I got married Thursday, November 11th 2010.  We traveled Saturday-Saturday (Nov 6th-13th) and had 60 total guests. It was PERFECT! I want to start out by saying you don't have to worry about anything! I used Best Destination a lot while planning etc and I found the reviews to be my favorite, so I want to make sure I include everything so this will be a long review :)

Planning - We used a local travel agent to book everyone at The Royal. It was very nice! She got us very good rates and it was very nice not to be involved with everyone's booking. Our guests went to her with all questions, and if I had any problems/questions with The Royal, she was able to get answers for me. I highly suggest using a travel agent, it will take a lot of stress off your back and it is also reassuring to your guests.

Flight - To start off, we had about 25 of us on the same flight leaving from MSP. We had about 20 of us leaving from the same area so we had a party bus pick us up to take us to the airport. If you are in that type of position, I suggest looking into a bus. It was cheaper then cabs to the airport, we didn't have to worry about finding someone to drive everyone and their luggage, and we didn't have to worry about leaving cars at the airport. It worked out great! They also picked us up afterwards to bring us home....plus it was an exciting way to start the trip :)

We flew out on Delta and the flight there was just fine.  I was hoping to have my dress placed in the first class closet, but unfortunately we were on a small plane and it didn't really fit in the closet so my parents put it in the overhead bins. At first I was nervous about it all, but it was just fine. I got it steamed at The Royal so there was no need to worry about it. When we arrived in Mexico, customs was empty! It was a Saturday afternoon so I was expecting to wait in line, but we maybe waited 10 min! Then we all grabbed our bags, and went through security where you push the button to get a red/green light. I got a green light, but I did have some candle holders for centerpieces and the lady questioned me about how much they cost (I said $30....she just wanted to make sure it wasn't over $300)
Then as you've heard, once you get through security, just walk straight through the airport, and get outside. There we found our guy, he was holding a "Renstrom James Wedding" sign, and our group gathered, and they directed us to a coach bus with the same sign on it. It worked out great, there was probably a total of 35 people on the bus, They were selling Carona's for 2 for $6 bucks. Everything went just fine.

Check In Let me say that our bus of 35-40 obviously all arrived at the same time, PLUS it was Saturday around 3:00 that we arrived. So when we arrived it was kinda crazy. People were being checked in at the lobby, some people were being taken away to different conceirges etc. Most people did the online check in beforehand, and some people got their rooms, some people got different rooms,. and no one really knows why. So at first, it was kind of frustrating and chaotic. It took us and my parents forever to get checked in, but after my parents checked in, we asked if it is possible for us to get an upgrade. And even though things were crazy, our conceirge, Roger (Rogelio?) was AWESOME. When we asked for an upgrade he couldn't help us at the time, but he did everything he could and a few days later, he got us an upgrade I'll talk about later :) He was the concerige for many of our guests, and it was the first day - and he already knew our guests names and room # they were in! He also tried to get most of our guests in rooms near each other which was awesome. Roger was also checking in with us constantly throughout the trip to make sure we were having a great trip :)

Room:  Our room was great! We were in room 292 which overlooked the main pool, and you still could see more of the ocean then we were actually expecting. You all have seen plenty of pictures of the rooms, so I don't think I need to go into much detail. We did have some nice "surprises" waiting for us, but I don't want to spoil everything, but I really think whatever room you have, will be great :) At check in, Roger did tell us not to unpack, that he is working on our upgrade, and sure enough 2 days later he called to tell us that he got us the upgrade. To room 770....which is a presidential suite! We did have to pay a discounted rate but we figured it is our wedding, when else would we do something like that? But it was GORGEOUS! We had a kitchen, dining room table, family room, bedroom (similar to all the others - just an updated shower), a huge balcony, then a spiral staircase that brought us up to a rooftop patio! It had a gorgeous sitting area, small pool, and two lounge chairs but the best part of it was the view. It was amazing!!!! You were farther back from the ocean, but you could see SO much! It was great! Thanks to Roger!

