AmyB79

That dress is gorgeous on you!!

Quote: Originally Posted by cheese_diva Great photos! Everything looks so beautiful. Where did you end up getting your husband's suit? The color is perfect! We found it at Men's Warehouse for about $380 after alterations. It's a silk blend which was nice because it was light weight and good for hot weather. Unfortunately the pant hem got real dirty from the sand and the cleaners couldn't get it out, so he won't be wearing it again

Hi all, Frank and I celebrated our beautiful wedding at the El Dorado Royale on April 27th, 2007. We were lucky to be joined by Kashif Quraishi (and his wife Loreta - loretuke on this forum) on his first time destination wedding. We loved the pictures Kashif showed us of wedding's here in CT and were excited to have him come down to Mexico. I'm so glad we made this decision - we love the pictures! Hope you enjoy too To start playing as a slideshow, click on the first picture to open it. Once it’s opened, click the “Play Slideshow†button in the right corner. You can also just click on the picture to open a next one. Amy and Frank - Mexico April 27th 2007

My WC was initally Faith and then it was switched to Monica when Faith "got promoted" (or left or whatever). That transition was a pain. Faith definitely seemed better, and with Monica I had to go back through all the options I'd already selected with Faith. THen I had to do it again when I got to the resort, waste of time. The nice thing at the resort is that they have pictures of everything. The WC don't give this to you ahead of time unless you specifcally ask for it. One piece of advice I have is don't try and do anything different from what they normally offer. E.g., I spent a lot of time coming up with centerpiece arrangements, however they wouldn't let me bring my own supplies, and when I arrived at the resort it was obvious they had no idea what I was asking for (even though Monica gave me a price quote before and said they could do it). The centerpieces were not what I wanted and definitely not worth the high price tag, I wished I just went with one of their normal centerpiece ideas.

I got married at EDR on April 27th, 2007, and used an outside photographer who also happened to be a guest at the resort for 3 nights. We didn't have any issues with this process. In fact when the WC asked us if we wanted to use the hotel photographer, we just said "no- we're all set" and that was basically it. She didn't ask us any questions or mention any fees. We never told the WC (or anyone else at the resort) which one of our guests was the photographer, so the resort really didn't know how many nights they stayed. We didn't have any guests on a day-pass, so I can't comment on how that worked. Good luck working this out! I'll also add that I loved the EDR! Yeah, the beach is small and not as gorgeous as some other areas in Riviera Maya we saw, but the rest of the resort more than made up for that. I loved that the resort is huge! Lot's of opportunities for us to walk and burn off the high-calorie meals/drinks we were eating. Plus, by staying in castita's we were far enough away from our guests to not see them if we wanted, or we walked 10 minutes down to their area when we wanted to see them.

Have you ever thought about renting a villa? There are a lot of them in St Thomas and they look amazing! Private pool, beach front terrace... someday I want to rent one for a vacation

We looked a little and found that flights to St Thomas are more expensive than those to Mexico, so having your guests come in by cruise ship would be a good idea. We've stayed at the Marriott Frenchman's Reef and saw a wedding there for which several guests did just that, they came by cruise ship the day of the wedding. It also ensures you and your FI some private time! The Frenchman's Reef was very nice, and we were there in 2002 but I think they've had a major renovation since then. The restaurants at the hotel are okay - I actually don't remember them much - we decided to go downtown most nights for dinner. Good luck planning!

If anyone is looking at the El Dorado Royale, here is some information sent to me by the wedding coordinator. The EDR website contains the basic info (wedding packages, etc.) but you have to ask Monica or Faith for pictures or more details. Below I've attached some of the documents they've emailed to me (pictures and pricing), plus other info: Non-Hotel Guests: All non-hotel guests need to purchase a wedding pass. On the day of the wedding it is $72 per person and on all other days it is $99 per person. The pass is valid for 8 hours and includes food and beverage in the hotels restaurants and bars. It does not include private events. All guests entering on a pass must be 18 years or older. Shipping Packages to the Hotel ahead of time: Unfortunately this is not possible. The hotel is not able to receive packages shipped in advance. Customs is very difficult to work with in Mexico. Items arrive damaged, lost or late. For this reason we ask that you bring the items with you BASIC TABLE CENTERPIECES.doc Standard Cakes06.pdf Royale HONEYMOON BREAKFAST Menu.doc

One of the first vacations my FI and I took together was to St Thomas/St John in the USVI. It's gorgeous there! We were thinking about going for our wedding, but decided to get married in Mexico because it's a little cheaper for our guests. But in case anyone is looking at USVI, here's an awesome hotel in St John that is right on beautiful Cruz Bay Westin St. John Hotels: The Westin St. John Resort & Villas - Hotel Rooms at westin.com It's definitely a laid back location, with several excellent restaurants and bars close by, but if you want a place to party hard I wouldn't pick St John. St Thomas is a little bigger and you can take a ferry between the two islands for about $10 dollars (if I remember correctly). Both islands would make an excellent place for a 1-year anniversary!

This is a great site! Thanks for posting

I love #3 - it's very elegant and hopefully you can do something to avoid the wrinkling problem

Louisa, glad to hear you had such a good time! I'm getting married there at the end of April and am beginning to get a little worried. Mostly I'm worried about the location for the ceremony (beach vs gazebo) and also the flowers. I'm glad to hear they let you make changes once you were there. Was this as easy as it sounds? The wedding coordinator (Monica) told me about 10 times I had to have all my final decisions made 30 days before the wedding date. Post some pictures when you have a chance, I'd love to see them!

I'm getting married at EDR in a few weeks - April 27, 2007. The wedding coordinator has recently changed (from Faith to Monica) so I hope everything works out okay.

I'm going to use silk flowers becuase they're cheaper and you can't tell the difference once they're under water. I love the first picture too!

I'm planning on using tall vases, filled with orchids or some other type of flower, with a floating candle at the top. Here are a few pictures I've found for inspiration: