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

[midnight24]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Raykel Trisha - what a good idea having the WC not translate that line! I am so going to ask Jazmin to do that. That way the order won't seem so odd:) See this is why this forum is so amazing...the little things that help make it great! Thanks! Krama.....I am down to 12 days....7 till we leave! It has flown by too.... I have a pedicure this afternoon and then a couple DIY projects we are hoping to wrap up this afternoon. Tomorrow is big packing day! I have to do some laundry, but the majority of it will be laid out and ready to go:) (they need a smile that dances and shakes his butt - this is the closest I could find )

good tip as well about the translating. i am still unsure what to do.

one other question...did anyone NOT do a poolside reception after their wedding? if so, what did you do? we've been there 2x before so i know the areas. we're having a big AHR a couple weeks later so our budget is dwindling for certain things.

[TATrisha]

I saw many weddings who didn't do the poolside reception. They had their dinner and then typically went to either the Lobby bar which had live music or they went to the Hacienda. When we were there the Hacienda had live music outside before the disco opened. It was so awesome. Everyone just dances in the big square area.

 

When we were there for the whole week I was the only one I saw have a poolside reception, so I saw a LOT of brides at the different live bar areas and they all seemed quite happy.

[Jules]

Hi Ladies,

 

I heard back from our friend who just got married at Coba. I asked her a ton of questions so I'll pass on the info to you all. It may not be applicable to you, but I'll share anyway!

 

I asked about hair costs at the salon and how it turned out, her reply was that her hair normally does hold curl fairly well, but humidity can play havoc with it. The hairdresser cost $85. Two of her bridesmaids' hair held up fine, but hers needed recurling and just went flat after awhile outside.

 

I also asked about the ceremony, and she replied that they didn't tell them anything about it until the day of. The guys were there first and apparently she just gave them last minute instructions before the girls came. Then she just told the girls what to do when they arrived. It was very simple.

 

They took thier own music and wrote what they wanted played at what parts on the front of the cd in a sharpie. The judge is speaks spanish and then Karla translated everything.

 

She had her dinner at Portofino as are we and she said the restaurant and food was really good.

 

They had a large group and ended up having a private reception with a mic and DJ, projector and screen, so they could have speeches and a slideshow. She said they used the Mayan room downstairs just off the lobby. I wasn't even aware of this place as an option for a reception. This is the part my FI and I are struggling with. To do the private reception or to just go to one of the bars. She really recommends the private reception especially if there is a larger group. They had to pay for the DJ and the bar set up but sh felt it was worth it.

 

Feel free to ask specific questions. I just put this info down since it seemed like the topic most people were talking about.

[TATrisha]

For those of you who haven't seen, Susie posted her review!!

http://bestdestinationwedding.com/fo...-review-55366/

[Raykel]

Thanks for the link Trisha!

 

So yesterday we hit three walmarts looking for the walkie talkies.....all sold out:s Dangit! I love the fact that they are not really expensive...my friend wants to buy some too for keeping track of her kids.

[Raykel]

Okay...question for those of you who have been and gotten married already. I know the answer is somewhere in here, so forgive me for asking again - I usually write down everything and this I apparently did not and now I cannot find it!

 

Tipping the WC. I remember comments about tipping some (about half) at the first meeting and then the rest after the wedding. What I don't remember and cannot find is HOW MUCH? Should we just randomly pick a number out of the air or do we say 10% of our wedding package? I don't want to overtip (and lets face it...crunch time and trying to watch costs) but I also don't want to be cheap. I want to giver her a nice tip, but I have absolutely no idea how much that should be.

[TATrisha]

I will bow my head in shame and fully admit that I did NOT tip our coordinator.

She honestly disappeared after we arrived at my reception, so I actually didn't get a chance to. Sad thing was, we actually HAD a tip for her and I gave it to my dad to take care of. Since she was no where to be seen, we gave it to the head bar tender! he deserved it as well, and probably doesn't get paid nearly as much, so I was fine with it. But I think we gave him $40 or $60. I don't remember. Oh yeah, and my left over light up ice cubes!

[Raykel]

Thanks! I wouldn't worry about it...I am sure your WC survived. Odd she just disappeared and was never seen again? I would think she would check all was running well even if just to hang around hoping for one....

[swankster77]

Quote:

Originally Posted by swong Hi swankster, Thanks for the info! So we are allowed to hire DJ outside the resort? How much does Bijan cost? Thanks!

Yep, we can bring in a DJ from outside the resort...and Jazmin told me there would be no fee/day pass required! We hired DJ Bijan... if you want his info let me know and I can post it or PM you. We're hiring him for 2-1/2 hours and he is charging us $300 USD. He said he normally charges a minimum of $250 for the first 2 hours. But had we hired the resort DJ at $180/hour it would be costing us $450... so using him is saving us money - yeah!

SusieQ - welcome back and congrats! Thanks for your review I do have a question about your dinner at La Gran Tortuga... you mentioned the grand entrance as well as the fact that you were tucked away from everyone. Can you give any info on how the tables were set up? Jazmin told me they have square tables that can be combined to rectangle... seating 7-10 people. How did you handle this? Did you do assigned seating? How many tables and how were they set up in relation to each other? What was the grand entrance like? Also, what was the decor like? I know you gave pictures but did you bring the decorations or did they provide for you? Thanks for your info/help

[Mike&Wendy]

I asked our wedding coordinator if they accepted a tip but I soon realized she was more well off than the rest of the staff who would never turn down a tip...she said not to worry about it...but I still brought her a gift when we returned on our honeymoon. I felt like..how could I NOT tip her when we tipped everyone and their brother and she did so much for us...then again...you have to draw the line and can't tip the world...also, you're paying enough for your package and I'm not sure if the coordinator gets a chunk of that or not....