InnaDaniel

Ladies, HANDS DOWN, the best photographer is Del Sol Photography!!! They were amazing to work with, and we have gotten more compliments on our pictures than I ever imagined. Matter of fact, our wedding was just featured here: junebugweddings.com/blogs/what_junebug_loves/archive/2012/06/29/romantic-playa-del-carmen-destination-wedding-del-sol-photography-inna-daniel.aspx?utm_source=Real+Weddings%2FEditorial+Features&utm_campaign=a5cb4cd879-RW_WJL_Bride_Groom6_29_2012&utm_medium=email Happy to answer any questions you have regarding our experience with Del Sol! Cheers, inna

Ladies, I can tell you that from all the people I spoke to prior to my wedding, all told me that customs may be a huge issue when you're traveling with so much quantity of your OOT goodies. I didn't want to take a chance, so I used a shipping broker to get 150 lbs of my stuff down to Mexico for my wedding this past March 31st. Frankly, it was the best decision I could have made! I didn't have to worry about bringing it on board with me, or someone else being responsible for carrying it on. I packed it, shipped it directly to the hotel, and had it waiting for me when we arrived. If Mexico (Cancun/Riviera Maya area) is where any of you are getting married, I am happy to refer you to my shipping broker! Good luck!!! Inna

Keysha, Congratulations on confirming your ceremony on the bridge. I imagine that's going to look absolutely stunning. We have several pictures in that space and I love them... see one of those pictures below! I'm so excited that you've booked the Gazebo for our reception - I was hesitant about that space when I first saw it in pictures, but its SO deceiving. Its absolutely beautiful - and what I love most is that its a clean canvas and you can really do with it whatever you'd like. I shared some of those pictures with you too -- see below! Re: our rose petal curtain behind our sweetheart table, I don't remember the exact cost because I can't locate my itemized bill, but I think it was several hundred dollars (they give you several options, depending on how dense you want the curtain). P.S. Please tell Veronica I said hello!!!

Samantha, Sorry its taken me so long to respond... congratulations on your upcoming nuptials in July! How exciting!!!!! The fee was a bit steep, but it was still well worth every penny - considering the quality of the work that Del Sol Photography offered. We can talk more outside this thread if you want details, so please don't hesitate to direct message me. I'm sorry to hear that you're not pleased with your destination wedding planner. Are you using someone assigned to you at the hotel or is this a destination wedding planner that you brought in on your own? There was a lot for me to handle when I arrived to Mexico, but that has to do with the fact that i'm extremely hands on, and Type A - so I need/wanted to know very single detail of that weekend. Having said that, the ladies at the hotel (Ana, Myrna and Perla) were all so amazing - that I really could have just arrived that day and not having done a thing! I really didn't have to do ANY running around or organizing - they really did have everything under control. And that of course is because we spoke about every element before my arrival to the resort. What i loved most about arriving to the hotel and working with these ladies, was the fact that upon arrival, I immediately had a meeting with the team and did all the walk throughs that we needed to ensure that everyone was on the same page, and all the details were taken care of. I'm presuming that you'll be doing the same thing when you arrive the day before!? I'm not sure how the set up looks for Fantasy or Aqua because I had the 'Tailor Made' package. But i'm certain that your planner can get you these details. How was food? One word: AMAZING!!!!!!!!!! Please let me know if i can answer any additional questions for you!!!! Warmly, Inna