The Royal - Overall The Royal was perfect! It was a good size where people weren't on top of each other....but we were constantly running into our guests. Which was nice - we never felt like we had to "look" for anyone, but at the same time everywhere we went we ran into people so we would have our little small talk in passing, but that made it take forever to do anything! Many of our guests camped out by the pool everyday just relaxing and drinking. We had 2 guests in room 199 which was perfect! It is ground level, right next to the pool/swing bar, so people would just camp out there. Some of our guests became good friends with the entertainment staff - which they all were SO nice! Some of our older guests hung out at the "new pool" which is much quieter.  All  the staff was excellent, so nice! Everything was clean, and there were plenty of places to hang out - no complaints at all!

Food  The food was excellent! In the morning we would usually do room service, or Pelicanos. We did Spice once. Then lunch was usually the same - rooms service, pelicanos, or tapas. And Dinner was either Asiana or Maria Marie's each night. I'll do a little mini run through
Room Service = Was hit or miss in how long it would take and the temperature. But you have to expect that in room service. Most the food was very good. We recommend the cheeseburger, mixteca, club, or vegabond.

Spice Spice is good....just not our favorite. They had a lot of options, we would do the omelette for breakfast, but we just thought there was better stuff out there. But for picky eaters - this might be a good place
Tapas - We went there once for lunch. It was good, something different. You just order a bunch of appetizers. The cold appetizers are buffet style, so you just order the hot apps.
Pelicanos We really liked pelicanos. It was nice open air, could go straight from the beach/pool to eat etc. For breakfast I highly recommend the Mexican Burrito. Also the green energy drink is very good - tastes like orange juice. Lunch there are good pizza/shrimp choices. And the guac at lunch there is VERY good! Don't be afraid to ask for 2nds!

Coffee House Personally I never even thought to go there (I don't drink coffee) but I know others did and enjoyed it
Mediteranneo We never went there, because there were other places we knew we really liked and wanted to go to instead. I know others really liked it though. And it is nice and kind of quiet etc.
Chefs Plate  I don't think anyone tried....need special room category/reservations....and most people wanted to do dinner in a group etc so it just didn't work out

Maria Marie's DELICIOUS. It took us awhile to try it, but it was very good! Don't be afraid to get many courses! We would get a salad, a soup (lobster bisque was excellent), we would split the fondue, get a meal (i always got shrimp/chicken.....but others got steak - all excellent), and we would get a dessert. All very good! (Men - do need pants, no sandals etc)

Asiana This was almost everyone's favorite! Right away they bring out spring rolls - SO good! They would sometimes bring out shrimp tempura as an app, its not on the menu, but you can ask for it - also very good!! My fiance literally made a meal of spring rolls and shrimp tempura. (Men - pants/no sandals etc) ps - we went to the bar here a few nights and the bartenders are awesome!! esp toto - great shots!

24 hour vip almost every night we ended here to drink/eat/play beer/ping pong, just hang out. it was awesome

Beach/Pool The Beach is nice.....but I don't think I would consider it "amazing" but that was just fine.  If you walk out of the Royal, I suggest going left.  If you go left it is easier to walk etc.  Also if you go swimming it is less rocky to the left. There were plenty of chairs on the beach with waitresses. The sand was super soft and cool. The water is GORGEOUS. Very pretty blue etc. The water was warm too. If you go to the right it is just more of a slant, and more rocky. To be honest, we didn't spend too much time at the beach, just had other stuff going on.
The pool is very nice. It looks very nice....but is rather chilly. They don't heat it. BUt saying that - it didn't hinder anyone from having a great time. Many people layed out, if they got too hot they would sit on the edge etc. In the morning some people would get in for the aerobics. They also have rafts at the towle booth you can use which was perfect. The service/drinks around the pool/beach were great. THe people were great. They would have one hour towards the end of the day that would be their "crazy game" with loud music. It was kind of "spring break-ish" but its only an hour a day. And it is just harmless entertainment. Don't be afraid to get to know the entertainment staff - they are great!

