AllieH

those are really cute!

They are really nice!!!

Alexis - these are so nice!!!!! great job!

I second Lindsey's suggestion - we got married and had our honeymoon at EDR, and it was completely amazing! My review & my planning thread are in my signature if you'd like to check them out, plus the EDR brides thread. Adults-only was a big part of our decision (along with amazing food and great service). Wright Travel also has some great promos and incentives for booking any of the Karisma properties. Their Azul resorts are family friendly, while El Dorados are adults only (18+). If I can answer any questions about my experience at EDR, please let me know!

yes - that's true. the villa looks AMAZING. El Dorado Maroma also has an El Dorado Generations right next door. Maroma is a smallish property - about 100 rooms, and Generations is a resort within a resort so to speak. we did have some onlookers during our wedding ceremony - people on the beach (but more than a respectful distance) and then up on their balconies too. while this was something I stressed about pre-wedding, on our wedding day, I surprisingly found it very sweet and it made it even more special. All of those "onlookers" were there to witness our wedding, and how special it was for us. They wished us nothing but the best, and weren't intrusive at all. one of the best memories is actually from two wedding crashers - they jumped right into our reception and started dancing with us towards the end of the reception. they were married in the same ceremony location and had the same reception location we did the year prior!! by that time in the reception it didn't matter, and it was all fun. we've become friends with that couple. As you choose your resort, you can also narrow down the locations for your celebrations based on more private venues. but overall, the other guests at the resort wished us well, while still respecting our privacy. just food for thought!

Hi Alicia, Welcome to the forum!! Have you chatted with a travel agent yet? I found them to be the most helpful when discussing costs associated with a destination wedding, and all of the planning. Our wedding-moon was our first experience with an all-inclusive resort, and we loved every bit of it!! We debated (briefly) between a FL wedding where my family lives/I grew up and a destination, and there were so many more positives to the destination wedding in Mexico that it was an easy decision for us. What we loved most was that noone had to hunt down a restaurant or a bar/club, noone had to rent a car to attend - it was all taken care of with the resort reservations. For what it's worth, we did our legal paperwork at home before we went to Mexico. Our wedding was symbolic, but still a very, very special day for us! If I can answer any questions about factors to think about when making decisions, please feel free to ask! Good luck with all your planning.

congrats Kristine! welcome to BDW!

Hi ladies, I was married in November at EDR. I grew my hair out nice and long for a year and a half because I really wanted to wear it half up, keeping the length hanging down my back. Although everyone I talked to said to wear it up - at least then I know exactly what I'd get vs. something that falls. I went down to Mexico with two inspiration pics - one an undo, the other a half-up/half-down style. Once we got to the resort, I realized it was pretty windy on the beach, and that an updo was going to be "it". I had my hair rehearsal for the updo, and loved it. She then restyled my hair so it was more of a half-up style since we had our welcome dinner that night. That's when I really came to terms with the fact that the half-up style would drive me CRAZY in the wind. On our wedding day, it was even more windy on the beach. I did the updo, and my veil still blew off 3 times (I didn't secure it as much as we should have). I'd highly suggest having both an updo and a half updo in mind. Then you can check out your ceremony location once you get there for the "wind factor". And of course you'll know how humid it is and if you end up like Monica... You can always do a TTD or day-after shoot and have your hair down later.

wow!! the before and after photos are amazing. it's really gorgeous on you! and I love that you are using the ribbon from your mom's dress.

Hi! I don't have any specific advise for you about Phoenix, but we debated between a destination wedding in Mexico or one in FL (where my family is). Hare are some ideas to weigh the pros and cons of each location: 1. Price flights for the time of year that you are planning your wedding - look at round trip tickets from the airport(s) where most of your guests would be traveling from to both destinations. How do those compare? For our guests, airfare jumped and was much higher for Mexico AFTER we booked the wedding. Still, our friends and family made it a priority to be there for us (and we are so thankful they did!) 2. Price hotels/resorts/vacation rentals in both locations - what priorities do you have in selecting a destination and setting the price? How long do you want to stay/have your guests stay? 3. Would you & your (then) husband travel somewhere else for a honeymoon? Add that cost into the consideration too. (for us, we didn't want to fly to one location to get married, then pack up, hop on another plane and go somewhere else, so we did an all-in-one wedding-moon). 4. Compare all-inclusive vs. a vacation rental - what I found when we were planning our wedding was that the all-inclusive was much easier for our guests than doing a hotel in the US. This came down to the fact that they didn't have to go find restaurants or bars in FL (or AZ in your case), they didn't have to rent a car, and the appeal of Mexico was higher than FL. I hope those ideas are helpful, best of luck with all of the planning!!

Hi Laura, I didn't make my own, but I did buy a fake (real touch/silk) bouquet. I put it in my carry on suitcase, cushioned with a little tissue paper. I didn't have any pins or picks (like the starfish) in it - I put those in my checked luggage, just in case. All made it through the trip just fine! My bouquet is now in a vase in our bedroom, and I love seeing it every day. I really think it'd be pretty easy to make your own. Good luck!!

oh Gale, thank you so much for your sweet words. they mean so much to me!

