Iberostar Quetzal/Tucan

[ac4382]

Trace - the Mexican restaurant is actually closer to the front check-in. The ones closest to the beach are the steakhouse, and the tropical restaurant. My fi and I visited the resort for an afternoon last August when we were scouting out resorts, the resort is basically split into two sides with all the restaurants, buffets, pools and other stuff located in the middle, as I'm sure you've seen on the website. I'm not sure if you can change the food from one restaurant to another, I don't think you can because I think we tried to do that as well, but it can't hurt to try?

 

We ordered maracas as well, but I'm putting them on the chairs during the ceremony for them to shake after we are married... probably rose petals as well for the people in the inside aisle to throw!

[Trace2013]

oh! Thanks for the info, that is super helpful. If they are close in proximity we may spare the argument and just go with the steakhouse for the meal.

[sandybeach]

so i just realised i posted on another thread not realizing i had already posted here before (wow my head is in lala land today)

We have also chosen the steakhouse for our dinner. Now i am a little confused on something. After dinner is there a dance reception type of party( like we would do say at home)? do they just set that up at the restaurant or?

As we arnt too interested in doing that we were planning on doing something more along the lines of..

have the beach ceremony (around 4-5 or so) say our idos.
then have a cocktail hour for our guests while we are doing photos.

Then head for dinner at the steakhouse (which we have reserved) i believe i read somewhere that dinner starts at 6:30 but dont quote me on this.

I would imagine dinner would take at least 1.5-2 hours. then we were thinking after dinner having a break everyone can go to their hotel rooms relax/change into swim wear (we have a bride.groom bathing suits ready:) ) then go for a swim/drinks/hang out at the pool/pool bar.

then later on in the evening for those that would still like to celebrate/party get ready/changed and head to the disco.


Neither of us have ever been married or even been to a resort so i am not sure if something like that would work out well or not.

[sandybeach]

Also forgot to mension I have been working on OOt bags for quite some time now (doing it slowly is easier on the wallet as opposed to all at once) so far we have...

Canvas bags with palm trees that say mexico 2013 ( the BM bag says bm and custom as well for mothers of the bride/groom)-- bought from vistaprint

Coffee mugs with same palm tree designs that say  our names and mexico 2013.

we will have small hangover kits each with a couple advils packets, pepto bismol, bandaids, hand sanitozer.

then we are planning on making a small " Bride and Grooms favorites" kit. Which will include.. a pack of crystal light, lots of candy( both fans of candy) maybe a small bag of chips and not to sure what else yet.

then we have also bought beach balls for everyone, and glow sticks.

 

We already have pretty much everything however i was thinking of buying small bottles with cork tops and having them in each room with a sign that tells our guests to fill them with sand from the beach. ( or we might just fill them ourselves before everyone gets there)

[Trace2013]

Hey SandyBeach.. haha. I just totally answered you in the other thread.. Just ignore that.

 

You may want to consider revising your plans. It is very rare that swimming is allowed in the pools or in the ocean after dark at AI resorts. Plus, the bars closest to the beach/pool slowly start to close down as the evening gets later. I'm assuming they do this to not only have a chance to clean the pools but also the a la carte restaurants surround the pool so that would be a bit distracting for diners! I have not been to this particular hotel but its been my experience at every other resort (I've been to 8) including another Iberostar.

 

We have a large group and are planning on having the entire reception at the Steakhouse and have hired an outside DJ for the entire reception and dance portion. But if that's not something you want to do, then you could easily head to the lobby bar for a few cocktails and then disco for those wanting more action later into the night?

[Trace2013]

Hi girls!

Just thought I'd update you as I have also hit less than 3 months to go before the big day! AC only a month left for you right? You must be ready to get going now that everything is pretty much planned.

 

I thought I'd update you on what's been happening with us:

 

- It ended up we had a crazy response to our save the dates, so much so that we are now sitting at a guest list of 92 people! We've had to make some concessions of how we will do things because of the guest list but it will be amazing having all those people with us for a week

 

- After many arguments, hassle and a few tears (of frustration!) we have planned a welcome party for the day after everyone arrives, we wanted something private over the course of a few hours but trying to set it up without costing us the same as the wedding reception was next to impossible! So, we have booked exactly what they offer in the package - fingers crossed because I STILL am not sure what we're going to get!

 

- We hired Jorge at Adventure Photo for the big day, as well we decided to go with the videographer they offered. The pricing was competitive and it was just easier than going through the drama of bringing in an external photographer which they do not permit without a $500 fee. As others have said, he sent many different portfolios of past work and I'm confident it will all be beautiful.

