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

[Rmarino222]

I have 10 1/2 months to go and finally feel like it's all real!  I found my dress this weekend and am soooo excited about it.  I have my first site visit to La Amada on the 27th and can't wait to finally see it in person!  I'm heading down with my mom and sister for the site visit and we're doing the all-inclusive plan so that we can be sure to taste as much as we can and plan our menu around what we like. My finance and i have decided to do the all-inclusive for the week that we'll be there for wedding and i have a feeling that most of our guests will follow suit.  for $80/person/day it's totally worth it.  my friends and family do a lot of drinking and eating so i think that we'll easily get our monies worth.  and since i think that most people will be doing the all-inclusive, i might just do open bar for beer and wine for the welcome dinner and reception since everyone can get other drinks with the all-inclusive if they want them. that's just a thought for now.  

 

we have decided on having the mariachi band during the cocktail hour.  So far i've heard from 2 recent la amada brides that it was the best decision they had made and totall worth the money.  One bride told me that she got the price down to $500, so i'm going to talk to Ileana about matching that price for me.

 

kristine - the decor sounds amazing and i can't wait to talk to Gabi while i'm in mexico to see what my options are.  the floating candles in the pool are amazing and i'm totally copying you on that!  my bridesmaids are wearing fuschia (haven't found the dresses yet) and i'm having my mom and my future mom-in-law in navy and teal so your color scheme isn't too far off from mine.  Hopefully you'll pass around some pics after the wedding!

 

What time is everyone doing their ceremony?  i really want mine to be while the sun is setting and then have the cocktail hour while it's getting dark near the pool.  another thing i have on my list to talk to Ileana about!

 

i'm putting my fiance in a dark grey suit with a light pink shirt and the groomsmen are all going to be in navy suits with light pink shirts.  i saw a pic from another La Amada bride who did this (including the fuschia bridesmaid dresses) and it looks amazing!!  im still thinking about what shoes the guys should wear.  what is everyone else doing for shoes for the guys?

 

Kristine - what did you decide on for the menu?  and what is everyone doing for a cake?  i've heard mixed things about the cakes there and just figured i'd see what you all were doing. 

 

i can't wait to see the place in person and meet Ileana face-to-face (and hopefully Gabi too, i still need to check that she's available that weekend) and then when i get home i'll probably start doing a lot more planning. 

 

i'm still in the beginning of the planning and would love to get some updates and ideas from the other la amada brides out there!  happy planning to all!

 

[Rmarino222]

I’ve got 10 ½ months and am excited that the planning is moving along well!  I found my dress on Sunday and am sooo excited about it!  Even better, I’m heading down to finally see La Amada in person next week!  I can’t wait to finally see the place with my own eyes and to meet Ileana and Gabi to start going over all the options! 

 

We are also taking advantage of the all-inclusive plan both for my site visit next week and for the week my fiancé and I are down there for the wedding.  We’re all big eaters and drinkers and there’s no doubt in my mind that we can eat/drink $80 worth a day!  and especially during the site visit when we’re going to do our best to taste a little everything so that we can decide on our wedding menu! I’m not sure if all my guests will be doing it but from the sounds of it, it seems like at least most of them will be.  That being said, it might effect what I choose to include in my open bar for the wedding, as well as the dinner we’re going to host the night after the wedding. (we’re doing our wedding Friday and then instead of a welcome or rehearsal dinner, we’re doing a celebration dinner Saturday night)  I’ll have to talk to Ileana about how it would work if the guests are doing the all-inclusive option.  Does anyone know if they make you wear bracelets or anything so they know who’s all-inclusive and who’s not? 

 

Kristine – I LOVE the idea of putting floating candles in the pool and the paper lanterns and think I’m most likely copying you on that!  it sounds beautiful.  Do you have any pics of what its going to look like?  With 4 months to go, you sound like you’ve got everything under control! 

 

Now that I’ve found my dress I can start moving on to figuring out what everyone else is wearing.  I’m putting my bridesmaids in fuschia and have a few possibilities that I need to see in person and see on them.  I know I want strapless (with optional straps for the bigger-chested girls) and then my gift to them is going to be a big chunky turquoise necklace that they’ll all wear, which will match the big chunky drop turquoise earrings that I’m going wear.  for the guys we are doing navy blue suits with pink shirts, no ties and my fiancé is going to wear a dark grey suit with a pink shirt and no tie.  I saw someone else’s pics with that color scheme and it looks amazing!  then I’m going to have my mom and my fiance’s mom in navy and/or teal/turquoise. 

 

I’m excited to meet with gabi to start talking about candle and flower options.  I want bright colored flowers and soft candle light everywhere.  Kristine – I’m totally thinking of doing a lot of the things that you described.  Hopefully after the wedding you won’t mind sending along pics!!!!

 

I still have no idea what songs we’re using but I figure I have plenty of time to figure it all out.  I figure that most of the planning will begin either at the site visit or following it because I really want to see the place in person and taste the food before making any big decisions.  I have a long list of things to go over with Gabi and Ileana and am counting down the days till I get there.