Keysha - First and foremost, congratulations on your impending nuptials on July 7th! Don't freak out - its going to be AMAZING!!!! RE: our pics - All kudos go to Matt Adcock and his partner photographer for the day, Jonathan. They were extraordinary and i'm glad that came across i our pictures! RE: your questions I use their vendors for our flowers and DJ equipment only! We flew in our DJ from NYC (DJ Pushkin) and our photographers were Del Sol Photography (as I wrote about and mentioned above). There was an outside vendor fee for the photographers but not for the DJ (that's because our DJ was a guest at the property). Fees for vendors are waved if the 'vendor' is staying on the property as a guest of the wedding. The gazebo was included in our package - we had the 'Tailor Made' package. However, the night before the wedding we did a 'Welcome Party' for our guests at the Sunrise Restaurant (poolside at La Esmeralda) and had to pay a fee to privatize that for our event. Our Rehearsal Dinner was at Vento, one of the restaurants at the property and that was FANTASTIC. You cannot go wrong with any of the restaurants that you choose to do this at! And we negotiated they do a 'Family Style' dinner for our Rehearsal Party so that all of our guests at the dinner could get a sampling of all the dishes at the restaurant, as opposed to having to order from the menu, or have to arrange for a set menu (neither of which we wanted). Hope that answers your questions!? Feel free to reach back out and let me know if there's anything else I can help with! Happy Planning!

Keysha - First and foremost, congratulations on your impending nuptials on July 7th! Don't freak out - its going to be AMAZING!!!! RE: our pics - All kudos go to Matt Adcock and his partner photographer for the day, Jonathan. They were extraordinary and i'm glad that came across i our pictures! RE: your questions I use their vendors for our flowers and DJ equipment only! We flew in our DJ from NYC (DJ Pushkin) and our photographers were Del Sol Photography (as I wrote about and mentioned above). There was an outside vendor fee for the photographers but not for the DJ (that's because our DJ was a guest at the property). Fees for vendors are waved if the 'vendor' is staying on the property as a guest of the wedding. The gazebo was included in our package - we had the 'Tailor Made' package. However, the night before the wedding we did a 'Welcome Party' for our guests at the Sunrise Restaurant (poolside at La Esmeralda) and had to pay a fee to privatize that for our event. Our Rehearsal Dinner was at Vento, one of the restaurants at the property and that was FANTASTIC. You cannot go wrong with any of the restaurants that you choose to do this at! And we negotiated they do a 'Family Style' dinner for our Rehearsal Party so that all of our guests at the dinner could get a sampling of all the dishes at the restaurant, as opposed to having to order from the menu, or have to arrange for a set menu (neither of which we wanted). Hope that answers your questions!? Feel free to reach back out and let me know if there's anything else I can help with! Happy Planning!

Laurie - Thank you so much! Unfortunately, I cant really address working with Pedro because I didn't have to handle any of that. I had a travel agent who dealt with the resort and was responsible for working out the logistics and handling any/all negotiations on behalf of myself and all of our wedding guests. I'm glad to hear that Cemone, your romance specialist has been really helpful. I'm assuming she's based out of Miami, right? My planner was Veronica, and she too was amazing. As were the coordinators on site at the property (Ana Helena and Myrna - whom i'm sure you'll be introduced to shortly). Re: spaces. We used the poolside area at La Perla for our cocktail hour before our wedding reception. The Gabi Club was not available. Hope i've answered your questions - let me know how else I can help! P.S. SOOOO glad you reached out to DelSol -- fingers crossed that you can book them!

