olsontco

Quote: Originally Posted by wedding decor Well it really looks like you had a great time - beautiful pictures! I was wondering if Samuel had some shots of the lounge you could share. HI Raffaele... I was so dissapointed, but I don't think he did get any photos of the lounge area. However, some of my family and friends did. I will try and post those soon. Thanks again for everything... everyone loved the lounge area.... it was my favorite part of the reception for me.

Quote: Originally Posted by Trinas79 Hi Teri - My ceremony will be at 4, as well. Originally I was told it would be at 5 but I guess because of the whole daylight thing, it's better to have it at 4. With that, around what time did your reception start? I'm a little concerned that with the time being pushed back, the entire wedding will be done with by 8:30 (1/2 hour for cocktail and reception lasting 3 hours). How did your time line work out?? Also, was your dance floor the one that the resort provides? It looks a little small, how did you guys feel about it? thx!! Thx Honestly the timing ended up perfectly. The ceremony actually started a little late. We took pictures and then the guests began the cocktail hour - probably around 4:30-45. I ended up having the cocktail reception at the beach at the same location as the reception. I just thought it would be an easier transition and maybe a way to extend the reception. That was perfect. I'm pretty sure we didn't start dinner until around 6:00 or 6:15. Our reception was over at 10. They extended it a bit because we pleaded with the dj and the Royal staff. The timing was perfect and I was actually ready for the reception to be over. The dance floor looked small at the beginning, but really it was perfect. It always felt like there were tons of people on the dance floor and I didn't notice it one bit. That was just one area I didn't want to spurge on... so, I didn't and it ended up great!

Quote: Originally Posted by svetayasofiya btw- your dress was gorgeous! thank you!!! I loved my dress... it was perfect for me and for the setting! What time are you getting married? Our ceremony was at 4:00 (although we were late) and we did have time to take some photos. It did seem like we were rushed to get the photos in. I think someone on here was talking about taking photos before the ceremony and I kind of wish we would have done this. Although it messes up the first look at the ceremony I know the first look anyway will be amazing. ALso, alot of the lighting depends on the time of year... so, you might be fine! Thanks so much for all the compliments... teri

Thank you everyone! I'm still on a high from the wedding! Can't stop looking at photos and smiling!

Quote: Originally Posted by MichaelandAraceli Hi ladies! Has anyone used the videographer the resort offers? I'm using an outside photographer but I was thinking of just using the videographer the resort offers for the 6 hr packet. Let me know if anyone has used them..... Thanks! We used the videographer from the resort and they did a fabulous job. I would recommend them! i also went with an outside photographer and it worked great to then save a bit and use the resorts video. Let me know if you have any questions.

Quote: Originally Posted by becks1581 Thanks so much for you comments about the Royal, they are very encouraging. I tend to second guess my decisions so it's very reassuring so read something so positive from a Royal bride. I really want a great vacation for my guests and a beautiful, relaxing setting for the wedding. It sounds like the Royal gave you all of that and more! I'll def contact Mayan Hospitality. I like the idea of getting decor from there and it sure beats lugging centerpieces from home...I would love for my reception to look like yours! Well let me know if you have any other questions regarding the lounge furniture or the experience at The Royal. The reason I chose The Royal is because I actually was a guest at another friends wedding a couple of years back and everything took place at The Royal. I was blown away at how much fun it was and how amazing the resort was. What is really funny is the wedding I attended was all the basics... no dj, no extras... and, I had the best time ever! I loved adding the little details to my wedding... it was so much fun and so reasonable. I could go on and on about it!!!!

Quote: Originally Posted by Lady_Di Thanks for the review!! You looked fantastic! Did you have to pay a vendor fee to get the lounge furniture? Thank you all so much! Yes, you do have to pay $100 vendor fee but it really is worth it!

