Secrets Maroma Brides

[MissFrench]

@@KayRae @@FutureMrsNash I love that there is some activity on this board!  I'm getting excited!

[KayRae]

@@FutureMrsNash

 

We didn't for the most part, although not sure if that is the usual thing to do or not. I know that my husband tipped his favorite waiter at the end of the reception but he was also really drunk by that time lol. I doubt that my parents did either if I had to guess. I think it would have been nice if we would have had more money to spread around since everything turned out so great but we were really broke going into it and still had the honeymoon ahead after leaving SMB. So I guess it's pretty much up to you - such a helpful answer I know 

@MissFrench 

 

Glad to be a part of it! And excited for you! I'm in the process of replying to you so should be sending today or tomorrow. By the way, love the inspiration pics and the theme you are planning! 

[baezsolano]

First of all thanks to @@KayRae, your post has been the MOST detailed of all 223 pages! You have reassured everything I am planning on doing! I think the most common things for everyone are trying to keep the cost down, how to travel with decorations and the group activities that we can have while at the resort!

 

@@FutureMrsNash

I am getting married April 25th, 3 days after yours! We arrive on the 21st so I will actually be there to see you wonderful wedding planning come to life! Maybe you can recycle some of your decorations with me!!? what is your theme, colors, etc?

 

I am just this month finalizing things with Valeria, she has been pretty prompt and explains everything well. we are having our ceremony on the beach gazebo and reception at the world cafe. We have not determined the cocktail hour location. What do you ladies recommend? Our group is a total of 34 (including us).

 

We are traveling with several decorations as I found planner1 events pricing to be a little too much for me.

I will have 6 silver lanterns

Canvas gift bags, with several goodies inside

Table overlays and chair sashes

Lots of ribbon

6 vases

Candles for lanterns

And a couple other miscellaneous items

 

The bridesmaids and parents will be helping us carry some of the stuff so I'm pretty confident that we will be able to transport everything I've bought so far!

 

@@KayRae and @@FutureMrsNash

What I am actually worried about is my hair and makeup. As you know this is included in the package. Was it convenient? Will it be just what I want?

 

What about for my guests. Of course all the girls are beginning to ask where they can do their hair, and really all I can say is contact the spa. But I wish I had more info on this.

 

What about the food that is included in the gold menu? Was it good? Although we get the gold menu, I think I like the silver menu options better! Could we possibly mix and match?

 

I saw you had certain flowers in mind but after the quote changed to roses. Is the rose flower going to be the cheapest I can get for bridesmaids bouquets? I will be using my bridesmaid bouquets as the flowers for center pieces so this is why I will be bringing my own vases.

 

Hope to hear from both of you soon. Maybe you ladies could pm me if needed.

 

5more weeks!

@@KayRae @@FutureMrsNash I love that there is some activity on this board!  I'm getting excited!

Very excited too!

[MissFrench]

@@baezsolano Congratulations on your upcoming wedding! The next 5 weeks are going to fly!

 

 

@@KayRae and @@FutureMrsNash have been so helpful to me and I know they'll help you with your planning as well!

 

Like you, I found P1's prices to be a little high and was less than impressed with their communication. I am using Maya Florals for my flowers and some decor. Marvin the owner has been a pleasure to work with so far! I am using mostly full garden roses, astilbe, and lambs ear for my flowers for an "airy vintage" look.. Marvin has lots of great advice and ideas and will help you keep costs down. My bouquet is going to be around $175 and $45-65 for bridesmaids, $20 for bouts, $25-35 small cocktail centerpiece or flowers to hang off ceremony chairs, and $65-$95 for centerpieces each including 3 candles. I am planning to rent additional candle holders from him for $20 a dozen. He also has hanging lanterns and the petate aisle mats that P1 has for a smaller rental fee. Maya Florals is a preferred vendor so no outside vendor fee is needed!

 

As far as hair and makeup goes, I have contacted a few stylists in the area. Although they are extremely talented amd have rave reviews, spending $500+ When you include outside vendor fees on my wedding day hair and makeup is not something I'm comfortable with. I am planning on doing a trial at the spa when I arrive since it is included and deciding from there. Just a suggestion, bring some photos of what you like to share with your artist. Are you able to have a trial at home and have the stylists take photos and write in detail what they did? Thats just an idea. I used to be a MUA and am capable of doing my own if all else fails but I'm trying not to worry about it too much!

 

I'm so happy to see another SMB Bride on here!

Edited March 19, 2015 by MissFrench

[TammyWright]

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[KayRae]

@baezsolano 

 

Congrats on the wedding!!! That is awesome that you will actually be there for Future Mrs. Nash's wedding And you're welcome for the details! I am happy to share my experience and hope that all of you up and coming SMB brides will also have the wedding of your dreams!! And I am sure that you will!! Knowing how it all turned out, it was definitely worth the wait and know for certain that we couldn't have chosen a more perfect way to celebrate our love and make it official!

 

As for cocktail hour...we had ours on the beach near the ceremony location. I don't have anything else to compare it to from my own personal experience but I thought it was very nice and don't regret having it there at all! 

