Secrets Maroma Brides

[MissFrench]

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!!!

Hi @@ShannonK!  Yes, Marvin at Maya Florals is very responsive and a pleasure to work with.  He just told me that unfortunately the only contract he has with Secrets allows him to provide flowers only...  I'm going to email Cecilia about this because I don't know if I want to work with Planner 1... While I understand P1 is a very busy company, it concerns me that it takes 2 weeks to respond to an email with questions. 

 

If I do use P1 it will be for the woven aisle runner mats and organza drapery for the beach ceremony (which Marvin said he could provide) and string lighting at the reception.  The cost of the mats that P1 quoted me is $232, $464 for the organza drapery, and $700 for the lights not including set up fees and freight.  Marvin quoted me $150 for the aisle mats and $200 for the organza drapery but I'm not sure if that's including the 16% tax that P1 is charging or setup and delivery.  Either way, if I have Marvin provide the mats and draperies it's over $200 in savings that I could apply towards extra flowers or something else.

 

I haven't decided if it's worth the extra money to have all of these little 'extras' since we're already spending more than I had planned and SM is sooooo beautiful just as is!

 

I know that @@KayRae used P1 and they did such an amazing job on her wedding!  I think @@FutureMrsNash is using P1 for decor except flowers and I'm excited to hear all about her and @@baezsolano's day! 

[KayRae]

Good Luck FutureMrsNash & Baezsolano!!!!! Sooooooooooooo close!! I'm so excited for the both of you!! :)

 

May the seaweed be at bay and the sun be shining brighter than ever!! I can't wait to hear how it all turns out!! I know it will all be perfectly beautiful to say the least!

 

Got our short film from Carlos so of course I can't help but share it because I love it so much! Brings me back to 3 months and 10 days ago It is such a beautiful place to get married! Best of luck to everyone again!!

 

 

[ShannonK]

Thanks for the info @@MissFrench! I will probably stay with P1, I keep telling myself that right now is prime time for weddings and they are inundated. I too was quoted 700 for 30 paper lanterns! I know you more than likely need them for lighting (this will be our 3rd visit to this resort)...I didn't realize there would be more added for set up and delivery though! That is the one expense that I keep going back and forth on. Wondering if only 20 would work and if any lighting is provided by the resort? I see light plants in the background of photos. We are doing the Ultimate package and will only have 14 guests.

[yuniedo]

Maroma brides, which travel agent did you use and were you able to get good rates through them?

 

There is a slight chance that I may not have any kids attend the wedding at Dreams Riviera Cancun and would like to move it to Secrets Maroma, if that will be the case - I love the resort, have been three times, once for a wedding, it's such a dream! But my agent is saying that it would be at least $1400 per person for three nights (based on double occupancy), more as we go up the room category. 

 

This doesn't seem to make sense since I just went on Maroma's website and it's currently on $1225 per person for the same three nights/based on double occupancy. Also, I'm going to Maroma again next week to do my site visit at Dreams and only spent $1000 per person for three nights. I am looking to get married end of February/beginning of March and am looking for rooms where check in in is Fri and check out is Mon. 

 

Can anyone weigh in on what rates they were able to get and what TAs they used?

 

Thanks!

[MissFrench]

@@yuniedo, I think it really depends on the time of year you're traveling and how far in advance you book.  We booked our wedding in late November (8 months before our wedding) through a local travel agent who created a room block.  The TA got us a group rate and our guests had 2 weeks to make their first deposit.  We ended up getting a double occupancy room rate of $769 for 3 nights but that was booking 8 months in advance.  I had originally wanted to get married during February vacation (I'm a teacher) however the costs were significantly more-similar to the quote you received from your TA, which is why we decided to wait until my summer vacation to have our wedding. 

 

I would highly suggest contacting a travel agent on this website.  They seem so knowledgeable with destination weddings and from my own experience, I wish I would have contacted a true destination wedding specialist before booking with my TA at home... we've run into some issues with her. 

 

Also, look into specials or offers (a TA should help you with this! Ours did not...).  The AM Resorts often offer complimentary cocktail welcome parties which we are not eligible for because we booked less than a year in advance.   You can also get a lower rate for your wedding if you choose to have it during specific times of the year. 

 

I hope this helps and wish you the best!   

