kjb0528

@@lynne1609 yeah that's what I figured regarding response times, which is why I haven't bugged too much. I just wish they gave me a better packet of all the information I needed up front rather than having all this back and forth trying to ask for it piecemeal. 

Those lights look cool and will be good for the tables. I was thinking of using those DIY for lanterns just to use extra hanging lights. I still haven't figured out centerpieces yet though. I'm expecting around 50 guests so the cost of flowers for centerpieces are really adding up a lot!

@@KeriT21 I'll have to check her out. If you have narrowed it down to two and can't decide, I'd suggest setting up Skype interviews with them and see who's personality you mesh with better. The more comfortable you are with your photographer, the better pictures they will be able to get out of you. 

@@JaimeCKL that wedding dress is gorgeous!! Who is the designer? It reminds me a bit of mine with the fitted top and flowy waist. BTW, I also have Thamara for our wedding coordinator. I'm still waiting to hear back on a quote for a few different flower arrangements and centerpiece options and its been about 3+ weeks. At this rate, its going to take forever to make decisions. 

@@lynne1609 yeah I was happy with the photographers for the portrait sessions. For context, the non-wedding prices they quoted us was a 30 min photo shoot (ended up being about 45 mins) around the resort and $500 if we wanted to purchase all the pictures, for $550 they included 7 prints and a small album of 25 images.

I also found a DIY on here to make your own LED lights for the lanterns. I just bought the LEDs and i'm waiting for them to arrive to try it out. Here's the BDW's thread: http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/topic/31160-diy-led-lights-for-paper-lanterns/ and here's the instruction link on Instructables for "LED Throwies": http://www.instructables.com/id/LED-Throwies/?ALLSTEPS

@@lynne1609 These are not wedding photos but we just did a 30 min portrait session with BWS if you want to see our photos: https://www.icloud.com/sharedalbum/#B04G6XBubGzPGjL (I posted these before so you may have already seen them).

Finding a photographer is the one thing that is stressing me out a lot right now. I find myself pouring over portfolios and then after awhile it all just blends together and I can't tell anymore. I did find this article on bridebox helpful though. It lists the top 20 photographers in cancun with a few example pictures: http://www.bridebox.com/blog/top-20-wedding-photographers-cancun/

[in case the link is removed from this thread, just google "BrideBox top 20 cancun wedding photographers"]

@@victoriasalv the same happened to me with the cathedral veil! My dress doesn't have any sort of train at all which was the only thing I didn't like. The long veil made it look more bridal, but I haven't decided for sure yet. I was looking at real touch flowers for my hair as one flower for your hair at the resort is around $40 I think and not sure how well it would last through the night.

Any past brides do their hair, down? I know i always thought i'd wear it up but have been considering not... worried about the wind, any opinions?

I'm curious about this too. The back of my dress has really pretty lace so I will probably wear it up but I kinda prefer my hair down. I was thinking of seeing how windy it is when I'm there and making a last minute decision. Are you wearing a veil? I haven't decided yet.

@@mam9p8 You are getting married the month after me!  We chose the Excellence because we got engaged there in November and loved the resort.  I had reached out to the Excellence directly for a group rate before I reached out to my TA. The resort's group rate for the standard room was the same as on the website but the group discounts were better for the upgrades (e.g a swim-up room was only $10 more rather than $50 more). My TA was able to get a better group rate on the standard room and then match the resorts group rates for the upgraded rooms. We didn't look at any other resorts so I can't give you a good comparison. 

I checked our invoice, and the lighting and lantern setup in Las Olas was $220.

 

There is picture or two in my gallery, but I'm on my phone so I can't post them.

Do you remember how many strands you needed? My reception is at Oreganos and if there are only 20 bulbs/ or lanterns per strand, I'd estimate at least 2 strands each, maybe 3. Which would put it at $1,160! That seems like a HUGE increase since last year. I also feel like the cost of flowers is really high so I'm trying to figure out what to do for centerpieces. 

@@JenniferH114 The white chair covers and white table cloths are included. I like this look in the picture with no covers and was hoping I could just take the covers off but I don't know what they would look like. I saw pictures of chairs without the covers but it turns out those are upgrades and would cost $7/chair.  How much did you pay for lights? I thought ~$300 per strand sounded like a lot since it seemed like it would need a couple strands at least.

@@kjb0528 toy were quoted the $85 a set also? Or the $12 eachv

 

 

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I just double checked and it was $17.40 each so $52.8 for 3. I'll try to figure out a way to attach the Decor Price list from Alquimia.  What I thought was insane was the price for paper lanterns ($348 per strand of 20) and string lights ($232 per strand of 20 bulbs)!

Does anyone have any pictures of the tables and chairs without the white covers? (The resort didn't have any) I'm debating not having the white table cloth and chair covers. I thought I could just take those off but then I realized that I may have to rent upgraded chairs at $7 each. 

So I can't figure out how to upload the attachment but here's the link to the Acquima decor services pricing guide. https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_zoyOhoKIAhUHVpZGhIRHlNZGs/view?usp=sharing

@@vanessajfelice @@JenniferH114 I was quoted this same price last week and thought it was ridiculous knowing what people paid a yr ago. My quote was from ERC directly. I have a price list for all decorations that I can share.

