newlyengaged13

New question for everyone:

 

What menus are you choosing for Cocktail hour and Reception?

 

I have a phone conversation booked with my coordinator tomorrow for 9am so I am trying to get organized but am still flip flopping on some decisions like this.  I cant believe I am already 30 days out!   This year of planning went by SO darn fast.

 

Also is anyone planning a welcome dinner?  have one booked for the night we arrive on the Palenque terrace (was originally booked for the infinity deck but the hotel couldnt confirm that there wouldnt be nightly entertainment going on on the big screen....lol!  How terrible would that be if there was a movie playing during the dinner. 

I only have 30 people so I feel a dinner on the Palenque is going to be too tiny for such a huge space....but I really didnt want to do it up on the skydeck because the reception is up there two days later....decisons decisons!

 

Since I don't qualify for unlimited free private events, we opted out of the cocktail hour.  I was not going to pay $600 for a cocktail hour that consisted of bar food.  The down time from the ceremony into the reception is only about 1.5 hr so my guests can hang out by the hotel bar and grab some drinks

 

In regards to the reception dinner, we are paying for the plated dinner options and not the buffet. We didn't like any of the options.  So instead we paid extra for platted diners of 3 entrees.  Chicken, beef, and fish.

New question for everyone:

 

What menus are you choosing for Cocktail hour and Reception?

 

I have a phone conversation booked with my coordinator tomorrow for 9am so I am trying to get organized but am still flip flopping on some decisions like this.  I cant believe I am already 30 days out!   This year of planning went by SO darn fast.

 

Also is anyone planning a welcome dinner? We have one booked for the night we arrive on the Palenque terrace (was originally booked for the infinity deck but the hotel couldnt confirm that there wouldnt be nightly entertainment going on on the big screen....lol!  How terrible would that be if there was a movie playing during the dinner. 

I only have 30 people so I feel a dinner on the Palenque is going to be too tiny for such a huge space....but I really didnt want to do it up on the skydeck because the reception is up there two days later....decisons decisons!

 

 

My welcome dinner is the free dinner reservation which I was entitled too, so I'm doing it at the Tequila Restaurant since my group size is small enough.  We didn't qualify for a free welcome dinner based on our total room nights, and I didn't want to pay extra for a private dinner

@@newlyengaged13 are they charging you a $800 or $500 vendor fee for Doremixx?  My WC said it would be $800.00.

 

Yes, because I fought them on this.  There was no way I was letting them get away with the 'ol switch-a-roo.  

 

I had tons of emails stating they were going to charge me $500 so they had no choice but to give it to me for the price they originally said.

Yeah this is a problem with palace too there were a lot of vendors I didn't know they offered until I saw them on this forum and had to specifically ask for them from my WC. The vendors she kept sending me seemed to be the more expensive one's. This happened to me with flowers I was quoted almost double by one of their vendors and then found out there was another vendor for the same flowers at a much cheaper price and I called her out on it and she came up with some excuse.  I saved about half of what she had quoted me originally for the same flowers.  

I agree with the dance floor on the terrace I'm not that sold on it but my fiance really wants it.  I would rather do the white wooden dance floor or no dance floor and add more lighting to define the area.  We are also thinking of doing the cigar rollers and maybe the photo booth.  If we nix the dance floor we can do both the cigar rollers and photobooth.....hmmm decisions.   

 

I thought the prices for the photobooth were on the high side.  Especially since I keep getting Living Social deals for photobooth rentals here in the states for dirt cheap.  LOL.  

Ooo thanks! I didnt know there was a preferred vendor for hair and makeup that wasnt the salon at the hotel. 

Yes, they signed the contract exclusively with Palace last year.  That's when I booked with them.  It was not announced until Adrian told me and had it reconfirmed by Palace.

 

Adrian is doing my hair/makeup and his team will be doing my bridal party and mother.  

@@newlyengaged13 I reached out to DJ Doremixx too his prices were definitely better than JSAV and PSAV.  Are you also doing a dance floor?  Did he work with you on the price since you are paying the vendor fee?

I honestly didn't even bother negotiating since the fee was just so much cheaper.  

 

I didn't get the dance floor b/c I saved the money to get fire dancers and a cigar roller instead.  

 

I've seen the photos of the dance floor and think it looks amazing on the beach, but I think it looks kind of weird on the Sky Terrace (jmo), plus it's money I'd like to use somewhere else.

I also fought with the resort regarding the vendor fees.  In the beginning they told me I had to pay $500, then switched to $800.  I almost had a heart attack.  I fought this and they agreed to give it to me for $500.  

 

In addition, in the beginning they said all I had to pay for photographers was the day pass, then they turned around and  tried to charge me the vendor fee.  Again, I fought them on this.  I am now only paying the day pass for my photographer and his assistant.

 

I never spoke with anyone from Palace throughout the entire planning process for this exact reason.  All of my communication was via email, so I had a paper trail in case I needed to reference anything.  In the end it worked out, b/c when they tried to  switch prices or anything we previously agreed upon, I reference a previous email and they could not argue that.  

 

My advise to any future bride, save all of your emails.  They come in handy.

@@NJBride2014

No sorry, I meant they waived the outside vendor fee.  The wedding coordinator sent me an email awhile back saying that if I was booking Del Sol the outside vendor fee was $500, then another email later said the fee was now $800 for 2014.  I freaked out and managed to find some documentation where it said I only had to pay for 2 day passes for the photographers and they honored that.  $200 for daypasses is much better than $800 lol.

It is so weird how they are not consistent with the outside vendor fees for everyone...After hearing that the fee is not really being enforced, I am now totally reconsidering hiring Tania Tagel for hair and makeup (I wanted to have her, but couldnt risk having them charge me $800! yikes).  Has anyone been able to confirm that only a day pass is needed for an outside makeup artist? 

