ChicagoBride2011

I'm in the same situation regarding last name. I want to keep mine and my fiance isn't too happy about it. He actually gets quite upset when I tell him that I want to keep my name. It's not that I don't like his last it just doesn't doesn't flow well, too many "m's" and I sound like an Irish Catholic nun, lol. My only choice is to hyphenate so we both get what we want.

Hi ladies I havn't been on here in over a week and LOVE catching up on all the stuff I missed! My new WC is Katia and she has been very helpful, I think she just needed a few weeks to get settled in. Zulma will be my onsite coordinator a month before hand. Katia said that they want all emails/correspondence to go through the new website instead of emailing directly. Just an FYI. I hired Vincent from Del Sol for wedding photograpahy and I'm sooo excited about it! I also tried on wedding dresses for the first time over the weekend and it went better than expected (I was dreading the process). So many choices and some were jsut too heavy for a Mexico wedding.

Welcome, I am getting married May 1 in Playa Del Carmen. We are date twins!

Quote: Originally Posted by msglave Lisa, It's really terrible. It's already enough to plan your wedding long distance, but when you don't hear from anyone and only know what's going on with the brides on here and not your own planning, it's not a good feeling. I am going to PM you a copy of the message I sent. Hi, I would just call the Mexico office directly, when we called they were extremely nice. I don't think it's that they don't want to help us.... Things are just a little hectic down there right now. I received a WC finally however she is averaging a week to answer emails. I'm just trying to be patient during this transition period for them. Now if it's still like this 2 months from now I may have to speak up, but I think they are slowly getting their act together. Keep us posted!

Quote: Originally Posted by jesmcan Here is there website KOOL - Restaurant bar by playa tukan you can see the royal right in the picture that is how close it is here is their e-mail [email protected] Lilliana is the wc there Thank you!

Does Kool Beach Club have a website? I've looked a few times and can't seem to find one. I want to email them for pricing to see how much a welcome dinner would cost. Thanks ladies!

Quote: Originally Posted by Lady_Di Thanks ladies! I agree...I picked The Royal because of the location and it had a sister resort that catered to families. The only negative thing about it is that the beach is public. The pros overweighted that con. I agree, the only con that I can think of as well is the beach. Not as private and scenic as the more secluded resorts. But at the more secluded resorts you are pretty much stuck there. We never drank/ate in town but we enjoyed walking into town everynight after dinner! It's a fun little town! And also during the day to get a break from the pool/beach we would go to all the little stores on 5th. You can't do that at any of the resorts that are along the main road/highway.

Quote: Originally Posted by Matt Adcock pick me pick me pick me... ha ha ha, jk Vincent has new folio coming, that guys is uhhhamazing Sol isn't too shabby either saludos! mateo haha!!! You are all SOOOO amazing! I have to mention that Melissa is awesome too! That girl can answer emails fast, lol.... and so nice and helpful.

Quote: Originally Posted by Lady_Di Bonnie, great pics!! We got our pro pictures back and I had to pick pictures for the slideshow. It was so hard to pick just 80 out of 1,200k pictures!! Pictage - Diana and Rocky Enjoy! Beautiful pictures, you look amazing! I'm going to be booking Del Sol for my wedding photgraphy! I just can't decide between Vincent, Matt, or Sol they are all so talented!

Quote: Originally Posted by jesmcan Hi AugustBride, I think we have all gone through this feeling so don't worry its totally normal. Do you have any idea about how many guests you are going to have coming? Once you have an idea I would sit down and price out the a la cart versus the package. I think many brides struggled with the fact that there were many things in the package they were not going to use. And they do not let you substitute for anything else. So it seems that in many cases the a la carte was the best way to go. Be sure to take into consideration that non-resort guests pay more Non-Resort Guest Fees: $10 For The Ceremony $20 Cocktail Hour $60 For The Reception In addition also consider that if you have guests staying off the resort they have to leave the resort if you have time in between your events. So if your ceremony is at 2pm than cocktail at 5pm followed by reception your non-resort guests would have to leave until 5pm. Also are you working with a travel agent? I highly recommend that you do. They can help you find the best rates and show you the options of individual versus group. They also have no bumping policies which is common in the Royal for guests who book through on line sites like Expedia and so on.

