Finest 2015/2016 Brides

[Maurindy2016]

@@scrudele6

 

Hi Fellow Brides!

 

I will be getting married at The Finest on June 10th, 2017 and have been stalking this thread for advice/details.  We are booked for the ceremony at the Stone Gazebo and the Sky Deck for the reception.  We're doing Welcome Cocktails Thurs night at The Grand Palapa and a Rehearsal Dinner Fri at Lizo.

 

A few questions:

 

-We made our guest list and my fear is we will have >100 people which is more than the sky deck can hold.  Can any brides attest to having a larger sized wedding up there and how comfortably it fit tables plus DJ/dance area?  

- What are the options for larger weddings outside? Anyone know anything about having it in the Teatro or a ballroom?  

- Is the DJ cost $1,300 per hour or for up to 4 hours?  Does this include an MC or is that something extra to pay for?

-  As a New Yorker, my family is concerned 4 hot and 4 cold hors d'oeuvres will not be enough food for a cocktail hour.  Did anyone add food options to the cocktail hour?  Were guests hungry?

- If we want to have signature his/her cocktails, will they do this for free upon request?

- Has anyone done the catamaran for guests to Isla Mujeres and would recommend it?

 

@Maurindy2016

Your wedding looked absolutely gorgeous!! I noticed you were able to get 3 choices for your reception dinner menu.  Did this cost extra or was it just requested, did they give you a hard time or easy to work with? 

 

 

Thanks in advance ladies!

 

Stephanie

hi Stephanie
:

 

- We had about 2 tables of 32 (64 seats) and it left plenty of room for dancing, and then the DJ was in the corner.  I think you could add another row of tables and fit guests, because we still had plenty of room for a dance floor.   

 

-  The teatro is covered .. kinda like an auditorium feel, but it does have an open area to the side. I wanted something with a tropical background, and that's really what I was going for being on a resort, so I did not want anything indoors.  Plus I didn't have to spend money on extra floral decor.  That's just me though. 

 

- If you go with DJ Mannia, it's $1300 for 4 hours.  He provides amps, colored lighting, and an microphone, and he also MCs (announces stuff like first dance, speeches, cake cutting etc.).  He was good to work with and answers emails very quickly.  Just send him some songs to play, and he will make sure to get it for you.  Even songs that aren't mainstream, he will look on YouTube and download it.

 

-   I thought 8 HourDourves was plenty...unfortunately myself, husband, and bridal party didn't get to enjoy it because we spent the whole time taking pictures!!!  They set a side an area on the sky deck with high tables and chairs for guests to eat.  It did come with a signature cocktail.  Just let them know what drink you want, and they'll serve it.  Plus open bar!

 

- We didnt have time to enjoy the whole resort, so we didnt' do one, but if I had more time, I'd do a catamaran out to Isle Mujeres.

 

-  We worked with FunJet, and our conceirge person was able to negotiate a 3-entree options because my husband was really adamat about getting plated dinners for a more fancy feel.  They did say they would charge extra $15 per person for lobster, after we already agreed on the set menu.    Just ask them if they'll do it-- worse thing they could do is say no. They agreed to it if we would make place cards that specify entree selections for each person which was super easy to do.

 

Cindy

[scrudele6]

I got a dress, my room block is set and save the dates are underway.... this is getting real!

 

Are there any brides that had their reception on the beach with the sand covered?  I've seen some pics on instagram with tables and a dance floor on white flooring that look amazing! We may have too many people for the sky deck and keeping the beach open as an option.

 

I requested DJ Mannia through my wedding coordinator.  Will he reach out to me directly or do I need to reach out to him after we are set?

 

Keep the pics coming ladies, love seeing actual weddings at The Finest  

[Clarianne]

Hi Ladies!!

 

So I just got married at the Finest two weeks ago and everything was incredible! I thought I would share my experience and let you know that it will all go well despite of what you read on here. I read a lot of negative feedback regarding coordinators but ours ended up being more than we could ever ask for. 

