Excellence Riviera Cancun Brides?

[HNeal]

Hello Ladies! Sorry for the delay but I posted a very long and detailed review in the ERC review section. I also posted some pics in my photo gallery. You can access it by going to my profile. I'd be happy to help and answer any questions!

[upstatekj]

Hello Ladies! Sorry for the delay but I posted a very long and detailed review in the ERC review section. I also posted some pics in my photo gallery. You can access it by going to my profile. I'd be happy to help and answer any questions!

thank you @@HNeal! Very helpful!! and your pics are BEAUTIFUL!!

a few questions:

• What types of decorations did you bring for the reception at the lobster house?
• how hot was it during your stay?
• what did you push for with Jessica?

FYI ladies getting married next year - I was told Elias is no longer working at the resort salon after December!!! i'm pretty unhappy about that - i've only heard amazing things about his skills - and now not sure what to expect for hair and makeup!

[HNeal]

@@upstatekj

 

Thanks! I brought quite a bit for the reception. Candles for the table, the lumineers for the table, maracas, and papel picado and paper balls to be hung from ceiling. The maracas and papel picado I had custom made from Maracas Mexico. They are amazing and not too expensive. They are a family run business in Puerta Vallarta.

 

It was sooo hot when we were there in August (high 90's). I love the heat so for me it was fine. The ceremony and cocktail hour were not hot b/c of the breeze off the ocean. The reception was scorching! But I swear no one minded at all b/c we were having so much fun.

 

There were a couple of things I had to push for with Jessica...entree options, time of ceremony, and a couple little odds and ends. It seemed like everything I wanted as long as I asked for it I got it!

 

That is a shame that Elias is leaving. He is so good.

[hapykat]

@@HNeal

 

Hi I was wondering, did you buy the decor from the family business once you arrived or did you order it advance? If in advance, does the business have a website? I'd like to take a look at their stock and see if they to Canada.

You had mentioned you did 2 excursions. Did you pay for everyone?

[JenniferH114]

@@HNeal - Thank you for the detailed review! Even though I am confident in our decision to get married at ERC, it's helpful to continue to hear positive feedback. Also, we booked the DJ but I have been reading mixed reviews. Hopefully we end up having a positive experience with them. I'm glad you had a positive experience with them.

 

I'm sure I will probably think of more questions, but one that keeps jumping to me is regarding tipping. If you don't mind, how did you handle this? I know a lot of it is personal preference, but we definitely want to take care of those who help throughout the day. Some of it seems a little less straightforward (e.g. Jessica, the DJ, etc.). Did you leave anything for the server(s) and bartender(s)?

 

Also, I think what you said about the entrées is interesting. We are planning on having two choices, but I'm wondering if it might be easier to just have one. (We'd have to do some modifying based off of the menu, though, because we aren't too fond of some of the protein pair-ups as-is.)

Edited November 4, 2014 by JenniferH114

[HNeal]

@@JenniferH114

 

I think you made a good choice with the DJ.  I also read mixed reviews and was nervous about this.  We were so happy with the decision.  If you want the reception to flow in a specific manner or are picky with your music I would definitely send them a list though.  They were able to pretty much get any song I requested as long as they have enough advance notice.

 

Tipping seems tricky in this situation b/c it is not a typical wedding.  To be honest I am not sure if I even did this correctly.  I did not tip my photographer and that is only b/c I had no idea how to go about it.  I did not know how to tip on a $3000 bill with a lead photographer, second shooter, and assistant.  I just had no idea what to do.  I asked around to some people that I know in the business and the feedback I got was that tips are not expected or customary for a photographer that is hired for an entire day.  However I have heard many people do tip so I am sorry I cannot help you there.  As for Jessica....I was told that her service fee is included in the wedding package cost so I followed advice of other brides and did not tip her.  Our guests tipped the bartenders throughout the night for their services.  I did tip the servers at the end of the reception.  Sorry this was probably not much help and may have confused you more!

