kathryn78

@@malloryelizabeth I used the resort photographer and upgraded to the 6 hour package with 2 photographers and a videographer. I was happy with them! If you want you can request me on Facebook- I posted an album with a lot of their photos.

@@Tighev - For the welcome party we tipped $100 for the servers. For the wedding, we tipped the servers $200- there were a lot of them and they were so great! $80 to the DJ, $60 to the wedding coordinator. and I guess my Dad threw in another $40 since everything was so great- we just dont know who he gave it too haha but im thinking probably the wedding coordinator. You can do different flavors for different layers of the cake. We did one layer of tres leches, one layer of vanilla with strawberry filling, and one layer of chocolate with chocolate filling. Sad thing is I dont know if any one had any! No one that I've talked to after had any. I had the one bite of the vanilla during the cake cutting which I think was yummy. They did cut it up and everything, but everyone was up dancing so not much of it went. They did not bring the extra up to my room after, which I read on here they sometimes do. If that is something you would like done, I suggest talking to your wedding coordinator about it before. I do regret not having any- would have liked to tave tried the tres leches since I've never had it.

@@lynne1609 Thank you! Those pictures are just ones that family members took. We had the in house photographer- The gold package only included 20 mins so we upgraded to the 6 hour photo package with 2 photographers and a videographer. They said about 2 weeks for the pics and 6 weeks for the video.

@@Tighev

@@kjb0528 Yes it was a great turnout! We knew we wouldn't be able to be with everyone all the time. A lot of people did there own thing and excursions too. We usually hung out by the main pool so its easy to find there. Had a lot of fun there. The resort is set up so if you go to the main areas you will run into people. We did dinners with some different groups. Alejandra and another lady (forget her name) said to contact them if we want to have one group of 10 at dinner each night (had to be pretty much when the restaurants opened). We did that a couple nights. Also, on the Wednesday before the wedding we had a "Welcome party" cocktail hour at Oregano. Many nights a bunch of us would gather at the theatre or main plaza for the show and go from there. Did the best we could to spend a little time with everyone.

Had my wedding there last Friday the 27 with 84 people. It was so perfect!! Better than I could have imagined. The salon did both hair and makeup on 10 of us the wedding day. We couldn't get over how great of a job they did! Sonia and Erika were both fantastic! (One other girl did hair too but I forget her name). There was champagne, juice, and a fruit tray brought in for us which was really nice. Ceremony at 5 on the beach, cocktail hour at Las Olas, and reception at the Foyer. Alejandra was so great! I met with her 2 days before and gave her tons of decorations to put out. She took notes and I also emailed her a picture of how I wanted the centerpieces set up. I was so impressed with everything. The whole thing went smoothly and ran on time even with that many people. Had the in house photographer- Ashley and Victor who were both great. The in house DJ was so awesome- we were up dancing the whole time. The servers and bartenders for the wedding and also the welcome party were fantastic and a lot of fun. I know it can be stressful waiting to hear back through email about questions and whatnot but they really know what they are doing- you are in good hands! Let me know if you have any questions and I can see if I can help. If you want to see pictures send me a message- there's a ton on my Facebook.

Whats everyone's thoughts on tipping for the wedding? I didn't see anywhere that tips were included. Not sure how much to tip? Thinking leave an envelope for the servers and bartenders to split. Also, what about the DJ, wedding coordinator, photographer?

I had a hair and make up trial done when I went in November and they did a great job! I was with Angel and he said he'd be the one on the wedding day, but unfortunately I got an e-mail that he left the resort. I'm just going to meet with the stylist a day or 2 before and bring pictures and talk about it. Trying not to worry about it too much. My 7 bridesmaids and both our mothers are getting both hair and makeup done, so looks like we'll be starting bright and early. We now have a final number of 86 total people attending the wedding! More than we thought. So happy we have that many family and friends joining us. But I'm sad that we can no longer have the reception at the Lobster House as I loved the atmosphere there (why I chose a Friday night wedding). We just would be way too squished and have no room to dance. Our only options are the beach, Toscana, and the Foyer. I really do not want it on the beach as our ceremony is on the beach and we would have to pay the extra money for dance floor and lights. And I do not want it fully inside, so looks like my only option is the Foyer. Have any previous brides had larger receptions at the Foyer? I'm still worried we'll be a bit crowded and I have heard it can get really hot there since its mostly enclosed. I'm sure it'll be fine. Can't believe how fast its coming up- I have about 3 months!

