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

[GenaP]

Hi everyone!

My name is Gena and I’ve just discovered this forum a few weeks ago and I’m soo glad i did! I am having my wedding at the GBP Akumal on May 11th, 2012, so very soon! I’ve been up super late on a few nights reading through all the pages and now i feel a lot better with all the information packed here! I’ve been "patiently" waiting for responses from the WC, but as many of you have said, they do not respond very quickly. I just have a few questions for you ladies that I didn’t see (or may have missed) in the forum. We are getting married at the hammock location at Akumal and i am trying to pick out shoes, but im unsure what to do. I would love to wear heels but im worried about the digging in the sand factor. Did anyone have this problem? Also, we were thinking about having the guitar trio play during our ceremony, but im not sure if they do that? If they do, would they play wedding type songs, or just kind of do their own thing?  We are going with the poolside cocktail party after our dinner at the Mediterranean restaurant, im wondering anyone recommends bringing extra decorations, or if it looks nice the way they do it? Lastly we are having our wedding at 1pm (only available spot) and I am worried about the heat. Has anyone had any experience with that time? Thanks so much, I look forward to hearing from you guys!

[Sunshine2680]

Andrea - im in the same boat as you. I haven't told Jazmin that we have our own photographer and I'm still trying to decide if I'll even have arrecife there at all.  ive hear stories that they can sometimes get in the way..and I rather not bother with them if they're going to make it difficult for my photographer to do his job.

[TATrisha]

Cheryl told the wedding coordinator that I was coming to take pictures.  They said that was fine and asked for all of my business information.  i did NOT give them any, and I don't believe Cheryl did either.  But it was still fine.

 

Now, it's not that I was there illegally or trying to hide anything.  I had all the proper visa paperwork filled out and with me.  It was for my safety and the safety of my equipment.  They wanted to know what room I was in, what days I was traveling, my business name, etc.  I just didn't feel comfortable with them knowing that I had over fifteen thousand dollars worth of equipment in my room! 

 

As far as them being in the way, here are a few examples from Cheryl's wedding.  I worked around him the best that I could... but that's not really how you want to photograph a wedding. You'd rather be able to get every shot that you can and not have to worry about blocking someone out of the photos all the time.

 

As for the gear that he is using (if anyone cares).  It was Nikon.  I had never heard of the camera body he was using, but I swear it was the D2H with an off brand lens.

[AD2012]

Tlseege - Thank you for the information! I am bringing my own photographer as well, I've mentioned it to Jazmin and she didn't really seem to concerned so at this point I'm not too worried about it.

[Fally]

 

Hello Everyone! 

 

I know it has been a very long time since I have been on here to post due to Wedding/Christmas and our house flooding while we were on our honeymoon....I know, craaaazy!  I did want to tell everyone of our wedding, which was on November 30, 2011.  Plus, if you have any questions you can email me at [email protected]

 

Arrival:

First off, the bus ride is quite long and we got in the early evening but we didn't arrive to our resort until about 7-8pm and there is no bathroom on the bus.  So I would advise you not to drink beer that they offer you to buy on the bus or you will be like me and have to run off the bus and pee somewere ASAP!  lol, our bags were brought to our rooms but with that being said they were left outside our rooms, which I was not happy about as we had all our wedding favour/bags in them.  Nothing happened to them, thank goodness but I didn't think it was right they were just sitting outside our rooms until we checked in.  Next time, I don't know if I would let them take our bags.  Just a tip for anyone thinking that they take them directly into your room.

