Paradisus Riviera Brides - POST HERE!

[avong1228]

Where do you even post reviews now? Should I just post here?

[sarahrose]

yes! please post a review here!

[avong1228]

Ok here goes!!

 

Let me start by saying that I couldn't have envisioned anything more beautiful and we had an amazing experience. (Other than the hurricane!)

 

We were leaving Tuesday morning and Monday night we found out Hurricane Paula was coming straight for Cancun/Riviera Maya and would hit Tuesday night and Wednesday. I said "If that plane is leaving, I'm on it!"  In my mind I was thinking that if the people that were coming Wednesday's flight was cancelled, they could just come Thursday since the wedding wasn't until Friday. At this point we had over 30 people already there but my mom, brother, his parents, aunts, cousins, his sister, her husband, kids (ring bearer and flower girl), photographer and others were not there. Then we found out all flights Wednesday were cancelled and that nobody could find another flight to get rebooked out since they were all sold out. I totally lost it! Tuesday night consisted of us all getting really drunk and Wednesday morning trying to do whatever we could to at least get our parents down there. After being on the phone with USAir, Delta, travel agent, family and every other airline we somehow got my mom, brother, his parents, his sister, her husband and my photographers on a flight but nobody else. It was very sad but it would have been worse if our family couldn't be there. Thankfully my 2 sisters and brother was already down there and trying to calm me down. After we got that figured out we then let it all go and had a blast!

 

Airlines - B

We had over 20 people fly with us on that Tuesday and the flight was great and went smoothly. The only reason I give them a B is I felt they should have done a better job of reaccommodating the folks that had their flights cancelled and not just say oh well.

 

Arrival at Hotel - A

The ones that were upgraded were taken to the Reserve lounge to check in and everything went smoothly. Some people got coupons through a promotion that was explained to them.

 

Room - A++++

We decided to go with the Governor's Suite which was gorgeous! It had a living room, dining room, small kitchen, bar, bedroom, big closet, 2 showers and a jetted tub along with a huge balcony with sun lounge chairs, big jacuzzi and a small table. It was great for getting ready on the day of the wedding and to spread out all of our stuff to stuff the OOT bags.

 

Speaking of OOT bags, here's a pic of what we put in ours. Koozie, itinerary, photoshare card, spanish for dummies, heart shaped cookie cutter with a recipe, mexican bottle opener keychain, chapstick, tums, tylenol, OFF and shout wipes, spray bottle with fan and tip/key holder.

 

Welcome Cocktails- A

We decided to have a cocktail reception in the lobby on Wednesday so everyone could get to know each other better over a cocktail. They roped off an area of the lobby and we set out our OOT bags there to give out to everyone. They had 2 servers dedicated to us and it was very nice. We just tipped the two waiters.

 

Rehearsal dinner - A-

We had our rehearsal dinner at Cibu and it was closed that night so we ended up having it all to ourselves. They set up 3 long tables and we had about 5 waiters. You have to choose a preset menu. The food was great and so was the service. The only reason I give it an A- is that my aunt does not eat meat (which I did not know) and she asked for lobster and instead of asking us first if we wanted to pay, they gave her a bill which I thought was inappropriate.

 

 

More to come....

[jystar13]

i'm so glad that everything worked out for you guys!!! i'm looking forward to the rest of your review!

[sarahrose]

your review just made me more excited! thank you!!!

[avong1228]

Also part of the package we chose was a romantic dinner on the beach which we did right after the Welcome Drinks and it was wonderful and the service was awesome! Just remember to spray your self really well with bug spray!

 

Now to the big day....

 

I woke up to sunny skies and was so relieved! We had breakfast and I decided to hang out at the pool while most of our guests along with my husband (now!) and his groomsmen went snorkeling. My maid of honor and I had hair appointments at 2.

 

Hair and Makeup - A++

I have to tell you I was super nervous and had nightmares before but the ladies there are fantastic!! We both brought pictures in of what we wanted and they were so close! I brought my own makeup as I wasn't sure what they would have but they had Mac, Benefit and other good products. I hardley ever wear makeup so didn't know what to expect. I can't say enough about what a great job she did. She even helped me put on my false eyelashes!