Quote: Originally Posted by becks1581 Thank you so much for your review. Everything, especially the bride looked beautiful and it's so great to hear positive feedback about a Royal wedding! Were you happy with Mayan Hospitality for the lounge furniture? Your set up looked really impressive and I haven't heard of anyone using them before. Their website looks like they also do catamaran charters...it would definitely be nice find one company that can take care of multiple wedding to-do's! Sorry... I just wanted to comment really quickly on having your wedding at The Royal. You literally don't have to worry one bit about your guest enjoying themselves. The service is amazing, the food is something my guests are still talking about, and the fact that you can walk out the resort doors and be on 5th avenue is such a benefit. There really is no time for 'entertaining' your guest because they are so entertained just by being there at the resort. The entire experience was amazing and if you are thinking about having your wedding at The Royal you can rest assure that everything will go off just as you want it to. You just get to sit back and enjoy!

Quote: Originally Posted by becks1581 Thank you so much for your review. Everything, especially the bride looked beautiful and it's so great to hear positive feedback about a Royal wedding! Were you happy with Mayan Hospitality for the lounge furniture? Your set up looked really impressive and I haven't heard of anyone using them before. Their website looks like they also do catamaran charters...it would definitely be nice find one company that can take care of multiple wedding to-do's! YES... Mayan Hospitality was wonderful to work with. Rafaelle is the person I delt with, I believe he is the owner, and he was extremely responsive to my emails. Also, he actually had his florists work something up special for me in my price range for my centerpieces. It was like he was my own decorator. Also, I cannot tell you how the lounge furniture added to the entire reception 'feel'. I believe it truly made the reception-- it was something a little 'extra' for my guests... and was completely worth it. He will match the pillows and small centerpieces (in the lounge area) to your theme and colors. Definitely contact him!!!!

Hi everyone! I just got my slideshow from our photographer samuel luna! He was fabulous to work with. His email address is www.samualluna.com. Teri + Robert – The Royal Playa del Carmen, Riviera Maya. Samuel Luna Clients

Quote: Originally Posted by jesmcan Thank you so much for all the great info about shipping!! I meant to ask what did you choose for your menu choices and how was the food? This was our menu for the reception. Spring salad with goat cheese & almond oil (PE-1) Princess cream soup with green asparagus au mint flavor(PE-2) Beef fillet with Dijon mustard varnished with Provençal herbs (PE-1) Fruit mousse with warm chocolate sauce (PE-3) We added shrimp to the main entree and they charged us $5 a plate extra for this, but I thought it was worth it. I thought the food was excellent! All of my guest kept commenting on it as well. The salad was a little different and not exactly what I was expecting... but, it really was good! The service was fantastic.... it really blew my expectations away! Entree Dessert Tres Leche Cake - fabulous!

Quote: Originally Posted by giraffexx Congrats!!! You looked beautiful! I love the lounge furniture! What was the temperature like at night on the beach? I am getting married November 19, 2010 at the Royal and I am curious if it was chilly? How did you ship your stuff to the resort? And how far in advance did you do it? Thanks for writing this review, very helpful. I forgot to answer about the shipping. Now... I fedex'd everything priority about 3 weeks before my wedding. If you decide to do this there are definitely things you need to know. 1. Do not ship shells - we were decorating with sand dollars at the welcome dinner. They do not allow you to bring shells into Mexico. This held up a box. They ended up shipping it back to me and then I just brought it with me (which is funny, since I ended up bringing these items anyway). 2. Make sure you list out everything that is the box. Put all over any of the documentation that this is for a wedding. I shipped maracas in a box, I shipped towels in another box, I shipped my koozies in a box, then I shipped some odds and ends in another box that included sunblock. The towels got through with no problem, but the other items were held up for a while. If you have everything labeled properly (which I didn't) it will help. Once we got everything there we were so glad we went this route. BUT... it was a little bit stressful. 3. You will ship it directly to your wedding coordinator. So... just have them be on the look out for it all. Hope that helps. Feel free to ask any questions you may have!!!!!

Quote: Originally Posted by giraffexx Congrats!!! You looked beautiful! I love the lounge furniture! What was the temperature like at night on the beach? I am getting married November 19, 2010 at the Royal and I am curious if it was chilly? Thanks for writing this review, very helpful. Oh that is awesome! The temperature was perfect! I thought it was going to be a little chilly, but it was great! I am very cold natured so I even had a little wrap to put on if I needed to, but there was no need. I want to say it was about 68 or 69 degrees.

