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OK ladies...Since this site helped me soooooo much in the planning phase, it's time to do my duty and post a review. I got married at Beach Palace on May 25th. Everything went great despite the relatively poor experience I had on and off with the wedding reservations people. Once I got there things went amazingly smooth! On my arrival, Rebeca Jara, my coordinator met me at the front desk. She took me and my fiancé into her office, went over the paperwork and our choices, did the blood test, etc. I only did the complimentary package, so I can only really attest to how that package worked. I have to say one of the coolest things was that Rebeca recognized us three days later on the beach and said hi to us, by name, even though she had only seen us the one time. It's a silly thing to take note of, but it's the little things like that which make you feel special, you know! I have read a lot of questions about hair...my hair was AMAZING! Seriously, I don't think I could have paid a fancy schmancy designer hairstylist who costs $1000 and had it turn out as good as the Palace stylist did it. Her name was Zugey Chiquini. She is the sweetest person ever. She took what I wanted as far as style goes and really suited it to the shape of my face. It wasn't identical to the picture I brought in, but I thought it turned out even better because it looked great on me, not just on the model from the magazine. Same thing with make-up, she was fantastic. On top of that, they use all top of the line cosmetics and products- like MAC cosmetics and professional styling products. I am not that into hair and make-up, so I don't know all the names, but I know it's the same crap they try to sell me at the high end salons when I can actually afford to go . I also used the in house Smile Market people for my photography. This made me nervous, but I really didn't want to pay a lot to bring a photographer in (being honest here). I know a wedding day is one of the most precious memories, but really why spend thousands of dollars on photos that you will probably just upload on your computer and forget about for years to come. I figured a smaller amount of quality photos would do the trick just fine, but to each their own. So I got the small package...I think 36 printed photos in a book, and I paid $300 for the CD of all the images. The photographer was fantastic, her name was Lucy Cortes. She had a great personality and she was an excellent photographer. She directed us thorough every photo and had ideas for pictures, since I hadn't really prepared any. Since we only had the complimentary package, she took photos during the ceremony and for about 45-60 min after. I think I ended up with almost 300 pictures on the CD...some of them were repeats as she tried to perfect the lighting/blinking/squinting/hair blowing around...but overall I was incredibly impressed. My family also thought they were wonderfully done. The wedding... We did the sky terrace at 6pm. Rebeca, the coordinator, gave my fiancé the play by play right before the ceremony, so he would be prepared, which was nice. Then she dropped of my bouquet in my room, reminded me where to walk, and told me when to head up to the terrace. The bouquet was hot pink roses with off white lilies and looked great. The decor was basic white, but I liked it that way, it looked very streamlined and elegant. During the ceremony, we went through the vows, which they gave us cards to read off of (we did not write our own), then they had us sign the marriage certificates with each of our witnesses, then we cut the cake, and did a champagne toast. This may change if you have a reception planned, but since we did not, they put it all into the ceremony so we would have pictures of all of the landmark moments from a wedding. The only bummer was that we stared into the sun, which made everything squinty and it was quite hot, my fiancé's face was dripping. Also, I was worried about the wind because of other peoples reviews, but it was not an issue at all that night. Onto the cocktail hour...the decor and set-up was amazing. We were at the south sky bar...or whichever one was the side that isn't normally used by guests. They even put private party signs up so that we would have privacy for our group. I never expected things to look so nice for a complimentary package. I thought there would be some food thrown on disposable trays with some bottles of cheap champagne, but I was very wrong. They placed the hors d'oeuvres in these fancy heated silver banquet trays with napkins and real plates. They also accented all of the tables with hot pink, as that was the color of my bouquet. We had two servers and a bartender dedicated to our group, which was really cool...especially considering our group was like 14 people! We were then escorted to dinner at the Italian Restaurant, Bocelli. At the time of booking, I had to narrow the list down to one soup, one salad, and two main dishes (each person picks) for everyone. There was an appetizer sampler and cake for dessert. The wedding cake was ehhhhh, but it's just cake and there are plenty of other dessert options! This meal went really well and they definitely tried to cater to our every need! I think that is about it! Here is the like to the trip advisor review if you want it, but I am sure you all have scoured that site for tips like I did before the wedding:) http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g150807-d152895-r132175635-Beach_Palace-Cancun_Yucatan_Peninsula.html If you have any questions, you can PM me and I will help as much as I can. I was probably the least involved bride ever, so I don't know how much info I have other than the basics because I really didn't care about details. I just wanted the wedding to take place in a beautiful setting with my very handsome husband:) Happy planning to all you future brides, Lisa

