DinaQtobe

We had the seafood stuffed chicken as one of our entrees. It was stuffed with seafood. Shrimp I think. The stuffing was very tasty, but the chicken was VERY salty. I had many chicken dishes during our stay at the NS. All of them were extremely salty. I would suggest that if you can, try to avoid offering a chicken dish. @vanessav53 I would imagine that you can mix and match and they shouldn't charge you extra! @Melissa_Ehrling - I had my makeup done at the spa. I really liked it, but I rarely wear more than mascara. My sister had hers done and she didn't like it at all. I would say do a trial with your mom. If you like it, go with her. The ladies at the spa are super sweet, but their english isn't the strongest. Communication might be an issue if you want something specific done with your makeup. You can see pictures in my gallery for the makeup.

We didn't bring any documentation with us and there were no issues. Your travel agent must be confused and think that you are doing a civil. Don't worry!

We didn't have an MC. The cocktail hour flowed seamlessly to the dinner for us. Ramon helped ask everyone to have a seat for dinner. Once we took our seats everyone followed suit. After dinner the cake was brought out, we cut it, then we had our first dance. We didn't feel that anything needed to be announced because our party was so small. I felt that our reception was very laid back and relaxed, but still organized. I don't think an MC is necessary for a group so small. However, if you want to appoint someone to be your MC, you should give them an overview of your timeline after you meet with the WC. We finalized a lot of our timelines with Ramon at that meeting. I hope that helps!

Glad I could provide some perspective. Speakers are included for the ceremony. The minister speaks through a mic which you will then use for your vows. We used an ipod and Ramon ensured the correct songs were played as the bridesmaids and bride walked down the aisle, and for the recessional. We used our own speaker system for the dinner and dance. We had a playlist created and my husband pressed play and we went from there and did not need to change any songs. I hope that answers at least part of your question.

I know it can feel unfair and horrible that newer weddings are not getting some of the same things as previous weddings. I was able to use my musician for my cocktail hour. While why I don't see any reason about why this can't be done anymore, it wouldn't have been a make or break item for me. I would have used the musician for the ceremony instead, and I think this would have carried over into the cocktail hour. The ceremony is about 20 minutes long and I believe you get the soloist for 45. Although the wedding is important, the resort that you decide on needs to be so much more than just about the wedding. Think about what type of experience you want for your guests pre and post wedding. I hope I can outline the pros I found about the Now Sapphire: The food at the Now Sapphire is much better than your typical all inclusive. This includes the buffet, a la carte restaurants, and the food for the wedding. My parents have stayed at many all inclusives in the area, and the Now Sapphire is up in the top 3 for food, service and experience. A big highlight for my family was the Coco Cafe, a cute coffee shop where you can get espresso, cappuccino, lattes, and baked goods, sandwiches or desserts throughout the day. Many resorts I have been to don't offer this, and it is so great to just grab a coffee, muffin, cookie or sandwich with no problem. The pools are great. You have a large busy pool for those that want a more lively experience, and a more quiet adults only pool for relaxation (my favorite. Jose Louis the bartender there is amazing!) Pool not your thing? The beach runs the entire length of the resort (except for the areas for weddings) with many chairs and areas of shade. A few of our guests love walking the beach, and they were able to walk for miles north or south of the resort with no issues. The rooms are nice, clean, and beautiful. We upgraded to an ocean view and are so happy that we did. We watched the sun rise every morning (with coffee from Coco Cafe). It was amazing. The resort is close to the airport compared to many resorts in the riviera maya. I've been to resorts where we had to take a bus for over an hour and a half. The NS is only about 20-25 minutes from the airport. It's also close to Puerto Morelos and Playa Del Carmen for your guests that want to experience life outside the resort (but this resort is great and they may not want to!). I personally chose the Now Sapphire because the package included everything we needed and wanted for our wedding. To add on the cocktail hour at many other places we were looking at brought the price up significantly for us. I also fell in love with the Terrace when I saw photos of other weddings online - when I saw it I could finally envision myself getting married. It was the most telling thing for me. When I looked at other resorts the locations for the weddings could not compare. I also really liked the fact that I could have our ceremony and reception in the same place, and I thought the deck was just beautiful. While I'm not saying that it is fair that newer brides aren't getting some of the same things that past brides have, I hope you will think about the other great reasons to hold your wedding at the Now. If anyone has any questions, please feel free to ask. This site was so helpful to me when deciding on a resort and in planning my wedding I hope I can help other brides too.

That is so awesome that you liked my bouquets. When Ramon brought them to us on the day of the wedding I was so excited with how beautiful they were. Try and take them back to your room after the wedding if you can - especially the centerpiece. It smelled so wonderful in our room after! I have seen pictures of weddings where there have been two rows of long tables. It looked beautiful and there is definitely enough space.

