brigopens

Quote: Originally Posted by Morgan From what I've read you can use myregistry.com to get cash gifts of all of those things too, but they don't charge a fee. You are paid through paypal, so you get the typical paypal fees for receiving money (up to 3%). You can divide your cash gifts up into different parts such as "massage for two, breakfast in bed, house fund, etc." I think a honeymoon registry sounds great, but I hate to lose 7% of the money. I looked at both myregistry.com and thehoneymoon.com when making our plans. I was appauled at the idea of getting taxed 8%+ on all of the gifts we were given. I thought myregistry.com was a much better way to go. I didn't set up the cash gift feature, but it appears to operate directly in line with Pay Pal and their usual fee structure. Basically charging a maximum of 3% on "cash gifts" That makes a HUGE difference if you have a lot of people buying gifts between the wedding/showers/etc... Maybe several hundred dollars in the end! BETTER YET... If your resort has any type of online store set-up already, you can put items from there onto your myregistry list and avoid any cost. That's what we've done. El Dorado Royale has an online store on their website where you can pre-purchase spa treatments and massages, in-room amenities, a candlelight beach dinner, etc... They also have gift certificates that can be used at the resort like cash. In total there are 145 items listed (although that includes 47 bottles of wine!) You can check out the online store at EDR here. I've loved myregistry since the day we set it up. You install a simple button on your toolbar and then go to any website page showing an item you want. It's as simple as clicking the new Add To MyRegistry.com button when you see something you like. It pulls most/all of the information from the site (including a picture) which you can then edit. We also thought it was great because there were so many things we liked from so many different places, and this made it possible to put only the things we really wanted onto our registry. It was either that, register at about 30 different stores, or register for a bunch of stuff we weren't interested in. We'll see how people feel about using the site, but I expect it to work out quite nicely for us!

Quote: Originally Posted by soltamargo I totally understand your situation, we are planing our own wedding and it's a lot of things to deal with, and we just want everything to go perfect and smooth on our wedding day!... I'm sorry If with our posts about EDR we are making you and your bride to feel panic..,I really think that any couple on a wedding day is "untouchable" and deserve to have the wedding they planned on, and paid for, perfect in every sense! so, NO ONE has the right to mess with that, even less when you are bringing business to the Resort. There are many hotels around the Riviera Maya that ask for a "fee", and EDR has been inconsistent with their policies, and they have been changing wedding coordinators all the time, our clients have experienced that, and we are just trying to warn future couples of this situation. However, we will continue shooting weddings at EDR because the location is higly requested. I particulary LOVE the El Dorado Seaside Suites, and I really hope Lomas Travel look into the best interest of their clients by allowing them have the wedding photography they want. This is a lot of blablabla... you are going to be fine, and have a wonderful wedding !!! from the bottom of our heart we wish you a happy day!!! Thanks to you as well for your kind words. I hope your wedding is fantastic as well. Some positive perspective on the resort is certainly appreciated... Not sure who let a couple of guys into this forum anyway, but thanks for bringing us back down to Earth the way only a woman can. I'm glad that you guys will be continuing to offer your high quality services to those who do decide to marry at Karisma resorts. I fully support fighting to get these fees removed as well as any efforts to avoid paying them.

