Mlite83

Originally Posted by Lindsay Green 

 

So, I am kinda freaking out. I had one of my friends attempt to book a room for the wedding (arriving April 22 for 7 days). They are completely sold out!! I am worried there is a convention at the resort (which is horrible to deal with as a guest) - but I have no clue. On top of that, I have sent 4 unanswered emails to pilar - including our planning guide-and have heard nothing back. I guess with her it is what it is. When we visited in jan, she made us feel completely at ease - but a simple acknowledgement would be nice. I have also sent multiple emails to the concierge regarding our excursions - no answer there either. Anybody have any tips?? Less than 6 weeks today, and I need the loose ends tied. Mostly just venting, but arghhhhh

I know you are stressed feeling but honestly don't worry - they are pros!  Pilar and Deisy are very busy with weddings that are occurring that day at the resort, meeting with couples who have arrived and are days out from their wedding and also the hundreds of other emails they get each day (plus checking in with couples to ensure pre-arranged events like rehearsals, welcome dinners etc are going as planned).  If you really need to speak with her I recommend calling the resort - you get her undivided attention and your questions are answered in a couple of minutes.

When I sent the planning guide in it was a few days (maybe even a week?) before she sent an email to acknowledge receiving it and then she sent along our invoice at a later date.  The planning form is comprehensive as you know so she has to go through it to create your invoice which causes a bit of a delay.  But again, don't worry, it will all be fantastic! 

What address are you using for the concierge?  We found Nestor to be very efficient with communication (usually within 24-48 hours).

"Concierge Now Jade" <[email protected]>

but you may also want to try the Head Concierge Arely Lopez <[email protected]>

OR the Social Media Contact, Olivia Rodriguez <[email protected]>

she is definitely quick to respond (to redirect your emails to the appropriate person)

Hopefully this helps!

Originally Posted by linz0621 

 

Hey brides! 

 

I wanted to know if anyone has contacted their airlines about carrying on their dress. AirTran told me that I either have to buy a ticket for my dress (crazy!!) or fold it into a carry on bag. 

 

Has anyone else received this info? Not sure what to do -unless I internationally ship the dress to the resort - which makes me super nervous. 

 

Looking forward to your feedback!

I was originally flying AirTransit but got switched to a subsidiary CanJet a few months out - I called the airline about a month in advance and had it noted on my file that I was flying with a wedding dress so that ensured I had an overhead bin for exclusive use.  We got to board in advance to place the garmet bag in the overhead bin (no closets on Canjet)  and then a flight attendant was stationed in front of the bin during the boarding process so no one else could open it and try to fit their luggage in with the dress.  I was very pleased with the service!

Also the airline made special note of us being Bride and Groom with special stickers on our boarding passes so that at each step of the check-in process at the airport staff were aware we were "VIP" as they say.  Definitely made our process much easier (and faster - all sorts of line skipping happening!)

Originally Posted by khunt29 

 

Hi Ladies,

 

I am struggling a bit with our layout for the dinner in the Bamboo Room.  Any advice is appreciated!

We have 44 guests coming, 15 of which are in the wedding party (7 on my side, 6 on his- which drives me CRAZY, but I'll figure that part out LOL)

 

Here are my thoughts:

 

- do we have a head table with all of the wedding party, and then the other 29 guests spread amongst rounds?

- do we just do all rounds?

- a sweetheart table with just bride, grrom, MOH, and BM?

- one long table for all of us?  I saw a really cute pic which had say, 3 long rectangular tables, back to back with 3 other long, pushed together, so it looked like one big table, and then we can all eat together, facing each other at one big table?  (this would also help me with decreasing the cost of runners LOL)

 

My concerns are aesthetic of course, but also, for example, my BM is bringing his girlfriend, and she won't be able to eat with him if he's at a head table.  I know this is typical and happens often, but I was just thinking that because the nature of a destination wedding is more casual to begin with, we could stray from the norm.

