680 - I have the spa menu for Bahia Principe Tulum from June 2011. Bride Hairstyle $85 Bridesmaid Hairstyle (Gala Hairstyling) $75 Wedding Makeup $55 DJ - There's a separate Word document I got from the wedding coordinator called "Weddings - Optional Extra Services & Conditions". It lists the DJ price at $190 for each 45 minutes + tax DETAILS from the SPA MENU MASSAGES Relajante Caribeño (interior o exterior Spa) 25 min / $65 USD Caribbean Relax Massage (outdoors or indoors) 50 min / $100 USD Aromaterapéutico/Aromatherapeutic 50 min / $105 USD Masaje Muscular Profundo/ 25 min / $75 USD Deep Tissue 50 min / $110 USD Masaje Holístico Maya/ 50 min / $110 USD Mayan Massage 80 min / $150 USD Masaje para Piernas Cansadas/Tired Legs Massage 30 min / $70 USD FACIAL TREATMENTS Tratamientos especializados para su tipo de piel, con diagnóstico personalizado. Se recomienda no lavarse la cara y no exponerse al sol después de un tratamiento facial. (50 min / $100 USD) It is an special treatment for your face. We make a personalized diagnostic for you. We recommend not to wash your face or expose to the sun after your facial service. (50 min / $100 USD) BODY TREATMENTS Sueños de Chocolate Maya Mayan Chocolate Dreams 80 min / $165 USD Corporal con Barro Marino/Marine Mud Treatment 50 min / $105 USD Masaje y Envoltura con Barro Maya Mayan Mud Massage and Body Wrap 80 min / $165 USD Exfoliación Corporal/Body Exfoliation 50 min / $105 USD Piedras Calientes/Warm Basalt Stones Massage 80 min / $150 USD WAXING Cejas/Eyebrows $15 USD Pecho/Chest $35 USD Labio Superior/Upper Lip $15 USD Bikini/Bikini $25 USD Bikini Brasileño/Brazilian Bikini $30 USD Axilas/Under Arms $20 USD Medio Brazo/Half Arm $25 USD Brazo Completo/Whole Arm $30 USD Espalda/Chest $45 USD Media Pierna/Half Leg $30 USD Pierna Completa/Whole Leg $50 USD WATER THERAPY CIRCUITS (Reservation Required) Sauna, Vapor y Ducha de Contraste/ Sauna, Steam and Cooling Shower (Spa Tulum) 30 min / $15 USD Jacuzzi/Jacuzzi (Spa Tulum) 30 min / $15 USD Sauna, Vapor y Jacuzzi (Spa Akumal) Sauna, Steam and Jacuzzi (Spa Akumal) 30 min / $15 USD Circuito de Agua/Water Circuit (Spa Cobá) 45 min / $25 USD Antistress Rituals Circuito Acuático/Water Circuit 45 min Masaje Caribeño (exterior o interior Spa) Caribbean Relax Massage (outdoors or indoors) 50 min Total Programa/Total Ritual 95 min / $105 USD ESSENTIAL BEAUTY PACKAGE Circuito Acuático/Water Circuit 45 min Masaje Caribeño (exterior o interior Spa) Caribbean Relax Massage (outdoors or indoors) 50 min Envoltura Barro Marino o Chocolate Maya Marine Mud or Mayan Chocolate Body Treatment 50 min Tratamiento Facial/Facial Treatment 50 min Total Programa/Total Ritual 195 min / $280 USD THALASSOTHERAPY Combina riquezas del mar para aliviar el estrés. Desintoxicante y anticelulítico. Realizada en una tina programable para personalizar su terapia. (sólo en Cobá).(30 min / $60 USD). State of the art, programmable bath tub for a personalized therapy. Using the power of the sea to heal stress and strengthen your health. Detoxifying and anticellulitic. (This service is only available in Cobá). (30 min / $60 USD). BEAUTY SALON Manicura Clásica/Classic Manicure $35 USD Manicura Spa/Spa Manicure $50 USD Pedicura Clásica/Classic Pedicure $40 USD Pedicura Spa/Spa Pedicure $60 USD Manicura y Pedicura Spa/Spa Manicure and Pedicure: Exfoliación, mascarilla, parafina, masaje y esmalte/ Exfoliation, mask, paraffin, massage and polish $95 USD Cambio de Esmalte/Polish Change $15 USD Uñas Acrílicas/Acrylic Nails (set) $70 USD Retoque de Acrílico/Acrylic Refills $45 USD Reposiciones de Acrílico por Uña/Acrylic Nail Replacement $10 USD Quitar Set Uñas Acrílicas/Acrylic Nail Removal $40 USD HAIRDRESSER Corte Mujer/Women’s Haircut $40 USD Corte Caballero/Men’s Haircut $30 USD Corte Caballero con Máquina/Men’s Haircut with Clippers $15 USD Recorte de Barba/Beard Trim $15 USD Retoque de Raíz/Root Touch-up $50 USD Retoque de Mechas/Highlights Touch-up $65 USD Desenredar Cabello o Quitar Trenzas Detangle hair or take braids off $25 USD Tratamiento Capilar para Cabello Dañado Damaged Hair Treatment $20 USD Shampoo y Secado/Shampoo and Blow Dry desde/from $40 USD Mechas/Highlights desde/from $65 USD Tinte/Haircolour desde/from $60 USD Corte y Peinado/Haircut and Styling desde/from $50 USD Peinado de Novia/Bride Hairstyling $85 USD Peinado Gala/Gala Hairstyling $75 USD Maquillaje de Boda/Wedding Make-up $55 USD

