Generations Riviera Maya 2015 Weddings (And 2014 Too)

[EriLu11]

HELP?! I am very close to choosing GRM to host our wedding. Most of our guests will stay at EDR, the reception will have to be a GRM because of ONE child that is attending. Our TA is in the works for confirming a late October or early November date 2015.

 

My FI and I are pretty laid back people. We would want our ceremony on the beach and I am guessing our reception on the Pier. I hear there is a Sky Deck in the works, but I am too confused to even handle contemplating that.  We are expecting around 35-40 guests. We like the memorable moments package, other than that... I am clueless.

 

Are there any questions I should ask before I sign a contract? Any advice and or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

 

 

Thanks in advance!!

[AllieH]

take a deep breath!!!! I'm answering assuming you're a US bride. I'm not sure if the same amenities for weddings apply to Canadian and European brides. I added some info below for you. 

 

 

UGH! I have been trying to post here forever and keep wiping it out.  Here goes nothing - hopefully it works this time!

 

@@lauralane - I am using Vanessa Jaimes Floral Design instead of Lomas.  I want a cascading white orchid bouquet and they quoted me $420 compared to Vanessa's $250.  All of her other quotes for bridal party flowers and bouts etc... are way cheaper than Lomas even with her delivery fee factored in ($70).  If you contact her via email, she either responds same day or will do so in a couple of days. I think she is a 1 woman show in her shop so sometimes she is away doing an event/wedding. She has been great to work with so far.

 

Ok ladies, my wedding is beyond fast approaching and now somehow, I thought I needed my headcount before finalizing things like menu options and event locations now I am FREAKING OUT!  I am hoping you all can help me feedback on the following:

 

• Welcome Reception - did anyone do one of these in lieu of a dinner?  We have a little under 60 people coming so we thought we'd do a cocktail reception from say 5pm - 7pm to say hello and spend time with people.  What location did you choose? I am thinking the beach or maybe one of the lounges/bars? Also, what appetizers did you choose and did you just do a signature cocktail?
• Allie's answer: I'm 99% sure you won't be able to use a lounge or bar for an event. You'll have to choose one of the other venues for this.

 

• Rehearsal Dinner - I know I have seen posts about this being included in the Always & Forever package but we are choosing a Memorable Moments decor package for our wedding.  Does this impact the dinner options? Where did you do your dinner and how many can attend with you? Also is there a limited or special menu for this?
• Allie's answer: the Memorable Moments decor package is different than the wedding benefits I believe. So you should still be able to have the dinner. The trick is that it's typically at one of the restaurants (it's semi-private), and only includes up to 40 people I believe. You'll have to see if they can accommodate a group of your size. And it's only available at certain times - less popular dinner times (so early or super late). Ask your Lomas WC about this. 
   
• Reception Menu - based on food preferences selected on our RSVP cards, we have a split between beef, chicken and fish and will need 3 vegetarian/vegan dishes as well.  Does anyone have recommendations for each? Do you know if we can choose one of each or is it just 2 plus a Vegetarian option?
• Allie's Answer: The pick & choose menus are 2 entrees, but they will let you choose a 3rd as the vegetarian. This requires meals to be pre-selected/set for each guest, so you'll need some sort of seating plan to give to the WC, so they can make sure each guest gets the right entree. If you go with one of the family style menus - like the BBQ - I think there's more variety on the various proteins. You could also do a surf & turf as one entree, and chicken as the other. people who only want the fish or the beef can switch off.  
   
• Sound System - a friend who's a DJ is coming to the wedding and is going to do a playlist for the reception and cocktail hours because I didn't want him to have to bring DJ equipment.  Our coordinator says they have equipment available to rent.  Is it worth the $1500 or should we just stay the course with using an ipod and the $500 speaker system for this instead? 
• Allie's Answer: ask your DJ friend on this one. for a group of your size and with a DJ (vs. random friend!), you may want the full blown system. 
   
• cocktail hour location - we are thinking of having the cocktail reception on the sky deck as well but I can't tell if the bar area there is sectioned off or separate from the wedding ceremony area.  On the one hand I think it would be nice to let guests mingle there while we are taking some of our post-ceremony pics there as well then see them again on the pier for the reception after we have taken pics on the beach and elsewhere. Thoughts?
• Allie's Answer: sky deck on the Generations side..? I think it's just 1 deck. So if the guests stay and mingle, they may be in the way of some of the photos. Don't quote me on this one though - I am not that familiar with the deck! 

Also, there seems to be a HUGE gap between the end of the ceremony and the reception.  Did anyone else experience this? If so, was this awkward? I'm hoping we can shorten the window to less than a 2 hour gap.  Was anyone able to do so?

Allie's response: seems odd, I would try to shorten in if possible. 

