TATrisha

Excellent review Jemma! I put a link to it in the official thread. I'm sure it'll be super useful to future brides!

Hi Kristi! Choosing a photographer is tough, because there are SO many of us out there. Here are 150 reviews on the El Dorado Royale, with a vast amount of them actually being about the photography services they used for their wedding at the resort. I hope that helps! http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/search.php?search=El+Dorado+Royale&advanced=1&currenttab=Review

It's been a year and a half since I've updated this post, so I thought I'd add some new eye candy! Enjoy!!

It didn't work when I did it. Thankfully I had a backup. I had burn a disc from itunes and then I had to find a computer that didn't have itunes, rip the CD onto it in MP3 format instead of MP4 and then burn a copy of the MP3 songs to a new Cd. it was a totally pain, but in the end it was worth it. I would suggest 12th Ave in Playa Del Carmen. The bars are close together and pretty safe.

Welcome Emily! Congratulations on your upcoming wedding! Sounds like you have an awesome group going with you so I'm sure it'll be fantastic! Andrea, I brought CDs with the music I wanted to be played. But it was REALLY important to make sure they weren't MP4s like Ipod music is. It had to be able to be played on a REALLY old boom box. Like, pre ipod boom box. They might have upgraded the sound system since my wedding, but you're better safe than sorry.

KCDawn, are you bringing a photographer with you to photograph your wedding? If so, I'd use them. When I deliver BD books that's how it works. That way I also get to capture his awesome reaction to the present! So usually I will go over there right before he starts getting ready. I'll pull him out on the balcony by himself and shut the drapes. That way nobody can see him or hear his reactions. I just say that I need some portraits. Then i will hand him the book and take pictures. It's super fun!

Quote: Originally Posted by Sara Tamargo Hey girls! I'm not writing as vendor, on Sunday my boyfriend gave me the engagement ring, so now I'm writing as engaged!. Like you, I want so much to get married on the beach!. I'll be happy to read your tips! Hey! Congratulations Sara!!! Are you getting married at the Bahia? I paid for the spa and our excursions with credit card. It's a lovely thing actually, because the exchange rate is really bad at the resort compared to the credit card companies. For instance, the safe fee was $20, but I said I wanted to pay with credit card, not cash. It was $14.63 on my credit card bill. That was nice! Honestly, yes, 2 hours is too long. Or at least it was for Cheryl's wedding. 1 1/2 is way better. UNLESS you have cake cutting in the restaurant and a lot of toasts or something. Otherwise everyone sat around for at least a half an hour after they were done eating. Gazebo it is! Congrats! I think you'll be much happier with the 4pm time and now you'll be able to take some great photos!

Mylissa, that dress is AWESOME! I LOVE IT!!!!

Congratulations on booking your date!! I don't have answers to your question, but it's always a big sigh of relief when the date is finally reserved!

LOL! I knew that... what in the world did I put??!! I swear, Mondays should be banished!

Crystalz, that looked so beautiful!!! So weird that you didn't get flowers though.

I'm sorry you feel that way But even with a month out, I'm pretty positive you could find photographers to go to your wedding. I checked, and there are still flights and still hotel rooms, so it's not a matter of it not being possible. With that said, I think Arrecife does a nice job. I just wish they weren't SO expensive and that they didn't WAY over photoshop their images. 100 Photos isn't much, but as long as you LOVE all 100 of them, you should be able to make an album out of your images. I typically make my albums to only have the best of the best photos in them. I do not include formals (Everyone lined up, insert this relative and then that relative, etc) in my books. So with just the best of the best photos, I usually use around 100 of them. ACTUALLY! Cheryl's wedding slideshow has EXACTLY 100 images in it!! http://blog.faberphotography.com/cherylaaron. Maybe if you check that out you can see if 100 images is enough for you. Although that doesn't include the trash the dress, or the formals.

Welcome back Kristi!! You looked so gorgeous on your wedding day!!!

