mrendic

Originally Posted by chiquita8302 

 

Thanks, Mrendic!

 

Super helpful!!

 

I've heard about using the girls flowers for the centerpieces... My only question was how to pull it off without coming off tacky? Did you go put them in at the end of the cocktail hours like before the entrance... or what did you do to make it not-so-obvious?

 

I love the idea of the menu wtih the wrap around it. Great job with everything.

 

Lastly... It wasn't a huge pain lugging down vases? Thats another thing I was wondering about!

 

 

 

Originally Posted by TheWolferts 

 

Did anyone see this horrible TTD article?

 

http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/331603

 

I guess its a good reminder to be careful when doing your TTD in the water.

That's so sad My dress was so lightweight and even that felt ridiculously heavy once it got wet, I can't even imagine what the bigger & heavier dresses must feel like.

Hey! Yeah, I didn't care too much about centerpieces so for my main centerpiece (which you don't see in the pic) we used the bridesmaids bouquets, which were just fuchsia roses, in vases we brought down and tied raffia and a starfish around. They looked really nice on the table and it was good to be able to use them for something else. The table number was a picture frame from michaels that had little shells in it. It was actually supposed to have these photo numbers in them but I forgot them at home so we had to improvise and make new numbers on the fuchsia paper that I had on hand- not exactly what I wanted, but oh well. We did maracas for favors (The guests LOVED those- they were cheap and I put little sayings on them, that I found from another bride, that read "Instead of tapping on your glass, here's a system with Mexican class. Stand and shake with all your might, to see the groom kiss his bride tonight." My mom made little bags with pink jelly beans and white jordan almonds (those are the little candy favors you see). Our menus that I made are what have the pink ribbon around it- they are rolled up and my mom made these little net/ starfish ribbon things- hard to explain, i'll post a pic. And yes, we had starfish on the tables along with a few candle votives on each table. I already had too much to bring down so I didn't want any big centerpieces, so it worked out really well what we had. Oh and we also had these little disposable cameras on each table for the guests to take random pictures with, everyone had a blast with that! Here are some photos so you can get a better idea.

This is after the fact, so they look a little beat up, but you get the idea. 

The vases that held the roses

The little net that was tied around the menus

the little baggies that had the jelly beans & jordan almonds

The cameras that were on each table!

Hope this helps!

Originally Posted by chiquita8302 

Mrendic- This got me back to thinking about centerpieces. I'm not willing to spend a bunch on centerpieces with big flowers or whatever- it's just not something that's important to me. But, I do want the tables to look pretty. You did a great job adding in pink to this...

So aside from the maraca, it looks like you have candy or something as favors? then what is it that you have the pink bow on?

Otherwise, the main centerpice you have what? I think I see starfsih, and some smaller candles around the table number? If you don't mind chatting centerpieces with me, i'd love to know more about yours... it looks like it was affordable and easy enough to carry down whatever you may have brought.... THANK YOU!

-Chris

Originally Posted by jnitschke 

 

gorgeous!  Are the colored lights pointing at the ceiling always there, or did you request them?

 

oh and here is one of the entrance on a different day, to give you an idea...

let me know if there is anything else I can help with! 

Originally Posted by amanda50388 

 

I love how your pictures turned out super cute, i love all the pink as well.

 

Your photos turned out amazing, so cute. I love all the pink!

Originally Posted by jnitschke 

 

I have a question about your lanterns at Tuscannes, I've been bouncing around the idea of doing lanterns there as well.  Are they lit?  What kind of lanterns did you buy?  and what did they charge you to hang them?  I know Nikki had lanterns too, but I was just curious if there was much of a difference.  Do you have any other close up pictures from the area around Tuscannes?  Things like how your tables were set up under the palapa and where the dance floor was... that kind of thing.  Just so that I can get an idea of a layout for the place.  You're making me rethink all my DIY projects.  I just finished ribbon chair hangers, inspired by Nikki's and also very similar to your own, but with peacock feathers and a larger white ribbon backing the small ones.  I'm about half way done with making my ribbon streamers for the aisle decor too.  I'll try and see if I can get a couple of good trial pics to show you guys what I've got so far.  My biggest hurdle right now is figuring out the layout for center pieces. Balancing what looks nice, with price, how much DIY, and how hard it will be to ship it all down... For some reason this is proving to be incredibly hard.   I have test vases and candle holders in our living room with different colors of glitter and paint... Todd walked in today and said "It looks like a princess exploded in here" and then walked out... heh..my next trial will be to make my own mercury glass pieces.  I figure some configuration of all of this is bound to call out to me.  I think my problem is that I might actually have too much inspiration... I love it all.

Originally Posted by Onelove2013 

 

Your pictures look amazing! I am going to find out about them! I am sooo excited! and your pictures are making me rethink gazebo 55. its beautiful! 

Originally Posted by AllieH 

 

mrendic - those photos are amazing!!! can't wait to read your review. 

