jhercule

@@MalaikaandMike awww thank you!! We rented the equipment through Lomas so that our DJ wouldn't have to worry about traveling with his and going through customs. He's a friend, so we also wanted him to enjoy his time vs. worrying about his stuff. He was able to test out the equipment a few hours before the reception, so he could become familiar with it.

@@KimberlyD We paid $500 total for the setup fee. Which by the time we were onsite, I was OK with because I just wanted to be done. I will note that we were told onsite that it had to be paid in cash - Ana (our offsite coordinator) never mentioned that, so I was ticked off about that. Marvin's quotes sound very reasonable. My bouquet was in that range and I will tell you that it was HUGE (and heavy lol) and insanely beautiful. You could always ask him about suggestions for lower cost alternatives for some of the flowers - but he quoted me the same and I was very very happy. And everything was still way less than going through Lomas.

@@Jacquelyn05 The bridesmaid dresses are from Weddington Way, and are part of their exclusive dress collection (which have pockets!). I gave them the option of purchasing any short chiffon style in that navy blue color/collection or buying a long version and just having it tailored shorter (same price if it was going to be tailored anyway). A friend who recently got married recommended Weddington Way - especially when you have bridesmaids that live in various cities. It worked out really well for our group. Their shoes are from ALDO and their earrings are from ForTheMaids on Etsy.

@@Jacquelyn05 thank you! We did the Mexican Family Style and it was insanely delicious. Highly recommend it. We flew in a DJ from home (DJ Magnificent - based out of Cincinnati, OH). He was AWESOME. @@KimberlyD thank you!!! Don't stress! Just try to stay organized, have visuals to show the onsite team and ENJOY the whole process! It really wasn't until I met with the onsite team that I felt good about everything.

@@ZandA2017 Decor and lights >> Love & Lace Wedding Decor. The owner's name is Katy and she's awesome to work with. We rented a lot of items through her - including string lights (we rented 12 for Tucanes). We also brought decor from home (Etsy, IKEA, Save on Crafts, etc). Flowers >> Maya Floral. Marvin was awesome to work with and came in WAY less than what Lomas was quoting me. I was so happy with everything and he just dropped them off to my (then) fiancé the morning of the wedding vs. setting them up (avoiding the outside vendor fee). We rented bottles for our flowers from Katy and he had them ahead of time, so he just arranged everything pre-wedding. But he also does have a variety of vases and such to rent from him. Setup / on-site team >> My on-site coordinator Maricarmen (Mary for short) was PHENOMENAL and totally understood how we wanted everything to look. Not sure if you can request your on-site coordinator, but if you can - ask for Maricarmen. We talked through all of the decor, showed her everything, had pics printed out for her of how we envisioned it, and she took tons of notes. I wouldn't have changed a thing. She totally understood and once we met with her, our worries about "will this go right? Will they capture our vision?" were totally gone. Photographer >> Not sure if you already have one booked, but we went with an outside photographer (Quetzal Photo) because I loved their work. We originally booked Sarani, but once I found Quetzal (on Instagram actually...), I fell in love. And even with the outside vendor fee, it was less than the Sarani packages and I think we're going to love love love our end result. We just got married at EDR on Saturday (June 11), so all I have are FB and Instagram pics at this time (just search for #jesswedswess on either social media site to see some pics). But will do a complete review in the coming weeks with photos. Let me know if you have any questions!

Does anyone know if you have to purchase day passes ahead of time from your coordinator OR if you can purchase them on-site?

@@KimberlyD i found the pictures! Ana Maria (my coordinator) quoted me $150/table for the rustic wood ones that don't need a tablecloth. The no additional cost ones are probably just regular folding tables, so they'll need a table cloth. Here are the photos she sent when explaining the options.... Rustic looking rectangular table Standard rectangular table

@@KimberlyD they do have rectangular tables. They have rustic looking ones for a fee (I'd have to search through my email for a pic) or they have ones that you'd have to cover with a tablecloth for no additional charge. We're going to rectangular table - no charge route. I'll try to post the details that my coordinator sent me about the tables tomorrow.

@@KimberlyD No. If you look through her Facebook page, she has a photo album of brides she's worked with and a number of them were from Azul Fives - another Karisma resort. And honestly, I'd think the resort shouldn't care - what's the difference between you bringing decor from your hometown vs. picking some up in town.

@@KimberlyD sorry about the link not working! Check her out on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/loveandlacedecor/ My wedding isn't until June, so I've just been working with her via email thus far. A number of other Riviera Maya brides on this site have used her before - just search for Love & Lace in the BDW search bar. Katy will meet up with you somewhere in the area a few days before your big day to drop off your rented decor - so you don't have to pay the outside vendor fee. She doesn't actually set it up - she just supplies the items (she even has favor options to purchase). Then after the wedding, she'll meet up with you to return the items. You WILL have to pay a fee to the resort to have them set up the decor (but you'd have to pay that even if you brought your own). Just check with your Lomas planner on what that cost would be. On my detail sheet it says that they'll charge $5 per person for decor setup if I use my own stuff. Even with that fee + renting through Katy, I'm finding it still way cheaper than going through Lomas.

@@KimberlyD I bought my dress at BHLDN. Their dresses are insanely gorgeous and you can find beautiful gowns across various price points and different styles (if you're looking for crop top, they have a "Cleo" crop top that is lovely). I didn't want my dress to feel overly glam/princess-y for our wedding, so I went with an insanely comfortable lace number. For decorations, I recommend Katy from Love & Lace Wedding Decor. She got married in Mexico and lives down there now from my understanding. She knows there's a need for lower cost decor since the resorts charge so much, so she has a huge inventory of items she rents out. We're going through her for the vast majority of decor so that we don't have to bring a ton of stuff down with us aside from welcome bag stuff and minor decor.

Do you have any pictures of the navy table runners?

@@MurphyKieffer We originally booked and put a deposit down on one of the resort approved photographers, but we were never 100% happy with our choice. We just selected the "best" of the approved vendors. Then I came across Quetzal Photo and fell in love with their work. After talking it over, we decided that Quetzal was worth paying the outside vendor fee and even if we couldn't get our original photographer deposit back. Luckily we did get the deposit back and it's going towards the outside vendor fee, BUT long story short - go with who's photography you love. Your pictures are going to last forever and help tell your wedding story visually.

Would love to know where you got that "Trust me you can dance" sign.

So I've been digging around this thread for a while now - gaining lots of knowledge and tips from fellow EDR brides. We're getting married in June 2016 and will probably have about 50 guests (reception at Tucanes). One of the reasons we picked EDR is the reviews about their food compared to other AIs. Unfortunately we won't be able to make a trip prior to June, so I have no idea what to expect for food (what they do well, what's just sub-par). We really want to do family-style for our reception. I've seen people post about BBQ Deluxe menu, but can anyone vouch for the other family-style menu options?