Getting Married In Tulum!

[Armchairshrink]

Hey guys, it's been a while - I sneak back to lurk from time to time but not too often, because it's depressing for me to read about my favorite place when I have no plans to visit. Since the last trip was "my trip" I knew our next trip would be somewhere my boyfriend wants to visit, probably a former Soviet Bloc country (wish I was kidding - we have different "vacation styles" to stay the least!)

But now I have some good news! The boy proposed to me several weeks ago, and after much agonizing over our relatively-small budget for wayyyyyy too many relatives and other guests (the average wedding where I live is $33,000! Insane!) we got the idea in our heads to think about a destination wedding in Tulum. I started checking out prices and realized that we could actually save money by getting married in Tulum as bizarre as that sounds, and many of our friends are totally on board and excited about having an excuse to visit the place I've talked up so much! So we have to get a few people to confirm they will be able to make it, then I'm going to start research/booking!! I'm SOOOOO excited!

I've checked out some stuff already (and did a search in this forum). Ana Y Jose looks like a great place to get married, but I think they're a little pricey, espeically considering we will have at least 20-30 people still (oy!)
Cabanas Las Lunas is interesting and I'm going to contact them about pricing. We're also considering the possibility of renting a couple vacation homes in Akumal instead, but I'd rather be in Tulum if possible and in our budget.

If you guys have any recommendations for food/catering, location, good location for rehearsal/welcome dinner (Mayan Grill!!!!!) I'd love to hear it!

[PhyllisB]

CONGRATS, Armchairshrink! What a wonderful spot to get married. I don't know anything about wedding planning in MX, but I'm betting Rene from La Luna will check in on this one. I think he had a wedding group staying there not too long ago.

I'm sure there's lots of info out there. Check locogringo too, I think there was someone on that board who got married in the area. Keep us posted!

[pepper]

I've heard that Hechizo can do a wedding...try to email them.

But...I'd try La Luna first.

[Armchairshrink]

I'd love to get married at Hechizo but I'm pretty sure that would be out of our budget. We're hoping to keep catering/food costs under $20 (maybe as low as $10?) for our group, given that we will be paying for several cabanas for friends in addition to our own, and whatever site fee is charged, plane tickets for us and our maid of honor, and of course, the honeymoon (which will start in Tulum but I think we will bus to Palenque, then San Cristobal De Las Casas, then we will probably spend some time in Guatemala and maybe Belize before finishing up in Tulum and flying back out of Cancun.

We're trying to figure out accomodations - if we do have the wedding party stay at a Tulum beach cabana place, we will probably have to find somewhere a bit less...rustic? To put the parents/grandparents/etc. They are not used to roughing it. I wonder if Ana Y Jose is nice enough? I figure if we have to there's always the AIs in Akumal, which I think the parents would adore and they're pretty reasonably priced.

[PhyllisB]

AyJ is definitely nice enough, but they're pricey I think.

James separated out the forums, so head over to the trip report forum. Luvthesun just got back from a trip and spent part of her time at AyJ.

[La Luna]

It looks like Tulum is becoming "the place to be" for Weddings. We are getting so many requests for Weddings here at La Luna. We just had one in February and we are having another wedding group staying here right now. It's "Krogers02" on the Tulum.info forum.... This year we have 6 more weddings coming up and still reservations are coming in..... Busy, busy, busy but lots of fun!

I must say, I can imagine that everyone would like to get married here in Tulum, it's just a great paradise... White beaches, palm trees, no crowds, always some wind to keep you cool, ecological hotels, nice weather etc etc etc

Feel free to contact me if you need any more info!

I also can bring you in contact with someone who got Married here at La Luna...

Hasta luego!

[TnTWalter]

First....CONGRATULATIONS!:eat-drink:

There are some RAVE reviews about La Luna wedding guests and the couple themselves on tripadvisor. Sounds nice...

I'm so excited to visit Tulum and La Luna...

[Armchairshrink]

First....CONGRATULATIONS!:eat-drink:

There are some RAVE reviews about La Luna wedding guests and the couple themselves on tripadvisor. Sounds nice...

I'm so excited to visit Tulum and La Luna...

Yeah the tripadvisor reviews are all fantastic. Prior to finding out about La Luna I just figured we'd rent a house or two in Akumal and have Turtle Bay Bakery cater for us, because I thought renting out all or part of a beach cabana hotel would be cost-prohibitive. Now that I see it's more reasonable, I'm considering that, since I prefer Tulum to Akumal.

