Iberostar Wedding Process?

[beckys98]

HA! GREAT QUESTION...it is completely stupid, but common I think. The $800 for the private reception does actually include beer and wine so you could technically skip it, but we want to offer liquor to our guests for the wedding. But we are not doing a formal cocktail hour in between the ceremony and reception because it would be another $700 for the bar! So we're just telling people to meet in the lobby for a drink before dinner. 

 

I could understand an extra set up fee or service charge to have a private bartender, but the $10 per person per hour is totally crazy. Our bar tab for the wedding will be over $2,000...I try not to think about it

[jsparrow10]

@@purplekitten That's really odd she won't even give you the package options......From what I was given there are 4 package options Star, Silver Star, Gold Star and then the Dream Wedding Package. At the time we were between the 2 resorts so I'm 99% sure it applies to yours as well. We ended up going with the Silver Star which is for 20 people then $20 per person after that. I can email it to you so you can see it. The main extra we are paying for is renting the disco after dinner. We did want to do cocktail reception on the beach but like it was mentioned it is $7 or $10 extra per person PER HOUR and with our guest list still going up we couldn't justify paying that at an AI resort. I wish we could afford it because it would be awesome so @@beckys98 I'm def jealous! There are different options available with different prices. 

[purplekitten]

Oh, I know abou the Star/Silver/Gold (we chose Gold).  What i don't know about are like, the options for what flowers to choose, the meal options if we go for the private dinner, the different locations within the resort where the ceremony can be held, if a certain kind of cake will cost extra, that sort of thing.

 

I know that when she sends me the information in May, it will be plenty of time for them to have everythign ready.  My main concerns are: what time will the ceremony and reception be and do people need to pre-select their meals?  I want to know those things so i can order my invitations.  i'm scared that if I don't order them until May, there won't be enough time to get them printed, get them sent, and get the RSVPs.

 

The only thing I do know is that we're paying the extra for the private reception, which is $1050 at our resort.  But like I said, i don't know if people need to select their entree.

[edowd24]

I am getting married at the Paraiso Lindo in June. The wedding coordinator didn't contact me until February to start making any decisions. You will have the same person contact who you were in contact with when you signed the contract about 4 months before your wedding. She will get all of the big stuff out of the way i.e. ceremony location, reception location, dj, flower choices.  Then 90 days before your wedding the coordinator that you will be dealing with the day of your ceremony will contact you with about 7 pages of decisions to make including the upgrades which cost more money i.e. what type of chairs you would like, important songs for the dj to play, table set up, hair and make up appointments, the breakfast in bed and the romantic dinner for two.  I completely understand your anxiousness to start the planning process. I was too, but I realized that these people do this almost everyday of the year and they have it down to a science.  It is very exciting to start making all of the decisions and good luck to you! 

[purplekitten]

Thanks, edowd!

 

I have faith that they don't need to know what my choices are before a few months out.  I'm just worried about two things on MY end: budgeting and getting the invitations (with the correct details and times) out in time.

 

Did you go with the private reception?  Do you know whether people have to pre-select their entree?

[beckys98]

For ours, you have to either select the same entree for everyone or do placecards with their selections if you have more than 40 people. I know which restaurant the reception will be at because it is based on the size of your group, but I won't know for sure which restaurant we have for our welcome dinner until like 1-2 weeks before! That is stressful for having to get entree selections.

 

I added meal choices to the RSVP section on our website. I was just generic for the welcome dinner (Chicken, Beef, Seafood) since the group menus at the restaurants have one of each option. They can also note dietary restrictions on there.

 

We could have our ceremony whenever we want (we picked 4:30) but dinner times for the reception are firm at 6:30 and have to end at 10:00 pm.

 

Oh, I know abou the Star/Silver/Gold (we chose Gold).  What i don't know about are like, the options for what flowers to choose, the meal options if we go for the private dinner, the different locations within the resort where the ceremony can be held, if a certain kind of cake will cost extra, that sort of thing.

 

I know that when she sends me the information in May, it will be plenty of time for them to have everythign ready.  My main concerns are: what time will the ceremony and reception be and do people need to pre-select their meals?  I want to know those things so i can order my invitations.  i'm scared that if I don't order them until May, there won't be enough time to get them printed, get them sent, and get the RSVPs.

 

The only thing I do know is that we're paying the extra for the private reception, which is $1050 at our resort.  But like I said, i don't know if people need to select their entree.

[purplekitten]

Hmmm.... well I HIGHLY doubt we will have over 40 people.  I think we anticipate 25 or 30.

[jsparrow10]

I sent out our invites without the time of the ceremony on it. We are 3 months out and I still don't know what time our ceremony is. We have a preference but it depends on what time the judge is available. I figured the time doesn't matter for people to know if they are coming to Mexico or not! I'll have an itinerary in the OOT bags so people know the agenda. 

[beckys98]

Very true! We are putting an itinerary in our welcome bags. Even if you tell people ahead of time they'll forget. But our resort only does 1 wedding per day so I am pretty sure whatever time we want is when it is. We picked 4:30.

 

 

I sent out our invites without the time of the ceremony on it. We are 3 months out and I still don't know what time our ceremony is. We have a preference but it depends on what time the judge is available. I figured the time doesn't matter for people to know if they are coming to Mexico or not! I'll have an itinerary in the OOT bags so people know the agenda. 

[purplekitten]

Did you guys use the prefered vendors for photography and for the DJ/lighting?

 

They have been sooooo unresponsive to me!