Ocean Turquesa & Coral Brides?

[bluelenscaribe]

Hi Ladies!

 

Just passing and inviting you to come and check our web

 

http://bluelenscaribe.com/blc/category/blue-lens-caribe-news/

 

Contact us for more info!

 

 

 

 

 

[guilaine87]

Originally Posted by hlyon29 

 

@guilaine87 - Hi there! I wanted to introduce myself because my group is also flying out on April 28th (from Toronto - Air Transat) and our wedding is May 3! We'll be busy finalizing details at the same time! I haven`t received much yet from Ana/Angelica/Paula so if you have, do you mind sending it to me? I'll certainly to the same. Wishing you the best!

 

Hi @hlyon29 that is so exciting! It sounds like we will even be on the same flight! From what I understand there is only one flight that day, what a small world! I really haven't had much contact with the resort since November. Not because they haven't responded, but because I haven't contacted them too much, I actually meet a girl through some friends who got married at OCT last spring and said she (Ana/Paula) didn't really need answers on things she wanted until a few weeks before. I have decided wedding decided on package, we went with the paradise. wedding and reception location which is the lobby Terrace. However, I am starting to think about possibly doing the reception at le petite crepier.

 

How far have you got with your planning? I am a little stuck on the extra decor. I feel like the obvious things are called out like flowers, cake, dinner. but, I wish I knew how much they would charge for some extras like center pieces, paper lanterns etc and what types of things they can do. I am not sure at this point how much I want to bring down with me, but i don't want to spend alot to rent stuff.

 

are you hiring a photographer? If so are you using the resorts or are you looking at an outside one. I cant make up my mind on the photographer, i am stuck between two that are in mexico. Juan Navarro and Ivan Luckie.

 

If you want, send me a private message and we can chat some more.

 

Good luck!

Guilaine

[lbaker]

 

Wedding Review

Hello brides! I got married at OCT on January 19, 2013 and it was wonderful. Here is my review of all things OCT, but please feel free to contact me if you have any specific questions. Having access to this thread while I was planning was so, so helpful. I hope my review can help others! I will post pictures throughout so you can imagine our experience.

 

Resort = A

It was wonderful! My husband and I have never been to Mexico before this, or stayed all-inclusive, so we don't have anything to compare this to. But we both agree we would definitely come back here. The size is great--not too big, not too small. the staff is absolutely amazing. They're constantly cleaning and tweaking the grounds and facility, and this modern-looking resort was very attractive. It was clean, organized, and beautiful. Also, a few dollars can make a big difference in the service and attention you get.

 

Rooms = A-

We stayed in a Junior Privilege Suite, so we had Privilege status all week. That meant priority check-in, where they explained about the hotel and a butler escorted us to our rooms. They had a bottle of wine with fresh fruit waiting for us, along with our own beach towels, robes, sandals, and free OCT t-shirts. Our room had an outdoor shower and jacuzzi tub. We had butler service, so we had him fill the tub for us one night. I only rate this an A- because the jacuzzi took forever to fill. I'm talking at least a half hour because the water was so slow. It also wasn't very hot, so we didn't stay in it very long. My two nieces enjoyed a nice bubble bath, though! Room service was good, and only took about 30 min to arrive.

 

 

 

Check out this view from our balcony!

 

 

They tell you to keep the A/C on at all times, but note that it will automatically turn off if your hotel room door is open, or if your balcony door is open. We were on the 3rd floor and didn't feel like it was too humid. The whole region is super humid, so I suppose we got used to it. The bed was comfortable. The first night we didn't like the pillows, so we ordered different ones from the pillow menu (they really have that!) for the next day. We also had turn-down service, where they left chocolates and towel animals on our bed each night. The mini-fridge was convenient, and it was restocked every day (not by the maid, but the butler, so be sure to tip them separately).

 

Makeup and Flowers = B

One of my guests did my hair, but Vicky at the OCT spa did my makeup. I really like how it turned out. Dramatic, but still pretty. I give this a B because the flowers didn't turn out exactly like I had hoped. I had asked for an orange, purple and yellow bouquet. The day of the ceremony, the flowers were late, and were more red than orange. Ana asked if that was a problem, but I really didn't mind. They still looked nice, and it wasn't anything to get worked up about. The boutiounnere (sp?) was nice, but larger than we expected.

