traceyfranzel

Hey Ladies, I won't be on the site much anymore. I am getting into my busy season at work. I was an October 2009 Royal Playa del Carmen bride. If I can help you with anything, please send me a PM. Best luck to all of you. The Royal Playa del Carmen was the best choice we could have made!

Staying at Gran vs Royal... The best way to describe it: TOTAL CLUSTER F"!* Don't do it unless you have to! The only advice I can offer is speak to your WC about it NOW and have it in writing how much your guests will have to pay to come to the Royal.

Quote: Originally Posted by amerssnorts18 Tracey, Just wanted to know what you thought of the cocktail hour in the garden? We are having ours on the beach as well as the reception and wondering if I should see if we can get the garden area. Also, do you know what salad and soup your requested? Thanks for such a wonderful review of your wedding, Congrats!! I am happy we did cocktail hour in the garden...it was like we had 3 different venues for our wedding...also, it gave them time to set up our reception

Oops, our main course was the steak fillet...

Quote: Originally Posted by aerazo past and future brides - I was thinking of possibly having The Royal provide some sort of dessert tray, or cookie or tray or some type of goodies they can provide late night during the reception, after the meals.. say around 9 or 9:30pm... I feel like people might get hungry later at night or want more food - is anyone else thinking of doing this or even think it would be worth it? Past brides - were you guests just ready to party after the meal or do you think a cookie or brownie or goodie tray would have been good to do? I would not even worry about that. My people wouldn't have noticed at all. You eat so much during the reception that it is really not necessary.

How do you post pics on here? I would like to put some up for you guys.