nikki17 - Sara Tamargo did a great job. I highly recommend her!! On the wedding day, the bride's hair and makeup cost together is $150.00 USD. Hair and makeup for each bridesmaid is $130. You will need to tell your wedding coordinator that you have someone coming onsite, or else they won't let her in the security gate. I had that problem and it caused a lot of stress for me. Keep in mind that you may have to pay a day pass for the makeup lady AND the hair lady that she brings. It gets kinda expensive, but I think it's well worth it. It was a miracle that my makeup stayed on all day and night with all the sweating I did outside. Also, I recommend getting your hair fixed completely up, because it's really hot outside and windy. I still had to pay to have the poolside reception, I just bought the basic package with beer, margaritas, and sparkling wine. They didn't charge any fee to serve the extra alcohol that I provided. DJ - I don't really think that DJ Bob is the "resort DJ". I think that's rumor that started on this forum. I think DJ Bob is a popular DJ that many girls on this forum choose to hire. I'm assuming the resort DJ would be the same one that plays in the Disco at the Hacienda. Tanya-Karolina - I bought one bag of rose petals for my flowergirl. But I didn't notice how big it was. We had a rental car and we drove around a few times exploring the area. I didn't see any flower shops nearby. You don't really want to stress yourself out looking for that. I think if you don't buy the champagne toast, they will still give you some sparkling fruit drink in champagne glasses. pammyk - The gazebo is a beautiful place. That's where I got married. ;-) I have heard from other brides that their guests use the mugs. But honestly my guests didn't really use them. I think it's because most of my guests only stayed 4 nights. Maybe if your guests are staying for a week? And my suitcase situation was out of control. I had to have several of my guests brings boxes for me.

