orange_peel

AWESOME! You've got great taste.

Good question, as I didn't even think about them getting mixed up at the resort. Not all of my guests used them at the resort, and the ones who did were always with those who didn't, so they didn't get mixed up. If your guests are going to be using them, I think it's a good idea to have some kind of more permanent way to add their names. Good luck!!

OK Ladies! I've done it! I finished my Planning Thread & Review! Hope it helps, and let me know if you have any questions! PLANNING: http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/thread/73730/sarah-s-royal-playa-del-carmen-planning-thread#post_1611808 REVIEW: http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/products/the-royal-in-playa-del-carmen-all-inclusive-spa-resort/reviews/4642

This is my After-The-Face Planning Thread. Let me know if you have any questions. Hope you find it helpful! Enjoy!! We got engaged last summer (2010). We knew we wanted a wedding where we got a chance to actually hang out and see our family. His extended family is in South America and he hadn’t seen his cousins or aunts/uncles in years. My family is spread out across the USA and my little brother lives in Asia, and it had been years since we’d seen each other as well. A destination wedding was perfect for us to give us more time to spend with our families and friends. Mexico was a perfect compromise, since English was prevalent, and, well, of course, Spanish is the native language. We chose the Royal Playa del Carmen, mostly because of his parents’ requests. They had been there months before, and had loved it so much they became Real Members. They hosted us and our families to a week-long vacation together. We sent out “Save-the-Date†magnets that we ordered on Etsy pretty quickly, along with information on how to reserve the rooms. I know it was different for us since we are members. We had our invitations printed on Zazzle pretty cheaply, with stamps and Thank-You cards to match. We just moved to NYC, and I searched for a few days for my dress with some of my friends. After falling in love with a dress at way over my budget, I found a dress (by myself) at RK Bridal, which is a discount bridal store. It is not anything what I thought I would like. I dragged my brother’s girlfriend to see it that next weekend, and she encouraged me to get it. I’m so glad I did. It’s different, but elegant. The brand is Allure. Photos of it on the model, and photos of it on me at my dress fitting: I got my “Trash the Dress†dress from Ebay. The brand is BCBG. It looked beautiful under water. I got my hair piece custom-made from Etsy.com. I sent her (Clark and Diversey) a photo of the flowers on my dress, and she came up with this: http://www.etsy.com/listing/66410913/white-and-ivory-flower-with-feathers I wore my mom’s diamond around my neck, and found some sparkly jewelry on Broadway for under $20! For my other outfits during the week, I went to Nordstrom Rack (for some great bargains), Century 21, Loehman’s, and H&M. My bridesmaids are three very beautiful women with different body types and skin colors who are spread out in three different states. I finally decided to just pick a color and have them pick out their dresses. I wanted something inexpensive, so I searched and searched the internet, finally deciding on David’s Bridal, because one store was in each of their cities. The color is Sangria (perfect for Mexico!), and each picked a gorgeous dress. I went with mango calla lilies for their bouquets from Maya Diseno. Last summer, Men’s Wearhouse was having a huge sale, and we got an awesome linen suit for the groom, and a beautiful white shirt. The groomsmen ordered these shirts and these pants on line from these retailers. http://www.cubavera.com/100-Cotton+Cotton-Blend/Textured-Cotton-Shirt/invt/ccfw0033ds&bklist=icat,4,shop,cufeatures,cugroom, http://www.islandimporter.com/product.php?productid=15&cat=24&page=1 We are avid barefoot runners/enthusiasts. So we gave our bridesmaids and groomsmen some huaraches (sandals) to wear with their attire. The groom and I wore some too. I sewed some blue thread on my sandals for my “something blue.