athena

I've tried to use the website provided for DJ mannia, but it doesn't seem to be working. My best friend is getting married in November and wants to use them... (we had them at our wedding in Playa del Carmen Mexico and they were fantastic). Anyone have their email address?

Quote: Originally Posted by VeronicaLane Athena, which menu did you choose? We're leaning toward the lobster dinner. It's such a value for such great-sounding food! I'm curious to which menu you all are chosing! We didn't have the choice of a lobster dinner, must be a new choice. We had seafood salad, tres consomme, fillet mignon with potatoes and vodka 1000 leaves. It was all amazing. I'm sure the lobster will be excellent as well.

We were married on December 6th, 2008 at the Royal in Playa del Carmen, MX. We used the resort photographer and videographer (Funever Photos). Here is the link to our wedding photo slideshow. Enjoy!

Thank you so much you guys!! It was such a perfect day and the pictures turned out so fantastic. Ok - to answer some questions and give some comments to the last bit of posts: We asked for the standard cake which serves about 15 people. We had 32 people but Micaela told us that usually the cake goes to waste. When we showed up, we had a cake surprise. We got the upgraded 2 tiered cake. And, most of it went to waste. Everyone was so full from the amazing dinner that not many people ate it. We ended up with 3/4 of it back in our room, which we had to throw out. Very tasty though - tres leche. We were told that if there if it rained or if it was very windy we would be moved to the ballroom. This happened to a couple that was married in November. Her review is on here under the wedding review's category. There were 5 other weddings just at the royal the same day as ours. There were a few at the gran too. The beach was packed with receptions and same with the garden. But we really felt like we had our own space. They split the receptions far enough away. There was a huge kitchen set up on the beach which made the food come out even fresher. When we were there we had one of the smaller weddings - 32 people. We thought we had a huge wedding for a destination one (especially at such an expensive resort too!). The biggest one we saw was 150 people! Crazy!! Ok - so there may be travel advisories out, but honestly I don't see why. My mom travelled with us as a group but came without a guest. She isn't the most independent person either. But, she stayed in her room alone and went shopping everyday alone (for hours at a time, usually twice a day!). She walked up streets I wouldn't have thought of walking even with my husband. She said she met some really nice people and talked with a lot of the locals. Mom said she felt totally safe. So I'm not sure how much it could have changed in the last 3 months! OH - and I believe the new Playa Coco Bongo opened - GO if you have the chance. The one in Cancun is unbelievable!! Youtube it - you'll see what I mean!!

The dancefloors look the same. The dance floor can change to both white light or multi colored with or without "x"s. I have some pics of included at the end of our slideshow (link underneath). I did the slide show myself using the photos done by the resort photographer - funever, Caesar. i would highly recommend them. i finally got it uploaded!! Enjoy!!

Here is our wedding photo slideshow I did myself using our wedding pics from Funever. They did an amazing job on our pics and DVD - I would highly recommend them!! YouTube - Our Wedding Photos

We also travelled with Air Canada, First Class. I decided last minute to put my dress in a carry on bag. It was very hard to get it to fit, but it was well worth it because it very easy to pull my carry on behind me instead of fighting with my dress on a hanger. Byron's suit went in his suitcase. As for the dress/suit steaming: The Royal does offer this service, but we were not happy with it. Byron's suit came back untouched, and my dress was missing the dust cover and it came back with a bent up metal hanger (my dress was heavy so it just fell off this hanger). I complained but I never got my cover or hanger back. We were only charged half of the steam bill; my dress was done perfect though. As well the morning of the wedding i received 2 phone calls asking if the pants to the suit was ours, and if we got the right suit at all!! I can't imagine being the other bride with a mixed up suit!!! On another note, We finally got our pics about 2 weeks ago, (we used the resort photographer, videographer). The photos and DVD are amazing. We are not happy with the provided wedding albums; I think we are going to order different ones through Sproullie Designs. I will try to have our photos uploaded today. I think someone asked about the DJ - I loved the resort DJ (and of course the dance floor). Although it seems very expensive, the DJ acted as an MC, and it was really nice to have any song our guests wanted. I would have to recommend them. And I think someone mentioned orchids- I sent 2 different pics to Micaela, wanting both but in one bouquet. And the flowers were exactly what I wanted. They were beautiful, huge and in perfect condition. I also had some bouquet gems that I wanted added and it turned out awesome. For my bouquet, 3 bridesmaids bouquets, 4 boutonieers (sp?), and 2 corsages it came to $975 US.

