Any Ceiba del Mar Brides?

[tweets.13]

Excellent!  We will be there from April 5 - April 11.  We have about 60 total.  When is your wedding?  And yes, we are doing the bonfire.  So Thursday is a welcome cocktail hour, and then bonfire later in the evening.  Friday is the rehearsal dinner.  Saturday is the wedding/reception. Sunday is brunch.  I'll PM you more info and let you know times, locations, etc. so you can check stuff out!  
 

Originally Posted by KPSouthie 

Hi Theresa!

 

This is so exciting!!!!  We will be staying at the Ceiba from Thursday, April 7 and departing on Monday, April 11.  I can't thank you enough for your gracious offer and I would love to meet you!!  I'll PM you all my details.  Funny, I think our weddings are about the same size!  We have about 65 people booked and we're expecting 80-100 people.  How many will be attending your wedding?  Also did you decide to do the bonfire?

 

~Kristin
 

 

[tracysf]

Wow Tweets--- your wedding is around the corner! Sorry I have been so MIA everyone! As a reminder, my wedding is May 13th. We have 120 guests coming so far and just sent out invitations. YAY! I have a few questions for you:

 

1) What are you choosing for your menu? I am thinking a tropical salad and then a choice of steak or seabass. I was going to choose salmon but then talked to a lot of friends who said they all prefer sea bass and I think it is a local fish.  Also, any recommendations on appetizers?  I didn't get a chance to taste anything when I did my visit.

 

2) Are you gals wearing heels? Our ceremony is on the beach b/c we have too many people for the pier so I feel like i can't really wear heels in the sand. Thoughts?

 

3) Regarding the bonfire. Do you think it will be too hot for a bonfire?

 

4) Any recommendations on where to get cheap/cute welcome bags?  I am just starting the process on that.

 

Let me know if you guys hvae any quesitons for me! I promise to be more responsive!

 

Tracy

[savvybride2010]

Hi Tracy, congrats on your upcoming wedding!

 

1) For our menu we started with the melon proscuitto salad, the main courses were Angus Steak, Sea Bass, & Stuffed Chicken, and then creme brulee for dessert.  The salad was the perfect blend of refreshing and filling, I would highly recommend it!  My husband and I both ordered the Sea Bass (we LOVE seafoood! lived in Seattle for 9 years) and honestly it was just ok.  I think the problem was that 24 of our guests ordered the Sea Bass as well, and I think it is really difficult to get fish done correctly in mass quantities.  That said, everyone who ordered the steak (about 18) RAVED about it.  The quality of the Angus steak was excellent for those of you concerned about beef in Mexico. Side note, I do not recommend the ground beef/burger at the pool bar, very gristly.  My Mom ordered the chicken, I had a bite of hers and was really surprised that it was a very good dish as well.  The creme brulee was perfect as well, great consistancy and not a hint of egg.  For our cocktail hour the chef picked some mexican flavors to be passed around poolside.  Everything was tasty but nothing remarkable, felt more like bar food apps.  Hope that helps!

 

2) I was afraid of wearing heels on the pier in fear of getting stuck in the boards, but I'm only 5'4" and needed a lift so I went with Tommy Bahama's carved wedged flipflop, they were super comfortable all night and gave me an extra 11/2" I was hoping for.  They have some taller sandals too if you are looking for more height!   http://www.tommybahama.com/TBG/Women/Sandals/PRD_W5354/Carved+Wood+Wedge+Heel.jsp

 

3) The bonfire is a great time to hang with your guests casually, definitely recommend!  There is almost always a breeze on the beach so I think you will be fine as long as you do it later in the evening. 

 

4) Here is a link to our beach bags we did as welcome bags.  They are good strong canvas quality, low minimum and reasonably priced.  http://www.worldwide-usa.com/16oz-cotton-canvas-print-beach-tote-bag-p-77953.html

 

Happy Planning!

 

Originally Posted by tracy.clements 

Wow Tweets--- your wedding is around the corner! Sorry I have been so MIA everyone! As a reminder, my wedding is May 13th. We have 120 guests coming so far and just sent out invitations. YAY! I have a few questions for you:

 

1) What are you choosing for your menu? I am thinking a tropical salad and then a choice of steak or seabass. I was going to choose salmon but then talked to a lot of friends who said they all prefer sea bass and I think it is a local fish.  Also, any recommendations on appetizers?  I didn't get a chance to taste anything when I did my visit.

