We got married on April 1, 2016 at 5:00 in the evening on the beach. Our reception was on the Tequila Terrace. It was absolutely perfect!

The communication via email takes longer than expected, but that was understandable when we got to the resort and saw how hard the coordinators are working to make each couple feel special. Completing the planning sheet in great detail well before the trip, as they suggest, made for much less stress and planning when we got to the resort. We used the resort for all vendors except for the photographer. We were so pleased with all of them.

Once we arrived, we met with Juan Carlos and went through every detail on our planning sheet. It was incredibly clear that he was extremely experienced and we had nothing to worry about. Consequently, the three days before the wedding as well as the morning of the wedding were spent completely relaxed by the pool. 

We did a welcome BBQ for our guests the evening they all arrived (the night before our wedding) and it by far exceeded my expectations. The food was amazing, the set up was beautiful, and the service was superb. We used the resort photographer that came with our package to capture images of this evening because we hired an outside photographer for the actual wedding day. The pictures are fun and we have a nice book to remember it. Our guests really enjoyed that added time together. 

The day of the wedding, I sat by the pool and visited with friends and family until it was time to get my hair and make-up done around 1:30. Moses did my hair and make-up, which my friends and family are still talking about. He may not speak a bit of english, but is great at making you look picture perfect. I was worried about my hair as well as my bridesmaids because it was so windy that day, but it stayed in place so they clearly knew what they were doing. The flowers were not at all what I sent him in the picture. Juan told me they probably wouldn't be exact, but he would do his best. He was right, they were not what I pictured, but everyone commented on how beautiful they were. I think they popped better in the pictures than the ones I originally sent him. 

Juan Carlos kept the schedule very well and made sure everything went off without a hitch. Our day was truly worry-free and incredibly fun! Our guests are still talking about how much fun they had that night. 

There are a few things I would do differently if I had to do it again, but they were not at the fault of the resort. I would not do the champagne toast immediately following the wedding ceremony. It was an extra cost that was not necessary. I would not have done cake for everyone that was there. The cake was beautiful, but hardly anyone ate it! That was also an unnecessary expense. Other than that, we were so happy with our special day! 

One way we cut cost was to bring our own table decorations, table runners, and chair ties. While this was a pain in the rear end to haul down there, I saved a couple thousand dollars by doing it this way. Juan Carlos set it all up the way I instructed and packed it up nicely for me to take back home as well. 

If you are going to  splurge on anything, get a wedding photographer off the resort. While the pictures that came with the package were fun, they were not what I would want for my actual wedding day. My family members could take pictures just as well. We used an outside photographer, Gonzalo Nunez, and were so thankful we did. Our pictures captured our day beautifully.