 

 

Rooms:

Our room was right off the beach, beautiful location you could almost see our ceremony location but we were on the bottom floor so we were unable to.  I would stay higher next time, just due to the creepy crawlies which we didn't have too many but some people are quite picky about this.  So I would advise you to stay in a room on the second or third floor, but I liked not having to walk up stairs (not that I can't, it was just faster and if you had a drink or two I am quite clumsy in flip flops!).  We loved the staff and we tipped our room staff quite well, they were amazing and we always had a clean room and pretty towel animals on our bed.  We received a bottle of Champagne on arrival with a fruit basket, which the grapes have quite big seeds in them which weird you out.  The mini bar is a tiny chocolate bar and a small bag of plain chips but we were so close to the snack bar we did not mind at all.  However do not order the room service, as it is snack bar food and by the time it gets to you it is cold, so I would advise just going to eat somewhere.  I did like our rooms, and the jacuzzi tub was nice, only used it once.  The only issue is our patio light was not working and the language barrier was so difficult with some people so it was hard to get across.

 

Food:

The Al a Cartes were great, the Japanese was our favorite we went there three times! lol, the Gran Tortuga was soo much meat it was like I had a meat fever.  The guys tend to like this one a lot, but it was just too much meat for me.  I think the last one was the Arlequin which had a delicious Cream Brule, it was to die for.  The Dolce Vita is where we had our wedding meal, it was good but we had a limited menu due to us being at the wedding.  So I never really tried the pasta, I had the salmon which was good tho.  The buffets were great, if you like variety, which I am not a picky eater at all......seriously I eat everything and we had tons of people who would not eat the meat, they were scared ect.  Anyhow, I did not get sick eating anything.......but tons of people kept having to take immodium.  I think I have a strong stomach, plus I love mexican food.  I did not take immodium or have to take my prescription from the doctor.  So enjoy the food, as it was nice not to have to cook for two weeks!

 

Wedding:

We were married on a Wednesday, thee most sunny and beautiful day of the trip.  My hair was done at the Akumal Spa and they did an AMAZING job, I was shocked and so concerned about this!!  Plus, it stayed in all day!  I only had to tighten the sides up a bit tighter, very much pleased   Plus, everyone else was too my Mother in law and maid of honor!  If I remember the lady who did mine, I will put that up! 

 

So I basically was ready before the photographer got there, so we did some photos in the room, and then we were escorted to the location which was so close we could have walked hahaha!  It is funny tho as you walk down the aisle and all these beach people are watching, someone was even carrying a floaty in the background of some of my friends pics....lol.  Our wedding was amazing, so glad we had it videotaped, well worth the 500 as I still cry when I watch it, and I have seen it about 15 times!  Everyone said it was the most beautiful wedding they had ever seen, like a fairy tale!  Then we had a Champagne toast, which didn't last long as we ran out of Champagne so order a bit extra as we were left on the beach alone with the photographer, then we had to carry everything ourselves which we didn't mind.  It just seemed weird that we did, so we had to go back to our room to drop stuff off before meeting at the snack bar again before our dinner.  Plus, I cried and my husband cried so I could fix my make-up prior too as well, good thing we were so close!!!!  We also had the Mexican Trio, they were great for pictures but I don't think it was worth the money......as you are totally wrapped up in everything, you forget they are even there!!!!  Oh my flowers looked beautiful too   Our photographer was Martin, he was alright but I had some awful angles and weird poses and I felt I looked pregnant in many.....and I am not!!!  Sorry the pics went all over!!!

 

Then we had a few drinks with everyone at the Snack bar for about a half hour to an hour.  Our dinner was at the Dolce Vita which was right close to us too, so that was nice.  It was all in one little area, it felt like our own for the night.  We did our speeches at dinner, our cake cutting after so that when the music came we could just dance!  I made up place cards for everyone and gave our wedding coordinator a seating chart which worked out marvelous   As well I had a card box in case people wanted to give us a card, as well as a guest book.  These were on the same table when they arrived, then switched to the cake table.  Our service was amazing, we loved all of it.....I did wish I had more to eat as all the toast's/nerves make you less hungry, as well as drinking Champagne. 

