TightyWhitey

Quote: Originally Posted by loanmao Great pictures!! What appetizers were on the asian soup spoons? They look good. Did you buy the tequila favors in Mexico? Did the WC assemble them for you? loanmao, I think those appetizers were cantaloupe and prusciutto. We bought the Patron bottles in NY; I didn't want to risk not finding them in Playa del Carmen. When shopping in Mexico, I came across many brands of mini tequilas but didn't see any Patron bottles, so I'm glad we brought them with us. The WC didn't assemble them. My 'girls' and I spent less than an hour assembling everything one night after dinner. Didn't take us long at all.

Quote: Originally Posted by MegaShay Absolutely love your beach lounge! Everything looks gorgeous - congrats and thanks for sharing!! Thanks, MegaShay!

Hey everyone, just wanted to post a link to my review, found here: http://bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/t43986 I'll try to post more photos soon!

Quote: Originally Posted by Butterflyf369 Thanks for the review. The artist you got to do the save the date and invitiations is awesome. Thanks Butterfly! I really liked her work and was happy with the results.

The Maracas! Cake eating shot! Fun on the dance floor! Please excuse the creepy shot. I didn't ask for permission to post my friends' photos online. The lit-up dance floor. That's it for now. I'll try to post some more photos soon!

First Kiss Loved my yellow bouquet! Appetizers from our Cocktail hour! My MoH! Dancing Shoes! Half of our lounge area. The other half that you don't see in this photo was the 'cigar bar'. Our favors and place settings. Inside were two tequila shot glasses and a miniature bottle of Patron Tequila. My shoes and bouquet!

Our Save the Dates! In more detail... Here's a quick snapshot of our invites.

