kary

Thank you so much for your fab and very detailed review! I LOVED your wedding...It was perfect, and everything I want mine to be! I will be searching for your dress, you looked amazing!! Thank you for taking the time to review~!!

Hey Jen! Adriana (WC) said: "As you are more than 50 pax it needs to be in the Medano Restaurant (Main Buffet), or you can just have a rehearsal with the wedding party, maybe 20 pax and you can do it in Steak House or San José Restaurant." I took that as since I had more than 50 people it had to be in the buffet. I ended up e-mailing her back to ask her if I have 49 or less people if i could have it in the a specialty rest. and she has yet to write me back....However after re-thinking this, she must have meant that over 20 is too many. I really wanted to use the rehearsal dinner as a means of a welcome dinner where I could invite everyone (est. 50 or so people) and thank them all for coming. Also, I feel bad only inviting the wedding party, and not their dates. The issue is we have 9 people standing up on each side, so 20 including us, and 4 more with our parents. Oh well..... I am going to try to get my TA to get us the dinner instead. It is free correct? You just requested to be on the terrace of the MX rest? That is exactly where I want my dinner. Renting the disco was a good idea. That way you save the open bar, cost of dj and only pay one fee. Can you give a play list/I pod to the dj, or does he play whatever he wishes? Its great how its an AI resort, yet you have to pay for everything!! UGH! So, question-Since you have so many people attending (65 correct?) would you automatically have to select a per person menu if you made your event private? There are way too many confusing rules for me to follow. Could you have selected the private $1,000.00 option for both seatings and still only had the regular menu? Thanks Jen!

Great job on bringing everything together! I love your earrings, where did you purchase them from? Thanks! Kary

Sxt~ I LOVE your dress!!!! It looks great on you! Where did you get it from?

Hi Michele, $7.00 for each runner? Holy crap! That’s crazy…you are much better off buying them yourself. Do you know how many tables you will have? Are you going to do black or red ones? I did look at a lot of pictures from the reception dinners and it doesn’t look like they put the bows on the chairs, but maybe the brides just didn’t request them to. They don’t have the color I want so I think I am just going to go with the white ones. Thanks for the heads up on Walmart. I guess I can always rent the vases from the flower place if needed, but they seem to be really expensive. So are you bringing your vases and ribbon down with you then? What is the flower place by your house called? As far as the paper lanterns...Why can’t you have them hang them on the lights? Not over the bulb, but most of them come with a little hook attached and should be able to attach to the light string. I will not be very happy if Adriana tells me that I can’t have them, especially since I really wanted sky lanterns and she said no to those. Do you know if they allow giant sparklers? I want something fun! I have never heard of anyone hiring fire dancers there either…I wonder if those are allowed. I have not heard from Crys…I think I am going to PM her and tell her we are dying to hear about and see pics of her big day!!!

Hey Jen, Question- I see that you are having your rehearsal dinner on the Mexican terrace. How many people are you inviting to the dinner? I ask because I really want my rehearsal dinner there as well, and the WC told me that since I will have over 50 people that we will have to have the rehearsal dinner at the Buffet. Also, I see that you have 65 people coming, does that mean that you rented out the entire inside of the steakhouse from 6-11? Thanks so much!! Kary

Hi Jen! I see your wedding is getting close too!!! Only 3 more weeks! Please Please Please come back on and post pics and your review after you get back from your fabulous vacation in Cabo! Enjoy your day!! Thanks, Kary

Thanks Michey!!!! Soooooo exciting, 2 weeks!!! I really appreciate your commitment to get the pics up, and especially for the set up of things too. I am really excited to see and hear about how your wedding turns out Enjoy your special day!!! Thanks!! Kary

Hi Mishele! Good to know that there are additional options on the hotel rooms…I just thought that they were all suites. For the table runners: You are having the reception at the Baja Norte so you will have round tables correct? I did find a website, www. tableclothsfactory.com that has the table runners for $1.65 on sale from $2.19…I think I will probably just order them off of there since we are having a AHR and we will need them anyways. Also, I am wondering about the bows for the chairs at the ceremony…Do you know if they also use these for the reception dinner also? If not, then I am also going to buy some bows for both the ceremony and reception to use. By the way, we are staying our second week at Dreams also! Centerpieces: I am undecided on what to do with these. I guess it will all depend on where I get to schedule my reception. I want round tables, vs. the one long table. If I get the round tables then I will probably bring the vases and flowers down myself in my carryon, or go to Walmart once I arrive in Cabo to see what my options are. I assume they carry similar items in MX as they do in the states. If I have one long table then I will probably just use my 9 bridesmaid’s bouquets as the centerpieces and rent vases for them. Rehearsal Dinner: Adriana (WC) said that since I have 50 or more people that I have to have the rehearsal dinner at the buffet. I have since then sent her an e-mail inquiring if I have 49 or less people if I can have it at one of the specialty restaurants. I really wanted to use this dinner as a welcome reception, which will also give me an opportunity to give a speech to say thank you to all of my guests for coming. I never received anything on the rehearsal dinner, I just figured its never too soon to start planning it. I would like them to set up one long table on one of the terraces. Michey also said that her WC just recently asked her where she would like to have hers. I guess it’s one of those things you plan as you get closer to the date. I am obsessed with this website!!! Its great though, because I am getting so many ideas. However, I think had I never found it, that my wedding would be much simpler, and much cheaper! I definitely want paper lanterns. I am not sure if the resort supplies them. If not then I have found tons of websites that do, and I will bring them myself. Keep in Touch! -Kary

