Gran Caribe Real 2011 Brides

[Vanessa C]

Hi Bebop! Congrats to you guys! My WC is also Claudy. I called GCR this weekend and heard she was sick so that's probably the reason you haven't received anything. I suggest you contact them and ask to speak with a supervisor. The supervisor I spoke with is Patricia (or Patty). She was very helpful in getting me what I needed when I called. As far as my experience with Claudy, she has always been very helpful and always willing to answer my thousands of questions. Hope that helps!

Originally Posted by bebop 

Hi all!  We are planning to get married at the Gran Caribe Real on November 18, 2011!  We sent in the information to book last week but have not received the wedding code as of yet.  We were assigned to Claudy as our WC.  Anyone work with her and share experiences?!  I was waiting to get started on everything until we FOR SURE got everything booked but am getting nervous.  We've also been working with Teresa from Vacations4Less for our travel agent but suddenly her emails are getting bounced back to me today.... 

 

We are going with the Royal Catholic package.  Any tips on that, as well?  We will, be getting married in the chapel & then still deciding on a reception place.  We are wanting a private reception outside.  

 

[ego11]

Bride2be22- Do you know how much per person an extra hour of the cocktail party is?

[Bride2B22]

The Cocktail hour was $10 per real resort guest when i booked......not sure if the price went up tho! if it's non real resort guest, then it was $20.

 

Originally Posted by ego11 

Bride2be22- Do you know how much per person an extra hour of the cocktail party is?

 

[ego11]

That would definitely be more reasonable! Then maybe I could enjoy cocktail hour as well! 

[nadennec]

Thanks for all the info! This has definitely been a great help!! I'm sure I'll have more questions as I get closer!

Originally Posted by Bride2B22 

I Cant even remember what the cold foods were for the cocktail hour! I didnt choose anything specific....i basically said I wanted a cocktail hour, chose the time and location and nothing else.....they took care of everything else.....I beleive there were a good amount of choices tho!

 

As far as menu, I had already been at the resort last year when we got engaged, so i had a pretty good idea of how the food was! and also reading reviews on here! I really took a chance on this......BUT i really didnt have any doubts that the food would be delicious!!!

 

 

The priest goes over everything! he tells the readers when to go....he actaully speaks to them before the ceremony starts just to let them know when they have to go up......and the 3 readers go up one after the other...... He will tell you when you meet with him the flow of the entire mass......and will indicate (both on the meeting and during the ceremony) when the gifts have to be brought up....... Trust me, he is so easy going, and explains everything, answers all questions during the meeting............

 

 

I turned in all of my forms, final choices, final payments to my WC, she needs to revise everything before she can turn you over to your onsite WC......they say 45 days, but really i sent over all of my stuff a little less than a month before the wedding.......actually my wedding was 6/21 and i think i sent everything either the very end of May or the very begining of June.......remember, if you need to add additonal guests (and trust me, no one will really book that last minute as prices will be ridiculous!!) you can still add them after you turn in all of your final docs.....you'll just have to work with your onsite WC durinng that last month to make any changes......

 

 

 

 I really did not give or recommend anyone staying anywhere else other than the Royal or the Gran Caribe..........These guest will not be allowed at the hotel any earlier than about 30 minutes before the ceremony starts.............we had 4 people who booked (without telling me!) at another hotel.....remember the fees for cocktail hour, reception, etc double when it's a non Real resort guest!!! think about your budget! ..............if you do have non real resort guests, you dont need a day pass for them the day of the wedding......they'll just have to come in 30 mins before.........

 

This is the way i presented it to my guests,,,,,,,,why would you want to stay at another resort when the purpose of a destination wedding is to spend some amazing days together bonding, getting to know each other.............the 4 people who i had that did not stay on the hotels, were pretty disappointmet and we only saw them during the wedding! that's all!!! they missed out on so much fun!!!

 

 

 

Thanks Vanessa C! I'm going to look into two options, and maybe do the same of send the menu options with the invites! When are you arriving in Cancun, Tuesday or any earlier?
 