 

Help!

 

Kristen

 

We had 35 guests in the Bamboo Room and opted for 3 long tables (as shown below). The table across the top of the room is the head table and then we had equal number of friends and family so we had family on the left side and friends on the right side of the room with a dance floor in the middle.  It worked out really well - no one had their backs to any other guests, or the speeches or the first dance etc.  We were very happy with this set up!

Originally Posted by AdamShannon 

 

Here are a few revised price details that we ran across from Deisy...

 

The cost for a private bar at an event was $250 (plus tax) and now is $350 (plus 11% tax).  We were told this is for 2013/2014.

 

Also, if you do not want a DJ and  you are going to go with just the sound system for your reception, the cost for this is $150 (plus tax).  This gives you use of the system for 3 hours.  Any additional time, even for 1 more hour, adds an additional $150 to the price.  Just an FYI based on what we were told.

 

Hope this helps! 

We just had our wedding at Jade in Feb 2013 and only had to pay $150 once for use of the sound system for the entire day (4pm ceremony thru till end of reception at 11pm). Could be a change coming down the line but just wanted to share our experience.

Also definitely save your money and don't bother with a private bar.  We had our dinner and reception in the Bamboo room (35 guests) and there was easily 5-6 staff members working the event (exclusively) to ensure we had what we needed.  No one had to wait for drinks, in fact it seemed the staff took a group of people as "theirs" and tended to their needs, ie I had a new drink delivered before I was done my first one!

Originally Posted by kelly bennett 

 

thank you for the advice, how did you find the weather in general...Im hoping it will be hot!!! Must search for these veil weights, I can see american websites that sell them but so far i cant find any in the UK!!!

We had amazing weather - we were there from feb 6- 13 and it was hot and sunny (with a few clouds) everyday in the low 30s.  The first nite there was a sprinkle of rain (maybe 4-5 minutes max!) but it was later in the evening so no one minded.  It definitely got cooler in the evening tho (and windy) - recommend a light sweater or cardigan. 

Originally Posted by SusanMike2013 

 

Does anyone know where to purchase good Bridesmaid tanks?

There is so many online I was wondering if anyone had purchased them and can comment :-)

 

Thanks!

I purchased my own tanks and the iron on transfers from Michaels and they turned out great!

Originally Posted by kelly bennett 

 

I cannot decide wether to wear a veil or not, we are getting married on 19th Feb next year at 4pm on the beach and have heard that it can be quite windy??? I really want to wear one but dont fancy the idea of it blowing around in the wind during the ceremony, anyone been there around that time of year that can give me some advise... I might just buy one n see what its like when i get there??? 

We got married at the Pergola on Feb 9 of this year and yes it was windy.  I didn't really realize it until I watched the video and the tendrils of hair that I asked for down around my face were flying everywhere.  A veil could look beautiful but I would definitely look at some of those veil weights if you go that route.  I opted to just have a flower in my hair instead.

Originally Posted by Mlite83 

 

 

Myself and BM (3) all had their hair and make-up done at the spa.  They did great.  Two of us had hair inspiration pictures and two didn't but they were awesome with all of us.  They also have about 3 binders full of inspiration pictures of hair and make-up (lots seem to be print outs from pinterest...potentially left by previous brides?) so they definitely know how to work from pictures.  The two mothers also had their hair only done and were very happy with it.

Regarding their make-up - they do a very nice job and it definitely stays put throughout the day but FYI it is not name brands like MAC so if you really care about that you may want to bring your own to the spa.  We didn't and it was fine but some people might be more picky or sensitive to different/new make-up.  They asked each of us what colour scheme we wanted and if we wanted to highlight eyes or lips and then kind of went to town on it.  Everyone was pleased with their make-up but you may want to consider bringing along some blotting papers to the reception since it is a long hot day so you may get a bit shiny.

