jnitschke

Go with Sarani. Of all the things I spent money on I would trade them all to have double my photos with her. My husband and I are even debating whether when we go back for our 2nd anniversary this spring to have her do a second shoot. We loved them so much. Mine were awesome. I still look at them everyday, even a year and a half later. She is so friendly and kind. Her photos are amazing. They look like some amazing photo spread in a bridal magazine. Bright and vivid colors. Everyone who has seen them has been blown away. She knows EDR back to front and knows all the perfect places to get just the right shot. Check out my profile and the photos I posted. At one point I did a review with loads of pictures.

They're all yours. I just sent you an email. -Jen

Is anyone interested in these? They were postcards that I had printed through vistaprint. I have... 200+ of these. I put them in my OOT bags. Since they are labeled as being from EDR I don't really see anyone else around home using them. Thought that maybe one of you ladies might want them. I'm not asking any money for them, just that you pay the shipping costs which I'm guessing won't be more than a couple of bucks. Let me know if anyone wants them. I have a few other things on my wedding hoard liquidation site... since I did a quality job of hoarding all things wedding over the past 3 years. http://peacock-wedding.weebly.com/

Hey Leslie, I brought my own linens, so that didn't really affect the cost. Basically I told them what I wanted, and could have done as many or little tables as I wanted. Then based on what I was bringing and what they were providing they quoted me a cost for setup. But, the cost was more based on per person than the type of table. Of course, this was last May and it seems like they've updated quite a bit lately. I would check with your WC just to be sure. I think table layouts are largely dependent on the size of your party. I only had 13 guests and wanted to fill the Tucanes space, so I had 3 rectangular tables arced in a semi-circle, with people seated on one side of the table and then Todd and I at a sweetheart in center. It looked beautiful. My thinking was we could converse with everyone, and no one would be too far apart to talk... but as it turns out dinner was kind of boring since people only talked to the person next to them. We had much more fun the night before at our welcome dinner, when we were all seated around one long table on both sides. Everyone was so chatty and had such a great time. With a larger group though, I don't think it would matter much. Personally being in a friend's wedding that had the head table, I like the sweetheart's table much more. Head tables usually have the wedding party separated from their partners, or they separate a big group of friends from the other friends at the wedding. Making someone feel left out, and making it awkward to slip away to see the others during the meal. Plus the sweetheart table does give you some time to slow down for a bit and just relax from the action, with just the two of you. So in the end, I say go with what will make you happy. My big problem was I over thought and planned everything. I should have axed half the ideas I had and just kept things simple, it would have cost less and been way less stressful. Hope this helps. Congrats! You're going to love EDR! Thinking we're heading back next spring and I can't wait! -Jen

Hey, I'm finally getting rid of some of my wedding items... a year and a half later. Definitely time to reclaim my guestroom. Included in the things I'm selling are some postcards that I had made from my OOT bags, the back has them labeled as being from EDR. I'm selling them off of a weebly site I made. http://peacock-wedding.weebly.com/ Let me know if anyone is interested.

It's been a year, but it's finally time to reclaim my guestroom. I'm selling a number of items from my destination wedding and at home reception. Many things are still new. Includes decor and personal items. Check it out: http://peacock-wedding.weebly.com/ Let me know if you're interested in anything.

It's been ages since I've been on here...everything looks so new and different. But I wanted to share a deal I found. Tanga has the Jambox by Jawbone on sale for only $53. My husband bought it for $200. It's a portable blutooth speak, small light and loud. really loud, when my husband puts it on to listen to his audiobook while in the bathroom you can hear it from outside the house. It'd be good if someone is doing a small event and didn't want to pay for the sound system that Lomas offers. We used it a few times while at EDR, can't believe it was almost a year ago now. Still it's a great deal and I wanted to pass it on.

For anyone in wedding shopping mode, DHgate.com is having a sale with a $10 off coupon and $30 off coupon right now. I used DHGate to get a bunch of stuff for my OOT bags and favors. Thought I'd pass it on since I got an email about it today.

