kard613

The hotel that we booked back in July (Riu Palace Mexico) just underwent a major renovation which changed the entire style and feel of the decor. It used to be traditional have Mexican decor which we loved and now it's modern while with pink and purple accents. Totally unappealing and not my style. The bedrooms now have a completely open concept with the jaccuzzi in the middle of the room, open showed into the room, no privacy at all which is going to be a big problem for people coming with teenage children and people staying with friends. When we booked we were told that we had a choice of either the Brazillian restaurant or the steakhouse for our private reception now we're being told that those restaurants are no longer and option and the only restaurant option is at the Mexican Restaurant (which is not an option for us). The new reviews on trip advisor are terrible and completely different then the reviews from before the renovations. I'm thinking about calling my travel/wedding coordinator to see what if any options we have to change the hotel location but not sure if that's possible since we already have 13 rooms book. I know in the grand scheme of things things will be fine, this is just not what I imagined my wedding to be like. Thanks for letting me vent!

There are a few more pictures of the resorts new rooms/lobby area and sadly I am not a huge fan of the renovations and updates. I really liked the old world feel of the old lobby and now its been redone in mostly whites with purple accents. Definitely an interesting choice on the hotel's parts. Does anyone else feel the same about the reno's? I

Its definetly doable...we're doing 7 nights in Playa Del Carmen for about $1500 pp

We will definitely be having over 50 people and would prefer a private locations. I actually got an email back from Patricia today general things like flower choices, cake choices and extras like the price for chair sashes (which I though was pretty random since we asked for information about pricing and location choices for the dinner) but no information about private dinners. How many people are you expecting? I haven't really thought about the aisle runner on the beach but I may have seen somewhere that one is included? If you wouldn't mind emailing me the information you have for 2012 pricing I'd appreciate it and I'd be more then happy to forward you the attachments she sent me. Thank Karen [email protected]

Ecko, Who are you working with from the hotel? Our wedding coordinator from destinationweddings.com emailed Paola before Thanksgiving requesting prices for the private reception and she emailed back to her telling us that Patrician Escalante is our coordinator and that she'd email us the info directly though we're still waiting. I'm going to email our DW coordinator again tonight to see if she's gotten anything or if she can email Patricia again and will let you know if we get 2013 pricing. Can you PM the link for where to search for the Riu rooms on tripadvisor? I went to the sight but can't seem to find the search feature and would love to see what the rooms look like! Thanks! Karen

We're still deciding on what to do for centerpieces as well. I'd love to see some pics of what the resort has done first though. Does anyone have any?

Not knowing how many people are actually going to come is driving me bonkers! We sent out STD out in Sept and are planning to send our invites out mid January. We have a deadline on our RSVP card of 2/15 with a booking deadline of 3/15. All final payments are due in April, 2 months before we leave but I want to know how many people are coming as soon as possible so I can start on the welcome bags. I have started squirriling away money for the bags though since my fiance thinks they're a waste of money. I'm going to pay for them myself so he can't have any say. We have about 30 people already book and expect probably over 50 when all is said in done. We invited almost 200 people bc my fiance's mother coulnd't keep her list under 50 people herself! Thankfully most of them won't be coming

I've been talking about ordering maracas since the day we decided mexico, I hope they still have them by the time I get around to ordering them

Thanks for sharing! So many great ideas and you looked beautiful!

Thanks for sharing!

So many great pics, thanks for all the great ideas too and congrat!

I'm looking for similar information as I'm getting married there in June 2013. MellyB, how many people do you have attending? You're probably further along in planning then I am and I'm wondering if you'd be willing to answer some questions for me. Thanks Karen

Hi! I'm getting married there 6/27/12 and haven't been able to find a lot of info specific to the Riu Palace Mexico but as things get closer and I have more information I'll be sure to pass it along. We have about 20 people booked so far and expect about 50, Are you getting married on the beach? That's where we are booked as for now though I know the gazebo is still available as of this week at our time (5pm) and I'm considering switching to the gazebo so it's a little more private, although my FI and I have both said we wanted to be married on the beach. We are working with Lisa from Destinationweddings.com and she has been great. I haven't asked her anything about the reception yet though I am getting antsy about knowing the location, food and that sort of thing (bc I'm a bit of a planner though at the same time don't want to plan a wedding which is partly why we're doing destination!) Please let me know if you find any pictures of ceremonies and receptions online because I'd love to see some. Happy Planning Karen

Cristyzavala, Can you maybe help me understand something about the costs here. I understand that each package covers a certain amount of people for dinner and I think that if you have over 50 people you can request a private dinner. Does that increase the price of the package since it's private? How many people do you have going down for your wedding? My other question is around alcohol at the reception. I think I read somewhere that there is an additional cost per person for open bar at the dinner/reception but now I can't remember where I saw that. Any idea if I'm making this up or if I did actually read that somewhere? Good luck!and if you don't see this until after you get married Congrats! I'm hoping you can share some more info about your experience when you get back, I'm getting married next June at the Riu Palace Mexico and can't wait! Congrats again! Karen

