Sandos Playacar Wedding Review

[pdcbride09]

Ok...so I guess I should've posted here a bit ago, but to be honest w/ you, I simply forgot.

 

Ok, so we got married on May 8th, 2009. Yes, right in the thick of the Swine Flu crisis. We left May 2nd. We were close to canceling 2 days before because of all the news and the chance of flights being canceled, but we decided to go through with it. We had very close family friends tell us that they will do whatever we do. So we decided to go through with it. We thought, it's just the flu! So we took the chance.

 

So, May 2nd-6th we stayed in the actual town of Playa because we loved it so much from the year before. on the 6th, we transfered over to Sandos.

 

It is definitely a big property! The thing that can be annoying is that you have to check in at the reception area that is really far from the rooms. Well, at least our rooms which were right off of the beach. You have Hacienda rooms and the more adult area, but it's a ways to the beach, not that we don't like exercise, just wanted to be close to the beach.

 

So, in order for it to be legal, we had to be in Mexico 3 days prior of our actual ceremony.

 

We met w/ the wedding coordinator Paola that Monday morning. We had to wait an hour after our scheduled appointment as she was running behind.

 

To be honest w/ you, we were not please w/ her. I personally was a little more bothered by the way it seemed like she really didn't care about the whole planning process. It really is hard to describe her personality. She seemed a bit airheadish(not a real word I know) and when I would ask questions, she would be like...umm...suure I can do that..but not really sounding like she could. She just rubbed me the wrong way.

 

Everything was fine until the very end of our meeting where she asked us if we could move our ceremony time from 5 to 4. I asked why, and she stated it was because the other Sandos resort closed and they had to move the other weddings to Sandos. She stated that we can have ours at 4, and the next wedding can have theirs at 5. I asked, why can't they be moved to 4?

 

Also, with the ceremony, your guests must arrive a half hour before the start time. So, if our ceremony was at 4, and it lasted say 20 mins..then you go to the little wedding hut that is right behind the seating area..you should be there for a bit, that would be really awkward seeing that at 4:30 the other wedding party should be arriving. So again, to me that was not a smart move on her part.

 

She said, you know, you could just keep your scheduled time then. We'll move them. So, 2 days later, we received a call stating that we had to move our time regardless. So we had to go back and forth, and finally got it to be at 4:30. I was just really upset about that. During our correspondence back and forth she stated that 5 is a perfect time to get married. Then, all of a sudden, 4 was the most perfect time to get married, just seemed like she was trying anything. Which meant making up lies to get us to move our ceremony. She then asked my husband "what is the big deal?"

 

So, from that point on I was really frustrated. So, she gives you 2 bracelets to give to your "outside" photographers. So, on your wedding day, she expected me to go hunt down my photographers while I was getting ready to give them these bracelets (not to mention you have to take a cart to the other building where they check in). So, I went to reception desk at the meeting point where her office is located that morning of the wedding before I started to get ready.

 

She came out and I asked her if she could do that as I will be too busy as well as my guests and she sort of hesitated to take them, but then said, "sure" but it was just so phony.

 

I mean, that is your job, why should I be worrying about that. So then we ordered room service and ordered some mimosas directly from her. She said sure, no problem. Those never arrived. She did however drop off our flowers which by the way were GORGEOUS!

 

After that I didn't see her until we were lined up outside. She had another assistant bring the photographer to the room and sit and wait there while we finished getting ready. I guess paola was making sure the guests arrived? I don't know.

 

Ceremony was great, and she did coordinate the music once w/ the mariachis. But they do not do any rehearsals as to where you stand or anything. The guys just chose a side and lined up and then we were told to walk down by her. She timed the walk down the aisle and that was it.

 

The most upsetting part of the wedding night was when we were done w/ the ceremony, and we needed to take pictures w/ our family. Paola kept telling us we had the dinner reservations @ 6:30 and my husband and I MUST be there at that time. I informed her if we are a few minutes late, that is ok seeing that our guests will be there.

 

After we had our group photography, the photographer took us off by ourselves. Now, the photographer herself(Citlalli from Claudia Rodriguez) came to me and apologized about the location of where we shot most of our group photos, but she has never been to the resort before and Paola would not show her around. Paola told the photographer, "oh..there are some gardens back there" and that was it. The photographer herself was very frustrated w/ the lack of professionalism and told us that she is sorry that we have to deal w/ someone like that. And that she's never seen anyone like that before.

 

So, coming back from our pictures Paola was waiting there..telling us that we have to "hurry" back to the reception area. We wanted to take one more photo which is by this teeny ruin next to the pool. She said ok, but please hurry. So we were rushed through our entire photography.

 

Another note is that we paid $75 each for the 2 photographers. As we were walking back w/ them to the reception, we asked Paola if they could stay and eat since those bracelets are really day passes. She said.."oh yes, they can eat at the snack bars if they would like." We thought..hmm..ok..we paid $125 for them to come here take our pics and not be able to have our dinner?? So we had to consult wiyh the restaurant manager who then agreed that they could have dinner w/ us. But unfortunately they could not stay due to prior arrangements.

 

The wedding itself was gorgeous. Our family/friends and the photographers who we absolutely loved made it special. The beach set up is gorgeous and the food at the Steak house was fabulous.

 

We ordered Filet Mignon and the potatoes. The cake was delicious and was very cute. We were sort of rushed out of there as well. The manager made a comment to my husband when we asked if they could serve the cake. He said yes, that way they get everything out of the way for the next reservation.

 

Oh! another thing to add! They took my husbands linen suit to press it that morning(he did procrastinate a bit I know) and when he got it back, there were stains all over the sleeves. So his suit was ruined. Can't tell in the pics, but in person you could.

 

So as you can see, this review is mainly about my frustration of the wedding coordinator. The wedding itself was great. The setup was GORGEOUS and the dinner was delicious. Also, the resort is next to undeveloped beach where we got some GREAT SHOTS!!

 

Would I recommend this resort, yes. The setup and food alone is worth it. As long as you have your friends/family there, you will have a great time.

 

The resort is very nice. The beach is wonderful with a lot of umbrellas. The food I thought was great although 3 restaurants were closed due to the low occupancy.

 

I'm just hoping that Paola gets a little better at planning. Her personality is what killed it for me.

[MayBride2010]

thanks for the review!! I'm hoping maybe the coordinator was just having a rough day(s).

[weddinggirl72]

It's sad to hear that the planner was not on the ball. Thats what you pay her for! She should have been more accommodating. I'm happy to hear that despite her BAD attitude you still had a great day

[michellepicksbrent]

Thanks for your review! Sorry to hear of all the troubles you had with the WC

[*Nadine*]

Congrats and thanks for the review! Looking forward to seeing pics!

[Diana]

I am sorry to hear that you had trouble with Paola... we were just married there last month and had no problems at all. As a matter of fact, she seemed to go above and beyond for us (even providing us with sand and containers for the sand ceremony!) It is a shame your photographers were unfamilliar with the resort because the beach to the side of the resort was a beautiful place to take pictures! I am sure your pictures were great though, since the lighting would have been perfect at that time!

[Ginalyn]

Thanks for the review, very honest. Sounds like everything went well other than the WC issues. Congrats Mrs!

[BlakleyBrideToBe]

Sorry your wedding corrdinator was such a Bit#& but get review! Congrats

[FutureMrs.D]

Thanks for posting our review... sorry to hear you have problems with the WC... but congrats on your wedding!!

[ahollo02]

Awesome review! thank you soooo much!