ChicagoBride2011

Quote: Originally Posted by jesmcan boooo I am having Fernando do my hair and make up as well and doing the trial the night before for my welcome dinner uggghh they just love to tack on the fees thanks Lady_Di for the heads up Welcome back Boolo - its wonderful to keeping hearing good reviews It might be cheaper to get him a room then you don't have to pay the vendor fees. These fee's are ridiculus and I've been trying to come up with ways to not pay them!

What a great thread! I can't wait to put my own ceremony together with all these great ideas.

So has anyone used a BDW travel agent? We were not going to use a travel agent and just have our guests book through our WC, but now that the Michigan office is closed and we have no clue what's going on we're thinking a travel agent might be a good idea. Any suggestions?

Quote: Originally Posted by ChicagoBride2011 Anyone else hear anything from their WC regarding the Michigan office closing? I emailed mine (Aja) yesterday and this morning and no reponse. Has anyone been in contact with Aja the past couple days? So still no response and both my fiance and I tried calling the michigan offfice and Aja's direct line and no answer and no voicemails. Has anybody heard anything or talked to their WC regarding the new process?

Anyone else hear anything from their WC regarding the Michigan office closing? I emailed mine (Aja) yesterday and this morning and no reponse. Has anyone been in contact with Aja the past couple days?

Quote: Originally Posted by Jenny310 I emailed my WC Julie and she confirmed that they are closing the office Friday. She told me she put all my info together but wasn't sure if they would be sending the file to Mexico right away but that she made notes to be sure I would get everything that was discussed. I'm def going to have all my emails handy when I get there! She also told me my onsite WC will be Michel but she didn't know if I would be working with her from now or if I will be with someone else until my wedding was closer. Julie also said she just found out as well. I'm a little sad for them knowing that they will be losing their job; hopefully they have other things lined up. Has anyone worked with Michel yet? Thanks for the update. I feel extremely bad for the WC that are losing their jobs, and to only find out 2 days before its closing. I emailed my WC with a question regarding something else. I wonder if she's even going to still help me now. Lets keep our fingers crossed that this is for the good!

Wow I'm a little worried about the michigan office closing. If this is true shouldn't we be receiving emails from our US WC notifying us of this! Aja has been wonderful, I am very very worried.

Quote: Originally Posted by ~Stephanie~ Ok sorry to be a pain... former Royal brides and peeps who have stayed there.... How strict are they on the pants at dinner? Can they be jeans? Or do they have to be dress pants? Also, it says no sandals... I bought all these cute sandals to wear with my dresses, so can you wear sandals if they aren't "flip flops"? Also, could a guy get away with like leather slides? Where just the tips of the toes show? I don't want FI to have to wear dress shoes everynight... K thanks! Hi! They were not strict at all when we went on our site visit. Jeans are fine, definitly no dress pants needed (not sure about Chefs Plate though). Guys were wearing sandals at dinner and some restaurants even shorts. Girls can wear whatever they want, pretty much. If you have your swimsuit on you jsut need to put a cover-up on over it. HAVE A GOOD MEMORIAL WEEKEND EVERYONE!

Quote: Originally Posted by smckinney22 Hi girls! Does anyone know if the resorts pass out the hotel maps when you get there? I was talking to my mom about all the stuff I need to print and she asked "Won't the resort have maps there?" and I said..."hmm I do not know but I do know who to ask, the forum!" Anyway just checking so maybe I can save some ink! Yes they do! Don't waste your time printing them. They go thorugh the resort map with you and explain where things are etc and give you a couple other brochure type things. Also the hotel lobby has excursion/tour operators with tons of brochures and info. So don't bother printing anything like that either.

Quote: Originally Posted by smckinney22 To anyone that has done a site visit... Did you have to contact Zulma directly to see if she would be available the days of your site visit? How does that work? I know she's super busy so I'd hate to go and not even get a chance to talk to her or one of the other wedding coordinators. Me and FI are talking about doing Friday night through Sunday visit and just getting as much info as possible while there. Last minute deals online are pretty cheap and seems to be worth it to get a layout of the place to set our minds at ease and help with planning. Your US WC sets it up for you. You have to tell them date/time and whether or not you want to do a tasting.