Hi Ladies! I will try to answer some of the questions if I can. crystalz - There is only one golf course for the entire resort. I know my stepdad liked it, because he went twice! They have a website with more information: www.rivieramaya-golfclub.com PHOTOGRAPHER - I brought a friend to take pictures for us and paid for his travel costs. I ended up liking Arrecife's photos (Diego was our photographer) much more. Arrecife has top of the line camera equipment and they have all the poses and lighting down to a science. I didn't realize it at the time, but Diego was running around everywhere to get the best shots. I figured this out by looking at the photos my friend took. I would see Diego over here and then over there..and anyway...it was amazing. Diego would lay down on the ground, then jump up, at one point he was standing on a chair. I just think of him as a superhero photographer. So what I'm saying is that even if you bring a professional photographer from home, they won't know exactly which spots and angles are perfect...and the lighting. I know that Arrecife seems expensive. But what they do is show you about 150 of their best photos. If you buy all 150 of those photos on disc, they will throw in the "negatives" for free. Which means they will give you all 700 photos that the photographer took for the price of 150. It's actually quite a good deal and they do negotiate a little. I know you want to look beautiful and Arrecife will make you look beautiful. I felt really sweaty and icky on my wedding day and I was so suprised to see the photos turn out amazing. My response to daveedal's comments - I agree the resort is HUGE. My guests stayed at both Coba and Tulum. I should have limited my guests to just one resort. It was kinda difficult to find people. I ended up paying a really high cell phone bill texting people. Because like daveedal said, there is no voicemail in the hotel rooms. You could consider walkie talkies, but I think the radius won't even be wide enough for that super large resort. In most cases I just told everyone to meet for dinner every night at the main Tulum buffet. We could easily find huge tables in the corner and met over there. Also I used the grapevine communication method. I would tell as many people as I could and they would pass the word to whoever they saw during the day. gettingwed12 - We had our cocktail party at the main Tulum pool, dinner at Gran Tortuga. I don't think you have the ability to have your party at a different pool. The main Tulum is the best one because it has a large area to have your reception and it's away from most people walking by. As you can see in my pictures (link in my signature), the area is big enough to have a large dance floor and also tables off to the side. If you are worried about alcohol, Jazmin told me I could go to the supermarket and buy my own alcohol. We did that and brought the alcohol to Jazmin's office. I didn't hear any of the guests complain about the alcohol and we had so much alcohol left over that it went to waste.

sjust - We had the mariachis play after our ceremony. They played for about 45 minutes, during our toast and while we were taking pictures on the beach. The cost of the mariachis was $370 USD. Mariachis were important to us because my husband is from Mexico, so it was worth it for us. But honestly our guests were the ones enjoying the mariachis. We were busy taking pictures. Andree - Thanks!! LindsayDS - The cake we had was included in our package. We had 35 guests and they had wedding cake instead of the other dessert.

Hi ladies, Sorry I have not had time to read the forum or provide my review. My wedding was at GBP Tulum gazebo on June 11, 2011. I posted pictures on facebook, in case you are interested. Most of the pictures are from Arrecfie (Diego was the photographer) and also some other pictures from friends and family. If you need to know on a specific picture who took it, let me know. Sara Tamargo did my makeup, her associate fixed my hair. My DJ was Mood Event services and we got the LED lightup dance floor. Wedding Ceremony http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2030875205928.2114889.1065548484&l=2ec9e0fa4d Dinner (Gran Tortuga - Brazilian) and Dance (Tulum main pool) http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2040561808087.2115499.1065548484&l=a5a6b90996 Christi

fraggle42 - I got the bride's bouquet and groom's boutiniere that are included in the package (I had Remember package, but I think they're mostly the same). They were orange lillies, orange gerber daisies, and little white flowers (I have to look up what they are called). I'm sure these flowers come in many colors. There are probably other flowers you can choose from. I think roses are also an option. We bought orange rose petals for the flower girl. You can tell your wedding coordinator what colors you are looking for and ask her which flowers are included in the package.

Hi Sunshine, I have over 1000 photos, because we brought our friend to take photos too. So I'm selecting the best ones to post on facebook or somewhere and I can link to it here. About the flowers, your wedding coordinator can order any type of flowers you want, she just needs to know in advance. So I don't think you should order from outside the resort. I think she said that all the flowers come from Mexico City, which makes sense because I've seen the beautiful flower market in Xochimilco (near Mexico City). You may want to get your coordinator's recommendation on which flowers are included in your package. Because they have beautiful flowers, we just don't know which ones are considered "local tropical flowers". I tried to do research on what are local Mexico flowers before I got there, that's when I decided on orange dahlias because dahlias are the traditional Mexican flower. Then I meet with Jazmin and she said dahlias are not local flowers. So you can imagine my confusion.

