El Dorado Royale (EDR) Brides - POST HERE!

[krobb317]

Thanks @@AllieH!!!

 

Yeah, they tried to charge me like 850 for setup of 40 lanterns…I already responded once with all we were already paying for including a welcome party at the white gazebo for 55 the night before with the fire dancers, they brought it down to 400, but I'm still going to see what I can do to get it lower. Did you make the LED throwies onsite?

 

Thanks for your thoughts on the lighting!!! 

[AllieH]

I made them ahead of time. I didn't want to spend a ton of our time at the resort making things or assembling stuff to be honest. The only thing we put together onsite was the OOT bags.

 

I used a little piece of paper between the battery & the LED leads as a "switch" - just pulled the paper out to turn the lights on. They worked well for the most part, though the paper shifted on some of them during travel. Those ended up burning out before the wedding, but luckily I had plenty of extras.

 

good lord - $850 AND $400 are both ridiculous amounts. Hopefully the onsite WC's will be more lenient. Is Lomas trying to get you to pay for the set up before you go...?

 

Thanks @@AllieH!!!

 

Yeah, they tried to charge me like 850 for setup of 40 lanterns…I already responded once with all we were already paying for including a welcome party at the white gazebo for 55 the night before with the fire dancers, they brought it down to 400, but I'm still going to see what I can do to get it lower. Did you make the LED throwies onsite?

 

Thanks for your thoughts on the lighting!!! 

[krobb317]

@@AllieH It doesn't look like they have put any of the set up fees on the spreadsheet. They only have put specific items such as the candle bags and hurricane glasses. 400 is a lot too! Do you think if i just let it be and take the lanterns down there it is a better bet for it to be lower?

Thanks for the tips on the LED Throwies! 

 

We are staying in the Casitas section, are guests able to come visit and hang out at our pool area?

 

One more question…FI and I are finalizing the welcome letter, we are putting a "schedule" of where we will be the day before the wedding if anyone wants to swing by to hang or say hi. That being said…I was thinking either a pool or spot on the beach around 1…any recommendations as to a spot that won't be overly crowded for a group of people to come and go? (not sure how many---we will have 55 total at the wedding) Specifically which pools or what area of the beach.

 

THANKS!!!!

Edited April 16, 2014 by krobb317

[AllieH]

@@AllieH It doesn't look like they have put any of the set up fees on the spreadsheet. They only have put specific items such as the candle bags and hurricane glasses. 400 is a lot too! Do you think if i just let it be and take the lanterns down there it is a better bet for it to be lower? 

 

YES! Just let it go and talk to the onsite WC. They are easier to deal with.

 

 

Thanks for the tips on the LED Throwies! 

 

We are staying in the Casitas section, are guests able to come visit and hang out at our pool area?

 

Oh yes - we had guests the entire time visiting us. As long as other Casitas guests aren't complaining about the noise, you will be fine (and we NEVER had complaints).

 

One more question…FI and I are finalizing the welcome letter, we are putting a "schedule" of where we will be the day before the wedding if anyone wants to swing by to hang or say hi. That being said…I was thinking either a pool or spot on the beach around 1…any recommendations as to a spot that won't be overly crowded for a group of people to come and go? (not sure how many---we will have 55 total at the wedding) Specifically which pools or what area of the beach.

 

I'd recommend meeting at any of the Casitas pools. At 1pm, the main pools and the beach will be pretty busy and it'll be hard to find a place for a group to sit.

 

THANKS!!!!

[AllieH]

Hi MrsUpton! welcome to the group.

 

The Official EDR/EDCR thread has a listing of all of the possible locations for cocktail parties. Are there any you're absolutely opposed to? If so, I would just request that it NOT be that particular location.

 

You are correct re: bringing your own decorations.

 

Have you thought about bringing an iPod with your favorite music in a "cocktail party" playlist? You could then rent the speaker ($250) from EDR vs. the DJ for 2 hours. Or you could also bring your own Bose speaker.

 

Or you could look at it as the $850 is the cost for the cocktail in total (vs. free cocktail & paid DJ) - just depends on what's really important to you guys, and what your vision is for the cocktail. Is it just music playing in the background? Is it a dance party? My $0.02 worth!
 

 

Hi EDR Brides!

I am just now joining and am getting married at EDR on August 2nd.

I am doing the free 2 hour cocktail reception. Has anyone done this? I was told that they can't confirm our location until 6 weeks before, so I'm concerned as to where they might put us. 

