AllieH

they have definitely changed over time. the last I heard it was around $5pp, but then I've also heard a $250 max. it depends on the coordinator... push them to keep the lowest quote on your spreadsheet. send the email from the coordinator who gave you the lowest price to the current person you're working with. this is a huge pain point with brides - no consistency and lots of changes!

all you can do is ask, and I'd suggest waiting until you get onsite. we had people cancel at the last minute due to weather and health emergencies, and they credited us. I don't think that's their policy, but it never hurts to ask. you could also see if you could use the $$ already paid for their meals/cocktail towards something else. at least you wouldn't completely lose the money in that case.

@marina84 - your photos are all gorgeous!!! congratulations!

I always love a chance to post "the dress"! sadly it's hanging in my closet and I need to figure out what in the world to do with it now...

YAY!! congratulations!!

hi @@EriLu11 - typically the gazebo is bare. we did have the poles wrapped, but opted against sheers and flowers. below is a photo of our wedding at Gazebo 55. did you by chance buy a package that includes the flowers & sheers? and keep in mind that things change over time too - so anything is possible! as for escort cards, I did card stock. you could also do the starfish or sand dollars, or a thing of bubbles, glasses, koozies - whatever your favor is. just tie a card stock "tag" to it with the table numbers. we put our numbers in the cheap IKEA white plastic frames, and they looked just fine! here are some photos of the table numbers and the escort cards.

ok this is the salon, and there are a few more in Nikki's gallery and here are some I found for the ballroom - not a wedding, but the GIVC event, all spiffed up and I spy a few more on this pinterest board

@@Tagliatti01 - yes! let me do some digging through the threads. I think one EDR 2013 or 2014 bride had her reception in the Salon, but ballroom pics are pretty scarce. the beach is seriously the prettiest of all of the locations at EDR! definitely look at all of your choices and decide what will work best.

you have to host them on another site like google docs, flickr, or shutter fly. click the little photo icon, and add the link there. that should work!

YAY!!! I'm so glad it all went well. I'm going to stalk your photos now...

Mine looked pretty awful on the rack (and hanger) - in fact I almost didn't try it on to begin with. my friend convinced me to give it a try, and I'm so glad I did. It really was perfect. In those days after I bought it and before it arrived, I looked at the photos endlessly. I finally decided that the photos on the model didn't do it justice. If you loved the dress when you tried it on, and felt beautiful in it, then don't worry about what it looks like in someone else's photos on someone else's body.

Hi Tanya - welcme to BDW! Did you put your deposit down and get a confirmation from Lomas Weddings? If so, I'd suggest using the chat feature to try to catch them, or email them directly. It's about the right time to start planning - at least reserve your locations. Since it's just the two of you, I'd suggest D'Italia Casitas gazebo. It's smaller and quieter than many of the other locations. I also like the Fuentes gazebo on the Royale side. another option with a beautiful view is the white gazebo by the salt water pool. you'd probably have quite an audience, even though they would stay back a ways given where the gazebo is situated. Murmel has posted photos of the EDR wedding locations: http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/gallery/album/6708-el-dorado-royale-photos/ HTH!

@@kfracassi - Miriam is right. I think you would have booked a promo when you booked your wedding group, and your TA should have told you what was available. a lot of times it does require a minimum stay in the Casitas. BUT... when you check in, if they don't automatically upgrade you, have a $20 in your hand and ask if they have any upgrades. tell them you are the bride & groom, and see what they can do for you. they have some discretion to put you over in the casitas. you may not want to cough up the swim up though, if they can't put you into a swim up casita. and we had tons of the individual packets - no questions. agree with Miriam's advice here too. all good questions!

