MichaelandAraceli

Thanks! I bought my jewelry at The left bank jewelry in the Lincoln Park area of Chicago. I went in the store because I don't live very far but they also have a website if you want to check them out. www.leftbankjewelry.com

Thanks! You'll see light color suits come back again now that spring is around the corner. We saw light colored suits at Macy's and at The men's wearhouse. The selection is small but that's expected.

Hi ladies, I got married in December 2010 and my review is finally up- just click on the link below. Enjoy and I hope it helps: http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/products/the-royal-in-playa-del-carmen-all-inclusive-spa-resort/reviews/4277

Thank you Lisa- you're too sweet!

Thanks!!!

Thanks!!!

Hi Ladies I just got back on Sunday night and EVERYTHING turned out AMAZING! We booked The Royal last November and it's been such a long wait...I can't believe it's over. We were in Playa for 10 nights and we had 80 degree days and sun...EVERY day! The day of my wedding was 84 degrees ( a bit hot) so by the time we had our first dance we had a few rain drops come down for about 5 minutes (if that). The people at the resort told us the first two weeks of December were very chilly at night (unsual for them) but by the time we got there on the 16th- the weather was perfect. It sounds like we lucked out! I brought a sweater and a pashmina and I didn't use either any of the nights. Also, Zulma was super calm and sweet! I got my hair and makeup done at the Spa Azul and I loved how my hair and makeup turned out. The vilonist we hired did a great job and DJ doremixx did great- all of our guests LOVED the light up dance floor we got (we had a beach reception infront of Pelicanos). Finally, we hired Jonathan and his assistant from Del Sol/La Luna and they were great to work with. I can't wait to see their work. I'll work on a more specific review ...I'll try to have it up this weekend. Good luck to all of the 2011 Royal brides- you'll love it! Happy New Year!

Ladies, Thanks for all the sweet comments on the planning thread- just happy it's helping a few of you. We're staying at The Royal for 5 nights and at The Secrets Maroma for another 5 nights so I'll get my review up after the holidays! My planning thread: http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/thread/66294/new-michaelandaraceli-pic-filled-the-royal-planning-thread-attention-chicago-brides#post_1499008 Jesmcan: I'm excited to use our paloma's nest ring bowl as an ornament- year after year! Jesmcan:

Thanks ladies! Happy to help

Ladies, You've been great! A special thanks to Jess, Karen and Nikki (Who I've asked questions to mostly by PM and on facebook). My planning thread is up! http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/thread/66294/new-michaelandaraceli-pic-filled-the-royal-planning-thread-attention-chicago-brides#post_1499008 It's under: NEW:MIchaelandAraceli PIC filled The Royal Planning Thread (attention Chicago brides). I can't wait to share the big day with you guys- I'll get some pictures up by the end of the month. Congrats to all the November and December brides-thanks for the support! XOXO Araceli

