Nichole0878

Hi @@KimberlyD, I noticed no one has responded yet, so though it may be late, hopefully it will still be helpful! We had an uncle act as MC and only remembered to ask him 2 days before hand. Oops! But it worked perfectly. All he did was grab the mic from the DJs at the beginning to introduce us, the dances, handed it off to the best man and maid of honor for the speeches, and announced when to go grab food. The ONLY issue was when the music for our first dance started before I had fixed my bustle. But they just restarted it and we were good to go! Our MC didn't mind at all and I don't think it inhibited his ability to enjoy the night a bit.

@@Starum2288, We picked all of our songs, but I think they would fill in with others if you wanted to. Picking all of them was a little daunting, but ended up being pretty fun because all the songs we heard throughout the night were ones we love

Hi @@Starum2288, We used Mega DJ and got just the DJ, no MC. Overall they were pretty good, you pick out all of the songs though, so you can't complain about the song selection! They did a good job at timing and feeling the "mood" of the reception and were flexible if we wanted to request a certain song anytime They didn't have one song my husband decided he really wanted to hear that night so they hooked up my phone and we played it off of that! If you don't splurge for the MC (which was ridiculously expensive in my opinion), I would suggest asking a friend or family member ahead of time to introduce you, the dances, and any speeches. We didn't think about this before hand but luckily had an uncle who was perfect to be thrown into the job on the spot! Also, as it states on the website, they brought a bunch of balloons and glow sticks which were really fun!

Hi @@Starum2288, We had the beach BBQ and it was AMAZING. All of the food was delicious and people were raving about it while going back for 2nds and 3rds

Thank you @@murmel! We did have a blast

@@MurphyKieffer, We were in the same boat. I love pictures, but there was no way we could spend over $1500 on a few hours of photo snapping. I uploaded a few pictures from our photographer to my profile on this site, but I'm not quite sure if I posted the link correctly (they're also out of order?)! Let me know if you don't see them on the gallery on my personal page

@@MurphyKieffer, We used Caribe and were very happy with our pictures! I went with Caribe because I wasn't into the "dramatic" style of some of the other photographers, so I was very happy with the style of our photographer. We had Denise and she was great at wrangling our large group, really listened to our preferences, and caught some great moments. She was there for 5 hours and for us, that was more than enough time to take pictures of getting ready, the ceremony, our friends and family, of the two of us together, and a good amount of the reception - and total cost was $1,200. Hope that answered some of your questions!

