Now Sapphire Weddings Formerly Paradisus Riviera

[JaxBchKay]

Hey all!  I am still trying to get back into the swing of the real world after 2 amazing weeks in paradise!  I wanted to share a few things from my experience that might be helpful.

 

The resort - this place is absolutely stunning, the service is incredible.  All my 30 guests were thrilled by all of it.  There are always going to be a few small issues, but the staff immediately corrected anything as it happened and were so friendly and helpful!!  We didn’t have a single bad meal the entire time.  The French place was our favorite, but they were all good.   Our private dinner on the beach was amazing! 

 

Our room was preferred club Beach Front – so we could walk right from our patio onto the beach.  We were also in building 3 so close to everything including the swing bar on the beach which was awesome.  We did have a little cash taken one day from our room, but it’s our fault for leaving it out.  The average earnings per day is like $5 for most people there so keep that in mind also when tipping.  We tipped everyone and they were so appreciative.  We got good service even before we tipped, but of course it was even better after. 

 

  Juan Carlos was amazing!  I brought all kinds of decorations but really only had a general idea of how I wanted things to look because I didn’t do a site visit.  I just talked with Juan Carlos about how I envisioned that day and left everything with him.  I was blown away, it was stunning!  You are in very good hands. 

 

Wedding Locations - There are 3 weddings pretty much every day from now till July, so in our 2 weeks there, we saw a LOT of different weddings at all three locations (4 actually since one was at the chess board gazebo). 

 

Tequila Terrace - I have to say that we felt GREAT about our decision to be on the Tequila Terrace, it is still my favorite location at the resort, but they are all nice.  The Tequila Terrace is the most private, it’s way on the end of the resort and there isn’t a resort right next door on that side so you don’t get the walk through traffic that the other locations get.  You won’t even notice any of the restaurants if they are open, the BlueWater Grill was closed the day of our wedding so we were the only ones around, you really don’t notice the people in the Mexican place or the buffet.  We had our ceremony on the beach and had cocktail hour set up on the beach, but really everyone stayed on the terrace.  I was thankful for the lounge furniture on the beach during the reception since there was a good breeze down there and hubby and I snuck away for a few minutes to cool off and be alone for a minute.  I had the cake cutting right after dinner and it was delicious!  I gave Juan Carlos some items I wanted on the cake and it was beautiful. 

 

The Beach Terrace – this one is the most public of the locations but it wasn’t really an issue for the couples using it for their reception because when the pool bar closes, everyone sort of leaves the area.  You will get a lot of walk by traffic as people are going to dinner, etc.  I ran by the wedding there on my way to my room when I changed into my reception dress and a few people from the wedding there made comments saying congratulations, but I don’t think it took anything away from their reception.  The beach wedding location is where you will find the most walk bys during your ceremony or people standing watching. 

 

The Preferred Pool – The beach location for the ceremony that goes with the preferred pool is sort of off to one side of the resort (opposite side form the Tequila Terrace) but the beach flows right into another resort, and the Swing Bar is right there as well (I forget the real name of that bar but it’s the one right on the beach and all the seats are swings) There were several afternoons we were at the swing bar drinking and everyone was watching the wedding and clapping.  If you don’t mind strangers watching, this location is really fun.  The reception area at the preferred pool is really beautiful, I just wanted to see the beach, and you can’t at all from there.

 

The chess board gazebo – this is usually a rain backup location but you can pick it if you like.  It’s pretty, but also right next to the main lobby.  They pull down curtains to create a bit of privacy, but the view is of the main pool not the beach. 

 

The Spa and Salon – We had a great couples massage, and my sister and one friend got their hair and makeup done at the salon.  They did a good job, and both were pleased. 

 

The Styling Trio – I hired them to do a trial, my hair and makeup, my bridesmaids hair and makeup and my makeup for my trash the dress photoshoot.  These ladies are Miracle Workers, if I could bring them home to do my hair and makeup every day I absolutely would.   I had my trial on Thursday morning at 9am, and it still looked perfect for our welcome cocktail party at 6pm. 

 

Welcome Cocktail Party – we got the promotion where we got a free party when we booked our wedding.  It was set up on the main pool terrace and it was beautiful.  I didn’t ask about any of the details, just let Juan Carlos run with it and I was not disappointed. 

 

Resort Photographers – We used the photography from the Divine package for our welcome cocktail party.  They did a nice job, but I would have been upset if they had been my wedding photos.  They showed me about 150 images and I had a hard time picking 24, a few are great but most were just OK.

 

Photographer – Dean Sanderson – He was the best!  So much fun to work with and the difference was so clear, he gave great direction and advice.  I can’t wait to see the final images, but the candids some friends took while Dean was shooting let me see that I made the right choice!  Our trash the dress session on Monday was also a great experience. 

 

Wisteria Wedding Films – I hired these ladies for videography.  They were so much fun!  They live in Colorado but are doing more weddings in the Riviera Maya area.  The price was very reasonable and I know the finished product will be great, I will share it when I get it.

 

Disco Movil – They were great, I didn’t give them a lot of restrictions so they could just feel out the crowd.  They kept everyone dancing and things went so smoothly. 

 

Photobooth- this was so fun and I am glad we did it!  We only had it for 2 hours (8-10pm) while everyone was dancing.  It was a huge hit and worth the money for sure.

