Here are some pictures I thought might help you guys plan or at least visualize the place J

http://www1.snapfish.com/snapfish/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=5354441016/a=10979652_10979652/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/

As for the rest of my tips, I think it’s easier if I tell you how the week flowed.

Packing: I packed 5 bags. We checked 2 each and carried on 1 bag, my dress, and 2 book bags. The bag we carried on was all the wedding things I knew I’d be upset if it was lost. We threw away one of the large check- in bags and came home with 4 bags. I also packed my dress in one of the bags after the wedding so I didn’t have that to worry about that either.

Monday: arrived and upgraded our room using our resort credits. The “free upgrade” we qualified for with our rooming nights just didn’t exist. We checked into an ocean front room and we ended up on the concierge level. They said the wedding upgrade didn’t include the amenities (including free massages) so we upgraded with resort credits and got the amenities. The resort credits were hard to use so it’s not like we cared about wasting them. The other things we got using them were $300 at the spa , dolphin swim, and tequila at the store.

Hotel: very nice however, the construction side is VERY BAD. Ask for ALL your guests to be placed away from the construction zone. I had to check in each day with reception to make sure they didn’t place anyone near there. Even then 3 rooms were placed there and I had to work with management to get moved. It would be a good idea to bring a few copies of your guests so you can give them to the reception and carry one around.

Also, the hotel is on the small end. We liked it because it was very easy to meet up with people but last summer we went to a wedding at the Moon Palace and it was much different.

Tuesday: we lounged around the pool mostly on Tuesday. We also put our gift bags together. Our gift bags were pool/beach bags from Zazzle with the following in (weekly agenda, pins with guests pictures on these-great for telling apart at pool, personalized cozies from oriental trading, tissues from dollar store, mesh bags from oriental trading, sunscreen $1 at target, lip balm at Sam’s club, aloe $1 at target, Hand sanitizer dollar store, first aid kits $1 from target, toothbrush sam’s club). I wasn’t in the mood to put the bags together and you’d probably rather be handing out poolside with your guests too – I would recommend putting someone in charge of doing this for you.

I had made spa reservations ahead of time but they were not confirmed with the hotel so I kept having to check in with management to make sure our hair appts were good for the wedding day (tip-bring copies of emails you had about anything concerning the wedding)

Wednesday: most of our guests were arriving this day so we planned a “Bienvenido a Mexico” happy hour. We thought we were going to have it in the Cielo Bar but the Cielo Bar is outside and it was hot so we ended up having it at the Luna Lounge. We met at 6 and we were pretty much the only people in the place so it was a good place to meet people. We gave out our gift bags at the happy hour.

Thursday: Italian food and buffet was very good. Asian food-ok. We did our rehearsal dinner in the Italian restaurant and they set up/served 27 people smoothly and with good service. Actually there were 3 nights where the group ate together and both restaurants were able to accommodate our large group just fine. Luckily we were under 30 people…not sure what a bigger group would have been like.

Friday: wedding day! It was pouring rain with thunder/lightening so we moved our planned beach wedding/reception to the wedding pavilion and conference room. The rain was good for a few reasons- we had the pool to ourselves. The entire wedding party spent the day at the pool bar. The rain just made everything cooler which was nice. Tips: bring an underwater camera – we had a fun day doing underwater shots with all the guests and if it is raining you don’t have to worry about your nice camera. Around 1 we headed over to the spa for my hair/makeup appt. Bring a picture of your hair! My mom ended up with a really crazy style but I had a picture and my hair turned out great. I wish I had brought a picture of how I wanted my make up too. We got back to the hotel room around 5 just in time to meet the girls in my room. We had prearranged to have sandwiches and drinks brought to our room for a pre-wedding snack.

The wedding was great. We had the complementary wedding and added on stuff. I don’t think we paid more than 2500 dollars in extras. Since it was raining so hard the floor was really slippery so the entire wedding party wasn’t wearing shoes. And when I say it was wet, I mean it was really wet-by the end of the ceremony my dress was soaking. I loved it – it was very crazy but if you’re very particular then I would say if it’s raining hard just plan to have it inside someone. But for me, having the pictures with the beach in the background was worth it!

Favors: program fans and pink maracas. I think I was the only girl brining maracas into Mexico but I didn’t want to have to worry about buying anything once I got there.

I brought a reception dress which worked out great. Since my dress was wet and heavy, half way through the reception I changed into a light dancing dress.

Photos: We only paid for 1 hour. The guy did a pretty good job. We did a lot of group shots with the mariachi band and for the last 15 minutes of the hour we went to the lobby for shots in the trees.

Reception: moved down to a ballroom. My aunt put the centerpieces together the day before from items she got at the Wal-Mart in town. We only had 3 tables. So she got three vases, table runners, & tea lights and then went to a local florist for the flowers. She also got a lily for each of the girls to carry and for the mothers. The flowers on the table at the ceremony, my bouquet (pink) and his boutonniere were all complementary and beautiful.

Music: we brought an ipod and paid the 400 dollars for the speaker. Worked out fine. I had a separate ipod for the reception music which I labeled with when I wanted certain songs played and it was taken care of. My fiancé surprised me with a mariachi band during the cocktail hour so that was the entertainment for that hour.

Saturday: we had a day with all our guests before most people left. Everyone did what they wanted in general. I went swimming with dolphins with a few friends, some visited Cozumel palace (you can take the ferry & then a $5 cab pretty easily & use the amenities free), but most stayed at the pool and didn’t do much.

There was a wedding on the beach Saturday night. I was very glad we moved inside to the pavilion after watching the wedding. First of all, it is right next to the pool on the public beach. So basically you’re going to have to walk through the pool bar (which is full of drunk people in their bathing suits) to the beach (where there are people in their bath suits). Everyone is gawking, a few people we clapping, there was some whistling and to top it off ½ threw their ceremony someone threw up in the pool and there was a lot of clamor….I felt really bad for the bride. The pavilion was beautiful and intimate and (in my opinion) nicer than the beach.

Sunday: john and I left to stay at another hotel for our honeymoon. We rented a driver for the afternoon who took us to Tulum and then to Excellence Playa Mujeras outside of Cancun. I would highly recommend staying somewhere else for a few days by yourself…you’ll be exhausted and need time alone J

It’s been 4 weeks since the wedding and I have not received the credit for the rooms due to the number of rooming nights or the refund for the reception (we paid extra for the beach wedding but that was canceled). We received our photos yesterday. We left the resort without getting billed for the translation and we told we need to pay that before we got our photos. I guess just check with the coordinator before you leave.