Gran Caribe Real 2011 Brides

[ego11]

 

Originally Posted by nadennec 

Vanessa -

We're at 25 booked right plus FI and I. Still expecting some more since his parents haven't booked yet. But I think we'll end up with around the same as you  btwn 30-40. I feel the same as thinking they wont have enough time to respond, but people that are doing my invites swear we are good timing. Keeping my fingers crossed. I'll definitely ask about a different menu, who did you say your WC is? Also, did they charge extra for having 2 menu choices? What menu items are you going with?
 

Ego11 -

My WC is Ana, what about you? She sent me all the final dates when I emailed her asking about the second deposit that was due. I didn't know about that either, but three months before your wedding date you have to pay an additional second deposit of $300 if you haven't already paid. I happened to read that online a week before it was due, so i got it paid and then she sent me additional dates. All the finalized lists are due 2 months before, and final payment is due 45 days before your wedding date. I asked as well about a rehearsal, but then was told about being charged for the place and the additional fee and for food, which you can't make reservations for unless you pay to reserve the place, and the priest wouldn't even be there at rehearsal. I've heard that everything goes fine without a rehearsal though, and figured about a dinner the night before just have everyone meet somewhere in the hotel at the same time.

 

 

 

Nadennec: My WC is Katia Nunez. She's pretty good about getting back to me in a timely manner which I really like, but I sometimes feel like her answers are pretty vague. I'm sure you posted this somewhere, but what package did you choose? I am doing the luxury package and I was given a list of hor' d'oeuvres a while ago but no one specified how many you pick from, do you know?

 

Sorry for all the questions, it seems easier to get the information here than through the WC!  

[Bride2B22]

HI!

 

For Mediamorfosis we went with their All day package (covers 10-12 hours).....They were there from9:30am to 10pm!!! THey were really amazing!!! lovely people!

My WC had told me i can make my menu by using the entrees' from all of the menus........Basically I got to pick which appetizer, main course, and dessert from their entire catalog of "menus"...........I was actually able to choose two different entrees and just had to indicate which entree was going to each person.....I had Beef fillet turndao with three pepper sauce (DELICIOUS!!) and had a pink ribbon on the maracas for beef........and the Samon Fillet (also delicious!) with an orange ribbon aroudn the maracas.......This way the servers knew who was having what...............makes sense?

 

WE had a cocktail hour as well but we did not upgrade to hot foods......But everyone ate what was served and loved it! I didnt have any as we were taking photos at the time..........To be honest, everyone is so excited about the wedding, and what's going on that they dont complain or notice little things, like if the canapes are hot or cold ones.....

How's wedding planning going? When is your wedding?? how many people you have so far?

 

Please let me know if you have ANY questions at all! you can also feel free to PM me.....I check the site everyday *sigh* lol

Originally Posted by mrsmarbach 

Can't wait to see your wedding pictures! We are also considering Mediamorfosis, what package did you get and how long did they actually stayed for your wedding?   Also, I am having a hard time figuring out what to choose for the menu.  Do you have any suggestions?  We also decided to upgrade to the cocktail hour with the canapes, but all the canapes are seafood.  Did you have a cocktail hour as well?  Were the food delish?

 

[Bride2B22]

Hey!! I was married at the Chapel in the Gran Caribe and reception on the beach at The Royal.....

 

My WC was originally Katia....I loved her!!! and then was transfered to Elvy Arroyo because Katia had gone on maternity leave last December....I was able to hand in my Guest list and final checklist and all other documents a few weeks before the wedding......Not even a month before.....different WCs work differently, so check with yours! You have to have everything over to them so that they can make the transition from your WC to your onsite WC about 5-6 weeks before the wedding.......

 

I was married in the Chapel, and since i met with the priest the day before the wedding, he let us know the flow of who walks in first, etc.......if you have having a ceremony on the gazebo, same deal applies......your onsite WC will go over this with you when you meet with her.....and you guys can decide together with her the order of the ceremony (who walks in first etc).......this is what I did.....my onsite WC was Elizabeth Sotelo.....she was lovely! and took care of absolutely everything!

 

I did have a rehearsal/welcome dinner two nights before the wedding (when all of our guests arrived).......Since almost everyone stayed at the Royal, we had our Dinner at Maria Marie in The Royal........This is the only restaurant that they have available to do a semi-private dinner up to 35 people........but i am sure you can work with them if you have somewhere between 35-40 people.....Maria Marie at the royal has a area that is very private (which is amazing since your event is semi-private) and this is how it's set up (pic below)........because it is considered a semi-private event, we only had to pay $15 per person for each Real Resort guest and $30 for non-real resort guest..................is the $40 she is giving you a new price? or is this for a "private" event?

