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h&a

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Everything posted by h&a

  1. Shay, I hope you have a wonderful time in the DR. Your attitude with dealing with all of this has been great, and that positive attitude will pave the way for a happy marriage. You're absolutely right that the most important thing is that you're marrying a great person. I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time in the DR... we can't wait to see pictures... and a beautiful AHR. Alex and I are planning on the Royal for Christmas this year so perhaps we will see you there! Best wishes to you and all the other girls!
  2. Girls, I know I don't post much any more but I still check in from time to time to see how everyone is.... I'm so, so sorry to all the brides who are affected by the swine virus. My heart goes out to you... I can't imagine how you must be feeling. Shay, I first started talking to you last summer after my wedding when you were just beginning your planning. I feel devastated for you. I'm sending all my love, thoughts and prayers and am hoping that somehow this will work out for everyone. It may not be the date you hoped and planned for, but I hope you all end up having the beautiful wedding you had planned for at the Royal. Thinking of you all....
  3. Also, a tip... if you're paying for everything at the end be sure to request your invoice the night before check out. We did this, and it was good we did b/c it starts to get a bit confusing w/ all the different charges for different flowers, etc so it's nice to have time to go over it and make sure it's right. It ended up being a good thing we went over our invoice the night before b/c there was a charge of about $500 for an excursion that we never went on... they had accidently input our room number or something, but it took a little bit to sort it out so it was nice having the extra time to do so. Other than that, though, it was super easy just to pay for everything by credit card after the fact.
  4. Haven't been on here in ages, but logged on today to see how everybody was doing... for those who are worried about payments, I didn't make any payments until I was there. It wasn't until check out that I actually paid for everything. I had assumed they would want a deposit or something beforehand, but was told to just pay for everything once I was there... frustrating, I know, that people are getting different information but for the girls who are leaving soon and haven't paid don't worry at all... everything can be sorted out once you're there...let me know if any of you have any questions! Hope the planning is going well!
  5. I have 12 of them from OTC that I never ended up using. I'm in Ottawa, Canada but I can ship them to you tomorrow if you want.... not sure if that will give you enough time, but if you want them just send me a PM and they're yours. Here's a picture below of what I have...
  6. Congratulations, Amy! You looked absolutely stunning on your wedding day! The day and the whole wedding week looked perfect! Yay! Isn't it great being a Mrs?! BTW my veil also flew off during the ceremony - right after I said 'I do' a big gust of wind came and took my veil away and the WC (who was translating) caught it. It was pretty funny
  7. All of our guests were fine. I was pretty careful the first while b/c I've had pretty severe food poisoning in Mexico before and stayed away from salads... but as of our wedding night onwards I ate pretty much everything including tomatoes.
  8. You did such a great job! The room is perfect! Congrats on your little one!
  9. Quote: Originally Posted by Geminie I feel so good! Everything is confirmed! I was soo worried about the price my guests would have to pay.. after reading some of the posts and getting some outrageous quotes from a wedding planner at destinationweddings.com (which I fired...) Anyways, good news is, my 10 confirmed guests (so far) are getting their package for a little over $1500 for 1 week flying out from toronto... Transat Holidays is having a tax promotions right now so it's $150 cheaper /per person in taxes. And this is a group rate that we got. It is possible to go to the Royal on a budget! This is the entry level room though, the junior suite, and we're trying to see if we can make sure that everyone will get a pool view... we might be on the other side of the hotel... the garden side. I figure that's fine too, I don't want to be spending too much time in my room, there's so many things to do and see! Zulma has been really great too, and she said that we'll have to buy a day pass for outside photographers and that it shouldn't be a problem to have them there on our day. That is a huge relief! I'm not sure about other vendors though... I'll have to find out. I really want to do a lounge set-up on the beach..... Yay! I'm glad things are working out for you! Just wanted to let you know that we had some guests in the junior suite and, honestly, they are just as gorgeous. We paid extra for the beachfront walkout for our wedding, but we would have been just as happy with a junior suite. Depending on your group, though, you may want to be away from the pool side... it can get a bit loud there. We had guests in the same block as the rooms facing the pool, but on the garden side and they preferred it like that. Also if anybody wants, I found on the Internet a great overview of the Royal with all the room numbers so you can see as to which ones you might want to reserve ahead of time. PM me with your email address if anybody wants and I'll email it to you.
