May12

I just got an answer from Nayeli about this...we have "ribbon" too. We asked if the chef could do burgundy piping that looks like ribbon...not sure how to cut it. She said that someone had recently done that and by the time they cut the cake the fake ribbon had melted because it was so hot! She suggest bringing ribbon and said that cutting it wouldn't be a problem because it is not attached to the cake. I don't think they take it off when we do our cake cutting, but they probably do when they cut it for the guests. By that time no one sees it so I don't think it matters much. And PS...that cake is gorgeous!!

YAY!! So glad you're on track with everything now that N has finally gotten back to you! I'm so excited for you!! Safe travels and good luck with everything!! Lciz, THANK YOU for the heads up about the final bill! That's been my biggest fear...random charges that we didn't expect! Did Nayeli give you an invoice of charges before the wedding??

These are so cute!!! I'm totally going to Michaels to pick these up!! Thanks for the tip!!

Hey Lynn! Hope I can help answer some of this... The guitarist is $550 and plays one 45 minute set. The minister/judge is free with the gold package. We are going with DJ Mannia and PRAYING that it's ok...I converted my entire itunes into MP3 and put iton an external hard drive for him (Fernando) we'll meet with him earlier in the week and give it to him so he can download it all. They have all sorts of blow up guitars, giant sunglasses, beads etc....we told him we wanted NONE of that and specifically said nothing cheesy!! We have just about his entire "sample list" on our do not play list. He seemed to understand when we met him in September and is really trying to work with us to get our style. If all else fails, we will request every song(my friends are FINE with this!) We are still waiting to hear on the room upgrade, but that may not be until right befor or when we get there...I'll keep you posted! If you are thinking about staying longer and do an excellence club room or have enough rooms with your guests, you will get the free wedding package OR take $850 off the gold package. We did this and it is definitely working out better financially as well as getting the Ocean view that we wanted. We also had the same idea about going to a different resort, and honestly, I'm glad we chose to. We have a TON going on the week before the wedding! Here's our plan...Leaving on Sat May 12(my b-day!) staying at The Marriott Casa Magna until Tuesday. 7 of our guests(some wedding party) will be checking in there as well between Sat and Tuesday. This way it offsets some of the cost and we can run errands we need to do in a non AI before we check into Excellence...AND we'll have help! On Tuesday we check in to Excellence, meet with Nayeli (I hope!) and meet up with some of the rest of our wedding party who will check in on Tue or Wed. On Wed-Get our lovebirds massage at 9am, do blood tests at 11, sign the wedding license with our wittnesses at 3 and do trial hair and Make-up at 4! On Thursday we hired a mini bus and driver to take 16 of us to Tulum and Playa Del Carmen for an excursion. (The group from Casa Magna will be at Excellence by then) We get back to the resort at 6ish and meet with the rest of our guests who check in on Thursday for our welcome cocktail party at the X-Lounge. Friday is Spa day with our wedding party...We're doing the Water Ritual with everyone, mani/pedis for all the guys and some of the girls and a girls lunch and guys lunch. Friday at 7 is our rehersal so we're meeting up with everyone at the Mexican night afterwards where they will reserve tables for us. (there are 2 other weddings on Friday! Our rehersal is later because of this) Saturday is the big day and we're spending time at the spa for hair/make-up and the ceremony starts at 5:30 (guests get there at 5), X-lounge cocktail hour, Ceco terrace reception...may extend it an hour...we need to decide an hour and 15 mins before the end if we want to do this. Sunday is our Recovery Brunch from 9-11. A good chunk of guests leave in the afternoon. 5 guests will still be there. Monday is our breakfast in bed, TTD and romantic dinner...2 guests will still be there. Tuesday we leave for our much needed rest on our honeymoon!!! We're going to Zoetry and I've heard it's AMAZING! Staying until Sunday and then flying home in the afternoon. There is so much that adds up on the to do list before the wedding...at least for us, so we wanted to get away and find a place thats just as good or better than Excellence for our honeymoon...we didn't want to be disappointed and regret leaving Excellence. Hope this helps!! Happy planning!! Sheryl

Great idea about "taking the cake with you"! Really...who WOULDN'T want to leave with some cake! Does Nayeli know your wedding is in 8 days??? Did she forget?? What the?? How about the rest of us stop asking questions until she talks to you! We can all refer her your way...oy! I'm so sorry you're going through this. I'm a month away and freaking out now! By the way...saw your post about your sand ceremony in the OOT bag thread and LOVE that idea! I told my fiance about it and now this is his project that he stole from you! We're doing something very similar now...We absolutely love the thought of all of our family and friends contributing to our sand. THANK YOU!

