NOW Jade Wedding Info

Hello fellow brides! I wanted to start a new thread to eliminate some time searching  for answers to my questions!

I'm getting married April 2012 in the Riviera Maya @ the NOW Jade Riviera Cancun resort and needed some input from past brides and upcoming brides that might have the answers??!

**Photographer - Has anyone used the photographer at the resort? I was looking at outside vendors and only have to pay the $55 usd day pass to have them enter... That's not the problem.. All photographers that I have found are about $1500-$2000 for 3-4 hour packages. Is that normal? If anyone can say that the resorts photographer is the same as outside vendors then we would be happy to stick with him. Pictures are important to me, but so is price... Need some advice!

**Video - in my "divine wedding package", there's a 30min video included. Is it worth it to pay the extra to have it longer??

**Flowers - I'm trying to get in contact with outside vendor for this as well. The pricing at the resort is high, but they also charge $350 to have an outside florist to enter resort -

Any suggestions?

**DJ - I did get some feedback that the DJ that the resort has is about $1200 and any others I have found are lower, but resort charges $350 for them to come in too, so it comes to same amount - HA go figure!

**TIMING of ceremony - I booked 3pm but might be changing that since a lot of the photographers say the lighting is better about 4-5p for start of ceremony outside. Thoughts?

**# of guests --- This is a big concern of ours, since our DIVINE package includes everything for up to 25 guests... That is basically almost the amount of our WEDDING party, so we would have to pay either a la cart for the 26+ guests..... Ana Maria at the resort gave me an option to do A LA Cart for everyone.... Any other brides have about 50-75 guests in Mexico? What did you end up doing for your wedding package..

Their prices for food, drinks, cake, etc is pricey per person --

ANY AND ALL THOUGHTS and COMMENTS are appreciated! Can't wait to get married in MEXICO!!

Thanks ~ Sarella

Hi Sarella 727

I am very interested to see what some of the answers are. I am in the process of securing this resort after months of thinking I was all set at palace resorts only to be mored around multiple times. I literally just started the search again and my TA showed me Jade. It seems perfect the price is right etc. BUT before I signed I knew I had to check out BDW to get the "real scoop."

I'm wonder what all these hidden fees are, also I do have about 50-60 people attending I wonder what the estimated cost would be and if it's going to put me way over budget.

I think picking my dress was WAY easier than picking a resort This by far has been the most stressful part.

Congrats on your Engagement I'm excited to see what planning is in store

Julie

Hi Julie~ 

I'm still waiting for some input from past brides and/or upcoming brides as well : ) Hopefully someone can come to our rescue and answer these questions that we have. : ) 

I have been working with Ana Maria at the resort and she has been great. What I have learned is this website is very informative, ONCE you find that info I think the NOW Jade will be beautiful and once you are there, everything gets taken care of..So please try not to worry too much (I know it's hard) 

I'm just worried about the outside vendors and getting those taken care of. If the DJ, FLowers, Photography aren't that important to you, then I wouldn't worry too much about that. You can use the vendors the resort uses, but they do get quite expensive and what I found out is that even though you have to pay for outside vendors ($350 for flowers and DJ/each - and day pass for photographer $55), it's still a better deal then from buying from the resort. 

Any updates I get, I promise to post and share with other brides to ease their worries --- TRUST Me when I say - Enjoy this process and even though you get worried, because you are at the resorts mercy, this day is going to turn out GREAT!! Make sure you have EVERYTHING written down and have a clear "vision" on paper that you can give to someone the DAY OF, so they make sure this comes out the same exact way you organized it to be. That way, once you meet the day after you arrive, it will get done and you won't have to worry from there on. : ) 
 

Good Luck and Congrats on your engagement!!!  

Sarella

Hi Ladies,

Not sure I'll have too much new info for you, but I am also planning an April wedding at Now Jade. From reading way too many blogs/forums about the resort, I think I may have some helpful info.  If you decide to do flowers from another vendor, you can just meet the person outside the resort and them bring the flowers in yourself saving you the $350.  Many brides have done this since the resorts prices are really expensive.  As for a DJ, I am still unsure but I may just do the ipod thing and have a designated person "in charge".  I think we'll have about 50 people so I've been looking for places to cut everywhere!  Apparently they serve enough hor d'oeuvers for 40 people during the cocktail party so that cuts some cost.  One planner also pointed out that since there is already alcohol and a bartender, it isn't necessary to pay extra pp for drinks either.  If you are having any kids at your wedding, they are half price for dinner (under the age of 12) so that helps!

