Grand Sirenis Riviera Maya Brides??

[Prometida]

HoW was your wedding? Any comments or tips for us that are next in line ? thank you 

Prometida

[MJKH]

I'm working on it!!! : )  Still waiting for the pro pictures too.  
 

Originally Posted by Prometida 

Hi MJKH
Did I missed your wedding review?. I was wondering how it went and if you have any tips to how to deal with things there ?
Prometida

 

[LJMedic]

Thanks MJKH,

                            I knew they had to wear sleeved shirts and long pants and I just couldnt recall if the shoes had to be closed toes, thanks for the link. All our wedding party men are earing leather dressy flip flops so I am sure that will be fine;) Looking forward to hear how youe wedding and trip went, congrats again.

 

LJ

Originally Posted by MJKH 

Yes, for the women pretty much anything goes except beachwear.  We certainly saw men turned away who were wearing shorts and capris.  If you join this FB group, I posted exactly what it says on the reservation slips for the a la cartes while we were staying there.  Sandals are fine for men.  If I recall correctly, it also says no sleeveless shirts for men.

 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/5987048236/

 

 

 

[MJKH]

They'll be fine...my honey wore sandals to every a la carte and never had any issues.

[JasmineClark]

Hi everyone!
I'm still trying to decide which resort to get married at. Are there any non-beach ceremony locations at this resort, besides the chapel? 

Thanks!

[MJKH]

Ok, so just to clarify (as most people want to get married at/near/on the beach)...are you looking for an indoor ceremony site and/or one indoor site to have your ceremony and reception (like completely closed in, four walls and a roof)?  Or do you want an indoor venue with views out to the beach/ocean?  Or do you want just an alternate/covered venue in case of rain?  

 

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong, but I can't think of a strictly indoor venue at this resort for a ceremony.  I suppose you could ask the wedding planners if you can have your ceremony in one of the a la carte restaurants and go right into your reception in the same space.  With the a la cartes though you'd have lots of windows/no views and lots of pedestrian traffic going by outside (some of whom might get snoopy).  Also, in the hallway in between the main lobby bars there are indoor spaces where they hold meetings, conferences, etc. but I've never heard of a ceremony taking place in one of these rooms.  I think they're typically used for time share staff functions.  But it wouldn't hurt to ask.  

 

We had a beach ceremony and the reception at the palapa which I was super happy with.  I could never really picture what the trip out to the palapa looked like, because I had always read about them needing to transport you out there...pictured guys with machetes helping cut the jungle out in front of me... ; )

 

No, the stretch out to the palapa is a very lovely 10 - 15-ish minute walk from your room...just far enough out to keep general traffic to a bare minimum.  

 

Here are some photos we took when we walked out one morning the week after our wedding.  This first pic is the perspective of standing on the beach looking back towards the resort.  The thatched roof on the left of the photo is the chapel, the roof on the right is the palapa, and in between is the huppa/seating area for an outdoor ceremony (keep in mind there are other beach ceremony sites at the GS, so always clarify what you want with the WP).

 

 

The chapel:

 

 

The palapa:

 

 

View from the palapa out to the beach/ocean:

 

 

The disco next to the palapa (just across the entrance to the disco is a security station):

 

[Prometida]

Thank you so much for your wonderful help.

I have two questions:

Do you have any suggestions regarding where to have the rehearsal dinner?. Our group is going to be about 40 people . It will be wonderful if tha restaurant allows everybody to see each other .

 

2. Did you use tikki torches? Or other things for decoration? I'm thinking in buying chinese paper lanterns ( looking for cheap ones online). 

Any suggestions?

 

Thank you and Congratulations again . You are very nice in continuing your contact to BDW

Prometida

[MJKH]

We chose the Brazilian restaurant for our rehearsal dinner, and just be warned that we had to wait until we arrived at the resort and talked to the wedding planners before they actually confirmed this with us (the request went in about a month before the wedding...but I don't think their reservation system would allow it to be booked that far ahead).  We had 32 people at our dinner and they set up three long tables for us down the center of the restaurant, with smaller tables around the outside for other reservations (i.e., we did not have the restaurant to ourselves).  Our WP Elizabeth was there when we arrived to make sure our favors were in place and everything was in order.  She also had a little run-down for our guests of how things would be working the next day for the wedding (i.e., timeline, transportation, etc.).