Hey! I have been following this thread for the last week. Thank you so much for all of the great tips and info! We are planning our wedding at ERC November 11th. Sadly the 5pm slot was taken and so we are going to be having the ceremony at 3. I'm wondering a few things.

 

1. Can I book our stay with an outside booking site like hotels.com? I was worried if I do this, they will not consider the reservation number valid to hold my wedding date.

2. Did you guys choose to have a group contract or are you letting guests book their own stay? I don't feel like the group concessions were worth it considering I am finding the hotel for at least $50 cheaper/night at other sites.

3. Did any of you brides get rain? Im not sure I would mind it but want to come prepared for the possible last minute changes.

 

I'm sure I will have more questions to come! I am super excited for the day to come. The resort looks perfect in every way

I think you can book with an outside vendor. I highly recommend using a travel agent though. I used Lindsey Johnson with Tropics Travel and she was able to match any rates found elsewhere. She was really great and super helpful! I can give you her email if you want. We also did a group booking with her as well and put down a $100 deposit per room which will be rolled over to our reservation as people book through her. If we don't use all the reserved rooms we can cancel beforehand.

We were at the ERC for a week around Nov 12-20th and it rained about 2 of the 7 days we were there. (Weather report said everyday) It's hard to tell. The days it didn't rain it was gorgeous! I'm getting married in Jan and have been watching the weather reports and its predicting a couple days of rain a week and I'm nervous about it too.

@@kjb0528 - I'm not having any of those issues. I reserved a group block for 4 days but people can stay more or less and we won't lose out on any money. And also- if we do not use all the rooms in the block we just "drop" the rooms 3 months before the wedding date without any penalty. So as long as you have your RSVP date early enough you just drop the unused rooms.

I'm using Wendy from Wright Travel Agency. She's great- she really knows her stuff! She's been to the resort and also gets you certain perks with the room block. I suggest you get in contact with Wright Travel agency- they are also the ones who put together this website!

@TA Wendy and @@kathryn78 thank you both! Turns out it was a misunderstanding. Our TA thought we were asking if we could just book a block of 7-day reservations and if our guests wanted to change the dates to less days or more days and still keep the same rate. I think we are going to go with a few 7-day reservations in case people want to stay a whole week they will still get the benefit of the locked in rate and then have most of our block reservations be 3-day reservations and they can add additional days if wanted but at least will still get the group rate for those 3 days we have reserved. Then, if any of these are not used, we will drop them before the deadline. 

I have a question on group block bookings. Our wedding date is a year out and I really want to reserve a block of rooms for our guests (about 25 rooms), because I'm worried people won't book early enough and it will fill up. I don't know if everyone will be able to go or how long they would like to stay. The problem is that my travel agent said if we do a group block we are locked in now and can't make any changes. So if we don't use all the rooms, even if we give tons of notice, we are still responsible for the full fee. Additionally, if I reserve 7 days and people only want to stay for 3 days, I have to pay the difference. They can't adjust the reservation when they book. Does this sound right? How have other people reserved a block of rooms?

It was $1,500 for the Cenote which included transportation and the entrance fee to the park.  

 

Here are some pictures from Juan Navarro, I still get giddy when I look at them! 

 

http://juanphotos.com/blog/trash-the-dress-cenote-sabra-and-donavan/

 

http://juanphotos.com/blog/wedding-at-excellence-riviera-cancun-sabra-and-donovan/

Your photos look amazing! I'm actually leaning towards less wedding day coverage because I don't really need many reception pictures and instead doing a cenote TTD session.  I really like your beach ball idea, that was a cute picture.

How do you get the free hour?  Is this something to do with the package you have selected?

I just meant the hour that's included in the Gold wedding package. The photo packages are add ons, so if I added on a 5hr package, that would equal a total of 6 hours coverage since I already have 1 hr included.

@@kjb0528 SO cute, i love those photos. You guys make such a stunning couple. I know others did outside photographers but I had been following them on facebook and the price seemed good and the fact that they know the resort so well as well as the fact I don't have to pay a vendor fee to bring someone on the resort worked for me!

 

We're doing the six hour package which comes with like 150 edited, and then you get 500 unedited.

Thanks! The fact that they knew the resort so well is a big plus because it made it very efficient. That whole session was about 40 mins and then I could tell my fiance started to hit a wall. I feel like we got a lot of variety in a short amount of time and I don't want to waste a lot of my wedding day taking pictures!  Are you doing the 2 photographers and videographer as part of the standard 6 hr budget? I feel like I could get by with the 4 hr package (plus 1 free hour) if I could also get all the unedited photos they take and not just limit it to 120 edited photos.   But at the price of Package 6, I thought it was worth looking into an outside photographer as its not really in my budget.  

