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@@kjb0528 Next to the "post" button there's another button that says "more reply options." Just press that and a whole bunch of options are there to add to your post. It took me a long time to discover that! lol

@@mam9p8 Thank you!! I believe that all venues are available on all days, as long as someone else hasn't booked it for the same day (they can hold up to 3 weddings on a single day.) So you shouldn't worry about a venue not being available. Also, certain bouquets are $75. So if you told her exactly which bouquets you wanted and she gave you that price, then it's correct. Boutonnieres range from $35-$50. I've attached the price list so you can see everything. Ariana wound up being my coordinator once I got there. I had no communication with her before hand so I was surprised when I met her at our meeting when we arrived at the resort. She is very sweet, soft spoken, and calm. I was very nervous that things would not go as planned...but she did a great job and even came to my room the day of the wedding to ask questions about how I wanted things set up at the reception. We had discussed it all at our first meeting...but any questions that arose the day of the wedding, while she was setting up, she came to ask me. I found that when I wasn't able to get answers from the wedding coordinator through email, I asked on this forum and everyone was SUPER helpful and gave me all the information I needed. Let me know if I can help in any way. -Victoria Weddings_Pricelist.pdf

Hello Everybody! Just got back from Excellence. The wedding was perfect. My only issue was with the cocktail hour...we had 16 guests (bride and groom included) and we chose Las Olas for our cocktail hour. They only set up 2 tables (high boys) and the rest of the space was empty. It was very awkward and we kinda didn't know what to do with ourselves. The 2 tables were very tiny and we didn't have enough space to all put down our drinks or bags (for the ladies.) Had there been a few more tables, it would have been more comfortable and the space wouldn't have looked so empty. They also only came around once with the food during the cocktail hour. All the food choices were on one platter and the server walked around with the one tray, only one time. Very weird. This also made the hour awkward because once the waiter walked around, there was nothing else for us to do. Reception and ceremony were great. Everything went exactly as planned. The wedding coordinator set up all my decorations beautifully. I couldn't have done it better myself. Not to scare anyone, but I never met Thamara (my wedding coordinator.) I was expecting to meet her at our meeting when we arrived at the resort. But it was someone we never dealt with before (her name was Ariana and she was wonderful.) So I was a little nervous (ok, a lot nervous!), but Ariana was great and patient with us. Another side note, the main dish at the reception is kinda small, so your guests might still be hungry. The salad was also small, but the soup was a full size bowl. We had the lobster bisque...OUT OF THIS WORLD! All the food was fantastic. Ladies, feel free to ask me any and all questions and I will be MORE THAN HAPPY to answer/help you. We hired Victor Herrera as our photographer (the man is amazing!!!!!!) and we only got a hand full of our pictures back (a tease lol). We also took advantage of the free 25 ceremony pictures that the hotel photographer offered. Here is the link to some pictures that Victor Herrera took... http://www.victorherrera.com.mx/gallery/top-ten-wedding-photographer-riviera-maya/ Here are some pictures that the hotel photographer took...

@@vanessajfelice I believe it is any centerpiece from the "centerpiece catalog." You're wedding coordinator should have emailed you the PDF document with all the centerpieces. If not, let me know and i'll try to figure out how to attach it here. There are many different centerpieces, ranging in size and shape.

@@Izzychadbone I plan on asking if they could put two real flowers on our cake as decoration. I'm going to ask at our first meeting when we get to the resort. I'm going to see if they could just take two flowers out of our centerpieces to add to the cake, rather than paying extra. I'll let you know when we get back!!

@@LouisSLB32 share some pictures!!!!

Yet another question! We're going to order menu cards for the reception. Is it safe to order them before our wedding coordinator approves everything on our final decision sheet? And how long does it take for her to approve everything once it's submitted? I'm curious if anyone has had the experience that they chose an item for their meal, and then it was denied. I want to order the menu cards now to ensure that we get them in time for the wedding, but I don't want to order them if there's a possibility that the wedding coordinator tells us something we picked is not available. Thanks girls! -Victoria

@@JenniferH114 @@kathryn78 Thank you guys for all the helpful information! I'm going to make sure that cake gets eaten!!!! haha

@@kathryn78 If you don't mind me asking, how much did you tip and who did you tip? I'm unsure about the tipping so your advice would help!

