Ocean Turquesa & Coral Brides?

[TropicLover]

Hey Toritrad!

 

I totally understand your frustration.  Literally anything outside of the package is an extra....you'll find that anywhere (here or Mexico, the OCT or Dreams) and once you tag the word "wedding" onto what you're looking for and the price is increased.  Don't forget that most of the price negotiating works best when you meet Ana/Karen at the resort.  I've added a few comments below that might help you.  Good luck with everything

 

Originally Posted by toritrad 

Hey girls, I just wanted to add a little bit regarding the cost of the wedding.  I'm starting to get a little bit annoyed with the way things are adding up.  I asked for the Paradise package which basically is supposed to include just about everything, from hair and makeup, to the ceremony, to the reception dinner for 40 people. 

 

For starters, the wedding coordinators send me all the information piecemill, several days apart.  Their brochures are so disorganized, it's so frustrating. Some are in spanish, some in English.  The Spanish brochures have slightly different information than the English brochures.

 

- What brochures are you looking for?  I might have something.

 

Also, if you want anything personalized for the wedding, such as votive candles on the reception tables, they will charge you.  $3/votive.  It doesn't sound like much but they seriously charge you for every stinking thing! I wanted to have my bouquet out of ranunculus and they said it would cost me $250!

 

- Word of advice on the $3/votive.  I paid for 33 votives (so ya $99) and not one would stay lit!  Lol, I thought the candle would be protected from the wind since it was submerged in the holder.  Nope none of them would light because of the breeze!  Even at the other outdoor restaurants the not-so-attractive hurricane glass holder wouldn’t stay very lit either.  The best advice I can give you is use the led candles and source out or bring your own frosted or colored glass candle holders.  That way nobody can tell they are fake unless they look directly into it.

 

With the flowers unless you are using what they classify a tropical flower (which includes randoms such as roses and irises) you will have to pay extra because they have to import it from another country.  For example, I really wanted purple centered calla lilies and had to paid extra to bring them in.  In Mexico they only have white calla lilies, which are technically called Alcatraz and are larger than a regular calla.  Anyway the lady who does the flowers is really nice and knows what she’s doing.  If Ranunculus are really important to you ask how you can reduce the cost of your bouquet.  This may mean pairing the ranunculus with cream roses or something along that line. 

 

Anything else you want to personalize, they referred me to Event 1 Planners. 

 

- Planner1 was pretty simple to work with.  If you want anything from them just let Ana know and she’ll make the arrangements…you don’t need to contact them.  We ordered gold chivary chairs and Christmas lights from them, which turned out to be really nice.  When it came to payment we just paid them through the hotel so it was fairly easy. 

 

Oh here’s some advice to all OCT brides.  I really liked the sandbags with the candles inside that Planner1 had, but trying to keep costs down I decided to pass on them.  To my surprise with our wedding and every other one I saw at the resort they had the candle/sandbags set up.  And we weren’t charged for it!  Ours were set up along the pool, but the weddings on the terrace were set up along the sides as a “barrier†to the hotel guests.  It was all glowy and looked really nice!

 

Also, I asked for the wedding to be held at sunset (before I realized the sun sets behind the resort.) Initially, that's what I thought I was getting but instead they are now telling me that the wedding is at 4pm-4:30pm. 4:30-5pm pictures, 5-6 champagne toast, 6-9 reception. Not horrible, but not what I really wanted.

 

- If it’s not the time you want then tell them what you'd prefer and ask them to change it.  We had our photographer arrive at 2pm and did the bulk of our pictures before our wedding (he was there until 10pm, but we continued our reception until midnight).  The ceremony was at 5pm on the Lobby Terrace.  At this time the hotel blocked the sun (on the terrace only), which made it more bearable for our guests and us because we weren’t melting in direct sunlight.   Remember that you’re paying for this wedding so if you’re not happy with the timing then tell them what you’d like.

 

I'm just bringing up these points because you should ask lots and lots of questions and get lots and lots of cost information before you agree to put down your deposit.  You should also expect that becuase there is a language barrier, they often do not answer the question you asked.  I have had to get my spanish speaking co-worker to call them for me so I can get the answer I really want!

