El Dorado Royale (EDR) Brides - POST HERE!

[AllieH]

Right now we're counting 46 guests (21 rooms total), but I'm still pretty sure that number will drop since most of our group has not purchased airfare yet. Plus some of his family was planning to stay in a timeshare, and I don't think they've booked yet. Frankly, I'll be happy with 30!

 

We have most things done. Still a few little things with the OOT bags for me to finish, and I need to write the ceremony (minor detail, right?). I have no idea what I want to do for the unity ceremony either. I am not a huge fan of the sand ceremony, but we all know candles aren't going to work either. I found a gorgeous glass unity version where you combine colored glass that is later blown into a handmade sculpture, but I can't justify the price. so it's probably going to be sand, just have to figure out what vessels to use.

 

I would ask the onsite coordinator about hanging the starfish - maybe you'll get a better price. The quotes I've received for onsite set up have been absolutely outrageous. They quoted me $3,000 to hang sheers from the ceiling in Tucanes. Needless to say, we aren't doing that option...and I'll wait until we get there to discuss pricing for the rest of my onsite decorations.

 

 

 

Someone said that you have to pay for the onsite set up charges in cash - does anyone know if that is true?

 

 

 

Originally Posted by mstigger 

We too are staying on the Royale side. No idea how many people are going to be there, but my FI was worried about us being on the other side of the world from our friends and family. I thought it would be fine, but the free wedding package really wasn't what I wanted because we too are just doing the symbolic ceremony. I wanted more decorations and NO blood work!!!

The WC told me the pure passion was a combo of the Pearl Package and some Ocean decoration package. Just hoping we don't have over 20 peeps.....not sure what they will charge me then for extra chairs!

Oh, but I wanted to use the starfish they have to hang from the gazebo...you will never believe this, but they wanted $180 to hang 3 strands of 3 starfish from the gazebo!!!   I was so shocked.....do you know how many starfish I can buy for $180???

 

@asmith - what grade do you teach? Where are you from in NC? I live in Charleston, SC

 

@allie - do you have everything done? How many guests are you having?

 

My STD's are going in the mail today......that's about the extent of my stuff that is done!!!

[asmithpoulin]

Originally Posted by mstigger 

 

We too are staying on the Royale side. No idea how many people are going to be there, but my FI was worried about us being on the other side of the world from our friends and family. I thought it would be fine, but the free wedding package really wasn't what I wanted because we too are just doing the symbolic ceremony. I wanted more decorations and NO blood work!!!

The WC told me the pure passion was a combo of the Pearl Package and some Ocean decoration package. Just hoping we don't have over 20 peeps.....not sure what they will charge me then for extra chairs!

Oh, but I wanted to use the starfish they have to hang from the gazebo...you will never believe this, but they wanted $180 to hang 3 strands of 3 starfish from the gazebo!!!   I was so shocked.....do you know how many starfish I can buy for $180???

 

@asmith - what grade do you teach? Where are you from in NC? I live in Charleston, SC

 

@allie - do you have everything done? How many guests are you having?

 

My STD's are going in the mail today......that's about the extent of my stuff that is done!!!

I hear you about the decorations vs. blood/legal work. I'm not a fan of getting stuck with needles and we also found out we would need birth certificates translated and "apostiled?" by a Mexican consulate in our state. So ya... that's not all going to happen! Much happier with the easier non-legal situation.

I teach 2nd grade and we live in the Piedmont/Triad area. My fiance and I visited Charleston for the first time last Spring, loved it! I grew up very close to the coast in Maine and so envy folks that live by the water!

[Cvantine]

Originally Posted by Jillsepher 

 

Hey Catherine!

I too am getting married in October. My biggest concern is the weather. How was it when you were there? It's so sweet of you to offer to take some pics. I'm having my reception at the Chapel Terrace. I believe this is the area by the chapel in the sand. Would you mind getting some pics of this area so I can visualize a bit more?

This is kind of for anyone one who has been there but I heard there is a fire dancing show. Is this true? If so, is it a weekly event? My FI is so excited to see this if that's the case. Also, I read somewhere (maybe on here?) that the resort uses salt water as water for its showers an does not have conditioner. Any truth to this? And I just thought about this but I have blonde hair and I'm very leery of chlorine. Any ladies with blonde hair have their hair turn green at the resort? I had a very bad past experience about 8 years ago where my hair turned bright green immediately after going in a chlorinated hot tub and have never put my hair in chlorine ever since!

Thanks Catherine for offering up your services!

 

October weather was GORGEOUS. We were there for one week in total and it only rained (a very light sunshower) once for about an hour. Of course, that was on the day of the wedding as I was on my way to the Spa to get ready, so I did freak out a little bit =) But it cleared right up and was gorgeous. It is hot, even though it may not be their hottest season, and I was happy to be in my bathing suit most of the line.

 

We got married in the chapel so I plan on going back to that area and getting pictures, I will make sure to ask what is considered the "Chapel Terrace" and get some good shots. Last time I was there we had internet access so I'm guessing I can send you the pictures while we're there and you can let me know if there's anything else specific you want to see. Do you want to pm me your e-mail address?.