Connie - Thank you so much! I can understand you being nervous! I can tel you this: You have nothing to be nervous about. I visited the property (during building before it even opened), and even then knew it was going to look amazing. So you can only imagine my satisfaction when I arrived in late March when I saw the property completed. That said, we had our wedding ceremony in the Gazebo, our 'Cocktail Hour' poolside at La Perla, and then our 'Reception' in the Palapa poolside (also at La Perla). The pictures that you see (via the link I posted above, show both the Gazebo and Palapa for your reference). I also know that my Wedding Coordinators took pictures of the set up before the guests arrived and so I'm sure I can get access to those pictures and post them here for you to see. Just let me know if that would be helpful and i'm glad to do it! We also had a relatively small party (about 40) and I felt that the Palapa was perfect for this. Particularly because we set up the tables that they were close enough for everyone to be near each other, but left enough space to have a dance area. I hope that answers your questions. Glad to share more! Jules - Glad to hear you're considering the resort. As I mentioned above, I had visited many resorts before deciding to book the Paradisus - and I have not one regret!!! This resort is outstanding. Oh, and I may have forgot to mention the food!!!! My husband and I - as are our guests, big 'foodies'... so food was as important for us as other elements of the place. I must say (and everyone who was with us would agree) - this place did not disappoint. It had, by far, some of the best food (if not THE best) i've ever eaten at a resort! As far as a DJ goes - we had a DJ and he was involved in every aspect of our wedding festivities. We had him play during our ceremony (precessional/recessional), during our 'Cocktail Hour' and during our 'Reception'. Much like you would use a DJ at a traditional wedding, that's precisely how we used him here. For us, a restaurant wasn't an option because we really wanted privacy and to have our events take place outside. As far as the flow goes... that all depends on how you decide to involve a DJ, if at all. I suppose with a small amount of people, i'm sure the resort can somewhat privatize an area of a restaurant for you, but then i'm not sure a DJ would make sense for you. They do have a lounge and club area (in addition to ba areas where music play), so perhaps you can consider doing a wedding dinner at the restaurant and then head over to an area where the music is...that could always be a consideration. My recommendation would be to call the resort and speak with Romance Manager Ana Helena - i'm sure she'd be happy to provide some insight based on your party size. Hope i've answered your questions/concerns. Let me know if you need anything else!!! Happy Planning, Inna

Hi there everyone! Wanted to reach out an introduce myself - I'm Inna, the bride in the pictures that Matt Adcock of Del Sol Photography just posted in the thread above! My husband and I just got married at the gorgeous new Paradisus resort in Playa del Carmen on Saturday, March 31st. (For reference, all of our guests were guests of La Esmeralda - but all of our wedding festivities took place on the La Perla side -- with the exception of the Rehearsal Dinner (held at Vento) and our 'Welcome Party' (held at the Sunrise Grill). Anyway, before I jump in to telling you about our recent experience, I have to take this opportunity to say that you MUST, MUST take a look at Del Sol Photography if you're planning a Riviera Maya / Cancun wedding -- regardless of the venue you choose! Having done extensive homework and research on photographer options in the area, I quickly realized that Del Sol Photography would be our only choice! While their images spoke for themselves and I heard (and read) about their outstanding reputation - I finally (and now) know why, AND have personal experience to share! This team of photographers, led by husband and wife photography extraordinaires Matt Adcock and Sol Tamargo are really the best in this business! Having worked in the entertainment/media industry for more than 15 years, I have been fortunate to be in the company of numerous photographers - and yet, Del Sol Photography is really in a class of their own! (Happy to share more here.... ) That said, getting back to the subject of the new Paradisus - ours was the 1st official wedding at the new property. And, I have to tell you: they made us feel like royalty! Frankly, I have no doubt that the same level of service will be extended to all of their brides and grooms!!! While there were a number of options to choose from for our wedding, we went with the 'Tailor Made' package. With that in mind, there really are SO many things I can share with you as you're planning your visits, scheduling site inspections and making final decisions on venues, I can tell you this for now: *I LOVED the fact that Paradisus doesn't feel like a wedding factory – unlike so many of the other resorts I visited! (I saw 8 properties before making a decision to have our wedding here!) *They have wedding packages that are fully customizable - this was a huge selling point for us because we wanted a really personalized experience for ourselves and our guests! *They offered areas where we could really enjoy a private function - and not feel like we were celebrating our wedding festivities with the rest of the hotel guests! *Their pre-wedding planning services were complimentary and kicked off the minute we confirmed our wedding date - unlike other resorts I considered. Naturally, i'm happy to share more information - and answer any questions you may all have. Feel free to inquire... Until then.... Happy Planning!