I agree with Vanessa, if you are set on adding table cloths, napkins, chair sashes, etc, buy them online as you save quite a bit of money. Remember though that you will have to bring this down with you (extra luggage, more stuff to remember). For us, those extra touches were not overly important. When I look back at our wedding I remember more about how beautiful the ceremony was, the food, and the fun that we had with our friends and family. For us, the day was so perfect without those extras. I thought our table looked beautiful even without them, the terrace is beautiful all on its own.

We didn't want to spend a lot of money on extras like linens and centerpieces, and therefore decided that what was included in the package was enough for us. That being said, I knew that I wanted one long table, and my mom offered to make a table runner. I used the bridesmaid bouquets and my bouquet as centerpieces - I brought plastic cups to put these in. I also brought down seashells and battery operated tea lights and had them set up in wine glasses to add to the table to fill it in a bit more. All of this I had decided on before I went down. During our meeting a few days before the wedding, I gave Ramon all of the items that I had brought and explained how they were to be setup. We also went over the colors of the flowers. There was no pressure to purchase additional items or add on to our package, so I am not sure of what options the resort has. Though they did have a few tables set up in their office that looked beautiful. We made a lot of decisions on timing of our ceremony at our meeting with Ramon and he was extremely helpful with this. I left a lot on the planning form blank and this was fine, we reviewed everything (and I mean everything) at our planning meeting. I took a lot of inspiration from looking at photos from past weddings that have occurred at the Now Sapphire. It gave me an idea of what I wanted and then I made it happen. I'm not sure if this helps at all or answers your question. I would like to add, that we took the bouquets and centerpiece back to our room after the reception. Because I had brought the plastic vases we were able to keep the bouquets for the days following our wedding, and even brought them to our honeymoon resort to enjoy them. They lasted a week after the wedding! A few pictures to give you an idea: This last picture was before the bouquets were added to the table.

I mean that instead of doing a mother/son AND father/daughter dance separately, we both danced at the same time (only one song). My husband and I also had our first dance. Then we had a joined mother/son and father/daughter dance. It saved us a few minutes minutes. After dinner and speeches are done you really only have an hour or so left for dancing.

We were married at the Now Sapphire in November 2013, and I think it might fit some of your criteria. They have a free wedding package, and some that are fairly reasonably priced. You could opt for the free package and then add on as necessary - if you do not require an open bar this should help lessen your costs somewhat. You could also have a dinner at one of the restaurants assuming your party is not too big. We were married on the beach directly in front of the Terrace, which is at the most north part of the resort and separated from the main beach area quite well. There is not a resort right next door either, so it felt quite private. There will always be a few on-lookers, and people walking the beach, but for the most part people were very respectful. I thought our wedding felt very intimate. Our reception followed on the terrace, where there were no other guests. It was perfect. If I could do it all over again I would choose the Now Sapphire and repeat everything. I will try and post a few pics to give you an idea, but google is useful too (I ended up making the decision of the NS through looking at a website of a wedding photographer from the area). My husbands family are not seasoned travelers and I really feel that an all inclusive was the best option for them as it really cut down on things to worry about. They had a great time, and so did everyone else!

Have you thought about joining the mother/son and father/daughter dance? Saves time and only one song to pick! We did this and I am glad we did.

You could definitely do something at 8, but it will likely be quite busy. Everyone hangs out in the lobby at night, as there isn't anywhere else to go except for the nightly shows. The disco opens at 10. We went there on the night of our wedding and had a blast, I wish we had have gone more than once I don't think we ever had more than 12 people at once for dinner. I'm honestly not sure how many they will accommodate. It's hard because you want to spend time with everyone. They always pushed tables together for our large group. The buffet is open pretty late, but definitely not after the disco. BUT there is room service 24 hours. We never ordered, but my sisters did a few times and said it was always good. Ok, I should clarify: the minister did the "repeat after me" stuff I believe for the exchanging of rings, and then we also recited our own vows that we had written ourselves. What we "repeated" was beautiful, but our own vows added our own personal touch. You could definitely write your own short vows, give them to the minister prior to the ceremony and he will have you repeat after him. I have a funny story about this: Our minister spoke wonderful English. While we were repeating the minister, he did not speak into the microphone, and with the wind from the ocean my husband found it hard to hear him. Patrick was trying so hard to repeat exactly what he heard and heard "I de-wed" instead of "I thee wed". It was so funny to me, and when the minister repeated himself Patrick still didn't hear him properly. I don't think he actually got the right words out. Puts a smile on my face thinking about it. They will definitely steam your dress and suit for you. This was included in our Divine package. Ramon was sure to go over exactly what we needed to do to ensure this happened correctly and timely. We also had the groomsmen shirts ironed - for a pretty reasonable price of 2.50$ a shirt.