I'm sad though, my mother just told me that my grandmother would not come to Mexico, because she visited once like 40 years ago and got a tapeworm from a bottle of soda or something. She's traveled on cruises and done an extensive tour of Europe and I wish there was a way to convince her that a posh AI would be just as safe, food-wise, as any of the places they ate in Europe. But she's kind of got that old school racist sense of Mexico anyway. I don't know. :/ I'm having a casual reception back home so I guess I could see her there but I'm still going to try to talk her into it.

[beachreader]

Congratulations!!! How wonderful for you, and what a great place to get married.

One great thing about La Luna is that it's in a neighborhood with lots of other very nice places right in a row. Since Luna only has a few units, you can have some people at Zulum, some at AyJ, some doing the budget route at Cabanas Tulum or Arrecifes, and you're all within shouting distance. There's even the little rental house Casa Tortuguita in the middle of all that.

Or all the way down, in the Casa Magna, Tierras del Sol, Hamaca Loca, La Via Laktea, Xi-Cho, Las Ranitas neighborhood. A variety of price levels, all on that big spectacular beach. But for service and responsiveness, I'd probably pick La Luna (and their wedding bower is gorgeous).

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b8dd34b3127cceb665a2ff3a8e00000006108Aas2rVo2ZuS

[AdGuy]

I'm sad though, my mother just told me that my grandmother would not come to Mexico, because she visited once like 40 years ago and got a tapeworm from a bottle of soda or something. She's traveled on cruises and done an extensive tour of Europe and I wish there was a way to convince her that a posh AI would be just as safe, food-wise, as any of the places they ate in Europe. But she's kind of got that old school racist sense of Mexico anyway. I don't know. :/ I'm having a casual reception back home so I guess I could see her there but I'm still going to try to talk her into it.


As a professional deceiver, allow me to make a recommendation in how to convince, gammie. Tell her you're getting married in Miami. Odds are she won't realize the difference till it's too late. :)

[Armchairshrink]

Congratulations!!! How wonderful for you, and what a great place to get married.

One great thing about La Luna is that it's in a neighborhood with lots of other very nice places right in a row. Since Luna only has a few units, you can have some people at Zulum, some at AyJ, some doing the budget route at Cabanas Tulum or Arrecifes, and you're all within shouting distance. There's even the little rental house Casa Tortuguita in the middle of all that.

Or all the way down, in the Casa Magna, Tierras del Sol, Hamaca Loca, La Via Laktea, Xi-Cho, Las Ranitas neighborhood. A variety of price levels, all on that big spectacular beach. But for service and responsiveness, I'd probably pick La Luna (and their wedding bower is gorgeous).

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b8dd34b3127cceb665a2ff3a8e00000006108Aas2rVo2ZuS

That picture is fantastic! I shouldn't be too excited about a place I don't know that much about yet but it seems great. I'd already done some preliminary research into location and from my exploration of the beach in my July 2007 trip (we stayed at Hamaca Loca) I realized that yeah, La Luna has a great location close to restaurants and a variety of other lodgings for my guests who all have vastly different income levels.

Adguy - GOOD IDEA! It's funny you mention that, I was just writing my mom an email telling her that grandma wouldn't know the difference between a resort in Miami and an all inclusive in Mexico, except that the staff would probably speak better english in Mexico! Oh, and it's hundreds of dollars cheaper.

[beachreader]

Actually, that's just the basic bower, the way it is most of the time. Rene said they tuck flowers in all over it for an actual wedding, which just sounds amazing to me.

[Gale in KY]

There is one big thing I like about a wedding at La Luna that you don't find elsewhere..a great way to save $$$. Rene gives you a list of Locals to provide services such as florals, bakers for the cake, etc. and you make your own arrangements. I suspect you get more wedding for less $$$ this way and for those on a budget where every $$$ counts, this is a GREAT option, as it eliminates that middle man (the planner).

Having seen that wedding area, with that amazing azul water color peaking thru the wedding arch, I have to recommend La Luna!

[Lynnette]

I think destination weddings are fabulous!!! How are the wedding plans coming along? Granny change her mind? :) I think La Luna would also make the perfect place to renew wedding vows...how beautiful!!!

[Julie in PA]

But for service and responsiveness, I'd probably pick La Luna (and their wedding bower is gorgeous).