Hi Michelle, Thank you sooooo much for the info!!! Super helpful! I love your wedding website, it has a lot of great info on it for your guests, which I am sure will be greatly appreciated! So excited for you that the wedding is getting so close~!!!! Ok, so you are going to have to send a picture of your centerpieces so I can envision what they look like. I like the idea of battery powered lights, that will be nice. Are you just packing the bowls in your carry on then? Since you are paying extra for the beach, how much is the DJ? The dance floor? (hope you don't mind me asking) So as far as the open bar you are paying for...Your wedding will now include beer, wine, pop and liquor correct? Just no fancy blended drinks right? I know Crys said she was just going to use the bar upstairs, I wonder how that worked out for her. I can't wait for her review~! So I spoke with Adriana about my rehearsal dinner and she said since I will have over 50 people that I will have to have it at the buffet. I am hoping that if I have 49 or less people that I can have it at the Mexican restaurant since I want my reception the same as yours. The rehearsal dinner is free correct? Are they putting you guys outside on the terrace? That's what I want. Do you know how long the dinner is? I would just invite the wedding party, but there are 18 of them and I feel bad not inviting their spouses. I also wanted to utilize the rehearsal dinner as a "welcome" dinner giving me an opportunity to give a speech thank everyone for coming. Your bracelet you are wearing and the candle you are having in your fathers honor sounds very nice I have no idea what I want to wear for jewelry...I have found a lot of nice stuff on esty.com that I may order. What are your colors? Are you bringing down any table runners or bows for the chairs for your wedding? Talk to you soon!

Wonderful review!! So many details, thank you!!

Great review, but I really want to see some pictures, especially of your flowers! They sound like exactly what i want

You looked wonderful!

Your pics were great!! i love the beach ones the best. Did you guys bring the lanterns with you, or were they part of the resort?

Great, thank you so much for your review!

Your wedding looked amazing! Thank you so much for your review. You gave me so many wonderful ideas

Hi Ladies! Michey-Your wedding in less than a month!! Very exciting!! I am so glad that the coordinator has been so on the ball, it makes me feel a little better. I understand my wedding isn't until 2012, but I am a crazy planner and it kills me not to know what is going on. So, I was wondering if you can send me Everything you have. It sounds like I don't have a lot of the info you were telling Mischele about. My e-mail is [email protected] It would all be SOOOO appreciated. I see you are following Crys on the Don Julio beach and terrace! This is probably exactly what I would like to do. How many people will you have? Are you eating on the terrace and then just using the beach for dancing? Do you know how many people the terrace holds? Have you seen a review from Crys? I was really hoping that she would post pictures and give us her feedback on how her big day turned out. What are you doing for centerpieces? Flowers? Also, do you have a rehearsal dinner planned? Does this cost extra, and how far ahead of time were you able to set it up? Thanks!!! Kary

