Best Destination Weddings Forum:
http://bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/t13757
Non Resort Wedding in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico: A Review

——————————————————————————–

Wedding Coordinator: Ajua Weddings (Ajua Weddings - Playa del Carmen Wedding Planner, Riviera Maya Wedding Coordinator, Wedding Reception, Akumal, Tulum, Xpu Ha, Cancun, Mexico)
A++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

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
A++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

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

Our very own Maartje Oremus and her husband Javier Garcia realized their dream of confirming their love through marriage on September 21, 2007. They planned their destination wedding in Holland, where Maartje was born and raised. Their wedding was a traditional Dutch wedding in the beautiful municipal house. Family and friends attended, overfilling their ceremony with support and love. Their ceremony was performed in Dutch, Maartje’s native language, and the vows were exchanged in Spanish, Javier’s native language. It truly was a fairytale event combining the cultures of two amazing people forever. They followed the ceremony with photos against the amazing backdrop of the gorgeous scenery. Her reception, as is tradition, was a simple event of food, games, gifts, dancing and fun with her closest love ones. In true wedding planner form, Maartje will have a second ceremony. Her second ceremony will take place on the breathtaking beach here in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. All of us at Ajua Weddings couldn’t be happier for Maartje and Javier, as they are truly wonderful people with a great future awaiting them. We love and congratulate you!!!

Ajua Weddings wedding coordinator, Maartje, always takes extra time to ensure that every bride we work with gets her dream flowers on her wedding day.
With photos, descriptions and her own experience, Maartje is able to ensure that each arrangement represents the dreams and ideas of the bride, even with limited availability to flowers.

My cousin was searching the web and received an advertisement of Ajua Weddings with a  picture of me. It reminded me of what a good time we had and what a fabulous job you did. I did want to let you know that I had a baby girl March 23, 2006. Yes, she is already going to be a year. I am staying home with her and enjoying my time. I hope that all is well with you and your family. Let me know if you ever need anything. I hope that business is good and you have more and more wedding come your way.

Take Care,
Julie

Make sure you visit and collect yours!

VH1 and Mindless Entertainment, the producers, are in Playa filming a “Romantic Date Weekend” show and has chosen our own Ajua Maya restaurant for the “Romantic Dinner” segment for their new spin-off of Flavor of Love 2! The producers and their crew came to Ajua Maya last night and raved about the food, the service and the atmosphere — so they ditched the other restaurant and chose excellence instead!

Thanks VH1 and Mindless Entertainment! We will live up to our hard earned reputation .. Who knows? Maybe the sequel will be a destination wedding by Ajua Weddings?

I am sure many of you are wondering if a Wilma the Worst will hit here again this summer or fall, right? Well, breathe a sigh of relief for us and for you. Our weather has been perfect this year — much cooler than the last three years with a bit of  a shower every few days to cool off the temperatures and the water — and it is the water temperatures that control the paths of hurricanes.

So, up there in the good old USA you better watch it! Your hot weather and warm waters are a magnet for hurricanes and they are expected to head up your way without even glazing the Riviera Maya’s coastline. And, so it seems, the predictions are true! The second tropical storm of the year zoomed up to the coast of Maine.

We wish our northern brethren Godspeed and hope you will come visit us down here in the cooler tropics where the water is turquoise, the sand white, and where life is beautiful and easy.

Take a look at our most recent weddings by clicking on they July Archive. We just missed having our first rain sodden wedding by 15 minutes on Friday. It rained all day and then just 15 minutes before the ceremony the sun came out.

Saturday was another wedding and we have another one on Monday! We love it. Keep them coming and the rain away!

   July 13th
Playa del Carmen Private Renewal of Vows with their two beautiful children

July 14th: Photos coming soon.

July 18th: A small private Mayan Symbolic Wedding (photos coming soon)

July 21st: Soliman Bay Private Wedding (Photos coming soon)

July 22nd:
El Cielo Wedding and Reception

New York Wedding in Paradise
See the Video, feel the emotion by clicking on the link above.

What a wonderful wedding to inititiate our new Ajua Wedding´s Blog — incredibly beautiful with the beauty of the Caribbean Sea and Playa del Carmen Beaches coupled with the sophistication of a New York Ballroom Wedding. Enjoy the experience.

Dyan & Christopher’s wedding was featured in the Wedding Channels “Wedding Bells” magazine and were were listed as one of the Featured wedding vendors. Thank you Dyan. Because of this article, we have received several requests including coordination the wedding for Irina and Alex in 2006. Publicity is always great.