Trace2013

Gorgeous!!! Congratulations! Everything looked so beautiful.

Wedding cake was dessert, we were able to choose two separate flavours and it was also excellent.

Hi Deanne, Check out my review on trip adviser, it may help answer some questions for you! http://goo.gl/rwb8L To answer your questions here - the food was fantastic. I was actually blown away by the quality as I was expected average, hotel food and what we received was well above any of our expectations! Like you, we are not fish/seafood people and went with the steakhouse dinner (Which was also our favourite a la carte.. bloomin onion appetizers there!!!) So, our meal included a salad to start (wedge style, beautifully presented and very tasty) then soup (onion, nothing special). Main course was grilled ribeye presented on grilled pineapple with potatoe/veggies and it was DELICIOUS! We were able to have a vegetarian option for those who wanted, but we had to gather the #'s in advance. We chose the veg lasagna for them and I was told it was delicious in itself. For the children, we had them send chicken fingers/fries. My set up would be a really good representation, I believe, of "standard set up" as I paid zero dollars for any additional decor. White chair covers, white fabric canopy, burlap runner, microphone, DJ to play my ipod before and during ceremony. The same can be said for our reception, we had it in the convention centre and the only decor I brought from home the maracas as take-aways for the tables and some oversize balloons I had got for cheap online. Everything else was the work of Alejandra, I paid not one extra cent for any of the table decor you see in my pictures. It should also be said that I am soooo not picky about a "theme" , all my request was white, white, white. And what I saw was beyond my expectations considering my limited opinion. **Disclaimer!** Some might say the table set up is "too simple" but I hate at weddings when there isn't even room on the table to put your camera down or you can't see the person across from you because of some centerpiece you forget about the moment you have your first drink. The menus on tables were a surprise to me as we had never talked about that with Alejandra and although we had sent along a pre-determined seating chart, I hadn't given anything thought at all (bride brain) about how we might display it. She saw the oversight and took care of it by printing out a fantastic display and setting up a table for it without even a single drop of sweat on my part.The lighting was compliments of my DJ, DJ Doremixx who was by far the best DJ we've ever had the pleasure of partying to in North America. No lie. He was that good and worth every single penny. The only thing I would have not done was put up the tacky "cory and tracy" banner, but my Mother had dragged it all the way from Canada without me knowing it (it was up at my shower) so who was I to say no? meh. We were never offered the Gold package so I can't compare for you, although I do know that Alejandra did a quick comparison in pricing at our request at our meeting after we arrived and the dreams package ended up being better value for us due to the amount of people we had (95). Jessica, I posted some pics at the bottom to give you and the others an idea of just how long the walk is before hitting the beach. hope that its helpful.

My pleasure ladies! This site helped me so much but there wasn't a lot about the Tucan/Quetzal at the time so I'm glad we all are paving the way for others! Unfortunately Jessica I can't answer this question as I didn't get legally married in Mexico, we did that in Canada before we left as we were wary about having a complete stranger perform the ceremony and whether there would be a language barrier. Esp since we really wanted to write our own script/vows it was just easier that way. This is something that Alejandra I'm sure will be able to answer for you though.... 5 more weeks??! So pumped to see your pictures, you are going to have a BLAST! Seriously, choosing the Iberostar was the best decision we made, it all came together so seamlessly - even with a massive group like ours. And don't worry, if you get there and have some last minute changes or upgrades they are so good about it so just go with it and make those changes! This is your week, afterall

Our photographer sent this to us.. TOO FUNNY, but this is what happened the whole time! People just have no clue sometimes. So don't worry about the gawkers, they disappear.

Hey Deanne, Don't be worried about semi naked gawkers (although there will be plenty of them!!) that's the beauty of photoshop! They were everywhere watching us get our pics done and you would never know when we received the completed package. There is a jungle venue and we did end up getting a couple of pictures in there for variety but the beach is far prettier! Trace