PS - For those of you wanting to legally married - we had our Birth Certificates apostilled but not translated and they were accepted. I have the legal wedding words if anyone hasn't read them. We were all surprised at how touching the Mexican legal ceremony is; and we loved the thumb print part!

Hello ladies!! I've been having a problem getting on the site lately! 2 Days before our wedding, I saw a reception setup infront of the gazebo. There were 7 tables, and a hard wooden dance floor. So, that's what I was expecting. But..... As for the light up dance floor: I had no idea that it was an option, and therefore did not ask for it. The night before our wedding, we saw it in another garden wedding reception. I was really wanting it, but we decided that we didn't want to tack on more money to the wedding. We were pleasantly surprised to walk into our reception and have it. Our wedding was 32 people, and we were given 6 blocks (2x3). I have to admit it wasn't big enough for all of us, but (luckily) not everyone was into dancing. Micaela asked us afterwards how we liked it - of course we loved it!! She said "It was a surprise that she had arranged for us". We did have the resort DJ hired. There were 3 other receptions the same night as ours, and one other wedding reception had the lighted floor as well. PS - Specify exactly where you want your reception - I didn't, and we didnt' get right in front of the pool (instead infront of the gazebo - which was just as nice). I would love to finally post our pics, but we still don't have them!!!! We hired the resort photographer & videographer, but with getting married 2 weeks before Christmas, we didn't start any of the proof picking until well into January. We are hoping to have them in 2 weeks. But we have seen all the proofs and they are amazing!! I would recommend the photographer in a heart beat!! Anything can be changed when you meet with your wedding coordinator. When we met with Micaela, we ended up changing/picking most of our wedding. Even the time of day (from 4pm to 1pm - which I would suggest.) By having the wedding at 1pm, champagne at 1:30-2. Then pictures with everyone till about 3. Then we took pictures on our own for the next 2 hours. We met everyone back at 5, which eliminated the need for a "cocktail hour" with appys, as we went straight into the (delicious) dinner. I hope this helps you gals out!!!

Our wedding was December 6th, and all of our vendors were through the royal. The only thing that we had to pay cash for was the flowers (we did an upgrade to orchids as well). Everything else we charged to the room, including the hair and makeup. Then we paid with our VISA on our last day. We did really basic decorations, mainly what was included in the packages. For the ceremony we did the red carpet with rose petals. The petals were an extra $100 US. There were a few different options that you could get ontop of this (like white tule wrapped around the pillars of the gazebo) but that was an extra $15 a pillar, I think there were 6 pillars. It looked really nice, but almost too much for us. For the reception, we brought our own personally printed (paper) napkins with small favors that went on the tables. There was a medium sized hurricane candle on the tables. The tables were lit with small lights as well. Really pretty. I really liked their setup. We opted not to do OOT bags - the cost of making them, and then bringing them (esp. since our luggage was already heavy!).

Quote: Originally Posted by latinalocany we are going deep sea fishing , private charter for the day 12 of us. heres the website: Capt. Rick's Sport Fishing, Happy Fishermen Capt. Ricks is awesome!!! Ran by one couple; you can usually see them cruising around in their golf car on the docks in Puerto Aventures. I think their boats run from $400-600 for 4hours. We we weren't able to fish this time, but we did stop in to see them. They even have a boat that use to be owned by Enrique Iglesias!! (We fished with them on our other trips, and had an awesome time!) Other stuff we did: The Dolphins at Puerto Adventures are the best we've seen. As for doing tours, we found that just renting a jeep/car and splitting the cost between a few people was cheaper, and much more fun. Driving there is really easy. Coco Bongo in Cancun is insane. The best club I've ever been too, and the best I think we'll ever see!! Xel-ha was awesome as well. Get pics with the birds & try to go for a whole day. We also rented Harley Davidsons in Playa, no bike license needed. It was awesome. Its $230 for 24 hrs. The bikes are a bit older; the softail is the best one. We cruised to Tulum, and then did the strip in Cancun. You can rent really nice harley's in cancun, but a license is needed, and a $2000.00 damage deposit. We stopped by the Zip line tours; it looked awesome - but we ran out of time to go back to do it. (It's out by Tulum)

Congrats!! Can't wait to see your pics too!!

