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

[Jentwo]

I am so glad I found this string of comments! I haven't searched "The Royal" for updates lately and this one is very helpful. I'm getting married at the Royal in November '08 and have booked most of my stuff. My info received from the resort is on par with what everyone has said in terms of rules, costs etc.

 

The one question I have for Antonia specifically is food for the dinner. I too am expecting between 60 and 100 guests (the RSVPs are currently rolling in!) and my finace and I have concern over their policy of choosing a meal and only being allowed three exceptions. With 100 people, if we choose steak, there will be more than 3 that will want something different. I think you're supposed to only choose one entree too, so that eliminates the option of having two entrees like Chicken/Steak. Thoughts?

 

As for my wedding details, here's what's booked so far:

 

Ceremony at gazebo at 4pm

Cocktails/maybe apps from 4-6pm at gazebo (I'll do pics at this time too)

Dinner reception from 6 - 11pm

 

I'm hiring the DJ that is recommended by the resort - just seems easier that way. I've been trying to reach Zulma recently to ask about extra decoration options and costs but have not heard back in over a month. I read from other reviews hear that other brides are having the same problem. I'm just hoping that since mine is 8 months off and she's really busy, I'm being put on the back burner....Glad to hear that Becky had such a wonderful experience this month!

 

I've booked Claudia Rodriguez for the 8 hour time frame. That way we can do pics before the event, during the apps/cocktails and the reception.

 

The other thought that came to mind to ask you ladies is to please respond if you had any rooom trouble for your guests at the Royal. I've been hearing feedback from friends that the Royal is notorious for overbooking (read on Tripadvisor)...and with 60-100 guests I could see my chances rising. On the other hand, I'm going in November which is not the high season so I'm hopeful that is will not occur.

 

My hair and make-up is up in the air at this point but I'm leaning towards a friend helping with make-up (dry run in Chicago first) and then doing a dry run at the spa a few days before the ceremony for the hair. My goal is to find a good photo beforehand to help with showing my preferred style.

 

Flowers - Becky, what's the process for picking out the flowers? When I was visiting on my site visit, Paty had a booklet with the options - did you just choose from there a few days before the ceremony? Also, was your ceremony legal? If so, how did that process go?

 

I know how overwhelming the planning can be and I'd be happy to answer any questions for the newbies - so fire away!

 

Jen

[h&a]

Hi Jen,

Yay! Another Royal bride! I can't answer too many of your questions, but I'll give info where I can. Even though I'm only having 30 guests I was worried about the limited food options. I wanted to give guests at least two main option choices, but it didn't seem possible from what Zulma was saying. I didn't push it further, but I did inquire about only having 3 different options as far as vegetarians (for a small group we seem to have a lot of vegetarians!). Zulma said I could let her know when I get there how many I'll require and pay a bit extra for those meals.

I also have been having a hard time getting info on decorating (very important to me) from Zulma... being a small wedding I've decided to bring a lot of my own things (I'm making colored table overlays, bought organza chair sashes, etc).

I've been trying to get info from Zulma for lounge furniture and finally last week sent her an email saying I know she's busy, but just let me know if it's too much trouble and I can sort out my own company if that's okay. She got back to me within a couple of days saying she was in contact with a few companies and would pass on my info to them. One company out of Cancun got back to me yesterday, but I found their quote really expensive - $4500 for lounge furniture and some extras for 30 people.

Antonia if you're reading this what was your quote like for lounge furniture? Which rental company are you going with?

I'm also a bit concerned with the overbooking I've read about on Trip Advisor, but I can see how that would be more of a concern w/ your bigger size. I know I'm going to be there ahead of time and plan to double, triple check bookings and rooms for my guests before they arrive. I can also kick up a pretty good fight with the rest of them when need be! lol...

Steph... if you're anxious to hear back about the prices from Elizabeth I have that information. If you want PM your email address and I'll email you the information (it's very recent).

Rhonda, as far as the tentatively booking, the Royal doesn't require any deposits. You could always book your day before your site visit to make sure it will be available, and then fully decide after your site visit... just a thought.

[antonia321]

I'm so happy our little group has increased!

 

Rhoda - When I said "tentatively" booked. I just booked to reserved the space until I made my final decision after my site visit. I'm getting married during high season.

 

Jen - As for dinner, I ended up going with the buffet option much to the dismay of my fiance. But I wanted a more social atmosphere since we're doing the lounge furniture. More dancing and less time at the dinner table since we're have a lot guests. They give you four entree choices and three different buffets to choice from.

 

Heidi - $4500?!?!?! AAHHHH! now that seems crazy to me. Ours is costing less than half that much. Just about $2000 and its for 60 people. What extras did you order? The company is called Events & Weddings.

 

As for the over-booking, I was VERY worried about that also. I had all my guests book directly with the resort instead of using a travel agent so they have reservation numbers directly from the resort. When I had my site visit, I noticed that the people getting bumped or had issues were calling their travel agents to complain. My sister and I just walked up to the desk and we had a reservation number so all was well. Maybe because the agencies get the rooms at superlow prices so they are the first to get bumped off? Your guess it as good as mine! Initially, I was using this company called DestinationWeddings.com but they didn't do a very good job. One of my friends was using them also and is currently having problems but is too far along into her wedding to bother to switch. Let's see if I made the right decision! Fingers crossed.

