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Don't freak out, everything will be perfect! Here are the answers to your questions: I got my hair and make up done at the spa along with my bridesmaids. Christian did my make up and hair and it was perfect. I am very picky and I could not find one flaw, it was beyond my expectations. I had emailed the spa to make appointments for me and my bridal party and they recommended a 1:00 start for a 5:00 wedding and it turned out perfect. All 4 of us were done by 3 and we went back to my room and got dressed, had some champagne and took pictures with the photographer. Llenny touched base with me earlier in the day then she came to my room around 4 to give us our flowers and she told me she would be back at 4:55 to get me, my father and bridesmaids to escort us to the gazebo. She was right on time then the next time I saw her was at the end of the cocktail hour where she escorted our group to the event terrace where the reception was. I don't remember seeing her much at the reception (but she might have been there) but we didn't really need her services there because the DJ was in control of the music and flow of the evening (when to cut the cake, speeches etc). We did not use our own script for the wedding. Roxanna the minister emailed me the 2 reading they typically use so we ended up using one of them and substituting a reading that we liked better. Your wedding will be fantastic! I can't post pictures for some reason so send me your email address and I'll send you some pictures:) Shannon

Hi brides and grooms to be! I have been home from my fabulous destination wedding for almost a month now so I thought it was time to finally sit down and write a review since I was able to gain so much useful information from past brides. Resort- My husband and I had visited EPM 2 years prior so we already knew how fantastic the accommodations, food, and service were. This visit was just as perfect. We travelled from 8/17-8/28 (wedding was 8/21). We had stayed in the 2 story roof top terrace during our first visit so we booked the same room category and absolutely loved it. All the rooms are great though...all of my guests stayed in the standard room and they were all very happy with their room. As mentioned before, the bathroom is a little different but it's manageable. Two of my girlfriends that had never met shared a room and they came up with a good system of putting an ipod on when they had to use the bathroom, the docking station was right there. The food was outstanding, I never had a bad meal. Actually I gained 5 pounds in 12 days so it goes to show how good the food and drinks were. The room service was awesome for those afternoon siestas. We probably spent $100-$150 in tips (not including any of the wedding tipping). You don't have to tip but these men and woman work so hard with such great customer service. One day I had the same waiter bring us room service breakfast, drinks by the pool then he was our server at dinner. We would give $1 per round of drinks by the pool, $3-5 for room service $2-3 for lunch and $5-$10 for dinner. The tips just depended on how many small bills we have. Like I said, you don't have to tip but if you look around at other guests it seemed most people tipped at least a little. The drink service around all the pools was amazing. If you throw a few dollars their way then your drink will never get empty. It seemed our room was cleaned later in the day than most of my guests but that was no big deal. I have nothing but wonderful things to say about the resort and staff. WEDDING Ceremony- It was perfect and so incredibly amazing! I couldn't have asked for anything better. We arrived on Friday 8/17 and met with Llenny on 8/18. She had a folder with all of the million questions/requests I had sent her over the past year. She was extremely organized and such a doll. We had a 5pm wedding at the beach gazebo and would highly recommend it over the beach. It was still very hot and very sunny at 5pm so it was nice to give some relief from the sun to us and our guests. The pictures were amazing at the gazebo and it was nice to then take a bunch of pictures on the beach. We hired Javier Rojas to play the guitar for the ceremony and he was beyond amazing. His price is a bit high for less than an hour of service but his music totally set the mood and was absolutely perfect. We had a symbolic ceremony and it was beautiful. The ministers name was Roxanna and she was very good but her accent was a little strong. Even now when we watch the video from the wedding it's hard to understand some of the things she was saying. She was great before the wedding about emailing me back with questions about the ceremony. I had two of my closest family members who were not in the wedding party do the two ceremony readings and it was beautiful and very sentimental. The weather was perfect the entire day (and the entire 12 days we were there!) Reception- Our cocktail hour was at the X-Lounge, it was gorgeous and perfect since it was right on the beach. We had the reception for our 25 guests on the event terrace (CECO terrace). Again, I would highly recommend this because it's very secluded from the rest of the resort so you feel like you are at your own private wedding. We did not use the in house DJ, we used Ivan Gomez from dj doremixx. I found his name on a different thread and after contacting him and seeing his prices we went with him. The 2 mails addresses I have for him are [email protected] and [email protected]. Even after paying the $300 vendor fee it was quite a bit cheaper to go through him for the services we wanted. We had the gold wedding package which was perfect and we also extended our reception by one hour. The food was excellent. We had the caesar salad to start (yummy), the seafood bisque (not my favorite) and a choice of chicken and mahi mahi OR beef and scallops for the main course. Everyone raved about the food so I know it was good. I loved the look of my cake and the flavor was good. The only thing I would change for the reception is the lighting on the tables. I had 'purchased' through the resort 10 tee light candles for the table and they wouldn't stay lit because of the Caribbean breeze. I would recommend the candles that look like tee lights but are battery operated. We brought paper lanters for them to hang and upgraded some of the centerpieces. I decided to have all of my guests sitting at one rectangular table, it worked out great. Photographer/Videographer- We used in the house photographer Juan Carlos and again I can not say enough about his amazing service. Every single person I show my pictures to comment on how beautiful his work was. He was with us from the spa all the way to the end of the reception. We went next door to the resort after the ceremony for pictures and the pictures were beautiful. We did not have any issues with bugs/flies/mosquiotos like other brides had. Juan and his crew were awesome to work with. We had a meeting with him 3 days after the wedding to look at all the edited photos and the edited video from the whole day. I cried like a baby watching it! Everything was set to music and the video was beyond perfect. One of the best decisions we made was to choose him for our wedding. When we left to go home we had a 10x12 coffee table style photo book of 100 of the best shots, the wedding dvd, a disc with all of the edited photos (200 pics) and 2 discs with every picture he took (over 2,000!) and of course the copyright permission to make copies of all the photos. He was amazing to work with! I will try and figure out how to post pictures. I'm sure there are a lot of details I left out so please ask me anything. You will have the time of your lives! Shannon

