February 2015 Cancun Bride!

[Carlicardenas]

Hello girls, just wanted to check who was getting married feb 2015 and what you have already booked/checked?

Did you do any DIY project? Will you plan on doing?

 

 

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[girlinthecity97]

Hi Carlicardenas - I am a fellow Feb '15 Cancun area bride. We have narrowed things down to 4 resorts & are going down next week to see them & also scout shops (like Walmart & a souvenir store in Kukulcan Mall) that I could maybe buy some of my OOT bag items at rather than pack everything, especially because I think I will be bringing things for the wedding/ reception decor. Since I will be there early & have to put the bags together anyway, why not save some of that space for things I can't buy there at a good price.

 

So far my save-the-dates, invitations, weekend itinerary, table items (numbers, guest seating cards, and seating charts) are definite DIYs since I have time & haven't found exactly what I was looking for. My sister is really creative & a great crafter so I think we will try doing a brooch bouquet & she is going to do my shoes similar to how she did her own.

 

Looks like you have your location locked - CONGRATS & solo jealous! What DIYs are you doing? Are you in full planning mode? I cannot wait to have a contract finalized so I can move full speed instead of having a bunch of designs and ideas saved.

Edited January 15, 2014 by girlinthecity97

[nattiegams325]

Hey ladies!!! I'm also hoping for February 2015. I think the most stressful part of planning is the part I'm in now-choosing a resort!! We're planning on 40-50 people including 2 toddlers and want an AI with lots of day and night activities. We are going to do site visits once I have them really narrowed down, but as of now I've looked in/emailed Iberostar (Grand/Maya/Lindo), Barcelo Palace, Dreams Riviera Cancun, Grand Velas, and The Palace Resorts/Moon Palace. I'm also working with Wendy at Wright Travel Agency. I've heard back from Iberostar and Barcelo, still waiting on the other 3 but I emailed them a week or less ago.

[girlinthecity97]

@@nattiegams325 - CONGRATS!  i'm finding the resorts to be slow to respond as well. i also have to factor in 3 little girls between the ages of 9 and 2 who will be in the wedding so my list is down to: azul beach, azul sensatori, azul fives, jw marriott, casa magna (though i don't like what i've seen of the casa magna rooms so that may be ruled out on gp). 

[Carlicardenas]

Hi Carlicardenas - I am a fellow Feb '15 Cancun area bride. We have narrowed things down to 4 resorts & are going down next week to see them & also scout shops (like Walmart & a souvenir store in Kukulcan Mall) that I could maybe buy some of my OOT bag items at rather than pack everything, especially because I think I will be bringing things for the wedding/ reception decor. Since I will be there early & have to put the bags together anyway, why not save some of that space for things I can't buy there at a good price.

 

So far my save-the-dates, invitations, weekend itinerary, table items (numbers, guest seating cards, and seating charts) are definite DIYs since I have time & haven't found exactly what I was looking for. My sister is really creative & a great crafter so I think we will try doing a brooch bouquet & she is going to do my shoes similar to how she did her own.

 

Looks like you have your location locked - CONGRATS & solo jealous! What DIYs are you doing? Are you in full planning mode? I cannot wait to have a contract finalized so I can move full speed instead of having a bunch of designs and ideas saved.

 We set the venue after our trip there. Gran Caribe Real. To be honest with you when we went to walmart we did not find a lot of items available there, I am afraid that if i go and they dont have what i need i will freak out i rather pay for an extra lugagge and make sure i have everything ready so i can relax..

Make sure you take into consideration how easy is for your guests to arrive to the place.. I opted for cancun instead of playa because of this.. but some people dont care

I am in full plan mode! Im so anxious to find out how many people can come that i want to know like NOW lol but i have a timeline for everythig so i think I am on track (i hope)!