 

- I hired Sara Tamargo (SO EXCITED!) to come and do hair/make up for myself, my 4 bridesmaids and my Mother. We are planning on taking pics and a first look before the ceremony so she'll be coming to us early around 10am. (Ceremony is on the beach at 4pm) She was exceptional to deal with and really stood out among the others I quoted. As well, since I am paying for hair/makeup for all the girls I wanted something within my budget and she totally worked with me to get to a price I needed to be. I've been watching her work closely on FB and am getting so excited. What a gem!

 

- Champagne toast will follow immediately after the ceremony with the mariachi's playing (also included in the package)

 

- Due to the size of the wedding group we have moved our reception to the convention centre off of the lobby. It has way more room, they have offered standard decor and I will be bringing limited items to accent (Maracas, balloons). We also want a 6 hour reception vs 4 hour that is included in the package so we will be paying per person for the last two hours. The fee is nominal and worth having our own private party until 1 am. Those wanting to continue partying can hit up the disco afterwards.

 

- We have hired an external DJ for the reception as we wanted an MC/DJ - someone to really get the crowd going if necessary, but I'm not too worried about that! After much quoting and decision making we went with DJ Doremixx - his pricing was competitive and I read every review on him on BDW. So far he's been great to work with and super professional.

 

- We have decided not to do OOT bags, they are awesome and I'm sure it would be fun to out together.. But not for 92 people! The only thing I will be doing is kids activity bags for the reception as there will be 9 kids present. Already started picking up crayons, activity books, glow sticks, cards, candy from dollarama. Just going to put them in kraft bags and then draw with a sharpie on the bag so they can each decorate their own bag as well.

 

Hmmm... Is that all? I have no idea. My head is spinning as we are also planning our social next month so that has been the focus, once that is out of the way I think a complete calmness will come over me For you non-MB brides Social=massive party/fundraiser in celebration of the bride/groom before the wedding. So stressful! But super super fun.

 

Ok! Hope you ladies are all doing well and planning is going smoothly

 

Trace

[Jessicalynne]

Help - Rising Hotel Rates?!

 

I'm planning on getting married at the Iberostar Tucan June 2013. I already have my deposit down for the date, so we're ready to rock and roll.

 

Unfortunately, I've seen a HUGE spike in the nightly rate. When we first were looking in August, the room rate was around $188 total, so $100/person. But now it's shot up to $286/night! This is way out of our guest's budget and I'm concerned that the prices won't go down.

 

Does anyone have any insight into this or are you experiencing the same thing? I'm wishing we had done the $200 room rate when we booked it, but at the time it was more expensive then what we were seeing online. If the rates stay that high, we'll have to move resorts and lose the deposit all together which would be horrible b/c I'm really in love with the Tucan

 

Thanks so much,

Jessica

[Jessicalynne]

Help - Rising Hotel Rates?!

 

I'm planning on getting married at the Iberostar Tucan June 2013. I already have my deposit down for the date, so we're ready to rock and roll.

 

Unfortunately, I've seen a HUGE spike in the nightly rate. When we first were looking in August, the room rate was around $188 total, so $100/person. But now it's shot up to $286/night! This is way out of our guest's budget and I'm concerned that the prices won't go down.

 

Does anyone have any insight into this or are you experiencing the same thing? I'm wishing we had done the $200 room rate when we booked it, but at the time it was more expensive then what we were seeing online. If the rates stay that high, we'll have to move resorts and lose the deposit all together which would be horrible b/c I'm really in love with the Tucan

 

Thanks so much,

Jessica

[Jessicalynne]

Has anyone seen a rise in hotel rates for the Tucan/Quetzal? They've gone up $60 since August and I'm worried that they wont' come back down to the $200/night mark. We've already put a deposit down for next June and just worried that we'll have to move hotels.

 

This would break my heart b/c my fiance and I have our hearts set on this place.

[Trace2013]

Hey JessicaLynne!

Congrats on your upcoming wedding, so nice to see another Quetzal/Tucan bride - we seem to be in the minority around here Unfortunately I can't help you with rates because all of our guests have purchased an all inclusive tour package for 7 nights... In Canada, its usually easier and more bang for your buck to book this way, unless you live in a big hub like Toronto or Montreal. It worked out to 1225 per person because of our group rate or approx 175/night. Are you working with a travel agent? If not, I suggest you hire one and make sure they are specialists in DWs. Use your group to your advantage and leverage your guest count to get a better rate. Your travel agent should be able to negotiate a group rate that will be economical for all.

 

Good luck and use this forum to your advantage, the BDW has been my go-to source for all of my planning needs.