I finally did it right- with pictures this time! Hope it helps someone

I found the BDW forum in November 2009 and I don’t know what I would have done without it! So many of you (especially the Royal brides- a special thanks to Jess, Karen and Nikki) have been so positive, supportive and helpful- I can’t believe we leave for Mexico in a few days for our December wedding! If you’re a Chicago bride you might find this especially helpful… Engagement: November 25, 2009 The night before Thanksgiving my FI and I had a couples massage and we went to Geja’s Restaurant in Chicago. It’s supposed to be the most romantic restaurant in the city and I agree! He had sangria, flowers, music and the staff in on the big secret- the rest is a blurr. This is my ring that my FI had custom made for me! I absolutely love it! It’s a radiant cut diamond stone surrounded by pave stones. The band in thin and it’s eternity- surrounded by diamonds. The ring is from Fey & Co in Chicago (Lincoln Park). My FI choose 2 eternity diamond wedding bands- I can’t wait to wear them with my e-ring. My FI choose a titanium ring. It’s light weight – perfect for him since he’s always playing sports. We’re both happy with it. Website: I had our website up in running the first week of December 2009. The website has been changes a few times since then. We choose www.theknot.combecause it’s a classic website and everyone knows of it. Our guests used the RSVP option and they wrote sweet messages. The Dress: After the website came the dress. It was the first one I tried on- I was done! I bought this dress December 2009. My parents bought me this dress at Francia Bridal Boutique in Hinsdale, Illinois. This boutique is very intimate and the owner personally helped me every time we went in. The dress is the Mikaella 1406 by Paloma Blanca. It’s very flattering for my body type. Here it is on the model (Sorry I didn’t take any pictures with it): Back: Our engagement photos in Chicago: June 6, 2010 We took our engagements photos downtown Chicago. We used Otto Rascon and we can’t tell you enough how wonderful it was working with him. We loved all of our e photos! www.ottorascon.com My hair inspiration: My flowers: My flowers/bouquet are long stem white calla lilies. They are elegant, simple and graceful! My mom and mother and law are wearing white corsages. My FI is wearing a single calla lily. My dad is wearing a single pink rose to represent me…his only daughter. For our ceremony table and for our sweet heart reception table we choose the colorful flowers My shoes: I absolutely LOVE the white Stuart Weitzman’s I bought at Neiman Marcus. I then had them dyed aqua blue. My shoes are my something blue! Side view: My jewelry: I bought all of my jewelry at The Left Bank in Chicago (Lincoln Park). I used to walk by it all the time and as soon as I got engaged I went it. If you’re a Chicago bride- I highly recommend this shop. www.theleftbankjewelry.comHere’s my necklace, my earrings and a broach for my bouquet to personalize it: Here’s my birdcage veil (my mom helped made) and pins for my hair: For the welcome/rehearsal dinner I am wearing a white chiffon one shoulder dress by London Times (Nordstrom and Macy’s carries this brand). The Suit: My FI bought a tan Calvin Klein linen suit., an aqua blue tie and white shirt from Macy’s and Brown shoes from Nordstrom. The ceremony: The ceremony will be happening in the gazebo at The Royal. We’re having the ever so classy white covered chairs and we’re going to place our aqua blue ceremony programs on the white ties behind the chairs. We’re going to have a violinist playing at our ceremony. The reception: Our reception is going to take place at the beach- where else?! We choose the beach in front of Pelicanos because it’s the biggest. We hired DJ Doremixx to play at our beach wedding. We payed extra for the light up dance floor and fireworks. More details: These are some of my most favorite details…I created our welcome letter, our wedding programs, and our menu. Our wedding program: Our menu: Our wedding programs and menus: We bought a ring bearer bowl /ornament from Palomas Nest on Etsy. When we get home we’re hanging it on our Christmas tree as an ornament. http://www.etsy.com/shop/palomasnest We also got custom drink stirrers from Etsy. The seller “Just Loverly†was great to work with! The stirrers have our wedding date, our monogram, Eat, Drink. and Be Married written on them- I just love them! http://www.etsy.com/shop/JustLoverly?ref=seller_info Finally (I know- I’ve been an Etsy member for over a year now) we got this banner that says Just Married The banner seller is Earmark http://www.etsy.com/shop/Earmark Favors: In the spirit of the holidays I ordered tree ornaments for everyone. I ordered the ornaments from www.orientaltrading.com Our guests from the states got these mariachi snowmen ornaments: Our guests from Mexico got these Santa on the beach ornaments: Our cake: When in rome…..we ordered a Tres Leches wedding cake. We’re putting an R cake topper. Our place cards: We went to Michaels and bought these seashell place cards to go with our beach theme. Centerpieces: We’re using a single ivory candle surrounded by seashells as our centerpiece. Our table numbers: We bought the white picture frames from Target. I also printed the numbers on sand on photo paper at Target. If you want the numbers on the sand PM me I have numbers 1-20 saved. Mike and Araceli The Royal Playa del Carmen December 18, 2010 http://tickers.TickerFactory.com/ezt...98b2/event.png

