principessa

Good choice using their photographer - you won't be disappointed!! We had caesar salad for our starter at Garden Grill, can't remember the other choices though The cakes that were included in the price were all pretty basic, nothing too crazy. There was a decent amount to choose from but most of them involved flowers and/or ribbon of some kind and you can choose from a selection of colours. We didn't look into the cakes where you had to pay extra because we were content with the included ones. Same with flowers, there were a good amount of options, but you could choose from different colours. Cost will depend on what flowers you choose and what size of bouquet you want. There are no prices in the book they give you, they just price it all out once you choose.

No problem I hope it all works out and you get your dream wedding! Let me know if you have any more questions.

Hello bubulina Congrats on your wedding you must be excited! I just got married at the resort in July of this year so I'm going to try to answer a few of your questions! Sorry I can't answer regarding Piscis as we did not choose that, but judging from pictures it looks like it would be a beautiful choice! Open bar - I would say it depends what you were going for with your reception. We didn't have a "traditional" reception with dancing all night, etc. We had a less formal one, just dinner and a few traditional elements (speeches, first dance, father daughter dance, etc). We didn't opt for open bar and I did not regret it! We got served drinks the entire time we were there. If you plan to be there longer I might suggest to consider open bar, but for us we didn't feel it was worth it. Salon - I got my hair done at the salon, as well as my 2 bridesmaids. They did a fantastic job! Keep in mind, you get a trial hair style the day before included in your package if you choose to go with a bridal hairstyle from the spa. She will give you a book full of styles - you show her a picture you like and she'll do it. You could also bring your own pictures if you want to be safe. I actually ended up with a completely different style than what I originally wanted - she did exactly what I asked for, then called me back to the chair and tried something else. I ended up falling in love so I went with it! Great job! Even one of my bridesmaids who usually doesn't like when other people do her hair loved it! I recommend Ceremony - We did the beach wedding and it was amazing. If you choose beach wedding you have to be ok with onlookers. There were a lot of people watching, taking pictures and videos. I didn't even notice anyone until we were officially married and I looked out after our first kiss and saw everyone. Up until then I was in a wedding blur For me I wouldn't want to trade the beautiful beach gazebo and beachfront wedding, so it was worth it despite the onlookers. For me the scenery couldn't be beat! The garden gazebo is beautiful too! It is more private so you won't have as many random people watching you, but you still may have some onlookers because it's slightly off one of the walkways. Comparing the 2 if privacy is the most important I'd go with the garden wedding. If atmosphere and scenery of the beach is your dream - don't let the onlookers scare you off! Another thing to note is on the beach you will have much more of a breeze. So it will be cooler on the beach than in the garden. Also the breeze on the beach may cause your hair to blow around a little more than you'd like Hopefully this helped a bit! Sorry if it was long & feel free to message me if you have any other questions. Good luck!

Garden Grill is among the "common area" of the resort. The only a la carte restaurant that is actually on the Esmeralda property is Bella Italia. With that being said, Garden Grill is not too far away from the Esmeralda side - we just walked there

I had my rehearsal dinner at Garden Grill and it was delicious! Our wedding reception was at Il Capriccio which was also very good!

Congrats girl!

I'm not sure of any resorts that only do one a day, any smaller resort would probably be a good option for that. I got married at a larger resort - they do several in one day and to be honest I never would have known by the way the WC treated us. She was fantastic - nothing was scattered or forgotten.

Oh my goodness that would have been so upsetting - I'm glad you got your beach wedding at least. How horrible to go all that way only to have it inside. Congrats to all of my fellow July brides

Good luck!! Safe travels and I hope you have a wonderful time and a perfect wedding day

Congratulations, July brides!!!! We just got back and everything was amazing. Hope everyone has had their dream wedding!!

Thank you so much! Now that I've been through it all (and it was wonderful BTW) please let me know if you have any questions or if I can be of any help! Feel free to PM me

I'm so so so excited! When I get back I'll definitely answer some questions if anyone has them! No we don't have any pricing on decorations or flowers or any of that! Just the dinner, dj/sound system - that kind of stuff. It's hard for me not knowing those details because I am totally a planner!

Thank you I will definitely report back!

I LOVE the dress you have now on you..you honestly look fantastic. In the end it all comes down to what you truly want. After all, it is your special day. So go with where your heart takes you. But you truly lovely in the dress you have now

So excited for all of the lovely July brides! I can't wait to hear about everyone's weddings! Our wedding is exactly one week from today and we leave on Sunday!!

My wedding is one week from today!! We are doing a private reception. Make sure you get in contact with the wedding coordinator if you aren't already and get as many details as you can regarding what is included, what is extra and how much the extras will cost. I've been to the resort before (not Esmeralda, but Ambar) and it is really fabulous, you girls will absolutely love it!!

So pretty!!

You look fabulous in that dress!!

YAY so exciting!!

That's so soon!! Good luck girl, you're almost there

I've feeling the exact same way!! I was actually thinking of starting to pack stuff up right now. I feel like there are things I'm thinking of brining right now, but I'll forget when it gets closer to the day.

I love love love the photobook idea.

Welcome & Congratulations!!

July Brides!! I can't believe how fast it is approaching! We leave in 19 days! I am a combination of very excited but also very stressed!! I know everything will fall into place but the day is approaching so fast and I feel like there is still so much to do!

I'm a 2012 Esmeralda Bride, but ladies you've made a great choice!! Good luck with your planning