itsme7396

i'm with Leigh... there's no way you're going to make everyone happy... pick the place you're happy with... the place that you love... its your wedding... and if its still too much for some of your guests, there are a ton of other options down there for them... one of the reasons i picked the Grand Palladium, besides it being close to where i was having my wedding, was because it was more affordable for my guests... so about 45 stayed with us... but still some thought it was too much... so i had 15 or so guests stay at other resorts / hotels / time-shares in and around PDC... i know that two couples that came to my wedding spent around $700/person for 5 days/4 nites by staying at hotels (non-AI) right in the heart of PDC... thats including airfare from NYC... yes we didn't get to hang out with them as much as we wanted too, but we did see them at the wedding... and we bought all our outside guests, day passes the day before the wedding... so we did get to hangout with them 2 of the days they were down there... i hope this helps... julie...

Jen... we just got back from our wedding... i didn't have my wedding at the Grand Palladium, but we did stay there... with about 45 of our guests... when i first started my search for my DW, we were considering having our wedding at the GP, but they were booked for the weekend i requested... and since the resort we had my wedding at (Al Cielo Hotel) only has 4 rooms, we decided we would all stay at the Grand Palladium anyway, because it was only 5 minutes from the Al Cielo... we were at GP for over a week and i think we probably saw 1 wedding reception every nite at the Grand Azul (the outdoor buffet, in front of the big pool)... as for ceremonies, i was only able to glimpse at one over by the gazeboo... i'd have no complaints having my wedding there... but if i did have my wedding at GP, like KAYKAY mentioned, i would definitely have it over on the beach at the northern end of the resort (the Kantenah end of the resort)... as for our stay there, i personally never noticed the smell that everyone wrote about, ya i could understand the complaints about the long walks to get to the pool and lobbies... but that was a never an issue for us... we just took the trolly... and if the bellhop was driving by in an empty golf cart, we'd wave them down and hitch a ride with them... and after talking to most of my guests, i'd say only one couple noticed the musty smell... but they had scented candles with them and when they turned on the AC, they never really noticed it... i've read all the negative reviews about the GP, but i also read all the positive reviews... i just took every review i read, good or bad, with a grain of salt... my photographer (Sol Tamargo) has pictures of a wedding she just did at Grand Palladium Kantenah posted on her blog... here's a link (Sol Tamargo Photography) ... i believe its the 2nd or 3rd posting from the top... my videographer (Paul Schrank) also has a couple videos of weddings he shot at the Grand Palladium... heres the link to his site... (Playa Weddings - Video Samples of weddings in the Caribbean)

Sophie... have you considered Cabo or PV, they might be a little cheaper, since they're closer to LA...

Sophie... i'm not sure if you still need a WC if you go with the Blue Parrot... if we went with the Blue Parrot we would've used our WC... plus our WC would've been able to get us a better rate at the Blue Parrot, then the one Blue Parrot quoted us... go figure... i think our WC was well worth the money... have you checked Ajua? i know a few of the ladies here are going with Ajua as their WC... and they have a restaurant as well that you can have your dinner/reception at (Restaurant & Wedding Reception, Ajua Maya, Playa del Carmen, Riviera Maya Mexico...

hi sophie... i was married at the Al Cielo Hotel... it definitely is a beautiful place to have a wedding... i'm not aware of any all inclusive resort that allows non-guests to attend weddings without buying a day pass... we stayed at the Grand Palladium Kantenah with about 45 of our guests and another 15 staying at other resorts/hotels... and the night before our wedding we hosted a 'welcome party' at the Grand Palladium... we were able to negotiate day passes for $25 each... i think the normal day pass rate is $50... with the day passes all our guests from outside the resort were able to use the pools, buffets, bars, spa... and most of them came by early in the morning and spent the whole day there... they just left their bags in our room and got ready there before our 'welcome party'... one suggestion... have you checked out the Blue Parrot (http://www.blueparrot.com/) when we first started planning our wedding, our WC suggested we look at the Blue Parrot, which is right on the beach in PDC... and only a few blocks from the Paraiso Azul hotel... so that eliminates the need for transportation for your guests... going without a WC is pretty tough, especially since we're here in the states... i tried it at first, but gave in... if you're looking for one, check out erica at Weddings in Playa Has Experienced Wedding Planners to Coordinate Destination Weddings, Receptions and Mayan Ceremonies in Playa del Carmen Mexico... their rates are reasonable, and they have a nice restaurant that you can have your dinner/reception at... Playa del Carmen Restaurant Yaxche Maya Cuisine Restaurant Playa del Carmen Mexico Mayan, Mexican, International and Seafood for Lunch and Dinner... plus they can probably get you better rates on other restaurants and vendors... i'll post what i recieved from the Blue Parrot... if you have any questions just ask... julie DINNER_FOOD_OPTIONS_2006.doc BUFFET_OPTIONS_2006.doc

