LynnieS

jesmcan my advice if you are still deciding on a cocktail hour. . . only do it if you can run your ceremony straight into a cocktail hour then right into your reception. I had a break and lost a lot of people during the cocktail hour, then most of them were late to dinner. . . boo!

BridetoBe Awesome siggy pic. . . I love love love your colors!

Thought I'd give a suggestion. I decided not to do fans and glad I didn't because the breeze from the ocean is a natural fans and feels really good. So, I decided to have parasols sitting at the end of each row and these were a HUGE hit! People were so glad they had relief from the sun during the ceremony. Actually people wanted to take them home! I had 15 parasols for 50 guests and it worked perfectly and we took some great pics with them too!

Thanks lisa!!!

LadyDi Oh, that is a good area, shouldn't be too busy by 4pm. And you can sign up for those excursions at the Royal. There is a big area just off the lobby where there are a bunch of tour groups signing people up. They have HUGE books to look through. One day we went up there at 8am, signed up, paid and we were on the bus by 8:30 to the Mayan Extreme (just like the Tulum Extreme) Its very very easy!

Quote: Originally Posted by Lady_Di Oh mine is at 4pm so hope it won't be sooo hot. Where is your ceremony again? If I remember correctly, the sun starts dipping below the resort at about four to five and it cools considerably due to the shadow. By the time our reception started at six it was perfect. ill try to find pics at that time

It was at 2pm. prob 90 degrees by then. Actually we had our reception start at 6 so all of our guests, (including us!) went to the pool for a couple of hours. It felt great to get out of my dress. It was kinda ironic cuz Boyd had to help me put my dress back ON for the reception!! Having that break was the best thing we did for an early ceremony

Thanks Nikki!! OMG, I remember that night-haha!!

Here are a couple of pics from my cousin. . . sorry not the best! the ceremony, we were both bawling! our first toast, beware you barely get down the aisle before they are jamming champagne in your hands. . .very hard to hug everyone with champagne and bouquet. pics on the beach VERY HOT!! the girls the guys and my fav pic., the housekeeping found my programs after the ceremony and took the flowers off them and put them on this cute towel elephant. . . I love the Royal!! Still working on the review!!

Quote: Originally Posted by Lady_Di How were the non resort and Gran guests able to go to the ceremony? Just go straight to the beach? I think I read that they just go straight to where the ceremony is without checking in? Personally I would have them go straight to the beach. If they check in they can only be there 30 min in advance. They were very strict about this, in fact they told our flower girls that they couldnt even walk thru the resort, they had to go around. Oh, and I don't know if we just got lucky but our guests were able to stay on the resort pretty much all night, we just got them their drinks after the reception. Like I said, we may have just been lucky!

As for excursions, no need to worry about that in advance. They have like four tour groups who set this up everyday. They have so so many to choose from and have different combinations of things. We did a lot of these and recommend the mayan extreme (I think thats what is was called) where you go to the ruins, a cenote, zip line and repel. It was fun and you got lunch. We also went snokeling, beware of any catamaran rides to the snorkeling. . . 15 out of our 20 lost their breakfast if ya know what I mean, bring dramamine!! We also did an ATV trip to another cenote. . .very fun! Our friends also did a trip into a cave and wore wet suits to snorkel. There are so many things to do I would not worry about that now!

also, about the menu options, Im not sure what the luxury package has but I did the classical package and had red snapper and beef tournedo, both excellent!! I had so many good comments about the snapper I wish I would have only done that one!! As for "american" im not sure either but there isn't anything that is super weird on the menu. They have weird names but everything is very very good. I mean if us nebraska folk love it it must be good

Quote: Originally Posted by luna1923 SHould I or not!??!? Do I get the damn dance floor for $700?!?!??!?!?!?!?! It seems like such a wasted expense....BUT... my guests and I are all dancers and the wood floor that the resort provides seems so ghetto! It doesn't even sit on the sand evenly! I feel like I would need the guests to sign a waiver before they dance on it, lol!! Can any previous brides provide any insight on this and whether they think the added expense of the dance floor was worth it? Hi Luna!! Ok I just got back from my wedding and all I can say is the dance floor is sooooo worth it!! Everyone commented how cool it was and I got some great pics out of it. I think it just got the mood going, ya know?! For all brides doing cocktail hour. . . NOT WORTH IT. period. Actually most of my guests left to back to their rooms. None of the food was eaten and they only serve champagne. THis is actually my ONLY complaint of the whole wedding!!! It was so hot outside and they only provide one tiny umbrella. Review to come. . . I am sooo depressed, I want to go back to mexico

I'd like to say congrats to astreit!! I watched her wedding and it was sooooo gorgeous! Congrats! off to one last dinner!

Quote: Originally Posted by Lisa DSO Jenconrad or ladies who have recently been married (and who had the luxury package)... what were the musicians like, especially the soloist? Which one did you choose and how often did he/she play? Wow, I just can't get away from the forum haha!! I saw many weddings and, although we did not use one, I heard a harp several times and it was absolutely beautiful! I also saw several mariachi bands play during the cocktail hour, never during the receptions. BTW if I have one piece of advice, especially if you have a large group, pay for the extra hour for reception, it is def worth it. My reception was very late in getting started and we had only been dancing for about 45 minutes before our 3 hours was up and added on an hour. We felt very rushed in getting all the dances in (ie father/daughter, 1st dance etc. ) and the cake cutting and speeches. That is my ONLY complaint!!!! this resort is so amazing I am kinda depressed to leave tomor!!!