MagsieMexico

Thank you all for the lovely comments, and Elizabeth for the fantastic photos (I didn't realize you would be reading this! As for my husband's suit, it was just from Macy's, so that's not very helpful! But he'll be happy to hear someone liked it... Ah, good times all round, it's been over a month now and I still look at the photos all the time! lame... but they are amazing.

So worth it! YOu won't be disappointed.

Yes, I had my reception in one of the open air restaurants. There are lots of them, they are all Something Grill, and they are all open for lunch but not dinner. As a result, you can have your reception in the grill starting at 6.30 (but not earlier because they have to clean up from the daytime). It was beautiful, they decorated it very nicely, with candles in bags all around the edge, and the centerpieces. I was planning on having it on the beach also, but then we decided that it would be nice to get away from the sand and potentially wind or elements. It was perfect, it was really windy but it was fine in the open air restaurant. I loved it. Just tell Ana that's what you want. I had never been to the Barcelo before my wedding, but I just knew that I didnt want it in a banquet hall, and it worked out brilliantly.

We stayed at the Palace for my wedding too, BUT, the actual ceremony site was near the Caribe. ON my first day there, Ana drove me around looking at the sites and that is the one we chose. The palace was beautiful to stay at though . You can do a lot when you get there and it will turn out fantastic! I would just think before hand about what kind of ceremony and reception you want and share it with Ana. I had the best best time, you will too.

It really was, it was awesome, and yours will be too.

Yes, I posted them in another thread on the forum: Here's the slideshow for a taste: Margaret and Eric

I had no problems at all. They say absolutely NO outside photographers, but I asked my wedding coordinator if one of my guests could be my photographer (wasn't a guest at all, I hired Elizabeth Medina, who was fantastic), and they said so long as she stayed at the resort for 1 night, it was acceptable. I printed out that email just incase for confirmation, but never needed it. Nobody ever asked any questions, and honestly, nobody cared or saw/said anything. It was totally fine. And well well worth it!

Yes, she was far and away my most expensive thing for my wedding, but was EXTREMELY well worth it. She was also amazing at being there to take photos, but never being in the way, and always being delightful. As for the ceremony, no! She was right there taking pics the whole time, sorry if I gave the wrong impression somehow! And the tequila and waiters was not planned! It was a total surprise, but was so fun! Even my older, catholic relatives thought it was funny and some did a tequila shot! It was great.

She's AWESOME!!!!! You should all hire her if you can afford it. Margaret and Eric

The DJ didn't speak any english at all. We had to get my sister to do all the announcing, which actually worked out fine. Some of my guests thought the hilariously cheesy/bad DJ actually added to the fun, my Fiance says that's the one thing he probably wouldn't have bothered paying for if we did it again. I think that it was fine, nice to not have to get my sister or bro-in-law to have to do that, I'm glad we had someone else do it, and it was fine.

Oh, and just one more comment. I realize that in that first photo, there are people in bathing suits walking by behind the beautiful ceremony set up. BUT, once I had arrived, and thereafter while we were having our champagne etc, they didn't allow anyone near or through the wedding, behind it or in front of it, so it was perfect!

Oh, and yes, we did get the DJ. He was not the best DJ in the world, but he was fun in a cheesy way. We were glad we had him just so nobody had to deal with it from our group, but he was certainly not the best DJ ever. Our party was still tonnes of fun though! Here are a few photos that I think capture some of the set up... Picasa Web Albums - Margaret - ForumAlbum

And by the way, the food was fantastic. The wedding cake was beautiful and delicious, the lobster and steak was great, the dessert was fantastic. It was awesome.

By the way, I took Melissa's advice, and when I got there I asked them to reserve space in the buffet for my 80 guests for the night before dinner. They did it no problem, and it was perfect.

That's really odd, they never talked about a tourist visa at all with us, and judging by how disorganized they were (at the reception, NOT the wedding folks), I can't imagine they would ever ask for that. Seriously, I emailed with my coordinator that if one of my guests (ie you pay for a night at the hotel) took photos, would that be fine, and she said yet. I printed out the email to bring with me, but NEVER needed it, nobody ever asked, nobody even mentioned photos, so I think it would be fine... As for the reception, mine was in the Mariachi Grill. They put paper bags all around the edge with candles in them. They had the centerpieces, the cake, and that was about all, but it was such a beautiful setting, it was perfect just like that (oh and I brought the shells for the tables). And they had all the chair covers. We were all upgraded to the Palace resort (we were supposed to be in the Tropical). The rooms are all junior suites, and the buffet was on the beach front, but other than that, we walked through all the other hotels, and they're all beautiful! Especially the tropical and the colonial, so I would have been happy in any of them. I will upload photos online and send out a link. Gorgeous place, I'd really recommend it! For the ceremony, they put flower petals up the aisles... and the beautiful arch.