hey girl! I am SO SORRY TO YOU ALL!!! I should be more diligent in checking this but so much has happened since we returned home at the end of January.. Including a pregnancy announcement!!! haha, wow, that was some honeymoon. hahaha Anyway! To answer your questions: 1. Aisle Length: How long do you think it takes to walk down the aisle from where they start you? The pictures look pretty long, but would you say 30 seconds or so? - The walk actually starts behind the first set of rooms and you walk down a path before hitting the runner on the sand... SO, I'd say give yourself at least 30 seconds. you can go there one day and time it out if you like too, of do it at the rehearsal that you will have with Alejandra. To give you an idea, I had 4 girls and a flower girl and me walking to one song "Forever" by Ben Harper. we didn't practice it (stupid!) but it ended up I hit the middle of the runner by the time it ended so it was all good. I think the song is just over 3 mins. 2. Ceremony Music: Did you have music during your ceremony? I have specific songs that I want to play via an ipod or sound system. Did you use that? If so, did you think it was loud enough. - We brought our ipod for ceremony music, they provided a DJ to play it on cue and sound system/microphone for our officiant. it was nice and loud, no issues there. No extra charge (we had dreams package as well) 3. Mic: Did you use a mic for the ceremony? If so, did the hotel provide it or did your DJ? All provided! I will be way more diligent coming on here to answer all you brides with weddings coming up. just want to reiterate it can be frustrating waiting to hear from Alejandra but once you are about a month out you'll notice her response rate increase substantially. You simply are not a priority at the time as she's so busy with weddings happening now. When you get there it will all fall into place, promise!!! and I see you were quoting on the welcome party - DO IT!!! we had it by the beach bar with mariachhi from the package and it was the best ever. Great way to start a week in paradise.

Hi Qupid! They made the switch with photographers right before we got married so I had the information sent over to me in case we wanted to change to them. Here is the link to the webpage: http://www.photo-pro.com.mx/web/app.php/home The contact is Damarys Dias, the email is: [email protected] We didn't end up going with them in the end because I just wasn't comfortable with what I saw but their pricing was very similar to Adventure if you had already quoted them. Sorry I don't have any info on paperwork, I'm a fellow Canuck but thought that whole thing was so confusing as well so we just did the paperwork here and had the blessing ceremony there. No one knew the difference and we saved a ton of stress about it all. Good luck!

I had to buy my hair/make up day passes which were $50. Also had to buy for the DJ in case you are hiring outside for that too!

I hired Sara for hair and make up services for myself and my four bridesmaids on my wedding day, January 9, 2013. I made the decision to go with Sara because of the photos I saw on BDW and corresponding with her via email. I loved how all the brides she made up looked so natural and happy! Sara brought along Abby, her trusted partner who does a wonderful job as hair stylist. They arrived right on time to our suite, set up and were ready to go! Although English is neither Sara nor Abby's first language we all felt very comfortable that they both understood exactly what each girl had wished for regarding hair and make up as each were consulted before they would get started. No one girl looked alike which I loved! She was able to bring out the natural beauty that makes every girl uniquely gorgeous. Having all my girls with me that day was very special and having Sara and Abby laughing along with us made it feel like they were two good friends. Sara is so sweet, very attentive and unwilling to stop working until she achieves perfection in your look. Her communication leading up to our arrival was efficient and timely. I highly recommend having Sara (and her partner Abby) for Makeup/Hair services. You will not be disappointed! Thanks for making us feel like the most beautiful in all of Mexico that day! Tracy

OH MY. I want to go BACK! haha. You girls are going to have the best time! Although, now seeing the views from the suites at the Tucan the Quetzal suites are a bit better as they are literally right at the ocean. And only one bed! (weird) Anyway, here is the video with my pro pics: by Moments the Matter Photography. He is a DREAM! I have written a review for both he and Sara Tamargo on this site. Also, still can't add the Quetzal as a hotel here to add my review but here is the link to it on Trip Advisor: http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g150812-d154883-r150437366-Iberostar_Quetzal_Playacar-Playa_del_Carmen_Yucatan_Peninsula.html A couple of pics I took of our view from the suite and the Mariachi who were amazing! Also, I noticed that Adventure photo is still plastered all over the photography office, although I didn't see them out taking any pictures at all like you'd normally see at these places. Who knows what is going on there? Jessica, we did our welcome party at the beach bar and we had 95 adults. It was great because they set it up really nice and we got a breeze from the ocean as it was quite muggy and humid at night esp for January. I can only imagine how much hotter it will be in June, it may be super humid and hot in the jungle in the evening? As well, the mosquitoes weren't too bad but we definitely got our fair share of bites. They may be worse in the jungle. The Tropical restaurant is closest to the beach in comparison to the Steakhouse (but not by much!) Both are about the same in terms of decor and size.

OK. So I've been trying to add my review for the Quetzal on this site but it won't let me so I've posted in the help forum. But until then, I did put it up on trip adviser so if you'd like to read it there be my guest! Beach set up photo for you ladies - (no professional ones yet) Just an FYI. I gave Alejandra zero direction for this set up, and was charged not a penny extra for anything you see here.

I've been trying to add my review of the hotel/wedding into the reviews section, however it doesn't look like its been reviewed yet. When I click "add" it tells me I don't have proper authority or something that affect.. Please help! I'd really like to post here as this website was a life saver! Thanks