I Just Got Married at Ak'iin in Tulum - Do You Need Advice?

[Chill Bride]

P&P is pimping her coordinator all over this forum. She must be amazing or you have some vested interest in her.

 

I have emailed Akiin twice now about having my wedding there. They didn't respond. I don't know if it's because I don't speak spanish or what but there are SEVERAL other places in Tulum that aren't Dreams to have your wedding. I am going down on Sat to check out 6 places and I had a few more that sound good but I had to start eliminating at some point. I will write a report when I get back. Mil Amores sounds really nice, but so do a lot of the other ones.

[nicitica]

Please show us your photos! I love Tulum!! I'm going to be married in Akumal, but we'll be definitely visiting the beaches and restaurants in Tulum as well. Congrats to you! Nicole

[AllyCatta]

Hi! Weddings at AyJ are gorgeous. I remember passing by one last year and thinking how beautiful it was. I'm sure your wedding will be wonderful! Congratulations! My best advice to you is to relax once you get down there. Things won't go "perfectly" but they'll be perfect anyway. You really can't go wrong in Tulum, which is, as you know, one of the most beautiful, special places on earth. If you're having a welcome party, hiring the salsa teachers from La Zebra is, as I said, my strongest recommendation. It was the best ice-breaker ever and everybody had such a great time. Other suggestions ... let me think ... Well, foodwise, one of the best, most reasonably-priced restaurants on the beach is at Dos Ceibas. Food in Tulum is expensive, so that's a really good tip for your guests. All meals are tasty there, including breakfast. I'd also really recommend that you have someone at your wedding ceremony and reception (it could easily be a guest) who is designated to keep things flowing smoothly and help make the transitions from one part of the event to the next. We didn't really have a person like that, so some of our transitions were a little disorganized-feeling. Some other thoughts: If you're down for an adventure, I recommend having a Mayan wedding ceremony, which was spiritual and different, fun and interactive, and totally beautiful. I had a salsa band at my wedding, which I probably wouldn't do again. We had more fun with the iPod (although there's something very special about live music). A mariachi band during the cocktail hour might have been a better choice for us. Hope some of this is helpful! Have a wonderful time in Tulum!

[lisa_k]

Quote:

Originally Posted by AllyCatta Hi! Weddings at AyJ are gorgeous. I remember passing by one last year and thinking how beautiful it was. I'm sure your wedding will be wonderful! Congratulations! My best advice to you is to relax once you get down there. Things won't go "perfectly" but they'll be perfect anyway. You really can't go wrong in Tulum, which is, as you know, one of the most beautiful, special places on earth. If you're having a welcome party, hiring the salsa teachers from La Zebra is, as I said, my strongest recommendation. It was the best ice-breaker ever and everybody had such a great time. Other suggestions ... let me think ... Well, foodwise, one of the best, most reasonably-priced restaurants on the beach is at Dos Ceibas. Food in Tulum is expensive, so that's a really good tip for your guests. All meals are tasty there, including breakfast. I'd also really recommend that you have someone at your wedding ceremony and reception (it could easily be a guest) who is designated to keep things flowing smoothly and help make the transitions from one part of the event to the next. We didn't really have a person like that, so some of our transitions were a little disorganized-feeling. Some other thoughts: If you're down for an adventure, I recommend having a Mayan wedding ceremony, which was spiritual and different, fun and interactive, and totally beautiful. I had a salsa band at my wedding, which I probably wouldn't do again. We had more fun with the iPod (although there's something very special about live music). A mariachi band during the cocktail hour might have been a better choice for us. Hope some of this is helpful! Have a wonderful time in Tulum!

Thanks so much for all of the wonderful advice and suggestions! It's really so helpful. I have heard from a few people that a designated person to keep things flowing smoothly is smart...I think we are going to tap the best man (my fiance's brother) for that job.

We did get a mariachi band for cocktail hour. So I'm hoping that's fun.

I love the idea of the salsa teachers from La Zebra. I will have to run that one by the fiance -- he's not much of a dancer! And I have never heard of Dos Ceibas but I'm totally going to look it up .

Thanks again!

[AKH2011]

Hopefully you ladies are still checking this post! I'm looking into several places in the Tulum area for my winter 2011 wedding...Al Cielo, Ana Y Jose, Akiin, Beach Club, etc. Chill Bride - did you ever hear back from Akiin? Lisa K - I am sure your wedding was beautiful so any words of wisdom you can share after the fact would be great. Given that these places are a la carte weddings and that I am expecting a larger group of guests (70 or so), does anyone have a sense of relative pricing amongst those venues for the given things (like food, open bar, etc.)? Did any of you do site visits beforehand - and if you did - did you have a WC show you around the different venues or did you just coordinate on your own? I am trying to decide if its best to engage a wc at this point, but then I'm worried that I'll fall in love with one of the above places and that they will require me to use their wc services. And then I will be out the money for hiring an outside wc. Would love to hear anyone's guidance!

[Sycamore Tree]

I was married at Milamores too! You said in an earlier post you were married in April. Do you have photos you can share? I am waiting for Pierre Violle to send mine.

[AishaB]

Congrats on your wedding. So happy everything was wonderful!

[Chill Bride]

Quote:

Originally Posted by AKH2011 Hopefully you ladies are still checking this post! I'm looking into several places in the Tulum area for my winter 2011 wedding...Al Cielo, Ana Y Jose, Akiin, Beach Club, etc. Chill Bride - did you ever hear back from Akiin? Lisa K - I am sure your wedding was beautiful so any words of wisdom you can share after the fact would be great. Given that these places are a la carte weddings and that I am expecting a larger group of guests (70 or so), does anyone have a sense of relative pricing amongst those venues for the given things (like food, open bar, etc.)? Did any of you do site visits beforehand - and if you did - did you have a WC show you around the different venues or did you just coordinate on your own? I am trying to decide if its best to engage a wc at this point, but then I'm worried that I'll fall in love with one of the above places and that they will require me to use their wc services. And then I will be out the money for hiring an outside wc. Would love to hear anyone's guidance!

Just saw this two months later. My experience is that you don't have to lock down a coordinator if you do site visits. Gwen from mytulumwedding.com is our coordinator and she spent a good 4-5 hours with us looking at locations and helping us before we ever signed a contract with her (no strings attached). Also, most places don't have one coordinator like they do at resorts. They will mostly work with you or whichever coordinator you choose. We decided on the coordinator after we returned from our scouting trip and she will work at any venue we like basically.

[AKH2011]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chill Bride Just saw this two months later. My experience is that you don't have to lock down a coordinator if you do site visits. Gwen from mytulumwedding.com is our coordinator and she spent a good 4-5 hours with us looking at locations and helping us before we ever signed a contract with her (no strings attached). Also, most places don't have one coordinator like they do at resorts. They will mostly work with you or whichever coordinator you choose. We decided on the coordinator after we returned from our scouting trip and she will work at any venue we like basically.

Yeah - We ended up doing a site visit on our own before securing a wedding coordinator. We checked out the following places just based on research we had done online (Xcaret, Ak'iin Beach Club, Ana y Jose and Al Cielo). We'd set up appointments with Xcaret and Ak'iin and their onsite WCs and then just stopped by AyJ and Al Cielo later in the day. We did a tasting at Ak'iin and ended up choosing them as our site but at the end of the day it was all about the feel of the place that made the decision for us.

[Chill Bride]

Congratulations!!! I am glad you found somewhere you liked. Your wedding should be beautiful there. Finding a venue is the hardest part.