ROYAL PLAYA DEL CARMEN BRIDES: were kids allowed for the day? ...and other questions

[Oscar_Ernie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shay2679 I just had to let you know that, while I was reading some updated reviews for the Royal this morning on TripAdvisor.ca...I saw a post from a user, "GrandPrixGuy" (or something like that) that made mention of meeting and hanging out with Sarah and Kevin! I thought it was cute!

Oh, how funny! I'll have to go check that out!

[Geminie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by khowell15 I would love to have Elizabeth Medina as our photographer, but I agree she is a little pricey. Are there any other photographers that people would recommend besides Elizabeth Medina (with a similar style) ?

I was debating between Del Sol, and Elizabeth Medina for such a long time, until I realized that they were just out of my budget. I found an incredible photographer that we are flying down (from Missisauga Ontario), here's his site if you want to see his work. Z Molu Photography : photos : Weddings- powered by SmugMug (you can enlarge the photos to view them full screen)

He takes beautiful candid shots, but has his own style, I love his photos and just wanted to share them... it turns out that with his flight plus hotel for a night (he can't stay longer because his wife is pregnant and he doesn't want to leave her for too long) + his photography fee it's still less expensive than hiring del sol, or elizabeth medina.

Just a thought, but if you find a local photographer that you really like, it might be a good option to explore. If they've never done destination weddings, you might even not have to pay their fee, just travel costs (we're doing that with our videographer...)

[Oscar_Ernie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Geminie I was debating between Del Sol, and Elizabeth Medina for such a long time, until I realized that they were just out of my budget. I found an incredible photographer that we are flying down (from Missisauga Ontario), here's his site if you want to see his work. Z Molu Photography : photos : Weddings- powered by SmugMug (you can enlarge the photos to view them full screen) He takes beautiful candid shots, but has his own style, I love his photos and just wanted to share them... it turns out that with his flight plus hotel for a night (he can't stay longer because his wife is pregnant and he doesn't want to leave her for too long) + his photography fee it's still less expensive than hiring del sol, or elizabeth medina. Just a thought, but if you find a local photographer that you really like, it might be a good option to explore. If they've never done destination weddings, you might even not have to pay their fee, just travel costs (we're doing that with our videographer...)

Couple questions...can you try to repost the website, it didn't work. Otherwise I could just google it. =) The other question is, have you talked this through with Royal? I was under the impression that they weren't allowing any outside vendors anymore. Maybe you'd already gotten this sorted out before the new vendor policy went into effect? I'm very curious because it sounds like their own photographer isn't overly wonderful (haven't yet seen any of his/her work), but we won't be getting married until 2010 so the vendor policy might make or break whether or not we ultimately decide to go with Royal.

[Oscar_Ernie]

Oh, nevermind. I guess the link just takes a couple minutes to show up in the post. Sorry! It works!

[Shay2679]

Geminie has been on here for a while and is getting married this NOVEMBER!!! How exciting!

 

I'm pretty sure they had secured their booking BEFORE the vendor policy came into effect!

 

Just so you know also...we have decided to go with "Playa Weddings" for our Photography. Our photographer's name is Rachel and her husband is Paul Schrank (friends of Matt & Sol) and Paul (PlayaWeddings on BDW) is credibly known for his skills behind the video camera. From what I can tell, Rachel has NOT done A LOT of weddings...but...the few wedding and candid shots of hers that I have seen, are beautiful. Their fees were totally reasonable, and just their story...their personalities...seem like they'll fit right in with our group (Paul will join Rachel at our wedding if he isn't booked that day for video). I think her vision will be exactly what I need to capture our day!

[sarah_prieb]

Hey Khowell15! I just wanted to let you know my thoughts on Gran Porto vs The Royal. We stayed at the Royal but we did go over to the Gran Porto to check thing out since we had access to everything there. IT WAS LIKE A CIRCUS OVER THERE!!! Kids were running all over the place and yelling. There wasn't a relaxing area in that resort. I love kids, but when I am on vacation, I don't want to deal with other people's kids because the parents choose to not deal with it. It was absolutely obnoxious. Also, when we were walking through the hallways at the Gran Porto, I felt like I was walking through a dark cave. Everything at the Royal is so light, airy, and open. Much better. I just wanted to throw my opinion out there.

[Geminie]

Hey Oscar_Ernie

 

We will be paying the outside vendor fee of $100/day per person (so $200 for the photographer + videographer) I haven't paid for anything at the Royal, except my trip through my TA.

 

I just asked Zulma very clearly if I could bring my own photographer, and she said yes as I long as I pay that fee.

 

Our photographer and videographer will be staying at a smaller hotel in the city (i still have to find one though...) and that helps keep our costs down as well.

 

Yeah it's almost time to leave, I can't believe it.. yesterday I had my first dress fitting, and everything feels more real now

[aeroo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sarah_prieb Hey Khowell15! I just wanted to let you know my thoughts on Gran Porto vs The Royal. We stayed at the Royal but we did go over to the Gran Porto to check thing out since we had access to everything there. IT WAS LIKE A CIRCUS OVER THERE!!! Kids were running all over the place and yelling. There wasn't a relaxing area in that resort. I love kids, but when I am on vacation, I don't want to deal with other people's kids because the parents choose to not deal with it. It was absolutely obnoxious. Also, when we were walking through the hallways at the Gran Porto, I felt like I was walking through a dark cave. Everything at the Royal is so light, airy, and open. Much better. I just wanted to throw my opinion out there.

As for the kids, it depends what time of year you go. Summer holidays would surely be packed with kids, but when we went in May, there were hardly any. The Royal is a newer resort, so yea, it is nicer than the Gran Porto, hence the large price difference. We and our guests really loved the Gran Porto though, even the ones that had been to AI's before really enjoyed the resort. Both are great resorts, but the Royal IS one step above Gran Porto, and you definately pay for that in the price. You can't go wrong with either though!

[dcheung1111]

Can anyone on here recommend a good TA? I've been talking to a couple and also shopping around for the best rate.. however the 1 TA that was ready to book with had to go in for an emergency surgery. She will be on leave indefinitely now!

[Shay2679]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dcheung1111 Can anyone on here recommend a good TA? I've been talking to a couple and also shopping around for the best rate.. however the 1 TA that was ready to book with had to go in for an emergency surgery. She will be on leave indefinitely now!

Well that sucks...

I've got a great TA here in Montreal...but...you might want to check out some of the ladies on the forum here...the TAs...they might be able to hook you up!

Good luck.