MonoAmor

Okay Im thinking that our cakes got switched haha. We got the wrong cake as well! Our flowergirls attacked it though so we couldnt switch it lol. What a day that was lol!

When I was at Barcelo Maya Palace they did this the evening before our wedding. I dont know how it was arranged we just saw the crowd of people on the beach with all the baby turtles...so adorable!

For those of you having a cocktail hour with all the finger foods I wouldnt worry about the smaller menus. Not one person at our wedding was able to finish all the 5 courses we had. The portions are pretty decent. I only made it through the first 2 plates served. Hopefully they arent charging the same amount though for the downsized dinners?

Heres the only pics Im putting on the net, but you guys are welcome to take a peek. leanimal_photo - Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting If theres a specific picture of something your looking for PM and Ill see if I have it. We have over a couple thousand pics from throughout the week.

Oh yah..Joann who was your photographer?? I wouldnt recommend the guy I had. He was really inconsiderate of everyone besides himself and managed to stand in front of the video camera during our vows, which makes me want to smack him everytime Ive watched it lol. He also tried to make us pay $500 more to him to get our pics from him, which his boss didnt know about or approve of. I wish I could remember his name so future brides could ask for your photographer instead. Also, we had a girl photographer switch with him later in the night (wedding overload! grr) and she did a fantastic job. So out of all the pics we have from them the majority of usable ones were from her. Too bad she didnt show up earlier!

Joann! Ive been looking on here trying to see your feedback! Im glad you made it home safe and sound. My aunt told me she met you, I was like WTF where is this girl! I dont think I saw you all week!! Im sorry you had troubles with Dreams. I was kinda in the same boat, I cried the whole first day I was there in the VIP lounge lol. After I realized how bad Dreams effed up I kinda just ignored the wedding the rest of the time and let my Dad talk to them. He kinda was able to sort it out so we got some of what we wanted but for us they tried to charge us more money (Dreams that is). In the end, was it exactly what we wanted? NO! But we still had a great week down there cus Barcelo rocked. I love your pics, they are fabulous! Post a review girl! To all the other girls, I HATED when people on here would say "once you get there the WC will kick in to gear so dont worry about it now". So I dont want to say that, but I will say that when I met Gabriella she is very competant, but also very busy. She had it more together than my WC from Dreams and she arranged for small things that I never had even thought of. I hope that is a little reassuring.

Quote: Originally Posted by ida Oh no...should i be worried? I wouldnt be worried at all because it was all sorted out. I just think Anabel may be new at it all and is still learning. Landy and a rep named Suzy were able to clear up everything in the end. I dont think she is a WC yet. I got the impression she was more of an assistant, but I could be wrong.

I dealt with Anabel a bit when we were moved from Dreams to Barcelo. She was helpful on the phone and promised us lots. However, when we arrived at Barcelo, she was there and had no idea who we were, when we were getting married or anything. I was completely floored that they couldnt figure out who we were. She took all my info and had to get someone else to deal with us because at that point I was a little less than impressed. Also, everything she promised us on the phone she never relayed on to Barcelo so it was a really confusing check in that took about 3 hours. Im not trying to be negative, I just wanted to give feedback on my experience with her.

Heres the link to some pics.. leanimal_photo - Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting

