KernsWR

Hey ladies just had my wedding in February. I would write a review here bu t I've been so busy since I came back home. I did write a TripAdvisor review although it's not as detailed as I would like. http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g150807-d503456-r125207430-Gran_Caribe_Real_Resort_Spa-Cancun_Yucatan_Peninsula.html Hope it helps and if you have any other questions, feel free to message me.

Hey Norma. Just had my wedding in February. We did not sign anything about a set of guidelines. Hopefully it wasn't the cause of any wedding party for them to start requesting this. Also, the priest did not ask much questions regarding sponsors for me. My sponsors were not married. I even had 2 of my grandmothers do the Lazo ceremony. If you have anymore questions, feel free to message me. For everyone else, I wrote a review on TripAdvisor. It wasn't as detailed as I would like but I've been busy since I came back home. http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g150807-d503456-r125207430-Gran_Caribe_Real_Resort_Spa-Cancun_Yucatan_Peninsula.html Hope it helps and if you have any other questions, feel free to message me.

Thank you for posting the video! I love it.

Carmresu, Thank you thank you for your review and posting your video!!! If I had known how beautiful your video was, I would have looked for a videographer like yours rather than simply using Funever. I like how they got the shot of your husband getting stuck in his barong. You guys are so cute. My wedding is in February and your video goth excited and scared at the same time. Haha. And kudos for having 152 guests at your wedding!! We are only having 41 and even then it's been difficult trying to coordinate traveling arrangements and following up with our guests. I wish you guys the best of luck and thank you again. I really appreciate your review.

Hey ladies. Congrats on your wedding! Mine's next month. We will have our ceremony in the chapel as reception in Villas Terrace. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me. Emily11386, I'm not much of a DIY bride so after searching through numerous sites, I got mine done by Concepts & Technology. They're a company in the Philippines so I communicated with them through email (they speak english) and could not have been any more happier with my invitations. The quality of the invitation feels like actual passports, not like paper or even cardstock and they were about $3ea invite, which included everything you see in the picture I attached. Here is a link to their page with more examples of their work- http://conceptstechnology.multiply.com/?&show_interstitial=1&u= Babigirl21, I'm working on our OOT/Welcome bags right now. They include net drawstring backpacks as beach bags, survival kit w. 1st aid kit and meds and ear plugs and crest mini tooth brushes and electrolyte packets, playing cards, mini inflatable beach ball, hotel key/tip card holder with a mexican spanish translation guide. Not sure if I should fill it with anything else. I originally planned on filling it with more things that I find once I'm there but now I'm not so sure if I'll want to do so when the time comes. haha.

OMG I <3 <3 <3 your dress!!!

Hey does anyone know how long the chapel is? I bought 2 spools of tulle that are 25 yards each to place on the pews down the aisle with pew bows and pom poms. And does anyone know where we meet the priest for confession? My date is less than a month away!!!!

Hi, He has a website. Not sure what it is but I've googled Maya Floral, Cancun and his website shows up. Also, I've been emailing him about my preferences and he's emailed me back with samples of his work. Just put in our deposit with him.

Hey ladies. Just want to share a website for booking. My maid of honor found it and she's able to book at our resort cheaper than anywhere else. The special rates end this Thursday, December 15 but full payment isn't until January 16. Hope this helps. www.deltavacations.com

Thanks Ladies. I didn't mind if 1 or 2 couples were staying elsewhere, because I at least expected my bridesmaids to stay at our resort but when it got down to the prices, other resorts were cheaper. So now they're trying to do this thing with getting day-passes and all that but it just seems too much. I actually haven't been talking to them a lot because of how upset I am. Is it wrong of me to feel that they left me alone by staying at other resorts? I understand that price is a major factor but it hurts nevertheless. They say we'll hang out clubbing and stuff but how much more complicating would it be to try and meet people from other resorts when we won't have full use of our phones due to roaming fees? I also plan on being busy before the wedding with favors and out of town bags. Plus most of my guests haven't booked yet because they're still looking for deals but I need to hand in my guestlist to my wedding coordinator in less than 2 weeks. I understand that people are busy with the holidays but we've been planning this for more than a year now. =[

