This Bride Needs Help!

[DZweds]

Hi All,

 

I recently got engaged last month.  My fiancé and I are looking at having a destination wedding March 2015 or summer 2015.  We travel a lot and LOVE the beach, so a destination wedding is perfect for us.

 

We are 90% committed on having the wedding in Riviera Maya Mexico.  It convenient for all our guest to travel to and travel is affordable.  We also like Aruba, but travel is a little bit more difficult for our guests and it's the most expensive option.

 

My fiancé also suggested these 3 resorts in Riviera Maya:

 

- Grand Palladium Kantenah Resort and Spa

- Iberostar Tucan Hotel

- Grand Bahia Principe Tulum 

 

I suggested these resorts:

- Azul Fives

- Dreams Cancun

- NOW Jade

- NOW Sapphire

- Ocean Coral & Turquesa

 

After researching these resorts, I have found some things at I don't like about the resort in general, so I didn't consider them for my wedding.  Either the resort is too big, further from airport than I would like, only allowed 3 reservations per week at specialty restaurants, I didn't like the wedding packages, wedding too expensive, rooms too expensive, etc.

 

I narrowed it down to the following 3 resorts:

 

- NOW Jade

- NOW Sapphire

- Ocean Coral & Turquesa (we actually attended a wedding there in 2013, and it was amazing, so we know what to expect)

 

My fiancé and I were going to travel to Riviera Maya soon for a vacation, and we were going to spend a day touring resorts and selecting one for our wedding.

 

He was surprised I've narrowed my findings down to 3 resorts and only want to tour those 3 resorts.  He was expecting to visit 6-7 resorts. 

 

Now I am really doubting myself in the selections I have done and my research. 

 

HELP! 

 

I thought it was best to narrow our options from 8 resorts down to 3 (easier to make a decision).  I haven't researched any other resorts that could be possible contenders. 

 

Any suggestions on other resorts would be greatly appreciated.  Having to go through more resort reviews seems overwhelming to me at this point.

 

We would like a resort that is 4 stars or higher, family friendly, affordable, etc.

 

THANK-YOU!!!

 

DZweds

[bicoastalimages]

Hola @@DZweds!

 

The truth is if you've narrowed it down to 3 solid choices (after extensive research etc.) here in the Riviera Maya it can be quite exhausting and time consuming to visit more than that while you're here all in one day. When you factor in travel time between each one, time to properly tour the grounds as well as any quick lunch or beverage breaks you'll find the day will go by SUPER FAST.

 

NOW Saphire & Ocean Coral are right next to each other which will help save you a little time and can be seen together in one day. If you want to explore other options not on your list you might want to look at Hard Rock Riviera Maya & Barcelo Maya (which are also closer to Grand Palladium) outside of Playa del Carmen either on the same or different day.

 

For a little more destination wedding inspiration or view resort options feel free to visit our website.

 

Happy planning!

 

Barcelo Maya (full wedding here)

 

 

 

 

Ocean Coral & Turquesa (full wedding here)

 

 

 

 

 

[girlinthecity97]

@@DZweds - I am inclined to agree with @@bicoastalimages on this one. It really sounds like you've done your research and have narrowed it down to what fits your needs & vision.  Anything more than that can make you further confused.  When we first started out, I had a list of 5-8 resorts which was then narrowed to 3.  There was a fourth but they were very limited date option wise so we ruled them out on that principle.  I'm glad I only had the 3 because it made it easier to choose.  

 

I also suggeest making a spreadsheet or list of the things you are interested in seeing/knowing when you visit those resorts.  Be sure to take it with you as you tour the properties so you can take notes. This really helped us when we sat down to make our final decision.  There were things in the notes we'd forgotten about but were important in helping us make our decision. 

 

My "last" suggestion is to take a planner/binder or something with pockets as well. We didn't do this and I wish we had.  While at one of the properties, we met a really great cigar maker who does weddings and he gave us his business card.  We can't find what we did with it and a couple of other brochures for things we want to now include. 

