I will try to make this simple and helpful for future brides and sorry if it’s a little long, I wanted to get everything I thought could be important for future brides.

My guests and I had the time of our lives! This hotel is truly wonderful and the wedding planners will pull of your wedding seamlessly.  The concierges, staff, rooms, beauty and food are five stars. You will want to spend your  whole days at the pool and pool bars. We had about 80ppl.

 

Of-site coordinator-  C

First off, be prepared for unresponsiveness from your wedding long distance coordinators. At least that’s what I experienced. They may not respond for a day or a few weeks and I think it depends on the time of year because they are so busy. It was a pretty stressful process and I would reco trying to just know that once you get there things will be perfect. They will have answers quickly once you meet them in person.

 

On-Site WC- Zulma A+++

Zulma was our WC and she was the sweetest, most efficient and knowledgeable person. We loved her and I am so glad we had her there to make our day wonderful. When we needed anything or had any questions she went out of her way to make it work. I’m sure this is one of the hardest jobs in the world and you have to have a good mind to stay on top of things and stay sane. 

 

Romance Concierge- A+++

They are all lovely. The second you sit down in your private room you feel at ease. They take care of anything and answer all your questions about the hotel.

 

Officiator- A+++ we had our friend do it and reco the personal touch if you are doing a non-religious ceremony.

 

Travel agent- D

Don’t use a travel agent, we did and it was a disaster. Maybe not everyone has had this experience with them, but at least don’t use a place called Cary Travel Express. They were nice to me but rude to my husband and a handful of our guests and we just ran into so many hassles with them it makes using them pointless. On the bright side they did create these wonderful folders with the entire itinerary for the weekend, etc. That was very delightful and got people excited.

 

Welcome reception at Pelecanos-  A+++

We begged Zulma for this one and since our party was so large paid to rent out the whole place. It was perfect and seamless. We had a projector we rented for I think $300-$350. Kind of a rip-off since any hotel of this size has conferences, which use projectors and they could have just let us use theirs. Or you can by one for $200.  The food was also fantastic. The service was also fantastic

 

Gazebo ceremony- A+++

I highly recommend. It is spectacular. We made a playlist of all the beetles while everyone was getting seated and then played cannon D for the aisle. I don’t think there is any need for a life musician.

 

Mariachi-  B

why not, you can’t go wrong with this at the cocktail hour.  It gets peoples energy up and I heard they were great but I was taking photos during the cocktail hour. The only reason why I gave them a B is if I had to cut budget I might do it here because everything else seams so crucial to the wedding.

 

Reception- A++ Indoor reception highly recommended with extra hour- We planned the reception outside on the beach for 5 months and decided to bring it inside 2 hours before because of possible rain. That was the best thing that ever happened. I have always disliked ‘reception hall’ weddings, but this was really better then the beach would have been. The rooms make it more personal and help the dynamic of partiers let loose and mingle. We all loved it inside.

We were a little caught off guard that there was no bar set up in the ballroom. But that also worked out wonderfully. The servers were great and managed to keep up with our alcoholic friends and family. One server kept bringing me red bull and vodka drinks and I was so delighted. It turned out later that Steve kept ordering special rounds for people so they wouldn’t even have to leave the dance floor. WOW, did they do well. The lighting was also dim with lots of blues like I had envisioned.

Food was really good. We did the buffet and if you’re having a larger wedding this is the way to go if you want a relaxed atmosphere. It let us have more time on the dance floor and people could go back for what they wanted, etc.

            The only thing that bothered me a little in retrospect is not all the supplies I brought for the wedding were returned to the room and lots of money was spent on all of them. Teal lanterns, Lantern lights, picture frame and all of the luminaire candles. We had to leave quickly so this wasn’t something I had been thinking about. But I am happy that other brides can use them in the future.

 

After hours- A

This hotel is great if you have a fun young crown. The amazing 5^th street is right there and most of our guests would go partying late night. If you stay outside of playa Carmen rides get expensive. Also, people can always meet back at the 24-hour lounge, which I highly recommend to. What a great Idea to have an after hour lounge. Our group even went there and played flip cup (with out beer in the cups we were flipping to keep it clean). Good times.

 

Hair- B+

The stylists are very talented and I wouldn’t hesitate to use them again. I’ve head people talking about worrying there would be a problem. Just bring in a photo and if you’re having any problems as they go be sure to communicate it to them. We didn’t have any problems though. We did our own makeup. The only reason why I’m giving them a B+ is because everything I am rating here is based on A being spectacular and I think the hair was GREAT+++ not a showstopper though.

 

Flowers- A

They were beautiful, but I would say if you have to chose where to put your money, don’t get centerpieces since they put candles there for you and just get the alter flowers, bouquets and bouteneirs. I researched using outside flowers and came to the conclusion that your really not saving much money and its just another thing to worry about. IN the end, no one notices the flowers. But I would reco going for bright flowers and bridesmaid bouquets for the photos.

 

Entertainment- A+

I saw two of the shows and they were fantastic. The one on Friday night was amazing it was like watching the Cirque du Soleil.

 

 

A FEW OTHER THINGS TO KNOW

basic decorations are free, large candle at the center of table, white linens, the basic setup of streamers etc, on the tables, table lit up underneath. Anything colored you pay for, chair ties, petals, etc.

 

Packages- we went a-la-cart and if you don’t think you will use things like massages and mud baths because your sending time with friends and family, that might be a better option.