 

 

Please let me know if you have ANY questions.....I'll be happy to help!!

 

 

Originally Posted by ego11 

Hi Ladies,

I am getting married at the Gran Caribe on December 17, 2011. I'm trying to get guests to respond to RSVP's with no luck! 

 

Nadennec- Who is your WC and how did you figure out when the guest list had to be finalized by? I'm in stress mode dealing with this!

 

Also, has anyone done a rehearsal or rehearsal dinner the evening before the wedding? I want to, but Katia informed me that it would be $40 a plate for a rehearsal dinner and $300 to rent the gazebo for 15 minutes...CRAZY!

 

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated! 

 

[bebop]

Hi all!  We are planning to get married at the Gran Caribe Real on November 18, 2011!  We sent in the information to book last week but have not received the wedding code as of yet.  We were assigned to Claudy as our WC.  Anyone work with her and share experiences?!  I was waiting to get started on everything until we FOR SURE got everything booked but am getting nervous.  We've also been working with Teresa from Vacations4Less for our travel agent but suddenly her emails are getting bounced back to me today.... 

 

We are going with the Royal Catholic package.  Any tips on that, as well?  We will, be getting married in the chapel & then still deciding on a reception place.  We are wanting a private reception outside.  

[Labebita911]

I was just wondering.this question goes to all of you... How many of you guest staying within the Real resorts??

[nadennec]

I am set to have the royal catholic package, but still considering upgrading to the Luxury Package, since it included alot of thing that I want to upgrade to. I haven't yet, but bc I want the cocktail hour and private reception, I just may go ahead and do so. I haven't received any info on it yet though! lol! And it definitley is easier to get information on here than from your WC!!

 

Originally Posted by ego11 

 

Nadennec: My WC is Katia Nunez. She's pretty good about getting back to me in a timely manner which I really like, but I sometimes feel like her answers are pretty vague. I'm sure you posted this somewhere, but what package did you choose? I am doing the luxury package and I was given a list of hor' d'oeuvres a while ago but no one specified how many you pick from, do you know?

 

Sorry for all the questions, it seems easier to get the information here than through the WC!  

 

Do you know what the cocktail cold foods were? Or the hot ones if you chose them? How many different cold ones were you able to get?

As far as the menu, you picked before you were actually there, right? How did you decide what was going to be good, just by chance? Were you able to do a taste test once you arrived?
 

Originally Posted by Bride2B22 

HI!

 

For Mediamorfosis we went with their All day package (covers 10-12 hours).....They were there from9:30am to 10pm!!! THey were really amazing!!! lovely people!

My WC had told me i can make my menu by using the entrees' from all of the menus........Basically I got to pick which appetizer, main course, and dessert from their entire catalog of "menus"...........I was actually able to choose two different entrees and just had to indicate which entree was going to each person.....I had Beef fillet turndao with three pepper sauce (DELICIOUS!!) and had a pink ribbon on the maracas for beef........and the Samon Fillet (also delicious!) with an orange ribbon aroudn the maracas.......This way the servers knew who was having what...............makes sense?

 

WE had a cocktail hour as well but we did not upgrade to hot foods......But everyone ate what was served and loved it! I didnt have any as we were taking photos at the time..........To be honest, everyone is so excited about the wedding, and what's going on that they dont complain or notice little things, like if the canapes are hot or cold ones.....

How's wedding planning going? When is your wedding?? how many people you have so far?

 

Please let me know if you have ANY questions at all! you can also feel free to PM me.....I check the site everyday *sigh* lol

 

 

When you met with the presit, you said he went over the flow of things on who walks in first and all, did he also go over when people are to come up to do readings, and when they come up for the gifts (lazo, coins, etc...)

 

Did you turn in your guest list and choices to your WC or your on site WC? I feel like 45 days is a long time in advance to make final choices, especially what if someone books last minute!!

Originally Posted by Bride2B22 

Hey!! I was married at the Chapel in the Gran Caribe and reception on the beach at The Royal.....

