Now Jade

The resort itself was very clean and well kept.  It is a slightly smaller in comparison to some of the other resorts in the area, but I liked this fact as it was easy to locate guests and for everyone to hang out with one another.  The room service was kind of hit and miss but not a big deal.  We started on the non-preferred side in a family suite as we had our three children with us which was great- it was two adjoining suites so we still had our privacy while our kids had their freedom.  The night of our wedding, we were upgraded to the preferred side where the rooms are bigger and have better views (we had the kids go home with grandparents after the wedding).  I will say that there are some huge perks to the preferred side- the entire staff is wonderful and makes you feel important.  You get access to the lounge which although does not seem like a big deal, it is really nice to have a home base and a staff that really takes care of your every need plus free wire-less to touch base with the rest of the world.  You also have access to the French restaurant for breakfast which was nice.  There are also snacks throughout the day and a bar with premium alcohol.  Most people pop in and out of there all day. 

In terms of the rooms I do want to make something clear- on the non-preferred side one of the room choices is an Ocean View and that is exactly what it is- a view.  Maybe nothing more than a sliver view of the ocean.  This was disappointing to most of our guests who were expecting I guess what would be called an “Ocean Front” on the preferred side, and because of this nearly all of our guests upgraded to the preferred side.  No one seemed to care about the additional charge, but I think that it is something I would make clear to my guests so that they are not disappointed when they arrived at the resort. 

I liked they layout of the pools where the families with kids had an area for them to run rampant and the adults that did not want to be bothered by kids could stay at the adult’s only pool on the preferred side and enjoy their vacation. 

Tipping was a big thing down there- much bigger than I have seen at other all-inclusive resorts.  At dinner, many people were tipping up to $10 which I personally thought was a bit much, and the staff has kind of come to expect at least something.  At the same time, they work for very little so the additional money via tips means so much to them. 

The food was good overall, there were several menu items that people raved about the whole time- The French restaurant had rave reviews from everyone as did the Italian.  Spice was pretty good as well, especially if you sat at a Hibachi table.  Tamarindo was kind of mixed reviews but overall good, although I never ate there; I heard Cin Cin was the least favorable.  The buffet was pretty decent and there was typically always something there that was great.  Overall, the shrimp there was beyond amazing and get it wherever you can!

The internet was spotty.  I think they charge $17 per day.  Most of my guests who got Internet only had to pay for a portion of the days… Not a big deal unless you have some guests that need to do a bunch of business while down there. 

Teresa Stauring at Vacations for Less

Wonderful experience all the way around.  She was prompt, responsive, and great.  While we were all down there, there was to be a major snow storm hitting Denver and the airlines allowed passengers to change their flights.  I had guests emailing Teresa in the middle of the night and by the time they landed in Cancun not even knowing if they had a room, Teresa had secured the group rate and everyone had a room.  She was a total stress reliever.  The transportation that she set up for guests was also wonderful and it was nice to be taken in a private car at a great rate!

Pilar

Pilar was amazing, super detail focused and as many other brides have said- she pulls it off.  As we have all discussed, communication leading up to the wedding can be slow as she receives well over 100 emails per day and this is on top of taking care of weddings at the resort.  During high season she works 14 hours per day six days per week.  When we had our initial meeting, we went over all my emails, verified my selections and went over my final bill.  No big surprised there, although I did make some last minute changes and I was a little nervous that she wasn’t following all the changes - but she was and there was not one thing missed and everything was to my exact specifications.  She also goes through what you brought item by item and makes notes on how you want things placed and the way you want things decorated.  I know we have heard you could totally plan your wedding when you get there, and honestly you could.  DO NOT WORRY ABOUT ANYTHING, they are beyond amazing.  Carmen is one of her assistants and she is sweet as can be and also very on top of your wedding and also knows every detail. 

Welcome Dinner

We held a private dinner in Tamarindo.  I have nothing but great things to say about this.  It included a sound system for us to play music, a champagne toast, and a three course meal.  The room was decorated beautifully and they even included menu cards.  The meal here was excellent as was the restaurant manager Ramon.  I highly recommend doing this and our guests really appreciated it. 

Rehearsal

You meet your bridal party and family in the lobby and then Pilar or Carmen will come get you.  As a group you walk over to your ceremony location and do a quick run through.  Simple and quick and it is nice for everyone to know exactly where to stand, etc. 

Hair and Make-up

I used Maria and she did a fabulous job.  I mean fabulous.  I forgot my pictures in the room but just described to her what I wanted and honestly I don’t think I have ever felt more beautiful- she did my hair and make-up exactly as described. I also did a trial and was pleased with those results as well.   My step-daughter had her hair done and it turned out great as well.  She even added a little braid to make it kid appropriate.    The make-up they use works fine, although it is not super high quality.  I did bring my own eyeshadow and lipstick to make sure that they would have the colors I wanted and lipstick for re-applying.  The spa is gorgeous, we got a couple's massage and it was spectacular.  Our guests that used the spa raved about it as well. 

Not a big deal in the big scheme of things, but when they took my dress to be pressed they pressed the flower on my dress in half- rendering it lifeless.  I was a little bummed about this as it was the focal point of my dress, but I am sure that no one really noticed.  So if your dress does not "need" to be pressed, I may think twice about sending it...

