JenniferM

Quote: Originally Posted by jnitschke 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. This is a great option. I'll show it to my fiance and see what he says. 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. That's what he pointed out to me as well. Although we might miss out on the sweet package we won't be paying for their dinner etc so we'll save money there. I can't believe I hadn't considered that part lol. I've decided to not let it bother me anymore. If they come they come. If they don't it's their choice. I am not asking them to pay for the wedding, I'm only asking them to be there for me for a few days.

Quote: Originally Posted by LKocelko How big is your wedding? We opted to not rent the system, becaus I couldn't justify the price, and we had a small wedding of 20. We ended up bringing down our iPod player, because it was easy to travel with, and it worked out perfectly for us. I think were going to be about 50-70 people. But with the way people are dropping...I'm not sure. Were going the iPod route as well but not sure on the speakers.

Thanks everyone for the great suggestions! I thought 2 hours sounded a bit long but that is what they suggested. I think I will plan for 1-1.5 hours and look into JoJos free is always better. Does anyone know what type and quality of PA they have at the resort? My fiance wants to buy a system and bring it down rather than pay for the one time use there. I wouldn't mind so much except we will have so much baggage already and the cost...But his heart seems set. On a side note of rants. I am feeling rather stressed. We went with the sweet package and now many of the family that was supposed to go to the wedding are dropping out so what if we don't get the minimum number of rooms? And my parents are complaining about the cost of the resort. I don't find this at all fair because they told me they wanted to stay someplace that had soft beds, great food (they are very very picky eaters), great reviews, fun events, great locations, etc, etc. So I really took this into account when picking the resort and now they're complaining and talking about staying at some resort that has 25% recommendation on TA! AHhhh I don't know why I even bothered since my fiance and I are paying for everything. Sorry for the rant...it's been a stressful weekend.

Quote: Originally Posted by momgowdy 22 oz is the same size that we get at bar & grill-type-restaurants. We didn't want a huge cup. It's not insulated so we didn't want the drink to get hot. These are more standard everyday size people will use at home. Considerably bigger than the 8 oz cups they give at the bar at our hotel. Guess everyone has their own expectation. Momgowdy made a good point. 22oz is almost 3 serving sizes. I think much bigger than that and the drinks would melt or warm whether or not the cups are insulated.

To posting! Quote: Originally Posted by m8chow Don't worry JenniferM.. you're not alone. I'm working my way towards templates and photos as well.

Wow it looks almost fake it's so perfect. Quote: Originally Posted by Arrecife DR For the last trash the dress we made, the bride used her REAL dress. The golden sunrays matched beautifully the first sun rays. It was amazing

So cute! I love the colors! Quote: Originally Posted by VanessaBB So Excited all bridesmaids dresses in... 62 days until wedding

Quote: Originally Posted by vas2014 The # of post Aww that's so sad I still have such a ways to go.

Quote: Originally Posted by Lilgabri03 So I have a question that no ones seems to have addressed, how do the guests know where to go the day of the wedding?? Like since everyone is going to get there at different days and times, how will the guests actually know what to do on the actual day of the wedding? We have a schedule of events on our website and our invites will have something similar as well. Also, I know some people will be calling our parents and confirming details with them. Another thing we did was include a map of the resort on our site so people will know exactly where the ceremony and reception will be.

We must have tried out 15 different sites before we settled on Wix. My fiance has built a few websites before using Wix and we just felt so limited with all the other templates offered on the traditional wedding sites. The only things I dislike is that we can't have the shopping cart, we have a couple of adds (small), and we don't have a simple domain name. I could have all of this at $15 a month but he refuses

Quote: Originally Posted by Jenbd817 I ordered 22 oz stadium cups and I didn't realize how small they really are! I'm kind of bummed because they are custom and they won't take them back and I leave in a month. I went with a general logo so not everything said our names and the wedding date on it..but these really aren't the big souvenir cups I was hoping for just a warning for others thinking of ordering! That's a really good point. Thanks for the tip!

Oooooh I'm halfway there! Ooooh living on this board!

Quote: Originally Posted by kay2015 That's awesome and 4 months you must be freaking out lol I have been on vista print all day trying to find the perfect post card to use as the save the dates this site is very affordable. Any suggestions! We've spent forever on our STDs as well. We keep going back and forth but I think we've finally settled on a picture of us in the form of a postcard with all the info.

I haven't been on here in a while since there have been a few issues with the resort and the date but now that that's fixed we have set our date for April 19th. Woohooo! Amanda50388-That sounds perfect. We have very similar dates and I will be at 4pm. Quote: Originally Posted by amanda50388 Our wedding was at the end of April, it is hot, but not like dripping sweat hot, but you are in Mexico.We got married later in the evening at 5:00pm and then took pictures with Sarani and reception was 6:30-10:30pm. There are bathrooms real close by, which are right next to La Isla and not a far walk at all, which was awesome. 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. Quote: Originally Posted by Maybeachbride Yes there are paddle boats. They have a group class thing you can take at 10 am I think. My friends tried a few times but they class was always full and they would not let you sign up ahead of time. I think you can just take them out any other time as long as it is not too windy. We went snorkeling once and saw NO FISH! then the next day we saw a ton from the pier but it was too windy so they would not let us snorkel that day. I think it is is pretty much hit or miss. We did an excursion for scuba diving and it was AMAZING! 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?