I hope I am doing this right...here is my review: @ Royal Wednesday, Oct 21 through Friday Oct 30, 2009 Thursday Met w/ Zulma-12:00-you will set your appt with her about 2 weeks before your arrival. She is super nice and makes you’re her priority during your entire stay! Which may help explain the long time between email responses from her. We went through all of the options that came with our package (Luxury package). We had about 25 guests. I gave her a picture in a magazine of what I wanted my flowers to look like…when I saw them I was very pleased. They looked exactly like the picture I gave her. Our package came with a photographer, but since we wanted Del Sol only Zulma said that Fun Ever does the photography and the video, so she would just have them extend the video time to make up the difference. We also gave her our sign in book, champagne glasses, koozies & maracas for our table. Maracas were bought for $1 each on 5th. Friday 11:00-mani & pedi Do NOT try to do everything the same day as your wedding. That’s just too much! Ladies-don’t forget to eat enough the day of your wedding! Try to call room services so you can snack and drink a couple of glasses of champagne (it helps with the picture taking). Catamaran Catamaya :::::::::: CATAMAYA :::::::::: was awesome! 65 foot Catamaran. We told all of our guests ahead of time that we had a special “thank you†surprise for all of them. On Thursday we told them what is was. Everyone was super excited! We got the basic package ($2200 + Transportation-$10 per person). We snorkeled, fished-and caught fish, made Civiche out of the fish we caught, they played music, and we had an open bar. Saturday Hair & Make-Up @ Spa-2:00 Wedding - 4:00 Reception-5:00 The Gran We had A LOT of trouble getting guests over from here to The Royal. We were told 10 different things by everyone. No one seemed to know what was going on. It was truly ridiculous! I recommend that NONE of your guests stay there if you want to see them during the trip. Tipping You don’t have to tip, but we did. A dollar here, a dollar there…will get you better service. We also tipped the maid who cleaned our room and the turn down service. Ceremony We had our wedding on the gazebo (which they will decorate with tulle at no extra cost). All guest chairs were placed on the gazebo (with chair covers-at no extra cost). I decided to put my hair in a side pony incase it was super windy. We chose the violin option. Our hors d’oeuvres were served in the garden area (they were very yummy), while the Mariachi band played. While that was going on, Matt del Sol Photography took pics of Brent and I while his assistant took pics of our guests. Photographer We booked Del Sol for 5 hours. Worth every penny! Matt is awesome! He is from Atlanta but lives in Mexico with his wife who is also a photographer and he speaks excellent Spanish! Matt came to my room as we were getting ready and his assistant went to Brent’s room as the boys were getting ready. Matt literally saved our beach wedding. Zulma called me about 30 minutes before the ceremony to tell me that she thought it was going to rain and we could have the ceremony outside, but it would be best to have the reception inside. I panicked and said ok. Then Matt jumped into action…looking up the weather on the computer and watching the clouds. He told me to call her back and tell her know that it wasn’t going to rain. So we did. And I am so grateful! It didn’t rain! I would have regretted that so much! Reception Our tables were beautifully set up on the beach (which was right behind the gazebo-best/most private place). We rented the lounge furniture from the Royal around $200-250. We used the lounge furniture. Get it! They also set up plants, lights and decorations (at no extra cost). After, we took our pics we sat down for dinner. We were more concerned with dancing. So we asked Carlos to speed up the dinner. The dinner and everything about it was wonderful. When we initially met with Zulma we picked our salad, soup, dessert & cake. We asked her if we could do a menu tasting to decide on the entre. She said we could taste 3 items. She set up our tasting for Thursday. It was at Spice. We got to meet the Chef who would be cooking for our reception. This was when we got to meet Carlos for the first time. We chose the filet for our main course and got the salmon dish for my one vegetarian friend. Everyone bragged about the food! The steaks were cooked perfectly! After we ate we did all of the other traditional wedding stuff then danced. We got Ivan from DJ Doremixx http://www.xcancun.com/doremixx/home.html & his light up dance floor. We did not book him through the resort. They were wonderful. Ivan will find you at the resort a few days before your wedding to get to know you and see if you have any special requests. They have a HUGE list of songs and were able to play everything we requested. They can also plug in your IPod or IPhone if they don’t have a song you want. The light up dance floor was AWESOME! Zulma was there nearly the entire time. I don’t know when the WC’s sleep! She was behind the scenes, out of the way, but the second she thought I needed something; she came running from out of nowhere! It was very comforting. Right when the sun sets, mosquitoes come out! Very briefly (like 30 minutes). So Zulma and Carlos got someone to grab bug spray for us. (I’m from Louisiana and am very used to mosquitoes, but I even thought they were bad.) Reception Food Wedding Cake-Tres Leche (3 milk)-wonderful, cold cake (not hard like an ice cream cake) with a naturally sweet taste. You can try it at Pelicanos. Salad Soup Main Course Dessert-Cheesecake I have pics of the 3 main courses we sampled at Spice. Carlos He had only been working at the resort for about a week when we met him. He came from a resort in Cabo and was training to manage at the Royal. He was great! He seemed to be everywhere! He was the first person to greet me by my new last name. Climate I could have walked around in my bathing suit from sun up until the time I went to bed. It was a breezy 80-85 degrees the whole time. Don’t waste space packing little sweaters/jackets, long dresses. Try to dress as cool and comfortable as possible. Restaurants Spice-not much A/C going on. A good place to go for breakfast! They have an egg bar, omelet bar, waffle/pancake/French toast/crepe bar & tons of other great things. Pelicanos/Tapa-Open air bar-Great for lunch/snacks. You can go in there wearing a bathing suit cover up. Food is awesome! Maria Marie-It was very hot in there when we ate for dinner. They said there was an A/C issue. One of my least favorite restaurants. Chef’s Plate-Cool inside. More dressy. Food is wonderful. You must make a reservation. Activities Committee These guys were fun & very entertaining! They are everywhere & apparently don’t sleep (like the WC’s). There are always activities at the pool & in the Lobby at night. Most Important Enjoy your time. Don’t freak out. These people are all amazing and will do everything they can to make sure your experience is wonderful!

Quote: Originally Posted by traceyfranzel No, we did not bring them. And we didn't ask for anything specific. That's what came with the luxury package...but don't worry, they could be lime green and you would either not notice, or everyone would think they looked great! Sorry, I was talking about the candles on the tables during our reception. I will post my review tomorrow!

No, we did not bring them. And we didn't ask for anything specific. That's what came with the luxury package...but don't worry, they could be lime green and you would either not notice, or everyone would think they looked great!

We love our pics! They did a wonderful job! I can't brag enough. I HIGHLY recommend them! 10.24.09 Tracey + Brent | Royal Playa del Carmen | Photos by Matt Adcock del Sol Photography PM me if you have any questions.