Quote: Originally Posted by N&J2011 Hi Chicago Bride. I am getting married in April 2011 and I am strongly considering Cecilia Dumas as well. Please let me know what you find out. She did someone else's wedding on here as well but I wasn't able to get to the pictures. It's maybe 5 or 6 pages back. Who was your first choice if you don't mind me asking? I wasn't able to view them either, if you Google her you can find some pics on Vimeo and her website. Also, if you look at the wedding review forum then you can find some. My first choice was Sascha Gluck.

Quote: Originally Posted by jesmcan I just heard back from Zulma - the new web link that everyone is getting is for those brides who never had a WC in Mexico. It is to help Keep track of everything and make sure that everything is properly transferred from the US to Mexico. Thanks Jesmcan! Mine has nothing on there, I wonder if I'm suppose to put stuff or if my WC just hasn't gotten around to it yet. It takes her a week to answer my emails, a lil frustrating but I'm trying to be patient.

So after months of going back and forth on trying to decide on a photographer I FINALLY made my decision and he's now booked. I cannot tell you how upset I am!!! I am now considering Cecilia Dumas, if anyone has any feedback regarding her work it's much appreciated. JESMCAN, I'd send you the link that I received but it seems that each link is tailored for your own individual profile.

Quote: Originally Posted by SarahE786 Yep! My WC Rebekah sent me the info a couple weeks ago saying it would "help streamline the process". I think they also have the higher management having access to it as well. Maybe its just better documented for them and easier to organize? I signed up for it and have been using it. Its actually pretty helpful to keep track of things. I will say though that the very first thing I did was post a thread on there with a copy of all our correspondence so far to make sure that everything previously talked about was documented as well! Hope that helps! So it it suppose to show our wedding info? Mine shows nothing.

Hi ladies, did anyone receive an email from their WC with a website that you have to create a login and password? Just curious if anyone knows what it's for. I emailed my new WC but usually you ladies have all the answers!

Quote: Originally Posted by bridetobe1515 Not sure if this will work for everyone, but here is the link to my albums. I didn't post all pics, because there are way too many and I am at work. The pics are at home on my computer. But here is what I have at work: Best Destination Wedding Forum ~ The Ultimate Destination Wedding Resource I can't see them. If you can do you mind emailing them to me? I'm considering Cecilia as a photographer so I would LOVE to see them! [email protected]

Quote: Originally Posted by SarahE786 I don't know about all of your q's (maybe someone who had an outside photog recently might be better to answer), but I do remember someone asking about the vendor fee before about having a family member doing the photography. If I can remember right I think that if they have professional equipment (tripod etc) that you have to pay the fee....I could be wrong though but it seems like not many people would have to pay the fee if staying as a guest was the only criteria :-/ I was also curious if people might have an idea of how many weddings there actually tend to be each day? I know that my WC rebekah told me there could be up to 6, and I've seen on TripAdvisor recently people (non-wedding resort guests) complaining about the number of weddings going on and quoting numbers like 7,8 and 9 which seems like a bit of an over estimate! Any thoughts? I just don't want to to feel like a "wedding factory" because I think the Royal is so gorgeous and perfect for what I want!! :-) When I was there in April for my site visit Zulma said that they had 120 weddings that month. I would say 3-4 a day.