 

what part of FL are you guys in? Hope the move and all went well! 

 

 

 

Thanks so much allie! We are in West Palm Beach. I kinda wish we had moved before the wedding, flights are so much cheaper from FL to mexico than they were from TN! Haha. But that gives us a reason to go back, I guess. 

 

Originally Posted by murmel 

 

Great photos mrendic! And hope Florida and the new job are treating you well.

Thank you! And so far so good!! 

Photos continued.....

These are just a few of the hundreds of pics we got! Unless you have someone coming with you to take photos for free, Citlalli is definitely worth the cost. Unfortunately Claudia Photo is no longer one of the EDR approved vendors, though, so the $800 extra might sting a bit. But who knows, they may be able to work out a deal with you as far as negotiating rates. 

Ladies! So It has been two months since the wedding- I can't believe how the time flew.... it feels like it just happened yesterday. But we actually moved to Florida a few weeks after the wedding so I haven't had a chance to write a review or anything yet, but I fully intend to as soon as things settle down a little more with work. What I do want to say is that El Dorado Royale was absolutely amazing- we had such a wonderful time. On the other hand, my experience with the onsite coordinators was TERRIBLE! Like Nikki, I also had Martha and honestly, because of her, I almost regret having my wedding at EDR. I think she just made things way way wayyyy more stressful than they should have been but I will definitely leave a detailed review asap! But one piece of advice that I wish I had followed, DON'T OVERDO IT! Both Gazebo 55 and Tucanes are gorgeous on their own- you honestly don't need too much decoration, etc. I think I went wayyyy over the top with trying to personalize everything and I just had a million DIY projects, and so much stuff to set up. My mom refused to let me pay for them to set everything up (besides the lanterns at tucanes & sheers on the gazebo) so she offered to set up herself, and lets just say, it took FOREVER (even with other people helping) and it was a lot of stress on her. So just try to keep it simple & figure out what's most important to you! I think the lanterns at Tucanes were by far my favorite! They looked so pretty! But please feel free to ask any questions at all, I am more than happy to help in any way I can! Here are a some of my pictures. Our photographer was also Citlalli Rico- I cannot stress enough how incredible she is!

Originally Posted by Jillsepher 

 

 

What's a water journey? Does it cost money? I'm soooo excited to see the shows! Totally looking forward to the fire shows!

Oh I just saw this- The casita spa offers this 'water ritual"( i believe that's what it's called) and you start in the locker room where you first shower, then go in a steam room or sauna, shower, go into the water journey room- which is 1) a hot tub 2) this huge pool with numerous different jets that massage you- you can go around to the different jets to massage different parts of your body (neck, back, legs, etc) then there is a freezing cold pool that you're supposed to go in, then an outdoor pool that you can go to and relax. It's completely free if you are staying in the casitas, you can just go to the spa whenever and do any of it (steam room, hot tub, jets, whatever you feel like) and when you do all of them in a specific sequence they call it the water ritual or journey or something... lol. It's also free with any spa service you do so if you have a sky massage that you're doing as part of the free package, its something relaxing to do before or after. I did it before my wedding day appointments and it helped calm my nerves so much, I was a mess before I did it. 

Originally Posted by Jillsepher 

 

Just have to vent ladies so I apologize beforehand... My MOH decided to tell me almost 2 months before the wedding that she isn't coming. She promised me months ago that she paid for her stay and booked airfare and magically she can't come anymore. She gave me the whole money excuse but I find that very hard to believe when she's planning all these other trips with her stupid boyfriend who seems to have her every move now and she's his puppet. She was totally all for going until she started dating this loser and now is no longer coming so now I have NO bridesmaids and my FI has 4 groomsmen. Ugh! She even bought her bridesmaid dress already and fed me all this bullcrap about wanting to get alterations with me. I'm so confused because she was totally ready to go and now she is blowing me off on the biggest day of my life. This is so NOT what I was expecting!

 That's seriously one of the worst parts about a DW- being sure that someone important will be there only to have them back out. It definitely shows you who your real friends are though

Originally Posted by mstigger 

 

Ok, took me some time to figure out what "OOT" meant......I'm embarassed to admit that, but it's true!

 

Soooo, my question is what kind of bags are you using or did you use.....what are you putting in them?

 

Anyone have pics? I think my crafty gene has left the building, or it could be I never had one

 

Thank you!!!

I ordered my bags from wedding chicks.com... groomsmen and guests got the same bags- bridesmaids got their own special bags which were noticeably better quality. Here are a few pics

   Groomsmen bag with some of the contents

  Bridesmaids & MOH bags- they had TONS of stuff in there (first aid kit, makeup bag with lotions, shampoo, conditioner, perfume, etc etc, bridesmaid tank, personalized stadium cups, note pads, and soooo much more)

There is conditioner in the room and if you need more you just have to ask your concierge for it. They can supply you with a lot of stuff aside from what they have in the rooms. Razors, toothbrushes, toothpaste, etc. Not the best quality but ya know... also the casitas spa has showers in the women's locker room if you ever go and do the water journey (definitely relaxing.. i did it the day of the wedding) and I really like the conditioner they have in there. Oh and if you stay in the casitas you can do the water journey anytime... not just when you have a spa appointment. 