Wedding date: May 29th, 2009 STDs and Invitations We went with Kristy Rice of Monumental Designs. She hand draws/paints her invites and does an amazing job. We received many compliments on her work and were really happy with the end result. Playa del Carmen We knew soon after becoming engaged that we wanted a Destination Wedding, but OMG, was the process overwhelming! Luckily for us, my cousin had honeymooned at The Royal last year and couldn’t stop raving about it. Another plus was that they were an AI resort that allowed guests 16 and older to stay at their property. My husband really wanted his nephew to attend and he was 16 by the time of our wedding. Most other resorts were either kid-friendly, which we didn’t want, or adults only (18 and older). We also wanted a location that had an amazing beach (which this one did) but wasn’t isolated. The resort is literally one block away from the famous 5th Ave; I loved that no one had to take any cabs/public transport into town. There was plenty to do in the area, from shopping, day trips into Cozumel, diving, and visiting ruins, to exploring the fun nightlife! Many of our guests had never been to Mexico, much less Playa del Carmen, and were blown away by the resort and surrounding area. I kept getting compliments all week on the location. The Royal Check-in was hassle-free! Upon arriving, we were greeted with champagne and a wet towel and our names flashing on the flat screen. There were a few minimal problems, like getting a room near the construction or rooms still being cleaned but they were accommodated quickly when addressed. Overall, we absolutely loved the resort! The staff was so wonderful; the service was amazing! Everyone loved the food at the many restaurants and took advantage of the 50% off services at the spa. We couldn’t have been happier with our choice! The only concern I had with the Royal was during check-out. We had some guests who were verbally offered a ‘complimentary/free upgrade’ by booking directly with the resort’s 1-800 number and took the resort up on this offer during check-in. When they were checking out, they were charged for the upgrade. Since the booking was done over the phone and there was nothing in writing, they were stuck having to pay. The price difference wasn’t great but I think it left a bit of a sour taste in some of our guests’ mouths, which was too bad after such a great week. My husband and I also had a charge on our bill for a massage that was part of our wedding package but that got resolved after a bit of a long wait at check-out. Best Day Shuttle Initially all our guests has transport included with their package but when Air Transat cancelled their flights to Mexico due to the Swine Flu, we had to reroute everyone’s flights through the US. Because of this, we had to book shuttle Transport for everyone. Overall, we had a great experience with Best Day and received no complaints. Our own transport was booked through Lomas Travel, who left us at the resort after we got delayed at check-out. In the end, we had to take a cab, which cost about $40. Traveling My husband and I flew with Mexicana Airlines. We had three suitcases with us and hand-carried my dress and D’s suit on board. We weren’t charged for ‘extra’ baggage, which was great. The flight-crew were friendly but not any more so than to other passengers. The flight wasn’t full and I was able to lay my dress in an overhead bin. At Customs, I got the ‘green light’ but was still asked what we had in our suitcases and to produce receipts for the wedding items. Thank goodness I remembered to bring them! Lilia, On-Site WC Paty was our WC during the planning process and was wonderful! I couldn’t believe how quickly she responded to my emails/questions. When we arrived at our suite, we had a message from her that Lilia would be our on-site coordinator. She was wonderful and very helpful. We had a very detailed first meeting. Following that, Lilia available throughout the week as I stopped by the wedding center with more questions. She managed the whole wedding beautifully, including arranging a tasting for us of the menu. Hair & Make-up at The Spa Azul Paty had booked my mani/pedis, hair & make-up trials and for the wedding day in advance for me. I’m so glad I did this because the spa got booked up quickly. (This may in part be due to the 50% promotion they had going at the time.) They did my hair beautifully during the trial but a half-hour later, the half-updo completely lost its curl, which freaked me out a bit (especially since my hair is naturally curly). The day of the wedding, despite their assurances the curl would hold, I decided to go with an updo. Looking back, I kinda regret doing this as I really wanted my hair down, but in the moment it felt like the right decision and I did enjoy the breeze on the back of my neck instead of sweaty hair! ;-p The make-up was ok. I had initially done a trial at the MAC store at home and loved it; in retrospect I should have tried the MAC counter in Playa del Carmen to see if they could duplicate it. Overall, the staff at the spa were super sweet and very kind. I don’t think I was forceful enough with what I wanted and language was an issue. My recommendation is to bring lot’s of photos of the look you want! The Wedding Ceremony at the Gazebo The Gazebo was decorated with tulle and the chairs were covered in white fabric. Our Program Fans were tucked into the folds of the fabric. We opted not to use the red aisle runner as it clashed with our colours. The ceremony was a bit delayed and began at 4:15pm. Prior to this, we had someone playing a guitar during the seating of the guests. During the processional, we used our Ipod and the sound system was perfect! Kiki, the minister was great, and kept us on our toes by asking off the cuff questions. After the ceremony, we were greeted with champagne in the Gazebo patio. There were resort guests who had stopped to watch the ceremony or walking by and many of them called out their best wishes. This didn’t bother us. Cocktails in the Gazebo area Beautifully set up. There was a full bar and lots of food. We chose 1 cold apps and 3 hot apps. The coconut shrimp was the most popular of the choices and first to run out! We took some photos during this time but were given some time by our photographer to mingle with the guests and have something to eat and drink. Reception on the beach We had a Mariachi band playing for an hour during the seating of the guests and start of dinner. They were fantastic! I’m so happy we got them. We also had a table set up with flipflops (dancing shoes) so when guests entered the reception area, they were able to leave their shoes behind and grab a pair. The table next to them was set up with our favors that also doubled as place settings. We also placed maracas at each place setting with a “Shake to see a Kiss” tag. They were pretty popular! For dinner, we had the formal 4-course meal. Our choices were the spring salad, the clam chowder, beef fillet, and strawberry pie. We later had some wedding cake and coffee/tea. We selected the Tres Leches flavor and it was delicious! Jorge, Reception Bar and Food Supervisor He took very good care of us. The only thing ‘odd’ was my husband and I, along with a handful of guests, being requested during the reception to fill out comment cards on the service. Not exactly the best time to do so. I would have gladly done so the following day and was a bit put off by this during the reception. Lounge Furniture I asked Paty to arrange the lounge furniture and it was worth the expense! It looked pretty cool and the guests loved it! A section of the lounge was used as a ‘cigar bar’ for the boys. It was a great treat for them. I was worried the lounge area wouldn’t be used but it was pretty popular. The only thing I wished for were pillows of a different colour than brown but in the grand scheme of things, I wasn’t too bothered by it. DJ – Ivan Gomez from Doremixx OMG, he was FABULOUS, FANTASTIC, AMAZING!!! The music selection was perfection and Ivan’s timing was spot on. He kept the party going and the dance floor was always jam-packed. The lit-up dance-floor was awesome, the lighting was great, and there were fun fireworks during our first dance! He also surprised everyone with balloons and carnival masks. All our guests raved about him, even asking if he could put together a compilation of the music played. (Ivan, if you’re reading this, let me know!) Every song played was a favourite; we were worry-free music wise. HIGHLY, highly recommended! Elizabeth Medina Photography Elizabeth and her assistant Lauren were FANTASTIC! When we were planning a destination wedding, a huge priority for us was to book a first class photographer since so many people wouldn’t be joining us in Mexico. We haven’t yet received any photos from Elizabeth and probably won’t for a few weeks but based on our experience with her and Lauren, we were really happy. They were very accommodating to the many requests for photos my guests had and seemed capture all the right moments without being intrusive. I can’t wait to see how the photos turned out! Videography We used the resort videograher through our wedding package. We haven’t received the video yet so we can’t comment on how it turned out. We had a half-hour of time and chose to use it during the ceremony. I’ll provide an update once we receive the video. To Summarize We truly had the most amazing experience. We had so many guests tell us it was the best wedding they had ever been to. While there were a few minor hiccups, we are so happy with how everything turned out. I’m a bit jealous of all you who still have your wedding to look forward to. I highly recommend The Royal!!!