Hey ladies!!! I'm also hoping for February 2015. I think the most stressful part of planning is the part I'm in now-choosing a resort!! We're planning on 40-50 people including 2 toddlers and want an AI with lots of day and night activities. We are going to do site visits once I have them really narrowed down, but as of now I've looked in/emailed Iberostar (Grand/Maya/Lindo), Barcelo Palace, Dreams Riviera Cancun, Grand Velas, and The Palace Resorts/Moon Palace. I'm also working with Wendy at Wright Travel Agency. I've heard back from Iberostar and Barcelo, still waiting on the other 3 but I emailed them a week or less ago.

 

 i would recommend to narrow them down to 3 resorts max. Think about priorities first like MUST ALLOW KIDS or Chapel necessary. I visited 3 resorts because i needed a chapel. To be honest with you the Moon palace is in the OTHER way of all of the hotels and I did not like the beach there.. (my opnion) but you might want to still check it out Good luck!!

[girlinthecity97]

Carlicardenas - thanks so much for the WalMart tip! That's so annoying because I know I will have a good deal of extra luggage full of other things. My goal resort wise is to make sure it's a 30 min or less ride from the airport. 

[Carlicardenas]

Then u really need to stay in the cancun area, forget playa del Carmen it's 50mins away :$

 

 

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[Ems85]

I totally recommend the moon palace. The beach does have a fair bit of seaweed but the facilities of the hotel far out weigh the seaweed problem on the beach.

I got married there and it was everything I could have wished for and more x

[Lindsay30]

Hey ladies!!! I'm also hoping for February 2015. I think the most stressful part of planning is the part I'm in now-choosing a resort!! We're planning on 40-50 people including 2 toddlers and want an AI with lots of day and night activities. We are going to do site visits once I have them really narrowed down, but as of now I've looked in/emailed Iberostar (Grand/Maya/Lindo), Barcelo Palace, Dreams Riviera Cancun, Grand Velas, and The Palace Resorts/Moon Palace. I'm also working with Wendy at Wright Travel Agency. I've heard back from Iberostar and Barcelo, still waiting on the other 3 but I emailed them a week or less ago.

Congratulations! Choosing the resort is definetly the hardest part of the whole thing and it took my fiance and I a lot longer to make the decision then we thought it would. We went for a site visit a few weeks after getting engaged and saw 7 places while we were there. We looked a few last Feb when we were there on vacation to scope them out but didn't love any of them so we felt the need to go down again. For our site visit, we stayed at Grand Velas. It was our #1 pick and we fell in love. The rooms are amazing, the pool and views incredible but they were not willing to work on the price and for our guests, it would have been outrageous. All our guests would have had to stay in the Zen area which is a jungle portion of the resort and you have to shuttle to the beach and main hotel. The restaurants were a little too fancy so I'm not sure kids would find something they like at all of the restaurants but they have a great buffet that turns into a casual restaurant each night. The $ is really the only thing that made up our minds so we didn't choose it. We also saw Dreams Riviera Cancun. Definetly a place for kids and families. Decently priced as well but it just wasn't for us. The pool area seemed a little crammed and the gazebo for weddings was right on the pool deck next to a play area for kids. The rooms were great and lots of restaurant options. We also went to Barcelo too but the resort was way too big. It's a bunch of resorts next to one another and we felt it was too large for our group. You didn't know when one resort ended and the next one began. We also didn't like that in the 2 hours we were there, they had 2 weddngs at the gazebo. Don't get me wrong, beautiful resort! My future MIL said she would stay there in a heartbeat but it just wasn't what we envisioned for our wedding but it was highly recommended by our travel agent and she says everyone loves it. We went to Dreams Puerto Adventures as well. Perfect wedding and reception options but the hotel was outdated. We went to Rosewood Mayakoba which was insane but we knew with it not being an AI hotel, it was out of our guests and our league. The last resort I booked to see right before we left was the Iberostar Grand Paraiso and that is where we've decided to stay and get married. That hotel is the Adults Only hotel but kids can come for the wedding. Unfortantely if you decide to stay there, they can't come and go as they please throughout the trip. We have a bunch of friends with kids but we asked what they thought and they told us it was our day so go with our gut and we did. We didn't even see all of the other Iberostar resorts but a friends of mine went over Christmas and stayed at the Lindo and loved it. There's great options for everyone within the complex. I liked that once you were in the Grand, you didn't realize there were 4 other hotels in the complex. I'd say our only gripe with the decision in the end was price. We know the Grand is more than we want our guests to spend but we didn't want to settle at a different hotel when some guest might not have come regardless the price. I never thought the hotel rate would be the deciding factor. So far all of the wedding details have been really well prices. Great wedding packages too! I hope some of this helps and I apologize I got a little carried away with my short note here!

