Secrets Maroma Brides

[newloves1975]

I just booked my date earlier this week with Cecilia. October 13th, can't wait!!!! I told her I wanted the Secrets Paradise package, I think I may change that after I see how many guests I have. Anyway, I was thinking about gazebo decorations too, the contract only has the chairs w/ white covers and the ceremonial table included in the package, with decorations listed as price subject to change. So I don't think the decorations will be included.

I also just booked Juan as my photographer. It takes him a few days to respond but he always gets back to me. The way I read his packages I think you only get the print rights on whatever is on the CD. So on #1 or #2 that's only 36 pictures. That's just my opinion, I don't know this for sure. I went ahead and got the 5 hour package, photography is my only splurge!

What kind of dress is everyone getting? And does anyone have any experience or opinions on getting a replica dress made from china? I've been looking at eBay and dressilyme. I want to do a TTD, and I'd feel a lot better about it if my dress was under $300. Some of the ones I liked we're even around $150!!
 

Originally Posted by amberh1884 

BeachBride, I can't believe how rude some of your guests are being. I'm surprised you haven't snapped at them! Lol, well I do think they will be in for a rude awakening if they show up with the kids because I think they will just tell them flat out no. I don't think they will let them in honestly.

Is anyone else having trouble getting Juan to email you back? He emailed me right away initially, but after I asked him about the printing rights on package #1 he has not responded and I sent him another just to make sure he got it. I went ahead and booked #2 with Cecilia because I was worried but I would love a clear answer from him so I could book #1 if I could print them. Agghh, well at least I have this forum to help answer my questions! It really is awesome. 

Also, does anyone know if the gazebo comes with the white cloth on it? I just realized I didn't know if that came standard? I really don't want a plain gazebo, lol!

 

 

[kaitcampbell]

Hello fellow Secrets brides! I am getting married June 26th and can't wait!! Any June brides out there? We are doing the Ultimate package and added the resort DJ, dance floor, flowers, and chinese laterns. I think that is it. Plans are still in the works. Our ceremony is at the gazebo, cocktail hour on the beach, and reception at the barracuda terrace. We are also doing the beach bonfire for our rehearsal. Has anyone done the beach bonfire? We don't really know what to expect. We hired an outside photographer - Cecelia Dumas. So far she has been a pleasure to work with. She sent me a ton of pictures from other weddings she has shot at Secrets and they were gorgeous! Has anyone else used her?

 

BeachBride - That is so stressfull your guests are acting that way. I had my site visit at Secrets a while back and I can tell you they are very strict about their adults only policy. There are multiple check points on your way into the resort and then there are also staff member to meet you when you pull up. That is the only way in and really no way they will be able to sneak in their children. So no worries! Even if they try to bring them, its very unlikely it will work out for them.

[AnnieWeds]

sillygirl702, I agree that paying for your brother and BFF only is totally fine.

We were also figuring it similarly when we sent out our invites, but it turned out more people are just not staying at the resort.  Which is sad because the whole point is to be able to hang out with each other a few days before and/or after the wedding ceremony.  Now it just seems like everyone is coming for the wedding and then leaving to do their own thing.

I guess we should jave gauged our potential guests' willingness to stay at the resort prior to picking it or deciding on a destination wedding in the first place.

 

@everyone... did you all know ahead of time that everyone would be ok with staying at SMB?  I feel like if we paid for a night's stay at SMB, then people would consider staying at the resort.  Is anyone out there paying for a portion of their guests stay at the resort?  We don't have that kind of budget and I haven't heard any concerns like this on the forums.

 

Feeling so frustrated...

 

Originally Posted by sillygirl702 

So if 80% of your guests don't stay at the resort, is it not allowed?  or do you have to pay an extra fee?  

 

As far as day passes, this is what we are doing...

We are sending out 16 invites (+1 guest each so it would be 32 people)... We figure about about 8 may rsvp (+1 guest each so 16 people) but of the 8 we think 4 may stay at the resort (+1 guest each so 8 people) &  4 other couples may stay in Playa Del Carmen.  We are going to pay the day for the 4 invited people not staying at the resort, but we are asking the guests to take care of their fee.  I can't bring myself to pay $100 for my brothers girlfriend of the moment or my BFFs guy of the moment, but I'm all for paying for my brother & my BFF.  Does that seem rude? 

 

[beachbride2013]

Thanks everyone for the responses. I spoke to my fiance and he said he is going to address the issue and finalize it. There is no reason for someone to add this extra stress to our big day. I'm really glad. He said, he is just going to have a serious conversation about it.

