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Quote: Originally Posted by kitesurf_bride I am still confused! (And I am getting married in a week so I should probably figure it out!) Our WC said that for the civil ceremony all we need is our passports and tourist cards. After the ceremony they will give us our certificate? And then what do we do? Do we need to take it to some official government office to get it recognized or something? I am missing anything important? Thanks! kitesurf_bride: We are getting married at the EDR too. Our wedding is on a saturday and we and our 4 witnesses have to be at a meeting at 11am on Wednesday to complete the paperwork. FI and I will also have to have our blood drawn ($250 per person). This is all in addition to passports, tourists cards, and birth certificates.

We are not doing photos together before the ceremony. We were told by one photographer that the facial expressions are never the same since everyone is likely still nervous in anticipation of the ceremony. Afterwards, the bride and groom are completely relaxed and it shows in the photos. After seeing a friends who did photos before, I realized the photographer was totally right. I think seeing each other up close beforehand sounds kind of fun though!

Quote: Originally Posted by CourtneyV I love EDR!! Did you write a review from your site visit?? I wasn't posting on this site back then. I'll go back and look at my notes this week and try to write up a review.

Quote: Originally Posted by CourtneyV Do you have any other contact information that may be helpful? I worked off of their website at mygatsby.com Wedding Invitations, Birth Announcements and More | MyGatsby.com these were from the custom invitation section

beautiful pictures. That first shot is absolutely stunning!

Quote: Originally Posted by foxytv I LOVE that dress -- it looks absolutely AMAZING on you! You are right -- it IS perfect! And the veil brings it home. It's PERFECT!!!! Thanks! I always heard the veil makes you feel like a bride and that is so right. It was an incredible moment.

Quote: Originally Posted by LALA Beautiful!! I love that color combo! Thanks! Kind of 'beachy elegance" I love your dog!! So cute and super funny costume. Is you other dog a german short-haired pointer? I had one of those growing up. they are the sweetest dogs.

We just got our invites in the mail on Thursday and we LOVE them!! FI's opinions when creating them surprised and delighted me. These were ordered from MyGatsby.com and we are very pleased with them. The service was great when I call a few times with questions. They were friendly and accommodating. The quality is very nice. I liked their online system that allowed my to create the invite myself. I do a lot of design of marketing collateral at work sot his was something I was really opinionated about (Surprise, surprise!) Off to a family friends who is graciously going to do addresses in calligraphy. It's really starting to feel real.

Thanks for all your support ladies!!! I had to stop posting last night b/c FI came home and I'm going to try to keep it a secret that I bought a new dress b/c it is SO different than anything I think he would ever imagine me in. His face will be priceless! Someone asked how "Say yes to the dress" was interesting. I'm glad I watched it b/c it gave me the courage to say my dress might not be the right one. Best decision I ever made (except for the FI that is!).

SO today I went to take my Amsale dress that I got at Filene's Basement to my local bridal shop for alterations. I've had some doubts about the dress even though everyone tells me -"it's so you!" Last night I watched "say yes to the dress" on TLC. and it drove home all of my fears the night before my first alteration fitting. Long story short, I ended up trying on a dress that never in a MILLION years would I have imagined wearing on my wedding wedding day and I LOVED IT!!! I truly felt like a bride. And I bought it!! Oh My God!!!! sorry i'm not good at posting photos (turned them the right way but not working..) but here is the link to kodak Kodakgallery.com Join now and receive beautiful photographic prints from your camera Anyone interested in buying an Amsale dress?

Quote: Originally Posted by lovefreddy Great pics! I am getting married at the Azul, but am staying at EDR a few days after for a change of scenery... you are so lucky you got to do a site visit too! The site visit was nice b/c we feel confident that our guests will really enjoy the resort. I didn't want to tell all our friends and family to go there and then realize it didn't look like the pictures. But it did and we are SO excited! But I wouldn't recommend other EDR brides go down for planning purposes. I was hoping to nail down a lot of the details but they are not set up for that there. So in a way, it was frustrating b/c we were still at the same stage in our planning when we left. You'll really enjoy it when you after your wedding! Did you get a casita suit? I'd love to spend a few days at Azul.