Quote: Originally Posted by Matt Adcock I respect you, and totally am sorry for you future wife's frustration with my posts. Assure her that all will be fine. I also want her to know that I feel like I have a role to play here to educate my future brides, as you mentioned in your post... I very much appreciate your candor and again, must apologize for any fear that I have caused.... I will not visit this thread anymore for follow up. I speak with nothing but respect as well. I understand your position as a professional and also your good natured attempt to help future brides. I simply wanted to make sure this wasn't turning into a forum to trash the resort, and felt that maybe a little balance was needed. I obviously have a different perspective on thing as our wedding is already planned there, and just wanted to make sure views from this angle were represented as well. No real need to apologize, just wanted you to realize that some of us were already booked, while you were trying to help those in the earlier stages... I don't think it's necessary to avoid this thread, but I'll leave that up to you. Quote: Originally Posted by Matt Adcock Yeah, her name is Rafaela, WC for Lomas. 1 year ago we had that conversation... Thanks for the clarification on this. I was unsure of who you had talked to or when, but this certainly explains your earlier advice versus increased frustration with the situation as it stands now... Quote: Originally Posted by Matt Adcock My Nov 17 EDR bride has bit the bullet on the 2 hotel room (signed a contract). I'm going to ask her to chime in here. If anybody wants to stop in and say hi to me, I'll be staying there Nov 16 & 17 EVEN THOUGH I HAVE A HOUSE 10 minutes away. I'll actually only be staying 1 night though. Unfortunately, we'll miss you by a week or two. And you guys are going to be slacking off by the time we needed a photographer... maybe another time! Quote: Originally Posted by Matt Adcock What you have to understand is that this is RED TAPE that I deal with all the time. I've been to these resorts 20+ times. I have spoken with just about every person involved....trust me, they are very serious about the $500 fee. Yes, the WC staff at Hotel Azul (another karisma hotel) had NO idea about this policy, but it is owned by different owners. So you are saying that the employees at EDR are going to be the ones who attempt to collect this money? My understanding has been that our Lomas WC will probably not even be there on the day, as there will be people at the resort who take care of things that day? Maybe you know more. Any info that could help us to make things go as smoothly without paying more than our planned night would be greatly appreciated. You can post it here, or we can continue this discussion via email. Quote: Originally Posted by Matt Adcock Serious threat or a lot of hot air Are you serious with this question to me? Do you honestly think I would waste my time! I was not at all referring to you as you quoted. I was simply asking if this is a policy you have seen enforced, or only heard about? I still am not sure I've heard of anyone having a problem at the resort. Seems like people have asked ahead, and given in or changed resorts OR flown under the radar and gotten away with it. No confrontation at the resort from what I can see, so I'd assume if we can get that far without issues, it will go off without a hitch. I did not mean to assert that you would waste your time or that this was not an important issue. I apologize if you read it that way. Quote: Originally Posted by Matt Adcock Keep in mind, you and some other brides may be "grandfathered in" and these rules not applying to you. Hopefully... You'll certainly hear it either way once we're back. Quote: Originally Posted by Matt Adcock Future brides need to be aware, and I am fighting for their awareness. Please know that this is the intentions of my posts... I am a passionate person and I love what I do and I love the people whom I do it for. If someone or something steps in the way of that process, I become passionate to make it right. I hope you can see it this way. Clearly understood... Quote: Originally Posted by Matt Adcock best of luck with your wedding. I'm sorry if I've made you nervous or scared. I'm sure you will be fine...if you heed my advice about raising the roof if they boot your photog. Future brides shouldn't have your concerns though... Thanks for the good wishes. I am sure things will be great. All of the information we have gathered from these forums, earlier brides we've met and photographers we've talked to has been incredibly helpful at insuring a great experience! Quote: Originally Posted by Matt Adcock Again, I will be leaving this thread... Positive discussion can recommence. Hope you decide to stay around and contribute to a useful discussion with both positive and negative aspects carefully balanced. :-)

Quote: Originally Posted by jfwolfe72 I booked Miguel to do our video. We're just having him for 2 hours and getting a 30-40 minute video of the ceremony and "videostudio by the beach." It's going to cost us $550.00. They offer a longer time (4-5 hours of camera time w/ a 60 minute video) for $850.00 Thanks for the info, we've decided against the video, and instead put the extra money into our photography budget.