Quote: Originally Posted by tchuchuca Athena, Thank you SO much for your detailed review! I have a few questions if you don't mind! I'm in the process of setting up my reception menu and.. it's a silly question, but I would love to know what Tres Fillets Consomme and strawberry and vodka thousand leaves are (the dessert sounds amazing just from what I'm imagining, though!) Also, can you tell me what kind of decor there was on the tables at your reception? Just wondering if I need to purchase extra decorations to bring with me or just go with what they have! Thank you SO much! The Tres Fillets Consomme was little strips of meat, in a almost like a beef broth. There is Vegetable Consomme sometimes served at Spice, ands its the same taste. The dessert is thin layers of pastry with filling in between. It's about an inch or so high. I asked as many guests as i could how they like the food and there were only really good answers. Anyone who liked seafood, love the seafood salad (even though its not a conventional salad). Kinda wishing I had asked someone to take pics of it!! As for decorations it came down to how much money we wanted to spend on everything. So we opted for the Royals set up, with no extras. It was still really beautiful. For the price of extra decorations, I'm glad we went with the basic, but that might not be for everyone. I'll try to upload our pics as soon as we get them. Have a great Christmas & New Years!!

We never asked for the DJs name, but there were 3 of them running the music. One to do the requests, MC etc; one to do the sound and light up dance floor (really cool); and the other was an assistant to both. There were 2 other beach receptions and one garden reception the same night as us. We had the area infront of the gazebo. Important: If you want a certain area of the beach, specify as early as possible. We wanted the area infront of the pool (for neat pics) but someone else had already specified that. We were infront of the gazebo, which was the most private. We could see another reception, but it was still private.

Here is my (very long) wedding review: http://bestdestinationwedding.com/fo...896#post635936

