Destination Wedding Cabo - Pueblo Bonito Sunset Beach

Nope, but our DW is in the Riviera Maya next week! Good luck with your DW planning and let me know if you have any planning questions.

Thank you for the response! I'm just getting started with planning and need to send out the Save the Dates ASAP. When booking your wedding @ Riviera Maya, were you asked to pay for the rooms upfront in a deposit format? Also, if you don't meet the room expectation, was there a penalty fee?

I'm a bit concerned that we may not meet the minimum room booking and we'll be forced to pay.

I put down a $1500 deposit on the rooms (and got that back on the booking deadline day) which was $100/room. My travel agent reserved a bunch of different stay-lengths at the Club Deluxe level for our guests, but when people booked, she just added on to the booking instead of taking up the room reservations. She explained it that it saves rooms in case we need them for last minute bookers and we still got the group rate on the additions.

There was no penalty, because we made sure to drop the required percentage of our empty rooms in time. It was in two waves: 120 days and 90 days. 60 days out was the due date for payment completion. Any resort that charges you for dropped rooms before 120 days is one I wouldn't book with. There are just too many unknowns.

I'm planning to do a full advice post on DW when I get back from ours in two weeks. It's going to be really long, because planning a DW is a lot like herding cats. It has it's own sets of challenges that you'd never think about until you're neck deep in planning one.

Let me check into that 120 days room dropping - you're totally right! There's way too many knowns for me to be completely comfortable.

I can't wait to check out that post! It'll be incredibly helpful.

Any advice you can give? I plan to coordinate myself and use their on-site coordinator. I don't have room in my budget to hire an additional coordinator who lives in Cabo. It's been recommended but I just cant.

I would make sure you choose a resort that 1) has the most amenities for the group going with you and the money being spent; 2) has good wedding group perks; and 3) has a lot of activities for people who don't want to leave the resort. And spend time on tripadvisor reading the 3 star reviews. They are the most honest.

If you aren't working with a travel agent, I would consider getting one. They can act as a liaison when things aren't going your way. Mine has gone to bat for me a few times when my off-site WC (we have two, one onsite and one offsite) wasn't responding to me for weeks at a time.

Hey! No advice on the hotel... but we are having a DW in Punta Cana. My advice is ask your travel agent plenty of questions!

I think it depends if your agent is booking rooms/flights separately or part of a package. We are in Canada and the travel agent is booking with Transat Holidays so it is an all inclusive rate including hotel and flight. I had to make a small deposit ($650) to the hotel in order to reserve my day and time for the wedding (but not for any rooms). My agent quoted me a group rate which is held for 90 days and we have to have 20 adults in 10 rooms make deposits before the deadline in order to keep the group rate.... we also have 60 spots reserved (flight and hotel) until the deadline.

My understanding is that if we didn't meet the minimum then we lose the group rate and would have to settle up the difference (not a problem since its already been met and still 2 weeks to go)

SunshineJenn - i am looking forward to that post! I feel like there is so much less to do than planning a traditional wedding since the hotel takes care of a lot... but at the same time there is all this stuff i am learning along the way and not a lot of resources for help!

Christina - check FB for a group dedicated to Brides (past and present) of the hotel you are interested in... I have found this to be THE BEST source of information

Here's a snippet from the contract.

There's an attrition section: The Hotel will offer 10% attrition on the room block up to the cut off date. Should the Group fall below the contracted amount (90% of the group block); “The Client” will be responsible for providing payment for the difference between the minimum guest room revenue , single room occupancy, set forth above and the actual guest room revenue of the Group.

Any rooms released after the cut off date will be charged accordingly but the Group will be credited for any rooms reserved by wedding guests after the cut off date.

I'm reviewing the contact and do not see an option to drop rooms prior to 120days, etc. This contract seems to only benefit the resort and not "The Client".

Thankfully, I know someone who just had their wedding there, but I am so hesitant to bug her as I've already kinda picked her brain LOL

Also..... I am not working with an agent. I do have an agent I just started working with for the flights.

Yeah, that resort sounds like a no-go. There should be NO penalty to drop rooms, because they would still have plenty of time to fill them.

I totally agree with you as sad as I am thankfully I still have time to make a choice

We got married in the Bahamas and had to meet a percentage of rooms booked. Our block was set up in total nights. I believe we had to have 24 nights booked which was easy because between us, his best friend, and parents we had that met. The only thing our guests had to do was book by a certain date to get the group rate. It was really easy. I only worked with the hotel coordinator on this. I did have an outside coordinator for my wedding. Our DW was amazing and I would do it all over again in a heartbeat.

^ Rebekah had an awesome BAM post. She should link you to it

Rebekah, I'd love to read your BAM post. I've contacted the resort to see if we can do room nights. That'll be easily achieved between us and immediate family.

Christina, here is the post with my pro pics. I hope they will work with you on the room nights. Good luck and if you have any other questions let us know!

https://www.weddingwire.com/wedding-forums/pro-pics-are-in-pic-heavy/ea08156f4002c197.html

Here is the link with pics fom family and friends. Sorry if some are repeats.

https://www.weddingwire.com/wedding-forums/back-married-from-nassau-with-dw-pics/5253f35345189875.html

Perfect! I've just received word that the've revised the contract to reflect room nights instead of rooms =) Just a couple more things to iron out before I sign on the dotted line - LOL

@Rebekah - what beautiful pics. Your dress was stunning. Thank you for sharing!!!

Just make sure they let you drop the rooms within a reasonable time. I would say 120-90 days is reasonable. Anything beyond that is inviting guests to back out and make you pay for it.

The other half of the SunshineJenn & Mina DW consulting team, here!

In addition to everything that already has been suggested, I would highly recommend working with a travel agent. They will handle all the contractual details and make the process seamless for you and your guests! Best thing... their services are FREE - so there really is no reason why you shouldn't work with one. They can provide transport to/from the airport, coordinate deposits, payment, etc. leaving you with the fun parts like designing the wedding.

Most resorts will have their own onsite coordinator that is included with a wedding package, so you shouldn't have to hire any outside coordinator.

ETA: I'm a Riviera Maya bride too! ...maybe you should play on our side of the pool, right Jenn?

^ That's right!

Hehe, I was waiting for you to chime in.