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Non Resort Wedding in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico: A Review
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Wedding Coordinator: Ajua Weddings (Ajua Weddings - Playa del Carmen Wedding Planner, Riviera Maya Wedding Coordinator, Wedding Reception, Akumal, Tulum, Xpu Ha, Cancun, Mexico)
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I don’t even know where to begin to rave about Ajua Weddings! First off, my coordinator was Maartje Oremus. She was absolutely amazing to work with. But before I get into that, I would like to talk more about why we picked Ajua Weddings. The first reason was because we wanted a Catholic ceremony. After much research online, I found that Ajua Weddings are very experienced with planning a Catholic ceremony. With all of the work involved planning a Catholic ceremony, I wanted to make sure we went with someone with experience. Ajua definitely has that! They made the entire process go so smoothly! The second reason why we picked them was because we wanted a non-resort wedding. We wanted our wedding to not only reflect us as a couple, but to also embrace our destination of choice. Ajua definitely made that happen for us! We had our wedding at the AMAZING Capilla Nuestra Senora del Carmen – a cute little chapel centrally located in Avenue 5 in downtown Playa del Carmen.
All of the vendors that Ajua Weddings used for our wedding were absolutely amazing. My bouquet was simply gorgeous as were the bridesmaids’ bouquet and the boutonnieres. The cakes (Tres Leches cake for the wedding cake and chocolate cake/chocolate filling for the groom’s cake) were absolutely delicious. I also had a special request to have 2 eggless miniature cakes made for our vegan guests and we got amazing feedback on that – our vegan friends wanted some to take home with them! The guitarist they picked out (Benjamin Aguilar) was wonderful – the music was beautiful and fit perfectly with the ambiance of the chapel.
Maartje Oremus (our coordinator) was a joy to work with. The scariest thing for me while planning the wedding was working with someone whom I had never met and with a company that I just randomly found online. To put my dream day on someone I didn’t even know was pretty terrifying. However, Maartje made the whole thing so easy for me. All I had to do was send her pictures of what I wanted and she made sure it happened. She was so patient with me throughout the whole planning process. I don’t know about you girls, but I can be a bit of a bridezilla, but that didn’t faze Maartje at all. She was such a trooper – helping me make my decisions, offering suggestions to me, and letting me change my mind 5 million times without batting an eye! She didn’t even blink when I walked in to our pre-wedding meeting with boxes of wedding stuff! Maartje coordinated everything for me – from transportation, to flowers, to cakes, to music — EVERYTHING! She even arranged for a van to pick my family and I up at the airport upon our arrival in Cancun. Maartje also took care of everything on the wedding day – all we pretty much had to do was show up and enjoy ourselves. Oh, my mom also meet Maartje at the pre-wedding meeting. My mom’s a pretty good judge of character and after our meeting she told me that she could tell that Maartje is a genuinely good person. She couldn’t have done a better job even if she wanted to. She was the perfect wedding coordinator and I will forever be grateful for all the work she did in making sure my dream wedding came true.
Reception Site: Ajua! Maya Restaurant
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We had our reception at the Ajua Maya restaurant, which is also on Avenue 5 and owned by Ajua Weddings. Ajua Maya is by far the best restaurant and the best bar in downtown Playa del Carmen! The food was SOO delicious. We gave our guests a choice of either the BBQ platter or the rib-eye and both were a huge hit! Our vegetarian/vegan option was the spinach enchiladas and those were delicious also. The ceviche was by far their best dish ever – probably the best I’ve ever had! The restaurant is the perfect blend of 5-star dining and laid-back atmosphere. As for the restaurant staff, well, I don’t think there are words to describe what an amazing staff they have at Ajua! They kept all of us entertained throughout the night – from serving food and drinks on their head, to the infamous legs (very funny), and to the best conga line ever (which, I must say, ends with tequila being poured down your mouth!). Ajua Maya also have a live salsa band playing at the restaurant every night. The music was amazing. It definitely gave our wedding the perfect Mexican vibe!
Ajua also catered our beach cocktail party and the food they served at the cocktail hour were also huge hits with all of our guests! I’m telling you, these guys can’t do anything wrong! If you are looking for a unique place to have your reception, rehearsal dinner, whatever, definitely go with Ajua Maya! You will have an absolute blast there and I can guarantee that you will leave the restaurant with happy stomachs!
HUGE kudos to Maartje, Vaughan and all the staff at Ajua Weddings and Ajua Maya Restaurant!
Catherine Solidon
Wedding, November 24, 2007
