Is anyone out there planning a wedding at La Amada in Playa Mujeres?

[uhleesa]

 

Originally Posted by Kristine624 

hi everyone!

 

my fiance and i are getting married at la amada on may 20th, 2011.  i am SO excited to meet other people on this forum who are getting married at this hotel! with it being so new, it seems there are not many la amada brides-to-be out there.  and...i live in nyc, too!  my fiance and i bought a condo in astoria two years ago, and before this, we lived on the UES. 

 

we went for our site visit in august and fell in love with the hotel.  ileana was not there, so we met with nayeli (the other wedding coordinator).  we had a tasting and everything was just amazing.  i do agree, the lack of attention from ileana is challenging - she is so difficult to get in touch with!  she also said that we do not need to worry about the details at this point, but we are less than 7 months out at this point, so i am making her start these conversations now.  i get too nervous not having these things planned!  at this point, we have established group rates with our travel agent, and people are starting to book  

 

we are having a welcome dinner the wednesday night beforehand (i am thinking a beach bbq, if they will do it) and then we want to have our rehearsal dinner on thursdsay.  our wedding will be on friday night and we are going to do brunch after on saturday.  we anticipate about 70 people will be in attendance at our wedding.

 

it sounds like you guys have gone with vendors outside of the hotel - they told us that we could not do this.  how did you get away with it?  would love to know!  it was a bit of a fight to get an "outside" photographer.  so, i'm curious to know who all of you are working with, and want to confirm that la amada agreed to that.

 

also, have any of you met with the makeup/hair artists?  i met them in august during the site visit, but didn't have anything done.  i would love to know if they are good.  we did use the spa, and it's AMAZING.

 

again, glad to know there are more la amada brides to be here!

 

 

 

Hey Kristine, welcome!

  It's def nice to know of others who are planning a wedding at La Amada. My fiance and I are planning our visit in December and are hoping to get a lot of the planning out of the way while we're there. You mentioned that you visited in August. How was the weather? Our wedding is going to be next August and I'm just a little anxious about the weather. It's going to be so hot! I'm hoping that there will be some palm trees on the beach so when we have the ceremony on the beach it won't be so hot!

 

As for Ileana, yes, she is slow to respond sometimes, but I have found that she always answers my questions thoroughly. I didnt really have a problem with the photographer since the hotel doesn't even have a package with a photographer.

 

I'm also a little concerned about the hair/makeup. I'm an Asian girl, so I hope whoever they have there knows how to work with my skin, eyes and hair. Plus, it's going to be hot, so I'm hoping they have something heat resistant. I heard that airbrushing does the trick, but not sure if that's true or even if they have that.

 

Hope this helps!

[skadow]

Who did you go with for photography? Also if you need an outside hair and makeup person a lot of girls in this area have gone with Fernado. If you want his contact information let me know. There are a few threads about him. I have him booked along with Del Sol for my wedding.

 

 

 

Originally Posted by Kristine624 

hi everyone!

 

my fiance and i are getting married at la amada on may 20th, 2011.  i am SO excited to meet other people on this forum who are getting married at this hotel! with it being so new, it seems there are not many la amada brides-to-be out there.  and...i live in nyc, too!  my fiance and i bought a condo in astoria two years ago, and before this, we lived on the UES. 

 

we went for our site visit in august and fell in love with the hotel.  ileana was not there, so we met with nayeli (the other wedding coordinator).  we had a tasting and everything was just amazing.  i do agree, the lack of attention from ileana is challenging - she is so difficult to get in touch with!  she also said that we do not need to worry about the details at this point, but we are less than 7 months out at this point, so i am making her start these conversations now.  i get too nervous not having these things planned!  at this point, we have established group rates with our travel agent, and people are starting to book  

 

we are having a welcome dinner the wednesday night beforehand (i am thinking a beach bbq, if they will do it) and then we want to have our rehearsal dinner on thursdsay.  our wedding will be on friday night and we are going to do brunch after on saturday.  we anticipate about 70 people will be in attendance at our wedding.

