dmccamey

We did the American Way and had Chicken or Steak as an option for guests to choose from.

LOL, yes I"m hoping I"ll get over the cake soon , thank you so much!! It was a chore toting the dress though, because it was so fluffy, but I wouldn't change a thing about it!

My fiance and I went on a journey to find a place to get married that was all-inclusive and a 5 star resort. So after an extensive search we came across the Beloved Hotel. I literally stalked tripadvisor, facebook, set google alerts and frequented Bestdestinationweddings.com website for any feedback regarding TBH. Throughout this past year the reviews were all amazing. We never got a chance to do a site visit, which had me extremely nervous to trust a group of strangers to create the wedding of my dreams. I first began contact with one wedding coordinator and mid-year they transitioned to a new one-Alejandro Rangel. My experiences with Alejandro had been via email. He was very prompt in returning emails especially as the big day approached and was open to any requests or address any concerns I had. He was very good at reassuring us that our wedding would be perfect and we should not have any worries. TBH, is not the stereotypical all-inclusive wedding factories. They have a smaller wedding package and a large a la carte options which costs can quickly add up. However, despite taking full advantage of most of the a la carte items our wedding came in well below our set budget which we were pleased with. We started off with a welcome Bonfire on that Friday night with music, marshmallows, cocktails and appetizers, which was a big hit for the guests because it allowed them to mingle and meet. At the bonfire we had a raffle and gave out small gifts (luggage tags, t-shirts, pens and notepads from Vista print and maracas from oriental trading) It also gave us an opportunity to greet everyone as well. Saturday which was absolutely phenomenal. The weather was great, the team of photographers were snapping away and we had a great time. Reception we used the house DJ-DJ Mannia, they were ok, they didn't play much music from my playlist and at times songs I'd never heard of, nevertheless, everyone was dancing and having a good time. We upgraded to the larger cake so guest could have wedding cake, however, after we cut it, the staff failed to cut and distribute it and somehow the cake disappeared and guests never got a piece. (we tried to get it taken off the bill, but they said since we cut in to it, it was ours.) This was a huge disappointment and we have no idea how it got confused that no cake was cut and distributed. Literally that is my only complaint. The atmosphere of TBH, is very chic, relaxing. There were children there because this is a family friendly resort, but I never found them overbearing or annoying. The beach was well manicured and had a natural look/feel with the various palm trees and bushes. The beach did have a lot of seaweed, but the staff worked hard to clear it daily. We stayed in Consentida 3, which is one of the best 2 story beachfront casitas that has the best view of the beach/ocean. Unfortunately, the plunge pool on the terrance was bitterly cold and my fiance and I could not bring ourselves to dip beyond our legs. The food was absolutely amazing. The only buffet they had was during breakfast and lunch. there were 4 restaurants that you could eat from and all of which had a great variety. 24 hour room service was amazing and we took advantage of that. Another bonus in the room was the bar in your room included 4 bottles of top shelf liquor at your disposal-which put my guest in a state of shock...but quickly faded as they poured themselves multiple glasses. LOL!! The service is outstanding. The staff are happy to address any need you have and gladly serve you. They aren't begging for tips or base their work on you tipping (tips are included in the cost of your stay). We tipped those we felt were extra helpful. The Weather was great, it got a bit windy in the evening, and required a shawl, but nothing more. We did partake in spa services, which were amazing, but very pricey. For guests I did a welcome bag and had the hotel staff deliver them to the guests' rooms. They were in a natural brown bag that I stamped a palm tree on, had some medications (Dramamine, Tylenol, tums, pepto bismol, Imodium), a newsletter, raffle ticket, wedding magnet, and fan with personalized ribbon. If anyone has any questions, feel free to contact me. I posted some pics in my profile album.

It just seemed easier to work with a travel agent for me. I didn't want have to work on coordinating details with the Hotel and the guests etc. With the travel agency they negotiated rate that was much more reasonable than booking directly with the hotel. The only caveat, that I wish i would have asked for in the beginning was having the option of including AIR in the package with the travel agent. But other than that it's been convenient the guests pay online under our name with the TA. The TA also is looking up air fares for guest and coordinating any other small details like emailing guests to make sure the reserve/pay/book etc. and also arranging airport/hotel round trip transfers.

Hey Susieqt, What did you do for your ceremony decor? Did you do one of the fancy gazebos? Aisle runner?

Hello everyone! Beloved Brides I hope planning is going well...It does look like they have a different photographer for their vendor: http://www.lancelottiphotography.com/ Just FYI, anyone else have any updates, advice etc? Alejandro is great, he's been super responsive to my emails. We are writing our own wedding ceremony, because the one they sent us is good but we wanted more of a Christian feel to it. The one they provided for us was general but meaningful. We are using the Minister they have and will also make it a legal ceremony as well. Good luck everyone!

OMG, good info!! I've been stressing about the OOT bags and traveling with these items etc, but if they have a Walmart there, I can definitely get a good package going without worrying about travel expenses in lugging the premade bags with us...BTW, did you do OOT bags? If so what did you put in them? Thanks for sharing such great insight! We will definitely have to rent a car!

Thanks for the reassuring insight on planning. My wedding isn't until November, and I feel like I need to send the WC a listing of all the things that I want...So no I'm just going to chill out and wait until we get there. The only thing that worries me is making sure the Minister, the DJ and the Photographer are available on my wedding date. Did you have any problems securing any of those 3 days prior to your wedding? I'm so anxious and excited! Thanks for sharing your experience. If you have any photos of your wedding you'd like to share, I'd love to see them!

That's awesome! Congratulations!

I readily stalk the net for anything Beloved/La Amada related: http://lalunaphotographers.com/blog/gallery/melissa/weddings/elizabeth-paulos/ http://lalunaphotographers.com/blog/gallery/laluna/weddings/carla-harris/ http://www.danielaguilarblog.com/kristine-tim-the-playa-mujeres-wedding-at-la-amada/ This is the video that SOLD me:

The Beloved Hotel has a FB page that a lot of vistors post pics and reviews. I checked it today and they have a wedding video posted. Here's the link if anyone's interested in viewing. And they also posted pics: Video: http://vimeo.com/42904623 Pics: http://bit.ly/Kiw7pZ

You could do traditional reception events like: Intro of wedding party 1st Dance Father/daughter dance Mother/son dance Garter Toss Bouquet Toss Money Dance

Your pics are amazing! I just got mine done a couple of weeks ago. We had such a great time. We used a new photographer: Bren David Photography