Hacienda Tres Rios Brides Post Here!

[Samantha88k]

Congratulations! I can't wait to hear how everything turns out for you!

[Dayna8]

Hello Everyone! I am planning a wedding at this resort for January 2012. I see you guys have been speaking with a Luiz but the person I have been communicating with is Allibe. She is putting my wedding and group rate package together. What I have learned is that there is no specific wedding packages "per se" but you build your own wedding package to tailor you and your guests. I have found out that its 20 USD per person for anyone involved in the wedding for set up and you get 5 hours of time, including food, international open bar, tables, tablecloths, chairs anything over 5 hours is additional (for the service). This was the first place that did not make me pay an insane amount of money per person when it got over say 20 peaople max.

 

She also sent me a list of all the additional items that can be added to the wedding to make it specially yours. There is only 1 wedding a day too which is great! I have not actually started putting everything together but I am definitely not planning on spending 25,000 like someone mentioned earlier. The whole point of the destination wedding is to save money!

 

As for my group rates, she is blocking out 20 rooms for a minimum of 3 nights for my guests and I have to put down a 1000.00 non refundable deposit to hold it. I am still trying to find out if that money will be used towards my stay and wedding package even if the 20 rooms do not get filled.

 

I will keep everyone as updated as possible as I learn new information. My girl responds quite quickly and efficiently.

[Samantha88k]

Congratulations!! From what I understand Allibe works with Luis so hopefully we are all getting similar information! I believe I got the same "extras" list that you did Dayna, it includes things like fireworks, flowers, etc. 

 

Are you and you fiance getting legally married in MX or at home before you go?

[damitAPRILurCOOL]

 

 

Originally Posted by Dayna8 

 

Hello Everyone! I am planning a wedding at this resort for January 2012. I see you guys have been speaking with a Luiz but the person I have been communicating with is Allibe. She is putting my wedding and group rate package together. What I have learned is that there is no specific wedding packages "per se" but you build your own wedding package to tailor you and your guests. I have found out that its 20 USD per person for anyone involved in the wedding for set up and you get 5 hours of time, including food, international open bar, tables, tablecloths, chairs anything over 5 hours is additional (for the service). This was the first place that did not make me pay an insane amount of money per person when it got over say 20 peaople max.

 

She also sent me a list of all the additional items that can be added to the wedding to make it specially yours. There is only 1 wedding a day too which is great! I have not actually started putting everything together but I am definitely not planning on spending 25,000 like someone mentioned earlier. The whole point of the destination wedding is to save money!

 

As for my group rates, she is blocking out 20 rooms for a minimum of 3 nights for my guests and I have to put down a 1000.00 non refundable deposit to hold it. I am still trying to find out if that money will be used towards my stay and wedding package even if the 20 rooms do not get filled.

 

I will keep everyone as updated as possible as I learn new information. My girl responds quite quickly and efficiently.

 

I love Allibe! She responds very quickly considering all the weddings she is in charge of!   She's been awesome!

 

Under my room block (I went through a TA), I put down a 1000.00 deposit and it gets used toward my stay OR anything we are planning on ordering for the wedding (the wedding package, flowers, etc).  I blocked 20 rooms also (which I know I will fill), but we are able to add to our block at any time.  We are able to release rooms until a certain date without penalty.  Regardless, the deposit gets put toward the balance of what we owe!

 

[Eadon216]

I find working with Allibe to be quite frustrating. She doesn't always answer my questions completely and I've done the majority of the work myself. I've found all of my vendors except the cake and flowers myself. I still don't know who is providing my cake and flowers. She won't tell me how much the cake and flowers are costing me despite numerous attempts at trying to get a price. Did she tell you that if your guests booked this week they would have gotten a reduced rate? I think she only told me was because one of my guests tried to book, found out the rate was cheaper online, and ended up booking through the website so that he could get the cheaper rate. I still can't get an answer as to what my $900 for a symbolic ceremony actually pays for and why on the website it says they offer a complimentary luxury wedding package. How do I get that package? I've asked her about 3 times now with no answer.

[damitAPRILurCOOL]

I'm sorry that you're having a frustrating time getting your answers from her.  She's always done a pretty good job of answering my questions.  If I don't get the answers I need through email, I call and she's always been able to answer. 

 

In regards to the flowers, I actually got her to quote me on everything I needed AFTER I got another quote from a different florists (off-site).  It worked to my advantage though because she met/beat the prices I initially got which made me super happy.  Maybe you should do that to try to get it more cost-effective?

 

As for the cake, she quoted me ~$250 but it will always depend on the number of people you have.  I'm expecting at least 50 and maybe up to 100... which is what I told her, so the cost of ~$250 can change.  I assume if you have a smaller wedding, your cake would (should) be less expensive.