@@JenniferH114 Wow that cake sounds awesome. Did you and your guests enjoy it?

Hey ladies, Can anyone suggest a cake flavor? We're leaning towards the tres leches...but haven't actually tried it at Excellence. Thanks! -Victoria

@@kathryn78 Please post picture! I don't have facebook so if you could post some on here, that would be great!!

@@kjb0528 Thanks for all your information! I agree that $50 is reasonable...I was just feeling frustrated because it took so long for her to respond to my last email and many of my questions weren't really answered. I also mentioned that I was going to be bringing some decorations down and Thamara never mentioned anything about fees for hanging things. So I was surprised and got a little nervous that there may have be other things that I wasn't aware of that are important. When I first booked my wedding, I would gather some questions for like 2 months before I would email her and then send them all at once. But now that it's so close and I need to order things and make decisions, I'm freaking out a little bit. haha I thought that as the wedding got closer, she would respond more quickly. But that's not necessarily what's happening.

@@lynne1609 You are wonderful! Thank you so much for all your help and information. I'm going to give my WP a few days to respond before I send another email. In the past, it become confusing when I sent a second email before she responded to the first. I will definitely do what you said and give her a detailed description of the decorations I'm bringing and my idea for a favor table. Hopefully she will provide me with some useful information.

WAIT! You have to pay for them to hang the decorations that you're bringing?! My coordinator has not told me anything about that. Did you ask, or did they give you that information on their own? I was planning on bringing some little decorations for the table (runner, battery operated tea lights, napkin rings, and menu cards). I'm also bringing favors (mexican blankets) which I was assuming they would display on a separate "favor table." I got a small banner to hang on the favor table, more battery operated tea lights, and a framed sign. And lastly, I was going to bring my own string lights. I had no clue they were going to charge to set up my decorations. Wow I'm in shock. Please share the information you received. I'm kinda annoyed right now. It took my WP 2.5 weeks to respond to my last email. I emailed her some questions earlier today anticipating another 2.5 week wait time for those answers. Meanwhile learning this information just left me with a thousand more questions. And I need to make final decisions because the wedding is in 2 months. This forum is a blessing! Everyone is so helpful.

Has anyone had experience bringing your own lighting? Do they set it up for you and provide the extension cords? And how many strings do I need for the beach?! I'm having a freak out moment! The strings consist of 20-25 bulbs per string. Help!!! We're officially 2 months away!

@@LouisSLB32 We use Olympus tours whenever we travel. We've never had a problem. The shuttle is clean, fairly new, and the drivers are always pleasant.

Me and my fiance have been discussing tipping and we wanted to know what you guys felt is appropriate/necessary. Who should we tip and how much? We're definitely tipping out WP...but we don't have a clue as to how much we should give. And what about DJ, photographers, wait staff at cocktail hour and reception, sound people during ceremony, officiant, people in salon? Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!!! We're kinda lost when it comes to this. lol kjb0528 I don't think Las Olas has any lights.

@@LouisSLB32 Hi Louis...I'm getting married the end of July and we also chose a 5pm ceremony and cocktail hour at Las Olas. We're not getting any lighting for the cocktail hour. There should be plenty of daylight at that time. I don't think you have anything to worry about. In the event that it's dark at that time and you needed lighting, let me know! I'll still have a month to order before my wedding. haha How many guests are you having? We're having 20 including myself and my fiance. The ceremony is on the pier and the reception will be on the beach. -Victoria

@@kjb0528 My coordinator is also Thamara. They can do ANYTHING in alterations. I went to a sample sale and happened to fall in love with a dress (Maggie Sottero Tuscany in Ivory) that was a size 10. I wear a size 2. I was reluctant to buy the dress because I couldn't imagine the seamstress being able to size it down so much. They reassured me that the seamstress was excellent (she worked for Kleinfelds for many years, and even made wedding gowns independently.) I bought the dress and went to the seamstress right away. It took a few months for her to work on it. But it fits like a glove! When the dress was finished, the seamstress admitted that she was nervous when I brought the dress to her. haha And just to give you a frame a reference, it cost me $500 to have the dress altered. But keep in mind, she literally had to adjust the whole entire dress. So I don't think the pleating would be nearly as expensive. By the way, the dress is beautiful! -Victoria