I sent this out one week prior to leaving...I must admit, I lifted quite a bit of it from other brides that are on here. I hope it helps! Hi Everyone! I hope this e-mail finds you well. It’s less than a week until we leave for Mexico! We want to make this vacation as stress-free as possible, so we’ve put together this e-mail to give you some pointers about travelling to Mexico and about your stay at the Now Sapphire! What to Pack? We have come up with a wonderful packing list on our website. Please take a look for all of the essentials you need to bring – including LOTS of sunscreen and sun protection. Please note that there is a dress code for many of the restaurants. Men should have at least one pair of long pants and either dress sandals or dress shoes. Also, collared shirts are required for men in all restaurants except the buffet. This is strictly enforced. Ladies will be ok in dresses, or skirts. Please don’t forget your passport!! The Airport The Cancun airport can be very busy. After getting off the plane, go immediately to the customs area. Make sure you have your tourist card filled out (you will be given this on the plane, keep it safe because you will need it to return home). Once through customs, claim your baggage and proceed to the “red light district”. Here you will test your luck with the press of a button. A green light means you are free to proceed with your baggage. A red light means that your bags are going to be searched. Don’t worry, this is pretty standard. I got the red light once and it took an extra 5 minutes. Once through customs you will exit the building. Here you will face a mass of people that are ready to “help you”. Proceed through the sliding door and keep an eye on your baggage and keep your bags with you at all times! Porters may approach you and pick up your bags only to carry them a few feet and expect a tip. Don’t fall for it. Also, there will be people trying to show you a time-share or tours…IGNORE THEM, or give a firm “No, Gracias”. Once you make your way through the hall just outside the doors is where you will find all of the vans, taxis and transfer services. Cell Phones The Now Sapphire has a great new app! The app allows you to make phone calls, and access their wifi all for FREE. Search “Now Sapphire Unlimited Connectivity” and you should be able to find it. The app also has a list of daily activities at the resort and a menu for all of the restaurants. It’s pretty cool to check out before you even leave! What about Money? The currency in Mexico is the Peso, however American dollars are accepted pretty much everywhere. An estimate of the exchange rate is approximately 10-13 peso = $1. It would be a good idea to bring small bills as many places will not offer change and they are useful for tipping. If you plan to use your credit card, please call your company and let them know your travel plans. We should add that there will be time share vendors at the resort. They will try to entice you to hear their sales pitch by offering you free massages, free dolphin swims or even money. They will tell you that you will only have to sit through a 60 minute presentation. Often 60 minutes can turn into 2-3 hours, and trust us, these people can often be very, very pushy. And really, who wants to spend 3 hours of vacation inside at a presentation? Not us! If these people approach you, firmly tell them you aren't interested and they should leave you alone. Finally, we would like to thank you for taking time out of your busy lives to celebrate this wonderful day with us. We are so happy to share such a meaningful day with you. Can’t wait to see you in the Caribbean!! Love, Dina and Patrick

We had a symbolic ceremony. My husband met the minister about 5 minutes before the start of the ceremony. The minister asked if we wanted a religious ceremony or one focused more about love and family. He also asked if we had prepared our own vows (which we had), he worked it into the ceremony flawlessly. My husband held onto our vows (as he had pockets!) and when it was time to say our vows he handed me mine. The lobby bar is likely your best bet for a casual cocktail hour/happy hour. It is much more calm and tranquil compared to the pool bar, or beach bar. I would suggest you organize it for late in the afternoon (maybe 4:30-5pm), as at the dinner hour the lobby gets very busy and it might be difficult to find enough space amongst the other guests. Unless Anel reserves some seating for you. While I was there I did notice that there was one night where there was a reserved area (with no one in it!). We went to dinner a few nights with 12 people with no extra charge. Perhaps the cost is due to reserving a table? It's first come first serve at the a la carte restaurants at the NOW. With these larger parties we had to show up before the opening time for the restaurant (15-20 minutes before they opened), or wait until they could accommodate us (once it was 9:30). We often had dinner with 8 and that didn't seem to be as much as a problem. It seemed that the Asian restaurant was the most popular, we waited a long time for that restaurant!

Oh Man, this sounds like my situation to a "T". My MIL and FIL were very vocal about how they did not agree with our choice. They threatened not to go. Even after they booked their trips they were not excited for the wedding and still gave us issues about it. For this reason we didn't tell them that we were getting legally married before leaving. I thought that they would throw a fit about traveling all the way to Mexico for a wedding that wasn't legal. My advice is to try not to let this get to you (it was so hard for me). Know that you are going to have an amazing time at your wedding and that is all that matters. Most likely your MIL-to-be will have a great time on vacation, my MIL did!