Quote: Originally Posted by Lady_Di ok, the resort is charging too much for the lighted dance floor and DJ...1,800k in total. f no way. is there a bride that used an outside DJ for a reasonable fee? i got quoted $990 for 4 hours and $350 for the lighted up dance floor from DJ Mania. I feel that's too much. I just really want the lighted up dance floor! DJ Doremixx/Ivan only charged about $1050 total for the dance floor and DJ service...we had him for 4 hours. They have a HUGE list of songs. They were able to play everything we requested. Ivan will find you at the resort to sit down and talk to you personally about what you expect of him and the type of music you want. You can also make a list of songs and give it to him.

Quote: Originally Posted by olsontco Tracey... wow.. your pictures are amazing! So beautiful. Did you have your hair and make-up done by the resort? Did you like the make-up? Also, I loved your hair flower... is that a real flower? did you get it from the resort? Thank you so much! The resort did my hair and make-up and hair and make-up for all of my bridesmaids. They made everyone look great! It was a fake flower. I bought it online. I will try to find the website. You can probably google orchid hair flower and find something similar.

Quote: Originally Posted by aerazo Tracey, Omg, your pictures are soooo beautiful! Your wedding looked so lovely and you were a beautiful bride, congrats! makes me excited for my day in April! i had two questions please i was wondering if you could answer. 1) I loved your lit up dance floor- was that supplied by the resort or by chance your DJ? was your DJ Ivan Gomez? How man poeple do you think fit on that? 2) Lounge furniture and pillows. Who supplied this for you? the resort or an outside vendor? Did you people reallly actually use the lounge furniture or the pillows? Thanks so much! Adriana 1) We did use Ivan. He was great! We used his dancefloor. I reserved the dance floor with him and paid the fee (around $400 or $500). He is very busy, so if you want him and the dance floor book it now. He was doing 3 weddings at our resort alone the night of our wedding. We had 25 guests. 2) the resort provided the lounge furniture. It was about $250. Everyone loved it! And yes, they all used it.

Quote: Originally Posted by Playa2009 I've been dealing with Angie Hayes - (the US wedding coordinator), and have found her to be not very helpful. It takes weeks for her to respond to an email, and then she doesn't even answer my questions! I think my wedding coordinator at The Royal will be Zulma. Has anyone been in communication with her that can give me her email address? Or suggest how do I get in touch with someone at The Royal? My wedding is Feb. 5th, and I'd like to make some rehearsal dinner and spa reservations, and can't get my WC to respond to me so I can get something booked! Has anyone else had these issues? How far in advance do I need to have these sorts of things booked? Zulma is wonderful. Send her an email. It will take a few days for her to respond. I now realize the reason why. She totally makes you her priority from the minute you step foot on the resort! She focuses all of her attention on you. She was great! Don't worry, you are in good hands. If you have any questions, I may be able to help. She is also in our slide show that I posted...

Matt, I seriously can't stop looking at our pics! I need to walk away from the computer... del Sol Photography ROCKS!

Quote: Originally Posted by Matt Adcock She just got her slideshow today!!!! ROCKIN HOTNESS. Hopefully she will be posting a review soon saludos matt Matt, Thanks again for taking such good care of us. The pics are wonderful! I just emailed the link to all of our guests. I'm sure they will have tons more compliments! Very detailed review coming soon! We HIGHLY recommend DelSol Photography!

Here we go ladies. Here are the wonderful pics by DelSol. Review coming soon! 10.24.09 Tracey + Brent | Royal Playa del Carmen | Photos by Matt Adcock

Quote: Originally Posted by Lady_Di I got told the same thing...i am having a garden reception and the latest is 10pm. oh well! they usually assign you one when you contact the Royal...what they have now is that they assign one from U.S. then about 14 days before your wedding, a WC from the Royal will contact you. Hope that will help. There is a discounted day passes for your wedding guests if they mention they are with your wedding. Your photographer will have to pay $100 (vendor fee) and you would have to pay $60 for a non resort guest for your reception if you are feeding him only if you go over 35 people. i am interested about the makeup part...maybe jesmcan can answer this when she comes back from her site visit? I was worried about makeup and hair too. They had tons of makeup and everything came out great! All of my bridesmaids had their hair and makeup done there as well. They were all impressed (we are pretty picky people). If any of you have questions, let me know. The Royal was the best decision we could have made! Our guests were all very impressed. We are all already making plans to go back next year!

