JenniferH114

I found my emails with them. We paid $550 total. I'm not sure if it mattered, but our maracas were different colors and we had designs on them in addition to names, date and location. Not going to lie, like @@vanessajfelice said, sending them the money through Western Union felt a little shady. Even the reps at Western Union will advise you against it, but we took a change and they were totally legit.

I can't remember exactly - because it was May 2015... sad face!!! - but I think it was about $600 for 35 maracas and the papel picado.

Maracas Mexico!!! They were incredible... so responsive and our order showed up on time and in perfect shape. We ordered maracas and custom papel picado.

@@Tighev - I think we gave the coordinator $50. We tipped the staff $100... maybe $200 (sorry, can't remember), and we know for sure our guests were tipping, too. We did not tip the photographer or DJ because we felt that those are professional positions and you specifically pay for those services, if that makes sense. When we asked around at the time, others agreed.

@@Tighev - Yes, it was delicious, but we were having so much fun dancing by then that most slices went uneaten.

@@Tighev - We did vanilla cake with lemon filling and coconut frosting. If something you want isn't on the menu, just ask!! They were so accommodating! Also, we mixed and matched from all of the menus offered for our meals (welcome dinner and reception). The welcome dinner menu actually had steak and lobster, which is what we ended up doing for our wedding meal.

One year ago today, we were married at the ERC. The day could not have been more perfect. It was a beautiful wedding and a great vacation for all of those who came to share our special day. It's hard to believe it's been a year. Enjoy this time because it flies!

@@lynne1609 - The ceremony is in English. We only did a symbolic bc we thought the legal ceremony was too much for us. I'm sure someone else can speak to the paperwork.

@@kathryn78 - We did not tip our photographer or DJ. They did awesome jobs, but I guess we just think of those as more professional services. You pay good (a lot) of money for their services, so tipping didn't seem necessary to us. We also asked around (including our engagement photographer), and others seemed to feel the same. We did tip the servers/bartenders. I think some guests tipped the bartenders, too. Also, we tipped the wedding coordinator. She was excellent.

@@Laurelyn - 100% legit! We LOVED everything we ordered. They were always really responsive and so easy to work with. I'm so glad we went with them. Excellent quality, too. I would highly recommend using them.

Garibaldi Square would make for a horrible setup no matter how many people you have. We originally had our welcome dinner planned there, and I'm so glad we did a site visit and changed it. Not conducive for group gatherings, in my opinion. Oregano is not THAT large. I don't think you would fit that many comfortably, but who knows. They obviously wouldn't just say that. We had our welcome dinner there, and it was perfect, but we had 30 people. It's a bummer that Angel left. He did my hair and makeup. He was great! The lady who did the other hair and makeup was awesome, too. I wouldn't be too worried about it. They aren't going to bring in just anyone to work at the salon in a resort of this level. Just my personal opinions, of course.

I had my (very long) hair done and my make-up, as well as hair and make-up for three others. They did a great job!! Just make sure you give yourself plenty of time, especially if you have longer hair. Also, bring pictures for both your hair and make-up inspiration. I had all my hair put up, mainly because of the heat, and I had a veil and a large beaded flower thing in my hair. I was really happy with the outcome.

We sent save the dates about 11 months prior (essentially right after we locked in with the resort). We sent the invitations about six months in advance with an RSVP date of two months before the wedding. We had someone on Etsy custom design our STDs and invites. We also paid him extra to handle the printing and cutting because I didn't want to have to deal with it, especially because our RSVP cards were cut differently.

In my opinion, if you are going to be in Las Olas for your reception, you will want the lighting/lantern package. It just adds to the overall ambience. It's not about having actual lighting. Also, be aware that it can get very windy and your candles are not going to stay lit. At the beginning of the night, we had this issue with the floating candles in the vases for our centerpieces, but it didn't really affect anything. I just wouldn't rely on candles for actual lighting.

The lighting and lantern package was an additional $220. You definitely want it.

Thanks! We were incredibly happy with the setup (and everything else, for that matter). Our colors were teal and fuchsia. We brought our own sashes for the ceremony and reception, too.

Yes, we had a DJ. We also had a small table setup for the cake. There was plenty of room. This is the only picture of the setup that I have on this site:

We had our reception at Las Olas with 30 people (three round tables) plus a DJ, and there was plenty of room for dancing. Las Olas was perfect for us, especially with the lighting and lanterns.

We had the gold package, but we were able to use our hour of photography for our welcome dinner. It sounds like you can't do that now. We were not impressed with the hotel's photographers/photos at all. I'm so glad I went with my gut and hired an outside photographer early on. Juan and Arturo are incredible. I wrote some previous posts on them and a review. We have zero regrets about hiring them (and it wasn't even about the cost).

I would not have survived pictures with my (long) hair down. It was very windy and, of course, hot. We had to keep tucking my veil under my arm a bit to stop it from flying around. Otherwise, the weather was perfect.

I have no idea how many strands bc it was just a general package for them to do all the lights and lanterns. I would say at least a couple of strands overhead and then lights wrapped around all the poles along the outside.

I checked our invoice, and the lighting and lantern setup in Las Olas was $220. There is picture or two in my gallery, but I'm on my phone so I can't post them.

Are you being charged for chair covers?!! We were only charged extra for the vases we rented and the general Las Olas lighting setup, which includes string lights and laterns. We did not get nickel and dimed for anything else that I think would be considered standard (of course, we added other extras). They even transferred all of our chair ribbons over from the ceremony to reception no problem. Maybe this is part of the new coordinators and perhaps they are revamping their policies? All I know is that one of the many things we were so happy with was that almost everything was included in our package.