Thank you!!!! Yes... we had so much fun! Obviously because I am laughing or smiling from ear to ear in EVERY photo. Not sure what happend to the sexy Teri... but, oh well.. that is me

Okay... I just received the slideshow... he says there are a ton more photos. But... I wanted to be sure and post these for you! I love them! Teri + Robert – The Royal Playa del Carmen, Riviera Maya. Samuel Luna Clients

Arriving: Arriving in Cancun was fairly non eventful. We made it through customs with only one person getting stopped and that happened to be ME. It was fine though, they kept me for a moment and then we all continued on to the transportation area. Our transport was done by lumas travel and it was fine. The guide on our van talked the entire time about things to do in Playa, I think trying to sell his services, but it was a little annoying. Most of us just didn’t pay attention and looked ahead to arriving at The Royal. Once getting to the Royal it was a bit confusing checking in. It seemed they weren’t completely ready for us, but everyone was so nice it was hard to be irritated. They took most of us separately to our own concierge close to our room. It was nice in the long run to have the same concierge helping you during the entire stay. We decided to book the Swim up suite which was located on the beach front side right by the pool. The room was nice, but the view was basically of the pool and when you looked out you saw everyone sunbathing. It wasn’t exactly how I imagined.... so we decided to do an upgrade to the master suite and I am so glad we did. It was beautiful and perfect for your wedding and honeymoon. Wedding Coordinator: Our wedding coordinator was Zulma and she was fantastic. Leading up to the wedding the communication was ‘okay’ which I understand because of everything they are coordinating. Once we got to the resort she was extremely attentive and had everything ready to go. We met with her a few hours after arriving just to go over all the details. I had written out how I wanted all the tables decorated (as I brought my own things) and all the other details for the wedding. We picked out my bouquet and other flowers as well as just went over timing. She was extremely helpful in coming up with things to meet your expectations. I honestly can’t say enough about her. Photographer: After doing a ton of research on the forum as well as everywhere else on this forum, we decided to hire Samuel Luna . I decided to have him take pictures of us before the welcome dinner (engagement type photos), photographs at the welcome dinner, and then for 6-7 hours the day of the wedding. I believe I chose the soulful package and he worked with me to come up with exactly what would work for us. Let me just tell you… he is the most pleasant man. I could not have been more pleased with the type of person he was. We had a lot of fun working with him. My entire family kept talking about what a nice man he was…so, if you are looking for someone to fit in with your group and just enjoy taking pictures.. you have found your photographer! Here is the link to our slideshow Teri + Robert – The Royal Playa del Carmen, Riviera Maya. Samuel Luna ClientsI just received this link today and I’m so excited to share them with you. He definitely captured “the story” which was exactly what I wanted. It doesn’t look like the welcome dinner was included in the slideshow but as soon as I get those photos I will post. I would recommend Samuel to anyone! Please contact him now  The First Night and Welcome Bags: I had all of my items shipped (which was an experience, but everything did end up making it) so we spent the first night basically putting our welcome bags together. Once they were all together we then got the help of the concierge to help us figure out how to deliver them to the rooms and then how to have them ready for people as they check in. This was a bit of a headache and I’m not too sure how to make it easier on you. Definitely have with you a list of all your guests. For $2 a bag they will deliver them for you, which is what I would suggest. We did not do this and it seemed everyday I was going to the front desk making sure people got their bags. Also, I had to remember to bring the bags down in the morning