OFFICIAL Gran Bahia Principe Riviera Maya Thread

[Gemstar1982]

Hi @@emigrayson would be interested on hearing your review and how your lovely day went

[emigrayson]

Hi Ladies! Here is my review

 

We arrived at GBP Tulum on Wednesday March 2, 2016. Upon arriving I received a call from my coordinator and went to meet her in her office. We discussed the wedding wishes and any last minute changes and then payment. She then let me know that the entire amount for the wedding was billed to my room and if others wished to pay a portion they just needed to go to the front desk and give our room number. We were told credit card only - I'm sure this could be paid in cash as they aren't very strict on things and you can usually negotiate if something works better for you.

 

During the first day meeting I was warned there was a chance of rain and given plan B. Which was an indoor wedding and indoor reception in a tented area that would be closed off to other guests. I remained optimistic that I would be able to have my dream beach wedding and poolside reception. That was it for contact with my coordinator until the wedding day, you can find them in their offices attached to the lobby if you need them otherwise.

 

Our wedding day came and so did a monsoon, it started out as a beautiful day and then the skies opened up about 2 hours before our ceremony and didn't let up. So in frequent contact with the coordinator we had no choice but to move it inside. They set up in a small private area at the back of the theatre in Tulum, though it was last minute so it was nothing fancy but they did their absolute best. They transported all of the guests and the bridal party so no one got wet. Everyone except for me and my bridesmaids had to meet in the lobby 20 minutes prior to the ceremony regardless of where it was and then a club cart came and picked up up. The coordinator was there and told everyone where to go but it felt very rushed and they were not prepared with my ceremony music so we didn't get to walk down the isle to the songs we wanted and it kept skipping and jumping so after all of the changes etc that was the only part I was disappointed with. My stepfather actually did our ceremony which was about 20 minutes and then we had an awesome champagne toast. The rain let up just at that point for about 45 minutes so we ran to the pool and beach to get our pictures taken (we used a friend who came with us as our photographer) We also had 10 pictures included through tropic one studio and i'll comment on that below.

 

After pictures we were taken to La Gran Tortuga, when we got there the coordinator notified us of another change, we were given the tented area of the restaurant for the night, so we had dinner there and then the dance, the bar and DJ were set up there and it worked out perfectly. We were given full access to the restaurant so not everyone had to eat the same thing we actually got the salad and appy buffet as well as the Brazilian fare for our main course and the mango mousse dessert I had previously selected. The 3 milks cake was delicious!! 

 

The meal, drinks and the dance were wonderful. The servers and bartenders were excellent and everyone had a wonderful time. After this most of the wedding guests boarded a golf cart train and they delivered us to the disco where we danced the rest of the night away!

 

Looking back on our day/night it was absolutely beautiful, no one can control the weather and the coordinator and her team did an amazing job doing everything they could do and giving us the private tented area for the rest of the night really did work out perfectly. They understood we had paid for extras that the rain just made it impossible for us to have.

 

My only 2 complaints are the ceremony was not planned out enough - it may have been different if we used the beach as were originally going to. I would insist on a quick rehearsal if I was going to do it again, my entire bridal party would have felt more comfortable with a rehearsal as well. Just 10 minutes to show where everyone is standing and who will walk when and where. And then the music not being played correctly was disappointing.

 

2nd complaint was after dinner while dancing my coordinators assistant told me we should have been tipping during dinner and that it is expected. Well we didn't expect this and we tipped the bartender throughout the night but gave the restaurant manager money at the end of the night to give to the serving staff, that seem to work out well and was easier for everyone. I didn't like that the assistant approached me and told me this because it was the last thing I wanted to think about. So nothing major but just a little odd.

 

The staff treated us like gold not only on our wedding day and night but the entire week. Every night and day we had special things placed in our room and every night we had a turn down service with chocolates on the bed. We brought our 2 kids with us and they roomed with us as well so it wasn't as romantic as it could have been but we were really treated special.

We had a wonderful week and everyone attending our wedding had a beautiful time as well. No major problems, one person had a musty room and was moved promptly and we had an air conditioning issue that was fixed right away. The power went out 3 nights in a row and one night was for 4-5 hours and it was very creepy, and hot with no A/C!! We were notified it was a problem with the entire resorts wiring, it only happened at night and not for long the 2nd and 3rd time so again it wasn't the end of the world. Food was incredible. I highly suggest skipping the large buffet for breakfast and lunch and going to the buffet held in La Gran Tortuga during the day by the quiet pool.

