jfarrowable

@Dreamteam17 I think if you gave the DJ a schedule/list of introductions, etc they would do it no problem. We ended up having time at the end of our dinner and only had a few speeches, so we just did them at dinner, but the DJ did the announcing for our first dance, bouquet toss, etc. There wasn't a whole lot for him to announce, but it didn't seem to be a problem or anything.

@@Dreamteam17 - regarding your question on the DJ... When we got to the reception he asked us what 'type' of music we liked. He offered a few genre suggestions and one of them was 'party music'. We said "yes, party music!" But that turned out to be a whole lot of 'celebrate good times' and other oldies. My husband nixed that pretty quickly and gave him our ipod to play a few songs, and that got everyone out on the dance floor. From there he seemed to get the hang of what we were after, and played much better music the rest of the night. He also had lights, and the atmosphere was really fun. I think a DJ is worth the cost for a couple of hours (we did 3), but would just recommend bringing a list of songs or the types of songs you want to hear so he knows what you're after from the start!

Hi everyone! Just wanted to provide a review on our wedding, which was November 18th. We stayed at Akumal, got married at the Tulum gazebo, had dinner at La Gran Tortuga (Brazilian) and had a poolside reception. Our WC was Gina. We got the Unforgettable package. Pre-Arrival Communication: Bad. I didn’t have my dinner/reception confirmed until a month prior to our wedding. I was not getting any responses to my emails at all. When it seemed she was ready, about a month prior, Gina emailed me with details. After that point she was fairly quick to respond, and answered all of my questions, usually within 2-3 days. Our Stay @ Akumal: From the moment we arrived, we were definitely made to feel like VIPs – from my experience, I think the resort does a great job of catering to wedding couples. Room was great, lots of nice little surprises throughout the week, and all staff was very accommodating. I can’t say enough good things about the service we received. The only glitch was that we had sent a file of room requests (people who needed to stay on ground floor, king/double bed preferences, etc), and it seems this was not shared with the front desk staff prior to our arrival. For the most part, anyone who did not get their requests granted upon arrival were accommodated within the first day or two with a room switch. Spa: I had a trial hair appointment a couple of days before the wedding and it was not good. I had brought photos and what I got done was clearly not anything like the photo. They could tell I was upset and changed my stylist to someone else for the day of the wedding. My hair was done much better on the day of the wedding, but I definitely recommend bringing photos and being very clear with your likes/dislikes as they are working away on it. It’s your day, make sure you are getting exactly what you want! Photography: We brought down a photographer… we didn’t say anything to them about it and they didn’t say anything to us. He and the resort photographer ‘battled it out’ throughout our ceremony, but both got some great shots. In the end we were happy with the pictures provided by the resort photographer, but packages could get quite pricy if you wanted to book them for the whole day and buy a bunch of photos. We were glad we brought our photographer down because he was with us the entire day, plus did a re-do photo shoot a couple of days later when the weather was better. Wedding/WC: The organization on the day of the wedding was excellent. The staff all communicated very well with each other and with us. We had met with Gina and Gabriella a couple of days prior, and provided them with music, fans and a large poster that we had printed for our guests to sign. Everything was laid out exactly as requested, and they even brought the leftover fans to the dinner and reception for some added decoration. Unfortunately we had a pretty rainy day for the wedding, but we still managed to have the ceremony at the gazebo in between showers. They actually postponed the wedding by about 15 minutes so they could change out the chair cushions that had been set up and gotten wet, I thought this was really great. The ceremony was great – the officiant was very heartfelt and sincere. Dinner was at the Brazillian restaurant where we had the Rodizio – everyone loved this and said it was the best meal they had all week (I agreed). Although we had planned to do a semi-private dinner in the restaurant, they actually had a tented space outside the restaurant that we had all to ourselves. Service was great. Everyone was so stuffed after dinner that we really didn’t eat any of the cake (except for a small piece we had cut)… they actually ended up brining the cake to the reception. Another small thing that no one asked them to do, but we thought was very nice that they did. We had planned the poolside reception, but due to rain we were moved under shelter to a tented area next to the snack bar. I was worried it would not be very private, but we had a great time and the service was really great. I never even noticed if/when there were other people at the snack bar. They also asked us if we wanted them to add some chair ties to the chairs at the reception to decorate it a bit more, which they did at no additional cost & it looked great. We booked a DJ for 3 hours and he started off playing some pretty cheesy music, but my husband quickly got him on a better track of what was more our style, and from there on he was much better. Overall I thought this was a great place to get married – the resort was beautiful, we were made to feel very special all week, the wedding day was wonderful (despite the weather) and all of our guests had a great time. I really appreciated all of the help provided on this forum during my planning stages, so if anyone has questions I’m happy to try and help answer them!