Kelsey, First I have to say that I loved my hair and make up done at the Castias Spa. My stylist was Vicky, and she was the best. I absolutely loved her. I did a trial with her the day before and I'm really glad we did. We tried out a couple hair and makeup looks, it gave us time to play. I had an idea of what I wanted, but in the ended we did something a bit more unique. Her first attempt on eyeshadow was a bit more color than I wanted, so we did a totally new look until we found what looked good. Vicky was very responsive and easy to work with. On the day of everything went so smoothly and I felt gorgeous. As for the script you create the script and give it to the onsite WC, they will give it to the officiant. So music timing and what is said is totally up to you. Our ceremony was about 20 minutes, we did the symbolic ceremony too. A few posts ago I posted our webcast, if you want to check it out. I also have pictures posted with some close ups on my hair and make up. Quote: Originally Posted by kelseyrenee Great idea to just switch to the ceremony side that makes your veil/hair blow back and not into your face! My WC is Ingrid from Lomas and she's been so great! Takes her from 2-6 days to respond to an email but she has been very thorough and gives honest opinions. Hope everyone else is having a pleasant experience with their WC because it should be a fun process! I'm getting my hair done at the casita spa and am wondering about anyone else's experience there with how well the stylist can replicate what's in a picture? I need to remember to be vocal and not passive about what I want! Not getting my makeup done because anytime I've ever had it done professionally I have not liked it. I feel like it ages me rather than makes me look better. Experiences with makeup at casita spa? Also, I'm starting to wonder about the ceremony. I know I need to have music on an iPod and label the songs but how do you know what will be said during the ceremony? Does the WC give you script options or do you create it on your own? How long have ceremonies typically lasted? Mine will be symbolic because we are getting legally married in the US before we go to Mexico. The process to legalize a Mexican marriage in the US is too complex and takes too long from the time you get home for my taste. Plus I'm avoiding the Mexican blood tests! Thanks, ladies!!

Quote: Originally Posted by LKocelko My mom and MIL used the EDR Royale spa, but just for makeup. What I would recommend is doing a trial. I was at the casita spa and honestly hated my makeup at the trial, so I"m so glad I paid the extra $49 to get this before the actual wedding. I second doing the trial... I think it was definitely worth it. I loved my hair and makeup, but I got it done on the Casitas side.

Quote: Originally Posted by krobb317 Thanks!!! Okay, wonderful…I had read some had messed up the entire thing….yours worked well and woo how windy! I hope it's more like that than still…keeps ya cool! Beautiful ceremony! Thank you so much. The wind did keep it cool... and it wisked my tears out of my eyes so I couldn't cry, which helped for sure. I should note that right before the ceremony the officiant asked my husband if we didn't mind having her add in a passage that she thought we would really like. My husband told her to go ahead and add it. She added in, ironically a reading about the "hands" that we decided to omit in one of our script revisions. While I don't care much about the addition, she then didn't finish the rest of the script with our ending. Because of that the music cues were off and we didn't get the ending I was really hoping for. It was still a nice ceremony and she was well intentioned, the error isn't one that anyone but us noticed. But, it should still be noted as an error. Simply telling the officiant to stick to the script and not adlib would have solved the issue, but my husband didn't tell her that so she just did her own ending.

Quote: Originally Posted by krobb317 Thanks amanda50388! How well did the officiant speak English? Than seems to be a question I receive most often from family and friends about the ceremony. If you'd like you can watch the streaming video of our ceremony.... her english was pretty good, accented but still good. She had no problem reading our script that we gave her. This might give you a better idea of what things look like and work like. Our ceremony spot is Gazebo 55.

Quote: Originally Posted by krobb317 Thanks jnitschke! We'll just have to plan me standing on whatever side doesn't blow my hair and dress the wrong way Gorgeous dress! Thanks!... I did the same thing, as soon as I got down the aisle I told my husband to switch sides with me, I couldn't stand the veil blowing in my face.