hi... and welcome... this site will definitely help you find a lot of the info you need to make your decision... i was married at the Al Cielo Hotel (www.alcielohotel.com)... which is about 30 minutes south of PDC... and most of our guests stayed with us at the Grand Palladium Kantenah, 5 minutes south of the Al Cielo... we choose the Grand Palladium, because (a) it was really close to where we were having our wedding, and ( it was the most affordable all-inclusive resort out of the resorts we looked at... i'm sorry i don't have any info about Tucan, i've stayed at other Iberostars, and i loved them... but if you decide to stay in a resort near or in PDC, you'll have more then enough hotels/resorts for your guests to choose from... again... welcome... and if you have any questions... just ask... julie...

don't worry... just be excited you're leaving in a few days... shopping in PDC for your OOT bags is fine... thats we did (30 bags)... we also bought our wedding favors there... and if you can think of any gifts from walmart or sam's club, PDC has both... we bought little shot glasses, magnets, maracas, etc...

we sent out the STD about 8 months before our wedding and the formal invites with RSVPs about 3 months before... we gave everybody the option to either send in the RSVP or to do it on our website... i'd say only 5 people RSVP'd on the website and out of the 75 invites, we probably only recieved 30% of the RSVP cards back... we had 60 people at our wedding so there were a lot of phone calls made...

hi... welcome... and congrats...i'm one of those RM brides... if you have any questions, just ask...

we were only expecting 30-40 people at our wedding... but 60 ended up coming to Mexico with us... thankfully no one else decided to go... because the restaurant that we had the wedding at only had room for 60 for a sitdown...

don't worry... we got it from our friends and family as well... you're not alone... my father didn't decide to go to our DW until the week before the wedding, and i only think he went b/c my mother guilted him into going... we also had family members tell us to our face, that they were going and how excited they were, then later find out from other family members that they were talking about us, and complaining that WE wanted them to spend all this money to go to our wedding... yet, when we announced that we were having a DW, we told everyone not to worry if they couldn't make it, and that we weren't pressuring anyone to go... we changed the location of our DW as well, just to make it easier for people that wanted to go... but in the end... its just the two of you... so have the wedding YOU want... not the wedding they want for you...

if you can wait, i'd wait... i went to RM, Mexico last July for on a scouting trip... and it was really hot... i mean really hot... i just had my wedding at the beginning of March and the weather was perfect high 80s low 90s all week... as a bonus the day we left NYC for Mexico, it started snowing... YES... unfortunately the day we got back, it started snowing again... NO... hahahaa... i think having it in the winter just made it a nice break from the cold for us and all our guests...

Kevsbeachbride, i was just on Matt's Blog... and he just added a new post with your honeymoon pictures... incredible shots... Matt Adcock Photography Blog

hi... i would think they would give you some kind of non-legal certificate... i just had my wedding in PDC... and we were given a signed wedding certificate by the minister that did it... just check with your WC...

Quote: Originally Posted by Kevsbeachbride Thank you!! I'd def recommend EDR, we loved it! But be sure to do your research to make sure it's everything that you want in a resort. I found Reviews of vacations, hotels, resorts, vacation and travel packages - TripAdvisor to be helpful... though you have to take most reviews w/ a grain of salt being that there's no telling what type of person wrote them. We booked Sol about a year ago so at the time her package price was $2,800. I believe that it's now $3,500. I'm not sure what the current price is for both her & Matt, it may be on their website... del Sol Photography. If not, shoot them an email. They're both super sweet. Kevsbeachbride, i booked Sol a year ago as well... we loved her work so much... we booked her even before we had a place set for the wedding... and having her fiance Matt there taking photos with her, was awesome...

Quote: Originally Posted by Kevsbeachbride So I could share my wedding photos & not jack Julie's thread, I made my own. We got married at El Dorado Royale in Mexico on Feb 2nd. Having a DW wedding is w/o a doubt the best WR decision we've made. I couldn't imagine doing it any other way. The resort is incredible... immaculately maintained grounds, delicious food, unbelievable service & the casitas were so romantic. We have no complaints. We had 25 guests join us. Everyone is raving about what a great time they had... We hired Sol Tamargo & Matt Adcock to shoot our wedding from DelSol Photography. del Sol Photography. There are no words to explain how amazing they are. Individually, they are both topnotch photogs but together their work is mind-blowing. They completely capture the emotion of the day in their photos. They were a dream to work w/ & we are more than thrilled w/ our wedding photos. I can't recommend them enough! Here's our slideshow: del Sol Photography I'm happy to answer any questions about EDR or our photogs! Sol Tamargo Photography Matt Adcock Photography Blog i have to say again... amazing photos...

