The Royal Playa Del Carmen - November 22 with pics!

[olsontco]

Arriving:

 

Arriving in Cancun was fairly non eventful. We made it through customs with only one person getting stopped and that happened to be ME. It was fine though, they kept me for a moment and then we all continued on to the transportation area. Our transport was done by lumas travel and it was fine. The guide on our van talked the entire time about things to do in Playa, I think trying to sell his services, but it was a little annoying. Most of us just didn’t pay attention and looked ahead to arriving at The Royal.

Once getting to the Royal it was a bit confusing checking in. It seemed they weren’t completely ready for us, but everyone was so nice it was hard to be irritated. They took most of us separately to our own concierge close to our room. It was nice in the long run to have the same concierge helping you during the entire stay. We decided to book the Swim up suite which was located on the beach front side right by the pool. The room was nice, but the view was basically of the pool and when you looked out you saw everyone sunbathing. It wasn’t exactly how I imagined.... so we decided to do an upgrade to the master suite and I am so glad we did. It was beautiful and perfect for your wedding and honeymoon.

 

Wedding Coordinator:

 

Our wedding coordinator was Zulma and she was fantastic. Leading up to the wedding the communication was ‘okay’ which I understand because of everything they are coordinating. Once we got to the resort she was extremely attentive and had everything ready to go. We met with her a few hours after arriving just to go over all the details. I had written out how I wanted all the tables decorated (as I brought my own things) and all the other details for the wedding. We picked out my bouquet and other flowers as well as just went over timing. She was extremely helpful in coming up with things to meet your expectations. I honestly can’t say enough about her.

 

Photographer:

 

After doing a ton of research on the forum as well as everywhere else on this forum, we decided to hire Samuel Luna . I decided to have him take pictures of us before the welcome dinner (engagement type photos), photographs at the welcome dinner, and then for 6-7 hours the day of the wedding. I believe I chose the soulful package and he worked with me to come up with exactly what would work for us. Let me just tell you… he is the most pleasant man. I could not have been more pleased with the type of person he was. We had a lot of fun working with him. My entire family kept talking about what a nice man he was…so, if you are looking for someone to fit in with your group and just enjoy taking pictures.. you have found your photographer! Here is the link to our slideshow Teri + Robert – The Royal Playa del Carmen, Riviera Maya. Samuel Luna ClientsI just received this link today and I’m so excited to share them with you. He definitely captured “the story” which was exactly what I wanted. It doesn’t look like the welcome dinner was included in the slideshow but as soon as I get those photos I will post. I would recommend Samuel to anyone! Please contact him now 

 

 

The First Night and Welcome Bags:

 

I had all of my items shipped (which was an experience, but everything did end up making it) so we spent the first night basically putting our welcome bags together. Once they were all together we then got the help of the concierge to help us figure out how to deliver them to the rooms and then how to have them ready for people as they check in. This was a bit of a headache and I’m not too sure how to make it easier on you. Definitely have with you a list of all your guests. For $2 a bag they will deliver them for you, which is what I would suggest. We did not do this and it seemed everyday I was going to the front desk making sure people got their bags. Also, I had to remember to bring the bags down in the morning for the people that were checking in that day. I thought this was going to be a little easier to handle, but over all… it really wasn’t that bad. The welcome bags were a huge hit. We included: a towel, 2 koozies, a bag of home made cookies, a welcome letter, a photo sharing card, and sunscreen. (I will try and add photos later)

 

 

 

 

Welcome Dinner:

 

We decided to have the welcome dinner in the garden with a buffet dinner. It was perfect. We brought our own mp3 player with music and they had a system set up for us. They set up a private bar and had a beautiful set up for the buffet. Zulma also decorated all the tables with the supplies we brought for her. We didn’t have to do a thing. It was all very enjoyable, very relaxing, and everyone had a wonderful time. I wasn’t sure I wanted to do the dinner in the garden because I was worried it would look too much like the reception the next night. But, I’m so glad we did. It was perfect.

 

 

 

 

The Day of the Wedding:

 

First of all… who would have thought that you would be out in the sun the day of your wedding? Not me! I relaxed by the pool till about 11:00 a.m. and then went in to shower and begin to get ready. We purchased the luxury package so I did my nails and toes the day before –which I would suggest—and then I scheduled my hair and make-up at 12:00. Hair – I brought a lot of pictures with me of this one style that I wanted. I think she got fairly close… I was happy with it. In some of the photos I don’t like it, but overall… I really like it. Make-up – I brought all of my own make-up. I had spent a fortune on Make-up for life make-up and decided I would have them use it… I am so happy I did. The make-up that they had available did not look like the best make-up. So, I basically told her what to do and where to put things and I was very happy with that. My groom had the ‘face-saver’ and all his good guy friends did too… ummmmm I might suggest skipping this…. They definitely cut his face and the other guys were not too impressed either. Just an fyi. The hotel had forgotten to schedule the pressing of my dress and the tux – I remembered the night before and Zulma got on it right away. But, I would suggest scheduling this during your meeting with your wedding coordinator. I didn’t get my dress to me until a little after 2 and my photographer came at 2. So, that was a little annoying. But, it all worked out. Our wedding was scheduled for 4 at the gazebo.

