Catalonia Riviera Maya

[L&C In Love]

Oh Kplanta your wedding looked great and you look so pretty!!! I was itching to hear how everything went. I would love to see more pictures if thats ok with you

 

I do have a few questions.

 

At the reception do they have a mike and speakers so you can announce things like you suggested?

At your ceremony did you have a mike so everyone could hear what you were saying? How did Gabriela do reading your ceremony? I have been debating on hiring a minister or just using her?

My cousin offered to play acoustic guitar for our ceremony do you think its worth it considering it can barely be heard, or would you suggest paying actual music? Any suggestions on songs for the acoustic guitar?

Thank for reasurring me with the DJ, I was a little worried it would be "old school" music hahaha

 

Who did you use as your photographer?

 

I hope we get upgraded, we have 44 people coming with us, and anything thrown in free is very nice!

 

 

Just curious, did you tip the wedding coordinators at the hotel?

[Kplanta]

L&C in love,

 

They have a mic and speakers set up at the ceremony and at the reception so everyone can hear you very well. The mic is portable, so no need to worry about cords or being in a certain place to announce. 

I would say its up to what you guys are looking for in relation to the acoustic guitar. I found that it was hard to hear, but that could have just been our experience? It is still nice, and it doesnt feel too quiet or anything. There is lots of noise with the ocean and whatnot. If it would mean more to you to have your family member play, then do that. But if the music itself is the more important piece, then a recorded song may be better. The song we chose was "Annie's Song" by John Denver.

Gabriella did good reading the ceremony. She reads out of a booklet that says Catalonia on it..lol...but english was not an issue. She could pronounce everything just fine. She handed us the mic when it was our turn to speak. 

My friend was our photographer :-)

We did tip Gabriella, Cynthia, the Dj, and our photographer. We gave them all $50. We had no idea what to tip, so I just googled it...lol! But I am sure they would all appreciate anything you are willing to give. Gabriella and Cynthia in particular do put a lot of effort into everything they do!

Why don't you add me to facebook to see more pics (just remember to tell me who you are)...I am Kristen Planta Jones. Unless there are pics of certain things you would like to see? I can email them to you if I have them. I have not put all pictures I have on fb though because certain family members do not want their pics posted there. The professional pics are not ready yet, but my friend Claire who did them has a facebook page for her business, so some will probably go up soon. Her page is ClaireK Photography. 

 

Kristen

[wed101911]

Hi Kplanta,

Thank you for sharing all your info! I am glad your wedding went off without a hitch, and that Gabriella was good! A few questions for you. How much stuff did you bring with you to Mexico? Is it true that you need to provide receipts in the instant that you would have your bags checked? I heard that you are not allowed to bring in more that $300.00 of merchandise to Mexico and you need to show receipts? Did you have any problems with this? I have quite a large quantity of things I want to bring, Decoration, OOT bags, gifts, ect.... what do you suggest for backing them and do you think I will have a problem?

 

As for the reception, would you recommend the PCB, and what kind of food did you have? Would you recommend the food you chose?

 

Finally what would you do differently if you could do it all over again? Anything, reception, ceremony, Gift bags, hair...ect, ANYTHING

 

How were the hair dressers, and how many of your wedding guests were able to get therei hair done and what was the cost?

 

I am sure I will have more questions later, but this is all I can think of for now! If you think of anything else to share, please do!

Thank you

[Kplanta]

Hey!

 

I brought tons of stuff!!! Out of our 4 bags, 3 of them were gifts or decorations! Then my friend brought another bag, and my FIL brought a few more for me!! No one cares what you bring in to the country as gifts for your guests or decorations. The only thing they care about is what you bring in to the country to sell. Probably none of what you are bringing into Mexico will be staying there, so you don't even need to mention it to customs.

 

Yes I would recommend the PCB. It is private and beautiful! We got "the grill" menu. It was a buffet...as they all are...and it was great! There are salads and sides, and then there is beef, chicken, and fish of which you can pick from. Then there are desserts. I cant remember what they were...but its on the menu list that Gabriella will email. 

 

I dont know much about the hair dressers because my sister did most of our hair. But my MOH got hers done at the hairdresser, and she really liked it. I cannot remember the cost, but it was not too expensive. Less than I would pay at home thats for sure!

 

I dont know if I would do anything different or not next time. The gift bags were a lot of work (embroidered towels, insulated mugs, wedding week survival kit, magazines, toys for kids, key card holders, lip balm)....but they seemed to be worth it. The guests seemed to really like them, and they appreciated the effort. But the first day at least was spent organizing things and getting gift bags out, so it was a little stressful for me. 

I might have organized the wedding day better if I had the chance again. But, thats only because I am a bit of a control freak;-) 

Otherwise, everything really went very well! I don't have any regrets!

 

Kristen

[L&C In Love]

Hey Kristen, where did you get your key card holders?  Did you have to pay for your luggage?

[Kplanta]

I got the key card holders from Staples.

No we did not have to pay for our luggage. On Air Transat we got 1 free checked bag and 1 free carry bag each. My dress was allowed on as an extra carry-on as well at no extra charge. But I did pay $20 to have my maid of honour take another checked bag for me on her airline. It would have cost us $40 for an extra checked bag of up to 40lbs on our airline. But her airline only charged $20 for a 50lb bag. 

 

Kristen

[wed101911]

Awesome! Thanks! Well from the pictures it looks like things turned out wonderful Were you able to get a free reception dinner, or did you have to pay from everyone? I am a little confused by the email from Gabriella. Do we only pay for every guest over 20 guests, or is it 15.00 per person for everyone we have at the reception?

 

I am so glad to hear I will not have any problems getting all of our "stuff" to the resort. We have mugs and towels too. Where did you get your towels made?

 

Thanks again!

[wed101911]

Hi Ladies, Here are the current restaurant menu's I recently received from Gabriella in case anyone is looking for them...I will do my best to try to attache them all. Let me know if you have any problems viewing them. Thanks

 

Japanese Restaurant

 

 

 

 

 

 

[wed101911]

Bellavista - Italian Resturant

 

 

 

 

 

[wed101911]

Alebrijes - The Mexican Resturant