kitesurf_bride

Obviously this map is old, but i have marked where the presidential gazebo is... On the map it looks like it is very close to the presidential suites, it is close but to too close in my opinion. It is very pretty... was my second choice.

Quote: I love everything! I totally save a pic of your hair and I want your shoes! Where'd you get them? I have to admit the sandals were definately a splurge item...$130! I just loved them so much and couldn't find anything else that I felt was appropriate. I found them at: SandalWorld :: Jack Rogers, Mystique, Bernardo, Havainas, Summer Sandals, Beach Sandals, Beaded Sandals, Thongs, Flip Flops

Quote: I recall this being very, very close to the presidential suites. Is that correct? Will it fee like we are up against a building? Thanks! I don't think that you would feel that way. It is a bit of a smaller space with lots of greenery around it, but gave it a little more intimate feeling. When I was there they were able to move our ceremony site to any of the other gazebos (and there were 5 other brides that day). So, if you want to change your site when you get there and meet with the WCs, I don't think it would be a problem.

Quote: I plan on having about 15-20 people. DO you think the Casita Gazebo would be appropriate? I know it's not private at all, and it actually looks alittle tight. But, I fell in love with it since the first time I saw it. I think you could fit 15 people there but I have to stress that it is VERY public. You would have people walking right by you on the sidewalk the whole time. There is another Gazebo that would fit a smaller group. It is located closest to the presidential suites. It has a lot of greenery around, but does have a rock wall in the back. I thought it was really pretty though. Maybe your WC could send you a picture?

Quote: question for you: your ceremony site is the site I have picked. But I was wondering, were your guests able to see you, when you pulled up in the golf cart? or is there a place where the golf cart can drop you, out of sight, before walking down the aisle? Yes, the guests were able to see me when I pulled up. It was a little weird, but you are far enough away that they can't see you too closely. I don't really think there is a way around it. Maybe they could pull you around behind the set of rooms that is right there, but I don't think you'd be able to hear the music and then you wouldn't know when to go. When you get there, you can check out the site and talk to the WC about that.

That probably was us! We had a bunch a guests hanging out with us at the casita pool. Hope we weren't too loud or rowdy! We had such a good time! How was your honeymoon?

Quote: Kitesurf... do you know anything about the gazebo you had a pic of by the casitas? Thanks! Are you referring to the one that is far down on the beach in the last picture? Its structure is the same as the other ones. As you can see there isn't any greenery around it, but if you are looking for pics of the wide open ocean in the background its nice. (with a few sandbags of course). There isn't a walkway so your options would be a rose petal aisle runner or a red carpet. Its located at the very end of the casitas so it is pretty private and there is room to seat lots of people. One more photo...

Quote: Thanks for posting the picture of the Casita gazebo. It looks like the only location at the whole resort that I wanted won't work for my 30 guests. Not good... Yesterday 11:42 PM Bre, I am sorry your bummed about the gazebo! I was too, but there really are a few others that are beautiful as well. Forgive me for not remembering their exact names. Maybe you can ask your WC for pictures? I really like Gazebo 55... it was private and no sandbags. There is also another gazebo... its closest to the presidential suites which I almost choose (I had never heard mention of it before). There is a lot of greenery around it but there is a rock wall behind. Its very beautiful though.

Thanks for all the kind words ladies! I will try to answer the questions that have posted so far... Centerpieces... these were not offered by the resort, we brought them down. My mom and each of my stepsisters each carried on 2 galss hurricanes. We also brought a large bag of seashells, the teal napkins and candles. I think for 6 tables it was oonly like $60 total... much cheaper than having EDR do the centerpieces. You just have to take all your stuff the the WC office and explain to them how you want it set up and they take care of it. (Its always good to have a mom to supervise though!) Sound system... we paid $250 for the set up of the speakers at our cockail party and at our reception. It was free for the ceremony, but I believe that is b/c we had the "free wedding package". It does seem rather expensive for them to ask you to pay for both, but its much cheaper that a DJ. Emcee... We did not have an emcee for our reception but we just kept everything very casual. I didn't want a whole lot of formal dances etc. Our maid of honor and groomsmen gave speaches and we had a first dance. That was it. Otherwise it was eating, drinking and dancing! (Our first dance song was "True Companion" by Marc Cohn. If you are still looking for a song I suggest it, the words are beautiful and so many people asked us afterwards what the song was.) Golf carts... these are very hit or miss. Never count on one. So no, we did not have carts from the ceremony site to the martini bar. Its not too far of a walk but if you have older relatives it might be for them. My suggestion would be to call your concierge prior to the ceremony requesting that a couple carts show up at a certain time. Sorry to say this though, but don't be surprised if they are 15 minutes late or don't show up at all! Let me know if you have any more questions!