The Royal Playa del Carmen, Legal wedding Dec 6/08 (We don’t have our photos yet; we’ll hopefully have them from Funever in January. I’ll do a review of them with some pics then.) I want to start off by thanking the forum and everyone on it. It has given us so much insight into all the possibilities for weddings. It was also so awesome to have the ability to chat with other Brides with the same joy and wedding stress as we did. We were married at The Royal in Playa del Carmen December 6th, 2008. All of our vendors were booked through the resort. We booked our wedding in December of 07, so we were given 07’s pricing & incentives (big saver for us!). We had booked into the Gran Porto Real for 2 weeks in April 2005 (with 14 others as well). The Royal was in the middle of construction, but all the rooms close to the ocean were completed. The Gran was way overbooked, so we were bumped into the Royal’s oceanview rooms. We loved the resort and the location. So when we decided on a destination wedding, we picked the Royal right away. WHY WE PICKED A DESTINATION WEDDING: We both have large families, so a “home town†wedding would be approx. 350 guests. We live in a small town (7000 people). Due to snow, the Recreational Center collapsed a year before we were engaged and the new one was under construction. Our town still has no venue to hold such a large function. As well, due to the small town size, there are not many vendors. We also had been to my hubby’s brother’s destination wedding in Nov 05 (Punta Cana) and enjoyed the “no stress†wedding. I have to admit, we did not have the same worries most bride and grooms have, as we had been to a destination wedding and stayed at our choice resort. Resort The resort was excellent. Our guests (and us) loved the 24hr room service. We only tried three restaurants, but they were excellent (Spice - Buffet; Asiana - ala cart, no reservation, Il Pescatore - Italian at the Gran). But I wold is stay clear of the shashmi at the Asiana. There were very few complaints about the resort and the staff did everything they could to remedy the problem. (ie. Didn’t like their room’s view...) Everyone loved being right by 5th & 10th Ave. The pool area is awesome. The activities team really does try to get everyone having fun. A lot of the guys with us played water volleyball and had a hoot! There were fun bartending classes, crazy games, dance lessons, water aerobics, and how to make the neat towel animals! We booked into the Presidential Suite, which was amazing. The room is awesome for a large group, and the private pool was awesome. The only draw back was the service level for this type of room did not meet our expectations and the pool water usually sloshed over onto the lobby/Spice stairs and Tequila bar. Wedding: We had 24 guests staying at the resort, 2 at the Gran, and 6 at the Blue Parrot Suites. We arrived Saturday night, and met with Micaela on the Tuesday. We made almost all of our decisions during this appointment. Our wedding was originally booked for 4PM (like most weddings). But we noticed that by 4PM in December, the sun was almost fully gone. We told Micaela about our concerns, and she mentioned to change the wedding time to 1PM, which is the best time during the winter months. It was the best decision as we had the whole afternoon to take a ton of pictures. During our appointment with Micaela we also: -booked hair & make up with the spa ($65 for the hair, $60 for makeup) -had our blood tests done (it was actually really easy) and had a really quick “physical†with the doctor (he asked us if we felt healthy, and if we had been to the hospital in the last 2 years...) -picked out our “free†centerpiece (she had a bunch of pictures and it came free with the ceremony package) -picked out a red runner for the gazebo and white rose petals to go on it (5 bags in total) -picked out the cake (Tres Leches - very good, I guess it’s the Mexican wedding cake) -went over seating plan. -re-confirmed everything else (photos, videographer, miriachi band, dj, the food) -she also showed us some photos of the gazebo and beach reception as well as a sample book of photography (She has a ton of photos on her computer - ask to see some!!!) -picked out the music for walking down the aisle. (Resort’s music - canon in d) -agreed that we needed 7 extra bottles of champagne for after the ceremony. It was well needed for a total of 9 bottles for 32 people. -gave her our favors, guest book and personalized napkins. (Favors - myweddingfavors.com, guest book - theguestbookstore.com, napkins & cake topper- weddingstar.com) -asked about our food choices - she agreed with them and explained the other choices on the menu. She also mentioned that our menu choice was the most requested one. I had already sent some photos of the orchids I wanted. My photos and instructions weren’t very clear. (The flowers came exactly as I had wanted!!) Everything was booked through the resort. Here is a general overview of our wedding: 9AM - My hair, My mom’s hair (Both turned our awesome - we didn’t even go in with pictures. I just told the hair stylist I wanted it curly and up; it was perfect.) 10AM - Maid of Honors hair, my makeup (Again, both turned out awesome. Jose was my make-up artist and I would highly recommend her) 11AM - my 2 Bridesmaids (There was another Bridal Party in the Spa that morning too) 12PM - Photographer is at the room - taking pictures of us getting ready. I had a lace up dress and it took the girls 25min to get me done up!! Micaela dropped off the flowers and checked on us. She also reminded us of the course of events 12:45PM - Micaela checked on the gazebo and made sure the guys were there. 