 

Here are all our vendors:

 

Wedding Coordinator: Viviana Mendes

Decor Company: Archive Mexico (ask for Daniela Paraz)

Floral: Vanessa Jaimes

DJ: GSP Audiovisual (they were fantastic)

Sparklers: Partylogue

 

Ceremony: Beach (the one thing I would do differently is ask them to move the set up further away from the obstacle course)

Reception: Grand Palapa (highly recommend!!)

 

I was super nervous about hair and make up since I've read on here as well that they are not very good - esp with "asian" make up but they did a fabulous job!! I brought my hair extensions with me which helped my hair stay up in the humidity. I also used an anti humidity blocking spray (which kept my hair nice and full even after sweating like crazy: http://images.ulta.com/is/image/Ulta/2290235?$detail$)and the urban decay setting spray (all nighter) - my make up stayed on forever! 

 

I have shared some photos on instagram, feel free to check them out: clehreean 

Hastag: #theandrighettis

 

Happy Wedding Planning Ladies!!! Do not stress too much, enjoy the entire week and everything will fall into place! <3

[scrudele6]

@@Clarianne CONGRATS! I saw a ton of pics from your wedding on insta through stalking The Finest and it looked unbelievably beautiful and fun! A few questions for you:

 

- How much was your DJ? Did you have to pay the $500 outside vendor fee as well? 

- How many people did you have at your wedding? Did you do any kind of welcome event?

- How was the food at the resort in general and at the wedding? Do you have any specific recommendations? 

- Did you do any kind of excursion/catamaran for guests?

 

 

Thanks!

[hmsm]

Hi @@Clarianne !!!!

 

This is unrelated question but I also creeped your instagram and was wondering if you and your friends blew your floaties up manually(by mouth) or with a machine???!!!!!

 

We have the poptart floaty that we are bringing to Finest and our portable air machine thing is way to big and heavy to put in our luggage......need to find a compact air compressor that plugs into the wall

[Clarianne]

 

@@Clarianne CONGRATS! I saw a ton of pics from your wedding on insta through stalking The Finest and it looked unbelievably beautiful and fun! A few questions for you:

 

- How much was your DJ? Did you have to pay the $500 outside vendor fee as well? 

- How many people did you have at your wedding? Did you do any kind of welcome event?

- How was the food at the resort in general and at the wedding? Do you have any specific recommendations? 

- Did you do any kind of excursion/catamaran for guests?

 

 

Thanks!

 

Ahh thank you!!!! to answer your questions:

 

- How much was your DJ? Did you have to pay the $500 outside vendor fee as well? 

 

We had the Dunas + Love package so we had 2 hours included (reception was from 7-12am). We extended our party till 12 am and had to pay the DJ he 235usd is per extra hour of the DJ service, and for the waitres service and open bar is 18usd per person per hour, you need to pay for both 

 

GSP is actually their preferred vendor so I didn't have to pay the fee.

I did have to pay for the decor company and the videographers

 

- How many people did you have at your wedding? Did you do any kind of welcome event?

We had 47 in total, and we did a bonfire the night before the wedding. I would recommend doing this earlier in the week or later (like a good bye bonfire or something)

 

- How was the food at the resort in general and at the wedding? Do you have any specific recommendations? 

Food was amazing! Even the cake, which we never got to eat because well.. we were having too much fun! LOL We picked from the silver menu and they allowed our guests to choose 3 main courses (you will need to send this info beforehand)

 

- Did you do any kind of excursion/catamaran for guests?

Ah no, we were too busy to be honest, some people did an excursion during the week but we couldn't be bothered. We had groups of people staying for 7 and 5 nights.

 

I hope that helps!  

Hi @@Clarianne !!!!

 

This is unrelated question but I also creeped your instagram and was wondering if you and your friends blew your floaties up manually(by mouth) or with a machine???!!!!!

