Jellyfish Restaurant

[AquaCait]

Here's our review (finally!!). 

 

First things first.  The drive to the Jellyfish in the cab was a little bit scary.  We had no idea where we were and you have to go down a very bumpy, secluded dirt road to get to the restaurant...but it all worked out OK.  This was about 25 minutes from the Majestic Elegance, and round trip cost us $50.

 

We met with Mayte on May 6 at 11am.  Mayte showed up around 1140, but explained that she had a very busy wedding the night before.  The fact that she came in early (for her day) to meet with us, we really appreciated it.  We went over our colour selections, had our drink tasting (the blue Coco Loco is awesome!!), and our menu tasting.  We also got to test the wines that would be served with dinner.  One thing that I loved, Mayte even tried to keep our drinks for cocktail hour colour co-ordinated.  So we had the Coco Loco and a Mojito. 

 

We went with Menu option 4 (lobster and filet mignon) but we traded out the salmon pasta for the Chef's pasta (sooooooooo worth it, this is AMAZING!!!!),  We had the dinner Open bar, and then we ran a tab for the rest of the night (worked out quite well, cost us about $500 less than Open Bar would have...).  The portions are huge, so don't worry that anyone will go hungry, they won't.  The pasta was served family style, so it was like another side dish...everyone loved it...yet another Mayte idea!!

 

Our cake was identical to the picture that we had sent to Mayte, and from what we tasted, it was fantastic.  Our top layer was vanilla sponge with chocolate filling, and the bottom layer was vanilla with lime. 

 

In terms of the decor, we had sent Mayte the ideas that we had and things that we liked.  And she was ready with ideas of her own, and a perfect vision for our day.  We had originally wanted chair covers, but she suggested to not use them, and just use the chairs as they are with the sashes, and I'm so glad that we listened, it looked awesome!!  We had also wanted to use a mirrored tile under our centrepieces and candles, Mayte suggested a wooden tray.  We just said to do whatever she thought would be best.  We loved everything about our reception.  We brought our placecards down with us, they were little white buckets with names on them.  We had jellybeans prepackaged, and Mayte just did the finishing touches on them (glued on starfishes that we brought with us...she also used them on menu cards and napkin rings, which she made).  We took green paper lanterns, our guest book, candy, placecards, etc. to Mayte on the Sunday.  I just used my Heys carryon suitcase, and left it with her.  I got it back on Wednesday night, when we were packing up from the wedding...

 

We had the cigar rollers from about 7pm to 11pm.  They were great! Everyone really seemed to enjoy having them there.  And, as a great favour or keepsake, the cigar bands are actually personlized with our names, which we didn't know (or ask for) until Mayte told us.  It was a great added touch.

 

We had the fire dancers too, but this was kept as a complete surprise for all of our guests.  They LOVED them!!!  I have nothing bad to say.  How many weddings in Canada have fire dancers?!?!?

 

We used Mayte's house DJ and MC, they were great.  We had burned some CDs with some of what we would like to hear through the course of the night, and most of it was played.  We did separate CDs for our first dance, intros, mother/son, and father/daughter. They do have hook-ups for Ipods/Iphones/Ipads, etc.  Ariel (the MC) was great.  We handed him the list of what and who he needed to introduce and when, and everything went off so smoothly.  And his english is perfect for those who are wondering...

 

We had about 3 different groups try to come into the restaurant through the course of the night (we paid for exclusive use).  Mayte met them at the door, explained the situation, and it never went beyond that.  There is security on the beach.  There is security for the restaurant itself, and there are Marines that patrol the beach.  Yes, they are armed, but they are there for your protection.  Don't worry about them...

 

OOH! Big tip! Anyone getting married on the resort and having the reception at Jellyfish, try to do your beach pictures at the Jellyfish....waaaaaaay less people....we did and I'm really glad for that.  Plus we were less rushed....

 

I think that's about it...if anyone has any questions, please, don't hesitate to PM me. 

 

Now some pictures!!!!!

 

[cinnagirl]

AquaCait, Thank you so much for posting a review!! I love hearing about all the fine details, like meeting with Mayte and combining decor ideas. The photos you posted look amazing, it looks like you have a great time! And I love your dress, it's so simple and elegant.

