Missy1

You have a 50 percent chance of working something out with one of the restaurants without paying the additional cost. I had read that some brides just slipped the manager $100 and it all worked out...that was not the case with us. First we went to the concierge the day we got there to see if something could be arranged...we didn't need private, we just wanted to have 30 of all seated in the same section of one of the restaurants. The only one that was available was the Asian one but half of our guests, including ourselves had eaten there the night before so we didn't want to eat there agian so the conciege suggested we talk to our wedding coordinator to see what she could do...she was no help, she suggested that we go to the restaurant at 3:30 - 4:00 when the managers would be they and speak to one of them. We went to El Patio first and the manager immediately shot us down and told us absolutely not, they don't do reservations. So we went next door to Bordeaux and after some persuading they said they could do it but no kids are allowed at that restaurant... no good for us as there were toddlers in our wedding party. So, on a whim I had my mother in law go back to El Patio and offer them $100 to do it. She came back in 5 minutes and said they could do it. I was ecstatic! We went back to the pool and beach and told all of our guests to meet at El Patio for 8. Around 6:30 I got back to my room only for my fiance' to tell me that the manager from El Patio had called our room, my mother in law's room and finally my sister in laws room to tell them that there had been a mistake and that since the hotel was at capacity they could no longer accomodate our party...I was beside myself and my fiance' was livid. He went downstairs after speaking with several different managers and they end up offering us the seaside grill instead. Mind you, I still had to go get my 35 guests at the lobby all waiting outside of El Patio to tell them we had been screwed at to follow me to Seaside Grill. And the real kicker in all of this is, when I looked into El Patio when gathering my guests, there was hardly anyone in the restaurant and when we returned to the lobby 2 hours later, the restaurant was completely empty. So....my suggestion, if you definitely want to have a welcome/rehersal dinner pay for it per person so your guarenteed it...if not no promises can be made. We learned that very quickly at the resort, if its not paid for , no matter what anyone guarentees you, its not a definite...and thats with dinners, spa appointments, excursions, EVERYTHING! And there's not a whole lot you can do about it..your kind of at these peoples mercy and they can very easily go from telling "absolutely" to "sorry can't do it."

I did have Anel do the photogrpahy. I kind of splurged here because I felt like I have saved so much money in every other department. There's a package for $1000 that will get you full coverage of the entire wedding but I'm not sure how many additional pics come with that one. I went with the one for $1500 that included 200 pictures, a slideshow with music, a photobook that they make for you and a trash the dress wedding shoot (which I never got to do because I was so tired the last day we were there.) I just had them through in an additional photobook instead. This is kind of a "your preference" situation. I felt like I had saved money every where else so I splurged with the pictures package but you could probably go with the one for $1000 and be fine with that one.

No I didn't. We only had full day at the resort after the wedding. The children were never a problem for us but I must say, we are beach people and spent every day at the beach. If your a pool person the kids maybe a problem. I know on our last day there we tried to go lay by the pool for a little while before we left because I hadn't been in the pool once since we had gotten there and there were no chairs to be had. There's a deck right behind the infinity pool with alot of chairs so we sat there and I don't recall kids being an issue.

They use round tables that seat 8-10 people and you have the option as to whether or not you want to be seated just you and the groom or with your bridal party. So I just went through my list of people and decided where I wanted each person seated. I had them set the maracas up at at a table when the guests first got to the reception and so they just found the maraca with their name on it and went to the table that matched their number. I didn't have people seated in certain seats...just specific tables. I aslo brough picture frames with the table numbers on them. Your wedding coordinator should email you a chart of the layout. I printed it out and wrote in the middle of each table how many people would be at that table and what table number it would be. I chose to sit a long table with our bridal party so I wrote down each persons name on that table and had them place there maraca at the table already. My hair was done by my mother-in-law but my mother and sister had their hair done at the spa and hated it. They both took their hair down and had my cousin re-do it before the wedding. I got my makeup done at the spa and have no complaints. I think it turned out very nice. I believe the girl that did my makeup's name was either Victoria or Veronica...on the downside, she also did my mother's makeup and she felt that she used to much base so she wiped some off. I wish I could offer more insight to the food but I had one plate and then it rained and they told us they couldn't bring all the food up to the ballroom. So they bought the cake, the deserts and some food to snack on. We chose the Carribean Buffet and from what I did have it was very good. The ribs were delicious and I don't even like ribs. We did the tres leches cake and that was very good also.

And also, and I think I've said this before..as far as decorations go....less is more. The scenery is so beautiful you don't need alot so don't stress over it. Chair bows, table runners or overlays and centerpieces is all you need. Forget flowers on the gazebo or on the end of the chairs...those three things are all you need. I had 47 people inlcuding us and I think I spent $90 on chair bows and table runners together, $90 on the maracas, and $500-600 on centerpieces, bouquets, flower petals and flowers for the hair.

I got everything through the hotel except for the chair bows and table runners. Those I bought myself just to be on the safe side in case they didn't have the colors I wanted. I didnt really have "colors" as you can see the guys wore seersucker and my bridesmaids dresses were a very light pink so I needed one color that was going to "POP". Once I decided on fuschia I just went on the internet and saved pictures of tropical flower bouquets where the main color was hot pink. When it was time for me to order the WC sent me a catalog of centerpieces and bouquets to pick from. I just picked the style I liked of each and explained to her that I wanted all my flowers to be fuschia. I attached the pictures I had saved to show her examples and my flowers turned out to match the pictures I had sent perfectly. They were my favorite party of the wedding. The flowers in my bridesmaids hair were real...i ordered those through the resort as well, I think they were $10 a piece. The flower in my hair I actually borrowed from my hairdresser. I have no idea where she got it from but I'll ask her. My advise would be to buy your table linens and chair bows ahead of time. There really cheap online and they take up no room to pack and it at least gives you peice of mind that you;ll have the correct colors. I also bought my maracas as well (I fit 45 on them in two carry on bags). They also served as place cards as well. I tied everyone's name and table number to them so I saved on money there as well.