@@kelbiiztd Thank you! That and the Koozies are my favorite part @, Thanks! We're leaving on Tuesday so we packed everything for the welcome bags into a large suitcase tonight and I'm amazing how compressed we were able to get everything. There's plenty of room left! To add another detail: The Music!! We've booked Mega DJ and had to pick out ALLL of our own music. Which I'm partly happy about because I know we'll for sure love all of the music played at our reception, but it took a while for us to pick every single song, and even longer to go through the DJ's whole list of available music to separate the songs into ones he already has and ones that weren't on the list. Hopefully attaching this spread sheet will work Huntley Wedding November 13 MEGA DJ SONG LIST .xlsx 1 week from tomorrow! And while I have it up… our Ceremony Script! I looked for a very long time trying to find ceremony examples that I felt "fit us". Finally I was checking out the awesome website www.offbeatbride.com and liked a few of the suggestions but knew I found the right one when I read through this one: http://offbeatbride.com/2015/02/nontraditional-non-religious-wedding-ceremony-script I read through it and changed a few things things to fit Matt and I better and to make it appropriate for our ceremony in Mexico, but love our finished product! Even better, Matt (who doesn't like MOST things that are usually in wedding ceremonies) was really surprised by how much he liked it! Success! I have to give a shout out to @@AllieH for her great planning board that has been so helpful throughout this process and also because I used her awesome, detailed ceremony scrip outline. I think it will be really easy for everyone to follow now. Feel free to use any part of this if you like it! _________________________________________________________________________________________________ Matt and Nichole’s Wedding Ceremony SONG: iPod playlist Ceremony Seating Guests seated Minister takes place at altar Matt stands at altar (right side) with minister Mitch and Jenny walk to alter Minister indicates all guests should stand SONG: iPod playlist Bride walk Nichole entrance, escorted by Kevin Kevin is seated. Jenny straightens Nichole’s train. Bride & Groom face each other and join hands Greeting (Minister): Welcome everyone. On behalf of Matt and Nichole, we thank you all for gathering here on this beautiful afternoon in Mexico to witness and celebrate their union in marriage. That so many family and friends have traveled great distances to be here today is a testament to the love and support they have. Before we begin our ceremony, the bride and groom request that guests remain in the gazebo area for a group photo immediately following the ceremony. You all have given them much happiness, love, warmth, and guidance through the various stages of their lives. They would like to sincerely thank you all for being here to share in their big day. Ceremony (Minister): Today is a celebration. A celebration of love, of commitment, of friendship, of family, and of two people who are in it for forever. You don't have to have a ceremony to have a marriage. And when you think about it, the whole thing is kind of weird, right? You're standing on a stage, looking fancy, holding flowers, and being stared at by pretty much everyone who has meant anything to you in the past twenty-something years. So why do we do it? The marriage ceremony has been an important feature across nearly every culture, religion, generation, and society. We have thousands of important moments that happen throughout our lives, but this one is regarded as one so critical, we acknowledge its special status by sharing it with others. Why this moment? Because despite all of our differences, love is what we all share. It's the great unifier — our one universal truth. That no matter who we are, where we've come from, what we believe, we know this one thing: love is what we're doing right. That's why you both are standing here. That's why you all are here to watch them stand up here. We have all loved in our lifetimes, and in this moment, we're reminded that the ability to love is the very best part of our humanity. All of us here today have our own love stories. Some are short, others long. Some are yet unwritten, while others are just getting to the good part. There are chapters in all of our stories that are sad or disappointing — and others that are exciting and full of adventure. Note to Minister: Ask Matt and Nichole to join hands. (Nichole hands bouquet to Jenny) Minister: Today is a time to pause, look back, and smile at all the moments that brought them here, as well as a time to look ahead at all the moments that are still to come. We're all here because we want those moments for you. We're here to hope with you, to support you, to be proud of you, and to remind you that love isn't happily ever after, love is the experience of writing your story. It's not one moment — not even this moment. It's every moment. Big ones like saying "I love you," moving in together, getting engaged — but mostly a million little ones that come in between the big moments. Falling asleep next to one another, making dinner together, spending holidays with your families, binge-watching Netflix shows, getting a big hug when you get home from work… These everyday moments fuse together into one big experience. And even though this experience is so incredible, words fail us when we try and explain it. That's just the way it is with love — it's meant to be felt, not described. Marriage Vows (Minister) You fell in love by chance, but you're here today because you're making a choice. You both are choosing each other. You've chosen to be with someone who enhances you, who makes you think, makes you smile, and makes every day brighter. You're about to make promises to each other that you intend to keep. You're going to vow to take care of each other, to stand up for one another, and find happiness in the other. There's a simple premise to each of these promises: you're vowing to be there. You're teaming up and saying to the other, "Every experience I am going to have, I want you to be a part of." As you make these vows to each other today, I hope you remember how exciting it is to find someone to spend your life with. And many years from now, I hope you look at one another and are able to say, “With you, I have lived the life I always wanted to live. With you, I have become the person I always wanted to be.” Will you, Matt, keep Nichole as your favorite person — to laugh with her, go on adventures with her, support her through life's tough moments, be proud of her, grow old with her, and find new reasons to love her every day? Matt: I will. Minister: Will you, Nichole, keep Matt as your favorite person — to laugh with him, go on adventures with him, support him through life's tough moments, be proud of him, grow old with him, and find new reasons to love him every day? Nichole: I will. Minister: Will you, Matt and Nichole, be each other's partners from this day forward? Will you bring out the best in one another, share your happiest moments together, and love each other absolutely — for the rest of this lifetime and for whatever may come next? Matt and Nichole: We will. Exchange of Rings (Minister): Mitch hands rings to Minister. Minister: You’ve both chosen to wear rings as a reminder of these promises. People often say wedding bands are a perfect circle, with no beginning and no end. But these rings did have a beginning. The stones were formed a long time ago deep with the earth. Eventually, a series of lucky events caused them to rise to the surface, where someone dug them up. Metal was then liquefied in a furnace at a thousand degrees — molded, cooled, and painstakingly polished. Something beautiful was made from raw elements. Love is like that. It comes from humble beginnings, and through a combination of serendipity and effort, imperfect beings shape it into something extraordinary. It’s the process of making something beautiful where there was once nothing at all. As you look at these rings over the years, I hope you remember that. You’ve created something invaluable, and just as I know you’ll protect these rings, I’m confident you’ll protect the commitments you’ve made to one other today. Minister hands Nichole’s ring to Matt Matt, place the ring on Nichole’s finger, and repeat after me: “I give you this ring as a symbol of my love and faithfulness to you, for as long as I live.” <Matt echoes> Minister hands Matt’s ring to Nichole Nichole, place the ring on Nichole’s finger, and repeat after me: “I give you this ring as a symbol of my love and faithfulness to you, for as long as I live” <Nichole echoes> Closing (Minister): To wrap this up before we begin taking pictures to remember this beautiful day followed by a delicious dinner and lots of dancing, I'll share an excerpt from “Blessing for a Marriage” by James Dillet Freeman, May your marriage bring you all the exquisite excitements a marriage should bring. May you need one another, but not out of weakness. May you want one another, but not out of lack. May you look for things to praise, often say, "I love you!" and take no notice of small faults. May you have happiness, and may you find it making one another happy. May you have love, and may you find it loving one another. And so, with great joy, I now pronounce you husband and wife! Matt, you may now kiss your bride! Minister: It’s my pleasure to introduce to you, for the first time, Mr. and Mrs. Huntley! SONG: iPod playlist: Recessional