Wow... 90 people.. it was like pulling teeth to get the dozen that came to mine to confirm. I ordered the badge holders and bracelets from amazon. But since you'd be buying a larger amount you might find better luck with ordering from somewhere else in bulk, perhaps dhgate.com. It takes a little while for things to arrive from there, since they're coming from China in most cases... but you can save a good deal if you can order in bulk. I ordered scarves for my girls from there as well as some underwater disposable cameras. Here's the keychains we ordered http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00443T6RC/ref=oh_details_o05_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 and the id holders http://www.amazon.com/Vertical-Resealable-Vinyl-Badge-Holders/dp/B005EMINLW/ref=sr_1_15?s=office-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1383514724&sr=1-15&keywords=zip+id+holder Quote: Originally Posted by Mamzaleg Where did you get the zip bracelets? That sounds like a perfect idea! Thank you all so much for calming my fears. We are at 90 already confirmed. 5 months away, it's getting very real!!

I don't think you will have to worry about sand in the food... and I think your guests will be fine, just don't plan on candles that aren't LED as part of your centerpieces or anything light that might blow away. While leaving our ceremony we saw a reception on the beach across from the chapel, and it looked lovely. I was even a little envious of how nice it looked. So I wouldn't worry. Also, we gave our guests ID badge holders that zip on those rubber spiral bracelet key chains. They worked perfectly! People could throw a couple bucks for tips in them and their room key. And since it's waterproof they can even wear it in the pool if they wanted. Those ID holders and the Insulated cups were the biggest and most used gifts. Having the cups were awesome for drinking in the pool and on the beach. My best advice for you is "don't worry"... you can do less and it will still be amazing. Hope this helps! Quote: Originally Posted by Mamzaleg I'm getting married in April and due to our large group size, the white gazebo is our only reception option. I was thrilled about being near the water but all these posts have now made me super paranoid!! Will it be too windy?? Will my guests not enjoy it and get sandy food? Has anyone had their reception at the white gazebo? We are having a tent will that help? It won't have sides though? Your advice is appreciated!!! Also, can someone tell me if the resort uses key cards or actual keys? I am planning our welcome bags and we want a landyard in them. Thanks!!

Quote: Originally Posted by krobb317 Thanks for the information on how hot is was end of may!! I'm getting married may 23rd our ceremony will be at the White Gazebo and reception at Tucanes...I was a bit worried about zero cross breeze as well, was even thinking of changing to the white gazebo area for reception. Does anyone know how windy is it there? To give you an idea of how windy it is on the beach here is a picture I posted earlier... take a look at the table cloth behind us or the layers on my dress. It is quite windy on the beach. That being said, it is very nice being on the beach if you are planned for the wind. I saw some receptions set up on the beach and it looked lovely. The downside to beach reception areas is that the bathrooms can be a bit far away.

Quote: Originally Posted by kelseyrenee I've seen many posts that Toucanes is hot for a reception. Should I see if I can move my reception from Toucanes to another spot? I am expecting about 30-35 guests and am getting a DJ because I want to dance... but I don't want to sweat! Wedding date is April 24, 2014. I was at EDR is March this year and it would not have been too hot at that time but I'm afraid of the end of April. I originally picked Toucanes because it's not terribly far from my ceremony and cocktail party at Gazebo 55 and figured it would protect against wind or rain. Any input is appreciated! At the end of May it was a bit warm in Tucanes, but not uncomfortably so. I had a pretty light dress so that helped I'm sure. It was 87 degrees on the day of our wedding if that helps at all.

Quote: Originally Posted by nbateman Received my photos from Magic Vision yesterday and uploaded them to my shutterfly share site if anyone is interested! Also had some guests upload their pics. The share site is awesome, no need to have a shutterfly account to view them and anyone can upload by sending an email to a particular address to get automatically added to the album or by uploading on the site: https://holmanweddingmexico.shutterfly.com/pictures/1831 You looked beautiful!!! what great photos! I love your flowers too!