Quote: Originally Posted by Kevsbeachbride We were lucky to have Sol & Matt shoot our wedding on Feb 2nd. They did an amazing job!! I can't recommend them enough... del Sol Photography i just saw your photos... on Sol's blog... amazing pictures... it looked like an awesome day... like you... we can't say enough great things about them... we've even told friends to check them out for their weddings here in NYC area...

Congrats... your wedding looked amazing... and it looked like all your guests had a great time... now that its over... what a relief... hahahaaa...

i'm not sure if this is true or not, but i read that they don't allow bonfires or fire dancers on the beach in PDC anymore, because one hotel caught on fire when a firedancer lost control of his baton, and it set fire to the roofs of the palapas and the hotel... like i said... i'm not sure if its true... but its what i heard... as for making appointments for a scouting trip... definitely making them before you head down... the security guards at the gates of the big all-inclusives will give you a hard time if you're not a guest of the resort... and if there isn't anyone to show you around, you probably won't be able to check out the property...

Thanks again... for all your great comments... if you guys have any questions or need any help... just ask...

hi... Stephanie... welcome... we had the same problem with family complaining about our DW... 'its too far', 'its too much'... so we just tried to convince our families that it was more a vacation and not just a wedding... it just seemed to peak their interests when they looked at it as a vacation, instead of a trip just to go to a wedding... again... welcome...

welcome... and congrats... i just got back from DW in the Riviera Maya... if you have any 's... let me know...

Congats on your engagement!

Hi... We had a DJ at our wedding... our WC (weddingsinplaya.com) helped us book one out of PDC... and we were able to email the DJ all of the songs we wanted before we went down to mexico... we were also able to have a face to face meeting with him to discuss what kind of music we were looking for him to play... i don't think our wedding would have been as fun for our guests, if we had a band instead... the dj had everyone dancing all nite... julie...

hi... we just got back from our wedding in RM... We didn't get married at Grand Palladium, we had our wedding at the Al Cielo Hotel & Restaurant, about a 5 minute drive from GP... But we did have a welcome party at the palladium the nite before the wedding... we were able to set it up with the Groups Coordinator(Daffney)... she set up the private party with apps and open bar at the '24 hour shack'... behind the big pool right on the beach... and we were also able to negotiate day passes for 16 guests of ours that were staying at other resorts... if you need more info on it let me know... as for the weddings there, i was told they were doing 2-3 weddings a day... i know every nite that we were there (, we did see a wedding reception at the Grand Azul... i originally considered having my wedding at GP... but was told by the palladium's WC that they were fully booked for weddings for the week i got married... as for actual wedding ceremonies, we only saw 2... one at the gazebo and one on the beach... as for the resort... we had about 45 people staying there with us at the 'kantenah'... i was able to get all my guests booked in rooms that were only a building or two away from ours... the resort is really big... if guests were booked in rooms at the 'white sands' or the 'riviera'... i doubt we would've ever saw them... after asking all our guests how their stays were, i did hear the same complaints i've read in other reviews... "long walk" "funny smell"... but it never seemed to bother our guests... they were always at the pool or the beach or the bars and never in their rooms anyway... If you can... i suggest upgrading to the mayan suites... the outdoor shower was nice... buildings right on the beach... our building was at the northern tip of the property... yes, it is a walk to the restaurants and buffets, but we never really went back to the room after dinner anyway... the beach there was pretty quiet... no rocks... no sea grass... unlike the beach towards the big pool and the gazebo... it was really easy to get a group of 10 or more lounge chairs next to each other so that our guests could hang out at the beach together...... plus it had its own bar, which was never crowded... This resort is definitely not a place for the young single partier... and we had a few... the majority of our guests were mid 20s to early 30s... they would just take taxis to PDC to get their fill of bar/club hopping... they never complained... would i go back yes... definitely... i just wish they had room service... on the van ride back to the airport... there was couple on the ride that stayed at Dreams Tulum, and they kept on about ordering room service everyday... that would've been nice... hahhaa... anyway... i hope this helps... julie...