 

it sounds like you guys have gone with vendors outside of the hotel - they told us that we could not do this.  how did you get away with it?  would love to know!  it was a bit of a fight to get an "outside" photographer.  so, i'm curious to know who all of you are working with, and want to confirm that la amada agreed to that.

 

also, have any of you met with the makeup/hair artists?  i met them in august during the site visit, but didn't have anything done.  i would love to know if they are good.  we did use the spa, and it's AMAZING.

 

again, glad to know there are more la amada brides to be here!

 

 

 

[TilliePiper]

 

Hey ladies! This is a LONG post, so be forewarned. :-)   Kristine, if you're free tomorrow night jfuller and dmarr and I are getting together in the West Village at 6:30-ish to meet up, chat weddings, La Amada, etc. Want to join? Feel free to email me at laurelpetriello [at] gmail.com for details. Hope you can join!   Uhleesa, depending on where you are in NJ, if you can make it, you wanna meet up with us, too, tomorrow? Just email me for details if you can. :-)   So Kristine, on the welcome dinner, I know they can accommodate dinners on the beach (I've been thinking about doing my welcome dinner in the palapa on the beach), but like I mentioned a few threads ago, it gets very windy at night...like more windy than you're average beach at night. BUT, I was there in the October. Maybe it's different during other parts of the year?   Also, as for outside vendors, I'm gonna venture a guess. Did you get that info from Nayeli? Since you met with her instead of Ileana, she might not have all of her facts straight because she is the wedding coordinator for their sister property Excellence Playa Mujeres, which is all-incusive, so that makes sense. Since La Amada is not all-inclusive, they don't have as many restrictions (or any that I've run into for that matter).   I've had a great experience bringing in outside vendors, but I'm also working with Denise Courtney from Tropical Wedding Experts. I would HIGHLY recommend working with them. I can even give you Denise's email address if you like. They are essentially a wedding planning aggregator. They work with brides and grooms just like any wedding coordinator would, but instead of charging you, they get commission from the vendors you choose to work with. It's a win-win situation, because it's not extra cost to you (save for any gratuity you choose to give at the end) AND they know the area and the local vendors inside & out AND they have dozens of vendors they work with to choose from. Denise and TWE have kinda been a godsend for me, so I will definitely sing their praises from the treetops. :-)   You should have no problem hiring an "outside" photographer. I'm using Samuel Luna. I haven't met him, which is a downer, but his portfolio is beautiful!   As for hair & makeup, I am freaking out about this a little bit. I didn't have a trial either while I was there a few weeks ago, but now I'm feeling like I should have because I'm less than 4 months out so things are becoming more real. There are good makeup artists and there are BAD makeup artists. My best friend's (and BM) older sister is a makeup artist here in NYC and she INCREDIBLE. I invited her to my wedding and I'm crossing my fingers she can come and do my makeup. If not, I might have her just teach me how to do it myself. Not sure yet. As for hair, not sure either. Was planning on going with the salon at La Amada, but I might see who Denise has up her sleeve, too. She was telling me recently about a makeup artist who just moved to Cancun from LA who is amazing. We'll see on that one.   Uhleesa, on the table set-ups, not sure why the price difference, because I got the two separate quotes, too. Maybe it's dependent upon your amount of guests? Size of centerpieces? We're having a very small shindig--like 15-20 people.   As for tables & set-ups through Gabi at Planner 1, it definitely varies. I work in the design industry so modern decor is a big deal to me. The table set-ups we're going with are $200 for 6 people...but, here again, we're only having a small group, so it's not as big of a deal. I will say, however, that that was the most expensive set-up and she has ones that are a lot more cost effective. I have her pricing list I can send you. Just shoot me an email at the address at the top of the thread.   On the off-site welcome dinner thing, I TOTALLY hear you! I don't want my welcome dinner to cost more than my reception! I sent an email off to Denise last night and hoping she has some good ideas offsite and have her hire a shuttle for us. I'd like to come in at close to 50% of the cost of the reception. If that doesn't work out, I'm gonna talk to Ileana about it a bit more, because I really like the idea of doing a taco bar with Mexican beers in the palapa on the beach and maybe even have them have the bonfire pit going, too...it's just a matter of cost right now. :-(