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b8dd34b3127cceb665a2ff3a8e00000006108Aas2rVo2ZuS

This looks very familiar - is this the property just north of Zulum?? If so, we watched a wedding there last week from our balcony at Zulum - looked very nice - and it appeared that the wedding party and the guests were all staying on site; however, it was not a large wedding so I am not sure how many people they can accomodate.

[beachreader]

Yup, that's the place, Julie. If you filled the place, I think they could handle 20 people or so, maybe 24 if every bed had two people in it, and I think that would strain their capacity. But there are plenty of other places nearby (like Zulum, for example), so I think it would work for a larger crowd as well.

And I think the wedding you saw may have been an onliner wedding. Rene told me he'd been working with Kroger52 (?not sure of the number, but it's Kroger with a number) on her wedding. Not sure if she posts here or on LG, but I've seen the name around the boards.

[Armchairshrink]

I think destination weddings are fabulous!!! How are the wedding plans coming along? Granny change her mind? :) I think La Luna would also make the perfect place to renew wedding vows...how beautiful!!!
I saw my grandmother this weekend and she was staunchly against going to Mexico at first but I got her to agree to a maybe. I"m going to print out pictures of the all-inclusives in Akumal and show them to her next weekend, maybe with some trip reports from the other board if I can to prove to her it's not scary at all.

Unfortunately our plans to commit have kind of been put on hold since my finace's family just experienced the death of a grandfather and grandmother within 48 hours. We were basically waiting on them to say they'd go - we have to wait a bit now until we can bring it up again. I know my future sister in law isn't enthused about going because of the money issue, which shocks me because she's an archeology major and just finished a class on the Maya. We're also waiting to hear back from the owners of Luna to get a price quote.

[DougSR]

I saw my grandmother this weekend and she was staunchly against going to Mexico at first but I got her to agree to a maybe.

If she continues to balk, I would probably do a very small inexpensive family ceremony with grandmother. Then have the very cool Mexican ceremony afterwards.

Also explain to "granny" that if she would consult her doctor before she goes they could provide her with a hedge of protection. Basically, I'm a sick dog everytime I go to Mexico. So now, my good doctor hooks me up with a "script" for Cipro. Now I can drink the water, eat the ice...I'm fearless.

[Armchairshrink]

If she continues to balk, I would probably do a very small inexpensive family ceremony with grandmother. Then have the very cool Mexican ceremony afterwards.

Also explain to "granny" that if she would consult her doctor before she goes they could provide her with a hedge of protection. Basically, I'm a sick dog everytime I go to Mexico. So now, my good doctor hooks me up with a "script" for Cipro. Now I can drink the water, eat the ice...I'm fearless.

We're actually sort of doing this in reverse - we're going to have a very casual BBQ "reception" in my hometown for my large family, most of whom won't be able to make it, and probably a fancier at-home brunch for our friends in Oakland who won't be able to make it either. We figure we can show video/pictures from our wedding and that way everyone feels sort of involved although it sounds like a bit more work. Granny has said she will come to the family reception and doesn't care if we do it in Mexico, but she won't go. I've been investigating intot he Gran Bahia Principle AI in Akumal and I think I may be able to convince her after showing her some pictures. Plus all those AIs are such a good deal - most of them around $100 per person per night. If I didn't hate AIs I'd be tempted too!

I'd be tempted to get some Cipro for myself just so I could be that fearless! I'll definitely recommend that to my grandmother. I've never had any problems with food down there, even inland, but I want to explore even more off-the-beaten path restaurants so that might be a good way to do it with some piece of mind.

If anyone has stayed in any of the AIs near Tulum, any opinions about them would be appreciated. I'm reading the LG boards for info too.

[beachreader]

I would be very careful using broad-spectrum antibiotics as a kind of preventative. Definitely speak to a doctor first. I am personally very careful of antibiotics and only use them in case of severe bacterial infection. I honestly believe antibiotics make you a sicker person in the long run. Very necessary when they're necessary to solve an active infection, but casual use makes me very nervous.

Better IMO to protect your digestive tract by eating a lot of yogurt and/or taking natural probiotics to strengthen your immune system before going to Mexico. I haven't been sick from food/water/whatever in Mexico for many years. I don't drink water from the tap, but other than that, I'm not particularly cautious.

[minniemex]

Congratulations!! I am so excited for you!! I keep telling everyone that had I known about Tulum when I was planning my wedding, that is exactly where I would have had it!!