Matt -- I've read all of those threads. What I am still unsure of is how the resort would expect to enforce this policy if a paying guest at our wedding decides to take photographs? I haven't heard a report from anyone who went down there and truly had issues! Even your anecdotes are simply based on what has been said, not done... While I understand your frustration, please recognize that some of us have already booked our weddings there! It's not possible to change now, so what we've got is what we've got. While I'd imagine that your negative posts certainly do drive some guests away from the resorts, please realize that they also incite panic and hysteria among those who are already committed to going there. I'm living with one of those brides now, and your posts certainly aren't helping to calm her wedding nerves (or mine for that matter!) I realize that your cause is to generate enough anger and opposition to these fees so that they will be addressed and rescinded. While I don't disagree with this strategy, what I also know is that: 1. Not one person has actually paid the "fee" that we know of... 2. There is nowhere that I can find where any type of policy exists in writing about outside vendors, including photographers. 3. You recommended yourself that we "go ahead with your plans, hire a photographer and invite them to your wedding" after discussions you had with the WC at EDR. You said the WC told you that they "can do NOTHING if you make your photographer a guest." 4. Your other comments I have read state that the actual resort people know nothing of this fee, so I can't imagine that they would be attempting to enforce it. 5. No other photogs have been so vocal about this, in fact one of them (Leigh) says "I've always been on the guestlist and I've always stayed there. No one at EDR has ever said a word." 6. Actual EDR brides have reported no issues. In this post (http://bestdestinationwedding.com/fo...html#post85832) AmyB79 actually said they had no problems at all, and that nobody from the resort ever even asked them about their photographer. I think your best recommendation came in the post where you said the following. Quote: Originally Posted by Matt Adcock Hypothetical situation: Now, put yourself in the position on the day of the wedding. Someone has thrown your friend out of the resort. Now, imagine how mad you will be. You have the power (as bride) to cloud up and RAIN all over the WC, hotel manager and throw the biggest fit on the planet. Literally, you have the power to do whatever you want on your wedding day. You have the right to ask a friend (regardless if they bring a camera or not) to the wedding. Make them a guest. They will have a setting at the reception with their name on it. I'd probably recommend a room for 1 night stay too. Keep in mind, said guest/friend will also have a camera. Our plans remain unchanged. We will put our photographer on the guest list, put her in the room she has requested for one night, and enjoy our wedding! If they should decide they want a fight over this (I see no indication they will) then we'll deal with it. I understand you position. I understand that you passionately want to defend your profession and fight anything that jeopardizes it. I believe you want the best for the wedding couples here and especially those who you photograph. I just ask that you consider whether this policy that we've never seen enforced is a serious threat or a lot of hot air! I hope that your comments like "If you are planning anything at the Eldorado, watch out!" and "good luck anyone choosing EDR..." were sincere as opposed to sarcastic, and not simply made to dramatize the situation and add more fuel to the fire that you're fanning to protect your interests as a vendor! I truly mean this all with the best intentions. I know how things can be misinterpreted via email/posts but have no other means to correspond my thoughts to you on the issue. Hopefully this will facilitate continued beneficial discussion to help those of us choosing to wed at EDR as well as all of our photographing friends! Love to hear your thoughts.

Quote: Originally Posted by jfwolfe72 I have heard not good things about the hotel photographer. HOWEVER, if you decide to go with an outside photographer, EDR will charge you $500 or you must pay for a 2 night stay for the photographer. I've addressed this previously... There's no written info on this "policy" and we have legitimate guests on our list who are professional photographers... I'd raise hell if they tried to prohibit some of our guests from taking pictures...

Quote: Originally Posted by DarrenB Since you brought up photographers... You think they would classify friends that are at the wedding, staying at the same resort (who happen to be photographers) as outside photographers? My thinking was that if they are staying there and invited to the wedding, they shouldn't be able to contest it. We have a great friend who is in the wedding party that is also a professional photographer. She will certainly be taking some pictures throughout the day and week. My thought (based on discussion with several previous brides/photogs/msg boards) is that we will just add our outside photographer to the guest list. We're putting her up for one night after the wedding. She'll be nothing more than another friend on our guest list who is taking good pictures. if that's a problem, I'll deal with it once we're down there. I've seen no written policy on the use of outside vendors, etc... I'd recommend not getting into this with your wedding coordinator. Once you bring it up and have been told, you're obligated to submit to their stupid rules. IF it becomes an issue while down there, it's not going to be any worse than just giving in ahead of time. I really highly doubt they would kick your photographer off the resort or anything. Besides, on your wedding day, you girls have the right to be a B!+ch if they start making issues... There's a whole thread on this elsewhere if you want to search for it, with Matt Adcock (great photographer) spearheading a effort to protest this or choose a different resort.