WEDDING DAY! My bridesmaids surprised my by getting all the ladies together for brunch at Fuentes. Honestly, I have no idea how they were able to get them to put a table together for 16 people because of how strict they are on that. Then I went to the SPA for nails and hair. I have to say I was not impressed with the French mani/pedi. For the amount of money I paid it was not up to par. No massage, or scrub or anything, it was very basic. But it had to be done, by Saturday my toes were looking rough! My bridesmaids and mom and I then went back to my casita to get ready. We ordered some room service and did our makeup and got dressed. And then it started to rain… I got a call from the WC that they were going to have to move my reception location. I begged them to wait because it was still 4 hours away at that point and it didn’t really look like it would be a big long downpour. They refused. They said that it takes them 4 hours to set up the food, table, etc. We were supposed to have our reception at Tucanes (its so cute), but they moved us to the Indoor pool area. Its not really indoors, its just under a much bigger palapa. And its much more public.. right next to Guacamayas…the loud swing bar. I was afraid that we would be drowned out by their music but it ended up being fine because they didn’t start up til about 9 and we were done at 10. (See? Make sure you like your rain locations!) And it kept raining. Its now an hour before the ceremony and I am starting to have a little breakdown. Jon and I just REALLY wanted to get married on the beach, I just couldn’t imagine doing it inside. The WC came by my casita said that they would hold out and wait til the 15 minutes prior to the ceremony to decide if the had to move it. I started getting all teary. The WC came back in and said “Look Miss… its starting to clear, don’t cry!†It was so sweet. Then about 15 minutes later it did stop and everything was a go. They came by with the golf cart at 5 minutes til 4 and picked me up with my 2 bridesmaids (they explicity say that you can ONLY have 2 passengers). One more thing about the rain… make sure your guests know where you rain location is as well. We were worried that we were going to have to scramble and try and get in touch with everyone right before the ceremony. We had a civil ceremony where the judge spoke Spanish and the WC translated. We inserted our own vows and a reading. I thought it was perfect! Amny of our guests thought it was very romantic. We did the signing of the documents as well as our witnesses. We had to thumbprint the documents as well which I had no idea about til that moment! We just burned a CD with our songs clearly labeled… one for walking in, one for the signing (we also did our reading then which filled the time nicely) and one for walking out. I also made a CD of about 20 minutes of songs to play while people were gathering at the site. We didn’t hire a photographer. It was just so expensive! And when I looked at the portfolio of the EDR photographer it just didn’t seem worth it to pay $500 an hour. Luckliy I have a stepsister and a friend from collage who are both ametuer photographers. They did such an amazing job! I couldn’t have asked for more from someone I would have paid thousands of dollars. After the ceremony, Jon and walked around and took pictures around the resort. We directed our guests to gather in the martini lounge for a dirnk and we would meet them there. (We had a 1.5 hour break btwn the ceremony and reception). This ended up working out really well b/c it was pretty muggy and I think everyone enjoyed getting into the AC for a while. We showed up at our rain location (indoor pool) at 6pm for our BBQ Deluxe reception. They had everything set up nicely even the centerpieces that we brought down except one thing! No speakers for our music. The speakers didn’t show up til 6:45. I was annoyed (but trying not let the guests see that I was annoyed) b/c we had gone to so much trouble to burn all these CDs for dinner. One other thing about the music… an Ipod would have been easier b/c toward the end we started skipping through to find songs that we wanted at the time. The food was great! Everyone loved it and there was so much. We ended up not doing a cake b/c the BBQ came with dessert and I heard the cake wasn’t good anyway. Everyone danced and had a great time. The waiters were very entertaining and geot everyone out of their chairs for a congo line and shots. The location near Guacamayas ended up not being a big deal, we even moved our party right down there at 10pm when they closed us down. We got back to our room and our “romantically decorated Jacuzzi†had drained. I think they thought we would be back to our room right at 10 and we didn’t get back til 11, but we just filled it up again. And we did get our breakfast in bed the morning after. Most of our friends and family left Sunday so we had a few more days to spend alone together. It was so nice being in a casita b/c you never have to fight for chairs or palapas. You are farther away from stuff, but I really didn’t mind the walk, it was so beautiful! We had an amazing time! You just have to remember that things work slowly in Mexico and you have to roll with the punches. I really tried not letting little things bother me and in the end everything worked out. I am so sad its over! That was WAY longer than I thought it would be! Feel free to write me with any questions. You can view lots of pictures here: http://edrwedding.shutterfly.com/action/

