Kriswim

Quote: Originally Posted by keng31 Hi Ladies! I am almost ready to book my wedding at the Gran Porto Real and am trying to get through this whole thread! Does anyone know if there is a resort bar with music/dancing that stays open late at the Gran? I love having 5th Ave right there with all of the nightlife, but don't want our guests to have to pay more money to go out when they already paid for an all-inclusive. I read about the 24-hour sports bar, but I don't think that's the atmosphere we're looking for. D those that went down for a site visit or past brides have any insight? Hi - I stayed at the Gran last year and got married there, and if you are looking for a real CLUB atmosphere you have to go to 5th AVE. I don't think the Royal has that either. Luckily, you will have lots to choose from - we walked down the beach and were able to find clubs. We only went out one night though. I was too tired with all of the days activites to stay out too late. Plus didn't want to spend more $ when you can drink for free at the hotel. Some of my friends just ended up staying at the resorts bars drinking for free every night. They had a blast! The 24-hr club is small. It will have food and drinks all night long which is perfect when you get back from the bars. Or want to keep drinking after the bars close! Hope that helps.

Quote: Originally Posted by smckinney22 Thanks Shannon! All helpful info Quick question though, of all the maps out there I've seen, I've been trying to figure out how far the MEGA store is from the Royal and a general idea of how to get there. Can you give us an idea and maybe some quick directions? ~Shannon *I'm a Shannon too The Mega is walking distance. I think it was closer than Walmart. The people at the hotel will give you a map and show you. But it was an easy walk. IT was SOO much nicer than Walmart. Cheaper too! Walmart was dirty. But the Mega is a full grocery store too. I got tons of stuff there, but I did find that hardly any of the workers there spoke English, so asking for hand sanitizer (it was during the swine flu) was impossible. I knew some spanish but not enough!! My Husband bought lots of different kinds of hot sauce there and gave some to his groomsman - they loved it!

Quote: Originally Posted by Juliet1 Hi everyone! I'm a newbie to this web site and am so excited to read all of the posts! We're getting married on September 17, 2010 and I have a few questions for anyone who has already gotten married there. 1. Has anyone used the hair and makeup people at Spazul? Were they good? Did you bring your own makeup or use what they had? 2. Has anyone used the Real Official Photographer - Funever Photos? Did they do a good job? 3. We're at a loss as to what to include in the welcome bags. We are thinking about creating a specail wedding logo to put on visors and playing cards, and we'll have straw/raffia fans on the seats at the ceremony. Does anyone have any other ideas? Thanks! I'm looking forward to reading your replies! Hi - I used the Spazul and they were WONDERFUL! I really couldn't say enough good things about the place. I just used what they had and I LOVED my makeup and hairstyle. I also used the Real Photographer - Funever Photos. If you email them, Gloria will send you the link to their website with photos of recent weddings that they have done at the resort. I really liked them. Plus they were really efficent and I was able to get my video and album very quickly. I think the most important thing about the welcome bags that I found out was to include a program of what will be going on that weekend (even if its just about the actual ceremony and who people are in the wedding). We also went to the local MEGA store (kinda like a Target) and found lots of snacks and goodies to put into the bags. I bought some stuff at home and brought it with me (chapstick, bandaids, tums etc..) but the fun stuff we found at MEGA - my guests LOVED the candy and cookies we put in. Everyone used it. We also bought juice boxes that people could use as mixers for drinks to make in the room. My husbands grandmother made all my OOT bags for me - really nice large fabric bags lined with large handles that people could swing over their shoulders and use as beach bags. All the girls used theirs all week, even though they brought beach bags to use! hope that helps! I have pics but I am at work, and don't have access to them right now. Good luck! Shannon

Quote: Originally Posted by msglave Oh ladies, I forgot to update you on our wedding time. My WC said it's okay if we keep our regular time, but we have to leave the gazebo right afterwards. So we will not be able to have our cake and champagne there, it will have to be in the central garden. We are supposed to have our reception on Pelicano's beach, but after reading Jen's post, I think it may be crowded looking (too close to the furniture and other people). I wanted to move it to the gazebo beach, but it's already booked. My WC said most people want Pelicano's beach but I'm not so sure. Does anyone know how far the gazebo, the central garden and Pelicano's beach are from each other? Nothing is that far from one another. We got married at the gazebo and its a really short walk to Pelicano's. The hardest part for me was walking on the "baordwalk" wooden walkway with heels! I would not want to have my reception by Pelicano's - i mean i guess its larger but its right on top of the road and near the pier which is where everywhere goes. And its right next to the Grand Porto so you have that traffic as well. The only plus is that you have more room i guess.

Hi Girls, I don't post much anymore but I keep up to date on all the postings! I just wanted to say that I am coming up on my 1yr anniversary this Sunday!! OMG! I can't believe how fast time flies. I wish I was back in Playa on the beach - what a wonderful place. I am so glad we got married there! I had experience with both hotels (staying at the Gran & getting married at the Royal). I know its been a yr and lots has changed, but feel free to ask me any questions! Good luck to everyone!

In case people are still wondering about the web cam thing....i thought my friends back home would be able to watch the wedding too live but they couldn't. I had my reception at the Gran and the web cam is too high up so its hard to make out people on the beach plus once it got dark - forget it. Not sure if its the same at the Royal but i think so. Also, I cut off my bracelet for the wedding and so did my bridesmaids we all were able to get new ones - it was not an issue. But they are SUPER strict about making sure you have your bracelet on at all times. But it kinda sucks when you go off property like down 5th Ave. All the shop vendors know what bracelet goes with what resort so they try to get you in their shop but saying things like "Hey Gran Porto - come in here" its kinda annoying. oh well! :-)

Let me know if you have any questions!!

