El Dorado Royale (EDR) Brides - POST HERE!

[JenniferM]

I haven't been on here in a while since there have been a few issues with the resort and the date but now that that's fixed we have set our date for April 19th. Woohooo!

 

Amanda50388-That sounds perfect. We have very similar dates and I will be at 4pm. 

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by amanda50388 
 

 

Our wedding was at the end of April, it is hot, but not like dripping sweat hot, but you are in Mexico.We got married later in the evening at 5:00pm and then took pictures with Sarani and reception was 6:30-10:30pm. There are bathrooms real close by, which are right next to La Isla and not a far walk at all, which was awesome. 

 

Maybeachbride-I'm so excited about the paddle boats and kayaks and we are definitely snorkeling. The food looks amazing I'll have to check out the Petit Gourmet too.  

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maybeachbride 
 

 

Yes there are paddle boats.  They have a group class thing you can take at 10 am I think.  My friends tried a few times but they class was always full and they would not let you sign up ahead of time.  I think you can just take them out any other time as long as it is not too windy.  We went snorkeling once and saw NO FISH!   then the next day we saw a ton from the pier but it was too windy so they would not let us snorkel that day.  I think it is is pretty much hit or miss.  We did an excursion for scuba diving and it was AMAZING!

 

For anyone that had the ceremony at Gazebo 55 and the reception at Tucanes, where did you have you serve cocktails? I wasn't sure if they just hang out on the beach handy for pics or move early to Tucanes. Also is 2 hours right for cocktails? 

[amanda50388]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JenniferM 
 

 

Maybeachbride-I'm so excited about the paddle boats and kayaks and we are definitely snorkeling. The food looks amazing I'll have to check out the Petit Gourmet too.  

 

For anyone that had the ceremony at Gazebo 55 and the reception at Tucanes, where did you have you serve cocktails? I wasn't sure if they just hang out on the beach handy for pics or move early to Tucanes. Also is 2 hours right for cocktails? 

 

They can give you options for your cocktail hour, I am not sure how long it is I would ask the wedding coordinators. I know the beach is an option not sure on the rest because we never did one. People just went and got drinks at reception site and they were kind enough to severe our family and friends drinks early and waited for us to come back from pictures. 

[TheWolferts]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JenniferM 
 

 

Maybeachbride-I'm so excited about the paddle boats and kayaks and we are definitely snorkeling. The food looks amazing I'll have to check out the Petit Gourmet too.  

 

For anyone that had the ceremony at Gazebo 55 and the reception at Tucanes, where did you have you serve cocktails? I wasn't sure if they just hang out on the beach handy for pics or move early to Tucanes. Also is 2 hours right for cocktails? 

We had our ceremony at Gazebo 55 and our cocktail reception off to the side of Gazebo 55. Our cocktail reception was about an hour and a half and many guests complained of it starting to get too warm and them starting to get drunk! So 2 hours might be a bit long to have your guests drinking in the sun LOL.

[AllieH]

We did Gazebo 55 and Tucanes as well. We didn't do a formal cocktail, and just sent everyone to the Martini bar for an informal cocktail. Some of them peeled off and went to JoJos for snacks & drinks. 

 

If you're doing a formal cocktail, and hour and a half is about right for photos (depending on how big your wedding party is). I wouldn't plan to do it RIGHT by Gazebo 55 - only because if you send them elsewhere, it gives your photographer more room to work without worrying about a guest jumping in on the photos (huge complaint by photographers!). It also gives you a little more freedom to go around the resort for photos vs. staying right near the Gazbeo. and ok - it could be awkward to smile and pose for photos with everyone watching. 

 

You could do the chapel terrace (on the beach), the white gazebo (on the beach), or send them to Tucanes (they can set up high tables around the pool area, while still having the low tables underneath for dinner, etc). 

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheWolferts 
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by JenniferM 
 

 

Maybeachbride-I'm so excited about the paddle boats and kayaks and we are definitely snorkeling. The food looks amazing I'll have to check out the Petit Gourmet too.  

 

For anyone that had the ceremony at Gazebo 55 and the reception at Tucanes, where did you have you serve cocktails? I wasn't sure if they just hang out on the beach handy for pics or move early to Tucanes. Also is 2 hours right for cocktails? 

We had our ceremony at Gazebo 55 and our cocktail reception off to the side of Gazebo 55. Our cocktail reception was about an hour and a half and many guests complained of it starting to get too warm and them starting to get drunk! So 2 hours might be a bit long to have your guests drinking in the sun LOL.

 

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by amanda50388 
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by JenniferM 
 

 

Maybeachbride-I'm so excited about the paddle boats and kayaks and we are definitely snorkeling. The food looks amazing I'll have to check out the Petit Gourmet too.  

