jnitschke

Go with Sarani. Of all the things I spent money on I would trade them all to have double my photos with her. My husband and I are even debating whether when we go back for our 2nd anniversary this spring to have her do a second shoot. We loved them so much. Mine were awesome. I still look at them everyday, even a year and a half later. She is so friendly and kind. Her photos are amazing. They look like some amazing photo spread in a bridal magazine. Bright and vivid colors. Everyone who has seen them has been blown away. She knows EDR back to front and knows all the perfect places to get just the right shot. Check out my profile and the photos I posted. At one point I did a review with loads of pictures.

They're all yours. I just sent you an email. -Jen

Is anyone interested in these? They were postcards that I had printed through vistaprint. I have... 200+ of these. I put them in my OOT bags. Since they are labeled as being from EDR I don't really see anyone else around home using them. Thought that maybe one of you ladies might want them. I'm not asking any money for them, just that you pay the shipping costs which I'm guessing won't be more than a couple of bucks. Let me know if anyone wants them. I have a few other things on my wedding hoard liquidation site... since I did a quality job of hoarding all things wedding over the past 3 years. http://peacock-wedding.weebly.com/

Hey Leslie, I brought my own linens, so that didn't really affect the cost. Basically I told them what I wanted, and could have done as many or little tables as I wanted. Then based on what I was bringing and what they were providing they quoted me a cost for setup. But, the cost was more based on per person than the type of table. Of course, this was last May and it seems like they've updated quite a bit lately. I would check with your WC just to be sure. I think table layouts are largely dependent on the size of your party. I only had 13 guests and wanted to fill the Tucanes space, so I had 3 rectangular tables arced in a semi-circle, with people seated on one side of the table and then Todd and I at a sweetheart in center. It looked beautiful. My thinking was we could converse with everyone, and no one would be too far apart to talk... but as it turns out dinner was kind of boring since people only talked to the person next to them. We had much more fun the night before at our welcome dinner, when we were all seated around one long table on both sides. Everyone was so chatty and had such a great time. With a larger group though, I don't think it would matter much. Personally being in a friend's wedding that had the head table, I like the sweetheart's table much more. Head tables usually have the wedding party separated from their partners, or they separate a big group of friends from the other friends at the wedding. Making someone feel left out, and making it awkward to slip away to see the others during the meal. Plus the sweetheart table does give you some time to slow down for a bit and just relax from the action, with just the two of you. So in the end, I say go with what will make you happy. My big problem was I over thought and planned everything. I should have axed half the ideas I had and just kept things simple, it would have cost less and been way less stressful. Hope this helps. Congrats! You're going to love EDR! Thinking we're heading back next spring and I can't wait! -Jen

Hey, I'm finally getting rid of some of my wedding items... a year and a half later. Definitely time to reclaim my guestroom. Included in the things I'm selling are some postcards that I had made from my OOT bags, the back has them labeled as being from EDR. I'm selling them off of a weebly site I made. http://peacock-wedding.weebly.com/ Let me know if anyone is interested.

It's been a year, but it's finally time to reclaim my guestroom. I'm selling a number of items from my destination wedding and at home reception. Many things are still new. Includes decor and personal items. Check it out: http://peacock-wedding.weebly.com/ Let me know if you're interested in anything.

It's been ages since I've been on here...everything looks so new and different. But I wanted to share a deal I found. Tanga has the Jambox by Jawbone on sale for only $53. My husband bought it for $200. It's a portable blutooth speak, small light and loud. really loud, when my husband puts it on to listen to his audiobook while in the bathroom you can hear it from outside the house. It'd be good if someone is doing a small event and didn't want to pay for the sound system that Lomas offers. We used it a few times while at EDR, can't believe it was almost a year ago now. Still it's a great deal and I wanted to pass it on.

For anyone in wedding shopping mode, DHgate.com is having a sale with a $10 off coupon and $30 off coupon right now. I used DHGate to get a bunch of stuff for my OOT bags and favors. Thought I'd pass it on since I got an email about it today.

Kelsey, First I have to say that I loved my hair and make up done at the Castias Spa. My stylist was Vicky, and she was the best. I absolutely loved her. I did a trial with her the day before and I'm really glad we did. We tried out a couple hair and makeup looks, it gave us time to play. I had an idea of what I wanted, but in the ended we did something a bit more unique. Her first attempt on eyeshadow was a bit more color than I wanted, so we did a totally new look until we found what looked good. Vicky was very responsive and easy to work with. On the day of everything went so smoothly and I felt gorgeous. As for the script you create the script and give it to the onsite WC, they will give it to the officiant. So music timing and what is said is totally up to you. Our ceremony was about 20 minutes, we did the symbolic ceremony too. A few posts ago I posted our webcast, if you want to check it out. I also have pictures posted with some close ups on my hair and make up. Quote: Originally Posted by kelseyrenee Great idea to just switch to the ceremony side that makes your veil/hair blow back and not into your face! My WC is Ingrid from Lomas and she's been so great! Takes her from 2-6 days to respond to an email but she has been very thorough and gives honest opinions. Hope everyone else is having a pleasant experience with their WC because it should be a fun process! I'm getting my hair done at the casita spa and am wondering about anyone else's experience there with how well the stylist can replicate what's in a picture? I need to remember to be vocal and not passive about what I want! Not getting my makeup done because anytime I've ever had it done professionally I have not liked it. I feel like it ages me rather than makes me look better. Experiences with makeup at casita spa? Also, I'm starting to wonder about the ceremony. I know I need to have music on an iPod and label the songs but how do you know what will be said during the ceremony? Does the WC give you script options or do you create it on your own? How long have ceremonies typically lasted? Mine will be symbolic because we are getting legally married in the US before we go to Mexico. The process to legalize a Mexican marriage in the US is too complex and takes too long from the time you get home for my taste. Plus I'm avoiding the Mexican blood tests! Thanks, ladies!!

