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Quote: Originally Posted by CTall119 Bridal March - Jonathan Cain Absolutely beautiful, ladies! Check it out! Thank you!This song is perfect. I played piano for 15 years and this one speaks to me perfectly. My search is over!

Quote: Originally Posted by SMB&CRZ A friend of mine recently put me on to a song by Tom Baxter called Better. I just fell in love. I'm thinking about walking down to it. Thoughts? Here's the song on youtube: YouTube - Tom Baxter - Better (Official Video)!!!! Wow! This song is amazing. Thanks so much for sharing.

Quote: Originally Posted by KJT1985 Hi! I have green ones but can't get rid of them till March. And they're probably too dark for you ("clover"). What's your budget? Elegant Perspectives - Buy Wedding Chair Sashes, Bows, Ties - Canada & USA has some for fairly cheap and since they're based in Canada you don't have to pay duty on them, just tax. Which might be cheaper than paying duty on the wedding linens direct home page ones which are a little cheaper pre-duty. Good luck! Thanks for these links, this thread was really helpful! This seems like a silly question but are there any major differences between the satin and organza sashes? It seems like satin may be a more common choice but I wasn't sure if the there was a reason for this. Also, are the sashes wrinkled after being in their packages or can you just take them out of the pacakges and use them right away?

I'd also be interested in the paper lanterns - do you have tips on how to use these? Did you end up hanging them or using them on tables.

I just sent you a PM about the chair sashes and table runners. Thanks!

Quote: Originally Posted by NaM I was JUST reading that thinking the same thing. Dulce is my WC and I have an email that specifically writes bouquet, and cake are included in the free one. She wrote me another email asking if I wanted to pick the free one before hand or wait til we got to the hotel to upgrade. Maybe they changed the packages recently? I just checked the packages listed on the Palace web site and it seems a bridal bouquet of roses or lilies is included in the free wedding package (Palace Resorts Weddings). Hope this helps! Jen

Quote: Originally Posted by rach220 Wow! I'm so glad you guys said something about the free bouquet...I thought I was supposed to get a free bouquet too!!!!! When I asked about it and they said no, I went online and looked back at the package and it wasn't there...I thought I was crazy but I totally think I was right now! I never pushed the issue since I decided I wanted orchids in my bouquet and knew they would be expensive by buying real ones. But now I'm kind of mad I didn't...oh well. You definitely need to print everything out and save everything! Jenn-I am newly out of grad school and was also on a tight budget...we ended up spending around $10,000 but that included our 10 days there and the flights. I have an excel sheet I would be willing to share...email me at [email protected] and I will send it to you. Our pictures are online at www.rachelandscottswanson.shutterfly.com. Enjoy! Hi Rachel, Thanks so much for the link to your photos, they're great! Can you tell me where you got the maracas and how much they cost? I'm trying to figure out an inexpensive decoration for our tables and this is a really cute idea. Thanks! Jen

I'm really interested in bringing my own photographer but our resort has a policy about not allowing outside vendors. I'm not sure if that just applies to local photographers or whether the hotel would have an issue with our home photographer. I'm trying to figure out if it's best to tell/ask the resort that I'm bringing a photographer or whether I should just have our photog as one of the wedding guests and let things work out on their own. Have any other brides had this same issue? What is your recommendation for working with the hotel on this issue? Thanks!

Hi Tanya, I spent a bunch of time reading some BDW reviews about the Palace photographers and am still considering whether this is the right direction for us. Can you give me more information about bringing your own photographer? Is PP ok with this? Do you just plan for your photographer to be a guest of the wedding? Are you planning to pay for your photographer's travel costs? I've read some comments from other brides about destination wedding photographers being willing to exchange photography for travel costs but I didn't know how realistic this was. Thanks so much (all your help is making sure I sleep at night!) Jen

Tanya, What would we do without you! These pictures and your information are so helpful. I just booked my salon appointments and had some of the same questions about it being located off site, etc. The prices for hair and make up seem really reasonable so I've scheduled both. I also went and looked at the room incentives you mentioned from the Palace web site. When selecting the PP we decided not to do a group block for a few reasons so it doesn't look like we qualify for these options. But hopefully our guests will just be fine with getting drinks from the bar rather than a complimentary cocktail after the ceremony. Gracie, I also received more information on the photography options offered by PP. They sent me to Weddings to view samples of work from their photographers. I'm still trying to find out more information about the specific photographers and whether we can pick a specific individual who matches our style but in the meantime, we decided the packages weren't completely unreasonable and are going to book the basic package (includes the ceremony, family pictures, bride and groom pictures, 2 hours of reception and a number of printed photos/album) for $950. Hope this helps some with your decision. The photography was definitely something I was a bit concerned about. Tanya, thanks for the great tip to follow up on my emails. So far Gilberto seems pretty responsive but I won't hesitate to email him again if the responses take a bit longer than a few days. Also, you recommended the Solarium for the ceremony. Do you happen to know what decoration options are available for this area? We selected the free package so none of the ceremony decorations are included in our wedding package but I've noticed in photos that PP must offer some type of arbor/fabric decoration for the Solarium. Thanks a ton! Jen

Hi Tanya, Scratch my last email about the WC. I just heard back today and we apparently missed the first email from our WC Gilberto Espinosa. Is he the same WC you are using? Any tips or thoughts about him? Thanks! Jen

Hi KellynEric, Wow! You're right, that is an amazing promotion through the Palace. I hadn't heard about this deal but our wedding group is pretty small. If you plan to have 75 guests, I'd say go for it. The Palace offers awesome service and I can't imagine that they'd skimp on the quality of anything. Remember, you'll be bringing them tons of revenue so it sounds like a win-win deal for everyone. Good luck! Jen

Hi Tanya, Thanks so much for letting me use material from your site, I know it's going to come in very handy. Also, I loved your idea of the all white theme for the dinner the night before the wedding. This sounds so fun! About a week ago I received the name of an on-site WC, Lorena Herrasti. Do you happen to know her? It's been a week since I sent an initial message to Lorena and I haven't heard back yet. I sent a follow up message today and hope that helps get things moving. I just wanted to get your thoughts on whether a week response time is normal and if you happened to have met Lorena during our site visit. Your WC seems to be pretty responsive, do you think it would be worthwhile for me to reach out to him also? Thanks (again!) Jen

Hi Tanya, Your web site is so incredibly helpful! Thank you so much for sharing all this information. It looks like it's going to be a wonderful time for you and your guests. Jen

Hi Tanya, I just emailed my WC today but I'm not sure how helpful she will be with specific details. She seems to be more on the contract side of things than the on-site property WC. One of my most pressing questions is related to a photographer. I know we have to use a photographer from the palace but I'm a bit picky and would like some time to look at samples of their work and pricing. By any chance do you have information on the specific photographer and prices? I've seen the general photography package pricing but I'm not sure how that works with the photographers we have to choose from (or maybe we don't get to choose....). We're also looking for information on the specific days of the week that the tours are offered. As a gift to our guests we were going to plan a day trip to Cozumel but I want to make sure the day we pick doesn't overlap with the popular tours through the palace like Chitiniza. Do you still have the brochure from the Palace with the days of the week the tours are offered? If so, is there an easy way you could pass this information to me? Any chance you went to Cozumel while you were there for your site visit? If so, do you have any fun suggestions for things we could do with our guests? I can't thank you enough for your help! Jen