@@kfracassi - No, you don't need their officiant to do a symbolic ceremony. anyone can do it! just let them know you don't need one or they will book someone for you. here's the symbolic ceremony script that another bride posted: Marriage Celebration of Gita and Nick El Dorado Resort, México We have come together, family and friends, to uphold you Gita and Nick as you make your vows of marriage. We celebrate with you the love you have discovered in each other and support your decision to commit yourselves to one another for the rest of your lives. Marriage is a holy state born in the name of love. It was given in wisdom and in kindness, so that mankind would find happiness. Your marriage is a union between the two of you and therefore is not by any to be entered into unadvisedly or lightly. Our ceremony today is based on the relationship that you, Gita and Nick, share, and in your faith, for it is a covenant. It is indeed, a joyous occasion when two souls are united in love; when two hearts experience the same feeling and two persons act as one in this most beautiful spiritual union. We affirm this love you have for each other. We ask to bless this marriage, and seal the commitment of Gita and Nick. Assure them of your abiding presence, as they look to you for wisdom, strength, patience and a lasting love for one another so they can live together in a way that will bless them both, and bring honor. We pray that the words and spirit of our gathering may be filled with meaning, which will deepen with the passing years. Gita and Nick today is a very special day in your lives. Now you have decided to live the rest of your lives together as husband and wife, promising to face the future together, accepting whatever may lie ahead. Soon you will be declared man and wife, but you will have to decide each day that stretches out before you, that you truly want to be married. Love makes the burdens lighter, because you divide them. It makes joys more intense because you share them. It makes you stronger so you can reach out and become involved in life in ways you dared not risk alone. Gita and Nick, your marriage is intended to join you for life in a relationship so intimate and personal that it will change your whole being. To attain such love, you will need to commit yourselves to each other freely and gladly for the sake of a richer and deeper life together.. (Reading) “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, and it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, and always perseveres. Love never fails… And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” The covenant of marriage is one that can be entered into only by persons who are both legally and spiritually free to offer themselves to one another. Nick, Do you come of your own free will and with a conscious desire to be united in marriage with Gita? I do. Gita do you come of your own free will and with a conscious desire to be united in marriage with Nick? I do. Gita and Nick do you promise to care for each other in the joys and sorrows of life, come what may, and to share the responsibility for growth and enrichment of your life together? We do. Minister to couple: Will you please, as an expression that your hearts are joined together in love, now join hands? Minister to groom: Nick, this woman whom you hold by the hand is to be your wife. She has given you one of the most sacred things under heaven: a woman’s life and a woman’s love. It is not what you bring her in a material way that will make true happiness; for riches without love is nothing. The gift without the giver is bare. Practice as a husband the virtues that you have shown as friend and lover so her heart will be won to your heart FOREVER. Nick would you look into Gita eyes and share the vows you’ve written for her: INSERT GROOM’S PERSONAL VOWS HERE Minister to Bride: Gita, this man whom you hold by the hand is to be your husband. Upon your life, your love, and your devotion he will lean for strength and inspiration. He is going to look to you for encouragement, for cheerfulness and for confidence. May your life and love be the inspiration that will constantly lead him to greater affection and devotion to you, his wife? Gita would you look into Nick eyes and share the vows you’ve written for him: INSERT BRIDE’S PERSONAL VOWS HERE You, Gita and Nick, have pledged your devotion to each other. From this point on you do not stay together simply because you love; you choose to love because you have made the commitment to be together. What has been joined let no man separate. Minister to Groom: Nick, place this ring on Gita finger. Now while holding her hand please repeat after me: I give you this ring / as a symbol of my love and faithfulness I promise to cherish you / and honor you / each and every day / for as long as we both shall live. Minister to Bride: Gita, place this ring on Nick finger. Now while holding his hand please repeat after me: I give you this ring / as a symbol of my love and faithfulness I promise to cherish you / and honor you / each and every day / for as long as we both shall live. A ring is a fitting symbol to represent the covenant you are making today, a circle, the emblem of eternity, reminding you that your love, devotion and commitment to one another are to be forever. Gita and Nick, may these rings be blessed as a symbol of your affectionate unity. Your lives are now joined in one unbroken circle. Wherever you go, may you always return to one another? May you two find in each other the love for which all men and women yearn? May you grow in understanding and in compassion? May the home that you will have together be full of love, laughter, family and friends? May these rings on your fingers symbolize the touch of the spirit of love that is in your hearts? THE SAND CEREMONY ***** Gita and Nick today you join your separate lives together. The two separate bottles of sand symbolize your separate lives, separate families and separate sets of friends. They represent all that you are and all that you’ll ever be as an individual. They also represent your lives before today. As these two containers of sand are poured into the third container, the individual containers of sand will no longer exist, but will be joined together as one. Just as these grains of sand can never be separated and poured again into the individual containers, so will your marriage be. ***** We give thanks for this moment that brings Gita and Nick together in marriage. We celebrate with them the hopes they hold for their life together. We ask your blessing upon them, to sustain them through the difficult and uncertain times that come to every relationship. May they continue to grow together and may their love for one another deepen with the passing years. Amen. ***** Because you, Gita and Nick have exchanged your promises of faithful love, and because in our presence you have exchanged symbols which make your covenant visible, we now recognize before God and the community that you are husband and wife. Nick, you may now kiss your bride. Congratulations! Ladies & Gentlemen, I now present to you Mr. and Mrs. ____________

