Natalie79

We are also going with the Classic and upgrading. The Luxury just has too many things that we won't need. We are expecting about 60 people and we are upgrading to hot/cold hors d'oeuvres & open bar during cocktail hour (an extra $15 pp) and also doing a private dinner reception ($25 pp). We're also getting a guitarist for cocktail hour and DJ and photographer from the resort. Plus I'm getting hair/makeup there. With all the extras we're getting...it's still going to be about $1,200 less than Luxury. I attached the most recent price list I have a chair question....I have seen lots of pics of covered chairs, folding chairs and chivari chairs online for diff. weddings. Does anyone know what type of chairs are included and if any of them cost extra?? My sis is a wedding/event planner and really wants me to insist on Chivari Chairs, hehe. New Wedding Price list 2010 (12-8-09).xls

Quote: Originally Posted by speedy130 I tried reading back so I apologize if this was covered before. I'm still deciding between a legal or symbolic ceremony. Right now I'm trying to compare costs. I know blood tests are about $170. Do you know the additional costs beyond that? We both have never been married before, so we don't have to worry about any extra paperwork other than our passports. What I am most confused about is coming home. Does anyone know what the requirements are, once you are married in Mexico, to have the documentation legal in the US? Do you have to have it all translated and apostilled? How much does all of that cost? What are you ladies planning on doing? We decided to do Symbolic. We are lucky enough to have a good friend who has married other couples and is going to do the symbolic ceremony for us in Mexico. That is going to save us $400 for the judge and $170 for the bloodwork. To get your marriage license and court wedding here in Florida is only about $100 total and you don't need witnesses. We are going to go to the courthouse to get married the day before we leave for Mexico....but are going to keep it hush hush since I think my mom would go a little nuts. I also heard that it can take up to 4 months to get your legal certificate from Mexico and in most states you need it translated, which costs even more money. I think getting legally married at home makes it so much easier!

Diane - Lili was really nice and she did a really good job answering all of our questions. She seems very calm under pressure which is a good thing I asked her if she was going to be my WC there but they don't get assigned until about 2 months out.

Hi Ladies! I went a few weeks ago for my site visit and tasting. Here is what we tasted and chose...I'm doing the Classic Package with the Private Dinner added on. The "classic" private dinner includes 3 courses. We also tasted soups, which are on the "luxury" private dinner menu. But I thought 4 courses would be a little much so we are sticking with the Classic. We had the site visit with Lili, she said you can choose 2 entrees but you can't offer a choice of apps or desserts. Salads/Apps 1. (what we chose) Avocado with Crab salad - basically pure crab meat overflowing out of a small hollowed out avocado. It needed a little salt but other than that was very good and fresh. 2. Smoked Shrimp Pineapple salad - GROSS! Presentation was awesome, the shrimp was way too smokey and there was this weird layer of pukey flavored jello on the bottom. 3. Spring Vegetable Salad - I had picked the goat cheese thing but this is what they gave me. It was basically peas, carrots and corn mixed with mayo. I wouldn't recommend at all. Soups ALL were awesome! We just decided that we would rather just have 3 courses to give us some more time on the dance floor. We tried the Cream of Spinach, Creamy Vegetable, and Clam Chowder. If I had to pick my one fav it would prob be the Cream of Veggie. Entrees 1. (what we chose) Beef Tournedo with mushroom sauce - Steak was cooked perfectly and sauce complemented well. I'm not a mushroom fan and was glad there weren't an abundance of mushrooms. 2. Beef Filet with Dijon Sauce - Perfectly cooked again. My fiance prefered the mushroom sauce. I was 50/50...if you like mustard this one was great...it just gave a hint of the flavor to the meat. 3. Chicken with Seafood Stuffing & Almond Sauce - Really bad! Chicken was good, the stuffing was REALLY fishy and dry. - We didn't taste any snapper, but we decided to go with just a Sauteed Snapper (no stuffing) for our 2nd entree choice. Desserts 1. (what we chose) Cannoli Trio - It was delicious! Even though it's not really a "canolli". It's more like 3 small croissant-ish pastries filled with a chocolate-praline filling. The filling was super creamy but not heavy. 2. The Chocolate Shell with fruit - I liked this one alot and it has a great presentation. I just thought the flavor of the cannolis were a little better. 3. I don't even remember! haha...the other 2 were so much better.

