Natalie79

Congrats to Juliet & Lisa!!!! We our doing our legal ceremony next Monday, it's the anniversary of our first date  I'm so happy that Angie Silva, my new WC finally emailed me all the details and checklists! Now it's really crunch time. I hope everything goes smoothly from this point out...yikes.

I thought my TA was great until last Friday. My biggest regret is doing a group contract. I would have definitely done individual bookings. I think the only reason to do a group rate is if you know you are going during a time of year when the hotel has a good chance of selling out.  She basically just replied back to me that she didn't intend to make me feel bad (which i still don't believe) and she wanted to "cut the drama". If she didn't write me the huge rant in the first place, there wouldn't be any drama! grrrr  So that's that for now. I'm just going to deal with her as little as possible.

Hi Akua! If your deadline is November for booking it shouldn't be to bad to get 2 more by then. Ours have been trickling in since June. If you are close to the deadline and know more people are coming, my advice would probably be to book the rooms so you don't lose your group agreement, that could be a whole other headache. Â I know for my contract, if we fell under 10 rooms it would nullify the contract, which luckily didn't happen. But I still have the room there that I really hope gets booked. I was just so mad that one little question by me ended up into being a huge rant. Â Â This is what I wrote her back. I was SO upset. All I wanted to know was if I could change the names on the room if we booked it. I knew the rooming list was due on the 16th. I am not dumb. I'm sorry if your commissions have decreased, but I don't know how that works in the travel industry. You are OBVIOUSLY very upset about dealing with my group, and If I knew booking these rooms was going to be such a pain for you & me I would have never done a group block in the first place. I appreciated all the work you have done, and am very upset by your email. Apparently you are very resentful towards me, when all i wanted to know is if we could change the name on the room! You don't think I have been stressed on my end dealing with all this as well?? It's supposed to be the best day of my life and 90% of my stress is dealing with people not booking rooms and having this money looming over my head. My fiance and I have gotten into several fights just because of having this room block. Â Also, we booked our honeymoon through you because I was very happy with the job you were doing and I wanted to help your business. If we had booked it on our own we would have gotten a cheaper rate. I will let you know about the room today. I'm sorry you still have to deal with me.

I hate my TA too! In February we booked a block for 20 rooms. I did not want to book a block, but my fiance insisted on it, saying so many people wanted to come. We had to cancel 8 rooms (the max I could cancel without penalty). Our guests have been horrific with deadlines...but that's another story. Anyway, now that final payment is due we have 1 room left that is unbooked. Â ALL I DID was ask "Can we put names in the room and change at a later date?". She replied "Your rooming list is due August 16th." Then I replied "I would just like to know if I can change the names, i understand if there is a fee. It doesn't make sense to not be able to change a name". Â After the 2nd name change question. This is what she replied..... You signed a contract and agreed to certain terms and conditions of this group booking. When you contacted me you could not wait for the original agent you contacted to get back because you so wanted this group contract. Since then you have not abided by terms and conditions of that booking. We have reduced the contract down by 8 rooms and I waived all of our Sand and Sun fees for you in doing that caused me to do more work with no compensation. I have done my best to accommodate all the changes you wanted and keep the fees on you to a minimum. I even noticed that the Jr. Suite Ocean Fronts were running on low inventory. I knew you were really wanting to get upgraded to that category but the upgrades do not get determined until all guests pay in full. So to make sure you got the room you wanted I had them add that room category to the contract in place of your Jr. Suite Ocean View and had the significant price differnce taken from my commission. As I stated the final rooming list is due to them on August 16th as is clearly stated in the contract you signed. So you need to either cancel the unbooked room at a 2 night penalty or book someone into it so that I can submit their name(s) in the rooming list. IF booking the room, $35.00 per change fee applies to any changes made and if you book people into the room and there are any cancellations (either of a guest or of the entire room) within 40 days prior to arrival they are in full cancellation penalty. If a guest or a room cancellation occurs before the 40 day prior mark there is a 2 night cancellation penalty. Please let me know if you would like the room cancelled or give me the name(s) of guests to place in that room. Â Am I wrong to think she is being really rude???? This email really upset me, like i'm not stressed enough that we could still lose $600 by not having this room booked. I have been so nice to get everything I owe her in a timely manner and this is what she writes me? I even booked my honeymoon with her to support her business...even though I could have booked it elsewhere for cheaper. I am not happy right now. PLUS...I never asked her to take off the fees or anything like that. It's not my fault.

