And the Search Begins...

[adelaide]

So...I was a previously "unengaged" poster but as of last Saturday I am officially ENGAGED!!!

 

I am so excited (I almost can't contain myself!!) but now I need help from you ladies.

 

We would like to get married in either late March or early April 2010. I'm thinking we are leaning more towards April at this point.

 

Here's where the help comes in...

 

I (a) need a property

I ( need some sort of plan - like some idea of how I should even start. I think I need save-the-dates sooner than later as I would like to give everyone lots of time to save. Other than that I am completely clueless. My friends all got married at home, I will be the first to do the destination thing so I am a bit out of my depth!

 

I will continue searching the forum but any advice you can give me would be SO appreciated.

 

We would like to have a smallish resort, AI, and under $1500 pp for 7 days. I adore Mexico, so that would be an option for us (even with the current situation - maybe we could get some good deals?!!). Other countries will be considered too!

 

Thanks in advance!

 

A

[josee]

Congratulations and welcome to the forum, I am sure you will find exactly what you want and that the forum will help you.

Good luck with your planning!!

[MarieSam]

Congrats Definitely look through the Cancun/RM section as many brides have posted their reviews and thoughts on different AI resorts in the area. I'm sure you can find plenty of suggestions in those threads.

 

Pricing really varies throughout the year and since your nuptials wont occur till next year the prices may fluctuate from now until then. Once you narrow down your choices definitely start looking for deals or like many others on here contact one of the great BDW travel agents to help you out!

 

The RM is a wonderful place, you are going to have an amazing wedding!!!

[TammyB]

Congrats on your very recent engagement, I can't believe you didn't share your engagement story with us. ;-) Best of luck in your planning process, the forum is a great resource.

[moult_22]

Congratulations and good luck on your planning!

 

I'm also from Ontario and started out with pretty much the same criteria as you (smaller resort, under $1500). We have settled on Royal Cataolonia Tulum in the Mayan Riviera for this December- it is about 250 rooms and in our price range (PM me if you want specifics- we haven't booked yet but I can tell you our quotes so far). I can't tell you much about weddings there but we visited in 2005 and found it a beautiful and unique property. If you are interested in anywhere else feel free to PM me, I've travelled to a few places in both cuba and dominican and we went through a big pros/cons list to decide where to get married (Samana in the Dominican Republic was our other main contender. It is also absolutely gorgeous however downsides are limited number of resorts to choose from and limited flying schedule- about twice a week from toronto).

Also if you're looking for a travel agent I would highly recomend Megan at Weddings by Oceans. She's out of Richmond Hill but we have done most of our buisiness with her through email or phone and went in to meet her once. We shopped around (as she suggested) with itravel, flightcentre and a few others and found the service wasn't comparable (it didn't help that those ones have high turnover rates and our travelagents kept leaving the companies!) price either, Megan and Lasia have been very helpful in fighting to keep our costs down.

Last bit of advice- don't get discouraged with your first round of quotes! I know through our first couple rounds they all came back $1500-2000 and it was pretty discouraging but they will come down and if that resort won't then there's lots to choose from!

 

Good luck!

Laura

[~Stephanie~]

Congrats! You must be so excited! Mexico is going to probably be your cheapest location, Prices for next year are only out through the end of March, you may have to wait a couple weeks to get pricing for April. Good Luck with your planning!

[RCBlondie]

Congratulations on your engagement! It is an exciting time so sit back and enjoy because the planning can quickly take over! This forum may prove to be one of your best resources since you can PM with actual brides who have tied the knot at some of the resorts you are looking at.

 

My finance and I are looking at RM as well. We have been there twice, staying at two different resorts, Barcelo & Sirenis (Barcelo was more our style but Sirenis is a bit smaller so not as many people there, which is nice). Another place to check for recent info on the resorts is TripAdvisor - another priceless resource. We booked our entire trips to RM, Italy and Domincan using tripadvisor to help narrow down our hotel choices. The feedback posts may not be directly about weddings but it still gives you a great idea of how the resort is doing in real-time feedback, i.e. rundown buildings, great staff, etc.

 

Again, enjoy the planning process. I felt (and sometimes still do) the same way you mention, not knowing where to start. Good luck!

Rachelle

[egsarah]

Congratulations on your recent engagement! That is so exciting.

 

What worked for me in terms of choosing a location was making a list of what was important for ME. I wanted an all inclusive that would cater to myself and my guests and if possible had a more private wedding setting available. I then made a list of pros and cons fo each resort that met my short list of "basic" criteria and then the Paradisus just seemed to fall out as the most logical choice for me. I used trip advisor a bit as well but DON'T let it drive you crazy. Go by the general consensus.

 

As for pricing..I agree with the other girls. Pricing will change for next year. I did work with my travel agent and she gave me a "predicted" price based on current prices and the the typical % increase she would see at that resort from year to year.

 

Other than that just check at the board. The ladies here are fantastic! You will have more ideas than you know what to do with in no time!

 

GOOD LUCK AND CONGRATS!!

[RCBlondie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by egsarah I then made a list of pros and cons fo each resort that met my short list of "basic" criteria and then the Paradisus just seemed to fall out as the most logical choice for me. I used trip advisor a bit as well but DON'T let it drive you crazy. Go by the general consensus. :

Your suggestion for making a list of what is important is a wonderful idea. I guess if you do not set your priorities it can drive you crazy when you are searching for the right place. Glad you mentioned Paradisus because my fiance and I are trying to find a resort that will have the vibe we want at out wedding and we may have just found it! I will look into it for sure.

[jk1101]

Congratulations!!!! Welcome to the forum as an engaged poster and good luck in all of your big decisions!