 

Poolside Reception:

We had two hours of reception, we used the DJ they supplied which was fine.  No issues there, I had to pay them in cash so I gave the money to our coordinator prior to our wedding day.  The place looked great, they lit it all up for you and you have dancing DJ lights.  Don't waste your money on extra lighting.  We had tables set up for people to sit while they were not dancing.  This was the most fun I had in years, dancing with friends to all of our favorite music.  It was a blast, the only thing we regret it having our reception 1 hour longer, it would have been worth the extra money!  It was so so fun!!!!!  We did our first dance, they could not annouce us very well so I would ask a family member to do this upon your arrival   As well, if it's mega important you can have extra decorations but I loved it all without the decorations!!!!  They use white lights on the trees, then white linen's with Tiffany chairs...it looks great!

 

After Reception:

We went to the main lobby and in the theatre room they always have shows, we watched then did the finale dance with them!  It was fun, a little girl came up to me and said I looked like a princess and wanted to meet me!  It almost made me cry, so adorable.  After this, we went back to our area (Golden Club) then we ate at the snack bar as we were starving and drank a bit much and I needed food to soak up my drinks, which I am thankful I did:)

 

Overall it was the most beautiful wedding we could have ever imagined!  Our coordinator was Eugenia, she is the sweetest and amazing and gave us tips on places to eat in Playa Del Carmen and we loved her for it!  We ate at El Diez, it was the best steak I ever ate!  Everyone was so helpful, we had a wonderful time   Make sure to tell your bank/visa you are leaving the country, my husband did not and it caused him grief.  I would suggest paying in traveller's cheques or cash it would have made our life easier.  As we kept having to put portions on a cc, as our cc's have limits.  Seriously ask me anything, I will definately try to be on here today and in the near future to help anyone out.  I will try and post some pics too   The first one someone else took, not the photographer.

 

[Sunshine2680]

Ooooo does my photographer need to bring any special paperwork? What's the visa paperwork you mentioned?
 

Originally Posted by Tlseege 

Cheryl told the wedding coordinator that I was coming to take pictures.  They said that was fine and asked for all of my business information.  i did NOT give them any, and I don't believe Cheryl did either.  But it was still fine.

 

Now, it's not that I was there illegally or trying to hide anything.  I had all the proper visa paperwork filled out and with me.  It was for my safety and the safety of my equipment.  They wanted to know what room I was in, what days I was traveling, my business name, etc.  I just didn't feel comfortable with them knowing that I had over fifteen thousand dollars worth of equipment in my room! 

 

As far as them being in the way, here are a few examples from Cheryl's wedding.  I worked around him the best that I could... but that's not really how you want to photograph a wedding. You'd rather be able to get every shot that you can and not have to worry about blocking someone out of the photos all the time.

 

As for the gear that he is using (if anyone cares).  It was Nikon.  I had never heard of the camera body he was using, but I swear it was the D2H with an off brand lens.

 

[TATrisha]

Your photographer should have done all the research before accepting the job, so I'm sure they already know.

But you need to properly fill out the tourist visa.  You might be asked questions and you need to be prepared to answer them.  There are many restrictions on how many lenses/cameras/flashes/batteries/tripods/etc that photographers can bring in.  It's quite tricky but once you know the rules and you follow them then you're fine.

[Emily2012]

Hi gena, I was thinking of wearing barefoot sandals on the Sand and then putting my heels on after, you can get them off eBay they look nice.

im going for our own music from a disk for ceremony and a saxophonist for after while we do a toast!

We are just taking name cards for dinner which have lilac our theme and butterfly tags to go on the glasses also lilac.

oh and candle bags they look fab at night so taking some of those.

my wedding is 16th April so I'll do a review then. X

[crystalz]

christy- your good to go!! My ceremony was at 3pm
 

Originally Posted by christy12 

Crystalz, your photos look awesome! I was wondering what time you had your ceremony at? The lighting is perfect!

 

The only ceremony time I was able to get was 3pm and I am worried it will be too bright and too hot..has anyone had this problem?

 

Thanks!!

 

[crystalz]

This probably isn't the right way to go about it but myself and my wedding planner just didn't tell any of them that i was bringing my own photographer... We had arrecife for the 10 free photos and wasn't in Vina's way, only a couple pics out of 536 he was in.