Originally Posted by michelleosokin 

 

Has anyone had their make up and hair done by the resort people at Now Jade or know of someone who has and what was the review? I am having mine done as a part of the Divine package and am a little worried. Just because when I have had someone else do my make up or my hair it usually des not turn out too great. Well, mostly it's the make up I am worried about. I only had two bad hair experiences!

Myself and BM (3) all had their hair and make-up done at the spa.  They did great.  Two of us had hair inspiration pictures and two didn't but they were awesome with all of us.  They also have about 3 binders full of inspiration pictures of hair and make-up (lots seem to be print outs from pinterest...potentially left by previous brides?) so they definitely know how to work from pictures.  The two mothers also had their hair only done and were very happy with it.

We did two orders to Canada. No crazy duty but it was charged - can't recall exactly but I think on one suit it was maybe 40 bucks and then we grouped groomsmen and fathers orders (6 suits) and the duty was still only around 100 bucks I think. Definitely group your order if you can to save duty!

We asked Pilar to make the symbolic ceremony look legal so she had a document ready for us to sign - we didn't need to create or bring one, she was on top of it!

Originally Posted by Scarma 

 

Oh i would have cried!! You must show pictures of the dress!! Do they not have a place for the dress to go like on a hanger? 

I flew Canjet and they are a reserved overhead bin just for my dress.  They also stationed a flight attendant right in front of the bin so no one could put anything additional in there.  The airline was wonderful with us - lots of perks for bride and groom, it was great!  Sorry to hear not all airlines are as accommodating

Originally Posted by Caroline1118 

 

Hey ladies!  My wedding is less than 60 days away!! ahh   Of the things that I have left to do are my ceremony programs and the table settings.   Does anyone have any ideas or templates for ceremony programs? And for former brides, how do the ones that Now Jade provides look like?  Also if anyone has any ideas for table settings or photos, please let me know. Thanks! I appreciate any ideas...I'm running out of creative ideas!

Not sure if you are looking for table arrangement ideas too but here is what we did.  We had 35 guests so we had a head table across the top of the room (long rectangle) and then a family table down the left and a friend table down the right.  It was perfect as we had a dance floor in the middle, no one had their back to the head table or speaker during speeches and it filled the room just right (didn't feel cramped or the opposite with unused space).

Here is a picture of the head table set-up and below is a photo of the actual place settings - we didn't ask about anything regarding this so I assume this is the standard place setting arrangement (with all the drinks! champagne, wine, signature drink and water haha!)

Hope that helps!

Originally Posted by Tlseege 

 

Great review!  I've added it to the review section so it'll help other brides.  Thank you so much for coming back and posting it   Congratulations!

Thanks! I wanted to help other brides with their planning - this website was an awesome resource for me so I was all about paying it forward!

We had 35 guests and did a wedding Mad Lib for guests to fill out - they turned out so wonderfully!  Some are laugh out loud hilarious and others are really sweet.  All of them are heartfelt and meaningful since guests got to write more than just a brief note of congratulations.  We had two different versions - but both included similar ideas: guest name, how long they have known us, advice and wishes for the future.  Below are two examples - these were also really simple to make.  We created the template on using Microsoft Publisher (2 per page) and printed on coloured card stock. 

Originally Posted by EJay2013 

 

Mlite83

 

Thank you for posting your wedding review!! Can you tell the amount of people you took on the Catarman Cruise and the price? I would like to do this for my guests as well!!!!

We had 32 people for the cruise (the boat held a max of 35, but for $100 more you could go up to the next size which had a max. occupancy of 40).  We paid $1200 for a 4 hr cruise that included an open bar (beer, rum punch, shots, pop, water, juice) and snorkel (all equipment included).  There was an option for food but we decided against it since we did a mid-afternoon sail so everyone ate before leaving the resort (around 2ish) and we were back about 7:30.  No one seemed to miss the food, so I think it was a smart choice.