WEDDING DAY! My bridesmaids surprised my by getting all the ladies together for brunch at Fuentes. Honestly, I have no idea how they were able to get them to put a table together for 16 people because of how strict they are on that. Then I went to the SPA for nails and hair. I have to say I was not impressed with the French mani/pedi. For the amount of money I paid it was not up to par. No massage, or scrub or anything, it was very basic. But it had to be done, by Saturday my toes were looking rough! My bridesmaids and mom and I then went back to my casita to get ready. We ordered some room service and did our makeup and got dressed. And then it started to rain… I got a call from the WC that they were going to have to move my reception location. I begged them to wait because it was still 4 hours away at that point and it didn’t really look like it would be a big long downpour. They refused. They said that it takes them 4 hours to set up the food, table, etc. We were supposed to have our reception at Tucanes (its so cute), but they moved us to the Indoor pool area. Its not really indoors, its just under a much bigger palapa. And its much more public.. right next to Guacamayas…the loud swing bar. I was afraid that we would be drowned out by their music but it ended up being fine because they didn’t start up til about 9 and we were done at 10. (See? Make sure you like your rain locations!) And it kept raining. Its now an hour before the ceremony and I am starting to have a little breakdown. Jon and I just REALLY wanted to get married on the beach, I just couldn’t imagine doing it inside. The WC came by my casita said that they would hold out and wait til the 15 minutes prior to the ceremony to decide if the had to move it. I started getting all teary. The WC came back in and said “Look Miss… its starting to clear, don’t cry!†It was so sweet. Then about 15 minutes later it did stop and everything was a go. They came by with the golf cart at 5 minutes til 4 and picked me up with my 2 bridesmaids (they explicity say that you can ONLY have 2 passengers). One more thing about the rain… make sure your guests know where you rain location is as well. We were worried that we were going to have to scramble and try and get in touch with everyone right before the ceremony. We had a civil ceremony where the judge spoke Spanish and the WC translated. We inserted our own vows and a reading. I thought it was perfect! Amny of our guests thought it was very romantic. We did the signing of the documents as well as our witnesses. We had to thumbprint the documents as well which I had no idea about til that moment! We just burned a CD with our songs clearly labeled… one for walking in, one for the signing (we also did our reading then which filled the time nicely) and one for walking out. I also made a CD of about 20 minutes of songs to play while people were gathering at the site. We didn’t hire a photographer. It was just so expensive! And when I looked at the portfolio of the EDR photographer it just didn’t seem worth it to pay $500 an hour. Luckliy I have a stepsister and a friend from collage who are both ametuer photographers. They did such an amazing job! I couldn’t have asked for more from someone I would have paid thousands of dollars. After the ceremony, Jon and walked around and took pictures around the resort. We directed our guests to gather in the martini lounge for a dirnk and we would meet them there. (We had a 1.5 hour break btwn the ceremony and reception). This ended up working out really well b/c it was pretty muggy and I think everyone enjoyed getting into the AC for a while. We showed up at our rain location (indoor pool) at 6pm for our BBQ Deluxe reception. They had everything set up nicely even the centerpieces that we brought down except one thing! No speakers for our music. The speakers didn’t show up til 6:45. I was annoyed (but trying not let the guests see that I was annoyed) b/c we had gone to so much trouble to burn all these CDs for dinner. One other thing about the music… an Ipod would have been easier b/c toward the end we started skipping through to find songs that we wanted at the time. The food was great! Everyone loved it and there was so much. We ended up not doing a cake b/c the BBQ came with dessert and I heard the cake wasn’t good anyway. Everyone danced and had a great time. The waiters were very entertaining and geot everyone out of their chairs for a congo line and shots. The location near Guacamayas ended up not being a big deal, we even moved our party right down there at 10pm when they closed us down. We got back to our room and our “romantically decorated Jacuzzi†had drained. I think they thought we would be back to our room right at 10 and we didn’t get back til 11, but we just filled it up again. And we did get our breakfast in bed the morning after. Most of our friends and family left Sunday so we had a few more days to spend alone together. It was so nice being in a casita b/c you never have to fight for chairs or palapas. You are farther away from stuff, but I really didn’t mind the walk, it was so beautiful! We had an amazing time! You just have to remember that things work slowly in Mexico and you have to roll with the punches. I really tried not letting little things bother me and in the end everything worked out. I am so sad its over! That was WAY longer than I thought it would be! Feel free to write me with any questions. You can view lots of pictures here: http://edrwedding.shutterfly.com/action/