As far as fire dancers, there definitely is a fire dancer show. It was on both sundays that we were there so I'm pretty sure it is a weekly thing. I'm pretty sure all of their shows are repeated each week but they change it up so they aren't exactly the same as the week before. The shows are so much fun, especially because they get the guests involved before or after the show with these hilarious games. I think we went to every single show while we were there lol

Originally Posted by Jillsepher 

Hey Catherine!
I too am getting married in October. My biggest concern is the weather. How was it when you were there? It's so sweet of you to offer to take some pics. I'm having my reception at the Chapel Terrace. I believe this is the area by the chapel in the sand. Would you mind getting some pics of this area so I can visualize a bit more?
This is kind of for anyone one who has been there but I heard there is a fire dancing show. Is this true? If so, is it a weekly event? My FI is so excited to see this if that's the case. Also, I read somewhere (maybe on here?) that the resort uses salt water as water for its showers an does not have conditioner. Any truth to this? And I just thought about this but I have blonde hair and I'm very leery of chlorine. Any ladies with blonde hair have their hair turn green at the resort? I had a very bad past experience about 8 years ago where my hair turned bright green immediately after going in a chlorinated hot tub and have never put my hair in chlorine ever since!
Thanks Catherine for offering up your services!

Originally Posted by AllieH 

 

good grief. they sure do gouge you for spa services... 

 

 

Yeah it's terrible.... if you work with a GI consultant, one of the free options is spa services for the bride... its includes hair & makeup rehearsal, hair & makeup for the day, manicure & pedicure for the bride plus one other person. It definitely helps if you know for sure that you're getting it done

Oops the actual spa services picture didn't post... here it is again...

Originally Posted by jnitschke 

 

I know others have posted this before... but I can't seem to find it.  Can someone put of the Spa prices for hair and make up- that sort of thing?... I know there was a pdf or a link on here at one point.  Thanks.

 

Here you go!

Originally Posted by AllieH 

 

Great pics!!!! 

 

Is your table set up the "standard" one? I noticed the gold chargers, and was curious. Did you bring the centerpieces with you, or did EDR supply them? How did the votive candles hold up in Tucanes?

 

do you have any pics of the beach bar? either Guacamayas or the Martini bar were recommended for us for the cocktail hour, and I wasn't sure what to recommend. 

 

Sorry for the questions!!!!! 

 

 

 

 

Here are some photos I have from Beach Bar from different angles. Hope this helps

 

 

 

Originally Posted by jnitschke 

 

We used real candles for our centerpieces and some stayed lit, others blew out. Some of our tables were closer to the ceiling fans so the candles blew out on those. My mom kept trying to re-light them and eventually just gave up. lol. If you're very anal about the candles staying lit, I wouldn't risk it, because it just depends on the day. Some days were definitely more windy then others. But if it doesn't bother you if a few blow out, id go for it! 

Hey Ladies!  I am getting ready to book my hair/makeup.  I'm debating on whether or not to have it done in the spa or having it done back in my room where it's more relaxing and I can actually have food, etc.  Please let me know what you have done and what works best in this situation.  My main thing is I don't wanna be rushed and I want it as chill as possible and just a fun time.  It's only me and my MOH that will be needing the services.  Thanks for any help and advice!

Leaving for EDR in the morning. I can't believe it's here already! If anyone needs any photos of anything specific or any info that I can get while I'm there, let me know! 

Originally Posted by TheWolferts 

 

I think traditionally the best man holds and distributes the tips during the the reception. Our best man did that as well, though with all the shots they were doing, that would explain how we ended up tipping the wait staff more than we intended!

LOL. I can just see our best man getting drunk and losing all the money or something crazy. 

Originally Posted by TheWolferts 

 

We tipped the DJ $50, the wait staff at our reception $70 (that was on mistake, we meant to tip $50), the wait staff at our rehearsal dinner $80 (the same wait staff worked both the rehearsal and reception), the videographer $50, tried to tip our photographer $70, but she was a good friend of ours and wouldnt accept. Our minister was also a good friend of ours and wouldnt accept a tip. We fully expected to tip our WC; however, with the issues we had, we ended up not tipping them, as not only were there mistakes, some of the WC staff, not all, just had undesirable attitudes. I got the feeling that they expected to be tipped though. I tipped my hair/makeup stylist $20 because you already have to pay the 10% service fee at salon. Hope this helps!

 

 

It does! Thanks a lot! My TA said to just tip the people I thought did an exceptional job so maybe I'll just set money aside for everyone and see how it goes. Did you just give it to them yourself or did you have someone in charge of handing out tips?