I was lucky enough to be invited on this fantastic trip as part of what is known as a Familiarization Trip set up by Candice Cain and AFWPI (Association for Wedding Planners International). We were hosted by Real Resorts, which I have to say has some of the most beautiful properties I’ve seen in a long time. If you’ve been to Mexico, you know that as a people they are always genuine and warm, they make you feel so welcome. Real Resorts is no exception, from the moment we checked in we were made to feel incredibly special. It was clear how proud they were of their resort and how happy they were to have us there to see it.
Here is the amazing view from my room!
My day on Thursday truly started super early, like 3:00 AM early, to catch a flight out so I could get to Cancun nice and early. I had a connection in Houston where another person attending the trip was on my flight, John Goolsby of Godfather Films. Since our flight wasn’t full we were able to sit together and get to know one another, it was so great to already have a new friend before I even got to the resort. I was able to watch some of his pieces both on the plane and throughout the weekend, what a brilliant videographer! I feel so grateful to have met him! That afternoon we attended a seminar along side some of the wedding planners from the resort. It was an amazing experience to share that time with them, learning how we could work together to make the wedding experience that much better for our couples. After class we were able to share a fantastic gourmet meal together. There was plenty of time for laughing, sharing of stories, and meeting roommates. I’m the luckiest one because mine is the fabulous Isle Diamant of Diamant Events. It was the beginning of some great friendships and a long weekend to come. 
Friday was all about tours, and we saw so much!! The amazing Real Resorts staff in Cancun took us on a tour of the absolutely gorgeous Royal Cancun Resort. It’s a five-star, adults only, all-inclusive, luxury property and so beautiful I can’t even begin to tell you. Right in the heart of Cancun too. Once we’d seen the beautifully appointed rooms, sparkling pool and fantastic wedding locations, they fed us a five course lunch (don’t get me started on how much I ate on this trip) from one of their many lovely restaurants, Pelicanos.
At that point we piled into a van to take the hour van trip to their sister properties in Playa del Carmen. A bunch of ladies in a van, can you imagine??? I can’t divulge any of the conversations that were had, that’s all top secret information!! Our drop off point was the Gran Porto Real in Playa del Carmen where we were greeted by yet another group of super friendly, welcoming staff – and cold drinks and cold, wet towels. Let me digress for a moment to say that whoever thought up handing out cold, wet towels in a hot, humid environment needs to be thanked profusely. I’m not kidding. Every time I received one I was so grateful and happy, it was amazing.
Back to the story… The Gran Porto Real is a family friendly resort and right next door is The Royal Playa del Carmen which is their adults only luxury property, both are 5-star and all inclusive. We were treated to the most fantastic tour of these properties, which were sprawling to say the least.
Two mock weddings were staged for us, one on the beach and another in a courtyard by a fountain with Mayan Warriors dancing. We also got to see a real wedding in progress as we were finishing up our tour. We saw several reception location set ups and most of the room categories, there was nothing that wasn’t absolutely impeccable. 
After looking over the entire resort we were treated to hors d’oeuvres and cocktails followed by yet another five course meal. If you’re keeping track, that would be my second one THAT DAY and third over all!!! You can bet I’m not stepping on a scale for at least a week. Dessert was unbelievable, almost too pretty to eat, but you can bet that didn't stop us. 
Saturday morning started bright and early! I was up at six to shower, get breakfast and walk on the beach before our day really got started at eight o’clock. 
I got some really pretty pictures while I was out there bright and early though.
We headed out to attend a marketing seminar at Play del Secreto and a property owned by my roommate Ilse!! As interested as I was to learn the marketing tips and insights, I was really excited to see this non-resort wedding location. Let me tell you, it was so much better than I could have ever imagined. I can’t wait to meet a bride who wants a wedding in Mexico but says to me “But I want something different!” Whoa do I know just the place for that!!
Lush coconut groves, an untouched private beach with a gorgeous private chapel, an amazing private villa, your own little sanctuary that has not been muddled up by commercialism. Personally I was in heaven, it was just that beautiful. But sadly we couldn’t stay all day in Ilse’s paradise, soon we had to return to Cancun for a group lunch (uh, yes, again with the five course meal… and I traded shorts for loose dresses the day before…)
Then we began preparations for the wedding! Debbie and John were our bride and groom – correction – our beaming bride and groom. We saw them often around the resort over the weekend; they always had an ear to ear grin. It was a pleasure to see them so happy and carefree, as it should be! As soon as we finished lunch we hit the ground running to get the final details of the ceremony and reception nailed down so everything would go off flawlessly. We hit a few bumps, as usually happens. Nothing some scissors, a quick rummage through the trash, a chat with management and anti-diarrhea medication couldn’t fix though. I am purposely leaving out the gory details; I think creating your own stories off those few vague clues might be more fun.
Once the bride and groom were happily married and joyously dancing the night away we slipped off to eat dinner one last time with our group of new found friends. Yes, that makes FIVE 5 course meals... UGH... We really enjoyed ourselves, but you could tell that everyone was a little sad that our trip was ending. Although we made contacts and bonds that would last forever. I know the next time I have a bride looking to marry in Cancun or the Riviera Maya, I’ll be calling one or more of the people I met this weekend just to ensure things go flawlessly. Oh and PS: if you were wondering what Jason was doing while I was bopping around Cancun and Playa del Carmen, he was happily holding the fort down at home. He was glad I got to go and wasn’t the least bit jealous. That's my version anyway!
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