I found the BDW forum in November 2009 and I don’t know what I would have done without it! So many of you (especially the Royal brides- a special thanks to Jess, Karen and Nikki) have been so positive, supportive and helpful- I can’t believe we leave for Mexico in a few days for our December wedding! If you’re a Chicago bride you might find this especially helpful… Engagement: November 25, 2009 The night before Thanksgiving my FI and I had a couples massage and we went to Geja’s Restaurant in Chicago. It’s supposed to be the most romantic restaurant in the city and I agree! He had sangria, flowers, music and the staff in on the big secret- the rest is a blurr. Outside of Geja’s after the proposal: Geja’s Restaurant: This is my ring that my FI had custom made for me! I absolutely love it! It’s a radiant cut diamond stone surrounded by pave stones. The band in thin and it’s eternity- surrounded by diamonds. The ring is from Fey & Co in Chicago (Lincoln Park). My FI choose 2 eternity diamond wedding bands- I can’t wait to wear them with my e-ring. My FI choose a titanium ring. It’s light weight – perfect for him since he’s always playing sports. We’re both happy with it. Website: I had our website up in running the first week of December 2009. The website has been changes a few times since then. We choose www.theknot.combecause it’s a classic website and everyone knows of it. Our guests used the RSVP option and they wrote sweet messages. The Dress: After the website came the dress. It was the first one I tried on- I was done! I bought this dress December 2009. My parents bought me this dress at Francia Bridal Boutique in Hinsdale, Illinois. This boutique is very intimate and the owner personally helped me every time we went in. The dress is the Mikaella 1406 by Paloma Blanca. It’s very flattering for my body type. Here it is on the model (Sorry I didn’t take any pictures with it): Back: Our engagement photos in Chicago: June 6, 2010 We took our engagements photos downtown Chicago. We used Otto Rascon and we can’t tell you enough how wonderful it was working with him. We loved all of our e photos! www.ottorascon.com My hair inspiration: My flowers: My flowers/bouquet are long stem white calla lilies. They are elegant, simple and graceful! My mom and mother and law are wearing white corsages. My FI is wearing a single calla lily. My dad is wearing a single pink rose to represent me…his only daughter. For our ceremony table and for our sweet heart reception table we choose the colorful flowers My shoes: I absolutely LOVE the white Stuart Weitzman’s I bought at Neiman Marcus. I then had them dyed aqua blue. My shoes are my something blue! Side view: My jewelry: I bought all of my jewelry at The Left Bank in Chicago (Lincoln Park). I used to walk by it all the time and as soon as I got engaged I went it. If you’re a Chicago bride- I highly recommend this shop. www.theleftbankjewelry.comHere’s my necklace, my earrings and a broach for my bouquet to personalize it: Here’s my birdcage veil (my mom helped made) and pins for my hair: For the welcome/rehearsal dinner I am wearing a white chiffon one shoulder dress by London Times (Nordstrom and Macy’s carries this brand). The Suit: My FI bought a tan Calvin Klein linen suit., an aqua blue tie and white shirt from Macy’s and Brown shoes from Nordstrom. The ceremony: The ceremony will be happening in the gazebo at The Royal. We’re having the ever so classy white covered chairs and we’re going to place our aqua blue ceremony programs on the white ties behind the chairs. We’re going to have a violinist playing at our ceremony. The reception: Our reception is going to take place at the beach- where else?! We choose the beach in front of Pelicanos because it’s the biggest. We hired DJ Doremixx to play at our beach wedding. We payed extra for the light up dance floor and fireworks. More details: These are some of my most favorite details…I created our welcome letter, our wedding programs, and our menu. Our wedding program: Our menu: Our wedding programs and menus: We bought a ring bearer bowl /ornament from Palomas Nest on Etsy. When we get home we’re hanging it on our Christmas tree as an ornament. http://www.etsy.com/shop/palomasnest We also got custom drink stirrers from Etsy. The seller “Just Loverly†was great to work with! The stirrers have our wedding date, our monogram, Eat, Drink. and Be Married written on them- I just love them! http://www.etsy.com/shop/JustLoverly?ref=seller_info Finally (I know- I’ve been an Etsy member for over a year now) we got this banner that says Just Married The banner seller is Earmark http://www.etsy.com/shop/Earmark Favors: In the spirit of the holidays I ordered tree ornaments for everyone. I ordered the ornaments from www.orientaltrading.com Our guests from the states got these mariachi snowmen ornaments: Our guests from Mexico got these Santa on the beach ornaments: Our cake: When in rome…..we ordered a Tres Leches wedding cake. We’re putting an R cake topper. Our place cards: We went to Michaels and bought these seashell place cards to go with our beach theme. Centerpieces: We’re using a single ivory candle surrounded by seashells as our centerpiece. Our table numbers: We bought the white picture frames from Target. I also printed the numbers on sand on photo paper at Target. If you want the numbers on the sand PM me I have