Same goes for Gina... last heard from her 3 weeks ago... My wedding is Nov 18th and I don't even have my dinner/reception confirmed. Insane.

I didn't even think to ask about a steak option at one of those restaurants - great idea Location-wise dinner would be better at Akumal, but the ceremony is at the gazebo, so I figure if dinner ends up being at Tulum, at least it's kind of in between the ceremony and where we're all staying.

@@LeeanneMUA @@Dreamteam17 - I feel your pain! I am getting married Nov 18th and JUST finally heard from my WC this week after about 5 emails. Of course now I'm playing the waiting game again after I've responded to her. Agree it's a bit disappointing when you see others with their weddings 6+ months in advance and already have a dinner and reception confirmed! At the end of the day I know it will all work out and will be a great day, but STILL! lol

Oh my gosh - I just got their flower catalog last night - now I understand what everyone's talking about!! I don't think there's a single bride in there from post-Y2K! haha So then, if I have pictures of what I want (NOT from the catalog) I can send them along and they will make something similar? @ - another question for you I was told Arlequin is not available for my dinner, but I don't love the menus they sent for Frutos del Mar or Dolce Vita. What are your thoughts on Don Pablo and/or La Gran Tortuga? (food, decor, etc). I think most of my guests are more meat-eaters than seafood eaters... Thanks!

Hi @@EmmaNahaylo - glad to hear you've already been to the resort and loved it! Who is your wedding coordinator? Sounds like you're getting a lot further than me - I have sent Gina about 5 emails and got 0 response... and my wedding is Nov 18! I don't even have my dinner/reception confirmed!!! Regarding the 'luxury re-brand' I was referring to Akumal (where I'm staying). Effective November 1st, it's going to be part of the Don Pablo collection, so I guess similar to the Sian Kahn, it will be restricted to Akumal guests. A few other perks as well (so I'm told). It was just annoying that I found this out AFTER I had already confirmed my group at Akumal, because I had a few guests who were planning to stay at Coba, but then had to pay more to stay at Akumal because they weren't sure they would be able to join the rest of our group on the Akumal property.

Hi @@Maggietron - I am getting married November of this year. Flying from Toronto, my guests are paying $1330 (Canadian) each for double occupancy rooms. I confirmed my rate back in March before there was any news of the Luxury re-brand. Flying with Air Transat.

Haha @ - no worries, I've got 54 guests booked, so definitely have my fare share of resort space occupied I'm getting married Nov 18th, staying the 14th-21st.

@ - great! Just sent one your way By the way, I haven't seen it mentioned on this thread, but I've had a bit of back and forth with my tour operator... So, for those who don't know, effective November 1st Akumal will be known as Luxury Bahia Principe Akumal Don Pablo Collection. With this come a few extra perks (apparently) and it looks like they will be raising their prices for those who have not already secured a rate. They are also going to be limiting access to Akumal for anyone staying at Tulum or Coba, which is a bit of a pain since Akumal is pretty much booked now for the week of my wedding.

@@BTOPPINGS - I'm staying at Akumal and getting married at the Tulum gazebo... they've tentatively said 4pm... but said they would confirm timing when I get there... whatever that means lol. What about you? @ - I've taken a look at your website - lovely pics - do you have any links to other wedding albums you've shot at this resort?

Hi @@BTOPPINGS I'm actually getting married November 18th and was considering flying a photographer down. Do you have anyone you've looked into? Perhaps we could share! Where are you from? I'm in Toronto.

@ Hi Trisha - you're certainly a fountain of knowledge when it comes to this resort! I've found a number of your posts to be quite helpful and you've taken lovely photos of the resort - so thank you! I've looked at a couple of the resort maps but am having trouble locating where the Tulum gazebo is. I'm getting married there but staying at Akumal, so I'm trying to get my barrings and sort out where the best place would be to request for a restaurant & reception so we don't have people trying to get to all corners of this massive resort in one day. Could you tell me where to look? I've got the map that is posted on resortmaps.com but I find it's a bit blurry and I don't see anything labeled as the gazebo. Thanks in advance! Jessica

Hi Emma! I'm getting married at the gazebo as well, on November 18th (and staying at Akumal). Have you already confirmed poolside reception, dj, restaurant, etc? I was under the impression we couldn't really firm these details up until ~3 months from the wedding. I'd love to get these things confirmed as well! Sounds like you have a great group coming - I'm surprised at how many we have coming too - 50 people confirmed already and still a dozen or so who are 'maybes'! I can't wait!