Quote: Originally Posted by Lady_Di i am starting to think that "the big mexico meeting" is another cover up. can some of you ask your WCs about the legal ceremony outline? i need to email my WC again to clarify that we can personalize our legal ceremony. Krisswim said we can't change anything if we have a legal ceremony. HI - yeah i was told you couldn't change anything for the legal ceremony. But the day of my wedding as i am waiting with my bridesmaids for the ceremony to begin the judge asked me if we had written out our own vows! I was like "uh no we were told we couldn't"....not that i wanted to though....but still!!! Talk about giving me some notice!! So who knows. I think vows are ok, but sand stuff and readings are a no ( unless this has changed since the beginning of May). One word of advice though for all brides: I was really stressed about silly things like programs and decorations, table cards etc...but really when you get there they treat you SO WELL and are SOO attentive towards you. EVERYTHING is taken care of right away. All my worries were immediately eased. I was able to call my WC anytime while i was there OR go see her in her office. It was terrific! (Michelle was my WC) She ROCKED - actually even before the wedding i never had trouble hearing back from her. The legal ceremony went like this: Judge does an introduction - she said a nice reading from a Mexican poet or something like that. then she did vows. Then we did rings ( kinda similar vows) then we signed the marriage certificate and did our thumbprints. Then we kissed. And it was over! Its really quick but really nice. I ended up not doing programs ( mainly b.c i ran out of time and realized that I was getting married in Mexico - so who really cares?!) But then b/c of the swine flu half our guests canceled the day before we were leaving and half of the wedding party had to cancel too. So i am SO glad i didn't waste my time with them. LOL. If anyone wants the name of that Mexican poet i can watch my video and try to get his name. PM if you want more info too! Thanks! Shannon (Kriswim)

Quote: Originally Posted by 2mckee Good info. Does anyone happen to remember the price range of the maracas on 5th Ave if you have seen them there? Thanks! I got married in May and walked up and down 5th ave looking for cheap Maracas ( i wanted nice ones that said Playa Del Carmen on them) the cheapest i found was at a store close to Constitution Ave they were $1 or $2 a pair. They wouldn't go down in price. Also - when i got married they told me i couldn't add anything to my ceremony i had a Legal wedding with a judge. If you have a religious wedding you can do anything you want. Unless this rule has changed since then. And i did get married at the Royal.

Quote: Originally Posted by jesmcan Happy Halloween everyone! Question to past Royal brides did you guys tip? Did you give etxra or do something for your photographer, WC and so on? Also did you priovide dinner for the photographer and any other vendors? HI - I had my reception at the Gran but did tip. We tipped the bartender ( so he'd make the drinks extra strong!) & we tipped the DJ ( not sure how much) to play longer and I tipped my WC, Michelle. Basically b/c she rocked and was a true lifesaver during my whole planning process. I didn't tip my photographer or video guy. I DID NOT include any of them in the dinner either. They worked for the resort & no one ever mentioned it to me.

Quote: Originally Posted by dcheung1111 Hey ladies! I've been MIA on this forum for awhile. Our wedding is only 27 days away! It's crazy how fast time flies! How many of you ladies are doing the legal ceremony in Mexico? We picked symbolic, and were planning on legalizing before we get to Playa, but now i'm thinking civil just so it feels more real on our wedding day. Any thoughts? Hi - I had a civil ceremony in Mexico ( i figured all these people were paying lots of money to fly down and see us get married - might was well be the real thing right?) I had NO trouble when i got back legalizing my marriage. I didn't even have to translate anything!!! I just handed my marriage certificate to social security office ( in person ) and 3 days later got my new ss card!! Same thing went for my drivers license and town hall. It was so easy. I still have to do all my credit cards ( argh its kinda a pain changing your name for ALLL your stuff!!!) But i had no problems with it being from Mexico. You may find at first some people are confused and don't know what to do with a Mexican marriage license, but they must get these all the time, b/c i never ran into a conflict. ( not yet anyways!) :-)

Quote: Originally Posted by dianep i'll be getting married there this coming may, so i'm glad to hear good things about the food and service. thanks so much for posting! i didn't plan on a mariachi band, but what great pictures, and it sounds like a ton of fun! Hi, One way I saved a bit of $ was that I used the Mariachi band for the first hr of my reception. Then have the DJ for just 3 hrs. Everyone said the mariachi band was one of the best things that they remember. Hey, you are in Mexico, you might as well!!!

You're Welcome!

Hi - The Royal's resort is much nicer obvioulsy - its double the cost. But I really liked the Gran. I would go there again. I did use a travel agent to book - but some of my friends/family didn't use her. Either way all you have to make sure is that evveryone books under the name of your wedding. This way the hotel can keep track of you. If you get a big enough group all arriving and leaving at the same time you are eligible for a discount.

Here are some more pics of my bouquet that everyone was asking about. I think these are the best ones I have of it. I finally got around to posting them - sorry it took so long! These are from my photographer! I included this last one b/c it shows how our area was set up. It was well blocked off. They had lights under the table and some that were standing up that lighted the dance floor. :-) Let me know if you have any questions!