Elisha & Jason Married at The El Dorado Royale
Bride and Groom: Elisha and Jason
Resort/ Venue: The El Dorado Royale
Travel Agent: Terrah Rominger
~ Bride Interview ~
What made you decide on having a destination wedding?
We knew we wanted a small intimate wedding with just close family and friends and we wanted it to be memorable. We absolutely love the beautiful Mexican beaches and knew that Mexico was where we would share our vows.
What made you decide on the resort/venue?
We actually stopped at the El Dorado Royale last year during our shuttle ride from the Cancun airport. It was absolutely beautiful and once we returned home, we learned that several friends and co-workers had stayed there and all highly recommended the resort!
Who was your photographer, and if you had one, your videographer?
My uncle was our photographer, he loves to take pictures and captured our weddings memories for us!
What was the biggest difficulty in planning your destination wedding?
The biggest difficulty in planning our destination wedding was not being able to see everything in person such as flowers, table decor, food ect. However, Valeria helped me envision how everything should look once it was all put together by emailing me pictures. Everything looked beautiful the day of the wedding!
What was the highlight of the experience?
The highlight of our experience was all of the detail and extra TLC that the resort staff showed us and our guests. All of our guests recieved vouchers for massages and candle light dinners! The staff made all of our wedding festivities awesome and treated everyone like royalty! Everyone kept saying that this was the most beautiful place and that our wedding was definitely going to be the most memorable.
Biggest surprise?
The biggest surprise for us was our room up-grades! Terrah and her crew surprised us with the most beautiful room upgrade for our honeymoon! The room was beautiful and the personal service we received while there was fabulous!
If your best friend were planning a destination wedding what would your advice be to her?
If my best friend were planning a destination wedding my advice to her would be to ask as many questions as she needed and request pictures. Also, if she was planning on taking favors and welcome bags such as we did to ship them to the resort rather than pack them with you, especially if your traveling in Mexico. I was chosen for the random search while going thru customs and ended up having to pay tax on the favors and welcome bags that I had packed because they were considered samples.
Wedding Coordinator Interview
Hello wedding world! Today I am excited to have a special guest from the beautiful beaches of Mexico – Rafaela Lantigua. Rafaela is the Wedding Department Manager for Lomas Travel and for all of the Karisma weddings. She is THE beach wedding guru and a wonderful asset to the Weddings by Legacy Travel team.
Rafaela and me at the GIVC ceremony at the El Dorado Royale.
MY PLEASURE AND THANK YOU TERRAH FOR THE OPPORTUNITY…
So how long have you been helping plan dream weddings for the Karisma resorts?
WITH LOMAS FOR THE PAST 4 YEARS AND OVER TWO THOUSAND WEDDINGS LATER….HAHA
What is your favorite part about your job?
SEEING THE FACE OF THE BRIDE AS SHE WALKS TOWARDS HER FUTURE HUSBAND AND HER NEW LIFE.
What are some of the most fun/memorable weddings you’ve planned?
WELL TERRAH, THERE HAS BEEN SO MANY…AS EACH ONE HAS ITS OWN SPECIAL TOUCH…KEEPING IN MIND THAT OUR JOB IS TO MAKE THEIR DREAM A REALITY. THERE WAS A WEDDING TOWARDS THE END OF THE YEAR THAT WAS UNIQUE. THE BRIDE WAS OF MEXICAN DECENT AND WANTED HER WEDDING TO FALL ON THE DAY OF THE DEAD. IT WAS HELD AT THE BEAUTIFUL EL DORADO MAROMA. SHE REQUESTED THAT THE CHURCH AND RECEPTION WAS ALL IN THE DAY OF THE DEAD THEME. THE COLORS, THE DECORATIONS, EVERYTHING WAS JUST BEAUTIFUL! THE ORANGE COLORS AND SKULLS MADE IT VERY AUTHENTIC MEXICAN. EVEN THE CAKE WAS A SKULL! IT WAS VERY IMPRESSIVE, UNIQUE AND BEAUTIFUL.
