bridetobe22

Cancun Wedding Videos | Mayan Riviera Wedding Videographer | Mike Cantarell Here is a link to the highlights portion of our video from Cancun Wedding Videos. It is the best money we spent at the wedding. I highly recommend these guys! Mike Cantarell and his team do an AMAZING job. Jerry is the guy who did ours and it was PERFECT!

Hi everyone- I hope your wedding planning is going well. I just wanted to let you know that our 'highlights' portion of our wedding video is online. Our video from Cancun Wedding Video is our favorite part of our wedding. We HIGHLY recommend using these guys. Here is the link. Enjoy! Cancun Wedding Videos | Mayan Riviera Wedding Videographer | Mike Cantarell Katy

Thank you everyone for your kind comments! All the best to all of you in your planning.

Quote: Originally Posted by JLC That looks great! Everything turned out gorgeous! Where did you get the heart for the sand? I love it!!! I want to do something like that for sure ) I got the sand ceremony from Ebay...search for sand ceremony and you will see them!

Hi everyone- I just want to thank you all for your kind words about the loss of our puppy. He was really like our child and for it to happen so suddenly one week after we got home from PDC has been really tough. Anyway, thank you again for your thoughts! I am trying to get back into the swing of things and just replied to the PMs you all sent. Please let me know if I can help you out in any way. My biggest advice is when you meet with your WC, be very specific in what you want. Bring pictures, write out all the details, etc. I know you have all worked so hard in your planning and it is so important that all of your ideas get conveyed to the WCs. They are very willing to accomodate you, but you just have to let them know what you want. Good luck! Katy

Hi- We just got back from our wedding in PDC and Carlos and DJ Mannia are fabulous! Honestly, we could not have asked for anything better. From the moment we started emailing to the very end, he was perfect. His prompt responses, his professionalism, his desire to please his customer, his amazing equipment, his flexibility (moving from outside to inside during the rain).....I could go on and on. All I can say is that if you are looking for the perfect DJ....Carlos is your man!

Hi everyone- We are back and all I can say is that it was a fairytale. I just did my wedding review...here is the link. http://bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/t33274 Thank you to everyone for your well wished while we were gone. Please PM me if you have any specific questions. I'm sure you've seen our little puppy Bentley, in my picture...well he died suddently this week and I can't tell you the overwhelming grief we are feeling. Writing this review is the first productive thing I've done in two days. I may be a little slow getting back to you for a few days and I probably won't be checking this site too often, but I will get back to it eventually. They say time heals, but we feel like we lost our child. I am so thankful Steve and I have each other. In the end, after all the wedding festivities, it is the marriage that is the most important part! All the best, Katy

(Continued from previous post) DJ- DJ Mannia, Carlos AMAZING!!! He was so fantastic. You should absolutely book him!!!!!!!!!!!! He played everything we asked and was open to guests requests….just perfect! He was awesome. Can't say enough great things about him. In the pic below, you can see the balloons he hands out...so fun. You'll also see I changed into my mom's wedding dress from 1969! Saturday brunch, Spice 10am. – This was so fun for everyone to get together the morning after the wedding. Just go early and they will move tables together for you. Again, a no cost option for you and a fun event for the guests. Trash the Dress - We did this a few days after the wedding and these are just the teaser pics, Cecilia sent us. Can't wait to see all of them. I got this dress to simulate my real dress from Ebay. Vendors not yet reviewed: Photography- Cecilia Dumas. AMAZING!!! We love our pictures. Have a look and decide for yourselves! She is a doll and so fantastic to work with. Couldn’t have asked for better! FABULOUS!!!! Videography- Cancun Wedding Video, Jerry was great! He was so easy to work with and worked fantastically with Cecilia. He was so accommodating and unobtrusive. I can’t wait to see the video. I hope it will be wonderful and feel sure it will. Ajua Weddings- guitar and mariachi. I worked with Stephanie who made everything very easy and I know we saved money booking the musicians through them rather than going directly thru the Royal. The guitarist played about 20 min while the guests were arriving in the reception and then played ‘Cannon in D’ as the mothers were seated, ‘You are the Sunshine of my Life’ as the groom entered and ‘Over the Rainbow’ as I walked down the aisle. The mariachi was supposed to play as we walked back down the aisle after they pronounced us husband and wife, but they weren’t there?!?! So the guitarist played and the mariachi came walking up about 5 min. later as we were all doing a champagne toast. It was perfect. They played for 45 min. during the cocktail hour. Lounge Furniture and Chair Rental – Cancun Events and Weddings- Well, I think this was probably a waste of money since our reception had to be moved inside. It would have been worth it on the beach though. Royal Wedding Coordinator, Micaela- As you fellow Royal brides know, communication prior to arriving at the Royal was slim, but once we got there we had her full attention. Micaela worked so hard to make sure all the little details were perfect and they were! She was a pleasure to work with. Veronica’s Massage- This is in downtown Playa and myself and many of the guests had massages while we were there…..only $30 for one hour and they are better than many of the $100+ massages I have had in the US!! Can’t beat it! Please PM me if you have any questions. Many thanks to you all and all the best to each of you as you plan your special day! Katy (BridetoBe22)

