Just got back from Riu Palace

[mrscantatore]

SO sweet!!!

 

We also have coozies and the usual in travel kits as well. we figuered it would be good for our guests to have some of the things we all tend to forget to bring form home!

 

Did customs give you a hard time transporting all those materials?  I am bringing all my receipts just in case...im afraid they may stop me for assuming i was trying to re-sell these things in mexico!!!

 

ps, sweet play on the ring pop, super cute!

 

 

[fallfromgrace]

I love the fireworks.  Wow, amazing!

[vkmiller]

What a great review with helpful details!  The pictures are wonderful!  Congratulations on your wedding!

[mrscantatore]

so ladies I am back! had a beautiful wedding at the palace and only have good things to say! there were some trips along the way but other than that, it was a stress free day and i think everything turned out so well!!

 

My one complaint that i hope they change is the need for an actual rehersal...for the rehersal dinner. since we were running 15 mins behind (girls took forever to get ready!) its like the coordinator thru us to the wolves!  No one knew where to stand, what happened after the ceremony, etc.  We were going in there blind and im sure the uncertainty will surely show up in our wedding pics

 

ill post pics and a more detailed reveiw soon!!

 

erika

[mrscantatore]

Here it is!!

 

 

Hotel Check In-

Joey and I had reserved a ocean front room and were hoping for the quiet side of the resort…what we got was a partial ocean view, blocked by trees in the noisiest part of the resort w a terrible view in general.  You could barely see the ocean and it was on the 2^nd floor…literally on top of the buffet so our room smelled like food.  And mold! The smell was so bad that I had to ask to be moved because it was terrible for my asthma.  They told me that it would take 2 days to get another similar room and that was okay…just as long as I didn’t have to stay in the molded room! EW!!!  Thank god for the hotel being so gorgeous and the food amazing and the staff, well sweet as peas, so it wasn’t a problem at all—more like a hassle.

 

Wedding Coordinator-

I was assigned to Kylene…she was great over email…detailed and always got back to me ASAP…and was great and on point when we first met.  Only thing that I didn’t like about her (or maybe their protocol?) is that all of us were confused at the ceremony. She came to pick us up…direct us to the gazebo, and THAT WAS IT. it was confusing knowing what was going to happen at the bottom because I had 7 girls and guys and no one was sure where to go…all she said was stand along the side. Which seems logical, but when youre down there, clearer directions would have been awesome.  We looked like we were deers in headlights lol! After the ceremony, the wrong song was played (though It was clearly stated on the ipod) and we were left standing there for what felt like 5 minutes when no one could find a pen to sign the documents and Kylene left to speak to the DJ and left us there just standing there like mopes… L  Another pain in the tush was that I had 55 people and they had just started pouring the champagne when we were done so I had to wait for ONE waitress to pour 55 glasses and pass out 55 glasses before we could do the toast…it really did waste like 15 minutes of photo time.

My only other gripe was that she disappeared.  I thought she would be with us the rest of the night and she wasn’t.  She welcomed us in, stayed for about 15 mins and I didn’t see her again that night.  I was grateful there weren’t any problems that needed her assistance bc when I asked where she was, I was told she left. And it was 8…I wish she had told me that because I did have something to ask her L

 

Welcome Bags-

I had people come in for 3 days so each day I gave the front desk labeled bags to give everyone. Most people got theirs though the 3 or 4 who didn’t and who later found out there were bags waiting for them, went back that night and they were gone.  And I didn’t have them either…seems they went to the same place my socks go…lol

51 out of the 55 got them…sounds good to me!

 

Rehearsal Dinner-

We had it at “El Medano†and invited our entire wedding to come.  We didn’t want to miss a beat with all our friends and family so everyone ended up coming and just eating near each other in the back…no extra money was paid for this because it wasn’t a closed or private event…it was just pure coincidence that a big area of the restaurant was open for all of us to have dinner together!

As I said earlier, I wish the rehearsal dinner was an actual rehearsal.  Would have been good if Kylene actually told us where to stand, how to walk, what happens next, etc.  That I didn’t like at all L

 

Minister-

Was sweet and adorable. No complaints there!

 

Ceremony Set up-

Everything I gave Kylene to set up was there…and beautiful. No complaints AT ALL J

 

Reception-

It was at Baja Norte and were glad we chose this location.  Only downfall was that it was so chilly that night. People had to put on their sweaters and sweatpants under their dresses because it was chilly!! Go figure cause the other nights were warm. LOL.  We all laughed about it and in the end it wasn’t a big deal at all.  All was fine at the end of the day!

 

Flowers-

I loved them all!!! I loved Alina and she was awesome. She did a great job on the arrangements that go on the Gazebo and on the centerpieces…they were so super cute and really made the table POP!  I had a brooch bouquet and my girls had kusadama origami flowers so we didn’t use her for bouquet services.

In a nutshell, I think that covers it all!  If you guys have any questions let me know!!!

 

Erika

[miwakostory]

Congratulations Erika!!  I am happy to hear that everything turned out well for you and you had yoru dream wedding!

 

I didn't have a rehearsal either but mine was by design. I asked my bridal party to meet at the beach the day before. Half were late and I felt it was all about me so I told them to figure it out. I didn't do anything special. The guys stood up front with the groom and the ladies walked in one by one and went to their side. When I spoke to Jatziri about it, she didn't sound to concerned. It's lamost like if you want one, do it yourself.

 

However, Jatziri was with us the entire night. The wedding was at 6:00 and my reception wasn't over until 11:00. She was there until we all left. She was great to work with.

 

Please post pictures when you get a chance!

 

Miwako

[mrscantatore]

thank you so much! was def awesome and memorable!!!

 

well i hope that they one day down the line they organize it a little better with suggesting what you did or just having a quick formal one the day before with the coordinator. would help a bit! lol

 

i wish my WC stayed with us. im grateful for the waiters though...they were on the ball and helped a lot!

 

pictures to come!

[mrscantatore]

Pictures!!!!

 

Ceremony at the Gazebo

 

    the groom waiting patiently because the girls were late lol  

 

 

Program Back Cover

 

 

 

Flower girl and ring bearer

 

 

one of the brides maid and groomsmen walking down!

 

were ready!

 

 

ribbon wands were a hit!

 

 

 

bridesmaids (and sister in laws) with their wands and paper flowers

 

the bridal party did an awesome job w the entrances to the reception!

 

 

 

Centerpieces

 

  table set up  

 

let me know if you want to see anything else!

[mrscantatore]

ps, here are the girls paper flowers...theyre kusadama origami

 

  and a terrible pic of my brooch bouquet. there are better ones but i just cant find them! lol  

 

 

also, for the concerns people have with using the RIU renova spa hair dressers....you'll be amazed how good they really are. they listened and did EXACTLY what the girls wanted.  Each of the 6 girls chose a different hairstyle, but in the end they all had side buns. here is my sisters.

 

the girls looked amazing!

 

 

 

 

[Aynat]

Wow! Beautiful pics! And you were such a beautiful bride Congratulations!!