Marina El Cid ?????

[DLWED]

We're going to be having our ceremony on the Jetty as well and I kind of thought it would be windy but I was hoping it wasn't too windy...oh well.  We are contemplating having our reception in the lawn area, do you know if any of the brides that were getting married that week had their reception there?  Did you get a chance to check that area out, I'm wondering if it was really windy there too?  I ask because I was planning on using paper luminaries with battery led lights as our centerpieces and possibly around the perimeter of the lawn area but I'm worried that even with sand in them they might blow away.  We got really lucky that a few of our close family members booked platinum suites already and I'm crossing my fingers that a couple more of our guests are able to book the platinum suites as well so that we won't have to pay the extra $$ per plate for the lawn area.  We are also planning on using an outside photographer, that is one of our biggest priorities so I wanted to make sure the photographer fit our style and had lots of great reviews. Right now I'm going back and forth about the centerpieces and need to get in touch with Deyanira about a rehearsal dinner or welcome party dinner for our guests.  I'm also waiting on my dress to come in, it should be here in a week!!  Let me know what you end up working out for the reception.

[gilkes]

Does anyone know how many days you need to be there before getting married? I am hoping for a Wednesday wedding but normally the flights leave here friday, I was wondering if arrival and wedding day count as days or what??

[2013Bride]

Thank you for all of your useful information, sure is helpful in the beginning stages of planning.  I will be getting married there in Nov of 2013!! Since you ORBeachbride have been there before I had a quick question about the night life.  I understand that there is no disco and my group is not a huge party group anyways so this is not of concern.  But I am wondering if there is anything to do in the evenings or if any of the bars are open later.  I am thinking about the night of the wedding and where my guests and I wiill go after the alotted 4 hours of our reception are up.  Any suggestions or input from your own experience?

 

Thank you!!

Ashley

[chrisdior]

2013Bride from the looks of their website it appears like there is a lounge & bar open until 1AM. hope that helps?

[kleelee]

Hi we are also looking at the Marina El Cid for our wedding in Nov 2013 I'm glad to have found this forums because I have no idea what I'm doing!! lol I enjoyed reading everyone's posts and am looking forward to learning and sharing information about this beautiful place!  Wishing you all the best in wedding planning!!!!

[ericaaxo99]

Hi all!

 

I actually just got married two weeks ago at the Marina El Cid. I can't say enought good things about the WC Deyanira and the hotel in general!

 

We had just a little over 80 guests attend.  The majority of guests stayed at least Thursday-Sunday.  Thursday night we had a welcome reception on the Alcazar terrace.  They roped off the terrace so it was a "private" event, set up some snacks, and had two dedicated waiters getting everybody's drinks.  They even helped us hang some decorations we had brought. 

 

Friday during the day we had a ladies margarita tasting at Scaramanga Beach Bar and a guys tequila tasting at La Marina restaurant.  Both were great, but the guys came back raving about the tequila tasting.  The margarita tasting was really casual, just all of us sitting in the loungers drinking margaritas out of these cute glasses, but it wasn't really a "tasting."  The tequila tasting actually included a presentation by one of the staff members, which apparently was really good.  There were several different tequilas for the guys to try, and they all came back saying they really did learn something (note - it was just for an hour, and it wasn't a shot-taking kind of thing.  It was really a more formal presentation with sipping tequilas being used, so no worries about the guys getting drunk off tequila!). Friday night we had the rehearsal and held the rehearsal dinner at La Marina restaurant.  They told us we couldn't rent out the whole restaurant for the night, so instead we made a "reservation" for 50 people for two hours.  This basically gave us the restaurant to ourselves and still allowed the hotel to have other guests dine there before and afterwards.

