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Hi, I have two dresses available that would make great "trash the dress" dresses. One is from Dillards - Oleg Cassini size 8. Another is from a bridal shop - not sure if the label. I am a size 8 and had it altered to fit me. If interested, please PM me and I can send pics! Thanks!

Our travel agent emailed Elena a list of our guests and asked that we were all near each other, and a bunch of our guests got free upgraded rooms! the rooms near the japanese restaurant (I think they started with 61) were really nice. I'm not sure what they're called, but they were between the regular rooms and the suites, and came with a fridge with soda/beer and free safe. Someone in our group upgraded to an oceanroom view and I think he was disappointed with it because he was far from everyone else, and was never in his room to really enjoy the view... and the hotel is small enough that it's never a far walk to the beach. It was great having everyone near each other - except we upgraded to a suite and so did my parents, so our rooms were next door... which was a little weird!

Yep, there's a beautiful salon/spa/gym now... I think it opened in October. Our photographer took some really cool pictures in there (by the waterfall and entrance, and in the lounge chairs with all the slots above our heads) blog.jamescarsonphotography.com

Carson has put up more pictures on his blog - James Carson Photography Blog The wedding and personal photography of James Carson Photography They're so great - we can't wait to see more!

Congratulations! Your hair looked beautiful!! Your pictures are great too - it's fun to see the resort again. I still miss it!

We found Carson through this site and I'm so happy we did! He was soo great. Friends of ours got married at the Catalonia and the pictures they have from the hotel photographer were very posed. The resort did not have a problem with us bringing in a photographer - Cora (WC) just asked if we needed one and I said no and that was that. We didn't have a videographer, but one of our friends taped it so we'll see how that turns out. My sister made CD's to play during our reception at the Creperie. We had to pay $40/ hour to play them but could hardly hear them But they kept playing my sister's mix at the creperie all week so that was funny! I think there's also a dj that you can hire from the resort but its more expensive.

He worked alone for our wedding - not sure if he has an assistant for others. He did a great job of capturing a lot of special moments - we saw a slide show during the reception and I'm dying to see those pictures again! I'll post the link as soon as the pictures are up!

We rented vans from Sinal Tours too. I was so happy to treat our guests to this. Everyone had a great time. When we arrived at Coba, we didn't know what to expect... we ended up getting two tour guides for our group of 40. The 2 - 45 minute tours were $90 USD total. It wasn't necessary, but everyone really enjoyed hearing about the history. Almost everyone walked to the other end to climb the ruin (instead of renting bikes), and it wasn't too far of a walk. Afterwards, the Sinal tour guys offered to take us to a Cenote or Tulum but everyone in our group was tired and ready to go home. So we left the Catalonia at 9 am, did the 45-min tour and climbed the cenote and arrived back to the hotel around 2 pm. Everyone had a great time and it was such a neat experience to climb to the top. I would definitely do it again! Also, I'm not sure about the bikes/bike taxi prices but it's now 51 pesos to enter. The front desk exchanged everyone's money. We paid the sinal tour guys the same amount as Morgan. They were nice and Fernando called us before the trip to confirm everything.

I just got back from my wedding and everything was amazing!! Elena and Cora were super helpful once we were down there. When we checked in the front desk guy called Elena right away and we set up a meeting for the next morning. It was so easy to plan stuff! I ended up paying for a private reception on the creperie terrace. It was really nice but I wouldn't spend the money to do it again. I would have had everyone meet somewhere, like the chill out bar, or the sports bar - our group spent a lot of time in there. We did the Coba trip like Morgan did and everyone loved it. 6 of us also went to Akumal to do a little snorkeling. I would definitely recommend that for a cheaper excursion. It's only about 15 minutes away. We spent about $10 USD per person for a van (roundtrip) and then $35 USD for 2 hours of snorkeling and a little boat ride after. We probably could have negotiated better prices but at that point I was tired of negotiating! Morgan did such a great job of reviewing everything... but if anyone has questions please let me know. Oh yeah! the spa is open and it's beautiful, but the prices are a little high. They re-did the gym since I was there and it was very nice as well, but only 2 treadmills, 2 ellipticals and 1 bike, so when the sun wasn't out it filled up fast. Also, our travel agent told the resort the list of everyone who was in our group and most people got upgraded to nicer rooms (the new ones near the spa). I was really happy about that. Overall, everything was fantastic and it's worth it to keep nagging Elena! We also had an awesome photographer - Carson Day - but I already wrote a review about him. I think he took pictures of the resort so I'll post those here when I get them.