[nattiegams325]

Congratulations! Choosing the resort is definetly the hardest part of the whole thing and it took my fiance and I a lot longer to make the decision then we thought it would. We went for a site visit a few weeks after getting engaged and saw 7 places while we were there. We looked a few last Feb when we were there on vacation to scope them out but didn't love any of them so we felt the need to go down again. For our site visit, we stayed at Grand Velas. It was our #1 pick and we fell in love. The rooms are amazing, the pool and views incredible but they were not willing to work on the price and for our guests, it would have been outrageous. All our guests would have had to stay in the Zen area which is a jungle portion of the resort and you have to shuttle to the beach and main hotel. The restaurants were a little too fancy so I'm not sure kids would find something they like at all of the restaurants but they have a great buffet that turns into a casual restaurant each night. The $ is really the only thing that made up our minds so we didn't choose it. We also saw Dreams Riviera Cancun. Definetly a place for kids and families. Decently priced as well but it just wasn't for us. The pool area seemed a little crammed and the gazebo for weddings was right on the pool deck next to a play area for kids. The rooms were great and lots of restaurant options. We also went to Barcelo too but the resort was way too big. It's a bunch of resorts next to one another and we felt it was too large for our group. You didn't know when one resort ended and the next one began. We also didn't like that in the 2 hours we were there, they had 2 weddngs at the gazebo. Don't get me wrong, beautiful resort! My future MIL said she would stay there in a heartbeat but it just wasn't what we envisioned for our wedding but it was highly recommended by our travel agent and she says everyone loves it. We went to Dreams Puerto Adventures as well. Perfect wedding and reception options but the hotel was outdated. We went to Rosewood Mayakoba which was insane but we knew with it not being an AI hotel, it was out of our guests and our league. The last resort I booked to see right before we left was the Iberostar Grand Paraiso and that is where we've decided to stay and get married. That hotel is the Adults Only hotel but kids can come for the wedding. Unfortantely if you decide to stay there, they can't come and go as they please throughout the trip. We have a bunch of friends with kids but we asked what they thought and they told us it was our day so go with our gut and we did. We didn't even see all of the other Iberostar resorts but a friends of mine went over Christmas and stayed at the Lindo and loved it. There's great options for everyone within the complex. I liked that once you were in the Grand, you didn't realize there were 4 other hotels in the complex. I'd say our only gripe with the decision in the end was price. We know the Grand is more than we want our guests to spend but we didn't want to settle at a different hotel when some guest might not have come regardless the price. I never thought the hotel rate would be the deciding factor. So far all of the wedding details have been really well prices. Great wedding packages too! I hope some of this helps and I apologize I got a little carried away with my short note here!

Sounds like we have similar taste! I really wanted the Grand as I don't really like the venue locations for ceremony/reception at the Lindo/Maya, but when they told me 80% of the wedding guests had to stay at the Grand as well, I knew it wouldn't be possible. My family wouldn't have a problem but our friends and and my fiance's family would not want to spend that much. Did they gave you a good rate? We were looking at Jan/Feb 2015 and on apple, funjet, etc it's like 2800/person. I saw yours is in July, did they really take a good amount off the package deals you find online? I haven't gotten so far as getting actual quotes yet but I read in another forum not to look at the package deals because they will (or your travel agent) will quote less. What was your experience?