Oh I forgot to mention that I got my hair and makeup from Sara Tamargo. Thanks to her my makeup stayed on, even with all that sweating. She sprayed something on my face before applying the makeup and after applying the makeup. I guess that was magic spray, because even after all the napkin blotting the makeup stayed great. Also my hair stayed in place. I'm glad I put my hair up because of how hot and humid it was outside. And let me just say that I am from Houston, so I am not new to heat and humidity. But honestly I stay inside with A/C a lot in Houston in the summer. DAY PASSES - I paid a fortune in day passes. I never mentioned my hair and makeup ladies to Jazmin. The day of the wedding I was waiting in the Tulum lobby for Sara Tamargo and her hair stylist friend. Then I get a text from my mom that I need to call Jazmin. Sara Tamargo was not allowed into the security gate unless I got her and the hair stylist each day passes. So there went $180. For the DJs, I arranged in advance a day pass for DJ Julian. Later DJ Julian had to come talk to us because the resort wanted us to also pay day passes for each of the 2 people Julian brought to assist him in setting up the dance floor, etc. My husband managed to negotiate with Jazmin to only pay for 2 passes $180 for the DJs instead of for all 3 of them. SIGH. I could do without all of that hassle. It just stressed me out more.

Hi Ladies! I am back from my beautiful wedding at the Tulum Gazebo. This is not my official review, this is just me venting. :-) I haven't posted any pictures yet, but I will link to them soon when I post them. I am very happy with the resort, the people, and everything. I just don't like it when things don't go as I plan. haha I'll admit that I went Bridezilla too many times, but I don't even think my guests noticed much. Everyone had a great time, we had about 33 guests. I was way too stressed in the 2 weeks before my wedding, because I guess I procrastinated too much and had too many things to do in the end. I couldn't figure out how to get all my wedding things and OOT bags onto the plane. My husband and I are both elite on the airline, so we were entitled to 2 free checked bags each and 1 carryon. But if we check in any more bags or if the bag goes over 50 lbs, they charge $100 per bag. So I ended up having to get my parents to take 3 boxes for us (my stepdad is platinum and was traveling with my sister, niece, and nephew) and another friend to take 1 box. So apparently I don't pack light....lol. In total we had 3 large suitcases, 1 large duffel bag, 1 carryon suitcase, 4 boxes, and my wedding dress (my carryon). I highly recommend bringing duffel bags because suitcases are already heavy before you put anything in them. OOT bags - I saw my guests using the tote bags, sunscreen, and aloe. But I only saw a few people using the insulated mugs and key card holders. This may be because most people were only there 4 nights. I don't think anyone used the hand sanitizer because all of the hotel restaurants had hand sanitizer at the entrance, also the resort uses only purified water for everything. Bridezilla Moments - My guests arrived on all different days and stayed at different hotels (Coba and Tulum). The resort is much larger than I ever imagined and the hotel rooms do not have voice mail. So it was like a communication disaster for me. In many cases I used my cell phone and now I think I have a large phone bill. I met with Jazmin and I had picked the bouquet I wanted and printed it out, but I had not communicated it to Jazmin until the day of our meeting. She said that the flowers I was wanting were special and there was probably not enough time to order them. Inside my head I was really freaking out at that moment. But the bouquets I ended up getting were beautiful, so it was fine. I just said that I wanted orange flowers in a cascading bouquet since the bridesmaid dresses are orange. Then I wanted the bridesmaids to have white bouquets in a lollipop shape. Here's a picture of me, my husband, and bridemaids and our bouquets: My other bridezilla moment was when the groom's mother arrived, but the groom's brother did not arrive with her as planned. His brother who was supposed to be the best man, decided to just not show up and didn't tell us anything - even though we paid for all their travel. I was very upset because all of our guests ended up just being my friends and I just felt really bad for my husband. From the groom's side, it was only his mom, father, and one of his friends came. He had groomsmen lined up and they all cancelled last minute for various reasons. So we had 6 bridesmaids and 2 groomsmen (one was my friend and the other his father). I stressed all week about the weather, because it was raining a lot all week. By some miracle it didn't rain on the day of my wedding, even though the forecast was 30 -40% chance of rain. But it was very very hot. On the day of the wedding I could not stop sweating. I took the advice of another bride on here, brought blotting papers, and some makeup for touchup. Blotting papers would not cut it, my bridesmaids were constantly bringing napkins and drying off my face and neck. They were also fanning me, those rattan fans I got were great for me and all the guests! I saw them using the fans for the rest of the trip too. I also got really anxious about the Arrecife photographer prices. Diego was my photographer and the pictures were gorgeous. That man is like an amazing photo taking machine. He was running around all over the place, fixing my dress, just doing everything. And somehow magically I looked good in the pictures even though I was sweating like a pig and totally freaking out. I was stressed because I wanted to buy ALL Diego's pictures and I knew we could not afford it. Also I'm not sure if Diego speaks much English or not, because he kept speaking in Spanish/Italian and my husband was translating everything to me. It was a little overwhelming for me. We had to meet with Arrecife a total of 5 times because we wanted to view all 700 photos and we kept negotiating (also because I wanted all the photos in color and not sepia or black/white). Also because I wanted a short video of the ceremony, which I was quoted $300 in November 2010 but in May 2011 they sent me an updated price sheet with a video for $600 which is supposed to be longer, etc. I brought along a friend to take photos for us and honestly my friend's pictures did not turn out as well as Arrecife's. Diego just knew exactly where to take the picture, what pose to put us in, etc. ROOM SAFE - It was free and I think my guests also got theirs for free (for booking through expedia). The laptop and ipad didn't fit in the safe. We kept the laptop and ipad in a backpack in the room and it was never stolen. DJ - I hired Mood Event Services to DJ our poolside cocktail party. They were the only thing that I can say went perfect and I didn't stress at all. My favorite part was the lightup dance floor. I could dance forever on there. I will post pictures and a review on that later.