Edited May 1, 2015 by MissFrench

[TammyWright]

Hey Ladies,

 

Just a heads up that the bride and groom fly free promo ends this month so if you do not have a TA, let us know how we can get you this deal.  Secrets Maroma is one of our favorite resorts and qualifies for this promo.  

 

In addition to the 3G group promo (book 5 rooms get the 6th free) we also have the bride and groom fly free promo as well as $200 in spa certs for the bride and groom.

 

You can read our reviews and contact us via the links in my signature.

[KayRae]

@@yuniedo

 

My aunt who is a travel agent did all of our booking for us. We were married on Saturday January 10, 2015. We had 22 guests. About 1/2 booked 5 nights, arriving on the Wednesday with us and checked out on Monday when we did (since we were leaving from there to go on our honeymoon), and the other 1/2 booked 4 nights (Thurs-Mon). I have copied and pasted the nightly room rates that everyone paid. Since we booked at least 10 rooms for our group, my husband and I got our honeymoon suite for the 5 nights basically for free. These prices are with all other taxes, etc. included. We had to pay $1000 deposit to hold the block of rooms, which we did probably in March or April before the wedding and then everyone had until November to pay the entire balance for their rooms. Hope this helps! 

 

 

Room Type:

 Price Per Person Per Night

 

Junior Suite ROH/Tropical View  SGL *

$350.96

Junior Suite ROH/Tropical View  DBL *

$304.22

Junior Suite ROH/Tropical View  TPL *

$301.99

Junior Suite Ocean View SGL *

$366.06

Junior Suite Ocean View DBL *

$319.31

Junior Suite Swim Out SGL *

$381.16

Junior Suite Swim Out DBL *

$334.42

Junior Suite Preferred Club Ocean View SGL *

$714.86

Junior Suite Preferred Club Ocean View DBL *

$357.43

Junior Suite Preferred Club Swim Out SGL *

$747.95

Junior Suite Preferred Club Swim Out DBL *

$373.98

Junior Suite Preferred Club Ocean Front SGL *

$913.36

Junior Suite Preferred Club Ocean Front DBL *

$456.68

Honeymoon Suite  SGL *

$1,216.85

Honeymoon Suite  DBL *

$608.42

 

[yuniedo]

@@KayRae @@MissFrench

Thanks so much ladies, I've reached out to different TAs and its been really helpful!

 

Does anyone know if Maroma allows regular candles or do they require LED candles?

 

It looks like I'll be a Maroma bride on May 14, 2016!

[KayRae]

@@yuniedo

 

Yay! So happy for you that you have finalized Secrets Maroma! I don't think they actually specified whether it had to be flameless candles or not and I never asked. In my contract with Planner 1 they charged for led flameless candles for the votives and larger ones for the lanterns. I'm pretty sure all the smaller ones were led but the lanterns had real candles in them. I liked the light they gave off but it seemed like they had all burned down kind of quickly, but long enough to get through dinner I guess. But it was so windy I don't think real candles would actually stay lit if not housed behind the glass of a lantern. Hope this helps! 

[yuniedo]

@@KayRae thanks for the response! I just met with Cecilia today and she confirmed that we can use both live and LED candles!

 

We put down our deposits and have actually even ironed out a lot of the details for our wedding next year!

 

For all the brides from 2015, and specifically brides recently, did you have a problem with the seaweed? I was at Maroma last year in April and the beach was spotless with no seaweed. But there is so much seaweed now! There are mounds and mounds and the hotel has a tractor and a couple of people out there all day trying to clean it up. But it's so sad watching them because what they manage to clean up would be replaced by more seaweed washing up.

 

I know there's no way to predict Mother Nature, seaweed is kind of like rain. But it makes me so sad thinking that the pristine beach which Maroma is known to be could be a seaweed infested ocean. It doesn't make a very nice backdrop, especially because we want to do our ceremony and reception on the beach

 

I did some research and it seems like this year has been really bad for the whole region. I'm just so worried it will be a problem again next year? I talked to the staff here and they were saying it's been an unusual problem since January, but it comes and goes every few weeks (there will be a few weeks of no seaweed and then a few weeks of endless seaweed). So there's just no predicting.

 

Does anyone know why there is so much season this year (hurricanes/weather/ocean current)?

Edited May 10, 2015 by yuniedo