†The people who altered my dress almost had a heart-attack that I wasn’t wearing heels, but, that’s not my style! And my feet didn’t hurt the next day. They are by Luna Sandals - the original Lunas with hemp laces. http://lunasandals.com/sandals/2-the-original-luna My groom treated his groomsmen to a Fishing Trip (see below), and I treated my ladies to a mani/pedi at the SPAzul at the Royal. Also for my bridesmaids, I handmade some bracelets with vintage jewelry and some thread - for an updated/fashionable friendship bracelet. They loved them. I knew I wanted some Mexican traditions at my wedding. Calla lilies, like a Diego Rivera painting, and papel picado. I found some papel picado banners, and had them custom-made with our names on them from Ay Mujer at Etsy.com. They were perfect. So, then I thought, I can do that! And I attempted to make some papel picado flags as name cards and some table numbers. It took way too long, but I had fun doing it. I don’t really suggest any one else doing this, just leave it up to the professionals! Everyone loved them, though I saw many on the ground after our wedding, just as I had expected. I don’t think anyone really knew how long it took to make them! My poor (now) husband was dragged into helping me glue them, too. He’s a good sport. I got the frames from Target for $1.99. Can’t beat that! Here are photos: I got some tulle online from Joann’s fabric. After different plans, we decided to just put them down the center of the tables, and the rest to wrap around our gazebo. Photos of the gazebo with the papel picado flags and the tulle: We had Marvin from Maya Diseno create these beautiful centerpieces with mango and purple/pink calla lilies. They were perfect. Photos of the tables: We nixed the OOT bags, and just stuffed some mugs full of aloe and hand sanitizer. I wrapped a ribbon around them, and the staff at the Royal handed them out as our guests arrived. People loved them. We included a brochure and a map of where everyone was coming from, all over the world. The brochure also had a “suggested itinerary,†which helped so much! We ordered an engravable frame from Overstock.com for our “guestbookâ€. We loved the look of it - and our guests loved it, too. We put all this (and these stuffed animals for the kids) in a huge suitcase we got for $40 in Chinatown! My photographer was awesome. Hiram Trillo Art-Photography. We did a bridal session at my old hometown inTexas, then a Trash The Dress session at some cenotes in Mexico the day after. The photo speaks for itself. He has an amazing eye. My cousin called him a “wizard.†He works so hard, and does an amazing job. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=6874973&id=41210241877 We decided to do a couple of excursions while we were in Playa. The groomsmen and a few other guys went out on a Fishing Trip with Fishing with Ivan. They had a blast. I highly recommend it! Then, we got a group together and did the Mayan Xtreme Tour with Aventuras Mayas. I highly recommend them, and our tour guide Israel (Izzy). He was hilarious, genuine, and so caring, especially to my mom who was a little scared! We did a zip-line, repelling, and a snorkel through some cenotes. We all got to be on the same bus, and got a 10% discount by ordering online. Other things we did that I highly recommend: Eyelash extensions! One of my best investments. I got them done at JJ Eyelashes in NYC, with a Yelp coupon. I went for drama (hey! it’s my wedding week!) and I got the longest ones. People still thought they were natural. I didn’t touch mascara the whole time, and it worked great for my TTD session, as mascara wasn’t running down my face. Natural and dramatic. Dance Lessons- We took 7 dance lessons from Dance Manhattan, and had a dance choreographed to some fun music. We did a foxtrot then a swing dance. My husband loves ballroom dancing (how lucky am I?). We kept it a surprise, and everyone was so impressed. They loved it. No one could stop smiling. iPad Slideshow. We put together a slideshow of all kinds of photos: old family photos, and at least one photo of everyone from our wedding. We passed it around at our Welcome Cocktail, and had it on a table at the wedding, and again at our Goodbye Breakfast. It was so much fun, and I thought better than having a formal projector, because the iPad is so interactive. There was a lot of, “Wait, Let me see that again!†and “Who is that?†so the iPad was perfect. - Photosharing website: We are using imgur.com as our photo-sharing website. It’s so fun that everyone is uploading their photos, so we can see the many perspectives.

