Hi Everyone!
I am back from OCT and am officially a MRS!
Let me tell you that this resort is amazing!! I am so happy with my decision to get married there, everything was better than I dreamed and my big day could not have been any more special.
The weather was okay... when we landed it was raining, and it rained the entire next day. I had my 3-hour meeting with the WC (Areli... she was so sweet) and we went over EVERYTHING! She showed me the unpromising weather forecast for my wedding day, and showed me all the Plan B wedding venues in the event of rain. To be honest I wasn't overly impressed with the banquet rooms at first, because I was so disappointed that I wouldn't get the outdoor reception I've been dreaming of. However, the room turned out to be very nice and my reception was awesome!
The ceremony was held on the rooftop terrace of building 17. It was a beautiful ceremony, they covered all the chairs in white linen and fushcia chair bows. I brought my own fake flower petals from Michaels and they spread them along the floor where I would be walking down the aisle. They also draped white and pink fabric along the arch where my ceremony took place. They played all the music for my ceremony, and even played one of their own songs (A Thousand Years) during my sand ceremony, since I didn't choose my own song for that. After the ceremony, there was a waiter handing out champagne to everyone and we did some group photos.
I chose the hotel's photographer (Photopro) and trust me, they did a FABULOUS job! I know the reviews on this site for them aren't that good, but I had a really tough time narrowing down which photos I wanted to keep because there were so many good ones. They put together a nice photobook for me and my husband and made 2 smaller ones for our parents. I also had their videographer film my ceremony and he put together an awesome DVD for me! So impressed! I would definitely recommend the hotel's photography services for your wedding.
Also, the hair and makeup team was AWESOME!!! They did hair/makeup for me, my mom, and my sister and we were all amazed at how talented they are. It was $145 each for hair and makeup and they made sure we were all very happy with our looks before we left, and we were all SO happy! Also, I would highly recommend them as well
Our photo shoot ended just MINUTES before a big downpour of rain! We were so lucky!!! The entire wedding day was overcast, and I told my groom to decide whether to do an outside or inside ceremony. He had to decide by 1pm which was 4 hours before the start of our ceremony. He chose outdoor, because that's what I wanted. The judge was also 25 minutes late because she was late coming back from a wedding in Cancun because it was already raining there. I was SO nervous!
My reception was really nice - I ordered the Feta and Balsamic salad, Champagne sherbet, Surf and Turf, and Creme brulee. The presentation and taste of the food was amazing. Everyone said it was the best meal of the entire week, and I agree.
I didn't have a DJ, I just brought my ipod with all my songs on it and a guy from the resort played it. He was hard to find sometimes when I wanted to change the song for the bouquet toss, garter toss, etc. However once a waiter saw that I was looking for him, he appeared within minutes. My reception was from 7-10 pm. The waiters at the reception were right on the ball all the time, very attentive and provided efficient service.
All in all, my wedding was everything I dreamed of!
If I could give you brides any advice, it's DON'T STRESS about the small stuff. Yes, the WCs take weeks to reply to emails but they are SO attentive when you are actually there, and that's when all the decisions are made anyways. You really don't have to worry about planning details with the WC beforehand, other than choosing the venues for your wedding events. Everything else can be left until you arrive. Also, as detail-oriented as you are now, you won't be on your wedding day. I was so stressed about absolutely everything leading up to my wedding but when I actually got there, I was like "I don't care about anything! My wedding will be perfect no matter what happens!!" And it was, it really wasn't the flowers, the venue or the music that made my wedding special. It was sharing my special day with my family and starting a new life with my husband. Everything else was just the icing on the cake.
If anyone has any questions for me, please don't hesitate to ask!
XOXO
Mrs. Sheppard