Still Trying To Pick A Resort.. Help!

[Lia33]

@@calgarybride2015  Well people new by the end of July that we would be getting married in Mexico. We just got our final agreement prices today and I've been notifying people already even though save the dates are in the mail just so they don't waste too much time and go on our site when they get the save the dates. First deposit in September, last payment due by March 31st - giving them 7 months to pay which isn't bad at all. 

 

Thinking of sending the invitations in January (?) - right after the holidays and maybe make the rsvp beginning of March (?) since the deadline is March 31st. Still trying to figure out my time line...

 

@@kmk2016 13 months is great! Really gives people time to spread out payments. 

[jeffandrobyn]

@@Smellsey

 

Hi! It came down to an Azul property and a Now property for us too - maybe the pros and cons I found will help:

 

Azul (now I was at Azul Beach, not Azul Fives)

 

Pros:

- food was phonomenal

- sky wedding was incredible. So was the Villa we saw.

- great amenities for kids based on Fisher Price partnership

- relaxing

 

Cons:

- They had multiple weddings going on at the same time, a few hundred feet from each other. They say they only do two weddings a day but if you go on the Lomas website, it says one per hour between 11 - 6.

- Expensive. We felt nickel and dimed on everything.

- You have to use their vendors through Lomas

 

Now Sapphire (we ended up booking this):

 

Pros:

- Great value. We got everything on our 'must have' and 'would like to have' budget

- cheaper rooms for guests, but still beautiful

- Staff communicates well with you

- With the exception of chair bows, they will set up your stuff for free (chair bow set-up fee is $1 per bow)

 

Cons:

- The beach ceremony spot doesn't give you a tremendous amount of privacy 

- The pool - it's one huge one rather than multiple smaller pools

[Smellsey]

@@jeffandrobyn yah my pro's and con's were pretty much the same as yours! I received quotes from my TA for both Now's and they ended up being way over my price range - which I did not expect at all. but we are going 2016 and I think they are expecting prices to raise from now to then. if the price had of been good then I probably would have choosen the Now Jade. Congrats on your wedding!

[kmk2016]

@@jeffandrobyn yah my pro's and con's were pretty much the same as yours! I received quotes from my TA for both Now's and they ended up being way over my price range - which I did not expect at all. but we are going 2016 and I think they are expecting prices to raise from now to then. if the price had of been good then I probably would have choosen the Now Jade. Congrats on your wedding!

That sucks about pricing being so high at the Now Resorts. (I considered them too) They are generally a bit less expensive than Karisma properties too.... But I managed to have my TA negotiate a great 2016 rate at Sensatori. Still costing a lot for the wedding itself, but the cost of the package for my guests seemed acceptable based on everything they offer. My guests have all been pleased. Edited August 20, 2014 by kmk2016

[Smellsey]

That sucks about pricing being so high at the Now Resorts. (I considered them too) They are generally a bit less expensive than Karisma properties too.... But I managed to have my TA negotiate a great 2016 rate at Sensatori. Still costing a lot for the wedding itself, but the cost of the package for my guests seemed acceptable based on everything they offer. My guests have all been pleased.

I was actually very surprised that the price was much higher. $400 or so more.  my TA got us a great deal for 2016 as well with the Azul so I just could not pass it up. Everything so far has turned out to be exactly what I wanted. We are thinking of going to the Now Jade for the 2nd week though

[TinkerSofi]

I looked into Now Jade and while the hotel is gorgeous is was too far away from all he fun stuff happening in either cancun or playa del Carmen. Most of our wedding guests, including us, are pretty young and we love to go out and have some fun in the town. That was a deciding factor to stay at azul fives. Also the fact that the hotel really markets itself as a family resort was a plus for us. They have activities for kids so they don't get bored. while it's a family resort and relaxing it's close enough to all the nightlife and party that we also like. There's also a lot of fun activities close by like xel-ha and Mayan ruins. I didn't look into the dreams in riviera, only the one in cancun but just walking into the lobby we weren't too impressed so it was crossed out right away. Those were our deciding factors.