TEST <img src="http://i.imgur.com/6o624.png" title="Hosted by imgur.com" />

The best investment I made (besides in my new husband!) were my eyelash extensions! I am one who usually doesn't wear a whole lot of make-up, but I was so excited for my eyelashes! I looked fabulous at all times - in the water and out. No mascara running, just naturally amazing at all times. Everyone was commenting on them the whole week of my wedding! I thought about keeping it a secret, but I had to tell everyone to try them out for themselves. I got them in NYC at JJ Eyelashes http://jjeyelashes.com/. I had a Yelp coupon for 50% off. I got the longest ones you could get, and fanned them out at the edges. They did a great job. I highly recommend getting eyelash extensions instead of using prescriptions (Latisse), wearing fake ones just the day of, or wearing tons of mascara that may end up oozing down your face by the end of a swim or, worse, your wedding day!

Ladies, I highly recommend a trial before the big day! I had a Brazilian and my legs waxed for the first time - and my legs got hyperpigmented like crazy, unfortunately. It kind of looked like I had a disease. At least my wedding dress was long!

My dress was silk (with a lace overlay) and I wore a Commando slip and LOTS and LOTS of Clean powder. It really helped everything from sticking to my legs, and I danced the night away in the heat without a problem! I highly recommend both!

YOU CAN DO IT! Month 2 was, well, insane. I felt like I was wobbling/tired through the rest of the day until probably the last week of it. My suggestions: -Drink coffee before (not after) your workout (preferably black and at least 30 min before). It reduces muscle soreness! -Make sure you are getting enough protein (a digestible source like whey protein concentrate (it's better than whey protein isolate)) -Drink lots and lots of water -You may also try coconut water to replace electrolytes

Sorry I'm tired. It's my first day back!! HA!

*Also - you are allowed to KIDS have a Rehearsal Dinner with kids at the Royal. Sorry!

JHarris, I had three kids at my wedding at the Royal. One baby, one 11-year old, one 9-year old. They had no problems. It was $2.50 each for the Private Cocktail Hour, $1.25 each for the Champagne toast and cake, and $10.00 each for the Reception Dinner, and $2.50 each for the Extra hour. The baby did not have an extra charge (thank goodness). Also - you are allowed to have a Rehearsal Dinner with kids at the Royal. We discussed doing this, but we decided the better option for us was to just all meet at the Gran Porto Lobby Bar for drinks before dinner the night before our wedding. It was already included; we didn't have the budget to pay for another dinner. It turned out so great and the location was perfect (the ocean breeze!), and we ended up being the only party there (all 50 of us!). It was so informal, but so fun - everyone was meeting and mingling with each other, we had our iPad with a slideshow that was being passed around. What we had planned for one hour, ended by being two hours because everyone was having such an awesome time. Then, we all just split up for dinner, and met up again afterwards at the Royal Lobby Bar for more fun (the kids were in bed). Our group had a great time meeting each other before the big day. It was a great warm-up to the wedding. I HIGHLY recommend going this route if you want a more informal, relaxed, and fun atmosphere, and if $15 (or whatever it costs) per head is too much! Hope this helps!

Hi everyone! This is my last day at the Royal - and we've had an amazing time. Our wedding was perfect, the reception was so fun, and we've had so much fun seeing all of our family and friends around for so many days! We will write our review soon... but really quickly - DJ Doremixx was *INCREDIBLE*, Zulma was thorough and very on top of everything, the Central Gardens was a great location for a reception (it felt private, and no sandy dance floor!), the hotel staff will cater to your every request, SpAzul did an *AMAZING*AMAZING* job with my hair & makeup, also - do yourself a favor and schedule yourself a massage or two (they are so relaxing, very professional, and the best massages I've ever had), the boys had fun on the Fishing with Ivan excursion, and we had an awesome time on the Mayan Xtreme tour with Aventuras Mayas. Oh, and I have the best photographer ever. Really. We did a trash the dress session in some cenotes (underground rivers/caves) the day after our wedding, and the pictures are fantastic. Hiram Trillo (hiramtrillo.com) is his name - we flew him down from my (old) hometown of Fort Worth, Texas - he comes to Playa all the time and is very familiar with the area. Can't wait to share the photos! I recommend to all of you ladies - Relax. Keep it simple. And don't drown in the details. Everything will work out great! I will post a Planning Thread (if I can), and a Review soon! I plan to write about it on the plane. Now, off to my Romantic Moonlit Dinner!

Hi Heidi - We are at the Royal now and had the same question. They are able to do a projector in a ballroom for $250. It was not in our budget, so we decided to bring an iPad with a slideshow we had made. We brought it to all of our events - our welcome cocktail hour (we just took over the Lobby Bar at the Gran Porto), our wedding reception, and our goodbye breakfast (again, we just took over the Albatross restaurant at Gran Porto). Hope this helps!

Ok I want to make sure I don't sound anorexic here - clarification - I ate soup for ONE of my three meals every day. And now I am eating three full meals, and one that I am cooking - and my fiance eats a lot - so I make a lot of food - and usually end up eating half. I should just give him most of it instead of dividing down the middle! His metabolism is a lot faster than mine!

So great to hear, Speedy! Have an amazing wedding day! ENJOY! EEEK I leave in 18 days!

JenK - it sounds like you are gaining muscle... and muscle burns has a higher resting metabolic rate than fat, so if you keep building muscle, soon you will be burning more calories at rest, and the fat will come off. Also- from my experience, watching portion control is important. The first month of Insanity, I was also working at a hospital where the hospital food is pretty disgusting, so I stuck with soup for a meal every day. I lost a substantial amount of weight. Now that that rotation is over AND I'm cooking dinner every day for me and my fiance, 2 lbs of the weight has come back... even after doing Month 2 of Insanity and we eat really healthy (lots of fruits/veggies/protein from fish/quinoa/etc). I still feel good and look better than I have in the past... but I know that I need to watch the portions and the weight will come off again. And - don't always trust the scale, like KellyGrrrl was saying. Look at how your clothes are fitting - and, what should be more importantly, how you FEEL! Good luck everybody! I finally finished the whole round of Insanity - and I am doing some Month 1 workouts again (as a "rest" week) - and I'm adding in running and lots of walking everyday! I feel amazing! You will too!

