Excellence Playa Mujeres Brides Post Here!

[kdmccall21]

Hi ladies, thank you so much for always posting on here. I read religiously. I am getting married July 20th and have some questions for you!

 

What would you say the best cocktail/reception location would be? Im looking for a more outside feeling.

 

Photos! With the gold package, some pictures are included but I am upgrading. I contacted Blue Lens (from N) is that who everyone used? Or what do you recommend? They just got back to me and said that Juan is the only photographer at Excellence. But not sure who everyone used

 

I have a cost in mind. What would you say around about what it cost. I dont want to go overboard with upgrades and sort. I have 45 people coming plan on doing the gold package? If you can give me a ball park. with or without photographers? By the way they gave me a price of 2800 for two photographers for 5 hours all pictures included. I have no idea what is good and what is too much haha  but i would appreciate feed back so much!

 

thank you again for always posting.

[kdmccall21]

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[kdmccall21]

Hi Ladies im new here! I am getting married 7/20/12 and have some questions. I would greatly appreciate any feed back!

first- photographer, I have the gold package it says i get X amount of photos but upgraded thru Blue Lens. Did anyone else use them? they are telling me that Juan is the only photographer working at Excellence? is this true? they also gave me a quote of 2800 for 5 hours? is that long enough, it is with two photographers. not sure what is normal. Help!

 

Also what do you recommend for cocktail/reception location? I want an outside terrace perhaps feeling

who do you recommend for hair and makeup as well! Im lost. 

 

Ill leave it there for now thanks again

[May12]

HOLA!!

We are in Mexico and it is absolutely beautiful here!! We got down on Saturday and are staying at Casa Magna in Cancun while we run around getting OOT bag items and favors. So far so good! 7 of us are here now and it was a good option for those who wanted an extended vacation without doing an AI and can save a bit without staying at Excellence for the week. We check into Excellence on Tuesday am and meet with Nayeli and Juan Carlos.

Some info for everyone about Customs:

First, we had 9 bags with us, without a lot of other "stuff" we've bought down here...we were flagged immediately. We had to open all of our bags, some they looked in and zipped open things, some they didn't. Their main concern was really anything they deemed expensive or in mass quantities-to resell. We had 5 swiss army backpacks as gifts for the groomsmen-this was an issue. They also had some discussion about our raffia fans(we put fake flowers and ribbon on them)...funny, because that was the cheapest thing in there! They asked if we had a receipt for everything...HA!! When we said no, they moved on. The tums,headache meds, Emergen-C, sunscreen, mints, flip flop bottle openers, etc, we had assembled into those transparent fabric pouches you can find at AC Moore, so it didn't look as overwhelming. they zipped right through all of it. They missed the bridesmaids totes because they were buried. All of the other beach bags we bought here....thank god! Our cake servers, and some other "props" they opened but didn't do much with. They had 4 people looking in our stuff, asked how long we were staying and said if any of our other guests were bringing "gifts" aka OOT bag items, we may have to pay a tax. Now how they would know, I'm not sure, but I think it was their way of saying, "we're letting you slide". The REALLY IMPORTANT part of this process is to be SUPER nice and courteous. Tell them it's for your wedding and SMILE A LOT!!!  

[May12]

Hi and Welcome! We are using blueLens and meeting with Juan Carlos tomorrow. We met him in September when we did the site visit and have been emailing. It's hard to get a firm quote from him. I think what they do is follow you around from getting ready to after the dinner. Where they can charge more or less depends on what you want included in your package. The more pictures, the more $$. What's nice, is that they seem to work with you to customize what you want. This could be a good or bad thing...I'll let you know! We also asked him to take pictures of other "events" we have going on. He is going on our Tulum, Playa Del Carmen Excursion with 16 of us on Thursday and charging us $500 for the day with all pics on CD...perfect! (We're calling this the "End of the World or BUS Tour")  He is also taking pics of our Welcome cocktails with everyone on Thursday night at the X-Lounge for $200 with all pics on CD!

We are having our cocktail hour after the ceremony at the X-Lounge, and the Reception on the CECO Terrace. They will not confirm your reception location until about a month or 2 before the wedding date. It also depends on the size of your wedding, the time and who else is booked that day.