OOT bag questions - I leave this Saturday and I'm starting to panic. For brides who have given OOT bags, do you have the hotel put the bags in the room (I'm afraid the hotel might lose them)? Or do you try to find each person to give them to? All of my guests are arriving on different days and different flights (coming from all over). I don't even have the tote bags yet, I only have the things to go in the bags. Is there anywhere in the U.S. that I can buy the tote bags cheap and in person? FYI - future brides, when you are selecting music for your ceremony...I found the following website good for classical/traditional songs. http://www.sfstrings.com/repertoirewedding.htm According to Jazmin, my coordinator, we will need 5 songs (each approximately 3-4 minutes) 1 for bridesmaids 1 for the bride's entrance (processional) 2 for signing 1 for the couple departure (recessional) Additional songs: 1 more song for lasso, if you are doing this (Mexican tradition) Will I need another song for the flower girl?

Melanie - Yay!! I feel much better because I can handle $180 in day passes. I was worried about paying potentially $450 in day passes. Now I can afford to buy a video of the wedding. lol! Christi

Thanks Melanie! So even if Julian brought 2 assistants, you only paid for 1 external pass?? That would be great because I thought I was going to have to pay $270 for DJ and $180 for hair and makeup ladies. Christi

Hi stylishmeNC - We didn't use a travel agent. The vacation package price on Expedia (flight+hotel) was so cheap, that I didn't see any reason to use a travel agent. Plus our guests are coming from all different places. But who knows, maybe I missed out on something by not having a travel agent. I travel a lot for business and personal and I'm just used to booking my own. The initial wedding coordinator Paloma would answer general questions and gave pictures of the different wedding sites. But like the other girls said, they didn't confirm my date and location until I sent them my confirmed hotel reservation. Then again, my hotel reservation on expedia was fully refundable, so it would have been easy to change. But then Paloma passes you to another coordinator specific to that site who gives you more details. Our dinner and dessert (cake) will be free. We are paying some more to have a cocktail party/dance/DJ after the dinner.

Fraggle - We are staying at Tulum and our choices of restaurants were Gran Tortuga (Brazilian) and Tequila (Mexican). I emailed you the menus. Please reply to my email and send me the Akumal menus. I believe that you can get alcohol 24 hours at the snack bar. Quote from the website: "- Unlimited local drinks, beer and soft drinks in the hotel's bars until 11:30 p.m. (except Premium drinks) - Free entry to the discotheque at “Hacienda Doña Isabel†with local drinks included (except Premium drinks) - fast food and drinks in the Snack Bar 24 hours a day." I don't know anything about apartments. You should call the hotel, they are pretty helpful over the phone. FYI - If your friend books a vacation package (Expedia flight+hotel) they can get the hotel cheap and just stay in the room by themselves. I think it comes out to about $117/night at Coba and $133/night at Tulum. If you are just one person, I think the room rate gets even cheaper.