 

It took me about an hour and a half to get my hair and make up done so by about 3:30, headed back to the room to meet the girls and all get ready. Time flies because next thing I know it was time to put my dress on and head to the beach! Daniela called when a cart was outside to get us. Our wedding was at 5 and it was slightly later since we had some guests run late but this, in my opinion was the perfect time for light, etc in October. The golf cart brought us over to the buffet entrance where we had to wait for the guys to walk down the aisle and then i was ushered through the buffet. (They were closed.)

 

I gave Daniela a CD with all the ceremony music and everything went perfectly. We decided to go with simple centerpieces and flowers on the chuppah and I brought my own faux crystals. (Which I left so ask Daniela if you can use them if you're interested!) I really could not have asked for a better wedding!!

 

 

Cocktail Hour - A+

We decided to have cocktails on the beach right after the ceremony with a few appetizers. The food was awesome! We had bacon wrapped shrimp, sushi, little pizzas and one other thing. We had a few tiki torches around the area as well. It was beautiful to enjoy the last bit of sunlight on the beach.

 

DJ Moremixx - A++

We decided to use Ivan and it was one of the best decisions we made. He was fantastic! I sent him our play list and he had every song and then some. We also decided to go with the light up dance floor and that just made the night! All of our guests had such a blast. He even provided big balloons and glow stick bracelets and necklaces. So much fun!!

 

Food - A+

We went with the international buffet which I don't know if they are offering it anymore. We really wanted something casual with no assigned seats and this menu was an option when it was the Paradisus so they honored it. We had 3-4 different salad options, prime rib, mashed potatoes, rice, chicken cordon bleu, fish, spaghetti, french onion soup and a whole table full of desserts (that never got touched).  We also went with a 3 tier tres leches cake that was unbelievably good. Everyone raved about how good the food was.

 

 

Service - A+++

We decided to set up a dedicated bar for our guests which was great and the bartender was fantastic. We also had about 4-5 other servers bringing people drinks, cleaning tables off and most importantly ... breaking out the sombreros and shots!

 

 

The party went until 10 and they asked us if we wanted to extend the bar for another hour but we all decided just to go to the Fun Pub which was a blast!!

 

Daniela set everything up just as I had envisioned it and we really could not have asked for anything more!

 

Let me know if anyone has any questions and happy planning!!

 

[82turtles]

Hi Angie,

Hope this isn't too personal for questions, but I think I would have a group right around 40 ppl, so close to what you had.. You said you were under $10K easily, but I was wondering what all you included in that number? I'd like my total budget to be at $10K, including photography, travel, wedding dress, gifts, AHR, etc. Would you mind letting me know what your final price for the resort was (i.e. ceremony, dinner reception, dance, etc)? Maybe my numbers are just unrealistic!! It just seems there are so many 'extra' fees, that I'm finding it hard to compare resorts! Feel free to PM me if you would rather not post that..

 

Few other questions -- how much was it to have DJ Ivan come in, and how much for the lighted dance floor? Any outside vendor fees have to be paid for that? Any hassle with having an external DJ?

 

Congrats and thanks for posting your pictures! Sorry to hear that you had issues with the weather and a number of your guests weren't able to attend Looks like everything turned out beautifully though! You looked great!! Can't wait to see more pics!

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by avong1228 

I've been crazy busy with work but will post a review. We ended up only having 42 due to the hurricane and people not being able to attend but yes stayed under $10k easily and still would have with 60. I guess it just depends on all you want.
 

[sarahrose]

Angie! Thank you! You are putting my mind at ease about soooo many things! I wake up at 4am worried about my hair and makeup at the wedding. HAHA! You really looked beautiful and it definitely makes me feel better!

 

The pictures are so great and it looks like you had a wonderful time!

 

I think I will ask Daniela about the crystals because they look really pretty!

 

Thanks again!

