Arrival:

When we arrived to Cancun it was pouring raining, I was petrified because all I could think about was how guest spent their money and came for a rainy wedding. 

Needless to say that rain only lasted a day!!!  With this being said, I would arrive a day before everyone and/or  leave a day after your guests ( unless this is your Honeymoon) as it will allow you to enjoy yourselves and relax a little before/after the festivities!!! 

When you arrive to the resort, you will receive a cold towel and a glass of great tasting champagne. 

Sidenote: I sent a monthly email to my guests  to entice and excite our guest and most importantly what to expect upon arrival in Mexico(The airport is chaotic). If interested in the email string, send me a message. 

Locations:

July 3rd- July 8th 

Ceremony- Pergola(Changed when I arrived due the fountain being near the main door. I wanted a more private atmosphere, Divine Package) 

Cocktail Hour- Mix Bar

Reception: Bamboo Room 

Party: 25 guests attended 

The Now Jade Resort is Paradise!!!! The water is blue, the grass is clean, just picturesque!

 If you read Trip Advisor, PLEASE DO NOT use these reviews when choosing the resort.

Fountain form the main entrance(Blue Water!!)            

Beach View from the Pergola! 

Rooms:

We were upgraded to the Jr. Suite and stayed on the preferred side in building 7. The hotel offers the standard vs preferred side and IMO the rooms on the standard side are just as nice. I would inform your guests that the upgrade is not worth( none of our guest upgraded) the additional cost unless they must have an ocean view. The mini-bar is not restocked, wifi is terrible need I say more!

Pre-Wedding Activities: 

Most guests did the jet skis that were on the resort( additional cost), participated in daily activities, or just hung out on the beach. A few guests booked excursions from vendors on the resort which we did snorkeling with our guests the next day after the wedding.

I arranged a welcome dinner for the first two days( July 4th-5th) and the ceremony took place on the July6!! The first welcome dinner was held at a banquet room the included 4th of July activities( Daisy and/or staff can help find a location). It was really fun, however I would caution against having a welcome dinner on the first day( if your guests arrive at the time) because it will wipe you and your guests out! However, I would not change things because we had a GREAT TIME and it was the 4th of July( which was celebrated on the resort; fireworks, party, etc). I gave guests their welcome bags at this time! 

The second welcome dinner was held at the Tamarindo and it was a blast. Afterwards we went to Scores( The club on the resort).

Welcome  Dinner One....Only a few guest attended. 

Welcome Dinner Two ( Tamarindo Restaurant) 

Night Club Fun ( Scores)

Wedding:

Hair and Makeup, I did not like my hair and only used them to give the salon a chance to redo my ponytail for a fresh look, I wouldn't do that again! I did love how the makeup was done, but I brought my own makeup(MAC) to make sure I didn't have an issue on my special day! 

Everyone meet in the Lobby bar at 4:30 and Deisy came and got me, my maid of honor and our photographer (Lori) Sweet Fire Photography from the room. 

*Sidenote: The Adventure videographer was also in the room taping your gown and final preparation moments.(Divine Package). Due to the reviews, I decided not to use Adventure Photos. I did use them for my 2nd welcome dinner and the photos were good, they just don't have a lot of versatility.  My husband said he was glad we went with an outside photographer. 

Deisy is very efficient! When I read previous brides reviews, I would be concerned about the wedding due to delays in responses viaemail or VM, but  once you arrive they know exactly what to do!!! Pilar, Deisy etc are very busy during our meeting another bride was coming in for their meeting, one groom was closing out his final bill and someone came in to ask questions about a wedding in 2014!  

I brought all of my decorations down( centerpieces, bows, programs, laterns, flowers, personalized champagne glasses, fans for ceremony and bubbles!  I purchased one bouquet for my maid of honor which was $65. I also turned over my Ipod to be played during the ceremony and cocktail hour. Everything was played on queue.  I also met the DJ from the resort during this time. 

My only concern was not clearly understanding the minister and my guests didn't either, but I guess that was a small concern for me. Also, please stick your lipstick somewhere in you gown or ask your maid of honor to hold it. I forgot this and now my lips will look plain in my pictures. 

Pergola 

We held our reception in the Bamboo Room which is the best room IMO from 7-10! I did not do much planning I told her the amount of tables and requested a sweetheart table. I left the rest up for Deisy to organize. Everything turned out beautifully, even when one of the centerpieces broke. Deisy improvised and found another one. I was worry free! We used the resort DJ which did an amazing job, he played our entrance using the specific instructions and played top all of the latest hits as well as pulling from our IPOD. At first, I considered booking extra reception time, but decided against it since we did not want to incur addition cost. After the wedding we went to Scores. This was cost efficient and most brides go after the wedding reception  (I saw one every night we went).

Menu:

Salad: Mixed lettuce

Soup: Lobster Bisque

Entree: Beef Fillet and Shrimp or Mahi Mahi 

Dessert: Almond Tart

Bamboo Room ( Paper Lanterns & Centerpiece)

Almond Tart 

Scores Post Wedding

The food was good. Honestly, I only remember the entree and dessert. Due to the photographers, lights and my husband!!  My cake did not turn out to my expectations, I wanted rose petals on the cake and rhinestones. I gave them a picture, but at that point I didn't care!

Overall cost came to 3,200(not including travel, resort, attire, photographer and decorations). We had to pay for a guest pass( long story), but we did not pay for other guest passes during our stay and we had about 5 people who stayed at a different resort. We did not incur any additional cost outside of bridal bouquet and a few makeup sessions! 

If you have questions feel free to inbox me! I would not have been able to prepare for this wedding without the use of this site. It helped with everything from welcome bags to setting my expectations of the resort. If you wondering if Now Jade is the right place, TRUST ME no other resort compares!!! 

Recommedation: Have your wedding early in your trip my ring didn't fit, due to all the food and drink