Del Sol Photography

We used Melissa from Del Sol.  I have nothing but good things to say about them at this point, although I have not seen any pictures.  Once I get them back I will provide follow up, but based on their work I am sure that they will be great.  Melissa was on time, professional, and knew all the details of my day as they call Pilar and find out the specifics of my day and wedding so that they are well prepared.  It took a lot of stress of me.  My husband was running around crazy trying to get to little boys ready for the wedding as well as himself, and Melissa’s assistant improvised and took pictures of the chaos.  I’m sure that they will be memorable.  Communication leading up to the even was also great.  They sent surveys on what photos I wanted, details of our families, even asked if there are any deaths, divorces, etc. to be aware of as to avoid awkward situations.  They were incognito snapping away and because of this, I felt like I could really be myself and not have to think about having photos taken.   I cannot wait to get my photos back!!!!

Ceremony- Pergola

Your guests all meet in the lobby of the hotel and then Pilar takes them all to be seated at the same time.  Once everyone is seated, they will either call you or come get you.  This is great to make sure none of your guests see you before the big moment.  The location was set up beautifully.  I took all my songs on an IPod and also printed out a list of what song went with what.  I put them in a specific order to avoid any confusion and I don’t know if it was necessary but made me feel better.  The only kind of odd thing is that the minister stands kind of in front of you as to not block photos (Pilar did warn us about this) which I understand, but we felt kind of odd not knowing whether to look at each other, our guests, or the minister.  You may want to talk to you fiancé about this in advance as to avoid the small talk that we had about where to look during the ceremony ;)  We rented the brown tiffany chairs and they were awesome and worth the money.  I did an all-white wedding where I also requested my guests to wear white and the whole look was beautiful.  Once the ceremony was over, we headed down to the Mix Bar for cocktail hour.  Although I did not have any apps as we were taking pictures, our guests said that the food was great as was the bartender Darrius.  Cocktail hour may have been a little on the long side as it was probably about 1.5 hours as I did not have dinner scheduled to start until 7:00, but I don’t think our guests seemed to mind very much. 

Dinner – Bamboo Room

I was speechless when I saw the room.  I brought table clothes, paper lanterns, table number picture frames, chair sashes, votives, I used different color place cards to designate the meal choice and used the resort florist for my centerpieces.  They were amazing and looked just like the pictures I sent.  I found it easier and more stress free to use the resort florist and they did an amazing job.  I brought a ton of lanterns in various sizes which I highly recommend and did not know how they would hang them; they did this totally unique thing that I could not have been more pleased with.  They really went above and beyond what I would have ever thought.  I actually ended up leaving everything behind as I decided it was not worth the hassle and felt like it would help Pilar and the wedding department out for future brides that may not come down with anything.

Dinner was my only con to the reception.  I felt it was a little on the slow side and not all guests at each table were served at the same time.  No big deal, we are in Mexico, but I was stressing a little about it at the time.  Also, I had some very mixed reviews on the filet.  Some people liked it, others thought it had a strange medicinal taste to eat, probably just a difference in palates but thought I would share.  Others liked the tuna quite a bit.  The chocolate soufflé was okay, but the wedding cake (Bella Matrimonial) tasted great and guests loved it.  They didn’t actually serve the cake but my guests got their own if they wanted it, we probably had 80% of the cake left so really no reason to upgrade the size.  It also looked as the picture that I selected. 

DJ- DJ Dorremixx

I sent him a list of songs I wanted played during dinner as well as some for the reception.  The played almost all of them and all other non-requested music was great.  Current and popular music that was fun.  They also brought props which honestly I almost died when I saw the balloons and glow bracelets, but my guests loved it.  So don’t be wary if you are of the props, they make the dancing more fun.  My only complaint here but it could be lack of communication was that they didn’t really announce the speeches.  The guests kind of got up and took the microphone from one person to another but I don’t think it was a big deal. 

Flowers

I used the resort flowers and I must say that they did a fabulous job!  I sent pictures of my centerpieces and they pretty much turned out exact.  I saw some other brides throughout the week and was equally impressed with them.  I know that they are slightly higher than some of the outside vendors but I give the quality and beauty an A+ and they are well worth the money!

TTD – Adventure Photos (Arturo and Ernesto)

I cannot say enough about how this all worked and I would highly highly recommend them.  Because I did not use the resort photographer, I asked Pilar if I could use them for a TTD session.  She said beach/pool or I could rent a private centote for $136, arrange private transportation, and they would take us there.  They arranged the Cenote and the private transportation for us, all we had to do was show up.  Arturo was the photographer from the resort who took us in his own car and all we had to do was pay for gas.  We then picked up the photographer Ernesto who is the chief photographer for Now Sapphire and actually was in film school for 4 years in LA.   The photos are to die for!  I asked them if they are able to contract out and they are.  Because of the quality of their work, I would consider contacting them directly to ask about this as you could probably get a great deal. I think this link will work to the photos from TTD, if not, let me know and I can provide some…https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151562082900827.1073741828.579825826&type=1&l=f5d79380ce

Here are a couple pictures that a few of our guests took...