12:55PM - Micaela picked us up from the room. We walked down to the gazebo. She had a radio in her hand and she was talking with her assistants to make sure everything went according to schedule. The miriachi band was standing in the hall with us. 1PM(ish) - Bridesmaids walk down according to Micaela. Then my mom and I walked down. The wedding ceremony was beautiful. The judge spoke in Spanish, and Micaela translated. The legal ceremony in Mexico has such touching words. At the end, we signed the 3 copies, then our witnesses and then we finger printed the papers. That was so neat! The miriachi band played for 45 min after the ceremony. We had the champagne toast, and chatted with our guests. All of our guests, and us, loved the miriachi band. They played what ever songs we or our guests requested. We got a few group photos in the gazebo, and then it was off to the beach. We gave our guests a chance to have their own photos - which they loved! It also gave us a quite moment. We did photos with our families, and then they went off on their own. We did another hour or so of photos with our wedding party. Then we let them loose and did the rest of the 2 hours on our own. The photographer was very creative and really loved his work. He even packed bird seed to bring birds in around us for some sunset photos and he paid the pier security guard so we could get photos from the pier (I guess most photographers do this one). We met back at the gazebo at 4:50. Micaela was finishing the beach setup. She had all of our guests seated as we picked the entry song (I’m not sure if this is the name but its “Ow, I feel good....â€) The DJ called out for the entry of our attendants, and then introduced us as we walked in . The sun was just finishing setting so there was some light left. The view of our reception was breathtaking and there was a big surprise - a light up dance floor!! After 10 minutes, Micaela came up and asked us if we were ready for dinner. Within another 10min, the first plates began to come in. (There were 2 other beach wedding receptions that night so they had a full kitchen on the beach. Everything came out fresh and hot). We ordered: the Royal Seafood salad, Tres Fillets Consomme, Fillet Mignon with chateau potato and strawberry and vodka thousand leaves. The food was excellent and the presentation was very, very classy. I really liked how everyone stayed seated and the servers did all the work. The dessert was unbelievable!! The photographer took a break while we were eating. Once the food was done, people started to do speeches and request songs. The DJ was awesome. If he didn’t have a song on his computer, he had it downloaded within minutes. We went a did some nighttime resort shots with the photographer. We then came back, cut the cake, and then did our first dance. Everyone started dancing after that. The light up dance floor was incredible. We did the Groom song (Sharp dressed man), the Bride song (I knew the bride when she use to rock n roll) and then the garter toss. Our last song was at 9PM. There was a party just down the beach and they had fireworks go off during our last song. It was amazing! We stayed around the reception for another 20 minutes and then decided to go up to the lobby bar. They had a live band in the lobby, so we danced to that for another hour. They did all our requests too! Vendors & Pricing (Royal’s 2007 pricing; all US dollar) We loved all of our vendors!! Photography - The Royal Package - $1750.00; Photographer was Caesar - from what he showed us on his camera the 1800 or so photos will be amazing! Videographer - The Elegant #2 Package - $650 and we added 3 hours for $230 (Again, I’ll do a full review of the pics/video when we get them in January) Miriachi Band - 45min - $450US DJ - 4-5hour package, (but he played for only 4) $900.00 (He was excellent!) Food/Drinks - $50 a plate in resort, $60 for Gran Porto guests, $70 for guests out side resort ($1700.00) Flowers: All orchids - Bridal Bouquet $280, Bridesmaids $130 x 3, Boutonieers $25 x 5, corsages 25 x 2, rose petals for walkway $20 a bag x 5 Champagne - $15 x 7 Hair (updo) - 5 x $65 Makeup - 1 x $60 Ceremony was free because we booked in 07 and booked into the Presidential suite. Vacation Package Details: We live in northern BC and flew out of Vancouver BC. We booked our trips through itravel2000.com and flew with Air Canada. Both were very good. Our package: 14days, Presidential Suite, full First Class air tickets both ways, with full travel insurance came to: $14,300. (2 of us) Most of our guests also went with itravel2000.com. Royal Oceanview Jr. Suite, full first class air tickets both ways, with full travel insurance came to: $6500.00 (for 2 people) Single was: $4700.00 Advice/Tips I wouldn't suggest booking a wedding at this time of year. There were a few other weddings that had poor weather (77F). And the evening beach reception was a little chilly for some. Some evenings got down to 15C. Go to the Coco Bongo in Cancun (playa's isn't open yet). Its the most amazing club i've ever been too. Write out in detail exactly how you envision your wedding. If there is anything at all that you question - ask the WC during your appointment. They have lots of photos that really helped us. If your wedding is in the gazebo and you have the red carpet, be careful when walking up the stairs - I kinda tripped because the carpet was a little loose on the stairs. Whoever is helping you with your dress in the morning, make sure they know every detail. We missed out on getting pics of the groom because it took too long to get my lace up back done up!! If you or your guests like a special liquor ask ahead of time. We had to make a fuss right before we walked into our reception just so my hubby could have some Captain Morgan Spiced Rum (for him and 3 other attendants). But the bar even had blended drinks. IF you have guests coming to the wedding from any resort other than the Royal - their ‘free’ wedding day pass is for the entire day, not just the wedding. Our outside guests were kicked out early, by mistake, by the security guard. Micaela came by 10 minutes later and told us this, but it was too late. If in doubt, ask for Micaela (or your WC) immediately. If you need to see the on-site doctor, try to ask for a price before you begin. One of our very close friends fell in our pool and cut his leg open very deep. After seeing the doctor and getting 7 stitches (3 of which he really didn’t need) the doctor handed him a bill for $500.00 US!! It's cheaper to sight see if you rent a vehicle and tour around yourself. Driving in Mexico is no different than in a big city. We rent a few jeeps for a couple of days, and split the cost between 4 of us. So much fun!! Hope this helps future brides!!