 

• Cake - is this a separate cost?  I do not see anything on the planning spreadsheet about this.  Did you already send pics and get a quote?
• Allie's Answer: oh cake. I love cake. cake is extra and a LOT extra. BUT every one of the private reception meals comes with a dessert already. So the reality is you don't need a huge cake so that every one of your guests gets a piece. get a small one for cake cutting and call it a day. we got cupcakes for everyone and they didn't get eaten - everyone was full (and drunk!). so it was a waste of money. here's a link to their cake brochure: http://www.weddingsbylomastravel.com/planning/Catalogo_Pasteles_MM1.pdf

As you can see I have a LOT of loose ends to tie in a VERY short time. Thanks in advance for your help/insights!

XOX - spazzed out Girlinthecity

[Christinagiovanni]

@@EriLu11

 

Most of your questions can be answered by just reading through these posts. I believe the sky deck at GRM is just about 100% completed & it looks beautiful.. I have some pictures from my WC I can't send them to you if you'd like .. Just email me at cferraro722@@gmail.com

[lauralane]

@girlinthecity 

 

I have spent basically my entire week on the Lomas website, so here is the link to the "performances" page which includes the Cigar Roller for $550 (which you may already have) http://www.weddingsbylomastravel.com/planning/Performances. No clue if they're good or not, though! 

 

On the outside vendor thing... after I saw your message the other day I used the chat feature to ask Lomas about bringing them in from the outside and they basically said hell no. 

 

 

Maybe it's one of those things that the resort people will let slide but Lomas won't give on? I found another girl on here mentioning that she did what you're saying and they weren't thrilled but let her get away with it.... that was a few years ago though. Just wanted to share -- it would be horrible for them to hit you with a big fee like that that you weren't expecting! 

 

Maybe someone else on here has advice for how to handle that. I still cannot get over them more than doubling the cost of a bouquet to change the hydrangeas from green to white!

[ChiTiff]

@@lauralane  You're totally right about the fee.  My planner has been totally unwilling to compromise on the $800 outside vendor fee, and I've never heard anything directly from Lomas about waiving the fee.  We are bringing our own bridesmaids bouquets, but we're using fake flowers and my Mom is making them (way different than having fresh flowers from somewhere else).

 

Honestly, I'd be nervous to gamble on this based on a few posts from people you don't know.  If it's not in your contract or they don't agree to it in your planning spreadsheet, don't be surprised if you get charged $800.  It's such a major component of your day, it would be unfortunate if it didn't work out!

 

@girlinthecity 

 

I have spent basically my entire week on the Lomas website, so here is the link to the "performances" page which includes the Cigar Roller for $550 (which you may already have) http://www.weddingsbylomastravel.com/planning/Performances. No clue if they're good or not, though! 

 

On the outside vendor thing... after I saw your message the other day I used the chat feature to ask Lomas about bringing them in from the outside and they basically said hell no. 

 

 

Maybe it's one of those things that the resort people will let slide but Lomas won't give on? I found another girl on here mentioning that she did what you're saying and they weren't thrilled but let her get away with it.... that was a few years ago though. Just wanted to share -- it would be horrible for them to hit you with a big fee like that that you weren't expecting! 

 

Maybe someone else on here has advice for how to handle that. I still cannot get over them more than doubling the cost of a bouquet to change the hydrangeas from green to white!

Edited January 15, 2015 by ChiTiff

[lauralane]

@@EriLu11 I still feel clueless and my wedding is in 6 weeks, so at least you're not alone!   We chose GRM for the exact same reason: one. dang. kid!! 

 

Definitely read back through this forum, and it may be worth engaging with a travel agency to help manage some of this stuff for you. There are a ton of travel agencies that will plan your wedding for free for having your guests book through them. Karisma has a list of preferred vendors so if you are set on doing the wedding at GRM (which is a great choice because I visited in June and I'm now just DYING to go back for my wedding!!) then it makes sense to use an official partner that will know a lot of the answers to your questions. There's a travel agency called Wright Travel Agency that is really helpful on this board and I totally kick myself for not working with them or someone like them.

 

I'm doing my ceremony on the pier -- this video totally sold me on that: https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10152047123023090(if you can't see it, "like" Lomas Weddings and then you should be able to.) 

 

My reception is on the skydeck which we booked unseen because it was still under construction when we went down there... but the rest of the resort was so freaking beautiful we knew it was a safe bet! Here's some photos that girls on this board sent me -- I don't think it's quite done in these yet but you get the picture:

 

 

I'll post a review and lots of pictures after my wedding in early March!

@@ChiTiff bringing your own is such a good idea! I don't think anyone in my party is that skilled to put them together, though, so I think I'm just sucking it up and picking one of theirs.

 

I agree with you -- it's not something I'm willing to gamble on (because I'm a huge wimp and I hate confrontation... I can just imagine having a total meltdown in the lobby!!) 

[ChiTiff]

@@AllieH  I know there have been multiple threads on tipping, but what did you do for your DW?  We're wondering who (if anyone) we need to tip at the Generations!

[AllieH]

@@ChiTiff - ok, I'm a bad example here - I totally whiffed on tipping for the wedding. It didn't occur to me, and I didn't plan - we didn't have cash on us after the reception. FAIL!!!! 

