TammyWright

aww...thanks ladies...even though erica i am secretly mad at you and darlene for not using your site visit for when i am there!! i wanted to have you guys join us for dinner!!

erica is right...you can get a site visit once you do a room block...it is written into the contract...ask your TA or one of the wedding coords. helping you.

steve didn't let the baby out of his sight when they took him away. he went with the baby. also, they were very strict about the bands...they compared the baby's band with mine every time they took him.

i love the reunion shows!!

Quote: Originally Posted by Mandy I am currently planning on getting married at EDR next month. Whether or not we stick with our plans to have our wedding there, we will not be recommending this resort to anyone. I have already told a friend of mine who will possibly be planning a destination wedding later this year to take her business elsewhere. However, should the policies change, I would be more than happy to recommend EDR, as they have been accommodating and have a beautiful resort, as long as we are treated well while we're there. this is exactly my point...if the vendor policy wasn't in place and constantly changing i would refer El Dorado Royale for weddings again.

i agree with jessica and courtney...the bar in the lobby is the best place...

Quote: Originally Posted by SunBride You don't even have to buy the day pass! Unless your photographer is there long enough to be eating a meal, then obviously you would have to buy a pass so that they can eat (why should the resort be feeding them for free?). I asked about this because was planning on hiring Claudia before deciding to fly somebody in with me. Also I hired an external videographer and didn't have to purchase a day pass. And as I posted in the DT thread, you can certainly bring flowers from Angel's, I did without a problem. and that is one of the reason's why i recommend dreams. for an AI, they really are really accomodating to give the bride the wedding she deserves.

Quote: Originally Posted by timelsel Jennifer, I know what your TA was told regarding the $500 and the "optional" 3 nights stay, but that is NOT what they are emailing the brides. Here is what we received: the last time i booked a wedding a few months ago, it was just that the outside vendor had to be a guest (they stayed 2 nights) or pay the fee that is why i think it is ridiculous that they are insisting on a 3 night stay AND a fee.

jennifer, i agree with morgan. i do not believe that is their only reason for implementing this new ploicy...if it was they would do what other resorts have done and have an apporved vendor list... how does charging this fee to a make-up and hair person impact how the wedding is run? if the bride looks hideous it is going to reflect on the image of the resort? how come they would impose this fee on professionals like sol and elizabeth medina who are absolute professionals and some of the top DW photogs in the business if that is their concern?

i hope this does not offend but i think that the edr brides that are upset about this post are being too sensitive. i am not attacking your wedding location. EDR used to be one of my top recommendations...i am against their current policies on outside vendors. that is it. how else do you let them know you are unhappy with their policy? do you think an email is gonna make them think twice about their policy? probably not...but maybe exposure on a forum that have over 4000 destination wedding brides may...

Quote: Originally Posted by SunBride Barcelo also has a no outside vendor policy, but I don't know the exact terms as I simply ruled out the resort after finding out I couldn't hire a local photographer for the day I do agree that a sticky post of boycotting the resort is a little much. Why not just have it as a regular thread? It seems like normally only the most important threads are stickies. I wouldn't have thought this qualified as being something that should be a sticky. it has been stickied because it has been an issue. i have been pm'd by multiple brides as well as vendors about this issue. i think if there was one thread where people could voice their opinion about the policy, we could then send it to edr to see what they thought. i for one have boycotted booking at EDR because of this policy.

Quote: Originally Posted by blinkgrl119 I am getting married at Moon Palace - as far as I'm aware they also have a policy in place where you can't use outside vendors. However after speaking to various people on this website, I have found that as long as you state it at the start when you are signing your contracts, they normally have a bit of come and go with you...don't know if thats the same with EDR, but it might be worth a go before writing off such a beautiful setting for your wedding day. I believe Moon Palace will let you have an outside vendor if they are a guest at the hotel. Luckily the photographer we want requires somewhere to stay for the night anyway, so that works out fine for us. Good luck girls! pryzeless, it is not meantful to be hurtful to EDR brides. i am just upset when i get pm's from brides asking for my help to get the resort to change their policy. their policy is one that is constantly changing...i used to book weddings their because i thought they did good weddings. at the time they allowed outside photogs as long as they were guests at the resort. if they were not they had to pay a fee to go on the resort. that was fair. the photogs paid for the 2 nights they were staying there. now there is a 3 night minimum stay plus $500 fee. that is ridiculous!

