Jill Conner

I let the guests choose what they wanted to do about shoes... and they decided to do EVERYTHING (barefoot, closed-toe, flip-flops). We did NOT do a basket because it was something "extra" we did not want to drag down to Mexico. I went barefoot, and I took my shoes (flip-flops!) off right before the ceremony, and just left them with Gloria (the wedding coordinator) up by place where I started to walk down the aisle. Most of my guests, including the groom & my father flip-flops (nice leather or sperry; not Old Navy!). I think we had a couple of the guys wear closed toe shoes. I wouldn't stress about it too much... honestly, I got this question before we went to Mexico too, and I just said "do whatever you want, just remember, you're in sand! --- more for the ladies because heels would NOT be the best choice!). The guests all kind of chatted each other up once we got down to Mexico

We had 30 guests at our wedding @ the end of June (only the 4 parents were older than 30), and we did NOT plan any excursions off the ERC property. Our wedding was on a Friday, and some of our guests arrived as late as Thursday, and left as early as Sunday. We wanted everyone to be able to relax & enjoy the resort, so we purposely did NOT pack the schedules. Although I think an excursion could have been fun, I'm not sure it would have been worth it for us because we had SO MUCH fun at the resort! Agree that you will be having some drinks during the day, which will wear you out earlier in the night than you think! We spent a lot of time around the pool bar! Yes, the resort "club" is only open until 1am, but I know I was never there that late! And I agree with Bondgirl, once all your family and friends are in the same place, you'll be surprised how good of friends everyone becomes! We all had SO MUCH fun together! It was crazy! We decided to skip a welcome dinner because we were told by the wedding coordinator that we would have to have a "set menu". She said if we went to a restaurant on our own, the biggest group they could accommodate would be 6 people/table. We thought the welcome dinner sounded too much like the actual reception dinner, and we wanted our friends and family to be able to enjoy the resort at their leisure. Once everyone was in Mexico the Thursday before our wedding, we had everyone meet at the Martini Mar for a "welcome cocktail" before dinner (this rounded up the troops so that we had a central meeting place). After that, everyone was to head to the restaurant of their choice, and then meet back up after dinner... well, we ALL headed to the Mexican restaurant! They said they would be able to seat us as a party of 6 and a party of 14, which we thought was great! It was like having a welcome dinner, but un-planned! ...then it took FOREVER to get our food... we are talking like 3+ hours. Drinks didn't come quickly either, but they did keep us loaded up on chips/guac/salsa. I talked to our waiter, and he apologized profusely saying that they "can't accomodate groups > 6 people unless there is a set menu". Sigh. I kind of wished they just would have broken our large group into smaller tables, but we did have a great time sitting with our friends and family that night. The staff was so gracious it was impossible to be mad!!! After this night, everyone kind of did their own thing for dinner, and then met-up afterwards for drinks. Bryan and I always picked a couple or a group to eat with each night, which was nice. So long story short, either book a welcome dinner with a set menu, or decide you're not doing it at all! And "welcome cocktails" are a great substitute! And seriously, don't stress... because everything will work out. I was actually glad that we "planned" as little as we did, because once we got to the resort, our "plans" kind of went out the window, and we just let things happen naturally! SO MUCH fun!! It was seriously perfect all week! I am so happy that we picked the ERC!!!

Sorry, forgot to attach the pictures from my message above! I attached a picture of Elias doing my hair at the resort spa, and then a picture of my Dad walking me down the sand aisle so you can see another shot of the hair and make-up. Doesn't the make-up look good!? I can't believe I thought it was too much! My skin looked perfect all night, and it looked very natural in the pictures!!! Also, someone recommended that I DO NOT use a live flower in my hair for my wedding... I heard they're a pain-in-the-butt to keep in your hair, and that they wilt easily in the heat. I bought my flower from the Etsy shop: https://www.etsy.com/transaction/82177162 for $20. It was amazing... everyone thought it was a real rose! I have no idea what it was made out of!! My flowers had ivory roses, so I wanted a hair flower that was an ivory rose also. Worked out perfect... would definitely recommend. There is a pic of the table at our reception at the Lobster House. The staff moves the ties on the chairs from the ceremony to the reception during the cocktail hour. We brought the maracas and stationary from home, also from Etsy. http://www.etsy.com/shop/SusieSuesCuteDesigns?ref=seller_info We were able to have the maracas painted to match our wedding stationary. They were a big hit at the reception. And one final note: these 3 pictures are from a friend's camera. Not professional (I'm sure you could tell). Will have to post some of Juan's pictures when I get a chance. I can't speak to the resort photographer's work, but Juan was AMAZING. AMAZING. AMAZING.