Arica - Thanks for the very helpful review! I'm glad (most) everything turned out great, and all the glitches ended up being fixed. I have a question for you about how you personalized the script for your ceremony - did you get a script beforehand that you adjusted (with your vows/readings) or did you come up with your own? Any more details along those lines would be great! Thank you in advance! Also - we were planning to do a Unity Candle as well (outside at the Gazebo) - and now we are rethinking even bringing it! Our reception is outside at the Central Gardens. The candle was my Mom's idea anyway...

I'm on my last week! Ahhh! I'm in the best shape of my life right now. Good luck everybody. Stick to it, even on days you don't feel like doing it. Month 2 was sooo much harder than Month 1, and it is still a huge challenge, even after 4 weeks. There were days I felt awful and thought I couldn't make it through, but I did it! It does help to have my fiance doing the workouts with me... we have our own jokes at various times in the videos ("Take a break, keep going, take a break, keep going.") But really, anytime Shawn T. would say the word "break" in the Month 2 workouts, my body would almost shut down, and I have to force myself to keep going. It is getting better every day though, I notice a difference in how much I can push myself now versus when I first started. Since my wedding is still 1 month away, I'm thinking of mixing up the Month 1 and Month 2 workouts until the big day.

YAY! Welcome!

Just made my final payment! Bride + Groom + 51 Guests + 3 Kids! 05.27.11. YAY!!! We are getting a group together to do a tour with Aventura Maya - the Mayan Xtreme Tour - a couple days after our wedding. They were rated #1 on the Trip Advisor website. They said if we get >10 people, we can have our own bus. No group discounts, but there is a 10% discount if you book online. The guys are also doing a fishing trip with Fishing with Ivan. I'll let you know how they go!

I think the 2nd month (the Max workouts) workout your arms a lot more than the 1st month. There are all kinds of pushups (jumping, walking, sideways), planks, and triceps stuff. I started out not being able to do a "real" pushup - and I'm doing so much better now! I'm so much stronger overall than even last week! Before Insanity, I started working out more regularly 6 months ago using free workouts from www.exercisetv.tv (I was traveling a lot). They have pretty good cardio stuff, 'tank top arms", and "bikini body" stuff. Still, I have had more results with the few weeks of Insanity than I did with 6 months of that.

The second month- all the Max workouts- workout your arms more than the first month, I think. There are lots of different kinds of pushups/planks/triceps stuff. I began Insanity not being able to do a "real" pushup, and now I can do most of the sets. There are still times I'm taking breaks (both due to the difficulty and sometimes my neighbors downstairs banging that we're jumping too much (oops!)). I feel exponentially stronger than even last week! I wasn't working out regularly until about 6 months ago, and I found all these free workouts that you can stream directly from www.exercisetv.tv. (I am so not a gym person!) They have some pretty good cardio stuff, "tank top arms," and "bikini body" workouts that helped me warm up for Insanity. I'm glad I did those workouts, but I have seen so more results much quicker with Insanity.

Hi! I'm on the 6th week of Insanity (week 1 of the Max workouts). I was totally sore the first week, but after that, I felt pretty good, and my muscles didn't feel like jelly. After each workout, I drink a protein shake- I add blueberries, milk, a spoonful or two of coconut milk (for the medium-chain fatty acids) or almond butter, sometimes an egg. That may sound pretty gross, but I look forward to it every day. I've dropped two dress sizes already! I'm totally excited about my newly sculpted arms. My fiance is doing it with me, and he looks amazing too. He's lost some weight, and gained some muscle. Since the wedding is so close (05/27/11), we are planning to do the Max workouts two times through. The workouts are so intense, but they do good easier, and you will see improvement. Then... you start all over with the second month. You will surprise yourself at how much you can do! Good luck! I'll keep you updated, and keep me updated with your progress!

Yep. I agree with everyone else that Marvin will get back to you. He has been responding to me quickly (it's me who doesn't always reply back quickly!) He's super flexible with all of my requests. Also- for those whose wedding is >60 days away (and still have some dress fittings left), I want to recommend Insanity (the workout by Shawn T.). OMG, after just 1 month of Insanity, my dress used to fit perfectly, and now I'm getting it taken in! That's a good thing! It's super difficult, but a great workout for the time (<40 min per day, 6 days a week). Good luck everybody! My big day is 59 days away.