Quote: Originally Posted by PaperBagPrincess Hello Everyone! I have been lurking in the background while we sorted details ( I did add my date awhile back so it felt real! hehe). For awhile we were feeling family pressures to change our resort. But we have decided to stand our ground and get married at the Royal! Looking forward to trying to read through at least some of the history in here and trying to keep up with the present stuff. I do have one question. I believe guests not staying at the Royal or Grand Porto need a day pass to attend the wedding? (insert family pressure here) Anyone had any problems with this? Also do you know the cost? Thanks! Jesmcan is right, your guests do not need to purchase a day pass. You just pay more for cocktail and reception, I believe for Luxury pkg a non-guest is $60 for reception From what I hear they are allowed to come onto property 30 minutes before hand and if there is any breaks in between they have to leave. For example if your ceremony is at 2 and reception isn't until 6 they woud have to leave.

Quote: Originally Posted by Lisa DSO Well, my dress ordeal is over and I got my dress a few hours ago. I am for sure gonna die of heat in it, but not too bad in November from what I hear. I'm gonna have them cut a lot of the train off so it's not too ridiculous: Angelina - by Maggie Sottero Absolutely gorgeous!!

Quote: Originally Posted by randi.renstrom i'm in the process of talking to this company on a quote ::::::::::CATAMAYA::::::::::::::: i believe some people on the board used them and enjoyed them. after i got a quote back from them i was going to ask more about it. we are hoping to do a lunch/snorkel trip with about 50 or so people. Thanks! I found another one too, they have prices on website. It is: http://www.paradisecatamarans.com/cu...l?t_product=18

I know it's on here somewhere but I can't seem to find it. I know a couple of brides did a Catamaran cruise thing instead of a welcome/rehearsal dinner. Does anyone know the name of the company?

So, the fiance called the Mexico office last week to see what was going on regarding getting a new WC. He spoke to Zulma since that's who we met on our site visit. He asked her if we could just have her since we've already met her etc. and she said sure she'd jsut have to talk to Michelle since that's who we are assigned too. She said that wedding already booked would be given to the office in Playa at The Royal and that wedding not booked yet would be going to the new Cancun office. Well we never heard back. The fiance called again this week and she said that they changed things again and that we'd be assigned to the new Cancun office but she'd see if she can just take us over and she'd give us a call back. Never got that call. Wednesday I received an autoamted email from Katia Nunez stating that she's our assigned WC. I emailed her back confirming she had our correct date, locations, times, etc. and got no response back. I miss Aja!!! She was wonderful! (my michigan WC) Seems like things are pretty hectic down there right now.

Thanks for the TA advice ladies! What would I do without you guys.

For those of you that did or are currently using a TA did you do "group" rates or individual booking? We're leaning towards individual booking, it seems the group rates might have some hidden costs to us, but not sure. Just trying to figure all this out!

Here is some info I found on legal wedding in Mexico. LadyDi I hope everything works out for you, keep us posted! Civil Ceremony: A marriage in Mexico is legal only if it is a civil ceremony performed by the Oficina del Registro Civil by their justices. The justices will perform these ceremonies in the office of the Registro Civil or a location the couple chooses (usually the beach)! The marriage certificate is recognized by the USA, Canada and most other countries. During the civil ceremony a 19th century poet is quoted, personal vows can also be exchanged and the ceremony will be translated into English. Required Documentation & Procedures • If you are not a resident of Mexico, you must provide a valid passport and a Tourist Card (which the airlines will provide or if you are driving you will need to get one in Mexico). • Bride & Groom must arrive in Mexico at least three (3) days prior to the ceremony in order to obtain the proper paperwork and documents. • Bride & Groom must have a blood test performed in a local clinic within Mexico at least two (2) days prior to the marriage ceremony with a doctor’s certification of the blood test in Spanish. • Four witnesses over the age of 18 years old with a valid passport, visa, driver’s license or Tourist Card must arrive 3 business days prior to the wedding. Witnesses can also be provided. • If the bride is divorced, and her passport is under her ex-husbands last name, she will be required additional documentation. Her birth certificate must be translated into Spanish and have an Apostille seal by the Secretary of State.