Hi @@EriLu11 and @@LoLoJabs, I'm sorry to hear you ladies are having the same issues. Unfortunately we've had no compensation for poor service, but maybe I'll bring that up in our meeting with the onsite coordinator and something might come of it? Either way, now's the time to start calling people directly, that's how we ended up getting everything wrapped up really fast. Before calling I went through every detail that we wanted and had requested, compared it to what was confirmed on our spreadsheet, checked to make sure all of the prices were correct then put together a list of the issues so I didn't get confused or forget anything. I sent an e-mail outlining all of that in a bulleted list to make everything very clear as well as to have a "physical" record of the issues we've had. I plan on printing out all of our correspondence, receipts and proof of all payments, as well as a detailed, summarized list of the arrangements. Doing this I feel pretty confident that everything should be worked out! Plus I've heard good things about the on site coordinators (which are Oh So Conveniently different than the off site coordinators!), so this as well as not having to do everything over e-mail should help. I also suggest to have the credit card authorization form filled out and ready to go as soon as you get everything worked out! And after all of that, relax and realize it will be awesome no matter what and you'll be enjoying the beach with your new husband! If you have any specific questions, feel free to message me!!!

Hi @@kfracassi, First of all - I have been working with Marisol as well until she left the company this past month and I feel your pain. Ugh. Make sure you check everything multiple times for errors! I corrected a bunch of stuff before we made our final payment, but I'm happy that everything is done (correctly!) now. Yes, the rehearsal dinner was the free "shared-basis" dinner. We ended up not going with it because I feel like there will be too many scheduled events that way but they let us pick the time and menu ahead of time.

Thanks, everyone! We are SO excited! I'm just nervous about making sure I have everything together before we leave. Thanks, @@RandL2015 Yours is coming up so soon as well!! Congratulations and have fun! @@Jem2016, We have to be there 3 days before the Wedding. We weren't planning on going that early initially, but you don't have to twist my arm too hard to get me to spend an extra day at the beach! Congrats on the engagement! My sister and I had a productive weekend finalizing everything for our Welcome bags and I'm so so happy with them! We had koozies made through Etsy and LOVE them!! Una was cervesa, por favor! I'm also really excited about the sun glasses - we got them in 9 different fun colors and I'm really looking forward to getting a picture of our whole group wearing them on the beach! The tag is blank in the picture but I printed out tags with each couple's or person's names on them so after we assemble the bags we can get them to the right people easy. And as a bonus I think it's a nice personal touch that was really easy to add. To save space for packing, we're going to assemble them at the resort, but I'm hoping it won't take too long.

Hi @@Keegan, I'm glad you're having a good experience with Ana! We weren't so lucky with Marisol, but in the end it all came together We're heading to EDR in just 2 weeks so I'll try to answer some of your questions! If you're curious my planning board is here: http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/topic/79691-nicholes-planning-board-for-el-dorado-royale-wedding/and I plan to keep adding to it as well as a review after we get back! 1) With booking a certain number of rooms we qualified for a free cocktail party. So I included that on our itineraries. I am disappointed though that the resort won't confirm the location for the party, so we'll have to somehow tell everyone that in person once we get there. Maybe we can get the front desk to tell everyone when they check in? 3) It's not really the same type of lazy river you'll find at a water park. More like a little channel that connects the swim up rooms and some pools. Still pretty neat, but it's not "flowing". As far as I know there are not tubes there, but it might be nice to bring some to just relax in the water! 5) As far as I know the DJ includes microphones and everything for speeches. I'll let you know when I get back. 6) I did the Always & Forever package and it comes with availability for a rehearsal dinner. 7) Pretty sure there are no table numbers unless you bring them. FYI there's a ridiculous set up fee for EVERYTHING you bring yourself. Have fun planning!! Nichole

Thank you, @@vancouverpetunia and @@acw271011! Some details on all of our printed things: Although we never started with a strict "theme" in mind, I'm happy with how everything came together! We customized our invitations through Zazzle.com: http://www.zazzle.com/pd/spp/pt-zazzle_invitation2?dz=d70e902a-aafa-44de-af7b-4b9ba97ccd34&side_name=front&style=5x7&cornerstyle=normal&media=matte&color=white&printquality=4color&design.areas=%5B5x7_back_full_vert%2C5x7_front_full_vert%5D&context=114454943271300394&view=113333167731492616 And included this card I designed but printed through Zazzle.com to provide some important information. With some inspiration from Pinterest and Etsy, I designed this welcome bag print that we iron-transfered to a soft canvas type bag, and it worked great! (I'll post pictures of the OOT bags after we put them together!) Inside the welcome bags, we're including this welcome letter and itinerary, as well as recovery kits in cellophane bags, that we're topping with either the Hangover Kit (my favorite!) or the Recovery Kit for the older folks that might not appreciated the fun Hangover design The bag toppers will be folded over and stapled to the top of the bags. I designed all of these using LucidPress.com (a much cheaper and easy to use program similar to InDesign) and we printed them all at home on cardstock paper.