  10. Yay! I'm glad that you're getting somewhere, and I'm glad that my review helped! Your website looks great... you are definitely on top of it! I can't wait to see pictures of the dress and the Passport Save the Dates!
  11. Hi Girls, Yay, I'm so happy for you that they're honoring the rate they initially had when you booked! Honestly, Zulma and Michaela are the sweetest, and I couldn't have seen them doing otherwise (unless coming from above)... Shay, hopefully Michaela will be able to do something about the outside photographer... Kriswim, we didn't do group rates for rooms - we made it easy for ourselves and everyone just did their own bookings (plus in Canada and Germany where our group was coming from we do package deals with air and hotel included together and not separately as in the States).
  12. Quote: Originally Posted by Shay2679 I know, right?! I can't believe it. This is the problem with not having a signed contract...they can just up the prices, and even though you have entered into discussions about how the day will be...there is nothing you can do. You think, though, that they should honor the prices they first told you - especially if you've already booked your date. Let us know when you hear back from Michaela... crossing my fingers for you to hear something positive... big hug your way!
  13. Shay, I'm so sorry! I was looking at the Royal wedding packages on their site the other night and they sure have gone up in price... and to not allow outside photographers!!! That is not going to go over well with future brides at all! I hope your day looks up and that you hear something positive back from Michaela...
  14. Quote: Originally Posted by antonia321 YAY!!!! Great review, Heidi and FABULOUS pictures!!! Thanks for mentioning me, too! he he Your review and pictures took me back to March when we got married and further confirmed that we both made such a great decision with The Royal! Isn't Zulma just the sweetest? All the staff there is so wonderful and very accommodating. They really just make you feel so special there. I just read my husband that part where you mentioned the Mango Tangos. And we started laughing. That was the popular drink at our wedding, too and I think some of our guests had them for breakfast daily! The lounge furniture looked great and your pictures are amazing. Go del Sol photography!! Wasn't the location so perfect? You can be lounging at a 5 star resort then just a block away is downtown Playa del Carmen. Our guests loved it. Anyway, congratulations and I thoroughly enjoyed reading your review. Hopefully, we can help out more future "Royal" brides!! antonia I'm so glad you also knew about the mango tangos! Lol...they were so delicious... we're going to try and recreate them at home next weekend with friends! Wouldn't you love to go back to the Royal? We're so missing it - what a wonderful spot... just perfect! We can't wait to get back there! Yes, Zulma is so sweet... so is Michaela! It was like having two great friends there taking care of all your weddings worries and requests. I asked Zulma and Michaela if they remembered you, and they both said how sweet you were and how much they enjoyed working with you. Zulma said to tell you that the she couldn't stop eating the delicious treats you gave her... she said she ate them all day at work, and that they were so good she couldn't stop! lol... Thanks for all your nice comments on my wedding! I wish we could do it all over again!
  15. Hi Shay, The lounge furniture was $1500 US (prepaid by certified cheque) + $250 US for transportation (the company is out of Cancun), which I paid the night of the wedding (I had envelopes ready ahead of time with tips for vendors and any owing amounts, which my friend held onto in her purse). I think it's more of a standard set up than based on number of guests, but I could be wrong. This price included all the lounge furniture, dark tables, the decorations they had on the dark tables, and the big pots with bamboo near to the water. It also included pillows with your color choice. I was quoted a bit higher, but talked him down a bit to that price. I know it's a bit steep, but it really made the look for me and was actually a much better price than I was quoted by other companies. All the white linens are included with the Royal. They also have white tiebacks for around the chairs (made from the same white material as the chair covers) if you don't bring your own sashes. I bought my sashes and colored runners/overlays from www.sashesoflove.com If you go to that site and then to products you can see the size measurements of everything. Let us know if you have any more questions! I'm glad to help and I'm going through a bit of wedding withdrawal so it's nice to relive everything by telling all about it! Quote: Originally Posted by Shay2679 The lounge furniture really does look awesome - for both of your weddings. Can I ask...for the size of your party, how much did the furniture run you Heidi? There will be about 13 of us for our wedding, and I'm just wondering...if I might be able to afford something like this? Also, Heidi, for your table linens that you brought with you, what size did you make them? Were the chair covers included by the resort? Did they have tiebacks you could have used? I don't know what I would do without you. You've both certainly helped me, and I know dozens more. Thank you, to both of you.
