Iberostar Quetzal/Tucan

[Lyman]

Wow Trace2013 - not much longer to wait for your wedding now! Were you able to catch the recent Welcome Wagon Bridal Show in Wpg last wknd? They had a record attendance and lots of great ideas n prizes for the brides. 

I wanted to let you know I'm currently in Wpg (my original hometown) and will be for a few more wks - in case you're interested in getting a wedding hand sculpture done here, to avoid having to carry it back from Mexico - just a thought. 

All the best with your plans, and hope you have the most amazing wedding celebration EVER! in our gorgeous Mayan Riviera - CHeers! 

[Kali628]

AC please come back and let us know how your wedding went after all is said and done!  I am right behind you!

 

I can't believe I'm coming up on a month left till departure!!  It really has flown by.  We ended up with 40 people total coming down as guests, which is more than we expected.  We invited about 75 people.  Everyone is really excited.  Here's a rundown of what we have: we chose the steakhouse for the dinner.  We are using Adventure Photo and they seem very good; Jorge has been wonderful to correspond with.  We also decided on the Mariachi band for the ceremony as opposed to playing from our iPods.  Our favors are small glass jars that guests can put sand in.  We also purchased mini beach balls that we (hope) guests will toss into the air as we walk back down the aisle for a unique picture.  I would imagine we're going to get hit with some, haha

 

Here's a question:  who would you ladies recommend to tip?  We planned on tipping the photographer, the Mariachi band, and the hair stylist but wasn't sure who else we should be prepared for.  I didn't know what portion of our package payment goes to the specific people (i.e. wait staff, officiant, or even the wedding coordinator).  So I just thought I'd throw this out there to see if I forgot anyone!
 

[Trace2013]

Good question Kali - So far I have running list to tip: WC, Photographers, Wait Staff, DJ & Mariachi. I think that pretty much covers everything for us. I know I saw a thread on here somewhere about tipping and approximately percentages, I was just trying to find it again so I can have a guideline for approximately how much to give.

[Kali628]

I wonder if that is something I should ask the WC.  I know what I would do if this was in America but I have no idea if it is the same in Mexico.
 

And as far as the wedding coordinator, I don't know who mine actually is.  I've heard from Antoneta, Alejandra, and Andrea so I suppose I'll see who my coordinator technically is when we get there.

 

I searched for tipping on the forum.  It was helpful to determine who else I should probably prepare to tip but I'm still stuck on how much.  If you find the thread that mentioned percentages please let me know!

[Trace2013]

I found this link when searching here... http://www.frugalbride.com/tipping.html I still couldn't find the link percentages but this gives a decent idea... It looks as though 50 - 75 bucks seems to be an average, I may go with that. The wedding package doesn't say anything about gratuities either.

 

I was at first dealing with Antonieta but for the last 4 months I've been hearing exclusively from Alejandra and except for a few minor squabbles she's been really great.
 

Less than 30 days for you to go... Can't wait to hear all about it

 

Did you get offered an upgrade when you booked the package? Just curious as I've read about other brides being upgraded to presidential for wedding night and balance of week afterwards. Also, is your groom staying in a different room night before? Not sure how you handle that in Mexico, I know if we were getting married here we would probably stay apart but now I don't know about Mexico... Just curious!

[Kali628]

Thanks!  That link was very helpful, especially in mentioning not tipping the officiant.  I didn't even think about that being in poor taste.  I also downloaded a currency converter app and noticed the exchange rate because I had no idea what it was exactly.  Looks like $50 US is about $653 in pesos so that was interesting to see.

 

I did not get offered an upgrade when I booked my package. We chose the Paradise Blessing package and if I remember correctly that was not an option unless we got one of the other packages.  We did get a junior ocean front suite though.  As for my fiance, unless someone objects to it I had planned on he and I staying together the night before.
 

[Trace2013]

One of our good friends is actually doing our ceremony since we opted for the blessing package, we're planning to marry discreetly in Canada next month to make things super easy. I think the conversion is approximately 1USD = 10-13 peso's dependent on current rates. It can be tricky to calculate.

 

Just wondering about the upgrade, we went with the Dreams package as it was the best value for the size of our group and I notice a suite upgrade is listed but our travel agent upgraded us to the junior (their compliments) immediately due to the large booking so I was just curious... No big deal either way as we'll hardly be in the room except for the wedding day to get ready in which case the extra room in the Presidential would be put to good use!

[Kali628]

2 weeks until departure!

 

Apparently Alejandra is my wedding coordinator officially.  She has been wonderful to communicate with.  I also just figured out that my wedding is on the Tucan side.  I happened to notice it on our invoice breakdown for the wedding (that it only said Tucan so I confirmed with Alejandra).  I have been getting really absentminded with some things!

 

I ran into my first disappointment unfortunately.  I suppose I might have misread the wedding details PDF that was sent to me back when we first set everything up last year.  Because of the amount of guests I have coming with me we have a set menu at the wedding dinner.  I assumed it would be a meat or fish option but apparently the set menu means all guests get the same meal minus those that are vegetarian.  So I had to choose between prime rib or salmon.  I went with prime rib to appease the majority.  I wasn't too thrilled about that but food is low on my priority list honestly.

 

At this point I'm just taking it easy, preparing to pack, and making sure I have everything I need for our trip.  I am definitely ready for vacation!

[Trace2013]

Best wishes for an amazing couple of weeks! Enjoy your vacation and of course the big day! Can't wait to hear all about it

[Moments That Matter]

Congrats Kali628! nice to hear your relaxed tone you're sure to have an amazing wedding here in our incomparable Mayan Riviera ! all the best with the rest of your plans and have the dream wedding of your dreams - CHeers!