Kelsey, I've heard really good things about the BBQ. It's a huge buffet with lots of choices... something like a half dozen different meets, several sides, and a dessert table. If we had enough people we would have done that for sure. If you have 40 people it might be worth it to go the buffet route. Quote: Originally Posted by kelseyrenee I am thinking of using the included group dinner at Cocotal as a welcome party dinner the evening before the wedding. Does anyone know what food is available to pick from for this event? I believe I read somewhere that everyone has to eat the same thing? Seems like it would be difficult to find one thing to feed 40 people - especially since I gave the choice of stuffed chicken breast or filet mignon for the wedding reception and don't want to make people eat the same thing for dinner two nights in a row at such an amazing resort with numerous dinner options! My fiance doesn't care for seafood/fish so that limits what we can pick also - I am hoping there is an amazing pasta choice on the menu, but doubtful. Thanks!

Tiff, I'm pretty sure that the way that it works is that you get to have one dinner reservation where they put your entire group at one of the restaurants, ours was at La Isla and was delicious. Then if you would like you can also pay for a private event, we did a reception at Tucanes. The cost for the event is the cost of the meals, there are no other fees to use the space. It might be the case that you get credit toward a private event based on the number of guests attending, for us when we signed in 2011 we got a 20% discount on the event meals that we purchased. If you read the contract from Lomas it will tell you at what level you get different perks. That should help guide you. In the end they will put everything into a spreadsheet and the cost of everything will be very clear, also they apply any credits you have to that spreadsheet... so in the end it doesn't what day you get you do something on the spreadsheet in the end you just make one payment... for instance we did hair and makeup rehearsals the day before the wedding, but they were still just on the general spreadsheet along with my flowers, DJ, meals, etc. After you sign your contract you will be given a Wedding Coordinator with Lomas and they can give even better descriptions than what a TA can tell you. Whether you pay for the private event or not you still get the private reservation for your group at one of the restaurants. We used ours to have a welcome dinner the night before the wedding. Things you pay extra for at the private events, like a reception at Tucanes or a cocktail hour, would be for entertainment and decor. If you bring your own decor they will charge you a fee for setting up the items you bring with you. Although, most of us found that it can be considerably cheaper to bring and pay a set up than paying for the rentals at the resort. Where I've seen prices fluctuate the most between brides seems to be on set up charges. But, you can still negotiate prices with your wedding coordinator after you've signed your contract. I also found that I got clearer and more accurate answers from the Lomas WC than my TA. Lomas also has a live chat function and you can ask a lot of questions for clarification on there as well. Hope this helps! -Jen Quote: Originally Posted by Tiff1037 Thanks so much ladies! Believe me, I've been researching everything I possibly can before we sign anything. Allie's thread about the whole resort has been super helpful too! And after showing my fiancé your husbands ensemble, Lindsey, it's now exactly what he wants for his. Right now, our WC/TA are telling us we don't get to use our private events the day of our wedding for anything.. which we would have used towards dinner or at least part of the extra cocktail hours we still need to pay for. Plus, they're telling us there's still an extra fee to rent Tucanes. I understand if we need to pay for our dinner no matter what option we pick, but to also pay to rent the venue seems like an extreme. I saw a lot of girls on here say they were getting charged extra for fees that other girls weren't charged for, and I just want to make sure I'm not getting cheated on anything.. And once we sign, I know we'll have less power to negotiate anything. Thanks for the link to the new wedding packages, Allie. I'll start looking into that too!

Quote: Originally Posted by nbateman Hey Everyone! So just made it back from the beautiful EDR for our wedding 10/4/2013, last Friday. It was amazing and perfect! I wouldn't change a thing! So glad to hear everything went well!!! CONGRATULATIONS!!!!