1st piece of advice: QUIT STRESSING because it will be BEAUTIFUL. Exceeded every expectation I had!!!!! We had our reception at the Lobster House, and it was PERFECT. We were worried about the temperature since our wedding was June 29th, and the Lobster House is outdoors (e.g. NO AC!), but it was great. There was such a wonderful breeze coming off the ocean. Our cocktail hour was at Garibaldi Square, and my husband and I missed the ENTIRE thing because we were taking pictures with our photographer, Juan Navarro. We arrived back at the cocktail hour to find it had ended 10 minutes early, and the guests had already moved onto the reception. We thought this was a little weird, but then we found out that our guests ASKED to end it early because it was SO HOT in Garibaldi Square. They said it was like dead, humid air, and they were sweating to death. Our only other option for the cocktail hour would have been on the Pier, which I heard is much nicer, but again, I was selfish and I wanted us to have pictures taken on the pier(s) after the wedding (rather than having a cocktail hour). More advice: Use the resort videographer! It was included in our wedding package, and I was VERY pleasantly surprised when we got our video back! It was very nicely done! I thought it was just going to be a 15 minute recording of our ceremony, but there was a lot of footage of the ceremony site before we arrived, of our friends and family arriving, it was set to music, it was edited VERY nicely. GREAT SURPRISE! I wasn't expecting much from this video, but I cried when I watched it the first time! We opted to hire an outside photographer, Juan Navarro, for our wedding pictures & trash the dress. AMAZINGGGGGGGGGG. Can't think of the words to describe how much we LOVED Juan and his assistant. Because pictures with the resort photographer were included as part of our wedding package, the planner told use we could have the resort photographer take pictures of us on another night during our stay at the resort (she suggested something similar to engagement pictures). This would have been a great idea; however, we were too busy spending time with our family and friends and never got around to this!! Get your make-up and hair done at the Spa, and do not waste any time thinking that it might not "look good". I met a girl in the pool prior to our wedding that had gotten married the previous week. She told me her hair and makeup was PERFECT. She said she had no issues with her hair, but had an interesting experience with her make-up... she said she gave the stylist a picture of Lauren Conrad and told him she wanted her makeup "light and natural". She told me he wouldn't let her watch as he was putting the makeup on (she was turned away from the mirror), and that when she turned around her first thought was "WOAH, that is A LOT of makeup!". She said her friends kept telling her how amazing she looked, and she knew they would have told her if it looked bad, so she just kept it on. Then she told me THANK GOD she did, because the makeup stayed on ALL NIGHT, looked AMAZING in the pictures, and was perfect. I was SO GLAD she told me all of this because I had the same experience... my hair was absolutely PERFECT, but my makeup made me nervous at first. My stylist did my makeup and then I turned around, and my first thought was "WOAH that's A LOT of eye shadow!". My friends were like, "NO YOU LOOK BEAUTIFUL", so I kept it on. As I was putting on my dress, I got used to the amount of makeup on my face. It looked GREAT, I just wasn't used to wearing that much! Then the pictures came. And they are PERFECT. My make-up looked beautiful. It was amazing how natural looked during the ceremony and reception, and how well it stayed on throughout the night. I was SO GLAD I had met the girl in the pool who told me about her make-up experience, because had I not, I probably would have washed it all off after I got back from the spa, which would have been a HUGE mistake. Huge. It looked beautiful. Before your ceremony, give one of your girlfriends or family members a few bobby pins. I had a hair get loose during the ceremony because we had a pretty strong breeze, and it needed pinned in place before we took the rest of our pictures. We got the GOLD package and it included "additional decoration for the ceremony" which = chair ties or rose petals for the aisles. We chose to have champagne chair ties, and we bought the orange chair ties from home (I bought them online for like $0.60/each). Loved the dual tie look! Will post more later... but seriously, don't worry about anything. It's going to be 100 times more beautiful than you imagined! I could rave about it all day long!!!!

