I used Patty through Wright Travel Agency to make all 50 of our guests travel arrangements. If you're looking for a place to start, I HIGHLY recommend her.

Upon arrival, we followed Patty's instructions she printed off and mailed us. We went to the "VIP" transfer at the airport to get taken to the hotel. My husband and I were traveling with my parents and my brother and his wife. They had the booth marked "Randolph/ Neleman" wedding which shocked me. They grabbed our bags as if they knew who we were and when we'd be arriving and took us outside to the car. They had a private transit van set up for my husband and I with champagne and cold wet towel waiting for us! So the rest of our group went in a larger transfer.

When we got to the hotel, we checked in and they didn't have a room upgrade for us right then, but promised us one the next day.

We had an appointment with the wedding planner the next morning at 10 am. We met her in the lobby. The planning was tense. I had made it very clear that I wanted my wedding at the resort, but in no way a "destination wedding." I had a huge mermaid- lace and tulle dress, all the guys were wearing full suits, we were getting married in a full sacramental ceremony in the catholic church, and my reception was to be nowhere near the beach. 

We had purchased the Tangerine package, and I was certain they had told me that there would be a steamer in the bridal suite. The wedding planner told me there was no steamer. So I had a minor freak out about that, but it turns out that three of our guests had all brought steamers. SO BRING ONE if you need it haha.

The wedding planner names Marlene (I had planned with her via email prior to coming down) had already made us rehearsal dinner reservations at the steakhouse for 45 people (all of our guests) prior to us coming down there, but the morning we spent with the other wedding planner, she made us other dinner reservations for 3 of the other nights we'd be there for 20 people per reservation (that's the max). So we figured some of the guests would break off on their own and that would be plenty. It was somewhat difficult to make reservations as most of the restaurants were booked, so if you have the chance to do that well in advance, I suggest it. 

We visited the steakhouse, Japanese, Mexican, and Italian restaurants. They were all good. We didn't get to the Seafood, Dominican and french restaurants. The French restaurant costs $50 a person in addition to being in the all inclusive package so we skipped it. In the morning, there is a HUGE buffet, and you can eat there for lunch and dinner as well with no reservation. There is also a sports bar with a 24 hour buffet. All the food was just kind of "ok", and the drinks were not great. Actually the house wine and champagne have kind of an "off" taste. But if you order a bottle of wine or champagne, it's around $25.

The day of the wedding, we had the bridal suite connected to the salon from 1-5 (the wedding was at 5). It was AMAZING. It's a gorgeous room. My 5 bridesmaids, my mother and I all got ready in there with plenty of space. I chose to have my makeup done. The woman spoke ZERO english and just pointed at the colors in her palette for my eye shadow for me to pick. She used my foundation to cover the redness on my shoulder and chest from sun without even a word. So I thought to myself, she's done this before. My makeup turned out great and when she went to put eyeliner on the bottom of my eye, I just shook my head no and she moved on. It worked out well. I didn't have my hair done, but one other girl did and she didn't like it. So bring a picture of what you want so you can communicate.

We had champagne in the room, which was fun, music playing, snacks. It was the best day. At 4:45 the wedding planner walked us to a golf cart and drove us to the chapel. As we rode, she told us what to do when we got there. As we pulled up, all the groomsmen were outside. I'll never forget the way they looked at us as we pulled up. My husband was already at the front of the church waiting for me.

The priest was... interesting. He forgot my name twice and the mass was a little out of order. He announced us and had us kiss and THEN we took communion haha, but it was so gorgeous in the church I didn't mind. After wards we took pictures and the trolley took the whole group back to the main entrance of the hotel.

We had our reception INSIDE at one of the Ibiza rooms. Thank the lord because my hair had soaked up all the humidity and the guys were so hot in their suits. The meal was beautiful, the bar was great, and the cake was just like the picture I had sent Marlene.

We chose to put a play list for the dinner on my iPhone and just pay the $400 for the sound system. Then when people spoke we had a mic and we also did a parents dance and our first dance (all separate play lists on the iPhone). It worked out great. I didn't want some DJ yelling into a mic at ALL.

When we were nearing the 3 hour receptions finish, the planner approached me and told me to cut the cake and toss the bouquet and garter if we wished. So we cut the cake, told everyone where to go next, and finished up.

All the girls walked back to the bridal suite, packed up, I put on my second dress, and we dropped our stuff at a room and went back to the party. It was seamless. I was so happy, I even apologized to the wedding planner for my now infamous "steamer freak out".

It's a huge resort. If we'd had a smaller group, it would have been too much. But for a wedding of 50, it was great. If I had to do it again, I would literally hand out a walkie talkie to each guest. We had the hardest time finding each other! So we ended up just having a meeting point at one of the pools every day.

My wedding was perfect. I wouldn't change it for a thing. Good luck and I hope this helps someone else someday!