I am finally organized enough to write my wedding review! First, I have to admit that I have been more of a “lurker†than an active participant on this board. The main reason is that I discovered this board late in my planning process. But, it has been a valuable source of info and I’d like to do my part! I have always found that the reviews are the most helpful and we all LOVE pictures. One more thing before I begin… overall I had a amazing time at EDR and I only look back with wonderful memories. There were a few frustrating moments which I will point out only so future brides can prepare better than I did to handle them. Please feel free to ask me any questions. I would love to help. Off we go… For those of you who want to skip straight to the pics, here is the link: http://edrwedding.shutterfly.com/action/ We arrived on a Wednesday to a pretty predictable check in process. Its Mexico, and lesson #1 is be patient. Nothing ever happens quickly. It took awhile for Lomas Travel to get us into our van to EDR. We were greeted at the resort with champagne (my first glass of 1,000). After about 15 minutes we were redirected to the Casita check in and another 15 minutes later we were shown our wonderful room with an amazing view of the resort and ocean. I have no complaints about the casita. One day our room did not get cleaned, but your personal concierge is there to help you out when you need it. We loved the bed on the balcony and we actually slept out there a couple nights… the sound of the ocean just lulls you to sleep. We met up with our parents at D’Italia for dinner. It was very good but did take about 3 hours. But, it allowed our parents to get to know eachother better. Afterwards we met up with a bunch more of our friends at the Guacamaya bar… always a good source of entertainment and dancing! On Thursday morning, we had our appointment with the wedding coordinators. It was supposed to be at 9:00 but they were running 30 minutes late (be patient!). All the coordinators were very friendly and helpful. One thing that did bother me was that I had planned on getting married at the Casita Gazebo prior to our arrival. I was then informed that this gazebo would not work because the beach had been washed away and the gazebo was moved way up. They had to take us in a golf cart to see the other gazebos so we could pick another location. We ended up going with Gazebo 55. It is located all the way at the end (opposite of casitas). It does have the rock wall but it was pretty private and it’s the ONLY gazebo where there are no sandbags. We then went over the rest of the details with the WCs such as other events, flowers, rain locations, etc. HERE IS MY BIG LESSON: Make sure you like your rain locations! This is probably obvious to most of you. But, I was trying to have such a positive attitude about the weather that I kinda glossed over it. More on this later… Then, they make you sign on the dotted line when you are done so you don’t try to change anything. Afterwards, I dropped off all my OOT bags (we had 42 guests) for the hotel staff to deliver. I had some major problems with this. Half my guests got them the day they checked in and some didn’t get them til the day before they left. Welcome to Mexico…3 days later? And, against my better judgement I also had them deliver my gift bags for my bridesmaids… these contained their jewelry for the wedding day and other more pricey items. They lost 2 of them for 2 days! At first they told me they had been delivered, then they told me they were delivered to the wrong room, then they were just lost. That was the only time I pulled a BRIDEZILLA moment and told them that they had better find them and now! In the end they did find them but I have no idea where they were for those 2 days. During the days, we had wonderful weather and we mostly hung out at our casita pool and invited many of our guests to join us. Everyone had a great time with the cocktails flowing freely! We ate at most of the restaurants except Fondue. It was always more difficult to get tables of 6 people, we usually had to wait like an hour, but the food was fantastic and the service was slow but friendly. Friday 9am, I showed up at the Spa for my hair trial appt. They told me that they had me scheduled for the day before. I am positive that they got this wrong. So they told me that the girl who was doing my hair for the wedding wouldn’t be in til 1pm and I could come back later. I ended up skipping it because I was having too much fun with my friends at the pool and I didn’t want to leave the sun for 1 ½ hours. My hair ended up going pretty well the day of the wedding. The woman didn’t speak much English but I had a picture. It didn’t turn out exactly right and one of my bridesmaids was there to help me out a little but I was happy with it. Friday night we had the Mexican Cocktail Party at the Gaviotas Casita. It was a nice casual way to get everyone together and mingle. Gaviotas was a perfect place, right by the ocean. The food was really good the the waiters were on top of everyone’s drinks. We did get the donkey which cost us an extra $150. I have to say that I am on the fence about this. Our guests did get some fun pictures with him, but he was NOT friendly! In the end I just felt like I was holding this poor animal captive in a sombrero. more to follow...