Ladies, I never got a copy of one.. but found a newsletter template in Microsoft Word that i've been using! Happy to share mine for reference when i'm done with it! Hope your planning is going well.... I've got 7 days till my 'Big Day'! Have a great weekend, Inna

Hi ladies, I'm actually celebrating my honeymoon at the Excellence Riviera Cancun - immediately following my wedding, which is taking place in just a few short weeks at the gorgeous new Paradisus La Perla / La Esmeralda in Playe del Carmen. For those of you who have already been to the resort, anything you can share? Thanks so much!!! Inna

· Hi Melissa, Congratulations!! I too got engaged in October, and have a wedding coming up in less than 3 weeks, on March 31st!!! In November, I had an opportunity to fly to the area and do almost 10 site inspections across Playa del Carmen - and chose the new Paradisus La Perla/La Esmeralda as our wedding location. First and foremost, I loved the fact that the hotel was new (we're going to be one of the first weddings there), and I loved that the hotel didn't feel like a 'wedding factory', which is how many of the other resorts felt like. Not to mention, Paradisus offers wedding packages for EVERY budget, and their packages are really customizable - which was an extremely important factor for my fiance and I in choosing our location. I can also tell you that all of their weddings are considered private functions - so they don't lump your festivities with all the other resort guests around (again, this was something I didn't really see offered at the other resorts). The minute that we chose our package, we kicked off our pre-planning efforts with their team - which has been fantastic during this time. What I found at the other resorts is that the official planning/finalization of wedding elements wasn't really going to begin until we'd get to the resort, and that worried me. The last thing i'd want to do is finalize things on arrival - being the pre-planner that I am by nature, it was important that I work with someone who could help get everything planned and finalized ahead of time. With Paradisus, its been fantastic because they have an entire 'Romance Team', who works in tandem with each bride. So, i was assigned a 'wedding planner' right away and have been working with her for months for our impending wedding. She's been someone that i've been able to call on and email at any time, and she's always available to me - to ask questions, to discuss ideas, etc (even to vent on days i'm completely stressing).! It really has been the most wonderful experience in having her at my disposal. Being that she's out of their corporate offices in the US, i've also had someone assigned to me for planning purposes who works on-site at the property. Talk about feeling spoiled! She too has been amazing, and extremely helpful because she's physically onsite and has been able to act as my eyes and ears! That said, I found the Paradisus to be a good size property - not too big, not too small - and has a number of locations available for all your wedding elements - ceremony, cocktail hour and reception! As far as your photographer goes - check out Del Sol Photogaphy. Choosing a photographer was one of the most important elements for us, and we found that Del Sol would be our only choice -- considering their reputation and the work that they do. Take a look at their portfolio on their website, and you'll see what I mean. Their work speaks for itself! I hope i've been helpful to you! Naturally, i'll have more to share after my wedding in a few weeks. Inna ·

Hi there! How did you enjoy your site visit? I actually did a site visit back in November, before they even opened! But the minute I stepped onto the property I knew it was the place -- much like how I chose my wedding dress. The minute I saw it, I knew!! Funny how that happens, right? I would be happy to share pictures after our wedding - which is actually in a few short weeks (on March 31st), and I imagine we'll have gorgeous pictures, considering we've been fortunate enough to book the most amazing photographers in the area - Del Sol Photography. You MUST check them out: http://www.delsolphotography.com. In the meantime, I can tell you that we chose the 'Tailor Made Package' - which was unlike anything else any other hotel had offered (and trust me, I did my homework)! Matter of fact, I did almost 10 site visits when I visited Mexico back in late Oct/early Nov. Every other hotel seemed to feel like they did weddings much like many of the venues here in the U.S. -- like a wedding warehouse. The beauty of Paradisius, is that everything feels so customized and personalized -- regardless of the package you choose! I can't imagine you can go wrong with any package you ultimately decide on!!! All together we're having 40 guests - a perfect number for our wedding. (We didn't really want to go over the 50-60 people mark!) How come you're still on the fence? How can I help? I'm happy to answer any questions you might have -- i've done quite a bit of homework and research before we actually booked -- so you can imagine I have LOTS of great info to share! Looking forward to hearing from again! Inna

Does anyone have a template they can share? I have found some templates on Word and in Pages (i'm on a MAC), but nothing really that great! Would appreciate anything you can share! Or whatever suggestions you may have. Thank you so much!!!

Can anyone recommend where I can buy sunscreen for my OOT bags in bulk - in the Riviera Maya / Playa Del Carmen area? Need info ASAP! Thank you so much!!!