Paradisus Riviera Maya Wedding Review - Part 3

[nenamono]

Ceremony- C

We had chosen the gazebo near the Mexico patio (mostly used as a rain location) for our ceremony. The ceremony setup was beautiful I wanted it simple and that is the way it turned out. Everything to our surprise pretty much started on time, I didn’t have a watch but I think we were 10-15minutes off. Let me first say we had a rehearsal two days before, I don’t know what happened but some things changed from how we all had rehearsed. We all lined up waiting for the processional to begin, the wedding coordinators have walkie talkies so she cued the music to begin the wrong song came on it was the song I was suppose to walk down the aisle to. We started telling her the wrong song is playing, she quickly cued whoever was handling the music to cut the song and then the right song came on. I a bit upset b/c we had gone over the song order with them several times and had given them the order which they even wrote down in their notes. I’m really not sure who was handling the music so I brushed it off and let it go. Everyone was suppose to walk from behind the Mexican fountain around it then towards the gazebo, during my walk down the aisle I was horrified to discover we had to dodge tables in the process they never moved them!!! I had to ask my father to move over b/c there was no way we were both going to fit between the table and the small space that was left, if they had moved the tables this would not have been an issue for us or the wedding party. So not only did this not look pleasant but it’s captured in our photos there is a table in the way of all of us coming down the aisle. When I finally arrived in the gazebo I noticed something was off, I come to find out after the ceremony that they changed the seating arrangements that we had rehearsed so when the wedding party arrived in the gazebo everyone was confused on what to do. I don’t mind that they changed it I do mind that no one knew about it and we weren’t told. As I mentioned early the wedding day was extremely windy so I nor our guests could barely hear what the officiate was saying b/c so much wind was blowing into the mic. I do realize this was no one’s fault but mother nature. During the rehearsal I had told the WC’s that my uncle would be doing a reading but he couldn’t make it to the rehearsal b/c he wasn’t arriving until the following day. She told me no problem the officiate would pause and cue him to come up. So during the entire ceremony my uncle waited off to the side waiting for his cue, they forgot!!!! I don’t know what happened but I look at it as a blessing in disguise b/c it was so windy no one would have been able to hear him anyway. He ended up doing the reading at the reception which was great b/c everyone could hear it and they did enjoy it and had a few laughs. In case anyone is curious I had him read “Falling in Love is Like Owning a Dog†by Taylor Mali. Please understand I loved my ceremony and it was still magical in every way but I feel that some of what I mentioned above could have easily been avoided/corrected thus the reason behind my grade.

 

The ceremony (its just a bit windy, I thought I was going to fly away)

 

The wedding party table dodging!!!

 

Cocktail Hour- A-

Cocktail hour was moved from the Mexican Patio to L’Hermitage Restaurant due to weather. We arrived a bit late so we weren’t able to see how the escort cards were set up at this point everyone had already taken theirs. They had set up everything exactly how I had asked and displayed the cocktail napkins I had brought on all of the cocktail tables. Food was put out on trays buffet style I cannot comment on how the appetizers tasted b/c I only had one. People seemed to like them though as they disappeared quickly. We ended up keeping the appetizer menu that comes with the Fantasy Package I had inquired about changes but was told it would be at an additional cost and this wasn’t worth it for us. Waiters came around frequently taking drink orders and cleaning up empty cups. I did notice right away upon arriving in L’Hermitage that the AC was not on. I went to Perla right away and asked her to look into it b/c if I was hot I know our guests were sweltering. She checked came back a few minutes later and apologized telling us someone had turned it off accidently. A few minutes later we started to feel the AC and everything was alright. During cocktail hour we had also hired the steel drummer details below.

 

Appetizers

 

Steel Drummer- A

I thought he was great I wish I had a chance to talk to him and let him know how much I appreciated everything. He played during the entire cocktail hour off to the side. The music was very soft not overbearing so everyone could still speak without yelling. The music was such a nice background touch and allowed everyone to talk and get into the Caribbean vibe. If you want something low key I recommend using him. I’m assuming the large steel drum group may be a bit livelier if you are going for that vibe.