Congrats ladies. Hope you have fun planning than I do because I have been mostly miserable. Our date is February 2012. So far only 2 couples are staying in GCR with us and everyone else (including my bridesmaids) are staying at other resorts such as Riu and Barcelo. I'm upset bc I'm afraid I won't be able to see any of them except for during the wedding. We chose a destination wedding so we can be on vacation with our close family and friends yet everyone is doing their own thing booking at other resorts. My parents and his mom haven't even booked yet and it's less than 3 months away! We are still waiting on about 30-50 guests for their response. Frankly I'm not even excited about this anymore. Anyways, sorry to be a Debbie Downer. Just needed to vent.

Question, since we're having a Catholic ceremony in MX, do we need to apply for a marriage license/have a civil ceremony in our hometown? I tried calling our hometown office to schedule a date but the woman on the phone told me that I did not need to since we are already getting married in MX and that there's no reason to get married twice. I was trying to tell her that it was a religious ceremony and not a civil but she was adamant about not needing to schedule a date with our hometown. From what I understand, a Catholic ceremony is not considered a legal marriage in MX so usually people have both. I thought it was more of a symbolic ceremony anyways. What were your experiences? Your replies are truly appreciated. Thanks.

Oh and did you ladies have to show sacramental documents (baptism, communion, confirmation) as well as the letter of approval to the church in Cancun?

Our priest said he is having our letter go through our church and their church. I've been calling him and leaving voicemails every week for about 3 weeks to ask for a copy but no reply yet. I'm trying to be patient but can't help feeling anxious.

Hey has anyone used Funever's videographer? I have an idea of their photography/work but I do not know how their videography.. Also, do you know if their Spa uses MAC make-up/fake eye-lashes? lol. I just want to make sure their make-up and hair application is good quality so it doesn't melt by the end of the night. If not I may just bring my own and ask them to use it. And for those with a traditional Spanish Catholic ceremony, is there a program book/information I can find that includes the order of the lasso, veil, and coins added onto the catholic mass? Thanks so much.

Hi Vanessa C! Ruth's Chris was the only restaurant we went out to bc there was so much food and drinks bw the Royal and Gran Caribe Real. They even have hooters in one of the malls.. and Starbucks.. and Coldstone.. and MAC makeup store! haha. I was so excited. The one mall also has an aquarium with dolphins that you can swim with. So much to do. I found a Cancun bar crawl for $65/person where they take you to 3 bars/clubs with no lines, cover, and all-inclusive drinks. I was considering taking our wedding party to that but we'll see. There's also cruises that include snorkeling or adventure parks with ziplining and swimming in cenotes. Oops. Sorry I went off topic from GCR/Royal wedding planning. Happy wedding planning ladies! We're working on mailing our invitations right now and my bridesmaids threw me a bridal shower couple weeks ago. Enjoy your time. And try not to stress like me! haha. The invitations are what's getting to me now. Bc I'm trying to go through each guest making sure I'm using their formal name and address and my family keeps adding people to send invitations to. Oh well. I just hope our invitations will get our guests excited. Ps, you ladies are awesome. This website has been so much of a help.

I think TheKnot.com has some kind of checklist for it. It won't be cut and dry but it can be a guideline. Maybe even googling "wedding to do list" or something?

Bride2B22, I agree with the location of the Royal and GCR. It's right in the middle bw the clubs and the shopping/malls. When we went for our site visit, we did not feel like our safety was in jeopardy any different than it would be in the cities around our hometown area. We actually walked to the clubs because we kept missing the buses at the bus stop. They go so fast! We also walked from one mall to another bc my fiance wanted Ruth's Chris Steakhouse (not sure why when there's 2 around our area). But it's up to each individual.