Originally Posted by Vanessa C 

Hi Nadennec, my WC is Claudy. No, they did not charge extra for having 2  menu choices. I chose the Mexican Menu and the typical chicken or beef....I figured it would at least give them some options! I couldn't deal with picking one meal for all my guests...thats not fair to them..

 

 

[bebop]

Thanks Vanessa and congrats to you too!  What is your wedding date?  I just received my first email from Claudy today and she has been very responsive to my questions today!

[ego11]

Hey girls,

Just wanted to give you guys a heads up, I have my $300 deposit coming up so I decided to log on to the payment center on the GCR website. When I logged in I was surprised to see my total was $6,335. I immediately started calculating and crunching numbers. I'm doing the luxury package which is $3,800, we already requested the DJ which is $850 plus a $400 sunset fee...NO where near $6,000. I emailed my WC, Katia to see what happened and she proceeded to give me a list of things I NEVER ordered. I have yet to submit any of my paperwork so it was impossible. She said I had 3 luxury bouquets, two pedal bags? and two bridal bouquets? All of which I never ordered! She also seemed to think we were doing the classic wedding package? I was super worried my venues were wrong now so I pulled out my contract and it definitely has, Lxury package, Dec 17, 4 PM, GCR Gazebo for ceremony and cocktail and villas terrace for reception. I went ahead and sent her an email back verifying all my information and asking that the other stuff be voided off my package. I understand mix ups happen but this is super frustrating especially being so far away.

 

Has anyone else gone through anything like this? 

 

 

[Vanessa C]

Hi Bebop, my wedding date is 11/11/11. I'm glad she was able to answer your questions. She has been very helpful toward me as well.
 

Originally Posted by bebop 

Thanks Vanessa and congrats to you too!  What is your wedding date?  I just received my first email from Claudy today and she has been very responsive to my questions today!

 

[Vanessa C]

Nadennec: You should definitely look into the two menu options.... I'm arriving on the Wed before. Also, just a little advice...if you would like to order some hotel brochures do so now! They are beautiful!! I just received them today. However, be aware that they are very large and thick and therefore you will not be able to include them with your invitations unless you want to pay extra for a larger envelope and more postage. I suggest you order the hotel CDs which are the brochures in an electronic version. I am hoping they can send them to me before the end of this week so I can include those in the invitaiton envelopes and send the invitations out already!! Ugh!

 

Originally Posted by nadennec 

Thanks for all the info! This has definitely been a great help!! I'm sure I'll have more questions as I get closer!

 

Thanks Vanessa C! I'm going to look into two options, and maybe do the same of send the menu options with the invites! When are you arriving in Cancun, Tuesday or any earlier?
 

 

 

[nadennec]

We're arriving the Tuesday before, but only because my WC told me I HAD to since we are getting married in the chapel and had to meet with the preist. Otherwise I would have arrivedon Wednesday as well. Your WC seems so much better than mine, even with letting yall arrive on Wednesday! I asked about the two menu option, and she said she would put in a request, but it still had to be from the set menu, and if I chose something from one of the other menus it was extra. What menu were you able to choose from, the mexican bufffet menu and you just selected items? Mine told me for a mexican menu, I had to do the buffet and it was a minimum of 50 people and still extra charges. We actually had some brochures and cd's already from our travel agent. If you would like, you can send me your address and I'll send you what I have left over (only have cd's left). Its not that many, but I'm not going to do anything with them, so they may as well get used. PM me if you want me to send them to you.
 

Originally Posted by Vanessa C 

Nadennec: You should definitely look into the two menu options.... I'm arriving on the Wed before. Also, just a little advice...if you would like to order some hotel brochures do so now! They are beautiful!! I just received them today. However, be aware that they are very large and thick and therefore you will not be able to include them with your invitations unless you want to pay extra for a larger envelope and more postage. I suggest you order the hotel CDs which are the brochures in an electronic version. I am hoping they can send them to me before the end of this week so I can include those in the invitaiton envelopes and send the invitations out already!! Ugh!