It's so exciting that your day is coming up so fast! I'm so excited for you!! You know, you'd think I'd remember what was said during the symbolic ceremony, but i can't for the life of me think of it. If it makes you feel better, we are not religious either and we were fine with the wording that was said, but that was the official ceremony, so I'm not sure. Songs. MAKE SURE THEY ARE NOT MP3S! Cheryl had that issue. Her disc of 4-5 songs only played ONE song because the rest were MP3s and their player does not play them. You will want to test your disc in a VERY old player to make sure it'll work. So yeah song order: 1. Guests be seated (optional, but nice) 2. Bridesmaids walk down aisle (they will fade the music out nicely) 3. Bride walk down aisle 4. Signing document song 5. If you're having a sand ceremony, you can have a separate song. 6. Recessional. $35 for each flower arrangement. The only one included is ON the table. I'm so bummed you didn't say hi!!! I would have loved to meet you! Yeah, so that's really expensive, but if you love them, then go with it. To give you an idea of why I say it's expensive... Cheryl paid approximately $2500 total to fly me in. She got full day wedding coverage and will be receiving over 900 edited photos. Then we had a trash the dress the next day with another 150+ photos (not done editing those yet so I can't confirm that number).

I had it done for my wedding, but that was in 2008 so who knows if they changed. But I paid for my bridesmaids and myself, and I was the only one that got a french and it was the same price.

You're welcome Shellee! I added you to the roll call. I would guess that by June you'll have some people closer to you in date

Ha! Yeah, sorry about that Cheryl! I hope your feet didn't hurt too bad from having to go out on the rocks! Totally worth it though As for the beach or the gazebo option. Hm. Tough decision. The only thing i don't like about the gazebo is that the guests can't see the water from the seats. It's very pretty though, and such a lush area for photos afterwards!

Welcome!! I was just at the bahia photographing a wedding and it's so awesome! Did you choose the beach location or the gazebo location? Check out this thread: http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/t/75549/official-gran-bahia-principe-riviera-maya-thread Page 2 has a bridal roll call where you can see everyone that is getting married at the resort and when. And we don't have a June 7th bride, but we have a June 5th bride!! You guys should get together and talk about possibly sharing the costs of bringing a photographer down to photograph your wedding. Could be huge money savings for you both.

Cheryl you made raelly good choices. With where he was standing, I wasn't able to get a bunch of those shots, so great choices!

I was in Club Golden in Akumal. It was totally worth it because we got a building right on the water. Coba is different since obviously there is no water anywhere near by. I actually dont know what buildings are club golden in Coba, but the lobby is near buildings 27-26, so maybe those?? When I stayed at Coba I was in building 9. It was VERY close to the jacuzzi pool and the main pool, but further away from the lobby. With that said, because it wasn't by the activity pool or the lobby, it was very quiet. We met quite a few people who asked to have their rooms moved due to noise near the lobby areas.

I don't think that's necessarily true Deanna. Most airlines don't let you use the closet any more. I had to put my dress up in the overhead bin, as have a lot of ladies. It depends on the size of the plane, the carrier, and the flight attendents working that day. Sometimes it's better to lay it in the overhead bins anyway. On the flight I took last week to Mexico, the bride wanted to put it in the closet. The closet was at most three feet tall. Even jackets were crumpled at the bottom. So her dress would have been complete wrinkled. Instead, she just laid it across the suitcases in the overhead bin and it was perfect.

I was married in April and it was a very busy time of year. I don't think December is as busy, but has anyone actually got an upgrade? I know that we got the building that I requested, but we didn't get upgraded. Which resort are you staying at? If you're staying at Coba, they don't have anything to upgrade to except for the Club Golden. All of the rooms are the same. If you're staying at Tulum, I'm almost certain that all of the rooms are the same as well. Maybe they have a few suites, but since it was the first resort built, I thought they were all standard rooms. Akumal has suites and normal rooms and club golden, so perhaps you could get upgraded? I haven't heard of it though.

My husband and I went on a full day excursion to Xel-Ha. This allowed us to relax and do some fun and exciting things just as a couple. It was really lovely. Depending on where you're going, you can also maybe schedule a trash the dress session at a different beach. For instance, the couple that we photographed last week we took to a beach club in Tulum instead of doing the trash the dress at the resort. We then gave them the option of staying there and relaxing all day. It was only a $20 cab ride, so it's not as expensive as an excursion and it allows for complete relaxation!

Welcome! Here is an "Official" thread that I have put together for the GBP. Here you'll find a TON of information including reviews and photos of the Mayan ceremony: http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/t/75549/official-gran-bahia-principe-riviera-maya-thread Here is the other GBP thread which will also help and make you feel like you're in more of a community setting with other GBP brides: http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/t/786/gran-bahia-principe-akumal-tulum-coba-post-here

Oh, when we stayed at Dreams we went down to the Hilton for a little bit. It's beautiful! Congratulations on your decision!