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This may be a stupid question, but having a Pastor do your wedding, does that make it 'religious'? I know we're talking about symbolic, but I do not want any religious touches to the wedding - can I still use Pastor York?

I'm not 100% sure, but I think DJ Mannia is a LOT more expensive than Mayte's DJ.... also, if you decide to add on an hour or two, Mayte's DJ won't charge you extra, whereas DJ Mannia does. Anyone know the exact cost of DJ Mannia? If the difference was only $200, I'd definitely go with them!

I have yet to hear someone's review of Mayte's DJ.... does anyone have info on this?? No idea if he is good, does good MC-ing, follows instructions well (when to play what) and plays good music? If anyone knows I'd LOVE to hear a review!

Hi ladies, This question is probably best for those who have already had their weddings, but maybe those of you in the late planning know too.... I am having a symbolic ceremony and am just wondering, is the ceremony script chosen for you, or can you provide your own? And who performs the ceremony? I've read somewhere that it is performed in Spanish and translaterd by the WC? If so, would it be possible to provide your own script? How does that work? Thanks!!

Mike and Alex - April 23rd, 2012 (Ceremony at the Melia, Reception at the Jellyfish)

Thanks for your reply!! If there are only a few Romance Suites that are close to the beach and have those beds, then how do the rest of the Romance Suites differ from a regular Deluxe Junior Suite?? And I am not upgrading, my reception is at the Jellyfish Restaurant so I just need the basic wedding package from the Melia.

This question is for any of you that have already paid the deposit - I read earlier in this thread that Mayte makes you pay for the charges on both ends ($60) and many of you were saying that's crazy and you should argue. Has anyone won this argument?? My hotel (The Melia) is doing this to me now too and I'm really annoyed. I paid $30 on my end to send the wire transfer, and they also charged $15 on their end to pick up the wire transfer.... the Melia deducted this from my deposit. I think this is insanely unfair since I would have been more than happy to pay any other way, it's their choice to do wire transfer! Any thoughts???

This might be stupid but I was talking about it with my fiance, and he suggested using Google Translate, lol. If the language barrier gets out of hand, my fiances mother is Spanish, so she can help, but honestly, I've used Google translate before and it works really well. You could put your question into Spanish and see if that helps??? If she replies in Spanish, put it back in Google Translate! I just wonder if that would be insulting to them at all.... ? Otherwise I have no idea how to interpret her reply to you... are the sentences she replied with cut off here or is that really what she wrote?? They don't end!

April 23rd, 2012 Melia Caribe Tropical/Jellyfish Restaurant Alex & Michael

I hope someone is still reading this... I am wondering the exact same thing. 1) To get the free package, do you have to get the Royal Service one bedroom master suite...? Or can a Royal Service junior suite get you the free package as well? 2) Is the Romance Suite cheaper than Royal Service? It seems to me that the Romance suite has a better location anyway - Royal Service is not that close to the beach, I don't like that. Any pictures of either room would be greatly appreciated! Thanks so much!

I thought of one more question, maybe someone on here knows?? To get my wedding package for free, I have to book either a Royal Service room, or a Romance Suite. There is no information on the Melia website about the Romance Suite, and my WC is not answering my questions very well. Does anyone know what the difference is between a regular suite and a Romance Suite? I know you don't get all the Royal Service amenities, but what do you get? And is a Romance Suite cheaper than a Royal Service suite? Thank you!!

Be sure to let the rest of us know how the DJ is when you get back!!! Good luck, very excited for you, I have almost a year to wait Looking forward to your review!

Thanks for the info, Kyra - what months was this in relation to your wedding? How many months ahead? Another question I have - not sure if anyone will know. I am getting the basic wedding package and I know it is free if you book a Royal Service room or the Romance Suite. I am wondering if I have to book that ahead of time or if I can still get the package for free if I upgrade once I get to the Melia.... (I've heard this is a lot cheaper). My WC keeps ignoring this question in my emails!! Does anyone know?? Thanks!!

Hi ladies, I just sent in my depsoit and confirmed my wedding date at the Melia for April 23rd, 2012 (a little later than the rest of you!). I'm doing my reception at the Jellyfish Restaurant, though. Soooo excited!! I'm surprised that several of you have so many guests booked so far in advance! A co-worker of mine got married at the Melia in March and booked his tickets in October, got a great deal ($1100, taxes in). Have you ladies found from others that prices would go up, did you get good deals this early? Any advice would be appreciated, you're all six months or so ahead of me

Hi ladies, I just send in my deposit for my April 23rd, 2012 wedding at the Melia Caribe Tropical. I looked and couldn't find any threads for April 2012 Melia brides, so I thought I would start one.... any others out there????

Booked my date! April 23rd, 2012, reception at the Jellyfish. SOOO EXCITED I also would love to hear some reviews about the DJ that Mayte provides.... only $200 less for the sound system seems ridiculous... And if any brides brought their own Ipod dock to use, was it loud enough? (I don't remember if I read about this here or somewhere else) Thanks!

Thanks for the input... did anyone NOT put TA info on the invites?? If so, what info did you put about booking?

Hi ladies, I have read through many invitation and STD threads but cannot find the info I'm looking for... I have been working on my invitations and cannot figure something out... I would like to send invitations out 6 months in advance (I am sending out STDs soon, about 11 months in advance) but I don't think I will know which travel agency I will be going with yet. Speaking to many people, they got their best quotes about 4-5 months in advance, and they got great quotes by pinning various travel agencies against each other, going back and forth with better prices. SO... if I do wait to find that out and get a great quote, I will have to make my invitations REALLY quickly to send them out and give people some time to put down deposits on the group rate. I don't know if this will be feasable. Most quotes are valid for about 30 days, and I'm making about 60 invites on my own. My other option is to send out invitations without specific travel info just letting people know that I will contact them when a good quote becomes available. What did you guys do? Should I wait to get a good quote and make my invites as fast as possible, giving people only about 2 weeks to put down deposits, or should I send out invites without specific travel info? (If it's without travel info, I don't really know what the difference is between them and the STDs, lol). Any insight would be GREATLY appreciated, thank you! Sorry for the long-winded post!

The last I heard from Mayte was April 5th. I know this is normal but very frustrating! Her email is [email protected] ... good luck!

Sorry for all the questions, but I really love this thread!! 1) For the 10% deposit that has to be sent, that's 10% of what? I'm not sure yet how many people will actually come, so I'm not sure how much everything will cost... 2) How far in advance did you ladies book your dates? I am planning an April 2012 wedding, am I way too soon?? 3) Did anyone have their ceremony at the Melia and the cocktail hour and reception at the Jellyfish? If so, I have questions for you Not sure how timing works out... Thanks so much! P.S. I realize that I broke a rule by asking for something to be emailed to me, sorry!! I don't know how to delete my old posts...

Sorry for all the questions, but I really love this thread!! 1) For the 10% deposit that has to be sent, that's 10% of what? I'm not sure yet how many people will actually come, so I'm not sure how much everything will cost... 2) How far in advance did you ladies book your dates? I am planning an April 2012 wedding, am I way too soon?? 3) Did anyone have their ceremony at the Melia and the cocktail hour and reception at the Jellyfish? If so, I have questions for you Not sure how timing works out... Thanks so much! P.S. I realize that I broke a rule by asking for something to be emailed to me, sorry!! I don't know how to delete my old posts...

Gail, When you say that you had your guests choose from the regular menu, do you think that came out cheaper or more expensive than choosing one of the set menus? What were the prices like on the menu? Also, I love that you said some people ordered other drinks and you were not charged... I've been worrying about choosing the local open bar because some of my guests are particular and I know they'd like the Johnny Walker or Kahlua or whatever... so they were still able to order those drinks? Thanks a lot! Congrats

Ooooh also, does anyone have a current price list that has more details than the website? I need prices for decorations, centerpieces, etc. If this exists, it may be faster than waiting for Mayte to reply to me. I don't have enough posts to open attachments so if anyone could email it to me at [email protected] I'd REALLY appreciate it. Thank you!

Hi ladies, Are there any current or past Melia brides that are doing their ceremony at the Melia and reception at the Jellyfish? I am just starting to plan for next April, and I am really confused - in order to book and confirm a date at the Melia, did you have to book your room first?? This seems crazy to me, as the rates are still way too high, but I don't want to miss out on the date I want. I should qualify for the free wedding package, so I shouldn't be sending them any money. Any ideas? As for the Jellyfish, I haven't heard back from Mayte but it seems like she's quite busy right now. The prices on the Jellyfish website seem quite high, and yet many people are saying it was cheaper than the hotel. My biggest concern is the 'cocktail hour' and the open bar. The appetizers seem quite expensive, is there a package or anything you could get? And the open bar, is there any negotiation about that price? $10-$20 per person per hour is excessive if I have 40 people for 4-5 hours! Any tips are greatly appreciated, sorry for the long post!

I am soooo happy to have found this thread! I am just starting... as in, I don't even know where I want to get married yet, but I needed an idea for a budget. For those of you who have already gotten married or are close enough to really know your final budgets, please let me know if I am crazy here.... I would LOVE to be under $20,000 but think I may have approx. 50 guests. Is that insane or do you think it is doable? I don't need anything too crazy, but would like to have a nice gazebo ceremony and a beach reception that is private and with an open bar for my guests. Is $20,000 doable?? THANK YOU SO MUCH IN ADVANCE!