Photographers & choices on resorts

[cortneyadam]

I am very brand new to this all. I am looking at playa del carmen and riviera maya. Is there a major difference between the two? Also I keep seeing vendors, how do we decide on photographers and it seems many of these places have one, are these photographers giving you more options than the resort? Are they worth the money? Depending on where I end up as a resort, many have a photographer, but can we cut that out of the package? Or maybe get the lesser package?? What have you all found to be the better deal? Thanks everyone!!

Cortney & Adam

[JessiTaylor]

riviera maya is a stretch of coast that comes after cancun...i believe is from playa del carmen to tulum?

 

playa del carmen is one specific small area...very nice beaches.

 

as for photographers - this is dependent whether the resort allows outside vendors. some places say you can use any vendors you want (but they have a suggested list,) others say literally "if you want photographers/flowers/entertainement or whatever...you *must* use someone from our list or not have it." and some places will only allow you to bring in your own photographer if you pay an outside vendor fee...or a hotel room for them for one night.  others, like the haciena tres rios for example will insist on their dj/lighting equipment...but you can use photographer of your choice

 

so it really really depends where you choose. and rules can change from year to year...a bride being allowed something last year is no guarentee you will be allowed it the next year

 

in packages...they are set and you cant reduce them BUT photographers are often listed as an extra and you can choose if you want one or not

 

i dont know if i explained that well or not...feel free to ask for clarification =P i used a non-hotel venue so i dont know much about resort specifics

[cortneyadam]

HI Jessie, thank you so much, that does help.  I just figured i'd ask to see what options  were out there for photographers.  So how did you do your wedding, not being at hotel??  I am so open to most things although may have a middle sized wedding of about 40-50.  Many things to think of in this early process.  I'm learning so much in just one week!!  Did you have your wedding yet?? Where did you go in regards to the towns/cities?  Thanks again,

Cortney

[TATrisha]

Riviera Maya is an amazing place to get married.  There are so many options from Playa Del Carmen, to Akumal, to Tulum.  Beautiful beaches and amazing people.  Your wedding will be gorgeous!  To help decide where you want to go I'd make a list of what is important to you:

• Get married on the beach?
• Soft white sand?
• Children allowed?
• All-inclusive?
• Large resort or small boutique resort?
• Great night life entertainment, or a relaxing zen experience?

Answering these questions will definitely help you narrow down the search.

 

Photographers is a tough one because there are so many options!!

• Resort photographer - familiar with the resort, but typically very expensive and over processed photos
• Local photographers - there are very many AMAZING local photographers in the Riviera Maya.  Del Sol, Elizabeth Medina, etc are just stupendous!  Check with your resort though, as many resorts won't allow local photographers to photograh weddings anymore.  Otherwise there will be an entrance fee.  However, for such amazing photos, if the entrance fee isn't too high, it's totally worth it!
• Fly in a photographer.  This is often forgotten about, however it's usually great bang for your buck.  Many brides choose to fly in their own photographer.  The cost is typically travel plus a fee for the wedding services.  In some cases, this can be MUCH cheaper than the resort photographer.  In almost all cases, the value is much better. When you fly in your photographer you get an entire day of photographs, typically a trash the dress session, and maybe even some candid photos throughout the week of your stay.  Just to give you an idea, in January I photographed a wedding at the Gran Bahia Principe in the Riviera Maya.  The couple flew me in and paid, in total, just over $2500.  They got well over 1,000 photos between the wedding and the trash the dress.  Had they purchased 160 photos from the resort photographer, it was $3000.  So you can see how it was much more logical to fly me in as opposed to using the resort photographer.

 

Good luck in your search for the perfect resort and a photographer.

[JessiTaylor]

youre welcome! well my fiance said he preferred the playa del carmen beaches so i started looking around there - private villas, beach clubs, etc. i havent had it yet, ive been planning for one month and the wedding is next year at xcaret eco-park. incredibly expensive but really beautiful. it was important to me to try to find a private place for the wedding...having 100s of sunbathers watching me while im getting married was really offputting to me and i thought i would end up super nervous on the day if i had a wedding somewhere public like a beach. i did love kool beach club and blue venado beach club as my joint second choice though!

 

i am having100 guests...and the hotels i was looking into kept asking me to guarentee 80% of the wedding guests would stay at the hotel...and i wasnt sure i could do that (well without rail roading them into staying). i liked xcaret as that people could stay in hostels or 5 star hotels according to their budget and still come to the wedding!

 

Tlseege's idea about making a list of what you want is a very good idea, helps you focus your search and reject unsuitable places more quickly!

 

im still trying to choose a hotel to stay in (and hopefully a lot of my guests will join us there if they want) and there are just too many options!!

[Pierre Violle]

How find a trustworthy and creative wedding photographer? With 6 years covering wedding, I would like to share my experience with brides and I wrote an article giving you the keys to choose the wedding photographer you need: 

 

How to Choose Your Wedding Photographer!

 

Sure that will help you to make your choice!!

 

[Chris N C Photo]

Hey there!

 

I would concur with Tlseege about local photographers vs. flying in your own.

Here is something else I've noticed. With local vendors in any busy market, there's an element of-- I don't really know what to call it-- weariness, I suppose, that sets in. Your wedding is probably just like the other 4 they shot at your resort this week. And you can't blame them, really, when it's just their daily job! but I know for me and my partner, and other non-local destination photographers I've seen, travelling adds an element of excitement and makes the work that much sharper, the images more original and surprising.

Those are my two cents!

 

Good luck!

Chris

[Moments That Matter]

Congrats Cortneyadam and welcome aboard this forum ! Lots of great info and support here To help choose a resort, we've posted some helpful info on our webpage here:http://momentsthatmatterphotography.com/choosingresort.html

You can also check out our gallery for some great wedding  "moments that matter" we captured at the various resorts you may be considering. All the best to you, and happy planning