I just wanted to update that Karisma Hotels listened to the concerns of their brides and they did update their outside vendor policy. There outside vendor policy is (this is only if you do not use a vendor from their approved vendor list): Your vendor needs to stay at the resort as a guest for a minimum 3 nights ---OR--- Pay an $800 outside vendor fee. -------------------------------- i thought this would be a good place to post warnings about resorts in Cancun and Riviera Maya. Right now i am not happy with El Dorado Royale Suites and the Karisma resorts and will not send any of my wedding business there until they change their vendor policies. It is a high end resort and not a cheap place to get married and they are making it nearly impossible for brides and grooms to bring in outside vendors. Some of the most beautiful wedding pictures i have seen taken at El Dorado were done by outside wedding photographers. Why would you spend tens of thousands of dollars to get married there just to have mediocre pictures? if you are in support of boycotting El Dorado Royale and Karisma resorts because if their outside vendor policy, post here and tell them what you think of their policy!

something like this happened to me my sophomore year in high school...i was a cheerleader and this gangster girl didn't like cheerleaders...she went on a mission to beat one up...since i was the smallest she went after me. told everyone in school that she was looking for me to beat me up. it was a "spirit day" so i was in my cheerleading uniform...her nickname was "the hammer"...she came up to me and slapped me and tried to beat me up. little did she know i grew up brawling with my sisters so i totally kicked her ass and did NOT get suspended...after that people started calling me "tyson" behind my back.

leia, i LOVE your sig!

andrea, thank you for the fantastic review!!

congrats ladies!!

Quote: Originally Posted by JessicaLovesBrian Ummm.... Honor?! I don't know. I am just not feeling that name. It annoys me for some reason. But then again Jessica Alba in general annoys me. it annoys me too because she seems like such a dumb *ss...

it is one of the main reasons i am not booking the resort anymore for weddings. there are too many other resorts to have to deal with this. it is a high end resort so you want high end pictures. someone having their wedding here is not going to settle for just ok pics.

i say no...honestly as a TA referrals and your continued business is more than enough!

vendors, i will be doing some "housecleaning" of threads in the vendor marketplace. if you are no longer an active member or have the forum linked on your website/blog your thread will be removed. Just a heads up.

Quote: Originally Posted by lauren c. dh is a mortgage broker. he owns his own company. needless to say, we'll be living on ramen soon. he is currently looking for a new job, but that's easier said than done. he's miserable and walks around with his head hung, self-loathing. there is nothing that makes him happy at this point. we bought our house about 2 years ago, and put a lot of work into it. we need to downsize, but can't b/c we can't sell the house for anything near what we paid. so in other words this economy blows. lauren, i am so sorry for your DH...i was in real estate before and my good friends are in the mortgage biz and they took such a hit. it is so hard right now. even if they have a client willing to buy a house with the $$ they are having a hard time getting anyone qualified.

steve and i live very minimally so it hasn't affected us financially in a negative way. in fact, we both made more this year than past years AND home prices have gone down so we are in a better place as buyers. homes we were looking at last year in the $950,000-1mil range are now in the $850-900k range so we are stoked! but we know we have a baby we need to think of so we are setting aside money for rough times.

for basic dressing like on a spinach salad i love the basics balsamic with dijon mustard, honey and olive oil. but for asian cucumber salad i love rice wine vinegar.

i made an error...the rate is $362 in august. the $350 rate ended in july and you were right on the border. the orbitz rate is $381 per night.