For hair and make-up, email the spa. They have been fantastic and will lead you in the right direction. I have a 1:00 hair appt for a 5:30 ceremony. Bridesmaids start at noon. They also set up a bunch of services for our group and have been a pleasure to work with...AND they get back to you usually the same day!  

Quote:

Originally Posted by kdmccall21 

Hi Ladies im new here! I am getting married 7/20/12 and have some questions. I would greatly appreciate any feed back!

first- photographer, I have the gold package it says i get X amount of photos but upgraded thru Blue Lens. Did anyone else use them? they are telling me that Juan is the only photographer working at Excellence? is this true? they also gave me a quote of 2800 for 5 hours? is that long enough, it is with two photographers. not sure what is normal. Help!

 

Also what do you recommend for cocktail/reception location? I want an outside terrace perhaps feeling

who do you recommend for hair and makeup as well! Im lost. 

 

Ill leave it there for now thanks again

[May12]

We have 3 different flavors...Rum and coconut on the first, vanilla and banana on the second, and tres leches on top. We're also having a "tree" piped on it, with flowers. (see pic) and we're not being charged anything. (and we have 31 people not 20-that they say the cake is for) We do have the gold package so that can make the difference....just keep asking how much EVERYTHING is along the way, and how much it would be with gold or silver. For us, we're saving a lot by doing the gold package. 

 

Originally Posted by Jass7 

So have any of you recently got cake info? I got one yesterday, and it seems to be 2nd and 3rd tiers are extra. The price is really steep. I'm going to verify with the WC. What a bummer!!!!

[May12]

Hi Sandytoes!

We've been to Excellence before, in September, and what I am seeing, is that the "conditions" are different depending on the time of year. Don't get me wrong, it's HOT, but not as humid as it is in September when we usually come down here.

As far as the beach, the locals call it Isla Blanca because after the hurricane in Cancun, it moved the powdery white sand there, and they had to rebuild the beach in Cancun. We saw seaweed last time we were there, but they do clean it everyday. The water is a bit deeper than in the Cancun Hotel Zone, so it is not as blue as it is here. (I'm here now) Beach chairs, floats, bali beds, hammocks, etc are all available for whenever you decide to plop yourself down on something. It's not like other resorts with fees and up-charges or fighting for chairs...nothing is reserved at EPM.

Restaurants are awesome! We really liked Basmati, the Indian restaurant, but they're all good...at least the ones we got to!

We had a swim up spa view last time and it was GREAT! Very private with the exception of the occasional guest floating by.  We have the EC rooftop ocean view for the week of the wedding....I'll let you know how that is when we get there tomorrow!

The menu is completely customizable! You can pull from different ones Silver, gold or both, work with the chef for something not on the menu, and change up what you want as a course. (We opted to not have soup so did an appetizer first) No additional costs for the gold package.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sandytoes615 

What is the beach like @ EPM? Is it rocky or mostly soft sand? Is it hard to get beach chairs?

 

What were your favorite restaurants? Do any of them require reservations?

 

Would you recommend a swim-up suite or roof-top terrace?

 

What are the BEST menu options for the reception? Are there extra costs involved over and above the SILVER or GOLD package prices?

[Jass7]

That sounds very yummy cake May12.

 

I'm going to check with WC, because the catalogue cake does make it sound like any extra tiers cost more for both Love and Gold package.

Originally Posted by May12 

We have 3 different flavors...Rum and coconut on the first, vanilla and banana on the second, and tres leches on top. We're also having a "tree" piped on it, with flowers. (see pic) and we're not being charged anything. (and we have 31 people not 20-that they say the cake is for) We do have the gold package so that can make the difference....just keep asking how much EVERYTHING is along the way, and how much it would be with gold or silver. For us, we're saving a lot by doing the gold package. 

 

[Sharon99]

May12 - I am so jealous & wish I was there still Congratulations & Best Wishes to you!

 

At EPM the sand is really soft unlike some of the other resorts in Mexico. No worries.

 

I had the spa do my hair and make-up, Sonia (sp?) and she really did an amazing job. I wish I could have brought her home with me lol A few curls came out by the end of the night but my hair is fine & thin and with the heat I expected it.

I did have a trial but it was a bit different the day of  & turned out better. The make-up was more and stayed on better too. She made me pic my make-up style from a book they have thats huge and for my hair I did not have a picture. I basically said curl it all to the side & she did whatever she wanted. Guess I am too trust worthy but it turned out great. 

