Newbie, seeking modern mexican wedding setting

Robyn Louise Photography · February 3, 2008

Welcome to the forum Britt! you will love it here and learn so much!

MelanieS · February 3, 2008

Welcome! This site has so much information and so many helpful people. Happy planning!

Gretchen · February 6, 2008

to the forum! Happy planning!

Maura · February 6, 2008

britt!

the resort i'm getting married at has incredible modern architecture you might want to check out -- Los Cabos Hotel Mexico - The Westin Resort & Spa, Los Cabos

if you PM me with your email address, i will send you a link to a photo gallery of over 100 photos of the resort

brittbrowne · February 6, 2008

Thanks for the warm welcome from you all!

Maura, your right the Westin is a gorgeous modern hotel. I discovered it about three weeks ago and even contacted the resort, thinking it was the one. After, Karina Jajan sent a preliminary quote for the room block and random expensive vendor rates. I contacted her because I had a lot of questions about planning a wedding there and concerns about the budget. You, see my FI and I like many modern couples, must pay for our wedding and the welcome/rehersal event. We wish we had a $30,000 budget, but we need to be as careful as we can to not overspend so we can buy a house some day. When I talked to Karina I told her that the quote she sent had room rates more expensive than what we could find on the westin website. She admitted to some error on her part (hmmm?). Then we talked about the budget issue and she made me feel more comfortable by saying that our wedding planner would be able to negotiate with the recommended vendors for lower prices on their services, and said they could even work with us on the food and bar pricing to meet our budget goals. So, I told her to send us a contract and bar & food pricing. I was so excited to get a contract signed and be over with deciding on the destination when I started reading the food and bar pricing. We might have been able to work with them on the food, as you know entry level chicken entrees part of a 3-course dinner start at around $55 / person plus 28% tax. That was over our budget, but again we thought we might be able to negotiate down to a more reasonable rate, and then possible not serve food at our welcome barbeque - instead have a welcome bonfire. But then it was the bar pricing that really blew my mind. The most ridiculous was the price of $9 per beer + 28% tax. My fiance and I realized we were going to have to negotiate every single aspect of our wedding if we went with the Westin. Although I know that's kind of how it goes in mexico, I really hate the idea they would send out a price sheet that in my opinion was a bit of a slap in the face. We just figured the whole thing was going to be way to pricey there. Sad part is I really loved that hotel. Maura, you are father along in the planning process then us though, how are your budgeting issues working out at the Westin?

After the let down with the Westin we strarted looking at the Presidente Intercontinental in Cozumel. Its another beautifully renovated, modern designed resort with a nice beach and beautiful, reasonably priced rooms. The entry level room was only $230/night ($20 more than theWestin Los Cabos). The pricing on food was $35 or $40 for entry level chicken entree / 3 course dinner (including tax). The beers were over half the price of the Westin $4. (Don't get me wrong, we aren't serving just beer at the wedding, but it $4 a beer is a number you can at least look at and say they're not trying to take you.) Problem with this hotel turns out that taxes on the rooms and miscellaneous fees (resort fees, restauraunt seating fees, etc), seem to be out of control (according to tripadvisor.com reviewers). That means the entry level room could be bumping $300 a night. Although most of our guests could afford that, there are a few who it would be a hardship for.

Finally, we are considering the El Dorado Seaside Suites on the Riviera Maya. The hotel has several new sections and the design is pretty contemporary (although it pales in comparison to the Westin - I'm an architect by the way so a modern hotel design is more important to me than probably anyone out there. And I'm probably the most difficult to please in that respect.) But EDSS looks pretty beautiful and the benefit of it is the hotel is a gourmet all-inclusive adult resort. It's small so it has a more boutique feel, and room rates are about 180 per person per night (taxes and fees included -no hidden costs). The good news in terms of event planning is we can plan a three course dinner with better main courses for 30 - 40 a person, premium open bar included. That means we can actually afford to serve food at our welcome event, and hors d'vours at our wedding @ ~20 per person. We are going to move forward with the wedding planning and room block inquiries this week, and will be adjusting my excel budget spreadsheet to find out how much we will be saving by going this route, but I'm guessing around $5,000 - 6,000!

Looking for a place for the wedding sure has been a major event. I feel llike I could turn travel agent now.... Really hoping EDSS is the last hotel I have to research, a place I can finally settle on and be happy with.

Tired,

Britt

Gretchen · February 7, 2008

Britt - Welcome to the forum! I hope that you can find the help you are looking for here!

BTW - my roomie in college was named Britt. Not Brittany or something else - "just Britt". It made me smile to read your name.... I wonder what ever happened to her....

But anyways - WELCOME!

lucy106 · February 7, 2008

Welcome to the forum! Hope your planning is fun! You will find tons of info here!

deleted · February 7, 2008

Britt -- I understand your pricing frustration and I'm sure many Cabo brides would also agree. No other hotels come to mind but I do hope you are able to find what you're looking for. Perhaps off the beaten path a little might be good...but harder to find. What about a modern villa somewhere?