Wedding In May 2017 At Blue Venado! Need Advice!

anikakoko · January 8, 2017

Hello all! I've been on this site for a while since I started planning my wedding last year. I'm getting married in May this year. It is only four months to go!! I am so stressed. We will have around 35 guests. Most of us will stay at Pradisus La Perla in Playa del Carmen. Now I haven't finalized lots of things. Please I need everyone's help!

1. We need private transportation to drive our guests to the venue and back to hotels. Since not everyone is staying in the same place, we are thinking about getting everyone meet up at our hotel and pick up/drop off them together. I contacted many transportation companies and they quoted me over $500 USD for 3 to 4 vans for 35 people. Is it a good price? The transportation is kind of out of my budget. If we call the cabs, will it be cheaper? Is it convinient and safe to do cabs?

2. We haven't finalize our reception menu yet. We were planning a site trip last year. But I changed my job and things get so busy and crazy. We have to cancel the trip. So we didn't get chance to do the food tasting Anyone can suggest which dishes to get from them? Is 3-Course meal or Buffet a good choice?

3. Is there a Walmart or other type of supermarket in Playa del Carmen that we can go to pick up some decorations or goods? We will bring some decorations with us but if we can get those stuff over there, that will make things much easier!!

4. My bride's maid will do my makeup, but now I need to get a hair style artist. I'm thinking about using the hotel salon, but am wondering if there is better choice with good price? Did any bride go to the town to get the hair done or hire an artist to come to the hotel for it??

5. Any brides use silk or real touch flowers for the wedding decoration (arch and centerpieces)? How did that turn out??

deedeelala · January 23, 2017

Hi anikakoko,

Congrats on your engagement!!! I have travelled to Mexico a few times and am currently planning my second wedding there. I don't know the answer to all your questions but I will do my best with what I know:

1. If cost is too much for private transport and you decide to go with cabs then yes it's safe to use cabs there. Go with the hotel ones since they are for sure licensed and safe. You can ask your coordinator/ hotel staff to get you a quote or contact info for the cab company so you can compare with private transport.

3. There is a walmart but sometimes they don't have a lot of choices for décor items. For my previous wedding it was easier for me to pay the extra luggage fee and just bring the décor down myself. I asked my bridesmaids to bring 1 vase each with the décor included for each centerpiece and we had no problems at all.

5. I also did not want to pay the outrageous amount for fresh flowers that they normally charge at hotels so I made my centerpieces with artificial flowers, I put them inside the vases with sand, waterproof LED light and filled it with water. I decorated the vase on the outside with organza sash and a flower and they turned out beautiful. I got lots of compliments on it. I added more candles around the larger vase and it made it look great.

Hope this helps!

Dee

jsalazarmtz · February 1, 2017

Hi Anikakoko,

I got married at Blue Venado and ended up renting 5 vans (each can accommodate up to 14/15 people) and each van was quoted for 120 USD, so I paid a total of $600 USD for the 5 vans. I dealt with Paradise Transfers and they were great and very accommodating. My guests were dispersed in different hotels in the 5th ave and also one main resort so they figured out once I provided the number of guests per hotel and they organized their pickup schedule based on that. Problem with taxis is that they can only accommodate 4-5 people and they will charge you quite a bit as the beach club is a bit far.

I loved their food and presentation. Portions were big enough and very very tasty. I had plated service and worked out very well, I am not a big fan of buffets but that is my personal preference. If you want, send me your menu over private message and I can tell you what I have tasted and help you picking your menu. They are also very flexible when it came down to accommodate any dietary restrictions.

Bring your décor with you, an extra suitcase will be your cost, it will be less hectic than trying to find stuff in Mexico and will also take extra time off your vacation. Also, work out with Sofia (Blue Venado Manager) they have lots of decorations from prior brides (like me) who decided to leave their decorations and they can use them as well.

Hair and makeup, I went with Sara Tamargo (she is a vendor on this website) and she was amazing! I got a great deal and she was flexible in picking me up at the hotel and taking me to her offices so I didn't have to pay for the day pass that resorts want you to pay when you bring your hair and makeup team.

Hope this helps!

Jazmin