I have yet to figure out a photographer...I feel like everything is so cheesy!  (and expensive)  Hope that helped a little.

Thank you for the info! That does help a little bit, because I would TOTALLY have someone meet the florist outside the resort and get the flowers if that saves $350 -

Also, I do have 5 kids coming to the wedding, so the cost of them would be cheaper and that's great.

Since you have about 50 people coming, are you still doing the package or a la cart?

We did the Eternity pkg.  I think al a carte was just too much and I didn't see any benefit to the divine pkg, but to be honest it has been a little while since I've crunched the numbers.  I may revisit and check out the al a cart option just to see if I'll save anything.  I think one of the big places that the resort tries to make money outside of the pkg is the decor.  I'm going to try to keep things pretty simple and bring a few things, but I'm also planning on heading to walmart in playa to get a few item for center pieces etc.  I'm planning on having 3 or so inspirational ideas to take with me and then get creative when I get there.  If all else fails I'm sure I can group together a bunch of ivory candles!  Since we're getting married over Easter weekend, I'll also have to bring stuff "from the easter bunny" for my 3 and 5 year olds so I really want to try not to commit to bringing too much.  Traveling with kids sucks as it is!   When are you getting married?

I cant wait to hear what you ladies find out!! I am getting married at the Now Jade nov 2012 and i feel like i havent started planning anything:) I should probably start emailing the WP as i hear it takes a long time for responses.. still far away i guess:) Thanks for the information on the flowers, i didnt realise you could pick them up yourself and save the resort fee!! I may have to look at outside flowers:)although the less i have to do/worry about day of the better:) so i may just go with the resort..too many choices, i thought doing a DW was soo much easier.. turns out its not:) Well cant wait to hear how your planning goes.. will keep you posted on any information i get!!

Hi Ladies  - I checked with my WP and she stated that YES, I would not have to pay the $350 charge to have an outside florist do my flowers, as long as someone leaves the resort and brings the flowers in. I know that may cause some problems for some, but heard that another bride did that and there was no problems. You would most likely need your groom or someone reliable and knows what you are doing to do this on your behalf. I def don't want to worry about that the day of the wedding : )

The resort prices for the decor and flowers are crazy expensive. The outside florists are sort of difficult to get a hold of, but their work is fabulous and prices are really low! I might even decide to pay the $350 to have her enter the resort vs. having someone get it... Convenience Price! : )

I'm getting married April 2012 and I started this whole planning process in February or March of this year... It takes quit a bit to go back n forth with everyone in Mexico, so I would suggest be proactive and start your plans as early as possible. That way, you won't be stressing closer to the wedding.

I'm not stressing that much, yet : )  ---- Because I've heard that once you get there, everything falls into place and I have a week before the actual wedding day to get everything sorted.

I definitely am checking on the prices for centerpieces and decor with the florist and also might get my creative hands going and make something as well... I'm going to hit up the town of Playa and see if I could find some stuff as well as ship some stuff to my WP before hand. She said that I can ship stuff to her directly at the hotel and they will hold it until I arrive... I plan on shipping stuff like welcome bags and stuff that goes in that, escort cards, etc.

I will keep you posted on any new info I receive!

Thanks -

Did you tell you anything about charging you to hold the items at the resort?  I can't remember, but I feel like another bride got charged for sending things for them to hang on to.  I really think that Playa will have some cool items for center pieces and even cheap flowers on 5th ave.  I might even get the flowers myself or have one of my sisters do it for me.  As long as I'm not too picky it shouldn't be a big issue   I need to find out the size of the pergola so I can get fabric to decorate it, and the size of the tables so I can look at runners... sigh  I put an ad on craigslist for a photographer to travel with us.  I'm praying that someone will want a vacation in exchange for their services!!

Hi - My WP is Ana Maria and she stated that I can send her stuff a head of time and there is no charge to store that - OF course, I'm not going to send it months in advance, but maybe a month before I arrive : ) ---

In my divine package, it includes gazebo decor (I'm having ceremony at the Pergola as well) and seat covers. Not sure what package you have, but remember that you get "some" decor included in your package possibly. : )
 

I love how the white drapes look on the pergola and that's pretty simple and looks fabulous!

So true that Destination weddings seem like they are easier and cheaper and they are NOT --- it adds up depending on how fancy you want it -

Definitely going to hit up local spots for anything and everything I can use once we're there -