 

Tropic One - They did pictures of the ceremony only then handed a card to my husband and said the pictures will be ready in 2 days, he put it in his pocket and forgot about it. 3 days later he took it out of his wedding pants pocket and there was actually an appointment time and location for the previous day on it. I called and they said he was not available so I ended up having to email them when I got home asking them to just pick 10 prints for me and email them to me, they still have not responded. I can't comment on the quality of the pictures yet because I haven't seen any but I do wish they had someone else help us rather than just saying sorry you can try to email him when you get home. They are obsessed with upselling as well so just keep that in mind.

 

I think that's it? Please let me know if you have any questions i'd be happy to help!

[deecol]

Congrats on your wedding @@emigrayson! I'm so happy to hear everything went well and you still loved every moment despite the rain.

 

Thank you for the review! Really appreciate it and very reassuring! I'm sure I will have a bunch more questions for you!

 

 

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[Gemstar1982]

Sounds lovely. Glad all went well apart from rain mishap. Did the tropic 2 photographer take a lot of photos. Only having them for the ceremony and may purchase some extra of good. But like you said. I bet they try the big sell to purchase more.

[emigrayson]

Sounds lovely. Glad all went well apart from rain mishap. Did the tropic 2 photographer take a lot of photos. Only having them for the ceremony and may purchase some extra of good. But like you said. I bet they try the big sell to purchase more.

he said he took about 30 photos of the ceremony!

[amanda88]

@emigrayson  Thanks for sharing your experience with us! It sounds like you still had a very beautiful wedding despite the weather not cooperating with you!

 

What did you use for your centerpieces, if you don't mind sharing? Also, what did you give for wedding favors for your guests? All of these little things add up and are so difficult to decide!

[emigrayson]

@emigrayson  Thanks for sharing your experience with us! It sounds like you still had a very beautiful wedding despite the weather not cooperating with you!

 

What did you use for your centerpieces, if you don't mind sharing? Also, what did you give for wedding favors for your guests? All of these little things add up and are so difficult to decide!

 

Hi there, it was really great We didn't have centerpieces, we had 4 big tables of 8 and it was supposed to be in the restaurant so I didn't use anything, 1 because there didn't seem to be enough room on the tables and 2 because I hate when a centerpiece obstructs the view of guests at the tables! That being said if you wanted to you could fit something smaller and low, or something slender and tall. I really didn't find it necessary with all of the other things on the table already. I think this would depend on how many people you were having per table. We did the opposite of favors and had luggage tags made, 2 for everyone and made small treat bags for the plane with a couple of small snacks and hand sanitizer and games in the kids bags. We did get a group photo that I am having made into a magnet and I will include one for each family in my thank you cards. Hope that helps  We didn't want to go over board on spending money on little things either so I just decided what I really wanted and what small thing I could do instead of spending thousands of dollars on extras which you could easily do! The atmosphere of being in Mexico and the beautiful surroundings are a big focus anyways!!

[deecol]

@@emigrayson so happy to hear you say all that! We are doing centrepieces but they are small (photos in my thread if you wanted to see) and are thinking about not doing favours. I don't want to lug too much with us and can't think of anything practical enough that would travel well to Mexico. Instead we are giving everyone a custom beach bag with a waterproof phone case (bag). Do you think that's enough?

 

 

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[amanda88]

Thank you! That's very helpful!

 

Hi there, it was really great We didn't have centerpieces, we had 4 big tables of 8 and it was supposed to be in the restaurant so I didn't use anything, 1 because there didn't seem to be enough room on the tables and 2 because I hate when a centerpiece obstructs the view of guests at the tables! That being said if you wanted to you could fit something smaller and low, or something slender and tall. I really didn't find it necessary with all of the other things on the table already. I think this would depend on how many people you were having per table. We did the opposite of favors and had luggage tags made, 2 for everyone and made small treat bags for the plane with a couple of small snacks and hand sanitizer and games in the kids bags. We did get a group photo that I am having made into a magnet and I will include one for each family in my thank you cards. Hope that helps  We didn't want to go over board on spending money on little things either so I just decided what I really wanted and what small thing I could do instead of spending thousands of dollars on extras which you could easily do! The atmosphere of being in Mexico and the beautiful surroundings are a big focus anyways!!

I would love to see the centerpieces you'll be using! I checked your photos, but I don't see anything there.

 

@@emigrayson so happy to hear you say all that! We are doing centrepieces but they are small (photos in my thread if you wanted to see) and are thinking about not doing favours. I don't want to lug too much with us and can't think of anything practical enough that would travel well to Mexico. Instead we are giving everyone a custom beach bag with a waterproof phone case (bag). Do you think that's enough?


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[deecol]

@@amanda88 I posted a photo in my planning thread, the link is in my signature    They are really simple, just a vase with flowers, table numbers and an led candle in a mercury glass candle holder.  I didn't want to bring too much with me and keep it really simple. 

Edited March 15, 2016 by deecol