KayLynn Oliver

Originally Posted by ampanda52 

 

Here are a coupld of our professional shots.  Review probably tonight!

 

 

 

 

Mandy!  You are simply stunning!  Love these pictures!  So glad everything went well!

Originally Posted by TrishaJ34 

 

Hi Ladies! Here are some of my preview professional pics. I thought I'd share to give you some ideas about flowers, the area, decorations, etc. My photographers were AMW Studios. Amazing Couple to work with! Happy Planning!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wow!  You look so beautiful!!  I love, love the teal color you used!  Beautiful bride!

Originally Posted by TealMarie 

 

KayLynn - I LOVE your pictures! The one of your Dad seeing you in your dress is so sweet. Also when you're walking down the aisle and you can see you're looking at your husband, you look so excited. Love the first kiss photo, it's gorgeous. Overall it looks like you had a really joyful wedding, there's so much laughter, I love it. Who was your photographer?

Thank you so much!!  Juan Navarro did my photos!  He is incredible!!!  Very talented and creative and super sweet.  You are going to love it there!  Good luck with the planning!!

Here are a few of my favorite professional pics!

Originally Posted by ampanda52 

 

Well ladies....I fly out tomorrow, wedding is Saturday!  I just want to thank everyone for all of their help!  I'll be sure to reciprocate with a review when I get back and I'll try to pop in while away! 

 

TrishaJ34, thanks for the bug spray tip.  I already have some packed!  Was the bug biting during the wedding or just in general?

 

Thanks again girls!!!

Mandy

Good luck, Mandy!!!  Have a blast!!

Originally Posted by TealMarie 

 

KayLynn thanks for posting pictures! (and never apologize for too many pictures, are you kidding me? We love it!) You looked incredible! I can't wait to see your pro ones, Juan Navarro is such a great photographer. Sorry to hear your OOT bags never made it, what a bummer. But it looks like your wedding was amazing. I love the photo of your first kiss, you both look adorable and so happy. Beautiful hair and makeup as well, it's nice to see they do such a wonderful job.

Thank you so much sweet girl!  It was amazing!  You are going to love it!!  Have so much fun!

Originally Posted by ampanda52 

 

OMG!  I was wondering how everything went!!  So happy to hear that everything went so well!  You look stunning!  I'll have to request Elias next week!  I'm super excited.  You could have written more or included more pics...I would have kept reading!   

 

Mandy

P.S. Did you get upgraded from a standard junior suite to an excellence club room?  Congrats!! 

Thank you Mandy!!  We did get upgraded from a standard junior suite!  Honestly, we were in a bunch of rooms that week and ours was no different.  The only difference was the private pool and private lounge area (neither of which I spent much time if any at because my guests weren't allowed).  But, if you get upgraded for free, why not!?  You are going to love it girl!  I will put up some professional pics when I get them back!  Good luck with everything!!

Originally Posted by Mayerlis 

 

I think I did it wrong the first time!

This should work. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wow!  You are stunning!   So fun!  I miss it already!  Can't wait to get my professional pics back!  Y'all look amazing!  Congratulations!

Hello ladies!!  I had my wedding at Excellence Riviera Cancun on July 6th!  It was AMAZING!  In regards to the post about Gloria, I can't imagine her being anything but incredibly sweet.  She literally did anything and everything I asked and everything was perfect!  We met with her the day we arrived and went over every detail.  She is wonderful. I will try to keep this post short and sweet!  The property is incredibly gorgeous!  I did not want to leave but we went to Belize for our honeymoon.  The staff as you've heard all are super nice and friendly.  We got upgraded to Excellence Club but did not really see too much of a difference as most of our guests weren't and we wanted to hang out where they could.  Excellence has it's own private pool and lounge.  I did use the lounge a couple of times in the morning for breakfast and coffee.  The rooms are gorgeous although the sheets always felt damp.  I guess that's what you get for having it right on the beach. It was no big deal.  The first night we were there we ate at Spice and it was pretty decent.  We ate a Lobster House the next night and it was tasty.  A lot of my guests really liked Basmati but I wasn't able to eat there.  Barcelona has a great buffet!  We went to the theater every night after dinner because they do a different show every night which were very entertaining.  It is WARM though and your hair will get frizzy!  Just a warning..ha!  