We also paid for transportation from Now Jade to the marina (Cancun, at the beginning of the hotel zone) - it was $70/van and each van held 11 people. 

The service we experienced was top notch so we were happy to tip the staff, I think we gave $100 since there was 4 or 5 of them.

We dealt with Cecilia via email in the months and days leading up to the trip - she was great, very clear in her communication and always responded in a timely fashion. 

Hope that helps - let me know if you have any other questions!

We did Mad Libs for our guest book and they are AMAZING!  There is a perfect mix of heartfelt and hilarious - my husband and I were dying of laughter reading the responses!  I liked that the Mad Lib gave people a chance to write more than their names and a brief congratulatory message. We had two different versions of the Mad Lib - we printed them out on brightly coloured card stock and they were set up when people entered the reception.  I've attached a couple photos of the finished product below - so glad we did this, it is one of our favourite wedding keepsakes!

Originally Posted by mic813 

 

Me too!!!

 

Do any past brides or anyone who has visited the resort know about their top shelf alcohol?  Vodka brand, whiskey, etc?

We went with

1. Smoke salmon with cream cheese

2. Boursin cheese canapé

3. Mini vol au vent with sea food

4. Beef brochette with blue cheese sauce

But honestly I don't know if that is what we got!  Like most of you we didn't know what a lot of the options were so we didn't really know what to expect them to look like...the appetizers we got all looked beautiful (from the pictures I have seen) and our guests said they were tasty (we missed the cocktail hour to do photos) but I'm not certain what everything was just from looking at pictures - one seems to have a fruit garnish which seems odd with our choices?  I have posted a couple pictures of the apps below -- I know for sure the round ones in the middle of the first pic are mini vol au vent and I am guessing the triangle toasts beside them might be smoke salmon or boursin cheese?

I wasn't concerned though - everyone said there was lots to eat and they tasted great. We had left overs since some many people had been snacking earlier in the day (our ceremony was at 4) or ate a late lunch.   

At the regular bars I recall seeing Bacardi Rum, Smirnoff Vodka, and Canadian Mist (Whiskey) most days but sometimes it was switched up - definitely had Crown in the lobby bar at least twice over the week we stayed.  I didn't tend to notice brands but I know the drinks were good (definitely not watered down as some reviewers have said on tripadvisor) and everyone seemed pleased with their options.  They also had cans of Bud Light which many people enjoyed after they wanted to switch it up from Corona.

*We asked for the mini bar fridges in the room to be stocked with Bud Light and Corona on the wedding day and they did so happily (and also put two bottles on wine on ice for us) when we were getting ready.  Similarly we ordered 6 packs of Bud from room service after the bar was closed and that was not a problem either....wow it sounds like we have a drinking problem!

As for booze - the preferred club lounge always had top shelf. 

In the preferred club lounge I know they always had:

Whiskey - Crown Royal

Vodka - Grey Goose

Scotch - Johnny Walker

-- plus a whole ton of other booze, we actually heard several comments about how surprised people were to see the quality of alcohol.

Hope that helps!

My review is now up ladies

http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/products/now-jade-riviera-cancun/reviews/6985

Originally Posted by Kal520 

 

Ok I have another reception question: All along I have been envisioning a dj, but now that we are more sure of guest count (between 20-25) I wonder if it will be weird to have one? What do you all think, anyone have their wedding already with this amount of people? My fiancé thinks it is pointless, but I really like the idea of someone running the show, not just an ipod playing in the background...

We had 35 at our wedding and opted to do an ipod DJ using the resort sound system.  We are very happy we went this away as we took the money a DJ would have cost (~$1000) and put it towards a catamaran cruise for our guests in lieu of traditional favours.  The resort sound system is very good and Pilar set it up near-ish to our MC so she could easily pause or skip songs etc.  The reception flows smoothly (Pilar and Deisy ensure that) so we didn't miss a DJ at all, but we also didn't want to do a bouquet or garter toss since we only had about 4 single guests total, so there wasn't really many instances we needed someone to run the show so to speak.  We got all the important stuff like first dances, speeches, cake cutting out of the way upon entering the Bamboo room (in between meal courses) so when dinner was over it was party time - no interruptions

But that being said, it's your day so if it will make you feel better or less stressed than go for it!