 

Jessica allowed us to be flexible with the menu.  We had the Gold Package but chose some options from off of the Silver menu.  Having two entrée options was fine I would just consider the size of your group in this decision.  I would tell her what you want and see if it can be done.

[HNeal]

@@hapykat

 

I ordered the maracas and papel picado in advance from Maracas Mexico.  They are based out of Puerta Vallarta and shipped directly to Jessica at the resort.  They do ship to Canada and the US but it is very expensive so they actually recommend that they ship directly to resort.  It worked out well for me.  I was so happy with the finished product.  I sent them a pic of my stationery and they hand painted the design to coordinate with that.  Below are a couple extra pics of the maracas.  Maracas Mexico does have a website: www.maracasmexico.com and they are also on facebook.

 

 

 

As for the two excursions...we did pay for all of our guests to attend.  It was a big expense but it was something when we were deciding on a destination wedding that we said we wanted to do.  We wanted all of our guests to be able to experience some things that we love to do in Mexico.

@@upstatekj

 

I forgot to include that I also brought table runners for the reception table, cake table, and guest book table. 

[JenniferH114]

@@HNeal

 

We will be sending a music list and probably a do-not-play list. I already reached out to them once and they replied very quickly and sent a form to fill out with specific requests. It's nice to hear that you thought they were worth it. We just didn't want to be messing with an iPhone playlist all night, regardless of the number of people. It's worth the convenience, and I think it just adds to the fun of the night.

 

Thanks for the insight on tipping. I have been hearing the same thing about photographers, especially if he/she works independently. We hired an outside photographer for the whole day; it'll be him and an assistant. If we hired someone that we knew worked for some major photog company and they were likely only getting a portion of the fees, then we'd be more inclined to tip (if that makes sense). I think most photographers do independent work, so they are keeping a large portion of their fees. (We tried tipping our engagement photog because we had such a great time with him and he actually genuinely refused it.) Good to know about Jessica, too. She seems to be such a huge help throughout the day, so I wasn't sure if tipping is expecting. This is helpful. I'll keep it in mind. 

 

Jessica already said that having two entrée choices is fine, but I'm just wondering if it's worth it. We are also doing a welcome dinner/cocktail reception, so we'll be choosing a menu for that, too. We are visiting the resort and meeting with Jessica in a couple of weeks (staying in Cozumel, not at ERC), so I'll ask some more questions about the menu options and possibly changing some things. I think we'll be able to get a lot of things ironed out when we are there.

Does anyone have recommendations for a company that does ziplining? We would like to organize a private group event. It's okay if it's a combo tour of some sort, as long as ziplining is included. (The mother of the groom is just dying to go ziplining!)

Edited November 4, 2014 by JenniferH114

[hapykat]

@@HNeal

 

Thank you for the lightening fast reply . I'm curious, how many days in advance was your package delivered to the resort? I was under the impression that shipping any items was a big no no! Did you need to or shade Jessica? Incidentally what is a paper piccolo? I was also wonder what your group you used to go to coco bongo? Was it a pub crawl?

I was also curious to know more about your wedding day time line and how you broke up the speeches over dinner? I really need some suggestions on how to space this over the evening. So far our ceremony is at 5, 6 cocktails dinner around 7:15. I was wondering if you had any tips on how to have the night flow? I'm finding this part challenging. That being said, since you had a dj, did you appoint anyone as masters of ceremony?

 

Oh one more little detail do you any pics of your bouquet and arrangements? The catalogue

pics are really bad. Thks so much!!!!!

[IrishRose]

Hi!

 

I was wondering if anyone could tell me about the officiant and vows for symbolic ceremonies. Gloria said she couldn't send me the wording in advance, and I'm wondering if we should write our own vows. I'm already planning to do a sand ceremony and am bringing my own vases and wording for that.

 

Thanks!