I have Angie Silva too...but thus far she has not replied to 2 emails I sent her

I think all the pricing depends on what package you get...or if you go "a la carte". I know I'm paying $25 pp for private dinner for my package, which is the Classic. But some people pay more, some less depending on the exact pkg you choose.

Has anyone worked with Angie? She was assigned to me last month. I emailed her twice and no response...typical I guess? I think I will try contacting her using basecamp. I would like some response since it is less than 3 months before my wedding. How annoying! Also...has anyone used (or going to use) Adrian Herrera or Octavio Montes? The prices are good! So I'm thinking of booking one of them.

Quote: Originally Posted by jesmcan Your welcome The PX90, it is amazing. But you really need to be able to devote an hour a day to it. Both FI and I did it and I lost 30 lbs and he looks amazing. I started out with weight watchers and now I just do the things none of us want to do lol. Fruit, veggies, protein only one cup of carbs a day lol. I have to say though I feel great. P90X is an awesome program! I actually didn't have time to complete the whole thing (it's 90 days) so I started to do a program called Insanity. Insanity is a 60 day program which is VERY cardio intensive. I sweat my booty off every day! I haven't lost that much weight yet, but my clothes finally fit me again!! I also go to the gym 3 days a week during lunch to do weights. I also cut out drinking during the week and cut out desserts...as well as limiting my portions big time! I splurge on the weekends, but I think i might be cutting down on that too. Here is a link where you can buy p90X or insanity (they also have a 30 day money back guarantee)... http://teambeachbody.com/shop/-/shopping?referringRepId=25031

For the people that used Adrian...did he come to your room or do you go to a salon? Thanks!!

I found these a couple months ago...they are pictures of the Spa Menu. They were originally posted in 2007, so maybe prices have gone up? But it gives you a good idea of what they offer and general pricing. http://www.flickr.com/photos/cgiurgiu

Luciel, I feel your pain! I'm having my wedding the week after yours Unfortunately I made the mistake of booking 20 group rooms (b/c of my FI's persistence). We have filled 9 of the rooms so far. 2 rooms were booked separately because of timing issues. Luckily we were able to cancel 5 of the rooms. But we still have 6 left to fill! PLUS, last week we made an additional deposit (over $2,000) to keep the rooms we had because they weren't filled yet. I'm trying to tell people to PLEASE book ASAP but nobody does! I even made the RSVP in mid-July thinking it might spur some people to book, but it hasn't at all. Plus...about 60% of the people who said they were coming in the beginning (also part of the reason we booked so many rooms) aren't coming at all. I cried alot about this last week...I feel it is such an unnecessary burden and stress. I feel like people are being so rude. At least having a DW you know who REALLY wants to come and support you! That is what I am trying to get from this situation...hehe.

I love this thread! Planning a DW is not as stress free as I would have hoped! For the first couple of months after we had booked our location, my FMIL was ALWAYS trying to get me to look at local places. Saying..."well now almost all my family can't go" and "what about the people with kids...how are they going to be able to come"... "why are you making it so hard for people". Luckily she has been better lately. I'm lucky most of my immediate family loves Caribbean vacations. The most hurtful comment came from one of my cousins who said to my mom "If she really wanted me to come she wouldn't have had the wedding in Mexico, she obviously doesn't her own family to come because it's going to be so expensive"...AND he goes on about 6 vacations a YEAR! Now he & my mom aren't talking...it was such a disaster. At least now we know the people who are going to come are genuinely happy for us and want to have an amazing time!!