Why can't I upload a jpeg

No worries, and first off, don't get nervous! Everything was great. To answer your questions: Do they have pictures of things the offer?? For example: Wedding Arches: are there different ones, do they let you pick the flowers for them or the material?? There was a choice between a couple of different arches, and she showed me the options on the day. She had emailed me some choices in advance, but during my meeting with her on my first day, I saw the full selection, and changed my mind to another. And yes, I was allowed to pick the flowers, got them to match my bouquet. How big is the bride’s/bm’s bouquet selection?? It was largeish, there was a whole binder with different types, and then when I picked the shape and type I wanted, we changed the colours to match my fiance's tie. Is there different kind of center pieces?? They have fruit centerpieces, or you can pay more to have flower centerpieces. I went for the fruit ones, and they were simple but lovely. I also brought boxes of shells (bought cheap on oriental trading) and they were scattered around the centerpieces on the tables. The head table gets a flower centerpiece which I had in the same theme as my bouquet (bright gerbera daisies) Do you have a name for the more experienced hair dresser?? Her name was Sofy. The place was great though, and there were other people, and when it was clear that the first woman couldn't do what I wanted, it was she that suggested getting someone else, not me, so I bet they'll be as nice for you too! How did you have your reception set up? Right on the beach?? Did you dance right on the sand?? Was it comfortable?? No, I had the reception at the nearby grill restaurant. It was perfect for me because I was worried about being on the sand all night (it was really really windy too), but I didn't want to be inside. The grill restaurants are open air, but still proper floor and everything, it was perfect. I’m just nervous and since the day is getting closer I’m going out of my mind. I apologies for so many questions No worries! Please feel free to ask any more you want! And I'll try again to post the pics tomorrow, it was gorgeous, and seriously, the wedding planners were fantastic, and on my first day, all my nerves disappeared because she had all my emails printed out, and made me feel so comfortable! So don't worry. It was wonderful!

Yeah, not sure what my problem is with posting pics, won't allow a jpeg?? Anyway, as for the ring, he was so upset! He's had it for a year and wanted to wear it... He bought one for 3 dollars in the gift shop the next day, but I think he still wants another real one... ha ha. )

Hmmm, I'm having trouble uploading pics right now.... sorry!

Yes, I must upload the pictures. I have to say, MANY of the ideas and planning came about because of this forum, so I want to help as much as I can to any new brides planning out there! I had the reception in the Mariachi Grill, an open air restaurant area in the Colonial hotel.