 

Ceremony = A+

Our symbolic wedding ceremony was held at 4pm on the rooftop terrace. We had 28 guests. Originally we planned to use the lobby terrace for the ceremony, because emails with Ana said the rooftop terrace wasn't available. But that changed when we had our meeting with her the day after we arrived. We had our choice of locations, so we moved the ceremony to the rooftop terrace, which was more private than the lobby terrace and beach. I brought tulle chair sashes (OCT provides the white chair covers), wicker fans, programs, and sand ceremony pieces. I just gave it all to Ana in our meeting, and they took care of setting everything up. One of the vases I brought for the sand ceremony broke in transit, but she had backups we could use. She was really, really helpful.

 

The minister was fantastic! She was very well-spoken, and included a lot of little personal tidbits about us in the ceremony. Lots of our guests said it was the most touching ceremony they've ever been to. We all laughed and cried. OCT was so good about allowing us to customize the ceremony, so it really was ours. We had one processional song (Somewhere Over the Rainbow by Israel Kamakawiwo'ole), a sand ceremony song (My Own Two Hands by Jack Johnson and Ben Harper) and a recessional (Wouldn't It Be Nice by The Beach Boys). I chose an opening prayer (read by my sister), a reading (read by another sister), a blessing of the rings (read by the minister) and a sand ceremony script (read by the minister). All of it was incorporated into the ceremony seamlessly by the minister. We got a lot of compliments about her.

 

They had a sound system set up, and we just used a playlist on our iPod. The sound system included a microphone that the minister used, so everyone could hear very well. Ana had champagne ready for all the guests at the end of the recessional, so we could do a group toast.

 

Here are some photos of the ceremony.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dinner and Reception = B+

Our dinner was held at 6:30 on the lobby terrace in the square set-up. When we arrived, the staff had created a signature purple cocktail for everyone, which was a nice surprise. We were able to make final decisions on our menu the day we met with Ana. Course 1 was balsamic salad with feta cheese, then guava and Mezcal sorbet, followed by surf & turf (which was excellent! Several guests said it was the best shrimp they've ever had), and then coffee and petit fours. I dropped the grade on this down to a B+ because our cake was still partially frozen when we did the cake cutting. It made for a good laugh, though.

 

The staff set up mini maracas that I made myself, with tags that said "Instead of tapping on your glass, here's a method with Mexican class. Grab and shake with all your might, for Aaron to kiss his bride tonight!". As guests shook them, we had to kiss. I also brought dinner menus. Other than that, we didn't bring any other decorations. We felt the setting was beautiful enough. They brought our chair sashes from the ceremony to the dinner table. The hotel did provide candles and little pink crystal table decorations, which we didn't order and was a nice surprise. The servers were great, and offered wine to all guests, too. They set up a private bar for us on the terrace, so we didn't have to go in and out to the lobby bar for drinks.

 

We didn't spend extra money on a DJ, and instead made our own dinner and dance playlists on an iPod. OCT provided a sound system and a staff person to run it. That worked out just fine for us. The lighting on the lobby terrace is a little harsh, so your photographer may need to adjust for that. After our three hours were up, we did not extend the private reception. Instead we all went down to continue the celebration at the pool bar, where they had a live band playing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

These are just a sampling of photos. I have hundreds more if there's anything specific you'd like to see. Again, I am happy to share any additional information if you have questions--just ask! Good luck to all of you in your planning. I think you'll love that you chose OCT.

[Jessica F]

Hey everyone!

 

I thought I would introduce myself as I have gone through almost all 184 pages of this thread lol. My fiancé and I are getting married at the OCT on September 6th, 2013 and we're very excited!! All the posts have been so helpful. Has anyone gotten married there in September??

 

Congrats to everyone too!

[acd8809]

Originally Posted by Cupcake 

 

I have not heard anything. She said she doesn't work with animals. I do have a lead where to find one. If it pans out I will let you know. My groom also wants the donkey badly. There was a bride on here that has had one there she got it thru a another service. I'll keep you posted.

Cupcake, I can't remember if I replied to you or not regarding the donkey (I have wedding-on-the-brain, lol).  Ana said no live donkeys are allowed, but she will try to find us a "fake donkey" (whatever that is), and see how much it would cost.  Weird!

