Iberostar Paraiso Wedding Roll Call

[lindseymarie12]

We're getting hitched at the Iberostar Paraiso Del Mar on September 22, 2012!

[Kelly K]

Oh yeah!  I'm so excited to find other people getting married at Iberostar Paraiso hotels. 

 

I am working with Paulina but have only gotten a confirmation of our wedding date and time.  When do we start the planning?  Should I contact her to start the process? 

 

We will have the wedding on the beach with a private dinner reception at the restaurant on the beach at The Grand.  That restaurant is normally only open for breakfast and lunch so having a private reception there and including children worked out well.  I think the restaurant is normally a buffet.  I have no idea if we will have a choice for what type of food, if it will be a buffet or what.  We anticipate over 80 guests of which about 25 will be kids under 18. 

 

Jane and Brian and Jaclyn, I would love to hear what you have set up so far regarding where you are getting married, what time, if you are doing any type of event besides the wedding.  We were thinking of having a cocktail party (5 to 7pm) the night before the wedding so everyone can get together like a meet and greet.  Since people are staying at Lindo, Maya and Grand, they can then go have dinner wherever they want and we can meet back at Maya Bar after dinner (whoever wants to).  The Maya Bar is big and nice.  We would go there before and after dinner every night when we were there in September. 

 

We are getting married on a Thursday and people are either staying Saturday to Saturday or Wednesday to Sunday.  We have our wedding planned at 6pm.  What do you think about that time?  We will do pics before the wedding.  I'm guessing the cermeony on the beach won't be long....then 6:30pm to 7pm we can have cocktails on the outside patio of restaurant, take a couple more pics on the beach with family and friends and then head into the restaurant to start the reception/dinner at 7pm.  We want to have music but haven't decided what kind and when.  Possibly something for the wedding then a combination of an ipod and a band for the reception.....maybe start with ipod and then band after dinner....8:30pm to 10pm....please tell me what plans you all have made so far....

 

 

[jaclynz55]

Hey! Sorry Ive been so busy so I haunt checked but as of now I'm just about to send the invitations out and dealing with drama from people complaining about flight prices . They are so high for June! But anyway my ceremony is at 5 at the grand on the beach and then it's cocktail hour at la brisa ( I have lots of kids too so we have to rent it out) and ceremony is following. The only thing bothering me is that it's not a civil ceremony so im doing a blessing or catholic ceremony with is not legit on the beach. Is anybody else doing the same?

[jaclynz55]

Oh and I am having a mariachi band for the cerermony and then dj doremixx who I heard is insane. As far as events I know just the rehearsal dinner the night before and so far that's all

[Kelly K]

We are doing the civil ceremony...have you talked to them about food at the Grand?  I'm curious to see what our choices for the reception will be.  Maybe we should do a 5:30pm wedding with cocktail hour on patio from 6 to 7pm and reception from 7pm to 11pm....are you paying extra for a rehearsal dinner?  Where will it be, how many people and if extra, how much?  We were going to do a cocktail party the night before from 5pm to 7pm and then everyone could go to dinner....that way people could meet/get to know each other before the wedding.  Are you doing DJ from 7pm to 11pm?  How much is he?

 

Where are people finding expensive flights from?  We had our travel agent look at Apple and Pleasant Vacations for my family in New Orleans....the best flight times were on American Airlines but the quote for a group rate was higher than published...I don't understand why....so I looked on the American Airlines website and found good flight rates when I booked the hotel with the flight on their website.  It took the airfare from a published rate of $656 to $484 and $510....we booked 18 people through AA...the website only keeps so many cheaper flights open so when they started getting costly, we stopped and checked the next day...sure enough, they opened more lower rate flights.  Depending on what airline has the best flights, try their vacation bookings and see what you can find.

 

When did you start planning with wedding planner...I guess I should get the ball rolling soon.  I am counting on you and Jane and Brian to keep me moving forward.  Thanks for all the information.

