My husband (still so weird to say) and i got married at Hyatt Ziva (formally Barcelo Los Cabos) this past Friday, June 27th, 2014. 
 
The wedding was absolutely amazing.... thanks to our outside vendors.
 

We hired these outside vendors in Cabo: 

Linens,Things & More to do the design and decor
DJ Mijares
Suzanne Morel for hair and makeup
Cabo Floral Studio

Ana & Jerome Photography

Dino Gomez Videography 

Registro Civil San Jose del Cabo - legal wedding judge 

We also hired a wedding planner from Dallas, SweetPea Events, and thank GOD for them! 

Let me begin with Hyatt Ziva is a beautiful resort, if you choose to have your wedding there you will absolutely love it. 

However, if you and most of your guests are planning on staying at Hyatt Ziva for a few days either before or after your wedding...be prepared from some headaches. 

Our wedding had 77 guests which for the wedding, Hyatt Ziva was totally prepared for....however on the resort side of things...they had no idea how to handle large family gatherings. 

When you are at a resort with a whole bunch of your family...some people are going to want to have a family dinner at the restaurants that are included in your all-inclusive package. 

The Hyatt Ziva were totally unprepared for groups of more than 5 people to ask to sit down together for a meal... and when you are having a wedding at a resort... your family members are going to expect to have dinner with the bride & groom. 

How can a resort advertise weddings but not prepared for the "large" groups that come along with a wedding? 

You cannot make reservations at the restaurants prior to them opening that same night... so there really is no way to avoid having to be split up for dinner. 

The staff at the restaurants and buffets are extremely untrained in the service industry. Most waiters would have to make three separate trips for just one cup of coffee.... they take at least 20 minutes to refills of soda... OR they take your one drink order and never come back. 

Some waiters were amazing! ... but most were just so overwhelmed with tables that a delay in service was inevitable. 

The waiters act as servers, bartenders, and busboys...they were so overwhelmed that I felt bad for them. 

At the restaurants, there were only two or three waiters for the whole place... this meant that there were large sections of the restaurant unusable because there was no server to wait on the tables.... when you have to wait a hour to sit down for dinner... it really makes you mad seeing those empty tables. 

The same thing goes for the bars...for example at the swim up bar...there was only one bartender working the swim up side of the bar. One time I waited 20 minutes for two beers....the bartender was fast...he knew his drinks but there were just so many orders that one person could not get them out in a timely manner. 

Now for the actual wedding:

I am very thankful that I hired a wedding planner outside of the one provided with the wedding package at Hyatt Ziva. Once again, the wedding planner(s) at Hyatt Ziva had great intentions and they tried their hardest (just like the waiters) but they are so overwhelmed with weddings it is ridiculous. Hyatt Ziva has a wedding at least every other day and there is no way just two wedding planners can handle that many details. 

Bottom Line: Hyatt Ziva needs more staff. The workers all work their butts of at trying to make your stay a happy one but there is only so much they can do. 

Oh and one more thing: this may seem kind of bridezilla(ish) but i got married on one of the hottest days in cabo..it was at least 95 degrees at the time i was supposed to walk down the aisle. the day before my wedding, i met with the hyatt ziva wedding coordinator and (thank god) my wedding planner to discuss any final details....

here's some background info: my room was located on the opposite side of the ceremony gazebo... it takes about 15 minutes to walk from my room to the gazebo... 

at the meeting i found out that the hyatt ziva planners expected me to make that 15 minute walk in my wedding dress in 95 degree heat. you should've seen my face. i was like um nope, not happening. they were at a loss as to what to do... i feel so bad for any other brides who have had to make that walk...because i swear i would have have been a sweating mess by the time i got there. 

my wedding planner came up with the solution of getting my hair and makeup done in my room...then about an hour before the ceremony was to start...walking over to my step-sister's room (her room was right next to the gazebo) and putting on my dress and jewelry there.

i know this seems like a bridezilla moment but i swear it is super hot in cabo in late june and you do not walk to walk in your tight heavy wedding dress more than you have too. 

my wedding was amazing and i loved every minute of it... but that was because..not to sound braggy... i did my research and i was prepared for any pitfalls and might and did happen. if you can afford it, i highly suggest hiring an outside wedding planner and hiring outside wedding vendors in cabo. those details make a HUGE difference. 

good luck with your planning and if you have any questions about weddings in cabo or hyatt ziva in particular feel free to contact me.