 

Saturday we got married at 6 pm on the Jetty.  This was one of the main reasons we decided to have it at the Marina El Cid.  I've witnessed so many weddings in Mexico where there's a beach volleyball game or people laying out 10 feet away from the ceremony!  The Jetty is off to the side and away from the main part of the beach, so it felt very private.  This isn't a party atmosphere type of hotel, so the music at the pool was already turned off and most of the hotel guests were already at dinner by this time.  It really felt like we had the beach all to ourselves.  The original plan was to have cocktail hour from 6:30-7:30 at Scaramanga Beach Bar then the reception after that on the Beach. But, there were thunderstorms forecast for late afternoon/early evening, so we had to make the decision to move it indoors to the convention center.  Of course, had we not, it would have rained but since we moved it inside, the weather was beautiful!   But in the end, it turned out just as good if not better!  It was actually nice to have it somewhere else, because everybody had been hanging out at the Beach Bar Thursday and Friday night.  Plus, there was AC and the bathrooms were right there!  And you didn't have people wandering off down the beach since the convention center is off to the side of the hotel by itself. 

 

Sunday morning, we had an informal farewell breakfast at Hacienda Arrecife.  We just got there early and saved several tables in one part of the restaurant so everybody could sit near each other. 

 

Don't worry about worrying if things look really far on the map - everything is a very short walk.  We liked that the hotel was smaller in size than other resorts in the area.  Where ever we went around the resort, we always ran into somebody from our group.

 

We used external vendors for almost everything (DJ, decorations including flowers, photographer).  The hotel is really flexible on that, unlike other hotels.  We also liked it that they only do one wedding a day, so it doesn't feel like a wedding factory!  We really felt like the hotel did everything they could plus some to make us feel like it was "our" day and really personalized.  We heard nothing but praise from our guests about the hotel.  The hotel really partners with you to help you plan your day.  Deyanira was fantastic on this.  We originally worked with somebody else when we first booked, and were very nerous to hear that they had left.  However, Deyanira was the transition very smooth.  Sometimes it does take her a bit of time to get back to you (just the Mexican culture!), but she is very organized and offers great ideas.  When we got there a day early so we could meet with her and finalize everything, she had all of our information organized and more important, correct!  She had all of my ideas and plans down, and even enhanced them.  Basically if you're getting married here, you have nothing to worry about!  Please let me know if there's anything else I could answer for anyone!

[tcmroxy]

I was married here in January 2011.  We had 26 guests with 3 rooms booked Platinum so we had the basic wedding package for free.  We had our dinner in the El Alcazar restaurant and were allowed two options for the set menu.  This was all included for free.  This restaurant works well because there is an antipasto bar where everyone can find something to eat, incase they don't like the dinner options.  We did our own reception at the beach bar.  We bought and Ipod and a Bose portable docking station.  We gave the bartender some tips and he let us play our own music and dance on the beach. 

I had additional flowers added to my package and they were beautiful and very well priced.  We were married on the Jetty (yes...it was very windy) which was really nice.  I had my hair and makeup done at the salon at the resort and they did an amazing job!! 

There is a disco there in the Marina restaurant.  It's not very busy but we went a few nights and had fun.  They had good music.  Feel free to ask me any questions!

[JasmineClark]

Originally Posted by tcmroxy 

 

I was married here in January 2011.  We had 26 guests with 3 rooms booked Platinum so we had the basic wedding package for free.  We had our dinner in the El Alcazar restaurant and were allowed two options for the set menu.  This was all included for free.  This restaurant works well because there is an antipasto bar where everyone can find something to eat, incase they don't like the dinner options.  We did our own reception at the beach bar.  We bought and Ipod and a Bose portable docking station.  We gave the bartender some tips and he let us play our own music and dance on the beach. 

I had additional flowers added to my package and they were beautiful and very well priced.  We were married on the Jetty (yes...it was very windy) which was really nice.  I had my hair and makeup done at the salon at the resort and they did an amazing job!! 

There is a disco there in the Marina restaurant.  It's not very busy but we went a few nights and had fun.  They had good music.  Feel free to ask me any questions!

 Hi there!

 

I am getting married at the marina el cid on December 11 2012. Do you have any photos from your wedding? We are considering having our reception dinner at the el alcazar and party on the beach. Did you go to the marina restaurant? Was it nice?

 

Any input, photos, advice, etc would be greatly appreciated!!! 

 

Thanks!      and Congratulations!

[JasmineClark]

I received some photos from the WC. Thanks anyways !

[Bec Katz]

Can you all tell me - what is the beach like at Marina El Cid? Is the water nice to swim in?

 

Yours, 

 

Bec Katz