Glad it looks like the weather head out for you! It was perfect for us too on Friday!!!! Good thing we didn't get married a week sooner, right!?

I would also recommend the beach gazebo. I just got married at the resort last Friday, and it was perfect. We had 20 guests, but as mentioned earlier, there was plenty of room for more. I visited the ERC first in 2010, and the beach gazebo was in a location that was not very private. I was pleasantly surprised when we returned for our wedding this year to find the gazebo had been moved to the end of the resort beach... very happy with the location at the resort. The beach gazebo has two little speakers on the inside upper corners, which was also a pleasant surprise, because the music we picked for our ceremony was projected very well. It's also right near the Excellence Club suites building, which was great to "hide" around with my Dad until it was time for the music to start playing and me to walk down the aisle! I'm not sure you'd get my of this "surprise factor" at the pier... but this is just my opinion. The garden gazebo is beautiful, but it is SMACK in the middle of the resort. Your ceremony will not be very private. I also do not think there would be enough room for your chairs under this gazebo (and there would be plenty at the beach). I might be an odd setup. The beach also had a great breeze when we got married, so our guests were not hot even though it was 90+ degrees outside... everyone commented how comfortable they were. Because the beach gazebo is in the center of the resort, it may be more hot. I also originally wanted my wedding on the pier, but I decided to go with the beach gazebo for a few reasons... the pier is very narrow... I was told that you can only have two chairs on each side of the "aisle"... so you would be going about 8 rows deep. I thought some of the guests might be uncomfortable sitting in a chair SO close to the edge (there is no railing or anything!), but that was just me being paranoid. I also heard that the wind can be much stronger on the pier than the beach, and that it can interfere with the microphone being used at the ceremony for your vows. There is also not as much room for the videographer or your photographer to work with (they can't really "run around" and get different shots". My final reason for choosing the beach gazebo over the pier was that I wanted to take PICTURES on the pier after our wedding, and that wouldn't work if there was a ceremony on the pier (so selfish, right!?). Long story short, I'd recommend the beach gazebo. I couldn't have been more happy with my choice last week!

Weather is NOT looking good next week! Sunset Love, we may be in trouble!!!! Anyone in this forum have to re-arrange their ceremony d/t rain? Any advise would be helpful! I'd love to hear about the alternate arrangements (and how to stay mentally insane!!!). I keep telling myself that I won't be disappointed if it rains, but I think that is easier said than done!

Yeah, we're paying the $500 too...

One final question for the night, and then I swear, I will go to bed! What did you all have for dinner? Or what are you having? (at the reception, not tonight haha!)

Also, can anyone help me out... what is this fiesta that the resort hosts... is it Friday nights? We're getting married on a Friday & our reception is at the lobster house. Where is the fiesta? Will it be a distraction? (I guess not that it matters at this point, I'm just curious!). Wow, I am a stress ball tonight!

May 12... this stuff is GREAT!!! HOWEVER... it has suddenly stressed me out! I would LOVE to have something like this (all of it!) printed; however, I am NOWHERE NEAR as close to you having such an exact itinerary! Holy cow! Did you ask 1 million questions, or how did you learn so many details!? From what I have found, the wedding coordinators don't offer much help as far as "telling" information as they do about answering questions...

Welcome drinks... that is a good idea too... Do you guys have itineraries for your guests? I haven't put much thought into this to be honest... but now I am starting to wonder how you communicate with everyone! I'm assuming there will not be normal cell phone coverage! How are all you ladies working out this communication piece?! Now I'm wondering how we even figure out who is in what room, etc. Also, none of the planners have mentioned a "rehearsal" to me... anyone doing one of these? Or are these normal? Apparently you all have become my wedding planners... I suppose Gloria will appreciate not getting bombarded with 400 emails from me with 1 question in each! ahah!

Bridetobe11... I also thank you for sharing your pictures!! Looks beautiful, and makes me even more excited for my own wedding in two months! Your hair looks great! Did the wedding coordinators book your appointment @ the spa? Or did you contact the spa yourself?