The decorations included are pretty basic. We just had plain white table clothes, and white chair covers, with no floral centerpieces (except the head table). There was one floral arrangement included in the ceremony package which we used for the ceremony table, and then the head table for the reception. She had a book with about 15 different ones we could choose from. When we started to add everything up, centerpieces just seemed like a waist of money. The food was amazing. Everything was very classy and our guests like the idea of having the waiters bring and take away the plates. They were really good with the drinks too. Our menu was: Seafood salad (shrimp, calamari, scallops...just a couple of each, not really a normal salad) Three Fillets consomme (was delicious - kinda like small strips of meat in broth) Fillet Mignon and chateau potato (so tender you could cut it with a fork) and Strawberry & vodka thousand leaves (so incredible - everyones favorite). What we did is pick our menu 7months prior. Then we got down there and talked over the menu with micaela. You can pretty much change anything you want once you get down there. The only thing you want to do ahead of time is if you want orchids. Hope it helps!!

Quote: Originally Posted by bridetobe22 Hi everyone- I just want to thank you all for your kind words about the loss of our puppy. He was really like our child and for it to happen so suddenly one week after we got home from PDC has been really tough. Anyway, thank you again for your thoughts! I am trying to get back into the swing of things and just replied to the PMs you all sent. Please let me know if I can help you out in any way. My biggest advice is when you meet with your WC, be very specific in what you want. Bring pictures, write out all the details, etc. I know you have all worked so hard in your planning and it is so important that all of your ideas get conveyed to the WCs. They are very willing to accomodate you, but you just have to let them know what you want. Good luck! Katy So sorry to hear about your pup! We've got 2 that our like kids as well, so I really feel for you. I have to totally agree with meeting with the wedding coordinator. Make sure to ask questions and be very, very specific. Also, Micaela had a ton of photos of other weddings to check out before you commit to anything. We found that most of our decisions were made during our on site appointment, just a few days before the wedding.

Hello all!! Just got home from Playa & we had an awesome time. The wedding was amazing!! Everything went perfect. We will write a (long) review in the next couple of days. But we won't have any prof. pics till January (funever photos' touchup time).

Oh and if anyone has questions for the WCs that you've been having problems getting answers for let me know. I'll jot them down and ask her on Monday.

Thank you!! We have booked a DJ, so we'll check with them. Never thought of that. Also, has anyone heard how much it is for day passes to get into the Royal. Some friends of ours are wanting to come last minute, but both the Royal and Gran Porto are completely sold out!! We've found them a nice, cheap hotel near by (The Real downtown) but not sure how much it will cost them to come into the hotel (on days other than the wedding day).

Hey Gals! We're leaving pretty soon and I don't have time to re-read all of the postings. So I was hoping someone could tell me if they've heard or used a projector to do a slideshow of pictures (from childhood to being together). It's just something I put together this weekend, and then I realized I don't even know if I can use it!! Thank you!!

Beautiful Bride!! It makes me wish I had booked into your resort!!!

Why we picked the Royal in Playa del carmen: It is a beautiful resort that is adults only (+16 years)... But kids are allowed in for the wedding day. There is a much more cost friendly sister hotel (Gran Porto Real) across the street, that is kid friendly. (This hotel would be an excellent place to stay & have a wedding as well.) The beach is awesome infront of the Royal & the Gran Porto. There are a few different wedding packages to choose from as well. And the big plus, it is right in Playa del Carmen, a 15 minute walk from the ferry terminal over to Cozumel. And it is right by 5th and 10th ave... So there is no need to take a cab, like some of the other resorts out of town. Outside vendors are allowed, but you have to pay $100.00 day pass. But we've heard that the resort photographers, videographers, DJ... are all really good. Hope this helps!

Quote: Originally Posted by amyc I was at The Royal Playa Del Carmen in March for vacation and saw a beach wedding and reception setup. From what I remember they setup the reception area near the ceremony site...maybe behind it. I wasn't engaged yet but was hoping I would be soon so I snapped some pics of the setup when I walked by...let me see if I can find them for you. It's a great resort...we had so much fun there! I would have booked it for our wedding but we have children in our party so we couldn't chose an adults-only resort. Children are allowed into the resort for the wedding day. Anyone with kids can stay at the Gran Porto Real... There is another huge thread on the Royal right now... I think its called "Royal Playa del Carmen brides...." its over 45 pages long with tons of other Royal brides and info!