YAY Friday!! it will all be ok - keep repeating that to yourself. they will help you figure everything out. insist on it, and it will happen. and I see what you mean about being archived - that's WEIRD. let me work on that....

@@kfracassi - I'm confused, what site was archived...? both of the EDR threads (Official EDR/EDCR and EDR Brides) are active and available, they just roll off the page if there aren't any recent comments. Links to both are in my signature below. the private reception events (4 hours) are a combination of dinner and a reception. so you wouldn't have to go to dinner elsewhere and THEN have a reception. dinner is served first, and then you break out the party. we had our reception at 3:30 or 4, did all of our group formal photos (friends & family), then sent everyone to the martini bar for cocktails. our reception started at 6pm. while everyone was at the martini bar we did our couples photos. some folks went to JoJos for food because they weren't sure how quickly dinner would be served and they were hungry. but the onsite WC herded everyone from the martini bar to Tucanes, and everyone else showed up on time for our entrance. does that help?

I don't - I'm sorry!! I checked to see if I saved her name somewhere, but I didn't. I do recommend going with a rehearsal though, so you can work with them ahead of time, see how well they execute your vision. in my opinion it's worth the money. the only other option is to go to a stylist off site - they won't let you bring a stylist onto the property based on what I've read recently.

hi Erica - I was very happy with my hair style from the Casitas spa. I didn't do make up there - had a friend do it instead. What I did find odd is that we had a great rehearsal of my hair style and she did it exactly as I wanted from a pic I had for inspiration. but when I went back on my wedding day, I didn't bring the picture and she didn't remember. It wasn't exactly what I wanted, but it looked just fine. at the point I wasn't going to have a melt down over it - it had taken much longer than the rehearsal and I needed to move on with the day. it was beautiful in pictures and didn't fall down in the wind and humidity, which was what really mattered. so if you do use them, bring a pic to the rehearsal (if you choose to do one) and the day of. and allow PLENTY of extra time. the WC will always schedule the spa times too close to the wedding ceremony start time.

hi there! so exciting - as you noticed it's been a while since we've had an EDSS bride around. You may want to check out the Generations or the EDR threads for the cocktail/reception info. the official EDR thread does have the banquet kit and event info there too. link in my signature. hope that helps!

@@lauralane - did they not give you a spreadsheet to fill out for DJ All music? it has a list of what music happens when...which songs, etc. dinner songs vs. reception songs. entrance and the whole 9 yards. you'll be better off listing as many songs as you can think of specifically, vs. type. that worked well for us. we had a great time with the DJ.

YAY welcome back!!! how was everything???

everyone plans in their own time. and honestly a lot of the details can be done onsite if needed. the resort won't really start planning until you closer - as you know. as long as you are planning anything that needs to be ordered...or are ok with it - don't sweat what someone else is doing!!

the high price is probably due to the week you picked unfortunately. I'd ask your TA to price a couple of other properties for comparison purposes, but I'm not sure how much different the results will be unfortunately.

hi @@EriLu11 - welcome to BDW! the cocktail hour is in addition to the reception time. so think of the reception as dinner + party. cocktail hour would typically be between the ceremony and reception. we went with the pick & choose menu where you select the appetizer, 2 entrees and dessert. we were very happy with it. I know other brides have done the family style BBQ and loved that too.

16ish is my guess - tried to count from my photos!