  16. Quote: Originally Posted by Shay2679 Hey Heidi, Just a quick question...or two...okay...three! Now that you've been there and the wedding is done...are you happy you chose the gazebo for your ceremony? I'm really going back and forth on this little decision. Originally, I wanted the ceremony with a chuppa on the Beach...but now, after seeing your pics, and considering the comfort of our guests...maybe the gazebo, with all its shady glory...might be a better choice? Also, did you have to pay for/select the flowers (not the hanging orchids - I know you did those yourself) that were on the gazebo and the decorations for that space, or was that done by the coordinator. I see all these beautiful "We're back and it was Wonderful" posts...but fear that those brides...yourself included...just were better equipped with an instinct of...what questions to ask. I am just afraid some wonderful details I've seen, really need to be prompted by me, and I either won't think of it or it will cost me an arm and a leg!! One final question...how is married life?!! Congrats again girl, you looked amazing! Hi Shay, Sorry for taking my time in answering you... I was busy working on my wedding review, which is finally up! Yay! We were also going back and forth on the gazebo versus beach ceremony. Initially I booked the gazebo because it's a bit more private, but after seeing Becky's beautiful beach ceremony I started to lean towards that. We decided to wait and see for ourselves once we arrived... obviously, we chose the gazebo, but I think both would be beautiful. The gazebo is a bit more private and offers shade, which is nice and I'm happy that we decided on the gazebo as it was hot in the sun on our wedding day (although with all the rain leading up to my day I was counting my blessings!). I'm sure if you decide now and later change your mind once you see it all for yourself in person that it can be changed then... honestly, both Zulma and Michaela were so sweet and so willing to do whatever possible to make your wedding perfect. As far as flowers, hopefully I answered your questions in my review. Let me know if I missed anything or if you still have questions. Married life is great! - thanks for asking and thanks also for your nice comments on my slideshow! It's our first week back home, and Alex and I both want to go back and do it all over again! We had such a great day! Here's a link to my wedding review. Let me know if you have any other questions! http://bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/t23592
  17. Wedding Date – June 4, 2008 Wedding Location – Royal Playa del Carmen Number of guests – 23 Customs: For those who don’t know, when you go through customs in Mexico you walk up and press a button, which randomly goes green (you’re free to leave) or red (need to go to the side to have your bags checked). We had so many bags (2 big bags full of just decorations), and I was worried about bringing some of the items through customs (namely the starfish). Of course, Alex and I walked up and got the red light. The customs official we had, though, was really nice (especially, it seems, upon seeing me carrying my wedding dress). He randomly selected two bags (of just clothes), and was less than thorough going through them (although it did seem that others officials were being slightly more thorough). All in all, though, immigration and customs went really smoothly for us. Resort: A+ I can’t say enough great things about the Royal! The resort is gorgeous, and the location right off of 5th ave in Playa is perfect. Most of all, though, the service and the food is fantastic. I’ve been to my share of AIs and by far this resort stands out for the excellent food and presentation. The rooms are all gorgeous with their own Jacuzzi in the room, and the housekeeping staff was excellent. We especially loved the nightly turn down service with chocolates and your choice of an aromatherapy scent (perhaps specific to our room type – the beachfront walkout – I’m not sure if this is included with the regular Junior Suite rooms). As usual for AIs, we had an ever growing collection of daily towel creatures left by the housekeeping staff, but the Royal seemed to always go a bit above and beyond. For example, one of our guests was five months pregnant and her and her husband were thrilled to come back one day to find a baby made out of towels left for them on their bed. Most of all, perhaps, the Royal had a bit of everything for everyone. Alex booked lessons with their tennis pro (lovely rooftop grass court) every morning, which he loved; some guests loved joining in on all their activities (biking, pilates, etc); others just wanted to lay quietly by the beach; finally, I think everyone loved the proximity to 5th and being able to walk along the shops at their disposal. Welcome Dinner – Di Vino (located on 5th ave): B+ We organized the welcome dinner after we arrived in Playa (seeing as we didn’t do a site visit we arrived a bit ahead of our guests, which I would definitely do again). There are so many restaurants to choose from on 5th, but we specifically chose this restaurant because there was a section a bit tucked away in the back with a huge table, which would fit our welcome dinner of 19. This was the first time our two families were meeting (Alex and I live in Ontario, my family is in British Columbia, and Alex’s family is in Germany) so it was important to us that everyone sit together (especially because we wanted to have separate tables for our wedding night). We negotiated a price with the restaurant owner for a set menu (better for service with a larger group) but were not able to get a set price for the food and alcohol together as we had hoped for. The service was fairly good – not outstanding, in my opinion; the food was good (but not great). We did enjoy the ambiance, though, and overall they did a good job of accommodating us. Ajua Wedding Coordinator – Stephanie Morton: A+ I contacted Ajua Weddings about booking a mariachi band through them for a 45 minute set during our cocktails and appetizers (post gazebo ceremony and pre beach reception). Stephanie got back to me straight away, and I prepaid for them using PayPal, which was convenient. It was $100 cheaper booking the 45 minute set through Ajua as opposed to the Royal, and I found out when I arrived at the Royal that both Ajua and the Royal use the same mariachi band for their booking. I also contacted Stephanie about booking a welcome dinner and excursion prior to leaving for Mexico, although I was running short on time and we ended up booking ourselves once we arrived in Mexico. She was excellent, though, about responding to my emails in a timely fashion and answering all my questions. I later met Stephanie when checking Ajua’s restaurant (Ajua Maya) just off of 5th as an alternative rain location for our reception (more on that later). Stephanie was really friendly, seemed very organized, and the upstairs open air restaurant would have worked well for a wedding reception. In the end, though, everything worked out with the Royal and they were able to provide me with a great backup for if it rained (which, luckily, it didn’t!). Wedding Coordinator (onsite) – Zulma Dominguez: A+ Before leaving for Mexico I was feeling really discouraged with my lack of communication with my WC at the Royal. Instead of waiting a week or two to hear back from the Royal, I was waiting a month or two and still not hearing from them. Now looking back, I can see that I had all the important things set up and that all the little details can be sorted out once you get there. It’s hard to realize that when you have so many unknowns about such an important day, and this is perhaps where a site visit would come in handy. I decided to forgo a site visit in lieu of the excitement of seeing everything for the first time when I left for my wedding. Luckily, my expectations with the Royal and Zulma were far exceeded once I arrived, and the wedding day and coordination went better than I could have imagined. Zulma was extremely accommodating, friendly, and on top of everything. I brought a lot of decorations with me, and she had everything set up perfectly on the day of the wedding as I had requested. I brought everything to the wedding office ahead of time and showed her how I wanted it all laid out. I knew when I pulled out my monogrammed cake toppers and she asked if I wanted it H & A or A & H on the cake (all the while taking notes) that I was in good hands! One word of caution, though, and this isn’t about Zulma as much as the Royal. Weddings can get rained out, and the five days prior to my wedding it rained cats and dogs (thanks to Hurricane Arthur). Zulma kept telling me that the weather would be fine for my wedding day (even though all the forecasts were showing otherwise), but finally I decided to face reality and check out their backup location. Perhaps take what I’m saying with a grain of salt as I always envisioned my destination wedding outside, but I was extremely unimpressed with the ballroom where we would have had our wedding if it had rained. The Royal is a fabulous five star resort, but I found the windowless ballroom to be rather dingy – think Holiday Inn conference room, at best. After my mum and I checked it out, I went to see Zulma to tell her there was no way I would have my wedding there, and to request Pelicanos (the open air restaurant next to the beach) if it rained. She told me that they can’t close down restaurants for wedding parties, and so Alex and I spent an afternoon scouting out alternative venues outside of the Royal. Before we left, we went back to see Zulma to let her know what we were