 

I am not gonna lie, it was hot!!! But with all the excitement & everything going on it was fine & no one seemed to care (too much!)

 

We have been to EPM 2 other times both in September with no mosquito problem at all. I found it odd that it literally was from about 7:00 - 7:15 only. Even our photographers said they will be gone in 10 minutes. I am not sure if maybe because it wasn't super windy that day or what but it did not ruin anyone's time & were gone quickly.

 

I loved having our reception on the Spice Terrace. It was great. Nice views, private & the perfect amount of space for us. I know I said it before but the staff there really went above & beyond for us all. 

 

We had an ocean view rooftop terrace and loved it. However, next time we go we wont be getting that room. We usually do the swim-out but thought we should do the best for this occasion!

Here are a few of our pics (cant wait to see our pro pics!! That's the hardest part, the wait.) 

 

We had the silver package which comes with 24 photos. When we went to the photo booth to get them they said they took 65 pics & we could either get all 65 on a disk or pick out 24 pics to get printed which we did not want. We would rather the digital copies so they gave us all our photos on the disk. They came out nice but it was basically with a better digital camera. 

We also loved our photographers who even till today my mom is still raving about. I sat them with her & her girlfirends for dinner & they loved them so much too. If anyone is still looking into outside photographers use them!!

 

Room view on Terrace

 

Ceremony in gazebo

 

 

Cocktail hour in x-lounge with mariachi band

 

 

Us and our wedding party

 

 

Our cake which was delish!!

 

 

Picture of my hair

 

 

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sandytoes615 

Sharon99:

Welcome back! Glad to hear you had such a wonderful time!  Congratulations.  I have a question about the mosquitos.  When I've been to Mexico in the past, they've never been a problem.  Maybe it's the resort?  Do you have any recommendations for our dinner reception that's either partially indoors or completely indoors?  We liked the CECO terrace and the Lobster house the best...

 

[Jass7]

Originally Posted by Sharon99 

 

May12 - I am so jealous & wish I was there still Congratulations & Best Wishes to you!

 

At EPM the sand is really soft unlike some of the other resorts in Mexico. No worries.

 

I had the spa do my hair and make-up, Sonia (sp?) and she really did an amazing job. I wish I could have brought her home with me lol A few curls came out by the end of the night but my hair is fine & thin and with the heat I expected it.

I did have a trial but it was a bit different the day of  & turned out better. The make-up was more and stayed on better too. She made me pic my make-up style from a book they have thats huge and for my hair I did not have a picture. I basically said curl it all to the side & she did whatever she wanted. Guess I am too trust worthy but it turned out great. 

 

I am not gonna lie, it was hot!!! But with all the excitement & everything going on it was fine & no one seemed to care (too much!)

 

We have been to EPM 2 other times both in September with no mosquito problem at all. I found it odd that it literally was from about 7:00 - 7:15 only. Even our photographers said they will be gone in 10 minutes. I am not sure if maybe because it wasn't super windy that day or what but it did not ruin anyone's time & were gone quickly.

 

I loved having our reception on the Spice Terrace. It was great. Nice views, private & the perfect amount of space for us. I know I said it before but the staff there really went above & beyond for us all. 

 

We had an ocean view rooftop terrace and loved it. However, next time we go we wont be getting that room. We usually do the swim-out but thought we should do the best for this occasion!

Here are a few of our pics (cant wait to see our pro pics!! That's the hardest part, the wait.) 

 

We had the silver package which comes with 24 photos. When we went to the photo booth to get them they said they took 65 pics & we could either get all 65 on a disk or pick out 24 pics to get printed which we did not want. We would rather the digital copies so they gave us all our photos on the disk. They came out nice but it was basically with a better digital camera. 

We also loved our photographers who even till today my mom is still raving about. I sat them with her & her girlfirends for dinner & they loved them so much too. If anyone is still looking into outside photographers use them!!

 

Room view on Terrace

 

Ceremony in gazebo

 

 

Cocktail hour in x-lounge with mariachi band

 

 

Us and our wedding party

 

 

Our cake which was delish!!

 

 

Picture of my hair

 

Congratulations!!!! You looked gorgeous! I love your hair and how you trusted them to do it.

 

Thanks for sharing your pictures, it looks like you had a blast. And I didn't catch who was your photographer?