I have a large extended family - my dad has 6 siblings and I have over 20 cousins. My husband has many aunts and uncles and cousins also. We have a large immediate family too - I am one of four children and my husband is one of five. We actually sent out just under 50 invites (100 people were invited), and we only had 17 guests: Our parents, siblings, significant others of our siblings, my godmother, and one aunt and uncle. It was the most intimate and wonderful celebration I could have asked for. I don't think it is selfish to invite only your immediate family. This was my reason for having a DW - I wanted something small! Maybe you could send the invitations for the AHR at the same time as the wedding invitations so everyone feels included in some part of the celebration? Whatever you decide, remember that the day is about you and your future husband. There is always pressure to please everyone but make sure that you are first pleasing yourselves.

If it helps, I was STUFFED after our dinner. I felt like there was a lot of food. The picture of the surf and turf looks small, but there was a significant portion there. I was extremely happy with the amount of food. If anyone was hungry afterwards the buffet was right next door, they could have gotten more if they wanted, but no one did!

We got our tumbler mugs at Sams Club. They were a seasonal item so I am not sure if they have them anymore. A package of 6 was 20$. My sister then made labels for them so each guest had a personalized mug. They were awesome mugs though, I especially liked them because there were multiple colors in each package so guests wouldn't get theirs mixed up. Here's the link: http://www.samsclub.com/sams/double-walled-tumber/prod8210138.ip The cups for drinks are a decent size, I would say about the size of a red solo cup. Drinks at the preferred pool were a bit bigger. Like I said, the service was wonderful the week we were there, no guests were ever without! Congratulations on your upcoming wedding! The Now Sapphire was amazing, and we are so happy that we had our wedding there. Picking our menu was a bit of a challenge as many of the items didn't have a description. I will outline our menu choices and a bit of a description/review of each: Cocktail Hour: - Salmon and dill cream cheese (my favorite!) This smoked salmon wrapped around dill flavoured cream cheese balls. YUM! - Shrimp wrapped in Bacon Grilled Shrimp wrapped in bacon - was very tasty - Sliced tomato and mozzarella al pesto This would be a winner with the vegetarian people, and very aesthetically appealing too. A cherry tomato with a piece of fresh mozzarella and a basil leaf. - Prosciutto ham bruschetta prosciutto on top of a piece of toasted bread. (this was the only one I didn't try). Dinner: - Seared Tuna Salad - THIS WAS AMAZING! The tuna was cooked to perfection and the dressing on the salad was great. It was my favorite course for sure. - Lobster Bisque Soup - the soup was pretty good. It had a fried ravioli as a garnish. Everyone liked it. Main Course: - Surf and Turf - steaks were cooked nicely, shrimp tasted great. Served with asparagus. - Chicken Stuffed with Seafood - The seafood stuffing was very good, but the chicken was VERY salty. All chicken dishes that I had for the entire week at the resort tasted the same - salty. I would avoid a chicken dish if you can. The dish was served on a bed of couscous. Desert: - Cognac Truffle Cake - awesome, it was a chocolate-y decadent mouse/cake covered in a white chocolate shell. Perfect way to end the meal. (and then we had cake!) We opted for the Tres Leches cake. It was good, but after our amazing Cognac Truffle Cake desert, nothing could compare. I also wanted to add that I am fairly certain that you are able to have two entre choices for your guests plus a vegetarian option (three options all together). In order to do this you will need to provide a seating chart with all meal choices to the wedding coordinator during your meeting. Alternatively you could do seating cards that somehow depict the different selections on them - ie: green=veggie, red=beef, yellow=chicken.

We didn't have a rehersal and I don't think it was necessary. Everything went very well. If you have guests that haven't been to many weddings explain to them what they need to do. It's pretty simple. We gave out personalized plastic tumbler mugs. We were married in November and it was not busy at all. There were no lines for drinks and we had exceptional service the entire time. I think for this reason very few people used their tumbler (even I didn't use my own!) Everyone thought they were very cool. We gave them out as a thank you gift for coming to the wedding. We use ours now that we are home.

Ramon was our WC late November. I will be sad to hear if he is gone. I hope not! Though I am sure Juan will also be wonderful. They all know what they are doing.

We went exclusively with what was included in our package. The photographer was included in our package, as were the flowers. Our cost was the package cost, minus the $500 we paid to reserve our date. We paid that amount in the wedding office the day before the wedding as one large lump sum. That being said, we did opt to get 3 extra photos from Adventure Photos (the photographer) which cost 45$ extra. That we paid directly to them. I don't know if that answers your question as we didn't have any extra vendors, not even a DJ.