We are up to about 72 guests coming to our May 27 wedding. - more than we originally thought! And we are expecting a few more, just waiting for them to book. We've been planning to have the reception at the Lobster House, but it only holds 75 guests. I saw the location and think it would be very tight with that many guests and not much room to dance. Any previous brides have similar guest count at the Lobster house and have any input on this? @victoriasalv - Interesting that you were originally going with Beach Wedding Studio, but then switched. I have the gold package, but upgraded the in house photography to the 6 hour package with 2 photographers and videographer for $3800. Even with the outside vendor fee you found Juan's packages to be less expensive? Do the packages include similar things? I think my fiancé and I will each bring an extra suitcase to fit decorations- table numbers, runners, centerpieces, etc. We are not doing welcome bags, but we are doing tumbler cups with cute stickers from Etsy on them that say "Feet it the Sand Drink in my Hand." These take up a lot of room especially since we'll need about 75 or so. I'm thinking about possibly shipping these. Makes me a bit nervous they'll get there with no problems and not damaged. Any one else planning on shipping anything?

I saw the set up of a wedding at Las Olas when I went in November. I think it's your option if you want round tables or long rectangular. I have a couple pictures.

@@kjb0528 - I'm not having any of those issues. I reserved a group block for 4 days but people can stay more or less and we won't lose out on any money. And also- if we do not use all the rooms in the block we just "drop" the rooms 3 months before the wedding date without any penalty. So as long as you have your RSVP date early enough you just drop the unused rooms. I'm using Wendy from Wright Travel Agency. She's great- she really knows her stuff! She's been to the resort and also gets you certain perks with the room block. I suggest you get in contact with Wright Travel agency- they are also the ones who put together this website!

@@lynne1609 - You're welcome! yes, I imagine it would be! That'll be perfect for your wedding! I love Las Olas, but it's too small for our reception. we are having the cocktail hour there though! Getting married May 27! Have 47 people booked at the moment and may get up to 60-65. And for the locations I'm thinking Oregano for the Welcome Cocktail Hour 2 nights before the wedding, Beach wedding ceremony, Las Olas cocktail hour, and Lobster House for the reception. The only thing I'm a little worried about is if we get more people than we're expecting because the Lobster House would be very tight and not much room to dance. I'm sure it'll all work out though Congrats and happy planning!

@lynne1609 - yes it was great! So your wedding is on the Pier and not on the beach ceremony correct? The beach ceremony location is on the end of the resort's beach which is past the Excellence Club section. I think the Pier was about where the separation was from the "club section" and regular section. I'm assuming the "ocean view" rooms would be the closest. The resort is pretty small, so nothing is really far. I'd say the furthest rooms are probably the ones on far side of the spa/lazy river. I stayed in building 1 by the spa which is the quiet area, but still didn't feel like it was too out of the way. But like I said the layout of everything is not all that spread out, so you can get anywhere in probably like 3 minutes or so from the furthest point? I could be totally off, but this is my thoughts on it

Hi girls! I too was worried because Maribel was usually so good about replying back to e-mails but then I stopped getting a response a week or 2 ago. I called last Friday because I wanted to confirm my meeting during my site visit this past weekend. I talked to Alejandra who said no worries and there's just so many emails to go through and that she would be the one meeting with me. I stayed at Excellence with my mom and sister this past Saturday-Tuesday. I've been before with my fiancé, but my mom wanted to see the resort and I also thought it would be helpful to meet with wedding coordinator. The resort was beautiful and I saw a wedding ceremony at 5pm on Saturday, that seemed to go very smoothly. I did a hair and makeup trial with Angel at the spa/salon who was so sweet and did an awesome job! I met with Alejandra- I guess Maribel was moved to a sister property. Alejandra was very nice and thorough. We walked around the resort, and she showed us all the different locations and answered questions. She was very organized and knew a lot of what I wanted through all the previous emails. I also did a food tasting which was great. Theresa met us and Alejandra during this portion- she is the wedding director for all the Excellence properties. She also answered many questions and really put me at ease with everything. They really know what they are doing and are pretty flexible. I also met with Ashley the photographer which was helpful. I'm so glad I went and did the site visit and feel confident that the wedding will be awesome! Let me know if anyone has any questions! @@victoriasalv - I'm not sure how to put pictures on here but if you give me your email I have a picture from the bridge to the wedding ceremony location that may be helpful for you.

@@victoriasalv I was worried about that too but decided not to put anything on the RSVP card. Once I have all the responses, I'm going to send out an email to all the people going. It's going to have some more details (welcome party time, packing tips, etc), and to reply with any food restrictions (allergies, vegetarian, etc). Figured this way I don't have to chose the menu right now as I just ordered my invitations.