 

Unfortunately in terms of getting beach chairs, it's always been an issue at any resort as long as it's busy. My parents like to get up early so they said they would reserve some seats for us. My main concern is that I need an umbrella or I'll burn to a crisp on the first day haha. Otherwise I really don't care if I need to put a towel on the sand and just lay there.

 

 

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[TinkerSofi]

oh ok I understand. my only issue with that is that I feel as though a lot of people are going to question me on the resort we picked, the pricing.. eta and I just don't want to have to deal with all of that. I may look into doing the website though - I still have not chosen on the invitations yet

People will question no matter what so don't worry too much about it. Pick something that you think is nice and meets your expectations and that you think most of your guests will be able to pay. Our hotel is a bit more expensive ($200) than what I would pay for a regular vacation but it is our wedding after all and most of our guests understood that. I struggled a lot with guilt and I still do sometimes when people tell me the hotel is too expensive. It brings out my horrible indecision. However, every time I go back and check pictures, reviews and compare it to other hotels I remember exactly why we chose it and I really don't care what people think.

 

We put our RSVP deadline as a week before the deadline for our group booking. I still had to harass people (and I still am even though their deadline was two days ago haha). Definitely don't make it the day of your final deadline because people always forget and some will miss out. Also for those not staying at our hotel they haven't replied if they're bringing a plus one or not so it's tough to get people to RSVP. I'm going to have to send emails anyway saying that I have to make reservations and need an accurate number. But the website definitely helped!

 

Definitely do the website! It's the easiest way to get the info out. I did it and people still got confused. I ended up taking out all the nice wording and putting things in point form hahaha. Not very poetic but it gets the point across.

 

 

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[Smellsey]

did you give people the choice of a plus one or include it on your rsvp? Is anyone having issues with people flying from other provinces and arriving 2 days later than everyone else? Most of our guests are coming from WPG but I have about 25 from Calgary, 5 from Vancouver and a couple from Edmonton. My TA told me that the Calgary people will arrive 2 days later than us. I am not sure if I am ok. I asked her if we could have them go out of Edmonton instead or if we can book them with Air Canada or West Jet and then book their hotel separately. The 1 day earlier or later doesn't bother me but 2 days is quite a bit I think

[calgarybride2015]

We got lucky because we are only having Calgary and Toronto as gateways and they both fly the same day. That said, we were both to leave on Sunday and Calgary's flight was cancelled, so luckily we got to move everyone to Saturday. Otherwise we would have been a day off.

 

I would have your TA work out options so you can be there the same day, but ensure you ask if there is a price change. Since they quoted you on a specific day for a specific flight they may change pricing as their option is still available (ie 2 days later is still available you just don't prefer it).    Also consider how much connecting those guests would have to do if you did change them.  Also consider if they connect thru Edmonton will they now have to pay more in hotel fees if there is an overnight and/or gas/parking to get there if they have to drive.  It's a tough call between doing what's best for them travelling or what you want for your wedding!!! Hope it all works out.

 

My family coming in from northern BC to Calgary has two overnights (one each way) so we have opened our home to them. HA! should be interesting how we all plan to sardine in and shower, but the offer is there for them. The ones coming from Kelowna only have an overnight on the one side.   I feel bad, but they live in small areas that don't have direct flights so there wasn't much else we could do.  The cost of their trip is so much more than the 'package price'.  But a lot of people in small remote areas understand how it works.

 

For us, I put (plus one) on all the envelopes of my single friends. And on our wedding website they only had the option to RSVP for 2 people and then add kids over and above.

Edited August 21, 2014 by calgarybride2015

[kmk2016]

Yup depending on city, guests charters leave on different days. This is typical. Luckily as it looks right now, Vancouver and Calgary departures are the same day- and 80% of our guests are these two cities.

 

I allowed everyone who wanted to bring a guest to do so- but had quotes for single occupancy too.