Quote: Originally Posted by kitesurf_bride I did find out that if you hire the hotel photographer, listed as $500... that is only for 1 hour! That is not very long and his work is not very good. Has anyone else used them and can we see any pics I haven't seen that it was limited to 1 hour, but it's certainly just the ceremony and some shots aroun dthe resort afterwards... I was not impressed with the quality at all. I have samples from several people that I could email to you. PM me with an email address if you are interested. We're very excited to have booked Elizabeth Medina. Her work is amazing and she's done weddings at this exact resort before. It wasn't cheap, but we decided pictures are definitely one of the places that you don't want to cut corners. She'll be there for 8+ hours to capture everything!

Quote: Originally Posted by MrsV-to-be With the free wedding package - were you asked to pay a $100 deposit? We were. Reilly thought it was super weird to pay it, considering it is a 'free' wedding - and they had no idea what we were planning on doing with the wedding (ie have more then 12 guests) I didn't think too much about it - and just paid it, since we are having a larger wedding - I knew it would go towards something! But it does make me curious! The $100 was a deposit to hold the wedding date, etc... Seemed quite standard to em and I never thought twice about it. They did charge it twice to my credit card by mistake, but I caught that and the "mistake" charge was credited back... I know this deposit goes towards future expenses most definitely.

Quote: Originally Posted by MrsV-to-be I haven't dealt with Monica. I was dealing with Monica, but apparatently she was promoted and now I am dealing with Valeria. Did you mean Faith? Or has Monica been promoted as well... Quote: Originally Posted by MrsV-to-be I really wanted in an open air facility, but it may not work for us. We can have it at Tucanes if we have under 50 people. or if we have 64+ in house guests we can have it at La Isla. but if we have in between 50 and 64 guests - then there is no open air option - this is the only real thing I have been disappointed about! Hmmm, interesting info... We are in almost the exact same situation but have nt received this information. Who told you about these restrictions? We've been talking about using Tucanes and I'm fairly certain Valeria knows we're over 50 people. I think I prefer that location over La Isla anyway... you could always do it onthe beach. They shouldn't have any limitations on #s there...

Quote: Originally Posted by jfwolfe72 However, we had our wedding booked (including telling her where we'd like to have the ceremony and what kind of private event we'd like to have) since January and she just asked me today about our location and private event - if we'd like to pick those yet! Yikes! But I do think that if I stay in contact with her and document everything, things should go just fine. Thanks! We worked with Faith to start, and then when she was "promoted" we were changed to Monica. Honestly, our relationship was quite rocky, and the ball was getting dropped quite a bit in transition. I felt like we were having English-Spanish communication issues. She asked for all of the details that had already been discussed like you mentioned above even though she assured me that she "got all of the past emails from Faith..." The final straw was when we asked to move the wedding earlier due to ligthing and sunset around 5 PM. She wrote to confirm that we would start the wedding at 5 PM, but warned me about the lack of light since the sun sets early in November!!! Anyway, we got uncomfortable enough that I wrote and complained as did our travel agent. We were changed over to Valeria and she's been top notch since then. I have not heard that Monica moved or left, so that would be news to me.

Quote: Originally Posted by Vanessa Vargas Hello , if you are getting married in Tulum should have a trip to Playa del Carmen, on fifth avenue I have seen tons of maracas and they are not expensive and very beatiful. I can't remember the name of the store but they are a common item. Vanessa Vargas Vanessa Vargas Photography Anyone else with more specifics on the maracas? We're getting down there a few days before the wedding, but don't want to spend a day maraca hunting. If someone has more info on specific stores or towns, as well as prices, that would be extremely helpful!!!

Quote: Originally Posted by cutiecupid15 ...I used her husband, Miguel for our video. I can't say enough wonderful things about our video. It was absolutely amazing!! I have never seen videos done the way he does them. I highly recommend him... Let me know if you have any other questions. Good luck! Can you give me an approx quote on the video services provided for the day? What all did it include? We're debating whether we want to do video, or just stick with photos. We officially signed with Elizabeth Medina and are so excited to see how she captures the day!

