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by Barbara Penny Angelakis
WEDDING VOWS AT EL DORADO SEASIDE SUITES
In addition to the truly unique vacation experience offered by the El Dorado Seaside Suites (see review in the Hotels and Resorts section), they also offer wedding and anniversary packages. Nanda van Zwam, the charming Sales Executive who helped make our stay so memorable, felt that experiencing the accomplished wedding planning staff in action would be more effective then viewing pictures of the end result of their efforts. She made us an offer we could  not refuse; a chance to renew our wedding vows… and at a beachside service. The only caveat being that the details were to be kept a surprise… even to us. After almost 37 years of marriage, Manos and I jumped at the opportunity, content to leave the details to the professionals.
After lunch on Friday, we were asked to get ready and wait in our room. After about 30 minutes Nanda fetched Manos and in a matter of minutes, hardly time for me to apply makeup, she returned for me. I was handed a beautiful bouquet of flowers picked fresh from the verdant gardens surrounding the suite complexes and escorted to my waiting vehicle… a golf cart that’s used on the property to deliver bags and an occasional guest too tired out by sun and surf to walk to the pool or one of the dining rooms. For this occasion the cart had been made festive and  decorated with chiffon steamers, bows and fresh flowers, and I was whisked away to the Seaside (sic) perhaps 15 feet away.
The natural setting was spectacular. White sand beach leading to crystal clear aqua/turquoise water gently lapping at the shore; while huge white puffy clouds just tinged with pink hung in a cerulean blue sky. To frame this breathtaking background, a satin carpet of hot pink fabric covered with rose petals led up to a construct draped with varying shades of pink chiffon blowing in the sea breeze. Bouquets of pink, coral, peach and orange flowers completed the effect. Chairs covered in white fabric with pink bows were set up for the guests and with Manos waiting for me at waters edge  and to the heart-thumping wailing of a saxophone, I walked the carpet of rose petals towards him.
Santiago Carranza, Minister of the Cancun Fellowship Church whose principle motto is “We were all born to love” performed a tender and moving ceremony that insured that there was not one dry eye in the group. Instead of the traditional joining of the candles, and more appropriate to a beach service, Manos and I blended two colored sands to make one. Champaign was served all around while the spray of white  roses was removed from the sumptuous white wedding cake, and we cut and ate one of the best cakes I have ever tasted.
We returned to our room to find a Honeymoon banner posted across the door and rose petals strewn across the threshold. The bed was decorated with kissing swans surrounded with a huge heart all crafted out of towels by the staff and covered with rose petals. The Jacuzzi tub placed by the French doors to afford a view of the sea had been drawn with a bubble bath and decorated with rose petals in the shape of a heart. Candles and the flower bouquets from the beach- side service completed the effect. Nanda was right; no pictures could have conveyed the utter joy the staff took in making this occasion memorable for all those involved, especially us.
© August 2006 LuxuryWeb Magazine. All rights reserved.
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