We had our wedding there in January, and it was amazing!

We got married at sunset on the beach, but would also suggest the tree for something different (and you would still be close to the beach, and you could go and get pictures there.)

We had our dinner in Club Med, but had 74 guests with us. They wanted about $20 per person to hold the restaurant for the whole night, so we didn't do that.

We arranged for a civil marriage, which did not involve translating all of our documents (including the long form of our birth certificate - so don't worry, there are other options if you don't have the long form) but took a few months to receive from Panama.

We gave travel mugs as our gift to the guests - we distributed them before the trip - and only had to carry a few for those we didn't see.

It was sometimes hard to get in touch with Julia, but the week before our wedding, and while we were there, we were made to feel incredibly special! We met with her the second day we arrived and worked out all the details. I had emailed her pictures of the bouquet I wanted, and was worried, but it was perfect!! My husbands boutonniere (a calla lilly) was damaged by the end from all of the hugs, but was great for the photos.

We took our photos before as we were warned we wouldn't have much time after the ceremony and before sunset. Julia arranged a shuttle for us and our 3 photographers (and in a van, so no one saw us) to the private golf club side, and we took our photos there.

We just had friends do our photos, so I cannot comment on their photographer.  (We bought a decent SLR camera for the same cost as the photo package and entrusted it to a responsible friend) The photos after the ceremony look photoshopped the colour of the sky from the sunset is so beautiful!

My biggest complaint during the ceremony, is all of the other guests at the resort. Some stranger videotaped the entire thing, one lady (now known as "green bikini") stood behind the judge, so is in all of the photos, and one family allowed their young daughter to pick a flower from our wedding arch during the ceremony!! Thankfully I was absorbed in the ceremony and missed this, but others did see it.  I have mentioned this to Julia, and would suggest you ask her to keep people further back.

The resort is amazing, and handled our large numbers very well. A bartender held tables and chairs for our group each day, which allowed us to have somewhere to meet. I had asked for a "rehearsal" dinner -and Julia arranged 2 of them for us. (We didn't actually rehearse, we just had dinner - once with family, once with friends). The resort was big enough that if you wanted privacy, you could find other spots to sit away from others. We rarely had problems finding shade as they have so many pools.

The security is overwhelming at first - they have guards standing and watching the rooms, but it makes you feel incredibly safe! My nieces were there, and my aunt took them back to her room. A guard approached her, and asked her where the mom was, so she explained she was babysitting for the night. One friend got back to her room, and forgot which one was hers. She went to go into the wrong one, the guard got her attention, and directed her to the right one!

The disco was different. It was very far from the main area, and would play a bunch of top 40 songs, then a bunch of songs for the Panamanian guests, so the dance floor alternated with who was on it. There were no gun signs, and a metal detector on the way in. We only went there once as we made our own party at the other open bars!! (you can get sambucca at the disco, and not the other bars though!!)

We did the snorkelling and booze cruise. There was some small biting fish in the water, which made swimming in the ocean, esp. by the big rock, less enjoyable - but the cruise was a lot of fun!!

We were there in January, and it was never "too" hot, which I have read a lot of reviews about. It was warm, and we swam daily. We had a few sun showers - of rain for about 20 minutes, but no thunder or lightning, so we just stayed in the pool.

My beautiful bouquet.

This decoration is from the basic package. The people standing up for us had to 1) say we were single, and 2) give us a small speech - we did not know about that (The mic was also handed to us to give a small speech to each other)

I wanted to get a picture with my husband & I at the arch after dark. We realized during dinner it was being dismantled, so ran out. The Cafe Med waitress who was taking care of our table (and seemed to be a supervisor) came out after us, and asked the worker to put things back together! (we didn't let him, just worked with what was still there!)

Overall, the resort was great, and the wedding package, and how little I had to plan, was amazing,and I would highly recommend it to any destination bride, especially if you have lots of people travelling with you!

Happy planning!