Grand Sirenis Riviera Maya Brides??

[MJKH]

Just wondering if anyone has ever talked to the WC about reserving spaces for a large group at one of the a la carts (well in advance of course) for a "welcome dinner"...which I guess would mean that you would be using one of the a la carts from each guests' allotment. 

[JacksonGrl402]

@MJKH

 

That is super helpful - thank you so much! The pics are awesome - looks like a great place for a meet & greet. Is the Mezcal side C or D on the map?

[MJKH]

D : )
 

Originally Posted by JacksonGrl402 

@MJKH

 

That is super helpful - thank you so much! The pics are awesome - looks like a great place for a meet & greet. Is the Mezcal side C or D on the map?

 

[Kbodchill]

@MJKH: We've talked to the coordinators about that and what they said was, welcome dinner = rehersal dinner. THey will set your whole group up in an a la carte but they told us they don't really book off whole thing. There will be people in the restaurant before and after you, probably. And since they're organizing everyone to be there for the rehersal I don't think they'd do it on another night... 

 

However, depending on your wedding size, if you choose a restaurant accordingly (some are smaller/larger than others)  you can arrange it so that it's prettymuch only your wedding guests!

 

[Kbodchill]

@jacksongrl: Hi there! When you first mentioned bars, my first thoughts were the beach and the poolbars, but this is really more of a daytime thing. If you were going for afternoon, I'd say the beach bar. For everning, I'd say the "Tequila" Lobby bar. While I do like the service at the Mezcal bar a bit better, I think there's more space on the Tequila side. (The Mezcal bar is almost underneath a spiral staircase so gets a bit cramped.

[MJKH]

Actually, you are right...with just the two of us, we always preferred going over to the Mezcal side...but for a larger group there would be more room on the other side.  Other than the lobby bars, all of the others are closed in the evening, right?
 

Originally Posted by Kbodchill 

@jacksongrl: Hi there! When you first mentioned bars, my first thoughts were the beach and the poolbars, but this is really more of a daytime thing. If you were going for afternoon, I'd say the beach bar. For everning, I'd say the "Tequila" Lobby bar. While I do like the service at the Mezcal bar a bit better, I think there's more space on the Tequila side. (The Mezcal bar is almost underneath a spiral staircase so gets a bit cramped.

 

[MJKH]

So do the wedding planners actually have a rehearsal with us at any point leading up to the wedding?  And do you mean that you get a welcome dinner for your group OR a rehearsal dinner?  I was wondering if, given enough notice, they would book enough space at a sitting for all of the guests (the entire a la carte doesn't need to be booked off) for the rehearsal dinner (which is included in our platinum package) AND a welcome dinner (which would mean our guests would have one less a la carte they would have to book)?  It's just that the chances of getting space for all 35 guests at an a la carte would be pretty slim I would think if we wait until we get there to try to book it.
 

Originally Posted by Kbodchill 

@MJKH: We've talked to the coordinators about that and what they said was, welcome dinner = rehersal dinner. THey will set your whole group up in an a la carte but they told us they don't really book off whole thing. There will be people in the restaurant before and after you, probably. And since they're organizing everyone to be there for the rehersal I don't think they'd do it on another night... 

 

However, depending on your wedding size, if you choose a restaurant accordingly (some are smaller/larger than others)  you can arrange it so that it's prettymuch only your wedding guests!

 

 

[JacksonGrl402]

@MJKH & Kbodchill: We are doing it in the evening, so think we will go with the Tequila bar. Thank you both for the input!  

[MJKH]

The Tequila Bar is the third picture at the end of my series...at the 4:00 position of that photo, you can see the "specialty drink of the evening" station with the bright light hanging above it.  If you walk out the doors directly in line with the wicker chairs, that is the theatre area.  They have nightly shows, and I think a couple of times each week they still have handicrafts and artisans in that area.  
 

Originally Posted by MJKH 

@JacksonGrl 402

 

Our wedding is at the GS and I think the meet & greet sounds like a great idea!  We've been trying to decide what to do as well...FI's daughter turns 17 the day we arrive, and his cousin (my BFF) is turning 30 that same day...so we'd like to celebrate those milestones as well (I'm hoping the WC will help us secure a birthday cake of some sort).  We could have everyone up to our suite, but at some point that first night we need to slip away and finish off our OOT bags and get them to the bellman for delivery.  So we decided against hosting something in our room...  

 

It's been about a year and a half since I was at the GS, but I'm thinking the only place that might work to do something like that would be one of the lobby bars (marked "C" and "D" on the map below).  They are GRAND open spaces...you can walk up to the bar to order or a waitress will come around.  Be sure to ask for some popcorn with your bevies (hopefully they still serve it there!  They don't advertise that they have it though.).  Every night they have a table at the front of the lobby bar with a drink special for the night...like one night might be a martini night...and you can always have champagne (hopefully that is still the case as well!)...as well as everything else the bartender can serve up.  One of the reasons we decided to have our wedding back at the GS is because of their lobby bars and how much easier it would be to have a large group mingle together for a lengthy period of time.  Every night they had music in the lobbies as well...jazz trumpet, mariachi...you name it!  It was amazing : )  We preferred the Mezcal side...but you just need to realize that, as far as I know, you are unable to reserve tables for any size groups...but just start pulling chairs together as they become available.  Hope that helps!

 

 

 

 

Here are some pics to give you a feel for the "vibe" in the lobby bars:

 

 

[Kbodchill]

@jacksongrl: No prob!

 

@MJKH: Sorry for the delayed response! We've got house guests over and things are crazy over here!

 

 

From the impression that I got, I believe there won't really be much of a rehersal (even at the `rehersal` dinner). I don`t think the planner goes to the dinner . I might be mistaken, but I think that they go over it with you when you meet with her to tie up all your loose ends prior to the wedding. This is fine with me, I just want things short and simple, personally

 

From what I understand, what they'll give you is one dinner at an a la carte of your choosing prior to your wedding with your entire group (this can be whatever you want it to be , rehersal, welcome dinner whatevs). The entire restaurant may or may not be booked off for that time slot depending on how big your group is and which restaurant you chose. We asked about doing a second group dinner but they said they wouldn't organize it. You'll just get the one.

 

AS you said, it would be pretty difficult to organize a second dinner by yourself for 35 ppl at the same time because of the limited timeslots available at the restaurants. If you want a second dinner, I would suggest to give all your guests a specific time to go to the main buffets (Tulum or Akumal, I believe) and just inform a server of your party size 10 mins in advance. There is always enough room and enough chairs there! It may not be private, but everyone can eat something they like at least!

 

Hope this helps!