Mehganc~ I am surprised at this...my wedding is May 25...and I was actually given the option of using the Colin Cowie packages or the old set of packages that I originally was told about and I declined in favor of the old "complimentary" wedding set-up. I would try asking again. It seems odd that they would have offered it to me when your wedding is three days after mine! Good Luck and See you there:) Lisa Also, just as a note to everyone else...I did not have a travel agent and I booked my guests (6 couples) directly through my Palace wedding coordinator. Palace wedding coordinators are notorious for being difficult to work with because they are swamped. It often took up to two weeks to get answers to very basic and short questions. My guests even had trouble getting ahold of people to book/make final payment. So my biggest piece of advice is to find a travel agent, so he or she can deal with that headache. I am kicking myself for thinking I could handle it b/c I had so few guests. I can tell you that even with only 6 couples, there are tons of changes being made, adjustments, people missing deadlines, a.k.a. a lot of crap I have to deal with. I am a very low maintenance bride, hence the destination wedding, and I even seriously considered changing to another resort and might have, had the invites not gone out, because I was so frustrated with the wedding coordinators at times! On the other hand, the Palace wedding planner I have is great and super responsive! I am confident everything will be smooth sailing from here on out! Plus from what are hear the Palace Resorts are fantastic and they very much cater to brides once they arrive. Happy Planning to everyone! Quote: Originally Posted by mehganc I know communication can be slow with the Palace Resorts, so I thought I would give the heads up for any 2012 brides...I received an email today stating that the Colin Cowie packages will currently not be available until June 1st of this year. I know many brides do not like the new packages, but I am now in a serious predicament because I booked the nautical package months ago for my May 28th wedding. In fact, I initially chose the Palace Resorts because I have always dreamed of a Nantucket wedding and planned to bring Massachusetts to Mexico. I have purchased everything for my wedding surrounding this theme (bridal party attire, invitations, accessories, etc), and I am now told that I have to pick an old package. Anyway, I did not come here with the intentions to rant...I truly hope this doesn't happen to anyone else.

that last answer was for mehganc... I was catching up reading old posts

Since no body answered your question about outdoor restaurants, I will There is Teraza, which is the steak house...it is the patio outside of the Italian Restaurant, but it is considered to be a separate restaurant. The Italian Restaurant, buffet, and the Teraza steak house are all kind of in one building from what I understand. If you have a group larger than 12, you would not have been offered the dinner reception at Teraza, since the group capacity is 12 or less. The only reason I know is b/c I researched the same question. Hope that helps.

Katusha...looks fantastic!!

Not sure about discoloration...I just got mine. I think if you order from China, the material quality will not be as good as the "store" quality, but that's why you aren't paying store prices to get the dress. I wouldn't say the China materials are cheap, but they are a lower grade. I am not familiar enough with fabric to know if things are likely to discolor.

I bought mine from babyonline and it did not appear to be cheaply made, the materials were nice, the stitching was well done, and the dress is actually heavy...Jasmine's may be even better as they cost three times as much

Hilarious about the manequins being marked the same LOL

BABYONLINE:

I got my dress from BABYONLINE. Overall a great experience. I didn't like the beading/lace applique at first but it grew on me and it actually looks nice, not tacky. TIP: if you MUST have lace, ask for it specifically, or go with one of the "more expensive" quotes such as Jasmine's where you can specify you materials. The fit is great. The materials seem very nice and the dress has some weight to it. It looks well made as well. They made it to my exact request (other than the lace). Only thing I am going to alter is getting some cups in the chest to add some oomph (because oomph is essential for your wedding day)!! It may be a little long as well, but I will worry about that later. The only negative I have is that the pictures of the dress before shipping are of crappy quality, which everyone seems to have happen. Other than that I am pleased and would recommend BABYONLINE. If you have any questions, I can try to help. Best wishes! INSPIRATION DRESS:

Oh well, I guess if I don't like it, I can spend $400 to get Jasmines to make it the way I want (I chose the save money route initially thinking I would spend more if I needed to)...at least there are options:) I should receive the dress today, maybe I will like it once it's on?!?!

The only thing I don't understand is what the damn obsession with beading is?!?!?!? I would have rather had just plain lace...I never requested beading...it kind of ruins the "softness" of the dress.

Got photos from babyonline...looks good so far...again, like everyone else's experience, the dress was not fully photographed, but at least it was on a manequin!!! Let's hope it looks good when it gets here and it fits! Original dress BABYONLINE

Hi! I am sorry to interrupt...I know the thread has turned to decor, but I had a quick palace question since you all seem so knowledgeable! I thought I saw this info earlier in the thread, but I have been through soooo many forums, I am lost! Can you use the palace bucks to get your hair/make-up done at the salon? I am staying at Beach Palace, I am assuming the same rules apply to all the resorts. Thanks for the help!

Hey! When were you able to reserve the sky terrace??? I have been asking to make sure I can get that location since I booked the date, but the wedding reservation folks can't seem to make it happen...did you have to wait until the WC contacted you three months before your wedding??