Coco Bongo We were planning on going to CoCo Bongo one night as a group. Well Rosaria (the entertainment girl) told us they all head down there after the lobby show on Monday nights. So we decided to do that and it was great! She walked a group of about 20 of us down to Coco Bongo. It was $50 and she gives you the wrist band. It seemed a little 'sketchy' at first, and we weren't sure what we were getting ourselves into but oh my god! If you have any interest - I highly suggest going! $50 seems like a lot....but it was totally worth it! My fiance describes it as "new years eve every 10 minutes". If you like to dance, its great. I'm not big into the "club" scene but I say I like to dance to top 40s type hits etc. Me and a few others went and were dancing on the bar and it was GREAT! It is like an acrobatic type show, and when you are on the bar they tap your foot and just hand you shots! Then they will tell you to get off the bar every now and then all of a sudden people will be flying from the ceiling to the bar! And if you aren't up at that bar, there are servers around and it is easy to get drinks! Keep in mind we were there on a Monday night - but it was not hard to get to the bar, bathroom, etc. Anyways - if you are thinking of going - do it! And the best part.....as most girls know, if you go to dance you will leave your purse with one of the guys who are just hanging out. Well I did that, and as people were leaving at different times, my purse got lost in the shuffle. So the next day - i'm thinking I left my purse at a crazy club in Mexico, it had an Iphone, camera, and cash in it....there is no way I'm seeing that again. But we go back the next night....just to check...and they tell me to come back in an hour when the manager is there. So we are like...ok....they are probably just saying that so they don't have to deal with me.....but we'll go back. So we do...and they spend about 30 min "looking" for my purse, keep asking questions etc....and all of a sudden, they ask me to come inside. I'm like, they are going to tell me its not there, no change. Well I walk in and there is my PURSE!!! I couldn't believe it. But I'm like ok, its going to be empty. Nope, EVERYTHING was in it. EVERYTHING!!! I'm almost in tears (it was our Mexican Miracle) so my fiance is trying to thank the guy, took out all the cash he had and gave it to him and the guy wouldn't take it!!! He said he was just doing his job. So all the stuff you hear about Mexico (I heard it....just tried to ignore it) yes you have to be careful, but if I can loose that...and get it back.....thats awesome. That wouldn't happen here in a downtown club! Someone obviously was in my purse, because my phone was off, and my camera was like in the middle of old pictures, but they didn't take a single dollar! It was awesome and when I go back, we will definitely be returning to CoCo Bongo.

Dolphins Many of our guests got a "Buy one get one free" dolphin swim.  Well it ends up being $99 for two people (that is $15 for each persons transportation, and $70 for the one half off).  We had a group of about 20 go. People were unsure at first etc....but it was great. I recommend it.  You are in the water with dolphins for about 30 min and we were actually swimming with them more then expected. the one downside was they take pictures of you - and they are expensive. $25/picture. We each got one....but we'll only do it once so I thought it was ok.

Catamaya So after reading reviews for like a year....we decided to do a catamaran trip for everyone the night before the wedding. We were super excited about it. I think it was a good thought - I've heard excellent reviews - but I wouldn't do it again.  Ours was a sunset cruise and it was INSANELY windy. Almost instantly we had people getting uneasy (including me) The people who didn't had an AWESOME time. Jumping into the water, having 60 great people out on the boat etc. But I just felt SO bad spending all that money and making about 20 of the 60 people sick. And it could have just been a bad night for us....but you can't predict the weather. So if I were to do it over, I would try to do something for everyone at the Blue Parrot or something instead. BUT - the crew at Catamaya was awesome!!! And if it is something you really want to do....I would maybe suggest not doing a sunset, we had about an hour of daylight, then it was dark. Many people did love it - I just felt bad about the sickness. I didn't move the entire time, I burried my head in my fiance's shoulder. I did get in the water for awhile though - and that helped A LOT. It was just while moving that was tough.

***Wedding Day*****

Zulma: I met with Zulma a few days before hand and just told her everything. I gave her all my decorations/place cards everything. Basically all you have to do is tell your WC exactly what you want, and it happens. I had no problems. I told her how i wanted things set up and it was perfect. They even took my chair bows, put them out for the ceremony, and moved them to the reception. It was great. I do want to tell everyone that you don't have to worry about "communication" etc beforehand. Remember you are getting married in Mexico - its suppose to be more easy going and less stressful, and it totally can be. They do A LOT of weddings there....but because of that they know what they are doing. So if you don't hear from you WC constantly, don't panic. They are dealing with the brides who are closer to their date. And when it is about a month from your date, you will hear more. You just have to remember everything is oging to be better then you expect it to be :) Also - when you meet with your WC, remember to bring your witnesses, and they need passports/tourist card. We didn't know that and my fiance had to hung them all down. Then we also had our bloodtest done then - and that was nothing. A piece of cake and I HATE needles!

