DenverDana

Thanks everyone, and congratulations as well! crluvmm - When we signed on they didn't have the policy about the $500 fee, they only said that we had to have our photographer stay at the hotel for 2 nights (and we went ahead and had them stay for three nights). When they implemented the policy they came back to us and said we needed to pay the extra money. I basically told them that they couldn't do that since we already signed the contract and they told us that we didn't have to. Beth- They gave us the price list for champagne before we went down there. The prices were SO expensive! I told them that people could just toast with whatever they were drinking. However, when we got there the head catering guy and his crew (who were AWESOME) said they would give us champagne at no charge. Not sure why, but it worked out really well! KirstenRN6- WOW, and I notice you are in Denver- me too! I hope (and am sure) your wedding will be wonderful!!! Much Love, Dana

Yep, it's great when it benefits everyone! frazali - let me know if you have any questions with the way he operates, etc. I'll be happy to share! Dana

Thanks for the nice compliment! He actually went to school with my husband wayyyyy back in High School. He surfaced when he heard we were doing a destination wedding. We couldn't really afford the prices we were finding with some of the other photographers I liked, so we were really happy to find him. When I got the pictures back, I was even more thrilled. I feel like we got the quality without the price tag!

Hey all, I just got back from my wedding in the Riviera Maya, and I can't help but post a thread about our photographer. He is new to Destination Wedding Photography, but is wanting to make a full time gig of it. He is offering to do most destination weddings at cost and I thought some of you lovely ladies might be interested in using him. I might be biased, but I think his photos are beautiful! If you want to check out our photos go here: http://www.mmayphotography.com/ Click on People and Events Click on Store Click on People and Events And Then Click on Nick & Dana - Wedding for shots of the Wedding I'd be happy to answer any questions you have! Dana

Ha, yep, everyone loved that the drinks matched our colors! We called ours the "Turquoise Typhoon" although I am sure we could have come up with something more creative! In fact, they actually took the whole thing further and had more blue drinks waiting for everyone at dinner. It was pretty fun!

Thanks everyone! You are all so sweet! We went with the BBQ Buffet for the reception dinner. It was FANTASTIC! I can honestly say I have never had a buffet so good! There was so much food and it was all hot and tasty. Everyone was just dissapointed that they couldn't try everything!! We really didn't want to pay for a separate cocktail hour since we weren't really THAT concerned about it being private. So, I told Valeria (our coordinator) and she said we could just "take over" one of the bars at the property (but we still had to approve this through her) - which is what we did. And, we were actually the only ones in the bar. It was funny, EDRs only concern was that we would rush the bartenders and they couldn't handle it. So she had us pick a signature drink that they were supposed to have waiting for us (this is where those blue drinks came from in the pics) However, the bartenders didn't know anything about it - but made all the drinks when we showed up anyway. We did this at Guacamayas (which is the late night bar on the property) It was convenient because it was next to Tucanes, but we spent a lot of time at that bar throughout the whole visit, so in hindsight I might have chosen a different one for the cocktail hour. Our ceremony was at 4PM. We did group pictures from 4:30P to 5P. At 5PM everyone headed off to Guacamayas for drinks while we did some private photos. We then met up with everyone and headed to dinner at 7:00PM. We were concerned that was too much time for people to hang out, but it went really fast. People were a little buzzed by dinner.. but in a good way They have a gift shop in the main lobby that sells cigars. There is also a tobacco shop on the property, but they didn't sell cigars. I have to say, this resort really was fantastic, I really have no doubt that whatever choices you guys make for your wedding, it will be amazing!! Dana

Hey everyone, I just got back from my wedding at El Dorado Royale. I know when I was planning, pictures were very helpful. So if anyone is interested in checking out pictures from our wedding, go here: Welcome to Matt May Photography - San Francisco, California Click on People/Events then Store then People and Events (again). Click on Nick and Dana - Wedding for Wedding pictures and Nick and Dana - pre wedding for some beautiful pictures of the property. Just FYI, we had our ceremony at Gazebo 55 and our reception at Tucanes. It was WONDERFUL! Let me know if anyone has any questions! Dana

Wow! Thanks everyone for the fabulous welcome! I'm so excited to meet so many EDR brides! We'll be using Gazebo 55 for the wedding and Tucanes for the reception. SO excited, wish I was there NOW!

Wow, thank you - you guys are great! Now that I look at this further, I think you are right - I think Cotorros IS the Health Bar (why don't they just call everything one name!) Your comments make me feel much better, I think we'll go with the Health Bar for the Cocktail hour and then go to Tucanes. Wow Sheaa, Sounds like you covered a lot of ground! Congratulations on your marriage! You did something very similar to what we're doing, so I may have more questions for you if you don't mind!

Hey there! 20 minutes from end to end doesn't seem too bad. Cotorros is a cute open air bar, however, it isn't one that you can rent out completely. I don't really want to have to pay for both a cocktail hour and dinner, so I was looking for a place that we could unofficially take over prior to dinner. So it won't be totally private. We are expecting about 40people.

Hi All, I have a question for anyone who has actually BEEN to EDR- So how big is the resort? We are getting married at Gazebo 55 and our reception is at Tucanes. Valeria is recommending that between the two (2 hours) we have an informal cockatil hour at Cotorros. Cotorros is exactly what I am looking for, but it is located what seems like a far away. I'm worried that people are going to be irritated with having to trek all over the resort. Can anyone give me an ide of the actual distance, since I've never been there? Thanks so much!

Hey everyone, just wanted to introduce myself! Name: Dana Wedding Date: May 24, 2008 Wedding Location: El Dorado Royale