Quote: Originally Posted by RunningBride24 Okay the salad from the vegatarian menu does sound good! Thanks for all of your suggestions! I wish we had more options but the filet and mashed potatoes does sound pretty good!!! :) Yes definilty go with the 3 lettuce salad. When we did our tasting last month some of the salads were quite "interesting" haha.

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? Pelicanos is the biggest beach location if you're looking for size. My fiance liked this spot the best. I think Gazebo beach is pretty but it's smaller and you're in between cabanas. So it really depends on how many people you are having I have pictures of the pelicanos area from my site visit and I saw a picture of the gazebo area on the professional photgrapher website the other day. If i can find it I'll post it.

Quote: Originally Posted by Jeff Babineau Added a new photo to the blog as a teaser. Very cool! Thanks, I got your email with the info as well last week, now i just need to sit down and look at it.

Quote: Originally Posted by RunningBride24 Hey girls- So I waited too long and the photographer I wanted is booked. I'm not looking to spend THAT much money, so Del Sol (who I adore) is out. I was wondering if anyone could suggest a few photographers for me to contact that aren't outrageously expensive. ANY help is GREATLY appreciated. That's what I get for waiting! Thanks so much! Nikki Sascha Gluck is VERY reasonable if your not looking to spend alot.

Quote: Originally Posted by dianep i haven't seen that anywhere - can someone provide the link to see the spots/availability? Here it it: Wedding planning, Wedding Plan, Wedding Planner | Mexico | Cancun | Playa del Carmen |Real Resorts Just type in the date and "yes" to adult only other wise you'll get an error message.

Quote: Originally Posted by Lisa DSO Should I be worried that my day/time is still available to choose from on the Real site? Yes! I would double check with your WC. When we booked I checked the website and it got reemoved. We swtitched to 6pm now though and that time slot does not show on the website.

Quote: Originally Posted by jenconrad We had issues with rain...if there is a chance of rain they make you sign a 2500$ waiver if it rains on their equipment. Problem is I had to make this decision 3 hours (!!!) before the wedding. There were lots of clouds so i didnt take my chances and ended up having the cocktail outside and the reception in the ballroom. It didnt rain haha but we had a blast and then all headed to the blue parrot bech club to keep the party going. Congrats! I want to hear more details! Did everything run smoothly once you were down there?

Quote: Originally Posted by Lisa DSO That reminds me... Remember a week or two ago when we all discussed The Royal possibly having more than one wedding at once? (i think someone mentioned hearing music from another reception during another wedding) if this is the case, what happens if it rains? They move you inside to the ballroom, but what if there are two? Are there more than one ballroom locations? Hi that was me! We went on a site visit a couple weeks back and we were told that there is a possibility of three weddings being on the beach at the same time. So we poked around in the evening to get a look at the receptions going on. One evening there was a reception just starting dinner and another was already dancing. The music from the dancing crowd was clearly heard by the people eating dinner it was as if it was their own DJ. Granted if both DJ's are playing at the same time I'm sure that its fine, but we didn't go back to check. I have to admit this is one of my concerns about having a reception on the beach, I really want a beach reception but I'm highly considering the garden to avoid this. Is anybody else concerned about this or am i freaking out for now reason?!?!

Quote: Originally Posted by astreit Does anyone know what is meant by the dress code "long pants"? That is how the restaurant dress code for men is written on the Royal website. Does this include jeans? I'm not talking the tattered and torn kind, but just regular jeans. I know my FI would be very pleased if he didn't have to wear dress pants every night to go eat. Thanks! Jeans are fine! I think the only restaurant that it applies to is Marie Marie and Chefs Plate. I think the other ones guys can wear shorts.