[venus909]

Sunshine and AquaCait your weddings were GORGEOUS!

 

@Sunshine,

 

I'm thinking about doing the same thing as you did with the food... eveyone getting a salad then the entree's alacarte.  Does the price on the menu include sides and did the guest get to pick what side they wanted?  I have the menu that I received about a year ago... do the prices look the same or have they changed?

 

 

@AquaCait, I see that you did your own escort cards, did you break your guests up into tables ahead of time?  How many people did you sit at each table?

[AquaCait]

Sunshine and AquaCait your weddings were GORGEOUS! @Sunshine, I'm thinking about doing the same thing as you did with the food... eveyone getting a salad then the entree's alacarte.  Does the price on the menu include sides and did the guest get to pick what side they wanted?  I have the menu that I received about a year ago... do the prices look the same or have they changed? @AquaCait, I see that you did your own escort cards, did you break your guests up into tables ahead of time?  How many people did you sit at each table?

We did split people beforehand. We had 5 tables and between 6 and 8 people/table. I just tried to group families together and friends. I think it worked out well...I think our tables were mostly 7s and 8s...

[sunshine77]

Originally Posted by venus909 

 

Sunshine and AquaCait your weddings were GORGEOUS!

 

@Sunshine,

 

I'm thinking about doing the same thing as you did with the food... eveyone getting a salad then the entree's alacarte.  Does the price on the menu include sides and did the guest get to pick what side they wanted?  I have the menu that I received about a year ago... do the prices look the same or have they changed?

 

 

@AquaCait, I see that you did your own escort cards, did you break your guests up into tables ahead of time?  How many people did you sit at each table?

HI venus909,

 

Yes, the price on the menu does include sides and they can pick which one they want as well. I also have the menu and the prices are the same. If you notice in one of my pics, there is a revised smaller version of their menu on the table. No price, appetizer, dessert and any dish over $30 was included. Depending on how many people you have this really worked out great for us.

[JennCarlson]

Random question.... How much did the booze end up costing you ladies? It seems like that will be most of the cost of having our reception at the jellyfish.

[AquaCait]

Originally Posted by JennCarlson 

 

Random question....

How much did the booze end up costing you ladies? It seems like that will be most of the cost of having our reception at the jellyfish.

Ours cost about $150 for cocktail hour, $250 for dinner open bar, and about $550 for the bar for the rest of the night.  So that's about $950 plus tax...we were looking at about $1100 for just the mid-range open bar for 33 people for 3 or 4 hours...running a tab saved us huge!!!

[mimiq]

Originally Posted by AquaCait 

 

Ours cost about $150 for cocktail hour, $250 for dinner open bar, and about $550 for the bar for the rest of the night.  So that's about $950 plus tax...we were looking at about $1100 for just the mid-range open bar for 33 people for 3 or 4 hours...running a tab saved us huge!!!

Does anyone have a list of the drink prices?  It would really help me crunch the numbers to see which option would be better for us if I had an idea of drink costs...  If anyone could share, that'd be great!!

[pfoster]

I have been sending them emails everyday trying to reach them, but no contact. Is it normal to take more than a week wihtout an answer?
I was consider this an option for my future wedding, but I'm starting to give up since I don't seem to get a hold on them. I also tried to call and no one answer..

It's very frustating..
 

[venus909]

Originally Posted by pfoster 

 

I have been sending them emails everyday trying to reach them, but no contact. Is it normal to take more than a week wihtout an answer?

I was consider this an option for my future wedding, but I'm starting to give up since I don't seem to get a hold on them. I also tried to call and no one answer..

 

It's very frustating..

 

Yes that's normal... It sometimes takes 3 weeks to get a response.  The weddings at the Jellyfish are done by Mayte who has been amazing.  May and June have been super busy for them (I'ver heard almost a wedding everyday) so that doesn't leave a lot of time for responses.  And I do believe they try to respond to the brides who are getting married soon first. Please be patient... it's worth the wait. I have had my fair share of tests in the patience area, but everytime a bride posts her review and pictures from her big day I know it will all pay off.