Hi Heidi! I reserved the location about a month before our site visit...and picked the package at the same time. The most important thing is to definitely pick out your Date/Time! Then 2nd most important is to book your locations for each part of the wedding so you can ensure you get them. We booked the Gazebo for Ceremony/ Garden for cocktails/ Beach for Reception and ended up sticking with that after the site visit. We saw the Ballroom as well, and it's definitely a nice ballroom, but everything looks much better outside. I was very relieved to at least know we would have a nice place in case of rain. They have some decorations, but I would probably recommend mostly bringing your own if you can. I'm getting flowers from the resort, but bringing the rest (table runners, candle holders, paper lanterns, chair sashes). I was also planning on buying some shells when I got there. For hotel rooms, I booked those about a couple weeks after the site visit. I used a great travel agent. Unfortunately I did a group booking and only about 1/2 the rooms were booked by the 1st deadline. We have had to fork up way too much money to keep the rooms on hold for our uber-lazy guests. It is very stressful! So I would HIGHLY recommend using a travel agent for Individual bookings (not group). During the site visit, we did get to enjoy a nice tasting for free, but they don't offer you any other incentives at all. It's very much a take it or leave it kind of place since so many people want to have weddings there. Hope this helps! Natalie

We're doing a sweetheart table too. My parents are divorced as well. I have my dad & stepmom sitting with some of my friends that they know, and my mom will be sitting with her family & friends. It works out well luckily! I also didn't want to have assigned seating, but my sister (who has planned alot of weddings), said that is a bad idea because people will spend a long time trying to find a seat. Then people end up moving place settings and it ends in a problem.

Quote: Originally Posted by Shirley_Ken Hello, Elsa is my wedding coordinator and I just had a question about the cocktail hour. I was originally quoted 10 dollars per person to upgrade to the hot hors d'oeuvres with the open bar. Elsa is now telling me that hot hors d'oeuvres are no longer available, but if I have an email saying that she can specially request them but it will now be 20 dollars per person. I think this is totally unfair! Is anyone else getting married between now and December who is doing this upgrade so I can use this as bargaining leverage? I'm angry and super frustrated! Also, I have been told that I CANNOT have the chaivari chairs anymore either Oh no!! I was told I can have chivari & hot hors d'oeuvres too! She quoted me a $15 charge for hot hd's. That is not good, I'm going to email by WC (Angie) and see what the deal is.

I was also told I could choose 2 entrees, and from multiple menus. But as luck would have it, we ended up choosing all from one I'm going to have maracas as "place cards" and tie peoples names to them with their table number. I'm going to have teal ribbons for people who order fish, and coral colored ribbons for people who order beef.

Yes, the RSVP thing has been a major pain! My deadline was last week. We made it early because we ended up booking a group for the hotel rooms which the deadline was June 30th....we figured we should make both dates around the same time so people would make plans. That DID NOT happen! We have only gotten around 1/2 back as well. I'm going to start calling people in August. My exciting news is my wedding bands are being made, woohoo! Now I just have to lose the 15 lbs I gained in the last year in time for my dress fitting in September...it's crunch time.

Quote: Originally Posted by giraffexx in regards to the vendor fee...does anyone know if that fee applies per vendor or per person that the vendor brings in. for example if you are using an outside photographer and they bring an assistant would you have to pay a vendor fee for both people or just one fee per vendor? thanks ladies! The fee is per vendor, you wouldn't have to pay additional for assistants

Quote: Originally Posted by Meghan18 Hello All!!! I am getting married at the Gran on Jan. 15th (exactly 6 months away!) We starting planning really early and have been taking a break - and now its time to jump back in! I was wondering if anyone has used the resort photographers/is going to use them (sorry if this has already been discussed - so hard to get through all these helpful posts!)?? I've seen a lot about bringing in an outside vendor, which I've looked into a little, but budgetwise it would be nice to just go with the resort photog.....but I love everyone's amazing pics. Decisions, decisions! Has anyone heard abt the quality of their work? Thanks! Hi Meghan! I'm going to be using the resort photographers. I saw a big book of their photos while on my site visit and they are pretty good. I LOVE the work by some other photographers (especially Elizabeth Medina)...but the good ones are out of my budget...plus the outside vendor fee is a killer. I just can't see spending tons of money on photos when I would rather spend it on other things. I'm also going with the DJ from the hotel...which happens to be Dorremix, yay!!

