stylishmeNC

Sorry for all the multiple posts but I got in planning mode this afternoon and came up with questions Does anyone know if there are votive (or any other) type candles/lights on the tables in the Dolce Vita restaurant on the Akumal side? I found this really great post about decoration that travels easy from Martha Stewart and was contemplating which ones I could use easily... Pop Up Wedding Decorations Also on that note... what exactly is included on the table as part of the package? I know that flowers are an additional $8 per table... but I don't know if I really want to spend money on flowers if the tables look OK as is. Thanks!

After a previous post on here asking about seating charts I decided to go with it, especially since our confirmed number of guests is almost at 50!! But on that note, does anyone have any good ideas on how to do this in a cute, yet simple manner that will not take up a ton of room in the luggage? I was thinking about just making table cards that had the people at the table on it, but do you think that might be hard for everyone to wander around finding their table? (I know there won't be that many tables, but still...) Any good ideas that brides are using or have used in the past would be greatly appreciated! Thanks, Jill

We did the same thing.... we simultaneously contacts our TA and the resort to figure out dates available, and didn't finalize with the TA until we heard back that the date, time and location of the wedding was available. The resort will send you a short form to fill out then with your travel information which you then should be able to get back to them quickly. It worked out well for me, but I was also planning a year in advance... (but now down to 3 months!!!) We also did not do the save the dates and just went ahead and sent invites to get all the information to everyone and just gave them a long time to respond and get their travel in order if they were coming. One thing that was very helpful was to have your website set up with all the important information and put that on the invite. I know that most people referenced our website a lot and found it very helpful. I just used mywedding.com, bought a domain name, and then redirected so it was a short link on the invite. As for the AHR, if we do one, we are going to send out separate invites and have just been telling people by email or word of mouth that its a possibility... (long story short my soon-to-be-MIL wants one but now her daughter is getting married in June as well, our wedding is in March). Overall, the WC at the resorts are super nice and will work with you and answer all the questions they can, and this website, and specifically this forum is great! Check out the Official Thread as well for easy to find specifics! Good Luck and Congratulations!

Thank you girls for your input! I am going to write my Travel Agent today to make sure we get the Golden Club rooms, and I will just send my inspiration photos for the flowers and see what Eugina says and go from there. I feel much better about it after hearing your responses!

This is for the ladies who have already had their wedding... I am 4 months out from my wedding and have kinda started to get more nervous about the details since I haven't really worried it about it before now, so here are a few of my questions/concerns that I am hoping you can help out with! 1) I don't really know flowers, and overall really am not that particular, other than the fact that I don't like any of the examples they sent in the booklet (have they not updated it since like the early 90s?) If I send a few pictures to my WC of the general idea I am looking for and tell her the color palatte, do you think they will do a decent job? Or should I make a definitive decision and track down the names of flowers and an exact photo? 2) We are staying in the Akumal and I want to make sure we get an ocean facing room... do I need to request this through my travel agent or through my WC? Or both? Um... I feel like I had more questions but can't think of them at the moment.... oh well, I just post again when I do think of them. Thanks for all your help!

For those of you doing the welcome breakfast... does this cost extra? I really like this idea but not enough to spend extra money on it...

Below is Paloma's information that I have been using... once you speak with her she will put you in touch with the wedding coordinator of the resort you are staying in (Akumal, Coba, Tulum). Before they will officially reserve the wedding location and date for you they are going to ask for you travel reservation information, so if you are really worried about dates and times, be prepared to book quickly and have that information to give to Paloma so you will be secured for your date and time. Good luck! Paloma Flores Directora de Grupos y Eventos / Groups & Events Director Gran Bahia Principe Riviera Maya Email:[email protected] Tel: 052 984 87 5 50 00 Ext. 28117 · Fax: 052 984 87 5 50 01 Ctra. Chetumal Benito Juárez, km. 250 Local B, Municipio de Solidaridad Akumal, Quintana Roo C.P. 77760 . México.

Fraggle - I can't help you with the flight times from the UK, or even really your question about the 5 days as I am having a symbolic ceremony... BUT I can tell you that they do weddings on the weekends. My wedding is book for a Saturday. About your flights tho, why don't you just check a general general flight search site for a flight that would leave around the same time and see what it says... or ask your travel agent?

I have been watching Hurricane Rina all this week as I have been concerned how it will affect the beaches of the area... I have been in the Rivera Maya after a rough hurricane year and it pretty much wiped out all the beaches near Playa del Carmen.... lets all hope that this is not the case this time around. Just this morning they increased the threat level to HIGH for pretty much the entire eastern coast of the Yucatan. Tropical Storm conditions are supposed to reach the coast later today. However, they said that the wind field is very small (25 miles), so if the course shifts, they may be spared. This is all from the weather channel. All we can do is cross our fingers and hope that things don't go as predicted and that everyone stays safe!

Sunshine - where did you find your vintage Mexican postcards? I too thought that this would be a great idea for a guest book but haven't had much time yet to look for them... if you have an inside tip it would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

According to the Tlseege's official thread (see post #5 here: http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/t/75549/official-gran-bahia-principe-riviera-maya-thread#post_1663892) this is the situation at Gran Tortuga: Gran Torguta - Round and square tables (the round ones seat 6, the square seat 4). Can be pushed together to have a table of 10. White table clothes and little vases with flowers in them.

That is really good to know because I wasn't planning on doing the seating assignments, but I didn't think about the fact that it might just turn into chaos. So if that is case... does anyone know how many people sit at one table? We have requested the Italian Restaurant at Akumal for reference if it matters. For those of you asking about MIA WC's... I know that Eugenia (for Akumal) is supposed to out on vacation for the whole month of September. As for sky lanterns, I really wanted to do them as well and asked on this thread a little while back, and got a response that the resort probably wouldn't let us use them... however, I never asked for or got an official response if they would be allowed or not. I might ask Eugenia when she gets back from vacation, but if anyone hears back before then I would definitely be interested in the answer!