Quote: Originally Posted by 2mckee Thanks everyone!! I ended up spending some time looking at Elizabeth Medina's website yesterday and the pics of the weddings at The Royal are BEAUTIFUL!! I didnt see a single speedo! Unfortunately, she is booked. What photographer is everyone planning on using?? The one included with the packages or did you go out and find your own? Thanks for the help! Use Del Sol! I just got married at the Royal on Oct24 and they saved my wedding!! It looked like it was going to rain, so we thought about moving the wedding inside and the photographer told me NO! Stay outside, the weather moves in the opposite direction! He was right, thank God for him! He and his assistant were wonderful! del Sol Photography

Quote: Originally Posted by 2mckee Hey Everyone! I am brand new to this site, but am so glad I found it! We are currently booked at the Royal PDC for July 4th, but just heard some things about it that werent great..... Privacy on the beach during the ceremony and reception being the major thing, (speedo man standing behind the ceremony in front of the ocean, anyone??) along with getting "bumped" to a mediocre resort 20 miles south. For those of you that have been there, is the privacy issue that big of a deal to you? Or was I misinformed? We are currently looking at other places and TA's, but would really love to know that this isnt that big of a deal. Thanks for any help or advice you have!! Privacy is a non issue if you get married at a late time. Our wedding was at 5:00 and we had NO issues! There is security there making sure no one busts up in the middle of everything & most of the people there are respectful. They will go out of their way to avoid bothering you during your special day!

Quote: Originally Posted by Kriswim Hi - The Royal's resort is much nicer obvioulsy - its double the cost. But I really liked the Gran. I would go there again. I did use a travel agent to book - but some of my friends/family didn't use her. Either way all you have to make sure is that evveryone books under the name of your wedding. This way the hotel can keep track of you. If you get a big enough group all arriving and leaving at the same time you are eligible for a discount. Our wedding is at the Royal in a couple of weeks. We, as well as all of our guests, used the same travel agent. She is wonderful. All of our friends were very impressed by her! Annalynne Bogner [email protected] I will highly recommend her!

I forgot to say: The Catamaran is going to be our surprise "thank you" to all of our guests...

Hey Ladies, We are doing the Sunset Charter with snacks Here is the run down on the Catamaran that is available: They are super nice people and respond to emails very quickly! It takes around 30 minutes to get there from the royal. They provide transportation. $10/person-round trip (in addition to the charter price) :::::::::: CATAMAYA :::::::::: As follows you will find the options we have for a private cruise: Morning Charter with Grilled Burgers From 10am to 2pm The lunch includes: Green salad with Italian and French dressing, Guacamole, Mexican salsa, tortilla chips and an hamburger that our chef grills on our stainless steel grill on the back of the catamaran. Cost: USD 4,000.00 Morning Charter with Lobster or Steak From 10am to 2pm The lunch includes: Green salad with Italian and French dressing, pasta salad, mexican salsa, Guacamole, Tortilla chips and Choice of one Rib Eye Steak or one Lobster tail that our chef grills (with garlic and butter). Cost: USD 5,000.00 You also may consider a Sunset Charter, as follows the prices and options: SUNSET Charter with Snacks From 3:00pm to 6:30pm The quoted 'standard' snacks are: Guacamole, Mexican salsa, Tortilla chips and assorted nuts. Cost: USD $1,800.00 SUNSET Charter with Hamburgers From 3:00pm to 6:30pm Cost: $2,100.00 SUNSET Charter with Lobster or Steak From 3:00pm to 6:30pm Cost: $2,600.00 All the options above include: - Beer ( Corona ) - national rum, vodka, tequila - Sodas: Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite - Juices: Orange, Pineapple - Purified water · All the snorkel gear is provided. · The tips and transportation are not included. If you need us to provide the round trip transportation, please consider USD 10.00 per person. · A 30% deposit is required order to book the date, and the balance will have to be paid one week before the event. · At the following link you could find more images of Catamaya: YouTube - Catamaya Sailing Cruises

Yeah, everything is pretty much done, except for the things that we can only do there. This is what I have planned: Friday-Catamaran for all guests (as a 'thank you' for coming) Saturday-Ceremony-5:00-Gazebo-Reception-beach-DJ Doremixx & Del Sol photographers Sunday-Find a bar that is playing the Saints game We have about 25 guests coming, so it will be a small, but very lively bunch! I am soooooo ready!