Excellence Playa Mujeres Brides Post Here!

[malyna]

@@EJanfsk

 

citrus salad - I really liked this, some people thought some of the greens was bitter

 

avocado soup - I thought this was delicious. Some people did not touch it, but that may be because they did not like avocado

 

entree - beef was tender and was good, i asked for the mashed potatoes w/o horseradish which they obliged, I thought the scallops were a bit fishy

 

cake - best part of the meal! all the guests kept talking about the cake days after the wedding was over, haha, we had a layer of chocolate, a layer of vanilla, and a layer of tres leches, yum

[calgarybride2015]

@@malyna

 

Congrats!!! OMG you looked gorgeous!!! Watching you pick your dress and shoes and such, it's so neat to see it come together. Loved your husbands shoes

 

And gorgeous resort.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[lloecker]

Hey everyone! 

 

I have been reading this site a while and have got a lot of helpful hints for my upcoming wedding at EPM!  I have had pretty good luck with my wedding coordinator thus far but I find it more helpful to get advice from brides first-hand.  So with that being said I have some questions and need some advice!  Thanks for any help in advance!

 

*  I am debating the wedding location.  The beach seems a little blah to me unless you want to spend thousands of dollars on decorations and flowers.  How is the gazebo?  I am really interested in the XLounge, which I saw a wedding set up on EPM's facebook page, but I have never seen any pictures from real brides there.  Any advice on that versus the gazebo?  I figured with the XLounge we could still have the ocean in the background.  And we will have a small number of guests (under 20) so space is not an issue.

 

*  I also need advice on reception venues.  I have heard a lot of mixed opinions.  The wedding coordinator only listed a couple of options - the spice terrace and CECO terrace.  Any advice on best location, especially for around 20 people?  We don't plan to have a dance at this point, so it would basically be the dinner reception and socializing.  I would like a nice, private area.  Outside and a  view of the ocean would be a plus!

 

*  Any advice on décor?  I really don't want to put much money into this, but I want it to be pretty.  Any advice on things you can bring yourself to save a lot of money?

 

*  Did anyone get their make up done at the spa?  I see people have given good reviews on the hair but I am curious about make up and eye lashes. 

 

*  Is the resort-supplied wedding ceremony music ok?  Or do you recommend to bring your own music?  We are just looking for the traditional wedding music.

 

Again, thanks so much!  I would love to see any pictures if anyone has them to offer!

[jessc2078]

Hi everyone! I just found this site and so glad I did. I found a post that asked the exact question I was wondering about but I haven't seen an answer to it. Our wedding is scheduled for April 18, 2016. We currently have 60 people booked. We have been to both ERC and EPC. My first choice was to have the reception at the Lobster House or Grill because I love that you are right over the lit up pool and have a view of the ocean. Mariana is our coordinator. She said that the Lobster House is usually closed on Mondays but of course told me that the venue cannot be confirmed until 30 days prior to the wedding. She also told me that with 60 people attending, the Lobster House would not be a good option because they use the restaurant's furniture and it would not leave enough room for a dance floor. Although I have not been to EPM I have seen many pictures of the Lobster House online and in my opinion it seems like there is plenty of room to hold the reception. It even says in the info packet that they sent me that it can seat up to 70 people.

Has anyone held their reception at the Lobster House? And if so, in your opinion do you think there is enough room for 60 guests and room for dancing?

My second choice is CECO Terrace but I am not thrilled about the look of that venue. It looks too secluded with no view of the ocean.

Any thoughts or advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

[EJanfsk]

Hi all, 

 

I just returned from my wedding at EPM. I had planned to have my ceremony on the beach but when I saw that spot compared to the stone gazebo, I changed my mind. They add curtains, a runner, and shells free of charge. The fountains around and the greenery along with beach behind you is great!

My cocktail hour was at X-Lounge. It's a great spot right at the beach. I didn't add anything there but saw other set ups after mine that had curtains. I would consider adding those if they would help with the wind. There were some girls that were cold because there was some wind. 

After that,  the reception was at CECO. It's a straight walk up from the stone gazebo. I have a friend who did bring centerpieces for me. Just some mason jars with lights wrapped around them. She had wanted to add floating votive candles but the wind didn't work with it. Cindy was kind enough to give us battery operated ones. I wouldn't change my choice of that spot for anything. It was perfect. I loved that it was a little secluded. It looks horrible with the fountains off during the day but my wedding was at night. The fountains were on and lighted. Absolutely beautiful. Still close to everything but private enough that you and your guests aren't disturbed. 