The wedding was absolutely stunning.  I brought my own chair sashes and pinned little seashells to the back but they did it all for you!  I cannot say enough how wonderful Gloria was through the whole process. Our OOT bag stuff got held up at customs in Mexico City and she even called them to see if they would let it through!  (Which they didn't).  I would not ship the OOT stuff if I were you.  I spent so much money for nothing.    About 3/4 of the way through our wedding, the sky started to get VERY dark and it got super windy so we kind of had to rush a bit through the end but we made it just before it started POURING!  We had to move our cocktail hour to the area where they do karaoke but it was totally fine.  We were taking pictures at this time.  We had our Meet and Greet at Las Olas right on the beach and it was perfect.  Everyone really loved the resort.  The spa was also amazing!  I would get Elias to do hair and makeup if you can!  He was unbelievable!  I will post pics!  Our reception was at Barcelona and while it was definitely cooler, it was still somewhat warm...but I think that's what you get with "Mexico air conditioning."  It turned out to be wonderful though.  Beautifully decorated and plenty of room to dance.  We used DJ Mannia as our Dj and he was really good but if I could go back I would probably just use my phone because there were a lot of songs I wanted played that he didn't play.  But he was very nice.  We all had a blast and even went to the Karaoke Club after the reception!  They brought us breakfast in bed the next morning and it was awesome.  We seriously did not want to leave.

If anyone has any questions, I would be glad to answer them!  Do not worry!  You will LOVE every minute of it.  But don't blink because it flies by!

Here are a few pics that people took with their I-phones:

This is at Las Olas for the meet and greet with my bridesmaids. 

My handsome hubby at Las Olas.

My gorgeous bridesmaids and I.

The amazingess Elias created.

My daddy and I!

And another..

Right before the ceremony...sorry these are out of order.

First Dance.

.

Its official!

I just love this one for some reason..

Sorry for all the pics!  I could go on and on lol!  We also used Juan Navarro as our photographer and he was AMAZING!  The resort videographer also did a pretty decent job with the video!  Good luck to everyone and have a blast!!

Originally Posted by clee0605 

 

KayLynn, I'm bringing the same items with me for my OOTB!  My wedding is a week after yours, so i'll be interested in hearing how your experience was.  Are you printing receipts? 

I will definitely let you know as soon as we get back!!  I am bringing receipts just in case but hopefully we will breeze through like everyone else.  I'm thinking that they see so many weddings coming and going there that it's probably not that big of a deal!  Good luck with everything! Can't wait!  Less than 2 weeks!!

Originally Posted by rhiham 

 

Hola from Mexico! The wedding was INCREDIBLE! KayLynn, we had no problem getting OOT bag stuff through customs - we had receipts and were ready to get searched/questioned about all the stuff we were bringing, but we literally just walked through customs. They asked why we were coming to Mexico, we said we were getting married, and they said "congratulations!" and we walked through. It was a breeze!

 

I have a LOT more to say, but please rest assured that everything was beyond lovely and there were absolutely NO problems. Gloria is a literal angel sent from the heavens. I'm planning to post a longggg review as soon as we're back in the US, but for now here's a teeny tiny sneak peek of our wedding on our photographer's website: http://www.schwagerandhanks.com/2013/06/fort-worth-wedding-photographer-rhiannon-shaun-excellence-riviera-cancun/

Yay, that is so wonderful to hear!  I am so happy for you!  You look so stunning and happy!!  So nice to hear Gloria is so sweet as well!  Can't wait!  We will be there in less that 2 weeks!!!  Thank you for the info!

Has anyone had trouble getting OOT bag stuff through customs?  If so, what did you do?  I am bringing aloe, sunscreen, and cheap sunglasses with me.  I just don't want them thinking I'm trying to re-sell it.  My future MIL is bringing the rest of the stuff with her.  Thanks for your help! 
 

Originally Posted by JessicaC07 

 

Hi Ladies!!! I'm back from Mexico and ready to share tips!  You can ask me any questions too.

 

1. I know there has been talk on here about having your cocktail hour at Las Olas.  Now that I've been there, I would highly recommend doing this.  I didn't even know it was an option.  I had my cocktail hour on the pier.  Las Olas is directly in front of the pier on the beach.  The waiters/bartenders are actually set up at Las Olas anyway, and they walk the drinks/food out to you on the pier.  Las Olas has a covered area, and is less brutal wind wise.  It's still beautiful though because it's right on the beach.  A lot of guests ended up going over there and sitting during cocktail hour anyway.

 

2. Mexico is Hot!!! LOL I know we all already know that, but it was actually a lot hotter than I even imagined.  There is a constant breeze on the beach, so it is great!  I wasn't hot during the ceremony because we had it at the beach gazebo.  My photographer took us for photos around the resort though, and it was so uncomfortably hot everywhere that wasn't on the beach.

 

3. We had our reception at the Lobster House.  It was really beautiful, and not too hot since it is close to the ocean and has a constant breeze.  If the Lobster House isn't available on your day, I would recommend asking about Oregano.  It wasn't presented as an option, but you never know.  It's also open air, close to the beach with a breeze.

