Help: How to Coordinate Budget for Hyatt Cancun Ceremony and FAC Reception?

ccarmany23 · July 17, 2008

Hello everyone! To anyone who has tried to plan a ceremony at one hotel and a reception at another...I need help in a big way!!! Originally, my plan was to do the following: Ceremony on beach at Hyatt Cancun Caribe, cocktail hour at Hyatt restaurant, then reception at the Fiesta Americana Condesa. I thought that this was set in stone until....I tallied up the estimated budget with my parents this weekend (gulp) and it was over double my budget!! Trying to budget for this wedding and make us and my parents all happy has been sooo much harder than I ever thought possible...but that being said of course I really appreciate the fact that they are able to help at all what they can. I am now trying to decide how to minimize some costs... If anyone has any recommendations (besides eloping..haha) I would really appreciate it! I almost had a breakdown when after all this work and research I realized I need to do some major changes and quickly...

I think I am running into trouble with ala carte pricing for photography/flowers/etc. versus getting a package deal... and the problem is that I love the ceremony site at Hyatt but the reception cite at FAC. So questions for your fabulous folks:

Did anyone else who did not plan everything at the same hotel/venue end up paying a high amount because they did everything ala carte style? Were there any hidden ways to cut back if you do go with seperate places?

If I cut out the cocktail hour: If I have a ceremony on beach around 430 but don't have the reception until 7:30 or so (the earliest that my FAC reception site is available) what would I have my guests do? Is there a cheap way to entertain guests for an hour or two before a later reception time?

If I caved and did a package deal at Hyatt: Has anyone had their reception at the Hyatt Restaurant and know if DJ's are allowed and if the space would accomodate large group of about 75 plus area for dancing?

Thanks so much- I appreciate the help!