@@kjb0528 As far as not getting a response from the resort, I remember shortly after I booked my wedding I had been emailing back and forth with my WP and then she stopped responding. I didn't get a response for a long time (month or so), and then I received an email that my WP had been changed. So it's a possibility that they are in the processes of switching your WP. It is definitely frustrating having to wait so long for a response. Now that I only have a month before I have to submit my final decisions, I'm finding it even more frustrating that it takes 2 weeks for answers to my emails. There's a lot of planning that is on hold because I'm waiting for a response. Anyway, that was my venting for the day! -Victoria

@@kjb0528 I've been going back and forth on whether or not I was going to bring my own lighting. But after your comment, I think I've decided that I will bring my own lighting. The string lights cost about $20 for a string of $25. It's crazy to pay $235 to rent to lights from them. If you girls have any other ideas/input about lighting, please share! Also, the 4 strings that they suggested to you...was that just for above the tables, or did that also include wrapped around trees? I'm trying to figure out how many I need and what is necessary. Pictures I've seen had lights above the tables, as well as wrapped around trees. I'll probably have to email Thamara and ask her what I would need to bring. Sometimes she doesn't understand my question exactly even when I think I'm being thorough. So I have a feeling my question regarding lighting might take a few emails back and forth to get the answer I'm looking for. @@kjb0528 How many people are you expecting at your wedding, and what locations did you pick for your cocktail hour and reception? -Victoria

I used a travel agent. I use her to book all my trips, so naturally I went to her when I wanted to book my wedding. I actually went to her just to get information about how to even book a destination wedding and then decided to just do everything through her. We really didn't know how many people would come on the trip, so we didn't feel comfortable booking it through the resort and having to guarantee a certain number of rooms. Using a travel agent, we weren't able to get a group rate, but she was able to find us the best deal at the time of booking. And she even called us about 2 months after booking and told us that a new promotion came out and she was able to apply it to our account and the price dropped. My travel agent is going to contact the resort about a month before and give them our guest list, and request that we all have rooms near each other. It was also suggested to me that I do the same with my wedding coordinator. We gave our guests the option of booking their trips on their own as well, without going through our travel agent.

Thanks so much for the response. I will definitely get the battery operated lights...excellent idea! I thought of a few more questions that maybe you guys can help me with: -My ceremony is at 5pm. What time should I make my hair appointment? I'm going to be doing my make up myself, so only my hair will be getting done. And how much is a hair trial? -Does anyone have any pictures of a cocktail hour at las olas? or reception pictures on the beach? -I picked the gold package and wanted to make such I have the time frames correct. From my understanding I get a cocktail hour plus a 4 hour reception. Is that correct? or is it a cocktail hour plus 3 hours for the reception, which totals 4. Any information would be appreciated! And Lynne, come by and say hello when you guys arrive! We'll be the loud group from New York by the pool. I'm sure you won't be able to miss us. haha We leave on Friday though.

Hello Everyone! I'm brand new to this site. I signed up when I saw how helpful this forum was and how much information everyone shares. I'm getting married on July 26th at Excellence Cancun and my coordinator is also Thamara. Since I booked my wedding back in August, Excellence has changed my coordinator 2-3 times. I'm hoping that they don't change again. Thamara is helpful, but it does take a week or so for her to email me back. I'm planning on having my cocktail hour at Las Olas and my reception on the beach. The ceremony will be on the pier at 5pm. As of now, we have 17 guests including myself and my fiance. We are only expecting maybe 4 more people to book. Time has flown by and I'm starting to get a little nervous about making final decisions and figuring out decorations that I might want to bring from home. I'm a no frills kind of girl and the least amount of work I have to do, the better. But I'm thinking of bring my own table runner and napkin rings as extra decoration for the reception. And maybe some small votive candles to fill any empty space on the table. I plan on asking Thamara if the candles are something they would be able to provide without any additional cost so I don't have to bring it down. Please share with me any ideas you guys have in mind as far as decorations you might be bringing from home, as well as favors! I'm killing myself trying to think of favors. I want to find something that would be useful for all my guests. Also, what are people plans as far as luggage and getting all your stuff down there? I feel like I should carry all my wedding paraphernalia on the plane with me and pack all my clothes for the week in my checked luggage. I have a feeling this is not going to be easy and I'm going to be begging friends to carry stuff for me in their carry-ons as well! lol Looking forward to being a part of this forum!!