cole379

I think my Fiance will also do a lightweight tan colour suit so it does not wrinkle. I have a question about decor. I got the price list from EPM for all decor. It is all very beautiful and we will be ordering some things but I was hoping to save a bit of money and bring some decor myself (like candles). Will the wedding coordinator put out the decor your bring as well for a small fee?

Does anyone know when the new coordinator is going to be hired? I though Ilena was only filling in the meantime to help out since she is the Manager. I do hear back from her but it usually takes about 4 days so it is not to bad since we have months left to plan but I know if I was three weeks away I would be freaking out!

I think that Excellence really screwed up with banning Del Sol/La Luna. The reason they are banned seems ridiculous since many brides have used them and love them. I just don't get it since the help promote the resort and bring a lot of positive attention to the resort when they post about it in their blog or used to give great reviews about it.

I think the one answering all of our emails is the wedding manager, not the new wedding coordiantor. She mentioned this to me that as it got closer to my date they would assign me a coordinator once one has been assigned to the role. I think the wedding manager is trying to fill in until the new wedding coordinator is hired.

Hi, Now that we booked our wedding for next year I started thinking about my OOT bags. Not sure if these have been mentioned before, but some other things we are going to add is this new tide travel packs. They were around 1.60 in Shoppers and come packaged with two little packets with some tide in them so you can hand wash in your sick or tub. I love this idea since I usually bring some detergent to wash my bathing suits and bras out half way through the trip (or once when I spilled something on a pair of pants I wanted to wear again later in the trip). They come neatly packaged and I found them in the travel section at Shoppers but I bet they have them at Wal-Mart and stuff. I think this is something that most people would not think to bring either. The other thing I am working on is a tips and tricks list. I love Trip Advisor for finding out things about the resort. Nothing major, just things that might help you enjoy your trip more (like if you don't shut your balcony door all the way tightly the air conditioning will shut off or to ask for this special dessert that is amazing but not on the menu...). I have been compiling a list of tips and will print them on nice beach paper I saw at staples and put a list in each persons bag.

So sorry this is happening to you. Please keep us updated!

That must be the most frustrating thing of it all. At least they should be dealing with you! Did you try the name of the person they suggested you contact on Trip Advisor?

That is really unfair to Del Sol and La Luna. So many brides book with them and they help promote the resort! That is really upsetting for all the Del Sol brides and those wanting to book them.

So is it just Del Sol and La Luna not allowed or all third party photographers? That would be really unfair to Del Sol if that was the case!

Thanks for the reply about the centerpieces. I seriously cannot believe this is happening with Del Sol. They shoot weddings there ALL the time! What changes in a few days to make them now be banned! That is unacceptable since many of us have already hired them or were going to. Who changed this policy and what can we do about it?

Okay, so I just read something scary! On trip advisor, one bride has posted that the new wedding cooridnator has now told her that they changed the policy and outside third party photographers cannot be brought in to EPM, you must use their photographer Blue Cribe. She is fighting with them about it but they are saying no (and her wedding is in three months). I know many of us were told that outside vendors were okay! I don't want to leave my pictures up to Blue Cribe as they are no where near as good as some of the other photographers that shoot at the resort a lot (like Del Sol!). How can they change this rule now and why do they think that all brides would be okay with that?

Hi Everyone, So I got sent the packages for my choices for flowers, centerpieces, etc. While we like a few things (like the boutonnière choices) there was nothing that fit my vision in the flower choices, centerpieces etc. How do you go about making changes to what is offered? Do we show them a picture of a bouquet that we like and ask them how much it would be to upgrade to it? What about food choices? Can we make adjustments to the menu? I also asked her about getting linens and extra décor, and while she sent me a price list, she did not provide choices. So again, do I just show her pictures of what we like and then she will give us a price? Thanks!

I have heard that it depends on a lot on what time of year you are going. For example, we are gettign married next April and I heard the beach was really nice then. I just saw pictures of Secrets on trip advisor and even though they have the best beach in the area, right now with the time of year, even they have a bunch of seagrass on the beach.

We are going to buy our Bubba keg mugs. But we have a small wedding so we will only need 16! I got them on sale last year for like 50% off or something (under $5) but you really have to watch for that sale. We are going to get them in a variety of colours so that people wont get the same colour as other people they might be hanging out with in the group during the wedding week (for example, we might get my Dad black and his brother black but they won't really be hanging out drinking together much that week so it should not be a problem if they both have black).

