kjb0528

@@roamfree check out my wedding website. I have an activities section that has some off-resort options explained. www.kimandryanwed.com I'm tried to attach the welcome info packet that I included. But it won't let me because its an adobe illustrator file. I'll try again later but here's a picture of it attached to my welcome bag. I included: Name tag, Pg1) Welcome Letter Pg2) Itinerary Pg3) Wedding Party Pg4) Resort Map (but my version had the schedule of events on it)

@@mam9p8 Sorry for the delayed reply! Things have been a bit hectic since getting back (always is after a vacation right)! I wish I had better pictures at this point that show everything but I haven't gotten my professional pictures back yet First, I loved Oregano's for my reception! It was the perfect location. For cocktail hour, I'd recommend the beach area outside Oreganos. I was honestly pretty disappointed in the cocktail hour at Las Olas. I expected a bar set up and an appetizer table but they didn't do any of that and it was pretty awkward. I think they came around and took drink orders and maybe passed some appetizers?? We showed up at the tail end and they had already started packing up, which I was annoyed about. They should have told the guests to go to the reception before they started to pack up. But I think this would have been a lot better and more organic at the beach location. Also, I brought my own string lights to the Oregano's restaurant and I think they added a lot of atmosphere so I recommend. Also, the DJ's lights were really awesome and added a lot. I highly recommend the DJ. How many guests do you have? I'll post my full review soon but attached are a couple pictures. Like I said they are not the best but I tried to find some that gave you a sense of Oreganos. [i'm not sure if my pictures are posting properly!] The Ceremony: I added two flowers arrangements on the shepherd hooks at the entrance. The Ceremony: I also upgraded the chairs which I think looked a lot better and made a big impact on the overall feel. Cocktail Hour musicians (these guys left early. I wish I would have specified that I'd rather them arrive late and stay until the end than leave early) FLOWERS: I got single stem king protea's for the bridesmaids and loved them! I sent in a picture of my bouquet and thought I could just pay the difference in price between what was included in the package and the picture I sent, but it wasn't until I got there that I found out I can't do that and had to pay full price. Oregano's outside (from beach) looking in. The DJ lights were great! SaveSave

I'm wondering all those things too! I've gotten a little frustrated with the the resort taking so long to respond to emails so I've kind of given up contacting them about layout or space (or anything else). I am nervous about space for dinner + dance floor + dj. I'm going to bring my own string lights down at the very least for ambience. Ceremony is at the beach gazebo and cocktail is at las olas. I'll try to take good notes for you on the space come January!

@@roamfree when is your wedding? Mine is in January and I'm having my reception at oreganos also with approx 40-50 people. I'll have Picts for you after that but I've also been looking for Picts of the setup and can't find any!

@@roamfree The beach gazebo is a permanent structure and is not extra. I don't believe the curtains are extra either. @@vanessajfelice Congratulations!! I would love to see pictures when you get the chance! How was the food and what did you choose? Also, I'm trying to work on my detailed day of schedule. Did you have one and what was the estimated timeline for everything (hair/makeup, ceremony, dinner, toast, cake cutting, etc.)?

@@JaimeCKL one thing to keep in mind about Chichen Itza is that it is a very long day and very touristy. I think it's about a 3hr drive each way. I'd highly recommend Tulum and Coba instead. Tulum is right by some of the most beautiful beaches and Coba is in the jungle (I.e. shade) and the only ruins you can still hike up. You could do both in a day and also fit in a cenote visit. We used Seasons Tours for our airport transportation. The driver was very nice and knowledgable and he also recommended Tulum over Chichen.

@@lynne1609 You look beautiful! I'm sorry about the rain but it looks like you got some neat pictures out of it. Those palm trees blowing in the background and the color of that sky look awesome! @@vanessajfelice for some reason, I feel like I read somewhere that there is no lighting at las Olas but I can't remember where and I may be mixing that up with the beach. I'm thinking of bringing my own string lights down because they kind of gouge you at the resort but I'm having trouble finding where to buy some. Does anyone know what the "Love Birds Spa Treatment" is? Its listed on my final decisions list for the gold package and I'm just trying to schedule spa appointments. It says it has to be at 7pm (with hydro therapy at 6pm). Our flight lands at 4:30 on a Monday and I would love to go straight to the spa but I'm thinking that probably is cutting it too close!

@@Tighev oh my gosh, thank you! I spent forever trying to figure that out. Kept going to my media and trying to upload PDFs in my profile...

@@mam9p8 If you want to have your reception at one of the restaurants, those might not be available on a certain day. For example, I know the Lobster House is only available on Fridays. I'm having mine at Oregano's on a Saturday and welcome dinner at Agave on Friday. I uploaded a lot of the brochures and info I received from the wedding coordinator to my public google drive folder, if you want to look at the full flower catalogue. https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B_zoyOhoKIAhellKeW03UWVPSWc @@Tighev how did you add the attachment! I can't figure out how so I just keep linking to my google drive where I have some of my info.

Past brides, I'm trying to figure out the menu. What did you guys choose for the vegetarian entree? The options my WC sent are basically a potato, veggie lasagna or a veggie casserole and none of them sound that good.

@@vanessajfelice I just uploaded the gold package guide and the flower bouquet options to my public gdrive. You can download them from here: https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B_zoyOhoKIAheDFUaTJxN3llc1k&usp=sharing

@@kathryn78 congratulations!! Wow 84 people? That's a great turn out! Did you have any issues with that many people whether for the wedding day or other days around the resort? I'm expecting 50 or so guests and was wondering how easy it would be to meet up with people at the martini bar or pool. I'd love to see pictures!

@@KeriT21 I've looked into it and here's my thinking: if it were me and I was pregnant, I probably wouldn't go. If they are worried about it, I probably wouldn't do any excursions or leave the resort. I think you are prob fine on the resort but I would still wear bug spray. I got a little concerned about my fiancé because they don't know how long the virus can stay in sperm so if you're trying to get pregnant very soon it's something to look into. He HATES bug spray so I told him he either has to agree to wear it all the time or we cancel the wedding . He agreed and so with those precautions/context I'm not worried about it. If one of my guest was super worried and didn't want to come because of it, then I would completely understand.

@@Tighev I just asked about having lights hung a couple weeks ago and she confirmed its a $50 fee for them to hang your own lights. I actually think that's pretty fair. I think other resorts charge a LOT more just to put out any decorations. I just ordered a bunch of different string lights from target as they are on sale and I'm going to see which ones I like best. The key is to make sure you can string together multiple strands. Some of the cheap ones you can only string together 2 or so strands. One girl suggested bringing them down in a cooler and just checking the cooler since the sides are heavy. Regarding responsiveness, Thamara got back to me a couple weeks ago and mentioned that it is their busiest time of the year and they have barely been in the office for the past few weeks. I guess with up to 3 weddings a day that makes sense so I'm going to try and hold off on any questions I have for her since my wedding is a ways out!

I didn't even think of lights for the cocktail hour at las Olas. I'm getting married in January, but I assume it will be fine. Does las Olas have any lights at all? @@LouisSLB32 I think the Lobster House should have sufficient lighting because they also serve dinner at the restaurant there, but some couples like to add additional lighting for the ambience. There are a few pictures in this thread that others have posted showing the Lobster House that should give you a good idea of the lighting set up. What day is your wedding? I know the Lobster House is only available on Fridays as we tried to do it for a Sat wedding and they said no.