Barcelo Maya Palace: 9.5/10 After being switched from Dreams Tulum, I was VERY hesitant about going to another resort, and was certain that Barcelo would be a bit of a disappointment. Well I was 100% wrong because Barcelo Maya Palace is an amazing resort. They bent over backwards for us in so many ways and outshined any of the Dreams staff that we were working with. The first day there was the worst because the people we talked to at Dreams had failed to pass along what they promised us to the staff at Barcelo. Therefore, we showed up to check in and were told that nobody was getting the upgrades they were supposed to be getting. Also, the staff who was there from Dreams seemed to be confused about who we were, which really made me mad since I had been emailing and phoning them for months. I was really upset that my guests were being denied something that they were promised so we talked to the manager and were able to get VIP bracelets for everyone who booked with our travel agent. If I hadn’t of been promised this in the first place, I wouldn’t of cared, but we felt that they should have to keep their promises. Some of our guests were brought some drinks while they were waiting, but the lobby bar was so close that most of them just wandered over once they got their bracelets. The Milta Suite: 10+++/10 Originally, we were supposed to be in a regular standard room like the rest of our guests, but my aunt (a TA in Canada) arrived the day before me, found out what room we were in and demanded that we get upgraded to the Milta Suite, which she saw was empty. I can’t thank her enough because I almost cried when I saw the room. Not only was it bigger than most people’s condos, but it was so beautiful and had the biggest walk in master bath with closets that I’ve ever seen. The room had a living/dining room with 2 patio entrances on ground level by the beach (one with a table and chairs and 2 loungers), a huge master bath for me and another smaller bathroom for him, and a huge master bedroom with a hammock patio. Housekeeping: 10/10 The housekeeping was beyond what I have experienced in Canada. We were left towel art everyday and the room was so clean. They would always refill our fridge and snacks everyday, and on request would leave more 6 packs of beer for the guys. We didn’t have anything stolen and the staff were so kind and polite. On our wedding day while I was at the spa, my hubby went and found a housekeeper who was about to go to lunch and asked her if she could do our room once she was done because we were getting married in a couple of hours and he wanted it nice for me to get ready in. She told him she would put off her lunch and do it right away. She ran and got 3 other people to come help her and they cleaned the room and put flowers all over the bedroom and decorated. She even asked him if she could arrange my things to get ready and she laid out all my makeup and perfumes and made a “getting ready†area for me with my shoes and veil. When I came back from the spa I was absolutely floored by how much trouble they went through. Hubby also tried to tip her $30 but she refused his money and told him it was no trouble at all. Wedding Coordinator: 8/10 Our coordinator was Landy from Dreams Tulum and Gabriella from Barcelo. Overall, I was more than happy with the end result and everything turned out perfectly. I would only give them an 8 because of the lack of communication before the wedding. I received very few emails back from them, and there was some misunderstandings as a result, but in the end they did a great job. Spa: 6/10 I was really disappointed in the Spa at Barcelo. I had a mani, pedi, full body massage, hair and makeup done there. The full body massage was amazing and so relaxing. However, the manicure and pedicure were done poorly for both my maid of honor and myself. They didn’t shape the nails and the tips were spotty and see through. On the wedding day, Betty did my hair, and she did exactly what I asked and it looked great. However, I had to walk out halfway through my makeup application once I saw myself in the mirror. I had asked for really light purple and ivory on my eyes and when I checked she had put a bright pink almost all the way to my eyebrows. I nearly choked when I saw it and considering I only had 40 minutes to the ceremony I figured it would be safer to do my eyes myself. I ran the whole way back to my room and was able to finish off my eyes myself. (Thanks to the housekeeper for setting out my makeup! Lifesaver!) Ceremony: 8/10 We had the ceremony at the gazebo because it was the only place not in the sand. We were told that Barcelo had a chapel in the Colonial area and we assumed we could use it, but we found out that unless we were having a prearranged Catholic ceremony we couldn’t use it. I was really disappointed because I had first chosen Dreams Tulum for their chapel and then agreed to Barcelo because they had one. We really wanted to be married in a chapel but it just wasn’t possible. The gazebo was nice but it was a little too public for me. I felt like our wedding was on display to everyone eating their lunch at the buffet, but it was the only location we had available besides the beach. The timing and music went perfectly, and the set up was really pretty. The minister we had definitely wouldn’t have been my first pick by far, but he spoke clear enough English and I could tell he meant well. He had asked my hubby if it would be okay if he asked us questions throughout the ceremony and hubby thought it would be better if he didn’t since he didn’t talk to us about the questions beforehand. Apparently, he didn’t have another speech prepared because he went ahead and quizzed us anyway. I felt really uncomfortable being asked questions and kind of wished he would have talked about the meaning of marriage instead. He did do a nice job though other than that. Cocktail/Reception: 9/10 Both went really well. The food for the cocktail hour was pretty late getting to us but it was terrific once it did. I have no complaints other than that. We had the reception outside by the pools in front of the beach. It was beautifully set up. We used DJ Mannia and he did a wonderful job and did everything the way I asked him to perfectly. He was a complete professional and if anyone is thinking of using him I definitely recommend that you do. We also had fire dancers that Landy arranged and it made the night. Everyone was completely surprised by it and other hotel guests even wandered over to watch and clap. It was my favorite part of the reception. They even stuck around after to dance with us and have some shots, which made for some really funny pictures. The dinner was great and the cake was yummy, even after it got mauled by the flower girls. There was one staff who really stuck out to us. Her name was Carina and she was the most wonderful, considerate person and did everything she could to help us. She was so sweet and kept offering us anything that we wanted. She made sure we were taken care of, which was a really nice feeling. We even saw her a couple days later and tipped her and thanked her over and over because I don’t think anyone else could have done a better job. Photographer: 6/10 We used the resort photographer and I was a little disappointed, not with his pictures but with the service. He was very absentminded and didn’t give us much direction. I felt a little uncomfortable with him and I think that came through in some of the pictures. I got the feeling like he didn’t really care since we were sent over by Dreams. When we went to get our pictures he tried to make deals with us and not give us what was in our package. He didn’t want to take the time to have the pictures printed out so in the end we just took the 260 images on CD with no slideshow or album. I didn’t care because I can do the slideshow myself and I didn’t feel like bartering with this guy or paying an extra $500 which sounded like was going straight to his pocket. In the end I got more images so I’m not complaining. I can get the ones I want printed myself. I just found that he was a little unprofessional. I'll work on adding some pics...