Thanks @@JenniferH114 !! I actually just bought burlap table runners off craigslist! You said you left them there- do they let other brides use decor people have left? Or rent them? Did you order extra flowers through the resort's florist? I think I'll order some for the table centerpieces. But we're going to make fake flower bouquets for my 7 bridesmaids and bring them down. That'll be much cheaper and there's a website afloral.com that I've heard has great fake flowers. Love the pics! Where was your reception? Awesome lighting! I want to get the maracas as favors too!. I've emailed them twice through their contact us section on the website, and no response! I'm not too worried because I know there's time and I can't order until I have a better idea on number of guests. But I'd really like to have an idea on prices to see if it's even in the budget. Do you remember what you paid for the custom maracas? I've heard the spa is really good with hair and makeup, but I get nervous with hair up-dos so I know I'll just feel better if I do it before and take lots of pics in case not the same stylist.

Looks like you guys are really on top of things! My wedding is May 27, which seems far away but I'm sure it'll fly by. I feel so disorganized! Im in the process of ordering invitations as I want to get them out beginning of December. It's hard to plan other things such as welcome bags, favors when I don't know how many guests. My mother booked a 3 night trip for her me and my sister in November, so I'm sure I'll feel better after that. I'm going to meet with Maribel for an hour, do a food tasting, and a hair/makeup trial. I'm wondering if I should meet with anyone else- dj/photographer/florist? We'll see. I want to have a centerpiece on each table rather than just what the package includes. I want to do a lantern with a candle in it and a small glass vase/mason jars with the some flowers. I'm waiting to hear back from the florist about prices on small flower arrangements for the vase. Not sure if I'll bring down the lanterns/vases or ship them. What are you guys doing about centerpieces?

@@victoriasalv That's awesome! I'm glad you've heard most people haven't had problems getting the Lobster House. It'll be here before we know it! Mine is Fri May 27. So exciting! @@HNeal I love the way your table looks! I would like to do multiple smaller centerpieces as well. I will check with Jessica on that. We are thinking we may have close to 50 guests, so we'll have to do round tables. I still think a small centerpiece will be OK and then I'll just bring small votive candles and rose petals around it so there's a little more. --Did they have those Mason jars with the lace and tan decoration on them? Or did you bring those? Thanks! @@HNeal - Where did you order the Maracas from? Do you remember the cost?

@@victoriasalv -thanks!! yes it would be a good idea to bring the candles myself. I know what you mean about not needing much decor. We are hoping to have it at the Lobster House as it's on a Friday, but they cannot confirm this location until a month before. @@JenniferH114 - Those sound awesome! Do you have a picture of them I could see? How much did it cost you to rent the 3 glass vases per table? Did you explain how you wanted it set up and give the sand, shells, candles to Jessica for her to set up?

Curious what people have done for centerpieces. I really don't like any of the options they've sent me. I was thinking maybe vases with flowers and floating candles. Just not sure how to go about this as I don't want to ship glass down and it seems silly to pay the rental fee for the vases. I'd like to hear what other brides did for centerpieces. Also, I want to do Welcome Bags and include some type of Tumbler cup. Anyone do this and have a website they used to order from? Did your guests use them? Thanks!!

Just got the confirmation letter for our date for a year from now- May 27, 2016. Figured I should get going and send the Save the Dates ASAP to give people time. I want to make a wedding website and put that on the save the date so people can see info on the resort and booking info through my travel agent. Anyone have a wedding website they wouldn't mind sharing so I can get ideas on what to put about the hotel/accommodations? Figured it would help get me started, thanks!!

Thanks for the input!! I'm going to use the travel agent and offer that to people, but people can also book on their own too if they'd like. .

Hi everyone! I'm in the very early phase of planning a destination wedding here for next May 2016. Do you girls have any feedback about doing a group contract with a travel agent? I was thinking that would be the best way to go, but the prices per person for the room rate I got is higher than I expected. Seems like you can find a much better rate on websites such as Expedia,Travelocity (that's what I did when I went last year). I know without the group contract I wouldn't get the group amenities this way, but I just feel nervous giving guests the room rate when I'm sure they could get much cheaper with a flight/hotel package deal through one of the travel websites. Let me know your thoughts on this! thanks

I went to excellence riviera last year which is awesome. Excited about finest and that it's not adults only, but will be similar to the excellence resorts. Did they give you some prices? I'd love to have an idea for the future. Travel agent wendy wrote this recently- she could probably help you. "Hi, I just took a hard hat tour here while visiting a few weeks ago. It is going to be wonderful! They are also offering some really great pre opening specials for wedding groups! PM me if I can answer any questions or check pricing for anyone. This is going to be a very popular resort and best to book early!"

Excellence resort group is opening a brand new resort called Finest Playa Mujeres. It's next to its sister properties excellence playa mujeres and the beloved. Anyone having a wedding here and have more info? List of prices/extras/locations?