(Continued from previous post) Here are more of the pics we took on the beach while the guests were enjoying the cocktail hour. 6:00-10:30pm - Reception was all set up on the beach behind the gazebo and looked lovely….but it rained for about 30 min. at the end of the cocktail reception and everything had to be moved inside. I was really upset at first as we were really excited for an outdoor reception, but honestly I don’t think it could have been any more fun or more lovely as it was in the ballroom. The guests were outside for the wedding, cocktails, and we had drinks at the lobby bar as they were setting up the ballroom, so there was a lot of 'movement'...but felt very natural. It was perfect! The food at the reception was the best we had while we were at the Royal. We did a buffet style to promote conversation. Highly recommend the Tres Leches cake. Some said it was the best wedding cake they had ever had! Yummy. They made the centerpieces just as I had asked. Continued in next post.....

(Continued from previous post) Wedding, 4pm. – Wedding in Gazebo. I loved the gazebo. It was ‘semiprivate’ and I thought decorated so pretty. The WCs had no problem hanging all the paper lanterns for us. I had given them specific details on the bouquet and centerpiece and I loved the way they turned out. I am also so glad I brought the aisle runner and sand ceremony. 4:30-5:30pm- Cocktail reception with horderves in the garden in front of the gazebo (guests said the food was great). Mariachi played for 45 min and then they played a CD we had given them. This is where the guests picked up their name cards for the reception. In the pic below, you can see the cocktail tables set up in the background. During the cocktail reception (we chose the menu when we arrived at the Royal the day before) Steve and I took pics on the beach and around the resort. We didn't actually participate in the cocktail hour, but the guests loved it. More in next post......