Quote: Originally Posted by erinleigh Where did you find the instrumental version of Beautiful Day? I'd love to hear that! Sorry for the delay! We got the instrumental version from Amazon.com. It was performed by the Vitamin String Quartet. Amazon.com: Beautiful Day: MP3 Downloads: Vitamin String Quartet

Congrats and welcome! I just got married at the Royal last month. It was an absolutely amazing time!

Quote: Originally Posted by traceyfranzel Tighty, Do you remember the cost of the luxury package? we have noticed a discrepecy on the website...a difference of about $750. the grid that you can print shows $2150http://www.realresorts.com/_lib/PDF/ChartWeddings.pdf but the listing shows $2900 Real Resorts Wedding, Real Resorts Hotel Wedding, Real Resorts Hotel Beach Wedding|Mexico Hmmm, we paid $2150 for the Luxury Package. ETA: Just checked the website; looks like they updated the 'look' and changed the pricing. I would confirm with your WC re. the $2150 and get it in writing asap.

Quote: Originally Posted by olsontco TightyWhitey.... did you have guest staying at both The Royal and The Gran Porto?? I'm just wondering for the reception how much extra you had to pay, if any, for the guest that stayed at another Real resort?? Hey olsontco, all our guests stayed at the Royal but I do remember Lilia, our on-site coordinator, asking us how many guests were staying 'outside' the resort, so I'm assuming there's an additional cost attached.

Quote: Originally Posted by traceyfranzel So, your wedding was under the new packages that just came out, correct... So you guys had to get the package that had the "private wedding reception" so you could get the full 3 hours? or is there something else on the website that I don't see? Also, with the new packages, when it says 15 guests, 30 guests, etc...does that mean food/drinks are covered for that many people? The previous packages did not cover food... I am sooooo confused! Hi traceyfranzel! Yes, we changed our package from the old Classic Wedding to the new Luxury Package. It included a 3 hour private reception, which we wanted over having a semi-private in the restaurant. We chose the beach as our location. Our reception began around 6pm and we wanted the bar open until 11pm so we had to pay $15 per person per hour for any extra time we wanted. When the package lists an amount for guests, it includes food and drinks for them. Anything over, you'll have to pay extra. Our package was for 35 people and we had 31 in total. Hope this helps!

Quote: Originally Posted by traceyfranzel OK, so with the new packages...is there still an option to have the reception outside/on the beach? Everything I see is in a restaurant/semi private... Yes, we had ours on the beach. However, the new 'beach packages' only allow for 3 hours of reception time and we wanted the party to last until 11pm. Because of this, we paid $15 per guest per every extra hour to have the bar open until the end.