Quote: Originally Posted by starchild Nice! Love the palapa beds!! They could be a little hard to get in the middle of the day but it was SOOO nice to lounge around on one. it will be nice staying in the Casita's in January as they have reserved ones for guests in that area of the resort.

Hi everyone, So I FINALLY got around to uploading the photos from our May site visit to the El Dorado Royale and I thought I would post the link in its own thread. Hope it helps someone! I don't have photos of all the gazebos and didn't include room photos, but I can add those if people are interested. Kodakgallery.com Join now and receive beautiful photographic prints from your camera

Quote: Originally Posted by hlj033 Hi! Thank you so much for your reply. Yes, everyone in the forum seems to be very helpful. I spent a few days reading posts before I decided to join and post this question about my recpetion at the Royale Salon. You're saying that I may want to change the location of the outdoor coctail hour because of the view from the Royale Salon? Do you have any suggestions? Or should I just ask Monica what my options are? I am working with a wedding planner in the states as well and she is the one communicating with Monica. I would love to see your pictures of the Royale Salon if you don't mind. I do have some pictures that Monica sent me and it looks really beautiful. I'm hoping to have between 50 and 60 people. Do you think that room is too big for that number? I guess I can try having tables of 8 instead of tables of 10 to fill it up a little more. But yes, because of June, I really want some a/c when I'm dancing! HAhahaha Have you seen the building 55 gazebo? How is that for a ceremony site in your opinion? I am only 5'1 and my fiance is 6'1 so I REALLY want to wear heels and I noticed that one doesn;t have an wooden walk way. Can they put one in for me? Also, do you know where the Royale Salon is on the map of the property? Thanks so much for your help!! Everyone in this forum is so great!! Clearly, just my opinion but we did not like the view from the outside area at the Royale Salon. You can't see the chain link fence too clearly in my photos so it would be worth asking Monica is she has any photos. We are doing our cocktail reception at Gaviotas, right on the beach, and the reception at Tucanes. Since it will be 6 hours between the two we thought two venues would help to break it up a bit. Monica can give your planner a list of venues where you could do the cocktail hour. The room is a good size for 50-60 plus a dance floor. It is located to the left of La Isla on the map of the property. here is the link to my photos (I've never posted this link so it might not work!) web browser: Kodakgallery.com Join now and receive beautiful photographic prints from your camera I don't have a photo of gazebo 55. Look around the RM forum, I know someone has posted pictures. My FI and I also have a one foot height difference and I love heels so I would only do the Casita's Gazebo since it has a walkway. They might be able to put one in for a fee at the 55.

Hi and welcome to the forum! We saw the Royale Salon during our site visit. It is a nice location but here are a few things you might want to consider. If you are doing your cocktail hour outside at the Royale Salon, you might want to change the venue for the cocktail hour. They allow you to do two locations. The building has a portico that we saw a cocktail hour set up in and though the building is nice your view is of a chain link fence and some plants. Ask your WC for pictures. The room is ALL white. We wanted a lot of color so we opted for outside, plus in January at night it hopefully won't be so hot. In June a/c will be a good thing! If you want color opt for tall floral arrangements which will look nice b/c of the high ceiling. The wedding we saw had low vases with orchids submerged in the water, though the arrangements were pretty, the room looked a little sparse. Bring some scented candles. We saw it set up at night and the room had a nice glow with candles but due to the type of a/c they use, it smelled a little bit musty so some scented might help. I have some photos at home of this room. I'll try to post them soon! let us know if you have any questions. Everyone in this forum is super helpful and full of spectacular ideas and advice!

Thanks for posting these photos. Is it just me or is there a random small palm to the left of the aisle where the chairs would be at the casita gazebo...?