for the people that were checking in that day. I thought this was going to be a little easier to handle, but over all… it really wasn’t that bad. The welcome bags were a huge hit. We included: a towel, 2 koozies, a bag of home made cookies, a welcome letter, a photo sharing card, and sunscreen. (I will try and add photos later) Welcome Dinner: We decided to have the welcome dinner in the garden with a buffet dinner. It was perfect. We brought our own mp3 player with music and they had a system set up for us. They set up a private bar and had a beautiful set up for the buffet. Zulma also decorated all the tables with the supplies we brought for her. We didn’t have to do a thing. It was all very enjoyable, very relaxing, and everyone had a wonderful time. I wasn’t sure I wanted to do the dinner in the garden because I was worried it would look too much like the reception the next night. But, I’m so glad we did. It was perfect. The Day of the Wedding: First of all… who would have thought that you would be out in the sun the day of your wedding? Not me! I relaxed by the pool till about 11:00 a.m. and then went in to shower and begin to get ready. We purchased the luxury package so I did my nails and toes the day before –which I would suggest—and then I scheduled my hair and make-up at 12:00. Hair – I brought a lot of pictures with me of this one style that I wanted. I think she got fairly close… I was happy with it. In some of the photos I don’t like it, but overall… I really like it. Make-up – I brought all of my own make-up. I had spent a fortune on Make-up for life make-up and decided I would have them use it… I am so happy I did. The make-up that they had available did not look like the best make-up. So, I basically told her what to do and where to put things and I was very happy with that. My groom had the ‘face-saver’ and all his good guy friends did too… ummmmm I might suggest skipping this…. They definitely cut his face and the other guys were not too impressed either. Just an fyi. The hotel had forgotten to schedule the pressing of my dress and the tux – I remembered the night before and Zulma got on it right away. But, I would suggest scheduling this during your meeting with your wedding coordinator. I didn’t get my dress to me until a little after 2 and my photographer came at 2. So, that was a little annoying. But, it all worked out. Our wedding was scheduled for 4 at the gazebo. The weather was beautiful and the set up was perfect. We had a little mishap with the pastor – but that was completely my fault since I had decided to get my own pastor. Zulma stepped in and helped and it all went great. The ceremony was wonderful! The reception: We had hired our own DJ – Ivan and he was wonderful. I didn’t go with the light up dance floor because of the cost and really… no one noticed. I know it would have been cool to have it, but we all had a blast anyway! Ivan was awesome… the big reason why we decided to go with a DJ in the first place was to make sure to keep things going and to have someone announcing when we were doing certain things. He did everything on schedule and really kept everyone dancing…. He was great to work with too! Thank you Ivan! I also had arranged for the lounge furniture through an outside vendor. The reason I did this was because the set up was so much more decorative than the set up the resort did. The company I worked with was Mayan hospitality at Mayan Hospitality. Raffaele also helped me come up with an alternative for a centerpiece. He was wonderful to work with and really helped it all come together. I think that is it! My family and friends had a fantastic time. I still get emails and comments about how wonderful the wedding was. I think the experience of all being together in a place like Playa del Carmen and at The Royal is a life long memory. ALSO… I wanted to say being right in town is fabulous. It really kept everyone entertained. If they didn’t want to stay at the resort they had plenty of other options to shop, eat, and drink. Thanks for all the help on this forum! You all were a life saver!!!!! Teri Don't forget to check out the slideshow! Samuel Luna was fantastic! Teri + Robert – The Royal Playa del Carmen, Riviera Maya. Samuel Luna Clients