Quote: Originally Posted by ~Stephanie~ I have 2 questions for the former brides... 1. If you used an outside vendor for photography AND did a TTD, did you have to pay for another day pass for the TTD session? The beach is public so I wouldn't see why we would have to. 2. IF you used an outside photographer AND you package included the resort photographer, did you still get pictures from the resort photographer in addition to the one you hired since it was included in your package? We used an outside vendor for photography but didn't do a TTD. However, what we did was pay for Elizabeth and her assistant to stay overnight at the resort. Booking a room for her there was cheaper than paying for a room in Playa del Carmen and then paying for day passes. Checkout the next day wasn't until 12pm so if we did do a TTD, we would have had plenty of time. We had the new Luxury Package and made use of the resort photographer as well; I wasn't happy with the quality of their photos and was really glad I hired someone else. Nonetheless, the package came with 24 photos and we picked those out. Any additional photos were $10 each and they took 88 in total.

Quote: Originally Posted by ~Stephanie~ Congrats! Welcome back MRS! Are you going to be posting a review? please please! Who did you use for a photographer? I can't wait to see pictures! Thanks! I will do a review as soon as our OOT guests leave. We're occupied with sightseeing until Thursday. Our photographer was Elizabeth Medina. She mentioned the photos should be ready in 4-6 weeks.

We just got back from our wedding in Playa del Carmen. We used the instrumental version of U2's Beautiful Day for the processional and the instrumental version of the Beatles' All You Need is Love for the recessional. Our first dance was Into the Mystic by Van Morrison and our last songs of the night were Closer by Travis and I'm Yours by Jason Mraz. We got a lot of compliments on our choices.

Quote: Originally Posted by aerazo For those Ladies who have had their wedding reception on the beach, is it a hard stop at 11pm? or will they let you party on until later? I want to know how strict they are with the time when the reception ends. Thanks! Adriana Ours ended right at 11 pm. We then took the party to the Coco Maya in town.

Hey Ladies! We're back from the Royal and had an absolutely amazing time. We were told by everyone it was the best wedding they had ever been to. I'm hoping to post some photos when I get them from our guests and photographer. In the meantime, if there are any questions, please let me know!

Quote: Originally Posted by Kristy! I leave in 6 days! I leave in 6 days! Is it strange that I'm so excited and not really freaking out? I feel good about things (and yes, theres still a lot to do). I leave in 6 days! I leave in 6 days! Yay for leaving in 6 days!

We're dancing to "Into the Mystic" by Van Morrison.

Quote: Originally Posted by thedeanerswedding I'm sorry i'm joining this thread so late. I am supposed to be getting married on June 3rd and it looks like they just canceled our flights to Mexico! Air Transat just extended their cancelations to June 19th! WHAT THE HECK! Its the frickin flu! over 4000 Cdns die every year from the flu and there have been 50 worldwide!!!! Why are they doing this!!! We now have to try to move our destination elsewhere - in a matter of days. It took weeks to put this wedding together and now i have to slap something else together! life is unfair!!! I hope not to many other brides are going through this! This is a nightmare! The hotel said they will refund our deposit but I signed a contract with my photographer and paid a stinkin lot of money up front that was non-refundable!!! This sucks! Oh, that really does suck! I'm so sorry. I don't know if this is an option for you but my guests' flight/hotel packages were also cancelled by Air Transat and Air Canada. My TA got both Tour Operators to reinstate my guests' resort reservation and refund the air so they can rebook on US carriers. It's costing everyone an extra $47 plus transfer from the airport to the hotel. If your guests booked as a group, maybe you can do something like that so you can keep your dates and not lose your deposits?

I'm hoping one of the recently married ladies can chime in on how the symbolic/religious ceremony was performed? Thanks!

Quote: Originally Posted by Cattie OMG I THINK I'M GOING TO FREAK OUT!!! Ok that feels better. I haven't started packing, still have a million things to do. Oh and my father ends up in the ER today. Lovely! Oh no! Hope he's doing ok, Cattie.

I can't believe they're also canceling June! This just reinforces my belief all these cancellations have to do with money and not people's 'health'. July 3rd is cutting it close. I hope you work something out soon, especially since you've already rearranged everything. ETA: Looks like they stopped flights until June 19th, although this time they're offering refunds for those booked between June 1st and June 19th. WTF! Why aren't they consistent with their policies?!?!? http://www.cbc.ca/consumer/story/200...o-flights.html