Sorry, don't know why it won't open. It's a very simple form...Groom and Bride info: complete name, nationality, Age, Occupation Address, Place of Birth. Parents of Bride and Groom info: complete name, nationality, address, occupation. Then 4 wittness info: name, nationality, age, occupation, address marital status and relationship with Bride/Groom. My favorite is this at the end: MARRIAGE AGREEMENT: A) Joint Posessions (If divorced must split properties 50% each Separate posessions(If divorced each party keeps their own property PLEASE CHOOSE AN OPTION: Ha! Love how they throw that in at the end and keep it simple...cracks me up! I filled it out with all of the required information and Nayeli said it was correct. When you do everything 3 days before the wedding, that will be sure that you have the marriage certificate (in Spanish) before you leave. I believe we can have it translated once we get back.(especially for the name change) As far as a birth certificate, we were told that we no longer need to bring ours. This is where there were changes from a year ago. Only some states in Mexico require your birth certificate, and I am assuming that in Quintana Roo, you do not. I've asked this question a few times but I'm sure I'll ask it again...just want to be on the safe side! The judge will be there and then Nayeli will be translating. I have seen a lot of fingerprinting in pictures down there...I think that's part of it too...

We were back and forth with this, and we decided on doing a civil ceremony. About a year or so ago there was a TON of red tape, but now it's super easy. Here is the info Nayeli gave me about this: The requirements are: - Both passports and tourist card (you will receive them at the airport) - The form that is enclosed to this e-mail (I will attach the form for you) - Blood test, which is $200 in cash to pay directly to the Dr. it’s going to be on May 16th at 11am (this is the Wednesday before our wedding that is on a Saturday) - 4 witnesses that needs to be at the hotel on May 16th before 4pm because we are going to do all the paperwork on that day, on the 17th we send it to the Civil Register Office. Unfortunately our Judge does not speak English and she will just come in order to legalize it but I will be doing the ceremony. For us, this was the way to go...we didn't want to have 2 anniversary dates. Groom's and Bride's information blank.xls

Great tips Cole379!!! My fiance now has a job to do before the ceremony other than drinking tequila with the guys!! You're right...a little bit of time spent double checking the day of = piece of mind and that is PRICELESS! Amanda, congrats on securing the date!!! Lynn, welcome to our group!!

Thank you so much for giving us the heads up! How do we sign up for this??

Oh my God!!! I can't believe you haven't heard from her...this is crazy! Have you called her or at least someone in the wedding coordinator group? Somebody has GOT to be able to answer some questions over there! I must say, you are handling this with incredible grace....you're awesome! I would not be so sane. Groom's and Bride's information blank.xls

OH almost forgot about the sparklers!! StefKva, We have to order the sparklers through Nayeli. They are $38 for 10 of them and additional sparlkers are $4. We also found out that if we make custom matches, they may be confiscated as they probably shouldn't go on a plane. Nayeli said they have matches there for the sparklers. I attached the Pyrotechnic catalog for you... PYROTECHNIC CATALOG JPG-BODAS.PDF

