New, looking for cheaper Cancun wedding (but still nice!)

[Ben]

Hi,

 

My name is Ben... me and my lovely fiancee are getting married next January (2010) and are looking for an economical place for the big day either in Cancun, Mayan Riviera, Playa Del Carmen, or any of the surrounding areas. I have been searching tripadvisor for places and have found a few, unfortunately all the ones we are interested in have been very expensive. We have to keep it near that general area, because we have a timeshare at the Palace resorts where we have 4 prepaid vacations, so no doubt we'll be going for our honeymoon (Sun Palace, yay!).

 

Anyways, any suggestions? We don't want ghetto, like a Riu Caribe (no offense to anyone who may have got hitched there, we just really weren't impressed when we went this last winter with some friends!)

 

Our main concerns are privacy and ceremony location, we aren't too fond of the idea of having 100's of partyers nearby for our big day, although hopefully they would be respectful if it does come to that. We really want something nice, and even if we have to leave the resort for the day and go somewhere else, well that is also an option...

 

I've been to the Moon Palace, and that would be ideal, but that would definitely cut most of our guests out of the picture... and I know that you should plan your big day for what YOU want, but one thing we definitely want is as many friends as possible and like I said we are probably going for a 1-2 week honeymoon right after at some really nice places so if we have to stay at a less expensive place for the ceremony itself then so be it.

 

We just want something decent...

[MomentsThatMatter]

Congratulations Ben! It sounds like you guys have been there a couple times. I would image that Cancun would be out if your looking for something more intimate.

Best of luck with all your plans.

[MomentsThatMatter]

Congratulations Ben! It sounds like you guys have been there a couple times. I would image that Cancun would be out if your looking for something more intimate.

Best of luck with all your plans.

[cdc0427]

What did you think was "ghetto" around Riu Caribe

[dinogomez.com]

Welcome to the forum and congratulations!!!

[O'Driscoll Photography]

Congrats and welcome, Ben!

 

Best wishes,

Tod

[Ben]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cdc0427 What did you think was "ghetto" around Riu Caribe

Hi, later after I wrote that, I wanted to actually edit it but I couldn't find the edit button. I guess it disappears as soon as someone replies to it... Its definitely not "ghetto" haha, I've stayed at much worse. There are things I really didn't like about it (especially for a wedding) but as someone else pointed out these things probably exist in most of the Cancun destinations.

What I absolutely hated though was where the wedding setup was, right beside the main (and very busy) lunch buffet. And on the other side is a hammock area and more beach, with like a volleyball court and stuff. I'm not sure if they get people out of there, but it really wasn't private at all, and there is a seagull problem I'd say a lot of days at that buffet... I don't know, its just way too busy for my liking. And after the wedding is over, they walk you through the entire court and the swimming pool areas... we saw one doing it there, they seemed really happy, and good on them, but we want something a little more intimate.

As for the rest of the hotel, the food is mediocre (I'm not expecting the moon at an AI but its worst then the last Riu I stayed at by a long shot!). The rooms aren't that nice either. One whole side of the hotel is facing a construction zone (the side they gave me), although obviously there isn't much they can do about this. I don't know, it didn't scream class to me. It really was what it was, a 4* tops but probably more like 3 1/2. Not that I would NOT recommend it for a fun vacation (I have fun wherever I go down South with friends), but I wouldn't for a wedding to be perfectly honest.

If you want great bang for the buck, well more for my taste anyways, check out the Riu Jalisco in Puerto Vallarta. Their wedding setup is AMAZING, much more intimate, and the hotel itself is just a lot nicer (and probably the same price range as the Riu Caribe / Riu Cancun). I know its in a completely different part of Mexico though. We already went for a wedding there, and if the bride of that wedding wasn't coming to our own, we probably would have used it haha. A lot of the same guests though, so we wanted to go somewhere new at least. Having big problems finding it though!

[Ben]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MomentsThatMatter Congratulations Ben! It sounds like you guys have been there a couple times. I would image that Cancun would be out if your looking for something more intimate. Best of luck with all your plans.

Its looking more and more like that, yes! We had some intentions on maybe checking out Dreams, but I have a feeling that will be too expensive for what my guests can afford.

Do you have any suggestions? Obviously you must have seen quite a few resorts... we are looking for something nice, and yes, a lot more intimate. Moon Palace comes to mind as an example but more affordable. We found one that looked interesting (can't remember the name now) but its closing in April 2009 to be torn down for some condos

[dolfinluck]

Congrats and welcome to the forum!!!

[Kathie]

Hi. Welcome to the forum!