 

 

The weather was beautiful and the set up was perfect. We had a little mishap with the pastor – but that was completely my fault since I had decided to get my own pastor. Zulma stepped in and helped and it all went great. The ceremony was wonderful!

 

The reception:

 

We had hired our own DJ – Ivan and he was wonderful. I didn’t go with the light up dance floor because of the cost and really… no one noticed. I know it would have been cool to have it, but we all had a blast anyway! Ivan was awesome… the big reason why we decided to go with a DJ in the first place was to make sure to keep things going and to have someone announcing when we were doing certain things. He did everything on schedule and really kept everyone dancing…. He was great to work with too! Thank you Ivan!

 

 

I also had arranged for the lounge furniture through an outside vendor. The reason I did this was because the set up was so much more decorative than the set up the resort did. The company I worked with was Mayan hospitality at Mayan Hospitality.

 

 

 

Raffaele also helped me come up with an alternative for a centerpiece.

 

 

 

He was wonderful to work with and really helped it all come together.

 

I think that is it! My family and friends had a fantastic time. I still get emails and comments about how wonderful the wedding was. I think the experience of all being together in a place like Playa del Carmen and at The Royal is a life long memory. ALSO… I wanted to say being right in town is fabulous. It really kept everyone entertained. If they didn’t want to stay at the resort they had plenty of other options to shop, eat, and drink.

 

Thanks for all the help on this forum! You all were a life saver!!!!!

 

Teri

 

Don't forget to check out the slideshow! Samuel Luna was fantastic!

 

Teri + Robert – The Royal Playa del Carmen, Riviera Maya. Samuel Luna Clients

[weddinggirl72]

Amazing pictures! Thanks for the detailed review! Love the lounge furniture set it and the resort looks amazing!!!!

[*Nadine*]

Congrats and thanks so much for the review! Your dress looked fantastic on you!!

[snoopAsh]

oooo wow. You look so pretty! AND it looks like you all had a BLAST!

 

Congrats!

[olsontco]

Thank you!!!! Yes... we had so much fun! Obviously because I am laughing or smiling from ear to ear in EVERY photo. Not sure what happend to the sexy Teri... but, oh well.. that is me

[giraffexx]

Congrats!!! You looked beautiful! I love the lounge furniture!

 

What was the temperature like at night on the beach? I am getting married November 19, 2010 at the Royal and I am curious if it was chilly?

 

How did you ship your stuff to the resort? And how far in advance did you do it?

 

Thanks for writing this review, very helpful.

[olsontco]

Quote:

Originally Posted by giraffexx Congrats!!! You looked beautiful! I love the lounge furniture! What was the temperature like at night on the beach? I am getting married November 19, 2010 at the Royal and I am curious if it was chilly? Thanks for writing this review, very helpful.

Oh that is awesome! The temperature was perfect! I thought it was going to be a little chilly, but it was great! I am very cold natured so I even had a little wrap to put on if I needed to, but there was no need. I want to say it was about 68 or 69 degrees.

[baj]

congrat's and thanks for sharing your great review & pics

[JT3]

Congrats thanks for the review..

[olsontco]

Quote:

Originally Posted by giraffexx Congrats!!! You looked beautiful! I love the lounge furniture! What was the temperature like at night on the beach? I am getting married November 19, 2010 at the Royal and I am curious if it was chilly? How did you ship your stuff to the resort? And how far in advance did you do it? Thanks for writing this review, very helpful.

I forgot to answer about the shipping. Now... I fedex'd everything priority about 3 weeks before my wedding. If you decide to do this there are definitely things you need to know. 1. Do not ship shells - we were decorating with sand dollars at the welcome dinner. They do not allow you to bring shells into Mexico. This held up a box. They ended up shipping it back to me and then I just brought it with me (which is funny, since I ended up bringing these items anyway). 2. Make sure you list out everything that is the box. Put all over any of the documentation that this is for a wedding. I shipped maracas in a box, I shipped towels in another box, I shipped my koozies in a box, then I shipped some odds and ends in another box that included sunblock. The towels got through with no problem, but the other items were held up for a while. If you have everything labeled properly (which I didn't) it will help. Once we got everything there we were so glad we went this route. BUT... it was a little bit stressful. 3. You will ship it directly to your wedding coordinator. So... just have them be on the look out for it all.

Hope that helps. Feel free to ask any questions you may have!!!!!