I will be posting a review with pics once I get them all organized...unpacking is a pain. There was a very light breeze the whole night which was perfect, nothing was blowing around and it kept everyone cool. There was a little humidity during the day but by the evening it was fine. And honestly, I didnt see any bugs the whole time I was on the resort. The only time that I got some bites was when we went into the jungle to zipline and stuff. However, later in the week another wedding got rained on and had to be moved inside to the buffet, but honestly even the buffets at the Palace are gorgeous so I dont think they minded too much. I will get on putting my review together, but I will say that you guys shouldnt worry because Barcelo Palace is absolutely beautiful. My parents are already calling their TA to go back next year and I was told by a relative who travels a lot that it was by far the best resort they have stayed at in their 20 years of travelling to Mexico. I dont find that hard to believe because it was amazing.

We just got back from our wedding at the Palace and we had our reception outside by the pools and it was great. The ocean was right behind us and they light up the pools and palm trees and it looked great. They also took away all the chairs and loungers so we didnt have to look at them. Its a good option if you dont want to pay for a dancefloor outside.

Anabel is who we dealt with and she got us moved to Barcelo. She seems really nice and she is the one who is going to get us 7 a la carte tickets unstead of 4 because at Dreams you can eat in the restaurants every night. She has tried to accomodate everything we have asked for. So far she seems capable, but we will see in a couple weeks how it goes.

OMG! I just found out that FI and I are leaving TOMORROW AFTERNOON to go on our trip before the wedding and the airport is 3 1/2 hours away so we have to leave early!!. I thought that we were leaving Thursday night, but I just checked our itinerary and we are leaving TOMORROW! Im having a b*tch fit trying to get organized and packed. I dont know how come I never checked the itinerary before, I just took FI's word for it and he misread it. (stupid little *@#&(@!! haha)We wont be home between this trip and the wedding so I need to pack for the wedding week as well. And on top of it Landy never got back to me yesterday or today! I just picked a menu selection from Barcelos options and printed it out. I dont really have any other choice so they better give me the meal to match my menu or Im going to judo-chop someone! I feel like a hummingbird on crack!!!

First of all, I want to say that you and your FI are blessed to be able to be so strong and stick with each other through hardship. It sounds like you have an amazing guy. Some people might disagree, but I think you should have your wedding anyway. Forget about the people who are trying to bring you down. You have a man who loves you and wants to share his life with you so why should other people wreck that for you. Years from now you wont remember the flowers and drama, you will remember the fact that you got married to him. If money is the problem, look at your budget and find ways to make it happen. Forget about the people who dont want to support you because your FI will. I have wanted to call off the wedding because of stress as well. But once I thought about it I know that I just needed to adjust our wedding plans so that it was about us and not about everyone else. Their presence is just an added bonus.