El Dorado Royale (EDR) Brides - POST HERE!

[jcook123]

Ugh I'm getting stressed!!!

 

With this time change thing going on, I feel like we should be moving the ceremony from 4pm to 5pm to accommodate it but the wedding planner seems to not be worried and isn't changing it.

 

I emailed Sarani to see what her opinion is as far as the sunset pictures, so I guess I will wait and see what she says.

 

On top of that - there has been a lot of talk on TripAdvisor about the beach at Maroma having a bad smell on the beach because of the construction there for the new overwater bungalows. I was just there in December for a work thing and didn't smell anything and didn't see the issue everyone is talking about but I'm still worried that there is an ongoing problem  Dunno what to do.

 

Of all the years to change time zones and build things!!!

Wait! What about the time zone changing???

[AllieH]

Hi @@kfracassi - I'd do a fairly large lantern, and bring a weight to keep them from moving around the pool too much. otherwise they might end up at the other end and defeat the purpose of lighting the pool by the Tucanes palapa. 

 

Welcome to the site girls!

 

I am getting married at EDR on December 30th. I have already booked Sarani's associate for the full day package. I couldn't get myself to spend the extra to get her. I am having our ceremony at Gazebo 55 and the reception at Tucanes. 

 

I keep looking through Lomas, and I'm pretty sure I am going to be bringing everything. I'm looking at the floating candles (priced OUTRAGEOUSLY) and I'm pretty sure I'm going to bring my own for that, too. Does anyone know good sizes for floating candles for a pool? I'm googling as I type this, but I just thought I'd ask to see if anyone has done this in the past.

 

@@jcook123 - yeah, they are changing from central to eastern time zone on February 1st.

 

@@travelgal78 - it looks like the sun will set around 7pm in March. 5pm might be a better start. I'd ask again after Feb 1st - give them a little time to see what time it actually sets, etc. then keep pushing your WC for the time you want. http://www.timeanddate.com/sun/mexico/cancun?month=3&year=2015

 

Wait! What about the time zone changing???

[kfracassi]

So, I remember reading on one of the threads about "hits and misses" for the OOT bags, and of course, I can't find it anywhere.

 

Any past brides have suggestions? I'm trying to put together a list, and I remember some of this hits, such as crossword/soduko puzzles and deck of cards, and some misses, like rafts. 

 

Thanks

[travelgal78]

@@AllieH - wedding planner said she isn't going to change it because it would mess up our ceremony time.

 

Sarani said we will work around it, but all I gotta say is that there better be some sunset pictures! That's the whole reason I hired her was for those amazing skies!!

Edited January 22, 2015 by travelgal78

[girlinthecity97]

@@kfracassi - here's the link to the OOT Bag Hits & Misses thread!

 

@@AllieH - Oy! As if I'm not stressed enough!  I just got a note from friends saying their flight info changed as a result of the upcoming time zone change. I guess I need to find out how (if at all) this impacts my wedding weekend schedule.

[LoLoJabs]

Question for anyone who has brought their own decorations/decor for their wedding: What did you bring? Did EDR charge anything extra for bringing in your own items?

 

Also, did anyone make their own bouquet while there? A friend of mine who has lived in Mexico in the past swears she can go to a market and make our bouquets while we're there- not sure if I want to risk not having something I want or if this really is do-able.

 

Thanks for any feedback!

[NickiLynn1116]

@@LoLoJabs Hello!!  We brought almost all our own decorations.  It wound up costing us roughly $150 to give to the resort plus flying them there, but it was sooooo much cheaper than what the resort was offering.  We bought cheap luggage at a yard sale and left it in Mexico so that we didn't have to pay for our luggage there and back (saved us some money).  We didn't have any problems getting through customs.  I had 4 extra bags with decor, gifts, and wedding day supplies. 

 

My mom actually made all our bouquets ahead of time using artifical flowers.  I was against it at first, but you can't even tell in our photos.  And now I have my flowers displayed in my house and they are and will forever be just as vibrant as our wedding day.  Just something to think about!

[AllieH]

@@LoLoJabs - yes, I brought my own stuff too. the only thing we rented from Lomas was a glass vase for each table. I brought shells and votives to put inside them. they charged $150 for the entire set up, including hanging the paper lanterns. they say the max they will charge to set up your decorations is $250. 

 

I did what Nicki did and my bouquet was fake. like her experience, no one realized they were fake, and now they are in a case on my mantle. they looked great in photos, and I got exactly what I want (hey - I'm a control freak!!). just another idea. 

 

Question for anyone who has brought their own decorations/decor for their wedding: What did you bring? Did EDR charge anything extra for bringing in your own items?

 

Also, did anyone make their own bouquet while there? A friend of mine who has lived in Mexico in the past swears she can go to a market and make our bouquets while we're there- not sure if I want to risk not having something I want or if this really is do-able.

 

Thanks for any feedback!

 

 

@@LoLoJabs Hello!!  We brought almost all our own decorations.  It wound up costing us roughly $150 to give to the resort plus flying them there, but it was sooooo much cheaper than what the resort was offering.  We bought cheap luggage at a yard sale and left it in Mexico so that we didn't have to pay for our luggage there and back (saved us some money).  We didn't have any problems getting through customs.  I had 4 extra bags with decor, gifts, and wedding day supplies. 

 

My mom actually made all our bouquets ahead of time using artifical flowers.  I was against it at first, but you can't even tell in our photos.  And now I have my flowers displayed in my house and they are and will forever be just as vibrant as our wedding day.  Just something to think about!

 

@@girlinthecity97 - SERIOUSLY?? good grief. way to go Mexico. (repeat after me - it will be ok. it will be ok. it will be ok. it will be ok...)

 

@@kfracassi - here's the link to the OOT Bag Hits & Misses thread!