 

- I had been working with resort for 1.5 years before our wedding (lol yes it was a semi long engagement) and learned when I simplified my emails and questions I received more direct answers.  Seriously don’t stress, I know it’s hard not to because I remember freaking out over the most ridiculous things...I just laugh at it now.  Once you get to the resort you’ll relax, slip into vacation mode and will just go with the flow…believe me.  On my wedding day I was super happy and calm.  I remember talking with my husband and we both agreed that we didn’t care how things flowed that day or how the flowers turned out (which were beautiful btw) because we were just happy to be marrying one another Sappy but so true!

 

If there's anything you have questions about, let me know.  Happy planning!

 

GOOD LUCK!

[toritrad]

Thank you so much for taking the time to respond to my frustrations.  The information you provided was very helpful!

Maybe you could just send me any brochures you have and I'll figure out if they are the same as mine!  Also, do you have wedding pics I could see?!?!

[leahbecker]

Has anyone used Gonzalo Nunez as a photographer. I would love to hear real brides' thoughts. Thanks!

[TropicLover]

Originally Posted by toritrad 

 

Thank you so much for taking the time to respond to my frustrations.  The information you provided was very helpful!

Maybe you could just send me any brochures you have and I'll figure out if they are the same as mine!  Also, do you have wedding pics I could see?!?!

 

Glad to help!  I'll go through my files and see what I can dig up.  I don't have any of my professional pictures yet (4 - 6 weeks) and the ones I do have are just from my friends taking random pictures of us or themselves and I didn't want to bore you guys with pictures of me, lol.  I'm honestly looking forward to seeing some of our venue shots because I feel like I'm forgetting.  Lol the only part of the ceremony I remember is looking at my husband...the flowers, aisle runner and chairs are all a blur.  Believe me when I get some pics I'll post away!

[Sandy Borie]

@TropiLover- Thank you for the update. That was super helpful. I don't really know what you mean when you say sand bags with the candles inside. What are they?  I think I remember seeing a white ball with a light in it. Is that it? 

[TropicLover]

Originally Posted by Sandy Borie 

 

@TropiLover- Thank you for the update. That was super helpful. I don't really know what you mean when you say sand bags with the candles inside. What are they?  I think I remember seeing a white ball with a light in it. Is that it? 

I really wish I had better pictures of our Reception.  Once I receive Sascha's I'll post away.  Anyway below is the best picture I could find that shows the "sandbags".  Lol I don't really know how else to describe them.  Our reception was at the Creperie and the "dancefloor" was outside of it by the pool.  This is us during our first dance

 

Okay so since that's not the greatest pic, here's one of us during cocktail hour

 

Lastly here's me and my maid of honor :-)

[leahbecker]

Tropic lover- thanks for sharing the photos. I too wasn't sure what you meant by sand bags... But it looks like a tea light candle in a small brown paper bag or something. Anyway, they look awesome. I really love your dress as well. How did you find the heat in a full satin dress?

[leahbecker]

And your bouquet is so pretty!

[TropicLover]

Originally Posted by leahbecker 

 

Tropic lover- thanks for sharing the photos. I too wasn't sure what you meant by sand bags... But it looks like a tea light candle in a small brown paper bag or something. Anyway, they look awesome. I really love your dress as well. How did you find the heat in a full satin dress?

 

Thanks Leahbecker!  They were totally tea lights in white paper bags!  Lol it sounds cheap, but it looked really pretty.

 

The dress actually wasn't that bad.  When I stepped off the plane I seriously thought I was going to die, but found it bearable after a day or two.  We were at the resort 5 days before the wedding so maybe I was more acclimatized?  I was sweaty underneath and used those oil blotting squares for my face, but I think the breeze help keep me cooler during the day.  Who knows maybe it was the wedding day bliss, haha

[Sandy Borie]

Thanks TropicLover for the pics! You looked sooooo gorgeous and everything looked beautiful. :-)