 

Hope this helps and you have a great trip!

Edited May 1, 2014 by girlinthecity97

[pddcmc]

@@DZweds - Do you have a TA to help you with these decisions as well? Usually they have stayed at most resorts and can give you excellent advice and insight!

[acw271011]

Congrats on your engagement and welcome to BDW!

 

I'm going to chime in on all of the other comments and agree with them completely. You do sound very well organized, and the fact that you've already narrowed down your resort choices says you seem pretty clear on what you want. I'm also going to add to what pddcmc said about a travel agent. The thing is some resorts will offer perks for groups, or little extras for your wedding and you won't know about them unless you have a travel agent helping you out. As well, you can refer all of your guests inquiries directly to the TA and take a load of stress off you!

 

You don't say what country you're in, but the owners of this site are Wright Travel and they are destination wedding specialists. If you are in the US they will be terrific to work with. If you're in Canada though I would recommend an agent locally only because of the way packages are put together here with charter airlines and all inclusives.

 

You will find a ton of information and tips and ideas here that will definitely help you out through the planning process and everyone is very willing to share what they know!

 

Good luck and happy planning!!

[Moments That Matter]

Great job already, DZweds, on all your research and narrowing down your choices - trust your instincts, you're doing Great!!! plus joining this forum, which will add so much more info, advice, suggestions and support - well done!

 

All 3 choices you're considering will made Gorgeous wedding photo backdrops....as seen here in these magical wedding "moments that matter" Linc captured there recently......Enjoy

 

NOW Jade.....with album link here: NOW Jade Wedding

 

NOW Sapphire......with album link here: NOW Sapphire Wedding

 

Ocean Coral & Turquesa......with album link here: Ocean Coral & Turquesa Wedding

 

wishing you all the best with your plans.....Cheers!!! team MTM

Edited May 2, 2014 by Moments That Matter

[KathyandEthan]

I looked into all of those hotels and was about to make a trip down there to check them all out, but then I realized all of them are probably going to be awesome and I still wouldn't know!

So we just decided to go with now sapphire and chance it.

We figured if hundreds of other brides said it was awesome than it would be great.

 

I'm also pretty adventurous and don't really like visiting the same places twice so id rather take the money we would of spent on checking all the hotels out and take a totally separate vacation.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[jsparrow10]

@@DZweds - I am inclined to agree with @@bicoastalimages on this one. It really sounds like you've done your research and have narrowed it down to what fits your needs & vision.  Anything more than that can make you further confused.  When we first started out, I had a list of 5-8 resorts which was then narrowed to 3.  There was a fourth but they were very limited date option wise so we ruled them out on that principle.  I'm glad I only had the 3 because it made it easier to choose.  

 

I also suggeest making a spreadsheet or list of the things you are interested in seeing/knowing when you visit those resorts.  Be sure to take it with you as you tour the properties so you can take notes. This really helped us when we sat down to make our final decision.  There were things in the notes we'd forgotten about but were important in helping us make our decision. 

 

My "last" suggestion is to take a planner/binder or something with pockets as well. We didn't do this and I wish we had.  While at one of the properties, we met a really great cigar maker who does weddings and he gave us his business card.  We can't find what we did with it and a couple of other brochures for things we want to now include. 

 

Hope this helps and you have a great trip!

 

Do you happen to have that spreadsheet saved somewhere? We already had a vacay planned before we got engaged so we're taking a day to check out resorts. I would really appreciate it if you do since you already used it you know it works, what to look for, etc. Please let me know, thanks!

[hdm116]

thanks for all the info guys! this helped a ton!

[DZweds]

Thank-you all for your suggestions and confirmations. We looked at 3 resorts in 1 day and it was exhausting. So glad we didn't look at more. Also I loved the resort I picked originally, and ended up selecting it for our wedding next March.