The Cenote shot was not in our budget at all but my husband really wanted to do it and it ended up being a ton of fun and one of the most amazing things I have seen.  Plus, the pictures you get are amazing and can't get those anywhere else.  So if you can swing it, I say do it!  My dress did not get trashed at all!  Honestly it was cleaner after the Cenote than after the wedding!  I just let it dry out and had it cleaned when I got home and it looks perfect!  It is fresh water in the caves so doesn't hurt anything!

You might have pushed me to do it! Can I ask approximately how much the Cenote TTD session was? I've emailed a few photographers for pricing packages but haven't heard back yet. Do you have pictures you can share? I watched a behind the scenes video of a cenote shoot and it looked like so much fun!

This was a slight concern of mine as we have selected the 'Love Package' which only includes 24 pictures and they upgrade on the package for another 12 pictures is $200 - this is extremely expensive as in England you would get unlimited for around $500.  

You might be able to negotiate this to get all the pictures since you are not a large group. The standard package that they offer regular resort guests is 30 mins (although we went for over 45 mins) and is $500 for unlimited pictures, which was about 100+ photos for us.  Also, there are photographers walking around the resort all the time that will take random pictures of you. We got a couple with a cute monkey that sat on my fiance's head and ate a cucumber. All those are included too. The extra album was $50 and we really liked it.  

@@JenniferH114 @@Sabes44 Thanks for the recommendation. He's on my list to check out. How far in advance did you book him? My wedding is on a Saturday, Jan 14, 2017 and its MLK weekend so I'm trying to figure out a timeline.  

@@Sabes44 I've been looking at the Cenote TTD pictures and the all look sooo cool! I can't decide if its in the budget though. I re-did my budget last night and things are already adding up much more than I thought it would be for a DW.  Did you actually "trash" your dress. I'm debating if I could still get it dry cleaned by the resort and not completely ruin it. I don't need it for anything after the wedding but, still.

This was a slight concern of mine as we have selected the 'Love Package' which only includes 24 pictures and they upgrade on the package for another 12 pictures is $200 - this is extremely expensive as in England you would get unlimited for around $500.  

My other concern is that its just the ceremony and, I'm assuming, not even bridal party pictures right after.

@@victoriasalv I'm researching photographers right now and I can't decide. I'm nervous about the cost of the in house photographers (Beach Wedding Studios) for the wedding packages as it does not look like you get many pictures for the price. I got engaged there last Nov 2015 and we did one of the free 30-45 min photo sessions where you walk around with the resort photographers and if you like the pictures afterwards you can buy what you want. We ended up buying them all and got around 100 photos, a slideshow and a small album for $550, and I will say the pictures are amazing and we are using them as our engagement photos! Its important to me that someone helps pose me and tells me very specifically what to do and I think they did a great job with that. The poses look natural and that's a result of our photographer saying things like "bend your knee more, angle this way, kiss her right there..."

Here's a link to my picts if you want to get a sense of non-wedding portraits and the different spots around the resort: https://www.icloud.com/sharedalbum/#B04G6XBubGzPGjL

I set up my Trello wedding planning board today and wanted to share the template I found because I think its super helpful!! Tello is a list making / project management app where you can move cards around. Here's a link to example templates for a month-by-month break down of to-do lists, wedding day schedules, thank-you note organizers, table arrangements, etc. 

Oh it looks like my last post didn't update. @@victoriasalv, it definitely feels more real now! But, it wont come in for almost 6 months. Here's a pict of me in it (ignore my facial expression, i was excited despite how I look!)

I'm also unsure about shoes. My fiance is 6'2" and I'm 5'7" so I'd prefer to wear high heels at the altar. I was thinking wedges but don't want to stumble down the aisle. I'm also unsure on hemming though if I go barefoot at ceremony and high heels for reception. 

I'm also trying to decide on my reception venue. I really wanted the Lobster House but its not available on Saturdays so now I'm considering Los Olas or Oreganos. I love the feel of Los Olas and its proximity to the beach but I'm worried it will be too small.  We are inviting 110 people and expect around 50+ to show up and want a DJ and to dance. Anyone have any advice on Oregano's vs Los Olas for a group that size? Its very important to me to be somewhat near the beach or semi-outside, so I want to make sure to reserve in advance since its MLK weekend. I looked through the thread here, which was somewhat helpful but hard to compare for my party size.

Hi Ladies! I just bought my dress yesterday. I'm super excited about it as I was starting to get discouraged trying on so many. http://www.sallyeagle.co.nz/index.php?view=c&a=29

Yeah we basically only had one weekend in January that worked because we had to work around my sister's grad school schedule. Realized afterwards it was the high season. I think I'm only going to put a deposit down on rooms for the wedding party because I haven't gotten confirmation yet on who else may be coming and don't want to be out $100 per room.

I haven't thought about decorations yet either, but I still have a year. I'm just trying to get a sense of what decorations are included in the package. 

@@victoriasalv  They are regular rooms but maybe its just because its January which is the high season. 

@@JaimeCKL  I'm using Lindsey too!!  I really like her a lot and she had rave reviews.  She is so responsive, it makes it so much easier to get things done and make decisions!

@@JaimeCKL That would be great! I'm using a travel agent now but I think she will match prices if we got a lower one. I did think the prices were pretty high.