Originally Posted by Dbrowndiva 

 

Congrads...

Do you mind if I ask you a few questions . 1)  what package if any did you get . 2) WHere the flowers on the gazebo included in your package. 3) if not included how much were they

We went with the Divine package ($3K) - the medallions (flowers on pergola) are included in the package...the book says $180 (for 2) so maybe if you go with the lower package they aren't included. 

Originally Posted by Vika 

 

did you trash your wedding dress or did you get another dress? Do they clean it after?

I had a second dress to trash - my dress (lace, beading and tulle) is going to be used again for my AHR so I didn't want to risk it.  Plus I think it would have be difficult to wear in the water, even my second lightweight dress got so heavy! 

Since I wasn't wearing my dress I didn't really care/or ask about getting it cleaned...we did beach photos in the sand, then ocean and finished with pool photos so the dress was not dirty by the time it was over.  I rinsed it in the shower afterwards and it came out good as new!

Originally Posted by Vika 

 

Congrats!!!! It looks beautiful! can't wait for review.

 

Who did you have for the TTD? how long did you have it for when you did it with devine package and how many pics were included?

We are thinking of doing the same thing

We booked the TTD through Fredrico but ended up with Arturo for our TTD (another Adventure photo staffer) - we enjoyed working with him.  He was nice and willing to get wet which was definitely required for the session but sometimes his directions were hard to follow (noise of the ocean also made it difficult to hear) and his attention to detail wasn't as high as with our wedding day photographer, Sweet Fire Photography. 

As the session was part of the Divine package it was about 2 hrs in length and there was probably about 50 photos to pick from when we saw them the next day.  The package includes a photobook with 24 images - any above that are $15/each.  We purchased a few more that we loved but weren't interested in all of them as some weren't that great.  Editing and touch-up are minimal I noticed.  The photobook is being delivered to our home address and we got to take a DVD with the images we paid for that day. 

After having used an external photog on the wedding day I feel very confident that using the Adventure Photo package for a TTD was the best choice - they take good photos but I wouldn't want to risk my wedding day photos to what appeared to be a bit of knowledge and some luck with a camera.  I know our wedding day photos will all be outstanding, I don't know if I could say the same if Adventure had done the job.

Thanks ladies - it was beyond amazing! Everything was perfect and blew my expectations away! We definitely made a fantastic decision to go with Now Jade. I am working on a review now - there is just so much to say (all positive) and I keep thinking of other details to add.

Here are just a few snaps from the big day - hard to narrow it down, they are all so great. We used Sweet Fire Photography for the wedding (AMAZING does not even begin to describe their work!) and then used Adventure Photo for a TTD a couple days later. The other shots are just from friends and family since I am still waiting on professional ones...and the wait is killing me!

 

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChocoTaco7568 

Mlite - congrats newlywed! 

 

can't wait to see pics and hopefully you'll write a rview?!?!

Originally Posted by Vika 

thanks!!

Originally Posted by shannonmarie 


Thank You & congratulations!! I hope you had a wonderful wedding!! :-)

If anyone has any questions I'll do my best to answer them based on my experiences - but for real, don't sweat it, Pilar and Deisy know what they are doing and can  pull together the wedding of your dream in 24 hours!

Originally Posted by Vika 

 

i asked DEisy if we need to bring it, cuz our certificate wont be ready in time since we are also getting married like 2-3 days before and they said it takes a week to have it ready

I was just married at Now Jade on Feb 9 in a symbolic ceremony and there was no problem with us not being legally married first.  Pilar asked if we were, we said nope that we were doing it after returning from Mexico and she said okay that's perfectly fine.