OMG Lciz...you look absolutely STUNNING! I'm so glad it all worked out for you! Thanks so much for the feedback, it's super helpful for those of us freaking out at home! Great info on the rooms! We just changed our reservation recently to the swim up Excellence Club room ONLY because we should get a free upgrade with our travel package to the rooftop suite...I'm REALLY hoping we do get upgraded because that privacy issue will be a big problem! What would they do? I somehow think they wouldn't downgrade us and give us $$ back. I've got to get on this with Nayeli...it's been over a week of waiting for me as well... As for the menu- We did a FREE tasting when we were there last September and planned it out the month before we got there...maybe they only charge when you do it too close to the date?? Once we knew what we wanted, we included menu choices on our reply card with the invitations. We knew we were having filet and scallops, but were still waiting on seafood only options(we did not taste these) so we worded it as Beef and Seafood, Seafood, and Special Dietary Restrictions. We chose and confirmed the chilean seabass once we got the options from the chef. I have an excel spreadsheet with everyones names, days they are staying, meal options and noted the bridal party and other special guests. I sent it to Nayeli so she knows who's who, and what they're getting. Once we're there and meet with her, we'll give her our seating chart. On each Menu that we're having printed will be the guest's name at the top, and the menu will have the entree they chose. The waiters need to know who to give what dish to. Being that we will have Handpainted Margarita glasses and Maraccas as the favors at their seat (we're buying them there), we will be tying the favor cards to the glasses with colored ribbon in our wedding colors. If someone is having beef they will have a brown ribbon, if fish-an orange one, beef and no seafood(we have 1) a burgundy ribbon. Normally they will put a sticker on your seating card, but we didn't want to alter them so decided to do this. For the invitations- We found Ginger, this AMAZING woman on Etsy who is doing all of our stationary. What we love is that EVERYTHING is customizable....colors, wording, design(and she collaborates with you on this), size, what you want included in them, you name it! What's great, she's REALLY reasonable! Invitations we liked from other websites or at Papyrus were at least double and we couldn't change or tweak anything other that wording/fonts, etc...We felt limited. We've had a TON of complements on the invites and what's best, is that she really captured our style. Now we have her doing a ton of other things for the wedding....she's "branded" us without her even realizing it! Everything will be in the same style/design of our invitations. She's doing favor cards, the menus, name tags for the OOT bags, the Welcome letter, a timeline, a check in card (so people know when to meet us Thurs night for welcome cocktails-OOT bags do not get delivered until turn down service and we were worried they wouldn't have the information before they were out for the night) and a do not disturb sign! (and of course than you cards). Clearly, I can't say enough about her! She's based out of Saint Louis but we do everything via email and an occasional phone call for clarity. She has a TON of really cool designs and ideas including passports, boarding passes, postcards, traditional,etc.. If you want to check her out her website is www.serendipitybeyonddesign.com or email [email protected] Hope this info helps!!

Yum...that cake sounds fantastic! Will that be your wedding cake or the desert? We are also doing a mix of Gold/Silver for our menu, and changing it up a bit....We decided to not do a soup option being that our reception is outside and it just seems too hot for that. So we ended up with...Appetizer: A tuna tartar to start(not on menu options), Salad: the hearts of palm salad (on the silver menu), Entree: the filet and scallops(on the silver menu) OR a chilean sea bass with a shitake lobster risotto(not on menu options) Desert: the chocolate agavero cake(which ROCKS!) The ones that aren't an option on the menu choices, we discussed "alternatives" for appetizers and needed a fish dish that could be the seafood equivalent of the filet. This is what we chose, but they are really open to whatever you want to do. We just asked the chef what would go with the filet and palm salad as a starting palate and let him come up with options from there. We also received a list of vegetarian options but it ended up that none of our guests went in that direction anyway. Are any of you ladies doing sparklers at the reception??

Yum...that cake sounds fantastic! Will that be your wedding cake or the desert? We are also doing a mix of Gold/Silver for our menu, and changing it up a bit....We decided to not do a soup option being that our reception is outside and it just seems too hot for that. So we ended up with...Appetizer: A tuna tartar to start(not on menu options), Salad: the hearts of palm salad (on the silver menu), Entree: the filet and scallops(on the silver menu) OR a chilean sea bass with a shitake lobster risotto(not on menu options) Desert: the chocolate agavero cake(which ROCKS!) The ones that aren't an option on the menu choices, we discussed "alternatives" for appetizers and needed a fish dish that could be the seafood equivalent of the filet. This is what we chose, but they are really open to whatever you want to do. We just asked the chef what would go with the filet and palm salad as a starting palate and let him come up with options from there. We also received a list of vegetarian options but it ended up that none of our guests went in that direction anyway. Are any of you ladies doing sparklers at the reception??