 

[bambaleo]

Woohooo November 23rd here we come!

 

We are planning on a beach ceremony ar 4:30 (not sure where) and reception at Tapatio in Paraiso Maya at 6:00.

Sent in the deposit and filled out the paperwork to confirm the wedding date and time, but it doesn't look like they've cut the check yet... I heard this sometimes takes a while.

 

We are going to work with Lily.

 

I have reception menus if anyone is interested. I'm kind of confused as to how the dinners work. From what I understand, the appetizers are buffet style, but the entrees are plated?

Also, I heard you might be able to get choose which menu you have at your reception site (example: the menu from Jambalaya for a reception at Tapatio)... but I'm waiting for follow-up on that.

I was pretty frustrated that the private reception options boil down to 3 - Tapatio (in Paraiso Maya), Jambalaya (at Lindo), or La Brisa (at the Grand)...from those 3, Jambalaya which looks very nice inside, has an 80-person capacity. Tapatio holds many more people but doesn't look as nice as Jambalaya, however they said the decorations can improve the look AND they have a very nice panel of windows that will look niceat sunset.

 

Anyone have any pictures of the different beach ceremony locations or have recommendations for where to have the beach ceremony?

As for music, we're thinking of just bringing a flash drive with selected music and using the in-house DJ - anyone have opinions for or against this?

[Kelly K]

I finally requested more information to start planning and now my wedding planner is Jessica Aguilar.  Jaclyn, is that who you are working with?  How many people do you have coming?  I have over 65 RSVPs so far and expect at least 20 more.  She sent me a menu with choices for starters, soup, mains and desserts.  How does this work?  I am guessing we have to choose a menu but one from each category?  Two from each category?  They have an option for rehearsal dinner and other dinners but no charges on them, so I am not sure if they charge or not.  Maybe they are just making large group dinner reservations at an al a carte restaurant?  What are you doing for rehearsal dinner...how many will be there?  I have the FREE WEDDING package for 2012 for The Grand and it includes more than what is on the website...you have to have a minimum of 5 rooms booked at the Grand for 3 or more days.  I can send it to anyone who is interested.

 

Jaclyn...I'd love to hear an update of what you have booked....I wish we had someone getting married sooner who could help us understand what we need to do!!!

[janeandbrian]

I am planning on catholic wedding package at the chapel, and then photos after that.  As far as the reception, since we are only having about 25 people we are having reception at french restaurant with the steak house option. I chose steak house because it included beef, seafood and chicken for the guest. I will say that I am not impressed with the appetizers which include onion rings, but overall I was happy with the menu and the fact that Lily the wedding planner has sent me several photos.  I am starting to get nervous, because we are getting married in June and I feel the count down has begun.  I don't know what to take as far as wedding favors, and things like that.  What are you all doing??   Happy planning  

[lindseymarie12]

We're doing the dreams blessing package (it's been referred to as the mac-daddy package I believe).  We're getting married on the beach with a private reception in the open air restaurant at the Del Mar.  We went last October to visit the resort and we're super excited about the property, it's beautiful!!  We're working with Luciana, who we met while we were there in October and she is incredibly responsive.  We have DJ Doremixx booked for our reception (I hear he's the best in Cancun!)  Also, we're bringing a photographer from home, for me this is one of the most important aspects as the photos are memories that will live on forever!  That's about all I have planned so far!

[chibridenov9]

Hi Lindsey. 

I'm getting married at the Del Mar on November 9, 2012!!!!  I haven't been to see the resort yet, but it seemed to be the most reasonably priced for guests.  Plus I love the outside open air restaurant for the reception.  Have you decided on your details yet?  

 

I've sent my save the dates and people are starting to book.  I think predicting how many people will actually end is the hardest part.  I've booked the DJ and photographer. I'm now trying to decide what to do for hair/makeup. 

 

How's your planning coming along?!?!