lynie

just got married at the El Dorado Royale ...didn't stay in the casitas...just the premium jacuzzi suite.. some tips*************** 1. do not use a travel agent...i think u can do it on your own...just use the hotel's website to book ur rooms...u and the guests can book your/their own travel...or combine on orbitz/ travelocity...i really hated our travel agent!!! - they sucked more than helped!! 2. do your own hair or bring your own hairdresser!!! ...i showed the salon hairdresser a picture of what i wanted done - a low classic bun...what i got was a huge curl mess of a donut on the side of my head!!! and she took a picture for her portfolio like she had done something extraordinary!!! i was too pressed for time and too stressed to laugh and had my friend/ makeup artist help me take all the crap out and do what we could and make it into a low bun more classier then the mess i was given. 3. i also gave them (wedding coordinator) a picture of what i wanted my bouquet to look like and we even went over it with the wedding coordinator on site (yes the one you are corresponding with online may not be the same one you see once you are there at the hotel) ....i wanted purple and green orchids, pink and orange roses....what i got was mostly pink and orange roses with sprinkling of green orchids and they forgot the purple orchids altogether!!! again too short on time to do anything about it...was soo mad about that!!! 4. make sure you get a list of activities when you check in so you know the schedule of events so you can make use of the resources on the resort and make use of your time... also make sure you make reservations ahead of time like that night you get there for all the fancier restaurants!!!! ---- they fail to tell you they get booked up rather quickly!!! we were not able to get a reservation to Santa Fe....heard it was really good there.. the italian one D'Italia was good there too, so was the mexican one Rincon Mexicano - u don't need pants there for guys...shorts is acceptable as long as you have a colored shirt -- for all restaurants guys will need a collared shirt (button down or polo shirt) there are a lot of activities there - take advantage while you're there... -bike tour @9am -yoga @7:30-8am on the pier -fire show at night @10-11pm by the guacamaya's bar..if they have it the time ur there -turtles come to lay their eggs (if in season) at the far end of casitas side but then you might not get a ride back to your room if its too late (shuttle ends at 11pm) and if there is 1 running, u might be waiting a looong time.. they do have a tour of the property if u ask ur concierge but then you have a 2 hour high pressure sales presentation for you to buy their vacation package.....and they're supposed to give you a gift but we never got ours...some of our friends did the tour and they got some certificates for wine and candlelight dinner or something... 5. food....we got the BBQ Deluxe and had a private reception at the Tucanes Bar...the area is nice and had a pool which we jumped into after the reception, after changing if you want leftover food...tell your guests to take more food on their plates and leave on their table!!! b/c after everyone is fed, they pack up everything!!!! and i mean everything and clear out and you're left with only the bartender (make sure you tip him good at least) and maybe couple other waiters/staff....i was sooo mad that they took all the food which we paid for!!! when we were still partying it up in the pool and i knew ppl would be hungry after all the activity and drinking and swimming.....their reasoning was that there would be ants/ insects...which i can understand but still we paid for the food!!! it would have been nice to leave some of it left on the side covered with foil you know... they wouldn't even give foil either to cover the cake pieces that was still leftover on the table....we ended up going to another friends' room who had a swim up room and ordered massive amounts of room service...which we tipped the butler to deliver all the food to the same room....and tipped the delivery guy who had to bring all those heavy platters. they didn't put a banner on our door after we got married --like no congratulations banner, but they did have our tub filled with bubbles, champagne and flower petals arranged in our room which was nice. just don't expect everything to go perfect...you just have to go with it... if you are a perfectionist..good luck!!! :-)

TeamArceo i'm looking at Playacar Palace since the wedding package offers more bang for the buck...30 ppl seating, cake, dinner reservation --which i hope means reception dinner for 30 ppl... also if you wanted to party..Playa Del Carmen 5th ave is in walking distance and there are plenty of bars/ clubs/ shopping/ eating there :-) let me know which you ended up choosing...good pros/cons list

hi everyone...i've looked through so many reviews and would like any help i can get... the ones i liked are so expensive i didn't want to put my guests in such an expense... would love a gazebo or someplace not sand in my toes for ceremony...beach pix are fine and a nice reception area covered but still beach scenery. thank you all in advance :-)

can you girls post some websites so i can check out these spots? congrats and thank you

congrats!! and thanks for sharing..got some great tips