Hi Mishele! That is great that your agent was able to book so many guests so early. My TA wasn't able to reserve us a fixed number of seats on the plane since we have people coming and leaving on all different days and times. Oh well, I did just send out another e-mail on our travel plans, and I think we now have 14 people booked! I checked out your wedding website, sooo cute! I am confused on the pricing though...what is the Ocean view room? Is that a suite? I thought they are all suites? You guys are very lucky with the prices your guests can pay for 7 days...We live in MI, so 7 nights for our guests in the Jr. Suite Ocean view is $1,827.00 per person! No wonder you have so many people booked, that is a great deal you have! As for the table runners, that sounds like a great idea! How do you know how long you will need them? The flowers: Are you going to incorporate the orange anywhere else in the wedding? I think if you had your girls carry mostly white roses, but mix a few red in between it would look awesome. If you are looking for a pop of color, the two mixed together will give you that effect. If you go on Marcel's website/blog he has an excel spread sheet that will give you pricing based on the number of hours you want. I think it ends up being somewhere around $300.00 per hour. He ended up being $300.00 cheaper than the RIU photographers, but you also have to pay the $300.00 photo vendor fee if you are going to use him. I think that is such a dumb fee the RIU charges. We are paying a good amount of money for the wedding package and should be able to use whoever we want. I attached a picture of what I would like to do for the centerpieces. I am thinking of using hot pink flowers since my colors are fuchsia and kelly green. I think I will fill the vase with water and put a floating candle on top too. I love that you are having the reception at the Baja Norte. I really want to have it there also, but I don't want to pay the per person rate for food, since we are having a huge AHR when we get back, and have to feed and provide booze for people all over again Did you set up the cocktail hour with the wedding coordinator yet? Or is that part of having the private package? I have been reading all of these blogs about rehearsal dinners...Do you have one set up yet? I wonder if they cost extra? I know that the info sheet I got from my coordinator has the rehersal dinner listed as the buffet. That makes me feel like if you want to have it elsewhere then you have to pay for it.?? I also feel your concern on having other weddings the day of your wedding. There is one planned 2 hours after mine...but I know I booked first because I remember having all of the times open as options to me. I wonder who the coordinator will contact first...EEEK! Keep me updated! -Kary

Hi Mishele! Sorry I have been MIA! So, did you book Marcel Glez for you photography? I just really liked his work, and he was def the most reasonable priced out of the 20 some photographers I looked at. I am so glad your man agreed to book!! As far as the centerpieces...I don't plan on buying the flowers from the RIU since they are crazy expensive. I think what I might do is buy some fake (but very real looking) orchids, the go to Walmart once I get there to buy some very tall vases. I want to put either sand or stones ( the pretty colored yet see through ones) in the bottom of the vase, and then put the orchard in with floating candles on top. I may even end up buying the vases ahead of time and having someone either bring them down in a separate carry on, or ship them to the hotel ahead of time. If I knew how to attach a pic I would show you.-Let me know if you know how. What about you? Are you buying the flowers from the RIU? I've just read so many reviews about how there isn't much room left on the tables for flowers and decorations so I don't want to waste the money on the flowers. I also have 9 bridesmaids and at $80.00/boquet I don't think I will be buying their flowers from the RIU either! I am also going to try and make my own out of real touch flowers. Damn! I see you already have 51 people booked! That is great! Did you use a TA? I am having a really hard time getting people to book. I am thinking we will have around 50 people attend, and only 2 have booked so far What is your secret to having your guests book so far ahead?

Hi Michelle, I see that you ended up with the Steakhouse terrace and beach! I love it! That is probably the same thing I will try to do. When did the WC contact you to confirm this? I know you are just under the 2 months...Are there any other weddings on your day? So I have the same questions for you as Mitchy -What did you decide to do about your flowers? Are you going with real touch, or ordering them from the resort? Can you please send me the info you got on them? I did send you the dinner menu that you were missing, did you receive it? Its getting closer!!! How exciting!!!

Oh DBaker! You are going to have GREAT pics!! I am jealous!! His work looked great, but he was out of my price range. My FI didn't even care if we got a photographer so there would be no way of me swinging Juan. Make sure to post pictures after your wedding!

Hi Leahnv! Congrats on your engagement! I am going with the Royal Package. Our wedding is @ 4:00...Yes I am getting really excited! So far we have booked: -The hotel -Hair and Make up with Suzanne Morel -Photo with Glez Photography The only problem with the RIU is that they don't contact you until 2 months before to see where/what time you want your reception. We will probably end up going with a private event at one of the resturants. If you want info, the wedding coordinators have been great so far. I can also try to answer questions you may have since I have been planning for awhile.

Hi Ladies, I also bought the word temp but my girlfriend is using photo shop to do my passport invites. Please let me know if you still need help, and I will ask her if she had to do anything special to make the transition. I watched her work on them tonight, and it looked like the temp was actually built in ps by Aylee and then saved in ms word. We were able to make any changes we wanted.

I am so excited!! I just booked my photographer for my 5-12-12 wedding @ the Riu Palace! I seriously must have looked at 25 photographers, and it feels good to have made a decision. I understand that he is not really listed very much on this blog, but he was very responsive, and very reasonable in price so I have a good feeling about him. I did see he was a photographer several times at the Dreams Resort, so if you have a review of him, I would really appreciate any feedback. Happy Planning!

Hi Belinda, I am going to start to work on the template tomorrow with my friend. It will probably take a little while before I am satisfied with it, but I can send it to you when I am done. Thanks, Kary