 

For anyone that had the ceremony at Gazebo 55 and the reception at Tucanes, where did you have you serve cocktails? I wasn't sure if they just hang out on the beach handy for pics or move early to Tucanes. Also is 2 hours right for cocktails? 

 

They can give you options for your cocktail hour, I am not sure how long it is I would ask the wedding coordinators. I know the beach is an option not sure on the rest because we never did one. People just went and got drinks at reception site and they were kind enough to severe our family and friends drinks early and waited for us to come back from pictures. 

[jnitschke]

I just had my guests go over to JoJos beach bar.  It's a really nice bar and near where Tucanes is.  Everyone hanging out was fine, and we didn't really feel like we missed the cocktail hour being there.

Quote:

Originally Posted by JenniferM 
 

 

Maybeachbride-I'm so excited about the paddle boats and kayaks and we are definitely snorkeling. The food looks amazing I'll have to check out the Petit Gourmet too.  

 

For anyone that had the ceremony at Gazebo 55 and the reception at Tucanes, where did you have you serve cocktails? I wasn't sure if they just hang out on the beach handy for pics or move early to Tucanes. Also is 2 hours right for cocktails? 

[TheWolferts]

Quote:

Originally Posted by AllieH 
 

 

 

 

We did a majority of our pictures on the rocks on the beach near the salt water "pool" and near the main lobby bridge/palm trees, so our guests weren't watching us take pictures. Because Gazebo 55 was such a hike for most of our guests, it made sense to keep them secluded at that end of the resort while the wedding party ran around taking pictures. By keeping the cocktail party at our ceremony location, some of our older guests were able to stay put and rest a little before walking back to the reception area.

[Maybeachbride]

We did a lot of our pictures together before the wedding.  Our wedding was at 6pm and i wanted to make sure I got some shots with bright sun.  We had our wedding at Gazebo 55 and after we took some group shots.  Our reception was at 7 at Tucanes.  After group pics and stuff we just sent everyone over to Tucanes to wait while we did some shots of us on the rocks and stuff to the right of gazebo 55 .  This was at about 6:45 and they just served them drinks until we arived.  I was SO happy we did most of our pictures early but I know that is not for everyone.  I will also say that i was SO happy we went with James from Sarini.  He was so familiar with the hotel that he had TONS of ideas for pictures and I did not have to try to stress over where to take them.  Just an idea!

[MikeCantarellFilms]

Hello Ladies,

 

Take a look at this beautiful wedding full of awesome moments.

 

Happy planning!!  

 

[JenniferM]

Thanks everyone for the great suggestions! I thought 2 hours sounded a bit long but that is what they suggested. I think I will plan for 1-1.5 hours and look into JoJos free is always better.

 

Does anyone know what type and quality of PA they have at the resort? My fiance wants to buy a system and bring it down rather than pay for the one time use there. I wouldn't mind so much except we will have so much baggage already and the cost...But his heart seems set.

 

On a side note of rants. I am feeling rather stressed. We went with the sweet package and now many of the family that was supposed to go to the wedding are dropping out so what if we don't get the minimum number of rooms? And my parents are complaining about the cost of the resort. I don't find this at all fair because they told me they wanted to stay someplace that had soft beds, great food (they are very very picky eaters), great reviews, fun events, great locations, etc, etc. So I really took this into account when picking the resort and now they're complaining and talking about staying at some resort that has 25% recommendation on TA!  AHhhh I don't know why I even bothered since my fiance and I are paying for everything. Sorry for the rant...it's been a stressful weekend.

[LKocelko]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JenniferM 

Thanks everyone for the great suggestions! I thought 2 hours sounded a bit long but that is what they suggested. I think I will plan for 1-1.5 hours and look into JoJos free is always better.

 

Does anyone know what type and quality of PA they have at the resort? My fiance wants to buy a system and bring it down rather than pay for the one time use there. I wouldn't mind so much except we will have so much baggage already and the cost...But his heart seems set.

 

On a side note of rants. I am feeling rather stressed. We went with the sweet package and now many of the family that was supposed to go to the wedding are dropping out so what if we don't get the minimum number of rooms? And my parents are complaining about the cost of the resort. I don't find this at all fair because they told me they wanted to stay someplace that had soft beds, great food (they are very very picky eaters), great reviews, fun events, great locations, etc, etc. So I really took this into account when picking the resort and now they're complaining and talking about staying at some resort that has 25% recommendation on TA!  AHhhh I don't know why I even bothered since my fiance and I are paying for everything. Sorry for the rant...it's been a stressful weekend.

 

How big is your wedding? We opted to not rent the system, becaus I couldn't justify the price, and we had a small wedding of 20. We ended up bringing down our iPod player, because it was easy to travel with, and it worked out perfectly for us.