Hi ladies, I just got back from Target and found travel candles in the dollar section (not every Target has one). They are three inches wide and came in three scents: vanilla sugar, cinnamon apple, and pumpkin. They aren't the highest quality but if you are looking for something nicer, they had "hand poured, highly scented" fancy ones in the candles section; 5 for $9.75. These were smaller though. I bought both and need to decide which ones to keep! Bre

Quote: Originally Posted by foxytv How come you can't use other music? We can't use playlists we've created on our iPods and integrated into iTunes? That will really suck ... b/c I have never bought a single tune from iTunes. I use LimeWire and have downloaded my own CD's. Maybe that's the catch I didn't know about, huh?... It's an issue with digital rights management (DRM). You should be alright if you don't "buy" online- some but not all of my limewire downloads worked, nothing from iTunes did. Anything from a CD works b/c their is no DRM code embedded in it. I think it is part of the reason it's so reasonable b/c most people now buy their music online especially if they use an iPod. It sounds like it will work well for you though. Try out the David Kirsh workout. I could definitely feel it all over. Good luck and have a fun workout!

I recently did the podfitness trial. It was a really good and challenging workout but I am a visual learner and it was really hard for me that they didn't offer a photo guide to how the different moves should be performed. It was only described by the trainer, which in a busy gym it was hard to get some of the multi-step moves down. It made me concerned that my form on some of the moves wasn't good. The one other really big negative is that you can't use music that you bought online, which is where I got most of my good workout music. I found it really hard to get 60 minutes worth of workout-worthy music from old cds. That said, it was a really good and challenging workout! In fact, it's now one of the biggest competitors for personal trainers in health clubs (I work for the fitness industry).

Quote: Originally Posted by TammyB Hi Katrina and welcome. I had a legal wedding in Mexico and I got all the legal paperwork back and apostiled 3 days after our wedding. However because the documents were done in Spanish I had to get it translated my a offical company in the states in order for me to change everything over. You may want to check into that... Tammy-- What company did you use to translate the marriage certificate? How did you find them? Thanks!!

Welcome to the forum Shannon!! I'm getting married at the EDR in January. I'll keep you posted on how things go. Good luck and have fun with your planning!

Quote: Originally Posted by JanaBrooke I would love to see a picture. What time of year was it when you were there? I'm worried about the rain. A little is okay, but I hear the north shore is a bit wet! I stayed on the south shore in Poipu and it rained just a bit, but for the most part it stayed true to its reputation as the sunny side of the island. Thanks for the info!! I used to live in Hawaii and visited relatives in Hanalei about once a month. It is the most beautiful place on earth! You are very right though to be concerned about rain. Part of what makes the north shore so amazing is the lushness and the mountains, both of which mean lots of rain in the winter months. If you aren't committed to February, you should look between late April and and early December when the weather is spectacular. Or go as you mentioned to the south shore where there is far less rain in the winter months. Good luck!!!

Quote: Originally Posted by Matt Adcock His name is Vincent Guihard, professional website launching REAL soon, del Sol Photography - Associate Photographer - Vincent Guihard Vincent's photography is friggen unbelievable! Karisma headquarters have contacted us, believe it or not, and want to discuss possibilities of offering other photographers. This is a long red tape political discussion, hopefully things will be mutually beneficial for all of us, real soon! Matt- If we can't have you or Sol- we can't think of having anyone other than Vincent! I know he'll be great! It's great to hear that Karisma has contacted you. I hope that in the end things work out for all parties involved. Keep us posted!!!

I'd love to hear reviews if anyone has them as I'm a little concerned about this myself. I checked a bunch of photog's site for photos of brides at EDR. Most had their hair done and though you can't tell is the Spa staff did it, they looked good. I figure they probably do more bridal hair than most salons since there' about 3 weddings a day there. Just in case it doesn't pan out so well, we have two stylists that are guests of the wedding! Brian, would you actually fly down a stylist or do you have a friend that could do it?

We're doing iPod playlists for pre/post + ceremony, cocktail reception, and dinner event. We have a family friend who is a great DJ who is going to help us with the playlists. A trusted friend will act as the emcee.