He's from California but I think he goes all over for weddings...

We just got back yesterday from our wedding at the Catalonia Riviera Maya and we had a fantastic experience with our photographer - Carson Day from James Carson Photography. Carson was so fun to work with. He was very laid back and interested in our ideas for pictures... Jeff and I aren't too creative so we didn't have much to add, but Carson scouted out the resort before we started and found the most perfect places to take pictures. We had so much fun and he gave us just the right amount of guidance and then let us go from there. Carson put together and played a slideshow during the reception and everyone was stunned by how beautiful his work was! There were so many Ooooh's and Aahhh's! Someone in our group even asked him for his card, just in case his son gets married someday. Carson did a great job of capturing the moment without the guests knowing he was there. But, he was extremely personable and people really enjoyed talking with him. He was the talk of the group after the wedding! I'm soooo thrilled we found him through the BDW site. I was a little nervous to work with someone I had never met but I couldn't be happier with how everything turned out. Jeff and I HIGHLY recommend him. He was such a pleasure to work with - very professional and relaxed at the same time. If anyone has any questions, please let me know!! He has a couple of pictures up from our wedding: James Carson Photography Blog Keri & Jeff………Cancun Mexico…..Destination Wedding Otherwise you can see his awesome work at: James Carson Photography EXPLORE-CAPTURE-ENJOY

Hi Evelyn, We just got back yesterday from our wedding at the Catalonia (Carson did our photography and he was amazing by the way!). I did my hair myself but the first day we were there, Cora asked if I needed someone to do it and she would arrange it. I'm not sure about make up. Elena and Cora (the wedding coordinators) are very helpful so they might be able to help your grandfather in his wheel chair. I'd send Elena an email and see what she thinks. I agree with having the reception at the Chill Out bar. We reserved the terrace by the creperie, but I'm not sure it was worth the extra money to do that again. I'm not sure if you've seen the other Catalonia thread, but Morgan got married there over summer and has some really useful information. If you have any questions about the resort or anything else please let me know - I'd love to help!

We have 25 booked so far including us. Were you guys able to eat in a restaurant? Celine is telling me that if we eat in the buffet for free, it will have to be at 6:30 pm (no later). What did you and your guests do after the dinner? I want to have drinks on the terrace next to the creperie. I'm going to see if we can work something out with decorations and drinks but no food. Do you remember what time the disco opened? I was thinking we could head over there then after a few drinks... I'm sure I could wait until we're down there to figure this out but I like to plan ahead!

I need some help... I asked if this timeline would work and got the response from Celine - sales exec - in red: 6:30-7:30 pm – drinks at Looky Bar It won’t be possible because the rent of the “Pure Chill Out Bar†(Before Looky Bar) have a cost for the rent of 500,-USD and is for all the event with dinner. In this case we should close the bar for 1 hour and nobody will can use it from 7:30 to 9:00 PM.I can propose you to have drinks on the beach in the ceremony area, the price is 9,-USD per person. I am adjoining a picture of a past event. (she didn't attach) 7:30-9 pm – dinner at buffet Elena will make the reservation of the separate area at the buffet. But the buffet open at 6:30PM, normally the group must have the dinner when the restaurant open. You can have the dinner later but this is subject to availability. 9-11 pm – DJ The DJ service will be at the “Pure Chill Out Barâ€. Like I told you before, the rent of the bar is 500,-USD per hour. The rate include the private place, the basic decoration and the private service. Now the rate for the DJ service is 100,-USD per hour. The service include the DJ, the microphone for all announcement or toast and the equipment bigger than for just a background music. This is won’t include the beverage, the price is 9,-USD per person. We're at the end of our budget, but I want to have a dj... what do you guys think? Does anyone know where the chill out bar is? I also asked for '09 prices... I'll post those as soon as I get them!

I think you should definitely write back and hassle her!! When I told her I needed to know to send out the invites to everyone, that is when she finally let me book the date! Don't give up!