Maggietron

I'd like to keep the prices per person below $1500 all in (we're coming from Canada, so I know it's hard to compare with US package prices). We'd like to have a beach ceremony, semi-private dinner in a restaurant is fine, and then some sort of DJ afterwards. @@calgarybride2015 Got it! Thanks!

Thanks, @@calgarybride2015! Ill shoot you a PM. I'm hoping that there must be something comparable out there!

I was hoping to book at the Bahia Principe Coba and have my ceremony at the Akumal Hammocks site (see photo), but with Akumal becoming an exclusive luxury resort there's a chance that I won't be able to use that site, so I'm looking for a backup plan. What attracted me to that site was that it was on the beach, so I could get married barefoot in the sand, but it was in front of a seawall of sorts so there wouldn't be anyone swimming or lounging in the background, just the waves. There was also an arch over the wedding location. Does anyone know of a similar type of venue at another resort?

If you reverse google image search, the first one comes up as Jacuzzi Family Vineyards, and the second one is the Clift Hotel in San Francisco.

I spent several days straight looking at resorts, I finally found what I thought was the perfect resort, it had good reviews, and when I saw the pictures of the wedding location, it matched what I had in my head. It was on the beach, but not in an area where there are people on the beach or swimming in the background, with an arch wrapped in gauzy white fabric. I basically planned everything around that mental image I had. And then the resort decided to change to an exclusive luxury resort, so now I don't think I can get married there. I can't even bring myself to go back and start all over again looking at new resorts.

@@KatLew That sounds much better. I like it.

@ I shot them an email 2-3 weeks back at the main email on the website inquiring about 2015 weddings, but I haven't heard anything back. I guess I'll have to wait until I go see a travel agent and show them what I was planning and see if it can still be done, or if they can find me a comparable site somewhere else.

Does anyone have any information on how this will affect how weddings are done at the resort? Everything I've seen on here from before said that if you stayed at Coba you could use the ceremony sites and restaurants from either of the other two resorts. With the luxury rebrand did that mean that if I wanted to go to Coba I couldn't have my ceremony at the hammocks site anymore? I haven't booked yet so I'm unable to get info from the resort.

Well, damn. I chose this resort specifically because I wanted to get married at the Akumal Hammocks site. I have no interest in an expensive "luxury" resort, so if I can't get married at the Akumal site while staying somewhere at Coba or Tulum, I might as well just start looking for different resorts.

@@Sabes44 Haha he did put the ring on my finger. My sister also got engaged around Christmas a few years ago, it was about two weeks before Christmas and her boyfriend just couldn't handle the secret anymore, he pulls out the wrapped ring box, unwraps it himself and shoves it into her hands and says "Here!". She ended up standing there with a ring in her hand saying "so... what is this? What does this mean?"

Apparently I never actually answered him, so he had to clarify like ten minutes later.

Has anyone gotten package rates for Fall 2015 yet, or is it still too early?

Haha that sounds like one of those awkward things that happens when your brain can't quite comprehend what is going on and things just pop out of your mouth.

My fiance and I went to New York state in early December to visit his brother's family. We were staying with them out in the White Plains area for a week. In the beginning of the week, there was a train derailment on the line into the city, so we decided to wait to do a trip in. Then when the trains came back, we really only had one day that we could have gone, but it was a wet, drizzly day so I didn't really want to go walking around in the rain all day, so we never ended up going into town. What I found out later after we got engaged was that he had the ring in his coat pocket the entire time. He went through different security lines than me in the airports every time just in case, and I didn't even notice. I found out that his plan had been to propose to me in front of the big Christmas tree at Rockefeller center. Oops! The actual proposal was very "us" though. We exchanged gifts and stockings on Christmas Eve before heading to his parents' place. The last thing I pulled out of the stocking was a ring box sized wrapped gift. I looked at him suspiciously, then unwrapped the paper, inside was a box, and inside that box was a ring box. I remember looking at him and thinking "There damn well better not be a set of earrings in this box..." I opened the box and... there wasn't a ring inside. There was a note that said "IOU one ring". A million things went through my mind as I stared blankly at the note, foremost of which was "well yeah, we've discussed this, why are you reminding me that I don't have a ring yet?" then when I turned to him, he was down on one knee (with a look on his face that said you're adorable when you're confused), pulling the ring out of his shirt pocket. Apparently when I was about 20 minutes later than usual getting home from work he spent the time convincing himself that I had died in a car accident and he was going to be one of those sob stories.

I moved out here with my fiance three years ago so we could be near his family, so I'm trying to plan a wedding thousands of miles away from my family. I haven't made a lot of friends out here, so I don't have many people to talk to about wedding stuff. If anyone out there has any advice about travel agents or wedding dress shops or anything in Saskatoon or Regina, I would appreciate it!

I think part of the problem is that the way it is written now, it sounds like you don't want to spend any time with your guests. The only time you mention guests being welcome to join is for the buffet dinner the day before the wedding. I'd probably cut a lot of it out and just note when you are arriving/leaving and will be having dinner with the families and when the rehearsal and wedding events are. Pay more attention to the events that the guests need to know about and less about what you plan to do that they will not be involved in. Play the rest of it by ear. I'd rather get asked to do something and be unavailable than have my guests believe I am unavailable and miss out on spending time with them. Just my thoughts on the matter

Where abouts are you? I've gotten recommendations for Sandy at Jubilee Travel in Saskatoon from locals, and Laurie Lee for Calgary from other brides on here.

@@maredith Great! Our nieces will love that!

Saskatchewan here! Hoping for Nov 2015 at Bahia Principe Coba, but I haven't booked anything yet!

I'm glad to hear you say this, I'm hoping to keep my guest costs around $1400, and we're hoping to go with this resort in Nov 2015, so it will be low season.

@@tygrrlily I like that idea, making everyone's rate lower. I wonder if I could give the travel agent a list of people we'd like any credits to be distributed amongst?

I'm planning for Bahia Principe Riviera Maya in Nov 2015. I know that you can usually get perks for group bookings, like free upgrades or free flights, and I'm wondering what kinds of perks are out there? I'd like to find a company that gives perks that can be used towards the guests rather than us. I'd much rather be able to get a free flight or room for one of my college aged siblings than a bigger or free room for myself. Did you get any perks?

Thanks, @! That was really helpful. I kept reading that the included photos were "OF THE CEREMONY" so I was concerned that they would be real sticklers about that and not take any photos after the ceremony ended.

I'm planning to have my Uncle perform the ceremony. I lived with my Aunt and Uncle when I was in College and they have been role models to me, having been through a lot of the same things that I have, travelling after university, starting a career late... so it means alot to me that they be involved. He's a lawyer, so I'm hoping my family just assumes he got ordained lol!

@@Dreamteam17 I have looked through that thread extensively, that's where I got most of the information, it's just not necessarily clear EXACTLY what is included in the quoted prices.