Wow! That is A LOT of work to get the DJ some decent music! I applaud your effort! We're just bailing!! ... We're going to rent the sound system, but mainly because I think a few of our guests will actually ENJOY playing DJ for the night!! We also own this: http://www.bose.com/controller?url=/shop_online/digital_music_systems/sounddock_systems/sounddock_portable/index.jsp For anyone concerned about the $500 charge for the "sound system", consider this an option. It's $400, and it's AWESOME. I got it for my fiance last year for a Christmas present, and we use it ALL THE TIME. We're actually considering using this instead of the sound system they provide, but we're not sure. Thanks again for all the advise about the welcome dinner and the substitutions on the reception menu. All things I did not know or think to ask! You ladies are so helpful! We'll probably be picking our meal soon. That is smart about bailing on the soup I think... does seem like a rather warm dish for the summer! And just to make this clear (it really wasn't so when I talked to Gloria), if we do a "welcome dinner", we have to have a SET menu still? Gloria did send me some Menus from Agave and Toscana, but I thought it was mainly to determine which restaurant we wanted to have our welcome dinner at!? Not to pick another SET menu!? Bah! I agree that our guests are paying thousands of dollars to come to the resort to celebrate with us... I want them to have SOME choice in what they eat for the few days they're there! That is why we wanted an all-inclusive resort!!!! Reception on the beach sounds like it will be amazing! How fun to have the whole sha-bang when you get home too. We're doing a WAY more informal at-home-reception a month after we return... we're doing a picnic-style Saturday afternoon fiesta with food, drinks, and other outdoor activity! And no, I don't think it's tacky at all not to have a guest book... not sure we're doing one ourselves... just thought I'd get an opinion out there! I think, overall, we're VERY lucky ladies!!! Like many posters say, our weddings will be beautiful no matter what!!! We'll be in Mexico after all, right!? Also, I think by nature, none of us could possibly be TOO BIG of control freaks... our we wouldn't be having a destination-style wedding in the first place!!

Hello everyoneeee! Getting married @ the ERC 6/29/12! Had NO IDEA Nayeli was no longer the coordinator!? She is the last person I've had contact with, but to be honest, I haven't tried to contact the resort for a while! Haven't really had a reason, I suppose! Anyway, I'm trying to get a hold of Gloria or Nayeli (whoever is there!) about booking a welcome dinner! I didn't know this was an option! I wouldn't mind it being non-private AT ALL! I just want everyone to be able to sit at the same table/in the same restaurant at the same time! We'll have a total of 20 people. I thought if it was "private" it would seem very, very similar to our actual "reception". We're doing the beach ceremony, cocktail hour in the square, and then our reception @ the Lobster House. We were considering the pier for our cocktail hour, but I heard it can be windy. I also wanted to get our guests "off" the beach because I figured my new hubs and I will be taking some pictures! I didn't think we'd be able to get all those cute dock shots if there was a cocktail party happening! We decided on the Lobster House over the foyer area for our reception, because I heard the foyer can be hot in the summer. We were just looking for as much air as possible. Have any of you ladies picked your menus yet? I feel crazy that I haven't and our wedding is 2 months away! Just wanted to hear any opinions. We haven't decided on DJ or no DJ yet. We got a music list from the resort DJ and it is TERRIBLE... we thought it would at least have SOME current music, but it appears not. I haven't tried to contact the DJ directly myself. We'll see. We might just use the sound system provided. We also have a BOSE portable music player, so maybe we'll just bring that with us too. Haven't started on any OOT gift bags. Have been debating on the amount of work it will take to get everything down there, but seems tacky not to have something for the guests. Also a little difficult since it's an all inclusive resort, so guests won't be as desperate for "Snacks", etc. in the hotel like at a "normal" wedding. The Ibuprofen, etc. is a cute idea though! What are you all doing for your guest books? I am still debating on this. Oh yeah, and we're using Juan Navarro for our wedding pics. I am SUPER excited about this! Alright, that was a lot of info. I've enjoyed reading the treads... sorry I've been so quiet! I'm excited! And Miss Sunset Love, we'll probably see you down there!!!!

We're using Juan Navarro as our photographer and doing a TTD. Nayeli said we do not need day passes for Juan and his assistant, we just have to pay the $500 outside vendor fee. He has been GREAT to communicate with so far. Very quick with answers to my questions. Nayeli has sent me some catalogs of flowers (bridal bouquet, centerpieces, hair flowers, etc) and menus for both the Love and Gold packages. She said flower selections and menus must be decided about 3 weeks before the wedding. She said this is to ensure the flowers and food are available.