Gran Bahia Principe Akumal/Tulum/Coba - POST HERE!

[worstbride]

Fernando the makeup artist, was he from the resort? Which spa because there are a couple at the resort (coba and akumal?)

He is from make up pros. Off resort

[MrsHK]

Hello Gran Bahia Principe brides! Congrats on your upcoming weddings! This post is for any brides interested in affordable unique decor for your big day.

 

I'm a newlywed from Vancouver, Canada that lives down here in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico. I have quite a few decor items leftover from our wedding in May, mostly in a rustic vintage style. I've decided to rent things out to brides that don't want to lug things like vases & mason jars down here to Mexico, and have priced things quite fairly compared to the resorts' prices.

 

I have a lots of different types of bottles, mason jars, vases and lanterns, as well as a variety of other items like wooden signs & frames, table runners, rustic birdcages, string lighting and even a portable sound system. A lot of these items are very hard to find down here, and many brides have been happy to find my collection of wedding decor.

 

If you want a Style Me Pretty or Ruffled type of wedding in Mexico without a huge price tag, I'm your gal! So far no one has had to pay an outside vendor fee at all, as they tell their WC that they have brought the decor themselves. I'm also always interested in buying items that brides bring down and would like to sell after their weddings, please send me photos of anything you'd like to sell!

If you'd like to see some photos and a price list, please send me a PM with your email address and I'll send you all the info. Also if anyone has any questions about the area, ask away! I've lived in Playa Del Carmen for two years and know the whole coast quite well. Happy planning ladies!

 

Here's a couple of photos of some items we used in our wedding and that are for rent, but I have lots more:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[egagne87]

Hi Ladies,

 

I just thought I'd offer an option an idea for favours. We were going to do luggage tags for all of our guests on the dinner table as favours. We actually ended up deciding to do a donation to the OSPCA (Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals- i.e. Humane Society), my fiance and I are animal lovers so we chose this charity. After donating we got a pdf template for a little "tent" card for the wedding dinner table, it says "In Honour of _____(guest)______ a donating was made in lieu of wedding favours" with the charity logo etc. and has a spot to put each guests name.

 

The reason why this is ideal for a wedding favour is the homeless resort dogs etc. do make a lot of Canadians/Americans sad because we don't see this at home. Also the favours are paper so you don't have to travel with bulky favours.

 

This could probably work with the charity of your choice, a women's shelter, a youth group etc.

[egagne87]

Apparently I can't spell or construct effective sentences this morning. Hopefully you can still understand what I was trying to say. Lol

[KatLew]

Hi Ladies, I just thought I'd offer an option an idea for favours. We were going to do luggage tags for all of our guests on the dinner table as favours. We actually ended up deciding to do a donation to the OSPCA (Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals- i.e. Humane Society), my fiance and I are animal lovers so we chose this charity. After donating we got a pdf template for a little "tent" card for the wedding dinner table, it says "In Honour of _____(guest)______ a donating was made in lieu of wedding favours" with the charity logo etc. and has a spot to put each guests name. The reason why this is ideal for a wedding favour is the homeless resort dogs etc. do make a lot of Canadians/Americans sad because we don't see this at home. Also the favours are paper so you don't have to travel with bulky favours. This could probably work with the charity of your choice, a women's shelter, a youth group etc.

That is a nice idea. We plan to have a frame for each guest with their picture in it... So instead of table numbers, people will just find their picture :-) We also might add in some luggage tags too

[JDubya]

Worstbride, I'm so sorry! I got angry just reading your posts! Wow.

[arinmarie10]

Quote:

Originally Posted by worstbride 


He is from make up pros. Off resort

Sorry you had such a terrible experience with the wedding coordinator.... i am like you though and as long as we are married at the end of the day, there are plenty of cocktails and people are having a good time, that's all that matters.  Curious about Fernando - did you have to get that approved through the resort?  How long did the makeup take and how much does he charge?  Thanks so much for all the information!!

[worstbride]

He does $400 for hair and make up with a trial. You can ask for a discount to give up the trial I also had to pay the day passes for him and the hair guy. They were amazing. I would have paid double what I paid for them if I had know how great great it was.

[arinmarie10]

Quote:

Originally Posted by worstbride 

He does $400 for hair and make up with a trial. You can ask for a discount to give up the trial I also had to pay the day passes for him and the hair guy. They were amazing. I would have paid double what I paid for them if I had know how great great it was.

awesome!!! Thank you so much for the info. I definitely dont want to use the resort hair/make-up and have been toying around with the idea of just doing it myself, but after reading your comments and seeing your pictures, I might splurge.  How much are the day passes? Do you have an email contact for them?

[futuremrswarner]

This is going to be a long one. Be prepared.

 

My experience with Bahia Principe Tulum, Jazmin and her assistant Karla, was great.