FANTASTIC! Oh my goodness, I had the best time. EVERYONE should have a destination wedding! I don't know why anyone would do a traditional wedding. Everything was fantastic, perfect, fabulous, and wonderful. Destination Wedding in General: Best idea! I basically had all my favourite family and friends together in one place for 4 days, in gorgeous weather, gorgeous setting, with restaurants and alcohol included, which meant everything was so easy... everyday, just saying, let's meet in the bar at 7, bumping into people by the pool, etc. IT was awesome. Everyone talked about how wonderful it was to be there on holiday. Barcelo as a hotel: It’s huge. They have just added a new hotel, Barcelo Maya Palace, which means there are now 5 on the site. It is beautiful. But it’s big and crowded. However, the pools and beach are gorgeous. The food was good, the drinks were great, a really wonderful place to hang out. The staff were delightful, really friendly, and the rooms were really lovely. HOWEVER, their reservations and reception were a NIGHTMARE. Many of my guests waiting 1 to 3 hours to check in. Many times during the week, the keys stopped working and you had to wait again for a long time at reception to get a new key. Worst of all, we checked multiple times that my whole group was in the same hotel of the 5 (since this affects the pool and buffet area that people hang out in). We were All upgraded to the new hotel, the Palace. But on Wednesday, when half of my guests were already there and checked in with rooms, the half still arriving were all moved to one of the other hotels. I spent a whole afternoon arguing with them, and nothing was changed. People were really upset about that. In addition, they kept asking my mum and others to change hotels half way through their stay. Everything was perfect except for this part, this was a nightmare. Wedding Coordinator: Ana Bautista who works for the Barcelo, was our coordinator. She was FANTASTIC! There were lots of things happening, and problems with the reception (as above). The mariachis didn't show up, and other stuff. Whenever these things happened, she just sorted them out as quickly as she could. When half of our guests were moved to the hotel, she made sure they got the same wrist bands as us (since all the rooms were full, so there was nothing else she could do) so that we could still all go to the same buffets etc. When I arrived, there was a letter from her for us to meet her. When I showed up, she had every single one of my emails printed out! She was responsive to all my emails over the past year, and quickly too. She remembered every detail that I asked her for. The reception wouldn't deliver the welcome bags, and so she personally drove around all the rooms and delivered them (we had 80 guests all arriving on different days). She was AWESOME! SPA at the hotel: The spa was great. In the wedding package we had included a couples massage, and a mani/pedi for me on the morning of the wedding. The mani/pedi was the best one I’ve ever had, and lasted for 2 hours! I also had my hair done there. It cost 70 dollars. I had a trial a couple of days before, and the first woman couldn’t do the style I wanted after trying for a while. So they got a more experienced woman in. She then worked on me for 2 hours to make it perfect for me, with no extra charge. It was her day off on my wedding day, and she came in anyway just to do it again for me! And I loved my hair, it was exactly what I wanted. Wedding: The wedding was perfect, really. All the details I wanted were there. The set up on the beach looked absolutely gorgeous. The reception was extremely fun. The food and the cake were incredibly delicious, lots of compliments from my guests. The location of the reception was absolutely beautiful. Everything was perfect. Many of my guests said it was the most fun wedding they’d ever been to. Flowers: The flowers were incredibly beautiful, gerbera daisies. Photographer: We hired Elizabeth Medina. We paid for her to spend the night at the Barcelo, and as a result we had 0 problems even though officially outside photographers were not allowed. I haven't seen the photos yet, but the one she sent me was gorgeous. Also, her attitude and presence was perfect, she was always there taking photos, but never in the way, was extremely kind and friendly, and had an amazing eye for directing us to get amazing photos. I had several people comment to me the next day that she was fantastic. I can't wait for the photos! But so far, I'd HIGHLY recommend her. Videographer: We used the Barcelo videographer, with the cheapest package. The video as a result is really cheesy, and not the best quality, but I wanted beautiful photos (spent the money for Elizabeth Medina), and the video was not as important for me. I'm glad we got it, it's a beautiful momento, and it just has the entire ceremony recorded, so it's perfect for what I wanted. OOT Bags: We made a list of 'Who's Who' at our wedding (someone's idea from this forum, I forget who), and it was a HUGE hit! I would definitely do this, so many people commented on this. Other stuff was: Plastic Mugs saying Eric & Margaret, 22nd de Febrero. People liked these and they were cute! Beach ball -- big hit Squirt Gun -- the kids loved these Chocolate, tylenol, wet wipes, chapstick. Overall, people were really pleased with the bags. Things I’d do again: Ceremony on the beach – so gorgeous, super windy, but still gorgeous. Bubbles when we walked down the aisle instead of confetti – was a really fun visual as we came down, and the guests thought it was fun. Champagne toast just as we walked down the aisle – at some weddings I’ve been two, it’s a bit weird right after, and the couple leaves immediately for photos, but to walk down and then immediately give out champagne was a lovely moment, on the beach still, of toasting everyone and enjoying the champagne before we went off for photos. Mariachis: Superb, really added to the atmosphere. We had them for the ceremony and then for the cocktail hour, and they were brilliant. We had dancing during our cocktail hour purely by accident because people were having so much fun with the mariachis! IT was so appropriate for the setting, and they played beautiful, slow and classy music during the ceremony, so it worked really well for that too. Having a friend do the ceremony: Made it really personal, and very moving and touching. It would have been totally different if we had a random judge or minister that we had not talked to before the ceremony. Tequila shots at the reception: I was shocked, but the hotel staff brought these out, and even my really straight relatives did one! Everyone thought it was really Mexican and fun! Who’s Who in the OOT -- big hit with the guests. Midnight swim in the ocean with the guests at the end of the party: wonderful.  Things I’d skip next time: Not sure I can think of anything I’d skip. Maybe the fact that my fiancé lost his ring the night of our wedding in the ocean!

I just got back this morning, and everything was PERFECT!!! (well, not everything, but everything wedding related was!). I will write a full review of the Barcelo Maya, but my initial takeaway is: big, beautiful resort, huge huge huge, the wedding and wedding coordinators were fantastic,the wedding was perfect in every way. The only negative is that everything to do with the front desk and room reservations was a bit of a nightmare... People waiting an hour or two to check in, our guests all being in the same hotel, but suddenly being told to move to other hotels, half the guests being changed to another hotel half way through... But in general, other than the room problems, and once people were all checked in, everyone had a great time, and the whole thing was fantastic!!!!! Ugh, so miserable to be home! I don't have any pics yet, but will send when I do!

Yes! I'm leaving on Sunday. I can't believe it!! So soon, so soon! I have tomorrow off work too, so I am done!!! Then I'm back to work for a month, and then to Vietnam for my honeymoon in April, all good times ahead!

And you reckon welcome brunch at the Caribe is better than Tropical? Good to konw.

Thanks dear, great advice! I am starting to get stressed out. Bu tmostly because I am so swamped with work and travelling a bunch with work throughout January, so I feel like I don't have time to do everything right! Thank you so much!