I can’t believe it is time for me to do my wedding review. We got married on Friday Nov. 21, 2008 at the Royal in PDC. We had 31 of our friends and family join us for the event. It was the best day of our lives! My wish is that all of you will have the same glorious time at your wedding. Please PM me if you have any questions or want any additional information. Here is a link to my planning thread for more details: http://bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/t31915 Royal Overview: Highly recommend. Perfect location which made the trip most enjoyable for the guests and for us too. The fact that it is steps away from downtown PDC is awesome. It is an adorable little town. The Royal beach is big and beautiful, although the WCs told me that the beach size changes month to month due to the tides. Service is amazing, rooms are spacious and lovely, pools are divine. Wedding accommodations are great. The food was good. Some really good, some average, some ok. Spice is the buffet….always great for breakfast (my favorite meal) and lunch. Dinner options are Asiana (just ok), Pellicanos (outdoor…nice ambiance, ok food), Maria Marie’s (need reservation but the best food in our opinion), Chef’s Plate (need reservation and a prix fix menu, but very good), and also a Tapas restaurant that we didn’t try. We ate at the Italian restaurant and Mexican restaurant at the Gran Porto and they were ok. We had an ocean view room and did not get the upgrade based on availability. We loved our room. 297. Some guests who had rooms on the ground floor that opened to the pool area were really cool too. Wedding Events: Guests arrived on Thursday afternoon. Thursday night- Welcome cocktails at Lobby Bar at 9pm. This was awesome and I highly recommend everyone do it as it is just a great way for all the guests to meet each other and get to know each other better. It’s free for us. As it turns out, about half of our guests all met up for dinner at Pellicano’s before which was fun. Friday, 11:30am, Went to salon to have hair styled by Jesu. I loved it and it looked even better than the picture I showed her. I did my own makeup. I do highly recommend a trial run, which we did the day before. 2:00pm – Photographer (Cecilia Dumas-yay!) and (Cancun Wedding Videos, Jerry-YAY) arrived to take pics of me in the room getting ready. 2:45-3:00 - Steve and I walked around town with Jerry and Cecilia getting pics made. It was so fun and some of my favorite pics are from here. I would highly recommend making time for this in your wedding day. More in next post.......

We aren't having a Rehearsal Dinner but we are having a 'Welcome Cocktail Party' the night before. I spoke to some previous brides and they suggested to do it in the lobby bar. The bar looks really big and cool, with couches, beds for conversing, lots of tables and chairs. I made up custom drink menus that we will put on the tables and the featured drinks follow the theme of Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue. In the OOT bags we did a list of 'Who's Who' at the wedding so I hope people will read this to learn a little about each person so that it will be a good conversation starter at the cocktail party. This is a really simple and affordable way to have a special gathering for your guests when they arrive. We are also doing a brunch the morning after the wedding in Spice. I am just hoping to pull some tables together. Again, just a way to get everyone together and say thank you and reminisce about the night before. I'll let you know how it all works out.

Quote: Originally Posted by Marianna Hello Katy!!! First of all everything looks beautiful! I love the colors and your logo. I cant wait to see your pictures and read your review. I am getting married at the Royal in May as well. Its pretty funny but we will be using the same photographer, dj, and the company for the lounge area! I would love to hear all about them. Are you getting your flowers done straight thru the hotel? And if you dont mind sharing how much extra did they charge you for the chairs? I hope you have a great time and can't wait to hear all about it! Hi Marianna- I will definitely fill you in on everything about the Royal when I get back! Events and Weddings is charging me $9.50/ea for the chairs. Yes, I am doing my flowers through the Royal. Since some were included in our package, I figured it would be the most cost effective option, but I really didn't research it too much. I just can't wait to get there! Thanks for your kind words. Katy

Hi everyone- I just posted my planning thread and thought that since you are all Royal Brides you might want to take a look. Please let me know if you have any questions. I have to say a HUGE THANK YOU to all the past Royal brides for everything. Your help is so much appreciated. http://bestdestinationwedding.com/fo...915#post597100 We leave in 10 days. I hope that everything turns out just as planned and that when I return will have many more insights to help out the future brides. All the best- Katy

OOT bags will be waiting in each guests’ room when they arrive. They were purchased from Target. We printed welcome cards with a personalized note inside. We will also be including a ‘Who’s Who’ at the wedding list in each bag so everyone will get an idea of who the fellow guests will be. 1 month prior to the wedding we sent the ‘Pre-Wedding Letter’ and the luggage tags. Template is attached. TTD dress (on model…not me!) I got this from ebay and it looks SO much like my real dress. Our photographer is Cecilia Dumas, Wedding photography | Cecilia Dumas, Cancun y Riviera Maya | Imagenes de Bodas and our Videographer is Mike Cantarell, Cancun Wedding Videos | Mayan Riviera Wedding Videographer | Miguel Cantarell - Home Thanks again to everyone! preweddingletterfinal9.10.doc