 

Smart to go with bringing those items if that's what you want! I thought paying almost $500 for 8 lanterns was a little too much as well, especially when I only paid approx. $120ish for 6 and I got to keep them afterwards. Getting there wasn't really as big of a hassle as one might think and well worth it! I actually bought table overlays but then decided to go with dark wooden tables that were pretty without needing to be covered and just had lots of flowers - but all of the flowers were the same as those used for the ceremony, so was only charged a fee (10% of the flower cost I believe) to move them from the ceremony location to the reception. 

 

I didn't use the spa for hair & makeup. I went with Styling Trio. But I think Valeria or Cecelia had emailed me a list of Spa services and prices so maybe you can ask for that so that you can at least let people know how much they can expect to pay. My husband's step-mom recently told me that she had gotten her hair done at the spa for the wedding and it costs $75 if that helps give you a rough estimate of what to expect. She had a low "updo" and I thought it turned out nice. Didn't know at the time that she had it done there until recently, but I remember thinking that her hair looked nice & wondered if she actually did it herself lol. Actually one of the final deciding reasons I ended up going with ST was the convenience factor of being able to stay in the room and have mimosas, etc

 

Yes the food was good. And I had asked the same thing because I think we had an item or 2 from the silver menu. You ca substitute any item from a "lower ranked" menu for no additional charge...here's a copy & paste from our email correspondence that may help...answers from Cecelia are in purple...

 

Regarding the menu:

 

1.) Can we choose items from the Silver menu at no extra charge since our wedding package is priced for the Gold (assuming a higher rank than the silver).- yes you can choose from the silver or gold without extra charge.

 

2.) Is it possible to offer guests more than one choice for any of the courses, most importantly the main course? If so, how much extra would it cost?  (for example, surf and turf or chicken option for main course, or choice of surf and turf, chicken or grouper option)-we suggest to do only one option per course to avoid last minute changes and the fee related to those last minute changes.

 

3.) Could you please tell me which items are included in the Mexican Tapas Sampler appetizer off of the Gold menu? – Mexican tapas will include taquitos, tamales

 

4.) Is it possible to choose individual items from the Platinum menu, and only pay an upgraded price for the items chosen, rather than having to upgrade the whole menu to the Platinum price? – yes we can do it at $2 usd per person,. (Platinum menu items that we might be interested in if possible are listed below)

       Soup - lobster bisque

       Salad - shrimp Caesar (otherwise just planning on getting the traditional caesar salad off the Gold menu)  

       Desserts - creme brulee with fruit or chocolate brownie served with vanilla ice cream and berry sauce

 

 

I am not sure if roses are the cheapest but likely so unless you do something with more greenery and less flowers. Roses are considered local flowers vs. peonies, for example, are not and then the price goes up, up.

 

Hope any of this may help! Keep me posted with any future concerns or questions

 

Again - CONGRATS!!!

I am so happy to be able to share our wedding highlight video! Carlos Gallardo (Gallardo Films) is simply amazing!!!!!! I will be posting a full review soon (hopefully sooner than later)! Not only is he so talented and creative, he is truly genuine and warm hearted, not to mention a definite pleasure to work with! If I had an event here at home in the states that I wanted to make sure was remembered forever in the most beautiful way possible, I would seriously be willing to pay whatever extra it would cost to have him (& Sarani Estrada - Sarani Photography) fly over here to be able to capture it all! 

 

 

                           

Edited March 28, 2015 by KayRae

[MissFrench]

@@baezsolano and @@FutureMrsNash NEXT WEEK!!!!! Ahhhhh I'm so excited for you ladies!

[baezsolano]

@@baezsolano and @@FutureMrsNash NEXT WEEK!!!!! Ahhhhh I'm so excited for you ladies!

@@baezsolano and @@FutureMrsNash

NEXT WEEK!!!!! Ahhhhh I'm so excited for you ladies!

@@baezsolano and @@FutureMrsNash NEXT WEEK!!!!! Ahhhhh I'm so excited for you ladies!

OMG! Yes just one more week! So just today all the planning and contracts were finalized! Crazy how just a week before it got done!

 

Valeria was amazing with all the planning and answering all my unknowns. Planner1 ...... Well that's another story! Nevertheless it's all done now and I just wait a couple of days before we are in paradise!

 

Cants wait to see @@FutureMrsNash on her big day!

 

Ill be sure to post all my experiences on here after so future brides get an idea of what's to come, especially you @@MissFrench

[MissFrench]

OMG! Yes just one more week! So just today all the planning and contracts were finalized! Crazy how just a week before it got done!

 

Valeria was amazing with all the planning and answering all my unknowns. Planner1 ...... Well that's another story! Nevertheless it's all done now and I just wait a couple of days before we are in paradise!

 

Cants wait to see @@FutureMrsNash on her big day!

 

Ill be sure to post all my experiences on here after so future brides get an idea of what's to come, especially you @@MissFrench

Thanks @@baezsolano!  I can't wait to hear all about your big day!  xoxo

[ShannonK]

I am so glad I decided to check back on this forum and there is activity!!! Soo much information as well! Planner1 was prompt at first and sent their contract and suggestions...which of course I had a few questions regarding but I am receiving no response to my emails. @@MissFrench do you find Maya Florals more responsive.

 

Good Luck April Wedding Brides!!!