Would/have You Gotten Married At A Resort You Haven't Been To Before?

[diadiamond]

Hi Everyone!

 

I'm really wondering what everyone's thoughts are on this one.  Would you get married at a resort that you have never been to before?  Have you gotten married at a resort that you have never been to until your wedding?

 

I was pretty set on getting married at the Melia Cayo Santa Maria in Cayo Santa Maria, but I'm having second thoughts because I have seen pictures of other resorts in Cuba and now I'm totally confused as to where I want to get married.  I've been the Melia Cayo Santa Maria and It's amazing!  I recently saw pictures of a bride's wedding on this forum at the Iberostar Laguna Azul in Varadero and I'm really considering getting married there, but I've never been to that resort or to Varadero before.  We don't currently have the money in our budget or the time in our schedule for a scouting trip.

 

I have heard an honest review from another bride on here which was amazing and super helpful!  I also read some pretty negative reviews on trip advisor.   

 

I'm a little nervous because I'm the type of person that has to be on top of every little detail and I hate not knowing things.  I really hate surprises too lol.  Am I being crazy?  Am I alone in this one?    

[DinaQtobe]

I was married at a resort that I had never been to before.  All of our options for resorts we had not been to before.  We used a combination of this website, trip advisor, photos of other weddings, and the wedding packages to make our decision.  I had been to Mexico many times before and was familiar with the area and the location of all resorts that we were looking at.

[acw271011]

We got married not only at a resort we had never been to, but a country we had never been to! And we loved every bit of it - both the resort and Jamaica! It's definitely someplace I would recommend to anyone! The one difference I've found is that for what we want, photographers are more readily available and better priced in Mexico. Otherwise I would be doing our vow renewal back in Jamaica.

[nikkicraig10]

I chose a resort I'd been to before, but also because it was pricing well and I at least knew what I was getting for my money. It's hard to commit to a hotel you've never seen, and to ask your guests to pay $xxxx without knowing exactly what you're getting them into! That's the struggle I faced. At least with my hotel, I know the food/rooms/drinks/pool/beach are great!

[kcole123]

I also am getting married at a resort I have never been to before. I am getting married at the Melia Caribe in Punta Cana. I have also never been to Punta Cana or Dominican in general for that matter. I based my decision on pictures of past weddings, what they offer, and pricing. It seemed like it was a good fit for us so I went with it. I check trip advisor all the time too but keep in mind no matter what resort you chose, there will always be negative reviews in there.

[helenk]

We have never been to the resort we booked. We based our decision off of reviews, pictures, etc. I based my opinion from a lot of the reviews on here and oyster.com has tons of pics to look at. Also the location and their packages played a role as well. I'm confident it will be amazing as everyone online keeps saying how gorgeous it is. I'm excited!

 

 

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[diadiamond]

Thanks everyone =)  My main concern is my guests not having a good time or not liking the resort for whatever reason.  The star rating in Cuba is so different from the star rating in Canada, so something 5 star there might be 3 star here.  Because of the embargo it is also hard for them to import certain food items or to get food items.  That's why everyone says the food isn't the best.  Despite all of that my fiance and I love Cuba and couldn't think of tying the knot anywhere else.  

 

To be honest I'm most worried about my future mother-in law and what she will think.  She's really hard to please and picky, so I'm more worried about her opinion.  We all went to MCSM last year and she loved it.  My fiance and I loved it as well and we would go back, but it just doesn't scream wedding to me; whereas the ILA does.  The ILA is everything I pictured when I thought of having a destination wedding.  

 

I feel stuck between playing it safe and choosing something that's nice, but no quite what I want and taking a risk by choosing something that is my dream come true (in pictures)

[kmk2016]

Normally I would totally book something I haven't been to before/ but you are 100% correct about Cuba/ it's a totally different ball of wax! I have been 8 times and I agree about the star system and a 5 star in Mexico/Canada/US standards is more like a 3 in Cuba for the simple fact that they can't get access to a lot of things. It really depends on what's important! You KNOW the beaches are going to be breathtaking and the people will be fantastic, but as for the food, drink and maintenance of the property,,, that can be hit or miss (often miss). If you are choosing some place you have never been I would rely heavily on friends who have travelled there who can give you accurate reviews... And sadly tripadvisor (which always seems to bring out the worst), because you want an honest accounting of the negatives. I would also be prepared to bring more decor with me rather than rely on options supplied by the resort.

 

Good luck!! I'm sure whatever you decide it will be beautiful.

 

 

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[kcole123]

Go with your gut of what you want.

[acw271011]

Thanks everyone =)  My main concern is my guests not having a good time or not liking the resort for whatever reason.  The star rating in Cuba is so different from the star rating in Canada, so something 5 star there might be 3 star here.  Because of the embargo it is also hard for them to import certain food items or to get food items.  That's why everyone says the food isn't the best.  Despite all of that my fiance and I love Cuba and couldn't think of tying the knot anywhere else.  

 

To be honest I'm most worried about my future mother-in law and what she will think.  She's really hard to please and picky, so I'm more worried about her opinion.  We all went to MCSM last year and she loved it.  My fiance and I loved it as well and we would go back, but it just doesn't scream wedding to me; whereas the ILA does.  The ILA is everything I pictured when I thought of having a destination wedding.  

 

I feel stuck between playing it safe and choosing something that's nice, but no quite what I want and taking a risk by choosing something that is my dream come true (in pictures)

 

This is a bit off topic, but just something odd. We have been to Cube, just once and will never ever go back. We were both horribly sick after about 4 days and couldn't wait to get back on the plane to come home. We know people that swear by Cuba and would never go anywhere else. We absolutely LOVE Mexico. We've been 5 times, never once had a single problem. We know people that swear there is no way, no how they would ever go to Mexico because they've heard all the horror stories of people getting sick.

 

You just never know. We would never consider ever going to the Dominican Republic because there are just too many things we've heard but I used to commute on the train with a guy that had been going to the same resort in Punta Cana for 6 years. He said they were treated like royalty every year and never had a problem. With everything I'm hearing now about the mosquito virus down there, I still wouldn't think about going. But that's me personally.

 

People will make their own fun. You will always have someone that will complain about something because you can't please everyone. You just have to roll with it and be prepared. That's when the tour rep if you have one at the resort will come in handy!!