Hi, We are going to get Bubba keg mugs for our guests. They are really great (i have used them before) and really keep a drink cold. We are not going to put anythign on them that way they can be used again (plus what young guy wants to be walking around with our wedding date on his mug when he is trying to pick up a cute girl at the pool!)

I had emailed yamina about a few quesitons and I just heard back today from the Wedding Manager. She did not answer all of my quesitons or answer where Yamina was (i asked) but she did confirm our cocktail and reception venue which was great (we really had our heart set on the event terrace). Not sure what is going on though....she never mentioned a wedding package. IliaPSU we are getting married only a few days apart! My wedding is booked for April 17, 2012!

Hi Sharon99, Did you have to fill out any paperwork so far with Yamina? Did she contact you to get the planning started? I really want to try and get the Event Terrace for our wedding and am worried that another bride that day might already have it. Thanks, Nicole

Hi ladies, So we got our confirmation letter for officially booking our wedding from the Weddings Manager at Excellence. In the letter it says that we will have a dedicated wedding specialist assigned to us one month before the date. Um, I thought we started planning before that! I know that other brides on the boards have begun their planning and communication with Yamina long before a month before the big day so I am confused! Will I still be contacted by Yamina soon or what is my next step now? I want to ensure that we get our desired reception location and start planning things like the DJ etc.! Thanks!

Thanks for the replies. Yasmina told me that a day pass is $70 for the event day but they only get to come on site an hour before the wedding. They are going to stay at La Amada since it is going to be an all-inclusive after January of next year. We are early in the planning process but I was wondering if anyone could let me know when you are able to reserve your reception location. We absolutely have our heart set on the event terrace. Since there is a bride getting married that day at 3 pm (I assume since the 5 pm slot was open but not the 3 pm slot), how do they let each bride pick their reception venue? What if we want the same one?

Congratulations!!! I hope you have a safe trip and a wonderful wedding!!! We can't wait to hear all about it (and see some pics!). Enjoy the time there, I am sure it will go by quickly!

Well ladies I am booked! Woo Hoo! My name is Nicole and I am going to be an EPM bride. My Fiance is Thomas and we will be at the resort with our guests from April 15-22, 2012 and our wedding date right now is set for 5 pm on April 17. I am so excited to start planning. Is anyone else going to be getting married there around the same time? I look forward to posting on the forum and helping each other out while we plan our weddings. I have seen a lot of pictures (especially from Del Sol) and the weddings I have seen there look incredible. Very excited!

Hello! I am trying to make the passport invitations from Aylee's templates and I got the photoshop trial for 30 days. The problem is, the template opens in Word. How do I transfer the template into photoshop so I can create the passports using that program? Thanks!

Do Valeria and Cecilia share the jobs? How does it work if you wish to work with Cecilia but Valeria always responds to the emails?

Hi, First I wanted to say Congratulations on your wedding! I am glad that you had a beautiful ceremony and that it was so memorable for you and your new husband! I am sorry to hear about the problems that you had with Secrets. That is horrible! It should not matter if you have 2 people or 200 people- your wedding should be just as important to them! It is to bad since other brides who have had small weddings have still posted that they had great service so it sucks that it happened to you! Out of curiosity, did you ever let anyone know at Secrets about your disappointment or what happened? I have emailed a few times back and forth with Valeria (we are still in the process of booking our resort) and while she is always prompt with her reply, I have had more than one email answered with a bit of a ‘snarky’ tone to them or where I feel she comes of as a bit rude. I purposely tried to email one of my questions to Cecilia, since I have heard only fabulous things about her, but Valeria always seems to reply. Does anyone know if they share the duties now or what the situation is with that? Can you request to work with Cecilia instead? The naked people thing would make me really mad- I mean I see that in the moment you laugh it off (since I think most brides would-what other choice would you have really), but I agree, the wedding coordinator should have cleared the area for your wedding with the chairs and gone and said something to those guests. Besides the problems with the wedding, did you like the resort itself?

Hi Ladies, I was hoping you guys could offer your advice on the cheapest way to book Secrets Maroma Beach. We got a travel agent in Canada who looked up packages for us with the Airlines (hotel and flight included) and it looks like she found a great deal for a week stay. However, the price still came back to high for some of our guests (immediate family who we want to accommodate so they can attend) so right now Secrets is out. I am racking my brain trying to think of a way to get everything cheaper for them since I LOVE the resort. What is the best way you found to get a great deal for Secrets for your flights and accommodations for the wedding? Booking flight and hotel separate? Packages? It is hard because a year out things as it is still so pricey! Someone suggested they come for less than a week, but when we got a quote it was very close in price since we lost the ‘week package deal’ with the airline so it made no sense! Any advice?