NJ2012

we just received our photo book today... WE LOVE IT!. ive said in previous posts that we werent crazy about the wedding video included, but the wedding book is really great. its like a cherry on top of the whole destination wedding experience. especially with trash the dress. probably wont be coming here much more, but i thank everyone for all the help and tips. and im happy to help anyone else if they need it... email me at [email protected] if you have any questions.

we are waiting for the photo book to come in... very curious as well one other thing that really bothered me is the fact that our slideshows are not available on dvd. i emailed anel about getting dvd copies of them and she said they do not do that and that the website would be up for a "couple of years"... what a waste, we cannot have them forever?

we got our dvd today from the resort... we just have the ceremony as part of our package. all i can say is, if you care about having video of your wedding then you'd better hire someone. the dvd looks like it was shot in 1988 on a vhs its nice to have, and we really didnt care about the video part of the wedding, but definitely hire an outside video person if it is a big deal to you.

wow that looks really great.... good choice on that videographer.

IF THIS DOESNT MAKE YOU WANT TO DO TRASH THE DRESS... I DONT KNOW WHAT WILL... WORTH EVERY PENNY. AWESOME TIME DOING IT, AND IN MY OPINION AWESOME PICS FROM IT... REALLY A MEMORABLE THING TO DO. YOU WILL NOT REGRET IT.

it as in desires lounge... first wedding ever in there supposedly.

OUR TWO SLIDESHOWS.... http://molinaro.amorcitocorazonstudio.com

just wondering how long it took for pics and video? we had the videographer for the ceremony, and the photo package with ttd and rehearsal as well as the ceremony and reception... my question is.. do they send you all the pics and then you pick, and then they make the slideshow and book to send you? and how do they send the video? dvd thru mail or just email/ website? im confused with the whole process... anel has posted some pics on facebook but we havent received anything yet.

also forgot one detail~~~~ the pool deck is under construction! if you are planning on having your reception there, it is about 70% blocked off... they are replacing it, and working very slow. there is still about 30% left so its probably good for a small reception or cocktail hour. we wanted the pool deck so bad, it didn't matter because of the storm but we would have been pissed as I'm sure other brides have been recently.... no notice, no warning, nothing just closed for renovations.... very frustrating.

http://www.facebook.com/nichole.bonner.9 here is my wifes fb page with all of the pics we took... nothing yet from anel but we cant wait! im not too good with facebook so i hope the link woks.

yes. definitely... even if you know every single song you want played, he will take control of it.. its definitely worth it. he knows what hes doing for sure!

incase anyone was wondering about OOT bags...heres what was in ours. welcome to our wedding bags from oriental trading do not disturb door hangers... vistaprint and hole puncher personalized playing cards from oriental trading groom and bride mints mentos gum wipes advil shout wipes anti bacterial gel sun screen lip balm first aid kit welcome letter