 

As for the ceremony package, I had it written into my contract what is included in the package that I'm paying for.  This is what my package comes with:

• Booking of a symbolic ceremony
• Email assistance, in order to arrange the ceremony in advance
• Performance of the symbolic ceremony
• Fees, microphone and speakers, table for minister, chairs for guests, set up and toast after ceremony

 

The following things are not in my contract, but I had asked her about them: she will (or have someone) start/stop the music for the processional and recessional, she will line up my wedding party and queue them on when/where to go, and if I decide to have a wedding rehearsal she will help with that.

I think the complimentary wedding luxury package that they list online his this: "Real Love Comes Naturally—Wedding Ceremony starting at $4,900 USD per couple: 7-night, Endless Luxury All-Inclusive. Additional night’s stays are subject to extra charges. Blackout dates based upon availability."  It comes with the accommodations and other items in the package (listed online), so they say it's complimentary but essentially, you are paying for it; they are just grouping the cost of the wedding package with accommodations.

 

Let me know if you need anything - I'm pretty anal with my wedding planning and contact her constantly so I may have the answers you need!

 

Originally Posted by Eadon216 

I find working with Allibe to be quite frustrating. She doesn't always answer my questions completely and I've done the majority of the work myself. I've found all of my vendors except the cake and flowers myself. I still don't know who is providing my cake and flowers. She won't tell me how much the cake and flowers are costing me despite numerous attempts at trying to get a price. Did she tell you that if your guests booked this week they would have gotten a reduced rate? I think she only told me was because one of my guests tried to book, found out the rate was cheaper online, and ended up booking through the website so that he could get the cheaper rate.

I still can't get an answer as to what my $900 for a symbolic ceremony actually pays for and why on the website it says they offer a complimentary luxury wedding package. How do I get that package? I've asked her about 3 times now with no answer.

 

[Eadon216]

All of those things are also in my contract as well. And while I HAVE to pay the $900 in order to have my wedding there...am I the only one that thinks $900 is a lot just for a minister, email assistance (which to me is really kind of a joke because I've found all of my vendors myself), and table/chair set up?

 

I asked back at the beginning about the $5000 package and what the difference was between booking a stay and then paying for our vendors on top of that but there was no real answer. It's all really confusing. Why even offer a package if we end up having to book everything separately anyway?

[damitAPRILurCOOL]

Personally, I don't think it's very much compared to other wedding packages I've seen at other resorts and the cost of extras that other resorts charge.  Also, taking into account that it only cost $20/pp for cocktail hour and reception, makes it pretty affordable for me.  You may think you're paying $900 for just the pre-planning (or lack-of on her end) of the wedding, but you should remember that she will be coordinating everything on the day-of also.

 

I think they offer the package to make it easy on people who don't really care to book everything separately and don't care about price. 

 

Originally Posted by Eadon216 

All of those things are also in my contract as well. And while I HAVE to pay the $900 in order to have my wedding there...am I the only one that thinks $900 is a lot just for a minister, email assistance (which to me is really kind of a joke because I've found all of my vendors myself), and table/chair set up?

 

I asked back at the beginning about the $5000 package and what the difference was between booking a stay and then paying for our vendors on top of that but there was no real answer. It's all really confusing. Why even offer a package if we end up having to book everything separately anyway?

 

[kellyarizona10]

Hi! I'm getting married at Hacienda Tres Rios in June 2011! I have been working with Allibe and she has been good so far, i think sometimes she has a hard time fully understanding what im asking for, but other than that shes been ok.  I was wondering if anyone had and good contacts for outside vendors for dj, flowers, or mariachis? We did hire Juan Navarro for photography, the work on his blog looked really good! Thank you for any info or feed back!

Kelly

 

 

[damitAPRILurCOOL]

Hi Kelly! Congrats!

 

For the DJ, I am using Bijan Zade with www.mayanvibes.com.  I heard good things about him from a bride who got married in the Riviera Maya (do you read the weddingbee blog?), so I contacted him and he ended up giving me a better rate than the DJ Allibe was giving me.  He's Canadian living in the Riviera Maya, so another perk is not having a language barrier.  If you contact him, tell him April referred you!

 

I'm going through Allibe for the flowers.  From what she told me, they don't allow outside vendors for flowers.

 

I'm not doing a mariachi, sorry I don't have any information on that.
 

Originally Posted by kellyarizona10 

Hi! I'm getting married at Hacienda Tres Rios in June 2011! I have been working with Allibe and she has been good so far, i think sometimes she has a hard time fully understanding what im asking for, but other than that shes been ok.  I was wondering if anyone had and good contacts for outside vendors for dj, flowers, or mariachis? We did hire Juan Navarro for photography, the work on his blog looked really good! Thank you for any info or feed back!

Kelly