BexA

Hello! I have seen a lot of older threads and posts on here about the GSP, and some more current ones, so I'm hoping some of you ladies may see this and can give me some input. My fiancée and I are getting married at the GSP this upcoming December. He's been to the resort, I haven't, but I have heard great things about it. Besides booking our wedding date, ceremony time (4pm) and choosing to book the Ocean Gazebo, most everything else is up in the air. We have booked an external photographer as I didn't feel that the photo packages through the resort were reasonably priced for what you got. We originally thought we would have over 40 people coming to our wedding. Now with a few pregnancies and the Zika Virus, our numbers may decrease a bit...but then again people could surprise me and everybody may still come which would be great! Due to the amount of guests we think we may have, we originally were thinking of doing the dinner/reception at the Chill Out Bar. We both like the idea of doing something private, and I like the idea of having some shelter, but also having the sand to dance on. I read somewhere that they also set up some chairs on the sand so people can sit down if they want and I really like that. I've heard the service at this private reception is also great, so I like that aspect too. If we wind up having less then 40 people, we may look at having our dinner in an a la carte as you can pick and choose which item you want for each course (as long as it's from the same restaurant). Then we would do some private reception/cocktail party afterwards. For the brides who have been through this planning process, or who are in the midst of planning, what have you decided on for your dinner/reception and why? I originally thought I'd be happy with whatever decorations were provided by the resort. Now I'm seeing all these ideas on here of cheap ways to have really cool decorations. My fiancée will likely tell me I'm ridiculous and that we are not doing it if I say I want to bring stuff, but I saw somewhere on here of a lady local in Playa Del Carmen who rents decorations which I think is awesome and I will definitely be looking into. I'm so lucky also that my maid of honor is married, has planned a wedding and is way more on the ball then I am! Like I said, I thought I was more chill about this whole planning process, and through it I may find that I still am, but I'm finding more and more that there are things I want to look at and consider that I hadn't thought of before. I'm up in the air about using the resort spa for hair and makeup. I keep reading that airbrush makeup is the way to go due to the humidity and heat. I have no experience with airbrush makeup, and I'm no makeup pro by any means, so I'm wondering if any of you ladies have experience with the spa at the resort? I've read both good and bad things about the hair and makeup. I know I can get a trial done beforehand and that it would be the same person doing the trial that does my hair/makeup on my wedding day. I for some reason have it in my head that the stylists/makeup artists at the resort might not be as good as an external vendor, and I could be very wrong. I do feel like their prices are reasonable, and I have asked them to see pictures of their work. I know that I can't bring a makeup artist/stylist onto the premises as a vendor, but if I put them on my guest list and pay their daypass fee...I guess that could possibly work as long as their kit of stuff wasn't gigantic and it wasn't completely obvious what they were doing. Anyway, it's late here and I'm rambling. Like I said, hopefully someone sees this that has planned their wedding here or is in the midst of planning their wedding here. Any input would be greatly appreciated

Hello! First off I am so, so happy to find some current wedding planning, or recently planned wedding at the GSP as this is where my fiancée and I are getting married on December 3, 2016. I have read through most of the information on this thread, so I apologize if I repeat some questions that may already have been asked. I'm on the fence about using the resort makeup/hair stylists. I'm sure they're fine, but I want to look much better then fine on my wedding day! If I read correctly, GSP won't let you bring in any outside vendors besides a photographer. For ladies using outside makeup and hair stylists, how did you get around this? Did you go to their salon in PDC? Or were you somehow approved to bring them in? Thus far my fiancée and I have booked the Ocean Gazebo. Although it costs extra, that's one thing my fiancée is pretty set on, and it looks beautiful. Depending on how many guests we end up having (and we won't know until September as that is when the final payment is due through the company we booked with), we haven't made up our mind as to what we want for our wedding dinner/reception. We too have some people with food allergies (vegetarian, fish allergy and a celiac) that we need to be mindful of, so am thinking a buffet style dinner is better suited to us. I have emailed our wedding planner at the resort and asked about being able to accommodate those needs in one of the a la carte restaurants for our wedding dinner, but haven't heard back yet. I love the looks of the Chill Out Bar private party, and if we have 40 people or more, we will likely go for it I think. If we have under 40, I'm thinking we may do one of the a la carte dinners, but I'm not sure how I feel about having a set menu. What worked for you ladies in terms of your dinner/reception? And why did you make the decision that you made to have it where you did? We have booked an out of resort photographer, as I thought the packages through the resort were ridiculous. Anyway, I can't think of anything else at the moment (mainly because my 6 month old is starting to get cranky and loud lol), but any advice, tips or suggestions would be so greatly appreciated Thanks! Becky