How do you feel about wedding favors? Have there been any impressive or creative ones that made you stop and admire?
I LOVE WEDDING FAVORS!!! ESPECIALLY THE ONES THAT THE BRIDE OR HER FAMILY HAD HANDCRAFTED…THOSE ARE ALWAYS SPECIAL….THE ONES THAT IMPRESS ME THE MOST ARE THE ONES THAT ARE HANDMADE OR OUT OF RECYCLED MATERIAL, BEACH BAGS, NOTEBOOKS WITH DRY FLOWERS TO MENTION A FEW.
Being in a tight economy right now, would you suggest an area to cut costs or downsize?
DEFINITELY VOTIVES AND CANDLES ON THE BEACH…DUE TO THE WIND AND COST.
Is there anything new and exciting going on with Karisma weddings?
WE ALWAYS HAVE SOMETHING NEW AND INNOVATIVE GOING ON AT OUR HOTELS…FROM THE BRAND NEW SPA AT EL DORADO ROYALE CASITAS, A NEW SWING BAR AT AZUL SENSATORI, A PRIVATE GARDEN LOCATION AT EL DORADO SEASIDE SUITES…AND MORE! JUST ASK US AT TIME OF BOOKING.
If you were to give some tips or advice to a soon to be bride, what would it be?
PLAN EARLY SO YOU CAN HAVE OPTIONS ON CEREMONY TIMES AND LOCATIONS.
A big thank you to Rafaela for all of her comments. 
If you are interested in having that stress-free, picture perfect destination wedding, feel free to call me at 972-517-9130 or toll-free! 1-866-329-7157. I’m here for you as well as some of the best coordinators out there like Rafaela. It’s what we do best!
Fabulously yours,
Supercallifragilisticexpialidocious!
Time Square, Headed to the Tkts Booth
My father-in-law is undergoing treatment at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. In an attempt at breaking the monotony of being away from home for two months, my family is taking turns visiting. My in-laws have rented a two bedroom apartment near 53rd and Lexington in midtown Manhattan. Large by New York standards, and worth roughly twice the value of my 4 bedroom home in Texas, it was still somewhat closer quarters than any of us are used to. I’m amazed at the relative price of real estate.
My son and I had reviewed some possibilities of what he might like to do while in New York and we decided on four “must-do’s”
1) Statue of Liberty
When we first talked about going to New York, Trey said that he wanted to go into the crown at the Statue of Liberty. I didn’t even know that was a possibility. I looked into it and learned that going into the crown requires a special ticket that must, in the most popular times of the year, be reserved up to three months in advance. Fortunately I kept continually checking and there was a snowstorm predicted during our planned time so people canceled and we were able to get a time slot to go up into the crown. I highly recommend trying to get crown tickets if you want to really experience Lady Liberty.
YAY for Advance Booking!
Trey in the crown of the Statue of Liberty
The view of the scroll from the top.
2) Ellis Island Immigration Museum.
This was a real surprise hit. Trey had studied all about immigration in school this year and I was surprised at the level of enthusiasm he displayed when I mentioned coming here. It’s part of the same ferry ticket for the Statue of Liberty. We also reserved the audio tours in both places. At Ellis Island they had a separate audio tour for kids and adults. I listened to the kids one along with Trey so that I would hear what he was hearing. He really got a lot out of it and considered it his second favorite thing in New York next to…
3) Sony Technology Wonder Lab . When Trey goes to heaven, this is what it will look like. We got to play with technology including Playstation games that hadn’t even been released yet, robotic surgery (on artificial patients of course ) and video editing. We also got to put together a news broadcast and other things that I can’t think of how to describe.
4) New York City Police Museum. According to the information we had, the police museum was supposed to be open on Monday. This would be incorrect information.
Closed on Sunday. 
We fly home tomorrow and have had a super time!
