AndreaD

Hello, I got married at the Royal Cancun in August and everything was SPECTACULAR! (phew!!) we got married in the chapel and had our reception in one of the ballrooms at the Royal. I haven't posted a review yet, but will do so in the next week or so. If you have any questions, please PM me and I'll be happy to help! In short, the ceremony was beautiful, the service was excellent. The food was served hot, the cake was delicious, and I was impressed. I had my nails, hair, and make up done by Mariana at SpAzul and she was phenomenal...I could not have imagined a better person to help me with the "beauty" stuff on my wedding day. I will write more later on, but I want to assure you that everything went well!

the title of your post made me laugh....in my line of work, STD means something else---something you wouldn't find funny on your fiance!

I received an e-mail message from a friend (if I can call her that) with some kind of excuse for not going to my wedding in Cancun because of her fears. I replied with a list of links for news stories from around the U.S. about violence and bad weather. Sadly, it wasn't hard to find 10 recent news stories about random acts of violence. I also included some from our state. I haven't heard back from her, so I figured that she got the point. Looking back, I should have included a map indicating where Cancun is and where the violence that is making the news is occurring (to illustrate the distance). However, bad things can happen anywhere. Some places are riskier than others, but no place is immune. Don't let these people get you down. The people who are going WANT to be there and WANT to have a good time!

I like the idea of putting a link to the travel advisory for Mexico.

Thanks for the info! Pierre will photograph my wedding and TTD session next month. My fiance and I met him and we both felt that he is a talented, experienced photographer who is very professional. Your pictures are outstanding!

I know how you feel... There are some people among my guests who may be nervous, but once they get to Cancun, they will realize that it is NOT like they make "Mexico" out to be in the news. If people refuse to go because they are afraid, then you are better off not having them at your wedding (who wants a wet blanket?). I noticed that the people who are going to my DW in Cancun are the people that like to have fun and people who love us. I think it'll be a great environment to spend the few days before the "BIG" day. Once you get replies and guests start to book, you will be looking forward to the wedding and not caring much about the people who aren't going or people who mentioned negative things.

By the way, my fiance's single guys friends were TERRIBLE at not RSVPing. He had to call them to learn that they were coming after all. My advice is to use your judgement. You shouldn't have to call all of the people who haven't RSVPed.

Welcome! I love this forum!! The brides I "met" on this site have helped me tremendously. Happy planning!

Cynthia, you are as beautiful on the outside as you are on the inside! You have been tremendously helpful in assisting me with my wedding next month at the Royal Cancun. I am SO happy that you have such gorgeous pictures of your wedding!

From my experience, people started replying either through phone calls, e-mails, or mailing the card back the week that the RSVP was due (July 1). Now, one week later, I am still getting replies. My advice is to state a date that is well in advance of the date that you need a head count. The reception site may be able to accomodate a few "surprise" guests. If it is too late, then don't let another person's failure to do the right thing create an emergency for you.

I'd like to share some advice for brides to be like me that are waiting to hear back from people. Remember to check your voicemail (home phone as well as cell phone) and all of your e-mail addresses including your Facebook, MySpace, and other social media accounts especially ones you don't check often. The same goes for your FI. There are some people that contact you in ways other than mailing the card back to you. I checked an e-mail account that I typically check once per week and I received a message from my friend explaining why she can't go to our DW. I suppose it is more personal than sending the card back checked 'no' but less personal than telling me directly through a phone call. It goes back to the fact that many people find it difficult to say 'no, I can't go'. I have also noticed some friends that have kept their distance since I sent the invites. I would have expected an acknowledgment that they received the invitation, but I suspect that they are not able to go.

Hello everyone, I am the type of person who likes to be focused in the moments before a big event ---final exams, job interviews, presentations, etc... Although distractions can help me forget how nervous I am, they can also cause me to be absentminded. Because of this, I was adamant about not having the photographer or videographer come to my room right before I walk down the aisle. I believed that I would be too distracted to enjoy the time with the people helping me get ready and that I will not be able to take care of any last-minute emergencies if I have to pretend to be serene. I was also concerned that the distraction of the photographer and videographer would cause me to forget something in the room---like my earrings. However, now that my wedding is two months away, I am starting to rethink this decision. Perhaps I'll be all set and ready to go an hour before the ceremony and the time I spend with these professionals will not only provide a way to kill time and distract me from my nerves, but life long memories. I appreciate your thoughts, brides and brides-to-be! By the way, my fiance does not want the "getting ready" shots of him. Therefore, if I do this, we would only have pictures and videos of me during this stage, so it would be one-sided.

Great info Abby! The 'A La Carte' feature on the Real Resorts site helped us with our selections HOWEVER ask the WC to send you the catalog. This is a .pdf document of the ceterpieces, bouquets (standard and luxury), boutonnieres (standard and luxury), corsages, etc... Originally, we used the 'A La Carte' menu on the website for our selections. I recorded the code for each item and I also sent screen shots of the selections to the WC along with the code. For instance, I took a screen shot of the boutonniere and another one of the cake and so on. Each picture was sent as an attachment. The WC noticed that some codes didn't correspond to the pictures and she sent me the catalogs. The catalogs have essentially the same things that the website offers, but there were several things we didn't see before. My advice is to take screen shots so that you can send pictures along with the codes.

Gorgeous pictures!

I could have written the original post. My deadline is in two days and I have not received any RSVPs in the past 10 days. What happened to courtesy? This is not a backyard barbecue at my house! However, from experience, I know how difficult it is to say "I can't go" to a DW of someone close to you. This happened to me a few years ago when I was a broke grad student and received an invitation to a friend's DW. My strategy is to follow up only with friends/family who said that they would make it and to assume that the rest are not going. I think that if I were planning on attending a DW, I would call or e-mail the bride to let her know that I am looking forward to the wedding. I have a few extra favors on hand and to count on the RSVPs I did receive. The resort should be able to accomodate a few extra guests. If a guest doesn't get an out of town bag or favor, who cares. You can mail one to them later.

Hello Andrea, I like your name I am also getting married at the Royal in August. This is a great forum with a lot of helpful information. I will be happy to help!

Congratulations Maria! I am getting married there in August. I will be happy to help. This is a great forum with lots of helpful information

Thanks! I write out my to-do lists on pieces of paper. I update the list each week with a new sheet. Although I like the feeling of physically crossing things off the list (good riddance!), I was thinking of switching to Excel. Thank you so much for this resource!! It is very, very helpful

A month to go for August 2010!! Our wedding is Aug 28 at the Royal in Cancun! It seems like this year flew by.

Go for it! It is a unique idea, definitely not a crazy one. It is a 'thank you' and a nice souvenir for the ones who attended. The personal note makes it meaningful. The people who sent you a gift, but did not make it to the DW can get a nice card. The only thing to watch out for is how long it will take to produce. You do want to send the 'thank yous' soon after you get back from your honeymoon. However, if you are able to send them out in the next month or two, it would be perfect. Imagine their surprise when they see it in the mail I'm like the other brides in that I would love to know how you are going to go about creating this!

I think it would make for a unique and personal 'thank you' to the guests. They will know that you put a lot of time and effort on it....just as long as you include a personal message for the recipients

Thank you for posting. I will also have a Catholic ceremony at the Chapel. I wanted to ask you if you had programs and how you went about selecting the different elements of the ceremony (i.e. first and second readings, etc...). Did you work with the Parish in Cancun or a coodinator at the resort? Thanks

Looking forward to reading your review!

I am having the same problem

Beautiful! Thank you so much for the information