 

My husband chatting it up with the steel drummer

 

DJ- C

I don’t think we were too happy. Before we left for the wedding my husband sent Victor an email with all of the songs we would like to use from his provided list. He also gave him our first dance, mother/son, father/daughter, cake cutting, etc songs and told him he we would also be bringing burnt cds of more songs of music we want that we did not see available on his list. During dinner I have no clue was being played it was not what we had asked for I kept leaning over to my husband and asking him if he put this on the list he kept saying no. My husband then instructed the best man to basically keep on telling Victor what to play the rest of the night so eventually the party got going and we had songs we liked. Based on what I heard I don’t think Victor liked this too much but we had to do what we had to do =) I strongly suggest printing out a list of all your songs again and handing it to him just in case. He never played our cake cutting song while no one else noticed I did and then I’m not sure what happened during the father/daughter dance but the beginning of the song kept cutting out. Don’t know if it was an equipment issue or another issue. I believe for all the little odds and ends that went wrong we were WAY overcharged for the service we received. At the end of the night Victor did come and introduce himself to me which I thought was nice but at that point I was a little peeved. On a good note Victor was very responsive to emails and has a huge playlist to choose from. The party did keep going and the music and sound system was very good. Just a note that he does not MC so have someone else in charge of making announcements for your first dance etc. A mike will be provided.

 

Reception- A

OMG!!!! I can honestly say that having to switch locations from the beach terrace to L’Hermitage restaurant due to weather was one of the best things that could have happened. I loved the L’Hermitage more than anything it was perfect for our small get together and very private. The yellow/gold décor happened to go with our color scheme so everything flowed perfectly. The only minor issue I had was b/c the cocktail hour and reception were held in the same place there was no wow factor in seeing the reception area. I had asked if the area could be sectioned off but it just wasn’t possible, no big deal I just wanted that wow factor more for myself than anything =) Tables, décor, everything was beautifully set up and arranged just how I had pictured. I believe each table had a waiter ours came over and introduced himself and came around throughout the night to offer us drinks as well as served us food. For dinner we had the Coba Menu and the entree was the option of Grilled Beef Filet or Chicken in Merlot Sauce and for dessert we had fruit tart and tres leches wedding cake. I can’t tell you how many people raved about their dinner myself and husband included. We both had the beef and I know at one point we just looked at each other and said wow this is good. I’m a serious dessert fan I was not too enthused with the fruit tart but OMG the tres leches wedding cake was too die for!!!!!!! I’m telling you if we were not flying out the next day I would have had them pack the rest and I would have not had any problem finishing the rest off the following morning. I think I had 3 pieces I know in some photos you seem me hovering over a table with my back turned yeah that’s me scarfing down cake LOL. I thought it was the funniest thing when I saw those photos. The room was a perfect size four our guests (35 total) and room setup with ample room for a dance floor. It was truly amazing and I wouldn’t change a thing.

 

Our cake sooooo YUMMY!!!!

 

Guest Book

 

Table setup

[KLC77]

Thanks for the review and for including the good and the bad. Glad that everything went so well and you had a great time!

[yamille]

Michelle- You looked gorgeous! Your hair is so Audrey Hepburn I love it. I am glad that overall your day was magical despite the hurdles. You are right in that some of those could have been avoided which is really annoying. It seems like you took everything in stride though. Thanks for being honest with the review and for posting! Congratulations on becoming a Mrs!

[madenerg2]

Once again Congratulations Michelle! You looked gorgeous, new husband is a very Blessed Man!

Despite the hurdles, I'm very happy it all worked out!

[MissyR]

Congrats Michelle! Great Review - good and bad! I too have hired SWANK so it will be interesting to see how that pans out!

[becks]

Michele:

 

Great review!!! I'm so glad to hear that you loved it despite the hiccups.

 

Many, many congratulations!

[Ana]

Your wedding looks incredible!!! Congrats

[nenamono]

Thanks all. I still cant believe its over though Im in denial LOL.

[RCBlondie]

Great review! Thanks for posting the pictures and sharing this with us. Congratulations!