[Rmarino222]

I have been reading through posts on this website for 2 weeks and am thrilled to have found this one.  I'm in NYC and am recently engaged and am in the process of trying to figure out where to have my wedding on Dec. 2, 2011.  I didn't realize how overwhelming it would be to find the right hotel.  Right now La Amada is top on my list, i'm just a little nervous about the cost of everything.  Would you girls mind giving me an idea of how much the ceremony/reception is costing you and what the rate of the rooms you got for your guests?  I'm expecting to have around 40-50 guests.

[Planner1Events]

hello La Amada Brides!!!

 

Congratulations for choosing this Hotel! It is amazing so beautifull!! We have worked at the hotel a lot of times with Ileana, so anything you need do not hesitate in contact me anytime. Also I can send some pictures from the hotel (not professional, but I usually take some pictures from our set up for register...). I would love help you on this! decor, furniture, flowers.

 

And I was in NYC too for the Bridal Expo!! !!

 

Have a great planning and in case you need to see you on November at the hotel, please let me know!

 

Warmest regards

 

Gabi Lavor

[Kristine624]

Hi there!

 

When we visited in August, we found the weather to be absolutely beautiful!  It was definitely warm, but it did not rain at all.  They mentioned that it's normally a little more tropical/rainy during that time of the year, but we did not have any issues while we were there.

 

K

[Kristine624]

I am so sad that I missed your meet up - I would love to get to the next one.  I was at my friend's wedding this weekend in Westchester, so I am just seeing these responses now.  Did you guys get to share a lot of good tips?

 

Thanks SO much for the heads up on the beach - When we were there in August, it wasn't windy at all at night.  So, I assume it's a seasonal thing.  We could always look to the lounge area if we needed to.

 

The interesting part about the vendors is that Ileana told me that we could not bring in outside vendors.  She mentioned that they work with a union of vendors, and that all brides and grooms had to stick to those particular vendors.  This was in August, so perhaps they have changed it up but  I'll be emailing her now to straighten that out!  I would LOVE Denise's email if you have it!

 

I am using Daniel Aguilar.  His photography is STUNNING.  We are SO excited for him to shoot the wedding - everything we have seen is just beautiful.  He's shooting a ton of pictures for us (wedding day, rehearsal dinner, two hours at the ruins, brunch the next day).  It's been really fun planning with him!

 

K
 

Originally Posted by TilliePiper 

 

