Julie & Glenn
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How did you come to decide on having a destination wedding?
have liked the idea of having a destination wedding for about 10 years now when I heard my friends did theirs as a wedding destination and loved it! The idea of spending more time with your special guests and also the simplicity of planning always appealed to me. We were able to spend almost a week with our guests instead of just a couple hours like a traditional wedding. How fun! We have memories to last a lifetime! We weren’t caught up in the all planning the week/day of the wedding so we could actually ENJOY it!
Aside from marrying the love of your life, what was the best part of your destination wedding?
The simplicity was the best part. The hotel provided us with a planner to help us with EVERYTHING! We had everything planned out before the wedding including the flowers, food, appetizers, hair, makeup, nails, photos, special dinners, etc. so when we got there, there was really nothing that needed to be done. That was awesome! We were able to enjoy ourselves the entire time we were there! Even the times and locations of everything was planned. We chose to bring our own wonderful photographer Christy Bode from Mankato MN but they have several photography packages there as well.
Setting up the vacation details with Shelli Nornes at www.romanacetravelgroup.com was so easy! She created our very own webpage for us. I added this webpage to our wedding invites and our guests were able to go directly through her for planning. There were also payment options that my guests found helpful as well. I think we met with our wedding planner (again, this was free and provided to us through the hotel) one time when we arrived. It was about 15-30 minutes only so very quick. I provided her with our music cd (you can have live music if you wish for an additional cost) and we went over some details and that was all. Very easy! From them on, I downloaded an app on my phone so she and I were able to communicate that way if she had questions, etc. There are several wedding options to choose from varying in price. We chose the complimentary one and it was still absolutely beautiful! We chose the beach location but there are other locations if you’d like. Depending on your group size you also get complimentary private dinners, reservations at other places onsite, and happy hours. We had a “groom’s dinner” at the very elegant Ipanema which is the Brazilian Steakhouse at the hotel. We also had a happy hour with appetizers and our own bar after the wedding and a full meal following overlooking the ocean. We paid extra to have the Happy Hour right on the sand but I thought it was reasonable. I also decided to setup a sunset cruise through the hotel with all the guests. The guests were able to use there “Limitless Resort Credit” for this excursion. The hotel was very helpful at getting this setup also! Other guests did various excursions throughout the vacation and they said they had a great time on those as well!
The day of the wedding: After I woke up, I grabbed some breakfast and then headed down to the luxurious spa to get my hair and makeup done. It turned out great! I chose not to have a trial run prior to the wedding day but that is an option as well. All of my bridal party and my Mother helped me into my dress and we did pictures. I still remember hearing the wedding music while I was walking down to the sand and thinking… I hope everything is done??? Yikes! ~ I literally hadn’t thought about planning or setting up once that day! I turned around the corner and it was beautiful!!! Everything was done for me by the hotel including the setup of the actual wedding ceremony, the Happy Hour appetizers table and bar, and the setup of dinner too! What a relief!
What comments have you heard from guests about their wedding experience?
Looking back, is there anything you would have done differently?
NO! Turned out amazing!
What advice would you give to couples considering a Hard Rock destination wedding?
The hotel really is wonderful! The staff is great. The location is awesome - if you want to venture outside of the hotel, it’s centralized. Also, the rooms and hotel itself is modern and remodeled and also VERY clean! I highly recommend Hard Rock Hotels!
have liked the idea of having a destination wedding for about 10 years now when I heard my friends did theirs as a wedding destination and loved it! The idea of spending more time with your special guests and also the simplicity of planning always appealed to me. We were able to spend almost a week with our guests instead of just a couple hours like a traditional wedding. How fun! We have memories to last a lifetime! We weren’t caught up in the all planning the week/day of the wedding so we could actually ENJOY it!
Aside from marrying the love of your life, what was the best part of your destination wedding?
The simplicity was the best part. The hotel provided us with a planner to help us with EVERYTHING! We had everything planned out before the wedding including the flowers, food, appetizers, hair, makeup, nails, photos, special dinners, etc. so when we got there, there was really nothing that needed to be done. That was awesome! We were able to enjoy ourselves the entire time we were there! Even the times and locations of everything was planned. We chose to bring our own wonderful photographer Christy Bode from Mankato MN but they have several photography packages there as well.
Setting up the vacation details with Shelli Nornes at www.romanacetravelgroup.com was so easy! She created our very own webpage for us. I added this webpage to our wedding invites and our guests were able to go directly through her for planning. There were also payment options that my guests found helpful as well. I think we met with our wedding planner (again, this was free and provided to us through the hotel) one time when we arrived. It was about 15-30 minutes only so very quick. I provided her with our music cd (you can have live music if you wish for an additional cost) and we went over some details and that was all. Very easy! From them on, I downloaded an app on my phone so she and I were able to communicate that way if she had questions, etc. There are several wedding options to choose from varying in price. We chose the complimentary one and it was still absolutely beautiful! We chose the beach location but there are other locations if you’d like. Depending on your group size you also get complimentary private dinners, reservations at other places onsite, and happy hours. We had a “groom’s dinner” at the very elegant Ipanema which is the Brazilian Steakhouse at the hotel. We also had a happy hour with appetizers and our own bar after the wedding and a full meal following overlooking the ocean. We paid extra to have the Happy Hour right on the sand but I thought it was reasonable. I also decided to setup a sunset cruise through the hotel with all the guests. The guests were able to use there “Limitless Resort Credit” for this excursion. The hotel was very helpful at getting this setup also! Other guests did various excursions throughout the vacation and they said they had a great time on those as well!
The day of the wedding: After I woke up, I grabbed some breakfast and then headed down to the luxurious spa to get my hair and makeup done. It turned out great! I chose not to have a trial run prior to the wedding day but that is an option as well. All of my bridal party and my Mother helped me into my dress and we did pictures. I still remember hearing the wedding music while I was walking down to the sand and thinking… I hope everything is done??? Yikes! ~ I literally hadn’t thought about planning or setting up once that day! I turned around the corner and it was beautiful!!! Everything was done for me by the hotel including the setup of the actual wedding ceremony, the Happy Hour appetizers table and bar, and the setup of dinner too! What a relief!
What comments have you heard from guests about their wedding experience?
- Beautiful water – Serious, it was crystal clear!,
- amazing sand
- The food was incredible. Also, I found that it was relatively easy to get into the nice restaurants. I have been to other hotels where it felt nearly impossible to get reservations at the restaurants but we never had a problem at Hard Rock!
- Very clean and remodeled hotel
- The option of going on excursions through the hotel and using the Hotel’s limitless credit to purchase those was nice. (there is a small fee but it’s minimal)
- Lots of food and drink options and all complimentary!!! (Note: there are some things like lobster or high end wine that you would need to use the hotel credit for to purchase but it’s very small. Most items are complimentary. I didn’t have to pay for a drink or piece of food the entire time I was there! J).
- Entertainment in the pool area was fun
- There is nightly entertainment in the hotel
- Each room in the hotel had a spa tub
Looking back, is there anything you would have done differently?
NO! Turned out amazing!
What advice would you give to couples considering a Hard Rock destination wedding?
The hotel really is wonderful! The staff is great. The location is awesome - if you want to venture outside of the hotel, it’s centralized. Also, the rooms and hotel itself is modern and remodeled and also VERY clean! I highly recommend Hard Rock Hotels!