Added myself to the list 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 MichaelandAraceli- December 18, 2010 Lisa DSO- January 1, 2011 FutureMrsYak- January 11,2011 pineapplebride - *maybe* April 2011 speedy130 - May 7, 2011 stevensfiance - 2010 -Royal, Cancun

Quote: Originally Posted by bmlynch hello ladies. im so bad at replying on this blogs. So i sent my save the date and i believe my family went alittle to crazy and we invited 270 people and so far 50 people booked.for nov.. getting nervous the hotel wont be able to hold that many people on the beach!! I have been working with Carole and has responded well to me and my fiance. But the rates she has given me the internet prices beat which is bothering me a lot anyone else having this problem? I'm trying to get rates too! I'm getting married the week before you We are inviting 160 people and am nervous about eveyone coming as well, hehe. Did you get a group rate? I'm trying to get a "group rate" but don't want to pay a deposit for each room. I found the best rates so far from Cheapcaribbean.com, but they can't hold rates for more than 24 hours ALL BRIDES - how are your guests booking their rooms?? The whole room process seems way too complicated! LYNNIE - We are going with 2 entrees (Beef & Snapper) We just have to provide different colors on the place cards to notate who got what.

Quote: Originally Posted by smckinney22 Question for the brides that have gone through the process... 1) How do you pay for the balance of your wedding package? Is it paid for 45days before you get there via credit card or do you pay it once you get down there and that way they have a more accurate total? I heard something about credit card companies charging fees for international charges so wasn't sure what was the best way to take care of it. 2) Did any of you ladies use cell phones while down there to keep in contact with your guests? How bad was the charges on your bills when you got back Appreciate any info you can give! You can pay by check or credit card. On the contract they have the address to mail check to. Since it's the U.S. part of the company that charges you, there shouldnt be any international charges. Hope this helps!

Quote: Originally Posted by jenconrad OK....so the resort is totally sold out for most of the week of my wedding. We have a few stragglers that want to come. Does anyone know how much it costs to stay at the Gran Porto but pay for passes everyday to be able to use all the facilities at the Royal. So basically they sleep at the Gran, but party with us all week! Any info would be greatly appreciated, I tried searching but got overwhelmed. Jen Hi Jen! When we went there for our site visit, we asked about getting a Day Pass and they quoted us a price of $85 for ONE day only. But, I know the hotel was sold out. That must be there max price. I think the more occupied the hotel, the higher the day pass price.

I finally read through most of the thread!! hehe I just signed the contract for my 10-30-10 wedding at the Royal. I'm sorry to hear about all the difficulties everyone is having. My WC, Doreen has been great answering questions on the phone but is not too great over email. But it definitely seems super hectic over there. I went for a site visit a couple weekends ago, and the resort is amazing. We didn't get to stay there unfortunately, but we did have access to the Gran Porto, which is very nice too. Since I booked with the "new" pricing, the vendor fee was $350, so I am using the Royal's photographer. Luckily they use Dorremix for the DJ! I have a question about getting a group rate...They told me I need to put down a deposit for the 1st night of each room. That seems a little crazy to me. I tried getting a TA to help me with this but he said he can't get in touch with them. Does anyone have a block of rooms there without a deposit??

I'm also in the process of booking with Adrian, his photos look great and well worth the price. I'm so glad he was available! There is an outside vendor fee at the Royal Playa del Carmen?? Because I'm planning on bringing a DJ in too. I hope it's not too much!

I just booked him! I sent an e-mail to him and he got back to me very promptly. He also sends out to all prospects tons of pics of the events and 2 massive song lists, one in Spanish and one in English. That will be helpful since half of my family is Cuban You can also bring your ipod or CD with any additional songs and he will play them. I also really liked that he sent a sample timeline of the wedding with suggested songs. I'm debating about the light up dance floor...which is additional.

1. name - Natalie Albert 2. wedding date - 10/30/10 3. wedding location - Royal Playa del Carmen Brand new here...so glad I found this site! I have found so much great information. If anyone has any tips on the Royal PDC, please feel free to pass it on! Just officially booked the date yesterday