Hey ladies! This is a LONG post, so be forewarned. :-)   Kristine, if you're free tomorrow night jfuller and dmarr and I are getting together in the West Village at 6:30-ish to meet up, chat weddings, La Amada, etc. Want to join? Feel free to email me at laurelpetriello [at] gmail.com for details. Hope you can join!   Uhleesa, depending on where you are in NJ, if you can make it, you wanna meet up with us, too, tomorrow? Just email me for details if you can. :-)   So Kristine, on the welcome dinner, I know they can accommodate dinners on the beach (I've been thinking about doing my welcome dinner in the palapa on the beach), but like I mentioned a few threads ago, it gets very windy at night...like more windy than you're average beach at night. BUT, I was there in the October. Maybe it's different during other parts of the year?   Also, as for outside vendors, I'm gonna venture a guess. Did you get that info from Nayeli? Since you met with her instead of Ileana, she might not have all of her facts straight because she is the wedding coordinator for their sister property Excellence Playa Mujeres, which is all-incusive, so that makes sense. Since La Amada is not all-inclusive, they don't have as many restrictions (or any that I've run into for that matter).   I've had a great experience bringing in outside vendors, but I'm also working with Denise Courtney from Tropical Wedding Experts. I would HIGHLY recommend working with them. I can even give you Denise's email address if you like. They are essentially a wedding planning aggregator. They work with brides and grooms just like any wedding coordinator would, but instead of charging you, they get commission from the vendors you choose to work with. It's a win-win situation, because it's not extra cost to you (save for any gratuity you choose to give at the end) AND they know the area and the local vendors inside & out AND they have dozens of vendors they work with to choose from. Denise and TWE have kinda been a godsend for me, so I will definitely sing their praises from the treetops. :-)   You should have no problem hiring an "outside" photographer. I'm using Samuel Luna. I haven't met him, which is a downer, but his portfolio is beautiful!   As for hair & makeup, I am freaking out about this a little bit. I didn't have a trial either while I was there a few weeks ago, but now I'm feeling like I should have because I'm less than 4 months out so things are becoming more real. There are good makeup artists and there are BAD makeup artists. My best friend's (and BM) older sister is a makeup artist here in NYC and she INCREDIBLE. I invited her to my wedding and I'm crossing my fingers she can come and do my makeup. If not, I might have her just teach me how to do it myself. Not sure yet. As for hair, not sure either. Was planning on going with the salon at La Amada, but I might see who Denise has up her sleeve, too. She was telling me recently about a makeup artist who just moved to Cancun from LA who is amazing. We'll see on that one.   Uhleesa, on the table set-ups, not sure why the price difference, because I got the two separate quotes, too. Maybe it's dependent upon your amount of guests? Size of centerpieces? We're having a very small shindig--like 15-20 people.   As for tables & set-ups through Gabi at Planner 1, it definitely varies. I work in the design industry so modern decor is a big deal to me. The table set-ups we're going with are $200 for 6 people...but, here again, we're only having a small group, so it's not as big of a deal. I will say, however, that that was the most expensive set-up and she has ones that are a lot more cost effective. I have her pricing list I can send you. Just shoot me an email at the address at the top of the thread.   On the off-site welcome dinner thing, I TOTALLY hear you! I don't want my welcome dinner to cost more than my reception! I sent an email off to Denise last night and hoping she has some good ideas offsite and have her hire a shuttle for us. I'd like to come in at close to 50% of the cost of the reception. If that doesn't work out, I'm gonna talk to Ileana about it a bit more, because I really like the idea of doing a taco bar with Mexican beers in the palapa on the beach and maybe even have them have the bonfire pit going, too...it's just a matter of cost right now. :-(

[woktor]

Hi ladies, I am coming to this forum late but my wedding is in less than 5 weeks - Dec 4th - at La Amada. So soon! Wish I would have read this beforehand as I also live in NYC. : )

 

We have almost 90 people coming to the wedding. I have a had a great experience working with Ileana BUT I am a very laid back bride, and honestly there are still many details that need to be ironed out. I have a friend who planned a major corporate event with her at Excellence and she assures me that she is really on top of everything and once we get there, everything will be organized and set. I am trusting that is the case but TBD. Fingers crossed!

 

We are using all vendors from the hotel for the most part - all food, flowers, etc. We didn't do a tasting but when we did a site visit in April, all the food there was great so I'm not too worried about that. I did not choose a cake, bouquets or centerpieces from the pictures they provided though. I found pictures of what I wanted online and sent them to Ileana so am hoping that what we get is as close to what I requested as possible. We are using the DJ the hotel recommended - DJ Mannia- but we are bringing a hard drive with music we want played just in case. We are flying in our own photographer from Puerto Vallarta - Elizabeth Lloyd- who is amazing!

