El Dorado Royale Reception and Cocktail Party Ideas

Hola!  I am getting married on November 20th at the El Dorado Royale.  I was wondering if anyone out there opted not to have a private reception and just went to one of the bars on site.  We are trying to keep a tight budget and thought it would be fun to have a private cocktail and appetizer party after the ceremony and then go to dinner and to the Guacamayas bar for their nightly entertainment.  What worries me is that you don't know what the entertainment is going to be until the week of, so there may be karaoke, salsa dancing or a dj.  Did anyone decide to go this route and would you do it again?  Also, if anyone had the Mexican cocktail party with tacos and the donkey, please let me know how that was as well! 

What did you end up doing? I can't decide what I want to do either!

I have the same concerns what did either of you end up doing?! 

Originally Posted by CKJones 

 

Hola!  I am getting married on November 20th at the El Dorado Royale.  I was wondering if anyone out there opted not to have a private reception and just went to one of the bars on site.  We are trying to keep a tight budget and thought it would be fun to have a private cocktail and appetizer party after the ceremony and then go to dinner and to the Guacamayas bar for their nightly entertainment.  What worries me is that you don't know what the entertainment is going to be until the week of, so there may be karaoke, salsa dancing or a dj.  Did anyone decide to go this route and would you do it again?  Also, if anyone had the Mexican cocktail party with tacos and the donkey, please let me know how that was as well! 

We had the Mexican Donkey Cocktail party between our ceremony and reception so our guests had something to eat and do while we finished up photos. Everyone loved the mexican fingerfood and the donkey was the highlight! We went to Guacamayas after our private reception got shut down at 11pm and it was an ok place to go. I wish we could have stayed at our private event all night, but I guess their staff has to take down for the next day.

Are you planning on just taking your group to a restaurant for dinner? Be aware that you will not be allowed to sit together, have speeches, music or a cake then. It is nicer if you can get a private area for dinner/dancing, and it can be done on a tight budget.  They have some cheaper options for food(like the BBQ buffet) and all the food at EDR is amazing so you can't go wrong.  Then you and your guests will get to have that wedding feel and enjoy each others company(everyone did travel so far!) and you can cut costs by not hiring a dj and using an ipod.Then you can choose your music style too! Just my opinion and it is what we did for our wedding, and everyone loved it!