 

We have the poptart floaty that we are bringing to Finest and our portable air machine thing is way to big and heavy to put in our luggage......need to find a compact air compressor that plugs into the wall

 

Ahahah believe it or not all the guys blew them up!! its do-able but you will need to take breaks. We had two huge pizza floatie slices, flamingo, donut, pineapple, and a bunch of rafts.... all manually mouth blown! hahaha 

[nyarcher1215]

@@Clarianne I was thinking of doing the bonfire the night before my wedding. I just read your tips above. Why would you not recommend doing it the night before? We figured the night before the wedding would be best since everyone is there. It would also be our welcome since we're doing rehearsal dinner with just bridal party and family.

 

Can you describe the setup, what they give you, how much time, location, etc.

[smiles4u]

Hello All of you wonderful women!

 

 We are set to have the wedding June 11th 2017 but I haven't the slightest on locations for the ceremony and reception. I think we are doing the stone gazebo for the ceremony and Las Dunas for the reception but I see that Grand Palapa might be a great option too...

 

sigh...I'm Lost girls...Like super lost. I have no idea what I'm doing and could really use any and all suggestions and tips at this point. This site has been sooooo great in helping me, so thank you ladies!

 

There will be an estimated 30 guests attending. My daughter will be flying with my parents a day or two after we arrive. I was reading somewhere on here that I may need a letter notarized for her travel with them? Does anyone know the specifics? 

What should I expect time wise if our ceremony is at 3? We are getting the gold package any suggestions on must have items?

I really appreciate any and all help! Thank You bunches!- Katt

[Maurindy2016]

@@Maurindy2016

 

Thank you! Your wedding was beautiful!

Thank you @@robynm10 !  Our professional photography photos came in the mail today!  I will be posting pictures soon!

Hello All of you wonderful women!

 

 We are set to have the wedding June 11th 2017 but I haven't the slightest on locations for the ceremony and reception. I think we are doing the stone gazebo for the ceremony and Las Dunas for the reception but I see that Grand Palapa might be a great option too...

 

sigh...I'm Lost girls...Like super lost. I have no idea what I'm doing and could really use any and all suggestions and tips at this point. This site has been sooooo great in helping me, so thank you ladies!

 

There will be an estimated 30 guests attending. My daughter will be flying with my parents a day or two after we arrive. I was reading somewhere on here that I may need a letter notarized for her travel with them? Does anyone know the specifics? 

What should I expect time wise if our ceremony is at 3? We are getting the gold package any suggestions on must have items?

I really appreciate any and all help! Thank You bunches!- Katt

@@smiles4u  I am sure everyone using this forum felt the same way during the planning process.  So you are not alone!  I found so much more useful information on this site than even talking to the coordinators on the resort.  

 

I feel like they are really overwelmed over there.  Last I was there, there were only 3 cooridinators in charge of all the weddings.  For such a money maker, I would think they would put more resources out there to plan weddings.

 

I had my wedding ceremony at the stone gazebo start time at 5:30pm.  It was amazing.  The scenery was perfect:  palm trees and the beach behind us.  The gazeebo had shade for my guests, hard floors for the ladies to wear their heels, and it was awesome feeling the breeze blowing as we said our vows.   Pray for good weather.  Seriously.  

 

Had reception on the sky bar terrace and that was really nice view, especially when the sun started to set.

 

If you have your ceremony at 3pm, it might be really hot, so the gazebo is a good choice.  I bought paper fans for all our guests, and that really helped.

 

Yes, I do believe you need a notarized letter if your child is not traveling with you.

 

Finally got my pictures back from the photographer, so I'll be posting them on here.  

[k4te]

We had our wedding at Finest Playa Mujeres on the 15th September. I can honestly say it was the best day of our lives, the hotel exceeded our expectations (we stayed with them in June/July 2015) The wedding was absolutely perfect, I was just so sad the day went so fast and the trip had to end. 

 

I am in the process of putting together some videos of the majority of the venues and the resort so brides who haven't visited have a better idea of what to expect. 

 

Our wedding was at the Stone Gazebo at 3pm, the Seaside bar for the cocktail hour and then the Grand Palapa for the reception for 25 guests. It was perfect, and I am so happy i chose those locations, especially the Gazebo, and also the Grand Palapa over las Dunas. 

 

Some images are over on Instagram - #CulbotWedding

Edited October 6, 2016 by k4te