Quote: Originally Posted by Trinas79 Teri - What was the pricing like for that? Is it per person or a general fee? Kerri Kerri, The price for the Welcome dinner was $25 per person. This was for the buffet option, but I think it is the same for a sit down dinner as well. It was perfect!

Quote: Originally Posted by giraffexx Has anyone had or is having their welcome party at the Royal or Gran Porto? If so where? I'm having a hard time deciding on whether to do this at the resort or off site somewhere. We had our welcome dinner at The Royal in the garden. I was worried that it was going to be too similar to the reception, but we ended up doing a buffet at the welcome dinner and then did a sit down dinner at the reception on the beach. The Welcome Dinner was fabulous. People had a wonderful time. Also, it is a lot more inexpensive to have it there at The Royal if most of your guest are staying there. Let me know if you have anyother questions. teri

Quote: Originally Posted by aerazo hey there! I booked ivan for my wedding, and it was Angie my WC who gave me his email address to contact. She nor did anyone tell me we had to go through the hotel. i am not too worried about this, for the past 11 months in reading these posts, its pretty certain that the people who work for the Royal cannot seem to get their facts straight or insynch! I guess one thing i am curious about - since Ivan is a preferred vendor, do you guys know if this means we have to pay the $100 outside vendor fee for him? has anyone told you this? Yes... you do still have to pay the outside vendor fee of $100 because it is like you are bringing in your own DJ since you did not book with the Resort. Obviously, with the new structure you can only book Ivan through the resort so you would not have to pay the $100 fee. BTW... IVAN was fantastic! And... even if you have to go through the resort I would totally do it! We just gave him a list of artist we wanted played at our reception and everything was perfect. All night our guest were commenting on the music and how great it was! Thanks Ivan!

Quote: Originally Posted by aerazo HI olsontco, Do you know if we need to have recipets inside the fedex boxes when we ship them to mexico? im probably just shipping over the favors, the decorations, etc... (good to know about the seashells!) cant wait to hear your review and congrats! Hi Adrianna.... I think have receipts inside the boxes as well as a detailed description of what each item is going to be used for. ie... 50 maracas - price = xx using these for decoration at my wedding taking place xyz. The more information you can put in the boxes with each item is for the better. I sent my stuff over approximately 3 weeks before my wedding. Honestly, if it weren't for the seashells it would have all made it there. I did talk to fedex about 5 times a day to ensure they knew everything was for a wedding... we sent it fedex international priority. Thanks, Teri

Quote: Originally Posted by aerazo I think I am going to Fedex a box with my wedding supplies to The Royal , Attention: My wedding coordinator. When i went for my site visit, she gave me her business card and said to ship my items to her, and ship a month prior to ensure it gets delivered. Is anyone else thinking of doing this? Hi Adriana.... I just returned from my wedding at The Royal. I'm going to try and do a review very soon... but, I saw your post and thought I would give you a heads up. So, I ended up shipping ALL of my items to The Royal. I had a total of 6 boxes. It was a bit stressful because about 4 of my boxes got stopped by customs... but, they ended up going through. I had one box that they would not allow and it is because it had shells in the box. Something I did not know - shells are not allowed into Mexico. Who would have thought. It all ended up working out because they shipped the box back to us and we ended up bringing it with us and got through without any problem. What would you be shipping? I have to admit it was awesome having everything there when I arrived, but it was a little stressful making sure it got through customs. Let me know if I can help in anyway.

Quote: Originally Posted by Lana~B Yes I CAN NOT wait to hear either Hi girls! The wedding was fabulous. I wanted to definitely get back on here and let you guys know that Samuel was fantastic to work with. I, of course, have not seen the photos yet... but, as far as working with him he is absolutely wonderful. My family could not say enough about him. So, if you are thinking about it... BOOK HIM! I can't wait to share my photos with y'all. He let me know that he will have a slideshow available soon for me to share. Let me know what questions you have! teri

Well... as someone that is actually going through the process RIGHT NOW... I would say don't ship anything. I shipped 6 boxes of stuff, yep, 6 boxes... I have 50 welcome bags and all of my soon to be MIL's stuff for the welcome dinner. Towels go through fine - if you want to ship anything at all send a box full of towels. We FEDEX'd everything and it has been a bit of a nightmare. Today I have gotten word that they are releasing all but 1 box - thank goodness. The things that hold stuff up would be: Sunscreen (I had 36 bottles); koozies (because they were made from a silicone type of material, go figure?); and the big kicker are SHELLS. They will not release this box because of the shells. Soooooo there you go.... and yes, we paid way too much to have all of this done. Also, most airlines will let you carry on your wedding dress without it counting as a carry on. So, that might help some of you. Keep your fingers crossed that all my boxes make it there...... ughhhhhhhhhhh

Quote: Originally Posted by traceyfranzel 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. 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!

Congrats Keira and Mel!! Forgot to tell you earlier! It has been so fun thinking about who all was getting married the past couple of days. I'm on a 11 day count down till we leave!!! Can't wait!