Oh boy...how frustrating!! I'm sure she will get back to you soon. Just bank on an extra $60 or so for extra flowers...seems to be the going rate! Your wedding will be beautiful and everything you expect. I had asked a lot of the questions I've been reading about and here's what I got back... Make-up: They do not do airbrush make-up. (They also do not do gel manicures either if anyone was wondering that) The spa does have a staging room while we're there where we can get ready or have snacks and juice. We also asked about the "lovebirds" massage that comes with the gold package and they do it at 2 times....9am with the hydrotherapy following at 10am or hydrotherapy at 5pm with the massage at 6pm. DJ/ Reception time: We have the house DJ and they do play for 4 hours. Nayeli did confirm that the Reception would be 4 hours from 7-11 (Based on our ceremony starting at 5:30)

Hi Ladies! I had to jump on here to see what was going on at ERC. I am getting married at Excellence Playa Mujeres on May 19th and after 4, yes 4 wedding planners in the last year and a half, just got Nayeli...I LOVE her! Some of the brides on the EPM thread are still being shuffled around so I wanted to see if the same thing was happening here. Sounds like EPM needed Nayeli! What a great idea about the chair sashes! I had decided against them due to cost, but I need to rethink that if we can bring them into the resort! Also in the same boat about my OOT bag stash...bottles of Excedrin, tums, Imodium etc. I'm sucking it up and getting the sparklers at the resort because of the possible "contraband" situation at the airport, but didn't even think about the meds! Just an FYI for time purposes if anyone is thinking of sending a package...We had sent an invitation down to show them our colors, and it took a month to get there. Congratulations and happy planning to all of you!! Sheryl

Wow! What a crazy week on the forum! ....I had my heart in my throat when I saw that Lciz posted about the change in wedding planners...again. Hang in there....it's going to beautiful and perfect! I heard from Nayeli this weekend so I feel better, but geeeeez...I don't know if I can handle another one at this stage of the game! Deep breaths...deep breaths... As for the flowers....that's outrageous! When we ran into this a couple of months ago, they were able to honor the original price that was quoted., kind of. We wanted orange cala lillis for the bridesmaids and thought they'd be in the $45-$75 range based on the conversation with Gustavo. They ended up being $230!! WHAT!? We compromised, got different flowers but at least got the price to $50 each instead of $110 each. If you have an email about it I'm sure they can at least get close to the price! Fingers crossed for you! What have you guys decided on the ceremony music...guitarist or ipod?? I'm still on the fence with this. Nayeli says they have big speakers and someone to que everything, but I'm still not sure it will sound right... With the cake, we found a cake we fell in love with(see below...burgundy ribbon instead of green) and sent her the pic. She asked the chef and it was a YES, they can do it...no additional charge! If there's something you like or an idea you have, they can usually work with you on it.

I would still go with EPM, hands down! When we were "scouting" for locations, I did a lot of research and emailing back and forth, and the bottom line is, most people down there do have a slow response time. When we went to look at the resorts of our final picks, we couldn't even get some of the wedding coordinators to meet with us! (On that note, ME by Melia was the worst offender!) We found that there were so many "up" charges with many of the places that it started to not make sense....$5000 for premium bar, double or triple the cost for florists, DJ, lighting etc, etc... With Nayeli, I found the best communication so far was to also put everything in 1 email under headings and sub headings. Each time we respond we have a new color we use so it's easy to see the most recent. I also attach pictures of ideas for her and try to get as specific as possible and ALWAYS ask about price. This way it's all in writing wrapped up and ready for when we're there. She is very thorough in responses this way and I have had by far the best experience with her versus the other 3 WC's we dealt with. It DOES take her a week to get back to us, usually every Friday or Saturday night we'll get her reply...but she answers all of our questions! I feel like we're winding down to very specific details at this point(Should we cut the ribbon that will be going around the napkins or will you? type of questions.) We are all set with flowers, DJ, Spa services,type of cake, Menu, Ceremony and reception details...it feels good! Something that is helpful too, I've sent her an excel file of our guests with when they are staying, who's rooming with who, wedding party, and meal choices (just waiting on final seating arrangements in case a few more guest decide to go.) She is now ensuring they're booked and has a handle on the group. Our TA will then be giving the final list to her about 2 weeks before the wedding so when they assign rooms, all the guests will be in the same area. For the OOT bags, we decided to have a name tag made for each of them. This way when we give the bags to Nayeli, all she has to do is match them up with their room number and have the bell boys deliver them. Our bridal party has nicer bags with different time-lines and gifts in there, so it will make it easier to not confuse it with another guest. With tables...We are doing round tables but Gustavo did say they have rectangular ones...can't see how they wouldn't! With the round tables, 10 people can fit around them but Nayeli said 8 is better so it's not so crowded. I asked her about centerpieces and what's included, and with the gold package, 2 centerpieces are included, and whatever flowers you have at the ceremony they'll bring over to the reception. Question for you all....Is anyone bringing sparklers??? I saw some really cool pictures taken at night with the sparklers and would LOVE to have them! My only concern is if we can get them into the country! I can only imagine getting stuck at customs with 900(it's starting to feel like that many!) bags of luggage filled with contraband! Another question....Is anyone doing the sand ceremony?? If so, are you bringing your own glass container or using theirs?? 2 and a half months to go and I'm starting to get anxiety!! How are you ladies who are having your wedding in April holding up??? And PLEASE don't forget to tell the rest of us all about it and send pics!! Sheryl