 

My WC was originally Katia....I loved her!!! and then was transfered to Elvy Arroyo because Katia had gone on maternity leave last December....I was able to hand in my Guest list and final checklist and all other documents a few weeks before the wedding......Not even a month before.....different WCs work differently, so check with yours! You have to have everything over to them so that they can make the transition from your WC to your onsite WC about 5-6 weeks before the wedding.......

 

I was married in the Chapel, and since i met with the priest the day before the wedding, he let us know the flow of who walks in first, etc.......if you have having a ceremony on the gazebo, same deal applies......your onsite WC will go over this with you when you meet with her.....and you guys can decide together with her the order of the ceremony (who walks in first etc).......this is what I did.....my onsite WC was Elizabeth Sotelo.....she was lovely! and took care of absolutely everything!

 

I did have a rehearsal/welcome dinner two nights before the wedding (when all of our guests arrived).......Since almost everyone stayed at the Royal, we had our Dinner at Maria Marie in The Royal........This is the only restaurant that they have available to do a semi-private dinner up to 35 people........but i am sure you can work with them if you have somewhere between 35-40 people.....Maria Marie at the royal has a area that is very private (which is amazing since your event is semi-private) and this is how it's set up (pic below)........because it is considered a semi-private event, we only had to pay $15 per person for each Real Resort guest and $30 for non-real resort guest..................is the $40 she is giving you a new price? or is this for a "private" event?

 

 

Please let me know if you have ANY questions.....I'll be happy to help!!

 

 

 

 

I as well booked the Rayol Catholic package, but am considering upgrading to the luxury package. Check what all you will be wanting to upgrade to (from the Royal Catholic package) and compare to what the Luxury package includes to see which is better. I am wanting to upgrade to the cocktail hour and private reception as well, and i believe its included in the luxury package.
 

Originally Posted by bebop 

Hi all!  We are planning to get married at the Gran Caribe Real on November 18, 2011!  We sent in the information to book last week but have not received the wedding code as of yet.  We were assigned to Claudy as our WC.  Anyone work with her and share experiences?!  I was waiting to get started on everything until we FOR SURE got everything booked but am getting nervous.  We've also been working with Teresa from Vacations4Less for our travel agent but suddenly her emails are getting bounced back to me today.... 

 

We are going with the Royal Catholic package.  Any tips on that, as well?  We will, be getting married in the chapel & then still deciding on a reception place.  We are wanting a private reception outside.  

 

All of my guests are staying at the Real resorts. At least all that I know about at this point. I let them know ahead of time that they are free to stay wherever they chosse, but they needed to know that if they stay somewhere else, they may be charges a guest pass for the day. I was told that, but have heard on here before that they didn't charge for guests of your wedding that were staying somewhere else. Not too sure!

Originally Posted by Labebita911 

I was just wondering.this question goes to all of you... How many of you guest staying within the Real resorts??

 

[Bride2B22]

I Cant even remember what the cold foods were for the cocktail hour! I didnt choose anything specific....i basically said I wanted a cocktail hour, chose the time and location and nothing else.....they took care of everything else.....I beleive there were a good amount of choices tho!

 

As far as menu, I had already been at the resort last year when we got engaged, so i had a pretty good idea of how the food was! and also reading reviews on here! I really took a chance on this......BUT i really didnt have any doubts that the food would be delicious!!!

 

 

The priest goes over everything! he tells the readers when to go....he actaully speaks to them before the ceremony starts just to let them know when they have to go up......and the 3 readers go up one after the other...... He will tell you when you meet with him the flow of the entire mass......and will indicate (both on the meeting and during the ceremony) when the gifts have to be brought up....... Trust me, he is so easy going, and explains everything, answers all questions during the meeting............

 

 

I turned in all of my forms, final choices, final payments to my WC, she needs to revise everything before she can turn you over to your onsite WC......they say 45 days, but really i sent over all of my stuff a little less than a month before the wedding.......actually my wedding was 6/21 and i think i sent everything either the very end of May or the very begining of June.......remember, if you need to add additonal guests (and trust me, no one will really book that last minute as prices will be ridiculous!!) you can still add them after you turn in all of your final docs.....you'll just have to work with your onsite WC durinng that last month to make any changes......

 

 

 

 I really did not give or recommend anyone staying anywhere else other than the Royal or the Gran Caribe..........These guest will not be allowed at the hotel any earlier than about 30 minutes before the ceremony starts.............we had 4 people who booked (without telling me!) at another hotel.....remember the fees for cocktail hour, reception, etc double when it's a non Real resort guest!!! think about your budget! ..............if you do have non real resort guests, you dont need a day pass for them the day of the wedding......they'll just have to come in 30 mins before.........