 

The Brazilian might not be the best option though if your guests are not big meat eaters...I would probably pick the Italian restaurant because they had much more variety to suit everyone.  I think the hands down favourite food-wise of all the a la cartes was the Japanese restaurant.  However, it's much harder to visit because you're sitting at u-shaped tables around the grills, and a big part of that experience is the "show".  Wherever you go, you'll have only around 2 hours to eat and visit, as they will need to turn the restaurant over for the next set of reservations (our reservation was for 6, and at around 7:50 the head waiter came up and very politely let us know that they needed to break the tables down for their guests at 8 pm).  But there are lots of spots around the resort that you can continue to celebrate with a larger group...like the lobby bars, the evening show, etc.

 

Yes, we used tiki torches out at the reception (I think 10) along with ordering two sets of the white furniture for seating areas at ground level next to the palapa.  We were really glad we did as we couldn't go into the palapa until dinner was ready to be served.  It also gave our guests a nice area to mingle/have drinks and snacks in the afternoon while they were waiting for us to return from photos.  This was also the area that the mexico trio played for us and the party really got started!!! : )

 

The WPs do an amazing job of bringing your ideas for decor to life.  We had custom papel picado done for us and were worried that they might say no to hanging them due to time or staff constraints.  When you meet with them for the first time at the resort, you bring your photos and all of your decor/favors/etc and they will take care of setting it all up +++!!  On a trip out to the palapa the week after our wedding, we noticed they had paper lanterns hanging up still from a wedding the night before.  I would just say, the more lanterns you bring to hang the better.  It's a larger space than you might think...and the ceiling is very high...like instead of hanging up 5 or 10 lanters, I would hang waaaayyy more  (and pick larger sizes) to give the palapa lots of colour and make a bigger impact.

 

Does that help?
 

Originally Posted by Prometida 

Thank you so much for your wonderful help.

I have two questions:

Do you have any suggestions regarding where to have the rehearsal dinner?. Our group is going to be about 40 people . It will be wonderful if tha restaurant allows everybody to see each other .

 

2. Did you use tikki torches? Or other things for decoration? I'm thinking in buying chinese paper lanterns ( looking for cheap ones online). 

Any suggestions?

 

Thank you and Congratulations again . You are very nice in continuing your contact to BDW

Prometida

 

[MJKH]

Here's a pic looking up at the roof of the palapa at night with our papel picado.  You can see there's LOTS of space to hang stuff.  Elizabeth also helped us with a pinata in the palapa for the kids (big and small) and she and the head waiter ran the activity for us.  We bought the pinata and all the candy in Playa and gave everything to her to set up.

 

 

 

Originally Posted by MJKH 

We chose the Brazilian restaurant for our rehearsal dinner, and just be warned that we had to wait until we arrived at the resort and talked to the wedding planners before they actually confirmed this with us (the request went in about a month before the wedding...but I don't think their reservation system would allow it to be booked that far ahead).  We had 32 people at our dinner and they set up three long tables for us down the center of the restaurant, with smaller tables around the outside for other reservations (i.e., we did not have the restaurant to ourselves).  Our WP Elizabeth was there when we arrived to make sure our favors were in place and everything was in order.  She also had a little run-down for our guests of how things would be working the next day for the wedding (i.e., timeline, transportation, etc.).

 

The Brazilian might not be the best option though if your guests are not big meat eaters...I would probably pick the Italian restaurant because they had much more variety to suit everyone.  I think the hands down favourite food-wise of all the a la cartes was the Japanese restaurant.  However, it's much harder to visit because you're sitting at u-shaped tables around the grills, and a big part of that experience is the "show".  Wherever you go, you'll have only around 2 hours to eat and visit, as they will need to turn the restaurant over for the next set of reservations (our reservation was for 6, and at around 7:50 the head waiter came up and very politely let us know that they needed to break the tables down for their guests at 8 pm).  But there are lots of spots around the resort that you can continue to celebrate with a larger group...like the lobby bars, the evening show, etc.