 

I would love to hear how everyone else’s planning is going.  Since I’m still at the beginning stages of planning, I would appreciate any ideas or tips from those of you further along.  And if there are any La amada brides out there who would like to share pictures, I would LOVE to see them.

 

Happy planning to all!

[Rmarino222]

Sorry about the double replies. It had looked to me like the one i tried to submit the other day didn't go through, so i took the time to write another one.  opppssss.

[Kristine624]

hey there!

 

you are so lucky to be heading down, and trust me, you will no be disappointed! it's a beautiful hotel. i have my dress, too! it came in at the end of december, so now i am just working on setting up time with a seamstress to get it fitted.

 

the all-inclusive is a great deal. we are actually paying for half of everyone's all-inclusive rate since we sprung the additional cost on them (we were notified of the all-inclusive after everyone started booking - i was actually really upset that they communicated this to us so late in the game. i wish they were more communicative!) so, while it's definitely an added expense for us, it's keeping everyone very happy.

 

i don't have any pictures of the decor from la amada, but have seen so many pictures from other brides/other hotels and it looks just fantastic!  it's surprisingly expensive, so we are trying to figure out how much everything else is going to add up to before we officially add this stuff on. but, i do love the look of the lanterns/floating candles.

 

i will totally send along pics after my wedding! and it's funny - we do have very similar visions great minds think alike!

 

we are holding 3 dinners for our guests - a welcome dinner, rehearsal dinner and the wedding dinner. for the welcome dinner, we are likely to do the bbq menu - sort of a beach bbq! we love the idea of keeping the first night laid back and relaxing! for the rehearsal dinner, i think we are going to do the tastes of mexico menu. then, for the wedding, we are going to give guests the choice of the beef tenderloin/lobster entree or the chicken/lobster entree. we are going to start with the crab cakes, and we are going to have the caesar salad. our cake will be very simple - just a couple of layers of tres leches. in my opinion, with the heat, it's not worth doing anything too fancy - the cakes just melt!

 

we have our songs picked out, and i have started the master list for the DJ (want to give him songs i definitely want - and definitely do not want - played at the wedding)

 

and, i just booked fernando fuentes for hair/makeup! so excited!

 

 

 

[Rmarino222]

Agreed, for a destination wedding, things are still adding up quite quickly.  but it will all be worth it in the end.  I'm going to sort out my menu and open bar options first and then see how much is left over in the budget for all the decorations.  I think that i might bring some DIY decorations with me, like ribbons to put on the aisle chairs for the ceremony and tissue paper to make my own pom poms (as seen on martha stewart's website).  hopefully i can save at least a little by doing things like that. 

 

kristine - how many guests are you expecting? 

 

For the celebration dinner that we're going to do the night after the wedding, i either want to do a mexican buffet and bonfire on the beach or do the mexican buffet at Lupita Lounge.  I saw pics from a wedding at la amada in december and she did a mexican buffet in Lupita Lounge and it looked great.  it's a great space and they have the ability to block the wind, so i might take advantage of it.  we shall see. 

 

If you don't mind my asking, how much does your hair/makeup guy charge and is there a charge for bringing him into the hotel?  how many bridesmaids do you have?  is it just the one person or are there others to do the bridesmaids and mothers hair?  As of now i was planning on having hair done at the salon and we'll just do our own makeup, but if there are cheaper and better options, i would love to know!!!

[Kristine624]

we have a little over 40 booked, and we anticipate about 60 will come. what about you? we are also in love with the idea of having one of our dinners (i am thinking the welcome dinner) at the lupita lounge. it's an awesome space - relaxing and large. they usually have live entertainment at night, too! can you share the pictures you saw of the december wedding? i would love to see them! fernando charges about $300 for hair and makeup for the bride and i think $100 for the makeup for the bridal party (hair costs range, depending on what you want). it's pricey but SO worth it - from what i have seen, he is a serious artist. everyone who uses him looks absolutely stunning! no charge for having him come to the hotel. i would def use him, if you can.

[Rmarino222]

Kristine - let me check with the bride to make sure she's ok with it and as long as she is, i'll email you some pics.  what's your email address?

[Kristine624]

i'll PM you! thank you so very much!!

[scdoc3]

Hi ya'll!

 

I am new to this form and am in need of some major guidance. I was finally able to narrow down our venue/resort choice and I think La Amada is the top choice =) So my question for all you ladies is should I contact the hotel wedding coordinator Ileana first? Or should I contact Gabi from Planner 1 Events or Denise from Tropical Wedding Experts? I've read great reviews about both ladies. I need help with basically everything such as booking group discounts for accommodation and airfare as well as designing the wedding itself.  I feel like I'm such a mess so any advice will help =) And congrats to all you guys!

[scdoc3]

Hi Ya'll,

 

I am new to this form and am in need of some major guidance. I've finally been able to narrow down venue/resorts and La Amada is the top choice =) So, my first question is where do I go from here? Should I contact the resort wedding coordinator who is Ileana? Or should I contact Gabi from Planner 1 Events or Denise from Tropical Wedding Experts? I've heard great reviews about both of these ladies. I am looking for someone to help me with basically everything from booking discount group rates for accommodation, airfare, and of course the wedding itself! Any advice will greatly be appreciated! And congrats to ya'll!