[jystar13]

angie! you were are beautiful bride! i am so happy for you that everything worked out with the weather and everything, you guys look so happy. congratulations!!! and best of luck!  your pictures came out great too! thanks so much for the awesome review, it definitely puts me a little at ease about things with my wedding coming up in february esp. with hair/makeup!!

 

i love all the little touches that you did, the pashminas, cigars, etc. and your monogram logo on everything was such a cute touch to keep it personal.  and i'm obsessed with your hair flower! where did you find that!!!

 

a few questions if you don't mind:

 

did your flowers cost you a fortune for the bridesmaids and centerpieces??? i'm debating on doing flowers from there or bringing my own centerpieces with me, but i was wondering what they charge for the flower centerpieces like you had.

 

did you use your own chair bows (& overlay on cake table) or did you use the resorts?

 

for the cd you provided for the ceremony,(this may sound like a totally stupid question) did they have someone there to like stop and then play the music? i'm thinking of like having music playing when the girls walk out, then when i walk out and then after we get married and walk back down the aisle, but i'm thinking some one would need to play, stop, play, stop, etc. for the 3 different songs that i want.....

 

and lastly, was there another wedding there the same day as yours???  i know there is another wedding the same day as mine and hers is on the tequila terrace (which it looks like yours was) and my cocktail/reception is going to be on the beach terrace, just curious if you got to see it set up or anything.... 

 

thanks in advance!    jan

 

ps- thanks again for the review! you have no idea how excited i am by seeing all these pictures and reading all your details! 

 

[avong1228]

I'm selling my hair flower (dress, shoes and necklace if you know of anyone!).

 

The centerpieces were around $75 a piece and we had 5 tables and the centerpiece on our sweetheart table was included. If you decide not to do a sweetheart table they'll throw one in depending on the package. We got the most expensive package ... Divine I think. As far as the bridemaid bouquets, they were around $50 (I think) and both mom's corsages were included with our package. We were originally going to bring our own chair bows but decided packing them and having to take them back and then trying to resell them wasn't worth it. Plus they charge you to put them on.

 

As far as the CD, we did about 4 songs for when people are sitting, one song for the guys walking down, one for the bridesmaids, one for me and then 2 for when people are leaving and I just marked those on the cover and they did it all for me. It was perfect.

 

There was another wedding. Our wedding was at 5 and the other was at 5:30 and we never heard or saw them except for when we were all at the Fun Pub later. Don't worry at all. The other wedding was where yours will be. I did take a glimpse when I went to the ladies room and its beautiful.

 

Originally Posted by jystar13 

angie! you were are beautiful bride! i am so happy for you that everything worked out with the weather and everything, you guys look so happy. congratulations!!! and best of luck!  your pictures came out great too! thanks so much for the awesome review, it definitely puts me a little at ease about things with my wedding coming up in february esp. with hair/makeup!!

 

i love all the little touches that you did, the pashminas, cigars, etc. and your monogram logo on everything was such a cute touch to keep it personal.  and i'm obsessed with your hair flower! where did you find that!!!

 

a few questions if you don't mind:

 

did your flowers cost you a fortune for the bridesmaids and centerpieces??? i'm debating on doing flowers from there or bringing my own centerpieces with me, but i was wondering what they charge for the flower centerpieces like you had.

 

did you use your own chair bows (& overlay on cake table) or did you use the resorts?

 

for the cd you provided for the ceremony,(this may sound like a totally stupid question) did they have someone there to like stop and then play the music? i'm thinking of like having music playing when the girls walk out, then when i walk out and then after we get married and walk back down the aisle, but i'm thinking some one would need to play, stop, play, stop, etc. for the 3 different songs that i want.....

 

and lastly, was there another wedding there the same day as yours???  i know there is another wedding the same day as mine and hers is on the tequila terrace (which it looks like yours was) and my cocktail/reception is going to be on the beach terrace, just curious if you got to see it set up or anything.... 

 

thanks in advance!    jan

 

ps- thanks again for the review! you have no idea how excited i am by seeing all these pictures and reading all your details!