 

@Annieweds: We really didn't know who would come and who wouldn't. We originally thought we would for sure have less than 10 people including ourselves. So, we asked our mothers and my fiance's brothers/sis-in-laws about a destination wedding. I knew I wanted Secrets because I had already done a ton of research and I just knew what I wanted! But, we basically told them we had a few places in mind, but one was a little pricey and didn't allow children. They all said it was fine so we just booked before anyone could change their mind. So, I guess people were okay with staying at Secrets. We have offered to pay for half of two of our guests trips(just our moms). One mom declined the offer and the other one is taking us up on it. Other than that, we just can't afford to pay for anyone else and are not offering. We just made it clear to everyone that we understand if they do not come. We gave a pretty short notice about our wedding plans. But in the beginning, I thought that 80% of guests had to stay at the resort, so we pretty much relayed that info to our guests, so they all pretty much booked. There are six guests that are not staying at the resort and we are not paying their day passes. I understand your frustration though. We were really frustrated that those 6 people weren't going to be there to hang out with us while they are there. We have even had some guilt because we chose a place that a lot of people probably can't afford or simply don't want to pay even if they can afford it. It's a lot of money to dish out, that's for sure. 

[anikah]

Hi Ladies,

I am getting married at Secrets on May 27 of this year and I have LOVED reading everyone's posts. Our guests are in the booking stage of the process right now and I am SO excited to have folks sign up and finally officially know how many people are coming so that we can get to planning.  I'm really interested to hear more about your site visit Kaitcampbell.  Did you get to meet Valeria or Cecelia?  How long were you there? Did you get to see any weddings while you were there or bonfires?  What did you think of the hotel and all the sites?

 

We have booked a bonfire on the beach the Friday night and are hoping to plan some kind of boat trip on Saturday for everyone.  (Sunday is the wedding, since its over Memorial Day weekend).  Has anyone heard anything about available excursions?  We would love to do a boat ride with maybe lunch and some snorkeling.  It would also be fun to have birthday cake to celebrate the four birthdays of our friends and family that are happening over our wedding weekend.  If anyone knows any details about booking such a thing for about 40-50 people, I would love to hear any information. 

 

We are doing our Sunday wedding in the Gazebo and then cocktail hour on the beach and the reception back at the Gazebo Terrace.  I am very surprised at how much lighting costs, but I think we are going to go with the lanterns - they are so elegant!  I still need to figure out if we are going to try to make craftsy centerpieces here or just bite the bullet and spend the money on floral arrangements at Secrets.  I think my mom is going to try to make the chair bows here and bring them down (and maybe some table runners).  Obviously, I'm in full decorating mode!  What are you other girls thinking for decorations?  What colors are you using for your weddings?

 

I can't wait to hear back from everyone!

Anika

 

PS Beachbride, we are getting married on the same day!  When are you arriving?  So exciting to get to plan for the same day!

[beachbride2013]

Hi Anikah! We are arriving on Wed the 23rd. We are getting married at 3:00 pm and are doing the beach bonfire on Saturday night. I really wanted to do it Friday, but we have some guests who will not arrive until Saturday. Oh well. Saturday will have to work. I am also going to do my own chair bows. I will probably do my own centerpieces as well. I have already purchased a bunch of stuff and put a few ideas together. I am just going to ship it all down before I go. For my colors I am doing a turqouise/aqua blue, silver and white.

[jfremin25]

Does anyone know how strict SMB is on the 18 and older rule? My FI's sister will be 17 at the time of our wedding and we really want her to come. My travel agent said that most of the time they don't check age if you look old enough. Does anyone know anything about this or the check-in process? Do they ask for your passport or just the person who the room is registered to?

[bpokatie]

Hi! My travel agent said the resort is really strict about the 18 and up rule. Luckily my sister just turned 18, so she made the cut. I don't know if the resort checks your age when you get there, but my travel agent wouldn't even book a room if someone was under 18 years old.

[ckrn]

Hi ladies, I'm on the plane right now headed down to do our site visit. If I find Internet I'll try and log in and update everyone. Today I'm doing my hair/ makeup trial with Adrian from the styling trio, then meeting a florist from Playa Del Carmen, tomorrow I meet with Cecilia at 11 and we also meet with the DJ and the photographer. I'm also going to talk with the florists there. In trying to figure out if it's cheaper to use an outside vendor. So excited!! --- I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=29.984336,-95.333041

[KCDawn]

I'm looking forward to hearing what you find out with the flowers!  I've been debating whether to get an outside florist because of the resort's prices.  Of course, the more outside vendors we use the more coordination I have to do which is what I was trying to avoid with the destination wedding  

 

Originally Posted by ckrn 

Hi ladies, I'm on the plane right now headed down to do our site visit. If I find Internet I'll try and log in and update everyone. Today I'm doing my hair/ makeup trial with Adrian from the styling trio, then meeting a florist from Playa Del Carmen, tomorrow I meet with Cecilia at 11 and we also meet with the DJ and the photographer. I'm also going to talk with the florists there. In trying to figure out if it's cheaper to use an outside vendor. So excited!!
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I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=29.984336,-95.333041