Did you book your room at Excellence yet? When I was going through this they could only give me a tentative time until we booked. When are you getting married?? We're having the ceremony at the gazebo, Cocktail hour at X-Lounge and the reception at the CECO (Convention Center) Terrace. This way if we want to make noise and extend the DJ we can! Sorry...no dress pics with me in it yet...still waiting on the 1st fitting...but I am going simple yet elegant wearing Nicole Miller "Veronique". It's a stretch jacquard fabric with a cool pattern on it and VERY comfortable! I found a necklace in Mexico last time we were there that is silver with different sized shapes and cuts of Mother of pearl...it's a total statement piece...might actually upstage the dress! How bout you??

Oh No! I would have totally gone the route you did if everyone wanted to charge me! Our TA is free and just gets a kickback for what she books. How many people are you having, Laura? Where are you having the reception? I'll be there a couple of weeks after you and it sounds like we have a similar guest count! Can't wait to hear how everything turned out for everyone!!!

To Tip or not to Tip.... this is giving me a headache! I found some info on other forums online an on this site, but the consensus is this....If they go above and beyond, tip. If "services" is outlined in the invoice, they already charged you for a tip. Anything I've read on Martha Stewart or the knot is really for "local" weddings with a million different vendors for things, all with high expectations for tipping....and outrageous in my book! Some of the comments from actual vendors in Mexico, do not expect a tip at all! One Photographer said that he never expects it and is paid quite well but the most someone ever gave him was $50. No one seems to be tipping the florist or DJ unless they are fantastic and going above and beyond. The musicians range from no tip to $25. Everyone seems to agree that the waitstaff should be tipped about $20 each, but depends how many people are there waiting on you. The wedding coordinator is ranging from nothing to $150, with $50 or $100 being average. One idea was to have thank you cards filled out with $ in them and hand them out only if you feel they deserved the tip. Someone got a gift for the wedding coordinator and her family as well as cash. What I'm understanding, unfortunately, is that a lot of people seem to be very confused on this AI destination wedding tipping situation! I'm thinking of this: Nayeli- I'll give her a thank you card and more than likely, she'll get a tip...probably $100 or more depending on how things come out...and how much tequila I've had! For everyone else, I think I'll be handing out pesos. I don't want to carry a ton of US $ around and Pesos may be easier for them... Waitstaff/bartenders-depends how many there are and how they do but $200ish Pesos each Mariachi Trio-$300-400 pesos-If we see them! Guitarist-$150-200 Pesos-if we have one DJ, Photographer and Florist-probably nothing unless they really go above and beyond. We may end up tacking on an extra hour or so with the reception so if that's the case then we will tip the DJ and a bit more for the bartender. Hair and make-up stylist- 20% Nails/Spa services-15-20% I really don't want to be "cheap" and generally I am EXTREMELY generous, but I really believe that they are already being paid for a service, and above and beyond will warrant something as a token of appreciation. Here are the links for the forums I was looking at... http://bestdestinationwedding.com/fo...or-gift-48794/ http://bestdestinationwedding.com/fo...iquette-26560/ http://bestdestinationwedding.com/fo...vendors-37452/ Any thoughts?? PLEASE tell me if I'm making sense or if I'm way off! Again, I want to be reasonable and not blow my budget on tips just for the sake of tipping! I'm sure my bridesmaids would rather have coach coin purses!