Wake up: First of all, I did spend the night before with my fiance and I'm so glad I did. I didn't want to waste a night in Mexico without him. And the night before he hae gathered rose pedals.....and put a little gold box on them. He got me a blue ring for my "something blue" i was so shocked i cried! Then it was also nice to know he was there that night, I slept better with him there and I wasn't as nervous. Then that morning we woke up, he took his stuff to one of his guys rooms and we went on our day

Salon/Getting Ready: I had my hair and makeup down at the salon and was very happy with how it turned out. They were also very nice. I got there around 10:00, and I was back at my room by 11:30. The girls and my mom/mother in law also got their hair done there. I REALLY liked everyones hair. I will post pictures at the end of everything. One of our guests worked in makeup for about 10 years. So she went to our suite, and did everyone's makeup (I had mine done at the salon cause it was included)  It worked out great. The salon can only work on 4 people at a time, so we had half do their hair at 10:00 while the others got their makeup done at 10:00 in the room, then at 11:00 people switched. Worked great! Then the guys had ordered us champaigne and OJ to the room which was awesome. We ordered room service. Then got ready. It was very relaxed. One of four guests was also the photographer, so he was at the salon, up at our room, with the guys, all over. He is one of our friends, so that is why we didn't use the resorts. My fiance sent up his bro and the photographer before the wedding with another gift, a bracelet for me as my "something new". It was perfect :)

Flowers: I had my bouquet and fiance's bout. done through the royal. They were great!! I loved my bouquet. But their flowers are expensive.  I used "Marvin"  and his flowers were and prices were fantastic for bridesmaids/groomsmen/moms/dads etc. I got 6 bouquets, 9 bout. 3 coursages, and 3 bags of pedals for under $400. I just had a couple girls meet him in the lobby at 11:00 with the cash and it worked just fine. They looked great and he was great to work with! (Maya Diseno Floral)

Ceremony: Our ceremony was at 2:00 at the Gazebo. Zulma was suppose to get us girls at 1:45 to walk us down. Well its 1:45....then 1:50 and a bridesmaid calls the wedding office to find zulma. They said she was coming....well its 2:00 and no Zulma. I'm trying not to worry, but of course I'm just afraid we are doing something wrong. Well she comes up at like 2:10.....and says everything was fine. Turns out our harpist was late - she didn't tell me until after the ceremony, she didn't want to worry us. But anyways, the harpist was late - which also led to him being out of tune. But to be honest, it didn't matter. No one cared, I barely heard the music and everyone loved the ceremony! For decorations I just had pink chair bows, they had a flower arrangement on our table, and I made little program fans. Nothing fancy. The bridesmaids/groomsmen walk down, my dad walks me down, and it starts. The ceremony was so pretty!! Everyone was crying. It is a little different then our ceremonies, but it was very nice. It probably lasted 15 minutes. We had the script, but she added in a hands poem that was soooo pretty. Then we signed, our witnesses (2 bridesmaids 2 groomsmen) signed, we thumbprinted, kissed, walked down the isle. It was perfect. We get down the isle and they hand us champagne, then everyone else as they walk down. It was great. Trust me - on your wedding you will drink more champagne then you ever have in your life!

Cocktail Hour After the ceremony they walked us over to the central garden for our cocktail hour. We had the mariachi band which was a very nice touch. Then we just did champagne/cold apps. I don't recommend upgrading. They were constantly refilling everyone's champagne! And its only an hour...people can go to the bar to get other drinks. The apps were good....they had "scary" names, but I tried almost everything and it was decent. It was important to us to get pictures with everyone in our group, so my fiance and I spent most the time just taking pictures with everyone. People enjoyed it though. And since our ceremony started/ended late....our cocktail started late.....so they let us extend it etc which was nice. And Jorge was our "captain" and he was constantly running around with his staff refilling everyones glass and they always referred to us as "ms randi or mr scott". It was very nice. One thing was after the ceremony my photographer immediately had people go back and stand at the gazebo so we could get one big group shot.  I suggest doing that because that is the only time to get a picture like that. Or else try to do it at your cocktail hour

