Emily11386

We get to use the credit once we are down there, and can't be used towards the wedding. We split our trip between the Gran Caribe and the Royal. The rooms at the Gran were nice. They are good sized and have nice balcony with an awesome hammock! The bathroom are marble and there was good counter space. The rooms at the Royal were great. They had nice upgrades throughout, including a hot tub. If anyone wants me to email them pics just pm with your email address.

We did a site visit and took the pictures ourselves. As far as I know there is no additional fee for having 2 choices of entree. We are using Ivan Luckie for photography. We are also using Margin for flowers. Both have been great to work with! I don't have any pictures of the Real Club, but I didn't see a bride on here who had pics from her reception here but I can't remember who it is. When I asked my coordinator about it I was told this is just a back up location for when it rains and it can't be booked!

Hey, I am a Boston bride and an RN as well! I am almost done with wedding planning though. Our wedding is May 10, 2013. 52 days away!

So my coordinator finally got back to me and said they can do 3 hair appointments and 3 make up appointments at once. She still didn't give me a time she thinks we should start with 10 hair appontments and 6 make up appointments. Any ideas?

http://stpierreanddurant.ourwedding.com/

Joanna, congrats! I'm so happy to hear that you had a great time. For music for the catholic ceremony, were you able to pick whatever you wanted or did it have to be religious type of music?

Yes the resort does require wristbands.

It definitely is a lot of appointments! Lol I asked Claudy about how many hair stylists and make up artists there would be, and what time she recommends starting. Still waiting on an answer, of course.....

I am tracking daily. At first I was meeting my points everyday, but lately I've been significantly under (like by atleast 7 points a day). I'm wondering if that is why so over the last couple days I've made an effort to meet my points.

What time is everyone thinking of starting hair and makeup? I will be getting my hair and make up done as will my mother. I have 5 bridesmaids who are all getting updos. I also have 3 aunts who will most likely be getting hair done as well. I honestly have no idea what time to start.

About cocktail hour, we have the Royal Catholic package, and I was told it only included sparkling wine for cocktail hr. If we wanted open bar it was an additional $5 per person. I was also told that cocktail hr included 3 cold appetizers, and if we wanted 3 hot appetizers in addition, I was also $5 per person.

We are going to be turning in our info soon and we are really debating about the videographer. At $500 for 1 hr of taping and a 30 min edited DVD I seems a little steep, but at the same time I don't want to regret not doing it. Are others doing videography or passing on it?

Hey ladies, I joined weight watchers a few months ago and lost 7 pounds. Since then, the last month or so I've been either maintaining or losing 0.2 pounds. I've been eating well and going to the gym and doing cardio 3 times weekly. Any advice?

You looked amazing! And your wedding looked like so much fun Congratulations! Did you guys have the 3 hour reception or did you add an extra hour? And if you don't mind me asking, did the chairs you had at the reception come standard or did you pay extra for those?

I think that if things continue the way they have been, my fiancé wants to contact the corporate office. He said contacting the actual coordinator or even their supervisor hasn't seemed to make a difference so he thinks that's the next step. I agree that it makes me nervous since they are in charge of making sure everything comes together on the day of the wedding, but they just don't seem to be reasonable in so many areas.

It's funny because I was talking to my mom the other day and she asked me if I could go back to the beginning of the planning would I still do a destination wedding. My answer was: I would definitely still do a destination wedding but I wouldn't chose this resort. It makes me sad to feel this way, but it's true. Communication is terrible and I always feel like they act like they are doing us a favor by letting us have our wedding there. Some resorts like the Palace Resorts offer incentives based on how many rooms or room nights your wedding guests book. At least they are attainable numbers and they are offering some kind of incentives for having your wedding there. At Real Resorts you have to have 25 rooms booked to get any incentives. I think that is a little crazy. We have 35 guests and we aren't going to hit 25 rooms. I'm sure a lot ofpeople don't hit the 25 room mark.

I really feel like they nickel and dime you for everything! We are basically spending $1100 on nothing. Outside vendor fees for photographer and florist at $350 each Then the $400 "sunset ceremony fee". I think it's crazy. And when I asked about canapés I was told we could pick cold ones only, and if we wanted hot canapés it was an additional $5pp. I feel like every time turn around there is an additional fee!

No, I'm happy for anyone who wants to get hair and make up done to do so. I just think it's weird that the resort is making them pay upfront if they want to make the appointment now. If they don't make it ahead of time, I'm nervous they won't have any availability.

My final wedding information is due in 19 days and final payment in 24! I'm trying to go through and make a list of the things I left to do. One thing that I found weird is that i have bridesmaids and some family who want to get their hair and make up done. I asked my wedding coordinator if I could make appointments for them through her. She told me they can contact her to make appointments but that if they do that they have to pay upfront. Or they can wait until they get to the resort to make the appointment but at that point it's based on availability. Is it just me or is that kind of strange?

I totally agree! I was hoping when we got closer the communication would improve, but it really hasn't at all! It's so frustrating.

We booked Ivan Luckie! His prices are reasonable, his work his great, and he has been really easy to work with!

A former bride posted this. It was really helpful! http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/t/69693/every-thing-you-want-to-know-about-catholic-ceremony-at-grand-caribe-real

I asked my wedding coordinator about the Mexican traditions ie the coins, lazo, ect and was told that those are part of a Catholic wedding (in Mexican tradition) and if you are having a catholic ceremony those are part of it.

Christen, Do you have any other pictures of the new gazebo? It wasn't there when we did our site visit and I'm trying to figure out where it is. Can't wait to see your review!

I love those!!! Beautiful!!