JenniferH114

@@kathryn78 - Here's a pics of our décor. We used burlap table runners, which we left there, and the vases with sand and shells and floating candles. We also had other things on the table, including white starfish, custom maracas, custom coasters, etc. Also, just my unsolicited opinion, but a trial hair and make-up run it totally unnecessary. They are so incredibly good there, you'd be better off spending your time enjoying some fun in the sun. I understand that it might put your mind at ease, but just a thought.

@@victoriasalv - The seaweed is definitely there. We did not often go in the ocean. Did it affect our trip? Not at all. Perhaps more importantly, did it affect our wedding? Absolutely not. Unfortunately, you can't control Mother Nature and that is just one of those things in "her" control. We didn't even think twice about it, though, to be honest. Also, we did not experience any odors from it, even when walking down the beach. The tapas is next to the Mexican restaurant and the coffee shop is upstairs off the lobby. I definitely recommend both.

@@victoriasalv - I'm assuming by "left' you mean she's no longer working at ERC?!! That's so sad!! Jessica was seriously incredible. I'm sure they'll get someone else who is great, but she really knew her stuff and took care of things with minimal direction. Everything will be great... it's just a bummer to hear!

@@kathryn78 - We ordered custom maracas, fans and papel picado from Maracas Mexico. I HIGHLY recommend them. Everything turned out to be even better than we expected. They are quick to respond and so great to work with. @@victoriasalv - They are key cards.

@@kathryn78 - I forgot that when we put together the centerpieces for the actual reception we didn't do seashells around the bases. We did that for the trial run. I also attached a pic of our cake, just for the heck of it. I can't stress enough that Jessica and the staff are extremely helpful and really took care of a lot of things all on their own, with a little initial direction. She knows what she is doing.

@@victoriasalv - I made our appointments about six months in advance through their website. After the initial inquiry, it's all via email. @@kathryn78 - We rented glass vases (three of each per table - different sizes) from Jessica and filled them with sand, shells and water. We used floating candles, and my mom had made burlap wraps to go around the vases. We also used shells around the base and then other décor for the table.

@@victoriasalv - We used DJ Mannia and they were so great!! I emailed them months ahead of time and they sent me a questionnaire regarding the music and things we have planned (entrances, dances, etc.). We were beyond happy with them, and they followed our music selection the entire night. I simply requested top 40/upbeat dance music and said no classic rock or "oldies" and all the played was fun, upbeat music - even some old school dance/rap songs from the 90's. We didn't give a specific song list. Everyone loved the music. It was exactly what we were looking for, and it worked well for our group. (Of course everyone has different taste in music, but you can request whatever you want.) I do not care for the cliché wedding reception songs (e.g. Come On Eileen, Brown Eyed Girl, etc.); they listened to my request and didn't play any of those. The DJs were so nice, too.

Thank you!! We are so happy with the outcome. I've gotten teary eyed a few times already from looking at them. Juan obviously chose the sampling for his website, but there are definitely even better ones in full set that he sent to us. I ended up uploading over 350 of the photos to Facebook to share with family and friends because I love that many of them, which is a good thing! I just can't say enough wonderful things about Juan and Arturo.

Our photos are ready!!! Here is a sampling that Juan posted on his blog. He sent us over 900 photos total. Overall, we love them and we are so happy we went with Juan (and Arturo). We love the creativity that they added to our special day. http://juanphotos.com/blog/wedding-at-excellence-riviera-cancun-jennifer-and-matt/

@@Sabes44 - Juan just got back to me and said mine should be finished up today. Arturo was in a (minor) motorcycle accident, so Juan was working solo and things were taking longer. I'll keep you posted!

@@Sabes44 - We have not received our photos yet. A few weeks ago I sent a follow-up "thank you" to Juan and he said he'd be getting started on them the following week. I actually just sent a second follow-up yesterday, but haven't heard back yet. While I am very excited to see them, I know it's busy season and it's not uncommon for photos to take weeks. I'm just hoping they come soon!

@TA Wendy - Okay, I know which one you are talking about at ERC. It is rather small, though. I don't think most weddings would even fit in there because of the limited capacity. @@upstatekj - Thank you! Not yet... He said he was going to begin working on the edits last week. I can't wait!

@TA Wendy - I was married in the beach gazebo at ERC last month and our guests faced the ocean while we stood at what would be the front (closer to the ocean - looking at each other). Maybe I'm mixing up the gazebos you are referring to because I know they have a smaller inland gazebo, as well.

@@Giocivs88 - You can carry your dress on but it is generally considered one of your carry on items, so be prepared for that. Our flight attendants told me to put my dress in an overhead bin and close the bin right away to basically claim it. No one else even attempted to put anything in the overhead bin, so it worked out really well. They were very strict with what we literally carried on the plane. Even with the two of us together they made my husband take one of the items I had so we each physically carried two pieces on. (I was carrying a carry on suitcase, a tote bag and my dress and he just had one backpack.)

@@upstatekj - We did not take pictures at the spa. We didn't give Juan much direction at all because he was very familiar with the resort, and we felt like they were already really creative and taking pics all over with us. We booked six hours, but they ended up being with us for 7.5 hours, which was a nice surprise and certainly not expected but much appreciated.

@@upstatekj - I had Jessica handle the music for the ceremony. She had a few songs to choose from, but we went with Train's "Marry Me." I just didn't want to have to worry about it and it ended up being great. I thought the music was plenty loud. After walking in, everything was a blur - honest - so I have no idea if a song was played afterwards or not. We did our first look before the ceremony. Juan took us to the back of the property where it's really lush with foliage and very private. There is not a lot of foot traffic back there. The pictures he let us glance at looked great. I thought it was a very nice setting.

@@victoriasalv - We did a symbolic ceremony, but I'm sure they will give you a choice. If not, ask Jessica. She will make it happen. I'm sure it's common, though. Considering we went in not having any clue what would be said, we were more than pleased with the ceremony. @@upstatekj - The steak and lobster is actually an option on the welcome/rehearsal dinner menus, but she said I could mix and match from any of the options (rehearsal or reception). It ended up being a lobster tail, too, which was a nice surprise. It was seriously delicious. Oh, and the cilantro avocado soup was amazing. Every person loved it. I kept wishing I'd see it on a menu at one of the restaurants, but we never did.

@@upstatekj - He stood on both sides at different points during the ceremony, which was nice. You can have a more religious ceremony or one focusing on love. We went with the "love' ceremony and it was perfect. The wind wasn't bad during the ceremony for us, but for pictures my veil was everywhere! We had to keep trying to tuck it under my arm to hold it in place. For the most part, all of the food we chose was awesome. I don't think there was anything that we regretted choosing, honestly. @@JaimeCKL - I got my hair and make-up done at 12:30pm. It took a little over two hours total, but I have long hair. Our photog, Juan Navarro, came at 2:30pm, so I actually didn't get to the room until 2:45pm. We had plenty of time to get ready after that, but we were doing our first look before the ceremony, so we wanted to be ready for pics by 4:00pm.

@@JaimeCKL - We didn't end up choosing a restaurant because we never had a problem getting in anywhere. My suggestion would be to use it for the hibachi since that's the only restaurant you have to show up at 4:30pm for to make a reservation at 5:30 pm for later in the evening. We went to hibachi with about 25 of us, so the reservation through Jessica wouldn't have helped. Otherwise, we got in every restaurant within five minutes, if not immediately. I might add that for parts of our stay the entire resort was booked and we still never had an issue. I think one night a few people had to wait about 20 mins for the Lobster House, but the martini bar is nearby so no complaints from them. You do get the basic honeymoon package.