 

Yes, we used tiki torches out at the reception (I think 10) along with ordering two sets of the white furniture for seating areas at ground level next to the palapa.  We were really glad we did as we couldn't go into the palapa until dinner was ready to be served.  It also gave our guests a nice area to mingle/have drinks and snacks in the afternoon while they were waiting for us to return from photos.  This was also the area that the mexico trio played for us and the party really got started!!! : )

 

The WPs do an amazing job of bringing your ideas for decor to life.  We had custom papel picado done for us and were worried that they might say no to hanging them due to time or staff constraints.  When you meet with them for the first time at the resort, you bring your photos and all of your decor/favors/etc and they will take care of setting it all up +++!!  On a trip out to the palapa the week after our wedding, we noticed they had paper lanterns hanging up still from a wedding the night before.  I would just say, the more lanterns you bring to hang the better.  It's a larger space than you might think...and the ceiling is very high...like instead of hanging up 5 or 10 lanters, I would hang waaaayyy more  (and pick larger sizes) to give the palapa lots of colour and make a bigger impact.

 

Does that help?
 

 

 

[MJKH]

 

Hi - I don't know that I'll ever get around to doing a full wedding planning thread, but here are a few details we've already jotted down that some of you may find helpful.  

 

We live in Western Canada and our group booking was through Sunquest (included WestJet charter direct from our hometown to Cancun); for every 10 adults who purchased the Sunquest package, we got one package for free. Plus, when our tickets came, it included a voucher from Sunquest for $500 off our next booking (a nice incentive to book with them again for our 1^st anniversary getaway). Guests stayed one week, we stayed two weeks. This was one of the best things we did…our first week was very busy (especially for me)…the second week we finally got to R-E-L-A-X!

 

Airport Check In:  My sister and her family took 2 of our bags to check, and a family friend took a carry-on filled with boxes of chocolates for the rehearsal dinner. That left us with 3 large (72L) Rubbermaid totes filled with wedding stuff plus 1 remaining suitcase to check plus we totally maxed out our carry-on allowance (Westjet considered my wedding dress a carry-on). We called Westjet a week before and again the day before we left to ensure we could check the Rubbermaid containers and that we could securely tape them shut. No problem. They made notes in our file that we would be traveling with excess luggage…and a note about the containers being pre-approved. They strongly recommended that we arrive early in order to make the whole process easier. We arrived nearly 3 hours ahead of our departure time, and when our first guests arrived at the airport, we had completed our check-in…it was perfect.  The Westjet agent didn’t charge us for the extra baggage, she said “consider it an early wedding gift from usâ€!  We did have to take the Rubbermaid bins to a special x-ray area for oversize baggage. The only thing he questioned at this screening point was a case of tinned almonds at the bottom of one of the bins. Funny as it was the same thing customs in Cancun pulled us over to look at later that day.  In our home airport, once we confirmed what the tins were, he sent the bins off with no other concerns.

 

I had mentioned on another thread that the owner of the bridal shop I bought my dress from recommended that, as my dress goes thru x-ray/security, if it appears as though they are going to open the bag and/or pat the dress down, that I request they change their gloves first to avoid the transfer of dirt, etc. I thought this was a great suggestion, but in the end the dress went thru x-ray and I was sent on my way.  If you’re not particularly interested in being a “beacon†for questions like “oh, are you getting married in Mexico or something?†because you’re carrying around a huge white garment bag, you might want to consider slipping your dress and bag into another long dark garment bag. The outer white fabric bag my dress was in got quite dirty, no matter how much I tried to keep it up and off the floor/away from the luggage cart.