Nadennec, can I have the cd's? lol. And who's your WC? Maybe she's just wary of last-minute changes in travel plans such as the weather or something. Or maybe meeting with the WC/priest had to be in the morning and usually when traveling people don't arrive until the afternoon? Ego11 & Carmresu, I did my research as well. There's the restaurant "Lorenzillo's" across the street from GCR. I tried emailing them about how much it would be to hold a wedding rehearsal dinner there and they never got back to me. There's a lot of other restaurants as well. What's great about GCR is that it's close to the club scene and shopping malls so maybe you can explore your options there? My off-site WC told me wedding rehearsal dinner options would be the same options and menu as the reception, so I passed on that. As for me, when I went to my wedding site visit and met with an onsite WC, she actually suggested a "Cocktail"-type rather than a dinner on the beach with a mariachi trio. I think for cocktail hour it's like $10 per Real resort guest and $15 for non? Hope this helps! For brides who used Funever for your wedding, how long did the formal/family pictures on the beach take? I'm trying to figure out if I should have those pictures taken before or after the ceremony. We're including a cocktail hour before the reception and I would want my bridal party (along with myself!) to enjoy the cocktail hour as well. Thanks!

Hi Vianeyph! Welcome and congrats. My date is February 2012. I think for both Catholic packages the priest is included with the price. It should have it listed on their website under packages bc I remember seeing "Bilingual priest" under the package? I chose the Royal Catholic wedding package. Is that what you chose?

Nadennec, I got heels for my bridesmaids for the ceremony and matching flip-flops for pictures on the beach/reception. I got the flip-flops from Old Navy for like $1.50 if you'd want to do that as well! Simba1234, Did you request not to have the mexican traditions? My culture actually has the same traditions during a Catholic wedding ceremony so I would like to include them for our wedding. Can I talk to the WC and priest about that as it gets closer to the wedding? For those who already got married in the chapel, did you have music playing during the ceremony? I think the package I chose includes an instrument so I will be requesting a violinist, but my mom thinks there should be music playing or someone singing during the ceremony.. any opinions/suggestions would be great!

Thanks Natalie for the reply! Unfortunately our son is not traveling with us, he'll be traveling with my parents because we are going a couple days ahead of them.. =T

For those who have already travelled, how was the Airport/customs when bringing stuff for OOT bags? I'm worried they will give me a hard time if I pack like medicine/food. Please reply! Thank you!

Hey Ladies, After all of my research on the best production designer regarding our wedding invitations (I was so frustrated I even thought of making them myself but I don't have the time or creativity to do so), I want you all to know I am currently working with "Concepts and technology". They are based out of the Philippines, but you will find the Philippine peso to US dollar exchange rate is pretty good when ordering invitations. I am having an 8-page passport invitation with mini boarding passes as our RSVP. If you want to contact me about how the layout looks, just PM me and I will email them to you. We just approved the final draft so they will be sending me a sample for a full approval so I know what type of materials they use. I found them through another bride who's passport invitation I liked. The material is not cardstock either. They foil-stamp the cover and it feels like an actual passport! I can't wait for the sample and the finished product. Here is their website: http://conceptstechnology.multiply.com/ As for Mac2012, how much will the wedding be if you and your guests are not staying in GCR? I wish we had visited other resorts as well but we just visited GCR and The Royal. Hopefully I won't be disappointed for my wedding. I fell in love with chapel so that was the main reason I chose GCR. Unfortunately when I did my research, they were like top 15 in Trip Advisor and were fairly cheap compared to other resorts.. but now they're ranked as 23 and prices are getting higher! *sigh* Trying not to stress over it and that I hope I don't regret my decision in choosing this resort.

OMG Congratulations!!!! Ever since I saw your DIY passport invitations, I knew your wedding would be as gorgeous as you! I've contacted Marvin from MayanFlorals. Did you have to meet with him outside the resort? I was told we couldn't exchange anything on the resort property. And I love the maracas. Were they from orientaltrading.com? I thought of them too as wedding favors and the starfish as seating cards! Were the starfish all one color and where did you get them? Did you do your menu and tags yourself? And did you have someone from your wedding party set it up for you as well as the ribbons on the pew? My WC told me that whatever I bring with me (chair sashes, centerpieces, decorations, favors, seating cards) the resort isnt responsible for them so I have to get someone from the wedding party to set it all up. *sigh* Another stress I have for the wedding. I hope I feel the same way you did about yours. Bc frankly I'm tired planning. lol. Thanks for the posts and congrats again!