Quote: Originally Posted by LKocelko My mom and MIL used the EDR Royale spa, but just for makeup. What I would recommend is doing a trial. I was at the casita spa and honestly hated my makeup at the trial, so I"m so glad I paid the extra $49 to get this before the actual wedding. I second doing the trial... I think it was definitely worth it. I loved my hair and makeup, but I got it done on the Casitas side.

Quote: Originally Posted by krobb317 Thanks!!! Okay, wonderful…I had read some had messed up the entire thing….yours worked well and woo how windy! I hope it's more like that than still…keeps ya cool! Beautiful ceremony! Thank you so much. The wind did keep it cool... and it wisked my tears out of my eyes so I couldn't cry, which helped for sure. I should note that right before the ceremony the officiant asked my husband if we didn't mind having her add in a passage that she thought we would really like. My husband told her to go ahead and add it. She added in, ironically a reading about the "hands" that we decided to omit in one of our script revisions. While I don't care much about the addition, she then didn't finish the rest of the script with our ending. Because of that the music cues were off and we didn't get the ending I was really hoping for. It was still a nice ceremony and she was well intentioned, the error isn't one that anyone but us noticed. But, it should still be noted as an error. Simply telling the officiant to stick to the script and not adlib would have solved the issue, but my husband didn't tell her that so she just did her own ending.

Quote: Originally Posted by krobb317 Thanks amanda50388! How well did the officiant speak English? Than seems to be a question I receive most often from family and friends about the ceremony. If you'd like you can watch the streaming video of our ceremony.... her english was pretty good, accented but still good. She had no problem reading our script that we gave her. This might give you a better idea of what things look like and work like. Our ceremony spot is Gazebo 55.

Quote: Originally Posted by krobb317 Thanks jnitschke! We'll just have to plan me standing on whatever side doesn't blow my hair and dress the wrong way Gorgeous dress! Thanks!... I did the same thing, as soon as I got down the aisle I told my husband to switch sides with me, I couldn't stand the veil blowing in my face.

Wow... 90 people.. it was like pulling teeth to get the dozen that came to mine to confirm. I ordered the badge holders and bracelets from amazon. But since you'd be buying a larger amount you might find better luck with ordering from somewhere else in bulk, perhaps dhgate.com. It takes a little while for things to arrive from there, since they're coming from China in most cases... but you can save a good deal if you can order in bulk. I ordered scarves for my girls from there as well as some underwater disposable cameras. Here's the keychains we ordered http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00443T6RC/ref=oh_details_o05_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 and the id holders http://www.amazon.com/Vertical-Resealable-Vinyl-Badge-Holders/dp/B005EMINLW/ref=sr_1_15?s=office-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1383514724&sr=1-15&keywords=zip+id+holder Quote: Originally Posted by Mamzaleg Where did you get the zip bracelets? That sounds like a perfect idea! Thank you all so much for calming my fears. We are at 90 already confirmed. 5 months away, it's getting very real!!

I don't think you will have to worry about sand in the food... and I think your guests will be fine, just don't plan on candles that aren't LED as part of your centerpieces or anything light that might blow away. While leaving our ceremony we saw a reception on the beach across from the chapel, and it looked lovely. I was even a little envious of how nice it looked. So I wouldn't worry. Also, we gave our guests ID badge holders that zip on those rubber spiral bracelet key chains. They worked perfectly! People could throw a couple bucks for tips in them and their room key. And since it's waterproof they can even wear it in the pool if they wanted. Those ID holders and the Insulated cups were the biggest and most used gifts. Having the cups were awesome for drinking in the pool and on the beach. My best advice for you is "don't worry"... you can do less and it will still be amazing. Hope this helps! Quote: Originally Posted by Mamzaleg I'm getting married in April and due to our large group size, the white gazebo is our only reception option. I was thrilled about being near the water but all these posts have now made me super paranoid!! Will it be too windy?? Will my guests not enjoy it and get sandy food? Has anyone had their reception at the white gazebo? We are having a tent will that help? It won't have sides though? Your advice is appreciated!!! Also, can someone tell me if the resort uses key cards or actual keys? I am planning our welcome bags and we want a landyard in them. Thanks!!