 

We *should* have tipped the WC and the wait staff at minimum. If you go with the more traditional tipping, the DJ and officiant should have been tipped too (although our officiant was gone immediately after the ceremony - we didn't have the opportunity to tip, even if we planned on it). 

 

@@AllieH  I know there have been multiple threads on tipping, but what did you do for your DW?  We're wondering who (if anyone) we need to tip at the Generations!

[girlinthecity97]

@@AllieH - many THANKS (as always) for your wise advice and guidance.  I'm feeling a bit less spazzy now but still have a ton of things to sort out.  We did a conference call with the WC and welcome any advice on the following:

 

• Welcome Reception - does anyone know what the pool deck area looks like? Specifically, is this semi-private enough to host a welcome cocktail reception with our guests?  We have a free one for 1 hour & the 2 location choices are the beach and the pool deck area.  I think The pool deck would be the most convenient given we have a lot of guests staying at EDR who will be coming over for it.  I've asked the WC for pics but haven't received anything.
   
• 2 hour Cocktail Hour - So since we are getting married on the Skydeck, the WC suggests we pick a private cocktail reception instead of going with the 1 hour reception that comes with the Skydeck package because we'd have more choices in appetizers (6/person) and a full open bar (as opposed to beer, wine & soda with the package 1 hour cocktail hour).  While 2 hours seems like a REALLY long time, I'm thinking guests will be distracted if we have this 2 hour option on the skydeck....that way they'd want to take pics of us or themselves for maybe the first 30 min or so then once we leave to take pics on the beach, they'll enjoy the appetizers and cocktails?  A friend suggested we go down and take our pics on the beach immediately, then come back up for pics by the gazebo and mingle with guests before heading down to the reception?  Thoughts? 
   
• Does anyone know if the skydeck bar area is separated enough from the ceremony area to pull this off?

[AllieH]

ok, so I did some google searching for the images. 

 

here's what I'm seeing for the pool deck: the area off to the right behind the pool chairs. I don't know that I'd call that semi-private. however, I do know that they close the pools fairly early, so the only traffic will be people walking along the beach for the most part (Generations didn't look to have a lot of restaurants right on the beach). I think either the beach or the pool will be about the same from a convenience perspective coming from EDR. 

 

are you going to want photos with your family? formals, etc? what about all of your guests? I ask because I knew we wanted a group photo with everyone. So we did that immediately after the ceremony (we had the minister ask everyone to stay close by for the photo right before he pronounced us and introduced us during the ceremony). then we let people peel off to go to the cocktail. so friends and family stayed - we did friends formals. then they left. then we did families, then we did couples pics of just us down on the beach. 

 

consider if you will want a few minutes alone with your new husband right after the ceremony, or if you want to be surrounded by family & friends. that will help with your logistics too. the photos were more important to me than the immediate time together (we were there to celebrate with our friends and family, and would have our alone time later). 

 

we did an hour for photos. I do wish we had taken more time to go around the resort and take more photos, vs. just the beach (but it was getting dark, so we were a little rushed). for instance there's a really cool buddha statue on the EDR property (that I have yet to find - but friends of mine did!!). or the gardens, or the old car that was often parked out front. 

 

cocktail hour: 1 vs 2 hours - decide based on what you want/need for photos. if you do the hour - your big drinkers will go somewhere else to get booze or they can get it once it opens for the reception/dinner. I wouldn't worry too much about that. 

 

 

sky deck.. 

 

I *think* there are two spaces. from what I'm seeing on their pinterest board, there's the ceremony area with the darker wood area, and then the one with the diagonal darker wood areas. 

 

http://www.pinterest.com/ojosaz/generations-riviera-maya/

 

but don't quote me on that! hopefully one of our BDW members who's been there can help out. 

 

@@AllieH - many THANKS (as always) for your wise advice and guidance.  I'm feeling a bit less spazzy now but still have a ton of things to sort out.  We did a conference call with the WC and welcome any advice on the following:

 

• Welcome Reception - does anyone know what the pool deck area looks like? Specifically, is this semi-private enough to host a welcome cocktail reception with our guests?  We have a free one for 1 hour & the 2 location choices are the beach and the pool deck area.  I think The pool deck would be the most convenient given we have a lot of guests staying at EDR who will be coming over for it.  I've asked the WC for pics but haven't received anything.
   
• 2 hour Cocktail Hour - So since we are getting married on the Skydeck, the WC suggests we pick a private cocktail reception instead of going with the 1 hour reception that comes with the Skydeck package because we'd have more choices in appetizers (6/person) and a full open bar (as opposed to beer, wine & soda with the package 1 hour cocktail hour).  While 2 hours seems like a REALLY long time, I'm thinking guests will be distracted if we have this 2 hour option on the skydeck....that way they'd want to take pics of us or themselves for maybe the first 30 min or so then once we leave to take pics on the beach, they'll enjoy the appetizers and cocktails?  A friend suggested we go down and take our pics on the beach immediately, then come back up for pics by the gazebo and mingle with guests before heading down to the reception?  Thoughts? 
   
• Does anyone know if the skydeck bar area is separated enough from the ceremony area to pull this off?