Hey Lindsay, Its at least good to know that I am not the only one with this issue! And like you said, its just really hard to wait. If you don't mind sending me the information you have that would be fantastic! My email is [email protected] If you don't mind me asking, what are all your plans? Wedding location? Dinner? Are you doing a pool side reception? etc etc Thanks, Jill

Did anyone have Eugenia as their wedding coordinator?? I have sent two emails and waited at least a week between each and still have not received a reply for her... I included Paloma on the 2nd one and she got back to me right away saying that Eugenia was very busy with multiple weddings, but also asking her to reply as soon as possible. I know that they have a lot going on and am not expecting super fast replies, but it is making me a little nervous. But anyway, I was asking if they could send me all the restaurant options we have for the dinner and the pool side reception options/costs. Maybe one of you could help me with that and email this information to me if you have it. (We are staying at the Akumal and getting married at the Hammock location on March 31, 2012). My email is [email protected] and any information you could share would be fantastic! Thanks!

Thanks for the tip about the room... I will def do that! I was confirmed by the resort (Paloma) after sending her our booking number, tour operator, etc. and she wrote back and said just contact Eugenia (Akumal's WC I think...) 3 months before the wedding. But I agree... I would rather get it done now. So I guess I should just email Eugenia and ask about restaurant choices so I can get that confirmed. I also want to do a pool side reception thing after dinner so I guess I can ask her about that as well in this email. Since you stayed and got married on that side, any other suggestions you have for me would be great! Thanks again!

Alright girls... I need your guidance please! I am now completely confirmed at the Akumal for my March 31, 2012 symbolic wedding.... now what? I am kinda lost at what comes next and what I should be asking and requesting from the WC. Restaurants choices? Flowers? Is there a time frame for these things? Like I said I am kinda lost so any tips, thoughts, ideas would be greatly appreciated! Also, Sunshine, I am in love with the floating lantern idea as well... they are just so magical. I would also be interested if anyone has had experience with doing these as the GBP.

I just got booked for my wedding in March 2012!!! Yay But anyway, I am doing the symbolic ceremony as well and was wondering if you could elaborate on what exactly they inlcude/do in the cermony. Paloma said something about confirming with a minister so I am interested in what they say during the ceremony. And what exactly are you signing if its just symbolic?

Angie ~ Thanks for sharing your video, it was so lovely. What location did you get married? I'm currently in the process of booking and was trying to decipher all the options. Thanks! Quote: Originally Posted by Angie1017 http:// http://vimeo.com/user7580066/angie-peter Hi girls! Haven't been on here much since our wedding in December, but I finally got around to uploading and sharing this video our friend made of us getting ready, walking down the aisle and our vows. Thought I'd share with you lovely Bahia brides!

Ooh... if its long, I would also pass. We are not religious and want everything to just be short, sweet, and to the point so we can get to the good stuff... the party!

Has anyone done the Mayan Blessing ceremony? If so can you tell me more about it, and do you have any photos or video? I am really interested in this and would love to know more since we are planning only to do a symbolic ceremony anyway. (I am terrified of needles and not really keen on having blood drawn so we have decided to just sign the papers here int he US right before we head down to Mexico and then just have a symbolic/renewing of the vows there. I think it would be really special and unique to have the Mayan blessing since we are in the area!)

So I am to understand that you have to stay at the location where you have your actual wedding... as in if you want the Akumal beach location, you have to book at the Akumal? In that case, does anyone have pictures of the locations that they could send me? We definitely want to get married on the beach so that will be a factor of how we decide. My email is [email protected] Thanks again for all your help ladies!

KRama & Sunshine.... THANK YOU so much! Your input really helps a lot and clears some things up... I knew this website would turn out to be infinitely helpful when I found it! As a follow-up - Sunshine, did you find your travel agent through this website as well or did you already know of one that specialized in DW? And just to clarify/answer your question, yes we are flying from the US as well. We live in North Carolina, and thus have a few friends here that will be coming. However, the majority of our immediate families will be coming from Colorado and then we will have some randoms flying from New England, Washington, and Cali! (This is one of the many reasons we decided to do a DW!!... if everyone is traveling anyway, why not travel to Mexico!) Again, thanks so much for your help!

Hi everyone... I am relatively new to this forum but I am seriously looking at Gran Bahia Principe for my wedding. We are thinking of getting married at the end March 2012 and have made initial contact with the resort for availability. However I have some questions that I thought you all might be able to help me with... 1) Did you have to book your stay with the resort before you reserved your wedding day? Or can I reserve the day and then book a little later when we have travel plans more figured out (and also I can decide which resort to stay at). 2) Are you using a travel agent? If so, does this save money... like are they able to get group rates? -- We will be having quite a few people coming from all over the US so I thought it might be nice to have a travel agent to help coordinate everyone's travel.... thoughts? 3) This one might be for the brides that have already had their weddings there... but I am a little confused on the whole pricing of dinners and drinks. As the resort is all inclusive, is just for a more private event and then for private event staff? Any help would be much appreciated and if you have anything that you want/need to send me for clarifications, etc. I can be reached at [email protected]. Thanks in advance!

Thanks Christi for Paloma's email address and all the other information as well!

I am very interested in booking this resort for my DW that I want to have in March or April 2012... I sent an email to the address they have listed on their main website asking for more information and availability but was thinking that maybe I could get a better email address from someone on here. I am totally aware that it takes them awhile to respond and I am fine with that, I just wanted to make sure that my request was going to the right place. If anyone could help me out that would be fantastic... thanks!!!