Here's my slideshow I just got: http://220411mattingly.dreamsriveriacancun.adventurephotos.com.mx/

I used DJ Mauricio Neri with Visual Sound and had absolutely no problems. I gave him a list of songs we'd like to hear and anything my guests requested that he didn't already have he could download in 30 seconds or less. He didn't really MC or anything as far as keeping the party going but anyone whose seen my pictures knows that we didn't really need anyone for that. He announced us when we walked into the reception and kept to the timeline I gave him perfectly.

Do any of the past brides have the contact info for adventure photography at the resort. I think my pictures should be ready next week but I don't think I got their contact info...

No, you have to pay for a sound technician ($180 hour)..... and he spoke no English..luckily he didn't screw up too bad. I had a song for the parents and grandparents to walk to, a song for my bridal party and the song I walk down the aisle to. He didn't play the song that my bridal party was suppose to walk to to, instead he just kept playing the song that the parents and grandparents walked to. It worked out ok because the song was long enough for everyone to walk to but keep the ceremony music simple because it will get messed up. http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/profile.php?id=23442211

Thanks! The shirts may have stayed on, however, I think because the weather was so beautiful the resort didn't expect rain so when they moved us to the ballroom they had to turn the air conditioner on....so it was very hot for the first 30 - 45 minutes but there weren't any real complaints. Most of my quests got rained on and went and changed their clothes before coming to the ballroom .But its something to think about...if you even think that there might be rain make sure they have one of the ballrooms prepared ahead of time.

And for those of you who still can't see my pictures feel free to friend request me and I'll gladly except. I'm not quite sure why some people still can't see them, I thought I turned off all of my privacy setting but agian feel free to friend request me

You can definitely save money by buying your own bows and table overlays or runners...they took no room to pack. I was so concerned about the budget as well so at first I was even going to try and bring my own centerpieces but it would have costed just as much to pack or have them shipped. The centerpieces I had were $60 a piece and I thought they came out beautifully. We had four tables for our guests...each table held 8-10 people...so I only had to buy 4. If you have the ultimate packageit comes with the a free centerpiece for the bride and grooms table and a free one for the ceremony table. I got those two to match and had them take the one from the ceremony table and move it to our table for the reception so I had one on either side of the table. I had my entire wedding party all sit at one table with us which was a 11 people. Definitely forgo the cocktail hour. There is no need for it. Your at an all inclusive resort...drinks are free. Have your guests meet at one of the bars around the resort for that hour and if you plan to have the mariachi or carribean trio play the WC will be happy to tell them where they need to be. Be aware that the pool bars close for 6 so if your cocktail hours after that they should probably just go to the lobby bar. I also got a $1500 photo package....if you don't need all those pictures then thats saved money. And the main thing is like I said before don't spend all kinds of money on decorations because in the end the scenery is so beautiful there you truly do not need them. Chair bows, table runners and centerpieces...thats all you need. Don't bother with flowers on the Gazebo or on the side of chairs because there just not nessassary. And also, my bouquet was free and I paid for 4 bridesmaids bouquets which were $60 a piece but I absolutely loved my flowers...they were my favorite part of the whole thing. I sent my WC a picture of what I wanted and they came out exactly like the pictures.

For anyone who previously went to my facebook page and couldn't see any of the pics I uploaded an album last night so you should be able to see them now (look up Melissa Ventura Mattingly). The DJ was 300 an hour and we had him for 4 hours however the 4th hour was free due to the mix up with DJ Doremixx but we tipped him $50 when it was all said and done because he did a really good job. My ceremony started for 4 and only last maybe 20 minutes. We skipped the cocktail hour with the appetizers and just had our guests meet at the Baracuda Bar which is right next to the Gazebo (its the bar with the swings around it) and we had the Carribean Trio play there since they were free with the package and it worked out well because we ended up taking our pictures right on the beach in front of the bar and our guests really liked to watch. The reception started at 6. Just my advise, get all the dances, speeches and cake cutting over with in that first hour. We had our entrance which everyone loved. They all stood up and danced with their maracas when we came in to "Tonights Gonna Be a Good Night" Everyone said it was the best wedding entrance they had ever seen. Right after that everyone went to the buffet and we ate for about 20 - 30 minutes. Then we did speeches , first dances, and then we cut the cake. Shortly after that it started to rain so they moved us into the ballroom and we danced the night away till 11. I did my bouquet toss and garter toss the second to last two songs of the night. My only complaint was that when it rained they weren't able to move any of the food except for some desserts and my cake to the ballroom so the rest of the food went to waste. It was a good thing everyone was able to eat at least one plate of food before then.

No one got too sick but I'll just say you will go to the bathroom pretty regularly...no matter what you eat or drink. There's more than one ballroom so no worries there. They probably wouldn't move you into desires as I was originally offered that option however there were basketball games on at that time so I was told i wouldn't be able to play music...clearly that was out. The lounge doubles as sportsbar...it doesnt really turn into a "club" till about 10 but the ballrooms are right next to it. We got lucky. Fortunatley we had beautiful weather for our entire ceremony and pictures on the beach. We got speeches, first dances and cake cutting and everyone ate before the rain came so pretty much the dance party was moved to the ball room but it worked out for the best.