MY QUCIK REVIEW We just got home from our honeymoon and i might have forgotten some things i really wanted to say, but ill try to hit some things, and anyone can email me questions at [email protected] for any reason at any time. first of all i havent been on here since last friday before we left so i havent caught up with all the posts, if its been covered already im sorry. of course hurricane ernesto came in on our wedding day, and it was the only day it rained all week. so that right there is enough to ruin everything. but if i can just say one thing... no matter what happens with planning, or weather, or details that didnt go as planned.... nothing matters if your there with a good group who knows how to have a good time. it will always be a great time with the right people. the concierge was very helpful.. i wish i knew the guys name from the preferred club with the slicked back hair... he helped me with everything... i feel bad i forgot to see him before we left to give him a tip... i secretly went to him to have flowers sent to my bride the day of the wedding, and gave him the "mrs molinaro" hanger for her dress after it was sent out for pressing... he really was on top of everything and a huge help... even called me by my name and greeted me every time he saw me walking around the resort. we arrived on saturday, had a meeting setup with gina, the dj, the photog, and the spa. basically took most of our day but it is well worth it to meet up with everyone and get on the same page. we were a group of 30, including us, so the add ons weren't too bad since we had the ultimate package which covered 20 people anyway. lets just say, whether from the weather or other reasons, we did not get anything we had asked for, arranged, and had in writing as approved. we were supposed to have our welcome dinner at portofino, but that didnt happen because an old wedding coordinator promised the restaurant to another wedding even though she wasn't supposed to. we went back and forth with gina (who does the best she can -$100 tip) about what location and menu we could have for the welcome dinner. finally we settled on seaside grill, we chose this because of the menu and the fact that gina promised us the center all to ourselves. about 2 hours before the dinner gina called to tell us we couldnt have the seaside grill menu (one of the main reason why we wanted it there) and that we could only have the oceanna menu (mostly seafood). we argued about this for a few minutes and i got her to agree to bring 10 filets and 10 prime ribs over to the seaside grill along with the regular menu, which ended up working out well. they closed the whole restaurant for us and it went smooth. 4 servers (gave them $20 each). we also had a 30 min photog as a part of our package, didn't get his name but he was good and we threw him $20 tip as well. the wedding was the next day, tuesday, and it pretty much rained all day non stop. windy, rainy, nasty... this really sucked. when we met with gina on saturday, we knew it was a possibility and had our backup locations picked out she showed us everything walked us in and out of all the options... desires terrace for the ceremony (standard for everyone when it rains) then desires lounge for the cocktail hour, and a ball room for the reception. gina really threw a curve ball at us about 3 hours before the wedding. SIDE NOTE for some reason dream is very into the olympics, so two full ballrooms were occupied with london/olympic themed bleachers, and buses, and track and field set ups... it looked cool but no one used it and it occupied two ballrooms that we could have used. anyway-- she came to us at about 2 oclock and told us our only option was to have the cocktail hour and reception at desires. all the ballrooms were taken, and there were no other spots for the cocktail hour or reception to be. not only did she hit us with this, but at the same time she was insisting we pay for the wedding right then, when we had originally agreed to pay for it the next day. this would have been no problem except for the fact that the only place you can pay for the wedding was the front desk, and 3 bus loads of people just came to check in. i tried to speak to anyone i could to let me pay for the wedding so i could go get ready. i almost blew my stack. no one could help me for about a half hour of standing around and waiting for a manager. finally jorge, he organizes everything and is really a good guy ($100 tip), came down and took me into the preferred club (which is definitely not worth the extra money) to pay for everything. its a good thing i was in charge of everything and not my wife, because i knew all the setups we needed and minor details. once they had desires lounge setup for our reception, i had to go in there and make all kinds of changes to make it right. we needed four tables, they only setup 3. we needed a table for name cards and favors..etc etc. could have been a nightmare but like everything else, it works out. the ceremony was on the desires terrace and it was just okay. linda did the ceremony and she was excellent ($50 tip) the vows and reading she used were great. definitely get the sound system and ask the dj to control it... he was great supposedly this was the first time they ever did a wedding reception in desires (yay for us) but it turned out perfect. we forgot about the horrible weather, and we partied all night. like i said earlier, if you have a good group of friends and family- nothing can ruin the night. i think some people were mad at us for having desires closed down until about 11pm (sorry) but after they cleaned up, it opened to a fun after party... even danced with the grandma from the other wedding! shout out to grams if the other bride is reading this! dj mauricio i think his name was.. was excellent not a complaint from anyone. ($50 tip) 4 servers ($20 each) the next day was trash the dress... anel really is great and a real professional.($100 tip) we did it at 3pm so we had to walk thru the resort in our wedding clothes... got alot of looks and congratulations. after we shot on the beach privately, we came over to the pool... it was so awesome... everyone was cheering for us and clapping as we stood on the ledge and jumped in. i cant wait to see the pics. we were like celebrities. people asking to take our pics and said how great we looked. the whole pool was an awesome crowd. we took our group on a catamaran sail on thursday before we all left on friday. it was a great time... we booked thru cancun vista. it was an all day event, picked up at 830 and got home at 6pm... open bar, snorkel (even tho it was only 30 min), dropped off somewhere in mexico to shop and hang out, taken to a private beach to eat and relax, then taken back... it was a good day, everyone appreciated it and the only complaint i have is we didnt snorkel long enough... and the fact that i pre paid for everything including tips, yet some of my group heard the boat crew, and drivers complain they didnt get tipped... not my fault i guess... the boat crew was great... on the way back to port, they got dressed up in some crazy costumes and made everyone take shots... it was funny as hell. i put the tips in parentheses because i remember how concerned i was about how much to tip everyone! sorry i just rambled, but we just got in from vegas, and the time difference is messing me up... please email me with any questions because im not sure how often ill be coming back to this site... i got so much help from here i appreciate everyone... and i want to help as well. hope i didnt leave anything out! fuck you hurricane ernesto!!!! joe [email protected]

so sad right now... http://www.weather.com/weather/tenday/MXQR0165

ughhhhh looks like ernesto is coming just in time for the wedding on tuesday night :'(

Is it true that guys can't WR shorts OR sandals in any of the restaurants?

thanks! not the servers at the reception?

Leaving aug 4 Wedding aug 7 Kinda nervous Quick question for recent brides What and who did I tip? I want to make sure I have it all ready to go

send that pic in an email and make sure it is... they will help you out.

how is everyone paying for their wedding? cash? credit card? travelers checks?

SAME DAY! where and what time are you doing everything? we are 5pm gazebo, cocktail at jacuzzi deck and reception at pool deck.

did anyone notice that its been raining there every day for a while now.... this would totally suck

go to JC Penney if there is one by you