Grand Sunset Princess Resort

[MrsHK]

Originally Posted by b21fly 

 

Hi again Smiles33,

A few more questions for you:

• How did you get from the airport to resort?  And did you arrange this travel prior to arriving in Mexico? 
• How did you pack your wedding dress?

• Did you do any shopping in Playa Del Carmen?  If so, how were the shops?  Do you by any chance remember seeing maracas?  I would like to buy maracas for the wedding ceremony/reception (based on some very cute ideas from this forum!) and am contemplating between buying online now versus waiting until I get to Mexico...wondering if you shopped and found any for a good price...

Hi b21fly! I know you didn't ask me this question, but I thought I could help answer since I live down here in Playa Del Carmen. There are LOTS of shops selling maracas, and they go from $1-$3 each, depending on the vendor and the size of the maraca. (There are large and small ones) The bigger shops have set prices, but the smaller ones you can see if you can get a bulk deal and barter with them. Also ask if they have ones in the back, since the ones in the bins have been picked through and are sometimes in rougher shape.

 

It's great that you are considering buying them down here and support the local vendors! Plus you'll save room in your luggage.

 

About the wedding dress, it depends on the airline. I just carried mine on in a garment bag and put it in the overhead compartment, folded in half. My dress was lace so it didn't wrinkle, but it depends on what your dress is made of and if you plan on getting the resort to steam it for you or not.

[b21fly]

Thanks for the response, MrsHK!  I would prefer to buy the maracas in Mexico, since that will cut down on luggage  

 

Any suggestions for places to go/things to see in Playa?  

[vicfanti]

Thanks for the response, MrsHK!  I would prefer to buy the maracas in Mexico, since that will cut down on luggage   Any suggestions for places to go/things to see in Playa?  

Hi! I just ordered maracas at a place right in Mexico called maracas Mexico where they paint whatever you want on them plus put tags on them and ship them right to your wedding planner!! They are on Facebook and got great reviews & so far have been great to deal with!

[b21fly]

Nice- I checked out the FB page and the custom painted maracas look awesome! Do you mind sharing how much they cost?

[vicfanti]

Nice- I checked out the FB page and the custom painted maracas look awesome! Do you mind sharing how much they cost?

They were 4.00-8.50apiece depending what you wanted painted on them & for a extra .75 apiece she attached a tag! I just got the 4.00 ones with tags. They put our names, resort& date on the maracas and the tags say "shake after the kiss" on one side and "thanks for sharing our special day with us!" On the back. They will be placed on the chairs at the wedding.

[MrsShoreytobe]

Originally Posted by smiles33 

 

b21fly: 

 

-We booked our trip through sunwing which included a shuttle from the airport to the resort and vise versa on the last day.  I would check to see if its included with your travel package, I think if you booked a package its usually included.  

 

-On Sunwing, because I was booked as a bride, I was able to take my dress as an addition carry-on.  However, I found this was a huge pain, carrying it around and there wasn't really a special spot for it, so it was probably just as wrinkled as it would be in my luggage.  On the other hand, if they had lost my luggage I would have been devastated without my wedding dress, so it's really what you're comfortable with.  But I would check with your airline to see if you can take your dress as a carry-on or not. 

 

-We didn't go to Playa Del Carmen.  We thought about it one day, but we were all feeling lazy and enjoying our time in the pool so we didn't end up going.  On the two Thursday nights that we were there they had a marketplace right in the resort which had a lot of great stuff.  I don't remember if they had maracas there or not, but they do have them at the resort store because I brought some home for a friend's daughter.  They aren't cheap though so if you can find them cheaper here I would bring them with you.  