Quote: Originally Posted by Lady_Di I have faith that in the end, it will be worth it! Please do let them know how frustrated we are with the customer service! Looking forward to your site review! Have a great time. When I met with Zulma a couple weeks ago we told her about the Michigan office and her reply was "yes, it's different" and said that everything use to go through them but then Real Resorts hired this outside office to do most of the wedding planning. She said that by the time we get to her everything will be already done by the Michigan office. Luckily (knock on wood) my Michigan WC has been fabulous, I don't have one bad thing to say about her. My biggest fear is that she's going to leave before my wedding a year from now!

Quote: Originally Posted by FutureMrsYak kimmy44 - April 21, 2010 jcooper79 - April 22, 2010 aerazo - April 23, 2010 llm78 - April 25, 2010 kimmy44 - April 28, 2010 AprilandRyan - May 1, 2010 jennie.lewis - May 7, 2010 SDbeachgirl - May 7, 2010 LynnieS - May 14, 2010 Jujeemd - May 14, 2010 Lexibride - May 15, 2010 tutti1299 - May 15, 2010 dianep - May 15, 2010 (gran) astreit - May 16, 2010 boolo318 - May 28, 2010 Denisema00 - May 29, 2010 Lady_Di - May 29, 2010 travellime (Lisa &J) - May 31, 2010 candicemarie - June 5, 2010 kenlyn8984 - June 10, 2010 ~Stephanie~ - June 11, 2010 duprk452- June 18, 2010 super19 - June 21, 2010 louise_pernell - June 25, 2010 2mckee- June 27, 2010 cinny726 - June 2010 Pattie - June 2010 Jamk32179- September 18, 2010 smckinney22 - October 9, 2010 ReidCapote - October 24, 2010 Shirley_Ken - October 28, 2010 Natalie79 - October 30, 2010 Celine- November 5, 2010 bmlynch - November 6, 2010 Randi - November 11, 2010 Trinas79 - November 11, 2010 jesmcan - November 12, 2010 futuremrs1113-November 13, 2010 giraffexx - November 19, 2010 mslisaaragon - November 22, 2010 Lisa DSO- November 24, 2010 Jenny310 - November 27, 2010 FutureMrsYak= December 2, 2010 msglave-December 11, 2010 MichaelandAraceli- December 18, 2010 pineapplebride - *maybe* April 2011 ChicagoBride2011-May 1, 2011 speedy130 - May 7, 2011 Prettypigpig - July 4, 2011 stevensfiance - 2010 -Royal, Cancun updated my date, we moved it from January to December! : ) Just added myself, yeah!

Quote: Originally Posted by super19 Hey all - FI and I will be heading to The Royal Saturday. I can't wait to check out the place, get some answers and decisions out of the way. Let me know if you have any pressing questions. I meet with Lili on Tuesday. Yippee! Have fun! We had a great time!

Quote: Originally Posted by Lady_Di ChicagoBride, we are thinking about ordering koozies for our guests but not sure if they are worth it at The Royal. Are they? I am not sure how drinks are served in a bottle, can or glass! I totally think they are worth it. That's actully a good idea for welcome bags. The drinks by the pool come in plastic cups, but your drinks do get warm quickly so I say go for it, I can't rememebr if they poor the beer into glass or give you the can. We saw people pour their drinks into thermal mugs too.

Quote: Originally Posted by LynnieS Oh ChicagoBride, Im headed there this weekend for my b-day/bach party!!!! Im soooo excited!! Gonna try not to think what the FI is doing at his bach party-haha! Ohhh you are! Have you ever been before? Let me know if you need any suggestions .

Quote: Originally Posted by jesmcan Ya I know they are insane!! It took me almost three months of negotiations to get ot a price that worked for us. I do have to say Linda worled really hard to get into our budget and we so apprecaite that they did that. That is the great thing about playa you can neotiate and let them know what you can pay I know it can be a hassle but in the end they really are very reasonable in getting as close to your budget as possible. Yes Linda is amazing I was going back and forth with her for ahwile regarding pricing information for reception and she was very helpful. Even though it was more money than The Royal, I felt like it was worth it, but my fiance didn't want to have it at a non-resort.