I don't remember all of it - peach liquor and champagne were two of the ingredients. it was yummy and light. the waiters were so tickled with themselves for bringing it to me. I will say that EDR has unique names for drinks - Sh*t on the grass was a popular one, and donkey sperm too. I know, I know, I'm so sorry if any of you gals are offended by those names. But it's for real - I cannot make those up!!! and yes, despite the disgusting names, they were yummy drinks. beware the diablo though...that sucker will punch you in the gut!

YAY Shannon!!! I'm so glad everything has gone wonderful for you. Enjoy the rest of your stay there. Oh, and if you go to La Isla for dinner, ask for a Coochie Coochie drink that was the only bar who knew how to make it, and it was DELISH (despite the hokey name).

thank you!! I'm so glad you are inspired by my posts. I am pretty sure I got that from a crafty email/website, and I can't remember who the seller/creator was. I'm not sure if I have that receipt, but I'll look through my emails and see if it's in there anywhere. I can't do lettering well, or I probably would have attempted that DIY too! Quote: Originally Posted by Arch713 HI Allie- Congratulations and thank you for sharing everything with us. Your post has given me so much inspiration and ideas - thank you again! Not sure if I missed this or not - but where did you or did you make the Mr. & Mrs Moore sign you both are holding? It is so cute! Thanks and congratulations again!

Elissae - I'm just seeing this, so sorry for the delay! Yes, I will email you the DJ spreadsheets we used. I used the Ikea white plastic frames to hold our table numbers - they are a whopping $1 in the stores. Thank you for your kind words!! We used the recycled grocery bag-type things for our OOT bags. quite a few people carried them around - it was the perfect size to throw a towel, a book and an iPod in. I'm overly-practical, so I loved the idea of something that could be re-used. The fact that they were super affordable was a bonus! Quote: Originally Posted by nbateman Allie, quick question...what kind of bags did you use for your OOT bags? I remember seeing a photo on here a while back, but can't find it for the life of me!!! I could totally be wrong though... If you did the canvas bags, did you see guests using them throughout their stay? Or did you wish you would have just used disposable bags?

Are you looking for stock or custom work? A couple of stock sites I loved when I was looking is Wedding Paper Divas, and another is Minted.com. Many of the photo printing sites (think Shutterfly, 123print.com, vistaprint, etc) have STD designs too. If you can't find exactly what you're looking for, check out etsy for custom work. Most of them will design what you want, and then send you the electronic file. You can use vistaprint or another site to print them out.

We did what Lindsey is doing - handed them out at our Welcome dinner at Cocotal. A few guests hadn't made it in yet, and we just gave them theirs when we saw them next (or when they stopped by our room).

55 probably has the best water views. 1-5 are just newly renovated and a little more centrally located in the resort. They are behind/around the Health Bar, but the 2nd and 3rd floors would have a great view. I don't think you can go wrong either way!

any of the casitas are great, the distance is the biggest thing. Buildings 25-27 are not swim ups, and are closest to the Royale/main part of the resort. We were in building 30 (3036), and we really loved that location. It's right by the presidential casita, so just a few steps from the beach, pool, path, etc. It was also close enough to the casita spa, Kampai, and then D' Italia Casitas. It was quite a haul to the main part of the resort though - we'd usually end up calling the bellman's desk and ask them to send the shuttle to come pick us up (they will do that, just leave plenty of time if you need to be somewhere by a certain time). I think all of the 2nd & 3rd floor rooms of building 55 have fantastic views of the beach. Even the ground floor rooms aren't bad - you're peering over a few bushes though. The other Royale buildings I'd recommend are 1 - 5, as they are newly renovated, and right across from the beach. The map is helpful for the locations of each building: http://www.eldoradosparesorts.com/hotels/el_dorado_royale/location.php hope that helps! Quote: Originally Posted by jnitschke Shannon, if you have a moment can you recommend some room numbers? I know I want to stay in bldg 55 for the first half of my stay... but which room number has the best water view?.. and which Casitas bldg do you think seems the nicest? I've been wondering this as we've been putting in our reservations. Suggestions on room numbers from other people would be appreciated too. Thanks!!!

I need to show you guys a pic of the room post-wedding. It's getting better, slowly. It took us almost 2 months to get the dining room cleared out of all the boxes from wedding gifts and wedding "stuff". I'm trying to take my house back!

ok, one more response and I'll stop spamming the thread. We went the real touch flower route, but I did see a cart full of flowers for another wedding. They were absolutely STUNNING. I had a little twinge of regret that we didn't do live flowers, at least the bouquets on the gazebo or something. So know you'll be in good hands with Lomas and their flowers!

Shannon - I'm soooo glad you're happy with EDR! It's hard to explain how gorgeous it is, isn't it?? and YAY tomorrow is your big day!!! Have fun. Quote: Originally Posted by Shannon Burgess Girls who have not been to EDR yet, you're going to love it. It's more beautiful in person than it is in pictures. I'm sooooo glad I chose this place for my wedding. Rehearsal dinner tomorrow night, the Saturday is the big day! Those of you wondering about bugs... I have a few bites on me but no idea where or when I got them, haven't seen Mosquitos and gave but itched at all but something here bites. If anyone has any questions let me know and I'll do my best to answer though it may take me a couple of days to get back on here as the next two are going to be crazy busy :-) Here are some pics I've taken