numbers 1-20 saved. Mike and Araceli The Royal Playa del Carmen December 18, 2010 http://tickers.TickerFactory.com/ezt...98b2/event.png Geja’s Restaurant: This is my ring that my FI had custom made for me! I absolutely love it! It’s a radiant cut diamond stone surrounded by pave stones. The band in thin and it’s eternity- surrounded by diamonds. The ring is from Fey & Co in Chicago (Lincoln Park). My FI choose 2 eternity diamond wedding bands- I can’t wait to wear them with my e ring! My FI choose a titanium ring. It’s light weight – perfect for him since he’s always playing sports. We’re both happy with it. Website: I had our website up in running the first week of December 2009. The website has been changes a few times since then. We choose www.theknot.combecause it’s a classic website and everyone knows of it. Our guests used the RSVP option and they wrote sweet messages. The Dress: After the website came the dress. It was the first one I tried on- I was done! I bought this dress December 2009. My parents bought me this dress at Francia Bridal Boutique in Hinsdale, Illinois. This boutique is very intimate and the owner personally helped me every time we went in. The dress is the Mikaella 1406 by Paloma Blanca. It’s very flattering for my body type. Here it is on the model (Sorry I didn’t take any pictures with it): Our engagement photos in Chicago: June 6, 2010 We took our engagements photos downtown Chicago. We used Otto Rascon and we can’t tell you enough how wonderful it was working with him. We loved all of our e photos! www.ottorascon.com Our bridal showers: We had 5 of them. I’m sharing a few pics from one of them for inspiration…. Beach theme shower: Fish nets and sea shells everywhere. My girlfriend made these wedding cake treats. Cupcakes with white chocolate sea shells on top. Grahm Crackers were crushed to make it look like sand. My hair inspiration: My flowers: My flowers/bouquet are long stem white calla lilies. They are elegant, simple and graceful! My mom and mother and law are wearing white corsages. My FI is wearing a single calla lily. My dad is wearing a single pink rose to represent me…his only daughter. For our ceremony table and for our sweet heart reception table we choose the colorful flowers My shoes: I absolutely LOVE the white Stuart Weitzman’s I bought at Neiman Marcus. I then had them dyed aqua blue. My shoes are my something blue! Side view: My jewelry: I bought all of my jewelry at The Left Bank in Chicago (Lincoln Park). I used to walk by it all the time and as soon as I got engaged I went it. If you’re a Chicago bride- I highly recommend this shop. www.theleftbankjewelry.comHere’s my necklace, my earrings and a broach for my bouquet to personalize it: Here’s my birdcage veil (my mom helped made) and pins for my hair: For the welcome/rehearsal dinner I am wearing a white chiffon one shoulder dress by London Times (Nordstrom and Macy’s carries this brand). The Suit: My FI bought a tan Calvin Klein linen suit., an aqua blue tie and white shirt from Macy’s and Brown shoes from Nordstrom. The ceremony: The ceremony will be happening in the gazebo at The Royal. We’re having the ever so classy white covered chairs and we’re going to place our aqua blue ceremony programs on the white ties behind the chairs. We’re going to have a violinist playing at our ceremony. The reception: Our reception is going to take place at the beach- where else?! We choose the beach in front of Pelicanos because it’s the biggest. We hired DJ Doremixx to play at our beach wedding. We payed extra for the light up dance floor and fireworks. More details: These are some of my most favorite details…I created our welcome letter, our wedding programs, and our menu. Our wedding program: Our menu: Our wedding programs and menus: We bought a ring bearer bowl /ornament from Palomas Nest on Etsy. When we get home we’re hanging it on our Christmas tree as an ornament. http://www.etsy.com/shop/palomasnest We also got custom drink stirrers from Etsy. The seller “Just Loverly†was great to work with! The stirrers have our wedding date, our monogram, Eat, Drink. and Be Married written on them- I just love them! http://www.etsy.com/shop/JustLoverly?ref=seller_info Finally (I know- I’ve been an Etsy member for over a year now) we got this banner that says Just Married The banner seller is Earmark http://www.etsy.com/shop/Earmark Favors: In the spirit of the holidays I ordered tree ornaments for everyone. I ordered the ornaments from www.orientaltrading.com Our guests from the states got these mariachi snowmen ornaments: Our guests from Mexico got these Santa on the beach ornaments: Our cake: When in rome…..we ordered a Tres Leches wedding cake. We’re putting an R cake topper. Our place cards: We went to Michaels and bought these seashell place cards to go with our beach theme. Centerpieces: We’re using a single ivory candle surrounded by seashells as our centerpiece. Our table numbers: We bought the white picture frames from Target. I also printed the numbers on sand on photo paper at Target. If you want the numbers on the sand PM me I have numbers 1-20 saved. Mike and Araceli The Royal Playa del Carmen December 18, 2010 http://tickers.TickerFactory.com/ezt...98b2/event.png

Getting married in 2 weeks! Congrats December brides!

We'll be staying here on our honeymoon in a few weeks- I'll share a review then!