 

MrsShoreytobe:

 

We took a chance and used the resort photographer since it was an extra $200 to bring in someone else, and their platinum package allowed us to get copies of all the pictures taken (which turned out to be almost 500).  We absolutely LOVED our photographer.  I think his name was Lillo.  He got some really great shots, had a really good eye for the setting and the lighting and took so many photos we didn't even realize he was taking.  We've gotten so many compliments on our photos since we've been home, I'm so happy with them all.  Here's a link to just a few of ours, about 25.  There's way too many to post them all, but they're some of my favourites.  

http://s1285.photobucket.com/user/bishopn24/library/Wedding%20Photos%20Sneak%20Peak

Thank you very much for your input!!! We still couldn't access their website for some reason, and in the end, we were deciding between photographers like Luckie, Juan Navarro, and Gonzalo Nunez. We decided to go with GONZALO AND I AM SO EXCITED! We knew we wanted to make this decision fairly soon for our march 8 wedding, so we opted out of resort photographers since we couldn't access enough pics. Yours turned out very nice though I really appreciate you passing that along!

[MrsShoreytobe]

Another "process" question for those of you experienced here at the GSP

 

So our wedding is March 8th at the sunset gazebo (yahoo!) at 4pm.

 

I am wondering if I can get any of you takes on our hopes for the wedding day.

 

Firstly, our photographer will be Gonzalo Nunez and we have him for 7 hrs that day. My q relates to the whole getting ready process - I see many brides getting ready even before noon, and with a 7 hr photography, doesn't the photograpoher end up sitting around doing nothing for a lot of this time? I don't see myself needing 5 hrs to prepare, but I just wanted to see how other ladies handled that and how they HANDLED THE PHOTOGRAPHER. I believe Gonzalo will be completely cool with waiting around if need be, whereas a lot of other photographers seem to be like "its 7 consecutive hours and that's IT!".

 

Thoughts?

 

 

Next, we understand there are 3 weddings the same day as us, so we have to figure out reception ideas asap.

 

Our wedding planner, Guillermo, has been wonderful, but has given us back the typical pdf of SET PRICES for things like a beach reception, etc. I was hoping we could negotiate some different ideas, but it seems pretty set.

 

 

My Q is: What restaurant would you all choose for your dinner (presumably free with wedding package)...I've heard good things about Vaqueria but we have 40 ppl about and it technically can only do 25.

 

My other inquiry: We definitely feel its silly to have to pay for ANY LIQUOR at ALL at an all inclusive. However, since we CANNOT DO CAKE CUTTING, FIRST DANCES, AND SPEECHES in the restaurants, we are seeking an alternate location.

 

Based on emails etc we seem to have the option of a BEACH RECEPTION (WITHOUT FOOD) FOR $25 pp.

 

I saw one bride indicate they had to pay to rent audio equipment for this reception, so I asked my WC about this.

 

Essentially, if any of you have similar plans or had similar hopes for your wedding, can you share what was the most economical way of making this happen? We really don't need a place to dance ALL night, as we will likely head to disco.

 

but what WE ARE LOOKING FOR IS AN ECONOMICAL IDEA FOR A PLACE TO ENJOY CAKE CUTTING, SPEECHES, AND THE FIRST DANCES.

 

 

 

We inquired about this "entertainment area" that is open to the public in the resort, but because it's part of the inclusive services to everyone, they can't reserve it exclusively for a wedding.

 

Sorry for the long blab. I've definitely followed things in here since our engagement in April, but any feedback on my specific questions would be much appreciated!!!

 

[alanadzinck]

This is such a good source of information when you have no clue what's going to happen the moment you get there, our wedding is in October 25, 2013 and still trying to figure out what kind of reception we would have. If the cocktail beach party is only $35/person we might do it. Sounds fun!!! I guess I'll have to ask my WC  the current prices though.

Hi I am getting married oct 28th 2013, we might be at the resort at the same time What place are you having you ceremony at? We are going to sunset gazebo . And I am not sure what to do for our first dance and to have music after the dinner at the a la carte, what are you doing?

[alanadzinck]

Is anybody getting married at the grand Riviera princess October 30th 2013?

[MrsShoreytobe]

Hi I am getting married oct 28th 2013, we might be at the resort at the same time What place are you having you ceremony at? We are going to sunset gazebo . And I am not sure what to do for our first dance and to have music after the dinner at the a la carte, what are you doing?

My post above urs is ditto to your uncertainty about what to do post dinner! The regular beach reception (with lowest liquor I guess) - is 25 pp... Have u thought of any other options??