Hello Ladies! Not sure if I missed an answer to this in all of our postings, but I remember someone asking about tipping... I too am LOST on this subject and want to make sure we are tipping appropriately without doing it unnecessarily... What are you all planning on doing?? Thanks!! Sheryl PS. FYI.. I asked Nayeli about payment and here is our correspondence on that- (we are also using Moments that Matter as our photographer as they are based out of the resort) Her answers are in RED and GREEN.... Deposits and Payments: When are deposits and payments due to you, and what is the method of payment that you require. Will the florist, DJ and Photographer be through you as well? Yes, you are going to pay for everything with us, you can pay at your check out and you can pay with cash, credit card (American Express, Master Card or Visa) and traveler checks Fantastic! Will you be providing us with an invoice or detailed estimate before the wedding? Absolutely, I will be sending you a planner with all your choices and charges so you can have a better idea on your budget. P.P.S. The mugs are awesome!

Welcome! I would definitely go with a TA! Our almost final guest count is 30. Dealing with all of the guest and coordinating when they'll be there, any events we want to do and just plain keeping track of them is MUCH easier with a travel agent. PLUS they usually are less expensive than the resort with "perks" for booking with them....discounts, room upgrades, etc. We are with Laura Sangster. She is based out of Atlanta (we're in NJ) but we found her because of a recommendation from Yamina, our first wedding coordinator at EPM. She has been working with EPM for years now and knows the resort well...AND Nayeli our new wedding coordinator! With all of the changes we've had with wedding coordinators over the last 2 years, I'm glad our travel agent is telling us we're in good hands! We at first did not go with a block of rooms, and Laura was still able to get a better rate than booking through the resort directly. When rates at the resort started to go up(and before the majority of our guests booked) we decided to go with the block of rooms to "secure" the price. It was a $500 deposit on our part as long as they booked and gave their $150 deposit within 2 weeks. It was a little hectic getting everyone to put their deposit down within 2 weeks after that(my friends are procrastinators), but it all worked out and Laura keep us in the loop sometimes several times a day to make sure we knew what was going on...she's very patient and flexible! She booked out trip to Cancun/Excellence last Sept and literally was emailing us and called the resort to make sure we liked it and they were treating us well! How nice is that! We are going to Zoetry for our honeymoon and she's booking and working with that hotel for us as well as providing other accommodations and transfers for our guests who want to stay in Cancun longer but not the entire time at EPM. If you are interested in getting more info from her here's her info... [email protected] or 866-236-1924 Good luck and happy planning! Sheryl

So good that we all seem to be back on track! Question for you all...Does anyone know when the deposit and final payment is due for everything "wedding" related?? I've asked this a few times but never got a firm response. Thanks Ladies! -Sheryl

I GOT THROUGH TO SOMEONE!!! OK... I just spoke with Nayeli Ugarte who is the new Ileana aka weddings manager. Apparently she is the one who has been emailing back when we thought we were emailing Gustavo and Ileana. So the scoop is this... Gustavo left because his fiance is pregnant and he needed more time to be with her. I can only imagine how many hours they work with this job! Ileana left because she moved to Canada!! Both of them left on good terms and had all of our information detailed for her. Nayeli has been with Excellence for 4 years and doing this for 7 and "loves her job"! She assured me that she's got everything under control and wanted me to let everyone on the blog know that she understands why we're upset and nervous and will be as responsive as possible to ease our stress!(I told her I heard about everyone leaving through this blog) Honestly, I feel a lot better after speaking with her and she was on point with all of the details I had been emailing about! Whew! I just wish she or someone would have filled us all in... As for shopping downtown, we'll be staying in Cancun (hotel zone) the first 3 nights we're there and then heading to EPM for the week. Our plan is to shop before we get to EPM. Last time we did this it was about 250-ish pesos to get downtown from the hotel zone. Mercado 28 is closer to EPM so it shouldn't be too expensive if you want to leave the resort. What's nice also, is that many of the cab drivers want to wait for you and you can negotiate a price with them for the round trip....definitely won't be $100.