IliaPSU

Oh, and thank you!!

Sonja at the salon did it. I was stubborn and refused to listen to everyone saying that you should wear your hair up because of the wind, so by the end of the night it was falling a lot, but oh well

We were married at the CECO terrace with 36 guests. I'm not sure that a sound system would carry well with how open that area is? We went with DJ Mannia and they were fantastic to work with. We sent them a list of songs we wanted played and they took it from there. They chose the music to be played during dinner and we got a lot of compliments! They also did a great job MC'ing. I think it was well worth the money to not have to worry about any of those things. If it is within your budget, I'd recommend it. I haven't the digital copies of my photos yet, but here is the link to my photographer's blog: http://www.juanphotos.com/blog/weddings/excellence-playa-mujeres-destination-wedding-ilia-chris-isla-mujeres-q-roo-mexico/ He took a pretty good aerial shot of the of the CECO terrace.

I brought my own lanterns (without lights) and had to pay the resort $100 to hang them - but they did include the lights. I thought the price was a little steep, but they looked beautiful and in the end I thought they were worth it.

My husband is actually a web developer, so we used a Wordpress Template that he customized. If you're a little tech savvy, it isn't too hard!

Here is our website. Good luck!

It was just banana with some kind of vanilla/banana pudding filling and vanilla frosting. Delicious! I was pretty disappointed because a lot of my close friends didn't make it to the wedding, but honestly, the people that were there REALLY wanted to be there and it made all the difference. Don't stress about those who can't make it, you will have an amazing time no matter what!

We had the top tier as banana (my favorite!), middle layer as chocolate, and bottom layer as marble (vanilla/chocolate). I couldn't ever get the WC to give me a flavor list, but anything I asked for she was able to do. I think I have also heard that they do strawberry and have different kinds of fruit fillings.

It was pretty warm at night, not hot, but definitely not chilly. I think it will probably be even warmer in May, so maybe pashminas aren't necessary? I brought my own lanterns because they told me that it is difficult for the resort to get them. Because they fold flat, they were super easy to throw into my suitcase. Just a note, they charge $100 per 20, so if you bring more than 20 - they will increase the price. I brought 16 and it was plenty for the event terrace.

Hi All, I'm really sorry that I'm so late in getting back to everyone post-wedding!! We just got back from MX last night and it has been a bit of a whirlwind. The ceremony and reception were GORGEOUS. There were some details missed, but overall everything went fantastic. I had the Gold package and 36 guests. We went with DJ Mannia for the reception and also extended for an additional hour. All my guests were raving about the resort and also how beautiful/fun the wedding was - I even got a few "this is the best wedding we have ever been to!" comments. Lleny was MIA during the reception and there was a bit of confusion about when the party ended, but we were able to figure out - that was the only large issue that came up. Also, I was very disappointed that they did not deliver the leftover cake to my room, or even the sand jar from our ceremony. But again, I got over it and focused on the bigger picture. Our final invoice was also incorrect, like $400 extra in centerpieces in correct, but they fixed it right away and I didn't have any other issues. But definitely check and double check your invoice. For those considering the paper lanterns at the reception, I LOVED it and thought it added a really nice ambiance to the event terrace - totally worth it. And don't worry about LED throwies or anything like that, they had lights for them and everything (but there was a $100 charge to hang them). My hair and make up went well, but I would caution that any brides planning on getting married on the beach, GET AN UPDO. I had my hair half-up, thinking that since our wedding was in the gazebo, it wouldn't be too windy. It was fine in the gazebo, but when we went to the beach for pics, it was ruined and I basically had to redo it. I wish I had just done an updo and not had to stress about it all day. Our DJ was fantastic and the MC did a wonderful job. We gave him about 40 songs that we wanted played and let him choose the rest and they were spot on and really got the party going. Our photographer was Juan Navarro and he was super friendly and though he was taking tons of pictures, you didnt even notice him there. I'll reserve my final judgement on him until we see the pictures, but I'm hopeful. If you have any questions, feel free to ask away! I'll try to check in regularly. I'm so jealous of all of you, I would go back and do it all over again in a minute!!

I CANNOT believe that you still haven't heard from N! I'm leaving tomorrow and have a meeting set up with Lleny on Tuesday to confirm all of the details, view the venues, and do the menu tasting. She hasn't been as responsive lately because she said she has been averaging 2 weddings and a rehearsal dinner a day - but atleast she is responding to me! So are there definitely 2 different wedding coordinators working at EPM? I have never received an email signed from 'N', but I have worked with a Nayeli briefly. I thought for awhile that 'N' and Lleny might be the same person, but now I'm rethinking that. Is anyone else working with Lleny? MsBlissMpls, I will ask Lleny about the non-responsiveness and let her know that people are very upset. Let me know if there is anything I can do to help? Have you still not even received a wedding planner?!

My reception is at the event terrace, but I am planning on using the paper lanterns. They said it is $100 to hang 20 lanterns. It seems a little ridiculous, but I had already bought the lanterns when I found this out, so I figure I will bring them down and then decide if I want them or not. I saw some pics on Style Me Pretty of a wedding at EPM on the event terrace with lanterns and fell in love and kind of want to recreate the look.

That is awful! My responses have been a bit slow, but nothing like 10 days. I also have about 95% of the details confirmed in my wedding planner. I will say though, that the one time I waited the longest, was because they were putting together my planner - so I hope that is what is happening in your case. Also, I've never worked with N and have been communicating with Lleny. She has been extremely helpful and even offered to go downtown after work to look for a Pinata for me. Maybe you could call them and ask to switch planners? I'm sorry that this has been so frustrating for you! It looks like we will be there at the same time, so let me know if you want to meet up for cocktails and I can give you my lessons learned after my wedding You can always find us at the main pool bar!

I'm actually not sure if the guests get an option for entrees, I was assuming they do not? I think I was told that early on in the process. Also, I was looking through some planning journals and noticed that some brides had Pinatas at the reception. I was thinking it might be kind of fun/cute for towards the end of the reception? But it could also go the other direction... Any thoughts?

I was having a hard time choosing the menu and decided to do a tasting once we get there. It is $25pp and we get to taste 3 hot apps, 3 cold apps, 1 soup, 1 salad, 2 entrees, and a dessert. The food is very important to me and I didn't want to risk getting anything mediocre. It means we can't put together a nice printed menu or anything, but I figured that was probably unnecessary anyway. I'm leaning towards the filet entree, only because I had something similar at the French restaurant and LOVED it, so I'm hoping that it is just as good.