 

Get a no chip manicure at home before you leave, it will be one less thing to worry about.

 

You just have to do the photo-booth, it your guestbook and something to get goofy with.

 

Do your best to get a master sweet if you plan on making your room the meeting place

 

Take care of your concierge or just get to know them and they will take better care of you…I think;)

 

Print out a list of how the ceremony will play out and set up a 15-minute slot to go over it the day before. They do not do rehearsals there at far as I know, but the WC will take care of direction regardless.

 

Tell your WC a few months before all the spa appointments you want booked. They go fast on the weekends. I think they usually only have 4 slots opened per hour so we had to go staggered.

 

Cake- don’t get extra cake. We had 80 ppl and there were two tears left on a 40-person cake. Given we didn’t announce the cake cutting and our friends aren’t big eaters other people might eat more. 

 

Parasailing- it’s so fun!!! You should go if you have time.

 

VENDORS

DJ- A+++

Duramix is great! We had the light up dance floor. We thought it would be cheesy but its completely worth it, everyone will love it. We had them make it so the floor just stayed one color (aqua) and no strobe effects.

 

Photo booth- A+++

Use ‘love the booth’- the best thing we ever did, no wedding should be without it. They are very nice and talented and it’s very reasonable to.

http://www.lovethebooth.com/#home/

http://www.facebook.com/lovethebooth

 

Photography- A+++

I would recommend forking out the $350 vendor fee and getting an outside photographer. We used Claudia from Claudia Photo and she is on point and amazing! We love her and can’t wait to see all the photos. But she also comes highly recommended from many destination brides in the area.

http://www.claudiaphoto.com/

http://www.claudiarodriguezblog.com/

 

FOOD

I didn’t go to all the restaurants but in general was very impressed with their food.

 

24-hour lounge- B+

basic nachos and stuff, good if you want some grease late night

 

Room service- B

good, got the burger

 

Spice- A

all the guests spent lots of time here, good food and convenient if you want to grab something quick. Only wan bad experience was had by a few when they hamburgers were way to salty.

 

Pelecanos-  A+

Awesome, I loved everything

 

Tapas- C

good food I just think the service might have put a dent in my experience there.

 

Asiana- B-

My guests and I thought the food here was just ok. The sushi was so-so.

 

Maria Maria- B+

This is your fancy restaurant. It was really good and actually knows as one of the favorite restaurants.

 

PERSONAL DETAILS

Facebook- you can create a group here and post information before or after the wedding. I think it’s the most helpful posting pics afterwards

 

Webpage- you should definitely do one and give the guests info about passports, sites to get low rates, etc.

 

Welcome bags- we got canvas bags and stamped with our logo. Filled with personalized deck of cards, snacks, a weekend itinerary, sunscreen

 

Ceremony- made a personalized program with our logo and fans were given to everyone

 

Reception- luggage tags with peoples names in them / logo and candy in a vial with ‘love is sweet in playa del Carmen’.

 

DRAWBACKS

-With 80 guests and over $100,000 in business we brought in, you would think we would get a little more taken care of at the hotel. What they did take care of after we talked to the concierge numerous times was an upgrade to a master sweet with a payment of $400. This was completely worth it, spacious, lovely and the staff we very welcoming, friendly, and world class. If you are looking for credits they are not very helpful.

 

-They book up fast so let your guests know if they wait to long to book they might not be able to.

 

-If you show up at a restaurant and want a table for more then 4 people they will not want to accommodate it. For example we tried to do it at the tapas place on the first night for 8 people and the server was very rude and said no even though there was only one other 4 top in the place. After finally talking him into it and him being obviously mad/rude to us, he rushed out a quick menu he recommended. My Fiancé went to pay the bill. The server opened it up and asked what Steve wanted to put on it and the server said $15. Steve said that was great, until he found out $50 was put on it. Enough said. But to let you know, the food was really good there.

 

-Some of our family and friends did have a few problems with the hotel. EX: two twin beds for a married couple. A king bed provided for a mother and son staying together. We also had trouble getting a family member moved over from the Gran Porto to the Royal but after a bit of working with the staff, made it happen. All the guests who booked through the travel agent were given $50 spa credits per room, which was nice, but some people had trouble using them and after spa service were told it wasn’t valid. I am still not sure if this was a travel agent issue or a hotel issue.

 

-Another thing I would recommend in general is anyone in your party expecting a high-end experience, not to stay at the Gran Porto. There are a lot of kids swarming the pools, the pool bar area had lots of flies and bees around it and there was a saxophone and loud music that played late until 11-12 at least.  It was weird because when I visited the Gran Porto back in January I thought it looked great and would have welcomed my wedding being there, but for some reason the experience seemed different to me in July. On the bright side the staff is very welcoming and friendly, and the rooms are very nice and clean.

 

Sorry for the any negative, but I needed to get it out of the way. I just don’t want other brides to deal with some of the complications we had to. I wouldn’t change where we had the wedding. Our guests are good people and go with the flow and everyone had a ball! It was perfect for the most part.

 

I really hope this helps.

 

Here are a few photos I pulled from FB. I wont be getting my wedding photography for a few more weeks and will post when I do.

 

After walking down the aisle (I hope I wasn't inappropriate, but I had to kiss him!)

Reception welcome

Reception

 

 

Parasailing

After hours