 

The showers are NOT salt water - they might have special salt water showers somewhere but both the indoor and outdoor shower we had in our Casita was fresh water. I believe they had conditioner there but I brought my own so I'm not 100% sure. My hair is very blonde and I had no problems with any color BUT I did take care not to douse it in the pool because I was nervous about it. I had it up on a knot most of the time in the water so it only got wet when showering and during my "water journey," but no green, thank goodness!

 

I didn't see a Firedancing show, will look for it this time!!!

[Cvantine]

Originally Posted by AllieH 

 

Right now we're counting 46 guests (21 rooms total), but I'm still pretty sure that number will drop since most of our group has not purchased airfare yet. Plus some of his family was planning to stay in a timeshare, and I don't think they've booked yet. Frankly, I'll be happy with 30!

 

We have most things done. Still a few little things with the OOT bags for me to finish, and I need to write the ceremony (minor detail, right?). I have no idea what I want to do for the unity ceremony either. I am not a huge fan of the sand ceremony, but we all know candles aren't going to work either. I found a gorgeous glass unity version where you combine colored glass that is later blown into a handmade sculpture, but I can't justify the price. so it's probably going to be sand, just have to figure out what vessels to use.

 

I would ask the onsite coordinator about hanging the starfish - maybe you'll get a better price. The quotes I've received for onsite set up have been absolutely outrageous. They quoted me $3,000 to hang sheers from the ceiling in Tucanes. Needless to say, we aren't doing that option...and I'll wait until we get there to discuss pricing for the rest of my onsite decorations.

 

 

 

Someone said that you have to pay for the onsite set up charges in cash - does anyone know if that is true?

 

 

 

 

Just an FYI that I had my mom and bridesmaids do all my set up for me and they allowed it at no cost. For us, this included candles and flowers on the tables (we used the flowers from the ceremony) and name cards. They had told us the set up fee and I said "forget that!" Just as a precaustion, I e-mailed our WC to let her know that my mother and bridesmaids would be doing it and I didn't expect to be charged and then I printed her acknowledgement of my message to take with me in case I needed it. I didn't =)

[TheWolferts]

I was adament about getting all of the charges taken care of before we went down there so I had Valeria add the set up fees to my spreadsheet and we paid that with our final payment.

 

Also, just as an FYI to all brides, the resort gives you credit for a 1 year anniversary stay based on the number of rooms you book. We booked 21 rooms so we were expecting to get $1k towards our 1 yr anniv stay, but we got bumped down to the $750 resort credit because a few of our guests only stayed 3 days, and for the rooms toc ount towards your credit, they apparently need to stay for 4 nights... I am kinda peeved by this as several of our guests upgraded rooms once they got down there, opting to pay for a casitas and the majority of our guests stayed for 5-7 nights. I think we literally had 2 rooms booked that the couples could only make it down for 3 nights.

Originally Posted by AllieH 

Right now we're counting 46 guests (21 rooms total), but I'm still pretty sure that number will drop since most of our group has not purchased airfare yet. Plus some of his family was planning to stay in a timeshare, and I don't think they've booked yet. Frankly, I'll be happy with 30!

 

We have most things done. Still a few little things with the OOT bags for me to finish, and I need to write the ceremony (minor detail, right?). I have no idea what I want to do for the unity ceremony either. I am not a huge fan of the sand ceremony, but we all know candles aren't going to work either. I found a gorgeous glass unity version where you combine colored glass that is later blown into a handmade sculpture, but I can't justify the price. so it's probably going to be sand, just have to figure out what vessels to use.

 

I would ask the onsite coordinator about hanging the starfish - maybe you'll get a better price. The quotes I've received for onsite set up have been absolutely outrageous. They quoted me $3,000 to hang sheers from the ceiling in Tucanes. Needless to say, we aren't doing that option...and I'll wait until we get there to discuss pricing for the rest of my onsite decorations.

 

 

 

Someone said that you have to pay for the onsite set up charges in cash - does anyone know if that is true?

 

 

 

[AllieH]

I'd much prefer to have everything paid for before we leave. My only challenge is that my WC has quoted me an obscene set up charge that I'm not willing to agree to. She didn't want to give me a quote at all, saying the onsite coordinator would tell me how much that would be. When I pushed her for an amount so we could budget, I got an amount completely different and much higher than the charges all of the other brides (you ladies!) were quoted and ultimately paid.

 

I even asked to change WC's to work with Valeria, and that wasn't allowed. So I'm stuck trying to make the best of it. Other than the set up charges, we've been able to work through the planning ok.

 

Most of our guests are only staying 3 nights, so I'm guessing we wouldn't get much at all in the way of an anniversary credit. That's ok, we're planning to do a cruise with some friends for our 1st anniversary (as of now).

 

I'm more worried about the fact that we have a couple of single rooms, so that will probably cut down on the B&G stay free credit and the free room credit we got when we signed the contract. Ah well..whatever will be, will be.