Quote: That looks really nice! how sweet of your bridesmaids too I can't wait to hear about your wedding! I plan on writing a detailed review soon! I was hoping to get my photos organized first so I visuals for you girls.

Here is the best picture of the inside of fuentes that I have. Sorry you can't see that much, but if you look in the background you can see that they have put windows all along the outside and it is now airconditioned. My bridesmaids organized a little ladies wedding brunch for me there. It was a nice surprise!

I have a picture but I don't know how to include it in my post. Can you tell me where to find those directions? Thanks!

Shannon- I just returned from my wedding at EDR (I will post a full report soon!) to answer your question... Fuentes and Cocotal are both inside. Fuentes is upscale Mexican and Cocotal has different menus every night (so you may want to check with your WC about which menu that you would have on which night). I wish I had pictures to show you, but you can see a couple on the Karisma website. Just my opinion... I think Fuentes would have more character. And, its right on a large pool and has big windows all in front so if you look out at night you see the pool and fountain and trees all lit up. Hope it helps! Maybe your WC could send you pics?

Just got back from my wedding at EDR (will post a full report soon!) but they said that are NOT splitting the resort.

I am still confused! (And I am getting married in a week so I should probably figure it out!) Our WC said that for the civil ceremony all we need is our passports and tourist cards. After the ceremony they will give us our certificate? And then what do we do? Do we need to take it to some official government office to get it recognized or something? I am missing anything important? Thanks!

Just FYI ladies... I bought a bunch of ELF products to put in my bridesmaids goodie bags. I just recieved my shipment with only 1/4 of the stuff I ordered. There was a slip of paper that said all my other stuff was on backorder and they would refund my money for the missing merchandise. They didn't inform me of this when I ordered or even when they confirmed that my order had shipped. Just beware and order early!

As long as they are paying overnight guests at the resort, I am pretty sure they can't say anything. We have two friends that are coming that are both amateur photographers.

We also had to pay a $100 deposit and were told that it would go toward our other expenses, like flowers, etc. We are doing the Mexican Donkey party also! I did find out that if you hire the hotel photographer, listed as $500... that is only for 1 hour! That is not very long and his work is not very good. Has anyone else used them and can we see any pics

I am getting married there in a less than 3 months, so I can't answer your question about being charged for extra things... I hope not! But, I did talk to another bride who did the El Cocotal free reception. She said that they did a nice job of grouping all her tables together in a corner, but its not totally private. I believe that they also make you narrow down the full menu to 2 entree options. We are having a private reception by the Tucanes pool... the BBQ Deluxe. It costs $53 a per person, but I think our guests will appreciate the extra private event. EDR also has options for private cocktail parties that are cheaper. I have also heard that people have had problems Lomas. I have not yet. The WC, Monica, is responsive over email and if I email her to call me, she does call that same day. I also got an email from another bride that got married there on 7/7/07... she raved that every detail was taken care of and that EDR was fabulous. Hope that helps calm your nerves... it did mine! Let me know if I can help with any other questions

I know I had a pic somewhere but now can't find it. I think I am going to do a loop of ribbon (like the pic of the starfish) and maybe a small silk green leaf hotglued to the back.

I thought the starfish might be too heavy if they were pinned just to a white linen shirt. So I am making the boutonnieres with sand dollars and ribbon. Baybug, maybe that would work with your FI's shirt?

Thanks for all the resources ladies!