Pretty much everything we own is black and white so we're trying to add a bit of color to this at least lol Quote: Originally Posted by TuffLuv Very pretty. I wanted a similar color to go with the tea//torquoise color we're using but I knew my FI wouldn't go for it. So our accent colors are black and white.

That's going to look so pretty. Quote: Originally Posted by jypsejenny We chose pomegrant, medium silver and black for our colors. This is what my bridesmaid dresses look like.

Oh and does anyone know about the kayaking and paddle boats that are advertised on their website? Are there really paddle boats and where do you put in at? Don't the sandbags get in the way?

Thanks for the info. Do you think Tucanes will be really hot at the end of April? I've heard a couple people mention that there is very little breeze and it gets super hot. Also are there bathrooms close by to Tucanes? The more I plan the more I realize that there is so much I haven't even thought of lol. Thanks for the info on Sarani's blog too. That's prolly going to be a great resource Quote: Originally Posted by jnitschke The pier was open when we were there, but we weren't really given the option to have the reception there. I agree with Allie, the sandbags aren't an issue. Plus you can watch the fish that gather there from the pier. If you're thinking about setting up there though, make sure you consider wind when planning your centerpieces. If you get a windy day like we had certain centerpieces might not work. They do hang some curtainy drapes along the pier, but I wouldn't count on them to be much of a wind blocker. A nice thing about it would be that the air will move and it will be less hot than under Tucannes where we were. Also, the pier is pretty close to JoJos, so you might get a bit more foot traffic from other guests going by, but that might not really be an issue, people usually keep out of the private events. I liked the attention I got walking around all dressed up in my bridal gear. There's also the bathroom right near JoJos there, so that's a good thing to keep in mind too. I think the pier would be nice for a smaller group. It is more narrow than the other spaces, so I think maybe a single long table might be a nice set up on there...but that's just my opinion. They were in the process of remodeling JoJos when we left, so that whole area might be really nice now. If you look at Sarani's blog or pinterest boards she has lots of pictures she's done at EDR and she likes using the pier for some of the pics, I bet you could find some good pier shots on there too.

AllieH I think our party will be about 50ppl. So I wonder if that will be too many people. Quote: Originally Posted by AllieH the pier is pretty good sized - how big will your party be? I'll take some more pics for you when we are down there. we didn't see sand on the pier at all, if it's there, it's been tracked there from people walking. but they'd sweep it for an event! they probably wouldn't let you fish off the pier, since people are swimming around the area. however, they do like to say "in Mexico, anything is possible"! so ask at the activity hut.

I think Karisma has a Generations that is opening up right next to the Royale this December. I believe its just a bit more expensive but includes nanny service and a bunch of other perks. Quote: Originally Posted by amanda50388 I can't believe your one year will be here before you know it, When do you guys leave for that? We are going to be going next fall because we have a baby boy on the way in January and thought he will be a little bit older by then so we are going to go and enjoy a kids karisma property. I just have been thinking lately how badly I just want to relax in the water at El Dorado Royale, lol!!!!

I can't wait till I'm at 150.

I'm only 1/3 of the way...boo...

Someone said that you can purchase the 150 post level for $30 but I'm not sure where that is. Once I get the update I'll post on here. That way if you don't have enough time to post before the date you can still access all the templates and stuff.

Do you know where I go to find that? Quote: Originally Posted by Lydia1120 Hi Jennifer, it costs $30 and it is totally worth it!

Amanda50388 Thanks for the info on the BBQ, it sounds perfect . I think we are doing just the dessert table as well because neither of us can have milk and they don't make dairy free cakes . I can't seem to open the pictures but that might be because I don't have enough posts or my computer, I'll try another tonight. Quote: Originally Posted by amanda50388 Also, I never did a cake or anything because you seriously get a buffet of desserts and the table is filled. Our guest's said it was one of their best meals as well. All the meat came fresh off the grill and the sides were place on one table. If our guests were still hungry they could go up for more, it was really nice having so many options to chose from the steak and mash potatoes were my favorite, but seriously all the food rocked. Below is a picture of the dessert table and across the way the chef's were cooking the meat across the grill and the sides were placed next to the grill. AllieH I didn't even think about the sandbags but that's a really good point. I saw a picture of the pier on FB with wind blocks and all set up for an event, it was sooo beautiful. Originally I wanted Tucanes but now I switch to the pier. Do you know how many people it fits and if there would be room for dancing etc.? Also the reason why I didn't want a beach reception was sand in the food. Do you know if the sand blows onto the pier that much? Oh and my fiance wants to know if you can fish off the pier? Quote: Originally Posted by AllieH the pier was just opening when we had our wedding there - it's really pretty! it's right behind Jojo's & the beach bar. it does have a righteous view of the sandbags - but you don't notice those at night. here's my husband sitting at the end of it -it's the only photo I have, but I'll take more when we are there in November. it's a gorgeous pier - would be nice all set up with lights for an evening event over the water.