Hi Amanda, The resort has the typical credit card style room keys. Good luck with the OOT bags...I had so much fun with them and my guests raved about them:) Shannon

Hi Amanda, The resort has the typical credit card style room keys. Good luck with the OOT bags...I had so much fun with them and my guests raved about them:) Shannon

Hi! I recently got married at the EPM and used the in-house photographer/videographer names Juan Carlos from VIP Weddings (Blue Lens Caribe). The video and the photos were AMAZING!!! I can not say enough about the quality and professionalism of the whole crew. I had my edited pictures/coffee style photo book/dvd just days after the wedding. Everything was of the utmost quality and absolutely breath taking. That's just my two cents:)

Hi Ladies! I wanted to let you all know that I just got back from a 12 night stay at EPM for my wedding and honeymoon and it was absolutely perfect! No problems at all, it was beyond my expectations. I had been emailing with Nayeli for the past year or so with my questions then about a month ago Llenny started emailing me and she was the only one who I met with at the resort. She was perfect and right on track with every single detail. I will write a more detailed review later this week...just wanted to let all you brides know how to worry about anything! Shannon

Hi guys! I'm 29 days away from my big day. Nayeli actually emailed ME yesterday to ask for my choices on food, flowers, cake etc to get my wedding planner finished up. That was a shock! Quick questions...Have any past brides mailed any wedding stuff to the resort beforehand? I am trying to avoid paying the ridiculous baggage prices through US Airways. Let me know, thanks!

You've got to be careful about what the in-house DJ includes in their package and how long they will be at your reception. We went with the outside DJ because we were able to get the lighted dance floor, cold fireworks display and 4 hours at our reception for quite a bit less money than what the in-house DJ charges for all of that. He has been great to work with so far.

Hi Sheryl, Thank you so much for the info! I'm less than 7 weeks away now! Quick question for all the brides..have any of you used the outside vendor Dj Doremixx? They have been great to work with so far. Even after paying the resort vendor fee, the DJ is significantly less expensive than the in-house DJ. Let me know if anyone has any experience working with them. Thanks!

Hi All, I think I may be the next bride up! I get married at EPM on 8/21/12. Even though I do not post much now I will be sure to write a very detailed review upon my return since I have received so many great tips and advice from all if you. I have asked Nayeli at least 70 questions in the last 6 months and I think I am finally at the point that I don't have anything else to ask her. One quick question for past brides tough- I am planning on having my reception on the event terrace (weather permitting of course..) Is there a private bathroom there where I can put a basket of things for my guests like bandaids, hairspray, tylenol, gum etc.. and to also store some makeup for any touch ups I may need? I worry that if it's a bathroom that the other hotel guests can use that the things may get taken. My advice for future brides is this... If you want any of the extra things, make sure you email Nayeli now about pricing. Some prices for things she quoted me 8 months ago has now gone up but she will honor the old pricing. Examples of the 'extras' that she has tried to charge me more for are: guitar player for the ceremony, vendor fee for using an outside DJ, and other decor type items. Happy planning! Shannon

Hi Amanda, Thank you for sending me that email but for some reason I never got it. Another email address of mine is [email protected], maybe that will work. I'm loving pinterest, thank you for introducing me to this very addicting site! You have some really beautiful stuff on there! Are you doing OOT bags? Luckily I still have over 6 months left until the big day, because I haven't done much of anything except for choosing the site and sending out save the dates, yikes! Hope all is well:) Shannon

Hi! I am getting married at EPM on August 21, 2012 and I am very excited! I'd love to see the info for the flower, meals, gazebo etc. Would you mind emailing me it? My email is [email protected]. Your day is going to come up so fast...can't wait to hear all about it! Did the hotel give you a time frame about making decisions on the flowers, and extra decor? Thanks for the info! Shannon

You look absolutely stunning! Gorgeous! My date is confirmed for August 21...so excited. How did everything go with your wedding? How was the new wedding coordinator? Any tips for us Excellence Brides to be? It looks like you had an amazing time, congrats again! Shannon

Thank you for your response, the info is very helpful! Congrats on your big day, it's just a few days away! I can't wait to hear all about it and to see if the new wedding coordinator was able to deliver you the wedding of your dreams. Have a wonderful time and we would all love to hear your review when you return. Congrats again Trisha!

Hello to all the EPM brides! I travelled to EPM for Christmas of last year and my fiancee and I totally fell in love with the resort and service. I've been reading this blog for months waiting for the ring and it finally happened, yay! We both want to get married at EPM in August 2012 and have been emailing with the new wedding coordinator there. She recommended working with a travel agent that specializes in destination weddings...any recommendations??? Any info that you have would be HUGELY appreciated, thank you!! Shannon