Photos: After our cocktail hour we had a couple hours to take pics before the reception. Our wedding party went to the beach and the other garden area and took some pics. Then my fiance and I  went down the beach, down 5th ave, around the resort, all over the place. And it seriously felt like the entire resort was celebrating our wedding!! EVERYONE we walked by was yelling/congratulating/cheering for us! It was crazy!

Reception: We had our reception in the ballroom, which I know is not common, but we LOVED it and HIGHLY recommend it. We figured that everyone is outside all week, it was a nice change. And we thought it would give it more of the "reception" feel. We also didn't want to deal with spectators, wind, weather, sand.  The ballroom was great. We had 6 tables - around 8 people at each table. Then we had one big long head table of 14. I was going basic in decorations. They brought the flower arrangement from the ceremony to place at the head table. We had the pink chair bows. I had a frame to sign as the guestbook. They took a couple of our programs and fanned them out on the table for decoration.  Then I had flip flop place card holders that just had simple cards I printed out that had their name, table #, and food choice. I then ordered some candles that say like Table #1 etc from etsy. That was about it. It was simple, easy, .and it did the job. We also had little mints at each place setting.

Our reception was from 6:00-10:00.  So before it started I told them I wanted to have plenty of time for dancing, so lets start the food right away and move quick etc. So we do our bridal party entrance, then sit down and immediately they are refilling our drinks and bringing out our salads. We had the caesar salad to start - very good! Then we had the country mushroom soup - also very good. Then we gave the choice of fillets, either mushroom sauce or pepper sauce. The fillets were SO good!!! We also had a few vegetarian meals and one gluten free. No problems with any of the meals! Then we had a chocolate mousse cup for dessert - people couldn't stop talking about that! Then we did speaches during the dessert. Then we did the Tres Leches cake. It said feeds 35 - feeds WAY more then that. No need to upgrade. After the speeches they had us cut the cake, then the DJ started our first dance right away. So we didn't really get to eat the cake....and the dance started as they were serving, so not everyone ate it.But it was VERY good. No need to worry about the food, or drinks. I'd take a few sips of champagne, and they would be over my shoulder refilling it!

Then we had DJ Doremixx. They did a great job! And we had the light up dance floor. They will download any song you want, our first song was from a group that wouldn't typically play at a wedding but they downloaded it instantly. Our DJ was Temo. He did great. BUT I will say....it was a little bit more "mexican techno" then we were hoping for. They did a lot of mixing etc. So for the first couple songs we were like ok....this has to calm down. So I sent a groomsmen who spoke spanish up to try to explain how we want more "americanized, dance songs".  It got a little better....but still mixing. So I went up there and I told him he is very good at what he does (he works at a club in Cancun) but we really wanted more "80s/90s/top 40/pop hits" then it was excellent. We only had a few hours so we had to make the most of it. The dance floor did seem a little small, but it didn't keep anyone from dancing! I gave him a list of a few "must play" songs and it all worked perfect. I highly recommend them, as well as the light up floor! Then we thought about trying to do the Blue Parrot afterwards, but we just ended up in the lobby bar, dancing to the last few songs, then we decided to just hang out in the lobby/24 hour room. We were exhausted and figured here is free beer and food. Everything was perfect though!!! When we went back to the room, they had already delivered our leftover favors/decorations/flowers/a bottle of champagne, a huge chunk of our cake, and some fruit. Everything was great - I just wish the reception was longer, and we had already extended it an hour!

The next day they delivered our honeymoon breakfast - which came with ANOTHER bottle of champagne, and it was very good. We didn't do the private beach dinner because it was too windy, we just asked to have it at Pelicanos. We also did the couples massage. It was both of our first times getting one so we didnt know what to expect, but it was good.

I know this is probably the longest review EVER, but I hope it helps. Please ask if you have any questions, I'd love to help!! There is already talk from our guests about making a return trip for our 1 year anniversary :)