 

We are having a welcome dinner the night before at Lupita Lounge. We're doing a Mexican buffet and open bar, which is still pricey but will end up being about half the cost of what the reception will be. I considered having it on the beach but was nervous about the wind, plus I loved the feel of the lounge. We're not going to have formal seating or anything just the cocktail tables and seats that are already there. The ceremony will be on the beach, cocktail hour around the pool (with the Mariachi band) and reception at Isla Grill. I am still waiting on the layout of the tables for the reception though, including where the dance floor will be positioned. Hope to get that from Ileana in the next day or so so we can do the tables.

 

Since we have so many people coming, we are not going to bring our own alcohol bc we'd rather pay extra to not have to deal with buying it all, determining how much we need, etc. However, there is a Sam's Club on the way to La Amada from the airport and we are going to get alcohol for our rooms there since we found the drinks at La Amada to be expensive (NYC prices!).

 

The only thing I have not figured out yet is who is doing my hair, which I need to do THIS WEEK. Has anyone had their hair done at the spa/salon at La Amada? Can anyone recommend someone outside the hotel? Luckily, I have a friend who can do my makeup for me.

 

Any questions for me or other suggestions I may not have thought of, let me know.

[jfuller]

Hi!  I'm glad you found this post -- it's been super helpful to see everyone's responses so far! 

 

We decided on La Amada for a couple reasons -- Cancun is a direct flight from NYC and LA, where most our guests are from.  Playa Mujeres is close to the airport, and not in the insanely congested and cheesy/spring break-y/generic hotel zone.  The hotels in Rivieria Maya are beautiful, but the ones that you would want to have your wedding at are insanely expensive (unless you're okay with your guests paying >$400/night for a hotel room).  In Playa Mujeres there are two hotels - La Amada and Excellence, and Excellence is adults only.  Considering that there will be kids at our wedding, and most importantly considering that La Amada is a beautiful, small boutiquey hotel with excellent service and pricing, we knew it was the place for us.

 

For pricing -- December is a little more expensive, so room rates will likely be >$200/night -- if you decide to do your wedding there I'd lock in a group rate earlier than later.  For the wedding, you could estimate that you'll probably be paying ~$50/person for food, ~$55/person for open bar, $3000 for a photographer, $2800 for music (this covers a musician for the ceremony, mariachis for cocktail hour, and DJ for the whole night), and there's a flat fee of $995 to have a wedding at La Amada (covers the minister, setup, etc). 

 

Does that give you a good idea?  It's entirely feasible to have a really nice, affordable wedding at this incredible hotel   What do the rest of you guys on the blog thing?

 

 

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rmarino222 

I have been reading through posts on this website for 2 weeks and am thrilled to have found this one.  I'm in NYC and am recently engaged and am in the process of trying to figure out where to have my wedding on Dec. 2, 2011.  I didn't realize how overwhelming it would be to find the right hotel.  Right now La Amada is top on my list, i'm just a little nervous about the cost of everything.  Would you girls mind giving me an idea of how much the ceremony/reception is costing you and what the rate of the rooms you got for your guests?  I'm expecting to have around 40-50 guests.

[Rmarino222]

I'm soo happy to have found this thread because i am just starting my planning and it looks like all of you have already got a good handle on things!!!   Thanks sooo much for the info!  Right now i'm just waiting to hear back from Ileana and I'm almost positive that we're going to book La Amada.  I absolutely LOVE the hotel and love that it's small and intimate.  I really don't want to be at a hotel where i'm one in 20 brides there for the weekend.   

 

To the girls that mentioned bringing in their own liquor - did you confirm that it's ok?  If so, any further information regarding that would be helpful.  I would love to cut down the cost of the open bar by bringing in my own alcohol, i just want to make sure that i'll be saving enough for the hassle of doing it myself. 

 

Woktor had mentioned DJ Mannia and after looking at all the rave reviews, i think i want to use them.  When i contacted them they told me to go through the hotel.  Is DJ Mannia the company that La Amada uses?  For photography i think i'm going with Sascha Gluck - is anyone using him?  His blog is great and i saw a ton of great reviews on this site.  Is anyone doing the bonfire on the beach?  it seems like it would be so fun!