 

 

I was told that they would charge the vendor fee for makeup artists.  I have booked Styling Trio to do my hair/makeup and they have just signed a contract with Palace Resorts so you won't have to pay the vendor fee or even the day pass.  Check them out. 

@@shmanderz I know what you mean about the vendor fees they are really killers.  I would gladly go with their preferred vendors but I've been finding that they are more expensive than other outside vendors and by a lot and their work is not the style I'm looking for.  I'm going with an outside vendor for my videographer and I'm going to book them room for the night of the wedding to avoid the $800 vendor fee.  The videographer also worked with me and discounted his package by 10 percent which is a big help.  My next hurdle is the DJ, I want a fun party atmosphere so there has to be a good DJ.  The quotes i'm getting from both PSAV and JSAV for DJ and light up dance floor is about double what the outside vendors are quoting me and even with the $800 vendor fee or a room night I would be saving a couple hundred dollars.  I'm not sure what to do though I don't want to worry about the outside DJ having any problems setting up or bringing in his equipment and dance floor. At least with their preferred vendor if any problems do occur they handle it, with the outside vendor I'm on my own.  Did you book a DJ?  

I booked DJ Doremixx and even with the outside vendor fee it was still cheaper than going with one of the Palace preferred vendors.  I read tons of great reviews about them prior to booking

We all know that a destination wedding in and of itself has a 'wow' factor!  I know that weddings are about celebrating love and family, but I still want to give my guests a little bit of the wow factor to have them talking for years to come.  So far for me, it will be the churro cart, mariachi, and a few little surprises during the ceremony (personal ones that I don't want my guy to find out about beforehand)! What are yours?

 

 

We're having a cigar roller set up in a designated lounge area and hiring fire dancers!

 

Where are you getting the churro cart from?

Here is the link to my sneak peek gallery!!!

http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/gallery/album/17603-wedding-sneak-peek/

My professional pics won't be ready for 6 weeks, so most of these are guests iPhone photos, so sorry for the poor quality! Hope you all enjoy

 

 

Wow  you looked gorgeous!  The details are beautiful too.  I can't wait to read your review.  I do have a few questions:

 

- Where did you get the sparklers?

- Where did you get the chargers?

Do you still have the stamp available?  Or is it sold already?

Beautiful Brandi.  Thank you for sharing.  Did you feel there was enough light on the terrace at night?  Or did you rent lights?

 

Inbox me your email address and I'll send you what I received.

Typo.  Wendy not wedding.  lol.  sorry.  I'm also using Wendy.

I am also using wedding to coordinate my group travel for my May 2014 wedding in Cancun.  She has been amazing!  She always answers all of your emails right away and is very thorough in explaining things if you have questions.  I highly recommend her if anyone is looking for a TA for their destination wedding.

 

Oh can you please let me know how you make out?

Does anyone have an actual contract from Palace that has all the legal jargon in it?  Not just the package you chose, location and date?  Like a real contract?  

I would like to get some information on them as well. This was the DJ company my contact at my hotel gave me but I didn't really get any info about the DJ it self it was more about the packages and what was included.  I want to see or hear some of their work before we make a decision to go with them.

I agree. That's why I haven't booked my dj yet. I want to hear their work And see how they interact with the crowd and how they mix the songs. The issue that I'm having with these different dj companies is that they all say its hard to send samples of an actual wedding bc every wedding is different with different styles of music. I have had a few dj's email me some videos and its kind of hard to listen to the music and it is true. Some of the songs they play I would not personally like to hear in my wedding. So it's very much a personal preference. I wish this part was easy. I'm looking for. Dj with. Ny style. Playing nonstop party songs that we dance to in the city. He needs to mix English and Spanish. But for a younger crowd. I don't want a stuffy party.

 

PM' me your email and I will send you what I have

My plan is to pay my hotel to deliver them to the guests rooms. I think they will feel more special when they arrive to see a nice little welcome bag waiting for them in their rooms. I mean they've taken their time and paid a lot of money to come down to my wedding. The least I can do is thank them this way.

OMG words can not express how glad I am to find this thread!  I have been looking for a song to dance with my mother.  She was basically a single mom raising us and I always knew she would be the one walking me down the aisle and dancing with me on my wedding day.  I had never heard of that Carrie Underwood song before and I literally could not contain myself.  The song has been over for about 5 minutes now and I'm still a mess crying.  It's such a beautiful and powerful song.  I think I just might have to use it and be a complete blubbering mess dancing to it. Gotta make sure I lay the waterproof mascara on thick that day.  LOL

 

Congrats.  I'm still working on deciding my photographer.  This has to be the hardest thing so far.  It makes selecting a resort, picking a date, and picking a dress seem like a walk in the park.  lol

 

Gama and Zuniga are the furniture rental companies.  JSAV is the dj service they provide.

 

Hi Bella Rios, you should fight back and make sure they honor what was quoted to you.  The $800 fee should not apply to you b/c you signed your contract in 2013 and the $800 fee is for 2014.  Tell them that and see what they say.  Good Luck.

 

Hello "deinasm".  The rates between any Palace Resort I believe are the same (except Le Blanc).  Yes, that rate is about right.  I went with a Travel Agent and she was able to get me a lower rate.  It also depends when you're looking to do your wedding.  Maybe consider doing your wedding off peak season, this may help bring down the cost per person.   You also should keep in mind that with your guests stay, they would get credits to use on excursions so they won't have to come out of pocket to do that stuff.  Good luck in your planning   

Plus the rooms are based on a per person rate.  So if the photographer brings an assistant, they would need to stay in the room as well.

 

I've contemplated that.  I've asked my TA to look into this.  I think there might be a minimum night stay with the resort.