 

I believe I placed my deposit around November 2012 for my wedding in November 2013. Jazmin introduced herself to me 2 months later, and by then, she had confirmed my wedding date and time for me. Based on the posts from the past brides on BDW, I had written down a list of questions for Jazmin already, so I asked her as much as I could with the first email I sent her. During that time, her email responses were within 2 weeks to a months time, but all my questions were answered. By March, I had essentially finalized all my wedding details with her, including the wedding location, the reception dinner menu, the cake, and the poolside reception. The 2 months leading up to the wedding, she reminded me of the guestlists, and helped me to finalize my flowers (including addtional flower arrangements I wanted for the ceremony location). She sent me a final email once every detail is confirmed to give me the details of our meeting time and what I needed to bring to her. 

 

The day of our meeting (2 days after my arrival), I was waiting in the lobby for my meeting with Jazmin, and I was introduced to Arrecife Studios representative by Karla. The rep started chatting with me about photos, even though I had already emailed their office that I would not require their services. I had to tell the rep this information, and she went to reception to confirm details of the photographers to ensure they are staying at the resort for the minimum of 5 nights before she was willing to provide me with a cancellation form. Jazmin came to get me before the rep came back, so I had asked Jazmin for the cancellation form and she was able to provide that to me and helped us with that. 

 

The meeting was very good because I saw that Jazmin had printed out all the emails I had sent her regarding the wedding details, including the photos that I sent for the extra flower arrangements I wanted and the way I wanted my bouquets and boutonnieres. She had essentially all the details down to the crack and confirmed everything with us again. She asked for the CD for the music at the ceremony, and all the decorations that I wanted for the ceremony and reception. She was very good at making notes of how I wanted everything and put it on sticky notes on each of the items that I had. At this meeting, she also requests that you bring a cash deposit (she'll let you know the amount on her final email). So at the meeting, she confirms for me where I wanted the flowers to be delivered on the wedding day, and where guests and the groom would have to meet before the ceremony, how we wanted the ceremony.

 

The day of the wedding, our wedding ceremony was at the Tulum gazebo at 3pm. The guests, groom, groomsmen and father of the bride had met around 2:30pm in the lobby to be led to the ceremony location for a quick rehearsal and just simple instructions on what they needed to do. Jazmin was there with them the entire time. The flowers were exactly the way I wanted them, and they were delivered to the bride's room right on time. Around 2:50pm, the driver came and knocked on our door to pick us up with the golf cart to the ceremony. Karla was with me and the girls with her walkie-talkie, chatting with Jazmin at the gazebo to signal the girls out on time. I heard the music playing and it was exactly the songs I wanted at the right time. Throughout the ceremony, Jazmin and Karla stayed to make sure everything was running smoothly. After the ceremony, she helped with the champagne for toast. When that was complete, she pulled Richard and me aside to confirm the poolside reception. This is important for other brides with the poolside reception, the resort will check the weather for you throughout the day, and they will advise you to the best of their ability if there is a chance of rain at night. If there is, they will advise you to move to the indoor location. At this point, which ever option you select will be final. If it rained and you chose to stay outside, the resort will not refund you for not being able to have your reception. If it didnt rain and you chose to go inside, they will not allow you to move back outside. So at this point, Jazmin informed us that there was a low chance of rain, so we decided to stay outside. 

 

Dinner was at the Don Pablo for us (great option by the way). Jazmin and Karla were there as well to meet us at 6pm to make sure everyone was at their tables. We had one table where they merged some guests names together so they had to fix that and bring additional settings. Otherwise the dinner went well. When we first started the dinner, there were not many guests in the restaurant with us, so we started our speeches as soon as the first course was done. It was really quiet in the restaurant so mics/speakers were not needed at all. Other guests in the restaurant were also very accomodating. I noticed that Jazmin and Karla came into Don Pablo to check up on the dinner every so often. At this time, we noticed that it started to thunderstorm outside around 6:30pm. Richard and I had to speak with Jazmin about the poolside reception. She told us low probability of rain, but now there was a thunderstorm, so we asked if it was still possible to move inside. She only told me she would try her best, and confirmed for me before the dinner was over that she was able to move us to the Plan B location at Sian K'an. The menu was exactly as we decided on, and the cake (tres leche/3 milks) was delicious. I had requested that the cake be 2-tier, and she was able to deliver that as well. Our guests LOVED the cake - some had 2nds and 3rds, and some even packed some for midnight snack. 

 

After dinner, she was there to show all of us where the trolley was waiting to take us to the Sian K'an location. She made sure everyone was on the trolley first before we left. She didnt come with us, but she did send Karla with us to confirm that everything was ok before she left. The reception went well. We were able to have DJ Bob for our reception, but this was only the case because I had made a deposit in January 2013 before the resort changed their policies. Apparently, the resort has new management who changed all the rules to not allow external vendors for anything. I believe DJ Bob is working with the resort to work out a deal, so not sure how that will end. 

 

I was at the resort for an extra week, so I didn't really bother chasing Jazmin down for the marriage certificate. I got that a day or two before I left Mexico, and she returned all the decorations.

 

So overall, I would have to say that I had an amazing experience with Jazmin and Karla. I could not have asked for better WCs.

Here's a picture of the two of them. The one with the glasses is Jazmin, and the other is Karla.  

 

 

 

I've typed a lot. If any brides have any other questions, let me know. Happy planning and hopefully, your experience will be as pleasant as mine