Cristyzavala, Can you maybe help me understand something about the costs here. I understand that each package covers a certain amount of people for dinner and I think that if you have over 50 people you can request a private dinner. Does that increase the price of the package since it's private? How many people do you have going down for your wedding? My other question is around alcohol at the reception. I think I read somewhere that there is an additional cost per person for open bar at the dinner/reception but now I can't remember where I saw that. Any idea if I'm making this up or if I did actually read that somewhere? Good luck!and if you don't see this until after you get married Congrats! I'm hoping you can share some more info about your experience when you get back, I'm getting married next June at the Riu Palace Mexico and can't wait! Congrats again! Karen

Cristyzavala, Can you maybe help me understand something about the costs here. I understand that each package covers a certain amount of people for dinner and I think that if you have over 50 people you can request a private dinner. Does that increase the price of the package since it's private? How many people do you have going down for your wedding? My other question is around alcohol at the reception. I think I read somewhere that there is an additional cost per person for open bar at the dinner/reception but now I can't remember where I saw that. Any idea if I'm making this up or if I did actually read that somewhere? Good luck!and if you don't see this until after you get married Congrats! I'm hoping you can share some more info about your experience when you get back, I'm getting married next June at the Riu Palace Mexico and can't wait! Congrats again! Karen

Cristyzavala, Can you maybe help me understand something about the costs here. I understand that each package covers a certain amount of people for dinner and I think that if you have over 50 people you can request a private dinner. Does that increase the price of the package since it's private? How many people do you have going down for your wedding? My other question is around alcohol at the reception. I think I read somewhere that there is an additional cost per person for open bar at the dinner/reception but now I can't remember where I saw that. Any idea if I'm making this up or if I did actually read that somewhere? Good luck!and if you don't see this until after you get married Congrats! I'm hoping you can share some more info about your experience when you get back, I'm getting married next June at the Riu Palace Mexico and can't wait! Congrats again! Karen

Save the dates are out, my dress is bought, photographer is booked (actually a family friend coming down with us for 3 days!!) and guests are starting to book now! I've started to look for BM dresses but am not too concerned because I'm just having my 2 sisters. I have no idea what else I should be doing now so this has been helpful. I want to start on some extras with out spending a ton of money so will probably get going on OOT bags, and invites next. Not knowing how many guests are actually going to come is driving me insane though!!

Hi! Congrats on the wedding, where are you getting married? I was also leery about some of the reviews I read about DW online but a friend of a friend used then for her destination wedding in Mexico earlier this year and had great things to say about Lisa Johnson so I requested to work with her and have been for the past 2-3 months. I'm getting married in June 2013 at the Riu Palace Mexico and can't say enough about how fantastic Lisa's been. She was so quick to get me information on different hotels in my price range and then when she didn't send me info on the Riu, which my fiance and I had looked into on our own a bit she got it to us as soon as we asked. She was also able to get info from the hotel for us and while some people would prefer not to have a middle man, I think it's been so helpful! I had a million questions in the beginning about things and she has always gotten right back to me...even on the weekends and at night. Our communication has died down a bit in the past few weeks just because I haven't had any questions and she's really waiting on me to send in the signed agreement and deposit for the block of rooms but that should be happening in the next week or so. I'm just waiting to get my send the dates to mail out right when my "site" with them goes live so guests can start making travel arrangements. I can keep you posted on my guests feedback but so far so good. Feel free to request her when you fill out the application if you do end up using DW, that's what I did and it was not a problem. Good luck and happy planning! Karen

Thanks everyone for your help! Mel anything you can pass on would be great! I know they are closing the Riu Mexico for renovations this winter so I'm excited to see what they're going to go with it . I confirmed my date of 6/27/13 yesterday and am working with someone from destination weddings and will likely start booking rooms mid-end of August. Now the fun stuff starts! Karen

Hi Jamie So I think you're talking about the Riu Palace Las Americas which is in Cancun but we're thinking of getting married in Playa Del Carmen. I'm sure (I hope) most of the Riu's are similar, have you had an easy time communicating with your wedding coordinator down there? I'm working with someone from Destination Weddings who has been great, she's just requesting the wedding kit for us now so I'm interested to see the pricing for things like a cocktail hour and all the fun extras. Any advice is welcome, I am a little overwhelmed but I'm sure it will all come together in the end. Thanks!

Hi all! My fiance and I have just about decided to go with the Riu Palace Mexico (although not booked yet) and there doesn't seem to be a lot of posts on that hotel on this website. I did see that there are quite a few posts and brides getting married at the Riu Palace Riviera Maya and I'm wondering if any of you who chose Riu Riviera Maya hotel also considered the Riu Mexico and if so what made you go with Riu Riviera Maya? Thanks for your help! KD

Just wondering if the Rafia fans are still available?

Hi! About how big are the small rafia fans? Thanks