 

Sorry, I didn’t intend for this to be so long, but if you have any questions please ask.

[banana2016]

Hello Everyone!

 

I just have some concerns about the makeup and hair! How did the brides that got their hair and makeup down at the Now Sapphire feel about it? Any tips?

[TCM4252015]

I had the ladies at now do my hair and it turned out great and last all night. I did my own makeup bc I'm a makeup artist.

[vancouverpetunia]

@@JaxBchKay - Thank you so much for your review! I'm getting married at Now Sapphire on April 7, 2016. Reviews are so helpful (and generally reassuring)! I have a couple of questions for you:

• What time was your ceremony/cocktail hour/reception (and until what time)? Were you happy with the timing?
• You mentioned lounge furniture on the beach. Is that always there or did you rent it for your event?

Thanks again for your feedback on the resort. Really appreciate it!

[JaxBchKay]

@@JaxBchKay - Thank you so much for your review! I'm getting married at Now Sapphire on April 7, 2016. Reviews are so helpful (and generally reassuring)! I have a couple of questions for you:

• What time was your ceremony/cocktail hour/reception (and until what time)? Were you happy with the timing?
• You mentioned lounge furniture on the beach. Is that always there or did you rent it for your event?

Thanks again for your feedback on the resort. Really appreciate it!

Our ceremony was at 4 - Then we did a break for pictures and cocktail hour started at 6 with reception from 7-10.  The time worked out really great, I was worried about guests having something to do during the break but our bar was already set up so they were able to hang out on the terrace and get drinks.  The timing worked out really well, we weren't rushed during pictures or anything which was nice.  If you aren't sure about timing, just ask your wedding coordinator.  They can give you great suggestions.  

 

The lounge furniture is available for rent, and really lovely.  It was about $200 for the set but it was a big set and worked really nicely.  I only wish I had put it on the terrace instead of on the beach. 

[vancouverpetunia]

Our ceremony was at 4 - Then we did a break for pictures and cocktail hour started at 6 with reception from 7-10.  The time worked out really great, I was worried about guests having something to do during the break but our bar was already set up so they were able to hang out on the terrace and get drinks.  The timing worked out really well, we weren't rushed during pictures or anything which was nice.  If you aren't sure about timing, just ask your wedding coordinator.  They can give you great suggestions.  

 

The lounge furniture is available for rent, and really lovely.  It was about $200 for the set but it was a big set and worked really nicely.  I only wish I had put it on the terrace instead of on the beach. 

 

@@JaxBchKay - Thanks for the info! Our ceremony is also scheduled for 4 and I was thinking of pushing the cocktail hour to 6. I think it's supposed to start at 5 right now. Did you have to pay any extra to have the bar open for that hour, before the cocktail hour officially started? We are also worried about people wandering off to the bar or something and not coming back in a timely manner 

[JaxBchKay]

@@JaxBchKay - Thanks for the info! Our ceremony is also scheduled for 4 and I was thinking of pushing the cocktail hour to 6. I think it's supposed to start at 5 right now. Did you have to pay any extra to have the bar open for that hour, before the cocktail hour officially started? We are also worried about people wandering off to the bar or something and not coming back in a timely manner 

I didn't pay anything, we didn't know the bar would be ready so we told people to go to the lobby bar for drinks in between (it's not far) but since the bartender was there and started pouring, it was fine.  There weren't waiters during the break and there wasn't any food but nobody minded that at all.  I don't know if they do this all the time or if we got lucky but it worked out great.  We had been at the resort for a few days already and our group had a reputation for tipping already which I think didn't hurt.  We did tip all the wedding waiters and we tipped the bartender even more than everyone else because we kept him very busy. 

[vancouverpetunia]

I didn't pay anything, we didn't know the bar would be ready so we told people to go to the lobby bar for drinks in between (it's not far) but since the bartender was there and started pouring, it was fine.  There weren't waiters during the break and there wasn't any food but nobody minded that at all.  I don't know if they do this all the time or if we got lucky but it worked out great.  We had been at the resort for a few days already and our group had a reputation for tipping already which I think didn't hurt.  We did tip all the wedding waiters and we tipped the bartender even more than everyone else because we kept him very busy. 

 

@@JaxBchKay - That's great! Hopefully it works out for us, too. Did you find that one bartender was enough? I had someone suggest getting a second bartender to make sure that people don't have to wait too long. We will probably have about 35 ppl at the reception.

[JaxBchKay]

@@JaxBchKay - That's great! Hopefully it works out for us, too. Did you find that one bartender was enough? I had someone suggest getting a second bartender to make sure that people don't have to wait too long. We will probably have about 35 ppl at the reception.

 

We had a total of 31 people and we have a lot of drinkers One good bartender was plenty.  I didn't see anyone wait more than a minute or two for a drink.  We even had him making large rounds of complicated shots, and he handled it all with ease.  I don't know if it made any difference in who we got but I told Juan Carlos early on that our group would most likely keep the bartender very busy.   Knowing his attention to detail now, I would not be surprised if he assigned us a bartender he knew could handle it. 

[Ashleyg280]

@@JaxBchKay did you have to pay for an outside vendor fee to use The Styling Trio? If so how much? I have read really great things about them and would love to use them for my hair and makeup!