KayRae

Hi! Congrats everyone on the upcoming weddings. Wish you all the best of luck!! I got married in January at Secrets Maroma Beach and this is the order that we did for our reception. Reception was 4 hours long (5:30-9:30, sunset at 5:30)... Started off with entrance/announcement of the wedding party and my husband and I. Went straight to 1st dance followed by father/daughter dance and then mother/son dance. Afterwards we sat for dinner. Speeches were done during the main course (best man, MOH, my father) . After dinner they opened up the dance floor for 3o min or so if I had to guess (hard to keep track of time), then did cake cutting. Then danced until around 8:30 and did the bouquet/garter toss (because photographer time was up at 830). And then danced afterwards till the end. I didn't really come up.with a timeline ahead of time, just kind of went with the flow and the MC did a great job of keeping everything moving.

Hi! Congrats everyone on the upcoming weddings. Wish you all the best of luck!! I got married in January at Secrets Maroma Beach and this is the order that we did for our reception. Reception was 4 hours long (5:30-9:30, sunset at 5:30)... Started off with entrance/announcement of the wedding party and my husband and I. Went straight to 1st dance followed by father/daughter dance and then mother/son dance. Afterwards we sat for dinner. Speeches were done during the main course (best man, MOH, my father) . After dinner they opened up the dance floor for 3o min or so if I had to guess (hard to keep track of time), then did cake cutting. Then danced until around 8:30 and did the bouquet and garter toss (because photographer time was up at 830). And then danced afterwards till the end. We just went with the flow through according to the photographer time and also let the MC do his thing.

@@yuniedo Thanks! & no problem! I will be sending you an email shortly with some info. I didn't even think to shop around but I think it is wise so that way you know what all your options are. I was too busy with school to think about doing any of the smart wedding planning things lol. Maybe @MissFrench can help you with some info from Mayan Florals because I believe she had contacted them.

@@yuniedo And if you didn't already, you can check out our wedding videos (highlight and short film) that I posted in this forum or under my review for Carlos Gallardo (Gallardo Films). I don't think the seaweed took away much even when you do see it, at least in my opinion. I also put some photos in my gallery as well. What decor options were you looking into upgrading? I used planner 1 so could send you some price info via email if you'd like, just let me know We did wedding on the beach and reception at the Gazebo Terrace by the pool so not much help with offering any advice by experience for the reception on the beach but I like the idea!

@@yuniedo I had no clue that mounds of seaweed could even be a possibility or something to be worried about until we showed up. We are yearly visitors to Destin, FL and have learned that certain times of the year are usually more prone to seaweed and/or jellyfish, some years worse than others, but usually predictable for the most part. So I just chalked up the seaweed at SMB to picking the wrong time of the year to have our wedding there and not having done my research on when "seaweed season" is at its prime. So yes I will admit that it was a little disappointing in some ways...even though we had never been before, there are of course all of the beautiful pictures out there of the immaculate white sand beach and clear as can be turquoise/jade colored water. And I agree with you that it was a little painful to watch how hard they were working to clean up the seaweed but seemed to be fighting a losing battle. But I will also say that even with the seaweed as it was I was more than in love with our entire SMB wedding experience. Yes, having the beach as pictured in all the Trip Advisor pics, etc. would have made for an even more beautiful experience for us and our guests, but I guess I am one of those that was realistic going into the whole "beach wedding" experience, knowing that you are really taking a chance with the whole planning process, and honestly was just happy that the sun was shining the entire day and we were able to have our ceremony on the beach and also the reception outside as originally planned. I had gone to grad school with a girl who had gotten married at SMB 1 and 1/2 years prior and although she was able to have her beach ceremony, late rain showers forced them to move their reception plans indoors. And probably another reason why I didn't let it phase me too much...I had set my photography must-have's radar on the abandoned villa next door from the get-go (one of the primary reasons I chose SMB as the "one"), more so than the beach itself, so I think it helped take the focus off of mother nature's seaweed invasion. Anyhow, the water still looked blue and the sand still white...enough for me at least lol...the only major drawback was the massive piles that had been created by trying to contain the seaweed, which ended up fairly close to the wedding gazebo on either side, assuming that the one to the right hand side of it was the farthest they could go with that pile since being at the edge of the property. But all in all I would say that sure it could have been a little more perfect, but I have no regrets and feel truly blessed that everything turned out as beautiful as it did, seaweed and all But hopefully it will be a thing of the past by the time your date rolls around!

@@yuniedo Yay! So happy for you that you have finalized Secrets Maroma! I don't think they actually specified whether it had to be flameless candles or not and I never asked. In my contract with Planner 1 they charged for led flameless candles for the votives and larger ones for the lanterns. I'm pretty sure all the smaller ones were led but the lanterns had real candles in them. I liked the light they gave off but it seemed like they had all burned down kind of quickly, but long enough to get through dinner I guess. But it was so windy I don't think real candles would actually stay lit if not housed behind the glass of a lantern. Hope this helps!