 

2) Are you gals wearing heels? Our ceremony is on the beach b/c we have too many people for the pier so I feel like i can't really wear heels in the sand. Thoughts?

 

3) Regarding the bonfire. Do you think it will be too hot for a bonfire?

 

4) Any recommendations on where to get cheap/cute welcome bags?  I am just starting the process on that.

 

Let me know if you guys hvae any quesitons for me! I promise to be more responsive!

 

Tracy

[tweets.13]

Hi!  We are trying to decide on food now too - thanks for the food reviews!

 

I am not wearing heels for the ceremony - I was thinking of getting a platform-type flip-flop so I have a little height and can still walk.  (I'll check out the Tommy Bahama for sure!)  I bought bright green heels (that match the bridesmaid dresses) for the reception on the terrace.

 

When we were there in June doing a site visit, it was hot at night.  However, w/o the sun and w/the breeze it was comfortable and you will likely only get a small amount of heat from a beach bonfire.  I'll let you know how our bonfire is in April, but I would say do it!

 

I initially bought 30 beach bags here http://www.swimoutlet.com/, but they no longer have the ones I bought.  We ended having more guests than we thought, so I had to order a few more and got these: http://www.beallsflorida.com/r/Sun_N_Sand_Double_Handle_Handbags_Beach_Bags_Totes_Straw/product?styleid=177751  I LOVE them and wish they were all like this (although our male only guests will appreciate the stripes on the first bags).  For $13/bag, they are a really nice quality.  We only have about 60 guests, though, and are doing 1 bag per couple.  Not sure if you want to spend that for 120+ guests. 

[tweets.13]

One more thing for the OOT bags.  I just bought 36 pashminas from the Pioneer Group in Manhattan.  (There is a thread on here somewhere about them.)  I am fortunate enought to live in Manhattan, and dropped by there this weekend.  We paid $81 (including tax) for 36 pashminas.  We were able to pick whatever colors we wanted, but had to buy them in quantities of 12.  For that price, the quality is surprisingly good!  If you want more info, let me know!

[savvybride2010]

Tweets,

Wow that's a great deal, the conveniences of NYC living!  We did sarongs too, but I ordered mine through this website (looks like styles have changed a little) prices were reasonable because they were on clearance and we mixed up the colors so everyone had something a little different to wear.  The quality was very good, very soft and light weight, all the ladies loved them and wore them!  http://www.dikiwearables.com/catalog/model/35

 

We did one bag per room (most were couples), and they handed them out to our guests at check in.  I certainly don't think you need one for every guest.  Love the polkadots too, very fun!  

[Brenners]

Thanks Tweets and Savvybride for the information about the OOT bags.  I have been looking for this information.  I like the idea of OOT bags but not paying $10-$20 per bag as some sites list.  I have seen posts about bug issues.  Is this a problem year-round or more of an issue in the their warmer and more rainy months like the summer?

[savvybride2010]

Hi Brenner,

 

The bugs are only a problem at dusk (we were married in October, so roughly 5-7pm), but definitely bring bugspray with deet!  Not knowing this, I wound up with about 20 bites per leg after the first night there, ouch!  Which reminds me, bring benadryl too in case you do get bit.  It helps you sleep and eases the itch at nights.   

[tweets.13]

We are including Off wipes w/deet and hydrocortisone cream (samples from www.drugstore.com and www.minimus.biz), as well as advil, sunscreen, SPF lip balm, etc., in the bags to help people who forget to bring things, like bug spray.  (I don't remember the bugs being bad when we visited in July, but I think we were probably in our room around dusk getting ready for dinner.)

 

Other items for the OOT bags:  BPA aluminum water bottles from www.discountmugs.com.  If you order them w/o a logo, they are really inexpensive.  We also ordered variety puzzle books (crossword, sudoku, word finds, etc.) from Penny Press http://www.pennypublications.com/.  Also fairly inexpensive. 

 

Happy shopping!

[lshaef]

I just went to Harmons in Bed Bath and Beyond and found a box of 12 individually wrapped Off wipes ($4.99 clearance) and Off wipes with deet ($5.79). You can also use coupons.