up to and to see if we could possibly have the Tapas bar, which is at the back of Pelicanos (although this would have been fairly tight for 23 guests). Zulma said she would see what she could do, and we left to see what we could find. We arrived back at the Royal prepared to cancel everything there and book Ajua Maya (an open air restaurant) if our only alternative at the Royal was the ballroom. We went to see Zulma and she told us that she had been trying to call us with good news – she was able to secure Pelicanos as our backup location. I told her I could hug her and kiss her (which I did), and Alex and I (along with my poor parents) went for a stiff drink to celebrate the good news! Spa: A- (nails)/A+ (hair and makeup) I had my acrylic nails filled in the day before the wedding and although they weren’t perfect, they nonetheless did a good job. The price was pretty steep, though - $80 for a fill and around $110 to have a full set put on (whereas it’s $35 for me in Ottawa for a full set). I decided to forgo the trial hair and makeup, which I wouldn’t really recommend. I was really happy with my hair and makeup (exactly what I wanted), but thanks to the humidity my curls fell out quite quickly (even with half a bottle of hairspray!). Alex loved my hair, though, and I probably still would have chosen the same style. I think the hair was $80 and the makeup $60 (or very close to that price). Flowers: A+ We booked our flowers through the Royal, and they were exactly what we had requested. The flower choices they give you are completely customizable as far as color and even down to the fuchsia satin wrap I requested to be wrapped around the stems. All of the flower choices were made once I arrived (although orchids need to be ordered in advance). Our wedding package included a large selection of bouquets, some of which (such as the orchids) had an additional cost. We decided once we arrived to choose one of the bouquets with orchids, and Zulma said she would call the florist to see if they were available and to find out the cost. Apparently the orchids I chose were more common orchids that they were able to get, although some of the orchids required 20 days notice. The extra cost for the bouquet was going to be $250, though, which I found extremely steep. I momentarily was going to go for it until Alex talked some sense into me. We had our flowers for the ceremony and reception matched to my bouquet. We ordered three flower arrangements for the ceremony (one for the ceremony table and two attached to the gazebo edge close to us). They were large and beautiful, and were $50 each, which I thought was reasonable. After our ceremony, Zulma made sure to have them moved to our beach reception where they set them up on our head table. We also ordered four centerpieces for our tables, which were also $50. Again, they were exactly what we ordered and we were really happy with them. Before the wedding we were sent the bouquet choices, but had never seen any pictures of available centerpieces or arrangements for the gazebo. We brought our laptop with us to the Royal, but the file Zulma had of centerpieces and arrangements was too large for her to email to us. We had brought a USB stick with us so we got her to copy them onto there for us as I wanted time on my own to look through and choose exactly what we wanted. We also ordered corsages for the mums and boutonnières for the dads. The extra cost for this was $5 or $10 each (sorry, I don’t remember!). Ceremony (4 pm): A+ We had a legal ceremony and talked to Zulma ahead of time about incorporating our sand ceremony. We wanted one of our guests to read our sand ceremony script, and we were hoping to do this after our vows but before the judge announced us as husband and wife. Mexican legal ceremonies are very strict, however, and Zulma said it would either have to be at the beginning or the end of the ceremony. We decided we would start with the sand ceremony as once we were announced husband and wife everybody would be expecting us to walk down the aisle. When the judge arrived for the ceremony, however, Zulma or Michaela asked him if it was possible to interrupt the ceremony for the sand ceremony and he was willing to do that, which was nice. The Royal deals with two judges – one who speaks English and performs the ceremony in English and one who doesn’t. The Royal doesn’t know which judge will be performing the ceremony until they show up so it wasn’t until minutes prior to the ceremony that I found out we had the Spanish speaking only judge. Michaela translated and spoke beautifully. She spoke so clearly, slowly and calmly, which I really appreciated as I found her voice calming and reassuring. Cocktails and appetizers (4:30 – 6:30): We used the garden area right outside of the gazebo to have cocktails and appetizers. The set up