 

Arrival in Cancun:  The most frustrating point in the process was taking all of our baggage on three carts thru the x-ray area after passport control and loading them back up. Those of you who have been at this airport know that it is a small area…we had bags everywhere and we held up the line for a while. We got a green light at the end screening point, but still got pulled over due to the questionable items at the bottom of one of the bins (the tins of almonds). No biggie…I repacked the bin and off we went. 

 

Our Sunquest package included airport transfers, but in order to expedite our arrival to the resort, we chose to pay a private transfer company, USA Transfers (http://www.usa-transfers.com) to shuttle our guests in three vans directly to the resort. We hit one snag here…my FI went out to locate the service, not realizing that once he left the airport terminal he wouldn’t be able to get back in. So, we were waiting for him inside, and he was stuck outside with the transfer company!  Some kind soul agreed to deliver a note to us inside, telling us to make our way out to meet him. Otherwise, everything went very smoothly, the transfer company was very professional, and we were happy that we made the decision to treat our guests to this private, direct service to the resort.

 

Resort Check In:  We were all greeted with glasses of champagne upon arrival. My FI and I were nearly the last to check in (we held back, wanting to make sure we were around to help with any issues)…as soon as the front desk clerk looked us up in the system, he said with a smile “ohhh, you are the bride and groom?!?† We had purchased the Presidential Wedding Package thru the resort, and had our TA confirm with the resort 3 – 4 months ahead of time that we would have a presidential suite for the entire 2 weeks. We did and it was fabulous (we later learned from our concierge that our room rate was over $500 USD/night/pp during high season)!!!  After completing check-in, the front desk clerk pointed behind us at two lovely ladies standing there and introduced them as our wedding coordinators. Elizabeth Miranda and Angelina Lopez came over and gave us both big hugs and I knew immediately that we were in good hands. They had a letter for us detailing our first appointment the following day and what we/our witnesses needed to provide for our civil (legal) ceremony.  We met Aracely Tovar (with whom all of our correspondence prior to arriving at the resort had taken place) the day after we arrived and she was equally sweet and charming! 

 

This was our second stay at the GS. On our previous trip (in January of 2010), we started in a room on the second floor (with two double beds), and it took two days for them to move us to a room with a king bed. After moving, we had a major issue with our new first-floor room REEKING like mold. The smell actually gave me a migraine within minutes of entering the room every time. We stayed in this room for the rest of the week but I was NOT a happy camper!  Due to this past unpleasant experience, our TA submitted a request that our guests be placed in rooms on the second or third floors. We also submitted a request to the wedding planner (about three weeks before the wedding) that our guests be given second or third-floor rooms. However, our first night we found out that about half of our guests ended up on the ground level (by supper my parents and my sister and her family had requested and been moved to new rooms off the ground floor), and within a day all of our remaining guests (placed on the ground floor) made a trip to the front desk to request a room change. What would I do differently next time???  I would fax our guest list/room request in again the day before we arrive (they do the room assignments the morning guests arrive)…and I would simply ask our guests as they check in to ensure that they are placed on the second or third floor before they leave the front desk!!!  This would have saved a LOT of time and energy for our guests who had to move (especially those with small children). After these guests were moved out of the ground floor rooms, everyone was happy with their accommodations!

 

I'm going to stop at this point to load some photos of our suite in building 18 (Second Floor, Room 1830)...we loved having free laundry service, top shelf bar items in the room, snacks left every night...it was fabulous!  Some of the biggest highlights about this resort for our guests included the lazy river, snorkelling/beach, nice open lounge areas for larger groups to gather/visit in the evenings, the kids club, the evening shows...lots of options for places to eat.

 

 

 

Room included computer with free internet:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kitchen/bar area in suite, complete with espresso/coffee maker:

 

 

An example of the "gourmet bites" that got dropped off in our room every night (included with the package we had purchased):

 

 

Balcony: The large thatched roof in the background is the theatre where the shows are held each night and the craft fairs happen on Tuesday and Saturday nights.  

 

 

Sunrise from balcony:

 

 

Sunset from balcony:

 

 

In my next entry, I'll focus more on the wedding day/wedding planning services.  Any questions, just ask!