 

This is the way i presented it to my guests,,,,,,,,why would you want to stay at another resort when the purpose of a destination wedding is to spend some amazing days together bonding, getting to know each other.............the 4 people who i had that did not stay on the hotels, were pretty disappointmet and we only saw them during the wedding! that's all!!! they missed out on so much fun!!!

 

 

Do you know what the cocktail cold foods were? Or the hot ones if you chose them? How many different cold ones were you able to get?

As far as the menu, you picked before you were actually there, right? How did you decide what was going to be good, just by chance? Were you able to do a taste test once you arrived?
 

 

When you met with the presit, you said he went over the flow of things on who walks in first and all, did he also go over when people are to come up to do readings, and when they come up for the gifts (lazo, coins, etc...)

 

Did you turn in your guest list and choices to your WC or your on site WC? I feel like 45 days is a long time in advance to make final choices, especially what if someone books last minute!!

All of my guests are staying at the Real resorts. At least all that I know about at this point. I let them know ahead of time that they are free to stay wherever they chosse, but they needed to know that if they stay somewhere else, they may be charges a guest pass for the day. I was told that, but have heard on here before that they didn't charge for guests of your wedding that were staying somewhere else. Not too sure!

 

 

[ego11]

Is anyone thinking about adding an extra hour to the reception? I'm doing the luxury package which includes a 3 hour reception, but I'm worried I'll be rushed and not get to do all the traditional things as well as have time to visit and relax. After carefully calculating the cost, it would cost an extra $1,200 for extra hour of DJ, bar and $10 per guest....seems a little outrageous. 

 

Have any of the past brides added an extra or did the 3 hours suffice? Let me know thoughts, please!

 

My budget is getting out of control!

 

Thanks!!

[Bride2B22]

I didn't add the extra hour......not because it wouldn't have been useful, but because the price is outrageous! We did get to do all of the traditional things, and still had dinner, danced alot! I remember the first 20 minutes (as everyone is having dinner served) were very relaxing......We couldnt justify adding the extra hour, since everyone was already drunk, having so much fun, that we just keep the party going after the reception and everyone went to the clubs.........

 

I would rather add cocktail hour, which is alot cheaper........AND my reception was suppose to end at 9:30, but it was done at about 9:55.........so it felt extended! I think the cocktail hour helps alot! since you have lounge music playing during it......

 

Originally Posted by ego11 

Is anyone thinking about adding an extra hour to the reception? I'm doing the luxury package which includes a 3 hour reception, but I'm worried I'll be rushed and not get to do all the traditional things as well as have time to visit and relax. After carefully calculating the cost, it would cost an extra $1,200 for extra hour of DJ, bar and $10 per guest....seems a little outrageous. 

 

Have any of the past brides added an extra or did the 3 hours suffice? Let me know thoughts, please!

 

My budget is getting out of control!

 

Thanks!!

 

[Vanessa C]

Hi Nadennec, my WC is Claudy. No, they did not charge extra for having 2  menu choices. I chose the Mexican Menu and the typical chicken or beef....I figured it would at least give them some options! I couldn't deal with picking one meal for all my guests...thats not fair to them..

Originally Posted by nadennec 

Vanessa -

We're at 25 booked right plus FI and I. Still expecting some more since his parents haven't booked yet. But I think we'll end up with around the same as you  btwn 30-40. I feel the same as thinking they wont have enough time to respond, but people that are doing my invites swear we are good timing. Keeping my fingers crossed. I'll definitely ask about a different menu, who did you say your WC is? Also, did they charge extra for having 2 menu choices? What menu items are you going with?
 

Ego11 -

My WC is Ana, what about you? She sent me all the final dates when I emailed her asking about the second deposit that was due. I didn't know about that either, but three months before your wedding date you have to pay an additional second deposit of $300 if you haven't already paid. I happened to read that online a week before it was due, so i got it paid and then she sent me additional dates. All the finalized lists are due 2 months before, and final payment is due 45 days before your wedding date. I asked as well about a rehearsal, but then was told about being charged for the place and the additional fee and for food, which you can't make reservations for unless you pay to reserve the place, and the priest wouldn't even be there at rehearsal. I've heard that everything goes fine without a rehearsal though, and figured about a dinner the night before just have everyone meet somewhere in the hotel at the same time.