Some reviews are coming back from the resort and I'm afraid they seem somewhat mixed. - Appears wait times are definitely up at the more popular restaurants. One person reported being told that they were not seating anymore people for the night... - Pager system has been implemented but not perfected. - Seems the casita priveleges (most wedding couples I would assume) are diluted with this new system. - this system has been reported as a trial by the resort, so let's hope they get it right before our wedding at the end of November!!! All in all, I think that the jury is still out. I don't mind a little bit of a wait to eat (especially with the free drinks flowing) but it may be a bit ridiculous if you can't get into certain places, etc... I'll keep an eye on the situation and let everyone know if anything changes...

I could ask our WC, as I guess you could too. Let me know if you want me too, or what you find out. Pretty good idea on your mom's part...

Quote: Originally Posted by brigopens Just wondering, form those of you who have been there before, what kind of impact this will have on our group of about 50. Most of our guests are staying in "regular" suites, so maybe this will be better for all of them? I am wondering if it's going to mean a long wait for dinner at the most popular times and restaurants? I wrote to confirm with our WC and will see if we might still be able to make reservations. Will keep you posted, but wanted to hear some thoughts on this policy change... Heard back from our WC and this is definitely true. I'm anxious to hear back from some guests who are down there now as to the ramifications of this change. I am also writing to inquire as to whether there will still be any casita based perks with regards to dining (ie seperate waiting lines, etc...) Anyone else with info, please keep us posted.

Quote: Originally Posted by Lizzy Thanks everyone. Maggie is going to Tulum this Sunday so I think I'll tell her to look down there. It sounds like she'll do better there then the internet. I will let you know what she finds. L We're also interested to hear, so please do keep us posted on here. Can't imagine doing anythign but purchasing down there. We already have too much stuff to take down there. We're taking embroidered beach towels for each guest. Going to be great, but quite the hassle...

Quote: Originally Posted by leigh miller maybe someone will be there soon? i have a wedding there again but not until next year. if your group of 50 is going to want to eat together a lot it may be a problem if they arent taking reservations. and i never knew that about the reservations and the casitas. I'm pretty certain there are some brides on here going in the next few months... We'll be there in November. Should work out well for you, if it's truly first come, first served... You can eat there 2 nights! If anything, this will benefit our group of 50. Almost all of them are staying in "standard" suites, so it should be easier to eat where they want and when. Also, I think the previous reservation limit was 4 or 6, but if it's FCFS, then we could technically get all 50 of us in line at once, granted we'd be seated in parties of 4-6 all over the restaurant. We'll see what happens. I'm interested to hear from someone who is down there after the policy changed (July 13th.)

Just reading on Trip Advisor to stay up on things for our wedding in November. One of the only consistent compalints that I have seen about EDR is the reservation system. It seemed that a huge advantage to being in a casita was the ability to get any restaurant/time slot... Well, apparantly, the reservation system has been scrapped, and now all restaurants will be first come, first served. While this may be better for the casual guest there, it seems this is taking away a huge perk to staying in the casitas. Anyway, here's the letter from the resort explaining the decision... Dear -------- We thank you very much for your interest in El Dorado Royale. In response of your e-mail, yes its true, you no longer need reservations for dinner at our restaurants, they are now, first come first serve, only at the candle light dinner which has an extra charge if you decide to have it, hoping to have you with us soon and maintaining contact for any future questions or doubts. Best Regards Richard Vega Karisma on Line VIP Help Desk Just wondering, form those of you who have been there before, what kind of impact this will have on our group of about 50. Most of our guests are staying in "regular" suites, so maybe this will be better for all of them? I am wondering if it's going to mean a long wait for dinner at the most popular times and restaurants? I wrote to confirm with our WC and will see if we might still be able to make reservations. Will keep you posted, but wanted to hear some thoughts on this policy change...

Stumbled upon this site while looking for pictures of EDR in Mexico. Been a great resource. Figured I should sign in and at least say thanks to all of you who have put up information here. Please include the following information: 1. name -- Brian 2. wedding date -- 11/26/07 3. wedding location -- El Dorado Royale, Riviera Maya, Mexico Can't wait, thanks again for all the help.