 

I wanted Elizabeth Medina also! We exchanged e-mail early on but ended up being booked on my wedding day. Matt Addock (Sol's new hubby) will be photographing my wedding and I'm so excited!! Book the photographers early because they are in demand.

 

Zulma is probably busy with my wedding! LOL. I just heard back from her today about flower quotes. I didn't like the book that Patty showed us. They just tell you to send them pictures and they will get quotes for you. The bridal bouquet is included in your wedding package.

 

12 more days... I will have SO MANY answers for you when I get back!

[h&a]

Thanks, Antonia! I'm glad I'm not alone in thinking $4500 was a little crazy! I've contacted a few companies and I'll look into Events and Weddings. I'll send them an email today. The company that quoted me $4500 is called InRent... the extras I was talking about were things like candles ($1000 for candles, if you can believe it!).

I'm also using del Sol... I love Sol's work but both her and Matt were booked (definitely book early!) so I'm using Vincent, her associate photographer. We're doing a TTD session the next day and I'm so looking forward to it!

12 days! OMG... you must be so excited!

[beckyandbrian]

Hey girls. As far as the flowers, I have an email of the flower choices that I was given by Zulma. I can forward that on to anyone that wants it. I was really panicky about my flowers because I couldn't get responses until the last minute. I had emailed a photo to Zulma of hot pink, orange and yellow roses and told her I wanted it the same but instead of the yellow, I wanted those replaced with green. I really didn't get a clear answer on if that could happen and ended up just telling myself that if it was just all hot pink, I would be okay:) But, as I said, when I got down there, everything went perfectly. Zulma had my emails, the photos that I had sent to her, etc. She verified with me exaclty what I wanted and told me that she would send that photo to the florist and explain that I wanted the green roses and she did. If you guys have seen my slideshow, the bouquet was perfect and EXACTLY what I wanted and it was no additional cost to me at all because roses are included. For Brian's flower, we just told her we wanted a hot pink rose. We paid an extra $15 for our mother's flowers (pinned on, but you can choose the wrist corsage) and an extra $10 for Brian's dad's (very inexpensive). The only additional cost we had for flowers was the chuppa that we were married under and the rose petals for the aisle runner. The chuppa as shown in our slideshow was $350. They gave me four choices of chuppas and you could pick which flowers and what colors you wanted. Let me know if anyone needs photos of that if you are marrying on the beach. The aisle runner rose petals are $20 per bag and we only needed two bags because it was such a short aisle (small wedding). I do have the list of the choices with photos so that you can see the types of bouquets you can choose from that are included and what is extra. In the photos, you can pick your colors, also. Just email Zulma if you want a particular color of flower not shown and she can ask the florist they use if they have that color.

 

Decorating: the only things that are included are chairs with white colors and white sashes. You can add your own colors, if you would like. There is also a table with a centerpiece that comes standard and two potted plants on each side (these are fake flowers and that is what you get if you don't add on anything else, like we did the chuppa). Anything you want on your chairs (sashes, fans, etc), you give to Zulma when you get there and she will take care of it. For the reception, the standard is the tables dressed in white linen and hurricane candles in the center. Again, anything else you want, you email a photo of something you like and they can quote you a price. If you bring your own, just give it to them when you get there and tell them how you want it set out and they take care of it for you.

 

Let me know if you have any other questions - glad to help!! I wish you guys were here when I was planning! I thought I was the ONLY Royal PDC bride until Heidi came along and I was pretty much through at that point. I know how frustrating it is when you can't get any answers. I am glad to see that the Royal is becoming popular - it is so beautiful. If you haven't yet seen it, you will LOVE it!

[h&a]

Thanks, Becky! Great info! Alex and I both loved your beach reception and chuppa - we're seriously considering changing ceremony locations now from the gazebo to the beach. It's nice to know that we can relax a little after your experience and sort out a lot regarding flowers, etc. when we're there. Thanks as well for sending along the info for the mariachi band... I think that will really add to the atmosphere! I contacted the company today.

Antonia... sorry to bother you 12 days before you leave but if you get a sec would you mind posting the Events and Wedding's web address? I haven't been able to find them doing a google search.

Thanks so much everyone! Yay... I love this forum!

[antonia321]

No worries, Heidi!This forum has actually been very relaxing for me and a good support system! I just found an e-mail from him.

 

Our contact at Events & Wedding Cancun is Raffaele and his e-mail is [email protected]. He's great. He'll send you sample photos. In terms of pricing, I don't know if its the best but its certainly better than $4500.

[h&a]

Perfect! Thanks, Antonia! I'll send him an email now and see what he comes back with

[Rhonda]

Thanks you guys!!! I will definitely be "tuning" into this thread and others related to The Royal. It is so nice to hear other brides who are getting married there. Although I haven't made my final decision, my fiance and I got engaged there last summer and ABSOLUTELY loved it there, so, right now, it's my #1 choice!

I think I will go ahead with your suggestion, Heidi, and book my date "tentatively". Thanks for that!

[steph_n_taz]

WOW this forum is growing and I love it!

I can't wait until I hear back from Zulma, I bet she's so busy with your big day Antonia! I've still got a long way to go, so I think I can be patient for now

And welcome Rhonda and Jen!

I can't wait until I'm able to say that I'm also going to be a Royal PCD bride