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheWolferts 

I was adament about getting all of the charges taken care of before we went down there so I had Valeria add the set up fees to my spreadsheet and we paid that with our final payment.

 

Also, just as an FYI to all brides, the resort gives you credit for a 1 year anniversary stay based on the number of rooms you book. We booked 21 rooms so we were expecting to get $1k towards our 1 yr anniv stay, but we got bumped down to the $750 resort credit because a few of our guests only stayed 3 days, and for the rooms toc ount towards your credit, they apparently need to stay for 4 nights... I am kinda peeved by this as several of our guests upgraded rooms once they got down there, opting to pay for a casitas and the majority of our guests stayed for 5-7 nights. I think we literally had 2 rooms booked that the couples could only make it down for 3 nights.

[TheWolferts]

When we originally started researching resorts, we found that most of the resorts offered a B&G stay free type of deal and that most resorts actually average the number of nights your guests are staying and in what room categories and that is how your credit is calculated. Unfortunately, EDR calculates your credit by giving you credit based on the lowest number of nights and level of room booked. Meaning, if you had all of your guests stay for 7 days, but had one guest that could only come down for the weekend, you would only get the amount the weekend guest paid towards your room. I think that's complete nonsense and it still aggravates me, even 2 months past our wedding!

 

It just doesnt seem fair that we or any couple for that matter could bring them 5 figures worth of business plus pay for a wedding there, and then get "penalized" for having a friend that can only make it down a couple of days.

 

Originally Posted by AllieH 

I'd much prefer to have everything paid for before we leave. My only challenge is that my WC has quoted me an obscene set up charge that I'm not willing to agree to. She didn't want to give me a quote at all, saying the onsite coordinator would tell me how much that would be. When I pushed her for an amount so we could budget, I got an amount completely different and much higher than the charges all of the other brides (you ladies!) were quoted and ultimately paid.

 

I even asked to change WC's to work with Valeria, and that wasn't allowed. So I'm stuck trying to make the best of it. Other than the set up charges, we've been able to work through the planning ok.

 

Most of our guests are only staying 3 nights, so I'm guessing we wouldn't get much at all in the way of an anniversary credit. That's ok, we're planning to do a cruise with some friends for our 1st anniversary (as of now).

 

I'm more worried about the fact that we have a couple of single rooms, so that will probably cut down on the B&G stay free credit and the free room credit we got when we signed the contract. Ah well..whatever will be, will be.

 

Quote:

[TheWolferts]

Oh, one more random thing in the fine print for your 1 year anniversary stay. You can stay at any of the Karisma properties with your credit, except El Dorado Maroma. To use your credit at that property, you have to pay $175 plus 10% the total cost of your stay... which basically negates a small credit... This is really a shame since we had wanted to go to Maroma for our anniversary stay.

Originally Posted by AllieH 

I'd much prefer to have everything paid for before we leave. My only challenge is that my WC has quoted me an obscene set up charge that I'm not willing to agree to. She didn't want to give me a quote at all, saying the onsite coordinator would tell me how much that would be. When I pushed her for an amount so we could budget, I got an amount completely different and much higher than the charges all of the other brides (you ladies!) were quoted and ultimately paid.

 

I even asked to change WC's to work with Valeria, and that wasn't allowed. So I'm stuck trying to make the best of it. Other than the set up charges, we've been able to work through the planning ok.

 

Most of our guests are only staying 3 nights, so I'm guessing we wouldn't get much at all in the way of an anniversary credit. That's ok, we're planning to do a cruise with some friends for our 1st anniversary (as of now).

 

I'm more worried about the fact that we have a couple of single rooms, so that will probably cut down on the B&G stay free credit and the free room credit we got when we signed the contract. Ah well..whatever will be, will be.

 

Quote:

[Cvantine]

Originally Posted by TheWolferts 

 

I was adament about getting all of the charges taken care of before we went down there so I had Valeria add the set up fees to my spreadsheet and we paid that with our final payment.

 

Also, just as an FYI to all brides, the resort gives you credit for a 1 year anniversary stay based on the number of rooms you book. We booked 21 rooms so we were expecting to get $1k towards our 1 yr anniv stay, but we got bumped down to the $750 resort credit because a few of our guests only stayed 3 days, and for the rooms toc ount towards your credit, they apparently need to stay for 4 nights... I am kinda peeved by this as several of our guests upgraded rooms once they got down there, opting to pay for a casitas and the majority of our guests stayed for 5-7 nights. I think we literally had 2 rooms booked that the couples could only make it down for 3 nights.

 

Um...we didn't get that! They gave us like a $100 off coupon when we left but I didn't get anything for the guests that we had booked. I wish we had, we had about 20 rooms also!

[Cvantine]

Allie, I don't know if this will help but I kept ALL of my e-mail correspondance with my WC. Maybe if there is something in particular you are concerned about and I happen to have in writing that I got it for a cheaper price, you could use it to bargain with?