After reading through a lot of posts, it seems like the best thing to do when bringing your own decorations, is to just wait until you get there and tell your onsite WC and get pricing from them, rather than getting pricing from the offsite WC. Is that right?

I asked for a DJ for our 2 hour cocktail reception and was quoted $850, which seems a bit crazy for 2 hours. (I wish I made $850 in 2 hours  ) Any suggestions?

[malyna]

Hey everyone! I'm trying to decide between EDR and another resort? What made you choose EDR? What would you say the cons are?

 

 

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[AllieH]

Hi! glad you wandered over here. there's a ton of info on the Official thread too.

 

We chose EDR for the following reasons:

1. Adults only

2. quality of the food (my husband & I are foodies, so food quality was important to us)

3. reviews on trip advisor

 

Cons:

1. Working with the Lomas WC (in Cancun) can be frustrating - pretty typical for ANY destination wedding. Slow responses or responses that are difficult to understand. It's the most frustrating part of planning a DW (aside from getting your guests to book...).

 

2. if you want an elaborately decorated wedding, it could cost big $$. their add ons are pricey. BUT, you can view their prices before making your decision: http://www.weddingsbylomastravel.com/planning/

 

3. If you choose to bring some of your own decorations, you'll get crazy high quotes for set up from the Cancun WC. It's much easier to negotiate this with the onsite WC when you arrive.

 

4. Their outside vendor fee is the highest in the area ($800, or having them stay as a guest for 3+ nights).

 

5. Many brides don't care for their approved photographers, and choose to bring their own photographers (as a guest), or pay the outside vendor fee for a photographer.

 

6. The EDR beach isn't the best. There are large sandbags along the beach to help prevent erosion. It's pretty rocky in some places too. There are spots where you can get in the water that are really nice.

 

 

And now for the Pros (which in my opinion, far outweigh the cons):

1. Gourmet All Inclusive - top shelf liquors, gourmet food (amazing!!), 24 hour room service. All restaurants are included, no a la carte pricing (except for the candlelight beach dinner). House wines are included, but you can also choose to purchase from their extensive wine cellar.

 

2. Very clean and well kept property

 

3. Variety of price points for accomodations, and great wedding promos available. Make sure you use/find a Karisma GIVC travel agent - you'll get more amenities and they'll also help make your planning process easier (I recommend using Wright Travel Agency if you're in the US).

 

4. Size of the property is great for get togethers, OR newlywed privacy.

 

5. All fruits & veggies grown at the greenhouse on property.

 

6. All rooms have a conceirge - they will help you with reservations to the two restaurants that require them (Santa Fe Grill and Fuentes), and anything else you may want/need during your stay.

 

7. Service - the staff is beyond incredible, and will do everything they can to make your stay perfect.

 

8. The onsite wedding coordinators are angels. They will meet with you after you arrive to go through all of the details of your wedding, and make sure they know how you want it set up, what you expect, etc. And then they take care of it.

 

9. tons of locations for ceremonys and private cocktails/dinner/receptions - from beach locations, a chapel, poolside events, or ballrooms - there are many choices. The most popular are Gazebo 55 for ceremony, and Tucanes for receptions. The locations are beautiful, and honestly don't need a ton of decorations.

 

10. being adults only, we found that other guests greatly respected our ceremony and kept their distance (but watched and cheered us on)!

11. The addition of Generations Riviera Maya next door make it an option for guests with families. Adults have access to both EDR and Generations options (restaurants, pools, beaches, etc.).

 

12. Luxury. it's 5 star, all the way, whether you are on the Casitas side, or Royale side (Casitas are more upscale, larger and more private).

 

I could go on and on, because I really, really love this resort (and it's why I'm the BDW abassador!). As I mentioned, we're heading back in June - this will be our 3rd trip since our wedding in Nov 2012. We looked at resorts all over the caribbean for the June trip, and felt that EDR offered the best product for the price.

 

If you have any specific questions, feel free to PM me.

 

 

Hey everyone! I'm trying to decide between EDR and another resort? What made you choose EDR? What would you say the cons are?


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[MandM2014]

Is there anyone else going to the BDR in July for Karisma?

[malyna]

@@AllieH that is an awesome bulleted list - just what I was hoping for! Thank you SO much! Super helpful!!!

[jhare6714]

Thanks for all the help ladies!  Does anyone know if we are allowed to bring Chinese Sky Lanterns to use?