 

@@AllieH - Oy! As if I'm not stressed enough!  I just got a note from friends saying their flight info changed as a result of the upcoming time zone change. I guess I need to find out how (if at all) this impacts my wedding weekend schedule.

[ebigge]

Hello everyone!

 

My husband and I got back from our wedding just over a week ago and we are already ready to go back.  We were there for 7 nights and had a total of 39 people.  The day of our wedding was the ONLY day it rained, go figure, so we had to move our wedding from the gazebo to the church.  The church was still nice, however it was a little chaotic since they made the move from the gazebo to the church just an hour prior.  I realized I had our wedding music at 2:40pm...our wedding was at 3:00pm.  They ended up sending someone to get it but I don't think the first part of the guest seatings had our music.  Someone came to take the bridesmaids to the chapel in a golf cart and then came back for my mom, the MOH and me shortly after.  As soon as we got to the chapel they started sending the wedding party down the aisle and wouldn't let my mom in to sit down.  She had to stand outside with the door shut as I walked down the aisle.    As soon as I was up there they let her in to sit down.  This was the only part I was upset about.  Everything else ended up working out as planned.  The sun came out, we got some great photos and our reception was amazing.  If anyone else has rain on their wedding day, don't worry.  That is the best sky for photos. 

 

HAIR:

I paid extra to have the hair trial.  I really liked my hair at the trial so I wasn't nervous about the actual wedding day two days later.  When I arrived at the salon on wedding day the hair dresser acted like she had never seen me before and was asking me questions on what I was wanting my hair to look like...a little frustrating considering she did it two days prior.  I showed her my previous photos and it didn't end up turning out like it did the first time.  I really liked one of my bridesmaids hair so I gave her hairdresser an extra tip to fix mine after my hairdresser left.  If I had to do it differently I would have left my hair all down and curly.  It was still alright though.  The wedding party's hair turned out great!  Overall I was pleased with their services.  We did opt out of makeup and decided to do our own, so I'm not sure how that service was.  **I did buy one of the flowers to put in my hair and it turned out great!  It lasted all night long, even after jumping in the pool. 

 

*Tip: If you are doing makeup in the room after you do your hair at the salon, make sure to schedule a bunch of food/drinks to be delivered at a set time for the bridal party.  They don't do this for you.  We ordered quesadillas, chicken tacos, fruit and cheese platters, etc.  I also ordered a few of the baker's baskets for early in the morning when the girls arrived so they could snack before we walked to the salon.

 

FOOD:

Our food was great.  Out of all of the resorts I have been to in Mexico, this was by far my favorite.  We did the filet and chicken option at the wedding and both were great!  For the cake we just got the smallest option since dessert was served with the meal.  We did the funfetti cake and had compliments on that as well.  Our rehearsal dinner was at El Cocotal and turned out great too!

 

DJ:  We went with DJ All Music and added on an extra hour.  There were two guys working and they both did a great job.

 

PHOTOGRAPHY:  Sarani.  Love her.  She is amazing,  makes you feel comfortable and is hilarious.  I cannot wait to see our photos!  We had her for 6 hours and she had two assistants with her.  I wish we would have had her longer so we could have gotten shots of us all jumping in the pool after the reception though. 

 

TIPPING:  As far as tipping goes, we ended up doing the following:

Off-site coordinator: $100 (Martha Pech-love her!)

On-site coordinator: $100 (Erin- she was awesome!)

DJ: $50

Bartender: $100

Hairdressers: I paid for all the girls hair and tipped each hair dresser $30.

Servers (4): $20 each  (our guests also tipped some servers and the bartender too)

Sarani: $50

Sarani's Assistants: $20 each

Golf-cart drivers: $5 each

 

COCKTAIL HOUR: We ended up getting the donkey bar.  This was awesome and I highly recommend it.  We got some great shots with Philemon the donkey.    We had it set up to have at the gazebo where we were supposed to get married but since it rained earlier in the day we had it moved to the Tucanes Bar. 

 

RECEPTION: We had our reception at Tucanes Bar.  This area was great, right by the pool, absolutely gorgeous.  We didn't have any decorations other than the bridesmaid bouquets at each table and the hanging flowers that we had at the ceremony on the head table.  I would have liked to have the white Christmas lights but they are so expensive. It was still beautiful though.

 

GUEST GIFTS:  We had maracas that said Mexico on them placed on the pews at the wedding for people to shake when we kiss.  We also got koozies for everyone and had them in a basket on the guestbook table.

 

OFF-SITE EXCURSIONS:

If you are the adventurous type I recommend going to Xplor Fuego (the nighttime one).  It is about 20 minutes away from the resort and so much fun!  You go zip lining, swimming and rafting in underwater caves and drive buggies through the jungle.  We bought our tickets online before we went.  www.xplor.travel/  They have a nighttime and a daytime excursion.  We did the nighttime excursion on a Monday and pretty much had the whole place to ourselves.  It was a blast!   We also did the camel rides which was fun too. 

 

ROOMS: We got the Swim-Up Casita and LOVED it.    The Casita side is a little further away but it was nice because we had our own pool and bartender so our guests just came over to our area with us a few of the days. 

Make sure you tell the parents of the bride and groom as well as the wedding party to tell the front desk that they are related to you/in the wedding/etc.  They upgraded about 6 of our guests to the Casita side and a few of our other guests to swim-up rooms on El Dorado Royale side. 

 

 

I'm sure I will think of more stuff to add later on, but if anyone has any questions, feel free to ask on here or email me at [email protected]!  I will be sure to post my pictures once I get them back from Sarani!  Does anyone know how long it takes?  1-2 months?  I'm so anxious. 

[AllieH]

congratulations Elaine! your husband's face when you're kissing the donkey is hilarious. and you were a beautiful bride!!