Hi Ladies! I haven’t been on here in a while, but my wedding date is only 3 months away so I’m back in planning mode! Advice…it is MUCH less stressful to do individual bookings than group. My FI insisted on a group (which we ended up with 15 rooms) but still people haven’t booked (despite the June 30 deadline on my invite). So now we have to put additional money to continue to hold the rooms. A lot of people said they were coming and are now deciding not to. We seem to be getting a lot of mixed reactions from family and friends about the location. People are either very excited or p-od at us for having it far away and it being “expensive” but people don’t understand the value of a nice all-inclusive! GRRR…I just wanted to get that off my chest I just got an email from Angie Silva from the new website they are using. I didn’t even know until then that the US offices closed! I wonder if she will be the local WC at the time of the wedding? Love everyone’s pictures…they are gorgeous!!

Quote: Originally Posted by dejacque Have any of you booked DJ Doremixx to be your DJ? From all of the various reviews I've read, he sounds awesome. Would we go through the Wedding Coordinator to reserve him or contact him directly? Since Doremixx is the DJ they use at the Royal, I booked through the hotel. It is technically the same price...BUT if you don't book them through the hotel, they charge a $350 outside vendor fee! Yikes

Quote: Originally Posted by dianep what kind of experience have you ladies had with the flowers for your bouquets? i kind of want to piece together my own bouquet vs. just chosing one from their list. as long as they have the flowers available, they're able to make it, right? i have the classic package (at the gran porto), which comes with a semi-private reception. have any of you had to make an upgrade for your private reception? i would love to have it on the beach instead of at one the the resort restaurants. what are the options/logistics of doing this? i'm still waiting to hear back from my WC... going on 2 weeks now. Hi Diane! In regards to the flowers, I just called my WC to ask the very same question last week. What I was told is that it is extremely highly recommended to pick from their catalog. You can switch colors on any of them, but not the design. If you want to do something customized, they charge a "design fee", which could be up to $500!

diana&steve0304 - April 3, 2010 Shining - April 17, 2010 kimmy44 - April 21, 2010 jcooper79 - April 22, 2010 aerazo - April 23, 2010 llm78 - April 25, 2010 kimmy44 - April 28, 2010 AprilandRyan - May 1, 2010 jennie.lewis - May 7, 2010 SDbeachgirl - May 7, 2010 LynnieS - May 14, 2010 Lexibride - May 15, 2010 tutti1299 - May 15, 2010 dianep - May 15, 2010 (gran) astreit - May 16, 2010 boolo318 - May 28, 2010 Denisema00 - May 29, 2010 Lady_Di - May 29, 2010 candicemarie - June 5, 2010 kenlyn8984 - June 10, 2010 ~Stephanie~ - June 11, 2010 super19 - June 21, 2010 louise_pernell - June 25, 2010 2mckee- June 27, 2010 cinny726 - June 2010 Pattie - June 2010 Jamk32179- September 18, 2010 smckinney22 - October 9, 2010 ReidCapote - October 24, 2010 Shirley_Ken - October 28, 2010 Natalie79 - October 30, 2010 Celine- November 5, 2010 bmlynch - November 6, 2010 Randi - November 11, 2010 Trinas79 - November 11, 2010 jesmcan - November 12, 2010 futuremrs1113-November 13, 2010 giraffexx - November 19, 2010 mslisaaragon - November 22, 2010 Lisa DSO- November 24, 2010 Jenny310 - November 27, 2010 MichaelandAraceli- December 18, 2010 FutureMrsYak- January 11,2011 pineapplebride - *maybe* April 2011 speedy130 - May 7, 2011 stevensfiance - 2010 -Royal, Cancun

I'm worried about the weather too! I'm at the end of October. In 2006, that's when Hurricane Wilma lingered there for about 2 days and did alot of damage. (We also got slammed by Wilma in Ft Lauderdale....I was out of power for 2 weeks!) But the odds of that happening again are very slim!! With rain...I would really LOVE to have my reception on the beach. But I saw the backup areas. The ceremony would be in a hallway (A very pretty one!) . The reception would be in the ballroom...which is actually very nice. So I'm comfortable knowing it wouldn't throw a total kink in things if it rained.

Quote: Originally Posted by dejacque Does anyone know how long it typically takes to get a final date reservation confirmation? Once they process the deposit do they send some sort of confirmation? I'm anxious to get my STD's printed and out, but don't want to until I hear back. I got a verbal confirmation as soon as I sent the credit card form. She also sent me an e-mail confirmation a couple days later. You should ask from an email confirmation just in case....but if they said you are all set then you should be good to go!!