I would say to plan on whatever is easiest. As far as the sound system goes, we had a small group (13) and thought that having a DJ was a COMPLETE waste of money. We even sent them home early and just opted to go to Guacamayas to dance with the band that was playing. So I would say that having a sound system and a playlist would be better. A suggestion though, instead of renting the system for the same amount you can get a bluetooth speaker. We have the JAMBOX it costs about $200 but it is very loud, has great sound quality, has a battery that lasts about 8hrs, and is about the size of a brick of cheese. I think that would be a better use of the money, since you'd get to keep the speaker. I had people dropping left and right too. And it is very frustrating, and disappointing even when you understand the reasons for it. When my group dropped by more than half, from 30 to 13, I resolved myself to just spend the money we'd save on meals for everyone to create some envious OOT bags We were unable to make the reserved number of rooms too. Our travel agent was able to negotiate a reduced fee for us and an extension to our deadline. For family debating on staying at another resort remind them of the guest fee they would need to pay in order to attend the wedding. Not to mention the transportation costs between the resorts. Then really sell how much better EDR is and how many more options they would have over the cheaper resort. For everyone in my group that considered it the hasel was not worth saving a hundred or two hundred bucks.

I just had my guests go over to JoJos beach bar. It's a really nice bar and near where Tucanes is. Everyone hanging out was fine, and we didn't really feel like we missed the cocktail hour being there. Quote: Originally Posted by JenniferM Maybeachbride-I'm so excited about the paddle boats and kayaks and we are definitely snorkeling. The food looks amazing I'll have to check out the Petit Gourmet too. For anyone that had the ceremony at Gazebo 55 and the reception at Tucanes, where did you have you serve cocktails? I wasn't sure if they just hang out on the beach handy for pics or move early to Tucanes. Also is 2 hours right for cocktails?

So Exciting!!!! Sounds like you're all set and ready to go! Are you doing any excursions? Make sure you print all your travel documents. Also, when traveling abroad it's good to make 2 copies of your passport, insurance cards, and driver's license. Give one copy to someone staying behind and take the other copies with you. This way if something get's lost while you're down there it will speed up the process of getting new ones. Have fun, can't wait to hear all about it!! Quote: Originally Posted by nbateman Ok, leaving for EDR on Wednesday, anyone have any last minute pointers? I have all of my OOT bag stuff packed in two suitcases (one carry on and one large) purchased from Goodwill and we're going to leave them there : ) I have copies of my receipts for my OOT purchases Have my ceremony written out ipod playlists setup important WC emails/DestinationWeddings.com emails printed wedding spreadsheet printed hair and makeup pics printed rings are ready dress is ready, his outfit is ready facial done, hair is tonight and wax on Saturday license on Friday, legal ceremony on Tuesday Anything else important I need to know or have readily available? Any advice for when we meet with the WC at EDR? Do we give them the ceremony write up and ipod for the ceremony at the meeting?

I took my guests out on the day after the wedding. We picked after the wedding because I didn't want to risk sunburns... the first time I ever went snorkeling I got the worst burn of my life doing it... but we did the Lupita Tri-maran.. they had a lunch buffet which was decent. I'd say the trip was 3 out of 5. Nothing amazing, but not too bad either. They load the boats up, so if you don't want to be sitting next to people this might not be the trip for you. They ran a bunch of boats. I think Albatros was the same thing basically. We sailed with 2 Albatros boats and another Tri-maran. We all ate at the same buffet too. We were limited because we wanted a trip on a Sunday. I'd try to do something buy Cozumel if you can. 2nd largest reef is off of Cozumel. Also, check to see if transportation is included. I wasn't made aware of the fact that transportation wasn't included in our trip. So, we had to get Robert at the Lomas desk to find out where the dock for the boat was and what times we needed to be dropped off and picked up. Then we had to ask the front desk to call us a taxi and arrange return pick up for us. Not too big of a deal, but a hassle that I was dealing with on the morning of our wedding day. -Jen Quote: Originally Posted by Mamzaleg Hi, I am very interested in doing a catamaran/snorkeling trip for my guests the Thursday before the wedding. I have received a price quote from one company, but am nervous their boat may be a bit small since we are expecting a larger group. Has anyone had a positive experience or heard of any reliable companies? We are looking for a private boat that will provide snacks and snorkeling. Any suggestions appreciated! Thank you!