I had the Love Package and chose the rack of lamb for the main course. Everyone LOVED it and our crowd of mostly New Yorkers can be pretty picky. Even people who normally wouldn't eat lamb. I switched out the side that comes with it for the mashed potatoes. Our vegetarians enjoyed the salmon. None of this cost extra. Just ask Cindy for additional menu choices other than what she gives you from the start. 

Also, you should definitely pay for the DJ. I went to a wedding at EPC with many of the same people but without a DJ and it doesn't compare to the fun the DJ added. Totally worth the money as long as you give him a little guidance. 

The ONLY thing I would really change is using the resorts photographer. DON'T DO IT! I chose package 5 which comes with two photographers. This is a trick. The second photographer was only there to take the getting ready pictures. After which she was just an assistant. Our pictures came out horrible, it seemed like the photographer cared more about the background than us. I'm lucky to have the great memories but the pictures will forever be a sore spot. DO your research and find a different photographer. 

Let me know if you have any questions, happy to help!

[caaaate]

Just had my wedding a EPM on February 22, 2016 - I wanted to provide some details on my experience, but feel free to ask any additional questions.

 

Our wedding was fairly small, just 15 plus me and my husband. 

 

The resort is absolutely fantastic, we had friends and family arrive on Friday and Saturday, wedding was on Monday, everyone left on Tuesday and my husband and I stayed until the following Sunday.

 

My wedding coordinator, Mariana, was great. We had sorted most details via email before our arrival, and she was always quick to respond and update the wedding planner. Once we arrived on site, we met with her to review and finalize details and ask questions. We didn't have a rehearsal, but it wasn't really needed as Mariana was there to coordinate and give everyone their marks and cues.

 

We used the stone gazebo and had the room right next to where you enter from the garden (9066). You can choose to walk in from the garden next to the gazebo (it's a shorter walk) or walk down a paved pathway that is considerably longer.

 

I brought a custom cake topper and menu/name cards, and they were happy to accommodate.

 

The flowers, especially my bouquet, were gorgeous.

 

We used our own music - I just created a playlist with the 3 songs I wanted to use (bridesmaids, bride, exit) and it was used and executed perfectly.

 

We wanted to have our cocktail hour at the x-lounge, but there was a competing beach party that night, so we decided on the Spice Terrace - it was lovely and offered a comfortable breeze. Our reception was at the Ceco Terrace. When we first arrived to the reception, mosquitoes were a problem, but the resort provided bug spray and after about 10 min they seemed to disappear. The reception food was some of the best food we had at the resort; we chose the romain salad, the avocado soup, the beef tenderloin, and the jasmine creme brulee. We payed for the sound system but no DJ, and just brought a custom playlist that we set on shuffle - a microphone is also included for speeches, etc.

 

We used the resort photographer, and we got some good and decent and bad shots. My advice if you use the in house photographer is to have a list of shots you want to take, I regrettably did not do this, so we were kind of scrambling in the moment to make sure we got the shots we wanted in the time we had.

 

Overall I am very pleased with how everything was handled and executed, it was an unforgettable weekend.

Edited March 4, 2016 by caaaate

[cfb913]

Is anyone still using this forum? I'm getting married at EPM in November and I would love to have other brides to chat with!

[EJanfsk]

You should check out the Excellence Playa Mujeres FB group if you haven't already.  There are some members who have and are getting married at EPM.

I did in January.  I didn't have a great experience with the photographer.  IF you use them make sure you know exactly what you want and be vocal.  I let him take the lead and wish that I could retake photos.  I don't have anything frameable.  BUT everything else was amazing.  Know that you can choose other food besides the first menu options they give you.  They have a much bigger one you can ask for and you can pick and choose from.  I didn't have my ceremony at the beach, changed my mind when I got there and glad I did.  It's less windy at the gazebo which is very close to the beach. Also know that you have to have patience with the wedding planner.  Whoever it is will likely be extremely slow with her email responses to you BUT everything will be great!

I had 30 guests and we brought walkie talkies so we can keep in touch with each other while there.  Totally unnecessary but so much fun!

Happy to answer any additional questions!

[cfb913]

Thanks so much for the tips! We heard the on-site photographer wasn't great, so we are bringing our own. What time of day was your wedding? Did you use the spa to get ready, and if so, how much time did you give yourself to have your hair/makeup done?

 

The Excellence FB group...is that the basic FB page for the whole resort, or is there one specific to brides?

 

I love the idea of the walkie talkies, that's so smart!

[caaaate]

I used the spa and so did my wedding party (3 girls) and mom. All of our appointments (hair and makeup) started at 12:00pm and were done around 200pm. My wedding was at 5pm.