 

4. Don't expect everything to go perfectly.  There were a number of mistakes made.  We just rolled with them, and didn't let them bother us.  Example: The officiant started off with we are here for "Jessica and Jason"...well, my groom is Justin.  And, one of the groomsmen is actually named Jason, lol.  We all laughed, corrected him, and moved on.  The reception table wasn't set up the way I had requested at all.  It didn't ruin the night though.  The DJ played the 1 and only song that I had on my do not play list, and during dinner he actually played "It wasn't me", lol.  He had a lot of what I would consider break up songs played during dinner.  It was weird, but again, we just laughed.  Even with all of the mistakes, we had an amazing time - and it was really beautiful.

 

5. The video that the resort videographer took of the ceremony was surprising in a great way.  Ours actually was edited, with cute music and everything.  I was expecting raw footage.  I love what we got!

 

6. The spa was really disorganized the day of my wedding.  Despite that, my hair and makeup turned out soooo beautiful!!!  While she was doing my hair, I wanted to cry because I thought it was awful.  I looked like I had little bo peep curls.  I was so worried it wouldn't turn out good at all.  She kept explaining to me that the curls would fall as soon as my hair hit the humidity and wind.  She was so right!  It ended up amazingly gorgeous and lasted ALL night.  I actually slept with it up that night, and it still looked great the next day!

 

 

 

 

7. Our guests said it was the best wedding they have ever been to, one of the nicest resorts they've been to, an amazing vacation, etc.  It really was overall an amazing experience!!!

 

 

I'm not the best at writing reviews.  I know there are a lot of things I didn't think to write about right now.  I'll answer any questions that anyone has though, and if I think of anything else, I'll add it later as it comes to me.

Wow!  You look stunning!  Thanks for your help.  What is the product you got from Victoria's Secret??!  It sounds like I need this, lol!  Is it a spray or lotion?  What DJ did you use?  I am having my reception at Barcelona bc it was one of the only places that is inside but I know it isn't the prettiest.  Hopefully we can decorate it pretty!  What did you think of Agave?  I am having my rehearsal dinner there but having it catered instead of the mexican food served there.  Thanks so much again!  You are gorgeous!

Thanks for all the info everyone! This is so helpful! Does anyone know if they do spray tans at the resort? I would get one before we leave but we are gonna be there 5 days before our ceremony so I think it will wear off.

Originally Posted by tkuzma 

 

Hooray, I can finally post!

 

Model:

 

Me!

How gorgeous!  You are stunning!  I love the flowy bottom!

Originally Posted by Lydia1120 

 

Stunning dress and you are glowing!  Congratulations!!!

Thank you!!

Originally Posted by jrack 

 

I gotta say, you look like the model herself! beautiful dress!

Thank you so much!

model

me obviously lol.  its not altered yet as you can tell from the back! ha!

Originally Posted by Mayerlis 

 

Hi everyone,

 

I am getting married at ERC on July 5th! I just wanted to say hello and that I have been reading through the posts which have been super helpful!!

 

I am having my ceremony on the beach, cocktail hour on the pier, and the reception in foyer.  I noticed that many brides have said the foyer is very hot so I was wondering if any brides had a good experience in the foyer?  I am not sure if I should change the reception location to Barcelona now.

 

Also many of you mentioned that you are bringing the linens with you and I was wondering if you could share the websites you're purchasing them/renting them from.

 

Thanks so much!

 

Mayerlis

 

I am getting married July 6th!  We will be there at the same time!  I am wondering the same about linens!  It is way expensive to purchase them down there.  I have heard that the foyer is super hot but haven't experienced it ourselves.  I am doing it at Barcelona, however, the foyer looks much prettier.  Barcelona is where everyone eats buffet everyday.  I'm hoping we can decorate it a lot but at least it's air conditioned!  Good luck with everything!

Has anyone ever done a slide show of pictures of the bride and groom?  We went to a wedding in Playa a few years ago and they did a cute slideshow of themselves when they were little up till now with music.  It was so cute.  I was wondering if anyone has done that and if it is available at Excellence Riviera?
 

Originally Posted by EVKnowsitall 

 

My dress is SUPER heavy so I am considering a switch a few hours into the reception (like its that long to begin with haha). Actually, I intend or hope to keep my dress on for as long as possible and then switch into a more comfy dress just to after party at the lounge at the resort. I found this dress on Camille La Vie for $199 and thought it would be awesome.

 

LOVE this!  How beautiful!

Originally Posted by EVKnowsitall 

 

I love the bottom- its so unique. You look like a beauty queen!

Thank you so much!!

Originally Posted by Dazeydawl 

 

 

This dress is amazing!!!!!!!! You look absolutely stunning in it!! Great choice and the bottom is so unique!

Thank you honey!!

WOW Elissae, you are stunning in that dress!
 

Thanks TealMarie!  Where is/did everyone having/have their rehearsal dinner?  Thanks!