We’ve all heard it before. “Your wedding day goes by so quickly!” or “I blinked and the day was over!” Destination weddings are popular for many reasons, but one of the most common is because the bride and groom want more than just one day to celebrate with their loved ones.
This is exactly why Courtney and Drew chose to have a destination wedding. That, coupled with the fact that they love to travel together and wanted to provide a fun vacation for their guests. Courtney and Drew decided to get married at El Dorado Royale in June 2019. Let’s take a further look at their experience planning a destination wedding and getting married at this resort.
The Resort – El Dorado Royale
El Dorado Royale is one of a few Karisma Resorts within the same vicinity of each other. El Dorado Royale and El Dorado Casitas Royale are the adult-only resorts, and then there’s Generations Riviera Maya, which is the family-friendly resort.
Courtney said she loved that this offered multiple options for her guests. Their guests could stay in a typical adult-only room at the Royale, indulge by getting a Casita, or bring their kids and stay at Generations. Courtney also said she had a lot of friends stay at El Dorado Royale for their honeymoons and not one of them could think of anything bad to say, which is how Courtney and Drew ultimately ended up choosing to have their wedding there.
One of the toughest decisions when selecting a resort is choosing an adult-only or family-friendly one. You may want to relax and unwind in an adult-only environment, but don’t want to exclude any of your friends or family if they wanted to bring children along. This is why we love El Dorado Royale’s set up. The guests could choose which environment to stay in based on if they were bringing children or not.
The Wedding Planning
Courtney chose to hire a travel agent, and everyone at El Dorado Royale is given an on-site wedding coordinator when having their wedding there. She recommended both and was very happy with her experience with them.
Be All Inclusive was who she went through for her travel agency, and she loved them so much that she referred three of her friends to them as well, all of which have been very satisfied with their experience.
Paulina was Courtney’s on-site wedding coordinator through El Dorado Royale. Courtney said her and Paulina emailed a lot before the wedding, and Courtney was able to send her photos of her vision for her wedding and reception. In the end, Paulina took those photos and made Courtney’s wedding dreams come true.
The entire wedding staff at El Dorado impressed Courtney throughout the whole wedding planning process. Courtney mentioned that they do weddings every single day of the year and the bride won’t be disappointed with whoever they get to work with as their on-site wedding coordinator.
Bridal Q&A
Q: If the resort had wedding packages, which one did you pick?
A: I did a package called the “Always and Forever” ($950). It included the officiant, location of ceremony, wedding day coordinator, the groom’s room to get ready in, and probably more that I’m forgetting! This package was FREE with the Cash For Your Bash promotion at the time! If you had at least 10 people book to come to your wedding, they covered the fee.
Q: Where did you have your ceremony and reception? (i.e. pergola, beach, etc.)
A: Jojo’s Pier (Royale side) for the ceremony and Tucanes for the reception. We also had a beautiful welcome party the night before at Orchid Garden!
Q: Did you pay for any add on’s that were not included in your wedding package? If so, what were they?
A: A welcome party the night before the wedding – $454.00
Ceremony:
Sound equipment
2 Floral arrangements
Gold chandelier
Sheets draped from the ceiling
Chairs
Total: $1,257
All florals – $2,628.00
Hair & Makeup (outside vendors) – $1,500
Photographer (2 shooters and 1 videographer) – $3,100
Reception:
Food* – $1824.00
Churro station – $ 456.00
One Small cake – $60.00
Vintage Rustic car
Vintage rustic cart – $349
DJ Music & Audio – $1,099.00
Gold tablecloth for sweetheart table – $39
Table runners – $70.00
Napkins – $224.00
Set up fee for string lights – $300.00
Total = $3,305
*Courtney explained that she received money from the Cash For Your Bash promotion and put it towards the food for her guests so they actually only ended up paying $624.00 for food.
Q: What was your biggest challenge in planning a destination wedding?
A: Planning from afar and not being able to SEE the place!
If this is something that’s hard for you as well, check out our post, “Should You Visit the Resort Before Your Destination Wedding?” for some more help.
Q: If you could change anything about your experience, what would it be and why?
A: The date 🤣 June is VERY HOT and humid and we all sweated so much. I would also have my whole bridal party wear their hair up because their fell VERY fast because of the humidity and wind!
Overall, Courtney and Drew had a beautiful destination wedding at El Dorado Royale. And now, just like every other destination wedding couple, they get to return to that resort and relive all their memories as a vacation whenever they want.
Are you considering this resort for your wedding? Check out the vendors below if you need further help with services or attire!
Vendors
Resort: El Dorado Royale in Riviera Maya
Travel Agent: Be All Inclusive
Photographer: Iheart Studio
Hair & Makeup: Team MVP Hair & Makeup
Groom’s Tuxedo: Generation Tux
Bridesmaid Dresses: Show Me Your Mumu