 

Amanda

[email protected]

2/11/13

[Jessica F]

Has anyone used the hotel photographer recently? I know there have been horrible reviews ..but I was wondering if they have improved??

[Yanick Demers]

I've used them and maybe we were just ''lucky'' but it was a wonderfull experience. I have over 300 pictures and most of them were just awsome. Here's the link to view a sample.

 

http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/g/a/107453/default/

[swabbett]

@Josie Fiorda, thanks for the input / tip!

 

@ggallo, I'm actually getting married on May 25th, so unfortunately I don't think we'll cross paths=(  Thanks for the heads up on reserving early though, I've already started the hard press to at least reserve our key locations and times.  Hopefully we can get that locked down for piece of mind.  Also since you're only a few weeks before us I'd psyched to get your impressions on how things went if you have any time.

 

Also I have one more generic question if anyone can help me.  I got an email from Anna a few weeks ago that said the following:

 

 

Thank you for your email. I am sorry if you have not hear from Angelica, she is not longer work for the company.

 

I am CC this email to Paula, she will assist you on the wedding details. [email protected]

 

See package 2013.

 

Best regards,

 

Ana Bautista

 

 

My questions are does anyone know the actual roles of Ana and Paula and who is best suited for certain questions or information?  It appears Ana is the person most people are cycling questions to but in this email Ana appears to be sending me to Paula for assistance.  Is Paula a helper for Ana or something?  Also has anyone had any luck speaking to Ana or Paula directly over the phone?  If so is there a specific time of day or day of the week that I might have a better chance of reaching them directly?

 

Thanks in advance for any input, I know getting answers a few months before the wedding is tough, but I also want to make sure I'm not barking up the wrong tree.

[Jessica F]

Hi Yanick! 

 

Thank you for sharing your pictures, you looked absolutely beautiful! Your pictures are giving me more confidence in going with the hotel photographer as the outside photographers are pretty pricey.Did you take one of the packages that comes with the photo album?

 

I noticed you're from Quebec, so am I (more specifically, Montreal). What travel agent did you use?

[acd8809]

Originally Posted by ajhutch 

 

@acd8809 - Your last concern in your post was my exact concern and deciding factor as to whether we were going to book a dj outside of the resort.  We are having a group of only 25 people but I really want to make sure things run smooth and flow without any of my guests feeling like they have to MC and keep the flow going etc etc.  I emailed 2 different DJ's that I found online, both were within $25 of eachother and ultimately we chose to go with DJ Bob ( http://weddingdjrivieramaya.com/ ).  From the reviews it just seemed like he would be very outgoing and a fun person to keep things moving for us and interact with the group.  The other DJ that we looked into was http://www.mayanvibes.com/testimonials.htm .  Both seemed to have great reviews on how they could read the crowd and keep the party going but DJ Bob had the additional outgoing MC part that appealed to us.   

 

I don't know if you intend to add the additional hours onto your night but we are going to have our reception from 7-12 (paying for the additional 2hrs for the dj). When we calculated the cost for booking DJ Bob, with the vendor fee, the price was VERY similar to the cost the resort would have charged us for an unknown DJ with the additional time.  I hope that helps you with your decision...

 

Hi ajhutch,

 

After reading your post I decided to contact DJ Bob I  ( http://weddingdjrivieramaya.com/) for our reception .  From his website, he does look like a fun-kind-of-guy who would keep things rolling with the guests. He would fit into our budget, and he is available on our wedding day.

 

There is only one problem that I noticed while reading his email: DJ Bob stated, "Because of my equipment I can't play out in the complete open or in the sand. I strongly suggest you have the dinner/reception in an area that you won't have to worry about the weather so you can relax and enjoy."  Our reception is not on the beach, so that is not a problem. However, being out in the "complete open" is a problem.

 

Where are you holding your reception?  Is it in one of the inside ballrooms because this DJ won't play ourdoors? Our reception is outside on a terrace, which I would consider a "complete open space."  I know most reception at OCT are "in the open," and an indoor reception is usually a back-up site just in case of bad weather.

 

I was just wondering if your reception, like most, is "outside." If so, how did you get DJ Bob to agree to DJ your reception in the "complete open?"  From his email, it sounds like he will only DJ under a covered roof...

 

Thanks!

Amanda   [email protected]