Pre-Planning - was a breeze with the help of this website and the wedding coordinators. We decided to let everyone book on their own because people were finding rates from all different sites that they were happy with and our guests wanted to come and go different dates and times. We had a total of 70 guests!!

Nov. 4th - Arrival was a breeze. We had a private transfer through our travel agent so the resort let us transfer the private transfer included with our package to my parents (it included beer and champagne). Both private transfers took us straight to the resort. Upon arrival we were greeted and brought straight to the preferred lounge to check in, it took minutes and we were offered cocktails. After this Pilar met us along with a concierge who escorted us to our room and brought all our luggage. They pointed out things about the resort along the way. Our room was perfect (we were upgraded to ocean view and had a perfect view of the pool and ocean). We had a meeting set up with Aradiana at 3:00, we brought all our décor and welcome gifts and went through every detail. She had a binder specifically for us with every single detail and email. Not one thing was missed that I requested. Loved her!! That night we had our private dinner on the beach, it was very windy but we loved every minute of it (except the entrees). We were the only ones out there and the waiter was very attentive.

Nov. 5th - Guests arrive! First we had our couples massage that was included with our package, it was nice. Then, I had a list of when all our guests arrived, we didn't plan on meeting them in the lobby because they arrived at all different times throughout the day but once we started for the first guests it was so much fun we could resist. It was a close walk from the pool so we walked back and fourth. That evening we had a rehearsal set up, it went very smooth and quick. After that was our complimentary welcome reception in the main lobby. It was all setup with appetizers, our specialty drinks, and our welcome bags immediately following our rehearsal. We had private waiters and everyone had a good time.

Nov. 6th - Wedding Day!! My fiancé and I had breakfast together in the preferred restaurant. We spent a few hours at the pool together with our guests and then I said my goodbye and departed for my hair and make up with one of my bridesmaids at 11:30. It was exactly how I wanted it and very fast (less than an hour for both). My parents had the largest room so the bridesmaids all got ready there. The groomsmen got ready in our room. The photographer arrived around 2:30 in the grooms room then 3:00 in our room. It took pictures of each group getting ready then we met in the lobby for first look pictures at 3:30, everything went very smooth and the wedding coordinator stayed in touch the whole time. She brought my flowers to our room while we were getting ready and said the guys flowers would be in the lobby, they were not and they barely got them on time for the wedding. After our first look pictures we took a few bridal party photos then the girls headed to the preferred lobby to wait for our queue for the wedding to start at 4:30 at the Pergola. The wedding was perfect, I tried my hardest to suck it all in. My uncle was our officiant, we had the guitarist for music and he played all my requested songs. The chairs were set up perfect with my bows and fan/programs. We had a sand ceremony and then right after announced to all our guests to meet us on the beach for a group shot. We did everyone then a few different family shots, the sun was setting perfect at this time and we got some amazing photos. Cocktail hour began and we took more individual shots with different people attending our wedding. We did not pay for extra champagne for a toast and glad we didn't' because they had a table set up with champagne for all 70 of our guests as we walked away from the ceremony. I stuck an extra half hour in between the cocktail hour and dinner and most of us just stayed at the Mixes Bar and drank and had a great time. We did not pay for the sound system for cocktail hour and glad we didn't because they had their own music playing there. Our reception dinner was in the Bamboo room, the wedding coordinator grabbed me a little earlier to show me how it was set up. It again was perfect like everything else. The food was great and the cake was yummy! We only invited our immediate family and bridal party to the dinner because of the crazy prices... this added up to about 30 of us. The rest of the guests ate on their own then we all met up at the disco later. We partied alllllll night!!!! The music and bartenders were great here also.

Nov. 7th - This was a complete rest day for everyone. We were supposed to get our breakfast in bed at 9:00 am. We waited until about 9:45 and decided to just go eat in the buffet because we wanted to get out to the pool with everyone else. It wasn't a big deal, the buffet was sooo good we didn't mind missing the breakfast in bed. We all had a great time by the pool all night, split up for dinner then went to the idol show. 3 out of the 5 contestants were from our group and they asked me to be one of the judges (J-Lo)... it was a lot of fun and again we headed to the disco afterwards!

Nov. 8th - Instead of the reception dinner we paid for a party boat for our guests out of Cancun. Two busses picked up our group at 10:00, we departed Cancun on a party boat at 11:00. While on the boat we could snorkel, swim, dance, drink, eat snacks, etc... This was one of the best days by far! We were on the boat for about 4 hours and then the busses returned us to the resort where the party continued.

Nov. 9th - This was the cloudiest day but we could all use the cooler weather, again we relaxed by the pool, ate and drank all day long. Watched the Packers kill the Bears and went to bed early. From this point on we stayed a few more days and continued the fun as our guests left one by one as the days went by.

All our decorations were promptly returned to our room. Also, the day before we left we did a trash the dress session with our included photography from the package since we got an outside photographer. The pictures were amazing!! We almost didn't do it because we wanted to stay by the pool, but it took 20 minutes tops and the pictures are my favorite by far. All and all the trip was the best of my life. The food was awesome at every single restaurant. They were very accommodating with our large group and we barely ever had to wait. We were a bit disappointed that they advertised bud light and I think we only got it one day for like an hour. The drinks were good, it was nice to sneak away to the preferred lounge and have a snack or a strong mixed drink. Also, the entertainment crew was the best by far! They knew all of our names and greeted us every time we saw them, they made sure to include us in everything that was going on throughout the days. I'm sure I'm forgetting a million details but I'd be happy to answer any questions. Good luck to all brides who are planning and have a great time. Don't worry about a thing because the resort is the best!!!!!