looked lovely, although neither Alex nor I ate (or for that matter even saw) any of the food as we were off with our photographers. The guests all said the appetizers were delicious, and I know Alex and I loved the glass of champagne that was waiting for us at the end of the aisle after walking down as husband and wife. It was really hot (although after all the rain I was only counting my lucky stars) and I requested umbrellas for the garden area, which were never put up. I think after we left to take pictures on the beach, though, that the wind picked up and the umbrellas weren’t needed although I’m not exactly sure what happened there. Reception (6:30-11:00): A+ I was stressed that with all my decorations and my vision for how things were to look that the setup wouldn’t be as I had hoped and would fall short of my expectations. I had nothing to worry about – everything was set up as I had hoped and then some, and at the end of the night the staff took the time to pack all my decorations back up in the suitcases I had brought them in. The servers we had for our beach reception were fantastic! The food came all at once and with no mix ups as far as our few vegetarian requests. The staff waited on us hand and foot as far as drinks, and it was a dream come true. The food was delicious, as were the drinks – thanks to a server we discovered mango tangos (half mango slush/half strawberry daiquiri) on the wedding night, and they became our wedding drink and drink of choice for the remaining days. We used an IPOD for music, which worked out perfectly. There was also a wireless microphone set up for us for speeches and a dance floor in the middle. The reception was supposed to last no longer than four hours (10:30), but we started dinner a bit late (after sitting around on the lounge furniture with drinks beforehand) and 10:30 would have been cutting it too short. I begged the head person in charge of the reception to let us keep going until 11:00 (and promised a good tip!) and we were able to stay until 11:00, which worked out perfectly. I had brought with me cake boxes for guests to take a piece of cake back to their room with them and had asked Zulma ahead of time if we could pay for a bigger cake to make sure there would be extra. It was $3 extra per extra person of cake we wanted so I decided to go with a 40 person cake for our group, which was a mistake. There was way too much cake left over (I think we would have been fine sticking with the cake for our group of 23 and there still would have been leftovers for guests to take away). The cake was decent, perhaps a bit dry, but I was honestly too full from the dinner to eat much as were most of the guests. The cake really wasn’t a huge deal for me (I just wanted the pretty cake boxes for decoration) and they had it decorated with fuchsia flowers as I had requested. Lounge Furniture – Events and Weddings: A+ To me, the lounge furniture completely created the atmosphere on the beach that I was going for. The cost was more than I wanted to spend, but I was able to negotiate the price a bit. Looking back, I would have spent even more as it completely created the ambiance and completed the look for me. It was also nice to have a more causal area for sitting around before and after dinner. I got the information on the lounge furniture from another Royal bride on here (thanks, Antonia!) and booked them myself. Raffaele from Events and Weddings, who I was in contact with, was always quick to respond and always answered all of my questions. Photographer – Vincent (associate photographer with del Sol): A+ Vincent was great to work with (as was his assistant, Diego), and we love the photos he captured of our special day and from the TTD the following day. I’m so glad we spent the extra on hiring a great photographer – it’s so wonderful to be able to relive the day through your photos and I think I would be very disappointed if our photos were only mediocre (I don’t think I even realized how important this is to me until after the fact). Not only did Vincent do a great job of shooting Alex and I, but he also captured great shots of all the details that went into our wedding including the set up of our reception. We had a great time the next day with our TTD, and were so happy to have that extra day to take some more photos in a more relaxed setting. You can check out our slideshow here: del Sol Photography Wedding Photojournalism del Sol Photography Wedding Photojournalism Whew… I think that’s about all! I hope this review helped those who are having their wedding at the Royal or who are considering doing so. Feel free to ask any questions and I’ll do my best to answer them. My wedding was really a dream come true for Alex and I – we’re already planning on next vacation back to the Royal for the end of the year or the early part of 2009!