@@yuniedo My aunt who is a travel agent did all of our booking for us. We were married on Saturday January 10, 2015. We had 22 guests. About 1/2 booked 5 nights, arriving on the Wednesday with us and checked out on Monday when we did (since we were leaving from there to go on our honeymoon), and the other 1/2 booked 4 nights (Thurs-Mon). I have copied and pasted the nightly room rates that everyone paid. Since we booked at least 10 rooms for our group, my husband and I got our honeymoon suite for the 5 nights basically for free. These prices are with all other taxes, etc. included. We had to pay $1000 deposit to hold the block of rooms, which we did probably in March or April before the wedding and then everyone had until November to pay the entire balance for their rooms. Hope this helps! Room Type: Price Per Person Per Night Junior Suite ROH/Tropical View SGL * $350.96 Junior Suite ROH/Tropical View DBL * $304.22 Junior Suite ROH/Tropical View TPL * $301.99 Junior Suite Ocean View SGL * $366.06 Junior Suite Ocean View DBL * $319.31 Junior Suite Swim Out SGL * $381.16 Junior Suite Swim Out DBL * $334.42 Junior Suite Preferred Club Ocean View SGL * $714.86 Junior Suite Preferred Club Ocean View DBL * $357.43 Junior Suite Preferred Club Swim Out SGL * $747.95 Junior Suite Preferred Club Swim Out DBL * $373.98 Junior Suite Preferred Club Ocean Front SGL * $913.36 Junior Suite Preferred Club Ocean Front DBL * $456.68 Honeymoon Suite SGL * $1,216.85 Honeymoon Suite DBL * $608.42

No I only paid the price they quoted me. I paid the deposit online through PayPal in advance. The trial for me was added on at the last minute once in Mexico and actually paid the balance for that online through PayPal as well after they came for the trial but before our wedding day. The remaining balance was paid in cash the day of the wedding but I assume that it could have been paid through PayPal as well if it would have been necessary. I guess it would have been nice to tip on top but unfortunately I didn't have any extra money.

@@MissFrench Wish I could offer some advice on this one but for once don't have any 2 cents to throw in lol. We were planning on an AHR the entire time although we had never set a date or planned anything official ahead of time. And then once we got back home and I looked into planning it, I quickly realized how much it would cost to do the event justice and knowing that my husband and I would be taking on the entire costs, as I didn't set aside any of the wedding budget funds from my parents for the AHR, we both agreed on skipping it and saving our money. And honestly I wasn't bummed out about it at all because I feel that the experience we shared with everyone in Mexico was so special and perfect that I was/am perfectly content with our decision. It's only been 3 months but still no regrets yet. I hope someone may have some advice to offer that might help your planning a little easier! P.S. Almost forgot till now so will be getting back to you via email soon!

Good Luck FutureMrsNash & Baezsolano!!!!! Sooooooooooooo close!! I'm so excited for the both of you!! :) May the seaweed be at bay and the sun be shining brighter than ever!! I can't wait to hear how it all turns out!! I know it will all be perfectly beautiful to say the least! Got our short film from Carlos so of course I can't help but share it because I love it so much! Brings me back to 3 months and 10 days ago It is such a beautiful place to get married! Best of luck to everyone again!!

Hi! I know it is not exactly the same dress as yours...I actually love yours more ... but our photographer recently posted a preview of a couple on their blog and the bride's dress made me think of your dress... so if you're interested in seeing just how beautiful a dress style similar to your own (flowy ruffled bottom) will look in the beach wedding setting check it out with the link below. I think it fits right in! http://saraniweddingsblog.com/2015/03/28/erin-james-azul-sensatori-wedding-trash-the-dress/

Beautiful!! Go for it!! And I agree with saying yes to the belt too! I remember thinking that I had to have a certain type of dress that was "more suited for the beach" going by different people's opinions in the beginning of the dress shopping, but then I felt super limited in the style options and couldn't find anything that I liked, much less loved. And then I found my perfect dress - which I bought over a year and a half before the wedding - and never looked back because I knew it was perfect for me and the wedding I wanted - beach or no beach So I am a firm believer that it is all about how it makes you feel and you shouldn't have to limit your options just because you are having a beach wedding. And you should be every bit of confident in that dress because it looks amazing on you! And after all was said and done I loved the fact that I had some poof and a train - even though a lot of people might have thought it was kind of crazy, I can't help but feel that it came out that much more beautiful (I'm sure I'm a little biased lol) - but the point is that it is your wedding day and your dream to come true... go with your heart!

I totally agree with you!