  18. Quote: Originally Posted by timelsel We have a very large family on both sides also, but only 18 ended up going to the wedding. We had 300 at the AHR, though. Unfortunately, I can guarantee that all those guys (groomsmen and friends) and your mom's sisters won't come. You'll be lucky if half go. When they see the prices of the resort plus airfare, they will start to backpeddle. The ones we were most sure would come (and could definitely could afford it) were the ones with the lamest excuses for not coming. I completely agree. In the beginning everybody is on board, but chances are a lot of people will not end up coming.... and while I knew our immediate family would come to our DW there were a few others I was positive would make it (and could have afforded it) that didn't come, and then some who I never thought would make it that put everything aside to be there. Bottom line - do what you want to do and try not to stress about what others will do. If you have your heart set on a DW then do it.
  19. Have a great time! I loved Playa and can't wait to get back there! Make sure to have a pina colada for me! Have fun!
  20. Quote: Originally Posted by vtello everything looks great.. can you pls post where you got the cake topper? thx I bought the cake topper from the following site Monogram Cake Toppers / Wedding Cake Toppers / Cake Toppers To bling the monograms I bought crystals from Tami's Place Swarovski Flat Back Crystals Hotfix Flatback
  21. Quote: Originally Posted by cuban_flamingo Excellent! That makes me feel a lot better. The Royal is still at the top of my list, but since I'm not getting married for another 18 months, I change my mind every three days! The quality of food is a top priority for me, probably more so than my dress Thanks for that! I so know how you feel! I kept second guessing myself and spent ages pouring over reviews on TripAdvisor before making a decision. I agree... picking a resort was more important to me than the dress and for me was one of the hardest things... especially b/c you're also planning a vacation for a lot of other people. I will say, though, that there is a big difference in food quality between the Royal and the Gran Porto... of course, that's reflected in the price difference and our guests staying at the Gran Porto were happy, nonetheless. I think most of our guests staying at the Gran Porto, though, realized by the end of the week that it would have been worth spending the difference in price for the Royal (of course, though, that doesn't work for those w/ kids).
  22. All your stuff looks amazing! I love all the stationary and love the OOT bags! Yay for post wedding planning pics... lol... perhaps we'll start a trend!
  23. Quote: Originally Posted by cuban_flamingo For those of you settling on The Royal versus any other hotels in the area... What are your opinions as to the difference in cost of wedding receptions between the Royal and other resorts? Meaning, the difference in price per person in nearly 50% more at a resort like El Dorado Royal or The Royal Hideaway. The hotels all seem to be equally as gorgeous but the Royal's reception options are just so affordable in comparison -- not to mention open to using outside vendors! Would anyone think that the food is of lesser quality? Is it because there is no varied choice in menu? Or it's the difference in not charging for a day pass on top of the private reception price? Thoughts? Kind of in a bind... I was just married at the Royal (review coming up soon girls - sorry for the delay!) and I couldn't say enough about the Royal. The food was delicious for an all inclusive (way better than any five star I've been to before) - and the food for the wedding night was even better... not to mention the service on the beach for the night of the wedding... top notch! I know I'm a bit biased, but I'm a pretty critical person and I think I was even more hyper critical for my wedding. Honestly, everybody raved about the food (all around and the night of the wedding) and the presentation.
  24. Quote: Originally Posted by LC_Rachel Gorgeous wedding. You two looked soo happy. I love the photos of DH wiping tears. So sweet. TTD- #9 AMAZING!! #10 TOOO funny. I could see my DH doing something goofy like that. #14 is beautiful. #16 I love the way you are smiling. You look so free! Congrats Heidi! Hahaha... everytime I look at number 10 (and my face in number 11) I crack up! It was pretty hilarious and we all burst out laughing after that... it kind of killed the sexy, romantic look we were going for... lol
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